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Eight months after Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) pulled out of its agreement with the City of Kingston to provide homelessness prevention services for Frontenac County, a new provider of the service has finally been confirmed.

“It was a regrettable decision that we had to make to stop offering this service.” said SFCS Executive Director David Townsend in announcing the pullout on July 15 of last year.

“We had no real choice because we could not maintain the proper staffing for the program. It is an important service to the community but we were no longer able to provide it. It was also a drain on our resources as an organisation.”

In September, the City of Kingston set out a request for proposal (RFP) for a new provider to provide the service, but no announcement was made about who the successful bidder was.

Through the process, the News learned that at least three organisations responded to the RFP, which stipulated that the service must be provided to residents of South, Central and North Frontenac.

A bid was submitted by Rural Frontenac Community Services, who had been collaborating with Southern Frontenac Community Services to offer the services in Central and North Frontenac. Another bid was submitted by Home Based Housing, a Kingston agency that provides the service in the city and provided interim services to residents of South Frontenac after SFCS stopped offering the service last summer. A third, and ultimately successful proposal, was submitted by the Salvation Army Kingston Citadel Community and Family Services department.

We are attempting to contact both the Kingston Citadel and the Homelessness Prevention Office of the City of Kingston for information about how the program will operate going forward.

The City of Kingston is the consolidated service manager for social programs in Frontenac County. These include: children’s services, daycare services and subsidy, Ontario Works, not-for-profit housing, and homelessness prevention.

The city set out a 10-year homelessness prevention plan for Kingston and Frontenac County in 2014, and the 5-year review of that plan was completed in 2019.

Surveys to determine the number of people in both the city and county who are either homeless, at risk of homelessness, or living in substandard housing, have been completed every second year in April.

The most recent survey, in 2018, determined that there were 61 homeless people in Frontenac County, using the definition of homelessness provided by the Canadian Observatory of Homelessness, which is “those whose accommodation is temporary or lacks security or tenure”.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

The council meeting began with an acknowledgment of Dr Duncan Sinclair’s appointment to the Order of Canada: Mayor Vandewal presented him with a plaque, and everyone in the room rose, clapping. Dr Sinclair is being honoured for his contributions to the Canadian Health Care system as a teacher, university administrator and advisor, and for his leadership in Ontario Health Care reform.

Dr Sinclair, a long-time resident of Buck Lake, is a familiar figure at community events and served for several years as a member of the Southern Frontenac Community Services’ Board. And yes, his son is Gord Sinclair Jr, the Tragically Hip’s bassist.

In his brief acceptance speech, Sinclair said the appointment had come as “a great surprise: I have a lingering suspicion that some bureaucrat has made an egregious error, and mixed up his files.”

‘Meals Community Champions’ Week Coming Up in March

Joanne Silver, Coordinator of the SFCSC Meals program, said that over 8,000 hot or frozen meals had been served this past year to residents of South Frontenac. The hot meals, now delivered twice a week, are affordable, well-balanced and tasty, and come with the option to also purchase frozen meals. Silver pointed out that there are a lot of intangible benefits too: the meals help lower food costs, are convenient for people who find getting out for food shopping or cooking for one is difficult, and the volunteer drivers are friendly, providing emotional as well as nutritional support.

She invited Council members to come ride with the volunteers March 17 or 19 when they do their rounds. Both Mayor Vandewal and Deputy Mayor Sutherland said they had participated last year, and had enjoyed the experience; ‘The drivers are much more than delivery people.”

Main Street Revitalization Funding

Mark Segsworth, Director of Public Services, showed illustrations of new village entrance signs, street name signs (‘blades’) and benches and planters proposed for the Township. These will be funded by a ‘Main Street Revitalization” grant of over $51,000 from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The Public Services Committee identified the need for updated village entrance signage for certain hamlets and the need for business section directional signage for the village of Sydenham specifically, given that its business core is the only one not located along a major roadway.

Councillor Revill said that North Frontenac had designed its signs to match the County’s signs in shape and colour, and asked whether South Frontenac should do the same. Councillor Ruttan said he was not too keen to align with the County, and CAO Carbone advised caution about aligning with the County before the Township had completed its rebranding exercise. Roberts and Sutherland liked the signs, and there was no objection to approving this use of the funding. Later, when the use of metal benches was questioned on the grounds that they could become uncomfortably hot in the summer, Segsworth said they had been chosen because “they are durable and can withstand skateboards.”

