Issue 34 2020 August 26 NG Times

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The Voice of North Grenville

Vol 8, NO 34

August 26, 2020

Valley Bus Lines prepares for return to school

by Hilary Thomson With the school year fast approaching, many parents are worried about their children’s safety as they return to the classroom. In North Grenville this often also means getting on a bus with their peers, and some parents are wondering how their children are going to kept safe on their ride to school.

Director of Valley Bus Lines, Brandon Bélanger, says the company has been working hard to create and implement a plan that will keep both students and bus drivers as safe as possible on the route to school in September. Valley Bus Lines is a subsidiary of Sogesco, a company run out of Drummondville, Quebec, and services many of the schools in the North Grenville and MerrickvilleWolford area.

Brandon says that when

they were given the go ahead from the province to reopen their office at the end of April, the first thing they did was hire cleaners to come in and scrub down each of their buses three times. When the school year starts, each driver will be provided with a clean sanitized bus. Drivers will be supplied with a secured tote occupying the first seat behind the drivers seat. These totes will contain face masks, face shields, hand sanitizer, and any other PPE that may be needed for their route. They will also be provided with nowipe sanitizing mist that they will need to use twice a day to sanitize seats and all high contact areas between runs. As of right now, there will not be a plexiglass barrier between the driver and students, but Brandon notes that this could change upon instruction from the participant groups, including Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario (STEO).

As of Friday, these consortia are working on updating routes, taking out the students that are choosing to learn from home. Brandon has read that students from the same household will be required to sit together, as well as follow seating plans. “We won’t get out final counts until next week,” Brandon said.

The provincial government has announced $40 million to help with extra hours being earned by drivers for additional cleaning.

“We are hoping that the $40 million that the government has allotted for bus cleaning is provided soon”.

Through outreach efforts on Canada Day, Valley Bus Lines were able to find a few new drivers, however they are still actively recruiting. “We still have a couple of runs open,” according to Brandon.

Getting ready to welcome kids back on their buses after a long hiatus and COVID-19

has been a challenge. Valley Bus Lines have had to move quickly to implement policies and procedures required by the provincial government, school boards, STEO, and their other regulatory bodies.

Brandon is happy to be working for a company that acted quickly to address COVID-19. Sogesco has many policies and procedures in place which include how to proceed if a driver or student identifies with the virus, as well as in-house temperature checks, and contact tracing protocols.

“I’d like to take a moment to thank Frank Healey and School Bus Ontario for the continued excellent work they do on behalf of the school transportation companies in Ontario,” he says.

Like everything related to this year’s return to school, Brandon says they will have to adapt as the needs change.

“In unprecedented times we have to be calm, cool, and levelheaded,” he says. “The ultimate goal is the health and safety of our students and staff. After all, our motto is: Carrying the Future Safely.”

Valley bus Lines ltd. has extended an invite to Premier Doug Ford and MPP Steve Clark. We would be honoured if they would spend a couple of hours with us so we can show them just how much responsibility a bus driver has and how we are doing our best to protect them and our students.

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The North Grenville Times

Reopening schools safely matters to everyone

The Voice of North Grenville

GET YOUR FALL TUNE UP

NOW!!!!

Update from the Branch Executive, Kemptville Legion Branch 212

That’s why the government of Ontario has worked with health officials, school boards and educators to develop a comprehensive plan to keep kids and staff safe.

Like most other Legions across the country, your local Legion Branch has been closed over the past several months due to the worldwide pandemic. Over the past several weeks, as Ontario slowly started to re-open, there have been some inquiries as to when the Kemptville Legion might be opening its doors to our members.

Notably, there have been reports in the media that some Legion Branches in Canada may be closing due to fiscal sustainability issues related to COVID-19 mandated closure.

We are most thankful to our Kemptville branch members who came before us, who have historically provided both steadfast stewardship and wise governance over our local finances and other resources. Rest assured that the Kemptville Legion remains strong in our long-term viability. Our Comrades provided us with the financial stability and more importantly, the extra precious time that various other Legion branches may not enjoy, to weather this very stormy era.

The mission of the Royal Canadian Legion Kemptville remains the same: to serve

• Physical distancing measures will be implemented such as desk separation, signs, floor markings and one-way hallways.

• Face coverings will be required for staff and students in Grades 4-12.

• Hand hygiene will be enabled with hand sanitizer and hand washing.

• More nurses will be in schools.

• School cleaning will be enhanced.

Veterans, including serving military and RCMP members and their families, to promote Remembrance, and to serve our communities and our country. Together, it is now our collective turn to hold the torch up high; thus, our branch’s mission is immediately best served by reducing the risk to our members – some of whom are at considerable risk from this virus. We do not wish to recklessly put in jeopardy our very worthy ongoing sacred purpose. Veterans Services remains available during this phase of the pandemic, and our Veterans Service Officer has been most capably aiding those who we are bound to care for. We are confident that our members have access to the supports needed during this time when our members remain at risk.

At the Executive meeting on Monday, August 17, 2020, the leadership team has made the decision to keep the branch closed on an interim basis. Much like the Canadian - American border closure question, this decision will be revisited every 30 days, with the next evaluation to take place by the end

of September 2020. We will be monitoring the situation diligently with the approaching fall and influenza season and the yet-untested impacts this may have in light of the nasty COVID-19 virus. This decision was a difficult one for us all to make; it was not taken lightly and at the forefront was our concern for the health and well-being of our members.

In preparation for a possible re-opening in the near future, we have set in motion certain steps: we are investigating the purchase of plexiglass protection, preparing social distancing signage and health guidance, and buying hand sanitizers, and masks.

We will keep everyone posted if there are any changes in our status and will let you know as soon as possible about the time when we can all come back together to enjoy each other’s company and comradeship at the Kemptville Legion.

For any inquiries, contact: Michael McIntosh, Public Relations Officer, 613-2508614, mwmcintosh1@outlook.com.

Kemptville District Hospital Board seeking new Directors

The Board of Directors of Kemptville District Hospital (KDH) is currently seeking candidates to fill the position of Director.

Made up of dedicated volunteers, the KDH Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Hospital and guiding its future in the health system. The Board determines the Hospital’s mission and strategic direction, and supports their advancement. The Board is also responsible for the quality of patient care, and ensuring compliance with all relevant legislation and regulatory obligations.

The KDH Board of Directors is comprised of 12 volunteer members and four ex-officio members. The volunteer members have diverse backgrounds and bring a variety of skills and areas of expertise to the team.

The Board is currently looking for candidates for the position of Director with a commitment to community service and willingness to learn and work in a team environment. Candidates must be interested in helping KDH build healthier communities; residence in the municipality is not a requirement. Previous experience on a non-profit board, especially in the health or social service sector, is an asset. In its selection process the Board will be prioritizing strengths and experience in the following areas: legal matters, home and community care, mental health and addictions, construction, and/or project management. Diversity is also an important factor in the selection process.

A Board member can expect to spend a minimum of 10 to 12 hours per month attending meetings and performing committee work. The current committees of the KDH Board of Directors are Executive Committee, Governance, Fiscal Advisory Committee, Corporate Services, and Quality and Safety Committee.

The deadline to apply is September 2, 2020.

Visit ontario.ca/ReopeningSchools Paid for by the Government of Ontario

August 26, 2020

2

The North Grenville Times

Council proclaims September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

by Hilary Thomson North Grenville Council has proclaimed September Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in the municipality. The proclamation request came to council from the organizers of Neon Night, who are putting together a virtual event this year from September 1-17, with the goal to raise $20,000 to support childhood cancer research. “One child with cancer is too many,” said a statement submitted to council by the Manager of Special Events for the Canadian Cancer Society, Alison Payne.

“During Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September, and all throughout the year, the Canadian Cancer Society cares about every single child living with cancer and their families.”

On average, 950 Canadian children and youth develop cancer every year. Thanks to generous donors, the Canadian Cancer Society has invested over $50 million in the last 15 years, supporting more than 170 research projects to help children survive cancer and live full lives. Today, the five-year survival rate for childhood cancers is 83% (up from 71% in the 1980s), which is the result of investment in research that allows for earlier detection and better treatment.

Although great strides have been made, and more children are surviving cancer, there is still more work to do. Childhood cancer is still the number one cause of disease-related death in Canadian children past infancy, and two out of every three childhood cancer survivors will suffer long-term side effects from their treatment.

Council were keen to support this initiative, and Mayor Nancy Peckford acknowledged Neon Night as a very successful local fundraiser that the community looks forward to every year. “We are all extremely familiar with the Neon Night event, which is an incredibly successful and popular Fall event in our community,” she said at the council meeting. “I am glad to see that the event is proceeding virtually.”

