Latest / North Shore News / November 6th, 2024

Transcript

November 6th, 2024 · North Shore News

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  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on Amherst Island Radio.
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  Each week we keep you updated on newsworthy events, happenings, and conversations that
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  we've had with people in the local community and beyond.
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  Lennox and Addington will see its first ever holiday pantomime event this year in Odessa.
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  Torrent Productions, a production company formerly based in Toronto that has recently
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  relocated to Lennox and Addington, are preparing to host the event.
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  Cinderella, a merry magical pantomime, will be running from December 19th to 24th at a
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  manual United Church in Odessa.
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  Tickets are now on sale.
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  Torrent Productions is run by husband and wife team Rob Torr and award-winning choreographer
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  Stephanie Graham.
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  They are hoping to make this an annual tradition for the community in Lennox and Addington.
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  Co-artistic producer Rob Torr explains what pantomime is.
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  Pantomime is a wonderful medium because we have music, we hope, that satisfies all the
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  different generations.
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  There's voodoo comedy, there's silly comedy, there's classic music, there's up-to-date
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  music.
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  Wordplay.
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  It's all the things.
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  There really is something for everybody.
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  Torr describes the company's history and his own personal connection to pantomime.
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  We're from Toronto.
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  We moved out here about three and a half years ago.
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  And we've done four successful pantos downtown Toronto in a very sort of small-town feel.
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  We were doing it at the local Legion.
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  And Panto is my passion and it was before we started them, but after producing them
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  and seeing the magic that they created is why I want to continue doing it.
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  We saw memories being formed and that's what I want to do.
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  I want families to be able to come to this and have memories and remember having a good
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  time together and silliness.
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  I always say Panto is not going to change the world, but it might make it a better place.
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  Co-artistic producer Stephanie Graham explains what they do at Torrent Productions.
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  We have three core mandate things about Torrent Productions.
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  We want to bring affordable professional theatre to Southern Ontario.
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  We are interested in developing new shows and then encouraging and nurturing bridges
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  between generations and the diverse demographics in our community.
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  So those are our sort of three pillars.
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  For right now we're focusing on the Panto and building that, but who's to say what
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  might happen more in the future?
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  The couple notes how the show could expand and what they may be working on in the future.
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  I've got three more shows written and ready to go.
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  And our hope, like this year, we're only, at the moment we're scheduled to do eight
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  shows, but we are able to extend.
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  If possible.
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  If we have enough, and again, that's all based on ticket sales.
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  But I mean, I'd like to make this in the future.
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  I'd like a six week run.
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  I'd like people coming from all up and down the seaway to come to Odessa, come to Lenox
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  and Addington, come to our little part of the world and enjoy all the things we have
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  to offer here.
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  The couple note how the show is currently run and how they'd like to foster more local
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  talent in the future.
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  We're asking Toronto based actors to come out here for four weeks at the holidays.
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  And you know, we have to pay them and we have to house them.
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  But what I really would love to do is to be able to attract Kingston actors who've gone
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  abroad and bring them back home so that they can be with their families during the holidays.
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  But also so that we as a community can celebrate the talent that this community has helped
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  create.
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  And we live in the area too, like we get it.
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  And we would like to foster something, you know, something so that not just truly not
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  just the talent that's on the stage, but also stage managers and technical and also teaching
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  audiences how to enjoy life theater, because that's something that we don't do in this
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  country.
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  And pantomime is it's like an entry level form of life theater.
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  And because it's not children's theater, it's it's family entertainment.
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  The couple spoke about the long standing tradition of pantomime in the UK.
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  My ultimate goal is to have a child that comes to see our show when they're seven or eight.
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  And then we probably don't see them when they're 15 or 16.
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  But then they go away to university and they come back and they go, you know, let's go
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  to the Panto and then they come back with their kids.
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  Like that's that's the tradition in the UK.
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  Like it's we didn't invent this format.
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  It's it's it comes from well, a long, long tradition in the UK.
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  And it's it's that thing that you do during the holidays.
