Mixed reviews for Torbay's new online camp registration but a move in the right direction

This morning the online registration took place for the Torbay summer camps. I asked residents who used the system to get their impressions and the reaction has been mixed.

Here are some examples of what they said.

LMAO!! Not good for me...It took over an hour to figure everything out and the cart to pay never worked(for many people according to the council).....so some of us have to go over with our payments.

Same for me too!! Got through everything and couldnt pay. I am still not sure if we got registered or not.

Uncertain Craig also. The registration part went fine but the payment part I'm very uncertain about because once you click on your banking link and pay there is no confirmation what so ever, so I logged out and logged back in and when I checked the weeks that were listed my boys names were showing so I assume that they are registered but still I am very puzzled about the payment and whether or not they know that the payment has gone through or not.

Payment was a huge problem!!! I ended up going over to the council office but at least we got registered!!!

Craig, I used it this morning, found it very user friendly however...once I got the end and reviewed my shopping cart, It was basically stuck. Tried to go back and edit or do it again and it was closed.I did speak with Allison Power at the town office and she said this was a common problem this morning...I was reassured by Allison that once I paid online through my financial institution, the slots that I had initially booked would be honored. I did pay for the first 4 weeks so now the waiting game begins...Outside of this little episode, I think it is a great interactive way to keep track of registrations, events, etc...within the town.

I did it too Craig , was slow at times,got the sessions I wanted and a couple by mistake and too couldn't edit but paid for the first 4 weeks and paid online.Payment went ahead smooth. I was talking to staff and they said they would straighten it out. I know of someone whose computer froze trying to do this.

So it appears that over all the system is a good one but may have a few kinks to work out. The overriding complaint seemed to be with the payment system that gave users issues.

I followed up with the town to get their impression on the process and CAO Dawn Chaplin informed me that in her opinion the online registration went quite well. As of Sunday around 100 residents had set up their profiles for e-services as per the instructions that had been posted online. On Monday the Recreation portal was activated and parents could log on and create profiles for their children, step by step instructions were provided to walk people through this process which some residents confirmed to me was quite easy.

The highest amount of traffic on the system was in the first 20 minutes after registration opened. Staff were available to provide assistance and troubleshoot issues with residents this morning and have been doing so for the last 10 days or so.

It was confirmed that there were issues with the shopping cart but all payments were reconfirmed and residents will receive confirmation emails tomorrow.

There were also issues that originated on the user side of things as well such as firewalls at employers preventing residents from logging in, the speed of computers or internet connections. Any users who logged into the system prior to the 9:00am opening of registration would have been booted out and forced to lo gin again when registration opened.

The day camp was full within 1.5 hours and there are still some spaces available in the sports camp if you are still interested although I suspect they will go fast as well.

This is a new era for the town of Torbay and it is nice to see us taking more advantage of the technology available to us. I have to admit that I have not signed up yet for the e-services but I intend to do so soon so I can avail of the services being offered online by the town.

Torbay Waste Management - Have Your Say

Torbay is currently conducting a survey related to waste management and there are a couple of questions in it that I think are of particular interest. Question 6 asks about adding composting to the current waste disposal plan and questions 8 and 9 discuss the automated garbage pickup like they are using in the City of Mount Pearl. These are very important issues that deserve your input so take a minute to complete the survey.

I like the idea of diverting materials that can be composted from our landfill but I don't know if picking it up at the curbside is a good idea for Torbay. There are so many things to consider like the size of the compost bins which directly relates to how heavy they are and how the people on the garbage truck will be able to pick them up. Are we going to use these big roll out bins similar to the ones for the automated garbage pickup or smaller bins that we can fit under the counter? Who is going to pay for these bins, surely the Town of Torbay is not going to expect residents to purchase these bins so that we can participate in the program. In Mount Pearl the bins were purchased by the city and then given to the residents at no additional cost. This would be a pretty big expenditure that may be better spent in other areas.

