In an effort to raise funds for the Carleton Place Minor Hockey Association and the town’s girls’ hockey program, a fundraising dance will be held at the Carleton Place community centre hall on the 2^nd of October, Saturday.

Bob White, a long-time member of the Carleton Place Parks and Recreation staff, is the man behind the evening event, dubbed ‘The Good Ole Hockey Kick-off Dance.’ White usually spends the last few months of the year working in Carleton Place’s arena complex, but this year, he chose to work on something more special—lending a helping hand to the town’s amateur athletes.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time White has helped put together a dance such as this. While working on behalf of the Carleton Place Arena Staff Association, White has helped to enhance Arena 2 by organizing concerts and other parties, as well as by assisting with repairs and other additions to the community centre.

This time, his latest venture isn’t connected to the staff association. Instead, White simply wants to help young hockey players as well as minor hockey organizations. With hockey season about to start, he believes now is the perfect time to hold an event and raise money for the sport.

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.

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 Business Improvement Association Board (BIA) of Carleton Place will have its annual General meeting this Thursday, January 28, 2010. Every business owner and estate owner in town is encouraged to join the activity. The meeting will be held at the Carleton Heritage Inn situated at Bridge Street. Registration will start at 6 pm.

After the dinner, which will start at 6:30 pm and will cost $10 for each BIA member, the association’s proposed budget for the year 2010 shall be presented to its members for their approval.

The Business Improvement Association stresses that those who are planning to attend the meeting should make their reservations for the dinner and pay for the fees in advanced. Guests were encouraged to RSVP before last Friday, January 21.

Guests who paid for the dinner can come and win two sets of tickets for Ottawa Senators Hockey games. These tickets are sponsored by The Record News EMC and Tomahawk Technologies.

For those non-members who want to attend the meeting, the dinner will cost $25.

The Business Improvement Association of Carleton Place started in 1979. Carelton Place’s business community appealed that the downtown area be made an improvement area by the use of provincial legislations and municipal bylaws. Thus, the BIA was organized.

For the residents of Carleton Place and Mississippi Mills, if you are 55 years or older and want to participate in the upcoming Senior Winter Games, all you have to do is to pick up a booklet and fill-out the registration form included. This booklet can be acquired at the Pakenham Curling Club, Pakenham Arena, or from Freda Somerton.

Carleton Place residents can also acquire registration forms at Branch 192 of the Royal Canadian Legion, Carleton Place Arena, Carleton Place Curling Club, or from Doug Smith.

Curling bonspiel, Bridge, and Euchre tournaments are still open for whomsoever is interested to participate in them. Competitors are still needed and registrations are still on going for the said events.

The preparatory games will start on January 23 with Duplicate Bridge, followed by Curling on January 27, followed by the 6-hand bid Euchre on January 29, and will be concluded in Febuary 9 with a 6-hand Euchre. These games will serve as preparation for the Ontario Senior Games on 2011 which will be held in Haliburton County.

It should be noted that the Euchre games are unsanctioned. This year, there will also be Hockey and 10-pin bowling teams who will participate in their respective games.

Unless an additional fee is indicated, the residents will only be charged $12 as registration for the games.

December 1, 2009 — Carleton Place’s budget for the incoming year was presented during a meeting at the town hall. Carleton Place’s total projected expenditure for the year 2010 is estimated to be 31.7 million dollars, that is, capital and major spending included. The majority of the projected expenditure will go to environmental and transportation services.

The projected 31.7 million dollars had taxation and government grants, both provincial and federal, as major revenue sources. For the last couple of weeks, it has been known that payers here will face a 2.64 percent increase in their property taxes for the year 2010. A breakdown of all the details and other aspects about the budget was also revealed with 46.5 percent of the apportionment of the total tax dollars going towards the town.

In spite of the efforts of the Carleton Place Town Council to publicly present their financial data, and the fact that majority of the average taxpayer’s money goes to municipalities, the budget presentation didn’t elicit any significant public response; which seems a bit surprising in a town where there is so much local political discussions taking place.

Budget statements can by obtained by the public at the local Town Hall. This is the first time ever that the mayor and individual Councillors can be seen and/or heard giving comments regarding a town budget.