2 ? THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2009 P0HOTOS KEVIN WOODHOUSE / THE SUBURBAN

Before the destruction, the donations

Business partners give motel's items to charity

Motel Raphael, located at 7455 Blvd. Ste-Anne-de- Bellevue right off St. Jacques had been vacant and boarded up for months and the partners who recently purchased the building donated motel's furniture, bedding and electronic ware from the 75 rooms to various Montreal charity organizations. By Kevin Woodhouse The Suburban The Motel Raphael, that had been boarded up and vacant, has been purchased three weeks ago by three partners who plan to convert the property into commercial development. "It had been closed for months," said Lorne Miller, who along with partners Jack Levee and Steven Miller, have had the structure razed. But before the old motel was reduced to rubble, the partners, who purchased the motel this past December 4th, donated the building's furniture, bedding, microwaves and televisions to various community agencies including St. Vincent de Paul and La Maison de Pere. In all, 75 rooms worth of items were given away to the various charity groups.n

PAGE TWO

Shomrim Laboker synagogue raises funds to fight lymphedema

In Quebec, it is estimated that approximately 70,000 men, women and children have some form of lymphedema, a debilitating, chronic disease; however, less than one percent of them are treated. Many of these lymphedema sufferers sometimes wait years before they find a health professional that can recognize and diagnose their symptoms Lymphedema is a progressive, non-curable lymphatic disorder causing gross swelling of the arms or legs, most commonly as a result of cancer treatment. Between 20 and 30% of breast cancer patients are affected by this chronic condition, as are survivors of other cancers such as prostate, sarcoma, melanoma and gynecological cancer. It touches people of all ages and affects the quality of life of millions of people around the world. Members of the Shomrim Laboker Synagogue have raised awareness as well as funds to help the lymphedema cause. A generous donation of $15,000 was presented to the Lymphedema Association of Quebec (LAQ) directors Rachel Pritzker and Ricky Tajfel at a recent event in Montreal. The LAQ is a volunteer-run, non-profit charitable organization based in Montreal, which depends entirely on donations to help people living with lymphedema. The LAQ is dedicated to educating and providing support to By P.A. Sévigny The Suburban During a long telephone interview, Pierre Jobin, a well known Nuns? Island community activist, told The Suburban that he hopes Verdun Mayor Claude Trudel will recognize and immediately deal with some of the island?s urgent priorities before someone gets hurt ?? or worse.? ?Believe it or not, we?re very concerned about pedestrian security around the circular road complex near the island?s entrance,? he said. ?Something must be done about it sooner than later before someone gets hurt.? As the new president of l?APRIDS (L?Association des Propriétaires et Résidents de L?Île Des Soeurs) Jobin said he intends to follow up on several of the island?s pertinent files. While he continued to stress how pedestrian security is a serious priority, he also said the island?s fire security was a pressing issue. Even if the island has its own fire station, recent real estate development projects include a Publisher: Michael Sochaczevski Associate Publisher: Sari Medicoff Sales Manager: David Solomon National Sales Director: David Broadman Production Manager: Karen L. Cross Classified Manager: Charmaine Worrell Credit Manager: Carol Balinsky 7575 Trans-Canada Highway, Suite 105, St. Laurent, QC H4T 1V6 (514) 484-1107 (Fax) 484-9616 suburban@thesuburban.com www.thesuburban.com Some images and graphics Copyright 2009 Michael Publishing and its licensors. All rights reserved. number of residential condominium towers which Jobin and others believe could present a real hazard in case of fire or any similar kind of emergency. While the city?s fire service has already agreed to have a hook and ladder truck stationed on the island, the island?s fire station is too small to accommodate the new truck which means there will be no truck on the island until the city builds a new fire station. In an emergency when every second counts, Jobin said island residents must still wait for the Wellington Street fire truck ?? which means it still has to deal with the bridge?s traffic like everybody else.? Jobin told The Suburban he intends to remind Verdun Mayor Claude Trudel about the borough?s skewed demographics. While less than a quarter of the borough?s population live on the island, Jobin said they still pay up to 50 percent of the borough?s taxes. ?We understand how the government must use taxes to redistribute the wealth,? he said. ?? but that?s still no reason why we can?t insist on better services or better Front row: Rachel Pritzker LAQ President - 1st at left, Rabbi Yonah Rosner, Shomrim Laboker - 1st at right. Ricky Tajfel, LAQ Director 3rd from left. Sixth from right is Harvey Naigel, Shomrim Laboker President. Sixth from left is Helen Cons and fifth from right Stanley Cons. the general public as well as health professionals across Quebec and Canada. For further information on lymphedema, please contact: Rachel Pritzker, LAQ, at 514-979-2463 or visit www.infolympho.ca n

Nuns? Island community group promotes its own agenda

Editor-in-chief: Beryl Wajsman (editor@thesuburban.com) Associate Editor: Anthony Bonaparte (anthony@thesuburban.com) Sports Coordinator: Mark Lidbetter (sports@thesuburban.com) Editorial Staff: Joel Ceausu, Dan Delmar, Julia Gerke, Joel Goldenberg, Walter J. Lyng, P.A. Sévigny, Samantha St. Jules, Kevin Woodhouse civic infrastructure.? To be fair, Jobin also admits he knows Trudel is already working on a number of island files including a new all-season roof for the Elgar public pool and a new community centre in what used to be the island?s now famous Mies Van Der Rohe gas station. However, he also said the mayor should consider the island?s runaway real estate development which could add several more thousand people to what he describes as an already strained urban environment. While there are presently over 18,000 living on the island, Jobin hopes the city will limit the island?s population growth to a maximum of 23,000 inhabitants in order to maintain ?? a certain balance between the island?s population and their quality of life.? During a previous (Dec. 2, ?09) interview, Mayor Trudel told The Suburban he was well aware of the issues affecting the borough?s affluent island. He also said many of these issues, including the island?s Elgar pool project and the new community centre, would all be resolved on schedule over the next three years. n Editorial Contributors: Maria I. Anelli, Akil Alleyne, Sam Bick, Mike Cohen, Alex Di Pietro, Mitch Gallo, Ian Howarth, David Lisbona, Bernard Mendelman, Daniel W.K. Rafuse, Lisa K. Savage, Linda Zlatkin Photographers: Andrew Soong, Rob Taussig, Mico Smiljanic CONTACT US via email: Letters: editor@thesuburban.com | Entertainment: entertainment@thesuburban.com | Features: anthony@thesuburban.com | Sports: sports@thesuburban.com | Community Events: calendar@thesuburban.com | Advertising material: production@thesuburban.com Publisher?s liability for error: The publisher shall not be liable for slight changes or typographical errors that do not lessen the value of an advertisement. The publisher?s liability for other errors or omissions in connection with any advertisement is strictly limited to publication of the advertisement in any subsequent issue or the refund of any monies paid for the advertisement. Entire Contents Copyright Michael Publishing Co. Inc., Wednesday, December 23, 2009 PHOTO COURTESY RON LEMISH

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