Catégorie : Reflet-News (Russell-Embrun-Casselman)

Le canton de Russell est heureux d’annoncer que le parc Jonathan Pitre est maintenant ouvert. La cérémonie d’ouverture officielle aura lieu le 15 octobre, à 11 heures, à l’emplacement du parc au 150, rue Sportsplex, à côté du dôme sportif.

Le nouveau parc comprend une structure de jeu accessible, des balançoires, un bateau et des appareils d’exercice pour personnes âgées. Les courts de tennis et les terrains de basket-ball sont encore en construction et une cérémonie d’ouverture officielle est prévue.

Jonathan Pitre, connu sous le nom de l’enfant papillon par de nombreuses personnes dans le monde, a été diagnostiqué enfant avec une épidermolyse bulleuse (EB), une maladie génétique qui provoque une hypersensibilité de la peau, comme l’aile d’un papillon est fragile et facile à endommager. L’EB n’était pas très connue à l’époque, mais Jonathan a choisi de faire la différence et est devenu un porte-parole et un militant de premier plan pour DEBRA Canada. Avec son aide, l’organisme de bienfaisance a sensibilisé le public à cette maladie, un travail qui se poursuit malgré son décès par l’intermédiaire de sa mère Tina.

Jonathan a reçu la Croix du service méritoire à titre posthume en juillet dernier, et sa mère a reçu la Médaille du service méritoire, en reconnaissance de son dévouement au travail de son fils et à la poursuite de l’héritage de Jonathan Pitre.

In a letter to the general public, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) urged members of the public to continue taking precautions against COVID-19, as they will not only help guard against the spread of COVID, but other respiratory illnesses as well. He also reminded everyone that the Ministry of Health recently updated its guidelines for those who test positive or develop symptoms.

The province is instructing those with COVID-19 symptoms to stay home while sick, regardless of test results. Respiratory symptoms must be improving for at least 24 hours, and gastro-intestinal symptoms must be improving for at least 48 hours, before they can go out again. Individuals must continue masking for 10 days from the time they got sick, and they must also avoid non-essential visits to high-risk settings and individuals for 10 days.

Those who test positive for COVID-19 but don’t have any symptoms should wear a mask in public and avoid high-risk settings and individuals for 10 days from the time they test positive. They aren’t required to isolate themselves, however.

Those who have been in close contact from confirmed COVID-19 cases don’t need to isolate anymore, regardless of their vaccination status. They do need to mask and avoid high-risk settings and individuals for 10 days from last exposure, and if symptoms develop they must immediately isolate.

“Staying up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines remains the best way to protect yourself and others from serious illness caused by COVID-19,” Roumeliotis said in his letter. “The greater the number of people who stay up to date, the more we can prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in our communities and protect the most vulnerable, such as individuals in long-term care homes and retirement homes.”

He also reminded everyone that the bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccine is now available for all Ontarians aged 18 and up. It protects against the original strain and the Omicron BA.1 variant of COVID, and preliminary studies suggest it may also protect against the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants.

Finally, he reminded parents that getting their children vaccinated can help prevent serious illness and long COVID. The first two doses are available to children between the ages of 6 months to 4 years old, and children ages 5 to 11 can get their third dose as well.

“I want to thank all of you for doing your part to keep your loved ones and our communities safe throughout the pandemic. Without a doubt, it has been a challenging time. However, the situation today is much different than it was in early 2020,” he said. “As a result of the vaccines and natural infections, we now have greater community immunity. We also have access to antiviral treatments to prevent severe illness in vulnerable individuals who contract COVID-19. Although the pandemic is not yet over, I am glad to say that with these layers of protection and the precautionary measures mentioned above, we are well equipped to continue on our path towards a more normal life.”

Organisée par le Centre Novas – CALACS francophone de Prescott-Russell, la 15e édition de La rue, la nuit, femmes sans peur a eu lieu au centre communautaire de Limoges, le mercredi 21 septembre. Les habitants se sont rassemblés à l’intérieur en portant leurs drapeaux et en chantant le droit des femmes à vivre sans peur de la violence dans leur communauté.

En plus de plusieurs organisations locales de défense des droits des femmes, des conseillers municipaux des Comtés unis de Prescott et Russell ont participé à la marche, dont Marie-Noëlle Lanthier, candidate à la mairie et conseillère de La Nation.

« Soutenir la marche n’est qu’une façon parmi d’autres de soutenir les droits des femmes, a dit Mme Lanthier. Malheureusement, la violence envers les femmes est une réalité vécue dans toute la région. »

Mme Lanthier a ajouté que la municipalité doit continuer à soutenir les organismes communautaires qui font le travail sur le terrain pour protéger les femmes contre la violence.

Le maire de Clarence-Rockland, Mario Zanth, a également pris part à la marche et s’est vu remettre le bâton puisque Clarence-Rockland sera l’hôte de la marche l’année prochaine.

