$ 0 - - & $ 5 * 7 * 5 r $ 0 . . 6 / * 5 : MAYOR GUY DESJARDINS : ONE YEAR IN SELF-ISOLATION
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
grocery shopping, picking up medications or seeing a doctor. Going into voluntary self- isolation was, to him, the logical decision to make though it meant having to adapt to a new home-office routine for everything he did, including his mayoral duties. “I’ve even learned to sign cheques on UIFDPNQVUFSuIFTBJE MBVHIJOH Being mayor of Clarence-Rockland for the past year has been less busy in some ways for Desjardins. The pandemic put a stop to many of the public gatherings, like new business openings, charity sports like the .BZPST(PMG5PVSOBNFOU BOEPUIFSFWFOUT where he might make a guest appearance. Instead he estimates he spends about 20 hours a week on the computer, attending WJSUVBMNFFUJOHTPGDJUZDPVODJM UIF6OJUFE Counties of Prescott-Russell council, and other online get-togethers with provincial and federal officials or representatives of various regional agencies. Beyond dealing with his mayoral duties, Desjardins doesn’t bother much with his home computer. He has little interest or time for social media, other than using it to keep in touch with family members living elsewhere in Canada. He doesn’t go on iWJSUVBMXPSMEUPVSTuPSTVSGUIF/FU When he logs off the computer, Desjardins goes outside to work in his greenhouses or else go for a nice walk in summer or cross-country skiing in winter. Facing the future Desjardins noted that this will be his last
A year ago this March Mayor Guy Desjardins of the City of Clarence- Rockland went into self-imposed quaran- tine in obedience to public health safety guidelines for dealing with COVID-19. As the one-year anniversary of his self- isolation approaches, Desjardins finds him- self thinking about spring, making plans for the first plantings of cherry tomatoes and peppers in his greenhouses, and looking forward to new additions to his orchards and commercial garden setup at his home in St-Pascal-Baylon. “We’re going to start a new greenhouse at UIFFOEPG.BSDI uIFTBJE XJUIBDIVDLMF during a Saturday morning phone interview February 20. “And if I run out of work, my TPOBMXBZTIBTTPNFUIJOHGPSNFUPEPu At 71, Desjardins’ idea of retirement is focused on managing his greenhouses and orchards, when he is not occupied with helping manage the present and future needs of the City of Clarence-Rockland. The latter job became a bit more challenging thanks to the pandemic. The online mayor Because of his age, Desjardins fell into the category of senior seen as most vulne- rable to risk of COVID-19 infection. Pandemic health safety guidelines recommended everyone in his category go into immediate self-isolation, except for necessary trips for
L’hiver est une période tranquille pour le maire de Clarence-Rockland, Guy Desjardins, mais il attend avec impatience le printemps, où il pourra commencer à planter des petites tomates et des poivrons dans le cadre de l’exploitation commerciale de la serre qu’il gère chez lui à Saint-Pascal-Baylon. —photo Gregg Chamberlain
term as mayor. He’s done what he wanted to do when he won the 2014 mayoral election and now he feels it is time to step aside. “There are a lot of young people on council who will do a great job of replacing NF uIFTBJE One other incentive to step down as mayor is that he was diagnosed last year XJUI4UBHFDBODFS/PEFTBQQFBSFEJOIJT lungs and liver and he is now undergoing chemotherapy. He has lost weight because of the cancer and chemo but remains upbeat about his condition, even joking about how some clothes that have hung almost-forgotten in his wardrobe have gotten a new lease on life. “I now have a fantastic selection of TIJSUT uIFTBJE XJUIB MBVHI iXIFSF UIF CVUUPOTEPOUTDSFBNXIFO*GBTUFOUIFNu Besides occasional grocery-shopping trips, the only travel away from home for Desjardins is to Ottawa General Hospital for his chemotherapy. i5IFDBSF UIFSF JT GBOUBTUJD uIFTBJE adding that he is also going to wait his turn for when the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available for seniors living outside of long- UFSNDBSFIPNFT/PRVFVFKVNQJOHGPSIJN “I will wait for my turn. I will not pass in GSPOUPGBOZCPEZu Sound mind Other than practical matters like keeping the snow off the house roof, winter is a quiet time for Desjardins.
He occupies his mind with thoughts about plans for his greenhouses, his apple orchard of several dozen trees, and the future orchard of butternut trees that he planted last year thanks to a donation of 20 TBQMJOHTGSPNUIF4PVUI/BUJPO$POTFSWBUJPO Authority. Butternut trees are an endangered species in the region and Desjardins hopes to be around to see them yield their first crop of nuts. i*MJLFUPQMBOUOFXUSFFTFWFSZZFBSuIF TBJEi*NFWFOWFOUVSJOHJOUPLJXJGSVJUu He’s ordered five kiwi vines from a Québec horticulture outfit which is also supplying him with a couple of pear trees. The vines will join his grape arbor somewhere near the house. Desjardin is not sure how the kiwi WJOFT XIJDIBSFOBUJWFUP/FX;FBMBOE XJMM do in Eastern Ontario’s cooler climate but he looks forward to seeing the results of his experiment. After a year in self-isolation, Desjardins feels optimistic about life in general. i*NEPJOHRVJUFXFMM uIFTBJEi*WFHPU a great partner in Aline (Ross) and she’s always ‘up’ all the time. We have more to do, so we’re not really confined. We keep busy, BOEUIBUTXIBUIFMQTLFFQUIFNPSBMFVQu Besides keeping busy, Desjardins has one other piece of advice for everyone to help themselves to cope with the worry and stress of the pandemic. “Take a walk outside. The sunshine can QFSLVQBOZCPEZu
Projet du complexe récréatif – Consultations publiques virtuelles La Municipalité de Russell et le consultant du projet organisent deux consultations publiques virtuelles. Les liens pour participer se trouveront au fr.Russell.ca/ComplexeRecreatif. Les dates, les heures et les langues des réunions sont indiquées ci-dessous. • Anglais : mercredi 3 mars 2021 à 18 h 30. • Français : mercredi 10 mars 2021 à 18 h 30. Pour les détails du projet et d’autres opportunités d’engagement public, visitez le fr.Russell.ca/ComplexeRecreatif fr.Russell.ca/ComplexeRecreatif
Recreation Complex Project – Online Public Consultations
The Township of Russell and the project consultants are holding two virtual public consultations. Links to participate can be found at Russell.ca/RecreationComplex.
Meeting dates, times and languages are listed below. • English: Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. • French: Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at 6:30 p.m.
For details about the project and other public engagement opportunities, visit Russell.ca/RecreationComplex Russell.ca/RecreationComplex
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