Riding boundary changes proposed

by Brandon Mayer

COVID-19, I'm glad we now have access to this new bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine," says Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Medical Officer of Health at the EOHU. "I encourage everyone to get the new booster dose as I believe it will have a much better ability to prevent Omicron infections and prevent severe disease. As COVID-19 becomes one of the normally circulating viruses in the community, this booster will help us continue on our path out of the pandemic phase and into more normalcy."

Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines Available by Appointment Only

At the EOHU’s community clinics, the bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccines are currently only available by appointment. However, walk-ins are accepted for those needing a primary COVID-19 vaccine dose or for children aged 6 months to 11 years old. The vaccine may also be available through your doctor or primary healthcare provider, as well as your pharmacy. Please contact them directly for more information or to book an appointment.

For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine, visit www.EOHU.ca/vaccines.

The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry may soon be even more united if proposed boundary changes to federal ridings are approved.

Currently, the boundaries of the SD&G United Counties do not correspond to the similarly-named federal electoral riding of Stormont – Dundas – South Glengarry. The Counties comprise six townships, named after the north and south divisions of each of the three counties. However, the electoral riding omits the Township of North Glengarry, which includes the towns of Alexandria and Maxville. North Glengarry is currently a part of the federal riding of Glengarry – Prescott – Russell.

Under the proposed changes, the new riding of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry would have boundaries corresponding to those of the United Counties, plus the City of Cornwall and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne community of Kawehnoke, which are currently part of the rid- ing. While the Glengarry – Prescott – Russell riding would lose the “Glengarry” part, it is expected that it would also gain small parts of east Ottawa as part of the restructuring.

The proposed changes are not unique to our local area. Once every 10 years, or every second census, federal riding boundaries are reevaluated based on the population information generated by the census. The purpose is to ensure fairness in terms of the number of people in each riding, which determines how many people are represented by each elected Member of Parliament. Under the current process, Ontario is proposed to gain an entirely new riding, which would add a new seat in the House of Commons. If the changes move forward, it will be the first time that all townships of the United Counties are included in the same federal electoral riding.

Changes to the federal riding are made independently from changes to the provincial riding boundaries. The current recommen- dation regarding the SDSG boundary changes has been received and tentatively accepted by the electoral commission. A subsequent 24-day public consultation period is set to come to an end within the next few days. The final approval for the changes will go to the Chief Electoral Officer. If the final approval is received, the riding boundaries will continue to exist as they are until April of 2024, at which time the new changes would take effect.

Current SDSG Member of Parliament Eric Duncan made a social media post notifying his followers of the proposed changes, but he did not respond to a request for further comment by deadline.

Be Tick Smart during Hunting Season

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit would like to remind everyone that ticks are still active well into the fall. Hunters are at a higher risk of exposure to ticks that can cause Lyme disease while out in the forest and in contact with leaf litter where ticks are located.

from behind. Check pets for ticks as well.

Put your outdoor clothes in a hot dryer for several minutes to kill ticks.

Take a shower to help remove any unattached ticks.

Speak to your vet about ways to protect your pets.

specimens are not used for diagnosis of disease so they are no longer accepted at the Health Unit. Individuals can submit a photo to the website, eTick for tick identification.

The Boyne Road Hazardous Waste Facility will be OPEN for its FINAL session in 2022 on Saturday, October 1st between the hours of 8:00am till 12:00pm for the residents of Dundas County to safely remove their Household Hazardous Waste.

Any questions contact: 613-774-5157

Enjoy the benefits of being outdoors; but remember to be tick smart. While not all Black legged ticks in our area carry bacteria that cause Lyme disease, a significant number do, and you cannot tell if a tick is positive by looking at it. Taking the following precautions will help to reduce your risk:

Use an insect repellent containing DEET or Icaridin. You can apply this to clothing or your skin.

Do a tick check when you return inside. If possible have someone check you

Lyme disease transmission depends on the length of time the infected tick is attached. Ticks that are removed quickly and have been attached for less than 24 hours are not likely to transfer the bacteria. However, if the tick has been attached for longer than 24 hours you may be at an increased risk and it is recommended that you consult your health care provider.

Check any ticks you remove from your body to determine if they are fat or flat. A fat tick is an indication that it has been feeding for a longer period of time. Tick

Lyme disease symptoms can range from a bull’s eye rash around the bite area, to headache, fever and muscle/ joint pain. Symptoms can appear from 3 days to several weeks following a tick bite. Consult your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms.

For more information about ticks and Lyme disease: visit our Insect Bites and Diseases section of our website or call 1-800-6605853. You can also e-mail us at contact@heathunit. org or connect with @LGLHealthUnit on Facebook and Twitter or @lglhealthunit.z on Instagram.

Frozen in time

by Brandon Mayer

It’s hard to predict the future, though many have tried. No, I am not talking about false prophecies of the end times – I am leaning more in the direction of entertainment, with television shows like The Jetsons. The fictional character George Jetson was, in the show’s plot, born on July 31, 2022. Something tells me that we simply won’t have flying cars and any number of the other gadgets featured on the show before our imaginary friend Mr. Jetson reaches his adult years.

Another example is Lost in Space, a television show from the same era as The Jetsons. In my undergrad years, I had to watch a couple of episodes to analyze the music from the show. Something that struck me is that regardless of whether the space travel and other technological advances of the show are accurate, this 2058 family sure acts and sounds like a family from 1965, with a man in total control of his wife and ever-obedient children. As much as writers and show producers have doubtlessly experienced generational differences in their own lives, it seems that we can’t help but assume that certain aspects of our lives will remain frozen in time. No matter how much things change, we assume that they are done changing.

Granted that I am not that old, as I age I can’t help but start to reminisce about the way things were, and find nostalgia for things which I never thought would matter to me. A recent example is that I have become obsessed with taking care of my TV remotes. One of my loveable-but-doughheaded black lab puppies (or perhaps both?) chewed the remote for our living room TV shortly after we bought it. Replacement remotes were out of stock, but “luckily”, the TV is a smart TV for which you can download an app on your smartphone that operates through Wi-Fi and works just like the remote. I put “luckily” in quotes because I absolutely despise it! Same buttons, same