Bylaw Enforcement Contract Extended until April 30

The clerk’s office has said that due to the transitioning of by-law enforcement to the clerks department there is a need to review and identify by-law enforcement needs and implement improved reporting mechanisms prior to simply extending the contract for a longer term or going back out to the marketplace through the Request for Proposal process.

During the 2020 Budget deliberation process, Council heard several references to the need to possibly require more enforcement of by-laws in several areas throughout township departments. Staff are hoping to compile better data in all aspects of Bylaw Enforcement in the coming year so that they can better assess what areas need more resources.

Public Health Offices Withdrawing from Sewage System Inspection

As part of a Ministry of Health decision to modernize and improve Public Health Services, the KFL&A Public health has decided that beginning in 2021, they will withdraw from providing sewage system inspections to municipal governments. In any case, legislative oversight for sewage systems is found in the Ontario Building Code, not the OPHS. They have offered transitional support to local municipalities during the coming year.

Sewage inspection services will be integrated into the township’s building department.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Southern Frontenac Community Services Corp. (SFCSC) has added an additional day of deliveries to their Hot Meals on Wheels program.

The program offers nutritious meals prepared by a professional cook. Each meal includes soup or salad, an entrée and a side, and a dessert at a cost of $7 per meal. The meals are delivered to the doors of residents in South Frontenac Township and rural Kingston around the noon hour on Tuesdays.

Thursdays have now been added to the schedule making it twice a week that those in need can have affordable, nutritious and delicious meals delivered to their door.

Hot Meals on Wheels serves a variety of groups including; seniors, people with physical disabilities and/or cognitive impairments, and individuals suffering from illness or who are convalescing.

Over the last year SFCSC delivered almost 6,000 hot meals and were faced with a growing demand for more. 

With the support of some funding from the SE LHIN to enhance the program, SFCSC turned to the public to appeal for a kitchen team and volunteer drivers to ensure the ability to deliver meals on an additional day. With all of the pieces in place, a second day of Hot Meals on Wheels was added to the schedule.

“We’re tremendously grateful for the support of our volunteer drivers, and to those assisting the cook in the kitchen.” says Joanne Silver, Meal Programs Coordinator for SFCSC. “There were people in our community who needed help and we had funding in place but without a committed team of Meals on Wheels volunteers we couldn’t have launched a second day of hot meals delivery.”

SFCSC also offers a Frozen Meals program, where nutritional, high quality frozen meals suitable for warming up can be ordered and delivered. Frozen meals cost $5 each. 

For more information about meal programs offered at SFCSC, call 613-376-6477 ext. 303.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 29 January 2020 12:35

Food bank donation

Southern Frontenac Community Services’ food bank received a generous and very welcome donation from the parishioners of St Patrick’s Railton this week, when Grand Knight Rob Planetta presented a check for $2,128.50. The Railton parishioners raised over $1500 in November, and the Knights of Columbus Food for Families program added $500.

Support for local communities is one of the main aims of the Knights of Columbus. Their Food for Families program supports food banks throughout the US and Canada.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Sydenham area resident Ann Barlow came as a delegate to explain, from her perspective as a senior citizen without a driver’s license, the importance of the Frontenac Transportation Service.. This service provides access for grocery shopping, transport to Kingston for medical and other appointments, and in Barlow’s case (she is a watercolour artist, specializing in local scenes and subjects), has made it possible for her to develop a small business marketing fine art cards featuring local fauna, flora and landscapes. Because she has outlets in Kingston, Sunbury, Sydenham and Keplar, Barlow hires RFTS so she can visit the outlets monthly to maintain her displays. The County’s decision to not include funding support to RFTS after 2020 means her monthly business travel costs will increased by nearly 50% next year, which threatens the viability of an already low-profit enterprise.

Barlow concluded: “Although the County receives Provincial and Federal cash for ‘use of roads’, you seek to gain an additional $48,000 by adding to the financial stress…of the 223 low-income ‘unique individuals’ who depend on the drive service. When you made your decision to cut funding we were not consulted and our needs were not considered. Surely there are better ways to achieve your economic goals than by hurting vulnerable seniors in the community.”