« Sensibiliser les gens à ces questions est très important, a déclaré M. Zanth. Cela commence par l’éducation. Les jeunes garçons et filles doivent être sensibilisés à ces questions dans nos écoles et nos organisations de jeunesse. C’est pourquoi nous devons soutenir les causes qui sensibilisent. »

At the last regular meeting on September 12, The Nation council received a delegation from citizens of the municipality regarding the proposed narrowing of Touchette Bridge. According to the municipality, the existing trusses on the bridge cannot support the weight of two lanes, as vehicles are now much heavier than when the bridge was first constructed. Alternative deck types were considered, but this wouldn’t have significantly increased capacity.

The delegation, represented by Nicolas and Diane van de Laar, asked council to reconsider the narrowing of the bridge. They and several other farmers in the area rely on the bridge to transport farming equipment necessary to manage the land, but the van de Laars said they were neither warned nor consulted about the changes. If the bridge is narrowed according to the current plan, many pieces of farming equipment such as planters, tractors, combine harvesters, and many others would no longer be able to cross the bridge.

“If your plans remain the same, we will have to make major detours with all these machines,” they said during the meeting. “We would have to pass through the villages of Casselman and St-Albert with all these machines several times per week, if not per day. Casselman already has a traffic problem, and every time we will have to bring our machines down roads 500 and 900, it would only increase the risk of accidents and traffic jams.”

They added that the longer route would increase the wear on their tires, waste more gasoline, and cost precious time that is already impacted by the weather. All in all, a five-minute stretch of road would increase to an hour-long commute, they said.

Council acknowledged the issue and said that negotiations can be made regarding the width of the bridge. The current plan calls for a 16-foot-wide laneway, but depending on the placement of the railings, that could be expanded to 18.5 feet. The engineer from McIntosh Perry who explained the project cautioned that protecting the trusses is paramount, because if a truck crashed into a truss at any sort of speed, the bridge may collapse. He also said that consideration must be given to weight limits, as too much weight on one side or the other could also lead to a collapse.

There are a few options to increase the weight limit however, including additional load posting, changing the concrete curb heights, using lightweight concrete, and strengthening the existing bridge.

Council must wait for another engineering report before it can make a final decision.

Bercier se présente au conseil de La Nation, face à Daniel Boisvenue, pour le quartier 5. Il dit qu’il se présente parce qu’il veut contribuer à l’avenir de la communauté.

« Notre plus gros défi dans La Nation est le développement économique, a-t-il dit.  Notre qualité de vie doit suivre notre croissance démographique. »

Il a déclaré que son objectif à long terme pour la communauté est de mettre le canton de La Nation sur la carte. Il veut que La Nation soit un arrêt pour les voyageurs entre Montréal et Toronto, non pas simplement parce qu’elle est ici, mais parce qu’elle est charmante, intéressante et attrayante pour les visiteurs.

« J’ai 55 ans, a-t-il confié. J’ai le temps libre nécessaire pour m’occuper de tous les dossiers qui me seront présentés. J’essaie d’apprendre à propos de tout ce qui se passe dans la municipalité.»

Tim Stewart outlined his campaign platform for Ward 1 of The Nation Municipality. His campaign centers around being more transparent and communicating more with people.

“I’ve been interested in politics at all levels for a long time,” he said. “I chose to get involved now because of my decreasing level of trust in all levels of government, not just municipal. Governments seem to be following narratives and not talking to the everyday person. People would come to my father when he was councillor, and he would tell them the truth and explain how council had come to decisions, but they just don’t do that at any level anymore. I want to bring that back.

“When I was a paramedic, I prided myself on being able to keep stressed family members and loved ones, and my patients, very informed. Sometimes the information or the answers I have for them are not what they want to hear, so I try to be caring but very clear and honest, and I think people appreciate that honesty.”

Stewart is campaigning opposite current Mayor Francois St-Amour, who has decided to step down as mayor and seek a councillor’s seat again. Stewart doesn’t mind running against St-Amour, but noted that he and many others wonder why St-Amour is stepping down as mayor, himself included.

“I don’t mind running against him, but it’s really the number one question I get going door to door,” he said. “People are confused why he would go from a long-time mayor to running for council, it’s not something you see very often. But whether it’s Frank or someone else running for council, it doesn’t change what I want to get out there and who I am going to be and why I think I would be the best person for the job.”

Stewart noted that he and his family have been living and helping in the community for generations, and he feels he knows how everything works and what everyone wants.

“I’m the fifth generation living on a family farm in the middle of Ward 1,” he said. “I started on the fishing committee when I was 14 years old, I was a firefighter here in The Nation for 18 years, I have lots of family and personal connections in the community. People know what I’m interested in accomplishing, and people want to talk to me about it, so I think I have a pretty good feel on how people are feeling about local politics.”

Residents will cast their vote in the municipal elections on October 24.

David Mushing est candidat au poste de conseiller du quartier 4 de La Nation, face à Raymond Lalande et Paul Sauvé, et son plateforme est axée sur la réduction des taux d’imposition foncière. Il a décidé de se présenter au conseil parce qu’il pense pouvoir représenter efficacement les résidents du quartier.