To show their support, the childhood cancer flag will be flown at the Municipal Centre throughout the month of September. Anyone interested in signing up or donating to Neon Night can visit www.cancer.ca/neonnightkemptville.

The Voice of North Grenville

Interim control bylaw on cannabis facilities extended

by Hilary Thomson North Grenville Council passed a resolution at the special planning meeting last week to extend the interim control bylaw on cannabis facilities for another year. On August 27, 2019, council passed interim bylaw to prohibit the establishment or expansion of cannabis facilities in the Municipality. This was done partially in response to residents’ complaints about Fleurish Cannabis, on County Road 20, in North Grenville. The goal of the interim control bylaw was to allow the Municipality time to undertake a planning study of current planning practices in relation to cannabis facilities. This included how to address things like odour, noise, nuisance, lighting, neighbourhood and land use compatibility, separation distances, and buffering. To support Fleurish Cannabis, which was already established in the community, and Era Cannabis, which was going through the site plan stage at the time, both companies were awarded exemptions from the interim control bylaw.

Deputy Mayor Jim McManaman said last year that, in consulting with former Director of Planning and Development, Phil Gerrard, he didn’t think the process would take the full 12 months. However, at the planning meeting on August 19, staff requested that council extend the bylaw for another year. According to the staff report, this additional time is being sought to finalize the planning study, seek public input, and consult further with legal council.

The interim control bylaw is now in place for up to one year, but staff confirmed at the meeting that a report should be brought back to council in November. Until then, no cannabis facilities can be established or expanded in North Grenville.

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Kemptville Lions donate to Camp Quality

Lion Robert Sentner presents a cheque to Sarah ter Huurne of Camp Quality.

In July, the Kemptville Lions Club presented a cheque for $1,000 to Sarah ter Huurne of Camp Quality. Located in Lanark County, Camp Quality is a summer camp for children with cancer and blood disorders. The Kemptville Lions Club was the camp's first supporter and has supported the camp for as long as they have been in Eastern Ontario. Ordinarily, the cheque would have been presented at the camp on a night when the Lions were serving a meal to the campers and staff. The camp was not held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

August 26, 2020

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www.ngtimes.ca

Guest Editorial

The North Grenville Times

Don’t like it, don’t read it

by Victor Lachance Readers’ reactions to my recent Fundamentals of Journalism opinion editorial, and Times Editor David Shanahan’s rebuttal, included the argument that, if someone doesn’t like something in the newspaper, they simply don’t have to read it.

On the surface of it, “don’t like–don’t read” seems to be an acceptable argument. Nobody is forcing you to read something you don’t like. It’s also a reasonable statement if and when it’s meant to support our broader freedom of expression. “Don’t like-don’t read” is a simple shorthand way of saying that people should be able to say or write what they want, wherever they want.

But things are not always that simple.

To begin with, we all know that there is no such thing as completely unfettered freedom of expression.

For example, if you defame

someone by saying or writing something that harms another person, there are several justifiable consequences, including criminal prosecution. You also can’t falsely scream “fire” in a crowded theatre. And, of course, you can’t spout or disseminate hate speech, or traffic in pornography. These are examples of well established and desirable limits on the freedom of expression under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

But the issue in my Fundamentals of Journalism editorial was not freedom of expression. The issue is whether a newspaper is a place where you can, or should, publish whatever you want, in any way you want. Are there limits on the freedom of the press, just as there are limits on the freedom of expression? I think there are, and many of them have been established by the media themselves.

The Voice of North Grenville

That’s why I think that saying “don’t like–don’t read” doesn’t really work for a newspaper.

To begin with, you obviously have to read it to know if you don’t like it. Once you’ve read something, you may have something to say about what you’ve read, or about the way it was presented in the newspaper.

A reader can express what they think is wrong about something in the paper and how they think it could be remedied. This, in my view, is a good thing, which can’t happen if you don’t read it.

It’s also possible that, even if you think there’s something wrong with what appeared in the paper, or even if you just didn’t like what you read, you might still have something positive to say about it. For example, you might welcome the fact that a particular subject has been raised in the news or in an opinion article. You

might want to comment on the clarity of the argument, or even the author’s writing skills or style. None of this can happen, if you simply don’t read it.

Consider also that saying “don’t like- don’t read” is basically saying that the problem is the reader, and not the content or the blurring of news and opinion. I don’t think that’s what we want to say to readers of the Times.

But I think there’s an even more important point to make. The concept of “don’t like-don’t read” works a whole lot better if readers know up front what they are about to read: is it a news article, or an opinion piece?

The separation of news content and opinion content is one of the fundamental principles of journalism. The blurring and mixing of news and opinion undermines that fundamental principle, and can undermine the integrity

of any newspaper, television station, or social media.

That’s why it helps to know whether you are about to read a news article or an opinion. This was the main point of my editorial: that there should be a very clear differentiation between news and opinion in all media.

There is a related and, I think, dangerous argument. It goes like this: this stuff is not written for you, so you shouldn’t engage in the debate, or criticize the article. In other words, you are an outsider to those who share some particular view.

Furthermore, since you’re not one of us, you don’t understand what we’re saying,

so how can you comment or criticize. This would go against one of the key roles of the Times: a place to exchange views and to become better informed about important questions and issues that affect our lives. In my view, “don’t like-don’t read” is a slippery slope to the increasingly uninformed politics and culture wars that are dangerously divisive.

When it comes to the content of newspapers, I think we should absolutely read things we don’t like so that we can be better informed, and, if given the opportunity, contribute to making things better.

exist as a reminder to the public of those who died while building part of the important economic infrastructure of this country.

To properly exist as a reminder, it must be in a state that is close to its original condition, and in a place accessible to the public. That a group of citizens from Merrickville would have their efforts to move and restore this important memorial frustrated by the overly convoluted and complicated workings of government is an abomination.

If they are still so inclined, allow the Merrickville group to move the memorial to Merrickville and emplace and restore it on the green space next to the cenotaph.

That way, the memorial will be visible, accessible, and informative to the public. A sign or plaque could be placed at the quarry site if some of the public wished to see the original location of the memorial.

In 2017, there were 951 workplace fatalities in Canada. These are typical yearly numbers. 843 deaths were in construction, manufacturing, and trade, transport, and equipment operators. 920 (96.74%) were men, and 31 (3.26%) women. The most dangerous occupations are 1) Fishing and trapping; 2) Mining, quarrying, and oil wells; 3) Logging and forestry; 4) Construction; 5) Transporta-

tion and storage.

Some who study these statistics believe the actual numbers of workplace fatalities are as much as ten times higher due to such factors as the non-inclusion of workers exempt from workplace occupational coverage, stress induced suicides, commuting fatalities, and occupational disease. In the 2018 numbers (1027 fatalities), 64 farming deaths were not included.

We must remember these people.

Stephen Hammond

of the government, since it was they who shut down the ability of the citizenry to produce their own “living”, regardless of the governments’ grounds. Few voluntarily shut down their businesses and dismissed staff. In fact, business and staff were waiting in anticipation of “re-opening” and adjusting their business operations to operate during COVID 19. That is called “responsibility” and “creativity”.

However, anyone on “social assistance” experienced no interruption of their benefit payments.

Subsequently, the author writes “Sadly, not everyone wants their hard earned money to go the undeserving” (paraphrased). The article concluded with a musing regarding Minimum Basic Income. Assisting those who are “forced” out of their income producing endeavors by the government seems to have no correspondence to the MBI in which the government assists those who may have limited or no income by their

own choices. Please read the article by the Fraser Institute “The Causes of Poverty” at www.fraserinstitute.org/ sites/default/files/causes-ofpoverty.pdf.

In conclusion, there is a vast gulf between those who exercise their “responsibility” and talents to produce goods and services in the economy and those who exercise their “rights” to obtain a share in the value that others have produced.

Willem Van Dam

Letters to the Editor Dear Editor, As our economy starts to reopen, the health and safety of Canadians is our number one priority.

That’s why the Government of Canada is acting now to put the right tools in place before a potential second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hits.

We have negotiated a Safe Restart Agreement with the provinces and territories that will invest $19 billion to protect the health of Canadians and ensure they can safely return to work.

This Agreement bolsters the capacity of the provinces and territories to conduct contact tracing and testing, with a goal to have capacity for up to 200,000 tests a day across the country. This is vital to containing future outbreaks quickly before they spread.