Barlow was frustrated by Mayor Vandewal’s reply that her request would have to go to the County early next fall, when the 2021 budget is being planned.

Until last year, Frontenac Transportation Services has been run by Rural Frontenac Community Services, which is based in Sharbot Lake, under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Southern Frontenac Community Services, which is based in Sydenham. It received $96,000 in Frontenac County funding. The MoU fell apart last year, and the two agencies requested $48,000 each from Frontenac County for 2020, and the county granted the money but said it was the last year for funding and the two agencies should look elsewhere for support next year.

Mayor Vandewal told Barlow that the county has asked both Rural Frontenac Community Services and South Frontenac Social Services for their statistics and business plans related to transportation services, but to date the two agencies appear not to be working in cooperation on this issue. Vandewal said there have already been many complaints from residents about this lack of County support for transportation services. Deputy Mayor Sutherland suggested that if the two agencies could not work together, perhaps the County needs to assume full responsibility for this essential program.

Councillor Revill complimented Barlow on the clarity of her letter, and he and Mayor Vandewal assured her that they would bring it to County Council’s attention.

At this point, CAO Carbone shut down the discussion, saying this meeting’s purpose was to receive delegations, not to debate topics that were not on the agenda.

2019-2022 Strategic Activities Draft Report

CAO Carbone presented the final draft of the Township’s Strategic Plan for the remainder of this term: it is an ambitious and detailed report, available in full (draft) form in the agenda notes online for the Jan 21 COW meeting. One interesting suggestion among many was to review the possibility of relying less on the standing committees (which sometimes cancel meetings for lack of agenda items) and more on the Committee of the Whole.

Overhead Wires a Hazard for Birds

Eliza Murphy of Sydenham came as a delegate to Council to address her concern about the hazards presented to birds, specifically herons, flying from Sydenham Lake across George St at or near the bridge to fish in the creek. While living nearby, Murphy has seen two dead herons and a dead osprey on or near the bridge.

She has spoken to both Ontario Hydro and Bell Canada, and each have agreed to ‘investigate a solution for the problem of the wires crossing the George St bridge’. She listed references to several possible solutions including coloured (but not reflective or metallic) tab-markers to make the wires more visible. Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth agreed to follow up with Hydro and Bell.

Murphy also asked whether the township could consider constructing an animal underpass each side of the bridge when the roadway across the bridge is reconstructed (originally planned for two years ago, now postponed to at least 2021.) Turtles crossing in the spring continue to be killed in spite of many rescues by drivers and villagers, and this is also a foot-crossing area for numerous other animals; otters, beavers, muskrats, ducks and geese.

Senior Planner Position to be Created

During budget discussions in December of 2019, staff recommended the creation of a new Senior Planner position to accommodate the growing workload within the Development Services department. Council approved the funds for this new position in the 2020 operating budget; however, Council requested further information about the intent/role of the position prior to proceeding.

CAO Carbone’s report provided this information, and asked Council’s support to move ahead in advertising the position, with an anticipated start date of April. Councillor Sleeth asked whether a head-hunter would be necessary, and Planning/Building Director Claire Dodds replied that this hiring would be done in-house: positions for both Senior Planner and Planner will be advertised at the same time, and a good selection of applicants is anticipated.

“Where will we put them?” asked Councillor Revill.

Carbone said that the 2020 budget has provisions for non-structural renovations to the downstairs area, which will make better use of the space.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 22 January 2020 12:59

Volunteers drive the work of SFCSC

The coming year marks the 30th anniversary for Southern Frontenac Community Services Corp. (SFCSC). Thirty years delivering on our mission to work with others in the provision of health and social services and to contribute in ways that improve and maintain the quality of life of residents of South Frontenac and rural Kingston.

A large number of our clients are older adults who take part in the many activities and services we offer. Grace Café on Tuesdays, writing clubs, card games, fitness classes, they’re all available. There are also health support programs for the frail elderly, caregiver support resources, in-home services, and day programs for seniors who need enhanced assistance and close monitoring such as those living with Alzheimer’s.

