Eganville Leader_June

120th Year - No. 47

Man found dead, another charged with obstruction

Pembroke - The Upper Ottawa Valley Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has identified the deceased in a suspicious death in Pembroke last Friday.

OPP reported sometime in the afternoon an incident occurred in a downtown apartment and when they were called later in the evening, they located a dead male identified as Justin Walker, 32, of Pembroke. An investigation was commenced by the Upper Ottawa Valley Crime Unit and OPP Forensic Identification Services, under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB).

As a result of an investigation, John Dagenais, 31 also of Pembroke, has been charged with obstructing police. He appeared at the Ontario Court of Justice in Pembroke on Saturday. There are no concerns for public safety, but residents of downtown Pembroke should expect to see increased police activity in the area. The OPP investigation, in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario, is continuing.

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer

Eganville -- Please bear with us, is the message from Leader Publisher Gerald Tracey as the newspaper shifts its printing operations from McLaren Press in Bracebridge to Hebdo Litho in Montreal beginning with the June 8 edition.

“We are expecting a rather seamless transition, but like any change hiccups along the way might be encountered,” he said.

The Leader will continue to be printed Tuesday night and it is expected the papers will arrive in Eganville sometime around five or six o’clock Wednesday morning.

The one change that could occur is that delivery to Renfrew and Cobden rural routes might be pushed to Thursday instead of Wednesday, Mr. Tracey said. But that won’t be known until the first few weeks have passed.

“We expect we will still be able to meet postal deadlines in Eganville to ensure papers going out on Eganville rural routes and to the communities west of Eganville to Whitney will continue on Wednesday,” Mr. Tracey said. Stricter Deadlines

To ensure printing deadlines are met, The Leader office will be closed Tuesdays at 3 p.m.

The deadline for all display ads will be 12 noon Monday and for classified ads 3 p.m. the same day.

McLaren Press, a family-owned printing plant, announced May 1st its plans to close due to several circumstances including the shortage of newsprint and other fine paper, the loss of two of its largest print customers and the inability to grow back the business because of paper shortages.

Hebdo Litho is an independentlyowned plant that prints many community newspapers in and around the Montreal area and throughout Quebec. In addition to The Leader, it will now be printing the Valley Gazette out of Barry’s Bay, the Madawaska Highlander, a seasonal paper based out of the Griffith area, and three publications in the Kemptville area.

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Ontario

$3

Ukraine fundraiser growing

Eganville -- The Fundraiser for Ukraine, being sponsored by The Eganville Leader, is continuing to get a lot of support from across Renfrew County.

Leader Publisher Gerald Tracey said the June 17 event at the Eganville Arena will include a live auction, a silent auction, an evening of firstclass musical entertainment, special guests from the Ukrainian community in Ottawa and more.

The live auction, conducted by Preston Cull of Douglas, will kick off the night and take place outside the arena near the entrance to Rotary Beach. “We are receiving many wonderful and unique items and if the donations continue, we expect the auction will begin at 6:30 and go to at least 7:30,” he said. “In addition, there will also be scores of smaller items sold by silent auction. These will be displayed inside the arena.”

All auction items will be available for viewing from 5 p.m. on.

Following the auction, there will be a brief opening ceremony including welcoming remarks from local and county dignitaries and hopefully a musical presentation from a Ukrainian women’s choir from Ottawa. This will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

Crash victim airlifted from Queens Line

the vehicle left the road. It travelled along the ditch area, over the driveway, coming to rest a few hundred feet in the farmer’s recently planted field.

just south of Kohlsmith Road Wednesday evening around 7 o’clock. The driver of a vehicle with a Quebec licence plate was airlifted by ORNGE Air to an Ottawa hospital. His condition is not known.

Around 7 p.m., the driver, who was the lone occupant of the vehicle, was travelling south on the Queens Line at one of the Windy Ridge Farms when

Whitewater Region Fire Chief Jonathan McLaren said firefighters from Cobden and Haley stations responded to the emergency call. They provided first aid until care was transferred to Renfrew County paramedics. Fire crews also closed a section of the Queens Line to allow a safe helipad to be established for Ornge Air to land, he said.

Police said no charges will be laid.

Mayor is cautiously optimistic work on battered Foymount Road will proceed

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer

–

Pembroke

After hearing nothing but bad news regarding the County of Renfrew’s scheduled rehabilitation of Highway 512/ Foymount Road in her township over the past few months, the mayor of Bonnechere Valley (BV) Township received some encouraging news on the matter last week.

BV Mayor Jennifer Murphy had recently expressed her extreme disappointment that both Hydro One and Bell Canada had said they may not be able to provide some of the necessary infrastructure work at all this year, or until much later, so Wednesday’s news gave her some optimism that might change.

Warden Debbie Robinson, reeve of Laurentian Valley Township, in-

vited Lee Perkins, Director of Public Works and Engineering, to provide an update on the project for council, urging Mayor Murphy to “not kill the messenger”.

“I shall make no such promise,” Mayor Murphy said in jest.

Mr. Perkins said county staff has met with representatives of Hydro One, who were reviewing the design and scheduled to provide a confirmation the following week.

“Now, all this was prior to last weekend’s events (the wind storm that ravaged many parts of Ontario),” Mr. Perkins noted. “Hydro is supposed to confirm net week that they’re going to be able to do work for us or not.”

Mayor Murphy said she would not shoot the messenger, adding both Hydro and Bell had been in touch

with her prior to the meeting.

“I want to thank you (Warden Robinson) and county council for allowing the letter to be written (to Hydro and Bell),” she said. “I also want to thank all the media outlets who printed my absolute outrage.

“The representatives from Bell and Hydro got my feelings loud and clear,” she added. “They did have site meeting on May 16 and both entities were in touch with me middle of the week.”

She said while no final report was available then from that site meeting, the companies promised to get back to her the week of the county council session.

“Over the weekend, I thought that’s not going to happen, but sure enough, the representative from Hydro phone

me yesterday (May 24),” she added.

“Apparently, the site meeting went quite well and I’m going to be cautiously optimistic.” She thanked everyone for their support in the issue, noting how Coun.

Michael Donohue had earlier stated in the meeting, that if the county building did not really need new shingles for the roof this year, it should be delayed until the costs come down somewhat for the asphalt shingles themselves.

“Foymount Road needs shingles, so let’s not push that one off,” she urged.

“It’s getting more dangerous by the day and I’m not telling you anything that you don’t know, Mr. Perkins.

“But I was pleasantly surprised that Bell and Hydro reached out,” she concluded. “A good news story.”

William Enright is recording the articles being donated for both the live and silent auctions and is amazed at some of the items people are giving. On the auction bill now are 100 pounds of freshly-butchered beef, barbeques, new TVs, an outdoor patio set, five cords of firewood – cut split and delivered, loads of topsoil delivered anywhere in Renfrew County, an almost new riding lawnmower, a day’s work by an excavator and much more. The local artist community is also rowing in with many original and numbered reproductions.

“As you can see, the auction items can also be services provided by local companies which is quite valuable in these times,” he said. “Some of the items will attract the interest of many people.” Silent auction items will likely have a value of $50 to $200, he said.

Mr. Tracey expressed his thanks to Bonnechere Valley Township council following its decision to waive the rental fee for the arena. He said it is contributions like that which truly make the fundraiser a commnity effort.

Anyone wishing to donate services or new or gently used items to the auction can contact Mr. Tracey at 613-7320377; Mr. Enright at 613-602-6276, or Zig Mintha at 613-628-3295. Items can be dropped off at the arena throughout the day June 17. If that isn’t possible arrangements will be made for pick up or alternative drop off.

Mr. Enright said the committee is appreciative of the wide support the fundraiser is receiving, noting there have already been donations ranging from $100 to $5,000.

“We are hopeful that tax receipts can be issued for donations of $50 and above,” he said.

Anyone wishing to support the effort can mail cheques made out to “Trust for Ukraine Community” to The Leader, Box 310, Eganville, ON K0J 1T0 or send an Interac E-transfer to Northern Credit Union in Eganville using Eganville.Ukraine.Fund@ gmail.com

The lone occupant of a vehicle that left the Queens Line last Wednesday night, May 25 is loaded into the Ornge Air helicopter for transport to an Ottawa hospital. Whitewater Region firefighters from Cobden and Haley stations responded to the crash and assisted Renfrew County paramedics

Whitewater Region firefighters check out the vehicle and the driver as police talk with those on scene. Photos: Connie Tabbert

County council, staff have high praise for retiring colleague

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer Pembroke

– It was somewhat bittersweet at Renfrew County council last Wednesday when council and staff wished one of their longtime colleagues farewell knowing there would be big shoes to fill following his retirement.

Alistair Baird, Manager of Economic Development and Tourism, is retiring June 30th, marking an end to his 20-year career with the county. His many accomplishments during his tenure were shared by council and staff.

Petawawa Mayor Bob Sweet, Chair of Development and Property, said Mr. Baird was retiring after years of service that involved Manager of Economic Development Services, working with the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association, Enterprise Renfrew County, and more.

“He is a huge asset and a person who is passionate about economic development and involvement with Renfrew County,” he said.

He noted the county is built on four pillars: agriculture, tourism, economic development and forestry.

“I think it’s fair to say that Alistair, over these 20 years, has hit the bullets in every possible way starting with the Taste of the Valley,” Mayor Sweet noted.

He recalled attending the Centralia Initiative with Mr. Baird in Winnipeg where county representatives had 30 minutes with different individuals, some from across the globe to pitch them to locate in the county.

“Alistair, I don’t know if you know this or not, but through the Centralia Initiative Petawawa was fortunate enough to get a new hotel,” he stated.

“I wanted to thank you publicly for getting that and making that happen for us.”

He said Mr. Baird will be missed for his many skills, noting he is a very approachable individual who has done a stellar job with the county.

Warden Debbie Robinson described Mr. Baird as “one of the most energized and agreeable people she has ever had the pleasure of knowing.”

Renfrew Mayor Peter Emon said he has never met anyone who was so enthusiastic about a cow-poo digester, or a beer, whitewater, cell phone coverage, etc.

“Anything you wanted to know about, Alistair was available to give you great background, brief you, put you in a position where you looked like you knew what you were talking about, and were able to answer three or four questions,” he remarked. He recalled when he was warden, Mr. Baird advised him there was a delegation coming to talk about the Endangered Species Act, noting while he expected 10 to 12 people, the council chamber was packed.

“They were somewhat agitated, so it took a little while for us to work our way through that, but we got a great report out of it,” he recalled.

He said Mr. Baird was always well prepared, noting the only time he saw him flustered was on a county business trip to the U.S.

“The police stopped us. I was slightly over the speed limit,” he explained. “An Ontario driver in a rental vehicle, in Tennessee, with California plates. It took us a little while to work that out, but we did.”

“It’s been a lot of fun Alistair. I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “You’re a good example for someone like myself who loves to charge into things and ask a lot of questions.

“Alistair had an ability to slow me down or at least run me in a circle until I got tired, like you would a runaway horse,” he added.

Important Aid To Beef Industry

Admaston/Bromley Mayor Michael Donohue first met Mr. Baird in May 2010 prior to his election to office and in his role as a beef farmer, when Mad Cow Disease reared its ugly head.

“Warden Sweet, at the time, had struck up the Save Our Beef Committee (SOBC) and that was the first I met Alistair. He was wet behind the ears, as I recall, as far as his engagement with the County of Renfrew goes at the time.

“But his tireless efforts and incredible dedication was certainly on display,” he added. “This was devastating and time has perhaps dimmed some of the worst aspects of this sector of the economy.”

He explained the committee held incredible importance in inspiring all of Canada it could help the farmers with the fact the borders were closed and their beef could no longer be exported.

“The consumption of beef right across the country raised dramatically in conjunction with this vast glut of beef.”

While the beef was worth pennies on the dollar going into processing plants, it was still being sold at full retail prices.

“So the pain was all experienced at the production level. Without that incredible component of keeping this in the public eye, it would have been that much more devastating.

“It was enormously insightful for someone who was very much just engaged in the job,” he added.”

He said while it may have been frustrating and very challenging at

times, Mr. Baird rose to the occasion. County CAO Paul Moreau said when he started with the county in 2011, Mr. Baird had been there for a couple of years. Two things about his friend stand out for him, he said. “Alistair’s resolve to get the job done and his ability to calm management down. He was always a fantastic sounding board for comments and feedback to us on where we are going,” he said. He noted Mr. Baird started as an economic development officer and then became part of the management team in development and property.

“I think that was one of the best hires I ever made bringing you into

the management fold because you’ve always been fantastic with people.”

He said in the fall of 2012, Mr. Baird was instrumental in the revisiting and reworking the agreement between the county and the City of Pembroke regarding the Ottawa Valley Tourist Association, noting he and some of his staff worked the Thanksgiving weekend to be prepared.

“That didn’t happen just that one time, it happened with Alistair all the time,” he said. “If you needed someone to get the job done, he was always the guy.”

In addition, Mr. Moreau said Mr. Baird was instrumental in the fourlaning of Highway 17.

“It was Alistair who took the approach with the province of Ontario to develop a business case. He said we weren’t going to tackle it from an argument of traffic volume but from a perspective of we need the fourlaning of Highway 17 to grow our communities.

“Alistair, from me to you and all of the staff and ratepayers of the county, we are really going to miss you,” he said. “You walk around this building and the energy just comes out of the guy.”

Last Word

Mr. Baird said it was a difficult decision to retire because he has really enjoyed the work and he found it exciting and engaging.

“And it has been very rewarding for me, working with the businesses across the county, in all the sectors. And working with the elected leaders and some of the people at the municipal level as well.

“It’s all been pretty dynamic, pretty exciting and a lot of things have been happening, even through the last few years with COVID happening,” he added. “It’s tough to leave.”

Now 63, he plans to spend more time with wife, Darlene, and his two grown children, Everett, in Kingston, and Emma, in Guelph.

“We’re going to re-start our kind of dormant voyageur canoe business and get that going,” he shared. “I’m going to stay busy and look for other things to do.”

He said he will be available as a resource for his successor and other staff.

When asked what he took the most pride in, he said he felt they got a lot of good things in place.

“I think the one thing we did do as the county-wide regional economic development team, we engaged much more directly with all the different business sectors. We’ve had an Ottawa Valley Tourist Association for a long time, so that was already there, but we have our forestry and woodprocessing group now, we have our agricultural economic development committee, we have our tourism one,” he added. “And we just put together a very informal network of manufacturers.”

The couple reside in Arnprior and have property in Whitewater Region as well.

Committee to explore affordable housing options for Killaloe area

By Johanna Zomers Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Killaloe – A steering committee to explore the next steps to bring affordable housing for all ages to the community was the outcome of a meeting last week attended by about 40 people. Eleven people, including municipal representatives, agreed to sit on the steering committee following the May 25 meeting at the Lions Hall.

Organizer Ish Theilheimer said he hopes the final outcome will be affordable housing for a variety of people and families that is sustainable, energy efficient and in line with the community needs and beliefs.

“This will not be a short-term thing,” he said. “The very successful Fairfields’ project in Eganville took 10 years of hard work, but it was worth it. People in the housing field tell me to expect this kind of time frame.”

Mr. Theilheimer, founder of Stone Fence Theatre and a resident of North Algona Wilberforce (NAW) Township, said he thought there was the potential to get something regional going in Killaloe with local projects to meet the specific needs all over the county.

“There are some influential people in this room with a real track record of accomplishment,” he said. “So, I’m optimistic but also daunted by the work ahead. “But many successful community projects have had their beginnings in this hall.”

Many in attendance spoke about how affordable housing keeps people living in the area.

“We build community by building housing,” NAW resident Kathy Eisner said.

While a housing shortage is often perceived as the very visible homelessness seen on city streets, in the Ottawa Valley the shortage of affordable housing affects working and middle-class families who can no longer afford to rent, buy or build homes

The accepted official definition of affordable housing is housing which takes up no more than 30 percent

of your income. When the costs are higher, other necessities suffer. It translates into a multitude of other economic disadvantages. The current labour shortage is partly the result of the housing shortage. Without a place to live, young people cannot stay in the Valley.

Several factors, including the influx of newcomers during COVID-19, has affected the supply of available homes both for sale and rent.

“We need to think of housing as an economic entity,” local realtor Pam Ogelsby said, adding the accepted realtor practice of ‘blind bidding’ which artificially raises house prices, should be banned.

