Latest / North Shore News / December 05th, 2024

Transcript

December 05th, 2024 · North Shore News

• 0:00
  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on Amherst Island Radio.
• 0:12
  Each week we keep you updated on newsworthy events, happenings, and conversations that
• 0:18
  we've had with people in the local community and beyond.
• 0:23
  BGC Southeast, formerly the Boys and Girls Club of Kingston, shared its year-end update
• 0:30
  with Loyalist Township Council.
• 0:32
  The update focused on BGC's growth this year as well as going forward as the partnership
• 0:36
  continues.
• 0:37
  The township entered into a five-year agreement with BGC Southeast in 2022 for the delivery
• 0:42
  of day camps.
• 0:44
  This year summer day camps were offered in Amherst View and Bath, but not in Odessa due
• 0:48
  to a lack of a suitable location.
• 0:50
  Chief Executive Officer with BGC Southeast Harold Parsons explains how they're looking
• 0:55
  to grow next year.
• 0:56
  Although we're making some headway, we know there's more to do and we're happy that
• 1:02
  since we changed our name to BGC Southeast, that Amherst View is very much in the fold
• 1:06
  of where we see as a service delivery opportunity.
• 1:11
  That combined with expanding our big brothers and big sisters to a lot of different smaller
• 1:15
  communities and schools will continue to be our strategic plan over the next year.
• 1:20
  Parsons notes how the Big Brothers Big Sisters program has grown.
• 1:23
  We oversee finance and men and fund development for big brothers and big sisters, so every
• 1:27
  employee that works for that organization is frontline and service delivery.
• 1:32
  As a result, we've seen more than triple the numbers of children served.
• 1:37
  We've more than tripled the budget for the organization and we've now been able to go
• 1:42
  into communities that the Boys and Girls Club were not able to before and we've in particularly
• 1:47
  expanded Big Brothers Big Sisters and Loyalist Township through in-school mentoring and that's
• 1:53
  been great to see in the synergies and working with families and children that have greater
• 1:59
  needs for support as well.
• 2:01
  Parsons explains that day camps are still part of their plans.
• 2:04
  We do know that summer camps are still needed and in demand and we know that Odessa in particular
• 2:10
  has been some challenges because of school renovations and so on over the last couple
• 2:14
  of years but certainly in our plans this year would be programming for summertime in-bath,
• 2:18
  Amherst View and Odessa and we also know that we're getting feedback from Amherst Island
• 2:23
  as well about what can we do there and how do we support children that live on the island.
• 2:28
  Parsons describes how the partnership has helped the aquatic programs in the area.
• 2:32
  We stepped up when the swimming pool was down for renovations and we're really happy to have
• 2:37
  Loyalist Township as a partner for aquatics.
• 2:42
  We see the partnership here as great as we do any other municipality and because of our
• 2:49
  proximity we're again more than happy to see the number of families we've been able
• 2:54
  to serve.
• 2:56
  Parsons spoke about the success of day camps this year in Loyalist Township.
• 3:00
  This year's summer camp in Amherst View and Bath have been very successful, almost 93
• 3:05
  to 94 percent filled.
• 3:08
  We've had 19 staff, the majority that live in Loyalist Township work for us in those
• 3:12
  areas and we've been able to provide a lot of families with subsidies, almost $20,000
• 3:17
  to make sure those children can attend a camp at either no fee or a greatly reduced fee.
• 3:23
  Parsons notes the programs that BGC offers and their impact.
• 3:26
  We talk about impact and we start to say okay, you know, at what point do you go from having
• 3:31
  all these children after school to how can you start to measure what you're doing in
• 3:37
  your communities that you're delivering services to.
• 3:40
  We go back to a few things.
• 3:41
  We think that there's some critical opportunities that are lacking.
• 3:46
  One of them is in literacy.
• 3:48
  So we actually have partnered and we now have acquired the reading clinic, which is a one
• 3:54
  on one multisensory literacy approach for children that are dyslexic or below the reading
• 3:58
  curve and we've been doing that for about six years now and we implement that into all
• 4:04
  of our programs so that children that come to the club as early as kindergarten have
• 4:09
  been giving an advantage to reading.