To better protect seniors in long-term care homes, we are funding infection prevention measures and expanding eligibility for federal infrastructure funds so they can be used to modernize and renovate long-term care facilities.

We have set up a contingency reserve of personal protective equipment so front line and essential workers have the vital protection they need to do their jobs.

The Agreement also makes a significant investAugust 26, 2020

ment to ensure sufficient and safe childcare is available for families. By ensuring staff and children are safe, parents will have the peace of mind to feel confident returning to work.

The federal government is creating a temporary national sick leave program so no one feels pressured to go to work when sick. The program will provide 10 days of paid sick leave to workers who do not already qualify through their employers to ensure they can stay home and get well.

Throughout these difficult times, Canadians have stood together to look out for one another and protect our communities.

Our government will continue to ensure that Canadians have the supports to stay safe and get through this pandemic.

Yours sincerely, Deb Schulte Canada’s Minister of Seniors Dear Editor, Thank you David Shanahan for writing the article entitled, "A Forgotten Memorial", in the Aug. 5, 2020 edition of the NGTIMES. The Deek's Quarry cairn, erected to commemorate the workers who died while working at their jobs in the quarry, should continue to

Dear Editor, Response to the NGT August 19/20 pg 4 “Taxman” The writer indicated the propriety of various levels of government “assisting” the broader economy with “bailouts”, with the question “at times like this don’t we want all levels of government to step in and protect citizens from financial disaster”? In my view, the bailouts were the “moral responsibility”

The North Grenville Times is published weekly by North Grenville Times Inc. Editor David Shanahan david@ngtimes.ca 613-215-0735

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The North Grenville Times

The Voice of North Grenville

Municipality Matters by Hilary Thomson

UPDATE UPDATE

Municipality to change water rates structure The Municipality will be making changes to the way water usage is billed in Kemptville, starting October 1. North Grenville Superintendent of Environmental Services, Mike Finley, presented a report to council at the meeting of August 19, outlining the proposed changes to the current billing system. The recommendations are a result of a water and wastewater rate study conducted by Watson & Associates Economists Ltd., completed in March.

As of October, the Municipality will be lowering the base rate for water from $74.59 per month, to $47 per month. The consumptive rate will be raised from $3.89 to $4.01 for 0-12 cubic metres and $5.01 for anything over 12 cubic metres. This means that ratepayers will be charged the based rate plus at least $4.01 for every cubic metre used. This is different from the previous billing structure, where the

higher base rate included up to five cubic metres of usage per month.

According to the staff report, a typical residential account should still see an overall decrease of 6.6% on their annual bill, due to the new rate structure. Superintendent Finley did note that larger commercial users may see an average 5% increase on their annual tax bill with this new billing system. “We’re trying to encourage water conservation, while also ensuring that we are sustainable as we move forward,” he said.

Council has also waived the deposit fee of $150 on tenant accounts. This fee was previously charged to tenants when they set up their water billing account, with the deposit being returned to them when the account was closed. “It is an older way to recover costs if a tenant were to leave without paying their bill,” Superintendent Finley said. The waiving of deposit payments will not only relieve

the pipe. “We have run into instances where residents couldn’t do the work,” Superintendent Finley said. Under the new bylaw, the responsibility for the sanitary lateral is shared, with the building owner being responsible for the portion of the lateral on their private property, and the Municipality taking on the responsibility for the portion in the right of way.

This will not only provide cost savings to owners, but will also ensure that the Municipality can control the contractor and quality of work done in the right of way.

Mayor Peckford believes that these changes to the water/sewer system billing and maintenance are positive for the community. “There was lots of back and forth on identifying an option that would be viable for the community, and certainly viable for the infrastructure responsibilities we hold now and into the future,” she said. “I think we’ve landed in a really good place.”

tenants financially, it will also decrease the administrative burden to collect, track and release deposit payments.

Under the new system arrears will be collected through taxes, giving the landlord the responsibility to ensure the account remains in good standing. “If an owner wants to charge a deposit, that’s their own business,” Superintendent Finley said. “The Municipality is not looking to get into those agreements anymore at this point.” All existing tenant accounts will remain until there is a change in the billing agreement.

Finally, council passed a new bylaw to divide the responsibility for sanitary laterals between the Municipality and property owners.

Previously, property owners were responsible for the maintenance of the sanitary lateral from their building to the main line. This put a large financial burden on the property owners should something go wrong with

CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19)

The Municipality has created a dedicated webpage for updates related to COVID-19 (www.northgrenville.ca/coronavirus)

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING September 1, 2020 at 6:30 pm

PLANNING PUBLIC MEETING

– Wednesday, September 9 at 6:30 pm -Proposed Zoning By-Law Amendment – 845 Prescott St. **NOTE: Council meetings are live streamed and archived on the Municipal website. Agendas for upcoming meetings are published on the Friday prior to the meeting and minutes are posted after they are approved. Visit www.northgrenville.ca and click on Agendas, Minutes & Video in the Govern tab.

NORTH GRENVILLE MUNICIPAL OFFICE HOURS The Municipal Office is open to the public between the hours of 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Residents and businesses can continue to access Municipal services by phone, email and online. For more information visit www.northgrenville.ca/coronavirus

2020 BURN PERMITS & CONDITIONS

In accordance with By-Law 33-12, residents must have a Burn Permit before they have an open-air fire. The fee for a Burn Permit is $15 and available online at www.northgrenville.ca. Please check conditions prior to burning by calling 613-706-1770 or online to see if there are any burn bans currently in effect.

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 Building: 613-258-9569 x130 Fax: 613-258-1441 Fire Services Info: 613-258-9569 x201 Fax: 613-258-1031 By-Law Services: 613-258-9569 x206 Police Administration: 613-258-3441 Animal Control: 613-862-9002

www.NorthGrenville.ca

Food Bank

OPP report

The Knights of Columbus in Kemptville offers a food bank service to those in need in the community of North Grenville We provide a selection of canned, packaged and dry goods For more information please call Dave at 613 258 3683

NOVICE DRIVER LEARNS A TOUGH LESSON On August 10, 2020, shortly after midnight, Grenville County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a traffic complaint about a vehicle, driving erratically, southbound on Highway 416 shortly after the Kemptville exit. An officer located the

Pick up at Holy Cross Church hall preferred – delivery can be arranged if required

This service is supported by the community of North Grenville

Council approves new capacity allocation bylaw

North Grenville Council adopted a bylaw at the last meeting to help address capacity allocation for new developments wanting to hook up to the Municipality’s Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP).

The WPCP is currently operating at 68.4% of its average flow capacity, with another 25.3% of its capacity already committed to development which is currently underway or approved. Due to provincial regulation, the Municipality has had to come up with a bylaw to regulate how the rest of the capacity will be dolled out, before the planned expansion can be completed which will allow further development in the urban core.

Over the past few months, municipal staff have been consulting with the development community and other August 26, 2020

stakeholders to come up with a system to evaluate new development that intends to hook up to the water treatment system. Although the process was slowed due to COVID-19, staff was still able to bring a draft bylaw with an evaluation structure to council at the meeting of August 18 for their consideration.

According to the bylaw, priority will be given to projects where no new offsite municipal infrastructure is required; industrial, commercial, and institutional projects that will provide employment opportunities for local residents; affordable housing; intensification or infill projects in the downtown core; projects that are further advanced in the development approval process; a development that includes the provision of public facilities (ex.

at the meeting that, while Councillor Barclay’s point is well taken, they do have to draw the line somewhere in terms of offering exemptions for new builds hooking up to the system. Director of Public Works, Karen Dunlop, agreed that, with anything over the three units allowed in the bylaw, there would be a possible effect on the WPCP. “We’re also building the backbone within the organization and the community, whereby we will do what we can through other means to facilitate the type of in-fill that Councillor Barclay is talking about,” CAO Dyke said. Councillor Barclay seemed happy to hear that staff was keeping in-fill properties top of mind. “It’s a priority for us, and we have to find some way to incentivize that development,” he said.

Mayor Peckford also commented on the prior-

public park, trail or pathway); and developers who have made a prior investment in offsite public infrastructure improvements.

All new builds wanting to hook up to the WPCP system must go through an application process, to be evaluated at the end of each quarter.

This policy does not apply to additions, renovations, or existing buildings, or in-fill residential projects containing two or less additional residential dwelling units.

Councillor John Barclay said at the meeting that he would like to see in-fill lots in the downtown core given even more priority in the evaluation process, by offering even larger developments an exemption from the policy.

“I question whether we could draw the line a little further down,” he said.

