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MonkeyJunk plays at Manotick United Church as Watson’s Mill begins replacing its leaky roof. – Page 3
NEWS
A Kars student wins the library’s Awesome Author contest for her story, Hunt of the Theropod. - Page 7
ENTERTAINMENT
The Isle in the River Review will be celebrating its 40th birthday at the Osgoode Legion Hall on April 27. – Page 11
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ROSSS’s Metcalfe office relocates Town hall a quick fix while ROSSS waits for Morrow House Emma Jackson emma.jackson@metroland.com
EMC news - The Metcalfe outreach office for Rural Ottawa South Support Services has made a temporary home in Metcalfe’s old town hall. ROSSS had previously operated its outreach office from the Township of Osgoode Care Centre on Snake Island Road, but that lease expired on March 31. ROSSS has long been eyeing Morrow House, a vacant city building in Metcalfe, as a possible new location for its rural outreach centre. But ROSSS is waiting for the city to find enough money in its tight budget to bring the house out of disrepair and make it accessible. In the meantime, the office has moved to a small space behind the old council chambers in what is now the city’s client service centre in Metcalfe. “We do have a lease for a limited period of time and in the meantime the city would be looking at fixing up the other building,” said ROSSS executive director Nancy Wilson. Morrow House, most recently an insurance broker office, is located just east of the client service centre on Victoria Street. It needs new windows, flooring and accessibility upgrades. Once that work is done, ROSSS’s board of directors chairman Don Slack said the non-profit organization needs to assess what kinds of renovations are needed to turn the building into an appropriate space for seniors’ drop-in programs. While the one-year lease purchases ROSSS some time, Wilson said she’d like to move into Morrow House before the year is up. The organization
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is renting storage space for things that wouldn’t fit in the client centre office, and they want to start providing programs for seniors in the area. At this point, it all depends on the city. “A lot of it is related to budget,” Wilson said. Osgoode Coun. Doug Thompson said city staff have not yet worked out a schedule or a cost assessment for renovating the vacant building. He said he is pushing staff to get the work done as soon as possible. “It’s sitting there mostly vacant so it would be a great use and it would be nice to have the building upgraded to present conditions,” he said. “It is possible (to finish within a year) and we certainly will work hard to get the work done.” He said the money would likely come from an existing budget, such as a funding envelope for accessibility upgrades. BETTER FOR EVERYONE
Despite the temporarily cramped quarters, Wilson said leaving the care centre will ultimately be better for both non-profit organizations. ROSSS was unable to provide foot care clinics and other services from its office in the care centre, because the long-term care facility couldn’t allow so many people to come and go from the secure residence. “That was one of our challenges with that site,” Wilson said. “There was always a risk with the doors being open and closed. We’re really excited about this (opportunity to move to Morrow House).” Osgoode Care Centre executive director Lori Norris said the move gives her more space to work with as the centre takes on more in-house services for its residents. She noted that the conversation to move out of the care centre began at the end of November 2010. See NEW, page 7
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Story of strength Olympic figure skater Elizabeth Manley shares how she struggled with depression during her skating glory days as part of a mental health information night for parents at St. Mark High School on April 4. Manley and education expert Mike Baine have teamed up to speak to schools and parents as part of the Student Support Leadership Initiative for the past year. It was their first time addressing a large adult crowd.
Manotick homeowners could get sewer fee break Laura Mueller laura.mueller@metroland.com
EMC news - The city plans to write off $1 million of the $10 million it is owed from property owners who had agreed to pay tax levies for local infrastructure improvements. Most of the outstanding charges – 70 per cent – are related to local projects like the Manotick sanitary sewer extensions and an extension to
Legget Drive that were constructed over the last four years. The city can allow property owners to pay for a portion of work that wouldn’t be warranted under city policies, such as extending a water main farther down a street than planned in order to provide service to additional properties. Some of that money likely can’t be recovered because of a loophole. See HOMEOWNERS, page 5
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