Latest / North Shore News / December 11th, 2025
Transcript
- 0:07Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on
- 0:10Amherst Island Radio. Each week we keep you updated
- 0:14on newsworthy events, happenings and conversations
- 0:17that we've had with people in the local community
- 0:20and beyond. Loyalist Township Emergency Services
- 0:27announced that they were successful in their
- 0:29application for mental health supports for public
- 0:32safety personnel funding. According to the department,
- 0:35the $25 ,000 worth of services they've been approved
- 0:37for will play a significant role in increasing
- 0:40the awareness, training, and programming of mental
- 0:42health supports available to all its members.
- 0:45The province has committed to supporting public
- 0:46safety organizations through this grant stream
- 0:49to help with training and programming through
- 0:51a company called Warrior Health. The grant program
- 0:53is part of the Ontario government's plan to help
- 0:55public safety organizations provide access to
- 0:58specialized mental health services for first
- 1:00responders and public safety personnel. Fire
- 1:02Chief Kent Reedman said the funding was the first
- 1:05of its kind. This is the first type of grant
- 1:08that we've seen from the province for this type
- 1:10of support ever in the history of the Ontario
- 1:14Fire Service. It's an exciting time to see significant
- 1:18changes coming in the mental health support world
- 1:20that our firefighters deserve and need in a lot
- 1:23of cases. So this is a really nice gesture from
- 1:27the province. Councillor Carol Parks and Mayor
- 1:29Jim Hagedorn shared their support for the program.
- 1:32I think it's great that they're finally actually
- 1:33starting to recognize that our first responders
- 1:36need help too. I'd just like to echo that I'm
- 1:38glad to say that they're finally stepping up.
- 1:41and making sure that every end of the day. Staff's
- 1:45is an important part of t and modernization of
- 1:48the d incident stress and post t incident program.
- 1:53Staff w announcement, thanking t support with
- 1:56this initiat Habitat for Humanity's plan for
- 2:15bringing affordable units to Bath has moved another
- 2:17step closer to becoming a reality. Loyalist's
- 2:20Township Council approved an affordable housing
- 2:22development agreement to donate a portion of
- 2:24land on Church Street in Bath to Habitat for
- 2:27Humanity. The Township will be donating approximately
- 2:29half an acre of serviced and rezoned land to
- 2:31the organization valued at an estimated $277
- 2:35,500 by using money the Township received through
- 2:38the Housing Accelerator Fund. Staff looked to
- 2:41propose mixed uses on the Church Street property,
- 2:44including affordable rental units owned and operated
- 2:46by Lennox and Addington County. The donated land
- 2:49is expected to be enough to accommodate one block
- 2:51of four town homes, which could be built before
- 2:53the Housing Accelerator Fund's deadline in December
- 2:55of 2027, with another block of four town homes
- 2:58to be built by 2030. Based on Habitat for Humanity's
- 3:02presentation at Council's November 25th meeting,
- 3:05staff's report noted the proposed development
- 3:06can be compatible and complementary to the other
- 3:09potential uses. Staff will also be issuing a
- 3:11preliminary expression of interest in January
- 3:132026 to gauge interest from other developers
- 3:16for portions of the land to be sold on the open
- 3:19market. According to staff's report, the potential
- 3:21housing projects proposed by both the county
- 3:23and Habitat for Humanity are in alignment with
- 3:25the Township's Strategic Plan Balanced Growth
- 3:28Objective to support more affordable housing.
- 3:29and attainable local housing. These land donations
- 3:32towards the development of affordable housing
- 3:34would also advance two of the Township's Housing
- 3:36Accelerator Fund initiatives included within
- 3:39their approved action plan. Councillor Paul Proderick
- 3:41showed his support for the project. I would just
- 3:44say that this is a small piece of our strategic
- 3:48plan and it's good to see the Habitat for Humanity
- 3:52project and that hopefully students from our...
- 3:55Local high school will be involved in the building.
- 3:57We need not only homes, we need builders too.
- 4:00For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
- 4:02Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
- 4:06News. Loyalist Township will be celebrating their
- 4:17partnership with Brooklyn Homes as the naming
- 4:19sponsor for the arena at the W .J. Henderson
- 4:22Community Center on January 4th. The event takes
- 4:25place from 10 a .m. to 12 p .m. with a ribbon
- 4:27cutting, check presentation, free community skate,
- 4:30and free treats. For more information and to
- 4:33RSVP for the naming ceremony of the new Brooklyn
- 4:35Homes Arena, visit Loyalist .ca. For Amherst
- 4:39Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative,
- 4:42I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. A seasonal
- 4:55overnight parking reminder for Loyalist Township
- 4:57from December 1st until March 31st, 2026. Parking
- 5:01is prohibited on any road or street in Loyalist
- 5:04Township between 1 a .m. and 7 a .m. This restriction
- 5:07is in effect regardless of weather conditions.
- 5:09Vehicles in violation of this bylaw will be ticketed.
- 5:12For more information, visit Loyalist .ca. For
- 5:15Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
- 5:18Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
- 5:21News. Loyalist Township will be accepting naming
- 5:32ideas for street names in the area until December
- 5:3531st. The township's commemorative street naming
- 5:38program gives residents the chance to put forward
- 5:40suggestions that celebrate the people, places,
- 5:42and stories that make the community unique. Approved
- 5:45names will be added to the township's road registry
- 5:47for future developments. Learn more and submit
- 5:50ideas at Loyalist .ca. For Amherst Island Radio
- 5:54and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted
- 5:56Evans. This is North Shore News. Torrent Productions
- 6:09is returning to Lennox and Addington with their
- 6:11second annual Merry Magical Pantomime. This year
- 6:13the company is presenting Jack and the Beans
- 6:16Talk, a Merry Magical Pantomime. Shows will take
- 6:18place at the hall at Emmanuel United Church,
- 6:2163 Factory Street in Odessa. It will be premiering
- 6:24Tuesday, December 23rd at 7 p .m. and run for
- 6:2715 shows until January 4th. Established in 2008,
- 6:30Torrent Productions is a professional theatre
- 6:32company composed of Rob Tor and Stephanie Graham.
- 6:34They've developed and produced new musicals at
- 6:36the Toronto Fringe Festival and Next Stage Theatre
- 6:38Festival in Toronto, as well as an annual holiday
- 6:41pantomime in Toronto from 2016 to 2019. Both
- 6:44Tor and Graham have extensive theatre credits
- 6:46from the Stratford Festival, Charlottetown Festival,
- 6:49Neptune Theatre, Theatre Aquarius, Mirvish Productions,
- 6:52Thousand Islands Playhouse, and many other companies
- 6:54across Canada. Most recently, Graham was the
- 6:57co -director and choreographer of the sold -out
- 6:59run of Mary Poppins at Thousand Islands Playhouse.
- 7:01Tor has spent seven seasons as a performer at
- 7:03Thousand Islands Playhouse, as well as many other
- 7:05theatres across the country. For showtimes and
- 7:08more information, visit torrentproductions .com.
- 7:10T -O -R -R -E -N -T productions dot com. For
- 7:14Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
- 7:17Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
- 7:20News. This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
- 7:26If you have an idea for a story, or want to create
- 7:29stories for the show, consider joining our 100
- 7:32% volunteer team. Contact Amherst Island Radio
- 7:36for more details.