Back to HomeFeature Article - July 2, 2009 Verona Lions Support VCABy Julie Druker

Verona Lions president Wayne Conway and vice president of the Verona Community Association Debbie Lingen

The Verona Lions held their annual banquet thanking members of the community and sponsors for their ongoing support. After a scrumptious meal prepared by Kim Perry of Local Family Farms and her crew, Lions’ president Wayne Conway made a number of presentations.

He presented a cheque for $5,000 to the Verona Community Association’s “Find a Doctor” campaign. The money was a legacy from the late Donna Clarke, a long-time Lions member. This contribution will support the fundraising efforts to ensure health care is locally available in this community and in particular for families with young children.

Donna joined the Lions Club in 2000 and served as president in 2004/2005. Donna requested that her bequest be divided into two parts: one half to be used for general use and the second portion to support children in the community.

John McDougall announced the dedication of two public benches, one in memory of Donna Clarke and the second in memory of Inie Platenius. The dedications were made to honour the hard work of both women, who were instrumental in the Lions Hall renovation project.

Fred York was presented with the Lion of the Year award for his dedication and the work he has devoted to the club over the past year.

The Lions will be holding their annual Jamboree in Verona from July 9-11.

Back to HomeFeature Article - June 11, 2009 Dancin’ down the debtBy Julie Druker

Jim Stinson does the 5 hole split at the Frontenac Community Arena fundraiser on Saturday

A number of local hockey fans sacrificed game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night, choosing instead to support local hockey and its newly expanded arena.

Folks from far and wide gathered for a dance at the Frontenac Community Arena in Godfrey, where they busted their moves to the rockin’ sounds of the local band Still Standin’.

Jim Stinson, chair of the arena renovation and expansion project, was thrilled with the turnout and given his five-year financial projection this will definitely not be the last soiree that will happen at the arena.

By the end of the evening 255 tickets had been sold and $4000 was raised. Congratulations to Cory Thompson of Godfrey, an ex-Frontenac Flyer who won $95 at the "5-hole split" shootout event, which attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

Stinson projects that the $640,000 project, which includes an addition to the building, four new dressing rooms, a referee’s room, and remodeled washroom facilities, will still be owing $200,000 at the end of Year 5, two years hence.

Anyone who missed the dance and would like to contribute to the cause can still buy a brick for $100. Similarly, platinum, gold, silver and bronze donations are still available and those donors' names will be added to the plaque that hangs in the arena’s main foyer.

Fundraising for the arena is entering high gear and Terry Gibson of Verona is in the final planning stages of the Mike Smith Charity Golf Tournament, which will take place at the Rivendell Golf Club in Verona on July 23.

Participants can rub shoulders with many hockey greats on the greens and rumour has it that an Ovechkin hockey sweater will be offered on the auction block.

For more information or to make a donation to the Arena Renovation and Expansion Project please call Jim Stinson at 613-374-2177.

Back to HomeFeature Article - June 11, 2009 Young local grandmothers group still givingBy Julie Druker

“Grandmothers by the Lake” members Marnie Pedersen, Susan Howlett, Carol Taylor-Southall, Audrey Tarasick, Sondra Feasby and Sylvia Powers

Grandmothers by the Lake, the local Grandmothers helping African Grandmothers Group, is into its second year of fundraising efforts. The group was founded by President Carol Southall last year and has grown to 18 members from its original 12.

Associated with the Stephen Lewis Foundation, which brought national awareness of the plight of the millions of African children who have been orphaned by the African AIDS epidemic and the countless African grandmothers who are now struggling to care for them, the group is one of many national grandmothers’ groups that have been formed to support their sister grandmothers in Africa.

On the weekend, Grandmothers by the Lake held their annual plant and bake sale at the Tiffany Gift Shoppe in Harrowsmith. The effort was another resounding success and with the help of local shoppers the group raised over $1000 for the cause.

This is the first of many summer fundraisers and the next time you will have a chance to donate to the cause will be at the Verona Festival in August, where the local grannies will be setting up a booth.

Ann Elvins has been an ardent supporter of the local grandmothers group since their inception roughly one year ago.

It is the second time she has hosted the event at her store in Harrowsmith and she is forthright regarding her support. “I feel very strongly that the Stephen Lewis Foundation is helping a lost generation in Africa.”

