Its only January, but already I have recieved a handful of emails from concerned parents wondering if they have missed the dates for soccer registration. They usually follow one of these formats:

“Hey, I was just wondering, have I missed soccer registration yet? ”

or

“Please don’t tell me I have missed soccer registration this year, I missed it last year and can’t stand to see that look of utter disappointment on my child’s face again.”

or

“DEAR GOD TELL ME I HAVEN’T MISSED SOCCER REGISTRATION YET! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET MY KIDS IN, I’LL DO ANYTHING! MONEY IS NO ISSUE! ”

Well, concerned parents need not worry, soccer registration has not happened just yet. But, due to the alarming amount of emails that I have recieved in the past few weeks I have decided to post the dates for registration well in advance. They will be as follows:

Location: (for ALL registration dates)

South Leisure Center 

170 Sunset Drive 

Dates and Times: 

Saturday, March 3 ,9-11 AM

Tuesday March 6 , 7-8 PM

Wednesday March 14, 7-8 PM

These same dates will also be seen:

• On the LCA sign two weeks before regisration
• In the newsletter that will be distributed to all schools in the area
• On the Soccer Page on this website
• On signs throughout the South End
• On our facebook page  (which you really should “like” if you haven’t already)

Hope to see you at one of the registration nights! If you have any additional questions or would like to volunteer please do not hesitate to email me

At one of our meetings a few months ago, Diana, a resident of this neighbourhood, came to visit us to discuss an issue she has been fighting ever since she moved here in 2006: noise. As someone who lives substantially west of Lewvan Drive, I was surprised. I didn’t know noise in the neighbourhood was at all an issue.  According to Diana, noise from vehicles on Lewvan Drive is so loud that she finds it unbearable to even sit on her deck and enjoy a cup of coffee.

As a person who is skeptical of everything, I was, of course, skeptical. Could vehicular traffic really be that noisy? I have lived in this neighbourhood my entire life, and I have never been bothered by any noise. I looked up the address that Diana gave to us, and found out that she lived quite a distance from Lewvan Drive. Was this “noise problem” really an issue, or was this just a person with oversensitive hearing?

One night, it turned out that a friend who I was visiting lived close to Diana’s street. On my way over, I decided to pop in and hear all of this noisy traffic for myself. I pulled onto her street, shut my car off, and rolled down the windows. Then I sat and listened. To all of the noise. The cars and semis barreling down Lewvan Drive could, indeed, be heard clear as day from where I was sitting on Diana’s street, some 500 meters away. After a few minutes of listening to all of the traffic, it became easy to understand how all of that noise could become bothersome.

So, what to do about it? It turns out that Diana has been lobbying the city for quite sometime to have the problem solved. Diana’s proposition is to install noise abatement along Lewvan Drive (Saskatoon has these, on Circle Drive). A few years ago, she even asked the city to do a noise study, which they agreed to do, and they set aside $155,000  in the budget to cover the costs.

Unfortunately, there have been delays. Diana writes:

“In December 2009, I presented these concerns to the City of Regina during a council meeting. The issue was discussed and the Council proposed a two-year traffic noise monitoring study. In March 2010, funding ($75,000) for the first year of the noise study was approved but deferred to the 2011-12 fiscal. When I contacted Tom O’Connell, City of Regina, in October 2011, he explained that because of higher priority projects, the traffic noise study had been delayed. Mr O’Connell anticipated a call for tenders would be completed soon; he also explained that a decision whether to fund the second year ($80,000) of the study would be made by December 31 2011. To help mitigate this two-year delay, a solution could be having a more intensive noise monitoring study completed by December 2012, using the combined 2-year budget of $155,000.”

So the city promised Diana they would do a two-year noise study, two years ago. But, because it is not deemed a priority issue, it has been delayed. Diana came to see us, and asked if we would write the city expressing our concern that this noise study should be done. In response, we wrote to Councilor Hutchinson and Mayor Fiacco and noted that “One of our roles as a community association is to assist residents who have concerns that they wish to bring to the attention of City Hall. Our association feels that [Diana] is raising a concern that deserves to be investigated. We urge the City to conduct the deferred traffic noise study as quickly as possible and to take noise attention measures deemed appropriate in light of the results of the study. We also ask that Lakeview Community Association be advised of what actions the City is taking in this matter.”

The letter we wrote to both Councillor Hutchinson and Mayor Fiacco was sent in early December. As of yet, we have not heard a reply from either of them. On December 31, Regina was to finalize its budget for the 2012 year, and since we have not heard back from anybody, it cannot be confirmed if the noise study was approved for this year’s budget or not. The city made a promise to do a study, and the promise should be kept. It is not fair for Diana (and other residents, who perhaps are annoyed by the noise) to be strung along year-to-year hoping that other projects won’t take priority over the noise study and cause it to get pushed back yet again. It is also concerning that when addressing concerns to both the city councillor and mayor, nobody responds. Is it not their job to look after concerns of the residents of the city that they represent? Even a response such as “got your letter, I’m looking into it” would have been better than no response at all.

So, as of yet nothing has been done. No noise study. No noise abatements. No response from the city. In the mean time, the Lewvan gets busier and busier, driving residents like Diana crazier and crazier.Clearly, if you are a citizen in Regina and have an issue you want addressed, you’d better have patience, as it seems to take a lot of  time and effort to get something done around here.

