Last January 13, at a breakfast meeting held at Carleton Heritage Inn, Ontario Provincial Police Inspector Ray Westgarth, Carleton Place’s top cop, requested that the town’s parents be more involved in rearing their children.

The meeting which dealt with topics such as vandalism, theft, child luring, was a joint convention conducted by the BIA and the Chamber of Commerce. Westgarth and Police Service Board members together with Mayor Paul Dulmage were guest speakers of the event.

In his presentation, Westgarth said that most of the parents in Carleton Place fail to fulfill their duties as parents. Furthermore, he said that he would be happy, but candid, when it comes to answering questions from attendants — which included the town’s business community.

The Inspector brought up the topic about parenting on several occasions. According to him, his officers had to deal with a lot of calls from parents who can’t control their children. He claimed that on some occasions, his officers had to act as the parents because the real parents fail to be more assertive. They preferred to be more of the child’s friend instead of being his or her guardian.

In the topic of child luring, Westgarth said that computers shouldn’t be placed on the youngsters’ bedroom. He said that parents who let their children have computers in the bedroom are not acting as real parents.

Westgarth also talked about his concerns about local school drugs and bullying. He said that the schools may have zero tolerance for bullying, but outside school premises, they don’t have much control.

The municipality of Carleton Place continues to serve the needs of its residents by keeping them in contact with important public information. The following public announcements were recently made in Carleton Place:

The dog tags for this year are now up for grabs. It has long been mandated that every dog in Carleton Place must have a license tag; therefore, it is vital that every dog owner must secure one. The residents can get the dog tags at the Town Hall situated at 175 Bridge Street during office hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.

Fees will be collected depending whether the dogs are neutered or not. There will also be a charge for aggressive dogs. However, owners with guide dogs can acquire the tags free of charge.

Payments beyond office hours can be given through the Ontario Provincial Police. The police detachment is situated at 15 Coleman Street. The tags shall be delivered by mail.

Furthermore, overnight parking is now prohibited until the 1st of April. Parking is now restricted throughout the Town of Carleton Place from midnight until 7 in the morning.

And finally, in the Town Hall Chambers, council meetings shall be conducted at 7 pm every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month. The next scheduled meeting will be on January 26.