Letters: Jan 24/13

Jeff Green | Jan 24, 2013

Saving Plevna

I’ve been a resident of the Township of North Frontenac since 2005 when my wife and I built our retirement home on a lake just north of the town of Plevna. Since then, more people have settled in the area to enjoy this beautiful region of Eastern Ontario, in spite of the lack of important services such as health care, cellular phone and limited access to high-speed internet. However, there is comfort in knowing that Plevna has some essential services such as the North of 7 facilities (grocery store, gas bar, restaurant, propane, and post office), the Lookout Home Hardware, the LCBO and other smaller businesses.

This may change quite drastically as a result of a recent announcement that the North of 7 complex will close its doors in April of 2013, unless the current operator is able to purchase the property from the owner and improve the business.

The future of the services now provided by North of 7 is quite uncertain. Local residents ought to be quite concerned. We already live in an under-serviced area and the loss of any key facility, whether it be the local school or one of the principal retail establishments, could be disastrous to the township.

The closure of North of 7 could begin a downward spiral for an already low municipal tax base. The loss of a major retail business will force residents to shop elsewhere in larger centres with larger retail facilities. Let me give you an example of what can happen. You drive to a larger centre (Ottawa, Perth, Kingston) to buy your groceries. While you’re there, you might as well buy your other goods at the Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Costco and the LCBO. Everything is so convenient and close by. But, what would that do to retail sales revenues back in Plevna?

As retail sales in Plevna begin to decline, and they eventually would, the remaining establishments will suffer the same fate as North of 7 – inadequate sales. People may slowly move out of the area. Fewer residents means fewer children and the local school will close its doors. There will be less new residential and no new commercial development, further reducing tax revenues and thus the services the township can provide.

This may sound like a somewhat pessimistic view of the future of Plevna, which has survived for decades in a declining business environment. However, I think that unless we rally around local businesses, we stand to lose other conveniences.

All of us have a responsibility to support our local businesses to ensure their survivability. Rather than complain about the service or the prices, let’s instead provide some feedback to our local businesses to assist them in improving their services to us, the residents.

The Township of North Frontenac is currently advertising for a Business Development Officer to attract new development to the area. That’s a great decision, which should have been taken years ago in my view. But before attracting new development, why not work with existing businesses to at least preserve what we already have?

I’m contacting municipal officials and also calling the Mayor as well as my Ward Councillor to express my concern. I hope to assist in some small way in efforts to promote local buying to save our community.

Like the old saying goes, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. 

R. Montpellier

Re:Addington Highlands Council

A correction in last week's Frontenac News re the Addington Highlands Council report, (Property Manager for Community Centre, Frontenac News, Jan. 10, 2013), was deemed to have been incorrectly reported the previous week according to Councilor Tony Fritsch. He stated that “anyone reading the article might think that Council went off the deep end".

Since there was no retraction to Council's suggestion (Addington Highlands January 7, 2013 meeting) to pursue Extended Health Benefit for township employees after they retire with 20 years of service and are between the ages of 60 - 75, I need to ask - who would pay for the premiums for these benefits? Would this be paid through added deductions from the remaining township employees, council members, or taxpayers?

Should it be the intention of Council to use our tax dollars, then it is very presumptuous for council to believe that I or anyone else who has zero coverage would agree to pay for Extended Health Benefit for Jack Pauhl or Royce Rosenblath. I am between the ages of 60-75, and worked for 43 years. I am a volunteer/support worker in this community, as are many other individuals. Perhaps Reeve Hogg and Council would like to pursue health benefits for us at taxpayers' expense?

Should Council decide to proceed with this suggestion at our expense it would not be a case of "Council having gone off the deep end". lt would be a case of abuse of power.

Dianne Heikamp

Animal Neglect leads to miracles

On Saturday, January 5, while outside my home near Harrowsmith, I saw a small dog running down the center of County Road 38, and in the same instant, saw a vehicle slowing behind it and a woman jump out.

I thought to myself, "Oh, there is a dog running on the road, and that must be owner. Good, they have found their dog," only to hear a voice call out "Is this your dog?"

I replied “No, but you can bring it in here," and the young woman carried this “thing” up my laneway and placed it on my porch. What she set down in no way resembled anything I had ever seen; in fact it took several minutes to figure out what I was looking at, then I touched it to be sure.

It was a small dog that was so badly matted it did not appear to be real, or even alive - back end only recognized as such because of an almost two-foot long tail as smeared with excrement as the face was.

I called animal control, and when they called back I said that I wanted to try to help this poor wee thing, whatever it was, and that I would keep them posted while they waited to see if anyone called searching for it. Several minutes later a close friend arrived for a visit, and the real work began, and the first miracle occurred.

After several calls to local groomers, we found Martha, at Martha's Menagerie, who told us to bring it over to her right away and she would see what she could do. Remember, it is Saturday night, dinner time for most, and this poor wee dog can't stay in my porch all night but I cannot bring it in, with the other house pets, as I do not know what I am dealing with.

Martha's first question was “What is it?” It was such a mess. She said this was the worst case of neglect she had ever seen. With her steady hands and skill, she started to clean it up. The matting was so bad the dog had to be shaved completely. We found out it was a female; that long tail was in fact a short “curl up and touch back” type tail that could not be what God had intended as it was so matted; her dew claws were over two inches long and wrapped in her fur resembling twigs; her nails were so long that three were twisted sideways; her poor wee face and butt were poo encrusted, but this tiny dog never made a sound as Martha worked on her. When the work was done, Martha gave me a tiny collar for the dog, lent me a carrier and a blanket and would not take any money for her work! This kind soul gave of her time and expertise to help us save this wee poor dog.

For the next two weeks, this tiny dog lived with me in my home, curled up in an old wool sweater as she was shaved naked, got lots of loving, and shared squeaky toys with my dog...but I knew I could not keep her. She needed vet care that I could not afford, and no discounts were offered to us even though we asked.

And then the second miracle occurred as I searched for a forever home for her... we discovered Tiny Paws Small Dog Rescue. Friends put me in touch with this wonderful rescue group, who within one day of hearing this dog’s story, contacted me, and the wee dog was picked up and taken to Toronto, for free vet care, and adoption to a carefully selected home.

Now the third miracle takes shape: A group of inmates is making dog beds, dog blankets, and anything that can be sold as fund raising items, and items that can be donated to this rescue group...all because one of the women who was trying to help me help this dog told them my story.

So to you who dumped this poor dog, you may have intended evil - you did a cruel, evil thing, but God turned it around. If you could not care for your dog, you could have surrendered it to the Humane Society. There is always some way to be kind to an animal.

I am honoured to have been able to help this tiny dog, and humbled by the generous people I met on this journey.

Linda Stewart