« J’ai été impliqué sur plusieurs fronts avec la municipalité de La Nation depuis 8 ans maintenant, et je pense que je peux apporter de solides compétences en matière de résolution de problèmes à la table », a déclaré Mushing. « J’ai pensé que je serais un excellent candidat pour l’un de ces nouveaux quartiers – le quartier 4 – car les résidents de ce quartier ont eu le sentiment d’être insuffisamment représentés dans le passé. »

Mushing a déclaré que le plus gros problème auquel la municipalité est confrontée est que La Nation a toujours été parmi les plus taxées des huit municipalités qui composent les Comtés unis de Prescott-Russell. Sa principale tactique est de courtiser agressivement le développement commercial et industriel pour alléger une partie du fardeau fiscal.

« [Les contribuables résidentiels] supportent actuellement beaucoup plus que leur juste part de la charge fiscale », a-t-il déclaré. « Il y a cinq accès à l’autoroute 417 dans la municipalité de Nation – à mi-chemin entre Ottawa et Montréal – et ils doivent être exploités à leur plein potentiel. »

Il a ajouté qu’il souhaite voir la municipalité devenir plus proactive plutôt que réactive, en planifiant des contingences pour tous les résultats possibles au lieu de réagir à tout ce qui se présente. Il a ajouté que l’accomplissement des tâches prend trop de temps parce que la compensation de ce qui ne va pas nécessite l’élaboration d’un nouveau plan d’action.

Les résidents voteront le 24 octobre.

During off-school hours, the speed limit on Route 500 West is 60 kilometers per hour, but Christmas notes as main road, few drivers abide by the limit.

“People are flying,” said Christmas. “There are young kids here who don’t really know the real dangers of the road.”

Since the beginning of the school year, several parents have spoken with the school and the infrastructure department at the United Counties of Prescott Russell (UCPR), according to Christmas and comments on a Facebook post concerning the issue.

UCPR Roads Manager Guy Tessier said the issue with the lights was the timing as they are not turning on during the scheduled school hours. Tessier said a repair request was made and the issue was to be resolved “hopefully” by the end of the week (September 23).

However, fixing the school zone lights is only part of the solution for Christmas. Regardless of whether or not the lights are flashing, drivers are still speeding. Christmas suggests having a speed camera on that section of road would keep the kids safe.

“Having the camera there will catch speeders and prevent it,” said Christmas. “Ottawa has many cameras and it works wonders.”

A pilot project in Ottawa between 2020 and 2021 proved the cameras effective at reducing speed. The project saw a “200 per cent increase in compliance with the speed limit” as well as a significant decrease in the number of “high-end speeders.” Ottawa has since approved an expansion of the project, putting up more speed cameras around the city.

Installing and maintaining automated speed cameras is not always the solution municipalities want, according to the UCPR Public Works Director Jérémie Bouchard. Speed cameras ticket residents more often than people from outside the region, leaving locals frustrated with the tickets and municipal administrations fielding complaints. Though the UCPR is responsible for speed cameras on county roads, Bouchard says they ultimately leave the decision up to the municipalities they impact as to whether or not they want one installed.

Les élèves ont été rejoint par le député provincial de Prescott-Russell Stéphane Sarrazin, le vice-président du conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien Martial Levac, le conseiller scolaire François Bazinet, la directrice de l’éducation du CSDCEO Lyne Racine, la surintendante des affaires Anne Dugas ainsi que les membres de l’administration de l’école élémentaire et les enseignants.

En s’adressant aux élèves, M Martial Levac a affirmé : « Je suis fier de constater que la francophonie se transmet de génération en génération. Défendre notre langue sera un combat de tous les jours et de toute une vie pour nous Franco-Ontariens. »

Les dignitaires ont aussi rendu hommage à M Bazinet pour sa participation dans la conception de plusieurs monuments de la francophonie, notamment à Saint-Albert et à Cornwall.

“I thought it’s going to affect our numbers. It was going to deter a lot of people,” said Saucier. “Then I thought about what Terry endured. So, I put that message on Facebook and said come on out anyways.”

Saucier’s motivational message did the trick. Around 200 people gathered at Mother Teresa school for the annual Terry Fox Run in Russell. Adults, kids, walkers, runners, bikers and roller-bladers, individuals and teams set out to commemorate Terry Fox’s remarkable attempt to cross Canada on foot and raise money for cancer research.

The weather did not deter people from opening up their wallets either. Heading into the event, Saucier and her team of 25 volunteers helped raise more than $15,000 thanks to the generosity of her community. On race day, the amount raised reached over $17,000, well above their $10,000 goal. This being the 34^th time organizing the event, Saucier expects this to be a banner year.

“The schools still have their runs next week,” said Saucier. “So, we’re hoping that we’re going to break 20,000. If we do, it will be our best year ever.”

Beyond the money raised, Saucier was excited to once again see the community come together for a good cause. Businesses, families and individuals pitched in to make the event one to remember.

“The firemen, paramedics and bylaw were all out making sure people got across the road safely, and that nothing happened along the trail route. It was truly a community effort all the way around,” said Saucier.