lying cry, “What do we want? Climate action! When do we want it?
Now!” during the rally. The rally was associated with 350.org, described as “a people-powered movement for climate action.”
by Brandon Mayer
A rally took place last week outside of MP Michael Barrett’s office in downtown Kemptville, protesting a lack of action on climate change with a focus on recent wildfires that have caused poor air quality in the region. The group of protestors gathered in front of MP Barrett's office at 10am on June 28, and then moved on to the intersection of Prescott and Clothier Streets to wave their signs as vehicles and pedestrians passed.
Times reporter Jen Gilroy was on site and described the atmosphere of the event as one of quiet determination and resolve – orderly, polite and very “civilized”, mixed with
worry for our collective future. “There was also frustration and a thread of underlying anger at government talk about problems but not much measurable and impactful action to forge and implement solutions,” said Jen. “However, from some, I got a sense of hope too, that with a commitment to action and change, governments and ordinary people can still act and make a positive difference.”
Local Green Party of Ontario Constituency Association President Steve Gabell rang the bell and knocked on the door of MP Barrett's office, though no one came out to acknowledge the group's presence despite the lights being on inside. Steve lives in Kemptville. “I have a 3
year old, and it's our children, our grandchildren and future generations that will be impacted by climate change,” Steve told the Times. “That's a big part of my motivation. Having children made it much more personal. It's not an intellectual thing. Now I'm much more connected to it. We're here today to call for an end to fossil fuels and a transition to 100% clean energy.”
Steve describes “clean energy” as renewables, solar winds, geothermal technology and the storage of energy. “Nuclear may be an option too but that's more controversial,” Steve added. “We're here today because Canada is on fire. We need massive action. We're in an emergency."
Protesters could be heard repeating the ral -
“I'm here to make myself heard by our politicians and support 350. org,” said Kars resident Nicky Trudell at the rally. “We need to help our politicians understand that the climate emergency will impact every part of our economy and the need for action is now. I just keep plugging away hoping for action from politicians.”
Kemptville resident Alex Leizert added: “I saw smog in town. My mom worries what my kids will grow up in if this is what I'm growing up in now.”
Kemptville climate change activist and doctor Sarah Tucker also attended the rally, joined by her two daughters, Elsa and Aimee Burns, aged 9 and 6 respectively. “I'm impatient with the lack of federal movement [on climate change],” said Sarah. “It's creeping along at an unacceptably slow pace. I'm here for our kids. I'm also a doctor and see people suffering with the consequences of poor air quality. One in seven premature deaths in Canada are caused by [bad] air
quality.”
Sisters Hannah and Kristen DeBeer came to the rally to show support as well. “We've been paying attention to the environment since we were kids,” Hannah told the Times. “[Things now] are looking bad. Every little bit of raising awareness matters because the government won't do much on their own. They need to see that people need change.”
Kate Vieregge from Kemptville attended the rally with her young daughter Florence. “I'm here because I'm concerned about the world my kids are going to grow up in,” she said. “I'm also
a community health nurse, so I see how much climate change is affecting more vulnerable people. Not having air conditioning when it's 40 degrees and you can't open your windows because there's a severe air quality advisory – it creates a lot of stress, especially for people already living with a lot of stress."
Michael MacIsaac, President of the local chapter of the Congress of Union Retirees of Canada, attended the rally and added to the commentary: “I'm here because I'm very con cerned with inaction. We're watching things happen like burning and [bad] air
quality but there's inaction. I belong to a local chapter of CURC and we're quite concerned about climate action. We've done things like tree planting. I have twelve grandchildren and I just don't know what kind of world they'll have when they're my age. We need to move faster. Quit the talk. Everybody has to take action. We need a whole effort by the whole community and all levels of government.”
For more information on 350.org, visit their website at https://www.350.
The Kemptville Campus had its AGM on June 21 and installed two new Board members, Ross Lincoln and Paul Calder.
This was the end of our first year with an arms-length Board and new staff in place. We were truly grateful for the work that the Board did this year, especially outgoing Chair Dermid O'Farrell and Treasurer Graham Pincott, and Katherine Parker, our resident human resources expert. All three have served a two-year term and are stepping down
submitted by Jim Armour
The congregation of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church presented the Kemptville District Hospital with a cheque for $5,400 to go toward the purchase of a CT scanner.
The money was raised as part of the Church’s annual winter/spring mission project that focuses on causes important to the local community.
“Our original goal was to raise $2,500,” said Mission Committee Chair David Carmichael. “The fact that we more than doubled that
speaks not only to the generosity of the congregation, but to the great need to have this sort of technology available in North Grenville.”
Currently, the Kemptville District Hospital only offers x-ray and ultrasound services. This means that patients requiring CT scans must travel to Ottawa, Brockville or Winchester.
To find out how you can contribute to this worthy cause, please contact the KDH Foundation at (613) 258-6133 x157 or email foundation@kdh.on.ca.
Allow me to be among the first to extend a warm welcome for the summer season. Yes, a “warm” welcome. Pun intended. Summer is a very hot and often humid season. This is not new – Eastern Ontario summers have been hot since anyone alive today can remember – but our understanding of how the heat can impact our minds and bodies is ever-evolving.
All living things on Earth adapt and evolve to their environment over a very long period of time. That’s what gives our bodies their amazing “built in” features that keep us alive. One of our coolest features (another pun intended) is our ability to sweat to cool down. Sweating to cool down is a multi-step process. When we sweat, body heat is transferred to the sweat when it leaves our body. This is why a fan blowing air feels extra cool when you’re sweaty or otherwise wet – the sweat is taking body heat with it as it blows away or evaporates.
Despite its simplicity and usual effectiveness, there are two reasons why sweating is not always the best “human
cooling system”. One is that it only works when the warm sweat can leave our body. Air can only hold so much water just like coffee can only hold so much sugar. When air is 100% saturated (what we call “100% humidity”), the air will not absorb any more evaporated water or sweat (no matter how hard it tries!). The result is that sweat gets stuck on our bodies and instead of cooling us off, it feels like a warm bath of horribleness. This is why the higher the humidity goes, the higher the temperature feels even if the temperature is not actually rising.
The other inadequacy of sweating is that kids don’t have the ability to sweat quite as much as adults, despite the fact that children’s bodies produce heat faster than adult bodies. In other words, sweating is far less useful to kids than it is to adults. This is why heat warnings from popular weather services warn that young children should take extra precautions. It’s also noteworthy that adult caregivers may not feel as warm as kids, and may therefore not take kids seriously when they complain about the heat.
Dear Editor,
A message for John of Baldwin’s Birds:
Thank you so much for your always delightful and interesting bird observations. We, like you, consider the birds and other creatures in our yard to be part of the family.
