Service_awards
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Feature Article - April 12, 2007Gerry Fast, Linda Wolsey win outstanding service awards
by Jeff Green
“The Outstanding Service Award is presented to those individuals who consistently provide outstanding service to students at a level significantly beyond what is usually expected from an incumbent in the position,” is how the Limestone District School Board describes the award that was presented to 10 recipients last night.
Two of those recipients are Lynda Wolsey, a long serving secretary at Sydenham High School, and Gerry Fast, the Executive Director of KAIROS, an addictions counselling service that under Gerry’s watch has extended its services into schools throughout Frontenac County.
Lynda Wolsey goes way back at Sydenham High School (SHS). She started at SHS as a student, began working with the school board in 1968, and since 1987 has been working at the high school.
SHS principal Ann Otonicar nominated Lynda for the award, and she told the News earlier this week that Lynda “has really done it all for the students and the staff here.”
In the citation that Otonicar wrote, she described both Lynda Wolsey’s professional role and the extra commitment that she given to SHS for the past 20 years. “Students, parents and staff truly appreciate Lynda, and have come to her for all manner of questions, advice, and support. They have relied on her ‘corporate memory’ to inform staff about family connections so that they did not miss anyone in supporting the school’s students, whether it was a happy event or sad one. She has always been patient and never seemed to tire of the challenges and the busy nature of the job.
“Mrs. Wolsey appreciates the importance of educating the whole individual. In the past she has coached cheerleading and golf, as well as being a key member of the Fashion Show crew. Her endless spirit and support of life at Sydenham has been amazing. Lynda has traditionally organized the school’s holiday staff Kris Kringle. She has even been known as a dance instructor for the ‘boot scootin’ boogey’”.
Lynda Wolsey lives in Sydenham with her husband Alan
Gerry Fast –
In 1975, Gerry Fast began working for Kairos, a community-based rehabilitation program for young people with drug, alcohol, gambling and behaviour problems, which was formed in 1973 in response to needs that were identified in the City of Kingston. Kairos is an independent charitable organisation that is associated with Queens University.
In 1979 Gerry Fast became the director of Kairos, and he will be retiring from that position this year. In his role as director, Gerry has extended Kairos’ services into the schools, particularly in rural Frontenac County.
Throughout the years, he has remained active in counselling. In addition to his administrative role, he has maintained a full roster of clients, and served students through outreach centres at Frontenac Secondary School, Ernestown Secondary School, Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, Sydenham High School, LaSalle Secondary School, and Sharbot Lake High School.
The citation for Gerry Fast’s service award makes specific reference to how he has worked to extend services to students in elementary as well as high school: “Over the past decade, Gerry has led several expansions of services. For example, KAIROS now works in Limestone District School Board elementary schools, providing information about drugs, addictions, and about the skills needed to make good social choices. A gambling education program is also now available for both elementary and secondary students… He has acted as an agent of hope for so many of our students.”
Gerry Fast lives in Godfrey with his wife Anne.
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Feature Article - May 3, 2007NFCSNotes
JOIN OUR BOARD, SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY We are looking for community-minded individuals with the time and inclination to guide our social services agency. If this description fits you or someone you know please contact Joyce Lewis or Scott Black at 613-279-3151, or just drop by for a chat. Our board and committees meet monthly. Many thanks to Brenda Piat and Shastri Ablack for their years of dedicated service. You will both be missed!
INTERNET SAFETY EVENT On April 17 Northern Frontenac Community Services, in collaboration with other local agencies, hosted another successful Partners with Parents event at Sharbot Lake High School. The guest speaker was Paige Whiting, a local O.P.P. Officer. Paige spoke about Internet Safety to a group of parents that represented about 20 local families. It was an informative and helpful evening. Prior to the presentation a light dinner was served and during Paige's talk the children were entertained elsewhere.
VOLUNTEERS APPRECIATED On April 16, despite a terrible snow storm, NFCS held their annual Volunteer Appreciation Day. Approximately 100 people gathered for a turkey dinner at St. James Major Catholic Church Hall. Presentations were made to all of our volunteers from the past year, and special recognition was given to our Volunteers of the Year. This year Nicole LeClair was honoured for her outstanding dedication and work at the Child Centre and Tom and Eileen Christenson for their help with the Community Support Program that provides support for seniors in our community. Our thanks to all of the volunteers who braved the bad road conditions that day. To those who were unable to come: your presence was missed.
