Latest / North Shore News / January 24th, 2025

Transcript

January 24th, 2025 · 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.
• 0:26
  As Edward Lennox and Adinkan Social Services will see additional funding this year from
• 0:30
  the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit.
• 0:32
  With nearly an extra $110,000, they'll be able to support up to 20 individuals.
• 0:37
  $5.5 million is being allocated provincially to top up the benefit this year.
• 0:43
  The province is hoping to free up emergency shelter spaces for people living in encampments.
• 0:47
  The county received correspondence in December from the Minister of Municipal Affairs and
• 0:51
  Housing, Paul Calandra, regarding three funding opportunities.
• 0:55
  The letter provides details on how the funding is to help address encampments and homelessness.
• 1:00
  Prince Edward Lennox and Adinkan Social Services has received funding from the benefit for
• 1:04
  the last three years, including an original total of just over $135,000 for this year.
• 1:11
  With the addition, their total is now just under a quarter of a million dollars for the
• 1:14
  fiscal year.
• 1:16
  The county did not have any projects ready in order to be eligible for the other two opportunities.
• 1:21
  Manager of Social Services Scott Robertson explains the point of the benefit and notes
• 1:25
  what they're working on now.
• 1:27
  The Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, that's to fund people who are in our transitional
• 1:32
  housing program, to move them from transitional housing so that they can move into permanent
• 1:38
  housing, freeing up space for people in encampments.
• 1:42
  And we're in the process of doing that.
• 1:44
  There was some tight timelines, so we're just working on it now.
• 1:47
  And we already have one person from a private encampment in the town of Greater Napa, and
• 1:53
  he out on the west end of Bridge Street, who's moving from that encampment into our transitional
• 1:59
  housing.
• 2:00
  Robertson explains the process they're going through now with local individuals.
• 2:04
  We have to find places for, I think, another eight folks who are living in our transitional
• 2:10
  housing.
• 2:11
  We can move them into private market rental housing.
• 2:17
  They get the subsidy to make it affordable.
• 2:19
  And then that frees up a spot in our transitional housing to allow somebody from an encampment
• 2:26
  to move in.
• 2:27
  And we have to kind of take action on everybody.
• 2:31
  We're going to help with this funding by March 31.
• 2:33
  The funding that some individuals received from Ontario Works was brought into question
• 2:38
  regarding if Pellis staff are directing individuals to encampments, and if the Ontario Works funding
• 2:43
  would go towards them living in the encampment.
• 2:46
  Manager of social services Lynn Schenye explained the reality of the situation.
• 2:51
  I did go back after our last council meeting and confirmed that staff are not referring
• 2:55
  people to encampments.
• 2:58
  They're having fulsome conversations about what the person's housing options may be,
• 3:02
  whether that's staying with friends or family, renting a room, you know, securing their own
• 3:08
  place if they have the income to do that.
• 3:10
  So they're having a fulsome conversation.
• 3:13
  And sometimes options work out.
• 3:15
  Sometimes they don't.
• 3:16
  On November 20th meeting, Councillor Terry Richardson made a motion for county council
• 3:20
  to seek legal opinion on the matter of providing financial assistance for those living at encampments.
• 3:25
  Acting Director of Social Services Pam Kent explained the opinion they received, noting
• 3:30
  that withholding the money would create more of a liability.
• 3:33
  If somebody is eligible under the act, then financial assistance is a benefit they are
• 3:38
  eligible for.
• 3:39
  And actually withholding it would create a liability rather than avoiding it.
• 3:43
  And also under the Ontario Works Act, there is no requirement for service managers to
• 3:49
  assess compliance with other relevant legislation such as zoning, fire code, building code,
• 3:54
  et cetera.
• 3:55
  Chien-Yi citing the legislation they work under noted her opinion on any potential liability
• 3:59
  for the county.
• 4:01
  I don't believe that there's any liability on behalf of Pellis or the county because
• 4:04
  we are following the legislation that we work under and have been tasked with upholding.
