Vallhalla Newsletter December 2015

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Happy New Year!

My wish to you is dream BIG and be satisfied with even the simple blessings that come your way.

Christmas Tree Pick Up:  January 19 to 29, 2016 = maximum 1.8m (6ft) cut into pieces.  If you have yours out already it is probably better to put it at the side of your home until the 19th so it will not be buried. All decorations, tree skirts and plastic tree bags etc. must be removed before putting your tree out at the curb for pick-up. Please note: Crews will not dig out a tree or climb a snow bank to retrieve one.

Crime Report The following are incidents reported to and by police.
Please note; because you are being informed monthly of the crime within our area, you may think Valhalla is a high crime neighbourhood. Really it is not compared to other areas within Aurora and other municipalities. We seem to have sudden spurts now and then. The graffiti portion lasts a year or two when either they move on or “usually” young adults grow out of it, ...  The less crime we have within our area the better for numerous reasons; i.e. home/car insurance rates, overhead costs to our town and us, home/area property value, beauty within our area, ...
Breaking & Entering - Old Yonge St. Dec. 18th @ 4:00pm
Theft – Old Yonge St. Dec. 22nd @ 12:01am
Twelve Oaks / Old Yonge St. – MVC-Property Damage – Dec. 2nd @ 9:05am
Twelve Oaks / Old Yonge St. – Traffic Stop – Dec. 2nd @ 10:29am
Yonge St / St. John’s – Fail to provide Breath Sample – Dec. 25th at 9:39pm
Yonge St. / St. John’s - 17 – Traffic Stops
Yonge St. / St. John’s – 11 Street Checks
Yonge St. / St. John’s – 2 MVC – Property Damage
Odin Crescent – Mischief to Property – Graffiti – Dec. 9th.
Old Yonge / St. John’s – 10 Traffic Stops
Mark St. / Walton – Street Check – Dec. 3rd @ 7:58am

Unless the crime report has not been update, it looks to me that a lot of vandalism within our area had not been reported. I noticed this throughout our area with holiday displays, fences, trees, … I am happy to report that there has been very little broken glass. I presume this is because most all the spirits now come in plastic bottles and cans. There has been a lot to pick up. It is my guess that we had more vandalism than usual this month because of the mild weather.

YRP have recommended to all residents to install a video surveillance system. (This was presented within an YRP video at the start of last year in our newsletter.)

My HD 1080p 8 channel wireless surveillance system has arrived. I’m testing all the cameras and equipment before installing them. Did not know there was so much to it. All activity from the cameras is saved to a hard drive in a compressed format that can be backed up to the cloud or off site. Another feature is you can view all this activity on your own computer network including your television. There is also an app that allows you to view the footage on your smart phone when you are away. What a great feature to keep an eye on your home for numerous reasons. For me, it’s the dog.

Thus far, I am impressed with the system and how the cameras change from colour to black and white when it turns to dusk yet the resolution is very good. I have aimed one camera from one of my back bedrooms at the intersection of Old Yonge and Hollingshead. Wow … a lot of people are not stopping at the stop sign I will keep you posted on my learning curve. The systems are not expensive. It goes by the number of channels and the resolution of the cameras and how / where the video will be saved. FYI: If you have some sort of incident in or around your home, YRP often ask if you or your neighbours have a video surveillance.

Take this link to report community concerns (traffic, graffitti, disorderly use, dumping) to York Regional Police: https://onlinereporting.yrp.ca/communityconcerns.html

Neighbourhood Christmas Displays

I hope you had a chance to walk or drive throughout our neighbourhood / town to view some of the christmas displays.  Some were just amazing.  Special thank you to all of you who took the trouble to give our area some holiday cheer.  I'm sure you put a smile on a number of faces. 

Over the past week leading up to Christmas, CTV NEWS used two of my pictures on Television each day and posted one on their web site.   I should have taken a little more time with the photography.   

My Christmas Gift from the Town of Aurora ... after three years was the installation of the curbs beside my home after our town contractor removed them to connect the water and sewer lines to the new infill homes on Hollingshead.  Although still not totally corrected it is a major improvement.   This is just another example how our town never followed up after giving our tax money to a contractor that never completed the work.   Wonder if our town paid double?   View slideshow below.
Vandalism / Mischief
Over the last month, I presume because of the mild weather, we have had more vandalism.  A number of holiday displays had been damaged plus some fences.  There has also been an increase in the amount of garbage.  Mostly LCBO bottles and cans. 