Your story of the wren that collided with your glass door reminded me of something I learned from an acquaintance — that often the bird may seem to be recovered from the collision but, being a delicate creature, may suffer internal bleeding. The only way to ascertain this is to pick the bird up (and I agree this causes them more stress) and blow lightly on their tummy feathers. If you see bright red, they are in trouble and need to be rushed
To bring this semi-scientific discussion to a sociological conclusion, I ask a simple question: why, in 2023, do schools not have air conditioning? Global temperatures are rising by an average of 0.18 degrees Celsius per decade. This may not seem like a lot, but consider that in an 80 year lifetime, the average daily temperature will rise by almost 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is at current warming rates, but warming rates themselves have more than doubled in the last few decades. A degree-and-a-half? What’s the hype? The hype is that what may not seem like a big deal becomes one when it is compounded decade after decade, and our bodies have no chance of adapting to these new conditions this fast.
Regarding air conditioning in schools, I expect the usual answers. “School is not in session in July and August.” “It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars.” “Kids are resilient.” Oh please! Some of the days this past April were getting uncomfortably hot. When my wife and I got married in mid-May of 2022, it was over 30 degrees Celsius and humid.
We had picked May partially to avoid the heat! And we all know that September and October can get very hot. Working in the school system, I can confirm that my shorts come out early May and often stick around until at least early October. School buildings are very hot, and spending money on kids is much less a waste than other government spending.
Let’s not forget about the fact that school buildings – particularly elementary school buildings – are used in the summer. Camps and other forms of childcare run. Community groups can “borrow” the space. And there is a lot of grunt work happening by custodial and administration staff, including the moving of furniture and waxing of floors.
I ask again – WHY, particularly considering that technicians have already visited most schools recently to install ventilation upgrades, have we not considered air conditioning for schools? Every other government building has them, as do most stores (even small ones) and most homes.
Here’s the part that really annoys me: doesn’t it
make sense to assume that kids who are overheated and feeling sticky and uncomfortable are bound to learn less effectively? It turns out that we don’t have to assume. When I researched the impacts of excessive heat on student learning, the evidence was very clear – the impacts are huge. Students do worse on tests in heat waves, and their cognitive function is reduced. One study even found that a 1 degree hotter school year causes a 1% drop in student learning for the year. That 1.5 degree global warming doesn’t seem so insignificant now, does it? Students learn incredible foundational knowledge at school. Learning even 1% less of it can affect society perhaps more than we will ever know until it’s too late.
Is it time for schools
to get air conditioning? I’ll answer with an analogy. Just as a classic novel teaches us that racism is just as pointless and baseless as it would be “to kill a mockingbird”, I argue that expecting effective learning to be happening in sweltering hot schools is like asking educators “to milk a bull”. Trying to get attention and focus out of uncomfortable students is unfair to both educators and students. School is designed to train and develop young minds and bodies, and if these young minds are uncomfortable at best, and impaired at worst, we are setting ourselves up for failure. I don’t have answers for global warming, but I do know that we need to take responsibility for making sure that kids can learn effectively and beat the heat.
to the Wild Bird Sanctuary on Moodie Drive in Ottawa. Many door and window collisions, fortunately, are mild, more like glancing blows and guarding the bird at a distance as you did gives it time to recover its senses and fly off and continue with its day.
My husband and I discovered a wonderful product call "UV Liquid” made by WindowAlert. This product looks like a Bingo marker and one smears it in a zigzag pattern over one's windows and glass doors. While it dries clear to us, it is bright neon purple to birds' eyes so they are not fooled into thinking they can fly through it. We have had no bird impacts since we have applied this product to our windows.
It is available online at www.windowalert.com or
at the Wild Bird Centre on Bank Street in Ottawa.
I hope you find that helpful, All the best Janice Atkey
Response from John Baldwin:
Dear Janice,
Thank you very much for your complementary and very informative response to my article, regarding my own Wren window-strike. I shall definitely have to obtain some of the UV spray that you informed me of when I am next in Ottawa near The Wild Bird Centre since I cannot get it online due to the shipping restrictions on such materials, per the WindowAlert website. (UV Liquid orders ship FedEx Ground to continental
U.S. destinations only. FedEx does not deliver to post office boxes. UV Liquid cannot be shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, or international destinations including Canada.).
I found the Wild Birds Unlimited site very informative, especially their "Birding Links", which gives details of the Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre which is available every day of the year for the reception of injured or orphaned birds. I shall endeavour to include this fact in my next article.
Thank you once again. Stay safe and well, Cheers,
JohnDear Editor,
I was pleased to see the beautification project undertaken by the staff at the Oxford Mills waste transfer station. They artfully arranged several discarded bathtubs and created a lovely flower bed, complete with waterfall. Without studies, meetings or reports, they took the initiative during their breaks and improved their work environment and our experience. Thank you and keep up the good work.
Paul A. JansenDue to unforeseen construction delays in the Riverside Park Recreation Expansion Project, the season opening of the Kemptville Pool will be postponed until Monday, July 10, 2023.
“Council regrets very much the postponement by one week of the opening of our pool season. Despite our absolute best efforts since last September, there have been recent unforeseen construction-related delays. This means that the municipal pool in Kemptville at Riverside Park will open one week later than we had planned. We appreciate that municipal staff are working very hard to ensure that we are open on July 10 and thank all pool users for their patience and understanding,” highlighted Mayor Nancy Peckford. Additional temporary measures will be implemented to support pool operation and programming while the construction on the expanded pool house is being completed. This delay will impact scheduled programming as follows:
• Public swim, family swim, and adult/lane swim schedule will begin on the week of July 10, 2023.
• Start dates for the Kemptville Bluefins Swim Team, Aquafit, Parent and Tot, and Saturday morning lessons will be delayed until July 10, 2023. Participants will receive a pro-rated refund.
• All morning swim lessons between July 3 and July 14 will be cancelled and refunded to the original method of payment.
• In the Spring of 2023, the Municipality of North Grenville entered into a partnership with the YMCA of Eastern Ontario to manage pool programming. YMCA staff will be reaching out directly to affected registered families.
• Families may wish to proactively use the YMCA’s online registration portal for new swim lessons that are available later in the season.
For more information regarding aquatics programming at the Kemptville Pool, email brk.membership@eo.ymca.ca or call YMCA member services at 1-613-342-7961. Questions related to the Riverside Park Recreation Expansion Project can be directed to parksrec@ northgrenville.on.ca.
Background on Riverside Park Recreation Expansion Project
In 2021, Council approved a significant investment to Riverside Park, with construction beginning in September 2022. Recreation amenities identified were based on public engagement in the 2020 Parks, Recreation and Culture Master Plan.
New recreational amenities as part of the Riverside Park Recreation Expansion Project include:
- a new building facility that will support accessible washrooms and provide year-round outdoor access to other users of the park;
- a splash pad with a variety of spray elements including a mega bucket soaker;
- a 50 by 100 feet outdoor rink with a concrete base. Elements will include ice refrigeration, provisions for a roof structure, and will be designed to support summer sports such as basketball, ball hockey, and special events.
Details on the Construction and Riverside Park Recreation Expansion Project can be found on the municipal website.
submitted by ODSP ActionCoalition
Recipients of the Ontario Disability Support Program are warning of the inadequacy of the Ontario government’s six and a half per cent inflationary increase to some benefits, which is slated to take effect on July 31st.
Why 6.5% is not enough: Yvonne’s Story
Yvonne Spicer of London Ontario can barely keep her head above water with her monthly Ontario Disability Support Program payments. This month's six and a half per cent increase means, on average, a rise of around $80 per month, which for most clients of the program does not change much.
