Changing the Face of Arnprior

Sunday, February 7, 2010.

With the work going on to bring Highway 17 through Arnprior as a Multi-Lane Limited acces highway (two lanes in each direction) some new hills are growing around the highway’s changing configuration. Hills, where the landscape was pretty much flat last year. Here are a couple.

-Took these before I heard about Ottawa’s CTV affiliate’s Newsroom being gutted by fire over night . This morning at about 11:30 A.M. (maybe an hour after I took these photos) a power plant in Middletown, Connecticut blew up. Middletown, Connecticut looks an awful lot like Pembroke, Ontario.

—————Jim

Ottawa Television Studio “Gutted” by Fire

Sunday, February 7, 2010.

At about 10:30 A.M. I turned on the television to check something and saw headlines on the CTV News channel: CJOH (Ottawa’s CTV Station)  Newsroom gutted by fire.

Long time News anchor Max Keeping was being interviewed live, spoke of 50 years of priceless archived video footage being lost.

— Probably be more later,

—————Jim

Optimist Club Talent Contest

Chris Toner (Back) and 2010's Talent Contest Winners

Arnprior, January 23, 2010.

This year’s Optimist Club Talent Contest was held in the Nick Smith Centre.

MyFM’s Pete DeWolf was the Master of Ceremonies.

This year’s winners included: (Art) Logo Winner : Vanessa Farmer. Dance: Allysa Perreault and Jazmyn Nicholas. Singing: Augusta Campoli (Who sang “Think of Me” from the Phantom of the Opera.) Overall: Vicki Brittle. There were also prizes given to the youngest girl and the two youngest boys (there was a tie in the youngest boys category.)

Participants in the 2010 Optimist Club Talent Contest (with Chris Toner)

In a surprising turn of events, the winning singer gave the monetary portion of her winnings back to Optimist Club President (and prize presenter) Chris Toner, saying she hoped that would help the Optimist Club continue to do their good work.

—————Jim

Snowman Visits Arnprior

Large Snowman says he likes the weather here.

-Arnprior, Friday, January  22, 2010.

A very tall visitor to Arnprior didn’t say much, but when asked, “Is it cold enough for you?” He did respond with a broad smile.

Our roving photographer caught the visitor on the corner of Elgin And Madawaska Streets, with the Town Hall in the background.

—————Jim

Monday, 28 December, 2009

Afternoon Snow falling near the museum.

-Arnprior, Ontario, Canada.

Today was the Boxing Day holiday for federal employees and bankers.

Kind of a grey day, we had a bit of snow in the afternoon.

& The famous Globe Theatre in Stratford on the Avon had its construction begun on this day in the late 1500’s.

—–Jim

Freezing Rain on Boxing Day

-Arnprior, Ontario, Canada. Boxing Day (December 26, 2009)

Arnprior was a skating rink this morning. Our poor dog had a heck of a time trying to find a nice, flat, and rough enough so his feet didn’t fly out from under him… spot to take his morning pee.

Anyway, the photo was taken looking East from just outside the TVCOGECO studio on Madawaska Street (kind of one of the back doors of the Town Hall.) (except the studio no longer connects with the rest of the lower floor of the building.)

The soundtrack was classical music from CBC-2.

—–Jim—–

They Say it might Rain For Christmas ????

Gloomy View from the Quality Inn parking lot, Catholic Church distant left

-Arnprior, Ontario, Canada. Christmas Eve, 2009.

It’s bitter cold in the Nation’s Capital Region (and we’re just west of the Greater Ottawa City Limits) (at least until a dis-amalgamation happens. Big “IF”)

So it’s kind of strange that after a couple weeks of bitter cold, they’re forecasting possible rain on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.

We’ll have to see.

—–Jim

Excitement in Arnprior?

Scotia Bank, Corner of Madawaska & John Streets. with crime scene tape.

-Arnprior, Friday, December 18, 2009. And I thought the cold temperature was the story of the day.

Apparently, there was an armed robbery in town. Crime scene tape all around the bank, an unmarked truck that may have been a major crime scene investigation unit or something.

One OPP officer asked me through the door what I was doing with the camera. He seemed happy when I was concerned that no one was hurt.

An older woman walking South on John Street north saw somebody with a video camera, getting background shots for the local cable company (TVCOGECO) and asked him what was going on, I heard him whisper, “Apparently, there’s been an armed robbery.” “In Arnprior?” she gasped.

A younger woman’s face turned sour as she parked her car and crossed the street and wanted to go into the bank. The OPP Officer came out to where the tape ended and was speaking to her (I couldn’t hear anything) as I bundled my freezing fingers into my pockets with my camera and headed for the relative warmth of my vehicle.

—–T. Talxalot, frozen reporter at large. —–

Brrrrrrr!

There was Diamond Dust in the air & -24˚C/-11˚F (-31˚C wind chill) -jrw

-Arnprior, Friday, December 18, 2009.

Brrrrrrrr! (but it was pretty.)

-24˚C /  -11˚F this morning in Arnprior. ((-31˚C / -24˚F wind chill))

So I pretty much froze my fingers off shooting a couple snap shots around town.

I tried to get some video with a flip cam too. I still have to plug that in.

Diamond dust is the frozen particles of moisture in the air when it gets this cold. The diamond dust didn’t show up in this photo, probably just too small and not quite the right angle to catch the sunlight magically lighting up the pixilated diamond dust.

—– T.Talxalot, reporter at large. —–

Arnprior & District Museum Looking for new board members

Arnprior & District Museum Curator Janet Carlile

-Arnprior, Ontario, Canada, December 16, 2009

The Arnprior & District Museum is looking for new executive board members.

The Museum Board is mandated to have 9 members. There are more than one openings.

This is a volunteer position. Duties include attending meetings (One meeting per month from September to June) and to set policy and advise the Curator.

Curator Janet Carlile has suggested that a new board member be recruited who has skills in marketing, public relations and fund raising for acquisitions; not necessarily to run the gift shop so much as to advise the other board members and volunteers on how to get the word out that the museum is here, has services to offer, meeting rooms available to the public, and items for sale.

—–T.Talxalot, Reporter at Large—–