There will be an NHL alumni game against the Local Law Enforcement All Stars of Carleton Place this February 18 at 7 pm. The game, presented by ScotiaBank, shall exceed expectations as it promises to become the best yet.

The NHL alumni shall be led by Rick Vaive, Brad Marsh, Lauri Borchsman, and many more famous ex-NHL players. They promise an exciting game against the Local Law Enforcement All Stars in order to raise money for the Special Olympics in Ontario.

This very entertaining event is considered suitable for the whole family. There will be an exhilarating skills competition; on-ice gag shows that promises to be hilarious, most importantly, high-profiled former NHL players will be there to showcase their talents.

The proceeds of this event will be used to support the Law Enforcement Torch Run in their mission to provide sports to more than 16,000 athletes with mental disabilities, so not only will the event be exciting, it also has a contribution to a worthy cause.

The players can also be met after the game. They will be hanging out at Broadway Bar and Grill.

Tickets can be acquired through the campaign office. You can call them at 1-877-431-0685.

A young girl from Carleton Place, Eastern Ontario recently received a bravery award along with 47 other people. Kelsea Roy saved her mother’s life when she was still 8 years old. Her mother fell through the ice into the freezing water while she was having a winter getaway with her daughter, Kelsea. She yelled at Kelsea emphatically, telling her to leave, fearing that she might also fall into the water, but Kelsea instead slithered along the dangerously thin ice, pulled he mother out and saved her life.

Governor General Michaelle Jean was the one who gave Kelsea the bravery decoration last Thursday along with 47 other brave and heroic people — 3 of which were Regina men who yanked a woman out of a burning vehicle just seconds before it exploded.

The bravery awards are intended to recognize acts of selflessness and heroics that rescued lives and sometimes sacrificing the rescuers own. 46 of the awardees received Medals of Bravery whilst 1 U.S. Coast Guard officer received the Star of Courage.

Some of the awards were given to people who have already died. The recipients who attended the ceremony which was held at Rideau Hall in Ottawa were composed of police officers, electricians, elevator repairman, soldiers, volunteer firefighters, and even children.

On January 28, Paul Dulmage said at Carleton Heritage that the town’s downtown area is slowly transitioning to service-based businesses from being retail-based. The statement was spoken by the mayor during the Business Improvement Association’s Annual General Meeting.

According to the Carleton Place Mayor, in his opinion, not all businesses will be able to handle the change.

There were about 60 members from the Carleton Place’s business sector who attended the meeting in order to hear about BIA’s progress last year and this year’s plans.

For this year, the BIA plans to embellish the town’s downtown with flowers and new lightings. They also plan to continue with their marketing and promotions by organizing events in order to attract both residents and outsiders. One of those events is the planned Free Comic Book Day in May, sponsored by Heroes Lounge and the BIA.

The evening’s mood changed its course when the discussion of the budget came up. Partners Advantage Real Estate representative, Ralph Shaw, said that he wanted more support regarding the repayment of the main street budget.

He said that the BIA should not be responsible for paying 25 percent of the budget as opposed to what has been agreed upon. According to Shaw, the town council should “step up” and realize the importance of improving Main Street.

Dennis Burn retorted by listing down some of the projects that the town has helped. Surprisingly, Paul Dulmage stepped in to offer his opinion. He said that it is not the government’s responsibility to create a healthy retail core.

Ultimately, the BIA’s budget was passed with a 3 percent increase by a 16-4 vote.

Tom Bonhomme of Almonte, together with 5 other residents, has packed up his bags and left for to India on account of the Rotary Group Study Exchange Program.

The Rotary team is composed of Kemptvilles’ Anna Van Adrichem-Rochon as leader, Kingston’s Marie-Claude Vallee, and Jessica Brown and Lianne Kay of Ottawa. They left on January 29 in order to arrive at New Delhi on January 30. Their itinerary officially began on February 1. This trip, which will last for four weeks, is for the group to experience India’s customs and culture, discuss ideas and build personal and professional relationships, and see the landmarks. The group members shall meet with the Indians who took part of a Group Study Exchange Program last fall in Kemptville.

According to Van Adrichem-Rochon, the essential features of a GSE is for the visiting group to meet, talk, and dwell with the Rotarians and their respective families in the spirit of hospitality and friendship. She said that their team will act as the ambassadors of goodwill.

Van Andrichem-Rochon is the only Rotarian of the team. The others are not Rotary members, but only sponsored by the clubs in their respective districts. Bonhomme is sponsored by the Carleton Place and District Rotary Club. Nevertheless, the airline tickets are covered by the Rotary Foundation.

For more information, the team’s blog can be visited at http://gseindia2010.blogspot.com . The blog shall be updated throughout the extent of their trip.

Perth’s Orion Theatre Company with their crazy and wild ‘Into the Woods’ music will be coming to the stage this February 4, 5, 6 at 8 pm; and in February 11, 12, 13, at 2 pm. Matinees will be on the 7th and 14th. The venue will be on the old Perth Shoe Factory: The Myriad Centre. Tickets are sold at $25, and can be availed by calling 613-264-9610.

There are 3 events booked in Perth’s Studio Theatre this month. The first was last February 1: the Buddy Holly Lives. This coming 12th and 13th, the New Ottawa Repertory Company will have a presentation of Mother Butterfly by Paul Dervis. Tickets are sold at $18 through The Shadowfax and The Book Nook.

On February 26, 27, and 28, Director Cathy Clarke has assembled a live radio show similar to how it was done in the 1930’s, with advertising tunes and live bands, for the Valley Players of Almonte’s production of ‘The Almonte Radio Show!’ The audience will have the privilege to enjoy the music of the 1930’s era through recreation of famous acts by Burns and Allen and many more.

