Catégorie : Tribune-Express (Hawkesbury)

La banque alimentaire de Grenville et Grenville-sur-la-Rouge a organisé, le 8 juillet, une collecte de fonds pour pouvoir faire face à ses besoins.

«On donne de la nourriture aux personnes les jeudis. On a 60 familles à nourrir, soit 110 personnes. Il nous faut beaucoup de ressources, on était rendu au fond», a admis Lisanne Cadieux, coordonnatrice de l’organisme.

Selon Claude Cadieux, président de la banque alimentaire, la collecte de fonds pourrait rapporter de 5 000 à 7 000 dollars. Mme Cadieux a énuméré les principales dépenses, soit le loyer, le paiement des factures d’électricité, de téléphone et l’achat des denrées.

Les soirs d’été à la marina de Lefaivre seront un événement musical magique cette année.  

Le comité des arts, de la culture et du patrimoine d’Alfred-Plantagenet a élaboré un plan pour un projet pilote à la marina de Lefaivre, visant à accroître la valeur récréative locale de la marina et son attrait pour le tourisme maritime. Nathalie Belliveau, représentante du comité, a présenté un rapport sur le projet des soirées musicales du mardi au conseil municipal, lors de la réunion du comité plénier du 21 juin.  

Mme Belliveau a décrit le projet comme un «exemple potentiel d’un excellent partenariat» entre le canton et d’autres groupes, qui contribuerait à promouvoir le port de plaisance, à fournir aux artistes locaux et régionaux un lieu de représentation, à offrir des divertissements aux résidents et aux visiteurs et à soutenir les entreprises locales, y compris celles qui bénéficient du tourisme maritime estival.  

Il s’agit d’un projet pilote estival qui se déroulera en juillet et en août. Les soirs, le patio de la marina sera consacré à un programme musical comprenant des spectacles en direct, des enregistrements et des karaokés à micro ouvert. Si le temps n’est pas clément, une session musicale programmée le mardi soir aura lieu dans le centre communautaire voisin.  

Le programme de cet été prévoit des concerts les 6 et 20 juillet et les 10 et 31 août. Les 13 et 27 juillet et le 17 août seront consacrés à de la musique enregistrée à écouter ou à danser, et les 3 et 24 août seront des soirées karaoké.  

La commune fournit le lieu et les installations pour le projet des soirées musicales, ainsi qu’une aide financière de 550 $ pour les artistes qui se produiront. Le Club Lions de Lefaivre fournira des bénévoles pour tenir le bar et s’occuper d’autres services. Le propriétaire-exploitant du traversier Lefaivre-Montebello assurera gratuitement la traversée de la rivière pour tous les artistes venant du Québec.  

Le conseil municipal a exprimé son soutien unanime au projet proposé par le comité et a approuvé un montant de 550 $, provenant du fonds des arts, de la culture et du patrimoine, dans le budget de 2023 pour le programme.

Champlain Township council had a lengthy discussion about how to deal with actual and potential traffic congestion problems at the main intersection in Vankleek Hill.

Council approved the recommendations in a public works department report presented during its June 22 session on how to deal with traffic congestion problems at the intersection of Highway 34 and County Road 10. The intersection is in the heart of Vankleek Hill’s main business area and in the past there have been problems with big freight trucks making turns at the intersection and also with some motorists creating problems with their use of the intersection.

“As far as I’m concerned,” said Councillor Gérard Miner, “there are too many (big) trucks trying to shave time off their travel by driving through there. Eventually, I think we’re going to see that intersection end up as a ‘No Truck Turning’ intersection.”

“That is a very old intersection (design) that just does not facilitate 53-foot-long (truck) trailers today,” said Councillor Peter Barton.

Earlier this year the township asked the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) to do a traffic visibility review of the intersection since County Road 10 is a UCPR road. UCPR council later reviewed several options for dealing with the situation and approved Option 4 in the report that includes four recommendations.

The recommendations include: relocating the eastbound traffic stop bar; posting “No Right Turns on Red Light” signs for eastbound traffic on the county road and southbound traffic on the highway route; review and adjust the traffic light timing setup to allow more time for transport trucks with trailers to do safe turns; and remove some of the parking spaces on the immediate west and south ends of the intersection to allow more room for semi-trailers to turn.

Councillor Barton expressed doubt about designating more “no parking” areas near the intersection as a satisfactory solution. He noted that loss of parking spaces could affect some businesses in the village centre, making it more inconvenient for their customers.

He also noted that most drivers now depend on GPS systems to help guide them along their routes. If the GPS system is not updated to including information about no right turns allowed on stop lights then some drivers could still end up creating traffic problems at the intersection.

