2- COMMUNITY NEWS - Wednesday, July 17, 2019
www.rivertowntimes.com
Town pre-commits 2020 funds to live streaming meetings By Ron Giofu Town council is going ahead with the live streaming of council meetings, going as far as pre-committing money in the 2020 budget to do so. The town has pre-committed $23,725 plus HST to acquire the necessary equipment to broadcast their meetings via the internet. Administration had recommended waiting until November when 2020 budget deliberations are scheduled to get underway but Councillor Patricia Simone wanted to go ahead with it earlier as “it adds an extra layer of accountability”
to the town and council members. The system council will use will come from the firm eScribe, the same outfit that electronically manages council agendas and other online records. “Currently, the town records audio of all council meetings through a digital recorder. These recordings assist with ensuring the accuracy, accountability and documentation of motions in council minutes. The set-up time required for these recordings is minimal for staff prior to each meeting. These recordings are also posted on the town’s website as another way of increasing the town’s commitment
to accountability and transparency,” wrote clerk Paula Parker in her report to council. Councillor Peter Courtney hoped for reduced costs if other municipalities were to choose the same firm and start live streaming meetings. The e-Scribe option includes all equipment and resources required to record, stream, and produce the meeting. Video can be viewed live and archived from eScribe’s servers through an embedded link from the Town’s website with all other processing and storage requirements are handled through eScribes’s servers, Parker’s report states.
The camera feed would be manually changed by a staff member attending the meeting. A cheaper option, roughly $16,760, was rejected as was a more expensive $40,650 option. Councillor Donald McArthur noted the less expensive option didn’t meet accessibility needs due to a lack of closed captioning while the town didn’t need “the bells and whistles” the more expensive option had including panning and close-ups. “I agree with Pat 100 per cent for the need for live streaming,” said McArthur.
Road several years ago, the next stretch of road is now going to be upgraded. That stretch is between Concession 2 North/Thomas Road and Concession 3 North. That stretch of roadway had been identified as the number one need according to the town’s roads needs
study. Town council awarded the tender to Coco Paving Inc. at a total cost of $740,378, which is $59,622 under the engineer’s estimate of $800,000. The project will see pulverization of the existing asphalt surface, shoulder improvements and new asphalt surface.
The town’s consulting engineer for this project is Hrycay Consulting Engineers Inc., stated a report from manager of engineering Todd Hewitt. Hewitt also told the River Town Times that a 0.5 meter paved shoulder will be placed on the reconstructed roadway.
Another stretch of Texas Road to be reconstructed By Ron Giofu
Town council has awarded the tender for the next stretch of Texas Road improvements. With the stretch of Texas Road having been completed between Front Road North and Concession 2 North/Thomas
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“Sinkie’s Striders” hitting the streets to battle Parkinson’s By Ron Giofu A local man will be heading up a group known as “Sinkie’s Striders” next month all to raise money and awareness in the fight against Parkinson’s Disease. Robert Sinclair, a 71-year-old Amherstburg resident, his 20-year-old grandson Ryley Demers, Demers’ fiancée Lexi Robert and Sinclair’s daughter Robin will be leading “Sinkie’s Striders” on a roughly 5K walk through the streets of town Aug. 24. Demers is assisting with planning with Robert and Robin assisting with fundraising but other friends are also helping with fundraising. That is prior to the Sept. 8 Parkinson’s Canada “Super Walk” in Windsor, which Sinclair said he is unable to attend this year. Sinclair not only hopes to raise money and awareness this year, but also hopes a “Super Walk” can be staged in Amherstburg in the future as well. Sinclair said he was aware of people with Parkinson’s Disease, including Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali, and thought about entering the “Super Walk” last year but was too late. “It’s been on my mind for about a year,” he explained. “I contacted Parkinson’s and said I can’t get to the Windsor walk (this year) so can I do my own walk in my
own town?” While Sinclair has a personal goal of raising $1,000, he pointed out he also wants to raise awareness of the disease. He also wants to promote Amherstburg to Parkinson’s Canada as a possible venue to host a “Super Walk” in the southern portion of Essex County. “I would like to see them do one here,” said Sinclair. Sinclair said he is fundraising in advance of the Aug. 24 walk and will not be accepting during the walk. He said people can e-mail him at tml13c67@hotmail.com for information or to donate to his team or to donate simply by going to www.parkinson.ca. “I’d like to see donations come to our team but if they want to donate to Parkinson’s Canada, that’s fine with me,” he said. The small team will be walking on sidewalks and will not be on the street, he added. Sinclair pointed out he has a half-century of volunteer experience and is also doing the walk as a way to continue to give back. That trend of volunteerism has run through his family, noting his granddaughter Addyson Walker is one of two Anderdon Public School students (along with Darragh Aston) hoping to curtail local municipalities and school boards’ use of single-use plastics.
Parkinson’s Disease is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly impacts the motor system. As the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms become more common, including shaking, rigidity, slowness of movement and difficulty with walking. The cause of the disease is unknown, but is believed to involve both genetic and environmental factors. As of now, there is no cure for Parkinson’s Disease. Roughly 6.2 million people around the world are living with Parkinson’s Disease and 25 people per day in Canada are diagnosed with it.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
Ryley Demers (left) and Robert Sinclair are helping to organize a walk in Amherstburg to raise money for Parkinson’s Disease research.
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