"It's a joke," says Yvonne, aged 45, who has medium-to-high functioning autism and like so many people with disabilities has difficulties finding and retaining employment. "Six and a half per cent is not enough. You're not lifting the person from poverty, you're hitting them so low. The person is still down here, where they would love to be up above the poverty line."
As a result of her low income, Yvonne has been forced by high rents to move back home and share a rented house with her aging mother who lives on a small pension. "If not for not my mom," says Yvonne. "I'd be back on the street." She says their combined incomes are not enough to cover the rent while also paying for food and other essentials amid skyrocketing inflation. "We're going to food banks and church dinners every week.”
"Walk in our shoes," says Yvonne to her fellow Ontarians. "You can’t live with what we get a month. If you walked in our shoes, you would see that six and a half per cent is still not enough."
ODSP Action Coalition is a provincial, volunteer, grassroots advocacy group led by people with lived experience of ODSP, with a network of valued allies including legal workers, disability and poverty related NGOs, policy experts, health care professionals and others who advocate for improvements to the income and other supports available to people with disabilities (https//twitter.com/ODSPAction).
For more information, contact ODSP Action Coalition at odspactioncoalition@gmail.com.
The Municipal office is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Visit our events calendar to find out what’s happening in the community: www.northgrenville.ca/events
Sign-up to receive Mayor Peckford’s e-newsletter at: northgrenville.ca/connect.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
COUNCIL MEETINGS
Please see the Council agenda for further details on how to participate in Council meetings. All Council meetings will be live streamed on YouTube at: youtube.com/user/NorthGrenville/ featured and on the Municipality’s website at: www.northgrenville.ca/meetings.
To make a deputation in relation to an item on the agenda, please provide your comments no later than two hours prior to the start of the meeting to clerk@northgrenville.on.ca Council agendas are available at: www.northgrenville.ca/meetings.
• Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. (Open Session) – Council Chambers
• Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. (Open Session) – Burritt’s Rapids Community Hall, Burritt’s Rapids
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
Committees may be meeting in-person or virtually. Please see the Committee agenda for details on how to attend. Agendas can be found on the Municipal website at www.northgrenville.ca/meetings
• Housing Advisory Committee – Thursday, July 6, 2023 at 5:30 p.m.
• Heritage Advisory Committee – Tuesday, July 11, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.
• Indigenous Advisory Circle – Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 4:30 p.m.
• Environmental Action Advisory Committee – Monday, July 24, 2023 at 6:00 p.m.
Advisory Committees
The Municipality continues to accept applications for members to various advisory committees. Join the conversation regarding the community!
Visit northgrenville.ca/committees for more information on how to apply. For questions, please contact the Clerk by email at clerk@northgrenville.on.ca or by telephone at 613-2589569 ext 171
North Grenville is participating in Communities in Bloom, which is a non-profit organization that aims to improve the aesthetic appeal of communities across Ontario. North Grenville is looking for residents and businesses to participate by sharing photos and details of their blooms. We will be putting together a profile book and tour of the community for the judges visiting the second week of August.
If you’re interested in taking part in the initiative, including contributing to the profile book, tour, or submitting your beautiful photos of local gardens and landscapes, visit the North Grenville in Bloom project page on northgrenville.ca/projects. For more information, contact vision@ northgrenville.on.ca.
The Municipality of North Grenville
285 County Rd. 44, PO Box 130 , Kemptville, ON K0G 1J0 Tel: 613-258-9569 Fax: 613-258-9620 general@northgrenville.on.ca
www.NorthGrenville.ca
Building: 613-258-9569 x130 Fax: 613-258-1441
Fire Services Info: 613-258-9569 x201
Fax: 613-258-1031
By-Law Services: email: bylawinquiries@northgrenville.on.ca
613-258-9569 x211
Police Administration: 613-258-3441
Animal Control: 613-862-9002
submitted by Margaret Row Members of C.U.P.E. Local 2577 will be in a legal strike position on July 10th, 2023. In the event of a strike, there will be restricted access to our office locations. We encourage the community to contact FCSLLG by phone at the numbers provided below.
While FCSLLG is hopeful for a resolution, in the event of a work stoppage, protecting children and youth in immediate need of protection will remain our first priority. We will do everything we can to respond to all requests to the very best of our abilities.
If you are concerned about the safety of a child or youth, please do not hesitate to contact the Agency.
FCSLLG thanks you for your patience should a labour disruption occur.
Phone Numbers: Brockville: 613-498-2100 Toll-Free: 1-855-667-2726
with ten more names, but the paper is on a deadline!
Throughout the day every person who was 'working' at our wonderful event was volunteering their time out of the goodness of their heart and the love of our community. We couldn't do it without each and every one of you. Never undervalue a kind word or a few minutes of your time. For those I randomly pulled out of the crowds to assist with generators and lugging or to pass on a message, not one person looked at me funny or hesitated. That is North Grenville.
submitted by Wendy Embleton
Another Canada Day is in the bag. For your Kemptville District Community Association, July 2nd feels like another rotation around the sun, the end and the beginning. As we lead up to the event, we try to build the excitement while giving thanks to our sponsors and our Municipality. It's the day after when we sit back and think of how all the moving parts came together.
I am proud of what the KDCA has accomplished in these short few years. Promoting community cohesion and self reliance through positive change. Thank you to all who have supported us in our endeavors and who support our communities. The small community feel doesn't come from streets and homes that were built
many years ago, it comes from us and our engagement. Canada Day 2023, if you watched closely, was all about our community. Groups of children played together safely racing back and forth between activities. Adults were stopping randomly to say hi to someone they hadn't seen in some time. Introductions were made, connections were made. Judy Beveridge in the early hours literally offered up the sweater off her back. Mary Ann Leang, my personal mentor, showed us all once again that heroes don't always wear capes. Samantha RivetStevenson (former KDCA Vice President) and Tracy McDonald (current KDCA Board member) slugged and arranged and took charge! Tammy Hurlbert’s passion for the community exceeds her position at
the Municipality. Tammy has attended at least 97% of the KDCA meetings since its inception. She is an advocate for the community. She helps direct, she guides 'when we let her'. North Grenville is blessed to have this woman on staff. Marguerite Boyer, co-owner of The NG Times, in the weeks leading up to the event was invaluable with her artistic wow and support.
If you saw me looking at my phone on Canada Day it was probably to answer one of Maggie’s many texts checking in. Herb and Debra Cloutier (aka Jamming Around Man Productions) were amazing as well. I can't imagine any event without having them in charge of the entertainment! The list is longer. So much longer. If I sat down to edit this, in an hour I would have come up
stud walls to constructing insulated concrete form (ICF) walls.
I would be amiss if I didn't give a shout out to my little one as well. Jagger has been by my side for the past seven years with all these events and every year I am a little more impressed by how responsible he becomes. At 19 now, a young man, I didn't have to ask him to assist yesterday. In fact, throughout the day, there was very little I had to ask him to do. I watch as he has grown and made his own connections with those in North Grenville, and it makes me feel so thankful to be here. The community really does raise the child if we let it, and I think we have all done a wonderful job with him!