• 4:12
  Parsons describes what the club does for families and touches on the growth they've experienced.
• 4:17
  When you look at the club, you think about what parents may need if they need daycare
• 4:21
  because they're going to work or they're in school.
• 4:23
  If they're looking for a place after school for their children for the same purposes or
• 4:27
  for enhancement for programs for their children as well.
• 4:31
  Our programs consist of physical activity, of some education supports and health and
• 4:38
  nutrition.
• 4:39
  I'm pretty happy to talk about our numbers and our growth because they've been continuing
• 4:44
  to expand year after year.
• 4:46
  Parsons speaks about their decisions as a business and fees that they help families cover.
• 4:51
  Although we're an incorporated not-for-profit, we also very much look at ourselves as a business
• 4:57
  and we look at our programs that we deliver and the only qualifier we have is that no
• 5:01
  child is denied access due to inability to pay.
• 5:04
  But we provide services and we charge fees that are different depending on what they
• 5:08
  might be.
• 5:10
  Parsons describes a service that BGC Southeast decided to not continue.
• 5:14
  Since 2014 we moved into the new space in the Fronach Mall.
• 5:19
  We've been providing transportation for families from three local schools in Amershew on our
• 5:25
  busing system to come to the site.
• 5:28
  And that's been great and we would have as many as 20 to 40 children come.
• 5:34
  But we also are talking about expansion and growth and serving communities as well.
• 5:38
  And then we thought, well, how can we take children from a community, bring them into
• 5:42
  another site, then try to develop programs in that community?
• 5:45
  It just really doesn't make sense.
• 5:48
  Parsons explains why they ended this service.
• 5:50
  This past year it wasn't necessarily a popular decision, but we did decide that for this
• 5:55
  school year that we would no longer provide transportation from Amershew to Kingston,
• 5:59
  but we would deliver an after-school program in Amershew.
• 6:03
  And it took us a lot of work to get it started, but we think the potential and the growth
• 6:08
  will be substantial.
• 6:10
  So we're happy to be in Amershew Public School and we have children from the three local
• 6:15
  elementary schools being served there.
• 6:17
  But we can only see that as growing in the future.
• 6:21
  But again, mindset of if you want to develop in a community, then you have to be in the
• 6:24
  community.
• 6:25
  And we made that happen this year.
• 6:28
  Parsons provides a breakdown of the club and their programs.
• 6:31
  Our club is broken down in sort of two ways.
• 6:34
  One is that we operate licensed programs, New Area with LARC, who does a great job in
• 6:39
  providing licensed child care and after-school programs.
• 6:41
  We do that in two locations in Kingston.
• 6:44
  We also are the early on provider in Kingston as well, in partnership with ACHC.
• 6:48
  But where we come into play here is that we've also started to look at what we call, refer
• 6:52
  to as authorized recreation.
• 6:54
  And that is in communities that either have high priority needs that may not need a licensed
• 6:59
  program or a daycare setting.
• 7:02
  But there's opportunities for children from ages four to 18 to be served and provided
• 7:08
  services.
• 7:09
  Our authorized recreation programs, they include two high priority schools in Ruda Heights
• 7:16
  in Kingston, in Joyceville, in Harrow Smith, and in Amershew.
• 7:21
  And that's a way that we're able to start delivering after-school programs at a low
• 7:26
  feed appearance, but also start to meet some of the needs in the community as well.
• 7:30
  Parsons noted the local public response they've received.
• 7:33
  A lot of the families that are accessing that are residents in Loyalist Township, they certainly
• 7:38
  are letting us know that they appreciate programming and additional programming in their community.
• 7:46
  Parsons speaks about the partnership with Loyalist Township.
• 7:48
  We have a great relationship with the recreation department and we're here to support and to
• 7:55
  do as much or as little as I think Council or Loyalist Township staff would see us.
