In an effort to get the message about the dangers of drug use out early to students who will soon to be entering high school, members of the OPP's Frontenac detachment have been visiting area schools.

In a presentation to grade 7/8 students at Land O'Lakes Public School on February 5, Frontenac Community Services Officer, Constable Roop Sandhu, spoke to students about the dangers that alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs can pose for both youth and adults alike. These substances have highly addictive qualities and Constable Sandhu outlined how overuse and/or non-prescribed use of them can lead to illness, addiction and in some cases even death.

He spoke of the legal consequences when minors become involved with these substances and how their unlawful use under the Criminal Code can lead to criminal charges, jail sentences and even a life-long criminal record. Sandhu also covered the subject of mixing highly caffeinated drugs with alcohol, which can pose dangerous health risks. He spoke of how the use of these substances can negatively affect one’s life physically, socially, emotionally and financially - of how it can be devastating to a student’s academic performance, their future outcomes and their families.

Constable Sandhu ended his section of the presentation by advising how students should react when presented with any of these substances. He stressed that non-use is the best choice, especially if the students do not know what the substances are or where they came from. He also advised students to never accept a drink from a stranger, and to immediately seek adult assistance if they should accidentally ingest a dangerous substance.

He suggested many healthier ways that youngsters can spend their time, either by taking up a hobby, joining a sports team, participating in other extra-curricular activities, volunteering in the community, or spending more time with family.

The second half of the presentation focused specifically on illegal drugs, and Constable Snider, a drug enforcement OPP officer with Frontenac County, spoke to students about the consequences of using and/or dealing in illegal drugs. He described the various categories of these drugs, which include cannabis, opiates, barbiturates, hallucinogens, and steroids. He outlined the laws and consequences related to using, possessing, trafficking in, or manufacturing these substances. He stressed that today’s high potency cannabis can have serious adverse health affects. A six-year study published in the British Journal of Medicine in 2014 showed that daily cannabis users are five times more likely to suffer from psychosis than those who have never used it. He warned students that though the current federal government is looking to legalize marijuana, for now it is still illegal. He spoke of the many new and altered forms of street drugs that are constantly emerging and how they are being manufactured specifically to avoid detection by law enforcement and to appeal to youth. Synthetic cannabinoids, for example, are often sold under various names to avoid detection

Constable Snider spoke of horrible physical effects that Krokodil, a potent morphine derivative known as the “drug of the poor”, can cause. To help bring his point home he recalled a poem written by a young crystal meth addict while she was spending time in jail. The last lines of the poem concluded with this dire warning:

“If you try me be warned - this is no game,
If given the chance, I'll drive you insane.
I'll ravish your body, I'll control your mind,
I’ll own you completely; your soul will be mine.”

Following the presentation, Constable Sandhu said, “Young people need to be able to determine the fact from the fiction around these substances. Sometimes they are getting information from others that is simply not true and often downright wrong. These young kids have enough to deal with when entering high school, which is enough of a challenge to them, and they need to know well in advance of that time that drugs are just not the way to go.” Schools interested in a presentation can contact Constable Sandhu at 613-372-1932 ext.6955

Carl Foster, 69, whose family described him as a man who loved to hunt and fish, was traversing Inverary Lake in South Frontenac in a Kubota covered 4-wheeler on January 23 when he hit a soft spot in the ice and his vehicle went through. His fishing companion, who was following him in his own vehicle, tried to pull him out, but also went into the icy water. He was able to get out. The OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit attended the scene and located Foster's body. OPP officials said that there was a strong current at that part of the lake, which made the ice thin and hindered the search and recovery as well.

Roop Sandhu, of the Frontenac OPP detachment, said that residents are advised to exercise caution when traveling on lake ice at all times.

“We don't provide assessments of the ice thickness on specific lakes, however, since it is not within our mandate,” said Sandhu.

Both the Mississippi (MVCA) and Rideau Valley Conservation Authorities (RVCA) have issued warnings about unstable ice conditions on lakes within their respective watersheds.

This week, the RVCA issued a blanket statement covering all lakes and streams in the Rideau system: “Water levels on lakes and flows in watercourses are close to normal for the time of year. However, as conditions change through this thaw period, water levels will increase, and ice on lakes, ditches, local streams and rivers that had just begun to form will become more unstable, posing potential safety risks. Caution should be exercised by everyone when near local streams and rivers.”

