Tag Archives: Leeds and Grenville

Lynn Laming-Kerr to receive Lifetime Achievement Award

Lynn Laming-Kerr will be recognized on International Women’s Day with the Lifetime Achievement Award for women in business for more than 20 years. The owner/operator of Kitley Grocery & Service Centre in Toledo says being part of the community is what success is all about. Photo credit: Submitted [Leeds Grenville Economic Development photo].
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Lynn Laming-Kerr, long-time owner of Kitley Grocery & Service Centre in Toledo, will be receiving the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s annual International Women’s Day celebration on Thursday, March 6 at the Brockville Memorial Centre.

For over 36 years, Laming-Kerr’s service centre has been a staple in Elizabethtown-Kitley. Known as a welcoming hub in the village, Lynn and her husband, Peter, continue to provide essentials such as fuel, propane, frozen foods, hand-made breakfasts, lunches, and snacks to go, beverages, lottery tickets, and more. The store became an LCBO Liquor Convenience Outlet Operator years before the recent expansion of retail liquor sales.

“I was 19 when I started with the store. I came to help provide for my family, but then it changed as the community became my family,” she said.

Laming-Kerr has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 25 years. “We are a very close community; we support schools and churches, and the community supports our business. We stay connected by being there and staying present for our customers,” she says.

Photo credit: Submitted [Leeds Grenville Economic Development photo].

Laming-Kerr leads a team of employees that have consistently served with a commitment to customer engagement and breaking down barriers. “Everyone is welcome here,” she says. Her efforts have created meaningful connections and fostered economic opportunities in the region. In 2021, the store was the top entry in the “Grow Your Business, Love Your Lifestyle” video promotion.

“Lynn’s success and dedication is to be commended as she has demonstrated the importance of female leadership in small business while balancing the needs of her family and supporting her community,” says Corinna Smith Gatcke, warden of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and mayor of the Township of Leeds and Thousand Islands. “Lynn’s commitment and longevity has attributed to her accomplishments and gained her the admiration and respect from many in the region.”

“I am absolutely thrilled for Lynn. I can’t think of a more deserving recipient for an award such as this one. Kitley Grocery & Service Centre has become a well-known and long-standing fixture in the township thanks to her tenacity and leadership, along with her unrelenting dedication to customer service and a friendly atmosphere. In a time when so many village stores have become relics of the past, Lynn’s establishment not only lives on, it thrives!” said Elizabethtown-Kitley Township Mayor Brant Burrow. “She genuinely loves her community, and the community loves her.”

Laming-Kerr is the 12th business leader selected for this coveted award, that recognizes women who have been in business for over 20 years and has demonstrated hard work, community contribution and resilience.

Submitted by the Leeds-Grenville Economic Development office.

RNJ Youth Services touting its programs, services across Lanark, Leeds Grenville

RNJ Youth Services
RNJ Youth Services executive director spoke to Perth council’s committee of the whole on June 4 regarding the programs and services offered at the organization that has been helping youth in the tri-counties overcome challenges such as addictions, mental health and involvement in the justice system. Photo credit: Laurie Weir.
LAURIE WEIR

RNJ Youth Services has been around for more than 30 years, but many don’t know about the organization that helps young people and their families across the counties of Lanark and Leeds and Grenville, that started in Smiths Falls in 1987.

Representatives from the organization have been making their rounds to local municipalities hoping to increase awareness of the programs and services offered, and to gain support in their advocacy. 

“Our numbers across the board are dramatically increasing,” said Rachel Burns, executive director, to Perth council’s committee of the whole on June 4. “The last fiscal year along, we serviced 1,700 youth across three counties, (in 2021-23).”

Of those numbers, there were 48 youth served in Perth, compared to Smiths Falls with 238 youth served. Comparatively, Brockville youth represented 298 people on the high end, while Merrickville-Wolford had 24. 

“We are already sitting at 350 youths this year and our fiscal year just started,” Burns said. 

Lanark County Community Justice is the organization that deals with restorative justice, and RNJ Youth Services “handle all the rest,” Burns said. “We do a lot of the early intervention, working with youth before they are criminally charged.”