The slideshow below shows an example of the vandalism submitted by one of our neighbours.
Craddock Park
Never received a reply from our town regarding the gates at Craddock Park. Probably too controversial. Hopefully the powers at be had read last month’s e-mail.
You can make a difference

Like most of us, we want to live in a clean, safe, friendly, beautiful neighbourhood.  If we see something wrong we try to fix it or report it. It’s just part of being a good neighbour and resident.

Over the holidays I noticed a few problems:  

  1.  Kraft Peanut Butter - Opened the jar, removed the foil top and it was ¾ full and on a slant. What happened? Was it ok to eat? Called the company and reported it. After a long conversation they thanked me and wanted to reimburse me. I asked that they send something to our food pantry. BTW: The result was, it was fine to eat, it was just the end of the production run that day.
  2. Turtles Chocolates – Purchased a box of Turtles Chocolates that are in separate Turtle wrappers.   The person I gave the box to opened it and pulled out a sealed empty wrapper. I did the same. I contacted Nestle at that time. Their customer service was very good. They obtained all the information. They will be sending me something that I will then give to the person I gave the chocolates to. I stated that since the turtle chocolates are each individually wrapped in a separate package for Christmas would it not be an idea to put a hole at the end of the overhang of the wrapper so you can hang it on the tree. The person I was speaking to thought it was a great idea and submitted it to marketing. I then received a call back the next day from Nestle, by the sounds of it, you may see this next year.
  3. Starbucks St. Andrews: A few friends and I met at the St. Andrew’s Starbucks. Unfortunately all but one of their table and chairs are high bar stools. The one regular table and chairs was being used by a student with a notebook. We had to go elsewhere. Why? People who have leg problems, balance issues, recovering from an operation, … cannot use this furniture. We went to the other coffee shop within the plaza. I felt someone should say something so I sent an e-mail to Starbucks voicing my experience and making suggestions of course. They seemed to be catering to a specific demographic who are not physically challenged. Also stated that most seniors and physically challanged people like arms on the chairs to help them get out of the chair. The e-mail received back from Starbucks was very nice. I’m told it will be shared with the powers at be to review furniture standardizations. I was informed that a gift card would be sent to me as an apology. I e-mailed Starbucks back stating thankyou but I will forward the gift card to our Town Food Pantry. I then received an e-mail back stating that I have inspired them and they will do the same with all their left over gift cards. 

Conclusion, YOU can make a difference no matter how small.


The charts / graphs for

Aurora Homes Sales Statisitcs

have been updated. 

Click the home below to open a new window.





There are currently "NO" properties listed within Valhalla.  The property listed on Twelve Oaks has expired.
In 2015 Aurora set a record of 1,087 homes SOLD that were posted on TREB MLS.  This total does not included the homes sold by builders / developers or those sold privately. 

 

Collection / Waste Calendar:   I personally have not received my Waste Calendar as of yet.  I had also looked at our Towns Web site and only the 2015 Calendar is posted.  I contacted one of our councillors to find out why.   



Volunteering
How many hours have you volunteered this month?   Try something you may enjoy doing. 



Until next month, keep safe, keep laughing, stay healthy, and say hello to everyone you meet. Do what you can to help those around you.  There is always someone worse off than you.   How fortunate most of us are.  
Cheers, Eric 
Web site: www.McCartney.me  



Throughout our area this contractor was hired by the utility companies to install cables / wires under the ground.  View slideshow below.
Thing you may want to know

Flags are at half-mast in both Aurora and Newmarket to honour passing of retired Fire Chief Sam Rippey.

Don't Break your back shoveling snow.  

1. Spray or wipe your shovel with cooking oil.  Don't know if it will attract flies in the warmer temperatures but it sure makes it easier to shovel.  

2. Don't agree with this one ... but some people layout a tarp over their sidewalk before the snow.  They weigh the ends down with logs.  After the snowfall just move the tarp over the lawn.  Ok ... what if someone wants to walk on the sidewalk when the tarp is down?

3. Make a homemade de-icing solution 
Use vinegar before a storm to make ice and snow removal easier:
Combine 3 parts vinegar to 1 part water.
Spray or pour gently (you still want to avoid runoff into your landscape) before a storm.

To keep the sidewalks and steps from icing after a storm:
Combine 2 parts rubbing alcohol with 1 part water.
Apply to minimize runoff.

4.  Below is a diagram I created to show how I shovel my driveway.   If it works for you, great!



Web site: www.McCartney.me  



 
 
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