To make a donation or to join the Grandmothers by the Lake please call Carol Southall at 613-375-8883

Back to HomeFeature Article - June 11, 2009 Verona Drug Mart reaches out to the elderlyBy Julie Druker

Patrick Casey, RN, Verona Drug Mart pharmacist Hany Girgis, and client Elieen Manson at Diabetes Education Day at the Verona Drug Mart

In an effort to provide more hands-on services to the elderly in the Verona and surrounding community living with diabetes, Hany Girgis, pharmacist and owner/ operator of the Verona Drug Mart, recently teamed up with the company Lifescan Canada to do just that.

On May 27 Hany invited Patrick Casey, a registered nurse and diabetes educator from Kingston, who works for Lifescan, to the Verona Drug Mart to counsel elderly members of the community about the disease and how to monitor it in its early and later stages.

Hany’s pharmacy is offering for free two types of Lifescan’s glucose monitoring systems. They are small calculator-sized machines that allow patients to monitor their sugar levels easily at home. The products are free and customers only pay for the test strips that are used in conjunction with the machine.

For Eileen Manson of Verona it was an opportunity to spend time with a nurse and educated diabetes counselor to answer some of her concerns. Eileen has been diagnosed as pre-diabetic; her sugar levels are higher than normal but not at all off the charts. Her doctor wants her to check her glucose levels regularly before she goes in for an in-depth test and she has been monitoring her sugar levels for the last year.

Patrick explained, “Typically Type 2 Diabetes occurs later in life, although it is appearing in younger people due to the obesity pandemic, but it generally strikes adults over 40 years of age and the symptoms occur quite insidiously, and are usually slow to progress.”

For people diagnosed with the disease, self-monitoring at home is important; poorly controlled diabetes can come with serious health consequences such as cardiovascular disease, risks to the eyes, kidneys and damage to peripheral arteries and nerves and risk of infection due to slow wound healing.

Patrick was careful to point out that only people with diabetes who have been directed by their doctor should be screening their blood sugar levels at home with these devices. He explained, “Generally speaking these tools are intended to be used by people who have been diagnosed with diabetes. These tools are not recommended for people who do not have the disease as a casual way to monitor their blood sugar levels.”

Patrick also added that diet and exercise are the best preventative tools people can use to avoid the onset of diabetes.

The clinic was very worthwhile for Eileen who said, “Patrick helped to show me techniques that I can use to get enough blood to complete a test. I was having trouble getting enough blood and it was very discouraging. He’s really helped me.”

Eileen explained that she hadn’t been to a clinic before and also learned from Patrick a lot about how to manage her diet.

Hany was grateful for the opportunity to offer this service to members of the community. He explained, “It’s a very good chance for customers to have an in-depth one-on-one session with a professional so they can address their personal concerns and have their questions answered in detail.”

He added, “It’s important to offer these services in small communities to clients where access to doctors and clinics are not as readily available as in larger centres. I also am seeing that customers are extremely grateful for this type of one-on-one service.”

He’s intending to offer similar types of educational clinic days on hypertension and flu shots and foot care for diabetics to his customers in the near future.

A lot of things went right last Monday in Verona.

When an electrical fire started at McMullen Manor, 28 people had to evacuate the building on a bitterly cold and blustery day. They did not know where to go at first and were sitting in their cars, but since one of them was a member of the Verona Free Methodist Church, soon they all trundled over to the church.

From then on, from all accounts, the community sprung into action.

The fire department was on the scene in minutes and managed to keep the damage to a bare minimum, but concerns over carbon monoxide and the need to be thorough meant that residents needed to stay away all day.

Once the Free Methodist Church's minister, Jeff Nault, and his team got in gear, food started arriving; people started offering to take people in overnight in case they could not go back home; local business started bringing in supplies; the residents had the run of the church and instead of feeling stressed they began to feel supported.

By late afternoon McMullen Manor was given the all- clear for residents to return home and the drama of the day was over.

But for the residents of the manor, memories of the day and the community support they received have lingered. For years, ever since McMullen Manor stopped being a seniors' residence in 2001, there has been a stigma attached to its residents. There certainly have been times when some of its residents earned the enmity of the community through their actions. However, residents of the home shouldn't be treated differently from anyone else in Verona just because of their address.

