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The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e sd a y D e c e m b e r 10, 2003 - A 7 COUNCIL & STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS Monday, D e ce m b e r 15, 2003 Monday, January 12, 2004 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Planning & Development Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. Oakville If Tuesday, January 13, 2004 Community Services Comm. 7:30 p.m. - Oakville Room Administrative Services Comm. 7:30 p.m. - Trafalgar Room Monday, January 19, 2004 Council Meeting Council Chambers 7:30 p.m. 2003 O a k v ille The 55th annual Oakville Santa Claus Parade held on Saturday Novem ber 22 saw many happy faces, clowns, red noses, floats and bands. It is estim ated that over 10,000 people cam e out to see Santa make his way through Oakville. Planning o f the parade is a year long task, as members o f the community form a committee that spends valuable time planning every last detail from bands to logistics, judging and policing o f the parade. This year, the parade featured 57 entries, 12 bands and m any entertaining Shriners. The organizing committee would like to thank all those individuals and groups who worked hard on costumes, float decorations and entertainm ent to make the parade a memorable one. O f course, these hard workers are cold and hungry at parade end, and yet another group o f hard working volunteers help to provide the more than 2,000 pieces of pizza provided from local suppliers and hot chocolate and timbits from Tim Hortons. The Post Parade Reception has been a long-standing tradition o f the parade and is one way the organizing committee gives back to the community. The them e o f this year's parade was the Gift o f Giving and what better way to give to those in need in our community. Every year, a crew from the Oakville Fire D epartm ent collects new, unwrapped toys from parade goers. These toys are then distributed through com m unity organizations. Also on parade day, nonperishable food items and cash donations are collected by the Kinsmen Club of Oakville for its annual Holi day Food Drive. This year over 8,000 pounds o f food W as collected and alm ost $ 1,800 in cash donations. Thanks to the generosity o f all parade goers, Christmas day is sure to be brighter for many Oakville children and families. A nother way the Santa Claus Parade gives back to the conynunity is through its judging o f the entries. Local dignitaries and sponsors volunteer their time to judge each float and walking group. These results are then tabulated and one overall winner is selected. The grand prize winner receives S500 tow ards their organization. This year the grand prize went to the 19th Oakville Scouts. Finally the parade would not succeed without the generous contributions from our local sponsors. There are m any associated costs with a parade as large as ours, and all funding is done through sponsorship. Oakville Place joins past years' G old Sponsors, M OEN and Petro C anada. The combined donation o f these three sponsors provides alm ost half of the operating budget for the parade. Additional funds are contributed by our Silver Sponsors: Longboat Developm ent Corp., Altana Pharm a, Ian M artin Ltd., Regency Care, GRCS and Associates and Oakville Hydro. In addition, another five Bronze sponsors provide funds and they include: Legend Creek Homes, G enstar Developm ent Company, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 114, D ow ntow n Oakville BIA and O 'C onnor MacLeod Hanna. In addition to actual funds, there are some com panies that donate services and Gifts in kind to the parade. They include Steeplejack Services, Deco Labels and The Oakville Beaver. O n behalf o f the organizing com m ittee, thank you to everyone who participated and we look forward to seeing you at next years' parade IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE Y o u r voice cou n ts . Let's w o rk together to create a sha red vision for the future of Oakville. Please v is it w w w .o a k v i ll e .c a for details, e -m a il b lu e p rin t@ o a k v ille .c a , or call us at 905-815-6040. Holiday Season Closures at Town Hall O akville Town Hall and th e a d m in is tra tiv e o ffic e s o f th e O akville Fire D e p a rtm e n t w ill be closed from 12 pm on December 24, 2003 to January 1, 2004. Town Hall and its a d m in is tra tiv e o ffice s w ill re-open for business on Friday January 2, 2004. The following programs will be closed on December 24, 25, 26, and January 1: O akville M useum O akville G alleries (G airloch G allery & C e nten nial Gallery) O akville C entre fo r th e P e rfo rm in g Arts ' Pools P ublic Libraries T ransit, Recreation F a cilitie s and P ublic W orks se rvices are a v a ila b le over th e holidays w ith th e fo llo w in g modified service schedule: O a kv ille T ran s it and care-A -van · D ecem ber 2 4 , 2 0 0 3 full-service fo r care-A-van and a m o d ifie d bus se rvice. Peek h o ur ro u te s w ill run e a rlie r th a n usual to a cco m m o d a te a d d itio n a l GO ho m eb oun d tra in s fro m U nion S ta tion . · D ecem ber 2 5 , 2 6 , 2 0 0 3 and January 1, 2 0 0 4 th e re w ill be no care-A-van o r bus service. For m ore In fo rm a tio n please call 9 0 5 8 1 5 2 0 2 0 . F a c ilitie s & R e c re a tio n · The Glen Abbey, River Oaks and Iroquois Ridge R e c re a tio n /C o m m u n ity C entres w ill · · close December 24 at 12 pm; December 25, 26, 31 at 4 pm; and January 1, 2004. O a kville 's S e nior C entres w ill close December 24 and re-open December 29, however, will be closed January 1, 2004. The O akville, K in o a k and M aplegrove a re n a s w ill close December 24 at 12 pm; December 25, 26, 31 at 4 pm; and January 1, 2004. P ub lic W orks · · P arking O p e ra tio n s /H a lto n C ourt S ervices w ill be open on December 29, 30 and 31, 2003. P ublic W orks o p e ra tio n s w ill close on December 24 at 12 pm with staff on call and will re-open on December 29, 2003. Im p o rta n t N um bers E m e rg e n cy/A fte r H ours Phone Snow C learing In fo rm a tio n Em ergency S ervices (Fire, Police, A m bulance) 905 845 6606 905 388 4392 911 The Members of Council and staff wish you a safe and happy Holiday Season. Best wishes for the upcoming New Year! Watch for 'In The News' on page 7 of The Oakville Beaver every Wednesday! Town of Oakville 1225 Trafalgar Road, PO Box 310, Oakville, ON L6J 5A6 905-845-6601 www.oakville.ca