CAO Gary Dyke said

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suspect vehicle and, after the driver was spoken to, an Approved Screening Device (ASD) was utilized at the scene. The young driver was charged with a Highway Traffic Act (HTA) charge - Novice Driver BAC above Zero. The driver's licence was seized.

AMBULANCE ASSIST On August 12, 2020 just before 2:00 a.m. Grenville

County OPP officers were called for an ambulance assist on Scott Road in the Edwardsburgh Township. A 16 year old youth had become unconscious after a suspected Fentanyl overdose. Leeds and Grenville EMS were able to administer Naloxone successfully and the youth was transported to a hospital.

Anyone who encounters a person who appears to be in a state of overdose should immediately call 911. For ity being given to affordable general information about housing. In the bylaw as opioids, visit the Health Canpresented, some priority was ada or Government of Ontario being given to developments websites. with between zero and 20% affordable housing. She said that, as council has placed a focus on affordable housing in the Municipality, she would like to see priority being given to projects that have plans to include at least 10% affordable housing in their developments. “I’m looking for a threshold that is more ambitious,” she said.

At council’s direction, the bylaw was amended to give top priority to developments with 25% or more affordable housing, and some priority to developments with 10% -24% affordable housing.

“I think this bylaw will bring some assurance and predictability to builders and developers, big and small,” Mayor Peckford said. www.ngtimes.ca

The North Grenville Times

The Voice of North Grenville

Health Canada provides grant to local health partners

Health Unit detects spike in overdoses in the past week

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, along with its community partners, are successful recipients of a 3 year Health Canada Substance Use and Addictions Program grant. This grant provides communities across Canada the opportunity to apply for funding in the following areas; Harm Reduction, Community-Led and Front-line Initiatives Increasing Access to Pharmaceutical – Grade Medications New Approaches to Address Methamphetamine Use

This grant has enabled the Health Unit to hire 2 Harm Reduction Community Support Navigators (CSNs). The primary roles of the CSNs are to provide outreach peer to peer support to people who use substances, distribute harm reduction supplies, facilitate linkages between health care providers/community partners and people who use substances, as well as community partner engagement around harm reduction and substance use.

The secondary role of the CSNs will be to engage with people who use substances

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, through the overdose early warning and surveillance system, has detected a spike in overdoses across LGL over the past week. The Health Unit, along with community partners, warn that the supply of substances in the area continues to be toxic and that many substances (such as cocaine and crystal meth) continue to be contaminated with opioids including fentanyl.

The Health Unit encourages people who use substances to take extreme caution and to engage with harm reduction services for single-use equipment, naloxone and further access to services and referrals.

In an effort to reduce the number of overdoses in our community, the Health Unit encourages the following safer use practices: - Carry a naloxone kit - Call 9-1-1 in the event of an overdose - Avoid mixing substances Ontario and the federal - Use a small test dose first government are partnering - Do not use alone Residents are reminded that an overdose is a medical with 3M Canada to expand emergency. Anyone who suspects or witnesses an overdose its Brockville manufacturing should call 9-1-1. The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act facility to produce made-inOntario N95 respirators. provides someStore legal protection drug possession Tree Nursery: Outlet (Quarteragainst page simple vertical - North GrenvilleLeeds-Grenville-ThouTimes charges for anyone who experiences, witnesses or responds 20 sand Islands and Rideau to an overdose and calls 9-1-1.

Harm reduction supplies, including naloxone kits, will Lakes MPP Steve Clark was continue to be offered throughout Leeds, Grenville and Lanark at the Brockville plant to during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please visit the Health Unit take part in the announcewebsite for more information. https://healthunit.org/health- ment with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Doug information/drug-use-harm-reduction.

as well as service providers from across LGL to identify challenges, barriers and areas for improvement in accessing and retaining people who use substances in LGL services.

The overall goal of the project is to decrease community stigma and discrimination towards people who use substances, and improve navigation of local resources and increase access to services by people who use substances as well as their families and

friends.

If you would like more information on the Harm Reduction Community Support Navigators or the Health Canada Substance Use and Addictions grant please contact Jennifer Adams RN, Harm Reduction Coordinator, (613) 283-2740 ext 2415, or jennifer.adams@healthunit. org.

Feds and province partner in guaranteeing N95 masks Ford, Anita Anand, Canada’s Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.

Both levels of government are investing $23.33 million to support 3M’s capital investment of $70 million.

The expanded facility will produce enough respirators to meet private sector, provincial and North American market demand throughout the pandemic and beyond.

“Early on in this pandemic, Premier Ford pledged that Ontario’s frontline heroes would never again have to worry about PPE supplies.

When he said that, I knew 3M and our community could be part of the solution and I was determined to help make it happen,” said Steve Clark.

“Today is a dream come true from those early and ongoing conversations I had with the company, the Premier and Minister Fedeli. We’re sending a message to healthcare workers and staff on the frontlines everywhere that we have their backs.”

“In the face of a global pandemic, I vowed as Premier that we would do everything we can to get the essential supplies we need to protect our heroic healthcare and frontline workers in the province,” said Premier Ford.

“Ontario is a manufacturing powerhouse and our joint investment with the federal government and 3M Canada shows we can make the best N95 respirators anywhere in the world to supply our front-

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line heroes here in Ontario and right across Canada.”

The Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada reached a five-year agreement with 3M for the provision of 50 million respirators annually beginning in early 2021 to meet current demand for frontline healthcare workers in Ontario and across Canada.

The project is expected to create 30 jobs in Brockville, including production operators; maintenance technicians; process engineers; supervisors; and quality assurance professionals.

“Our health care workers have been on the front lines of our country’s fight against COVID-19 since the very beginning,” said Prime Minister Trudeau. “While the virus remains a threat, we need to make sure these real-life heroes have the equipment they need. This agreement with 3M Canada highlights the Government of Canada’s commitment to protecting those who are doing so much to keep their fellow Canadians healthy and safe.”

“N95s are the respirators our health professionals and frontline workers depend on while they’re battling COVID-19,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “Ontario’s partnership with 3M and the federal government will provide a made-in-Ontario solution to reduce our dependence on foreign supply chains while strengthening our domestic supply chain and further

expanding our world-class manufacturing capacity.”

The partnership between the provincial and federal governments and 3M Canada is an important step to meeting current and future needs and ensuring a readily available stockpile of N95 respirators. This investment is essential in the creation of new manufacturing capabilities, new jobs, and a strengthened domestic supply chain for vital PPE as Ontario continues on its path of renewal, growth and economic recovery.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of increasing the availability of N95 respirators in North America. We are extremely proud to deliver a made-in-Canada solution that strengthens the North American region’s supply of PPE for healthcare workers, first responders and those in critical infrastructure and industry roles,” said Penny Wise, President of 3M Canada. “We thank both the Canadian and Ontario governments for their close collaboration on this effort and share their goal of protecting Canadians.”

Once the Brockville facility is fully operational, it is expected that the first Ontario-made N95 masks will be available in Q1, 2021. Until that time, 3M will continue to rely on its global supply chain for mask supply in Canada.

The The North North Grenville Grenville Times Times

The The Voice Voice of of North North Grenville Grenville

Westerra Homes has been using LOCAL TRADES, suppliers and services for over 14 YEARS TO BUILD QUALITY CUSTOM homes. We know BUYING LOCAL has a direct impact on our LOCAL ECONOMY and we are proud to continue to use these LOCAL TRADES and suppliers to build our homes.

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G. Tackaberry & Sons Kemptville

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KBC RONA Kemptville

JVL Home Improvements Mountain

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Jordan Bennett Geomatics Brockville

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Deslaurier Custom Cabinets Ottawa

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Stef’s Quality Painting Kemptville

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Morey Associates Kemptville

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The Door Company Greely

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Westerra Homes is currently building custom homes in Peltons Corners Phase 2 using the best trades in Ontario ENERGY STAR BUILDER

AMO conference goes virtual and appoints NG CAO to the Board

by Premier Doug Ford, who brought the good news to municipalities that the envelope and structure of the Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund (OMPF) would remain unchanged for 2021 – guaranteeing $500 million of critically important funding for municipalities, particularly in rural and northern communities. The government had begun the first phase of its commitment to deliver $4 billion in federal and provincial assistance to municipal governments, hard hit by COVID-19 and related costs, inGary Dyke, Chief Administrative Officer cluding more than $400,000 the Province, and a Board to North Grenville and over

by David Shanahan that reflects the diversity of $85,000 for MerrickvilleOntario’s municipal gov- Wolford.