WOULD YOU HELP SENIORS? Our Community Support Services Program currently has seniors who would appreciate visits or phone calls from volunteers. If you are someone who would enjoy forming a new friendship and helping out in this way we would love to hear from you. Call Catherine or Vikki at 279-3151.
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Feature Article - August 16, 2007Parish of Loughborough 170 years old
The Anglican parish of Loughborough is 170 years old. To celebrate this event a special service will be held on Sunday, 9 September at 10 a.m.
Soon after settlers moved into the Sydenham Lake area in the 1830s, the people organized a time for church services. St. Paul's was built in the 1850s, near where the cemetery is today. That building was moved limestone by limestone to the present location on Mill Street in Sydenham. Here, the church has remained as a symbol of faith witnessing to an ever-changing community.
The parish of Loughborough has been providing services and pastoral care for the people of South and Central Frontenac. Until 2005 there were two other churches located in Harrowsmith and in Verona. Anglican services were held in Harrowsmith as early as 1870 at the school house. St. Peter's Church was built and consecrated by 1903. St. Martins-in-the-Fields was consecrated in 1960 in Verona but Anglican worship had been carried out in the village from about 1929. The three congregations were consolidated in 2005 with the place of worship designated to be St. Paul's in Sydenham.
This year St. Paul's has been undergoing repairs, refurbishing and updating. An access ramp has been built to make it easier for elders and handicapped persons to attend worship. The interior has been repaired and painted, this work being mainly done by Dan Bryant of Ryan's Dry Wall Contractor. Dan lives in Godfrey. New carpets are installed and the chancel (east end) window has been restored. During the next three years further work will be carried out to enhance this fine old building.
Church buildings are loved by their faithful members. The facilities are used for major needs by many in the surrounding community at times of marriage and death. At Christmas and Easter the church buildings are filled to capacity. It is interesting that in our secular world, the majority of citizens in the area do not see the church presence as being of any significance. This secular apathy isresponsible for the closure ofmany church buildings, which are thensold to be made into residential homes or artists’ studios. The few remaining church buildings that are used for Christian worship and services need to be maintained. When these symbols of culture fall into disuse, society will be spiritually impoverished. St. Paul's and the parish of Loughborough intend to be present for a long time providing a spiritual presence to the people of the Frontenacs.
The Bishop of Ontario Diocese, The Right Reverend George Bruce, will be present on Sunday, September 9 at 10 a.m. to celebrate with the people the presence of St. Paul's as a continuing spiritual home.
Come and share in this special service
Cf_council_07-38
Central Frontenac Council, Sept 25by Jeff Green
NFCS - Scott Black, Director of Adult Services, and Sue Leslie, Director of Children’s Services, presented council with an overview of the services offered by Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS).The 32-year-old organisation provides a range of services for children, adults, and seniors, and has recently initiated a youth program. The agency has a budget of $1.5 million per year, and 29 employees.Jane Drew, who runs Rural Routes, a transportation program that NFCS started up two years ago, provided an overview for Council’s benefit. “Forty-eight percent of the people we serve are aged 60 and over and 78% have an income of $19,000 per year or less,” Jane Drew told council.Scott Black pointed out that “transportation programs throughout Ontario all require municipal support to survive,” and mentioned that Rural Routes would be eligible for provincial gas tax support if it “was a line item in a municipal budget.”Jane Drew said that in 2007, Rural Routes received one-time funding of $36,500 from Frontenac County.Mayor Gutowski pointed out that transportation “has become an issue in the provincial election campaign.”Rural Routes serves a small portion of South Frontenac, and Janet Gutowski said she will “continue to advocate for county funding, but our council might have to look at this as well.”Winter sand tenders - The winter sand tender was awarded to the lowest bidder, Nedow Construction, for $93,2000Road speed signs - Township staff recently erected 60 km/hr signs on small and dead end roads throughout the township, in accordance with a bylaw that was approved some four years.Unfortunately, said township interim CAO John DuChene in a report to Council, 60 km/hr is an inappropriate speed for many of the roads, “i.e. too fast for the conditions of the road”.Staff will review the listed roads and recommend appropriate speed limits. It was pointed out that it is important to post speed limits on back roads because un-posted roads all carry an 80 km/hr speed limit in Ontario.Organisational Review - The consulting firm “Wineberg/Donaldson/Muince will conduct a long- awaited organisational review of the township’s operations for a maximum of $50,000. Not only was theirs the lowest bid, they did similar work for Stone Mills and South Frontenac Townships and their work has been endorsed by CAO Gord Burns of South Frontenac.Railway museum – Council accepted a proposal by the Central Frontenac Railway museum to lay some track in the vicinity of the old Sharbot Lake station in order to display some of their artefacts.“Right now, the only thing that is there is some poison ivy, which is not much of an asset to the township,” said Mayor Gutowski in supporting the proposal.Community_supports
Community Supports Deliver Vital Servicesby Jeff Green
Only
a government could come up with a title like Community Support
Services, which doesn’t capture any of the flavour of the impact that
diners programs, meals on wheels, respite services, and visiting
programs have on the lives of people in rural communities.