The statement from MVCA focused on lakes within the main river system.

“Ice that has just recently formed may be affected by changing flows, especially on the main river systems (Mississippi River including Kashwakamak Lake, Farm Lake, Crotch Lake, Dalhousie Lake and Mississippi Lake, Clyde River including Kerr Lake, Fall River including Bennett Lake and the Carp River) ...Residents on Dalhousie and Mississippi Lakes can expect higher than normal water levels for the next few weeks as increased flows in the upper watershed make their way through the system.

Residents are strongly urged to stay off all ice-covered water bodies as currents can change ice thicknesses drastically. Parents are urged to remind children about the dangers of playing on or near ice-covered surfaces or fast flowing water in ditches and smaller creeks. Hypothermia is a major concern for anyone playing in areas where they could potentially fall into open water.”

As part of his efforts on behalf of the Rural Mayor's Forum of Eastern Ontario (RMFEO), North Frontenac mayor, Ron Higgins, has been looking at some of the details in the OPP billing model.

North Frontenac is one the biggest losers under the new billing model, as their policing costs are to go from less than $250,000 in 2015 to over $1 million by 2020, and several details are among the issues of concern to the township. The largest cost factor for the township is the fact that seasonal residents are billed the same as permanent residents, but there are some other details that affect all municipalities.

For example, a shopping mall is billed the same amount as a private home - $250 to $300 (or more) depending on the crime rate within the municipality.

However, if a private home also functions as a retail outlet, it is billed for twice.

As well, cell towers are billed at the rate of a private home, and it turns out that wind turbines are as well.

Frontenac Islands is the only township in Frontenac County that has wind turbines within its boundaries. The 86 turbines on the island can generate up to 197 megawatts of power, making them the second largest wind installation in Canada, measured in wattage.

At a meeting of Frontenac County Council last week, Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle said that he had been surprised when he saw the OPP billing for 2016, which arrived in December.

“We were dumbfounded by how high the bill was. When our staff looked at it we saw that we were billed for the turbines as well as the residential and commercial properties,” said Doyle.

Not only was Higgins interested in what Doyle had to say because he has been working on the OPP costing issue in his role with the RMFEO, he also may be looking at an added cost in North Frontenac.

The township was approached last year, as part of the latest Large Renewable Procurement for the Independent Energy Service Operator of Ontario, by a company, NextEra, that is hoping to put up 40 to 50 turbines in North Frontenac and create 100 MW of power.

The township has taken a stand against the proposal, which resulted in NextEra pulling an offer of an annual cash payment to the township. However, the township might still see a cost of $10,000 to $15,000 each year in added policing costs if the project ends up proceeding without municipal support.

Lanark Frontenac Kingston MPP Randy Hillier has been critical of the OPP funding model. He said it is unfair to rural municipalities.

"What is new to everybody is when you actually dig into the minutiae of these policing contracts," Hillier said. "This foolishness exposes the unjustifiable and often contradictory elements of this funding model."

In responding to media reports about the charges for wind turbines, OPP superintendent Marc Bedard of the Municipal Policing Bureau, took a step back from the issue, saying it is not a matter that comes from them but from the way properties are assessed by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC)

He said, in a letter to the Whig Standard, “Municipal policing invoices are comprised of household, commercial and industrial properties. The OPP will update the property counts annually based on MPAC data.”

Bedard also presented an alternate calculation of the amount Frontenac Islands is being billed for turbines.

“Frontenac Islands' base cost for turbines actually decreased from 2015 ($12,231) to 2016 ($11,970).”

In response to a request from North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender has produced a report into alternatives to OPP policing for Frontenac municipalities.

At the end of his 15-page report, Pender recommended not spending any more time or money looking into the matter.

“Our recommendation is that this report be received without further action …” reads the concluding sentence.

He said earlier in the report that Council could consider sending an “Expression of Interest” to both the City of Kingston and City of Ottawa police forces to see if either or both are interested in bidding on the service. However, he also advised that if either of them were interested, the County would need to conduct a study to look at all factors related to changing from the OPP to a neighboring municipal force.

That study would cost in the order of $20,000 in Pender's estimation, based on how much the City of Perth spent when they conducted a similar analysis in 2013, and Pender does not see any real benefit to spending that kind of money. All the information he was able to gather indicates that the cost of policing would go up substantially under a municipal force.