• 4:12
  This does not have any ability at all to withhold the funds.
• 4:16
  So if we've received verifiable shelter costs that the person is required to pay, then we
• 4:22
  are to issue it under the Ontario Works Act.
• 4:24
  And that's the legislation that we fall under.
• 4:27
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 4:32
  This is North Shore News.
• 4:43
  Warden of Lenox and Addington County, Nathan Townend, spoke about the county's response
• 4:47
  to uncertain times across the world with a focus on economic resilience.
• 4:52
  With the potential of tariffs being imposed by the U.S., among other concerns, municipal
• 4:57
  leaders had a lot to chat about at the annual general meeting for the Eastern Ontario Wardens
• 5:02
  Caucus.
• 5:03
  Townend recently attended the meeting and spoke afterwards about the local impact of
• 5:07
  global issues.
• 5:09
  Minister Calandra and Minister Thompson were there from the provincial government.
• 5:13
  Lots of constructive conversations were had.
• 5:16
  I would say that remarks that were made had quite a serious tone.
• 5:21
  I think it's lost on no one that we are in some serious and turbulent times globally
• 5:26
  and nationally.
• 5:28
  And of course, many discussions were had about how that impacts us at the municipal level,
• 5:33
  what powers we have to do anything about it, which can seem limited.
• 5:37
  But the message was certainly that we need to continue to create the economic resilience
• 5:42
  in our communities as much as we possibly can and prepare for some hard times ahead.
• 5:48
  Townend spoke about the work of the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus.
• 5:52
  The Caucus certainly is doing very, very good work on behalf of Eastern Ontario and has a
• 5:57
  lot of pull and a lot of strength and a lot of data and research collection capacity,
• 6:04
  which has an enormous impact in influencing policy decisions at the government level.
• 6:09
  Townend then thanked and officially offered congratulations to some of the other wardens
• 6:14
  and attendees.
• 6:15
  I'd officially offered congratulations to Bonnie Clark, the warden of Peterborough County,
• 6:21
  who has duly elected the chair, and to Steve Ferguson, our neighbor in Prince Edward County,
• 6:28
  elected as vice chair.
• 6:30
  My thanks also to our member of parliament, Shelby Crapniamen, and our member of provincial
• 6:34
  parliament, Rick Brezee.
• 6:36
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 6:41
  This is North Shore News.
• 6:51
  Loyalist Township Council have directed staff to commence public consultation regarding
• 6:55
  road name changes on Edgewood Road.
• 6:57
  If changes eventually take place, a number of residents in the area will see their current
• 7:01
  civic address changed in the process.
• 7:04
  These changes have been recommended to rectify concerns raised by residents, emergency services,
• 7:09
  and staff at both Loyalist Township and the County of Lenox and Addington.
• 7:13
  The existing numbering system in the area does not follow an orderly arrangement of
• 7:17
  odd and even numbers.
• 7:19
  Staff's report also noted that emergency services prefer to not have addresses labeled with
• 7:23
  letters and have had previous issues finding addresses in the area.
• 7:28
  Information Technology Manager with the Township, Andrew Hooper, explains the point staff is
• 7:32
  currently at in the process.
• 7:35
  No decisions have been made.
• 7:36
  There's been a couple of proposals in terms of what a solution could look like.
• 7:41
  But at this time, we just think it's important to get in front of the public, do some consultation,
• 7:48
  and allow us to gather more information and be able to bring that back and seek some more
• 7:52
  direction and make a decision one way or the other.
• 7:55
  Heidi Coburn, a resident from Edgewood Road, notes some of the questions on residents'
• 8:00
  minds.
• 8:01
  What is the reward to changing the neighborhood civic addresses after 50-plus years of these
• 8:07
  numbering systems being in effect?
• 8:09
  Is it worth the thousands of dollars to be spent?
• 8:12
  Will it affect the daily mail service thus all residents being set up in the mail boxes
• 8:17
  versus what is established currently?
