Lachute, QC

Grenville Mayor Ronald Tittlit has returned uncontested as Argenteuil's warden and Gore Mayor Scott Pearce secured a majority vote to return as deputy warden for another two years.

Tittlit has been mayor of Grenville since he was first elected in 1994. Prior to that, he was a member of council between 1987 and 1993.

Taxes across the region have been increasing steadily over the last five years and 2012 will be no exception.

In Lachute, the city is preparing for what Mayor Daniel Mayer described during the December 12 council meeting as a "moderate 4.2-per-cent average increase" in taxes.

He said it will help offset higher wages, cost-of-living increases and a $261,000 increase in the Rénovation Quebec program, which together represent an additional $837,900 within a total annual budget of $20.9 million.

After spending the last 25 years of his career as a police officer who dedicated himself to solving homicide cases, battling the Hells Angels biker gangs and taking on organized crime in British Columbia, Lachute native Robert Paulson began a new job on Monday.

Paulson became the boss of Canada's national police force and officially assumed the title of Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

In 1986, Rick Hansen inspired millions of people around the world when he began his Man in Motion World Tour, advocating accessibility for people with limited mobility and spearheading a crusade to find a cure for spinal cord injuries.

It was amidst great pomp and ceremony that veterans from across the region and soldiers from around the world traveled to Lachute on Saturday, September 10 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Lachute Legion and to share battle stories and tales of triumph and sorrow.

The piteous wail of hundreds of barking and crying dogs drowned out the noise of passing cars on Wednesday, September 21, as representatives from the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture and various animal-rights organizations gathered at a formerly vacant Ministry of Transport garage in Lachute.

The parties were there to discuss the seizure of more than 500 dogs, followed what is considered to be the largest puppy-mill bust in Canadian history.

More than 2,500 students were evacuated from Polyvalente Lavigne Secondary School on Wednesday, September 21 as nearly 100 firefighters battled a blaze that began in a rooftop ventilation unit.

According to Lachute Fire Chief Pierre Morand, the blaze was first reported at 10:25 a.m. after a construction crew working on the ventilation unit accidentally sparked a fire while welding.

The workers attempted to put out the fire, though it spread quickly along the roof located above the school's library. Fire alarms inside the school did not sound immediately, however, as the smoke and fire were located outside of the building.

Recovering from a stroke, orthopedic injury or serious degenerative disease such as multiple sclerosis is a long and complicated process that involves extensive therapy and hard work.

Complicating matters for Laurentian residents is the distance it takes to reach specialized services that are normally located in large cities like Montreal or Ottawa. Soon, however, they will soon be available in Lachute.

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.