The record, 4 décembre 2015, vendredi 4 décembre 2015

[" THE Power goes out in parts of Sherbrooke RECORD Page 3 The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 Because it\u2019s 2015 Page 5 WEEKEND EDITION 95 cents + taxes\tPM#0040007682\tFriday, December 4, 2015 Goodbye Pep, hello car wash MATTHEW MCCULLY (819) 569-2411 \t 9k Hi Cuisinefarniliale mm I V 1 ' Lj v^ftsr v A .*at£\\ \u2019 à, ViL vfc,/' A.,,.V- \t This week may he the last time travellers on Queen Street will see the Pep Restaurant building, a part of the landscape for over three decades.The building, vacant for a number of years, will be demolished and replaced with a car wash, according to the property owner Michael Crook.BRP to freeze salaries in favour of renovations By Gordon Lambie Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) announced on Wednesday that it will be investing $118 million in its manufacturing facilities and operations in Valcourt over the next five years while freezing the salaries of its workers over a comparable period of time.The announcement was made at a full staff meeting, the news of which set the Eastern Townships on edge over concerns about mass layoffs.The company, however, has committed to keeping its Valcourt workforce stable even as other operations move to more economical facilities in Mexico.\u201cWith these investments, BRP aims to provide its Eastern Townships facilities with cutting-edge tools and technologies to further increase its efficiency and its talent in terms of innovation, engineering and manufacturing, all while keeping quality jobs in Quebec,\u201d said BRP\u2019s President and CEO José Boisjoli in a statement released by the company following the meeting.The plant\u2019s manufacturing, technical, and administrative employees, who together make up 60 per cent of the BRP staff working in Valcourt, will all be affected by a pay freeze that will last between three and five years.The cost-saving measure will take effect on February 1, 2016.\u201cIt\u2019s more than just optimization,\u201d explained Sylvain Morissette, BRP\u2019s corporate director of global communications, \u201cIt\u2019s also a full renovation and modernization of our plant here in Valcourt.It\u2019s Cont\u2019d on page 4 By Matthew McCully The Pep restaurant building, a familiar part of the landscape entering Lennoxville from Sherbrooke, is soon to be demolished, according to Michael Crook, who purchased the property years ago when the restaurant closed.Crook said a three-bay car wash will be built on the property in the spring, hoping to be fully operational by mid to late summer.\u201cWe actually had the construction permit first,\u201d Crook said, explaining the delays in getting the project underway.To get the demolition permit, Crook said he missed the meeting by a day, and the committee approving the Cont\u2019d on page 3 YEAR-END PRICING CLEAROUT %* YEAR-END CLEAROUT CASH a For service that makes you feel like family, come do business with family, ask for Mike or John Page.ON SELECT NEW MODELS 819-822-8055 cell mike.page@valestrie.com ^.fstris SHERBROOKE 819-563-4466 office LINCOLN 819-578-1965 cell johnpage@valestrie.com Page 2 Friday, December 4, 2015 newsroom@sherbrookerecord.com The Record The Record e-edition There for you 24-hours-a-day 7-days-a-week.Wherever you are.Access the full edition of the Sherbrooke Record as well as special editions and 30 days of archives.Renew or order a new 12-month print subscription and get a 12-month online subscription for an additional $5 or purchase the online edition only for $82.21.Record subscription rates (includes Quebec taxes) 1 year print: $155.91 6 month print: $81.85 3 month print: $41.57 12 month web only: $82.21 1 month web only: $7.46 Web subscribers have access to the daily Record as well as archives and special editions.Subscribing is as easy as 1,2,3: 1.\tVisit the Record website: www.sherbrookerecord.com 2.\tClick e-edition.3.\tComplete the form and wait for an email activating your online subscription.Weather TODAY: MIXED PRECIP HIGH 2 LOW-1 j -1 -j SATURDAY: MAINLY SUNNY HIGH 5 LOW-3 V £fk i S SUNDAY: SUNNY HIGH 7 LOW-1 MONDAY: MAINLY CLOUDY HIGH 2 LOW-3 TUESDAY: MAINLY SUNNY HIGH 2 LOW-4 Elderly geezers bicker like an old married couple May brings his solidity and common sense, while Bryant is a scattered brainiac Good Reads Eleanor Brown Writer Christopher Fowler is a cheeky sort.\u201cFor many years she had held not so much a torch for John May as a smugglers\u2019 lantern, but his ship had never been tempted to ground upon her rocks.