There is one other thing that a resident of McMullen Manor pointed out afterward last Monday. It would be helpful if information could be posted on the Verona Community Association and South Frontenac websites and also printed on a sheet of paper informing people whom to call when emergencies such as the one last Monday take place. 911 is good for emergency services, but a list of individuals and businesses who are willing to offer other kinds of emergency support would also be a useful document.

 

In what was one of their busiest market days of the year, vendors at the Frontenac Farmers Market in Verona tended to a steady stream of holiday shoppers eager to acquire a wide array of locally produced bounty. Shoppers strolled the 18 booths manned by regular and guest market vendors, who offered up their usual impressive selection of jarred and preserved comestibles, fresh bakes goodies, local meats, winter produce and more. This year’s guest vendors made it especially easy to find unique, locally made stocking stuffers with a selection of items that included home-made treats for the pets courtesy of Kasey’s Cookies; honey and beeswax candles from Beekeeper’s Gardens; colourful wool and assorted knitwear from Gina’s Warm and Woolies; assorted metal art from Orna-Metal; a wide selection of children’s and young adult books from Usborne Books; and crocheted Christmas ornaments from Rebecca’s Angels and Snowflakes.

Also on hand was Honey Bryant of Godfrey, who along with her father Gerald and other family members have been producing “Unexcelled Humbugs and other hard candies” at their Godfrey home in the old traditional style for over four generations. I spoke with Honey at her market booth, where she was a offering up the full selection of her family’s holiday sweets and goodies, which included huge candy canes, (her mom turns all the candy cane tops by hand), humbugs (a traditional blend of peppermint and caramel), spearmints, peppermints, plus cinnamon, clove, hoarhound, black licorice and fruit candies along with peanut crunch and peanut brittle. The family’s candy manufacturing business has a 150-year-old history, and Honey Bryant filled me in on it at her booth. “Bell Candy” relies solely on traditional recipes and candy-making tools. Gerald learned the business from his grandfather years ago and Honey explained that the family still uses hand-pressed brass cranks that are close to 200 years old to produce the candy. “All of our candies are hand made and because we are using the same 150-year-old recipes, our candies contain very few (only four or five) ingredients. We use only real sugars and natural flavours.”

Their hoarhound lozenges, which are stocked in area health food stores are made using the herb hoarhound, an ingredient that is also used in Buckley’s cough syrup. Their clove candies are lovely and I hear the humbugs are to die for too.

Debbie Harris, treasurer of the FFM, was pleased with the turnout and said the market will be opening up again next year at the beginning of May for its 10th year. Harris said that the market closes in the winter months since new regulations require that the majority of vendors be farmers, and it is difficult to find farmers to participate in the winter.

Harris said that there are big changes coming up for the market, which will also be setting up on Fridays in Harrowsmith next year. Harris said that hundreds of shoppers passed through for the market’s last official day.

Members of the Verona Community Association (VCA) decided to change up their traditional Christmas activities this year. Wayne Conway, director with the VCA, said the change came about because the usual PA Day in November was moved this year to December, which meant that the free skate that usually precedes the annual tree lighting at McMullen Park would not take place. Also, the tree at McMullen Park was getting increasingly damaged from the Christmas lights. So VCA members decided to move the festivities to the Verona Lions Hall on Sand Road and make the event a day-long and evening event for the whole family. Local community businesses and individuals were invited to decorate a number of Christmas trees and 11 trees were set up in the hall's outdoor pavilion. Guests were invited to vote on their favorites and prizes were given out to the top three winners. The 11 gorgeous trees were simultaneously lit up at 6:30 pm. Youngsters had a chance to ride the Verona toy train and roast marshmallows at an outdoor fire pit. Inside the hall they enjoyed a number of special Christmas crafts, games, snacks and beverages, plus visits with the very jolly Santa and Mrs. Claus. A free meal of chili and hot dogs was also provided. Later in the evening music lovers enjoyed local songsters Crooked Wood.

Like all changes it takes time for a new tradition to catch on but by noon on Saturday the parking lot was quickly filling up as carloads of youngsters arrived with parents and grandparents in tow to enjoy the free festivities. Conway said that the event so far seems to be catching on. “It's the first annual and we are seeing a lot of enthusiasm so far. The nice thing is that here there is a place for people to warm up inside, out of the cold.”

