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The Picton Gazette
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
Volunteer at Archives for a chance to learn about local history
The County of Prince Edward Public Archives, as a part of The County of Prince Edward Public Library, has a mandate to collect and preserve printed material significant in any way to the history of the County. The Archives is also an invaluable resource for anyone interested in any aspect of local history and is the “go to” place for historical inquiries, including genealogy research. One of the exciting projects at the Archives over the last twelve months has been the digitization project and the implementation of the Minisis database. Staff at the Archives has been steadily digitizing thousands of documents, most recently focusing on photographs from the Prince Edward Historical Society collection. This PEHS collection is used extensively, so digitization is was an important step in not only preserving the material, but making the collection accessible online. The collection includes documents, newspaper clipping and photographs. “When we digitize a record,” explains Archives manager Krista Richardson, “we scan a copy at very high resolution for preservation purposes and another at a lower resolution (so that it can more quickly online) which is then watermarked and made available for public viewing.” The purpose of this large-scale project is to make the many records in the Archives collection as possible available in to the public on the Internet free of charge on the Minisis database. While a detailed and time consuming task, it is essential for both preservation and public outreach. “Presently we are in the process of scanning a massive collection from the Vic Lord collection,” says Richardson. Vic Lord was a Picton photographer and the entire collection spans the years 1910 to 1970. “We are scanning over 3,500 newspaper clippings from 1940 to the 1970s and are indexing them in the process using key words such as people’s names, places and events so they
InsIde tHe lIbrary CHRISTINE RENAUD
will be searchable by those criteria,” explains Richardson. The County of Prince Edward Public Archives has scanned over 7420 records this year, in addition to attending to patron requests and other projects. To continue this important work, the Archives is looking for volunteers to aid in the indexing process. Unlike many volunteering opportunities, this one can be done from the comfort of one’s home as long as there is access to a computer and a spreadsheet program. “It is simple to do, and you would be surprised at what interesting facts you come across as you read the material!” emphasizes Richardson. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Krista Richardson at 613-399-2023 or by e-mail at: krichardson@peclibrary.org If you would like to visit the Archives, they are located adjacent to the Wellington branch of the County of Prince Edward Public Library at 261 Main Street in Wellington. Open hours are Tuesdays from 2pm to 8pm, Wednesday 10am to 4pm, Thursdays from 2pm to 6pm, and Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm. For specific help with research, an appointment is advisable. Searching the Archive records currently on the Minisis database can be done through the library’s website at www.peclibrary and clicking on the Archives link on the right side of the page.
TAKING IT OFF
Community Care welcomes Meals On Wheels provider Williams Family Diner to provide homemade foods
The Prince Edward Community Care for Seniors Association is welcoming a new Meals on Wheels provider. The Williams Family Diner on Elizabeth street joins Hallowell House and H.J. Macfarland home as providers to the popular Meals on Wheels program that serves an average of 17 meals per day to Prince Edward County residents. Volunteers have been delivering hot meals to seniors locally since 1980 and Community Care Executive Director Debbie MacDonald Moynes said she was happy to welcome Lisa and Colin Williams as meal providers. “They are really family and community oriented and Lisa didn't hesitate for one second when I inquired about their availability to be part of the program,” MacDonald Moynes said. The Williams Family Diner also participates in the Queen Elizabeth school hot lunch program. For the first meals produced by the Williams diner which shipped out late last week, partakers in the program dined on homemade meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas, turkey soup and jello.
