News Topics
Items of immediate interest within Birch
Glen and the Clarkson community
Although we do provide a printed newsletter approximately four times each year, there are
always bits of news that require immediate attention -- such as upcoming public meetings on
community/city issues which will take place before the next newsletter is published and
delivered. That is where this page comes in. Some items may also appear in existing editions
of 
,
our printed newsletter, but are important and urgent enough that they bear repeating here.
Others may be topics that could not fit into the layout of the newsletter, but are of
sufficient interest to bring to your attention.
Some
of the items -- and our newsletters -- that are accessible by hyperlinks on this page and in
other parts of this website are PDF files, which require Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not
already have it, click on this link to download the reader free of charge from Adobe.
Time
to Get Ready for Christmas and Winter
At the time of this writing, it is now near the end of November and we have already had our
first snowfall of the season. December starts next week and, so, we must start preparing
ourselves for the upcoming Christmas/Holiday festivities as well as the ravages (and
delights) of Winter.
Christmas Carolling in Birch Glen
& Photos with Santa
On Sunday, December 21, we will hold our annual Photos
with Santa event, followed by Christmas Carolling
in Birch Glen. We will start around 4:30 p.m. in Birch Glen Park (by the
children's playground) to take photographs of the children with the jolly old elf himself, Santa
Claus! Yes, Santa Claus has agreed, once again, to leave the North Pole early to make
a special visit to Birch Glen to have his photo taken with the children - and then to
lead the strolling carollers through the streets of Birch Glen, singing some of his
favourite songs of the season. Make sure you tell Mom and Dad to bring you to the park for
this special event!
Christmas "Festival of
Lights" Decorating Contest
Over the Christmas and Holiday season, we will be prowling the streets of Birch Glen
watching for the Christmas lights and decorations to appear. Some already are in place! We
will be looking for interesting, beautiful and inspiring displays of lights and decorations
and will pick the top five to receive special recognition. So...dust off the outdoor
displays and light up the windows. Your displays can help to spread the spirit of Christmas
to your neighbours and passers-by, with thoughts of Peace, Joy and Brotherhood. A little
brightness goes a long way!
Snow Plowing and Clearing
Along with the beauty of Christmas comes the snow. And with that (we hope) comes the City
snow plough to rid our streets of the dreaded white stuff. While we do like to see the snow
accumulate on Kentucky Hill and in the parks, we all complain like mad when it is not
cleared off the streets. However, in order for that to happen properly, we all have to make
sure that the automobiles are NOT parked on the street during the time when the snow ploughs
are here doing their job. The cooperation of all residents of the neighbourhood is requested
and required.
To find out more about snow clearing within Mississiauga and our
own area, visit the City of Mississauga web site at http://www.mississauga.ca/portal/residents/snowclearingoperations.
The web page currently contains information on the City's Winter Maintenance Program, and
will be updated continually throughout the Winter as the need arises. If you have questions,
or need additional information, telephone 905-615-SNOW (7669).
However, please remember that the people on the other end of the phone line are there to
help you and to provide information; as the site says: "calling the City during a storm
to find out why your street has not yet been cleared will not result in faster snow clearing
service on your street".
Practice a bit of patience, especially during a snow storm -- and
remember to remove parked cars from the street prior to and during plowing or clearing
operations. Remember also that every house in this neighbourhood has adequate
parking (including your garage) for at least two cars -- the street should not be considered
as your personal parking space. If you have more than two cars for your household that
cannot be feasibly parked on your driveway or in your garage, perhaps you could approach a
neighbour who does have additional space and come to some arrangement to borrow or rent that
space during a storm.
Tobogganing on Kentucky Hill
The work on the new sewer and water mains along Lakeshore Road are still ongoing, but we
have been assured that the toboggan hill will be open for business over the Christmas season
and throughout the Winter )as long as there is enough snow on the ground. For updated
information, check out www.lorneparkprojects.ca.
There are sections on the Lorne Park Water Treatment Plant, the Jack Darling Park Forcemain,
the sewer and sewage pumping station in Jack Darling Park, and the Herridge Feedermain
projects. There is a link on the site if you wish to send an email to the project management
team.
Summer
Garden Tour and
Community
Barbecue
a Resounding Success
The
Garden Tour did
not have a lot of "tourists", but those who did come out at 9:00 a.m. on July 12
were treated to the glorious site of 12 gardens, some readily visible from the street and
others hidden in back yards or in the yards of the rear houses along Andros and Kos Blvd.
For the tour attendees, it was a rare opportunity to be invited to view these hidden gems. A
leisurely stroll through the streets and courts lasted two hours and took us to almost every
corner of Birch Glen. Needless to say, the viewers expressed a great deal of appreciation
for the variety of gardens on the tour -- from small border gardens to full yard displays.
Each garden represented a different style of house within the neighbourhood and presented
our tourists with great ideas on how to deal with both small and large spaces as well as
awkward areas such as driveway borders and boulevards. It is interesting to see how creative
and individualistic our residents are when tackling their garden projects. There is a nice
mix of hardscaping (rocks, decks, water features) with the softscaping of plants, flowers
and trees throughout the neighbourhood.