“Our children will never be able to afford to buy a house here,” added Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards (KHR) councillor Ted Browne.

There was a general consensus that all levels of government need to be involved in creating the sort of mixed housing that works for young families, seniors, for the sort of mixed age diverse groups that are a natural part of community. Both KHR Mayor Janice Tiedje and Sue Klatt, CAO of Madawaska Valley Township, commented on the unfair downloading of housing onto the individual municipalities.

“Municipalities cannot solve this problem on their own,” Mayor Tiedje, former chair of the Renfrew County Housing Board, said.

NAW Township is currently conducting a Needs Assessment of the housing situation in the area. Some of the questions acknowledge the insecurity of housing for many people which includes fear of having to move and

ability to pay bills into the foreseeable future. The current revision of the planning process and land use designations on the county level will open some solutions, mostly in terms of housing density. Infill housing (i.e., housing that fits within an existing neighbourhood) and ‘granny suites’ can provide additional housing on existing lots but there are a number of limiting factors. Some counties have created funding to help homeowners create additional housing on their properties, but Renfrew County is not one of them.

Killaloe resident and retired businessman Dan Harrington cited a time when the village had more than a dozen properties available for rent.

“They are no longer rentals,” he noted.

As chair of the local food bank, he

said he sees the connections between unaffordable housing and food insecurity.

The current labour shortage, which seriously affects local employers, is also partly an outgrowth of the lack of available and affordable housing.

“We need to attract immigrants to make up for the children we are no longer having,” Round Lake resident Judy Martin said. Currently, the federal government has money available for affordable housing projects, though there are many steps necessary to get to the point of being ‘shovel-ready’. CMHC -- the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation -- also has grant and loan funding programs available to help get a co-operative project off the ground, but sources of local capital is also needed.

The issue of the lack of affordable and attainable housing was also discussed at the Renfrew County council meeting earlier in the day in Pembroke. In her address, Warden Debbie Robinson noted how during a recent session of the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) in Pembroke, Mayor Robin Jones, chair of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA), made a presentation on the subject.

“Housing is a priority across this province and certainly for the County of Renfrew,” Warden Robinson stated.

“And lobbying by AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario), ROMA (Rural Ontario Municipalities of Ontario), the Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (WOWC) and the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) is continuing in earnest in preparation of the delegation meeting at the AMO conference this August.”

Warden Robinson said while the EOWC has three priorities, it is currently focusing its energies on housing.

“We are preparing to offer insight to the newly-elected provincial government regarding the housing needs of eastern Ontario, as well as potential solutions,” she explained.

Ish Theilheimer

About 40 people attended a public meeting in Killaloe last Wednesday night to discuss the need for affordable housing in the community for all age groups. It was organized by local community activist Ish Theilheimer, shown above addressing the gathering.

Photos: Chris Neff

Alistair Baird, Manager of Economic Development and Tourism for Renfrew County, was recognized last Wednesday for his many contributions over his 20-year career with the county. He is retiring June 30 and his colleagues said he will be missed for his enthusiasm and ability to get things done.

Photo: County of Renfrew

New health team will provide improved access to care

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer Pembroke

-- The new Ottawa Valley Ontario Health Team (OVOHT) is committed to providing improved access to primary care for residents of Renfrew County through a collaborative approach involving all healthcare providers and support services that are available.

That was the message delivered to Renfrew County council and staff last Wednesday by Pembroke physicians, Dr. Declan Rowan, co-chair of OVOHT, and Dr. Richard Johnson, clinical lead of the organization.

Warden Debbie Robinson welcomed the two, who were accompanied by Jama Watt, the OVOHT Implementation Lead, to provide an update on the program.

Dr. Rowan explained the Ontario Health Teams (OHTs) were created by the Ministry of Health to incorporate all the Crown corporations into one huge structure, which was then

regionalized.

“And we’re (OVOHT) part of Ontario Health East,” he noted.

He described the health teams as a way of organizing the way care is delivered to patients in a more connected strategy for patients, families and caregivers in the local communities.

“It’s really about kind of coordinating and getting our partners to work together to provide better care for people within our region,” he remarked.

There are 51 OHTs in the province with Dr. Rowan stressing it is projected it will take between five to 10 years for these teams to “mature” from where they currently are in year one. He said the issue of developing and adjusting how people access healthcare is really about understanding the complexity of the healthcare system which is getting more complex all the time.

Dr. Rowan noted tremendous silos exist in the county and region which

they are breaking down; however, there is a lot of bureaucracy involved in doing that.

“So there are tremendous challenges that we are trying to overcome, but we’re really hoping there is a reward at the end of this,” he stated.

He said the OHTs have a “quadruple aim” which is to improve the health of the entire population so they have better outcomes with their health and care through services available to everyone; improve the patient and caregiver experience, which can currently be very challenging, improve staff and work life experience to ensure a viable workforce, and keeping costs as low as possible.

Dr. Rowan re-iterated OHTs are designed to address the needs of the entire population, so no one gets left behind, and that the needs are being responded to in a reactive and proactive way.

“There has to be equitable access to healthcare for everybody.”

He said many people only access healthcare in emergencies and the OHTs want them covered too.

“Really, what we’re looking at is developing both in-reach services and outreach services,” he said.

OVOHT Serves Almost 80,000

Dr. Johnson said the attributed population in the OVOHT catchment area is 78,751, noting the areas were defined where the residents accessed their care. He noted Arnprior was in a different OHT as they also access care to the east at Queensway Carleton Hospital and other Ottawa facilities.

“That being said, we collaborate amongst our neighbouring OHTs and have regular meetings and work together.”

He noted children and youth aged 0-18 years make up 19.9 percent of the OVOHT and seniors 60-plus make up 24.4 per cent.

Dr. Johnson said the priorities in year one are aging at home, better access to quality mental health and addiction services, access and attachment to primary care, virtual and digital care, and 24/7 navigation and co-ordination of the supports.

He added they have identified three immediate priorities: frail seniors, those with mental health and addiction issues, and primary care.

One of the most important components of the OVOHT is the creation of the Patient Family and Caregiver (PFaC) Network which brings the views and experiences of patients, families and caregivers into the design, implementation and ongoing operations of the group.

“We’re creating a system that is truly responsive to their needs,” he remarked.

After launching in October 2021, they introduced the PFaC Network, secured staffing supports, and launched other working groups and committees.

County Staff Involved

Warden Robinson noted when the OHTs were created, the county was fortunate to have some of its staff members -- CAO Paul Moreau, the Chief of Paramedic Services, Mike Nolan, the former Director of Long-Term Care, Shelley Sheedy, and the current director, Mike Blackmore -- involved.

“I’m very pleased that we have these individuals as part of the process as well,” she remarked.

“Certainly, the position of this council, and also of the EOWC, ROMA and AMO,

is around the governance of OHTs moving forward.”

She added the municipalities contribute funding to healthcare from the tax base and it’s critical to have government to government agreements in place to ensure that funding for supports and services remains.

“I have a lot of confidence personally knowing both of you gentlemen and I know patient care and primary care is your focus, and you will make sure that continues to be the focus of our health team,” the warden said.

Bonnechere Valley Mayor Jennifer Murphy was delighted to see that one of the priorities was mental health and addiction, noting there has been such an uptake in those areas the past twoand-a-half years it definitely needs to be addressed.

Bob Sweet, the mayor of Petawawa, expressed his concern as to how the new OVHOT might affect existing family health teams in the area including Renfrew, Petawawa, Whitewater Region and Madawaska Valley.

Dr. Rowan said a priority of the OVOHT is to see individuals have access to a high-functioning primary care team, adding the OHT is about working in collaboration with others.

“There’s no change in the way any organization is funded at all,” he stated.

He admitted not knowing how things will evolve further down the line, but the focus is breaking down the silos that exist and working together to make the system more efficient while maintaining an independent approach in their area.

“I think it’s very important the status quo, or at least what we have here, is enhanced and not necessarily lost in this whole process,” Mayor Sweet

responded.

He told the delegates he was very grateful for the VTAC initiative, saying it’s an excellent service and it needed to continue under the OVOHT.

“Many, many people that I know have utilized that and I think it has been an excellent, excellent initiative here in the County of Renfrew, and I certainly would not want to see that lost in any future initiatives that go forward.”

Renfrew Reeve Peter Emon agreed, saying the service has been a lifesaver in many instances and certainly has improved access to services.

Admaston/Bromley Mayor Michael Donohue said he feels there has been an attitude of almost competition between some existing health service providers, possibly because of funding formulas, and it would be a major accomplishment for the OVOHT to eliminate that.

“If we could eliminate the competitive effort, that would be a win up front. Ultimately, it seems to me, that the trust level is going to be key in truly moving forward on this.”

Dr. Rowan credited Mayor Donohue for hitting the nail on the head, explaining in any situations involving complex change, it’s about relationships and how to get people having a common shared purpose to work together.

“We’ve really tried to put emphasis on some commonalities, focusing on patients, families and primary care which I think is universal across the whole of our region,” he said. “I do think one of the silver linings of COVID has been people working together and I think VTAC has given a model of how we can do that.”

Algonquins of Pikwakanagan Chief Wendy Jocko had the pleasure of being part of the official welcome and farewell parties during the Royal Visit by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Windsor, from May 17 to 19. Here, she is seen greeting the royal couple upon their arrival in Ottawa. Two young members of the Pikwakanagan community, Zoe Kuiack and Amber Hein were part of the official parties too. Photo submitted.

Welcoming Royal Couple

KHR approves one percent hike in municipal levy for 2022

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer

Killaloe -- Property owners in Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards (KHR) Township will see a one percent increase in the municipal portion of their property taxes this year after council passed its 2022 budget on May 17.

Council approved the $6.1 million budget following a presentation by Councillor Debbie Peplinskie, chair of the finance committee. The total budget of $6,139,695 is an increase of $495,266 from the 2021 estimates at $5,644,429, with $2,735,488 to be collected through the municipal

levy. That is an increase of $33,076 over 2021. With the increase, a property valued at $100,000 will see an increase in the municipal levy of about $6.34.

Coun. Peplinskie explained $670,742 was being transferred from the reserve for working funds to offset the budget shortfall. Another $100,000 is being transferred from the road reserves to help cover the cost of 2021 road projects estimated to be $378,417. The balance is being funded through the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund (OCIF) of $201,025 and $77,392 from gas tax grants.

“The balance in the reserve for working funds after the above noted transfer is $1,488,338 and $332,080 in the road reserve fund,” she explained. “In addition, the township holds $399,952.37 in hydro reserves and $19,400.10 in sewage reserves.” She added there is also a reserve fund set up for the waste site tags and tipping fees that are sold during the year which average about $16,000 annually.

“In 2021, a roll-ff truck in the amount of $51,432 for the waste site was paid out of these funds,” she noted. To further reduce the shortfall,

Canada Day Picnic in McRae Park

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer

Eganville – Eganville is the place to be on July 1 as the Eganville and Area Community Development Group (EACDG) hosts its inaugural Picnic in McRae Park fundraiser in beautiful McRae Park along the Bonnechere.

The new event follows the two previous successful Dinner on the Bridge fundraisers, which like many other fundraisers, were cancelled the last two years due to COVID-19.

Brian Weckwerth, co-chair of the fundraising committee, and committee member, George Pezoulas, told The Leader that when the EACDG met in March, someone suggested the group re-visit hosting another fundraising dinner of some sort.

“We had a very successful golf tournament fundraiser last year and this year the idea came up to have a dinner in the park,” Mr. Weckwerth said.

“Then George Pezoulas suggested we call it Picnic in the Park and do corn, barbecue chicken, the whole works, and our group was right on it.

“We decided that was going to be our fundraiser this year.”

The last Dinner on the Bridge was held in 2019 and Mr. Weckwerth said by moving the fundraiser to McRae Park, it alleviates both the need and the work required to close the busy highway for several hours.

“Closing down a road is major and it takes a lot of people and a lot of detour signs,” he said.

Mr. Pezoulas said there are numerous challenges to first get permission to close the road and then the work required to co-ordinate and set up all

the required details for the various detours required.

“It takes the pressure off,” he noted. While the previous event on the bridge could accommodate 220 to 240 people, the capacity for the park is capped at 120.

“You kind of have to be careful doing events this year because people are just getting in that comfort zone of being out again,” Mr. Pezoulas noted.

“Some people don’t want to be in big groups yet, so you have to be careful.”

He said moving the fundraiser to McRae Park also allows the EACDG to showcase all the work that has been done at the site.

Mr. Weckwerth stressed this is not a formal opening of the park, which has been delayed due to COVID, but rather an opportunity to showcase the work the EACDG and its volunteers have done there the past few years.

The event starts at 5 p.m., with dinner served at 6, and live entertainment starting at 5:30 and going until 9 p.m. Mr. Pezoulas, co-owner of Rio Tap & Grill in Eganville, is handling the catering for the evening.

The cost per person is $85 which includes a bottle of wine per couple for the meal. Mr. Weckwerth noted that a $50 tax receipt will be issued for every ticket sold.

The list of entertainers includes Lake Dore summer resident, Dave Souliere of Brampton, Melissa O’Connor of Eganville and Adam Fieldhouse of Petawawa.

“They are all volunteering their talents and time,” Mr. Weckwerth said. In the event of inclement weather, the event will likely be moved to the

Eagles Nest.

Mr. Pezoulas said they are pleased with the ticket sales to date after just announcing the event publicly on May 18.

“It’s early right now, but by midJune, we should be sold out,” he said.

Mr. Weckwerth said when dinner is over, the patrons can proceed uptown to havea better vantage point to watch the fireworks display from.

Mr. Pezoulas said payment can be made by either personal cheque or by cash.

Tickets are available from Mr. Weckwerth at 613-628-3192, Diane Moore at 628-2315, or at Rio Tap and Grill at 76 Bonnechere Street East, Eganville (613-628-5344). Other Projects

Mr. Weckwerth, who is also the treasurer for the EACDG, had other exciting news to share.

“Hopefully, within the next 10 to 14 days we’re going to be pouring the cement pad on the Bonnechere River for the wheelchair accessible fishing dock,” he said. “It’s going to be called Logger’s Landing “We have materials on order and we’re just waiting for the floatation devices with the wheels,” he added.

“Our goal is to have it done before the July long weekend.”

He said the EACDG is extremely grateful to the Eganville Rotary Club for its contribution of $5,000 to the project.

In addition, the EACDG is planning on completing the paint job on a downtown building and there are two more murals to be erected, the sites of which have not yet been determined.

council used $12,000 from the Shoreline Road allowance closings to offset the repairs of the Round Lake dock, the replacement of the rink lighting in Killaloe, and the maintenance of the play structure in Station Park in the village.

“Council feels it is very important to retain a good reserve balance, as it acts as a cushion in times of emergency, and it enables the township to participate in funding options that may be presented from time to time by other levels of government,” she said. “For example, when program funding announcements are made, they are rarely without a requirement for a commitment of municipal funds to cover a share of the cost.

“When we retain a healthy reserve balance, we are assured that the municipality can participate in these opportunities without relying on costly borrowing or increased tax rates to cover the municipal portion,” she added.

Changes By Department Coun. Peplinskie turned her focus to the respective departments, explaining if there was an increase or decrease and what it was primarily associated with.

The 2021 estimated budget in legislative is $204,150, an increase of $43,302 over 2021 actual expenditures of $160,848, which was due to more regular meetings, in-person conferences, as well as participation in Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS). She explained because there is a municipal election this fall, $34,000 has been allocated for that expense. She noted all the administration budgets were combined for 2022 to reflect the overall administrative cost more accurately for the year. The 2022 estimate reflects an increase of approximately $37,390 for additional wages for transfer of jobs, OMERS, and increased costs of a 12 per cent hike in insurance rates.

The 2022 estimate for the administration building is $61,120 compared to the actual 2021 of $53,124, which reflects costs for some renovations to the front entrance of the municipal building and an increase in insurance.

The estimate for the fire department increased to $502,950, which is $243,874 over the 2021 actual values to cover increases in the cost of insurance, heating costs and the

annual repayment of the debenture on the new fire hall.

“There is also an expenditure of $40,000 for the upgrade of the communications which is covered by a grant,” she noted. Policing costs has decreased by $18,543, from the 2021 actual of $497,039 to the budgeted $478,496.