• 8:19
  Emergency service response time significantly affected by non-conventional numbering in our
• 8:24
  subdivision.
• 8:25
  Is there any reports showing that it is affecting response times?
• 8:29
  And what is the transition timeline for Google Maps, navigation, delivery services, tools,
• 8:35
  thus if the changes are done, will we see any interruption with regards to that as well?
• 8:42
  The resident of Edgewood Road, Adam Thompson, noted a time in which public consultation
• 8:47
  could be ideal.
• 8:48
  The Harewood Park Association actually has an upcoming AGM, and that may be an excellent
• 8:53
  time for consultation in terms of having a representation of our neighborhood present
• 8:58
  to ask questions, express their concerns.
• 9:01
  Mayor Jim Hagedorn explains the process the township takes when looking for public consultation.
• 9:06
  The way the procedural by-law is that council receives information or questions like this,
• 9:12
  the answers will be coming.
• 9:13
  And so again, as the questions all flow in, we will be preparing answers.
• 9:17
  Deputy Mayor Nathan Townend notes the importance of public engagement.
• 9:22
  The public interest that's already been engaged, hopefully that continues through the consultation
• 9:27
  process is that's what's important.
• 9:30
  Councillor Mike Boudreck explains the township is looking for a positive outcome.
• 9:34
  I do know there's probably people on both sides of this with opinions, so hopefully
• 9:38
  we can do what is best for the residents in that area.
• 9:41
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 9:47
  This is North Shore News.
• 9:57
  Loyalist township is reminding residents that they can take advantage of a special discount
• 10:01
  on dog tags now through March 31st, 2025.
• 10:06
  The discounted rate is just $15.
• 10:09
  After March 31st, the price will return to the regular fee of $30.
• 10:14
  You can pick up your dog tags at locations like the Odessa Municipal Office, Free Flow
• 10:20
  and Shells Market and Bath, Amherst View Pet Hospital, or WJ Henderson Recreation Center.
• 10:28
  And you can also purchase them online at loyalist.ca.
• 10:34
  For Amherst Island Radio, I'm Jordan Webster.
• 10:37
  This is North Shore News.
• 10:47
  Comedian Al Babcock, who got his start in Kingston, has begun bringing comedy events
• 10:51
  to Loyalist Township.
• 10:53
  The next show he's set to host in the area is on February 1st, taking place at the Royal
• 10:57
  Canadian Legion in Bath.
• 10:59
  The show will feature Spencer Rice of the Canadian television series Kenny vs. Spenny.
• 11:04
  Also during the night, there will be stand-up sets by Babcock and other guest comedians.
• 11:09
  Rice will be doing a musical performance.
• 11:12
  Babcock, now based between Kingston and Toronto, is recognized in the Kingston area for his
• 11:16
  commitment to not only supporting comedy but bettering the scene and even bringing it to
• 11:21
  new locations.
• 11:22
  The comedian has shared stages with acts such as Kenny vs. Spenny, Trailer Park Boys, and
• 11:27
  the insane clown posse.
• 11:29
  His company, AB3 Comedy, has produced over 200 shows in Kingston and the surrounding
• 11:33
  area since 2016.
• 11:36
  Most recently, he's hosted shows in Ganonakwe, Napa Ne, Celies Bay, Kingston, and Bath.
• 11:42
  Babcock speaks on his belief of building a stronger community around comedy in the area.
• 11:46
  We're really hoping that comedy kind of takes off into outskirts of Kingston as well as
• 11:54
  the city of Kingston, and it all just feeds each other, right?
• 11:57
  Just building the strong comedy community, not only in Kingston but in Bath and in Ganonakwe,
• 12:07
  it's only going to benefit and bring bigger and better shows to the area.
• 12:10
  Babcock notes how the different feel of smaller venues and communities has helped influence
• 12:14
  what he's looking to do with the comedy scene in Bath.