Your Kemptville District Community Association thanks you all, and we look forward to growing and developing more as time passes.
Over the past two months, Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) students gained hands-on experience in the construction sector and its related trades in the Habitat for Humanity Build Days program, while also giving back
to their local community.
Habitat for Humanity Build Days bring together a group of up to 20 students aged 16 and older to the building site in Kemptville. Divided into groups, students are immersed in the construction process, from cutting and assembling
"This pilot experience was a perfect fit for our students to get exposure to the construction sector and its related trades," says Andy Carruthers, UCDSB Learning Partner. "By participating in the build days, our students not only acquire valuable construction skills, but they also get a real-world look at what carpentry and other skilled trades entail."
The program was open to UCDSB schools within a 30-minute commute to the build site, ensuring accessibility and minimizing trans -
portation challenges. Six schools embraced the opportunity this year: North Grenville District High School, South Grenville District High School, Smiths Falls District Institute, Seaway District High School, and Brockville Collegiate Institute.
The benefits of this program extend beyond the classroom. Habitat for Humanity provides affordable housing solutions for working families who face challenges with affordability, overcrowding and safety. By offering affordable homes through the ownership program, families can build equity while residing in a suitable and af-
fordable living space.
In addition to the practical construction skills acquired by the students, the program provides exposure to the industry and the potential career paths in the skilled trades. As they engage in tasks such as installing walls, bending and installing rebar, interior framing and window preps, students gain first-hand knowledge and a realistic understanding of the various aspects of carpentry and other skilled trades.
Due to the positive feedback received from teachers and students, the UCDSB is actively exploring opportunities
to expand the Habitat for Humanity Build Days program. Plans are underway to involve more schools and students in the future, building upon the success of the pilot program conducted this year.
Habitat for Humanity
Greater Ottawa is building 15 homes in Kemptville in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Thousand Islands. For more information, please visit habitatgo.ca.
by the Government of Ontario Scams are dishonest schemes that attempt to get people to hand over money or give financial and personal information.
Scammers often use basic information they have gathered about you to trick you into giving more financial and personal information. A phishing scam is when someone does this by pretending to be an individual or company you know.
Help protect yourself from a scam by looking out for these common signs: if there is pressure to make a quick decision either overnight or on the spot and are threatened if you don’t comply.
The scammer requests to keep matters confidential and not share the details with local authorities or family and relatives. You receive urgent messages demanding you contact the sender immediately. If you are being asked to provide money in unusual formats such as gift cards, bit coin and prepaid credit cards. If you receive email or phone requests for financial information (for example, credit
card number, bank account information and PIN), or email or phone requests for personal information (for example, Social Insurance Number, date of birth and security answers).
Here are some tips and hints to protect yourself from a potential phishing scam:
Ignore emails from unknown senders and block the sender from sending additional suspicious emails. If you receive a message from an unknown sender, don't open any attachments or follow any links to thirdparty websites. Beware of upfront fees.
Legitimate websites that ask you to enter confidential information are generally encrypted to protect your details. You can identify secure websites by either: 'https:' rather than 'http:' at the start of the internet address, or a closed padlock or unbroken key icon at the bottom right corner of your browser window.
Avoid sending sensitive information over email and text message. Never provide your personal, credit card or online account details if you receive a call claiming
to be from your bank or any other organisation. Instead, ask for their name and contact number and check with the organisation in question before calling back.
The Government of Ontario will never contact you directly to:
ask for personal information (for example, Social Insurance Number, bank account information, health information); offer you money or a reward; sign you up for a rebate program.
There are legitimate instances in which government staff will contact you by email or phone. These include: to respond to a question or complaint you have filed. In such instances, government staff will reference a file number, or specific correspondence that you sent to remind you to renew a licence (for example, licence plate or business licence).
If you are unsure if an email or phone call is from the Ontario Government, you should use our ministry contacts to verify the request before you share any information. Find out how to contact different ministries. Report a scam:
If you think you may be
a victim of a fraud or scam, there are immediate steps you can take to limit the damage, protect yourself from further loss and report the scammer.
Step 1: Stop all communication with the scammer right away.
Step 2: Update your accounts. Change passwords to accounts that may have been affected, including social media sites. Notify banks and other companies where you have an account that may have been affected. Put an alert on your credit report by contacting a consumer reporting agency, such as Equifax Canada or TransUnion Canada (the consumer reporting agency may charge a fee to add an alert to your credit report)
Step 3: Report the scam or fraud to your local police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Gather all records you have of the fraud or scam, such as: correspondence with the scammer (for example, letters, emails,
text messages); financial statements; receipts; contracts; contact information the scammer used to contact you (for example, phone number(s), email address(es)), websites and social media accounts used for the scam. Keep any papers, marketing material or ads used for the scam (for example, brochures, flyers, copies of ads on classified sites). Avoid touching documents that the scammer may have touched, and protect them with a plastic case or
cover (if the scam occurred in person). Document your actions in a log and include when you first started noticing the fraud (including dates, times, names and contact information) which is useful if/when you contact law enforcement, financial institutions or other agencies.
If you believe the scam may have resulted in identity theft, learn more about dealing with identity theft.
2023 Super Seniors Tournament. Photo credit: Leslie Cheal
submitted by Joan Beauregard
A very active June brought our usual round of games plus tournaments and month-end fun day. In spite of wild-fire smog and some rain threats, our intrepid players didn’t miss a stroke.
The June 15th Jean Hyndman tournament is named after a league President in
the 1970’s. Its trophy was donated in 1989 by her son. Forty-one golfers took to the course for good shots and bad, pitch in's, best drives ever, first time hitting a par
3 green, first time pars and birdies, and an abundance of laughs and great company!
The winners were: 1st Place
- Leslie Cheal, and 2nd Place
- Bonnie Thibaudeau.
Our Super-Seniors, a two-person best-ball tournament, followed on June 22nd. After a group photo, time to get things underway. There was a longest drive on hole #4 with a junior club that came to their knees. There was a target-shot on hole #9 to land closest to the bear. Who would have guessed such a sweet
bear would invoke so much competition and laughter as each group took aim at him? Thankfully, the bear remained intact as golfers went on their way. Drama from a tie for second place , and a tense moment as the teams of Janne Ritskes and Diane Schweitzer faced a chip-off against Laurie Howard and Carol Thomas. In the end, our winners were: 1st place - Elaine MacNaughtan and Etta Drost, 2nd placeLaurie Howard and Carol Thomas, Longest Drive - Diane Schweitzer, and Closest to the Bear - Barb Townson.