• 8:03
  But we're a resource there and we're here to support the community and we believe that
• 8:10
  children, it doesn't matter where they live, it's our mission vision to support as much
• 8:15
  as we can.
• 8:16
  Parsons provides a history of the club.
• 8:18
  The start of the 1993 incorporated primarily for the highest needs that the community of
• 8:26
  the Kingson established at the time, which was primarily the DeRio Heights community.
• 8:30
  The club started to help children and youth that were disadvantaged, whether that meant
• 8:38
  financially or in a household that didn't have the same resources and opportunities
• 8:42
  as others in the community.
• 8:44
  It's also seen as a way to reduce crime by giving mentorship and new opportunities to
• 8:52
  be in a safe environment.
• 8:53
  Councillor Paul Pradox spoke about his experience with the program and how it's been important
• 8:57
  locally.
• 8:58
  One of the first programs started at St. Pat's in 1993 and I was the principal at the time
• 9:03
  and to see the growth is amazing.
• 9:06
  And I think the most important thing I get out of it is that the number of kids, at least
• 9:10
  from that St. Pat's community that became sort of mentors and I think that's what makes
• 9:16
  the program unique and the reading clinic from an educator's point of view, that's unbelievable
• 9:20
  because I know schools at this time, it's hard to support those things.
• 9:24
  Mayor Jim Haggadorn shared his support for the partnership and appreciation for the work
• 9:28
  they're doing to grow.
• 9:29
  It's great to see the new programs.
• 9:31
  I toured, I guess it's been a couple of years now since I toured it and some of the photos
• 9:37
  that I saw there, they were still in the dream spot, I guess at that time and working towards
• 9:44
  them.
• 9:45
  So it's really great to see them come to fruition and being utilized.
• 9:48
  For the 2024-2025 school year, BGC Southeast is offering a new afterschool program at Amherst
• 9:53
  View Public School, available to all children ages 4 to 12 years of age.
• 9:58
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 10:03
  This is North Shore News.
• 10:14
  Residential property taxes are set to jump 6.98% in Loyalist Township with its 2025
• 10:19
  budget on the way.
• 10:21
  The final budget is expected to be adopted on December 10th.
• 10:24
  The increase in residential property taxes comes from a $23.57 million levy requirement
• 10:30
  within the budget.
• 10:31
  Treasurer and Director of Finance Shelly Steadall explains the increase.
• 10:35
  The levy requirement is the $23.5 million, which is a $2.1 million increase over 2024.
• 10:44
  And that increase in just the levy is a 9.9% increase.
• 10:48
  Now when we apply the market value assessment that's levied by M-PAC, we come up with just
• 10:53
  a residential township tax rate that would be re-increasing year over year, 6.98%.
• 11:00
  So 6.98% is the tax rate increase that people would actually pay on their tax bill or just
• 11:07
  the township portion of their taxes.
• 11:09
  That's how much it would increase at the current proposed 2025 draft budget.
• 11:14
  The budget also includes funds for local transportation services, including $1.4 million
• 11:18
  for Amherst View Transit and $7.9 million for the Amherst Island Ferry.
• 11:22
  Capital projects will receive nearly $9.5 million to address infrastructure needs.
• 11:27
  Math noted they will be making an application to the Green Municipal Fund to fund 80% of
• 11:31
  a feasibility study estimated at $150,000.
• 11:35
  They will also be applying to the Township Community Grant Program to fund the remaining
• 11:38
  20%.
• 11:39
  Councillor Carol Parks spoke about the impact of the Township's physician recruitment program.
• 11:44
  In 2023, Council approved the establishment of the program to try to recruit family physicians,
• 11:50
  which was for $100,000 per physician over five years.
• 11:54
  Ideally, we had budgeted one additional physician every year, and that was to come out of operating
• 12:01
  and initially $60,000 was applied for from the Community Grant Fund.
• 12:06
  We were fortunate, I would say, in that we got three physicians in the first year, not
• 12:11
  just one.