After conducting their own analysis, the City of Perth disbanded their own force and opted for a policing contract with the OPP, which brought savings to Perth in the order of $900,000 per year.

Pender also pointed out that municipal forces can only expand their service footprint in a contiguous manner, so in order for North Frontenac, for example, to make use of City of Kingston policing, both Central and South Frontenac would need to do the same,

Earlier in the report, Pender dismissed the idea of establishing an independent Frontenac County Police Force. “…There are significant barriers to entry,” he wrote, “including facilities, vehicles/equipment and communications. No attempt has been made to quantify those costs. Given start-up costs, the option to have a 'Frontenac Police Service' is not likely to be feasible.”

Pender concludes that the best option for Frontenac County is to work through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario to “influence the reform of policing of Ontario in order to address increased costs to rural municipalities such as the four Frontenac Townships.

The context for Pender's look at this issue is a significant increase in policing costs in all four townships that came from a provincially mandated change in municipal funding for the OPP.

The new system was designed to make the funding system clear, when it had been anything but beforehand. It has resulted in large increases for rural and remote townships and decreases for towns such as Perth, Gananoque, and Smiths Falls.

The system is being phased in until 2019, by which time all Frontenac Townships will have seen major increases. The total bill for Frontenac ratepayers will have risen from $3.7 million in 2014, the year before the phase in, to $5.6 million, an increase of almost almost 50%. The raise in North Frontenac is the most dramatic, from $227,976 in 2014 to $845,817 in 2019.

Even then, North Frontenac ratepayers will be paying the lowest per household among Frontenac municipalities, at $203 per household. Central and South Frontenac ratepayers will both be paying around $300 per household at that time.

One of the issues of concern to North Frontenac is the fact that the new funding model considers all households in the same manner, not accounting for the fact that the majority of households in North Frontenac are seasonal residents, who are also paying policing costs where they reside for most of the year, and for the most part only require policing in North Frontenac in the summer months.

Recently the Frontenac OPP, which is housed in Hartington, took over responsibility for the Sharbot Lake detachment, which serves Central and North Frontenac. Historically, Sharbot Lake had been a satellite of the Lanark Detachment.

Detectives with the Napanee detachment of the OPP are seeking the public’s assistance following two separate suspicious fires in Enterprise. On July 12, at 12:30am OPP were notified of a fire at 1583 Lake Road in Enterprise. The building, located on the west side of Lake Road, is a commercial building that had been unoccupied for several years. The Stone Mills Fire Department attended the scene and extinguished the fire. Very little damage was done to the building. The office of the Fire Marshal was contacted.

On July 22, at 1:20am the OPP responded to a second structure fire at the same abandoned building. The Stone Mills Fire Department attended the scene. However, the building was fully engulfed in flames and totally destroyed by fire.

Anyone who has information relating to these suspicious fires is asked to contact Napanee OPP Detective Dave Peterson or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report anonymously online at tipsubmit.com.

Detachment commander explains operational changes – not costs

“There isn't much that I can do about the cost of policing, except come here and be a messenger,” said Inspector Patrick Finnegan, the Detachment Commander of the Napanee Detachment (with responsibility for the Kaladar satellite detachment) to Addington Highlands Council at a meeting on Tuesday, April 7.

“I guess that's why you carry ...” said Councilor Bill Cox.

“Right, that's why I carry a gun,” said Finnegan.

Staff Sergeant Greg MacLellan accompanied Finnegan to the meeting, which came about in response to a letter from Reeve Hogg that raised issues about the status of the Kaladar detachment.

Finnegan confirmed that the administrative position at Kaladar has been transferred to Napanee, and that there is no longer a sergeant (community officer) assigned to Kaladar.

He explained both decisions.

In the case of the administrative/clerk position, he said that although it was good public relations to have the office open to the public, there were fewer than 10 visits from the public per week, and the most sought after service, criminal record checks, is about to be outsourced to a private company and will no longer be handled by the OPP.

As well, as the result of some high profile events last year, particularly the attacks on Parliament Hill, the OPP has instituted new policies about security at police detachment offices.

“The buildings are to be closed to the public unless there is an armed officer in attendance,” said Finnegan, “so if a clerk was housed in Kaladar they would not be able to serve the public 80% of the time, while officers are out in the field.”