Keeping a couple of chickens in the backyard is becoming popular in other municipalities and Champlain Township wants to know how many of its residents would like to take up the practice.

“We’ve had interest expressed from a number of residents,” said Jennifer Laforest, township chief planner, during the June 22 council session.

The township does not have a policy dealing with raising chickens in a non-agricultural setting. Any policies that exist for farm animals are based on provincial guidelines for commercial farm and hobby farm operations. These would apply to actual agricultural operations in the rural areas of the municipality. Residents who live outside of the villages on land zoned as rural must have a lot that is at least two hectares, or five acres, in size to qualify as a farm property where chickens or other livestock are allowed.

Laforest’s report noted that the township receives at least five calls a year from residents asking if they can keep a few chickens on their property for their own use, and not for the purpose of selling eggs. She researched other municipalities that have backyard poultry policies, including Russell and Alfred-Plantagenet townships and major cities like Edmonton and Vancouver. The average number of poultry allowed is four for properties that range in size from 250 square metres to about 2000 square metres. Almost all municipalities require a licence for their residents to keep a few hens or other poultry in their backyard. The licence fee ranges from $50 to $75, depending on the municipality.

“We are proposing a licensing program,” Laforest said, adding that her department is working with the bylaw department on guidelines for a pilot program that would help determine if a permanent policy for backyard hens within the township is feasible.

She noted that any licence approval would include a condition that enclosures are designed to be secure and also humane so “the hens are happy”. Another condition is that hens only are allowed as part of a backyard poultry project. Keeping roosters is not allowed.

Council voted to accept the report and directed administration to set up a public consultation process to determine how much actual interest and support exists in the township for a backyard hens policy.

Part of Recycle Action’s local employment program becomes a victim of the provincial government’s new plan for blue box recycling in Ontario.

Recycle Action is part of Groupe Convex Prescott-Russell, a Hawkesbury-based non-profit company, that focuses on skills development and employment programs to help people with disabilities to find work and/or gain practical work experience that will aid them with future employment. The company’s recycling operation has provided work and work skills experience for many people over the years while providing several municipalities in the Prescott-Russell region with a blue box collection program for recyclable materials like newsprint, bottle glass, cardboard, tin cans, and other items.

Recycle Action announced through a press release to media that it will no longer operate the blue bin collection program for recyclables in the region because the provincial government’s new producer-responsible program for dealing with all recyclable materials in Ontario takes effect this summer. Municipalities now must contract with the companies that the provincial government has now approved through the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (RPRA) for managing the new producer-responsible blue bin collection setup.

« It’s very disappointing to be put out of business like this after so much effort, » stated Robert Lessard, Recycle Action operations director. « We provided good local service. We are now left in a position where we must roll up our sleeves and reinvent ourselves to continue to offer employment to our staff. »

Recycle Action will continue to serve its commercial clients but it will longer operate its residential blue bin collection program for towns, villages, and rural areas in Prescott-Russell. Residents can go to the Recycle Action sorting facility on Spence Street in Hawkesbury and drop off cardboard, clean styrofoam, and electronic waste items like old digital cameras, computer monitors and such for recycling. The company will now charge a drop-off fee for these items.

Champlain Township’s fire chief is confident that all of his people will meet the provincial government’s new certification standards very soon.

Last year the provincial government approved new legislation dealing with certification standards for all fire departments in Ontario, both urban and rural. Champlain Township Fire Chief Ghislain Pigeon told township council during its June 22 session that he expects to have all of his firefighter achieve full certification soon under the new legislation’s guidelines.

“Our plan is to get everyone certified by 2026,” Chief Pigeon said. “I see (full) certification as the only way to go.”

The new legislation provides two types of certification standards for firefighters. One is the Legacy Certification program that replaces the old “grandfathering” system for certifying veteran and other firefighters for duty who may not have either already gained practical experience with all the types of emergencies that firefighters may need to handle. A Legacy Certification may limit a firefighter on the types of situations he or she is allowed deal with when a call comes in.

The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) Certification program is “the ideal” certification standard, Chief Pigeon noted in his report to council. NFPA Certification means a firefighter has received training, both theoretical and practical under controlled conditions, to deal with every kind of emergency situation that occurs.

Right now the Champlain Township Fire Department has a rotation schedule set up for small groups of its members to attend regional fire training centre in Bourget that the Clarence-Rockland Fire Department operates for its members and for members of other fire departments. A dozen members of Champlain Township’s department have gone through the regional training centre course, and also done their in-house theoretical training sessions, so that they are now NFPA-certified.