• 12:12
  And so we have committed through agreement to fund for three physicians who have taken
• 12:16
  over for retirements at the Loyalist Family Health Team in Amherst View, which we're very
• 12:20
  fortunate that those patients did not lose their family physician.
• 12:24
  That only leaves us $20,000 in the budget.
• 12:27
  So initially, if Council wanted two additional physicians coming up, it would be an additional
• 12:32
  $40,000 on that.
• 12:33
  But staff made the cut, and so we removed one of them.
• 12:36
  So right now, the budget currently includes $20,000 for an additional physician in 2025
• 12:43
  to be able to pay for the recruitment of one more in 2025.
• 12:47
  So the $20,000 savings is for what's currently in the budget to be able to offer the physician
• 12:54
  recruitment incentive program.
• 12:56
  Corporate communications manager Trevor Cornelius explains the importance of public input.
• 13:01
  We've had those conversations with the finance team and the communications team.
• 13:04
  I think going into next year, there's a broader range of tools that we can incorporate and
• 13:08
  use with this platform, such as participatory budgeting and having budget sliders so people
• 13:13
  can identify or allocate preferences in terms of how they would like to see funds allocated.
• 13:19
  So I think there's more opportunities to have resident impact on those results because
• 13:24
  yet it is easy to say you don't want the taxes affected, but sometimes there's choices that
• 13:28
  have to be made, and it'd be nice to involve residents in that process as well.
• 13:32
  Councillor Paul Proderick spoke about wanting to see more public input in the future.
• 13:36
  The results are tilted in one direction, obviously.
• 13:38
  So nobody wants the taxes to go up, obviously.
• 13:41
  But give them that section to say, well, what would you cut?
• 13:44
  Because I think that's the central issue here is nobody wants their taxes to go up, and
• 13:49
  it's easy to say, right?
• 13:50
  But what are the alternatives for the general public?
• 13:53
  And that's something I'd like to see down the road.
• 13:55
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 14:00
  This is North Shore News.
• 14:11
  Loyalist Township Council approved the construction of a new telecommunication tower that will
• 14:15
  bring fiber services to Amherst Island.
• 14:17
  The tower will be located at the island's fire hall site at 925 Stella 40-foot Road.
• 14:23
  The proposal was made by Explore, Incorporated, under the Innovation, Science, and Economic
• 14:27
  Development process.
• 14:29
  This process required a statement of concurrence from the municipality, which is now complete.
• 14:34
  Public consultation was not required due to the distance of the proposed tower from other
• 14:38
  properties.
• 14:39
  Development Services Manager Andrea Furness noted what the next steps will look like for
• 14:43
  the company and the township.
• 14:45
  The project can't move forward without the tower, but then in addition to that, the number
• 14:48
  of municipal consents are also required from the municipality, from the Public Works Division,
• 14:53
  in order to go across our roads and so on as well.
• 14:56
  Furness described the safety measures taken into consideration regarding helicopters,
• 15:01
  including air ambulances.
• 15:02
  We do have correspondence from Orange saying that they have no concerns with the location,
• 15:07
  and they actually are, even though they're not required to have lighting on top of the
• 15:11
  tower, they did recommend that as an extra precaution, they still do include some, which
• 15:17
  they are and is part of their approval through IASO as well.
• 15:21
  Furness noted the company was unable to use an existing tower on the island.
• 15:25
  They did confirm with them as one of the requirements actually of IASO is that they need to explore
• 15:30
  other co-location opportunities before proposing a new tower, so they did prove to me that
• 15:35
  that was explored and the infrastructure wasn't sufficient in order for their plans to expand
• 15:41
  the fiber and they couldn't make the direct connections.
• 15:44
  Councillor Lorna O'Helless noted she was excited for the possibilities.
• 15:47
  There have been a number of questions that have come my way over the last few days, and
• 15:53
  I think partially it's because we have not really heard from Explorant on what the plan
• 15:57
  is, though it's very exciting to anticipate having fiber optic on Amherst Island.
• 16:03
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Tat Evans.
• 16:09
  This is North Shore News.