The advantages of moving the position to the Napanee headquarters to join with other administrative staff are numerous in terms of efficiency, Finnegan added.

So when the long-serving staff member at Kaladar retired, the position was moved.

“Until the background check system changes, we are working with the township to see if at least the intake can be done here at the township office,” he added.

As far as a sergeant being assigned to head the Kaladar detachment, Finnegan said it was a good idea in principle, but never worked that well in practice. By utilising the sergeants under his command throughout the range of the Napanee detachment, which Finnegan said will likely have a name change to the L&A Detachment in the near future, he said he would be able to have two sergeants working at all times, which would improve supervision across the entire detachment. In the end this will bring benefits to Addington Highlands.

“We will be able to send a sergeant to Addington Highlands to oversee our efforts in serious cases, such as a sudden death or a domestic assault, no matter when the call comes in,” he said.

New technology that is coming in, including GPS technology which will track the location of OPP vehicles at all times, is intended to bring in a “service that is not confined by any boundaries” he said. “The closest office to a call will be sent to that call.”

The Kaladar detachment will continue to be staffed by officers who will report to Kaladar at the beginning of their shift, as always.

“Policing a large, sparsely populated area is different from policing a smaller, densely populated area, and we are working on doing both well. If there are issues that come up, I encourage the reeve and council to contact me immediately so I can address them,” he concluded.

URCA Housing

Linda Hume, the long-serving board chair of URCA Housing, a not-for-profit corporation based in Flinton, came to Council this week for two reasons. One was to seek a bit of support from the township, and, as part of a campaign to raise the profile of the organization, the second reason was to make sure the new Council is aware of what URCA does and how it operates.

The first thing that she did was to explain URCA's name.

URCA was formed in the late 1980s to address a need for rent-geared-to-income housing for senior citizens. In order to be eligible for government funding the organisation needed a community-based organization to sponsor a building project.

“The organization in Flinton that sponsored us were the three churches. That is where we got our name ... U for the United Church, RC for Roman Catholic and A for Anglican,” she said.

URCA was also required to build rent-geared-to- income units for families as well as the seniors' units, and that is why they operate eight seniors' apartments and eight family units.

The good news about URCA's operations was delivered by Larry Pick, the part-time property manager who oversees the buildings. Between the rent paid by tenants and the limited operating dollars they receive, URCA has been able to maintain a small operating surplus and has a limited amount of money in reserves for capital needs.

“We have put new roofs on the buildings in recent years and have replaced about half the furnaces,” said Pick.

The less good news, according the Linda Hume, is that the public profile of URCA is low, as is community support, and it is difficult to maintain a board of directors.

“A number of our board members have served for a long time and would like to retire from the board, but if we cannot get new people on the board we may have to make some major decisions,” she said.

To have the URCA properties run by a service manager out of Napanee would make it "harder to maintain the 'curb appeal' and would be more difficult to manage," Hume said.

She asked Council to help URCA generate more interest in the community. She then made two requests. First she asked if Council could pass on information that comes to the township about social and affordable housing, including information about grants. Secondly she asked for the use of the basement of the township hall for the URCA Annual General Meeting in June, rent free.

Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch said that since she is now sitting on the housing committee at the County she would make sure the URCA Board is aware of what is happening on that level. Council also approved the use of the township hall for free for the URCA Annual General Meeting.

Isaacs hits a nerve

Paul Isaacs delivered a submission to Council that was sparked by a meeting with a senior in the township who is facing a particularly difficult time making ends meet, a situation that is made more worse by the fact that the man and his wife are not “in the best of health” in Isaacs' words, and they had to deal with frozen pipes this winter.

“Council has an obligation to provide public presence to address these difficulties, whatever they may be, of its constituents,” Isaacs said.

But it was in the final paragraph of his submission, where he said “Council has no initiatives in place with respect to seniors. Council is showing no interest at all in its most vulnerable constituents” that Isaacs sparked a response from Councilor Tony Fritsch.

“I don't agree with that statement at all,” said Fritsch. “Not only do we make our halls available for seniors programming for free, we support Land O'Lakes Community Services with an annual grant; we support the Family health Team both in Northbrook and in Denbigh. Our fire chief keeps a list of vulnerable people in the township, so we know who to check in with first in case of an emergency. To say we 'show no interest' in vulnerable people is unfair.”