At the Annual Confer- ernments. To that end, I am The conference was adence of the Association of pleased to have Gary Dyke dressed on the second day Municipalities of Ontario on the 2020-2022 Board by opposition leaders An(AMO), which was carried team,” said newly elected drea Horwath of the NDP, on-line from August 17 AMO President Graydon and Liberal Leader, Steven to 19, Gary Dyke, Chief Smith, Mayor of Brace- Del Duca, both of whom Administrative Officer, Mu- bridge who is beginning a stressed the importance of nicipality of North Gren- two-year term. municipalities as partners The three-day AMO with the provincial parties, ville, was acclaimed to the AMO Board of Directors, Conference is being de- as they are, as Andrea Horas Secretary-Treasurer. As a livered online for the first wath pointed out, “the level member of the Board, Gary time, due to COVID-19. It of government closest to the Dyke will help set policy for is the largest gathering of people”. the association and serve as government leaders since Steven Del Duca agreed a key municipal leader in the the COVID-19 pandemic with that approach, noting began. province. that: “The only way to deOn its first day, the vir- feat major challenges – like “AMO benefits from membership from across tual meeting was addressed a pandemic, like climate August August 26, 26, 2020 2020

77

change, like a global recession – is to work together.”

In response, Mayor Smith stated: “Municipalities are keen to work with the federal and provincial governments to find solutions and to build capacity as quickly as possible.”

Local M.P.P., Steve Clark, also addressed AMO, as Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing. Much of his talk congratulated municipalities and his own government for the way in which the covid pandemic was handled over the past months, and gave some details on how new legislation allowing for Minister's Zoning Orders gave more authority to municipalities to be more flexible in how they dealt with issues of planning and administration.

He talked about changes being made to the regulations governing Development Charges and Community Benefit charges: “We've added many services to the list of eligible development charge services. Including long-term care, parks and recreation facilities, libraries, public health, and more... all of which will be 100 per cent cost-recoverable. The community benefits charge, on

the other hand, is a new revenue tool that some of you will be able to use for higher density residential development. And, we are maintaining the existing provisions used to secure land for parks.

Municipalities will have the flexibility to choose to use the community benefits charge - in addition to parkland tools.”

In keeping with comments from other politicians, he ended: “Now that we are in the post-peak period, our government knows that municipalities will be leaders in Ontario's recovery”.

The third and final day of the Conference included Steve Paikin, from TVO’s

The Agenda, hosting a panel on economic recovery. A theme which echoed through the discussion, and has been emphasised by North Grenville’s Mayor recently, was the need to ensure that everyone in Ontario has broadband access, given the social and economic impacts of COVID-19.

AMO also signed a Declaration of Mutual Commitment and Friendship with the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres (OFIFC). These are places where Indigenous people living in urban communities can gather, connect and receive culturally based services.

General Practice Corporate / Commercial Family Law/ Criminal law Estates Real Estate Wills & Powers of Attorney tom@tmblaw.ca 613.258.1277 222 Prescott St., Kemptville

THOMAS M. BYRNE Barrister and Solicitor

www.ngtimes.ca www.ngtimes.ca

The North Grenville Times

The Voice of North Grenville

The Voice of Merrickville/Wolford

Arrival of Second Family from Syria from the Rideau Bridge to Canada Executive After months of delays due to Covid-19, the second Syrian family sponsored by Rideau Bridge to Canada is arriving on October 5! They are a family of four, with husband, wife, and two children aged 4 and 1. They will be in strict quarantine for 14 days, with special precautions at the airport and transport to Merrickville.

Our primary concern is to find them a house or apartment to rent. It would be best to find somewhere in Merrickville, but we are also looking in Kemptville and Smiths Falls. If you can help, please let us know (Audrey Bridge at 613 266 4825, or Fred McFarland at 613 269 4415).

Odae Alaboud is a brother of Ataa from our first family that arrived in Merrickville

in 2017. This is a family reunification, and a major event in the lives of both families.

The 4-year old will start JK at Merrickville Public School, assuming we can find local accommodation.

Odae is a mathematician by training (a PhD no less!) and has experience in research and teaching. He will be looking for work in the Ottawa area. If you have any suggestions that would help

him find a job, please call either Graeme Bonham-Carter (613 269 7980), or Diana McKay (613 222 2227).

In an e-mail from Odae he says: "Finally our dream will become true, you can't imagine how much it is difficult to live without feeling safe, for the first time we feel that our children will have the chance to live a different life, life without fear, life with a hope that the future will be better.

Help Support Your Local Businesses

SHOP LOCAL

Motorcycle ride supports guide dog training

Support Small Support Local

Own a motorcycle? Ride on your own or with those in your bubble to raise money towards the training of guide dogs and assistance dogs. The Guide Dog Motorcycle Ride will take place on Sunday, September 13, 2020.

Entry fee is $20. On Sunday, September 13, stop by Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, 4120 Rideau Valley Drive North, to register anytime between 8:00am and 11:00am and then head out for the ride. Cash, credit and debit accepted on-site.

Please respect physical distancing. Check in at the end to find out if you won a prize. Or, to avoid the line-ups and stay even safer, register and pay in advance by phoning (613) 6927777 and then depart on the ride from your home. The route is a beautiful stretch of 224 kms. through Eastern Ontario. Vision loss is not stopping for COVID-19, and neither is the Guide Dog Ride, Ottawa’s longest running motorcycle ride, dating back to 1988.

About Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind: Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind was established as a registered charity in 1984. Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind has provided more than 880 professionally trained guide dogs to Canadians who are visually impaired from coast to coast. Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind also operates an Assistance Dogs Division, which trains assistance dogs for individuals in the Ottawa area with mobility-related disabilities.

To learn more about this event or Canadian Guide Dogs for the Blind, visit www.guidedogs. ca, or phone (613) 692-7777.

Our retailers, restaurants, service providers, agri-food producers, artists and manufacturers...

are at the he♥rt of our community

Kidney Walk goes virtual

Please show your support

SHOP LOCAL

by Hilary Thomson The Kidney Foundation is organizing a virtual walk in September to raise money to support people with kidney disease across the province.

Kidney Walks are the cornerstone of the Kidney Foundation of Canada’s fundraising efforts. Through the nationwide walks, Canadians stand together to raise funds for innovative research, crucial programs, and services that support people living with kidney disease. According to the Kidney Foundation, there are current 12,000 people in Ontario who have advanced kidney disease who require dialysis, and 10,000 Ontarians have chronic kidney disease requiring pre-dialysis.

For small business tools and resources: www.merrickville-wolford.ca

August 26, 2020

We can't find words grand enough to say thank you.”

Of course, we are still looking for financial support.

You can donate online through our web page at http://www. merrickville-bridge.ca/ (page needs updating, but donation section is OK). You will receive a charitable donation receipt from Ottawa Community Foundation.

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As of February 18, 2020, there were 1,201 people waiting for a kidney or kidney pancreas transplant in Ontario.

This year’s virtual walk with be taking place on Sunday, September 27. The Kidney Foundation’s Special Events Coordinator, Mary Gebre, says the event will be kicked off by a pre-recorded virtual opening ceremony.

Then participants can do the roughly 5km walk in the safety of their own neighbourhoods. Mary encourages the North Grenville community to participate in the walk and use #kidneywalkcanada and tag Kidney Ontario on social media to connect with other participants across the province.

She says it is even more

important to support those with kidney disease this year.

The pandemic has affected many people’s ability to pay for sometimes expensive food and transportation costs associated with kidney disease treatment. “These funds can help them through these difficult times,” Mary says.

To participate in this year’s walk, go to www.kidneywalk.ca, where you can register as an individual or sign up to be part of an existing team. All monies raised will be going to the Kidney Foundation to help those in the community living with kidney disease, raise awareness, and fund research to one day find a cure.

The North Grenville Times

Transformative Culture Change in Long-Term Care Homes: What is it and what does it look like?

Lawn Fertilizers and the sudden death of lawns

by William J. Langenberg, former Lecturer/Researcher, Horticulture, Kemptville College I received several calls from home owners: “My lawn died – What happened?”

One home owner in Kitchener-Waterloo sent me a picture of her back lawn. It showed large patches of dead grass.

A similar picture was sent to me from a property owner in Vanier this past July. Both back-yard lawns, fertilized with a weed and feed fertilizer in May and watered regularly, were surrounded by a solid privacy fence. My first inclination: these two backyards became hot spots, with temperatures reaching well into the high thirties. The high temperatures must have burned the lawn grasses in these two backyards, because lawn grass mixtures consist of cool-season grass varieties and cannot withstand extreme high temperatures very well.