The mandate of the VCA is to beatify the town of Verona and make it a place where residents enjoy to live. “We hope to see this new tradition become a successful, long-time ongoing event.” Conway also brought up the fact that the Verona Cattail Festival, now in its fourth year, took a while to catch on but was never more successful than this summer.

Back to HomeFeature Article - May 14, 2009 Mother’s Day and pancakes at the Verona Farmers’ Marketby Julie Druker

Volunteers, staff, and members of the Verona Lions and Knights of Columbus serve up pancakes at the Lions Halls

It was a festive day at the Frontenac Farmers’ Market this past Saturday in Verona and the second weekend that market vendors set up their wares outdoors.

It was a one-stop shop for moms and their families to get gifts and yummy treats for their Mother’s Day celebrations, and for shoppers in general to enjoy and support local businesses in the area.

Shoppers enjoyed a wide selection of edible treats such as local beef, pork, lamb, rabbit, cheese, eggs, baked goods, honey, maple syrup, homemade chocolates, jams, jellies and more.

Also on display was a variety of craft and gift items including tie-dyed clothing, soap and other body products, woven apparel, garden ornaments, jewelry, cards and various plants for the garden.

After making a purchase, buyers were given ballots to enter a number of raffles that were held at 1PM and which included donated items from many of the vendors present.

Inside the Lions hall, Wayne Conway helped manage the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast put on by the Verona Lions and the Knights of Columbus from Railton. Kitchen volunteers from both organizations were assisted by Madison Strong of Verona and volunteer Linda Bates who flipped copious numbers of perfect, fluffy, golden pancakes. All the food was generously donated by local businesses and the organizers expected to sell over 200 breakfasts in the morning and lunchtime rushes, with the profits being shared by both organizations.

I spoke to a number of the vendors/moms who were planning to enjoy their special Sunday in a number of different ways.

Judy Dumbleton of Judy’s Jams, Jellies and Jarfuls planned to spend the day pickerel fishing on Fifth Depot Lake. Sharon Sole, card maker, planned to stuff a small turkey and serve raisin pie and fresh asparagus from her garden to her family. Michelle Bayes of Roger’s Sugar Shack was waiting to be surprised by her husband and daughter Jessica. Renate Haan of Haanover View Farms was looking forward to a meal prepared by her daughter Rebecca. Tracey Asselstine, a weaver from Old Apple Ridge Farm in Croydon, would likely shovel sheep manure with no complaints since they supply her with the wool she spins for her garments. And for many of the moms, there would be a good part of the day spent in the garden.

The market is located at the Verona Lions Hall at 4505 Verona Sand Road in Verona (watch for the signs). It is open every Saturday from 9AM to 1PM. You can visit the website at www.frontenacfarmersmarket.ca

Back to HomeFeature Article - May 21, 2009 Lift on doctor freeze a relief to rural family health teamsby Julie Druker

Dr. Laurel Dempsey of the Verona Medical Centre

The lifting of a controversial hiring freeze placed on family physicians joining primary care practices in the province was rescinded on May 15, to the relief of many rural health teams locally and in Ontario. The Ontario Health Ministry had announced the freeze on April 17.

When announced, the freeze raised concerns for doctors, physician recruiters, and politicians along with new doctors looking to graduate this summer and land themselves new jobs.

Four days after the freeze was announced, the Ontario Medical Association raised its concerns with ministry staff during a meeting and then contacted its members, who had been taken by surprise by the decision.

The reason for the moratorium was unclear. While it had been suggested by some affected by the freeze that the ministry was aiming to look into the high costs of the family models, that reason was never clearly stated; rather it was done for “purely administrative“ reasons.

Dr. Laurel Dempsey, the sole physician at the Verona Medical Centre and the lead physician for the Rural Kingston Family Health Organization, stated at her Verona practice on Friday, “It’s not clear to me what they were trying to do.” She added “I think that the uptake of physicians into the practice models has been quite successful and it may have wound up costing more money than they thought in some places and maybe they were trying to rearrange how that money flows or where it comes from. I really don’t know.”

Regarding the subsequent lifting of the freeze, Dr. Dempsey stated, “My guess is that the reaction from the media certainly helped them to focus their attention on reconsidering the decision.”

Another concern raised was the timing of the freeze, coming as it did when medical teams are actively searching for newly graduating physicians to fill desperately needed positions.