Just a friendly reminder that our registration night is happening soon. If you are thinking of signing up for one of our great programs this year then be sure to show up, as some programs fill up fast. Especially Zumba. You can find further information about our winter programs here. Registration Night details are as follows:

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Lakeview School

7:00-8:00 Pm

Hope to see you there!

Every year, the LCA allocates a certain amount of money for community-based grants. However, much to our dissapointment, these grants often go unused. So every year we end up sitting on a mound (well, maybye not a mound but at the very least a decent-sized pile) of cash that nobody uses!

This is where you come in. The LCA is looking for people with ideas to help benefit our community. An idea can be something as simple as planting a tree, or organizing a class. One of our board members, Lily, is looking into getting a nice picnic table installed in our community gardens on Queen street. This is the perfect example of something simple that takes little effort to organized and benefits the community.

If you have an idea that you would like to carry out, simply read our grant policy, then fill out an application. If the LCA board likes the idea, then we dole out the cash and you get to start your project! Your idea must be implemented within Lakeview and must be availible to all citizens, free of charge. Other then those few restrictions, your options are limitless. Be creative, and send us your idea!

Photo Cred: kfjmiller on flikr 

We are pleased to announce that yoga will be offered as an addition to our list of fine programs starting this January.  The programs will be as follows:

Multi-Level Yoga for Seniors

This class is for Seniors with varying Yoga experience and ability.  Poses will be taught with a number of variations and supports, enabling students with balance, joint and mobility challenges to take part at their own pace.  This is a gentle yoga class, focused on building strength, stability and joint integrity.

Multi-Level Yoga for Adults

This class is for Adults with varying Yoga experience and ability.  Poses will be taught with a number of variations, allowing students to work at their own level.  Each week the class focus will change, incorporating standing poses, forward bending, gentle twisting, and restorative postures.

In case you did not know, Yoga originated in India and is a “physical, mental and spiritual discipline” , meant for “the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility.” Sounds intense. But, my 40-some year old mother does it, so how hard can it really be? Sign up and see for yourself.

For more information, see the yoga page.

The LCA is proud to announce that our treasurer, Amy Mader was the recipient of one of the South Zone Recreation Board’s Volunteer of the year awards! Amy joined the LCA back when we were in dark times. The association was in a bit of a transition period, and had many vacant spots open on our executive. This in turn made Amy a jack-of-all-trades, as she learned most of the responsibilities of other positions. This came in handy when the LCA started growing in members this past year. Amy (who is a seasoned LCA veteran with four years under her belt) was able to give guidance to  new members including Bob and Carrie, our chairspeople.

Amy was honoured at a swanky reception in the multi-purpose room at the West Harvest Inn. It was buffet fare with a cash bar and there was a jazz musician to entertain. Celebrity guest Gerry Fincati, of the South Zone Recreation Board hosted the event and members of all four south end community associations were in attendance that evening. Amy was more then happy to accept an award for all of her hard work but in her true selfless fashion, spent more time acknowleding the hard work of other LCA members during her speech then recognizing the work she does herself. Unfortunately a certain website editor forgot to bring his camera, so a photo of Amy accepting the award is not availible. However, I have posted the above internet photo which is pretty close to what Amy accepting the award looked like.

Amy, the Lakeview Community Association is ever so thankful for all of the hard work that you do for us. We truly would be lost without you.

The Lakeview Community Association is a strong and robust organization, but things  haven’t  always been that way. Throughout the past decade, the LCA has struggled to retain volunteers and frequently had executive positions vacant. Many people in the neighbourhood did not know that we even existed. Thanks to our past chairperson Mark Dyck, who created this website and also our facebook page ,we have been able to reach out to our community in other ways besides our Hill Avenue sign and seasonal newsletters.We currently  have a great group  on our executive with a round table full of people at every meeting (at our September meeting, we almost ran out of chairs). With a full executive we are able to deliever top notch community programming to the community and plan amazing events such as this past family fun day.

However, we still need your help to bring the Lakeview Community to its full potential. There are plenty of opportunities to help out, and you are more then welcome to attend our monthly meetings. If you can’t make the meetings, you can help us out in a simpler ways: Tell your friends and neighbours about this website. Casually mention to them that they should like our facebook page and sign up for email updates about what the LCA is doing. The more people we are able to  connect, the stronger our community will become.

Check out the dates for our monthly meetings and see if you are able to attend. We promise  there will be chairs. 

We’re working hard to bring the Regina Lakeview Community Association website up to date.  So now’s a great time to get your email inbox up to date too.

You can receive updates on community news and LCA programs right from your email inbox.  No more “be sure to check the website” — we’ll come to you!

Just head on over to the LCA Email Update Signup Page, enter your email address and you’re in.   Isn’t that easy?

Photo by helixblue

Even though the soccer fields may still be covered with snow, planning for the 2011 outdoor soccer season is well under way! If you are looking for a fun and affordable sport for your child to play this spring this is probably it! Registration is happening at the South Leisure Center, 170 Sunset Drive and the dates and times are as follows:

Saturday March 5 , 9:00-11:00 AM

or

Wednesday March 9, 7:00-8:00 PM

or

Tuesday March 15, 7:00-8:00 PM

Late registrations are accepted with a $10.00 Late fee and this will be done Only to fill incomplete teams. Please register at one of the above dates to avoid disappointment. For more information, email our soccer coordinator or check out our soccer page

Photo by: Paeonia