Our final round of the month was a Blind-partner. Not played with someone wearing a blindfold, but by
randomly pairing scorecards into ‘teams’ at the end of play. With 80 players, we much appreciated help from Ron, our guardian angel, to be sure everyone got parked and set-up, no one got lost on the way to our starting holes, and the round went smoothly. Play was followed by lunch, awards and prizes, and announcements. The day’s results: 1st Place: Bonnie Thibaudeau and Jenny Thibert , and 2nd place Leslie Cheal and Joan Beauregard. Closest to Pin - Front: Cheryle Canning, Back: Nancy Piaskoski . Closest to Target- Front: Kelli Cumming, Back: Janne Ritskes and the tree that bounced her shot straight to
the target. A pin for first time breaking 100 went to Karen Whiteman. Birdie recognition for the end of May and during June went to Leslie Cheal, Parnell Crook , Pat Ferguson, Joyce Lavergne, Donna Lush, Cathy Maur, Marg McCormick, Sandy Ochoski, Nancy Piaskoski, Susan Smith, Linda Stewart, Cheryl Tataryn, Janice Virtue, Annette Watkiss and Mary Windsor. Congratulations to all!
July is shaping up with the Dickenson Tray tournament and participation in the Ottawa Valley Golf Association Intersectionals.
submitted by Deron Johnston
This past week, the Old Town Kemptville BIA sent a letter to MP Michael Barrett on behalf of its member businesses, and by extension, the small business community of North Grenville.
The purpose of the letter was to encourage MP Barrett to request that the federal government extend the repayment deadline for the loan portion of the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA). The current deadline is December 2023 for repayment of the entire CEBA loan.
The CEBA loan was absolutely essential to the survival of many small businesses that were forced to close (some had to multiple times) or deal with significant restrictions on how they operate at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to very recent surveys from the Ontario Business Improvement Area Association (OBIAA) and the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement Areas (OCOBIA), many small businesses are not in a strong enough financial position to repay the CEBA loan by
December without at least seriously impacting their operations. The results of these surveys paint a very grim picture for small businesses.
“OCOBIA’s survey of 128 businesses, found that 97% of Ottawa small business respondents indicated that the repayment deadline of December 31, 2023 will adversely affect their business. Seventy-Four (74) percent of businesses stated that they will be forced further into debt under the current repayment plan, 41.4% fear that it will force them to close the business and 3 out of 4 businesses who were in operation before COVID declared that they are below 75% of pre-pandemic sales.”
“The OBIAA survey of 529 businesses across Ontario had similar findings, with 88% of businesses stating the CEBA Loan Repayment will negatively impact their business, 66% stating they will not be able to invest in their business towards growth, and 46% note they will be unable to expand their business. Sadly, 37% indicated that it will require laying off staff. Significantly, 42% stated that their business may be
forced to close.”
In a recent report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB), their findings are chillingly similar to OBIAA and OCOBIA’s survey results.
“Of the nine in ten small businesses who used CEBA, three quarters accessed loans between $40,001 and $60,000, while one quarter received loans of up to $40,000.
Only 10% of CEBA users have repaid their loans.
A total of 43% of CEBA users risk missing the current repayment deadline by end of 2023. Small businesses in the arts, recreation, and information (62%), hospitality (61%) and social services sectors (46%) are most likely to miss the current CEBA deadline.
The smallest businesses with 0-4 employees are the most likely to miss the repayment deadline (49%)
Even among the 47% of small business owners who
Our goal is to help you 613-258-9492
indicate they will meet the 2023 deadline, half say they will struggle to do so, and two-thirds would like to see an extension of the repayment deadline.”
Consider this article and the letter that inspired it as a call to action. Small businesses are asking for your help to pressure the federal government to extend the CEBA repayment deadline until December 2024 or 2025.
Call, write or email our MP Michael Barrett and add your voice to the others who see the value of our small businesses and how much they mean to our community.
MP Michael Barrett 29 Clothier Street East Kemptville, Ontario K0G 1J0
1-866-498-3096
On behalf of small business owners, their employees, their suppliers, their customers and their communities… thank you!
On June 20th, in the 22nd draw of the sixth round of Catch the Ace, Nancy Fawcett hit the jackpot winning $3,241.50 when her ticket was drawn and the Ace of Spades was found in envelope 43.
The Kemptville Lions Club would like to thank their vendors and everyone who supported this round of Catch the Ace by buying tickets.
submitted by erry Restoule
Please visit facebook. com/kemptvillelions for information about the next round of Catch the Ace, and all other Lions Club developments.
• Assisting in organizing your tax information
• Preparing the return(s) efficiently and diligently
• Ensuring all applicable items have been considered
• Reviewing and understanding the return(s)
• Identify and plan for future tax saving opportunities
3 Clothier St E, Kemptville, ON
• Representing and assisting with CRA requests and issues www.solutionone.ca info@solutionone.ca
Have you ever wanted a one-of-a-kind quilt? Well here is your chance!!
This STUNNING handmade quilt was designed by our fair exhibitors. The quilt was created from last year's exhibitor's quilt blocks. The theme was 'Wild Animals of Ontario' and wasn't that captured in perfection?!
With tickets selling for just $2 for 1 ticket, or $5 for 3 tickets, how can you pass on this opportunity?! All proceeds will be donated to our Barn of Learning and our Youth Programs at the 168th Spencerville Fair!
You can purchase your tickets from any of our Spencerville Fair, Directors.
If you don't know a director, do not worry! Contact info@spencervillefair.ca and we can hook you up with some tickets!
The lucky winner will be announced, Sunday, September 10th!!
But be sure to get them fast while you can, and help support the fair! Interested in supplying a block for next year's quilt, our theme is SUNFLOWERS. For all the information, check out 'Fancy Work' in our fairbook or online - https://www.spencervillefair.ca/fancy-work"
Have you ever thought about how you could eliminate hunger and homelessness? When it comes to hunger, the answer is very simple, and human beings have been doing it for a very long time. It is called food sharing.
The Bible contains at least 93 references to the sharing of food. In the Bhagavad Gita, it is written that from food, all beings are evolved, and feeding a hungry person is treated as the greatest service to mankind. The Prophet Muhammad said “Whoever feeds someone who is hungry will have his sins forgiven, and whoever helps someone to travel will have his sins forgiven.” Feeding the hungry, giving food to the needy, and helping people with their needs are all good deeds that can earn us a place in Paradise. And for years, people looked to churches to provide for the hungry.
Then, municipalities and provinces took on the task by establishing social services for housing, food and other needs. And today, food banks and food pantries are the latest in food sharing outposts. Yet churches, municipalities, provinces, food banks and individuals continue to wrestle with issues of homelessness and hunger in our communities.
There has been a lot of talk about coming up with realistic solutions to both these issues. One of these is the notion of a basic income for all Canadians. In a way, Canada and its provinces are already part way there. For example, many larger employers offer sick leave, short and long term disability leave, and pension plans for their employees. The provinces offer workers’ compensation in the case of accidents. The federal government offers CPP (Canada Pension Plan - QPP in Quebec) to workers, and OAS Old Age Security) and GIS (Guaranteed Income Supplement) to all those who qualify. During the COVID pandemic, CERB was offered to workers who experienced income loss. Each one of these programs comes with its own rules, its own criteria for qualification, its own administrative costs, and in many cases, its own bureaucracy. In Atlantic Canada, for example, there are four Workers’ Compensation Boards.
So the next time someone talks about guaranteed or basic income, just think what it would be like if all Canadians were guaranteed a basic income. While we would still need some bureaucracy, could we not greatly reduce our collective costs to achieve something greater than the sum of all of the parts with the same amount of money?
