Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, QC

While Grenville-sur-la-Rouge taxpayers can breathe a sigh of relief following council's approval of the 2012 budget last Tuesday, January 10, the debate surrounding its passing indicates that council continues to be plagued by a vicious split.

As during a special meeting held last month, Mayor John Saywell again complained of being undermined at finance committee meetings, saying he had proposals to make that were not being considered.

A decades-old saga regarding the management of Harrington Road between Grenville-sur-la-Rouge and Harrington Township might be coming to its conclusion in the near future.

Grenville-sur-la-Rouge Mayor John Saywell says his municipality will try to alleviate some of its northern neighbour's concerns about heavy truck traffic on Harrington Road in the coming year.

The remuneration for Grenville-sur-la-Rouge council members in 2012 and their seats on various municipal committees was decided on Monday, December 12.

Mayor John Saywell will receive $11,373 in salary and an additional $5,695 in allocated expenses. The salary has decreased about 35 per cent from last year, down from $17,379.18, while the expenses have increased by 77 per cent, up from $3,208.80.

Saywell said the adjustments are to bring the salary in line with provincial law.

The Campbell Community Centre in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge will remain closed through the Christmas holidays an oil leak in the basement of the building on Monday, November 28.

According to library committee president Suzanne Champagne, extensive damages occurred after the oil tank in the furnace room leaked oil throughout the basement of the building, which houses a library and community centre.

Decontamination crews will be spending the next few weeks tearing out the floors, sub-floors and cement foundation, before pouring a new foundation and laying new floors.

According to many local residents, the sight of dogs and packs of pups wandering along county roads is becoming a more common one with every passing week.

Several readers have recently contacted The Review with stories of stray dogs found on back roads in both Prescott-Russell and Argenteuil, with most noting the sightings are becoming are recurring thing.

Hawkesbury resident Sheila Elliott said that while returning home from Pointe-Fortune two weeks ago, she spotted three black puppies on the inter-provincial road between the town and the highway.

The first edition of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge's family festival is set to take place next Saturday, August 13 and Sunday, August 14 at the Centre Paul Bougie and the municipal park in Calumet.

The public is invited to gather in the park as of noon on Saturday, as the festival's inauguration is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. At the same time, the municipality will officially unveil some playground equipment recently installed in the park.

Two bodies were pulled from the Ottawa River last week in two separate incidents, with one being ruled a suicide and the other still in the early stages of identifying the body.

The first incident occurred on Tuesday, July 19, when the Hawkesbury detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) was called to the Long-Sault Bridge at 10:41 p.m.

"Somebody saw someone climbing the side of the bridge, either the wall or the fencing, and turned around to go and see," said Const. Pierre Dubois, noting the person allegedly appeared depressed or distressed.

After five years of construction, decades of promises and $145 million in infrastructure investments, the Quebec government is gearing up to open the 17-kilometre stretch of Highway 50 between Grenville and Fassett.

According to Melanie Cayer, press secretary for MNA d'Argenteuil David Whissell, the next phase of the Highway 50 is proceeding ahead of schedule.

After an outpouring of complaints about this year's tax rate increase in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, the municipal council has decided there is little to be done at the current time to alleviate the financial burden for its residents.

Mayor John Saywell raised the issue at last month's council meeting, saying council members had recently discussed methods of adjusting the tax rate for certain residents: seniors, residents on fixed incomes, low-income earners, and long-time homeowners with no interest in upgrading their homes.