The Medical Officer of Health for the City of Hamilton has initiated an Extended Heat Warning starting today, Monday, August 11. The Extended Heat Warning will remain in effect until a cancellation notice is sent.
For information about heat-related illnesses, cool place locations, and reducing your risk, visit www.hamilton.ca/heat.
Due to roof repair maintenance, the Branch is temporarily closed from September 2 until October 10. Please visit Parkdale and Barton locations as your nearest branches for your library needs. Thank you for your understanding.
From August 18-19, accessible parking spots at the back of the building will not be available due to concrete and perimeter walkway repairs. From August 20-22, the main entrance from the back of the building will not be available. Please use the sidewalk on the side of the Branch to enter through the front entrance (off Rymal Road East) and gain access to the back parking lot. Thank you for your understanding.
Printing and photocopying are not working at Dundas Branch. We're working to get these working again as soon as possible.
The parking lot elevator at Terryberry Branch is not working. Members will need to use the accessible ramp at the Mohawk entrance and the inner elevator. We're working to get it fixed quickly.
Please note that the audio volume levels on our public computers are having issues. The estimated time of disruption is unknown at this time. Thank you for your patience.
The accessibility ramp at Mount Hope Branch is damaged. The handrail is not available. The ramp will not be available while being repaired. We aim to fix it quickly.
The Parks Board couldn't transfer the parks police directly to the city force because the men couldn't meet the qualifications. Rather than just abandon the force completely, it was decided to make them park custodians with a slight pay increase. By making them park custodians, it was possible to assign them to full time positions in one park instead of having them there for only 10 minutes at a time. If they needed help, they had to call on the city police, as custodians did in other cities.
A permanent police patrol of Hamilton's parkland began May 15, 1967. The patrol was the first to be carried out on a regular basis since the six-man parks police force had been disbanded in June of 1963. Experienced men carried out the parks work and extra men filled in on regular duty. For eight hours each day, one motorcycle policeman inspected the parks in his area. Special attention was given to known trouble spots. The motorcycle policeman was in radio contact with dispatchers at Central Police Station in case trouble developed. At other hours, the parks were watched by regular patrols.
Up until 1979, the parks were patrolled by policemen in uniform. It was found that it didn't work because the people could see the policemen coming a mile away. It was decided to allow the officers to dress casually but wearing shorts was thought to be too casual. Every now and then they were called away to do something else where shorts would be inappropriate.
References:
1. Clipping Files. Hamilton - Parks - Parks Police. Local History & Archives, HPL.
2. Hamilton Police Department Scrapbook. vol. 9. p. 37. Local History & Archives, HPL (352.2 H189)
3. Steel Shots. August 23, 1963. p. 5. (Periodical)