They work with youth aged eight to 17 “to try and push them down a different path,” so they don’t have to access the resources of restorative justice, she said. 

RNJ Youth Services also work with youth who have a conviction but there is no victim, like drug charges.

Burns said they are seeing increased caseloads with more complexity. From petty thefts to kids threating to harm others in the family, calls for service are escalating. 

“It’s not something we have a lot of experience with but it seems to be on the rise,” she said. 

Other trends are internet related crimes, like hate crimes or pornography, and “that’s alarming.”

Burns said they work with their police partners to create educational presentations for schools, as these threats are up over 42 per cent.

Burns said they haven’t seen a funding increase from the province for 18 years. 

For 2023/24, their annual expenses were $795,700, with an income of $585,049, giving them a $210,651 deficit.

Coun. Jim Boldt trying to address the need an earlier age would be key.

“We all know that a lot of the preventative maintenance should be started at home,” he said. “But parents are also caught in a world where we’re all so stressed.”

Boldt asked what they could do as collaborative communities to help the organization achieve their goals. 

Burns said a task force created in the Greater Toronto Area doesn’t tackle the issues of rural Ontario. 

She said letters of support when they attend the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conferences would be helpful to possibly gain some funding opportunities.

RNJ Youth Services is financed by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, Ministry of the Attorney General, Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addiction Mental Health, United Way of Leeds and Grenville, community grants and the Sifton Family Foundation. Burns said their expenses are however, increasing, while funding is not. 

Deputy Mayor Ed McPherson asked if they’d approached county councils. If they did that, then they would capture a lot more municipalities in one shot, he said. 

“I’m just trying to save you some time and running around,” he said. “I’d welcome you as come to county council.”

Committee passed a recommendation to draft a support letter and circulate it to the tri-county municipalities and the ministries involved.

Lanark County continues to increase community housing

Community Housing
Photo credit: lanarkcounty.ca

In consultation with partners, clients and the community, and by using a multi-pronged approach, Lanark County continues to take steps to address the complex issue of housing.

At the community services committee meeting this week, Director of Social Services Emily Hollington provided an overview of activities related to the county’s 10-Year Housing and Homelessness Plan. The plan, which was approved in 2019 and is reviewed every five years, includes mandated targets set by the province.

“Over the past year, Lanark County has made strides in achieving objectives in the plan,” Hollington said. In 2021-2022, this has included 10 additional portable housing benefit (PHB) spaces, 10 additional rent supplement spaces and the replacement of lost rent supplement spaces with PHB spaces.

Partnerships with community agencies have played a key role in meeting objectives. “We released an expression of interest to non-profit housing providers this year, which resulted in a partnership with Carebridge for 28 new rent supplements in a new building,” Hollington said.

New supports for clients were also created, including an agreement with Lanark County Mental Health to support housing services clients in 2021 and the addition of new housing services caseworker and clerk positions.

“This year we established a Housing Working Group to examine best practices, and a Homeless Services Coordinator position has been created until December 2022. We conducted the homelessness enumeration and launched and administered the consent-based By-Name List, which help us to get a more accurate idea of the number of people who are struggling and what supports they need. We have a small team dedicated to addressing homelessness specifically and working with clients to get them housed, and our by-name list committee of community agencies works together by pooling resources and finding ways to improve service allocation.”

Hollington noted best practices learned from the Housing Working Group have included the importance of seeking out partnerships with the non-profit and private sector, as well as leveraging county funding with other portfolios, such as federal capital dollars, in order to create multiple units through innovation.

The working group found having rent-geared-to-income (RGI) housing administered by the non-profit sector is ideal. “For RGI units, the landlord must take someone from our waitlist. A key step for private landlords is often to screen tenants, which means they are not necessarily willing to take part in this program, whereas a non-profit partner may have a greater capacity to take part.”

The county also partnered with the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville and Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Addictions and Mental Health on a homelessness study, with follow-up on recommendations now underway.