Community supports are a basket of services that help seniors keep on living where they belong - at home with their families and neighbours. In Frontenac County and Addington Highlands there are three community-run agencies that deliver these services: Rural VISIONS which covers most of South Frontenac; Northern Frontenac Community Services, which covers part of South, all of Central, and most of North Frontenac; and Land o’ Lakes Community Services, which covers Addington Highlands and part of North Frontenac.
The programs offered by these organizations vary, but they are all available to help as people get into difficulties through illness or aging.
One such person is Carol Southall of Miller Lake near Parham. Carol and her husband George built a log home in the late 1980s, and they lived part-time in Kingston and part-time in the country until a few years ago, when it became too much work to maintain two households, and they became full time residents of Central Frontenac.
Carol had developed Parkinson’s disease in the late 1990s, and she says she “has been fortunate that it has been more or less controlled by drugs”.
The Southalls ran into difficulties when George began to have seizures and display symptoms of dementia. “I believe it all started when he sustained a head injury after a car accident in 2002,” Carol said, when interviewed from her home.
The stress of caring for George began to take its toll on Carol, and she began to realise that she was having trouble coping. “I’m not sure how the initial contact came about with Northern Frontenac Community Services, but it was either Candace Bertrim or Catherine Tysick who came out and talked to me about what services they could offer”.
Like many independent minded seniors, Carol Southall did not want to think she needed much in the way of support. But as George’s condition worsened and her health was compromised, she took advantage of meals on wheels, respite services, and some support with housework, and occasionally, transportation as well.
“I only got the service that I needed. Occasionally they pushed me, in a gentle way, to get more service, and it was always very appropriate,” Carol said.
By the middle of this year, it became clear that George could not stay at home any more, and he was placed in the Trillium Home in Kingston. He is moving to Fairmount Home this week.
“I was upset when George went into long term care. I was devastated.” The support that Carol received at that time took on a different focus.
“It became a bit personal,” she recalls.
As Carol adjusts to George being in long-term care, the support she is receiving has changed as well. She has a “Lifeline”, which gives her a button to press if she is in distress, and triggers a phone call to a neighbour to check her condition. Carol also gets help with housework at a subsidised rate.
Funding to support the services offered under the umbrella of community support services comes from the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. For the past couple of years the ministry has been developing a new way to administer its funding, through Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs).
The LHIN in this region has made it clear they are interested in supporting agencies that provide a wide range of services and that work co-operatively with other agencies.
“This is the way we have always worked in the rural area,” said Beth Freeland of the Rural VISIONS Centre in Sydenham.
Rural VISIONS provides 12 different services that are funded by the LHINs, aimed at seniors and disabled adults. Volunteers are critical to the delivery of many of the services that Rural VISIONS offers, and the recipients pay fees for some of them as well, such as meals on wheels, transportation, home help, and foot care services.
Rural VISIONS does a lot of fundraising to keep its services up and running, because funding always seems to lag behind the need for service.
In developing plans for the future, Rural VISIONS has done a study of the people who use their community support services. The average age is 74; 71% of the people are women, and they suffer from a number of health problems: 33% have hypertension, 20% are diabetic, 20% are arthritic, 14% have heart conditions, 6% have cancer, 6% have had strokes, and 6% have breathing difficulties.
This breakdown demonstrates how community supports relate to the healthcare system as a whole. In recognition of the cost savings realised by keeping people in their homes and out of hospital or long term care, the Ontario government committed $700 million in new funding to community support services.
But neither Beth Freeland from Rural VISIONS nor Susan Andrew-Allen from Land O’ Lakes Community Services are out spending any new money just yet. They’ve heard about funding increases before but must continue to scrimp and save in order to keep serving their communities. They both expect that some of the new funding will be tied up in the restructuring that came along with the LHINs.