(nee Lewin)
Patricia passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, at the age of 98 years, on June 26th 2023 at the Kemptville District Hospital. Predeceased by loving husband Clarence Michael and her brothers Billy, Bob, George and John. Survived by her sister Joan Fast (Jimmy) and her children Audrey, Michael, Gary (Bev), Donald (Laurie), Carol Brown (Peter), Linda Richardson (Keith) and Terry Olmstead (Randy). Also survived by 15 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and 3 greatgreat grandchildren. She will also be missed by many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. The family would like to express their gratitude and thanks to the staff at the Kemptville District Hospital and Bayfield Manor for the wonderful care given to our mother and family during a difficult time. Friends are welcome to a Graveside Service at Holy Cross Cemetery, 503 Clothier Street West, Kemptville on Wednesday July 5, 2023 at 12 noon. Donations to the Kemptville District Hospital would be appreciated.
Condolences/Tributes/Donations
Hulse, Playfair & McGarry www.hpmcgarry.ca
613-258-2435
A FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED BUSINESS SINCE 1976, WILLIS KERR CONTRACTING LTD. HAS BUILT A SOLID REPUTATION FOR COMMITMENT AND QUALITY WORKMANSHIP.
Ask any singer what they detest the most and they will say, “People who cough at concerts.” So how do you tell if your annoying cough is due to getting older or being a little out of shape? Is it a common cold? Or could it be a life-threating condition, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)?
It’s estimated that one in four people globally over the age of 35 will develop COPD. Worldwide, it’s the third leading cause of death.
It’s worrying that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute reports that over 15 million Americans have been diagnosed with COPD and another 12 million don’t know they have the disease.
What causes COPD?
It’s almost entirely due to smoking. Older women may experience more serious symptoms, even if smoking less than men. Other risk factors include exposure to second-hand smoke and airborne lung irritants such as toxic fumes and heavy dust.
People at a concert who can’t stop coughing may be suffering from emphysema or long-standing bronchitis, and often they will have both conditions.
However, the underlying pathology is quite different.
In emphysema, the air sacks that transfer oxygenated air to and from the lungs have lost their elasticity, leading to chronic shortness of breath and lack of oxygen. Those suffering from chronic bronchitis have inflamed lungs clogged with mucus. This limits the intake of oxygen and builds up carbon-dioxide in the blood.
What is the answer to self-inflicted COPD? Shakespeare aptly wrote, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” Some people, despite medical evidence that smoking causes COPD and most lung cancer, still play Russian roulette. They do not need a hard-working family doctor. They need a psychiatrist!
Don’t think the solution is to quit at the first sign of
trouble. These diseases are sneaky without major symptoms at first. By the time you notice you’re short of breath going up an easy flight of stairs, you may be too late in getting the message.
There are some things your doctor can do to help to reduce further damage to the lungs. Get a flu shot, the pneumonia vaccine, avoid fireplace smoke and other pollutants, and adhere to drugs prescribed by your doctor. If you have signs such as fever, more difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest and increased mucus, see your doctor.
Inhaled bronchodilators use drugs to relax the airway muscles making it easier to breathe. Inhaled corticosteroids can be added to reduce inflammation in the lungs. Getting oxygen with a mask may be necessary.
There’s new evidence that long-term use of antibiotics such as azithromycin may decrease the number of recurrent COPD flare-ups after one year.
What about surgery? This is a last resort and only feasible for some cases. Diagnostic X-rays and CT scans may reveal a part of the lungs that is severely af-
fected. Removing the most diseased lung tissue might enable the remaining healthier parts to work better. This may improve breathing ability, but it can also make the problem worse.
A lung transplant is another possibility, but new organs are a rare gift.
We hope in the years ahead there will be other ways to treat this debilitating disease. But let’s end with one last warning message. For now, COPD has no cure and will progress when smoking continues. COPD is a terrible price to pay when it means prematurely leaving loved ones needlessly. Doctors see this over and over.
What about doctors?
Years ago, cocktail parties in the homes of doctors would be full of tobacco smoke. Not today. Most have heard the message.
Sign-up at www.docgiff. com to receive our weekly e-newsletter. For comments, contact-us@docgiff.com. Follow us on Instagram @ docgiff and @diana_gifford_jones
I must say – 2023 is quite a time to be alive. There are many people alive today who would be able to recall vivid memories of seeing gay or lesbian people harassed, assaulted, or even criminally prosecuted for being who they are. Gender transitioning would have been difficult, dangerous, and perhaps even illegal at that time. It is impactful to think of how far we have come.
The Times sometimes receives unsolicited submissions of opinion columns from all across the country. Most are rejected due to their irrelevance to North Grenville. However, one column we received last week applies to the local area just as much as it applies to all of Canada: the issue of whether educators should disclose gender transition intentions of their students to the students’ parents.
The column was written by Colin Craig, who is the president of a media organization called Sec -
ondStreet.org. It is called “Easy Solution to Gender Disclosure in Schools”.
When I first read the title, I was very intrigued at the idea that there may, in fact, be an easy solution to this much-debated topic. I don’t always read column submissions from start to end, but I did read this one in its entirety. I was admittedly disappointed. Colin’s solution? Simply have a default policy of passing along gender-related information to parents, and allow parents to “opt out” of receiving this information.
Huh? This is a solution?
In Colin’s own column, he points to research suggesting that over 60% of parents with young children believe that educators should be required to pass along gender-related information that their child shares. This should not be a surprise. I have two kids, and I would have said “yes” to this question also, but not so that I could grill my children about their gender – rather, so that I could reassure them that they can talk to me about this in the future
instead of being too scared to open up and venting to their educator!
I also speak on this subject as an educator. I have been on the receiving end of “disclosures”. I have made CAS reports both as an educator and as a mental health counsellor regarding situations that were horrifying to me, situations that were shared with me that left me visibly shaking, disclosures that left me crying when driving from one school to another to visit my next client, abuses so awful that I have never come to terms with them or spoken about them with anyone. There was a reason why I – as an educator or counsellor –was given that information by a child or teen who felt they could not share it with anyone else.
As a parent, I absolutely want to know everything that is going on with my kids, but being an educator and counsellor reminds me that I need to earn that from my kids. If they are telling their teacher things instead of me, what am I doing to make them feel that they
by Peter JohnsonCanada's 156th birthday just took place. I wonder how it went. Because I am writing this before the event has actually happened, I am unable to look back on what took place. Instead, I am left with thoughts about previous celebrations, and some wishful thinking about this one.
Typically, as Canadians, we treasure our citizenship. We tend to count our blessings and think ourselves lucky that we live north of the border, rather than south of it. We embrace the things that make us Canadians; too often we define ourselves as who or what we are not. This is evident in the earliest of Canadian writings, and it still can be seen today. We have in our possessions, one of the most sought-after items in the world – a Canadian passport. According to Parsai Immigration Services, “Canada passport holders can enter a total of 185 destinations, either without a visa, through a visa on arrival, or via an ETA.” According to the Henley Passport Index 2022, “Canada is currently the seventhranked most powerful passport in the world.” In addition, “The Canada passport ranking is due to the degree of global entry it guarantees to Canadian passport holders, who may travel visa-free to 186 countries...”(Guide consultants.com)
More importantly, the best thing about getting or having one, is that it guarantees you the rights and privileges of one of the most 'free' countries in the world. The number of people in the world who wish that they could have a Canadian passport vastly surpasses the number of those who currently hold one.
