Letters_11-08
Back to HomeLetters - February 24, 2011Letters: February 24
OUCH! That was a slap in the face! Jenn Dunham
Congratulations to Dr. Tobia, Brian Young
Sisters of the Drum Lunch, Pamela Giroux
Olden, the county, and the Heritage Festival, Justin Gray
OUCH! That was a slap in the face!
In response to the comments made by our electoral elite (Cost Sharing Elusive over Ompah fire station, The Frontenac News, Feb 17/11). To Fred Perry and Wayne Good, I have this to say:
Mr. Perry, are you aware of the numerous tasks we perform as a station? I’m sure there are many Ompah (and surrounding) residents that would testify that we not only “contain fires from spreading to other buildings”, but in fact assist in saving lives as well. Since you do not wear a pager, I can understand why you might be so ignorant. However, how many years have you been serving North Frontenac Township? I thought someone might have brought you up to speed by now, especially since you are the... second in charge? (Scary isn’t it?).
As for your comment about our “skill base”, Mr. Perry, what skill base do you bring to OUR community? I will tell you mine. I teach in OUR community full time, I assist my husband in running our local small business, I am a very involved mother of two and I still make time to help OUR community by training bi-weekly, wearing a pager 24/7 and responding to calls anytime NIGHT or DAY! Mr. Perry, have you ever had to try working hours or minutes after extricating a trapped person in a motor vehicle accident, or rescuing a person with multiple fractures from Granite Lake? I have! And it’s not pleasant! But I do it for OUR community.
I would like to remind both Mr. Perry and Mr. Good of some of the previous dialogue Ompah station and the Township have had in the past regarding the fire hall that you have deemed “not necessary”. Do you remember the initial request from the township council for Ompah station to show their ‘commitment’ to this project? No? Well let me reiterate for you. We were told we needed to raise money to put toward to the new hall. Well, we have been fundraising ever since and haven’t stopped. We were told we needed to find ways to cut costs on the land clearing, so our whole station voluntarily cleared the land and not without some council complaint I might add. Hours, days, months of sweat and hard work have been and continue to be poured into this project by the Ompah Volunteers.
Mr. Good, I quote you as saying, “We don’t really need a fire station in Ompah. We have one in Plevna and Snow Road”. What do you propose the response time will be to my neighbour(s)who are in distress? Or to the tourist who has had an MVA between Granite Lake and Calaboggie? My hats go off to our two sister stations, but I ask: are Plevna/Snow Road VOLUNTEERS ready to adopt further distance and hours away from their families to make up the response time lost by the Ompah station volunteers? Are residents and tourists ready to wait longer response time?
Well here is my proposal to Mr.Perry and Mr. Good... I suggest you take a moment to reflect upon your words. Not only were your comments hurtful and unwarranted, they were also out of line.
Although our views on the need for a new fire hall may differ, I think your lack of respect for firefighters and EFR volunteers is disgusting.
I anticipate your apology to the volunteers of Ompah Station, as I believe one is in order from both of you!
Jenn Dunham, EFR Captain of the Ompah Volunteer Fire Station
Congratulations to Dr. Tobia
When I saw the ad for Lakelands Family Health Team (Family Health Team comes to Denbigh & Flinton, Feb 10/11, the Frontenac News), I wanted to make a point of congratulating Dr. Tobia for all the work he has done for the community. Through his selfless actions he has helped to provide the area with the assurance of ongoing medical care for the long term. I am sure that many people are unaware of how many unpaid calls, letters, emails, and meetings he has been involved in to get the Family Health Team to this point. Make sure to thank him and his team the next time you come by the clinic.
Brian Young M.D.
Sisters of the Drum Lunch at Heritage Festival will support northern school
The Sisters of the Drum will be providing a light lunch at Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake as part of the Heritage Festival weekend on Sat. Feb. 26th between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. On the menu we have "Three Sisters Soup" (a vegetarian delight with squash, corn, and beans) a chicken and rice soup, as well as a venison chili. To go with that will be a choice of cornbread, bannock, or biscuits. Various desserts will also be available to go along with tea, coffee, or juice. And for those of you who would like to try something different we will also have a pot of cedar tea, a traditional Algonquin medicine.
Participating in the Heritage Festival is very important to us for many reasons but this year it is especially important. We are presently involved in raising awareness and fund raising for a school in the far North on James Bay at a place called Attawapiskat. The children in this remote community have been attending school in a temporary collection of portables for the past 10 years. They have been promised a new school for years now but the wheels of Government turn slowly. We want to help these children realize their dream of having a new school with all the latest equipment just like the schools in the South. We want equal opportunity for these kids so we are raising money for library books and art supplies----things they are lacking right now. Please help us help these children by coming to our lunch and viewing our display boards.
Pamela Giroux
Olden, the county, and the Heritage Festival
Well, what do you know – Olden was left out of the Frontenac Heritage Festival once again. North and South Frontenac as well as the Frontenac Islands were also left out of what I thought was the Frontenac Heritage Festival, not Oso and Friends Festival with the majority of events in the Oso area. Now I know someone is going to say, well, maybe someone from the excluded areas should be on the Heritage Festival committee – and maybe they’re right, but I doubt it would make a difference. Let’s face it – an idea for an event would have been brought up and if it was a good idea it would have to be held in Oso, and if it doesn’t suit Oso then it would be a bad idea.
The Heritage Festival is no different than the way the municipality is being run. Now don’t get me wrong – I have nothing against the Heritage Festival itself, I just don’t think that this is the way to do it - by excluding one ward in the township and the rest of Frontenac County and putting the county name on it when in fact it has nothing to do with the whole county, and have everyone help offset the cost. I hope that when or if the Heritage Festival committee asks council for a donation I have the support from Olden’s two councilors by saying, don’t put it on the tax bills of Olden ratepayers. It is time for fairness and equality.
Justin Gray