Land O’ Lakes Community Services, based in Northbrook, provides nine community support programs. In most cases agency staff co-ordinate the work of volunteers, who deliver the programs.
“We have volunteers cooking for our diners program, volunteers delivering meals on wheels, and we have a volunteer hospice program,” Susan Andrew-Allen said. “We do a lot with the little funding that we receive.”
When asked what her first priority would be if extra funding were made available, Andrew-Allen did not hesitate: “Transportation, that’s where the need is greatest. A lot of people have hospital appointments in Kingston or Belleville, and they can’t afford to get there,” she said.
Beth Freeland took a bit of time when asked how she would spend extra money, if some were forthcoming.
“We need more space for programming,” she said, “and money for transportation.” She also mentioned the social recreation programs that Rural VISIONS is offering, such as Tai Chi and Sittercise programs. “These are specialized recreation programs to help address hypertension and diabetes, and we would like to solidify and expand them.”
Rural_visions_07-42
BMO Supports Rural Visions
Members
of the Verona branch of the BMO fundraising team presented a cheque for
$600 to Maggie Dalmas, the fundraising committee chair for Central
Frontenac Community Services (Rural VISIONS). Marjorie Brown is the
fundraising co-ordinator for the branch. Each spring the branch
organises a raffle, usually with a gardening theme, and the money
raised is donated to a worthy cause. This year, the money will go to
supporting programming for the physically disabled at Rural VISIONS.
They will be used for long term care services or the Adult Day program
run by the centre, which serves South Frontenac from its base in
Sydenham. The fundraising campaign is something our staff enjoys,” said
branch manager Penny Lloyd, “and we are pleased to be able to help out
a community group.” Lhin_chair_07-43
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Feature Article - November 1, 2007LHIN Chair Likes What Rural Agencies Are Doing.by Jeff Green
When Georgina Thompson, the chair of the board of the Southeast Ontario Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) first came to public meetings in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Counties about two years ago, she was greeted with skepticism about what the advent of the LHINS would be mean to rural health care and to the future viability of community support programs that have been serving seniors in their homes for many years.
At that time Thompson, and the LHIN CAO Paul Huras were saying that the LHIN was devoted to concepts such as “patient centred care” and wanted different parts of the health care system to 'stop acting as if they were in silos' and begin working together to deliver efficient service to people.
Some of the staff working at agencies such as Northern Frontenac Community Services, Land O'Lakes Comminity Services, and Rural VISIONS, which all act as one-stop shopping hubs for a variety of services for children, adults, and seniors - services that are delivered by many different agencies out of their offices, wondered quietly why they needed to hear this message. In order to serve rural areas, they all had been working in the way that Thompson and Huras were advocating for many years, providing a home for any and all agencies that could help serve the seniors in their regions.
Two years later, it seems that Georgina Thompson is familiar with the way things work in rural Frontenac and Addington Counties, and she likes what she sees.
In her keynote address to the Annual General Meeting of Northern Frontenac Community Services at Sharbot Lake last week.
“I'm hoping that we will be able to point to you, as a best practice. We recognize that there are a lot of good things happening here, a lot of those good things I didn't recognize until today,” she said.
The Southeastern Local Health Integration Network, which takes in a huge swath of territory, including three cities on the 401, Belleville, Kingston, and Brockville, and Hastings, Lennox and Addington, Frontenac, Lanark, and Leeds and Grenvile Counties. It oversees an annual budget of $900 million, including in excess of $350 million annually for Kingston General Hospital.
“Ours is the most rural LHIN in Southern Ontario, and it has the highest proportion of senior citizens of all the LHINS” Thompson said, “so we have our challenges.”
Among cuthat Georgina Thompson noted were the establishment of a current initiatives that the Southeast LHIN has undertaken are a patient registry, and a $17 million “Aging in Place” initiative.
After Georgina Thompson spoke, outgoing Northern Frontenac Community Services Board Chair John Kerr-Wilson told her, “we were quite concerned about what the LHIN would be when it was first announced and when we went to the first meetings, but I would like to tell you that we are a little less concerned now, a little less uneasy.”
