FEBRUARY 2019 A Voice of Riverview Park MARCH 2019 Kris Nanda pinned with honour he Riverview Park Review welcomes ageless regular columns in this newspaper keep- the news that former Riverview Park ing readers well informed on local planning and Community Association (RPCA) Pres- development and urging much more than the identT Kris Nanda has received his prestigious close-to-his-heart way in which the city can re- heritage award. duce reliance on cars by promoting better tran- On behalf of David McGuinty, MP for Ot- sit and cycling access at all times of the year. tawa South, Kris's RPCA successor President The background to this story is that our MP, Bryan Orendorff presented Kris with a small having received 20 Sesquicentennial pins for piece of Canadian history in the shape of the riding distribution to worthy citizens, asked 150 Sesquicentennial Pin made of original cop- Mr. Orendorff for guidance on who should re- per that covered the roofs of Canada's parlia- ceive them. mentary building from 1919 to 1996. Natural Easy to pin down for Kris was one of four weathering and imperfections are authentic themes to draw inspiration from: Promotion markings that contribute to the pin's heritage of a diverse and inclusive Canada; support- value. ing efforts towards national reconciliation of For his exceptional commitment to environmen- Kris received the award for “reaffirming the indigenious and non-indigenous Canadians; tal stewardship, Kris Nanda (L) received one of importance of strong environmental steward- reafirming the importance of strong environ- the special 150 Sesquicentennial Pins. On hand ship, not just in Riverview Park, but across Ot- mental stewardship; and engaging and inspir- to present this award was Riverview Park Com- tawa.” ing youth. munity Association President, Bryan Orendorff, Indeed, environmental sustainability is at the The choice of Kris Nanda for environmental on behalf of Mr. David McGuinty, Member of Par- forefront of Kris's mind as seen in his ongoing stewardship was an excellent selection. liament for Ottawa South. PHOTO: DIANNE HODDINOTT by Geoff Radnor enue they are used in conjunction n the City of Ottawa Calming down the traffic with side delineators web site there is a 134 Were there night-time vigilantes page draft guide to Traf- doing their dirty work by unscrew- Ofic Calming. In the introduction it ing the Flexies and putting them describes “traffic calming” as de- out with the garbage so that the signed at “improving the quality city could have them back? The of life” and “a tool to improve the smallest of these little stakes are public realm...and helping create a worth over $210 each, the big ones better sense of place”. in the middle must be twice that. These words did not enter my Our councillor, Jean Cloutier, has head when I was driving along a budget of $40,000 annually to Coronation Avenue one day last spend on anything to do with traffic year and saw all the new obstacles calming. It may increase this year. screwed to the road surface. HELP! “The locations of Temporary There is a bus heading towards me Traffic Calming measures are always and I am passing a parked truck. chosen based on resident input and The bus driver avoided a collision feedback. Every single measure you with me by driving over one of the see around Alta Vista started with new obstacles. You are a law abiding citizen. PHOTO: GEOFF RADNOR a request or a concern from a resi- The names of these new things dent,” our Councillor Cloutier notes are Centre line Flex Stakes. This these, in the few months that they er large vehicles. Centre line flex in Cloutier’s Corner. (January 11 & was not the only time a bus had were in use, had born the marks of stakes are to make the roadway ap- January 18, 2019) driven over a Flex Stake. Many of such contact with buses and oth- pear narrower. On Coronation Av- CONTINUED ON PAGE 12 Custom Jewellery Visit us for Unique Creations Design and Beautiful Pieces! 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PHOTOS: CAROLE MOULT gold frame for a client. glass. 40%off Custom Frame Mouldings Offer expires March 31, 2019 Ottawa’s premier custom framers for: • Paintings and pastels • Needlework • Family heirlooms • Sports jerseys • Photographs WALL SPACE FRAMING Love your WALL Ottawa Train Yards 505 Industrial Ave Love your SPACE (behind Bouclair) [email protected] Love your FRAMES 613.834.0872 WALLSPACEFRAMING.CA Love your ART FEBRUARY-MARCH 2019 www.RiverviewParkReview.ca Page 3 INTERESTING CANADIANS Helen Bouzek – a life well lived by Bruce Ricketts ack in 2014, I wrote a story for this paper about Joe Bou- zek and his war-time Black BOps project, Buzz-Bombing of the Peace Tower. I mentioned, at that time, that Joe’s wife, Helen, was an interesting character on her own. Born in Bateman, Saskatchewan, a village of about 300 people at its peak, Helen Bedford was a one- year-old when the First World War ended. She lived a normal life in a small town; went to school from kindergarten to grade 11 at the same small local school; played in the wheat fields around the town; and longed to get out of Bateman to see the world. She endured the dust bowl drought of 1929 and the depths of the depression from A young Helen Bedford at 6 years 1929-39. But Helen was a resilient Helen and Joe Bouzek around the year 2000. old. SUBMITTED BY BRUCE RICKETTS person. When she put her mind to improvement… improvement be- until her death in 2010. that paid half of the woman’s pen- came her middle name. In September of 1945, Helen sion to a legal spouse, following her Following graduation in 1933, Bedford married Sgt. Joe Bouzek death… a feature that did not exist Helen went to work in the Bateman of Stewart BC. After the war, Joe previously. Post Office. In 1937 she travelled set up a radio repair company and After an interesting career of to Saskatoon to take a secretarial Helen kept his books. public service, Helen retired in course and then back to Bateman In 1951, Helen and Joe expand- 1978. She lived out her days, with where she completed her grade 12. ed their family with the arrival of husband Joe, travelling across Can- Her life centred around her job growing group of Canadians. She their son, Donald. ada in a camper van, playing cards at the Bateman post office until ultimately headed the team that In 1957, Helen returned to the and tending her flower and vegeta- 1939… the year the Second World implemented the new allowance federal public service with a po- ble gardens. War was declared. program and ran it until 1945. sition at Statistics Canada. Her Helen once told me that she lived Helen may not have been free to Being brought up during the de- experience with Dependent Allow- her life according to what her father see the world, but she enjoyed re- pression years, Helen was under- ances proved valuable. At the time taught her. “Have a sense of com- locating to Ottawa… and relished standably cautious with her mon- she was hired as a Clerk 1 married munity, a desire for knowledge and her new challenges. She moved ey. By 1942 she had accumulated women would not be promoted be- an appreciation for basic values.” into a small apartment with three enough to purchase, with her older yond a Clerk IV level. Incensed at Both Helen and Joe died in Otta- other women and began a new job sister, a home in the McKellar Park this inequity, she became active in wa. Their ashes were spread at the at the Defense Department. As (Westboro) area of Ottawa. The the Union, working as secretary to base of a massive tree that graced the war progressed a new class of house she purchased had a histo- Al Papineau, who was its President. their front yard. The house and citizen was being created in large ry in itself. Not many know that By 1977, Helen had received seven the tree are long gone now, but the numbers… widows and orphans. McKellar Park was formerly called promotions and became head of a memory of Helen and Joe lives on. Helen, by now experienced in De- McKellar Park Golf Course. The pensions unit with a title of Super- Bruce Ricketts is a historian, re- pendent Allowances, was made house Helen had purchased was visor. In this role she was instru- searcher, and author. Readers are part of a task force to create al- the former home of the Green- mental in changing the civil service invited to suggest topics for his lowance programs for the new and skeeper. She resided in this home pension plan to include a feature column at: [email protected] Sunday, February 10th 2 to 4 P.M.