(Reposted for the Anmore Youth Group)

Christmas is coming! 35 days and counting! Christmas may seem far enough away that you can put it on the back burner.  But now, even in November, it’s a great time of year to think of others less fortunate than ourselves who may not have much at Christmas.  There are many living in the Lower Mainland who would go hungry without food banks. Food banks help to fill their cupboards, their stomachs, and bolster their spirits.

The Port Moody SHARE Food Bank hopes to fill food hampers for 1800 families this year.  You can help by donating non-perishable food items, or by cash donations. On 20 November,  the Anmore Youth Group in Action will be coming to our doors to collect  for the Food Bank Drive. Place food items in bags outside your door, marked “Anmore Youth Group Food Drive.”

SHARE Food Bank has a list of items they most need to fill their Christmas hampers, along with special items like canned cranberries, canned ham, stuffing mix and candies and chocolates. Here is the list: SHARE FOOD DRIVE – Food Items Most Needed So on your next visit to the grocery store, why not pick up some items for the Food Bank Drive…and know that your donation of non-perishable foods will make a difference to someone in need. It’s a great way to feel good at Christmas, and a great way to feel good now.

Mark your calendars for Sunday 20 November.
The Food Bank Drive is from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm

Please place food items in bags outside your door,
marked “Anmore Youth Group Food Drive.”

If you were unable to attend the All Candidates Meeting on November 3rd, the Anmore Times has posted all of the video on their web site at www.AnmoreTimes.com .  It is in 8 parts and takes a few hours to go through. 

Some of you have asked me asked me about Councillor Sedergreen's rather colourful question to me about development permit areas.  It is posted below.

Enjoy!

UPDATE:  Over 200 people voted in our Anmore Advance Voting Day!   Next voting day is Saturday, November 19th at the Village Hall from 8 am - 8 pm

ADVANCE VOTING DAY IS TODAY. Please take the time to head to the polls and cast your vote. The Anmore Village Hall (on Sunnyside) is open from 8 am - 8 pm today and all residents can vote. 

All you need to vote is a valid piece of ID with your address on it. Non-resident property owners can also vote with their property tax information.

If you are from another municipality and want voting information, please visit your local municipal web site for voting places. The next voting day will be Saturday, November 19th, so save your weekend and get out and vote today!!

Some of you weren't able to make it to the 2011 Anmore All Candidates Meeting last Thursday.  It was a big event for Anmore, with over 200 people in attendance and a lot of great questions from residents.  Most of the questions were about cooperation on council, moving forward (development, financial planning, infrastructure replacement) and communication to residents.

We had 2 minutes to introduce ourselves and deliver a message on why we are running for council.  Here is a copy of my speech:

ALL CANDIDATES MEETING SPEECH (2 minutes)
Good evening, my name is Tracy Green and I am a council candidate for the Village of Anmore. It’s wonderful to be here this evening and to see so many Anmore residents come out and actively participate in our local election.

I have been very involved in the community of Anmore in the 8 years that I have lived here.  As a volunteer I have participated on many Village of Anmore committees and with local community groups and believe strongly that this type of participation helps build a healthy, strong and more vibrant community.

I am asking for your support on November 19th so that I can work with residents and council to move forward in a positive and collaborative manner, and make decisions our community can be proud of.

There are several things I would like to accomplish, with your help and input, while on Council.

1)      The first is to reaffirm the Village of Anmore’s commitment to community.  I would like to see our council working with residents to identify short and long term goals for health, recreation, arts and events and to continue to support local community initiatives. 

2)      I will continue to support Council’s current work on fiscal management and long term planning.  This includes identifying service priorities through public consultation and working on a collective plan that matches the size and character of our semi-rural community.  Using open communication to define our community needs, we can develop a responsible budget that achieves our residents’ dual goals of service provision and reasonable tax rates. 

3)      Over the next year, the Village of Anmore will be updating their Official Community Plan (OCP).  This review needs to focus on acquiring extensive community input about the type of developments we want to take place in our community so we can create a plan we as residents are all proud of.   I want to work with our residents and village committees to develop specific neighbourhood plans that provide a clear vision for future land use and development, maintains our semi-rural lifestyle, addresses environmental issues, protects our green spaces, and creates parklands.

Anmore needs a strong council representative that will listen to Anmore residents and help to clearly define municipal priorities and goals based on public consultation and ongoing community conversations.  My promise is to listen to Anmore residents and bring forward your concerns in a cooperative and responsible manner on council. 

I look forward to all of your questions and comments.

The BC government recently announced a $30 million Community Recreation Grant Program developed to addresss the unique challenges faced by communities in the Province with respect to meeting their recreational infrastructure needs.

The concept of the program is to invest in local government capital projects that make communities healthier, more active places in which to live.  Grant programs like this are an important funding source that can assist our Village in improving our infrastructure and the overall livability of our community.  