As much as we might complain about living cheek to jowl with the Americans, many in the world have far worse neighbours. Sixteen countries border Russia. They have a combined population exceeding 400 million people. That's a lot of worried and anxious people. Add to that the 143 million that are living in Russia, that total might be roughly half a billion people who wished they lived elsewhere. And then of course, there are China and India: 1.4 billion each! Almost 3 billion people. It's certain that there would be a hefty lot in those two countries that would like to live elsewhere. Somewhere, where people are not so expendable; a place where women are treated as equals, with their rights entrenched in the laws of the country.
can’t trust me, can’t rely on me, and can’t talk to me? And why does Colin believe that allowing parents to opt out of receiving gender-related information will help anyone? The parents who are truly a threat to their kids – who are unsupportive and emotionally critical and potentially abusive – are not the ones who will be opting out. Parents who are worried about being kept out of loop should ask themselves “why?”
I suggest this: if a parent asks about their child’s gender disclosures, they should be told. If a parent does not ask, then an educator does not need to breach the confidence of a child who trusted them when they felt no one else could be trusted. Age should also be considered a factor in making this decision, as should the nature of the disclosure.
Parents absolutely have rights, and a balance must certainly be sought, but let’s get one thing straight: a non-solution helps no one.
How do we compare to other countries? It depends upon the criteria. “Canada ranks among the highest in international measurements of government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, economic freedom, education levels, gender equality, public services, public security and environmental sustainability.” (Wikipedia)
According to U.S. News & World Report 2022, Canada is the #1 country where people would live. “Canada is a high-tech industrial society with a high standard of living,” said U.S. News. I look forward to your letters, but please note, before you go dashing off to your keyboard, the inclusion of the word 'would'. In 2021, Canada was ranked #1, as The Best Country in the World...but it slipped to #3 in 2022 (according to U.S. News & World Report, BAV Group, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)
And so, with all of that, I think I can sum up by saying, 'We are darn lucky to be Canadians'.
So many in the world would dearly love to be in our place; able to raise a family without fear or severe limitations. If you get into the habit of counting your blessings, your citizenship should not be overlooked. When I'm counting, I also add how lucky I am to live where I do, rather than a big metropolis. Small towns are a blessing. I hope you had a good Canada Day wherever you were.
Solid oak desk, five feet wide by two feet deep, very good condition, $225. 613-258-5831
Mastercraft 10-inch sliding compound mitre saw w. stand (brand new - never used) $150. 613314-6811 (voice or text).
Enclosed trailer, inside 51/2'w x 9'l. $1500 negotiable. Call or text
613-282-1836
Green, corduroy couch approx 7 feet wide. Two end sections recline. Clean and in excellent condition. $300.00
613-258-5831
Upright Weber piano, $200.00. 613-258-5831
Free, two industrial electric motors and a free jointer planer. Call Doug 613 258-4573 (Kemptville)
Now booking orders for new crop small square bales of hay. Call or text Jon. 613-227-3650
2016 JAYCO RV, JAY FLIGHT SLX. 21'6". In good condition. Email nadfudt@gmail.com for details and picture
Dollhouse, Foxhall Manor by Real Good Toys, with side extensions. Currently under refurbishment. $1500. tineboyer@gmail.com
Harmonica Phe 64 Chromonica, 4 Octaves, professional model, M Hohner, Germany. Contact 613-567-8533
Cedar posts and rails for sale. Jon 613-227-3650.
4X4 round bales of hay and straw for sale. Jon 613-227-3650.
Cedars for hedging, 2' tp 10', Tamarac & Spruce. Call Jim after 6pm 613-258-3561
Dry firewood for sale $110 a cord plus delivery fee. Call or text Jon 613-2273650
HALL AVAILABLE FOR
davidrbailie@gmail.com.
in Beautiful Burritts Rapids! Start a book club in time for cooler weather in a hamlet near walking trails and parkettes. Our hall is well equipped for any gathering or celebration, and we offer very competitive rates.
http://burrittsrapids.com
WANTED
Looking to harvest cedar trees for hedges off acreages from landowners. Please call Joanne 613-799-0958
Experienced+local farming family looking to buy a farm. Min. 10ac tillable with a liveable house. Open to creative solutions.
Looking to rent farmland for cash crops. Call or text Mitch @ 613-262-1204.
Property for rent for spring & fall deer & turkey hunting. Call Jim after 6pm 613-258-3561
Gardening Tools, Furniture, Tools, CDs/DVDs, Household Items & More! Saturday, July 8th 8:00AM – 3:00PM. 1238 Limerick Rd. Oxford Station (Rain Date – Saturday, July 15th)
PROBUS: Fellowship, Fun and inFormed presenters are part of the PROBUS gathering on the third Wednesday of each month at St Paul's Presbyterian Church Hall at 9:30AM. For more information contact at n.g.probus97@gmail.com
BREAKFAST, Kemptville Legion! Every 3rd Saturday from 8-10am - $8 for adults, $6 for children 10 and under. Euchre will be held following breakfast, registration starts at 11:30 am.
Kemptville Legion: Now Open Fridays 3-9. Free Pool and Darts. Everyone Welcome
BINGO, Kemptville Legion, 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, doors open at noon
NG Duplicate Bridge Club Bridge, Masonic Lodge
311 Van Buren Kemptville, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at 12:15. All Levels of bridge players are welcome. Info call 613-795-7155
EUCHRE on Tuesday, July 11, 25, August 8, 22, September 5 and 19 at Pierce's Corners also known as the Marlborough Community Centre, 3048 Pierce Road. Registration starts at 6:30 p.m. and play starts at 7:00 p.m. $5 per player. For information contact debiar@ymail.com.
BID EUCHRE on Tuesday, July 18, August 1, 15, 29, September 12 and 26 at Pierce's Corners also known as the Marlborough Community Centre, 3048 Pierce Road. Registration starts at 6:30 p.m. and play starts at 7:00 p.m. $5 per player. For information contact debiar@ymail.com.
Kemptville Snowmobile Klub BBQ and entertainment Sunday July 16. Pulled chicken on a bun with salads and dessert $25. Entertainment by the band 'Hillbilly Highway'. Show starts at 2:30 pm and meal served at 5:00pm. Takeouts available. Call Bruce at 613-258-3648 or Penny at 613-285-4069. BYOB and lawn chairs.
Solutions to last week’s Sudoku
Solution to last week’s Crossword
submitted by Vic Budz
The four Kemptville Rotary Student Award winners ($1,000 each) for 2023 were recently selected. The recipients of the awards presented by Kemptville Rotary Club President Vic Budz are:
- Emilie Padbury, Notre Dame Francophone Catholique
- Vincent D'Angelo, St. Michael Catholic High School
- Eli Batchelor, North Grenville District High School
- Sebastian Friedrich Yap, North Grenville District High School
Congratulations to our recipients!