The roads budget has increased $432,029 from last year’s $1,897,710 to $2,329.739. She explained the 2022 construction costs are estimated at $378,417, which will be offset with OCIF and gas tax funding, along with $100,000 from the road reserves. The increased costs are related to increases in fuel, insurance and the cost of parts.

She also announced $378,417 has been set aside for three different road projects that include work on Tramore Road and Mary Street and for the replacement of the furnace at the works garage. These projects are being funded through the OCIF grants, gas tax funding and road reserves.

The building department, which includes building, sewage inspection, by-law and health and safety, increased from $120,672 in 2021 to $189,100 this year. The increases were due to additional wages and training for the animal control officer and the hiring of a compliance officer jointly with Madawaska Valley Township.

“There is also an expenditure of $40,000 for the upgrade of the communications which is covered by grant,” Coun. Peplinskie stated Waste management is showing an increase of $53,657 over 2021 to cover the cost for the roll-off truck that was purchased. It will be offset by environmental fees.

There will be a slight increase in the water and sewage treatment plant budget as some of the capital works projects scheduled for 2021 were not completed. The Medical Centre budget will increase by $6,722 to cover a slight increase in insurance and minor repairs.

Lastly, Coun. Peplinskie noted the Community Development Officer budget has increased from $196,925 in 2021 to $230,392 in 2022. Events like Canada Day, the Loggers Festival and the Irish Gathering have been reinstated for 2022. Other events such as the car show, Songs in the Park, and the Killaloe Pathways Park (at

the Hoch property) will be funded through three different streams of funding.

Proud of Budget

She noted in August 2021, council held the opening of the new fire hall at the intersection of Highway 60 and Round Lake Road. Other accomplishments included receiving the final approvement of the amendments to the Bonnechere River Water Management Plan; adoption of a Community Well-Being Plan with Madawaska Valley, Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan and South Algonquin; a full review and update of the municipality’s Strategic Plan from 2022 to 2026, and, they used reserve funds from the environmental account to purchase the used roll-off truck.

“Council, after much deliberation, reviewed all draft budgets presented by each department head and approved a one per cent tax rate increase for 2022,” Coun. Peplinskie announced.

She said COVID-19 restrictions continued in 2021 and under the direction of council, the Emergency Operations Control Group met on a weekly basis to ensure the municipality continued to provide services to the taxpayers while keeping staff safe.

“Council continues to be diligent in their commitment to provide municipal services to our ratepayers while maintaining a healthy and financially feasible reserve and reserve fund balance,” she remarked. “Good, sound financial decisions have made it possible for the township to continue to have this option for 2022.”

Grateful For Commitment of Council and Staff

As the chair of the finance committee, Coun. Peplinskie offered her thanks to everyone involved with the budgetary process. She expressed her gratitude to deputy CAO Tammy Gorgerat, department heads and council for their hard work on the budget. Mayor Janice Tiedje added her gratitude to everyone involved.

“I too want to pass on my thanks to all staff, Sue (CAO Sue Sheridan), under your direction. Good budget, well done.

“There were a lot of hard decisions council had to make, but under the circumstances . . . gas prices have made the road work a little harder to manage, but congratulations council on a well-made budget.”

The Eganville and Area Community Development Group are hosting Picnic in McRae Park on July 1. George Pezoulas, left, a member of the fundraising committee, and Brian Weckwerth, co-chair of the committee, said 120 tickets are available for the dinner and sales have been brisk already.

BV couple donates piano for music in Centennial Park

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer Eganville – A Bonnechere Valley

(BV) Township couple who have embraced the community since their arrival here in 1994, made a recent donation to the township that will hopefully inspire visitors to Centennial Park to either share their musical talents or try something new.

Gerald Priestley and Claire Lepine donated a piano, which they delivered to the bandshell in the park Sunday evening, where it will remain for the summer and fall.

A native of Thunder Bay, who grew up in Winnipeg, Mr. Priestley explained they had attended a wedding in a park in B.C. in 2018 when he got the idea for a “public” piano.

“It was an outdoor piano, the first one I had seen, but I had heard of them,” he remarked. “I was enthralled.

“It was in a park in a little bandshell, painted up,” he added. “And I have since become aware of them in various other parts of the country and around the world. But I haven’t seen any around here.”

Fast forward to the spring of 2020 when he had planned to have a piano in Centennial Park later that year.

“Then along came COVID and everything came to a complete stop.”

At that time, he had a piano that someone else had donated that he was going to use. Then he and his brother decided to sell their parent’s house in Winnipeg after their father was moved into a facility and one of the items was his great grandmother’s piano.

“Which my brother did not want, so we took the burden upon ourselves to go out to Winnipeg to retrieve the piano,” he said

With the help of friends Connor and Hunter Heideman, they moved the piano they had from the house to the carport and the piano from Winnipeg into the house.

“So, we’ve been preparing the old piano for a few weeks.”

The piano they donated was purchased from Arthur Leach of Micksburg about 25 years ago. It belonged to Mr. Leach’s grandmother and bears a plaque honouring the family.

“They ordered it new from the factory, it came to Pembroke on the train and his grandfather took the horse and wagon to Pembroke and hauled it back to Micksburg. I can’t imagine what the roads were like then.”

The piano was made by the Karn Company of Woodstock prior to 1910. At that time, Canada was a leader in the manufacture of pianos.

“That area around Kitchener - Waterloo was the Detroit of piano-making,” he explained. “Canada at that time was making the majority of the utilitarian pianos in people’s homes.”

Mr. Priestley said prior to WWI, a

school board in Japan ordered 1,000 pianos from the Karn company.

Ms. Lepine said friend, Heather Inwood Montrose designed and painted the elaborate artwork on the piano, noting she and friend Carmen Shulz, did the preliminary painting to prepare it for Ms. Inwood-Montrose.

They talked about what concepts they might want with the bandshell being down by the river and Ms. Inwood-Montrose came up with a drawing they liked. Mr. Priestley said it was important to maintain some of the original look of the piano, so when the protective cover is flipped up to access the keys, the original wood finish can be seen, including the manufacturer’s plaque.

Ms. Schulz’s husband, Dale Hartwig, created the unique tree-

stump piano bench that is secured to the piano.

“And a shout out to Kevin McGrath (manager of parks and recreation in BV) from the rec department. I approached him early on as part of his role and he was very supportive both in concept, set location, and he also presented it to council.

“They had some concerns about the whole project and Kevin was very crucial in getting the blessing of council,” he added. The couple admitted while they do have concerns about the piano being vandalized, they didn’t want to let that stop them from proceeding with something they feel will be a real asset to the community. Mr. Priestley did note the plan is to move the piano to the Eganville Curling Club, where

he is the president, for the winter months.

A self-described amateur musician who will appear in the park with his band, the Buzzkills, said his late mother, Janet, played while he was young.

He said if he is in the park this summer and hears someone tickling the ivories, the work involved will all have been worth it.

“That’s the whole point of it, to bring music and joy to the community. There’s a great history of music in the Ottawa Valley and I think this

helps that out.”

He added that part of their goal was to inspire not only the virtuosos to come by and play but to also encourage those less experienced or who had never tried it before. To accomplish that, they have displayed one piece of music (I Can See Clearly Now) above the keyboard with the notes and keys labelled to get them started. “Someone will hopefully come down and just try the song. That, to me, is just as important to have a nonmusician experience a few minutes of music.”

Renfrew will re-tender for three of “the worst roads in town”

By R. Bruce McIntyre Local Journalism

Initiative Program

Renfrew – Residents who live on Joffre, Haig and Dufferin Streets in Renfrew can put away their celebration hats for another year as town council voted last week not to accept the lone bid received to finally fix up three of the bumpiest roads in town.

During his report to council, Mike Asselin, the town’s Director of Development and Works, informed them the awarding of the bid in the amount of $2,698,000 could result in an additional $1.1 million in construction costs. A scaled down version would still have a cost overrun of $700,000. Although staff worked with Bonnechere Excavating Inc. to bring it down from the original submission of $2,991,000, it was not enough and that would force council to somehow come up with the difference.

Reeve Peter Emon inquired as to why only one bid was received on such a major project.

“I am not being suspicious, but I am just curious as to why only one bid was received and there were other firms interested,” he said.

Mr. Asselin said Renfrew is not alone in this trend as he said his

counterparts in Arnprior, Bancroft and Kingston reported the same trend. He said there was not really any one reason. Local contractors cite a busy work schedule among the reasons why there is a low return on bids for major projects. Mr. Asselin said perhaps it is was a set of circumstances coming together at this time in the industry.

Council agreed not to award the tender to BEI.

Instead, it directed staff to draft a report to council stating the committee’s decision not to proceed with the award for construction and to work with engineers to retender and extend deadlines into 2023.

Both Mayor Don Eady and Councillor Sandi Heins acknowledged the fact the three streets slated for a major facelift are among the worst in Renfrew in terms of the severity of the bumps and residents deserve better. But to proceed with the project would mean council needs to find $1.1 million from other projects that were within their assigned budgets. Council is hopeful residents will be patient as town staff work on a new tender that still provides quality work for a lesser cost.

Visitors to Centennial Park will have an opportunity to tickle the ivories this summer thanks to the donation of a piano by Gerald Priestley and his spouse, Claire Lepine.

L or raine’s Phar masave THANKS YOU!

Thank you to my dear mother, Lorraine, for having the strength and courage to open Lorraine’s Pharmacy in 1954.

Thank you to all our wonderful and dedicated staff who worked at Lorraine's Pharmacy over the past 68 years.

Thank you Barry Conway for your lovely story about the Briggs family in The Eganville Leader.

Thank you to our local doctors we have had the privilege of working with over the years.

Thank you to all who stopped by the pharmacy on our last day to celebrate our 68 years and give us best wishes for our retirement.

Thank you everyone at Valley Manor. It has been a great pleasure working with all of you.

Thank you everyone at St. Francis Memorial Hospital. We are fortunate to have such an incredibly dedicated group of people working for the betterment of our community.

Thank you to everyone who sent us best wishes on the various social media networks.

Mostly, thank you to our many loyal customers who have supported our business since day one. We are now seeing a fourth generation of families coming into the pharmacy. It has been an honour and a privilege to serve the people of the Madawaska Valley for the last 68 years.

- Erin and Chris Briggs

PC majority?

Very little is expected to change in the make up of the provincial government after the results of Thursday’s provincial election are tallied. And that isn’t a bad thing. At least for now.

Premier Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative party deserve to be returned to power with a majority government.

Over the past four years, the Ford government has done a pretty good job of governing Ontario, despite more than two years of COVID-19 disruption that consumed much of the time and energy of politicians. The worst of the pandemic is over and life as we knew it pre-March 2020 is returning.

Did the Ford government do everything right? Probably not and in the eyes of some, they likely did a terrible job, but when all is said and done, Ontario came out of the pandemic in pretty good shape. No doubt many small businesses were hurt, and some were forced to close up shop completely as the government imposed lockdowns and made it impossible for some businesses to conduct any business at all. But it was all done in the name of public safety. Restaurants, bars, gyms, hair salons and barber shops were among those that suffered. Many other businesses also sustained huge losses because of the world-wide shortage of goods to sell.

Every business was affected differently, but at the end of the day most survived with many even reporting a surge in sales.

Now that COVID is slipping into the history books, we are dealing with galloping inflation and soaring costs on just about everything we purchase – from grass seed to food on our tables. In some cases, prices have risen 20 to 50 percent and in other situations, they have doubled.

Of course, the rising cost of fuel is responsible for record high prices and inflation rates like most Canadians have not seen in their lifetime. Whatever we buy, it has to be trucked from Point A to Point B and when diesel fuel has doubled year over year, well … we think you get the picture.

Along with inflation comes something we haven’t experienced before – shrink-flation. That’s the term used when the bag of potato chips or the package of bacon we buy almost looks the same as the last time we bought it, but it is anywhere from 10 to 20 percent smaller in size. This has happened with many products we buy every day.

High fuel prices are the direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and until that war ends, we can expect record high prices to continue causing hardships for many people who must feed their family, run their home and put fuel in their vehicles, all on about the same income.

Premier Ford’s party has proven itself through these uncertain and tumultuous times. All we must do is remember back a mere four years when he put an end to the 15-years of Liberal rule and remember some of the many boondoggles made under the leadership of Dalton McGuinty and then Kathleen Wynne. Remember the soaring hydro rates and Premier Wynne’s statement to her caucus?

“People have told me that they have had to choose between paying the electricity bill and buying food or paying rent,” she said. “That is unacceptable to me. It is unacceptable that people in Ontario are facing that choice. Our government made a mistake. It was my mistake.”

And let’s not forget her decision to sell off 60 percent of Hydro One to raise $9 billion to spend elsewhere, or the scandals surrounding the cancellation of two new gas-fired plants after spending billions of dollars on contracts to build them.

Doug Ford and his Tories deserve to be re-elected. They led us through some of the darkest months in Ontario’s history and they are the right choice now to continue leading Ontario through even more turbulent times that may lie ahead.

They aren’t perfect, but when you look at the alternative … Premier Ford’s biggest challenge after this election will be to save the provincial PC party from what has been happening at the federal level. Already, new conservative parties are taking root as right-wing leaning Conservatives feel Ford is taking the party in a direction they dislike. Some call it Ford Nation.

Locally, our incumbent member, John Yakabuski, deserves to be returned in Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke. He has worked hard for his constituents and has delivered more provincial money to this riding than any of his predecessors. We are talking hundreds of millions of dollars over two decades for health care, hospitals, long-term homes, highways, municipalities, school boards, recreation programs and more.

He is committed and dedicated to his constituents and works hard to ensure all areas of his sprawling riding get both the attention and funding they require.

Time has passed by quickly. It just seems like yesterday that Mr. Yakabuski won the PC nomination and ran for the first time following the retirement of long-time MPP Sean Conway. As he approaches the time in his life when he will begin to receive that $518 pension cheque from Ottawa, this might well be Mr. Yakabuski’s last term in office.

Given the present state of affairs, strong leadership has never been more important and for that reason we believe Ontarians will be best served under a Ford government with Mr. Yakabuski continuing to represent Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke in Toronto.

There’s no shame in aging

L

ike many of my peers, I only reluctantly acknowledge the difficult aspects of getting older. As my deceased spouse Hal, who was 20 years older than me, used to say, “Aging is hard but it sure beats the alternative!” The restrictive aspects of two years of pandemic have certainly not helped with the continuity of activities that are so important to maintaining good physical, mental and emotional health.

First to fall by the wayside was my happy career as a server in busy restaurants, which for many years provided physical exercise, sociability, additional income and daily memory exercise! Ten thousand steps a day was a slow day. Lifting beer kegs, juggling heavy trays full of beer glasses and remembering customer orders guaranteed that both body and brain got a daily work out. After the enforced inactivity of my Spanish lockdown in 2020, common sense reinforced what I had already sensed over the past few years—that it was becoming difficult to keep up with the hectic pace set by my much younger colleagues.

I had my first hint of having to acquiesce to aging in 2018 when several friends and I set out to walk 250 km of the Portuguese Camino Santiago. Two of us were over 60, the other two 20 or more years younger. Not a problem for the first few days but within a week my ankle, injured on a previous Camino, refused to co-

operate on (previously achievable) 20-km days.

Physical limitations are not entirely inevitable. I have friends in their 70s and 80s who bicycle long distances, who paddle canoes for days on northern rivers, who are farming and logging and slogging through knee deep snow repairing their maple syrup lines. The critical thing is that for many it is part of their daily life and although they may have slowed down somewhat, they never fully stop.

Unfortunately, a writer’s life is mostly sedentary. In that sense, it’s a completely unhealthy lifestyle. I’ve begun to suspect that life as

a fiction writer is also bad for the accuracy of one’s memory. Fiction means inventing things as opposed to remembering the facts. Just as I used to be able to remember the food and drink orders for a table of four or six, I used to jot down a word or two and accurately recall quotes and comments in my journalism interviews. No longer.

In our youth-worshipping culture, it seems like a personal failing to acknowledge that one is not as sharp, as fast, as energetic or ambitious as at 20, 30 or 40. It takes humility and courage to admit that the challenges of being a ‘seasoned’ human being are as important and as challenging (or more so) as the growth stages of our younger years.

