MID-MONTH NEWS — MAY 2009

Town’s Urban Forestry Manager wins Forester Of The Year Award

OAKVILLE — The Ontario Professional Forester’s Association (OPFA), the regulating body for professional forestry in Ontario, honoured John McNeil, Manager of Forestry and Cemetery Services for the Town of Oakville, with the Forester of the Year Award recently.

Burlington best city in GTA, fourth in Canada, says MoneySense

BURLINGTON — MoneySense magazine has named Burlington the top city in which to live in the GTA and the fourth best city in Canada, according to information released April 27 by the publication.

AmeriGas rolls-out additional Descartes Services to drive operational savings

WATERLOO — Descartes Systems Group, a global on-demand software-as-a-service (SaaS) logistics solutions provider, has contracted to roll-out its routing, dispatch and intelligent automated vehicle locator (AVL) services at AmeriGas, the largest retail propane marketer within the United States.  

Assessment tool helps organizations evaluate the risks and rewards of application-managed services

LONDON, ON — Info-Tech Research Group has developed a free Web-based assessment tool that evaluates an organization's fit for application management services, or AMS. AMS, also called application outsourcing, is the contracting of software application development or management to a specialized partner, rather than doing it in house.

Chamber announces winners of 2008 Dundas Citizen of the Year & Youth Volunteer of the Year Awards

HAMILTON — The awards dinner held April 24 night at the Dundas Valley Golf & Curling Club honoured the nominees and winners for the 2008 Dundas Royal Bank Citizen and Dundas Valley Collision Centre Youth Volunteer of the Year Awards.

Bill George Jr. Re-elected as Chair for the 2009-2010 Term of Office

ST. CATHARINES — Chief Executive Officer Debbie Zimmerman has announced that the Grape Growers of Ontario has re-elected Bill George Jr. as Chair of the Board for 2009-2010.

Halton Hills hires experienced Town Clerk

HALTON HILLS — The Town of Halton Hills has hired Bill Roberts for the position of Town Clerk for a two-year period commencing on May 4, 2009. Roberts brings over 25 years of experience with the Town of Hanover and the Town of Milton. His main responsibilities will be to lead the 2010 election process, which begins immediately and to mentor staff in the Clerks Section due to the staff turnover during the last year.

High-tech solutions help reduce retail theft

Criminals may be utilizing more technology to execute sophisticated retail fraud but studies show old-fashioned theft — employee pilfering and customer shoplifting — still represents the biggest source of loss for Canadian retailers.

ISPs applaud Canadian anti-spam legislation

OTTAWA — The Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) is pleased that the Conservative government has taken action to address junk email. With more than 97 percent of all email considered to be spam, it will also be welcome news for Canadian Internet users.

Len Falco recognized by Ontario Chamber of Commerce 

TORONTO — Len Falco, past president of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, has been recognized by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) for his long term volunteer commitment in the Hamilton community, and in particular, for the Chamber of Commerce.

Waterloo Region tech cluster bucks the trend of economic uncertainty

WATERLOO REGION — Seth Godin, marketing expert, entrepreneur and agent of change, will provide a keynote at Communitech’s Tech Leadership Conference, on May 14, 2009.

Ontario strengthening cultural attractions

OAKVILLE — Ontario is boosting the economy by investing in its world-class cultural attraction agencies to support the innovative programming and collections that attract millions of visitors and help Ontario compete on the international stage.

St. Lawrence Cement announces name change to Holcim (Canada) Inc. 

TORONTO — St. Lawrence Cement has formally announced a change of company name to Holcim (Canada) Inc. and the launch of the Holcim brand in Canada. 

Bed & Breakfast Association launching community info campaign

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE — Bed & Breakfasts in NOTL provide the bulk of local tourist accommodation and thousands of hours of employment, not to mention vast sums spent locally to purchase supplies, community fundraising efforts and valuable preservation of local heritage, says Rick Jorgensen, President of the Bed & Breakfast Association.

CCOHS tools to help plan for a pandemic

HAMILTON — The recent outbreak of the human swine influenza has prompted the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) to remind Canadians of the resources that are available to help them plan for an influenza pandemic.

Oakville MPP Flynn supports bid for second NHL team in Southern Ontario

OAKVILLE — Member of Provincial Parliament for Oakville, Kevin Flynn has expressed his support for the news that Jim Balsillie has tabled an offer on the Phoenix Coyotes’ National Hockey League franchise in order to move them to southern Ontario and calls on the people of Ontario to express their support as well. 

Update on Ontario Power Generation Niagara Tunnel Project

NIAGARA FALLS — Progress continued to be made on Ontario Power Generation’s, Sir Adam Beck Niagara Tunnel Project in 2008.

Oakville to get more police officers

OAKVILLE — Oakville and the rest of Halton Region will receive five new police officers as part of Ontario's share of the federal Police Officers Recruitment Fund that will put up to 329 new police officers in Ontario communities.