If you’re up for absurd adventure and musical mayhem, this all-ages
comedy rock show is for you! Take a trip with Captain Nick Di Gaetano into Unbridled Futurism, a theatrical 3D experi -
ence you don’t want to miss. Did I mention the silver unitard? Video and a Telecaster guitar? Or was it a Strat? Like any mysterious space object, I may be hard pressed to explain what it is or how it got here, but there’s no doubt in my mind about how much you’ll enjoy your encounter. Whether he’s clowning, puppeting, improvising, or singing for his supper, Nick’s performances are sure to astonish.
What? The Kempt -
ville Street Piano Concert Series presents
Who? Comdey Rock with Nick Di Gaetano
When? Saturday, July 8, 2pm
Where? North Grenville Public Library terrace
How much? Free! (Cash donations welcome, or see the featured section on our FB page for the link to our GoFundMe campaign.)
Learn more about Nick Di Gaetano at https:// www.nickdigaetano.com/
Theatre Night in Merrickville comes up a winner at the Eastern Ontario Drama League’s Full-length Festival. The Company entered Deathtrap by Ira Levin in the 2023 EODL travelling festival. Adjudicator Caroline Smith drove the roads last fall through to this spring, attending seven plays in six different communities. She then had the unenviable task of selecting nominees and winners in seventeen categories. The small but mighty TNIM faced stiff competition against theatre groups from Brockville, Belleville, Cobourg, Kingston and OLT from Ottawa. These groups all have their own theatre space. They certainly don’t have the special challenges that TNIM faces, where they have a week to build a stage, set and audience seating, hang lights and put on four shows in the Community Centre before tearing it all down in three hours to store back in a box car for another six months.
Andrea Howard was awarded Best Cameo Performance for her hilarious portrayal of the psychic Helga Ten Dorp. Lorraine Smith was awarded Best Costuming. Vicki Graham, Omar Simonyi, Martin Smith and Keith Stanton were acknowledged for Best Set Decor and Props. TNIM was also honoured with nominations for Technical Contribution: Stage Management (Bronwen McKnight and Omar Simonyi), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Keith Stanton), Best Actor in a Major Role (both Al Billiald and Michael Phillips), and Best Director (Vicki Graham).
Theatre Night in Merrickville has been producing award winning performances for almost 50 years. In a David versus Goliath theatrical showdown at festivals, TNIM can hold its own. We gratefully acknowledge the support of our audiences and welcome anyone interested in working behind the scenes or on the stage. It takes a village to raise a curtain!
• 2 eggs, beaten with a couple of tablespoons of milk
• A couple of shakes of Worcestershire sauce
This is Part 2 of: “We love leftovers”. Why? Because: 1) leftovers give you the opportunity to develop and play around with tasty recipes; and 2) Working with leftovers is great for your budget. The Cormier family is a huge fan of leftovers and often, we plan meals so that we can make use of what is left for take-away lunches or simply another full meal. For example, last week’s Boiled Ham recipe yielded a very tasty Split Pea Soup. Last night, we had a roasted chicken and the leftovers will provide a great treat of Chicken Fried Rice, today’s recipe, which our family has been enjoying forever…
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Whatever cooked chicken you have left from a previous meal, cut into small pieces, bones removed
• Or, 2 large chicken breasts, roasted in the oven till (lightly) done and cut up into small pieces
• 1 large or 2 medium size onions (e.g. Vidalia) and any leftover green onions, all finely sliced and diced
• 3 cloves of garlic or the equivalent, crushed
• 2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
• 2 cups of fresh mushrooms sliced or 2 cans of pieces and stems mushrooms
• Any leftover red or green peppers you might have hanging around in the fridge
• 4 cups of plain white or brown rice, cooked ahead of time
• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• A couple of shakes of Tabasco sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Soya sauce to taste
Preparation
• Melt the butter in a large pan and sweat the onions and garlic on medium heat
• Once sweated, sprinkle the onions and garlic with the sugar to caramelize
• Add the peppers and mushrooms and sweat them as well
• Next, add the chicken chunks, pour in the sesame oil and stir to coat everything
• Fold in all of the cooked rice, one cup at a time
• Stir in your beaten egg and let it poach
• Stir in some Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces
• Sprinkle with black pepper
• Fold in some soya sauce (be careful; it’s very salty, so taste as you go)
• Add a bit of water, stir, cover your pan with a lid and let your Chicken Fried Rice rest a bit
Just serve up in bowls. To accompany and enhance your Chicken Fried Rice, you may wish to try Grahame’s Brown Oatmeal Bread, newly available and very delicious. You may not want to get it sliced but just tear the loaf apart: we demolished a couple of loaves last week. We are fans!
By the way, our grandson Ayden likes plum sauce as a condiment for his Chicken Fried Rice; I like Hoisin sauce myself. Green Tea is also nice to have, either hot or iced. Have a great summer preferably without smoke! Best from pcormier@ranaprocess.com.
Our nesting birds have all seemed to have done a good job and, once again, activity around their visible nesting sites has abated and the males trying to attract a female partner have gone quiet! Of those included around our garden are the Robins, Nuthatches, Bluebirds, and House Wrens and, quite obviously, the Grackles and the not quite so obvious,--Cowbirds! I wonder how many of those we are seeing at the moment are still being raised by the unwitting surrogate mothers and fathers of another breed of bird!?
I spent a lovely evening a few days ago just sitting on one of my park benches, watching the activity around our water feature which I had just topped up after a sunny, water-evaporating day had almost passed. A Chickadee desperately wanted to get into the water from the rock it was standing on, but at the same time it didn't want to get its feet wet! Quite the dilemma
for the poor little thing, but courage eventually "won over" and it got into a very small and shallow part between two stones to ruffle its feathers in the cooling water, as it so desperately wanted to do! Prior to landing on the rock to achieve this act of bravery, it almost did a Hummingbird hovering act above the water, as it sought a spot upon which to alight. Of course this all took place so rapidly that I couldn't capture it on my camera, as is the case on many occasions when trying to get pictures of the birds in action.
On the point of birds in action, I must congratulate NG Photography Club member Michailo J Beelich for his picture on the last page of last week’s NGT (Vol 11 No 24 22 June 2023) of the Osprey in flight after presumably having fed its chick. It’s a very exciting shot of
which I would have been duly proud, had I taken it, but haven't been able to get out anywhere for the past three months to get one of my own; thank goodness for our garden for the ones that I have got! Well done! I hope that many of you are either just enjoying the birds, or even taking your own pictures of them, but whatever you do, please stay safe and well.
Cheers, John Baldwin
submitted by Anthony O'Sullivan
The 2023 Patrick J. Maloney Memorial Bursary, offered by the local Knights of Columbus, was awarded to local Académie Catholique Notre Dame graduate and St Laurence O’Toole Parish member Emilie Padbury. The $1,000 bursary was open to graduates from the local French and English school boards. Emilie demonstrated academic excellence and active participation in parish and community life. Emilie plans to study at Université de Montréal. We wish her every blessing in her future endeavours. The bursary was presented to Emilie at her high school graduation.