• 12:17
  There's a completely different vibe to going into a place like Bath that's so different
• 12:23
  from doing a show in downtown Toronto or doing a show in downtown Ottawa.
• 12:28
  Not that those aren't great either.
• 12:30
  Every single comedy show serves its own purpose and has its own vibe, and creating this vibe
• 12:36
  from the ground up is what we're trying to do here in Bath.
• 12:40
  Babcock explains the history of his comedy career and how he's been bringing comedy
• 12:43
  shows to surrounding areas of Kingston, including Loyalist Township.
• 12:47
  I've been doing comedy for almost nine years now.
• 12:51
  I started in the Kingston area.
• 12:52
  I've moved to Toronto a couple of times, the Oshawa area, done comedy there.
• 12:58
  With AB3 comedy, I've been mostly focused in the Kingston area with my own shows, but
• 13:03
  then I've been branching out.
• 13:05
  I've noticed that now there's a lot of comedy in Kingston, which is great, a lot more than
• 13:09
  there used to be, but there wasn't a lot going on in the outskirts of town.
• 13:15
  Ganonakwe, Celie's Bay, Bath, even Napa-nee.
• 13:22
  So what I've done is I've made partnerships with the Legion, and those, I've been doing
• 13:28
  that for about four months now.
• 13:31
  And the shows have all been great.
• 13:32
  I think every single show we've done has been sold out, except for one that was due to weather.
• 13:37
  The response has been awesome.
• 13:38
  So when we reached out to Bath, we really didn't know exactly what the response was
• 13:44
  going to be, but we were pleasantly surprised when it was completely sold out.
• 13:50
  And not only was it sold out, but everyone had a good time, and we're asking when the
• 13:56
  next one's going to be.
• 13:57
  The comedian's connection to Rice came from back in 2017, when he opened for a live Kenny
• 14:02
  vs. Spenny comedy night after having only been performing for a year.
• 14:06
  Babcock explains what the experience did for his career, and the current shows he's
• 14:10
  booking along with Rice.
• 14:12
  That went from me performing to, you know, 100 people, and even to 20 people at Open
• 14:17
  Mics to performing for 700 people.
• 14:21
  And that was, I think, what I considered, I guess, not my first big break, because it
• 14:27
  didn't really get me that far.
• 14:30
  But my first real taste of what a big crowd could be like for comedy.
• 14:35
  I've always kind of stayed in touch and done shows with them here and there.
• 14:39
  And when I started getting these Legion shows going, honestly, the idea just came to me
• 14:44
  that Spenny is a musician, and I thought it'd be great to get together with a musician and
• 14:51
  maybe do a little bit of a tiny variety show.
• 14:54
  And honestly, came together very quick, sent him a message, he was on board, boom, we booked
• 15:01
  two shows, here we are.
• 15:03
  Reflecting on a previous show, Babcock says he just hopes everyone has a great time.
• 15:08
  We were looking around, and there wasn't one person in there that didn't have like a huge
• 15:13
  smile on their face at the time.
• 15:15
  And that's all we really want.
• 15:17
  And we want to promote comedians and the comedy community.
• 15:21
  But what everyone really wants is to have a good time and forget about their problems
• 15:27
  for a couple hours.
• 15:28
  So that's the main goal in this show and every show that I do.
• 15:35
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 15:40
  This is North Shore News.
• 15:50
  Loyalist Township has announced that their Family Day event for 2025 will be taking place
• 15:55
  at the W.J.
• 15:56
  Henderson Recreation Center.
• 15:57
  As reconstruction is still underway in the aquatic area, the event will be taking place
• 16:01
  mainly in the arena, library, and parking lot.
• 16:05
  The event lasts from noon until 2pm and is free to attend.
• 16:09
  Pradax Skating will be open for the duration of the event, with ice resurfacing taking
• 16:12
  place midway through.
• 16:14
  The skating portion is sponsored by Lorna Willis and Lynn Wimminga.