Another factor that needs to be considered with a composting program is how many people are going to participate? It is difficult to force people to do something that they don't want to do and most people who already compost are likely going to continue to do so in their own backyard composters. I know that this is the type of information that the town must be hoping to garner from this survey so that is another reason to complete it and have your say. Maybe a better use of time and money would be to have a few public information sessions related to waste management and composting in particular to educate people on the proper use of composters and encourage them to do it at home. Many people have misconceptions about composting related to smells and rodents which could be explained in detail.

A big problem with this plan is how to implement it in a town where almost all of our roads have ditches. Where do we put the bins? I guess we could roll them out to the end of our drive way in the morning and then leave them there all day until we get home from work. What happens when we have wind which is almost all the time? Are these bins going to be rolling all over the roads and falling over and causing all kinds of problems? What about in the winter when we all put our bin at the end of the driveway and the snow plow comes by and either pushes it into the snow bank or lifts the plow and doesn't clear the road in front of your property? How about elderly people? How is a senior citizen or people with disabilities supposed to roll this big heavy bin to the side of the road every week?

Many people live in hilly areas and even have very long sloped driveways. There are a few driveways I have seen around in which it would literally be a safety issue to roll the bin down to the end. I can certainly see one of these bins getting away from someone and flying out into the road during morning traffic and causing an accident or damage to a vehicle. I can think of many of these scenarios on Indian Meal Line and Bauline Line in particular.

I am not saying that it is a bad idea to improve our waste management strategies and how we deal with solid waste in Torbay. I am saying that either of these programs is going to cost an awful lot of money and may be cost prohibitive for a town our size. It will be interesting to see if the town compiles some estimates and presents them to the public to get their opinion before implementing something like this.

There are other solutions that I believe should be considered so we can get the biggest bang for our tax dollars. First of all  I think we should be exploring a regional waste management plan with our neighboring towns. The duplication of services certainly has to be a tremendous waste of money for the residents of Torbay, Flatrock, Pouch Cove, Bauline and Logy Bay Middle Cove Outer Cove. Each town has their own waste management program which also includes recycling. Five towns all contracting out garbage and recycling pickup services when we should be working together.

I suggest a more sensible approach would be to get together with the towns and the provincial government to propose a regional waste management strategy. Buy a couple of trucks that can pick up both recycling and regular garbage at the same time. These trucks are being used in other places and it actually saves money because you only need to make a single trip with one truck to get the recycling and other solid waste.

The town of Torbay spends around 8% of our total budget on waste management which amounts to roughly $565,000. Over a half a million dollars to pick up garbage from about 3100 homes is a large amount of money. I checked the other municipalities and the only other one that had their budget posted online was Bauline and their cost for waste management is $28,000 or roughly 10% of their entire budget of $275,558. I would assume that is is safe to say that the other municipalities are paying in the same area of 8-10% of their budgets on waste management. If this is the case then it would make perfect sense to explore this type of arrangement to the benefit of all the towns. Buy the trucks, hire the workers and agree on a schedule that works for everyone. It is time that Torbay and the surrounding communities started pooling our resources and sharing services to get the best rate of return on the tax dollars paid by residents.

Don't forget to go and complete the survey

https://www.research.net/s/TownofTorbayWasteManagement

Local Canadian Soldier Flies Torbay Flag in Afghanistan

Torbay Flag flying next to the Canadian Flag at Operations Center in Afghanistan

It has been several months in the making but what started out as a friendly message on Facebook has culminated in the flying of the Town of Torbay flag over the Operations Centre in Afghanistan. Carl Dymond a Canadian soldier and Torbay native stationed with the Canadian Contribution Training Mission - Afghanistan contacted me to see if I could help him get a Torbay flag to fly over there. I don't believe that I have ever met him personally so I was honored that he would ask me to help him with this and I was eager to help.

MCpl Carl Dymond

After hearing from Carl I contacted Dawn Chaplin the CAO at the Town of Torbay and that got the ball rolling. It is worth mentioning that it was late on a Friday night that I sent the email to Dawn and she got back to me the next morning and was enthusiastic about the whole idea. I passed on her email address, they connected and Dawn made arrangements to send the flag to Carl who received it a while ago but finally got to fly it this week. In his original message Carl expressed how proud he would be seeing the Torbay flag flying next to the Canadian flag while on his mission. Knowing how much respect members of our military afford the Canadian flag it is safe to say that it is not just a novelty to have their own town flag fly next to it. It is truly a place of honor and everyone in our town should feel a tremendous amount of pride seeing it there. Carl is expecting to be home in Torbay in the coming weeks and will bring our flag with him. I have already discussed with Carl and Dawn about finding some place in the town hall to display this flag so that everyone can see this piece of history. Personally I think this is a wonderful story for our town and I hope we give it the recognition it deserves.

