People and cars are running smoothly again today in the Glebe community.
The section of Bank Street opened yesterday for the first time since construction blocked off traffic in late May.
After rerouting traffic and bus routes through small community streets in the Glebe, drivers and bus riders are both saying they are happy things are back to normal.
And for businesses in Bank, they are breathing a sigh of relief that customers are drifting back to their stores.
Jordan is the assistant manager at PomPom clothing boutique in the Glebe. She says in the beginning people were supportive but once they street became dirty and dusty from the construction, they stopped coming.
“Business definitely started to die down, but now that the street is finished and everything is nice and clean, everyone is really curious to come out and see what it looks like,” she says, “I definitely think business has picked up a little bit and will pick up a lot more in the future.”
But not everyone is quite as relieved. Some residents of the Glebe say they enjoyed the peace that settled on the usually busy bank street.
“We loved it being closed because you could just walk freely and even in the evening, walking just felt so unique on such a busy street,” says Claudia Vanwick, a resident of the Glebe. “But of course it is much better now that it is open and life is a little bit back to normal.”
Vanwick says she is excited to see the street decorated for Christmas.
And this Christmas season will be business as usual for the Glebe but the traffic flow will only last so long. The next section of the Bank construction is set to begin this upcoming spring.
This story was reported for Midweek on CKCU 93.1, broadcast noon Wednesday, November 16. http://www4.carleton.ca/jmc/midweek/
The department of Veterans Affairs has a new funding request coming at them this year, but it is not the usual request – these guys are barking.
Local members of the project Courageous Companions brought their service dogs with them to appeal for funding last week.
They are asking the government to help pay for canine rehabilitation for veterans.
Courageous Companions was a six month pilot project training canines to assist Canadian veterans with disabilities. Similar to a guide dog program, the service dogs are trained specificly for each veterans needs.
Jessica O’Neill is one of the programs creators. She says it can cost between 25,000 and 40,000 dollars to train one service dog.
Once the pilot project’s limited government funding ran out early last year, the program continued with support from the veterans themselves, as well as the volunteer’s personal pockets.
“It’s been a really big struggle to maintain the program,” says O’Neill, “but everyone who has participated in this, volunteers and members alike, will explain to you the unbelievable benefits.”
O’Neill explains that canine rehabilitation is accepted alternative treatment in the United States. Courageous Companions was actually modelled after an American program.
Patriot PAWS is just one of the many American programs. Run by Lori Stevens, Patriot PAWS has been operating for five years.
Stevens says that a service dog can make a world of a difference to a veteran.
“It lets them still feel like a man or a woman that use to defend our country for us and use to take care of others. It is really hard for them to ask for help.”
She says the dogs can be trained to remind a veteran to eat or to drop down and pick up something if the veteran is not able to reach it.
In one case, Stevens said the service dog was able to encourage a veteran to leave a situation where his Post Traumatic Stress was very high.
It is because of these anecdotal stories about canine rehabilitation that NDP MP and Veteran Affairs Critic Peter Stoffer says the government should be funding programs like Courageous Companions.
He says the funding is already there. “If you can afford to buy pharmaceuticals for a veteran in order to ease their psychological problems then you can easily afford to look at an alternative instead of drugs to help a veteran.”
Stoffer says he will be supporting a coordinated effort to appeal for government funding for Courageous Companions.
The Umbrella Organisation that represents Courageous Companions is the Canadian Foundation for Animal Support Services.
Joanne Moss heads the organisation. She says funding can be possible through donation. Moss says the latest initiative of the organisation is to set up the Lewis Mackenzie Fund.
The project’s patron is retired Major General Lewis Mackenzie, a Canadian who commanded the UN protection force in former Yugoslavia.
Moss explains, “he has very willingly come on board and recognizes the need for services to help, as he calls it, his soldiers.”
By donation or by government funding, O’Neill stresses the importance of keeping this program alive so that Courageous Companions can continue training service dogs for veterans.
“The biggest point is that even if they save just one life, it is worth it.”
Wander Woman 