I did wonder if the lawn fertilizer could have played a role in the death of the lawn grasses.

I came across a backyard lawn in North Grenville that was not fertilized last May. This lawn showed some signs of drought and heat injury, but did recover remarkably well after a couple of rain falls.

I received a call from a

August 26, 2020

local North Grenville resident this week, who explained that his 2-acre lawn has large patches of dead grass. “I don’t understand”, this resident said, “I had the lawn fertilized by a commercial lawn-care company”. “What Happened?”

I must admit that I am not a lawn expert, but after some evaluation I concluded that granular chemical fertilizers, applied to lawns during the month of May or early June, may have played a role in the dying of lawns. The one thing that comes to my mind, based on my experience, “lawn grasses, when under stress, cannot process lawn fertilizers during periods of high temperatures, as soil micro-organisms are inactive”. Subsequently, the applied fertilizer forms a salt and draws water away from the grass’ roots. We had 50% less rainfall during June and July. Many days were above 30C during the months of June and July.

Weed and Feed fertilizers may burn lawns under high temperatures: Some fertilizers containing an herbicide, such as weed and feed, sold at retail stores, may burn lawns as well, because these herbicides volatilize under high temperatures.

Lawn grasses have a shallow root system and are sus-

The Voice of North Grenville

ceptible to drought: Finally, lawn grasses have a very shallow root system, especially when the lawn was laid as a sod and not seeded, which makes them extremely susceptible to drought.

Solution – seed deep rooted lawn grasses, such as Fescues: One solution to prevent drought and heat injury to lawns is to seed a deep-rooting grass variety, such as Tall Fescue with a rooting depth of 100 cm, which makes it more resistant to drought and heat. Another drought resistant grass in the same family is Red Fescue with a rooting depth of 50 cm. In addition, these two grasses are acclaimed sequesters of CO2. One acre of Red Fescue and Tall Fescue sequester 6.9 t. and 2.5 t CO2 / acre / year, respectively, compared to 1.5 t by Kentucky Blue grass.

Tall fescue is also resistant to lawn damage caused by the grubs of the European Chafer Beetle.

Finally, do not fertilize a lawn with a granular fertilizer when a heat wave is expected following application. With the global warming we are facing today a lawn application of screened (¼”) compost will prevent burning of lawns as the nutrients are released slowly over time.

by Sue McDonald The Independent Longterm Care (LTC) COVID-19 Commission has now been established. Terms of Reference have been posted. What can we hope for?

The easiest solution for the Independent Commission is to make recommendations that should have been instituted long ago: more staff: full time staff versus casual staff; more direct hours of care; fair salaries; infection control education and practices, elimination of four bed rooms and availability of air conditioning.

If this is the end result, then our government has failed. Long-term care is a broken system and if the Independent Commission wants to make any significant impact, then it needs to look at how to improve quality care in LTC homes with a transformative culture change.

This means revising rules and regulations, moving from institutional care to areas with small home-like environments, embracing the valuable contribution that families and volunteers make, hire staff who want to work with seniors, and look at delivery of person centred care. All this happens now in a few LTC homes across Canada. We call them innovative models of care but

9

they should be the norm not something unusual. CARP (Canadian Association of Retired Persons) Ottawa Chapter, along with collaborating organizations, is advocating for transformative culture change in long-term care homes. What does this mean and what does it look like? Here is a scenario to consider: Joyce lives in Sunny Side LTC home. It is a 200 bed home with units for 12 residents which include private and semi-private bedrooms, bathrooms, living area, dining area and small kitchen. When Joyce wakes up, and the time varies from day to day, with help from her personal support worker, she has a shower and gets dressed for the day. Then it is off to the dining room for breakfast where Joyce is offered a menu with choices The staff member serves the breakfast and sits down with the residents in that unit to enjoy some conversation. When ready, Joyce is encouraged to join into activities planned for the morning. She may choose not to join in but the activities are varied according to the abilities of the residents: singing, arts and crafts, listening to readings, etc.

She is particularly looking forward to the “spa” hour as she would like to

have her nails done. In the morning, residents are offered a coffee/tea break.

Joyce’s daughter arrives to help bake cookies in the kitchen. Joyce joins in. As the smell of chocolate chip cookies fills the air, Joyce remembers the many times she spent with her children in the kitchen.

Transformative culture change means the way of organizing, and giving care in long term care homes changes so that residents know and feel like they are living in a warm, caring environment that looks and feels like home. It enables staff to know who their residents and families are - and what their life was like before. It means schedules and routines are flexible to match the resident’s preferences and needs. Friendships develop between staff, residents, families and volunteers.

It means residents are involved in many meaningful activities according to their abilities and what brings them joy. Transformative culture change means Relationships, Relationships, Relationships!

Sue McDonald is a former long-term care Administrator and member of a CARP Ottawa Working Group on Long-Term Care

www.ngtimes.ca

The North Grenville Times

A Sign of the Times!

The Voice of North Grenville

Baldwin’s birds

The Signs & Stitches team includes (l-r): Tony Laforest, Laura Laforest and Jodi Ferguson.

by Jane Adams They’ve been popping up all over the countryside – signs of support for front-line workers. And the WDMH team has noticed and is very grateful! Thank you to Signs and Stitches in Metcalfe for spearheading a great fundraising and spirit-boosting campaign. Signs were sold for $20 each and the Signs and Stitches team recently donated a cheque for $1500 to the WDMH Foundation. And if that’s not enough, they also donated seven extra signs for posting around WDMH! Thank you so much to everyone who helped raise these funds for such a great local cause,” noted Tony Laforest on the company Facebook page. “And thank you to all the important frontline workers at both Winchester District Memorial Hospital and the Dundas Manor!”

“This was a unique fundraiser and particularly meaningful during these extraordinary times,” said Cindy Peters, Manager of Direct Mail & Events at the Foundation. “We are so grateful to Tony and his team, and to all of the people who planted a sign on their front lawn.

We are all in this together!”

by John Baldwin On a somewhat wet Sunday afternoon, a female Hummingbird decided to use the sole remaining rose on our bush as a perch on her trips to our window feeder, enabling us to get some good shots of her. As a bonus, the next day we got a visit from a Baltimore Oriole, who dwelt on a pine tree branch for a few minutes only, but long enough to get these shots of him.

What natural treats we are getting, despite our doom and gloom!

I hope all your readers are keeping fit and well and are keeping their spirits up. We seem to be still doing the right thing here in North Grenville and long may it continue, so that we can all return to normal, whatever that may be!

Masks support local food banks

by Hilary Thomson North Grenville resident, Debbie Amirault, presented Executive Director of the House of Lazarus (HOL), Cathy Ashby, with a $500 cheque last week to support their food bank. Debbie raised the money by making face masks and selling them

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for $2 through her Mouth 2 Mouth Project.

This is the second donation she has been able to make to local food banks this year, with the first going to the Kemptville Salvation Army in July.

“A lot of really generous people with fabric donations, orders and money allowed me to raise the money that much faster,” Debbie says.

HOL Interim Communications Officer, Vicki Cane, says the donation is extremely welcome, especially right now, when they are experiencing an influx of new clientele to the food bank. She says they are expecting to see even more people at their door if and when the Canada Emergency Response

Benefit (CERB) ends in September. “We anticipate the worst is yet to come in terms of financial impact.”

Debbie is still making masks and hopes to continue to raise money for both the HOL and the Kemptville Salvation Army. “I’m going to flip flop between the two,” she says.

Debbie is still taking orders but asks that people are patient as she is already working seven days a week to keep up. The best way to contact her is through messenger on Facebook.

Photo: Debbie Amirault hands Executive Director of HOL, Cathy Ashby, a $500 cheque to support their food bank.

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The North Grenville Times

The Voice of North Grenville

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The North Grenville Times

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A www.ericscarpentryservice.com few weeks ago, we for crushed rock to use as profiled the campaign back bedding for railway tracks in 2001-3 to have the memo- being built across the conrial cairn at Deek’s Quarry tinent, and, to that end, he renovated and restored. opened two quarries, one of Since then, thanks to Del which was in Concession 4 of Bower, the documentary Oxford-on-Rideau Township.