\u201d That\u2019s from The Victoria Vanishes (2008, filed in Adult Fiction), one in a series of novels featuring the Peculiar Crimes Unit, a London, UK outfit dedicated to solving the murders that leave their regular uniformed police colleagues scratching their heads.Or more likely rolling their eyes.The Victoria Vanishes is far and away the most amusing of the lot \u2014 the funny lies in between, that is, the deadly seriousness of someone murdering women in pubs.(Sample newspaper headline: \u201cWHY NO WOMAN CAN NOW FEEL SAFE.\u201d Sample reader response: \u201cHow they love to explain the dangers of inde- pendence to us.\u201d) This crime thriller is filled with British public houses (and includes a guide to the booze cans \u2014 sorry, to these community centres that also serve beer \u2014 with addresses, at the end).The fine ensemble cast is held together by two senior detectives, both elderly geezers well past retirement age who\u2019ve worked together their entire professional lives and bicker like a married couple.First there\u2019s Arthur Bryant: \u201c[IJmagine a tortoise minus its shell, thrust upright and stuffed into a dreadful suit.Give it glasses, false teeth and a hearing aid, and a whispy band of white hair arranged in a straggling tonsure.Fill its pockets with rubbish.And fill its head with a mad scramble of ideas.\u201d He\u2019s the eccentric who always manages to spend five minutes with a medium or white witch on every case, though the murderer is always all too human.Pair him with John May, the sensible one who\u2019s better preserved, nattily dressed, and who can charm his way anywhere.Together, they can solve anything.Each novel in the series is filled with London history and a solid murder investigation, plus a handful of running gags.The Peculiar Crimes Unit is always facing imminent closure.Next, try Bryant And May Off The Rails (2010, in Adult Fiction), which takes place a few books later.A murderer has escaped on the PCU\u2019s watch (it seems the unit is always mixing triumph with rather ghastly errors).This one is set in the London Underground, and is filled with the lost passenger ghost stories that transit geeks love.The Lennoxville Library has one last PCU novel, Full Dark House (2003).It\u2019s actually set earlier in the series, but you might want to read it later, once you\u2019ve grown to know and love the characters.That knowledge adds poignancy to Full Dark House.The book recalls the very first PCU case that brought Bryant and May together, and is set during World War Two, as Londoners learn to live with nightly bombing raids.What were these two like as youngsters?Here\u2019s the answer.It\u2019s also a play on the Phantom Of The Opera, with a killer attacking actors rehearsing a production of Orpheus In The Underworld.It was quite risqué in its day (Jacques Offenbach\u2019s work was first performed in 1858), and its music later inspired the can-can.You\u2019ll get a kick out of murder with this amusing series, and you can find a handful more Bryant and May mysteries via interlibrary loan.ï HBBUA>T&UtIL&ÔF IMFHJSM1H.L H KTM E MI O-** 'IKuilpiii.-4?ud ilniTCibaHitHib \u2014¦¦¦¦Tl1 Nh iJ.'i ¦Vr i : mi.-E JuJ-Mt j/ J * - '¦ r 5Y.i -.iiAr Robertson Who?Robertson Davies is all the rage in England this month.The culture editor of the UK daily the Telegraph suggested that Davies may well be Canada\u2019s greatest writer.Martin Chilton wrote that he\u2019d first read a monstrously long book by Davies on an endless train ride: \u201cHis book made the journey pass so pleasantly that I went on to read his two other mammoth trilogies and was charmed and entertained by them all (Deptford, Cornish and Salterton are his big three trios).\u201d Chilton now wants to return attention to a writer whose name is already in the process of being forgotten: \u201c[Although his books are still in print, Cont\u2019d on page 6 BRYANT &MAY INVESTIGATE The Victoria Vanishes CHRISTOPHER FOWLER kOne of our most unorthodox and entertaining writers' Daily Telegraph Æ Æ.Æ.7 r Ben by Daniel Shelton WELL, I'M OFF TO THE MAUU YOü LOOK CREAT BGNfANP THAT BAG OF TOYS IS A NICE TOUCH.thanks, but THAT'S NOT A BAG.OF TOYS- THAT'S MY UJN04' The Record newsr oom@sherbrooker ecor d.com Friday, December 4, 2015 Page 3 \t\t\t\t I\tLocal ,\tN\tEWS\tThe power outage also resulted in a loss of phone service at City Hall and at the Hydro Sherbrooke headquarters.Hydro outage leaves Sherbrooke in the dark By Gordon Lambie A significant section of the city of Sherbrooke was left without power on Thursday afternoon after a Hydro-Quebec line serving the city was damaged.A representative of the provincial power utility informed The Record that the damage was the result of human error outside of the corporation\u2019s staff and that the situation is currently under investigation.According to Hydro-Quebec the outage was a short one, beginning at 1:20 p.m.and lasting only about five minutes before the current was simply transferred to other lines.Repair and investigation