Dealing with loss without falling into despair, fi nding and claiming realistic goals that foster one’s sense of worthy accomplishment, sorting out the aspects of one’s life that really matter from the things society foists upon us … these are what we should value when we realize we can’t dance all night, drive after dark when it’s raining, and recall names, details, anniversaries and birthdays as quickly as we used to.

In that spirit, on my upcoming European vacation, I will ask for a lower bunk in my hostels, let the airline look after my luggage and perhaps even take a train instead of travelling with standing room only on a crowded bus. Small concessions but one does what one must!

Dear Editor: Congratulations on finding a new printer. I had great faith that the Leader (and the Gazette ) would continue to live on as our independent community newspaper(s). This is especially thanks to all the effort and devotion you personally, and all your staff, have devoted to the Leader thriving and even growing in circulation in recent days.

Oddly, at the same time, our federal government is proposing the Online News Act (Bill C-18) which claims to be about supporting Canada’s challenged news industry, using funding from online platforms. However, it fundamentally undermines the freedom of the press, as it gives the government the power to secretly dictate who qualifies as “real news” and even gives them the power to tell news organizations how they should spend their money. Under Bill C-18, an entirely secret government process controlled by Cabinet would decide who is a “qualifi ed” news organization and who isn’t. There would be no public transparency into who qualifies, how much funding they receive and how these decisions are made. This compromises both the freedom and the independence of the press. Plus, it puts a damper on the quality of journalism that would be allowed in Canada. Please write to our MP, and to all our friends who live beyond Renfrew County suggesting they, too, write to their MPs clearly telling them our need to stop Bill C-18. Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech are being challenged once again, and this is not the direction we all want Canada to be going.

And in Ontario, we have a Ford government, that seems to have a plan to keep defunding and privatizing our public health care system, one step at a time. If we don’t fund adequate staffing, and all the needs for funding in our public system, there is a large forprofit health care industry banging on the door. People will still need care. Defunding our public system makes it not work well, then folks complain about how it doesn’t work. However, privatizing health care always makes it get worse.

Bill 175 guts the existing home care legislation and paves the way to privatize the last remaining public parts of Ontario’s home care.

What are conspiracy theories

Ifwe can still use old fashioned language we could call them products of a poisoned brain or a brain embedded in Western thistles.

As a farm boy for a number of years, I can tell you those thistles can drive a person off the deep end. When we have lost our peace of mind we have lost everything that is worth saving. The good news is that what we have hoped for and prayed for is starting to happen. By presenting a clear picture of life in China before 1945, their present Leader, Xi Jinping, seems to be helping God to perform a long awaited miracle. It is like watching sunlight shining through really dark clouds that hung over the Chinese people from the days of Chairman Mao. It must have been a huge cloud. The estimated population of China in 1945 was 700 million. The last time I checked, it had reached 1,402 billion. Scarboro Foreign Missions Society started out as China Missions in 1918 under the direction of Gater John M. Fraser. As my holy mother looked at a picture taken in 1950 of me standing beside Father Jon she felt blessed that one of her sons could be pictured standing beside a Saint.

Enough holy thoughts for this edition. However, trying to write a newspaper column with no bad news is like petting a porcupine without getting jabbed by quills. It seems like all dictators develop the same disease. They try to fly higher than an eagle, break a wing and come crashing down upon a pile of rocks. Poor old Donald who called himself a Republican was

a complete disgrace to the once proud Republican Party. Judging by the stink they are raising in the House and Senate, he must have been in close contact with a skunk.

Hopefully, dear readers, what our news channels are broadcasting will not be fake news like the election fraud that never existed until Trump created it. It seems Mr. Putin is sick of soft talk and has listened closely to President Biden’s tough talk. Now that Mr. Putin can see the dead bodies of thousands of his own people, he can no longer deny there is a real war and he alone is responsible for all the murdered bodies. He has to realize there is no justification for dead bodies, thousands of them innocent children.

What about the destroyed towns and villages that took thousands of years to build? This is not a war. It is coldblooded murder, all of them on one man’s conscience.

If I might add my humble opinion, it would be stoking a fire in hell for all eternity. I believe, Mr. Putin, your God is the same God who has saved me from that everlasting fire. The real good news is it is never too late to ask for pardon.

The Ford government is talking about handling surgeries and diagnostics over to private for-profit clinics and hospitals. They’re privatizing the next entire generation of longterm care beds. They’re privatizing COVID vaccinations.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliot has said she aims to “make sure that Ontario can let independent health facilities operate private hospitals. We are opening up paediatric surgeries and cancer screenings”

Ford has publicly proclaimed he is adding funding, yet the facts show he has done the opposite. Why isn’t that in the news?

And why did none of the major party MPP candidates show up for the All-Candidates meeting in Cobden hosted by the Ontario Landowners’ Association? They all have platforms they say they support and plans for our future. I’m sure they can answer questions from the people they wish to represent in Toronto, eh?

Robbie Anderman, Killaloe

100 Years Ago - June 2, 1922

District News

Dr. M. McKay, M.P., has been successful in having placed in the supplementary estimates of the Public Works Department of Ottawa a re-vote for $25,000 for the Pembroke wharf. This will permit making a start next winter, when the piles can be driven for the concrete superstructure the boat-houses moved, and other preparations made with a view to doing the concrete work during the summer of 1923. A further vote to complete the work will be made next session. – Observer

* * * * * * Dominion Day At Pembroke

Plans have been made for the celebration of Dominion Day, 1922, in Pembroke by the holding of a monster picnic in O’Kelly’s park under the auspices of the congregation of St. John the Baptist. The program will include horse races, a baseball tournament in which a number of outside teams will compete, bicycle races, foot races and numerous other features. The general committee in charge of the various details involved in the arrangement of such an ambitious program is as follows: Chairman, Rev. E.T. McNally;

Meals, W. Hickson and T.D. Giroux; Tickets, T.F. Hayden; Grounds, W.J. Conway; Sports, C.A. Giroux; Advertising, D.E. Behan and Frank Nighbor; Races, M.J. Howe.

* * * * * * Barry’s Bay Baseball being our favourite sport, two games were played during the week. The mid-week game was won by the village nine defeating the sawmill boys by a close margin. In the second match, the victory was with the mill team, the score being 12 to 2. Johnny Dooner’s hemlock hitters are now leading the race for the cup. Donald Arcane, pitcher for the mill nine, was there with the goods holding the village sluggers to four safe hits. Peter Etmanskie, the Babe Ruth of the Hemlock League, made two more home runs and is becoming a terror to opposing pitchers. Mr. John Billings umpired in fine form.

* * * * * * New Rural Telephone Company

At the office of Mr. J.S. McCann on Wednesday evening, the Lower Bonnechere Telephone Company was organized with an initial membership of 10. Mr. Wm. Fick was chosen as President, with Messrs. Wm. Hein,

Frank Ziebert, Henry Wieland and Albert Mittlestead as Directors.

*

* * * * * Sebastopol Man Charged and Fined For Selling Liquor

Herman Buelow, a farmer in Sebastopol Township, pleaded guilty in the police court Tuesday morning to a charge of selling liquor.

Magistrate Devine imposed a fine of $300 with costs of $23.50, a number of witnesses having been brought from Sebastopol to testify. The alternative was six months in jail at hard labour. The fine was paid.

Licence Inspector Sylvester went to Sebastopol one day last week to serve Buelow with a summons to appear in court but was unable to find him. Two days later, he returned with a warrant accompanied by Provincial Officer Cox of Pembroke and arrested Buelow who was engaged in farm work.

The accused pleaded not guilty when arraigned before Magistrate Devine and in default of $500 cash bail was detained in the cells, the case being adjourned until Tuesday to give the prosecutor a chance to secure witnesses. When the case was called, S.T. Chown appeared for the Crown and Mr. E.A. Wright, for the defence. i

25 Years Ago - May 27, 1972

Reeve Would Close Arena To Get Help From Townships Closing the Eganville Arena to save taxpayers money and to get a message out to surrounding municipalities that financial aid is needed could happen in the future if Reeve Adrian Oostrom gets support from council.

At a village budget meeting, Reeve Oostrom said council should seriously consider closing the arena for one season, but only after it has the complete facts and figures of what it costs to operate the facility. He said those figures could be used to back up council’s decision to close the facility.

“We have to bite the bullet,” Reeve Oostrom said. “We cannot operate things like we did the last four or five years. Money is getting pretty tight and unless we get some assistance from our neighbouring municipalities, I cannot see the Village of Eganville operating this arena by itself any longer.

“The people of Eganville will not stand for it.”

* * * * * * Charges Laid After Wheels Fall Off Truck Charges have been laid in connection with a flying truck wheel incident that happened near Cobden February 26.

Christie Transport of North Gower has been charged with failing to maintain a trailer up to standard. Another motorist saw the wheels come off the westbound transport and strike a mailbox about 11:10 p.m. The rig was stopped by the Pembroke OPP in Deep River. Police said the driver was unaware the wheels had come off.

75 Years Ago - May 30, 1947

Barry’s Bay

The possibility of establishing a high school in this area was the subject discussed at a meeting May 20th in St. Hedwig’s Hall. A representative crowd of citizens from the district were in attendance to hear the facts of the case presented by J.T. Anderson, Inspector of Separate Schools, and H.H. Bulingbroke Public Schools Inspector, Renfrew.

* * * * * *

Sawing To Start At Gillies

Arnprior, May 23 – Col. J.A. Gillies, vice-president of Gillies Brothers Limited, has announced that they will definitely commence sawing operations on Tuesday, May 27, at their mill at Braeside. They require an additional 35 men, preferably experienced, but good, able-bodied men willing to work will be accepted. The wages are 60 cents per hour and accommodation available in the staff house at $1.20 per day.

* * * * * * Garden Bros. Circus At Pembroke June 9, 10 and 11

The Kiwanis Club of Pembroke will present the Garden Bros. circus at the Pembroke Arena, June 9, 10 and 11. Proceeds will be devoted to the Kiwanis Club’s community welfare work.

In making this announcement, Mr. Robert Burns, chairman of the circus

committee, emphasized this circus will be made up of the finest talent obtainable anywhere. Among the outstanding features to be shown, and a prime favourite with the children, will be Dolly Jacobs and her educated elephants – the same elephants that ran amok in the Indian hinterlands a couple of years ago.

Miss Dorothy Herbert, America’s greatest horsewoman, will ride her famous Albino stallions, including King Kong, well-known star of many moving pictures.

An unusual innovation for circus lovers will be the first Canadian tour of the Watkin’s trained chimpanzees direct from Hollywood, featuring the only chimpanzee in the world to ride a motorcycle.

* * * * * * Douglas Mourns Death of Mrs. McNab A member of a pioneer Renfrew County family and wife of a prominent Douglas businessman, Mrs. George A. McNab, 73, of Douglas, died in Renfrew Victoria Hospital on Monday morning following an illness of two weeks. She was a graduate of Queen’s University. Before her marriage 45 years ago in Renfrew, she taught school in Mattawa and the Renfrew district. She was an active member of

the Douglas United Church Women’s Association in which she played an active part until ill health two years ago forced her to retire.

Born in Renfrew, she was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. James Stewart. Her father was a former partner in Stewart Brothers Limited and a well-known Renfrew merchant for many years. Her husband is the owner of a flour and feed mill in Douglas.

* * * * * * Personal Mention

Mr. E.A. Lisk’s new bakeshop wherein is installed a new and attractive oven – very interesting to watch in the baking process – is occupied by the workers and production is in full swing. A master baker from an outside point was in charge for a few days. The heating is done with oil.

* * * * * *

The Community Players of Pembroke visited Eganville on Monday evening, under the auspices of the local branch of the Canadian Legion and presented the three-act comedy, What Happened To Jones .” The play, which provided many humorous angles, was well received by those present, and was deserving of a larger audience. The small attendance was due in part to the holiday, the short period of advertising, and to other adverse circumstances.

* * * * * * Politicians Unite To Oppose Nuclear Waste Site

Ottawa Valley politicians from both sides of the river are turning up the heat in the fight to stop a proposal to develop a storage site for low-level radioactive waste at Deep River.

Officials and members of the public attended a special meeting of the newly formed Interprovincial Committee of Renfrew and Pontiac Counties against Radioactive Waste in St. Joseph’s, Quebec. Anne McLellan, Minister of Natural Resources, Canada, in an April 22, 1997, letter to John Murphy, the mayor of Deep River, wrote that the proposed facility would require a capacity to accommodate about 1.5 million cubic metres of bulk and packaged low-level waste. This estimate is up from the original 500,000 cubic metre capacity called for when the siting process began. In a 1995 referendum, Deep River residents voted to accept the wastes on condition that Atomic Energy Canada Limited employment is maintained at current levels and the town receives $8.5 million in compensation. Tipping fees could add another $24 million.

Dr. Ole Hendrickson, a researcher who has been working for a number of years with Concerned Citizens of Renfrew County, a nuclear watchdog organization, told the meeting that the proposed site is in an earthquake zone with highly fractured bedrock, and in an underground cavern less than 300 metres from the Ottawa River.

* * * * * *

Young Accident Victim Is Recovering

A Douglas-area youth suffered serious injuries after his pick-up truck veered off Constant Lake Road in Grattan Township and struck a tree last Monday evening. The accident occurred at approximately 9:25 p.m. Matthew Hazen, 18, of R.R. 2, Douglas, was eastbound about one km east of Highway 41 when his 1983 Ford Ranger crossed the road and struck a tree. The truck was demolished and Mr. Hazen was pinned between the cab and the rear of the truck. The first people who arrived at the scene pulled the cab away from the victim’s head because they could see he was having trouble breathing.

* * * * * *

Eganville Businesses Will Hold Bridge Event

While Eganville’s downtown bridge will be closed until mid-July, that doesn’t mean people should avoid shopping in the village.

The Bridge Event tokens will encourage shoppers to visit participating businesses on both sides of the river. They will receive a Bridge Event token that will be stamped or initialed by at least one business from both sides of the river. The token will then be placed in a box for a bi-weekly draw for $100. Each business will be contributing $10 to the draw. The draw was developed by the Eganville District Business Association to make sure regular shoppers and cottagers still frequent village businesses rather than visit other shopping areas during the bridge construction period.

50 Years Ago - May 31, 1972

Near Tragedy At Deacon Bridge Two Cobden men assisted in averting a tragedy Monday evening, May 22, when a boat capsized at the old Deacon Bridge west of Golden Lake and dumped four fishermen into the Bonnechere River. None of the fishermen could swim, but by great good fortune all were saved.

Ed Childerhose, Ellis Wilson and Robert Robinson, all of Cobden, were among a group of holiday anglers trying their luck from the piers of the old bridge – the centre span is missing – when a small motor boat, obviously overloaded, floundered a short distance upstream.

The driver of the overturned boat shouted at his companions to stay with the boat, but two of them lost their grip on the overturned craft. Fortunately, the current, which is quite strong, carried one of the struggling men toward one of the piers where Ellis Wilson and an unidentified angler were able to throw a rope to him and pull him out.

On the opposite pier, Ed Childrehose and another unidentified fisherman were just able to reach the other non-swimmer with a longhandled landing net and towed him to shore. Meanwhile, the boat drifted a short distance downstream, where another of the group caught a timber of the supporting structure and onlookers were able to help him up onto the bridge platform.

The fourth of the overturned stayed with the boat until it was well out into Golden Lake and he was rescued by boat. The occupants of the boat

were American visitors, who will have more to tell their friends than tall yarns about the big ones that got away.

* * * * * *

Boys At Venturer Camp Help

Fight Forest Fire Firefighting wasn’t on the program outlined for a group of Venturers last week-end who gathered at Camp Edlau on the Bonnechere River above Round Lake. But Saturday afternoon saw them helping put out a blaze on White Mountain, across the river and about a quarter of a mile from their camp.

Venturers are a senior division of Scouting. The theme for the two-day event this year was, “ Opportunity Plus,” and Venturer Doug Cunningham of Eganville suggested it was an appropriate name. About 4 p.m. on Saturday a fisherman came by the camp and said there was a fire on White Mountain. The boys and leaders immediately left camp and went to help fight the blaze. When the boys arrived at the scene, there were three forest rangers battling the flames with the use of a portable pump.