In Anmore, we have some amazing outdoor opportunities for recreation, but some of the infrastructure needed to enhance those opportunities or provide more universal access are just not there yet.  After years of planning, we now have a tennis court located at Anmore Elementary School and have recently installed play equipment in our local Anmore Spirit Park.  Both of these items are infrastructure improvements that benefit residents and encourage us to live healthier more active lives.  We've also had community discussions about a proposed community hall, volleyball courts, and current and future joint use agreements between Anmore and School District 43.  These are all projects that deserve consideration and discussion by our community and might be appropriate projects to seek grant funding for.

Another area that I think needs to be addressed is our community trail network.  How easy it is to travel around a community, is an important factor to consider when discussing community livability... Most of Anmore's current pathways that stretch the length of Sunnyside and East Road were build through volunteer efforts and they have been a wonderful addition to our community.  I would like to see more pathway projects like this in Anmore and community consultation on how we want our pathways and trail networks to develop over the coming years.  In particular I think that our community should look at how we can link neighbourhoods through trail networks that encourage walking and cycling within our Village. 

Whistler is a great example of how long term planning can help develop a successful trail network.  Over 20 years ago a few volunteers started planning how they wanted Whistler connected and in 2011 you can take pedestrian and bike pathways throughout the entire valley area to almost every neighbourhood and recreational area in Whistler. 

How can we apply this model to Anmore.. well we certainly won't have the tourism dollars to contribute to a trail network, but we definitely can apply the idea of long term planning. Anmore has clearly laid out their road networks in our Official Community Plan, but there is little mention of pathway planning. I would like our OCP to clearly outline how we want our current and future community linked for pedestrian and bike traffic within Anmore and to the surrounding communities.  Trail networks and access to both bike and walking paths should be a part of our Official Community plan, just like roadway planning is included in any municipal OCP.  

Outlining a pathways plan in our OCP based on community consultation and thorough input from residents will help us identify funding sources, guide development and provide our municipality with the tools to move forward with a long term plan.

What are your thoughts on pedestrian and bike pathways in Anmore? 

At 10:20 am on October 20th, get ready to Drop! Cover! and Hold On! as part of The Great British Columbia Shakeout!  This is your chance to practice for the real thing, so find a safe place, drop, get cover and hold on!  Drill starts at 10:20!

**Our Village Hall is the central point for an emergency such as a large scale earthquake.  Many assume it would be the elementary school, but that is not correct.  Be sure to discuss your emergency safety plan with your family and get everyone on the same page.

Support your community this weekend, there are 2 very important events going on this Saturday!

The Scouts community bottle drive is the primary funding source for the many activities of the Anmore Cubs and Scouts. The teens and pre-teens in the Youth Group help out with community events like the Easter Egg hunt, the Ma Murray Day celebration and the Canada Day picnic and party. Get behind our kids and clean out your garage and attic at the same time. Go Kids Go!


ANMORE YOUTH IN ACTION CLOTHING DRIVE:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15th, 2011 (12 PM)
This weekend the Anmore Youth in Action will be collecting for their ANNUAL CLOTHING DRIVE.  Place your gently used clothing and household items curbside by 12 NOON on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15th in clearly marked bags or boxes.  

The Youth Group members will be by to pick them up from outside your house.  If you would like to drop them off at the Village, you can do so on Saturday.   If there are large items for the Youth group, call Candice Davidson: 604 469 8601 or Eny Hoffer at: 604 469 9392 to arrange for pick-up.

1ST ANMORE SCOUTS BOTTLE DRIVE:
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15th, 2011 (10 AM)

Anmore Scouts will be collecting bottles from 10:00 am onwards.  Please place all bottles (beer, wine, pop, etc) curbside by 10 AM for the Scouts to collect. These community bottle drives are the primary funding source for the many activities of the Anmore Cubs and Scouts and they really appreciate your support!

We had our 2nd Annual Terry Fox Run in Anmore on September 18th, but  this past Wednesday . Sept 28th, it was the students of Anmore Elementary that went out to support the Terry Fox Foundation with a run around Anmore Elementary school yard.  

Seeing a sea of kids running in support of such a great cause is really heart warming.  I volunteered to hand out stickers to my son's class and it was great seeing all those happy faces reach the finish line, with a message that they could run to make a difference.

Anmore Elementary has been in our community since before we were an official municipality and it really is the heart of the area for so many young families.

Anmore Elementary is one of only a few schools in the Tri-Cities that has a full community use agreement with the municipality.  For those that don't know, the gym, multi-purpose room and library area is available for community activities from 4 pm - 10 pm from M-F.  A calendar of activities is now available on the Village of Anmore web site HERE.  

We had our annual Terry Fox Run in Anmore on September 18th, but today, it's the students of Anmore Elementary that went out to support the Terry Fox Foundation with a run around Anmore Elementary school yard. 

Seeing a sea of kids running in support of such a great cause is really heart warming.  I volunteered to hand out stickers to my son's class and it was great seeing all those happy faces reach the finish line, with a message that they could run to fight cancer.