crews were still on site as of 3:30.Daniel Moreau of Hydro Sherbrooke said that the outage affected large sections of the north end of the city as well as the communities of St-Elie, St-Denis, and large parts of Rock Forest.Though the loss of service might have been brief for the provincial power utility, Moreau said that so big a loss automatically calls for a slow re-connect on the part of the city so as to not suddenly place a huge burden on the system.The power outage also resulted in a loss of phone service at City Hall and at the Hydro Sherbrooke headquarters, leaving people without a means to find out more about what was going on or signal the outage to the city.Power, as well as Hydro Sherbrooke and the City of Sherbrooke\u2019s phone lines, was back up and running by mid afternoon.Richmond Christmas Cantata coming this weekend COURTESY OF CAROL ANN MCELREA By Gordon Lambie The annual Richmond Christmas Cantata is back again this year, this time sharing a work called \u201cOne Silent Night\u201d by American composer Pepper Choplin.Now in its eighteenth year, the ecumenical choir has two performances coming up this weekend in the communities of Richmond and Windsor.The 37-voice choir, with voices coming from Richmond, Racine, Melbourne, Danville, South Durham, and their surrounding areas, already previewed their work last Sunday at both the Wales Home and the Foyer Richmond but will be out in full force for the public on Saturday, December 5, at 8 p.m.at the St-Philippe Church in Windsor and on Sunday, December 6, at 1:30 p.m.at Richmond-Melbourne United Church.As in years past, the choir is led by Director Diane Duguay, as well as musical leaders Francine Beaubien on the piano and Isabelle Gosselin on the violin.In keeping with their past format, the cost of the concert is a simple free-will offering taken at the door to help defray the expenses of purchasing the materials and putting on the various performances.Goodbye Pep Cont\u2019d frpm page 1 decisions only meets four times per year, so he had to wait three additional months.The natural gas line leading to the building needed to be removed all the way to the street before demolition, crook added.In all likelihood, the familiar blue building will be torn down by the end of next week.Crook hopes area residents will appreciate the new car wash business, which will include an automatic wash with brushes that can complete a cycle three times faster than a touchless wash.The two manual bays will be large enough to accommodate long, tall construction type vehicles, he added.\u201cI think people are going to really like it,\u201d Crook said.The challenge will be to dispel the myth that the automatic wash with brushes could scratch or damage vehicles.\u201cThe technology is different now,\u201d Crook said, referring to sensors that control the pressure put on a vehicle.Because the cars will be led through on a track, Crook said cars can load in continuously, which will decrease wait time.Crook, who owns and operates Marché Massawippi in Ayer\u2019s Cliff, has a touchless car wash at the back of the building.He said the time for a basic wash is around four minutes.If a customer wants to tailor or upgrade the wash, each additional add-on requires more time.With the automatic system that will be at the new Lennoxville car wash, Crook said the base time is 90 seconds, and any add-ons are simply activated as the car moves through on the conveyer, so the timing is always the same.Crook is also hoping to add a state-of-the-art pay station, the first of its kind in Quebec that will accept debit and credit cars.At most other car washes, customers are required to pay inside and get a code.\u201cYou just have to go up, tap it, and it\u2019s done,\u201d Crook said, describing the new pay station.Crook said the new machine will talk to clients.Designed in the US, the machine can speak in English or Spanish at the moment.He said it will be a winter project to make sure all the features on Travel Vaccination Service \u2022\tHepatitis A and B \u2022\tTyphoid \u2022\tUpdate your immunization schedule Thursdays 10 a.m.to I 1:30 a.m.Rachel Lajeunesse, Sylvie Lussier and their team offer you their best wishes and may your home be filled with happiness, health and joy ^]©sidS®gdû[ei| v\tSnifiifâsEnKir 147 Queen Street, Lennoxville Blood Test: On appointment only.For more information, the team from the laboratory will be glad to help you.819-569-3601 TOGO FURTHER FASTER, WHILE STRENGTHENING YOUR ENTREPRENEURIAL KNOW-HOW 9° mentor.ca ?Tout droit vers ma réussite! Page 4 Friday, December 4, 2015 newsroom@sherbrooker ecor d.com The Record MVHS music class hopes to By Matthew McCully Under the direction of teacher William Jarand, the Sec.5 music class at Massey-Vanier High School entered a CBC competition, vying for the title of\u2018Canada\u2019s Greatest Music Class.