An important part of what we do is to offer affordable and reliable assisted transportation to seniors and older adults with physical and/or cognitive challenges to help them get to where they need to go. Some people don’t have the resources for transportation, they may no longer be able to operate an automobile, perhaps it’s difficult to arrange appointments around family’s schedules or they may not have friends who can help. For some it is not possible to travel alone, carry objects, stand for any period of time or stay alone at a destination.

That’s where SFCSC comes in. We drive people to medical appointments, to run essential errands, to come to the Grace Centre for our social activities and day programs, and we deliver hot and frozen meals throughout the area. Every month we schedule well over 500 drives for people who need our help.

Over the last year SFCSC: delivered more than 8,000 nutritious hot and frozen meals; provided more than 5,600 drives to medical appointments; covered over 150,000 km; and logged more than 6,000 volunteer driving hours

This tremendous effort is only achievable because of our team of dedicated volunteer drivers. Without them we absolutely cannot provide transportation services. Not to mention the myriad other tasks, jobs, commitments and ways our volunteers contribute throughout the organization helping to maintain health and social services that are so valuable to have in a rural community, close to our homes.

There are many reasons people volunteer. To give back to their community, to build new friendships, to share their time and experience, enhance skills or develop new ones. It’s all meaningful and valuable.

We’d love to welcome you to our team and invite you to be a part of things at SFCSC. All of our volunteers are screened and trained, and volunteer drivers are reimbursed for mileage. The first step is to reach out to our volunteer coordinator to talk about your interests and matching you to a rewarding role. Please call us, 613-376-6477 ext. 211 for more info. www.sfcsc.ca

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 08 January 2020 11:29

Duncan Sinclair joins the Order of Canada

Buck Lake’s Duncan Sinclair was one of 77 Canadians who were invested as members of the Order of Canada last week, in recognition of his contributions to the health care system in Canada. Dr. Sinclair was born in Rochester, New York and graduated from the Ontario Veterinary College at Guelph, before going on to receive a Masters in Science at the University of Toronto, and a PHD in Physiology from Queen’s. He spent most of his academic career at Queen’s, where he was appointed as the Markle Scholar in Academic Medicine in 1966. He served as the Dean of Arts and Sciences between 1974 and 1983. When he was appointed as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in 1988, he became the first non-medical doctor to head a faculty of medicine in Canada.

He retired from Queen’s in 1996 but has remained active in community efforts since then, and as a consultant in the field of health care reform, which remains a passion of his to this day. He chaired the Ontario Health Services Restructuring Commission between 1996 and 2000 and true to his reputation for frank discourse, was the co-author of a book in 2005, Riding the Third Rail, that that was an account of the successes and failures of the commissions efforts, and the subsequent outcomes over the 5 years that followed its demise.

The themes covered in Riding the Third Rail are almost identical to the discussions that are underway during the current healthcare reform effort, and Duncan Sinclair remains involved in the process in an informal way. It is fair to say that anyone who has had a leadership role in healthcare reform in Ontario over the last 25 years is familiar with Sinclair’s perspective, through his writings, and likely through personal contact. And his phone keeps ringing.

Locally he is an active community member, from his support for the Buck Lake Boatilla, his service to the Board of Directors of Southern Frontenac Community Services for 5 years, and as an informal advisor to anyone interested in a clear-eyed, insightful opinion.

He is not the first member of his family to become a member of the Order of Canada. He joins his son, Gord, bassist for the Tragically Hip, who was appointed in 2017.

The other Kingston appointee this year also has a Frontenac County connection. Queen’s University geographer, Brian Osborne, did a lot research and writing on Kingston and the surrounding region as part of his long and distinguished career. He wrote a chapter, “The Farmer and the Land” in the only comprehensive work on the history of Frontenac County, “County of a Thousand Lakes”, which was funded by Frontenac County and published in 1982.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 18 December 2019 12:37

Warden’s reception

Warden Ron Higgins held his 2019 wine and cheese reception at the Grace Centre in Sydenham last Thursday.

With special thanks to the Frontenac County staff and his fellow County Councillors, Higgins ended his review of the year with the admonition: “We must stay united as a county, and continue to work with the other counties of eastern Ontario as we move into the future.”

