| Jun 26, 2008


Feature Article - June 26, 2008

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Feature Article - June 26, 2008 Seniors of the Year in Central FrontenacBy Jeff Green

Doreen Turcotte, Mary Howes, Cntral Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski, and Jim &Liz Scott

The Seniors of the Year in Central Frontenac were celebrated at a lunch on June 24 at the Oso Hall, after the township’s regular June meeting.

Jim and Liz Scott (Kennebec), Doreen Grant Turcotte, (Olden), Bob Lutz (Oso) and Mary Howes (Hinchinbrooke) were the four recipients for 2008.

Jim and Liz Scott were named because they each have carved out extensive volunteer commitments that have had an impact throughout the township.

Liz does Meals on Wheels and was part of the seniors consultation to the Local Health Integration Network in the development of their Aging at Home strategy. She is also active in the North Frontenac Food Bank, and perhaps her largest volunteer commitment is as warden of St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Sharbot Lake.

Her commitment has been publicly visible over the past few weeks, particularly during those hot early June days when she was supervising a volunteer crew who were working on removing the parge on the church’s foundation and re-pointing.

Jim Scott has chaired just about every committee for the Northern Frontenac Community Services Board since joining the board in the fall of 2001. He has served several terms as Board Vice-Chair, and is currently the Chair of the board of the agency, which is active in providing services for children, youth, adults and seniors.

Doreen Grant Turcotte was born on the McLean Road and was educated at Sharbot Lake High School. After school, she moved on to Kingston, then Toronto and Ottawa, before returning to Mountain Grove in the early 1990s. Since then, she has been active with the Land O’Lakes Seniors and at the Mountain Grove United Church, where she is a trustee.

“I would like to thank this fantastic community for this,” she said on receiving her award. “Everybody works together here which is why it is a great place.”

Bob Lutz (Oso) did not attend the ceremony, which is not unusual for him, as he dos not like to draw attention to himself, or the work that he does. He has been a long time volunteer at Northern Frontenac Community Services, playing a central role in fundraising activities when he was a board member at the agency.

Currently he is an indispensable driver for the Rural Routes Transportation Service, one of a few who are happy to drive children.

Mary Howes (Hinchinbrooke) was born at Tichborne but has lived most of her life in Parham, where she has raised 5 children. She now has 12 grandchildren. She worked at Sharbot Lake High School until her retirement. As a volunteer, Mary is a member of the Parham Happy Travelers and now sits on the Hinchinbrooke Recreation Committee. She is best known for her activities with the Canadian Cancer Society, for which she has volunteered for 35 years. She was particularly active in the door-to-door canvassing campaign over the years, supervising crews that raised many thousands of dollars.

In receiving the award, Mary said she does not consider she is “worthy of this as compared to all of the people who are in ill health but still volunteer. I’ve been lucky enough to be healthy so it is easy for me to volunteer.”

After the ceremony, members of the Arden Glee Club provided musical entertainment and a lunch was served.

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