A C T U A L I T É S • N E W S
EN BREF • BRIEFS POLITICAL PARITY SUPPORT Hawkesbury council approved a resolution for a $1000 donation to the project, Towards Political Parity in Pres- cott-Russell. The non-partisan group seeks to promote leadership opportu- nities for women in local politics and to encourage more women to run for municipal office. Council also approved a recommendation to provide a link on the Hawkesbury municipal website to group’s own website.– Gregg Chamberlain PARENT SURVEY REPORT The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) reviewed results of a parent survey done during December to get feedback on results of its back-to-school initiative and COVID-19 protection protocols. Overall response from parents taking part in the survey was support for the protocols and “a high level of appreciation” for staff efforts during in-person and online classroom sessions. – Gregg Chamberlain UCDSB GRADUATION RATE The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) is getting closer to meeting its goal of a 90 per cent graduation rate. A four-year summary report presented during the UCDSB January 13 board meeting noted that the overall graduation rate has risen from 73.4 per cent in 2017 to 86.2 per cent for 2020. – Gregg Chamberlain
LONG-AWAITED VACCINE ROLLOUT STARTS
STEPHEN JEFFERY stephen.jeffery@eap.on.ca
Almost 500 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered in the area served by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) in the first day of vaccinations. Danielle Houle, at Foyer St-Jacques Nursing Home in Embrun, was one of the first long-term care residents to receive the vaccine. Clinics were set up in Embrun and Cornwall as the first doses of the Pfizer- BioNTech vaccine arrived in the region on Wednesday. Champlain Long Term Care Residence in L’Orignal also received the vaccine on the first day of its rollout in Prescott and Russell. About 490 doses were administered in the first 24 hours of the vaccine’s arrival in the area. Paramedics and EOHU staff helped transport and administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. Vaccinations would follow at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Plantagenet, Centre d’accueil Roger-Sguin in Clarence Creek, Caressant Care Bourget Nursing Home, Foyer St-Viateur in Limoges, and the Prescott and Russell Residence in Hawkesbury. EOHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said the schedule was based on risk as- sessments, and would be modified if more vaccines became available. The first phase of vaccinations would prioritize residents, staff and essential caregivers at long-term care homes, who were at the greatest risk of being exposed
Près de 500 doses de vaccins COVID-19 ont été administrées dans le secteur desservi par le Bureau de santé de l’est de l’Ontario (BSEO) dès le premier jour de vaccination. De gauche à droite, on reconnait Melanie Mitchell, fille et aide-soignante, Danielle Houle, résidente du Foyer Saint-Jacques, et Ginette Beaudin, administratrice. — photo fournie
to COVID-19 or developing a severe illness from the virus. The area was expected to receive Moderna vaccines to complement the Pfizer shipments in the coming weeks. EOHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis said the arrival of the vaccine was excellent news for the region. He said the rollout would accelerate as more vac- cines became available, but asked residents to continue to follow safety precautions in
the meantime. “The reality is that it will be a number of months before the vaccine is available to everyone who wants it,” Dr. Roumeliotis said. “In the meantime, we are seeing COVID-19 infections rapidly increasing in our area and across the country. We’re slated to receive a tray a week from Pfizer. Our limiting factor is the number of vaccines we receive, not our capacity to do it.”
POLICE INVESTIGATE ONLINE CHILD LURING STEPHEN JEFFERY stephen.jeffery@eap.on.ca
internet, and encourage them to speak up if they received threats online. “While many teens understand the dangers associated with recording and sharing sexual images and videos, they are not as aware of the risks associated with live video feeds,” he said. “With relative ease, anyone can capture a still image or video of a person sexu- ally exposing themselves - all without the other person’s knowledge. The transfer of images and videos between person A and B may be intercepted by people such as pedophiles and other predators who may use the information to intimidate, blackmail or threaten.” Parents and teachers were encouraged to visit websites such as The Door That’s Not Locked at thedoorthatsnotlocked.ca and The Canadian Centre for Child Protection at protectchildren.ca. Both sites provided resources and information about how to protect young people from online predators, sexting, as well as how to promote healthy relationships and appropriate boundaries.
Hawkesbury police have warned par- ents to beware of online sexual exploi- tation targeting young children. The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Hawkesbury detachment said officers were investigating the luring of a child over the internet for sexual purposes. In a state- ment, the OPP said similar reports had been received across the province about children targeted for sexual exploitation via live video feeds. In some of the incidents, the perpetra- tors posed as fellow young people and solicited images or video from underage residents over the internet. The connections started on social media, then moved to live video feeds where the victims engaged in sexual behaviours that the offenders secretly recorded. Provincial Constable Mario Gratton asked parents and caregivers to speak with their teenagers about the risks of abuse over the
Les agents de la police de Hawkesbury enquêtent sur un enfant qui a été leurré en ligne lors d’une tentative d’exploitation sexuelle. — photo tirée d’une banque d’images (Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels)
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