\u2019 \u201cThey\u2019re a great group of kids,\u201d Jarand said, explaining the students managed to learn and record Serena Ryder\u2019s song Stompa in a span of two classes.\u201cWe recorded and entered on the last day,\u201d Jarand said, admitting he found out about the competition late in the game.As described on the CBC website, the competition called on music classes across the country to choose from one of 11 well-known Canadian songs and record and post a cover, in any style, onto YouTube.The winner, scheduled to be announced today on CBC, was decided by a panel of musicians, CBC music journalists and staff from MusiCounts, the organization partnering with CBC for the competition.\u201cWe did a rock version of a rock song,\u201d Jarand said, staying true to the vibe of Ryder\u2019s version.The students in the class not directly involved in the singing and playing were happy to stomp and clap, which added to the energy, Jarand said.\u201cI was impressed.I had a great time,\u201d Jarand said, sitting back and watching BRP to freeze salaries Cont\u2019d from page 1 a full transformation.\u201d Morissette described the company\u2019s plan as an investment in new technology, techniques and tools both from within the company and potentially from other third parties.He emphasized that despite the perceived drama of call- A\tfo cha/H^j haÇ many advav&a^oÇ, falh abovf if wifh yovr logdl or financial adv'içorç.Un héritage à partager LEAVE A LEGACY™ www.legacy-quebec.org 1 888 304-8834 ing everyone into a general meeting the decision simply represents one more step in BRP\u2019s constant process of self improvement.\u201cWe need to reset our competitiveness and the way we are doing things,\u201d the communications director said.\u201cWe have to improve and find new technologies to continue to get better and better.\u201d Plant renovations are scheduled to start early next year with a focus on modernizing the Can-Am Spyder and Slci-Doo assembly lines.Morissette said that the new setup will allow for a greater flexibility and flow in the process of building the vehicles.Stompa out the competition the students bring the song together.The experience was a great one for the students, regardless of how they place in the competition, he said.Jarand said it\u2019s not just the Sec.5 class at MVHS that has talent.He said his Sec.1-2 concert band just learned \u2018We Will Rock You,\u2019 putting down their instruments in the middle of the song to sing, clap and stomp out the famous chorus.His Sec.3-4 group plays the blues.\u201cThere are all kinds of amazing things going on at all our schools,\u201d Jarand explained, wishing he had more time to promote and celebrate his students\u2019 accomplishments with the community.Next up for Jarand\u2019s Sec.5 rock band is a theatre production in February, a collaboration between the dance, visual arts, and drama departments at the school.Jarand\u2019s students will be performing classics including the Time Warp song and Hey Jude, accompanied by original dance choreography, a script written by the drama department, and sets designed by visual arts students.Anyone wishing to see the MVHS entry into the \u2018Canada\u2019s Greatest Music Class\u2019 competition can search Stompa, Serena Ryder \u2014 Massey-Vanier High School cover on the CBC Music YouTube channel.The company did not cut any jobs as a part of this announcement, instead leaning on the fact that its current salary rates are higher than that of its North American competitors and other comparable Quebec companies.By freezing existing salaries for the next three to five years, depending on department, the money saved can be put into the renovation and revitalization process.Asked if investing in a process that makes manufacturing more efficient means job cuts further down the line, Morissette was evasive, pointing out instead that ongoing research and development means that BRP is always focused on coming up with new products to manufacture.\u201cOur industry is evolving a lot; we have developed many new vehicles over the years,\u201d he said, offering the development of the Spyder three-wheeled motorcycle as an example of local innovation.\u201cThe fact that here in Val-court we have the design and innovation centre shows that we have the capacity within the manufacturing facility to develop new models.\u201d The new renovations, though requiring concessions on the part of employees, are all being carried out in the name of maintaining and enhancing BRP\u2019s competitive edge, Morissette said.Need an American address for your next online purchase?With prices starting at $5 per package, you can use ours! 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