Mr. Cunningham was critical of the rangers when talking to The Leader and said not long after they arrived, one of the rangers quit firefighting and went around asking the names and addresses of the boys, which he could have gotten once the fire was out. Also, at this time the water pump being used was drying out and it finally stalled. * * * * * *

Nine Dump Fires This Year In Douglas Area

The Douglas Fire Department has been quite busy this spring with dump fires, the most recent ones occurring Sunday night in the Douglas dump in Bromley Township and Monday afternoon at the Osceola dump, also in Bromley.

The firemen poured water on the Douglas dump for more than three hours after midnight Sunday and had to return Monday afternoon. They were called Monday afternoon to the Osceola dump where they remained for some time.

Fire Chief Mac O’Neil said this was the ninth dump fire this year and he suspects most of the fires were set deliberately.

* * * * * * Fire Hall Location Settled Eganville council has bought a building to be used as a fire hall and will take possession on July 1.

It is the former Lisk warehouse at the end of John Street and near the filtration plant. The 40’ by 60’ cement block structure was built by the Eganville Development Corporation in 1950 and first used as a woodworking plant by Otto Bleichert. It was later bought by Arvo Kiviste who manufactured bowling pins there. The next owners were Lisk’s and after they went out of business it was bought by William Verheyen who recently sold it to the village. The two trucks and other equipment owned by the fire department will be moved out of the old town hall by the end of June.

Better cell service in county is promised within three years

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer Pembroke

– Cellular service in Renfrew County and Eastern Ontario will be greatly improved within three years, according to representatives of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) and Rogers Communication who provided an update on current and future work to Renfrew County council last Wednesday.

Jim Pine, the Indigenous Lead, provided the update to council on the ongoing $300 million cellular update and expansion project across eastern Ontario scheduled to be completed in 2025.

Mr. Pine said EORN has been working on the issue of improving cellular connectivity since 2014 when the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) made it a priority.

He said the project involves an investment of about $300 million in improving connectivity, noting they went through a competitive process to find a provider and Rogers Communication was successful in its submission.

There are 300 existing towers in eastern Ontario which will be updated to 5G capabilities, which is currently happening. Mr. Pine added there will be another 265 new sites developed over the next three years and 75 of those sites will be co-locations on existing towers of a competitor provider or an independent third party.

“We have to have towers in order to deliver the service; that’s just the way it is,” he stated.

He stressed each member of council and their respective municipal councils will play important roles in the creation of those new sites and they must be approved in each municipality before proceeding.

Mr. Pine said 170 towers had been updated as of last week’s meeting.

“Rogers is making very good progress in getting those towers upgraded and the service approved as those towers are upgraded. So people will see the benefit of the work as we move forward throughout the course of the next number of years.

“Everything we have to do has to be done by the end of 2025,” he added. “We have a timeline that we are obliged to meet through our contracts with Canada and Ontario, but we’re making good progress on it.”

Mr. Pine said there is an added benefit to the additional towers as it will also help support the expansion and upgrade of high-speed internet services. He said the upgraded cell service will enhance public safety in terms of 911 calls and for public works, paramedics, businesses and individuals.

EORN has three goals for the project which involves getting to 99 per cent coverage to make and receive cell phone calls, 95 per cent coverage with standard service levels that can support email, web browsing and social media services, and 85 per cent with high-definition service to support video conferencing, movie streaming and other data intensive applications. He noted one of the benefits of that would be paramedics could maintain a live video contact with a hospital from the start of the call all the way through to the arrival of the patient.

“Those are basic goals; we hope to go higher than those,” he remarked.

Recent Progress

Mr. Pine outlined the recent progress made with Rogers as the successful bidder and the contract awarded in March 2021. He noted in January 2021, they started to consult the Indigenous communities in the regions, adding Stage 1 and Stage 2 archaeological assessments are being done on almost all the new tower sites.

“I know in Renfrew County how important that (the First Nation and Indigenous consultation) is to you locally and as county council. It is a big piece of what we are doing at EORN through this project.

“We’re working here locally with the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan, very closely with AOO (Algonquins of Ontario) as well, and all of the other communities that have interests across eastern Ontario,” he added. “Whether they’re members of the Williams’ Treaty or they’re a Mohawk council, we’ve been working to keep them informed, get their opinions and their advice. And that will carry on through the course of the entire project.”

The same applies to all communities, right through 2025.

Sometimes it takes a lot of time to get a tower site approved and constructed, he said, sometimes two to two-andhalf years, and there’s a lot of work goes into it, which is why they’re starting now. He explained Canada and Ontario are both providing approximately $71 million. The EOWC and Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus are providing $10 million and Rogers is investing a minimum $150 million of the $300 million project.

“Renfrew County is always one of the biggest contributors to the project and always one of the leaders when we do these regional projects. So, your contribution of just under $1 million is really substantial and, of course, we thank you for that.

“We know you expect something for that money and that’s what we’re going to deliver for you,” he added.

By the end of 2022, Mr. Pine estimated 20 new towers would be constructed. As well, 20 new co-locations and 300 uplifts will be completed.

“And we will continue the necessary site acquisitions,” he said.

Kyle McHenry, Senior Program Manager for Expansion with Rogers, said he made a presentation to county council in August 2021 and his personal experience regarding cellular service on the drive here this year was that it had significantly improved.

“We haven’t started putting up new towers in the region yet, but I was able to come here without any dropped calls, whereas, in August of last year, I was unable to maintain a phone call

“The fact that we’re improving is really a step in the right direction,” he added. “We have a lot of work to do, but the fact the work has started is really rewarding.”

He said Rogers $150 million minimum contribution may be low as the price of a lot of things has increased, but they will do what is required to get things up and running. The project

will serve 113 communities and as many as 3,000 jobs may be created.

“We’re hiring crews to put down foundations for towers. There are a lot of people involved. And as the program grows and as we build more and more towers, the economic impact to these communities will continue to grow.”

Mr. McHenry said Rogers believes in getting involved in the communities where they are the service providers and are bridging the digital divides there.

“One of the big focuses for our corporation now is around youth and getting young people involved with technology through programs like Connected For Success.

He noted Rogers also supports workers in womens shelters, the Ted Roger’s Scholarship and Community Grants, Roger’s Hometown Hockey, Tennis Canada, and by giving back to local communities.

Mr. McHenry was proud to say Rogers is a proud supporter of the Ontario Winter Games in the county next February.

Upgrades to 5G

He noted all the new and upgraded towers will have 5G capabilities, adding Rogers is committed to the health and safety in regards to the new technology.

“The message I want to share here is we follow the guidelines and we’re a federally regulated company. There are always concerns and we try to listen to those concerns and address them.”

He said Rogers is committed to providing the service in the safest way possible, noting 5G will provide 10 times the capacity of 4G and 100 times faster.

Mr. McHenry said there are six steps in processing new site builds including the land acquisition order; the finding of a suitable site and the signing of the lease; municipal approval; request for engineering; readiness to build and getting the tower in-service. The tower uplifts involve four steps as there is no municipal approval required on the existing sites or land acquisition.

Admaston/Bromley Mayor Michael

Getting back on its wheels

Donohue said it was exciting news to know things were moving ahead, questioning if the upgrades would sufficiently meet future demands.

“When we were thinking about the project, we wanted to make sure we weren’t building something that was just going to be adequate for today and that’s why the 5G technology that Rogers is deploying on our behalf is forward looking,” Mr. Pine responded. “We certainly wanted to build something that could handle the anticipated demand.

“We did engineering analysis of what the demand might look like five and 10 years out and our contract with Rogers actually goes five years past the end of construction,” he added. “

Mr. McHenry agreed the demand is ever increasing and the plan for the program is to do their best to stay ahead.

“We’re confident that what we are putting in place has an acceptable shelf life,” he noted. “So in 2025, what we put in in 2021 and 2022 won’t be obsolete.”

A lot of heavy iron was used recently to upright a Cavanagh Construction dump truck from a ditch along a road on the Pikwakanagan First Nation recently. The truck, which was loaded with gravel, left the road after it met an oncoming vehicle that was partially in its lane, and the shoulder gave way. While damage to the truck was minimal, it took two excavators owned by R.J. Selle Sand and Gravel and K & M Excavating as well as a heavy wrecker to carefully extricate the truck from the ditch without causing any serious damage.

County recognizes paramedic service during special week

Pembroke

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer

– The incredibly important role of the paramedic service in the County of Renfrew was recognized last Wednesday by county council in honour of Paramedic Services Week.

Warden Debbie Robinson welcomed several members of the paramedic service to the chambers to join Chief of Paramedic Services, Mike Nolan. Admaston/Bromley Mayor Michael Donhoue, chair of the county health committee, said it was both an honour and a privilege to be able to recognize Paramedic Services Week and welcome the guests.

“This is only a small sampling,” he said. “They are a 24/7 paramedic service, so there are those who are of course on the front lines as we are speaking,” he said. He said in an earlier conversation that day with paramedic deputy-chief Brian Leahey, he shared the theme for the paramedic services week was, “ The Faces of Paramedicine .”

He shared how the origin of the paramedic service dated back to the former York, now Toronto; the precursor to paramedics were those responsible for transportation of the ill during a challenging plague.

“It has evolved tremendously since that time,” he remarked, adding, “what struck me perhaps in particular is some of the latest developments in innovation because community paramedicine has become enormous and multi-sectoral.”

He described the service as a sort of Swiss army knife or the mortar in a building, which ensures nothing falls through the cracks. Coun. Donohue recalled how, for the longest time when someone saw the face of a paramedic, they were likely having one of the worst days of their lives and there was a tremendous anxiety around what seemed like an interminable wait for a paramedic and ambulance.

“That has now transformed in community paramedicine where so many in our community now look forward with a great deal of excitement to the arrival of the community paramedic that has become so integral -- not only just to their healthcare and their health and well-being, but to their overall lives. He suggested the service has not yet reached full utilization of what can still be added, suggesting the paramedic service is one of the most innova-

tive in the country, and perhaps the entire globe.

“I think this is an incredibly engaged, incredibly forward-looking paramedic service and it just absolutely fi lls my heart to speak to recognize Paramedic Service Week in Canada this week.”

Quick Response In Storm

Warden Robinson noted that during the aftermath of the May 21 storm that wreaked havoc on Greater Madawaska Township and resulted in two deaths, the ongoing contributions of the county paramedic service were very evident.

“Once again, we witnessed the contributions of our paramedics, who are always at the ready when our community needs them most. It is my pleasure to publicly thank our paramedic members for the incredible work they do day in and day out to assist our residents in so many ways.”

She described Renfrew County paramedics as leaders amongst their peers, urging council to pause and reflect what the paramedic service means to the county.

“Renfrew County VTAC (Virtual Triage Assessment Centre) would not be the same without the community paramedic component. Clinical Assessment Centres would not function without paramedics.

“Imagine living through the pandemic without paramedics, the flood of 2016, or when a disaster occurs like it did this past weekend,” she added. “We are acutely aware of the life-saving contributions of the Sierra team, the value of community paramedics to support individuals to remain safely at home as they wait longterm care admissions, and simply the knowledge when you call 911 for help, our paramedics will respond.”

She extended her sincere thanks and gratitude to all members of the service.

Chief Nolan thanked council for its support of the paramedic service, noting it takes an enormous eff ort by everyone to maintain the quality of service and level they provide 24 hours, seven days a week. He said in situations like the Greater Madawaska tragedy, the paramedics are ready, anxious and glad to help out and the public is extremely grateful for what they do.

“It’s really an honour for me to be able to help them work through the administrative realities of paramedic service. But really the congratulations and thanks goes to those that are working the front lines, the 911 side of the house, those working here that have been doing swabbing and vaccinations for years now.

“Working in clinical assessment centres, helping our hospital partners, supporting our friends in long-term care, and those in scheduling and administration to keep them motivated, encouraged and coming to work and doing the great work that they do.”

Chief Nolan thanked the current and past chairs of the health committee for their incredible support, noting more than ever they have a true understanding and respect of the work paramedics do.

“It sometimes makes us feel like the odd man out from

an administrative perspective because people remind us that we’re special and I’m very proud to say that we are special. We have special needs but that is only to serve our community with the least amount of burden and the greatest amount of output possible.

“There are people that are alive today who would not be alive otherwise, and I love to hear from Chair Donohue about how the paramedics in community paramedicine now represent the best days for some people, not the worst days for others.”

Renfrew County Council recognized the importance of its paramedic service last week during Paramedic Service Week. At rear, from left, Commander Dave Libby, Deputy-Chief Logistics, Brian Leahey, Richard Luesink, Chief Mike Nolan and Chris Day. Third row, Andy Fortington, Quasim Nasim and Deputy-Chief Mathieu Grenier. Second row, CAO Paul Moreau and Admaston/Bromley Mayor Michael Donohue, chair of the health committee. Front: Mirander Moir, Warden Debbie Robinson and Cassandra O’Neill.

Photo: County of Renfrew

June is Seniors Month in Ontario. It’s a time when we recognize our amazing older Ontarians and the contributions they have made in communities across the province. The 2022 theme

Stay Active, Connected, and Safe!

Stay active: Get information on programs and services to help seniors stay physically and mentally healthy.

Stay connected: Find social, cultural, learning, volunteer and recreational programs to help seniors stay socially connected.

Stay safe: Get information on vaccines, community supports and protection from financial scams and fraud to help seniors stay safe.

Twins earn a win and a loss in Manotick

Micksburg loses to Manotick, but earns a win over Osgoode

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer

Manotick – The Micksburg Twins picked up two of a possible four points last Wednesday evening, splitting their two games in a Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) doubleheader here.

The Twins suffered a close 3-2 loss in the opener to the Manotick Brewers and then held on for a 16-10 win in the nightcap over the Osgoode Chiefs

Micksburg scored what would prove to be their only two runs in the opener in the first inning. Andrew McIntyre reached first on an error to lead off the inning but was caught in a run down and tagged out when Matt McIntyre was attempting to advance him with a bunt. Matt then drew a walk and advanced to third on a hard single to right field by Scott Conroy. Conroy stole second and Jared Steege drove both runners home with a sharply hit ground ball that Manotick firstbaseman Jeremy Malloy misplayed for a 2-0 lead. Brewers’ starter Luc D’Entremont retired the next two batters to end the inning with Steege stranded at third.

In the home half of the inning, Twins’ starter Noah Fleurie retired the first two batters, before issuing a walk to catcher, Ryan Clare. Fleurie struck-out clean-up batter Curtis Scurr to end the inning.

In the second, John Enright led off with a walk for the Twins and stole second. D’Entremont retired the next three Twins in order to end the inning.

Fleurie walked D’Entremont to lead off the Brewers half of the inning and Zach Branchaud sacrificed him to second. Malloy walked and Riley Dunbar drove D’Entremont home on a ground-out to make the score 2-1. Spencer Lee then walked and Tyler Branchaud grounded out to end the threat.

Matt McIntyre walked to open the third for the Twins but was stranded as D’Entremont retired the next three batters in order. In the bottom of the inning, Fleurie retired the first batter, then hit Clare and walked Scurr

to put runners on first and second. However, they were stranded when D’Entremont lined out to left and Zach Branchaud popped out to short.

After both teams were retired in order in the fourth, the Twins stranded Matt McIntyre at third in the fifth.

McIntyre singled with two out, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error by Clare. Conroy struck out to end the inning. Tyler Branchaud led off the fifth with a single that hopped by right fielder John Enright, allowing the speedy Branchaud to take third. With Alexander at the plate, Branchaud tried to score on a wild pitch, but Conroy flipped the ball to Fleurie who was covering home and Branchaud was called out. Alexander and Clare both grounded out to end the inning.

In the Twins’ sixth, Quinton Rook singled with one out and stole second.

D’Entremont then fanned Paul Griffith and Enright flied out to strand Rook. Scurr tied the game with a long solo homer to open the sixth for the Brewers, with Fleurie retiring the next three batters in order.

Nolan Rook singled with one out in the seventh but was stranded at third. Dunbar sliced a double down the left field line for the possible winning run to lead off the Brewers’ seventh.

Lee dropped down a bunt that Conroy fielded, but his throw to first struck Lee and deflected far enough to allow Dunbar to score with the winning run.

D’Entremont went the distance to pick up the win, allowing four hits, fanned 11 and walked two Twins’ hitters. Fleurie was tagged with the loss, allowing four hits, striking out three and walking five and hitting one Manotick batter.

