Vol.20 No.15

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April 16, 2020 Vol. 20, No. 15

Yourway

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Your independent community newspaper since 1971

Keep your distance

Frontenac County approves 2020 budget

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Circulation: 12,000 households

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This Good Friday visitor practiced social distancing when paying a visit to a home near Sharbot Lake. Although it passed near the house, it stayed several metres away, and soon moved off. Photo submitted

Frontenac County met last week, via teleconference with only Warden Smith, Clerk Amini, and CAO Pender in attendance, along with the press. The rest of Council and staff participated in an old school teleconference. The major item on the agenda was the formal approval of the budget, which is unchanged from the document that was tentatively approved back November, 2019. The same tentative provincial num-

bers that were plugged in the budget in November, remained. The final budget estimates a shortfall of $115,000 in provincial funding, a little over 1% of the total levy to ratepayers. The overall increase is just under 5%, but the county treasurer department deducts a percentage for growth, 2%, reporting an after - growth increase of 2.93%. (Editor's note – The Frontenac News

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Community pantries becoming a movement by Jeff Green cross the region, and idea has taken hold, community pantries. In mid March, the Matson family in Arden placed a free-standing wooden cupboard by Arden Road, near the location of the C4 grocery store they are in the midst of building. They put a couple of items in it and invited their neighbours and the entire community to stock it with whatever they

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can spare that might be needed by other neighbours. At the same time, anyone who needs something is invited to take whatever they want. There is not policing, no profit and no worries. “It runs itself,” said Barbie Matson, a couple of weeks after putting it up. On March 31st, Dave and Kim Perry of Perry Farms on Yarker Road, right at the Frontenac – Lennox and Addington border, and Local Family Farms in Verona, decided to try it. Dave hauled a three-door silver fridge from the barn to a spot that is set a bit back off of 4545 Yarker Road. Kim Perry said she would put a pie in the fridge every day. “I make a lot of pies at my store so what’s one more,” she said. The pantry has received a fair bit of social media coverage

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and food of all kinds has been flowing through like water. “Some people have trouble getting to stores these days and others have no money, and others really want to help.” People have been donating money to Kim to keep the fridge stocked and she has donated some food as well. A load of frozen ground beef was donated by a local beef farmer, bread has arrived, eggs, and more. “It doesn’t take much work,” Kim said, but she has started keeping notes about what would be good to stock, and using money to purchase cases of tomatoes and other necessities. “Dave is there a lot as well.” There is also a table at the Local Family Farms store where people can drop off, and pick up food, for the pantry. And starting this week, the pantry concept is spreading to Battersea. Sharon Freeman of Freedom Farms decided to get one started. She put the word out that she needed a cupboard or a pantry and

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COVID cases soar across Ontario, but KFL&A is spared, so far

by Jeff Green

t’s been 4 months since Frontenac County Council approved a draft budget, but with all that has happened since then, it might as well have been 4 years ago. County policy dictates that in all years, except those following a municipal election, the budget process is to be completed in the fall preceding the calendar that is covered by the budget. Last November, in the face of potentially significant changes in provincial funding for some of the programs that the county operates, Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender recommended that final approval of the budget be put off until the provincial funding situation was settled. “Whatever number we plug in for provincial funding will be wrong. I don’t know by how much or if it will be over or under, but it will be wrong,” Pender said at the time. Four months later, all talk about provincial reform and funding changes for paramedic services, long term care, or any other government service, seems like it comes from the long-forgotten past. The Province of Ontario maintains a singular focus now, on COVID - 19, whose impact on both the revenue and expense side of the 2020 Ontario budget, dwarfs everything else.

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by Jeff Green

t is too early to tell for sure, but thus far Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addingotn has differentiated itself from the rest of Ontario in its rate of COVID-19 infections. On a per capita basis, the 55 cases in the region is just over 50% of the provincewide average over the entire outbreak. And with only 10 cases left unresolved, KFL&A is under 20% of the provincial rate for active cases. There have been 2 new cases over the last 7 days, and there are currently no COVID-19 patients in local hospitals. Unfortunately the picture is not so rosy in Ontario as whole, where cases continue to mount. In Ontario there have been 3227 new cases over the last week, an average of 461 per day. There were 483 new cases on Tuesday (April 14). Tuesday was also the deadliest day thus far, with 43 deaths in the province. There have been 334 deaths since the outbreak began, 183 in the last week alone. The first COVID-19 death in Ontario was recorded on March 17, 5 weeks ago. And on Tuesday, the Province of Ontario extended its state of emergency until May 12. The recommendation from KFL&A Public Health remains the same as it has been since mid-March. Residents who are not ill are being asked to practice physical distancing (2 metres – 6 feet) and regular infection prevention (e.g., wash your hands often, cough into your elbow, don't touch your face, stay home if you are sick, etc.) Residents who develop an illness can access the self assessment tool on the KFL&A website top find out if they should call 911, seek testing, or remain home in isolation. “I have confidence in our community that we'll rise to this occasion and show strength and resilience,” said Dr. Kieran Moore, medical officer of health for Kingston Frontenac, Lennox and Addington. The numbers thus far in this region bear out that confidence. someone came forward with an ice hut, which is being installed in front of the Battersea United Church this week and by the time this paper hits the streets it will

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