I posted about this a while ago and in doing so I received some good feedback from other soldiers from our town. That made made think of how these guys just fly under the radar most times and go about their jobs with little recognition. I am sure that these people don't join the military and serve our country because they are looking for the spotlight but it is incumbent on us to make sure that their contributions around the world do go unacknowledged.

With this in mind I asked Carl if he would be interested in doing a small interview piece with me and he agreed. I wanted to get to know him a little better and figured other residents of Torbay would also be interested. I sent him some questions and after getting approval from his commanding officer he answered what questions he could and sent the replies to me. This is nothing to in depth but hopefully it will give a little introspective into the life of one Canadian soldier who hails from our little Newfoundland town.

Q: Can you tell us a little about yourself, family background etc?

A: My name is Carl Dymond, I am from Torbay. My parents grew up in Torbay, my mother from Manning’s Hill and my father on Marine Drive. Our family moved to Bell Island when I was an infant, as my Dad was sent there for work with Newfoundland Power. At the age of 8 my family moved back to Torbay and we built a house on Seaview Ave. I joined the army in 2005, getting sent to Borden first for my basic training and then to Kingston for my trades training. I was posted to Ottawa in 2007 and have resided there ever since.

Q: Any memories about growing up in Torbay?

A: Growing up in Torbay, I lived on the south side. We mostly hung out with people that were around me and brother’s age. We played baseball with the guys, I got into martial arts early in my teens and got my black belt from there.

Q: How was it for you when you had to move away from Torbay?

A: Moving away was hard at first, being really my first time away from home and on my own. I had a wonderful support structure at home that kept me sane and focused on what I needed to do when I first moved away. I knew what I wanted from life, I knew early on and saw that opportunity to achieve my goals. In my line of work, it can be stressful and trying at times, but having an awesome, big family in Torbay, and knowing how much they support me keeps me going.

Q: Do you miss living in Newfoundland and Torbay in particular?

A: I miss Torbay for sure. It’s a beautiful place to have as my screensaver! In fact, quite a few people are amazed at the view from the lookout on Marine Drive. I certainly miss the clean fresh air most of all. Even in Ontario, there is no comparison to Newfoundland air.

Q: How long have you been in the military and what do you do?

A: I have been in the Regular Forces for about 8 years now. The details of my job…

Carl couldn't provide info on what exactly he does, that is why there is no job description there

Q: How many missions have you been on, is Afghanistan for first?

A: I have worked on the Afghan mission for about 5 years and Afghanistan was my first deployment. I helped with the Libyan war last war but never put boots on the ground.

Q: What did it feel like getting there, was it scary or strange being in a war zone?

A: First getting here actually wasn’t so bad. I had prepared myself for the worst so it was pleasantly surprised. Being in a warzone is a little surreal. We have to be completely bombed up (in body armour, weapons and such) to drive 5 mins down the road. There are some really good people here, but its .001% that make it dangerous. In the 5 months I have been here, I have made a lot of new friends, from different countries and cultures. Luckily a handshake and a smile is universal.

Q: Do you feel like you have made a difference to the people there?

A: I actually do. I speak a little Dari and Pashtu, so to converse with the Afghans in their native language is a pretty cool thing to me. A lot of people that don’t experience here, don’t really understand that Afghanistan has a rich culture and the people are proud of that. Being able to at least protect not only our soldiers and allies, but the people here as well is a huge reward. If I can contribute to the safety of the Afghans and enable one little girl to experience school as my own little girls experience it, then that’s reward enough for me.


Q: Why did you want a Torbay flag and what you intend to do with it?

