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Nov. 23, 2023

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9 novembre 2023



 





Upcoming events


THE CUMBERLAND COMMUNITY SINGERS present "Peace & Joy" from 7:30 p.m. at Orleans United Church, 1111 Orléans Blvd.. Come and join us for an uplifting evening filled with songs of peace and joy. This concert will feature new interpretations of traditional hymns and some newer less well known pieces that celebrate the beauty of Christmas. Bring the whole family - kids are free! Tickets available at  https://bit.ly/CCSPeaceandJoy.

STATION 71 LITE THE NITE event at 7 p. m. at the Navan Fire Station, 1246 Colonial Rd. Come out to enjoy some yummy hot chocolate and cookies while listening to Christmas carolers and watching Sparky light our Christmas tree. You can also bring a toy for the Help Santa Toy Parade.

CUMBERLAND CHRISTMAS MARKET from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at four different locations in Cumberland Village. Over 100 LOCAL ARTISANS at 4 different locations – the R. J. Kennedy Arena, the Baitun Naseer Mosque at 2620 Market St., the Lions Maple Hall at 2557 Old Montreal Rd., and the Da Artisti Studio & Gallery at 2565 Old Montreal Rd.

BREAKFAST WITH SANTA FUNDRAISER hosted by the Cumberland Lions Club from 8 a.m. to 12 noon at the Lions Maple Hall in Cumberland Village. Special activities, and gifts, for the children throughout the morning, plus a visit from Santa. Admission at the door $15 for adults and $10 for childen 12 and under. Donations will also be accepted on site for the Orléans-Cumberland Community Resource Centre's Christmas Program for families in need.

DOMAINE PERRAULT HOLIDAY MARKET from 10:30 a.m to 3:30 p.m. at the Domaine Perrault Winery, 1000 Perrault Rd. just south of Navan.  Get ready to indulge in a festive atmosphere filled with local vendors, live music, kids craft station, a visit from Santa and of course, incredible wine. Whether you're searching for unique gifts or simply want to treat yourself, this event has something for everyone.

ORLÉANS HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS ART MARKET – Celebrate the festive season the Orléans way. From the Heart of Orléans, unique gift ideas are brought to you by creative, local vendors. No need to rush - the market will be open for two days, Saturday, Dec. 2 from 12 noon to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

 

OC Transpo's financial woes worse than feared
Fred Sherwin
Oct. 10, 2023

OC Transpo is in bad shape. How bad? How about worse than anyone could have imagined.

Everyone knew that ridership took a tremen-dous blow during the COVID 19 pandemic, but it was thought that it would rebound once the pandemic was over. But that hasn’t been the case. In fact, far from it.

Ridership is still way down from what had been projected prior to the pandemic.

According to the latest projection, ridership in 2023 should be around 65 million. In 2019, the transit service had projected ridership would be in excess of 110 million by 2023. In 2019, the last full year of service before the pandemic, ridership was at 100 million. By 2021, it had sunk to 30 million.

Ridership rebounded by more than 65 per cent in 2022, going from 30 million to 50 million and is expected to increase by a further 25 per cent, indicating that increasing ridership is actually slowing down as a percentage of one year to the next. This is largely due to the fact that more and more federal government employees are opting to work from home as is their prerogative under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Staff are predicting ridership won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until 2030. In the meantime, costs will keep going up along with the operating deficit which stands at
$40.8 million for the current fiscal year.

According to transit staff, unless significant steps are taken, the combination of fewer riders and accumulating costs could result in a $6.6 billion shortfall over the next 25 years, including a $3.7 million shortfall in fare revenue.

The city has three options to offset the projected shortfall – cut service, increase fares, or increase the transit surcharge on the property tax bill. Questions are even being raised about possibly delaying construction of Phase 3 of the LRT which would take it out to Kanata and Barrhaven.

When finance staff presented the revised projections to the transit commission on Sept. 18, they suggested a combination of all three.

“Only using one lever will not solve transit’s affordability issues. The solution will require a combination of changes,” said deputy treasurer Isabelle Jasmin.

Despite the dire projections, Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is taking a glass half full approach to the news and the recent difficulties the LRT has been forced to deal with including the recent shutdown and reduction in service due to ongoing technical issues.

“We are building a public transit system for the next 25 years,” he told council on Sept. 18. “In a few years from now when the city has grown even more… it will be looked back upon as something that had some stumbles but was an important city-building project.”

Transit staff now have several months to come up with a variety of concrete options to address the future of the service and bring them back to council by next June.

 
Entertainment

  Sports


Remembrance Day play an homage to the homefront

OST production presents the best of Winnie-the-Pooh

Brilliantly written holiday production an instant Christmas classic


Béatrice-Desloges successfully defends senior girls 'AA' hoops title

Orléans native Blondin wins gold at opening Wold Cup speedskating event

Bantam Panthers capture NCAFA A-Cup championship

 
Local business

  Opinion

 


MAKER FEED CO. Cumberland Village restaurant unveils new fall menu

 

SANTÉ CHIROPRACTIC & WELLNESS CENTRE: Where healthy people go

 

180-FITNESS CENTRE: Home of the Biggest Loser

 

 

 


VIEWPOINT: Independent community papers still alive and well

 


Vanxiety_life #9: Vanlifers decide to spend a few months close to home

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745 Farmbrook Cres.
Orléans, Ontario K4A 2C1
Phone: 613-447-2829
E-mail: info@orleansstar.ca

 

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