Incoming 2020 Warden Frances Smith praised Higgins as “the person who’s willing to ask the tough questions.” Referring to her new job as Warden, she quipped: “I’ve learned that at budget times, you have to separate the two Rons!” (Vandewal and Higgins).

Warden Higgins then introduced Neil Allan, Chair of the Frontenac Accessibility Committee, to present the Day of Persons with Disabilities Access Award. Allan announced that the award had been well earned this year by Southern Frontenac Community Services for their work to complete making both levels of Grace Hall fully accessible and barrier-free.

He listed the wide, paved pathway into and around the newly-created memorial garden, and the ramp system that now provides safe access to both the garden path, and the lower level of the hall, where the Adult Day Program is located. As well, the interior lift connecting the two levels of the hall has been completely rebuilt, and now operates reliably.

Susan Ward-Moser, SFCS Board Chair accepted the reward (a certificate and a plate on the plaque listing previous award winners). She said that there had been many challenges in adapting the over 150-year old building to modern use.

Ward-Moser spoke briefly of the many programs that are currently available at Grace Hall, all with the objective of making it more comfortable for seniors to remain in their homes and participate in the community. She added that the hall is also an emergency evacuation centre for the area.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY

“We really recycle a lot,” said Kathy Wood of the Hartington Community Caring Store. “At 10:30, we were swamped.”

The Second Hand Store isn’t usually open on Sundays, but this year they made an exception for their Christmas Open House so as to not conflict with the Farmers Market/Prince Charles Public School event on Saturday.

“It’s been pretty great, a lot of people are Christmas shopping,” said Nicole Kasserra.

“We’ve been getting a lot of donations this year,” said Wood. “Things like these gardening gloves from businesses.

“We’ve been putting a lot of the newer items aside for today. It allows us to have things kids can buy for their parents for Christmas.

“Yeah, we’re a community store and the cheapest ever.”

She said that as a non-profit, everything they make goes back to the community — Christmas for Kids, South Frontenac Community Services, the Food Bank.

“We’ve filled up every little spot the Township’s allowed us to use,” she said. “Just think about how much we recycle and how much we’ve kept out of the landfill.”

One thing was for sure, there were all sorts of clothes, games, toys, household items and you-name-its packed all over the Princess Anne Centre Sunday keeping Wood, Kasserra, Cindy Gordon Judy Martin, Karen White, Kerri Valiquette, Cheryl Kellar and Marilyn Clow hopping to look after everybody.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 20 November 2019 12:14

Christmas in the Village Craft Fair

The Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church has been hosting its Christmas in the Village Craft Fair for five years now and what was different last Saturday was the parking lot — as in there were no open spots.

The church has generally lots of parking on all four sides but around 11:30 this year, there was nary a spot to be had.

“I’m sure we’ve maxed out this year,” said B. J. Calver, head organizer. “We have 48 vendors this year whereas we normally have 42 and we had to move the kids corner out into the hall.

“We started sending out invitations to vendors in May and we still have a waiting list for next year.

“We’ve been toying with expanding into the main hall upstairs.”

They started the Craft Fair in the fall but it didn’t get the traffic they were hoping for, which they now get with the Christmas tie-in. They moved it to the third Saturday in November so as not to conflict with Remembrance Day.

Calver said the main function of the Fair is to replenish their Community Assistance Program, which had been drained what with the need of late.

“We partner with South Frontenac Community Services,” Calver said. “The CAP is under our mission.

“If a need comes up in our community, we give support in various ways and we do Christmas hampers.

“We also do a community fun day in May with a free barbecue and kids activities and we get donations at that.”

But there’s another reason they hold the Craft Fair.

“When we built the gym, one of our goals was to allow community people the opportunity to sell their goods at reasonable prices,” she said.

Calver and her crew start setting up for the Saturday Fair on Thursday afternoon and “work right through.”

She said Vera McDonald looks after the Bake Shop, Heather Harper runs the Chilli Cafe and Lynda Clow is her “right arm.” Ingrid Smith helps with decorating, she said.

“And we get terrific support from Pastor Bob (Boutilier) and Pastor Carl (Bull) has been our faithful greeter for years.”

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
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