Addington Highlands seeks provincial relief for ice storm At Monday night’s council meeting, Stephen Seller and Warren Sleeth from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (OMMAH) discussed the possibility of the township applying to the ministry for financial relief in coping with the aftermath of an ice storm that hit the region on Boxing Day. The storm caused power outages that lasted for several days in some parts of the township, but it is tree damage and the need to clear roads that is costing the township heavily. Last week, Stephen Seller and Warren Sleeth toured the roads with Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath to assess the damage and advise the township whether it might qualify for funding under the Ontario Disaster Relief and Assistance…

The Land o' Lakes Tourist Association (LOLTA) is concerned about a potential $20,000 shortfall in their budget after 2011, based on a work plan from the Lennox and Addington Economic Development department As part of a three-year work plan, the department is proposing that L&A County “assess the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association partnership” as one of its strategies for promoting tourism. This proposal will be discussed at a committee meeting in Napanee tonight (January 7) along with other facets of the three-year work plan. This raised alarm bells for LOLTA general manager Ken Hook. “LOLTA is funded through member fees, municipal support, and provincial grants,” Hook said at a meeting of Addington Highlands Council on Monday, January 4, “and the $20,000 from Lennox and Addington…

The Physical Education classes at North Addington Education Centre were on wheels last week.  Mrs. Sarah Sproule, a secondary physical education teacher, arranged for the unique opportunity by organizing the rental of 10 wheelchairs for classes to experience sports and life from a different perspective. Throughout the week, grade 8-12 students had a chance to play basketball, dodge ball and navigate through a variety of obstacle courses. Outside of the gym, students attempted to maintain their regular activities within the school while using the chairs: "Getting a drink wasn't hard, it was impossible" said Sarah Connell.  "Navigating the hallways during break was difficult” noted Courtney Dacuk.  By the end of the week, the students had multiple blisters, sore arms and shoulders, along with a much…

Lake planning coming to Addington Highlands Rosemary Teed, representing the Skootamatta, Sheldrake and Pringle Lake Management Plan steering committee, made a presentation to Addington Highlands Council on Monday October 5. Other members of the committee that is working on the plan accompanied her, including Terry Murphy, the General Manager of Quinte Conservation. “What a lake plan will do is identify and protect lake characteristics that are valued by our community, promote community discussion, education and action, and recommend land use objectives for the protection and enhancement of the lake,” Teed told council. Pringle Lake is a smaller lake that feeds into Skootamatta Lake by way of Wolf Creek. Sheldrake Lake is located very close to Skootamatta, and water quality and development issues are shared by…

It’s not likely that all meetings of Addington Highlands Council in 2009 will be over in less than half an hour, but the first one of the year clocked in at only 20 minutes. The meeting took place on the first real working day of the year and the agenda was limited to receiving correspondence and requests for support from other municipalities, paying some bills, and receiving a report from road superintendent Royce Rosenblath. The main road issue that Rosenblath talked about was actually a bridge issue. The Flinton bridge is being rebuilt, and the old bridge has been removed, but the company doing the work has been delayed because water levels were up too high after the post-Christmas thaw. “We are hoping the water…