“I see NFPA certification as the only way to go,” Chief Pigeon said, adding that he is encouraging his staff to sign up for the regional training sessions as soon as openings are available because eh doesn’t want “legacy” certification for any of his firefighters.

During a short court appearance, the Crown and defence counsels and the superior court justice in the Dr. Brian Nadler case concluded the earliest trial date will not be until next summer.

Crown attorney Matt Humphreys, Dr. Nadler’s lawyer Naomi Lutes, and Justice Marc Labosse met Friday, June 30, to discuss possible dates for the doctor, who accused of killing four of his patients at the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital (HGH) in 2021. The three parties concluded the earliest start date for a trial is June 3, 2024.

Pre-trial proceedings continue at the L’Orignal courthouse with the next meeting to take place on August 25.

Dr. Brian Nadler was first charged with the first-degree murder of Albert Poidinger, 89, in March and, soon after, was charged with three additional counts of first-degree murder for the deaths Judith Lungulescu, 93, Claire Briere, 80, and Lorraine Lalande, 79, who all died around the same time at HGH.

She is the valedictorian for the Class of 2023 at Vankleek Collegiate Institute and also the winner of an important scholarship award.

Olivia St. Denis won the Chernoff Family Award, worth $48,000, for her admission to Queen’s University in Kingston.

The Vankleek Collegiate Institute (VCI) graduate sent in her scholarship application last fall, with the support of Sarah Dagg, VCI English teacher. Dagg provided a letter of recommendation that accompanied two essays that St. Denis wrote as part of her application. She received notice prior to last month’s graduation ceremony at VCI that she had won the prestigious scholarship.

“Olivia embodies the spirit of VCI by continuously striving for excellence and making a difference in her community,” stated VCI Principal Christie Walker, in a news release from the Upper Canada District School Board. “We are incredibly proud of Olivia and look forward to seeing her thrive at Queen’s University.”

The Chernoff Family created the scholarship award to honour the memory of Nick and Maud Chernoff, who recognized the value of post-secondary education and dedicated themselves to ensuring that their children went to college. The Chernoff Family Award goes to full-time students entering their first year at Queen’s University.

Successful applicants for the award must maintain a high school average of 90 per cent or higher in their studies, and also demonstrate creativity, original thinking, and leadership qualities. Preference in awarding the scholarship is given to students from rural and remote areas.

St. Denis maintained a 97-per-cent grade point average through her four years at VCI, and also was active in the VCI Link Crew program, providing support to students new to VCI. She took part in VCI’s varsity sports program, was a member of the prom committee, and exceeded the mandatory 40 hours of community service required as part of her graduation year curriculum.

St. Denis has “a profound passion for health and wellness” and plans to pursue a career in medicine, becoming a family doctor.

Champlain Township council and staff wonder if the mushrooming popularity of the “tiny homes” movement could help expand the available housing market for the municiplaity.

Jennifer Laforest, township chief planner, presented an updated report during council’s June 22 session on the issue of revising the municipality’s planning and zoning guideline policies to increase the number of “tiny homes” projects in the community.

“Tiny homes as secondary (housing) units are already permitted,” Laforest said, adding that they may be some type of expanded addition to an existing residence, renovation of a garage or shed, or actual design and construction of a new permanent dwelling on the existing residential property.

These secondary “tiny home” additions to the property may serve as accommodations for some member of the family or they may be rented out to a lodger as additional family income. The planning department’s research indicated that one method to increase the amount of potential rental units within the township could involve amending existing zoning regulations to allow two “tiny home” units on a residential lot if there is already an existing residence on the property. The amendment would include conditions concerning sufficient space available for two “tiny homes” and other guarantees for proper utility services for the units.

“Tiny homes may have a small but potentially positive role to play in diversifying the housing stock in Champlain Township,” Laforest noted in her report.

What is a tiny home?

The definition for a “tiny home” is “a small, self-contained dwelling unit between 25 and 37 square metres” that must have “a full bathroom, kitchen, and sleeping area” and must be on a permanent foundation, with access all utility services. The Ontario Building Code has guidelines for these type of permanent dwellings. A tiny home set up on a wheeled platform that makes it mobile is not covered under the Ontario Building Code.

Laforest noted during a separate interview that any “tiny homes” amendment to the local zoning regulatiosn would be for either a single person or a couple as occupants.

She also noted in her report that council could also consider planning and zoning guidelines changes that would allow for “pocket neighbourhoods” that would feature three or four “tiny homes” on a single lot. The occupants of the homes would parking space and utility service connections.

Council voted to receive the report and directed administration to set up a public consultation process about changes to the municipal zoning guidelines to allow for more “tiny house” projects.