Twins Score 13 Runs in First

In the nightcap, the Twins exploded for 13 runs in the first inning and held on for a 16-10 win over the Osgoode Chiefs. The Twins sent 18 players to the plate in the inning that saw nine batters reach via base-on-balls and one hit by a pitch. Quinon Rook had three RBIs on his triple, while Andy McIntyre and John Enright added two

RBI’s each.

In the home half, Enright, who was taking the mound for the first time in the 2022 season, walked Cory Baldwin, who later scored on a Sam Bowman single. Enright gave up a single to Kyle Wees, then stranded two Chiefs to end the inning.

Matt McKay, the Chiefs third pitcher of the night, retired the Twins in order in the second, as did Enright in the home half of the inning.

The Twins added one more run in the third as Quinton Rook hit a long solo homer to left to make the score 14-1.

The Chiefs responded with one run of their own as Bowman singled, went to second and third on wild pitches and scored on a Cole Hodges hit.

The Twins added two more runs in the fourth as Nolan Rook legged out an infield single and Andrew McIntyre walked to put runners on first and second. A walk to Matt McIntyre loaded the bases and Conroy’s single sent Rook home. After Steege flied out, Quinton Rook singled to send McIntyre home with the Twins’ 16th run.

The Chiefs erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the inning on seven walks and singles by Hudson Collins and a double by Kyle Wees.

The Twins failed to score in the fifth and Noah Fleurie, who entered the game in relief of Enright in the fourth, got the final three outs in the 16-10 win. Enright collected the win, allowing four hits, striking out one and walking six in his three-plus innings of work. Cory Baldwin, the Chief’s starter, was tagged with the loss.

The Twins will be relying on Fleurie and Enright to carry the pitching load for the team as ace Joran Graham remains sidelined with an ankle injury suffered in the team’s opener two weeks ago.

The Twins were scheduled to open their home schedule on May 19, but the Kars Aces were unable to field a team and the game was postponed.

The Twins are on the road again next week when they face the Valley A’s Thursday in Carp at 8:30.

OHS athletes advance to OFSAA

Douglas – When the Ontario Federation of Secondary Schools Athletic Association (OFSAA) hosts the provincial championships later this week in Toronto, three Opeongo High School (OHS) athletes will be representing their school.

Leading the charge will be Novice Girl Quinn Coughlin, who continues to turn in very impressive results in multiple events.

This past week at the Eastern Ontario track and field championship in Ottawa, Coughlin finished 1st in both the

400m (1:00.63) and 800m (2:22.34)

and 2nd in the 1500m (4:58.18).

Novice Girl team-mate, Aliah Nizaha, finished 4th in javelin (24.66m) and Senior Girl Brittney Verch was 4th in high jump (1.50m).

Other OHS athletes who participated at East Regionals but did not advance to OFSSA included: Senior Girls Emma McGrath, 10th in 100m hurdles; Kylie Rieger, 12th in the 200m and 8th in the 400m, and Julia Swant, 9th in shot put; Novice Boy Gavin Recoskie, 9th in the 400m, and,

Junior Boy Liam Copeland, 14th in the 200m and 7th in the 400m.

The Open Girls 4x400 relay team of Kylie Rieger, Marlo Van Lindenberg, Samantha Hyatt and Quinn Coughlin finished 12th.

The competition included Eastern Ontario schools from Hawkesbury to Peterborough. Opeongo coach Dennis Brash said the weather was a factor in some events with strong winds mixed with heavy rain.

“Athletes persisted in making the meet a very competitive one,” he said.

Beachburg racer finishes ninth in class in first race since 2019

Bowmanville – A successful Beachburg racer marked his first return to the track since 2019 with a ninth-place finish in his class at an event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Track over the recent Victoria Day weekend.

Nathan Blok, the 28-year-old son of Steve and Sandra Blok, is teamed up with the newly formed Ottawa-based APEX V2R racing team, wheeling a Scion FRS race car in the Production Class of the Super Production Challenge (SPC).

“Given that the fast and challenging Canadian Tire Motorsport Park track favours cars with more horsepower,

both Blok and the team realized this would be a challenging weekend,” a team release noted. “The team is still doing engine development work as his engine was down 30 horse power from the other Production class competitors.”

Qualifying for the 46 entrants took place early that Saturday in sunny conditions, with Blok qualifying midfield at 13th in the class.

Late that morning, the 30-minute race began with the field lining up for the standing start. At the drop of the green, Blok, who was doing his first-ever standing start race, managed to pass several cars by corner two. On

the Andretti straight, three cars got into a collision with one car leaving the track and crashing into the barriers resulting in a red flag on Lap 2 as repairs were needed to the barrier, with the race unable to resume.

Race 2 that was scheduled for 4:15 pm was cancelled due to the track being hit earlier with severe wind, rain, thunderstorms and a small tornado.

“One person was hit by lightning and another person broke an arm when the canopy he was holding on to lifted him up and then dropped him,” the release noted. “Over a million dollars of damage was caused to vehicles, trailers, campers, etc.”

The APEX V2R team’s 40-foot trailer was bent in the wind, causing the back door not to close, but fortunately it was repairable.

Mid-morning on Sunday saw a wet track for Race 3 with a steady drizzling rain. Forty cars started the 30- minute race, with a decision made to have a traditional rolling start for safety reasons. Blok again started mid- field and 13th in the class.

Going into corner 1, Blok was running three cars wide and by Corner 3, had moved up from 13th into 7th position. Then, a full-course yellow flag was waved as they entered Corner 5, due to a crash at the start/finish line.

Blok continued to battle and jockey his position throughout the 13-lap race, eventually finishing in ninth place.

“We knew we needed a bit of luck to come our way due to our power problems. It’s just unfortunate for everyone that it came in the form of a tornado,” Blok said afterwards. “I did everything I could to recover from a weekend we were going to struggle in and I gave it my all, but on a drying track I wasn’t going to be able to hold on to the positions I gained earlier in the race.

“The crew did an excellent job all weekend and Calabogie should be a much stronger race for us,” he added. Blok’s next race weekend is June 4 and 5 at the Calabogie Motorsport Park.

“With the engine upgrade not anticipated to be completed until at least the third race weekend, the Calabogie event will also be a challenge,” he noted.

Beachburg racer Nathan Blok speeds around the track at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in the Scion FRS of the Ottawa-based Apex V2R racing team. Blok finished ninth overall in the Production Class event held the Victoria Day weekend.

Photo: Sandra Blok

Nathan Blok, 28, of Beachburg made his return to the track recently as a member of the newly formed Apex V2R racing team from Ottawa.

Photo: Sandra Blok

Andrew McIntyre of the Micksburg Twins was caught in a run-down between first baseman Jeremy Malloy and Zach Branchaud at second in the first inning of Wednesday’s 3-2 loss in Manotick. McIntyre was eventually tagged out in the play.

Opeongo athletes off to Toronto

Blind Anglers International returns after two-year hiatus

By Connie Tabbert

Local Initiative Journalism

Reporter

Cobden – Gerry Labre spread his hands wider than his body and said, “it was at least 10 pounds. It was this long. I measured it this way.”

He was one of many sharing fish tales late Saturday afternoon at the Cobden Agricultural Hall following the annual Blind Anglers International Tournament (BAIT).

Mr. Labre was the pro bass fisherman who took blind angler Bob Austen from Pembroke out on his bass boat.

Since 1989, Lions Clubs in District A4 have been hosting BAIT, said James Doyle, chair of this year’s BAIT committee. However, he said this tournament is at arms-length from the regular district events. He said each club has the opportunity in the district to donate financially towards the event, as well as the individual participants, if they are able. Each club in the district hosts the event for two years. Usually, it’s a weekend affair, but there’s been no event for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After talking with the club members, the pro bass fishermen and the blind anglers, it was decided to try a one-day event, Mr. Doyle explained.

This year there were 17 anglers and 15 boats with participants from this area to Ottawa and three from New York, he said.

It was decided to hold the one-day event on Muskrat Lake with registration and dinner at the Cobden ag hall. Bagged lunches were provided for those on the water, along with the dinner, by members of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Cobden.

In past years, many of them at Nangor Resort in Westmeath, the anglers and fishermen would arrive Friday and leave Sunday, with fishing, food, entertainment and awards held throughout the weekend.

“Hopefully we’ll be back to normal next year,” Mr. Doyle said.

Hosting BAIT falls within the Lions objective which is to serve the blind, he said.

BAIT is not only for fishing, but

it’s a very social event and relationships between the volunteers, pros and the anglers have developed over the years, he said. Many of the blind anglers fished before, so to get out on the water and do what they used to love is great for them.

“There are just precautions to take to ensure the safety of everyone,”

Mr. Doyle said.

Each blind angler has a guide and there are many volunteer helpers to get them in and out of the boats safely, he said. Some guides go with their angler in the boats, while others don’t feel comfortable, so a volunteer will go, if one is warranted.

Bob Austen of Pembroke was 50 years old when he went blind in 1995, which was caused by cracks in the retina.

“I was born a fisherman,” he said.

“My father was a great outdoorsman and he started taking me when I was four or five.”

He was the angler who caught the 10-pound sturgeon that Mr. Labre demonstrated how long it was.

“I caught the biggest fi sh in the lake,” he added. “It was a 10-pound sturgeon.

“It was three feet long. It almost tore the rod out of my hand. I thought I was going to lose the rod.”

But sturgeon season doesn’t start for another week, so back into the lake it went. And, being out on the water, and Mr. Labre not being a techy person, there’s no proof from a photo.

While fishing is a big part of the event, Mr. Austen said it’s a great social time as well.

“You get to know a lot of people and you get to make new friends,” he said.

Tony Mosher of Ottawa was the blind angler on Greg Gervais’ boat from LaPasse.

This is Mr. Gervais’ 10th time participating in the event. Usually his father, Vince, also from LaPasse, is a participant, but due to recent surgery, he was not able to participate. Mr. Gervais competes in the Shoot Out Series tournament. “It’s a way of giving back to the

sport,” he said. “We grew up fishing when I was a kid and fished lots of tournaments and stuff.”

He also enjoys volunteering, noting there is a lot of satisfaction from seeing the smiles on people’s faces and catching fish.

“We maybe take things for granted a little bit; we’ve done this most of our lives and don’t realize many people don’t have this opportunity,” he said. “For some of them, it’s just a fun thing to go for a ride in the boat.

“That’s the payback for us, just seeing the smiles. A lot of us have gained friendships over the years, so it’s kind of a fairly tight-knit group and a lot of the guys come back every year.”

While the water was quite choppy Saturday morning, he said the wider bass boats provide some stability and there were sure to be some bays that wouldn’t be as rough.

Mr. Mosher, who has been a participant for eight years, went blind 12 years ago following several operations since he was 21 for detached retinas. He is now 60.

As a child he fished, but that eventually faded away. After becoming blind he joined the blind curling league, heard about BAIT and signed up.

“It’s a great day out,” he said. “It’s great camaraderie. Throughout the whole weekend there’s tall stories told and lots of music.”

While this year was different being just a one-day event, it was still a good day for fishing, even if it was windy and cold first thing in the morning, Mr. Mosher said.

He was satisfied with his catch of two catfi sh. His pro fi sherman, Mr. Gervais, snagged two pike, a 5-pounder measuring 33.5 inches long and a 2 pounder that measured 26 inches.

At the end of the day at the ag hall, plenty of laughter could be heard as well as a jumble of talk as the day’s stories were shared. Each team was introduced and given an opportunity to share what they did or didn’t catch, followed by dinner, and then it was time to return home.

Second run scored, but one short

Pro fisherman Greg Gervais of LaPasse and his passenger, blind angler Tony Mosher, head out on Muskrat Lake for a day of fishing. They returned quite happy with their catches -- two catfish and two pike.

Blind angler Bob Austen of Pembroke, left, and his pro fisherman Gerry Labre of Chapeau, Quebec, spend time together before dinner.

These three Opeongo High School athletes have reason to smile as they will be representing the school at the Ontario Federation of Secondary School Association track and field championships this weekend in Toronto. From left, Brittney Verch, Quinn Coughlin and Aliah Nizaha.

Scott Conroy crosses home plate with Micksburg’s second run in the first inning of the Twins 3-2 loss to the Manotick Brewers last Wednesday night.

CRC announces greenhouse project for Pathways Park

marked. “Thank you to the volunteers, thank you to council for supporting the project, to Chris (Neff, community development officer), for all your work.

“This is going to be wonderful to have in Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards,” she added.

Mr. Neff said the Pathway’s Park project has been quite the journey, recalling how it all started with an idea he, Ms. Lyons and Mr. Godon had as they went through the wooded area at the Hoch Farm property on snowshoes.

“It was quite the adventure and here we are, not even a year later. We’re putting in the trail, we’re talking about future development, and we’ve got our community here.

“This is truly a community project. This is something where an idea came to life and was fueled by the power of community,” he added.

KHR council recently acknowledged the numerous community partners involved with the development of Killaloe Pathways Park. From the left are Scott Kerr, employee Happy Trails; Councillor John Jeffrey, Bil Smith, Executive Director of the Community Resource Centre; Tom Purves, lumber dealer Pastway Planing; Mayor Janice Tiedje, Ken Hoeverman, owner Happy Trails; Chris Neff, economic development officer; Wayne Reiche, Keetch’s Castle Building Centre, Councillor Carl Kuehl, Dan Harrington, Co-chair of Killaloe Business in Action and Councillor Ted Browne.

By Terry Fleurie Staff Writer Killaloe

–

A new initiative being launched by the Community Resource Centre (CRC) will help improve the increasing need for food security in the community.

CRC Executive Director Bil Smith recently announced at the Hoch Farm property the organization’s success in securing funding to erect a greenhouse to help address the food security issue. His news was part of an update regarding the Killaloe Pathway’s Park project, also at the Hoch property.

“If the past two years has taught us anything, it’s that food security is a real serious issue in our community and everywhere,” Mr. Smith said. “That’s something that is very important to the Community Resource Centre.

“We were able to apply for some funding and get a grant to build a community greenhouse that’s going to be installed here by the old farmhouse,” he added. “We’re going to put in some community gardens, some fruit trees and it’s really going to be a project that helps to address food security in Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards for the indefinite future.”

Mr. Smith said the CRC saw an opportunity through the Local Food Infrastructure Fund, a program through Agriculture and Agri-food Canada to increase access to local food.

“We applied last July and received the funding in the fall, but supply chain issues mean that we’re not getting the greenhouse installed until sometime this summer,” he said.

The green house is 16’ x 20’, aluminum frame, Polycarb, with water and electricity, which he said will be a good thing.

“In addition, we’re going to be putting in some fruit trees to have an edible orchard.”

The CRC will hire a greenhouse attendant on a part-time basis with the

support of volunteers from the community. The grant does not cover the wages of the attendant, but the CRC is funding the position through a variety of activities.

The greenhouse is solely intended for food, the majority of which will be donated to the Killaloe Food Bank. Some will be used in the CRC and other programs.

Mr. Smith said all the funding is not yet secured for the community gardens, but the concept is to build some raised beds as the next phase of the project.

Zuracon Construction out of Barry’s Bay has been hired to put in the foundation and Tao Organ is erecting the greenhouse. The grant is for approximately $57,000 and will cover

the labour and materials.

“There’s lots of people in the community who really want to get involved and volunteer, which is a great thing,” he remarked.

He said the CRC has seen the need for food security growing steadily over the years through different programs it offers. Park Update

Mr. Smith’s announcement was part of a planned update for donors and volunteers of the Killaloe Pathway’s Park which includes a 10-station FIT trail and an 18-station reading trail.

Mayor Janice Tiedje acknowledged the contributions of everyone present on the project, noting Cathy Lyons and Phil Godon were instrumental in preparing the grant application to

fund the work.

“What an amazing asset for Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards,” she said. She thanked Dan Harrington, cofounder of the Killaloe Business in Action (KBIA), and his volunteers for their assistance, as well as Keetch’s Castle Building Centre in Killaloe and Pastway Planing in Combermere for donations of materials.

“Everything that you guys have done has made this all possible,” she re-

He credited Kim Schroeder, the planning and building assistant for the township, and her husband, Tom Purves, lumber salesperson at Pastway, for their help with the donation of materials.

“Kim talked to Tom and Tom talked to Keetch’s and they just made it happen. A lot of time people have ideas and things like that, but it makes a difference when people actually take action and come together.

“That is the direct result of this,” he added. “I’m constantly amazed by the power of community and how many hands, many ideas and many hearts can make something truly unique.”