Reeve Hogg said the township's budget is always tight and if taxes were raised it would hit the vulnerable population the most.

“I'm not sure what you expect us to do,” he said to Isaacs.

“It could be a simple as writing a letter,” Isaacs responded.

“Who should we write a letter to?” asked Hogg.

“Ok, here is an example. Statistics Canada does not count food or fuel costs when they calculate inflation, but those are the costs that hit seniors on fixed incomes that only increase by the rate of inflation the most. You could write a letter to Statistics Canada.”

(Editor's note – a search of the Statistics Canada website indicated that food and heating costs, including electricity, propane and fuel, are included in the “basket of goods and services" used to calculate increases in the Consumer Price Index.)

Public meeting tonight re proposed wind project

A public meeting is set for tonight, April 9, at the Community Hall in Denbigh at 6:30 pm, to discuss a proposed wind project. Members of Council will be in attendance to hear public comment, and a representative from the proponent, NextEra Energy, will be on hand as well.

Staff at the Frontenac OPP detachment in Hartington launched their annual Festive RIDE (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere) program on November 24 and set up an inaugural RIDE stop in Harrowsmith to make drivers aware of the importance of driving sober and safe during the upcoming holiday season.

The program takes place across the province and on November 24 three staff members from the Frontenac OPP detachment in Hartington, Sergeant Jean James, and Constables Buff Chadwick and Roop Sandhu were pulling over drivers in front of St. Patrick's Catholic school in Harrowsmith for the first day of the drive, which will continue until January 2, 2015.

Staff Sergeant Sharron Brown, who spoke with press at the Hartington detachment, highlighted the aims of the program, which are primarily to focus on impaired driving but also to discourage and penalize aggressive and distracted drivers as well as those violating seat belt laws.

Sgt. Brown said that while impaired driving is down 40% from this same time last year, she believes that one impaired driver on the road is one too many. “It's heartening to see that people are getting the message that the only way to drive is to drive sober.” Community Services Officer, Constable Roop Sandhu, shared some statistics that show the fatalities resulting from impaired driving in Ontario were down from 72 in 2013 to 42 in 2014. Similarly, as of September 2014 a total of 5685 impaired driving charges were laid as compared to 6848 in that same period in 2013, a drop of 17 per cent.

While the number show improvements Sgt. Brown said that the best way to drive safe is to have a plan in place. “We at the Frontenac OPP wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and for that to happen people need to ensure that they have a plan in place before they engage in any activities that may affect their ability to drive. They should arrange either to have a designated driver, plan to take a taxi or else make plans to stay the night,” she said. She also stressed the fact that "No amount of alcohol or drugs are a safe amount when it comes to operating a motor vehicle.”

Drivers who are found to be impaired at any of the RIDE stops, which will be taking place anywhere and at any hour, will be charged with a criminal offense and depending on the seriousness of the offense, will lose their license for a minimum of one year upon conviction. Sgt. Brown said that there have been numerous fatalities as a result of impaired driving during her 26 years on the force and she spoke of the huge ramifications of a serious accident. “In accidents that are the result of impaired driving, it is never just one single person who is involved and it is never an easy thing to have notify family members that one of their loved ones has been involved in this kind of an accident. Our goal through the Festive RIDE program is to make sure that everyone reaches their destinations safely during this holiday season.”

It might be difficult to find an unlocked car in Central Frontenac this week, certainly on major roads.

Sometime overnight on Saturday night, Nov. 15, thieves rifled through cars parked on the road and in driveways all through Tichborne, opening unlocked doors, unlocking trunks from inside and rifling through to grab whatever of value they could find - cash, credit cards, cameras, etc.

Reports suggest that the same thing happened in other communities, including Mountain Grove, Arden, and Tamworth. The Ontario Provincial Police have been investigating, but because of some sensitive items that have been reported stolen, they have not yet put out a media release confirming the number of victims and their locations.

One resident of Tichborne said, “We keep - that is, kept - our car door unlocked, leaving the key inside. I guess that's because we trust our neighbours,” adding that they only lost some loose change and an empty computer case from their car. “But it does make you feel uneasy to think someone would go through your car right at your house while you are asleep just inside the walls.”

More information will be released as it comes in.