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  You go to a Panto and you have you have some silliness.
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  Tor describes why he's so passionate about pantomime and is excited to bring it to Lenox
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  and Addington.
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  There's a magic that happens between the actors and the audience.
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  And that's something that, you know, as the director, writer, producer, that relationship
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  is something that, you know, I nurture.
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  But what we find with this style of theater is a magic that I don't have control over.
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  And that's the moment when a parent and a child laughed at something together and then
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  look at each other and notice that they're sharing that moment together.
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  And that's the magic I'm interested in creating.
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  I think those are the special moments.
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  Those are the special moments that we hope and we saw them every show.
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  And it was it really was.
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  It sort of become my raison d'etre to nurture an opportunity for that to happen.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  Staff at Loyalist Township have noted the success of their family physician recruitment
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  incentive program.
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  The program has brought three new doctors to the area in just over a year.
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  All three new physicians have joined the Loyalist family health team in Amherst View to replace
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  three physicians who have retired.
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  The success of the program means its reserve fund is now spent and staff are now looking
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  at other funding options, incentives, and the potential of adding funds to the township's
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  2025 budget.
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  CAO Rebecca Murphy describes the success of the program and where the township currently
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  stands.
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  We're in the position where we have early uptake of our physician recruitment program.
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  Originally the program was we thought it would take some time before that that would
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  happen and that we were going to have one physician a year and we actually got three
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  this year.
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  We have financial obligations to those three physicians into 2028 and that we do have interest
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  from two others including a new physician who would potentially take on all new unrosterd
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  patients.
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  To do that would be a significant increase in the operating budget or alternate funding
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  and staff are pointing out there's still the community grant available if Council wishes
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  to do that to fund this program.
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  He notes the potential of another physician who might come to the area under the program.
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  I have spoken with one gentleman who wants to set up an independent clinic in Amherst
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  View at the Amherst View Pharmacy and it would be a new physician.
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  He has somebody in the wings, a physician, and asked all the questions about what's the
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  incentive program like, could they join the health team?
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  You know, I've put him in touch with the health team and he was looking to do that this fall,
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  early New Year, and then I was also approached by another doctor, the Loyalist Family Health
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  team, who is retiring in 2025 and wishes to be able to offer this incentive program to
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  be able to get filled his retiring position.
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  Murphy notes other options that staff are looking at.
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  There are alternate models, however, to incentive programs to individual physicians that are
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  developing in our region. Kingston has had such an individual incentive program for a
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  number of years and has spent over $3 million and did get 17 new physicians, but they also
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  are providing incentive money to clinics to expand.
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  And they're also being part of the new Midtown Health Home.
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  This is a new model. Greater Napa Nia is also developing that program.
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  It's really an extension of community health centers.
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  Murphy went on to describe the program in Napa Nia.
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  They hope that through hiring physicians through a different model whereby the administration
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  is performed by a separate organization like the Community Health Center, then the physicians
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  are paid that way that they'll be able to roster all of the unrostered residents in
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  Napa Nia through doing that.
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  Councillor Lorna Willis notes the need for physicians in the area and the ongoing situation.
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  It is a big problem in our township and in the area in general.
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  And it's been unfortunate that the gains in Kingston and Napa Nia haven't helped Loyalist
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  Township people who are trying to find doctors.
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  This is a provincial problem and they should be funding it.
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  And this is a downloading to municipal taxpayers.
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  So that causes me concern.
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  Mayor Jim Hagedorn spoke about taxes as well.
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  It does really bother me that this, there's other levels of government that have already
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  taxed for this and we're being taxed for it again.
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  Hagedorn went on to explain the potential of exploring and expanding a health phone option
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  in the area.
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  There is a doctor or some doctors that provide those services and the pharmacist in Bath
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  actually has it.
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  And it doesn't matter if you're rostered or not, you can go there and it costs, there
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  are fees.
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  I was looking, I was thinking that might be possibly an option too instead of rostering,
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  bringing in doctors.