• 16:17
  Councillor Paul Pradax speaks about some of the potential highlights from the day.
• 16:21
  The canteen is going to be open, and at that time we also hope that some of the Amherst
• 16:25
  U Jets will join the people who wish to participate in that.
• 16:29
  And in the parking lot, we're going to have the Loyalist Emergency Services Truck, which
• 16:32
  is always a popular, I guess, activity for the young ones to get a look at it and go
• 16:37
  through it.
• 16:38
  Patrick lists some of the other activities taking place at the event and offers a note
• 16:42
  to residents.
• 16:43
  We've got a LEGO station, a coloring station, some temporary tattoos, maybe a bouncy castle,
• 16:51
  and just dance, and then a photo booth from Photo Booth, Kingston will be there.
• 16:54
  I hope you can join us at the W.J. Recreation Center and maybe take away a little bit of
• 16:59
  the winter blouse.
• 17:00
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
• 17:06
  This is North Shore News.
• 17:16
  Amherst Island Radio has come a long way from a tumble beginning 16 years ago in a converted
• 17:21
  milk house on Amherst Island.
• 17:23
  Today the station boasts a 4,800 watt transmitter serving Loyalist Township, Kingston, Napa-nee,
• 17:30
  and farther north, and can be heard worldwide on the internet.
• 17:33
  And they continue to grow with the addition of their newly launched media hub in Bath,
• 17:39
  Ontario.
• 17:40
  Located at 218 Main Street in Bath, the new media hub represents a major leap forward
• 17:45
  for the non-profit volunteer run station.
• 17:48
  Eric Trombley, brand manager, says the goal is to create a space allowing the community
• 17:54
  to tell stories and share performances in new and exciting ways that weren't possible
• 17:58
  with the space restrictions of the main station.
• 18:01
  The new facility will feature a broadcast studio, performance and recording studio,
• 18:07
  multimedia production tools, and even live streaming capabilities.
• 18:12
  All for free for residents of Loyalist Township.
• 18:17
  Starting in the new year, Amherst Island Radio expects the media hub to up the station's
• 18:22
  game, with the all new performance studio opening its doors to musicians, providing
• 18:26
  them with the opportunity to record, live stream, and broadcast live to air using high
• 18:32
  quality equipment.
• 18:34
  With over 150 live and station performances hosted annually, Eric explained that for the
• 18:40
  first time, they can host full bands without worry.
• 18:43
  He says in the past to accommodate larger groups that they've had to set up a drum
• 18:47
  kit down the hall in the office at the main station.
• 18:51
  The new media hub isn't replacing the main station on the island, but rather will complement
• 18:57
  the station's existing operations on Amherst Island, allowing volunteers more opportunity
• 19:02
  to continue to serve the over 20,000 listeners every month.
• 19:06
  The station's expansion utilizes a private internet connection linking the media hub
• 19:11
  to the existing broadcast tower on Amherst Island, ensuring that the community's creativity
• 19:16
  can reach even more listeners, and keeping the media hub connected and coordinated with
• 19:21
  the main station and FM signal.
• 19:24
  By broadening its capabilities, the station aims to ensure future generations of local
• 19:29
  media makers and strengthen its role as a vital community resource.
• 19:33
  As the performance studio continues to take shape, Amherst Island Radio is calling on the
• 19:38
  community for support.
• 19:40
  Donations and volunteers are needed to complete the studio.
• 19:42
  For more information or to contribute, visit cjai.ca, join the Facebook group Friends of
• 19:49
  Amherst Island Radio and stay tuned to Amherst Island Radio 101.3 FM or online at cjai.ca.
• 19:58
  For Amherst Island Radio, I'm Jordan Webster.
• 20:01
  This is North Shore News.
• 20:05
  This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
• 20:08
  If you have an idea for a story or want to create stories for the show, consider joining
• 20:14
  our 100% volunteer team.
• 20:17
  Visit Amherst Island Radio for more details.