In Carleton Plane, at the Heritage Inn, the Mississippi Mudds are practicing for their presentation of ‘Death of a Doornail’ which they will present on March 19 and 20. Tickets are sold at $45 which already includes a Heritage Inn meal. For reservations, call 613-257-2525. More information is available through their website at www.mississippimudds.ca.

The councillors of Carleton Place are so determined to provide the town a local post-secondary education that they are willing to put their own money to fund it. The town concurred on January 26 that it will donate $10,000 in 5 years to Algonquin College’s expansion of its campus in Perth. In the last days of January, representatives from the college came to the Town of Carleton Place looking for financial support for its expansion project.

MP Scott Reid and Jim Watson last year announced that they will contribute to the project under the Knowledge Infrastructure Program.

The estimated cost of the project is $10 million. $4.8 million of which will be from the provincial government, and $4.2 million will be from the federal government. Algonquin College is now processing the remaining $1 million.

Situated at Craig Street in Perth, A new edifice is being constructed on a 12 acre property where the existing building is located. According to statistics, Algonquin College has 13 students from Carleton Place out of its 250 students. 4 staff members are also from Carleton Place.

In order to raise the $1 million, the college’s representatives are soliciting from municipalities whom they feel would benefit greatly from having the campus nearby. They hope that each town would contribute $10,000.

Carleton Place Mayor Paul Dulmage contributed an additional $10,000 from his own pocket on top of the town’s contribution. He believes that education is any community’s foundation.

Members of the Carleton Place legion are planning to renovate a local monument. The President of the Legion Branch 192, Ian Davidson, said that, through the Department of Veteran Affairs, they are appealing for the finance of the Cenotaph Restoration Program.

According to Davidson, the application process started midway through summer, and, the Royal Canadian Legion’s Provincial Vice Chairman, Ron Goebel, discussed the possibility of the monuments reconditioning.

The process would start by cleaning up the monument from years and years of vandalism. Landscaping made molds and mildew form at the base of the monument. To prevent the shrubs from overtaking the Cenotaph, the town has already removed the plants that are growing too close to it.

According to Davidson, the Legion also plans to replace the cenotaph’s walkway with gray paving stones that extend beyond the flag poles in order to make the poles part of the monument. They hope that the gray bricks would improve the monument’s appearance, giving it a more impressive look. By extending the stones, people can also be more visible from the street.

The application for the funding has already been completed by the Legion. They have also already received financial and verbal support from the town, but the Legion has to wait until March for the Veteran Affairs’ decision over the matter.

The Smith Falls Bears might have won the first game last weekend, but the Canadians were able to avenge that defeat in their subsequent game at Carleton Place, splitting the back-to-back face off against the Bears.

In the second game with the Bears last Sunday, the first goal was scored by Ryan Lowe from Carleton Place in the first period, but Eric Carlson from the bears quickly answered with a short-handed goal, evening the game 1-1.

Before the period ended, the Canadians reclaimed the lead when Donovan Gardiner scored a power play goal.

After that goal, the Bears almost made another equalizer, but their breakaway was disrupted by Carleton Place when Smith Falls Greg Magalhaes was pulled down. A penalty shot was given to Smith Falls, but Magalhaes failed to score against the Canadians Goalie, Scott Shackell.

In the second period, both teams were able to score against one another with powerplay goals. The first one was by Carleton Place. Rusty Hafner patiently waited for the encumbering crowd in front of the net to clear before shooting the goal. Four minutes later, Smith Falls Olivier Charette scored thanks to the assists by Trevor Packard and Matt Burns.

Both teams failed to score in the third period. In the fourth, the Bears had to pull their goalie in the last minute attempting to tie the game. They failed, giving the game to Carleton Place. The Bears were outshoot 34-28.

A nasty fire in Mississipi Mills has exemplified the advantages of having a fire detector at home. Last January 27, Wednesday, John Willard of Almonte called the fire department regarding a fire on his own home. Williard’s home is situated at a small island at Carleton Street near the Textile Museum of Mississippi Valley; the fire was able to inflict massive damage to it. Although the house is still standing, according to Fire Chief Art Brown, he doesn’t know if much can be saved from it. He said that the fire was quite stubborn to control in the large house.

John Willard and his son were staying on the basement when the sound of the smoke detectors caught their attention and prompted them to go upstairs. When Willard’s son saw the house getting filled with smoke, the two immediately abandoned it.

Art Brown said that if it weren’t for the smoke detectors, Willard and his son would have been dead.

The fire department had a difficult time getting near the house because it was located at an island which is only accessible by a narrow bridge. It took them until 6 am in the morning to douse the flames with the help of the fire departments from Beckwith, Pakenham, and Carleton Place.

The cause of the fire is still unknown at this point.

Food bank staff and volunteers congratulated themselves and each other on January 24 as the Build a Mountain Food Campaign for 2009 proved to be a remarkable success.

At the thank-you celebration at Farrell Hall in Perth Hugh Colton of Town and Country Chrysler, also a co-sponsor of the food campaign together with Lake 88.1, the staff announced that this year’s campaign will be huger than last year. The organizers plan to include two areas this year: Merrickville and Seeley’s Bay, increasing the total number of the community participants to 10.

The 2009 campaign gathered a total 20,090 lbs. of food which is comparable to a third of the entire amount of food collected from the city of Ottawa that year. According to Colton, the campaign was a “tremendous” success, and he wants to thank the people who supported it. Furthermore, Colton said that the communities that work together will stay together. He thanked each of those who made the campaign possible.

2009 was indeed full of success for Build a Mountain. Another successful endeavor of theirs was the Build a Mountain of Food Christmas Parade float which participated in parades in Perth, Carleton Place, and Smith Falls, winning the best overall entry in Smith Falls and Perth.