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&/#3&'r#3*&'4 OLD CO-OP DEMOLITION East Hawkesbury Township council approved a contract for demolition of the old Co-Op building at 1161 La- brosse Street. The municipality will set up a fence at the site entrance for the demolition. Council also has directed administration to arrange for asbestos testing of the building located at the lot addresses 1063 and 1065 Labrosse Street. – Gregg Chamberlain POSSIBLE SURPLUS The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) may have a sizeable surplus for the end of its 2019-2020 fiscal year. A preliminary finance report to the board indicates a possible $6.6 million surplus at the end of August before the start of the new school year. The projected surplus is due to savings from the extended school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Final budget review for the 2020-2021 operation year takes place during July as soon as the Education Ministry provides the Grants for Student Needs figure for the UCDSB. – Gregg Chamberlain CAR PARK VANDALS East Hawkesbury Township council has asked the OPP to look into a resident’s complaint about the owners of two vehicles seen in a neighbourhood park on Front Road in late April and early May when the park was closed to the public because of the pandemic. The drivers of the cars were photographed while in the park, during which time they were heard loudly racing the motors of their vehicles and causing their tires to squeal on the paved areas when they left the park. The bylaw department will also increase monitoring of park areas. – Gregg Chamberlain SUMMER LEARNING The Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario (CDSBE0) again offers summer online learning programs for students. Parents of students in Kindergarten to Grade 8 can enroll their children in online home-learning programs to improve their reading and mathematics skills. The CDSBEO also has five new “reach ahead” programs for students who will enter Grade 9 in the next school term. High school-level upgrade programs in math, science, and English are also available, and the CDSBEO is surveying teaching staff at its schools to help determine what other online summer learning programs might be useful for adding to the enhanced student curriculum. – Gregg Chamberlain DIRECTOR’S AWARD The Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) announced its annual Director’s Award of Merit nominees. Included among the six nominees are Rebecca MacLeod, a teacher with TR Leger continuing adult education program at the Alexandria campus, and Kim Cook, an office assistant with the TR Leger STEP Program. The Director’s Award recognizes UCDSB employees who contribute to a positive, productive and caring work environment. – Gregg Chamberlain
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Masking up in public became mandatory in Eastern Ontario this week. “We’ve been getting a lot of requests,” said Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, chief medical officer for the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU). “I do believe that masks are warranted.” During a July 6 media teleconference, Dr. Roumeliotis, along with Dr. Paula Stewart for the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Health Unit (LGLHU), Dr. Robert Cushman for Renfrew County and District Health Unit (RCDHU), and Dr. Vera Etches of the Ottawa Public Health Unit (OPHU) explained their joint decision for a mandatory masking policy for all of Eastern Ontario. The decision was sparked by recent out- breaks of COVID-19 in Kingston, Windsor, and Toronto at public beaches and various businesses that reopened to the public as part of Phase Two of Ontario’s economic restart plan to begin the provincial recovery from the pandemic. “It is important to note that the pandemic is not over,” said Dr. Roumeliotis. All four health units are invoking a direc- tive under the authority of the provincial Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCP). The mandatory masking directive applies just to the interior of public buildings, busi- nesses, and to public common areas like the inside of transit buses or cabs, or hotel foyers. The EOHU’s directive took effect July 7, and there is a one-week grace period for those whose operations fall under the directive to prepare themselves. Preparation means developing a policy for telling clients and customers about the mandatory mas- king order, making sure staff understand the order and are trained in explaining it to the public, and posting signage in pro- minent locations telling people that masking up inside a business or public building is mandatory. Local police, municipal bylaw officers,
Mandatory masking is the rule now for Eastern Ontario. All of the region’s health units are issuing directives under the authority of the provincial public health emergency legislation to make masking up mandatory for anyone inside of a public building or a private business. —stock photo
or public health inspectors will enforce the directive when necessary. EMCP guidelines will apply for penalties. The City of Ottawa will approve a masking bylaw July 15, which will give its bylaw officers authority to issue warning tickets. But it is not necessary for any of Eastern Ontario’s other 17 municipalities to approve similar bylaws as the EMCP already supports the directive. Detailed information on the mas- king directive, including possible exemptions, is available on each regional health unit’s website.
economic restart plan continues. All health unit officials stated that mandatory masking, along with maintaining social distancing and proper hygiene, will help reduce the risk or severity of a “second wave” of infection as businesses continue to reopen and restrictions relax on crowd sizes for social gatherings.
The overall goal of the directive is to maintain public health protection against new COVID-19 outbreaks as the provincial “We want to send a message that we are protecting each other,” Dr. Roumeliotis said. “There is scientific evidence that wearing a mask is an effective way of preventing the spread of COVID-19, and it’s another measure we are adding to our arsenal as we get ready for stage three of reopening and for back-to-school in the fall.” 3"#*&47"$$*/&#"*5*/(1-"/#&(*/4*/0/5"3*0
EAP NEWSROOM news@eap.on.ca
The provincial government will do air- drops of special bait containing rabies vaccine in parts of eastern and southern Ontario. Right now the rabies vaccine baiting pro- gram is limited to the City of Cornwall and to the Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry portion of the Five Counties region though it may be extended to other parts of Eastern Ontario if the need arises. All of southern Ontario is included as part of the program. The aim of the program is to reduce the risk of rabies developing in local wildlife, which are most susceptible to the disease. That includes skunks, raccoons, and foxes. The program features a combination of airdrop of vaccine-treated bait over most rural areas and placement by hand in urban areas in locations where the animals might be foraging. The bait is khaki-green in colour, stamped
If it’s small and green and smells like marshmallow, it may be the anti-rabies vaccine bait that the Ministry of Natural Resources is dropping by air over part of the rural area of Eastern Ontario this summer to reduce the risk of rabies developing in skunks, raccoons, and foxes. Be sure to keep children or pets who find the treated bait from eating it. —supplied photo
with a text warning identifying it as rabies vaccine bait, and smells like marshmallow to attract animals. Embedded in the bait is a plastic package containing the anti-rabies vaccine.
Residents who are in the wooded or rural areas of SDG for any reason are advised to be careful that children and pets do not find and eat the treated bait. Leave it for skunks, raccoons or foxes to find and eat.
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