Mr. Neff said this was just the start of what is envisioned for Pathway’s Park in the future.

“We’re just going to keep on dream-

ing here at Killaloe Pathway’s Park and hope to invite all you folks back mid-summer for our grand opening where we can have a full tour and truly appreciate this wonderful community, multi-generational park for everyone to enjoy.”

He acknowledged the contributions of David Becker of Ottawa, who voluntarily prepared the conceptual drawings for the park.

“He basically came up with this design,” he said. “As you know, dreaming for things hasn’t had a limit here.

“We just keep dreaming for things and hope for the best and so far it has been really good,” he added.

Mr. Neff said longer term plans call for an Indigenous healing garden and survivor’s garden.

“Basically, a garden of gardens,” he stated.

“And a big dream of ours is to try and resurrect, if we can, the idea of the boardwalk and potentially do something in that corner (pointing to an area near where the old farmhouse once stood). It’s all a dream but that has kind of been the whole heart of this thing, is dreaming.”

Mr. Neff said the Happy Trails company of Gooderham has been busy clearing and preparing the trails, putting in drainage, etc.

Wayne Reiche, co-owner at Keetch’s, said a community that plays together stays together.

“It’s in our DNA to help out the community,” he noted.

Mr. Purves said Pastway gets a lot of support from the local community and their donation was a way of giving back to the people who support them.

FOR TAX ARREARS BY PUBLIC TENDER THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF BONNECHERE VALLEY

MUNICIPAL ACT, 2001

SALE OF LAND BY PUBLIC TENDER

THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWNSHIP OF BONNECHERE VALLEY

TAKE NOTICE that tenders are invited for the purchase of the land(s) described below and will be th received until 3:00 p.m. local time on the 8 day of June, 2022, at 49 Bonnechere Street East, Eganville, Ontario. The tenders will then be opened in public on the same day at 3:30 p.m. local time at the Municipal Office.

Description of Lands:

Part Lot 13, Concession 10, as in R58948, geographic Township of South Algona, now in the Township of Bonnechere Valley, County of Renfrew, t/w R58948. PIN: 57454-0015 (LT)

Minimum Tender Amount: $6,533.88

Part of Lot 20, Concession 9, as in GN1931, except Part 1, R120239, geographic Township of Grattan, now in the Township of Bonnechere Valley, County of Renfrew. PIN 57389-0015 (LT)

Minimum Tender Amount: $3,719.91

Tenders must be submitted in the prescribed form and must be accompanied by a deposit of at least 20 per cent of the tender amount, which deposit shall be made by way of a certified cheque/bank draft/ money payable to the municipality (or board).

Except as follows, the municipality makes no representation regarding the title to or any other matters relating to the land to be sold. Responsibility for ascertaining these matters rests with the potential purchasers.

This sale is governed by the Municipal Act, 2001 and the Municipal Tax Sales Rules made under that Act. The successful purchaser will be required to pay the amount tendered plus accumulated taxes, the relevant land transfer tax, and HST, if applicable.

The municipality has no obligation to provide vacant possession to the successful purchaser.

The land does not include the mobile home situate on the land, if applicable.

For further information regarding this sale and a copy of the prescribed form of tender contact:

Sandra Barr, Deputy CAO

The Corporation of the Township of Bonnechere Valley 49 Bonnechere Street East, P.O. Box 100 Eganville, Ontario K0J 1T0

Mayor Janice Tiedje and volunteer Phil Godon review the conceptual drawing of the Killaloe Pathways Park project.

Thank You Patrick Dalton Enright

The Family of Dalton Enright wishes to express their deep appreciation to those who offered such kindness, support and messages of sympathy and comfort in our time of loss of our beloved brother. For food brought to our homes, the floral arrangements, Mass offerings and donations to Hospice, we are grateful.

A sincere thank you to the honorary pall-bearers, pall-bearers, readers, the beautiful music, the clergy in attendance and to the Goulet Funeral Home for their support and kindness during this difficult time.

Remembrance is a golden chain Death tries to break, but all in vain. To have, to love, and then to part, Is the greatest sorrow of one’s heart.

The years may wipe out many things, But some they wipe out never; Like memories of those happy times When we were all together. We will miss you forever Dalton.

- The Enright Family

Popular Bonnechere Authors Festival is returning in July

T he Bonnechere Union Public Library had another successful fundraising auction this spring. Thank you to those who bid and to those who donated items.

The donors include: Elaine Drefke, Jessica Fortin, Jane Good, Terry Hoelke, Guy Jamieson, Kathryn Kasaboski, Claire Lepine, Nelda Markham, Susan O’Connor, Frances and Peter O’Malley, Gregg Parsons, Michele Parsons, Brent Patrick, Michelle Robichaud, Judy Sauve, Matt Singer, Jim and Tish Smith, Dorrit Spittler, Maggie Tyerman and Len Van Dyk. We also had some anonymous donations. The net proceeds for the library from this auction amounted to $1,238. Money from these fundraising events is used for books and subscriptions, programming, and special equipment items on our wish list like a larger laminator, CD and DVD cleaner, new TV with a swing bracket, a new iPad (ours is almost 10 years old!), a fireplace for our lounge area and a new Cricut machine.

We are thrilled to announce that the Bonnechere Authors Festival is back this summer! For four consecutive

Mondays in July, we will host local and regional authors at the Eagle’s

Nest (upstairs at the Eganville Arena) for a presentation and discussion of their new books. There will be time for questions, book signing and mingling. Refreshments will also be available. The four authors are: Norm Boucher, whose memoir of his experience infiltrating the heart of Vancouver’s heroin scene in 1983 is titled, Horseplay: My Time Undercover on the Granville Strip; Merilyn Simonds, the author of many books including her latest, a biography titled Woman, Watching: Louise de

Kiriline Lawrence and the Songbirds of Pimisi Bay; Rick Prashaw, whose most recent book is a memoir titled Father Rick, Roamin’ Catholic; and Brenda Missen, who has written two books, her latest titled Tumblehome: One Woman’s Canoeing Adventures in the Divine Near Wilderness, part travel adventure, part spiritual memoir, based on her years of solo canoe trips in Algonquin Park.

The festival starts on July 4th and wraps up on the 25th. Passes for all four shows will be sold in advance at the library, and single event tickets are available at the door each Monday evening. Check our website (www.bonnechereupl.com) for more details, or come into the library for information.

Speaking of our website, we are launching a new one very soon. This will be more accessible than the old one, with cleaner, clearer graphics, a larger font size and easy-to-read icons and links. There will be fewer pages to navigate and less duplication of information. The address will be the same: www.bonnechereupl.com. We have been working hard to get this ready and are excited for the launch.

Look for the new design in the coming weeks. Please explore it and tell us what you think.

Co-operators donates to Training and Learning Centre

Rob Webster, owner of the Co-operators Insurance in Eganville and Cobden, recently presented a cheque for $1,000 to Sue Rupert, Program Manager at the Training and Learning Centre of Renfrew County in support of a new Point of Sale training program being offered by instructors. Looking on is Connie Eder, Administrative Assistant, and Ann Marie Leeder, an instructor at the centre. People entering the retail sector will be provided with training on how to operate the POS system used in stores. Mr. Webster said he believes in supporting local initiatives, noting the importance of training local residents to enter the work force. Ms. Rupert said about 90 clients were served at the centre throughout the past year. “People will actually be able to come in to the centre and use the same equipment that is used when serving customers,” she said.

In Loving Memory

Thank You!

I would like to thank most sincerely my sister, Ann Marie and all the immediate family for the surprise party on Saturday, May 28. Special thanks to Tiana and Steve, Gordene and Grant, Tim and Ann, and all of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren for being there. Also to the many friends who attended and made this very special. Also to my wife, Mary who kept me in the dark.

Thank you.

Many Thanks Again!

- Kevin Knox

Shirley Mintha would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of support and expressions of sympathy during a difficult time. It was heartwarming.

Whitewater Region firefighters presented with exemplary service medals

Whitewater Region – Several firefighters in Whitewater Region were presented with exemplary service medals at a first-time celebration.

The Whitewater Region Fire Department hosted its first ever Fire Service Exemplary Service Medals ceremony last Thursday for 20 years of service in a fire department, and 1st Bar for 30 years of fire service.

The Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal, created on August 29, 1985, honours members of a recognized Canadian fire service who have completed 20 years of service, 10 years of which have been served in the performance of duties involving potential risks, and were employed on or after the date of creation of the medal. Recognized fire services include Canadian fire departments, fire marshals’ offices, fire commissioners’ offices and the Canadian Forces fire services. Exemplary service is characterized by good conduct, industry and efficiency.

Whitewater Region Mayor Mike Moore and Fire Committee Chair Neil Nicholson presented the medals.

The Fire Service Exemplary Service recipients are Captain Rick Ruttan, Captain Reuban Snyder, Lieutenant Wade Lumax, Captain Lorin Martin, Lieutenant Tom Letang, Captain Randy Smith and Captain Lawrence Regier.

The Fire Service Exemplary Service, and 1st Bar recipients are Captain Roy Church, Captain Terry Moore, Firefighter Barry Robertson and Captain Troy Waite.

“Every one of these firefighters have dedicated more to the department than words or medals can describe,” Fire Chief Jonathan McLaren said. “Their commitment and the support of their families is truly worth celebrating.”

Deputy-Fire Chief Corey MacKenzie added Whitewater Region is fortunate to have so many dedicated firefighters and fire staff.

“The outstanding service they continuously provide to residents and visitors is commendable,” he said. “Any time of day, any season of the year, we can count on them to answer the call.”

Ace of Spades continues to hide as Bay jackpot growing

Barry’s Bay -- Jack Miller of Combermere took home the $1,570 prize last Thursday in the Week #30 Catch the Ace draw sponsored by the St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundarion.

Mr. Miller bought the ticket at the Barry’s Bay MacEwen and chose envelope number 48 on a whim. While that envelope revealed the six of diamonds, he is taking home the biggest weekly prize to date in this lottery.

Joking, Mr. Miller said he plans on splitting the money with his sisters, “in case they win the millions someday.”

This means the Ace of Spades is still in play. The estimated weekly prize for Week 31 is $1,400, and if the Ace of Spades is found, the estimated total prize is $46,196.

All proceeds support the purchase of essential medical equipment for St. Francis Memorial Hospital.

Tickets can be purchased at the following locations: Round Lake Centre Food Market, Round Lake Country Store, AJ’s Convenience, Killaloe Hardware, Wilno Building Supply, Charlie D’s, Barry’s Bay MacEwen, Lorraine’s Pharmasave, Barry’s Bay Shell, CO Country Market, The Cottage Cup, Eganville Shell, Conway’s Pharmacy, Village Discount and Variety, Ramona’s Hairstyling and Whitney Pharmacy.

Rally protests layoffs at Child and Family Services

Pembroke -- A crowd of worried and concerned Renfrew County residents and advocates joined OPSEU/ SEFPO and local labour council representatives on May 26 in calling out Family and Children’s Services of Renfrew County for issuing layoffs to 14 frontline child protection workers. The action was immediately condemned by the union as reckless and a threat to the well-being of children, youth, adults and families.

“We’re understaffed as it is, given the complexities of the work, meaning our current caseloads are barely manageable,” said Local 459 President Nicole Dennison. “Meanwhile, the ratio of 31 management and non-union support staff to our 112 union members remains disturbing. The employer refuses even to discuss reducing management.”

“They’ve known since last October there was going to be a budget shortfall but did nothing about it for months – and now they’re cutting frontline staff,” she added. “It’s the absolute worst thing they could do.

Kids are going to fall through the cracks.”

Child and Family Services currently employs 112 unionized frontline staff, both Child Welfare and Developmental Services, to service a high number of families who experience varying levels of social marginalization in the area.

“This decision will cause unconscionable harm on some of the most vulnerable residents in Renfrew County,” said J.P. Hornick, President of OPSEU/SEFPO. “Our committed and compassionate members are already up to their ears in caseloads.

There’s just no way remaining staff can shoulder the additional burden.

“The Minister of Children, Community and Social Services has to step up immediately and fix this situation.”

OPSEU/SEFPO First Vice-President/Treasurer Laurie Nancekivell, who also belongs to this sector, noted that from a cost-savings point of view the layoffs are short-sighted and counterproductive.

“Study after study has conclusively demonstrated that cutting social services saves a little in the beginning – but costs vastly more down the line in terms of poverty, health care and crime.

“Furthermore, there’s been a total lack of transparency on why the cupboard is bare,” Ms. Nancekivell continued. “And the people of Renfrew County deserve to know why.”

Whitewater Region firefighters were presented with Exemplary Service Medals and 1st Bar at a special event held last week. Receiving their awards are, from left, Lorin Martin, Rick Ruttan, Wade Lumax, Fire Committee Chairman; Whitewater Region Councillor Neil Nicholson and Mayor Mike Moore, Reuban Snyder, Roy Church, Terry Moore and Barry Robertson. In the back row are, from left, Deputy Fire Chief Corey MacKenzie, Fire Chief Jonathan McLaren and Deputy-fire Chief Stacey Levesque. Photo submitted

Home sales decline but still post the second best April on record

Pembroke -- The number of homes sold through the MLS® System of the Renfrew County Real Estate Board totalled 225 units in April 2022. This was a substantial reduction of 35.3 percent from April 2021.

However, home sales were 9.5 percent above the fiveyear average and 19.4 percent above the 10-year average for the month of April.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totalled 642 units over the first four months of the year. This was a significant decrease of 27.5 percent from the same period in 2021.

The average price of homes sold in April 2022 was $485,259, up by 18.5 percent from April 2021.

The more comprehensive year-to-date average price was $494,941, an increase of 26.6 percent from the first four months of 2021.

The dollar value of all home sales in April 2022 was $109.2 million, a big reduction of 23.4 percent from the same month in 2021.

The number of new listings saw a substantial reduction of 36.3 percent from April 2021. There were 253 new residential listings in April 2022.

New listings were 19.6 percent below the five-year

average and 33.1 percent below the 10-year average for the month of April.

Active residential listings numbered 172 units on the market at the end of April, a sharp decrease of 34.8 percent from the end of April 2021. Active listings haven’t been this low in the month of April in two decades.

Active listings were 68.8 percent below the five-year average and 80.5 percent below the 10-year average for the month of April.

Months of inventory numbered 0.8 at the end of April 2022, unchanged from the 0.8 months recorded at the end of April 2021 and below the long-run average of 5.3 months for this time of year. The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.

Jack Miller of Combermere was the Week #30 winner of Catch the Ace for St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation. He took home the biggest weekly prize to date in this lottery -- $1,570.

Best of Killaloe 2022 awards presented at reception

Killaloe – Many individuals and several businesses were honoured at the Best of Killaloe 2022 awards night last week.

The first-time event, sponsored by Lynn Flokstra Creative and the Killaloe and Area Lions Club, was held last Thursday night at the Lions Hall. The awards were designed to recognize the people, places and things that make Killaloe and area such a great place to live, work and play.

Awards MC Lynn Flokstra welcomed award recipients and their guests. Nominations were open to

residents of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Township.

Award categories included: Volunteer of the Year, sponsored by KHR Twp.; Community Elder, sponsored by the Killaloe Seniors Friendship Club; Youth Award, sponsored by Community Resource Centre; Community Group/Organization , sponsored by Summers Bros Ford; Business of the Year, sponsored by the Killaloe BIA; Best Neighbour Award, sponsored by McCarthy Fuels & Propane, and Peter Benner Community Spirit Award, sponsored by the Killaloe and Area Lions Club in

memory of Lion Peter Benner who passed away September 30, 2021.

Ms. Flokstra was quite pleased with the response to the awards event and said a meeting will be held to determine if it will become an annual event.

“It exceeded all of our expectations in every regard,” she said. The reception was by invitation only and the award recipients and their guests were joined by the award sponsors.

“The reason for the whole thing was because we felt it was time to try and bring everybody together and let eve-

Business of the Year Awards

rybody sort of focus on the things that are good about our community,” she said. “People, places and things that make our community a great place to live, work and play.”

Ms. Flokstra said the response for nominations exceeded all expectations adding there was a lot of enthusiasm.

