NEWS & ANALYSIS
MoWest altercation: School bus vs. recycling truck
By Joel Goldenberg The Suburban In the spirit of the classic Akira Kurosawa crime movie Rashomon, there are at least two differing versions of what recently took place between a school bus and a recycling truck in front of Edinburgh School in Montreal West. According to resident Stephen Walsh, in mid-June, he heard from his children that they were stuck on their school bus for 30 to 40 minutes "because a recycling truck working under contract with Montreal West, as I understand it, tried to pass a school bus while its lights were flashing. The truck physically got hooked on the school bus. The kids were kept on the bus and, at the very best, it was inconvenient. "Think back to the young lady who was killed in Westmount by the contractor who turned and didn't see her, and she pushed her young brother out of the way and she was run over," Walsh added. What happened, and what are we going to do with these contractors if it was some form of negligence to make sure this doesn't continue?" But Patrick Mann, the public security chief for Montreal West, had a very different version of events. "The incident is not as you describe it," Mann told Walsh. "The bus driver has had a running battle with - it sounds really stupid - the recycling truck driver for the last couple of months. It seems that the bus driver had turned off his lights, the truck proceeded, and then they were turned on again. There was no contact between the two vehicles. The driver of the school bus got excited, the police were called, our public security officer was there, there was no damage to either vehicle, the police looked at the situation, felt no further action was necessary. Our public security people and the police spoke to the recycling truck driver who agreed to change his route so that he does not run into any further confrontations with this bus driver. "One of our snow plow operators had a somewhat similar issue with this bus driver last winter." Councillor Dino Mazzone, in charge of the public security portfolio on council, said he sees the situation as petty on the part of the bus driver, and said he would like to follow up with the driver and his company to make sure there is no repeat incident. "This is intolerable behaviour, it seems to be a running battle between these two individuals," Mazzone said. But Walsh said he knows and trusts the bus driver in question. "If I have to pick sides between the man who is responsible for the safety of my children, and the guy who is driving the recycling truck or snowplow, I'm absolutely going to pick the side of the guy driving my children,' the resident said. "I agree we have to get to the facts." Mazzone said there seemed to be a "tit for tat" situation taking place. "I don't think either of them should have been playing this game, frankly," the councillor added. Walsh said the situation seems to have been resolved, as the recycling truck will not be around when children are leaving or getting on the school bus. "As a general rule, that's a good idea," the resident said. nHampstead finance discussion in September
By Joel Goldenberg The Suburban One of the most contentious issues of last year's Hampstead election campaign will be the subject of a public meeting, taking place in the hour before the 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7 council meeting, at the Adessky Community Centre in Hampstead Park. There was a major disagreement last year between incumbent Mayor William Steinberg and former councillor and mayoral contender David Sternthal over the state of the town's finances. During the campaign, Steinberg maintained that the town's finances were good, while Sternthal said the town was in a financial crisis. Steinberg's position was backed by the town's auditors and treasurer, while several chartered accountants backed Sternthal. At a council meeting held after last November's election, Sternthal proposed that a special meeting be held with residents, the town's auditors and treasurer to clear up the debate. Councillor Jack Edery, in charge of the finance portfolio on council, told council regular Rachel Genziuk earlier this month that such a meeting will be held, and residents will have a chance to read the town's financial statements to be prepared with questions for the meeting. Genziuk made reference to the meeting being originally scheduled for July. "The 2009 financial statement are being tabled [at the June council meeting] and will be placed online [at www.hampstead.qc.ca], so that anybody can access them," Edery said. "However, we are not going to be doing it in July with the auditor, because she's not available next month, and in August, I'm not here. So this will give you two months to go over the numbers." nRÉSERVER LA DATE
Joignez-vous à nous au 2ième tournoi annuel de golf The UPS Store de la région du Québec au profit de la fondation pour l'enfance Starlight Canada.
Avec votre paticipation nous aidons les enfants gravement malades et leurs families à faire face à la douleur, à l'appréhension et à la solitude par le biais d'activité divertissantes, éducatives et familiales.
LE JEUDI 12 AOÛT ? THURSDAY AUGUST 12
Club de Golf le Diamant, Mirabel, Québec FOURSOMES AVAILABLE AT $1000 HOLE SPONSORSHIPS AVAILABLE AT $750
Karina 514.288.9474 x223 karina@starlightcanada.ca
SAVE THE DATE
Please join us at the 2nd Annual Quebec Region The UPS Store Golf Tournament for Starlight Children's Foundation Canada.
With your participation we can help seriously ill children and their families cope with their pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, education and family activities.
THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2010 * 5
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