Nfcs_life_members
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Feature Article - November 1, 2007Northern Frontenac Community Services Honourary Life Members
Brenda Piat (l) and Linda Chappel (r) received honourary life memberships at the Northern Frontenac Community Services Annal General Meeting at St. James Church in Sharbot Lake on Thursday, October 25.
Brenda Piat served as Chair of the Agencies Board for three years, and as chair of numerous committees. She is also a committed volunteer with the North Frontenac Food Bank and works at Sharbot Lake High School.
Linda Chappel is also a board member at NFCS, where she has served on the executive for several years, and was the longtime chair of the Children's Services Committee. She is currently the Secretary-Treasurer of NFCS.
Massage
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Feature Article - November 1, 2007 Massage Therapy Clinic Opens in Veronaby Brenda CrawfordPhoto: Councillor Bill Robinson, Vicky Kehoe, and Steven Johnston cutting the ribbon. Vicky’s husband and moral support Jessie Pollok smiles for the camera.
Steven Johnston welcomes Vicky Kehoe to Unit 2 in the Korner Stone Castle Bed and Breakfast, Hwy. 38, Verona. The Grand Opening took place on Saturday. The rainy weather could not dampen the excitement for Vicky. Her clients were very receptive to the new location. Her treatment room is large, fresh and inviting. She opens her doors on Monday, October 29. She can be reached at 613-483-4494 or 613-374-2237.
Vicky is looking forward to growing her business in Verona and branching out to offer other unique services to her patients. She is constantly going to workshops and seminars to keep current with new treatments for chronic pain, sports injuries, pregnancy health, and much more. On a lighter note, Steve and Vicky are also hoping to offer Spa Weekends at the Inn next year. They can sign me up right now! It is so great to have these services in our own community.
Legalese_08-02
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Legalese - January 17, 2008 Rural Legal Services: an information resourceby Susan Irwin, Lawyer/Executive DirectorWe encourage feedback about our legal services. One frequent suggestion is that we should do more to let people know about the free legal services available to the residents of northern Frontenac and northern Lennox & Addington counties. In an effort to respond to this suggestion, our first Legalese column for 2008 is devoted to providing our readers with information about Rural Legal Services.Rural Legal Services is a community legal clinic funded by Legal Aid Ontario to deliver a range of legal services without charge under the guidance of an elected, six member, Board of Directors. The following free services are delivered by Rural Legal Services:
legal information casework and representation before courts and tribunals, and public legal education.The provision of legal information to area residents, regardless of their income, is an important service priority for Rural Legal Services. Legal services are provided by the clinic’s three lawyers, Peter Graham, William Florence and Susan Irwin with the administrative support of clinic secretary, Ellamae Richardson.
While the provision of legal information is open to all, there are certain aspects of our service that are only available to those residents who meet the financial eligibility criteria for legal aid. For example, when we accept a case, such as a claim for disability benefits, agree to prepare documents such as a Will or Powers of Attorney, or commit to represent a person before a court or administrative tribunal, that person’s income must not exceed the prescribed Legal Aid guidelines.
Case law services in the following areas of law are available to financially eligible area residents: Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program, Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance, Debt, Consumer/Contract, Wills, Powers of Attorney; Landlord/Tenant, Highway Traffic Act & Provincial Offences, Insurance, Incorporation (Not-for-Profit), Mental Health Act, Criminal Injuries Compensation, and Education.
For the purposes of providing “legal information” or for “public legal education” initiatives, our services are available to all residents of northern Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Counties. They include.
identifying whether or not you have a “legal” problem; identifying the legal issues;discussing whether you need a lawyer and how to go about finding one; identifying whether there are other services, such as government ministries or agencies, that may be able to provide further assistance; providing general information on legal topics including the distribution of pamphlets and brochuresorganizing public legal education sessions, and writing this column.Many people who have never had to see a lawyer before tell us how helpful this service is in determining how to approach or deal with a legal problem.
If you require legal information or require legal assistance, we would like to hear from you. Please give us a call at 613-279-3252 or toll free at 1-888-777-8916. Alternatively you may schedule an appointment to meet with us at our main office at 14064 Road 38 in Sharbot Lake or at our branch office in Northbrook at Land o’ Lakes Community Services Corporation on Fridays.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Legalese is a column of general information and opinion on legal topics by the lawyers of Rural Legal Services, Box 359, Sharbot Lake, ON, K0H2P0, 613-279-3252, or 1-888-777-8916. This column is not intended to provide legal advice. You should contact a lawyer to determine your legal rights and obligations.