“We also have a study in progress to develop a toolkit for municipalities that highlights opportunities and planning tools that would encourage more affordable housing development,” Hollington said. This is expected to be shared with council in the spring.

Council recently authorized an application to apply for a Federation of Canadian Municipalities grant for a pilot project to develop two carbon sink tiny homes for affordable housing in Perth.

“A major project to complete a development at 7 Arthur St. in Carleton Place came to fruition early this year with 20 households moving in,” Hollington added.

Over the course of the pandemic, more than $6.5 million in provincial Social Services Relief Funding was issued to the county, which supported multiple initiatives and allowed for five additional capital projects:

  • Lanark County Interval House purchased six housing spaces in Perth
  • Shardon Manor will add nine new beds
  • Victoria House completed renovations
  • Rideau Ferry Country Home completed renovations
  • 2B Developments are undertaking a capital project

The county recently reviewed investment plans for 2022-23 for provincial and federal funds for housing and homelessness supports:

  • The Canada-Ontario Community Housing Initiative (COCHI) is distributing $430,845 among eligible housing providers on a per-unit basis. COCHI will maintain Ontario’s social housing supply. The initiative will protect tenants living in projects with expiring operating agreements/mortgages and promote the long-term sustainability of non-profit housing providers.
  • Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) funding of $395,000 will be distributed among four programs: Homeownership, Ontario Renovates, Support Services and Administration. OPHI will provide flexible funding to address local housing priorities and improve access to affordable housing options. The initiative will help to increase affordable housing supply.
  • The Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI) allocates $1.3 million in five programs: Emergency Shelter, Housing with Related Supports, Services and Supports, Homelessness Prevention and Administration. Municipalities can use the CHPI funding to address local priorities and better meet the needs of individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. CHPI has two key program outcomes: That people experiencing homelessness obtain and retain housing, and that people at risk of homelessness remain housed.

Hollington said the 10-Year Plan proposes 10 new housing units be built in 2022, with five to be affordable and five RGI. The county will soon be sending out a request for proposals related to capital funding for this RGI and affordable housing development. “We would be taking into account the best practices determined by the housing working group, with a view to fulfilling and possibly surpassing
our goal for 2022,” she said.

“Lanark County has been working with all stakeholders and engaging with provincial and federal governments to advocate on this complex issue and to leverage opportunities to continue to move our housing and homelessness plan forward,” said Warden John Fenik (Perth Mayor). “This is a major issue in communities across the country, and many of our residents are struggling. Increased community housing remains a key priority for Lanark County Council.”

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School immunization clinics for grade 7 and 8 students in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark

Immunization
Photo credit: Stock image.

Immunizations remain an important part of a healthy lifestyle, even during COVID-19.

For the 2020/21 school year, the Health Unit will be offering the Meningitis, Hepatitis B and HPV9 vaccines for Grade 7 students, and those Grade 8 students that did not complete their series last year at school based clinics. The school based clinics will be held at host schools throughout Leeds, Grenville and Lanark on weekends beginning Saturday, October 24.

These weekend clinics will be by appointment only. This new model of service will help to minimize traffic in the schools during regular school hours, which is one of the COVID-19 prevention methods that schools currently have in place.

Schools will provide parents/caregivers of Grade 7 and 8 students with clinic dates and information on completing consent forms and booking appointments.

Parents or caregivers are asked to:

The Health Unit is planning additional immunization clinics for Grade 7 and 8 students who may need extra support or who are unable to attend their scheduled school clinics. Information about these additional clinics will be posted on our website at a later date.

Parents and caregivers are reminded about the following day of clinic COVID-19 precautions:

  • Complete the school screening online https://covid-19.ontario.ca/school-screening/ and follow the instructions given. DO NOT ATTEND if student screens positive.
  • Please notify screeners when you arrive and follow the directions given.
  • Parents/caregivers are not allowed to accompany the student into the school.
  • Students must wear a face covering.
  • Please be prepared to wait 30 minutes from the time the student is allowed into school.

More information can be found at https://healthunit.org/health-information/immunization/grade-7-immunizations/.

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