Napanee Carpet Warehouse
6 Mill St E K7R1H2 Napanee, ON, Canada

So every one who clicked the " Ontario.ca/covidresponse" link to the "horn blaring" amber alert message you got on your phone yesterday , please raise your hand... that is holding your cell phone. I will hazard to guess very few people did or took the time to follow the links. In business and advertising messaging and first impression's are EVERYTHING and I just witnessed the single most powerful message ever sent to affect business and shopping habits. Imagine the power of contacting every single person in this province (@ 7 million people) in a matter of mere seconds and having them read it ? This message ( see attached provincial news story) states " stay at home except for ESSENTIAL purposes, but those who clicked the " Ontario.ca link , you will in fact find the following statement under the STAY AT HOME ORDER legislation O.Reg 11/21 filed Jan 13, 2021 @ 6pm.( Can you imagine ,they even times stamped this legislation)? Under Schedule 1, sub-section " Obtaining goods and services , section 8 you will find the following policy "PURCHASING OR PICKING UP OF GOODS THROUGH AN ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF SALE, SUCH AS CURBSIDE PICKUP, FROM A BUSINESS OR PLACE THAT IS PERMITTED TO PROVINCE CURBSIDE PICKUP UNDER THE STAGE ONE ORDER". Well stage one ALLOWS NON -ESSENTIAL SALES BY CURB SIDE ( unless you want a hair cut or your nails done). this message needs to corrected IMMEDIATELY and the amber alert and the 30 word statement issued yesterday is not totally correct. The most vulnerable business business sectors ( non essential ) were handed a slap in the face yesterday and could be the kiss of death to many of them. so please pass the message on that IN FACT you can still deal with your non essential business sectors , by at least curb side.

Received a bunch of feedback from members of council, the public and readers from my social media posts. Thank you...first let me clarify some of my comments ......Every community partner in this Town contributed ( and continue's to do so) including obviously the Town itself . Personally , our businesses spent thousand's of dollars to offset the capital costs of the lights, as did every property owner ( and merchant's), Trans Canada made a huge donation to get the ball rolling and of course the Town did then and continues to provide human resource, storage maintenance ,hydro and replacement costs towards some lights . Up to a few years ago many property owners paid for the hydro and since the new light standards were put in on Dundas Street the Town now pays for hydro. I understand that and sorry for any confusion that I may not have suggested that in previous replies. The problem here is that both the BIA and myself ( and others ) were of the understanding that the lights would be on until the end of January .As the BIA office memo I received states " that was the original plan" and the BIA sits on the Big Bright Light Show committee. I personally made that request back in October along with turning the lights on early ( daily at 2:30 ish) , which was obviously adopted. I now have received a page full of excuses why the Town needs to not only turn the lights off , but why they need to be taken down in the middle of January, even though " no decision will be made until THIS Tuesday night? Hydro costs ? for four extra weeks? How Much? Happy to ask the property owners to " pony up" . Need to give staff something to do during " down time" ? The reason they did not all come down at one time in 2020 was because it was a "non essential service". One week has already past since someone " pulled the plug " and our neighboring communities ( and others in Ontario) are seeing value in extending the holiday season. One member of our council saw the extension of the BIg Bright Light show as a means of promoting better mental health. Thank you for being so " forward thinking". We are in lockdown, will most likely have a curfew and extended lock down and finding " safe things to do" are a priority, this is a good way and option. I am often reminded by some members of Council to bring concerns to the table, well I would like to remind Council that it is a two way street. FYI the attached photograph is your County Court House where your County staff work. Your County portion of your tax bill still sees value in extending seasonal cheer ( their holiday lights were on a of last Friday night). Our Town Market Square was never light up in the first place ( compared to previous holiday season's). So if what I am told is true ( no decision has been made yet ) I support turning them back on until the end of January. Need money ?, just tell the BIA. I am sure the membership would chip in, even in a lockdown, we see true value and community spirit when it appears. Please keep in mind, your downtown core ( including our businesses ) are in a fight for survival like we have never seen. Curb side pickup? tell that to No Frills , Walmart and the other "essential " services and your BIA service oriented businesses, ( hard to get a haircut at the curb) We personally have been merchants in your downtown core for 90 years, my family has seen, wars, depressions, economic booms and busts, they seen it all. My mother Doris Lucas states " this is the first time I have been told I can't make a living and she has has been a merchant here for 76 years"........so Council this is not a "Gotcha" moment ,we will fight for every advantage and positive news story. I post daily when I see good things and bad things and I read what ever one else writes.....Communication is key and working together is a way of doing business that I want. I worry about our new businesses and heavily mortgaged property owners. If we don't survive this you won't have to worry about aby light show next this coming holiday season.

Received an email from my BIA (good for my BIA) that the Town of Napanee staff have removed the timers from the big bright lights and are planning to remove th...e big bright lights themselves as early as next week because the "weather is good, stores are closed and reduced traffic" . Apparently Council will be " voting on this Tuesday during their " virtual " Town hall meeting( a week after pulling the plug in the first place ). I want to inform Greater Napanee residents that our group of stores (April's Image, Octobers Clothing Store. Napanee Carpet Warehouse and Dress For Less) as well as the majority on store front businesses continue to remain open either as essential or non-essential ( curb side pickup) and I don't appreciate the messaging or the timing of the potential removal of the Big Bright Lights, considering when you read media releases like this from CTV news. The Town ( according to my email received) did not reach out to the BIA or membership prior to removing some of the timers last week ( been off since Monday I think ) and this should have been the minimal first action step. Many hours and team work have taken place to get the lights up this year ( as every year) and I think they will offer a pleasant and safe diversion for local residents during this current lockdown. If you want to support the BIA positioning of leaving the lights on until the end of the month , please comment here, share this post and contact your Council rep's. I am extremely disappointed with this situation and personally have made my thought s known to the majority of council. YOUR DOWTOWN CORE IS STILL OPEN FOR BUSINESS , ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.........

Don’t worry #kids #santa has just completed COVIDSafe lockdown for 14 days and cleared as safe for the big day

looking for the identity of this person, might be responsible for taking the joy out of christmas retailing, but I really appreciate him ( or her) posing for the camera, might be connected to several pre Christmas , after hours holiday shopping and may have forgotten to pay on his way out the door or window. feel free to private message me or the OPP. They would certainly enjoy a brief chat to see how things are going....

GREAT TO SEE OUR LOCAL MOVIE THEATRE BACK UP AND RUNNING, THIS IS WHAT YOU CALL A TRUE LOCAL BUSINESS THAT NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT NOW!!! PLEASE LIKE AND SHARE