Between 1921 and 1932, record of that campaign has been added to significantly, the quarry, named after one of and, perhaps, we can see his business partners, George something constructive hap- “Sam” Deeks, became pospen down the road. sibly the largest industrial In the meantime, the operation ever seen in this story of the quarry itself, and part of the province since the the amazing man who owned building of the Rideau Canal it, is quite an epic in itself. a century before. When you Harry Falconer McLean was visit the site today, it is incredborn in Bismarck, North Da- ible to think that this desolate, kota, in 1883 and grew up to abandoned place was once become one of the wealthi- such a hive of activity, with est and colourful giants in as many as 200 men at one August 26, 2020

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Deeks Quarry: an industrial phenomenon

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outdoors at the quarry to which people as far away as Kemptville would come. The food was good and plentiful, and passing hoboes riding the rails were welcome to stop and get a good meal on their way through.

On the other hand, “Big Pants” McLean, as he was known, could be unpredictable in his moods. If he wasn’t feeling sociable, there could be a problem. Harold Finnerty, who would become Reeve of Kemptville and bring the water system to the town, once greeted McLean on a visit to the quarry where Harold was working. Instead of answering him, McLean walked up and punched him in the face. Harold left the quarry for good, nursing a black eye.

There is so much to say about McLean that it would take books to cover most of it. In fact, Teresa Charland’s biography, which took a decade to research and write, is a great place to start, and details McLean’s long and lively connection with Merrickville, where he lived for the last decades of his life.

After the quarry shut down in the 1930's, it was reopened during World War II as an army supply depot and staging place for war equipment, where trucks, gun carriers, and war materiel were stored before being loaded on to trains en route for Halifax and the ships that would carry it to Britain. Many local men found work at Deek’s Quarry

time living and working there through the years.

Chosen by McLean because of its location beside the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks, and the plentiful supply of sandstone in what was then called the “Rock Cut”, Deeks Quarry had no less than fourteen railway spur lines running into it from the main track, and full-scale locomotives working at pulling the crushed rock from the rock crushing machinery to the CPR main line.

In the quarry itself, large quantities of dynamite were used to blast the rock face, and huge machines loaded the large piles of debris into special wagons that were pulled to the crushing machines by saddletank locomotives, which ran on narrow-gauge tracks across the quarry. The amount of heavy machinery needed to keep the quarry in operation needed maintenance and repair, so workshops, welding and forging facilities were built on site, and the noise and dust from the combination of explosions, locomotives, crushing machines and loads of rock being dumped into wagons could be heard for miles around.

It was dangerous work, and there were injuries and deaths throughout the working life of the quarry. But McLean was a good, though unpredictable boss. On the one hand, workers were wellpaid for the time, and there were even movie nights held

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during its eventful life, and there are many around still today who remember McLean himself, his generosity with money, his love of whiskey, his contribution to the life of Merrickville and its residents.

It was there he died in 1961.

More will be written about the man in later issues.

This is, naturally, only a very brief look at Deek’s Quarry and its larger-than-life owner (McLean was six foot four inches in height). The story is as large as McLean’s legend, and just as colourful.

The cairn he built at each

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of the work sites where his workers were injured and died are important memorials of the times and the men, and the man who brought it all about.

It emphasises the significance of these stone monuments and the need to keep the memory of almost forgotten times alive. Deeks Quarry was a huge part of the industrial history of, not just North Grenville and MerrickvilleWolford, but the province and the country.

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The North Grenville Times

The Voice of North Grenville

CROSSWORD

FOOD CORNER

by Paul Cormier, Salamanders of Kemptville Emma, my granddaughter, is quite accomplished at cooking up a broad range of great food and particularly at trying out new dishes. She does a fair amount of baking (last night she whipped up a treat of peanut butter cookies just for fun). This casserole takes advantage of materials that are fairly easy to find. It goes together very quickly as well. As comfort food, it matches the cooler weather we are experiencing. Give it a whirl and tell me what you think.

Emma’s Artichoke Casserole

Ingredients: 6 medium size potatoes 1 lb. bacon 1½ cup artichoke hearts quartered 4 eggs, beaten 1 package of cream cheese (at room temperature) 1 cup of shredded cheese (to taste; a mix of leftover cheese works well) Minced garlic Parmesan

ACROSS 1. French for "Wolf" 5. Food thickener 9. Choose by voting 14. Doing nothing 15. Ploy 16. Indian instrument 17. Contract 19. Frothy 20. Delete 21. Cloudbursts 23. Balsam or touch-me-not 25. Scurry 28. Night before 29. To and ___ 32. A creative person 33. Avenue (abbrev.)

34. Average 35. Wagers 36. Mammary gland of bovids

Preparation: Peel, boil and mash the potatoes Mix in the eggs, cream cheese and garlic Fry bacon to medium crisp Oil a casserole dish Place a layer of the potato mixture in bottom of dish Place a layer of the artichoke Place another layer of the potato mixture over the artichoke Place a layer of bacon Place the remaining potato mixture on top of the bacon Cover with shredded cheese Bake, covered (with foil) for 45 minutes (uncover for the last 10 minutes) Top with parmesan During assembly, add spices to taste, e.g. black pepper Keep your mails coming, folks. Contact me at pcormier@ranaprocess.com.

SUDOKU

August 26, 2020

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38. Against 39. Send forth 40. Directed 41. Artist's workroom 43. Record (abbrev.)

44. Bleat 45. Coffer 46. Lowest female voice 48. Opposite of roughens 50. Seaweed 54. It pumps blood 55. Relating to the skin 57. Pee 58. Applications 59. Coffee dispensers 60. Anxious 61. Benefit 62. Distribute DOWN 1. Bloodsucking insects

2. Smell 3. Forearm bone 4. Skeptic 5. Arrive (abbrev.)

6. Stringed instrument 7. Cravat 8. Regain 9. Ancient ascetic 10. Kings of the jungle 11. French for "State" 12. Hats 13. Attempt 18. Temporary workers 22. Turnaround 24. Cranky 25. Cavalry weapon 26. Cream (cooking term) 27. Loft 29. Wards (off) 30. Relative magnitudes 31. Scallion 33. Tote 34. Burial chamber 37. Extremely poisonous white fungus 42. Moon of Saturn 44. Baby slipper 45. Anagram of "Crates" 46. Sores on toes 47. Utilize again 48. Arid 49. Principal 51. Pierce 52. Parental sister 53. Being 54. Shack 56. Request

EASY

MEDIUM

HARD

Answer to last weeks crossword

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New plan to encourage forestry in Ontario

Class A Licensed Mechanics - Repairs to ALL Makes DOT & MTO Safety Inspections Fuel Injection, Electrical & A/C Specialists Eliminate the headaches Complete Brake & Exhaust Service BOOK YOUR WINTER Tires & batteries-Front End & Suspension

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NG Council provide relief for Tax and Water Bill payments

As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the financial hardships that some residents face, the Municipality of North Grenville will accept applications for relief from late penalties and/or interest on outstanding tax and/or water bills. The Municipality encourages residents to reach out as quickly as possible if they are concerned about timely payment of property or water bills.

Residents who wish to apply for financial relief will be required to fill out an online form which will be assessed by staff in Finance and Public Works. The online form is available at www.northgrenville.ca/coronavirus.

Upcoming Meetings: Special Council on Tuesday, September 1; Council on Tuesday, September 15. Currently, Council meetings are held by video conference and live streamed via the Municipal website (www.northgrenville.ca). For more information, contact Clerk Heather Babcock-Cormier at clerk@ northgrenville.on.ca, or at 613-258-9569 ext. 178.

The Ontario government released Sustainable Growth: Ontario's Forest Sector Strategy, the province's plan to create jobs and encourage economic growth in the forest industry. The strategy will support the Indigenous, northern and rural communities that depend on the sector, while ensuring the province's forests stay healthy for generations to come. The announcement was made by John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry.

"Our government has developed a strategy that will help create more goodpaying jobs for Ontarians and provide greater opportunity in communities that depend on the forestry sector," said Minister Yakabuski. "At the same time, we are taking steps to protect our forests. Ontario's sustainable forest management practices are based on the most up-to-date science and are continuously reviewed and improved to ensure the long-term health of our forests while providing social, economic

and environmental benefits for everyone across the province."

The fundamental pillar of the strategy is the promotion of stewardship and sustainability, recognizing the importance of keeping Crown forests healthy, diverse, and productive so Ontario's forest industry can remain viable over the long term. The strategy also focusses on the importance of putting more wood to work, improving cost competitiveness, and fostering innovation, new markets and talent.

Since announcing the intention to create a strategy in late 2018, and following the launch of the draft strategy in December 2019, the government has held comprehensive consultations, hosting 27 engagement sessions with Indigenous leaders, municipalities and industry, as well as collecting feedback from the public through multiple Environmental Registry postings.

