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Senior cyclist rolls through Rockland on way home “We went through all these small villages, touring around with the (health) unit until we got to Winnipeg,” Godin said. “From Winnipeg, I’ve been on my own.” Alone on the road at least until he reached Eastern Ontario. Then his daughter, Sylvie, took some leave time to follow as vehicle support. For Godin, cycling across Canada is a “bucket list” item. “This has been a dream for the last 10 years. This year, I decided to do it. First time my dream came true.” GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
Rockland | What is someone to do when they reach the official retirement age of 65? Maurice Godin de- cided to cycle across Canada. “I’ve got 5000 kilometres now on the bike, and anoth- er 1000 kilometres to get home,” Godin said, grinning, during a “pit stop” stay in Rockland to visit with family. May 10, the New Brunswick retiree rolled out of the Greater Vancouver Regional District area (GVRD), with his friend, Serge Dumas, for company. “We dipped our back wheels in the Pacific,” Godin said, adding that he expected to arrive home by mid- July at the latest. Godin and Dumas scaled the mountain highway pass- es of B.C. and raced across the Prairie flatlands as far as Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. There Dumas turned aside but Godin picked up some more company when he re- ceived an invitation to join up with a group of cyclists representing le Conseil communautaire en santé du Manitoba. They were promoting regional health servic- es for the francophone minority in the Prairies and felt that Godin and his cross-Canada odyssey would make a great example.
It is not the first long-distance cycling jaunt for Godin, though it is the longest he has ever attempted. He has always been a cyclist, going on Grand Tours of Québec with his wife several times in the past few years. Those averaged from 700 to 800 kilometres each. Plus there is all the cycling he used to do before he retired. “I was a pig farmer for 40 years,” he said. “Usually, in the summer, I would do 1500 (kilometres) over the sea- son.” Over the weeks since leaving B.C., he averaged 100 to 110 kilometres a day, with a few 200K days when he had trouble finding a suitable camp site before evening fell. He replaced one back wheel and tire on his bike and enjoyed two extra health benefits. “When I started, I had one sore hip from the arthritis, but it hasn’t been bothering me now. I’ve also lost 10 pounds, and yet I eat and eat and eat. My wife is happy about that.” A $200 pledge to the boardwalk maintenance fund entitles the donor to have their names inscribed on boards that make up the boardwalk. The boardwalk route will pass through three distinct habitat areas of the Leitrim wetland: marsh, mature cedar swamp, and a portion of the calcareous fen that makes up the wetland. The fen portion is classed as rare in the Ottawa region. The 324-hectare Leitrim wetland is home to 500 plant species, including the insect-eating pitcher plant, along with ancient cedars, hemlock, white pine and larches that provide habitat for 90 species of resident birds and another 40 migratory species. The old-growth for- est section is a nesting ground for Great blue heron, and red-shouldered hawk and short-eared owl, both classed as species at risk in Ontario, make a home in the Leitrim wetland. More information on the Leitrim wetland boardwalk project, and how to pledge donations for it, is avail- able from SNC representative Josée Brizard, toll-free at 1-877-984-2948, extension 231. Whooping cough, or pertussis, is a contagious dis- ease spread through coughing or sneezing. The most severe symptom is a severe coughing fit that, if pro- longed, make it difficult for the sick person to breathe or eat or drink. Ontario’s public immunization program includes the vaccine that deals with pertussis bacteria. Children should receive their full series of the vaccine, along with a booster shot during their teen years, to provide protection into adulthood. Adults who are in regular or frequent contact with children, should make sure their immunization is up to date. Infants who contract per- tussis may be at risk of pneumonia, brain damage, and/ or seizures as a result of the coughing fit.s Phone the family doctor or nearest public health unit for immunization information.
SNC supervises boardwalk project in Leitrim wetlands regular inspections on a week-by-week basis.
VISION@EAP.ON.CA PRESCOTT-RUSSELL
Findlay Creek | Summer student work crews are in- volved in building a boardwalk through the Leitrim wetland area adjacent to Findlay Creek. The South Nation Conservation Authority (SNC) and developers Tartan and Tamarack Homes are partners on a 1000-foot cedar boardwalk project through the wet- land which borders the Findlay Creek Village residential development. The developer group is providing $200 for every house hold in the residential project for a fund that will provide for stewardship and educational activ- ities within the wetland area. SNC is also looking into other funding sources for future maintenance needs for the boardwalk. Total cost estimate for the boardwalk project is $100,000. The completed structure should last for be- tween 15 to 20 years with proper upkeep. SNC staff do
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Update whooping cough vaccinations ince, to urge residents to update their pertussis inocu- lations. Since November last year there were 240 con- firmed cases of whooping cough in Ontario. VISION@EAP.ON.CA PRESCOTT-RUSSELL
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Eastern Ontario | Ontario’s chief medical health of- ficer wants everyone to make sure they have their shots against whooping cough. Recent outbreaks of pertussis, also known as whoop- ing cough, in Southwestern Ontario has prompted Dr. Arlene King, chief medical officer of health for the prov-
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