April Fools edition - don't believe everything you read March 30, 2017 Vol. 17, No. 12
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Injured driver's wife thanks kids, slams township
Training pays off for Land O’Lakes bus monitors
by Jeff Green organ Cowdy (14) and Austin Barker (8) are the bus monitors on a Martin’s bus that takes them to Land O’Lakes Public School (LOLPS) each day. On Monday (March 27) the bus was running late because of icy roads. It was almost at the end of the route at 8:30 in the morning when it crossed over Hwy 7 from the Frontenac Road to go a short way up the Bell Line Road to pick up the last of its students before turning back and heading to the school. As the bus was heading up a hill it hit glare ice and began to slide sideways and it eventually came to a stop, blocking the entire road. The driver, Joe Borg, told the two monitors to make sure everyone stayed in their seats, as he got off the bus to put out flares on the road to warn oncoming traffic about the hazard. “The he fell pretty hard on the ice,” said Morgan Cowdy when interviewed the next day.
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It was clear that Borg was injured, as he did not move right away after falling, and then was struggling to get back to the bus. “Morgan said she was going to help him get back and asked me to watch the kids on the bus and make sure no one came to the front,” said Austin Barker. So, even though bus monitors are told not to leave the bus, Morgan Cowdy got off the bus to see if the driver needed assistance. “I didn’t go far, because we are not supposed to leave the bus but he was looking pretty shaky,” she said. In the end Joe Borg made it back to the bus on his own. “Joe sat in the driver’s seat at first and then he sat down on the floor because he was dizzy. He told us to use the radio to call for help, and I asked Austin to make the call because I was so nervous,” said Morgan. Austin called the bus company on the radio, and was trying to explain what
by Wilma Kenny ayor Vandewal introduced Forbes Symon, former director of planning and development for North Grenville, as the Township’s new Manager of Development Services at a Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday Night (March 28). Vandewal made the comment; “We hope to see some measurable differences.” No pressure here…. Desert Lake Noise Bylaw Exemption Request A request from Sheena and Leo Pillay, owners of Desert Lake Resort, to have May 20 and all the Saturdays between July 1 and Sept 2 exempt from the Township Noise by-law between 8&11 pm resulted in two delegations and nine letters from unhappy cottage owners on the lake. Having become aware of the local resistance, Pillay modified her request to Council, suggesting instead that she and her husband would prefer to meet with the cottage association to see what sort of compromise could be worked out. She emphasized that since buying the resort a few years ago, they had been trying to make it less of a party place, and more of a family-oriented business. However, she said they were faced with the dilemma that more and more campers expected campgrounds to provide a range of entertainment beyond hiking, boating and swimming. Lake Association members Rick Saaltink and Kanji Nakatsu spoke of years of tolerating late-night loud music from the campground, and gave the impression that the prospect of every summer weekend being noisy had raised a lot of alarm among lake residents. However, they acknowledged the campground owners’ flexibility and willingness to try to arrive at a compromise that might be acceptable to both sides of the issue. Both said that the degree of incompatibility meant compromise might not come easily. Council encouraged the two groups to get together
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(L to R) Morgan Cowdy, Austin Barker, Principal Emily Yanch - photo Kate Turner
was going on, when he noticed a Central Frontenac sand truck headed towards them from the other end of the road. Morgan called her father, who works for the township roads department as well, and her father called the sand truck operator on the Bell Line Road just as he was reaching the bus and he was the first one to arrive and offer assistance. “He asked Joe if he wanted to lay down, but he said he didn’t and he stayed there, leaning on my leg to keep his balance,” said Morgan By now the school and emergency services had
been notified, and Austin went over to help the rest of the kids on the bus, some of whom were visibly upset. Emily Yanch, Principal of LOLPS, was the next on the scene, followed by a backup driver. “The kids had done a great job already and I did what I could. I don’t know how the bus even made it that far up that hill because it was glare ice. My car barely made it. The ambulance arrived and made it to the scene. Joe Borg was taken to Perth hospital and was then transferred to Smiths Falls for a scan. He was released later but reportedly then returned
to the hospital later on. There was no further word on his condition as of Tuesday afternoon. “Two of the kids on the bus were crying because they were scared,” said Austin. “We went to them and held them a bit, and they were ok after that,” said Morgan. The students ended up staying on the bus, which did not turn around but traveled to the far end of Bell Line road where it meets Road 509, before taking 509 south and then Hwy 7 west from Sharbot Lake to Mountain Grove, not reaching the
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Township backs off on mandatory inspections
by Craig Bakay entral Frontenac Council decided to take another look at how a mandatory septic system inspection program might work, rescinding a motion it made two meetings ago asking staff to come back with a bylaw to be implemented before this summer. The impetus for bringing the motion back came from Councilor Jamie Riddell who successfully argued that “some information wasn’t included” in the report the committee looking into the matter presented to Council at the Feb. 28 meeting. Riddell cited the cost of inspectors as well as potential liabilities costs to the municipality for taking over such responsibility. “I think we as a municipality need to join forces with other municipalities to let the premier know one-size-fits-
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all does not work for all rural municipalities,” Riddell said. “We need some funding. Councilor Tom Dewey said that while he supports in principle some form of inspection, “for a bylaw of this magnitude, I think we need to hold public meetings in all four districts, in the summer when cottagers can be here. “And we still haven’t addressed island properties and/or water access properties. In the east basin of Sharbot Lake, there is no water access point at all.” Dep. Mayor Brent Cameron, who is on the committee looking into ways the municipality might be able to help fund people faced with replacing their system, said they need more data and information to be able to determine the scope of the project. “This is a very important decision,” Cameron said.
“We need to get it as correct as we can. “This affects every homeowner.” Cameron said they need to look at how the municipality might enforce such a program and cautioned that
even if they do order a system replaced, it could easily end up costing the Township money if simply added to the tax bill with interest charged. “Over the course of a year, that’s credit card inter-
est,” he said. “We can’t take the property for three years and if we end up having to seize the property for nonpayment, after the school board and county get their cut, we could end up losing money.”
Goat dairy meeting at FC by Jeff Green ast Thursday (March 23) Richard Allen from Frontenac County’s Economic Development Department, and Carey Bidtnes from the Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) hosted three sessions on the prospects for the goat dairy industry in Eastern Ontario. They were joined by goat experts from the Ontario Ministry of Food and Agriculture, including
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small ruminant specialist Jillian Craig, and raw milk specialist Philip Wilman. Richard Allen hosted the sessions, and Carey Bidtnes kicked things off by setting out the context for an unprecedented potential growth of the small but growing goat dairy industry in Ontario. Bidtnes is the point person at KEDCO who is working with officials from the huge Chinese agricultural corporation Feihe. Feihe
will commence construction on a $250 million plant in Kingston this summer. The plant will produce high end baby formula using surplus skim milk from Ontario dairy farms, and will directly employ over 200 people, many more during the construction phase. In China, Feihe’s premium brand sells for $75 (Canadian) for a 750 ml can, a one week’s supply.
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