Rain, rain, go away!

Our Spring Clean up Day this morning is officially POSTPONED! Due to the heavy rains that show no sign of stoping, we will be postponing our efforts to Monday, April 18th from 6:30-8:30 p.m. If you are still interested please leave a comment on the blog so I know how many to expect for Monday evening. I apologize for any inconvenience they may cause.

Have a good rainy day and we'll see you Monday.

Pitch-in Day Rain Plan

I have had questions about what we will do if it rains on Saturday. If it is slightly raining we will be continuing with our plan to do our community clean-up- come dressed for the weather. If it is absolutely pouring we will reschedule our clean-up day for Monday evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. I will post only if it is cancelled. Let's pray for sun!

See you on Saturday.

Pitch-in Day

April 16th, we will be having a community clean-up day. Our efforts will be a part of the City wide "Pitch-in Day" where community members across St. Catharines will be doing their part to clean up the City.
We will be focusing our energy around the St. Catharines Train Station and neighbourhood. Due to our Train Station Revitalization initiatives we thought this would be an appropriate place to start. If you are interested in joining us please contact us so that we can have enough supplies for the group.

Meet at the station at 10 a.m. to get your bags and gloves. Clean up will be from 10-12 p.m.

Ridley Partnership Formed!

We have exciting news to share: Ridley College has agreed to give us land for the community garden! Our hope was to start a community garden in the back field behind the station and it is now happening. Thanks to Jim Blundell and Robin Guard, the partnership has been formed and we hope to get our shovels in the dirt as soon as the ground thaws.

The community garden will promote community gardens, community pride and community partnerships.

Thank you to Ridley College for your community involvement and partnership.

May the Fervor Live On

This afternoon I was given some tragic news that one of the members of our residence group has passed away.

I met Richard Kirton, Rick, and his wife Angela back in September at the first public meeting that was held at Club Roma. When I opened the floor for discussion, Rick was one of the first to jump up and to share his ideas about what needed to change in Western Hill. His comments were not ones of blame or complaint but instead of constructive criticism and active suggestions of ways to bring prosperity into his community. He was passionate to see change come to Western Hill and it was obvious that he would do everything he could to see that change come to pass.

At the second meeting at WestPark Richard was present again with Angela. Again, Rick was full of optimism and passion and was an active member of the discussion. At that meeting Rick made his commitments clear by joining a residents group dedicated to seeing revitalization come to the St. Catharines Train Station.

At the first residents meeting, Richard had a keen interest in the mural project on the front of the station. He wanted to demonstrate the good in the Western Hill community and bring to light the significance of the station and the uniqueness of his community. Rick was interested in seeing significant change come to Western Hill and was excited to be a part of the action. Rick had a fervor that was contagious.

With Rick's passing, I am reminded of the fragility of life and the quickness of time. My encounters with Rick were few but his impact was lasting. Rick showed me that Western Hill was a community worth fighting for; Western Hill was a community worth investing in; and Western Hill was a community with enthusiasm and zeal. I will never forget Rick's passion for his community and I hope that as a group we can carry that passion forward. I pray that Rick's vision for the future would be realized among us and that we can partner with Rick to see revitalization come to Western Hill.

Thank you Rick for giving us hope for the future and may your fervor live on among us.

Train Station Project in the Works

Check out the newest post on the Train Station blog.

Train Station Revitalization Meeting

Thank you to the 30 residents who attended last night's meeting at West Park School. Special thanks to Mayor McMullan, Paul Chapman, and Don Rickers for coming and sharing their perspectives and thoughts. It was a great meeting where we were able to discuss the future plans for the St. Catharines Train Station. Please read through the meeting minutes for all the comments and suggestions that were made.
The next step is to meet with the community planning committee to see where to go next. At last night's meeting a few suggestions were made for the fist steps to revitalizing the station. The following suggestions are ideas of projects that could be started now.
- A mural spanning the length of the building welcoming visitors to St. Catharines and more specifically to Western Hill
- A garden going across the length of the station platform. This project has been started but needs a lot more work
- A community garden in the field behind the station
- Putting play equipment into Cameron's Park and fixing up this space to make it more attractive for families to come and play
- Community clean up day for the rail road tracks
What are your thoughts? Are you interested in joining the planning committee? What change would you like to see at the train station? Leave a comment to continue the discussion.