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  It may be, we may be able to service more of our residents out of the pharmacist with
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  something like that.
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  That's another option that I've recently become more aware of.
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  And so there may be options other than doctors, which may be a little more financially viable
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  for the township.
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  Hagedorn notes how a health phone option may operate.
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  It's not a family doctor, but they can do all the requisitions for blood work and everything
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  and give prescriptions and do a fair bit of work.
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  Obviously, if they were bad enough, it would still be an emergency room trip.
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  Councillor Jake Ennis notes his support for a health phone model.
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  I think that's probably the way of the future.
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  And it's also to have an interdisciplinary clinic.
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  I think it's also a venue to access provincial funding if you can get a proposal together
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  for your area.
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  So just to say that I would be supportive of loyalists continuing to look at that model
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  as an option in the future.
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  Councillor Paul Proderick describes the importance of bringing physicians to the area and funding
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  initiatives such as their incentive program.
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  We had two doctors here and I don't know what it cost to get them through the process, but
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  I said to Councillor Willis, there's 45 years of doctors in Loyalist.
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  So I think it's worth the investment.
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  And I know it's the tax thing, it's that.
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  But eventually, we're at a crisis in this and I think anytime we can get a doctor to
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  serve our populace, especially these young doctors, you hope their young families, Loyalist
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  is a good place for them to be.
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  And I think it's worth the investment.
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  And I guess the big question is, where do we get the money to invest?
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  And I think we have to do it.
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  Councillor Carroll Park notes her personal experience and why it's so important to bring
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  physicians to Loyalist Township.
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  I've been without a family doctor almost two years.
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  I do use the pharmacy program.
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  It works well.
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  It's mostly covered by OHIP, so there doesn't seem to be any additional costs that I've
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  experienced with that.
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  However, my family doctor was originally from NapaNee.
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  And with the new doctors that are coming into NapaNee, I just kind of assume that because
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  my family doctor retired from NapaNee that I would go on the waitlist for NapaNee, that's
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  not the case.
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  It's specific to where you live.
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  So I think as Loyalist Township, we need to start to encourage those doctors to come
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  into our community because we're sandwiched between NapaNee and Kingston.
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  Murphy touched on why funding such programs is so important.
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  I think it would be a bit of a shame if there were new physicians that may come, but we
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  don't have incentives unless they go elsewhere.
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  The original reserve fund for the program was established in May 2023 and included $100,000
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  to be paid over five years in return for five years of practice in Loyalist with a roster
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  of at least 1200 patients.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News.
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  I'm Sarah Birch with Kingstonis News and here are the top headlines that you need to know.
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  Kingston Police are continuing an investigation into a violent attack in Midtown Kingston
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  last night and they're asking residents to keep an eye out for the suspect who is still
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  at large.
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  The suspect is described by police as 25 to 30 year old, female, approximately 5 foot
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  one inches tall with shoulder length brown hair.
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  If seen, do not approach the suspect and contact Kingston Police immediately.
• 14:16
  Justice Owen Rees has found Malachyne McTag of Kingston not guilty of aggravated assault,
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  ruling that when McTag stabbed a man in late 2022 on the K&P Trail, it was in self-defense.
• 14:26
  The City of Kingston has stated that the community members near Bell Park will notice an increase
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  in work crews and equipment as the cleanup and restoration of the area begins.
• 14:34
  There are calls for Utilities Kingston to provide more opportunity for the public to
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  review and comment on its final report to council on a proposed $71 million biogas plant.
• 14:43
  The downtown Kingston BAA has announced the 2024 limited edition Pewter collectibles.
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  This year's grouping is a combination of one of the original 1994 ornaments, two iconic
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  fixtures that left Kingston in 2024 and two brand new ones.
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  The City of Kingston's annual Toys for Tickets campaign is now underway, allowing those who
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  receive parking tickets to pay those tickets with a toy for a local child.
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  These can be donated from December 2 to December 5, 2024.
• 15:10
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• 15:14
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• 15:18
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• 15:22
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