• 16:19
  Loyalist Township is reminding residents that they can take advantage of a special discount
• 16:23
  on dog tags now through March 31st, 2025.
• 16:28
  The discounted rate is just $15.
• 16:31
  After March 31st, the price will return to the regular fee of $30.
• 16:36
  You can pick up your dog tags at locations like the Odessa Municipal Office, FreeFlow
• 16:42
  and Shells Market and Bath, Amherst View Pet Hospital, or WJ Henderson Recreation Center,
• 16:49
  and you can also purchase them online at loyalist.ca.com.
• 16:55
  For Amherst Island Radio, I'm Jordan Webster.
• 16:59
  This is North Shore News.
• 17:09
  Residents of Loyalist Township are now taking advantage of the Loyalist Link Pilot Transit
• 17:14
  Program that officially launched on November 4th.
• 17:18
  This new service aims to improve transportation options for residents in Bath, Odessa, and
• 17:24
  the Amherst Island Ferry Terminal in Millhaven.
• 17:27
  It also connects local workplaces including the Taylor-Kid and Dust Real Park and the Loyalist
• 17:32
  East Business Park, making it easier for commuters to access jobs in the area.
• 17:38
  The program is funded through a $192,000 grant from the province's Community Transportation
• 17:43
  Fund along with provincial gas tax funding.
• 17:47
  Riders can use Kingston Transit Fairs for the service, making it an affordable and convenient
• 17:52
  option for the community.
• 17:54
  The Loyalist Link Pilot Program will run until December 31st, 2025.
• 17:59
  For more information on routes and schedules, visit kincstintransit.ca.
• 18:04
  For Amherst Island Radio, I'm Jordan Webster.
• 18:07
  This is North Shore News.
• 18:16
  Naturally, LNA has released Lenox and Addington's Ultimate Holiday Shopping Tour, a guide to
• 18:22
  local businesses to shop at this holiday season from Loyalist to Greater Napa-nee, Stone Mills
• 18:28
  to Addington Highlands.
• 18:30
  Visit NaturallyLA.ca and check out the local businesses involved in the local shopping
• 18:36
  route.
• 18:37
  For Amherst Island Radio, I'm Jordan Webster.
• 18:40
  This is North Shore News.
• 18:50
  Lenox and Addington will see its first ever holiday pantomime event this year in Odessa.
• 18:55
  Torrent Productions, a production company formerly based in Toronto that has recently
• 18:59
  relocated to Lenox and Addington, are preparing to host the event.
• 19:03
  Cinderella, a merry magical pantomime, will be running from December 19th to 24th at a
• 19:07
  manual United Church in Odessa.
• 19:10
  Tickets are now on sale.
• 19:11
  Torrent Productions is run by husband and wife team Rob Torr and award-winning choreographer
• 19:16
  Stephanie Graham.
• 19:17
  They are hoping to make this an annual tradition for the community in Lenox and Addington.
• 19:21
  Co-artistic producer Rob Torr explains what pantomime is.
• 19:25
  Pantomime is a wonderful medium because we have music, we hope, that satisfies all the
• 19:35
  different generations.
• 19:36
  Like there's, and there's vaudeville comedy, there's, you know, there's silly comedy,
• 19:41
  there's classic music, there's up-to-date music.
• 19:45
  Wordplay.
• 19:46
  It's all the things.
• 19:48
  Like there really is something for everybody.
• 19:52
  Torr describes the company's history and his own personal connection to pantomime.
• 19:56
  We're from Toronto.
• 19:57
  We moved out here about three and a half years ago.
• 20:01
  And we've done four successful Pantos downtown Toronto in a very sort of small-town feel.
• 20:08
  We were doing it at the local Legion.
• 20:10
  And Panto is my passion and it was before we started them, but after producing them
• 20:18
  and seeing the magic that they created is why I want to continue doing it.
• 20:26
  Like we saw, we saw memories being formed and that's what I want to do.
• 20:33
  I want families to be able to come to this and have memories and remember having a good
• 20:38
  time together and silliness.