Best Neighbour Award

Gold: Karen Dupius; Silver: Wendy Low; Bronze: George Scott Kuehl. Award sponsored by McCarthy Fuels & Propane, presented by Ted Browne

* * * * * * Business of the Year Award

Gold: Grandma’s Pantry - Melissa & Brook Tremback; Silver: Village Pharmacy - Mohsin Merali; Bronze: Garth’s Kitchen - Garth Watterson & Naomi Billstrom Award sponsored by Killaloe BIA, presented by Lions Vice President

Linda Gavin. * * * * * * Community Elder Award

Gold: Isabel O’Reilly; Silver: Lillis Ashford; Bronze: Harold Lavigne Award sponsored by Killaloe Seniors Friendship Club, presented by Vice President Ann Pohl. * * * * * *

Community Group

/Organization Award

Gold: Killaloe Soccer Club

- Jude & Alison Cowan;

Silver: Killaloe Farmers’ MarketRachelle Clayton & Lynne Postill;

Bronze: Community Resource Centre - Bil Smith and staff

Award sponsored by Summers Bros Ford, presented by Lions President Nancy Luckovitch. * * * * * * Peter Benner Community Spirit Award

Best Neighbour Awards

Gold: Garnet Kranz (award accepted by granddaughter Julie Whelan; Silver: Bil Smith;

Bronze: Rose-Anne Boucher Award sponsored by Killaloe and Area Lions Club, presented by Lions President Nancy Luckovitch.

* * * * * * Volunteer of the Year Award

Gold: Stasia Recoskie; Silver: Jim Homer; Bronze: Dan Harrington (absent) Award sponsored by Killaloe Hagarty Richards Township, presented by Mayor Janice Tiedje.

* * * * * * Youth Award

Gold: Dexter and Serena Sernoskie; Silver: A RemesGavin; Bronze: Nick Jahoor Award sponsored by Community Resource Centre, presented by Bil Smith.

Community Elder Awards

Community Group /Organization Awards

Youth Awards

Peter Benner Community Spirit Awards Volunteer of the Year Awards

Lions vice-president Nancy Gavin, left, presented the Business of the Year Awards to Melissa and Brook Tremback of Grandma’s Pantry, and Garth Watterson and Naomi Billstrom of Garth’s Kitchen.

Killaloe Seniors Friendship Club President Ann Pohl, left, presented Community Elder Awards to Isabel O’Reilly, Lillis Ashford and Harold Lavigne.

From the left are Lynne Postill and Rachel Clayton, of the Kilaloe Farmers Market, silver; Lions President Nancy Luckovitch; Community Resource Centre Executive Director Bil Smith, accapting bronze on behalf of the Centre, and gold winners Alison and Jude Crossland.

Community Spirit Award winners, from the left, Rose-Anne Boucher, bronze; Bil Smith, silver; Lions President Nancy Luckovitch, and gold winner, the late Garnet Kranz, accepted by granddaughter Julie Whelan.

KHR Councillor Ted Browne, second from left, presented Best Neighbour Awards to Karen Dupuis, gold: Wendy Low, silver, and George Scott Kuehl, bronze.

Bil Smith presented Youth awards to A Resmes-Gavin, gold; Serena and Dexter Sernoskie, silver, and Nick Jahoor, bronze.

Mayor Janice Tiedje presented Volunteer of the Year Awards to Stasia Recoskie, left, gold, and Jim Homer, silver. Missing is Dan Harrington, bronze recipient.

Ensuring the future of local healthcare Through Monthly Giving

Barry’s Bay – How can I help?

It’s one of the most common questions people ask when it comes to the St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation.

While it’s true that the Foundation offers many opportunities for donations, the St. Francis Monthly Giving Club is a fantastic place to start.

This incredibly important club is made up of donors from all backgrounds. They include retirees, hardworking families, local health care employees and more. All of them share the same goal: to contribute what they can to ensure the future of St. Francis Memorial Hospital.

Wendy Vlasic of Combermere recently joined the club to help ensure the future of healthcare for generations to come.

“The healthcare facilities in the Madawaska Valley are critical to maintaining a safe and healthy community for our residents, as well as our seasonal visitors,” she said. “As the Foundation supports all the major facilities in the area, regular donations provide a strong funding baseline to meet the greatest needs. This is why I choose to support the St. Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation on a monthly basis, in addition to volunteering my time on several hospital committees including the board of directors.”

As the needs of our healthcare organizations are ongoing, and as we work our way out of the pandemic, the Foundation is always welcoming new members to the club. Foundation Executive Director, Erin Gienow, explained the club is an easy and effective way to make a big difference.

“The Monthly Giving Club provides us with steady and dependable monthly income. Every year, the hospital presents us with a list of critical medical equipment that is not covered by government funding and with the revenue expected from the club, which annually amounts to around $70,000, we can identify with confidence a piece of equipment from the list to purchase.”

Julia Boudreau is the CEO of St. Francis Memorial and Renfrew Victoria Hospitals. She is also a member of the St. Francis Monthly Giving Club.

“The Foundation is one of the hospital’s most valued partners,” she said. “It’s important to me that I ‘walk the talk’, donating to an organization that supports our mission of providing high quality patient-centered health care.”

Eileen and Dave Leslie have been members of the club for many years and recognize the importance of local healthcare to their community.

Structure fire among calls for MV department on weekend

Barry’s Bay – The Madawaska Valley (MV) Township Fire Department was kept busy over the weekend and into Monday, responding to three fire calls, including a structure fire in the 1400 block on Yandreski Road at 6:49 p.m. Sunday.

Fire Chief Corwin Quade said the fire was extinguished quickly and the cause of the fire is believed to have been an electrical issue.

“It was contained to the attached garage of the cottage,” he said.

Chief Quade said there was smoke damage throughout the entire structure, causing about $30,000 damage.

One pumper, one tanker and a rescue unit from the North Hall along with 15 firefighters were on scene for an hour.

On Monday, at 1:02 p.m. the department responded to

a fire in the 300 block of Martin Siding Road for a bush fire in a pine plantation. As firefighters arrived, the fire was starting to climb up the trees.

“The fire was extinguished within 12 minutes of arriving,” the chief said. “This fire burnt around one-quarter of an acre of bush.”

The fire was discovered by people walking along the road and they called it in. As firefighters were loading up, a second call came in of another fire in a pine plantation on Paugh Lake Road in the 1400 to 1500 block area. The fire burned approximately three-quarters of an acre and was extinguished in about 40 minutes. The fire was reported by a passing motorist.

Twenty firefighters from both halls responded with two pumpers, two tankers and two rescue units.

COMING EVENTS

KILLALOE FARMERS’ MARKET at the LIONS HALL, Killaloe, from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday, June 4th. All the best vendors selling their best home made and homegrown wares. Brunch will be available.

KILLALOE FARMERS’

NOTICES

Do you have any old copies of the Eganville Leader in your possession? If you do, we’d like to hear from you. Some copies are missing from our files from the 1900s to 1970. Please keep us in mind if you have old editions in your possession.

Don’t throw away those old pictures! Do you have old photos of buildings, events, incidents, colourful characters from your community? Many people have a tendency to toss these treasures but they are a valuable part of our histor y. Call or email the Leader.

FUR HARVEST, fur management and conservation course.

Booking now for June & July, 2022. Call for details 613-7565666 Mike Pecarskie.

FOR RENT

EGANVILLE SENIORS, two bedroom apartment, newly renovated, has balcony and storage units. $1075 plus utilities. 613-281-2255.

KEMPTVILLE & AREA

Weekends Starting June - September 613-799-2788 or 613-294-7237 www.finnertyhockey.com

Your message travels farther with us. ADVERTISE WITH US.

“We are so very grateful to have St. Francis Memorial Hospital, Hospice and the Valley Manor in our community,” Eileen said. “We have been fortunate to call Barry’s Bay our home for almost 40 years. We could always rely on the hospital for excellent care. I am fortunate to be a volunteer with hospice. We know that our community will be able to provide exceptional care into our later lives.

The

It is reassuring,”

Eganville Leader

The Monthly Giving Club is a budget friendly option as donors choose an amount that suits their budget best with their gift automatically withdrawn from their bank account or credit card each month.

TWO BEDROOM COTTAGE available for rent on Lake Dore. Weekly rentals available for July and August, and are from Friday to Friday. Weekly rate is $800. Call after 5 pm 613-735-5555.

613-628-2332 leaderads@nrtco.net

For as little as $10 per month (or 33 cents a day), new members are invited to join the Monthly Giving Club to help with the purchase of essential medical equipment to ensure that the hardworking staff at St Francis have the tools they need to care for us all. For more information about becoming a Monthly Giving Club Member, contact the St Francis Valley Healthcare Foundation at 613-7563044 ext. 217 or visit www.sfvhfoundation.com

Explore

VEHICLE & BOAT STORAGEWe have expanded our storage facilities and now have 18,000 sq. feet of space available for vehicles, boats, campers, RVs, motorcycles... whatever you want stored in our clean and fully enclosed buildings. Contact Maynard van der Galien, 2196 Foy Road, Renfrew. Call evenings 613-432-6551. Email: maynardvdg@gmail.com

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call Philip at 613-754-5217 or Wayne at 613-639-1737 or 613754-2188 to arrange pick-up.

Dave and Eileen Leslie members of Monthly Giving Club

Monthly Giving Club member Wendy Vlasic.

Chair angered by decision to accept $3.59 million road bid

Renfrew council votes against committee recommendation

By R. Bruce McIntyre Local Initiatives Reporter Renfrew

-- In a recorded vote, Renfrew town council rejected a recommendation by the town’s Development and Works Committee not to award a tender and instead voted in favour of accepting the sole bid of $3.59 million for scheduled work in the area of O’Brien Road near Innovation Drive.

The bid was submitted by Bonnechere Excavating Inc. (BEI) of Renfrew.

BEI is the same company the town is currently in negotiations with for previous work on the downtown core and the same company council previously rejected a $2.69 million bid primarily because it was the only tender submitted.

BEI’s bid was for reconstruction work on the Highway 60 project involving Mask Road and Innovation Drive. With both roads maintained by town staff and with another town asset, O’Brien Road involved, the town qualifies for funding under the province’s Connecting Links program. Because Highway 60 links up to O’Brien Road, it qualifies for 89 percent provincial funding and allows the local municipality to pay only 11 cents on every dollar of a construction project.

With the province paying the other 89 cents, it is considered by many municipalities as the most generous and continual infrastructure program and one Renfrew has had incredible success with over the years.

BEI’s $3.59 million bid is about $600,000 more than the company’s original tender. The final number was based on factors such as scaled back enhancements and the unpredictability of the costs of diesel fuel and materials.

The province will pay up to a maximum of $3 million for a project and the town would cover the remaining costs of approximately $600,000.

In his report to council, Director of Development and Works, Mike Asselin, listed some of the major projects the town has received in excess of $11 million over the years. They include downtown revitalization and the O’Brien Road upgrades. It was noted the town has a very high success rate at not only getting grants from the program but has been able to maximize the $3 million awarded on more than one occasion, something not seen very often.

Mr. Asselin told council in no uncertain terms that if they decide not to accept the $3 million allocation from the province, they may lose it.

“Due to the election (and writ), requests for extension will not be considered until the fall of 2022, which would be too late to complete the project in 2022 and is a high risk in waiting,” he said in his report. “If an extension into 2023 is not granted by the MTO, then the town would lose the $3M in MTO funding.” Chair Livid With Council’s Choice

When Councillor Mike Coulas, Chair of the Development and Works Committee was called on by Mayor Don Eady for comments, he wasted no time letting his colleagues know how he felt about their decision to reject his committee’s recommendation.

“I still feel as a member of this committee … well, at least for a few more months anyway … but I still think approving this is a mistake,” he said. “Scaling back the project is wrong. We had this project engineered and we paid for the engineer. We are currently in negotiations with the same company going back four years to fix up

KHR Firefighters Association Holds Draw

The Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Firefighters’ Association and Knights of Columbus St. Casimir’s Parish at Round Lake Centre held their Riding Lawnmower Raffle on Saturday. Lyndon Coulas of Arnprior won the first prize of a Husqvarna riding mower and Dylan Borutski of Round Lake won the second prize of a batterypowered whipper snipper. Officiating at the draw were, from the left, Jim McClement, firefighter, Chief Bob Gareau and K of C member Bill Gardner.

submitted.

the problems yet there was no consideration for that at all.

“Going back to the question, Councillor (Tom) Sydney just asked about contingency funds and we had contingency funds for Raglan Street and apparently that wasn’t enough back then either. We could very well ask for an extension and re-tender it back out in the fall.”

He said the project was not tendered out until April, which is about two months behind other construction projects, so it should not come as a surprise the final number is relatively high. According to Coun. Coulas, ministry officials say it is becoming much more frequent for bids to be on the high side and for some small centres like Renfrew, it becomes a financial burden.

He then inquired as to why the engineers they hire for the tendering process appear to be providing council with invalid information.

“Why are we getting nailed every time we request a tender? What is going on here? Are the engineers not pricing their jobs as per the current rates? Are we not adjusting to the new economy? We need to get answers for this.”

Mr. Asselin explained the engineers are fully qualified and specialize in municipal infrastructure. He said Renfrew and several other local governments utilize their services and they are respected within their field.

“What we have seen in other bids is the high cost of fuel driving up the costs. Maybe market saturation is small and there are not many around and I do understand your frustration with this process and we would have to apply again and even then we would not even hear until September,” he said.

Councillor Andrew Evans said it would be irresponsible to turn down a limited grant and be allocated the maximum amount of $3 million.

“I could not say no to an invitation to take up to $3million for funding this project,” he said. “Inflation is going up and the price of everything is going up so yes, I would

jump on that opportunity for $3 million.”

Mayor Eady called for all those in favour of awarding the tender to raise their hands and the motion passed. However, Councillor Arlene Jamieson did not raise her hand. When Mayor Eady began to read the first of two readings of the by-law formally accepting the final bid submitted by BEI, Councillor Sandi Heins requested a recorded vote.

Reeve Emon and Councillors Evans and Heins voted in favour as Clerk Kim Bulmer read off their names. Then he called on Coun. Jamieson for her vote.

The old saying you could cut the tension with a knife was never truer than when she was literally squirming in her chair as council members stared at their computer monitors waiting for her answer.

After about 10 seconds of putting her head in her hands and fidgeting, she leaned forward and said: “Oh God, I guess since I don’t have a choice, then I will vote in favour.”

The by-law passed with the only vote against cast by Coun. Coulas.

Following the meeting he confirmed he sent out an email to his colleagues expressing his disappointment on overruling the committee’s recommendation. He suggested those actions should have the mayor consider a restructuring of the committee if council is making it a practice of ignoring committee recommendations and making decisions on their own.

He said he has not made up his mind whether or not to seek re-election this fall.

“I am going to wait until after the provincial election is over and maybe even then wait until September,” he told the Leader. “I have found there really isn’t any excitement about municipal elections until after Labour Day anyway. I remain undecided and you can never predict what may be coming up.”

Stolen road signs from Siberia Road in MV replaced

Barry’s Bay -- Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) at Killaloe are continuing to investigate the theft of several road signs in Madawaska Valley Township which was reported to police in mid-May. As police probe the incident, township staff have replaced most of the signs. Most of them were stolen from along Siberia Road between the village of Barry’s Bay limits and Sunny Hill Road.

“I would think it was someone on the younger side was bored,” Township Operations Manager Hilary Kutchkoskie said. “I don’t know. It’s totally useless to take a sign.”

Signs stolen include Bark Lake Dam, Kubeshiski Road, Sunny Hill Road, Babinski Road, Herron Lane, Traders Lane, Lorin Lane, Yakabuski Road, Matacheski Road, County

Road #69 and a Turtle Crossing sign.

Mr. Kutchkoskie said the cost of replacing the signs is being shared between the municipality and County of Renfrew. In addition to replacing signs, he said some of the metal clamps on the poles were also damaged and some of the poles were pulled from the ground. He estimated damage at over $100 per sign once labour costs are added.

Mr. Kutchkoskie said in addition to the damage, there is also the safety aspect to be considered when emergency vehicles are responding to calls for assistance.

Anyone with information on this case, is asked to contact the Killaloe OPP detachment at 613 -757 -2600 or Pembroke/ Renfrew County Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222TIPS (8477) or at www.valleytips.ca

MV road employee Delmar Recoskie replaces one of the signs that was stolen from along Siberia Road near Barry’s Bay recently. The signs were stolen on the May holiday weekend.

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