One thing is certain -- we have seen an increase in the
number of gardens and landscaping projects throughout Birch Glen -- and it does look good.
Thanks to everyone who put their garden on display and to
those who came out to view them. Our Garden Tour is always eagerly anticipated by a number
of residents. Unfortunately, not everyone can take the time to join our tour. For those who
didn't get out on Saturday, but would like to view the gardens participating in this year's
tour, they are (in order as they were viewed):
1419
Lefkas; 1409
Lefkas; 1255
Kos; 1398
Andros; 1409 Andros; 1456
Andros, 1023
Zante,
1035
Zante; 1509
Andros; 1080
Kos; 1469
Ithaca; 1455
Ithaca; 1204
Kos
In
addition to these 12, there were a number of "unofficial" participants -- front
yard gardens which were viewed as we passed by.
You can see most of the participating gardens just by walking
along the streets. So, put on your walking shoes and go for an evening stroll. We think you
will like what you see. And, if the gardeners are available, stop and introduce yourself --
most gardeners are more than willing to talk about their creations.
The
Neighbourhood
Barbecue was a rousing success, even though it
was interrupted twice by small rain showers. That didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the
approximately 100 party-goers, who simply took shelter under umbrellas or the playground
equipment, then returned when the sun came out again. We were treated to a selection of
dance-inspiring music by our resident DJ (who just happens to live adjacent to the barbecue
location). Thanks Hubert, we really appreciated the music. As it floated through the
neighbourhood (along with the aroma of the barbecue), it reminded the residents that the
barbecue was in progress and drew them to the park to enjoy the hamburgers and hot dogs
(oops, sausages) -- and the company of their neighbours.
Membership
Drive Still Ongoing
Although we stated in our last newsletter that the Membership Drive was beginning in May —
and that we hoped to have it completed that month, the Board representatives are continuing
to canvass their areas to collect the $10 per household annual membership fee.
As mentioned elsewhere on this site, the membership
fees help to pay for the various events organized by the Association during the year --
Neighbourhood Barbecue; Garden Tour; Halloween Decorating Contest; Christmas Carolling;
Christmas/Holiday Decorating Event; plus advertising for the annual Community Garage Sale.
The fees also help to defray the administrative costs of the Association, such as this web site, the
newsletter, flyers, letters, postage, photocopying, etc. -- plus the day-to day dealings with
the various levels of government. Without this form of support, we can not afford to keep the
Association going. We urge every household to contribute..
Keep
Your Yard Neat -- Trim Your Lawn!
While some residents landscape their yards with gardens of plants, trees and
shrubs, others opt to have only grass and the occasional tree. The choice is yours. However,
each home owner or resident has an obligation under the by-laws of the City of Mississauga
to keep their yard and property neat, presentable and in reasonable condition. This means
that grass must be cut, not only on the property itself (both front and back lawns), but
also on front, side and rear boulevards
The
condition and appearance of both front and rear yards affects the property values not only
of your home but of the neighbourhood in general. A neatly trimmed or attractively
landscaped lawn adds substantial value to your home -- and also adds a large measure of
safety and security to you and your neighbours.
For
those residents unable to maintain their lawn because of age, illness or disability, there
are people in the neighbourhood who are quite willing to provide lawn-cutting services for a
reasonable fee. Please contact this site at birchglen@sympatico.ca
or birchglenresassoc@yahoo.com and
we pass on any requests to available providers.
Fences
and retaining walls
In addition to keeping your yard, lawn or garden in "good and reasonable
condition", the City by-laws also require you to maintain your fence and/or retaining
wall in good condition.
Many people wish to have a fence of some sort
around their front yard for both decorative and security purposes. However, it should be
noted that the by-laws state that any fence placed around a front yard -- and within 4.5
metres (14 feet 9 inches) from the streetline -- should not be taller than 1 metre (closed
construction) or 1.5 metres (open construction) above effective ground level.
According to the by-laws, the definition of a
"fence" includes a railing, wall, hedge, line of posts, shrubs, trees, wire, gate,
boards, pickets or other similar substances, used to enclose or divide in whole or in part a
yard or other land, to establish a property boundary, or to provide privacy (236-01).
The name of our print newsletter
is
[changed in
December 2002 from 
].
Our regular print newsletter
is currently published at least four times a year (more often 5 or 6). These issues are supplemented by special flyers
during the year to announce special events -- such as the Annual General Meeting, special general meetings on specific subjects, the
Spring and Fall
Annual Cleanups, and any other events that happen during the year. We are hopeful that we will
be able to supplement the newsletter with the information in this web site.
NOTE: We have decided against trying to send out e-mail versions of
the print newsletter for the time being. It would be a monumental task to obtain and continually update e-mail
addresses of interested residents within the neighbourhood, as well as remembering just which street
addresses had already received an e-mail copy. Instead, we will continue to distribute print copies
to each and every house within Birch Glen. And we will also post a PDF copy of the most recent newsletter
and its predecessor on
this page. The links are in the side navigation bar. You will also find a link to the archive of
past issues.