The moratorium on hiring would have made a negative impact on the search for new doctors around Ontario but also in Verona, where a formal and very public campaign was launched months ago and was in full force on Friday, May 15, the day the freeze was lifted.

When she first heard of the freeze Dr. Dempsey stated, “I was concerned because it limited the ability of any practice to engage a new physician and it also limited our ability to engage locum physicians for holiday time. It would have been a serious problem.”

She also stated that the two to four week freeze likely might have continued throughout the entire summer.

The Northbrook Medical Centre is another local practice that might have been negatively affected by the freeze.

Dr. Tobia and his team had asked to join the Rural Kingston Family Health Organization and are interested in developing a family health team application for Northbrook. Before he can make the application he has to be in a patient-enrolled model. He applied to join Verona and though the paper work has been sent in, a moratorium likely would have delayed that application.

The recent lifting of the moratorium was credited to the ministry, which has been said to have acted decisively and quickly to correct the problem.

In Verona the search for a doctor to replace Dempsey, who is looking to retire in the next few years, will continue as planned now that the freeze has been lifted.

Dempsey stated, “We’re still looking for a doctor and we’ve had interest throughout the campaign." She seemed optimistic. “We’ve had wonderful publicity and lots of interest. We‘re waiting for the right person to walk through the door and it’s going to happen. We‘ve talked to two people and I‘m hopeful about one.”

She also highlighted the bigger issues. “Frontenac as a county is trying to make a number of initiatives for sustainability and I think that the provision of medical services is a keystone of sustainability for small communities.”

Back to HomeFeature Article - April 2, 2009 Verona goes Hollywood and makes public their “Find a Doc” campaignby Julie Druker

Verona Lions president Wayne Conway and vice president Louise Day go Hollywood at their annual Theme Night Dinner

The Verona Lions held their annual Theme Night Dinner on Saturday night at their hall and pulled out all the stops and props, transforming their lair into a dazzling Hollywood supper club and bar.

Movie posters lined the walls and silver paper stars hung from the ceiling, while star personalities like Charlie Chaplin, Austin Powers, Eliza Doolittle, Scarlett O’Hara, and Darth Vader sipped cocktails, nibbled sushi and chatted over a surf and turf dinner that ended with a shuffle off to the chocolate fountain.

Lion Jim Lansdell as usual was a big part of the volunteer effort behind the evening and spoke to me in between serving guests. It was the 8th annual event for the Lions and this year the funds raised are going towards upgrading the Lions’ ball diamond in the fairgrounds.

All night long couples swished, twirled and spun, first to the sultry sounds of The Just for Fun Jazz Band, a five-piece ensemble that pleased the crowd with their sultry old time classics of Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. Then local singer Colleen Kendall received a standing ovation for her powerful renditions of “Over the Rainbow” and “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”. Bauder Road took over later in the evening and got the joint jumping prior to an Oscar being presented to Austin Powers, who won in the final clap off costume competition.

Earlier in the evening a more serious concern was addressed. Lion and chair of the Verona and District Medical Services Committee, a sub committee of the Verona Community Association, John McDougall and Lions’ Club vice president Louise Day announced the new “Find a Doc” campaign, a public campaign that hopes to end their search for a local doctor.

Dr. Laurel Dempsey, who has a total of 2400 patients in Verona and the surrounding area, will be retiring in a few years.

The committee had T-shirts printed with the words: “Wanted: Alive and Willing: Doctor for Verona Medical Clinic.” They will be distributed to every business in Verona to raise awareness for the campaign and hopefully help to fill the much-needed position. As part of the campaign the committee is offering a $1000 reward in gold to anyone in the community who refers a successful candidate to fill the position. Suggested referrals can be made on a website that will record the time and date of the referral. The reward will go to the first successful referral.

The search for a new doctor has been ongoing for the past two years and McDougall explained the difficulty the committee has been having in finding a replacement, since young doctors fresh out of school are not in a financial position to purchase a clinic outright. The committee have addressed that issue and plan to purchase the clinic themselves. Funds have already started coming in and fundraising will be ongoing.

Everyone, regardless of their star status, needs their health matters attended to. On Saturday night, though, Verona went Hollywood and as far as I could tell matters of ill health were not on anyone's mind; the primary concern for most stars in attendance was which move to bust next on the dance floor.