• 20:42
  Like I always say Panto is not going to, it's not going to change the world, but it might
• 20:47
  make it a better place.
• 20:49
  Co-artistic producer Stephanie Graham explains what they do at Torrent Productions.
• 20:53
  We have three core mandate things about Torrent Productions.
• 20:58
  Like we want to bring affordable professional theatre to Southern Ontario.
• 21:02
  We are interesting developing new shows and then encouraging and nurturing bridges between
• 21:06
  generations and the diverse demographics in our community.
• 21:10
  So those are our sort of three pillars.
• 21:13
  For right now we're focusing on the Panto and building that, but who's to say what
• 21:17
  might happen more in the future?
• 21:18
  The couple notes how the show could expand and what they may be working on in the future.
• 21:22
  I've got three more shows written and ready to go.
• 21:25
  And our hope, like this year, we're only, at the moment we're scheduled to do eight shows,
• 21:31
  but we are able to extend.
• 21:34
  If possible.
• 21:35
  If we have enough, and again that's all based on ticket sales.
• 21:39
  But I mean, I'd like to make this in the future.
• 21:42
  I'd like a six week run.
• 21:44
  I'd like people coming from all up and down the seaway to come to Odessa, come to Lenox
• 21:50
  and Addington, come to our little part of the world and enjoy all the things we have
• 21:57
  to offer here.
• 21:58
  The couple note how the show is currently run and how they'd like to foster more local
• 22:01
  talent in the future.
• 22:03
  We're asking Toronto based actors to come out here for four weeks at the holidays.
• 22:09
  And you know, we have to pay them and we have to house them.
• 22:11
  But what I really would love to do is to be able to attract Kingston actors who've gone
• 22:18
  abroad and bring them back home so that they can be with their families during the holidays.
• 22:25
  But also so that we as a community can celebrate the talent that this community has helped
• 22:30
  create.
• 22:31
  And we live in the area too, like we get it.
• 22:34
  And we would like to foster something, you know, something so that and not just truly
• 22:39
  not just the talent that's on the stage, but also stage managers and technical and also
• 22:47
  teaching audiences how to enjoy life theater.
• 22:50
  Because that's something that we don't do in this country.
• 22:54
  And pantomime is it's like an entry level form of life theater.
• 22:59
  And because it's not children's theater, it's it's family entertainment.
• 23:04
  The couple spoke about the long standing tradition of pantomime in the UK.
• 23:08
  My ultimate goal is to have a child that comes to see our show when they're seven or eight.
• 23:13
  And then we probably don't see them when they're 15 or 16.
• 23:16
  But then they go away to university and they come back and they go, you know, let's go
• 23:19
  to the Panto and then they come back with their kids.
• 23:21
  Like that's that's the tradition in the UK.
• 23:24
  Like we didn't invent this format.
• 23:26
  It's it's it's it comes from well, a long long tradition in the UK.
• 23:33
  And it's it's that thing that you do during the holidays.
• 23:37
  You go to a Panto and you have you have some silliness.
• 23:39
  Tor describes why he's so passionate about pantomime and is excited to bring it to Lenox
• 23:43
  and Addington.
• 23:44
  There's a magic that happens between the actors and the audience.
• 23:49
  And that's something that, you know, as the director, writer, producer, that relationship
• 23:56
  is something that, you know, I nurture.
• 23:59
  But what we find with this style of theater is a magic that I don't have control over.
• 24:05
  And that's the moment when a parent and a child laughed at something together and then
• 24:12
  look at each other and notice that they're sharing that moment together.
• 24:19
  And that's the magic I'm interested in creating.
• 24:22
  I think those are the special moments.
• 24:23
  Those are the special moments that we hope and we saw them every show.
• 24:29
  And it was it really was.
• 24:32
  It sort of become my raison d'etre to nurture an opportunity for that to happen.
• 24:39
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 24:44
  This is North Shore News.
• 24:47
  This has been North Shore News and interviews.
• 24:50
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• 24:56
  our 100% volunteer team.
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  Contact Amherst Island Radio for more details.