Hot food to go Six-year-old Yvie Williams and her parents Lisa and Colin
Williams of Williams Family Diner of Picton are joined by Community Care for Seniors Executive Director Debbie MacDonald Moynes in announcing the restaurant is now an official provider to the Meals on Wheels program (Jason Parks/Gazette staff)
“Homemade food is their speciality,” MacDonald Moynes said. “We're sure the seniors that receive these meals will find them tasty as well as nutritious.” Just under 200 volunteers work throughout the year to deliver the meals and MacDonald Moynes
added the program is well under capacity. “Certainly, if there are seniors in need of this program, they can contact us, we have lots of capacity,” she added. Community Care has available both hot and frozen meals that are low in
sodium. Special diets can be accommodated and requests for meals are received from seniors, their family, and caregivers, physicians and others.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
-Jason Parks, Staff
It is time for effective, responsible noise bylaw
In your Nov. 1 issue at page 35 you staff writer reports: “Councillor suggests weekend changes to noise bylaw.” Councillor Kevin Gale was quoted, saying "There are some people who don't want be woken up at 7 O'clock in the morning after having worked all week" This report should be seen as a call from sleep -deprived
persons for medical help, because every reasonable mind knows nowadays that interrupted sleep and lack of sleep is causing stress and stress can cause bodily harm, which even can lead to serious illnesses including cancer. Also to consider emotional stress to endure and deal with such situations. People who call their councillor or their municipality for help do not do it
as expressed in your report "There are some people who don't be woken up at 7 O'clock...” but in fact they call for help like a patient in pain calling their doctor, but therefor their councillor or municipality! If their doctor would say: " No, I do not like to open a big can of worms …. fear of infections, cancer, spreading …. he would be negligent. The same should
be applied for not getting proper help from councillor or municipality! Isn't it time for an effective and responsible noise bylaw instead of promoting the continuation of inhuman and health-damaging noise for the residents of Prince Edward County?
I, too, am disappointed by the lack of a response by the County’s roads department (see John Blake’s letter in The Gazette, Oct. 11, 2012). On Sept. 13 and 17, I phoned the County roads department to report that three large bags of garbage had been left in the ditches of Upper Doxsee Road and that animals had already partially gotten into them. I detailed exactly where the bags of garbage could be found. It
has been almost two months and still no response from the County’s roads department, despite the Sophiasburgh roads garage being less than two miles away. Upper Doxsee Road is popular with dog walkers, runners, and strollers. They shouldn’t have had to endure the sight and smell of rotting garbage strewn all over the place for this length of time. As well, any evidence of whom the offend-
ing culprits were has for all intents and purposes been destroyed — not that it would have mattered. I would bet it has been years since our local OPP has laid a littering charge. Now, with the heavy rains of this past week, much of the garbage has been washed away, further polluting our streams and the countryside. Pretty soon, snow will fall, covering up what garbage remains and
the County roads department will have achieved its goal of never having to get out of their trucks. Oh, how much simpler it would have been to have sent a crew over the next day to clean up the mess. Municipal restructuring leading to greater accountability and efficiency — gimme a break!
Caspar Radden Wellington
Response from roads department inadequate
Hugh MacDonald Glenora Mills
A thank-you letter to local benefactors from Ghana
From left, Prince Edward Yacht Club members Gerry denHartog, Bob Peat, Rob Giberson and Vince “Marty” Martel will be shaving and regrowing moustaches for Stache For Cash during the month of November. (Chad Ibbotson/Gazette staff)
Recently there were bins located in Picton Home Hardware, Evans Lumber in Picton, Canadian Tire in Picton and Wellington Home Hardware. They were to collect new and gently used tools for carpentry, welding, electrical installations, masonry and plumbing for a newly established vocational training
centre in Atorkor, Ghana. The tool drive is now over, but i wanted to thank everyone who donated a tool, and especially the Hardware store owners who promoted the drive and collected the tools! We have a wonderful assortment of fine tools. People were most generous, we even received entire tool boxes of well
loved beautifully kept tools. Soon these tools will be shipped from the small community of Prince Edward County, Canada to the small coastal community of Atorkor, Ghana. The students, all untrained and unemployed youths living here, will now be able to start their skills training and head towards a
viable future, everyone who was involved with the tool drive has made a difference to their lives! They thank you and so do I. Peta Hall Director Atorkor Vocational Training Centre Atorkor, Ghana
The Picton Gazette welcomes letters to the editor of 500 words or less. The letters may be edited for clarity, legal ramifications, length or general taste at the editor’s discretion. We also reserve the right to refuse to publish submitted letters for the same reasons. Letters published do not necessarily reflect the views of the Gazette, its publisher, or staff. Submitted items become the property of the Picton Gazette.