The new 10-year forestry strategy is deeply rooted in Ontario's sustain-

able forest policy framework, which is among the most rigorously regulated systems in the world. Ontario's forest sector plants approximately 73 million trees annually and drops an additional 365 million seeds aerially on harvested Crown lands to help regenerate forests. The province has 71 million hectares of forest, of which 27.7 million hectares are managed Crown forests. Less than half of one per cent of managed Crown forests is harvested each year.

"As we saw during the COVID-19 outbreak, the forest sector and its products are not only critical to the economy, but to the lives of all Ontarians, providing essential forest products for hygiene, food and medical supplies, as well as packaging and shipping products," said Minister Yakabuski. "In many Ontario communities, forestry jobs are the heart of the economy, and this strategy is part of our plan to build Ontario together with a better quality of life and a higher

standard of living in every region of the province in a sustainable and responsible way."

An Advisory Committee will be tasked with developing and overseeing an implementation plan, including providing input on proposed key performance indicators in the short, medium and long term.

Forestry was deemed an essential industry during the COVID-19 outbreak as the industry provided materials used in hospital masks, gowns and other hygiene products, as well as packaging for sterile medical and food wrappings.

A recent study for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe projected that demand for wood products is expected to increase by 30 per cent by 2030 due to a growing shift in consumer preferences away from singleuse plastics.

The speed limit has been reduced to 40km/h in the urban core of Kemptville.

ROAD SAFETY in NORTH GRENVILLE

A message brought to you by:

www.northgrenville.ca/roadsafety August 26, 2020

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The Voice of North Grenville

Open For Business Support Local, now more than ever!

Geronimo Coffee House CLOSED MONDAYS

Our current hours are Tuesday to Friday 8:00am to 4:00pm Sat. & Sun 9:00am to 2:00pm.

Orders can also be placed ahead by phone at 613-258-2782.

46 Prescott St, Kemptville

Catered Affairs Curbside Menu #25 Sept 1st-- Fri Sept 4TH Please preorder the day before!

Meals for 4 $65 + HST Meals for 2 $35 + HST ***All meals are served cold & include salad & house made desserts too.

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Chicken & pasta

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Monday to Friday 8:00am to 7:00pm

Saturday

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8:00am to 6:00pm

Sunday

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613.258.3014

August 26, 2020

the north grenville

TIMES Gord Logan

Marketing Consultant

with creamy pesto sauce with garlic bread, & caesar salad & veggies

Chicken & Ribs,

House made BBQ sauce with potato wedges, seasonal vegetables Buddha Salad Bowl (Vegan & G/F available) Sliced chicken breast or grilled tofu, 3 grain rice, avocado, cucumber, cabbage, peppers & peas, Vietnamese rice paper rolls with sweet chili sauce 1 per person, carrot/ginger vinaigrette

Catered Affairs Table D’Hote

Thurs Sept 3rd 5pm- 7pm RSVP ONLY. 3 Course Menu $55 per person + HST. Please call for more info & reservations 613-324-3136 info@cateredaffairs.ca www.cateredaffairs.ca 820 Heritage Dr. Kemptville Campus Live Piano Jazz Music by Roweena Pearl Catered Affairs Caesar Salad With Roasted Garlic Dressing, Shaved Parmesan, Ontario Bacon and Garlic Crostini Or Smoked Tomato Bisque with Pesto & Asiago & Surf “n” Turf Tenderloin & Bacon Wrapped Scallops Demi Glace, Pomme Puree & Market Veg Or Morrocan Chicken with Saffron Mousseline Tri colored Quinoa with nuts & dried fruit, Stewed Chickpeas & Market Veg & N.Y. Style Cheesecake with Rideau Roasters Coffee Anglaise Or Chocolate Brownie Trifle

Phone 613 258 6402 Email: gord@ngtimes.ca

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M.P. Barrett gives credit to MPP Clark for investment

Myth understandings

An irregular column by David Shanahan This man lived just 33 years, spent most of it living in a small town in the Middle East, and only leaving his country once, when he was a young baby. He travelled the roads back and forth between Galilee and Jerusalem, a distance of only about 140 kilometres, for three years as an itinerant preacher. He was followed by thousands of people who responded to his stories and personality, until he was arrested, tried and executed by the Roman authorities, at which point even his closest friends deserted him.

Thousands, perhaps millions of people throughout history lived a life like that, transient fame and popularity, a shooting star of activity that quickly burned out and was forgotten.

But this man was not forgotten. In fact, we date our own lives in relation to his, as does most of the world. Everything in history is either before him, or since him. His followers turned the world upside down, as some of his opponents said, and his life and teachings became the foundation of the world we know.

It is only in the last 200 years that “civilisation” has moved away from identifying themselves with his him and his message, after almost 2,000 years of being shaped by his influence.

It was his words that gave people the idea that each person matters, individually respected and with dignity. His followers have been co-opted by ambitious and violent men at times, Christianity became, too often, Christendom, a political system that built world empires and waged war in the face of his explicit teaching that his kingdom was not of this world at all.

But other followers brought education, healthcare, social revolutions that emphasised the dignity and worth of the individual, civil and human rights blossomed where he was the inspiration. The world, in many ways, has taken his example, but rejected his person, just as his teaching of love and reconciliation resulted in his judicial murder. That is the way with a fallen world.

So, does it matter that we know the truth about Jesus of Nazareth? Do we need to understand where our ideas about him come from, and why this young man, with such a fleeting presence in the Middle East two thousand years ago, has had such an incredible effect on our lives, whether we believe he was who he said he was, or not?

I believe it does, and that we will not understand our own times and the choices we face, unless we have a clear and factual understanding of him. This is not important only for Christians: as an historian, I see the way in which his life and teaching has been twisted and used to justify truly awful actions and behaviours. This man has had a greater influence on the world and its story than any other individual ever, and few would argue against that claim.

If people reject the claims made about him, they can only do so honestly if they know the facts, the history and not the myths. One of the great tragedies of our time is that too many citizens know too little about the past, their own and that of the societies in which we live.

Looking for answers to current social and political issues, there is a tendency to ignore past lessons learned, past answers found, and all out of ignorance of the fact that there is nothing new under the Sun. If we persist in believing that only our generation can understand things as they are, only we are competent to judge the ways of this world, then we are denying ourselves the wisdom and insights of so many generations that came before us, lived on this planet, and faced the same questions and challenges that we do. We have, in the process of remaining ignorant of the past, assumed too much, dismissed too much of the realities of living. Based on ignorance, and, more dangerously, based on a profound misunderstanding of things, we have turned our backs on what we think we know about things, including on the facts about Jesus of Nazareth, and ploughed on blindly, thinking that we see.

I am a Christian and an historian, but these articles are not aimed to preach or convert anyone: that is not in my power. But they are designed to give those who want to read them the opportunity to think and decide on the past free of misconceptions and inaccurate information. If you choose to reject the implications, that’s up to you. If you’d rather not read them, because of their subject or their author, that is up to you, of course. My aim, which is the aim of all historians, is to set the record before you, providing the evidence, the historical events, which you can consider for yourself. If there is an argument against anything here, let me know and let’s discuss it. You are as free to do so as I. But let’s unmask the myth understandings.

August 26, 2020

3M Canada is set to receive $23 million in public funds from the Government of Canada, to manufacture protective masks in Brockville.

The federal portion of the funding is part of a greater expenditure to the tune of $70 million that is being split

between the Government of Canada, the Ontario Government, and 3M. The Ontario Government’s equal $23 million contribution is part of Premier Ford’s commitment to manufacturing PPE in Canada.

“This is a great investment for our community,

made possible by the leadership of MPP Steve that brought everyone to the table.

With mask production in Brockville, it increases public confidence in our PPE supply chain. We can count on Canadians making masks for Canadians,” said Member of Parliament, Michael Barrett.

Currently, the 3M facility in Brockville is used to manufacture tape and other supplies for the firm.

“It’s important that Canadians have a secure and reliable source for these important products and our skilled workers here are certainly up to the task”, added M.P. Barrett.

PLAY TO WIN. PLAY TO GIVE. CATCH THE ACE NOW IN KEMPTVILLE! In celebration of Kemptville District Hospital's 60th Anniversary we are thrilled to bring Catch the Ace to our community. A win for you is a win for Kemptville District Hospital with 50% of the proceeds going towards replacing aging equipment in our hospital’s emergency room, diagnostic imaging department, operating rooms as well as to purchase specialty equipment for our renowned joint, knee, and hip replacement program.

Weekly prize draws every Thursday. The more tickets you purchase, the better your chances!

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