A: I am proud to say I’m from Torbay, I am proud to be a Newfoundlander. I know I am not the first person from Torbay to be here, but I am probably the last and I think that Torbay, with a military history all its own deserves to have a piece of this history. The work Canadians soldiers, more specifically, soldiers from Torbay in particular have done here will be remembered for generations.

Q: How much longer do you expect to be there?

A: I am deployed until mid-July. I am very much looking forward to getting back to a normal way of life.

Q: When was the last time you were home - Ottawa or Torbay?

A: I was last in Torbay last October. I got to spend a lot of time with family, relax a bit, and actually be a tourist for a little while. I was in Ottawa up until I actually left for Afghanistan. My parents came up to see me and came with me and my girlfriend to Quebec for the final goodbyes. My children didn't go as it was hard enough saying goodbye at home.

Q: Do you look forward to getting home?

A: I very much do. Being here makes you appreciate everything about your life. I have a wonderful family, 2 beautiful girls, and job that I absolutely love.

I am very honored that Carl chose me as his contact here in Torbay to help with this request for a flag. I also thank him for using this blog of mine as a conduit to connect him to our town and keep up on current events.

I encourage residents of Torbay keep an eye out for when this flag arrives and take the time to go to the town hall to see it and reflect on it's significance.

Summer Camp high on parents priorities as summer approaches - What are our options?

Many parents in Torbay are preparing the yearly ritual of researching summer camps to find a suitable place for their children for the summer months. So what are our options when it comes to finding a place to enroll our children for the summer. One thing that we need to keep in mind as we try and decide is that there are around 750 children at Holy Trinity Elementary who are "camp age" so we had better not procrastinate when it comes to signing them up. I have listed three camp options in this story but I am sure there are other camps available that parents can avail of.

First of all the Town of Torbay is offering two camps this summer as they have done in previous years at the Kinsmen Center. Both camps have weekly themes that offer different activities throughout the summer. Camp T will be operating for 8 weeks from July 2 to August 23 inclusively for children between the ages of 5 and 12 with 60 spaces available. Ollie T's Sports Camp which will operate for 6 weeks from July 2 to August 9 with 30 available spaces but there are age restrictions in place. Some of the camps are for children 8 years and older and others 11 years and older. Both camps cost $110 a week, drop off between 8:00-8:30 and pick up between 4:30-5:00.

The only registration method is ONLINE so you need to be aware of that. There will not be an option to register in person like previous years when people went and lined up. Registration will be May 15 starting at 9:00am for Torbay residents on the Town of Torbay website. For residents who don't have internet access the Torbay Public Library provides it free and will be open for residents needing to use the service. Registration for non Torbay residents will begin on May 21. If you want more information on either of these camps you can get it in the Summer 2013 Community Guide.

The YMCA of North East Avalon will also be offering a camp this summer at the Holy Trinity Parish Hall. This camp runs for 10 weeks starting on June 24 and running until August 30. The operating dates offer a significant difference between this camp and the two offered by the Town of Torbay because it starts earlier and ends later. I know this is very important for some parents because it eliminates the requirement to find alternate childcare for those weeks  other camps are not operating. This can prove to be difficult and actually cause people to use their summer holidays to offset the start and end of camp.

The camp being offered by the YMCA also has weekly themes to offer children a variety of activities and runs from 8:00-5:00 however there is the option for extended camp to 5:30 for a fee if it is required. This camp offers more flexibility for parents but is significantly more expensive than those being offered by the town. The weekly rates for the Y camp is $175 and the charge for extended hours is $15 a week if required.

One other thing to mention with regards to the YMCA is that they have a financial assistance program. I got this from their website.

Y Financial Assistance Program

The YMCA of Northeast Avalon strives to provide opportunities for all. The financial Assistance Program provides help to those who want to participate in Y programs and services, but are unable to pay the full fee.

No one is turned away from the Y due to an inability to pay the full fee. Any amount you can pay towards your membership or program is welcomed. 

To fi nd out more visit the CPFY Membership Sales and Service Desk, 35 Ridge Road, call 709-726-YMCA (9622) or visit us online at www.ynortheastavalon.com 

So for those families who can't afford to send their kids to camp this is certainly something you should look into as a means of allowing your children to experience the joys of camp. For all the details regarding the YMCA or to register you can go to their camp page. I contacted the YMCA to find out how many spaces would be available but have not heard back yet but as always it is recommended you sign up early to ensure your spot.

Finally the last camp option that I will mention is Camp Whatchamacallit offered at the Works. This is the camp that my own children have been attending now for about 6 years and I have nothing but good things to say about it.

This camp runs from June 24 to August 30 and eliminates the need to find alternate arrangements for those weeks after school ends and before it begins. Registration for camp starts May 4 at 9:00am and continues right through the summer. I know people who sign their kids up for a week here and there and have not had issues with availability. That doesn't mean that it won't change but at least you know the option is there. Camp operates from 9:00-5:00 daily and children have to be dropped off after 8:30 and picked up by 5:30. There is also an early drop off option at this camp where children can be dropped of by 7:15 and cost an extra $15 a week.

The pricing for this camp is also more expensive than the ones offered by the town but does have an option to allow you to save some money. For instance you get a $10 discount per week if you sign up for 5-10 weeks. The fees for Flip & Dip (regular camp) is $140 a week and includes swimming lessons as well as other activities. The specialty camp costs $155 a week and includes things such as Arts and Crafts, Team Sports, Drama, Dance, Mini Rugby along with swimming lessons. They also divide the children into separate groups based on age 5-8(younger) and 9-12(older) which ensures they spend the day with children of their own age. For more details on Camp Whatchamacallit you can visit the website but keep in mind the information listed there is for last year and will no doubt be updated soon. I have confirmed the prices for 2013 and they are as I have stated here and actually the same as last year.

Regardless of what camp option fits your needs the best the one thing that can't be overlooked is the need to be prepared when registration opens. Many parents mentioned to me last year that they were really frustrated with camps that the town of Torbay offered. They were disappointed after standing in line for hours only to find out that all the spots were sold out by the time they got to the front of the line. Some parents chose the Sports camp option as a last resort after standing in line for the full summer program. Then they had to find alternate arrangements for the weeks they couldn't get in. The people I know ho did manage to get their children signed up were happy with the camp overall. The main complaint I have heard is with the closing hours and the limited number of spaces. They feel in a town our size the camps should be able to accommodate a lot more children. 

I inquired with the town as to the reason the camp doesn't run the entire length of summer like other camps and this is what I was told.

While camp does not start for participants until July 2nd, we have training for all camp counsellors the week prior to. The topics include High Five, policies and procedures, OHS, team building, presentations on medical conditions, prepare equipment, review camp activities. We hire both secondary and post secondary students as camp counsellors and as you know, their timelines are different for completion of studies. Camp ends early due to counsellors returning to school. Debrief of the summer actually takes place during the last week of August too.

The issue of having limited number of spaces available is directly related to the facilities that we have available to us. I have been told that staff are just as frustrated as parents because they are doing the best that they can within the confines of that facility. Once we get a new community center they expect to be able to expand the level of programming significantly.

The one big issue I still have with the camps offered by the Town of Torbay is with the registration process. I think that by having online only registration you are effectively discriminating against a portion of the population that doesn't have internet. Yes they are offering the option to go to the Library to use the computer but that may not be for everyone.

I think by offering people the option to go and line up you are giving parents who took the initiative to get there early to be rewarded for their efforts. Now with so few spaces available the lucky ones who manage to get logged on first will get all the spaces. How about Town of Torbay staff who want to put their kids in camp? At least if they are able to go and line up they can get their place in line and get a space like everyone else. Now what are they going to do log on when they are at work and get spaces like that and open themselves up for criticism when some members of the public don't get spaces and they do?

I am not sure how the website will be configured to accept registrations but if it is like other sites the first people to log in will get the available spots. So if I have 5 computers in my house and a couple of smart phones at 9:00 May 15 I will try and log into the town website on all of them at the same time. My chances will be better then someone who drives to the Library, waits for it to open and then log in to a computer to try and access the town website.

Certainly if we are not going to have an in person registration process we should at least offer a phone option to people to give more people the opportunity to sign their kids up in camp. I hope the town changes their mind on this registration process and offers phone registration or simply goes back to the way it was. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens and how it works.