$1.19 plus 6 HST, $1.25 U.S.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2011

Printed in Canada Volume 118 Number 6

Elderly in need of more care here

INSIDE
By Zoey Duncan Summer reporter My mom is going to die in Rainycrest. Theres no doubt about it. June Caul is heartbroken when she speaks about her mother. At 87, Mary Caul lives at the local long-term care facility after a series of strokes prompted her family to move her there three years ago. But Caul has watched her mother fall into depression in those years spent living in a facility that is not equipped to support people who are well enough to clothe and feed themselves, enjoy taking walks on the lake, have strong, healthy memories, and who simply crave more independence. Im really frustrated, said Caul, who tries to take her mother out of Rainycrest at least three times a week for visits. And just really sad to think that this is what her life has to be. Shes depressed all the time and she is able to do more than what goes on there, and it breaks my heart to see her so sad and she hates it in there. Wayne Woods, CEO of Riverside Health Care Facilities, Inc., acknowledged that Rainycrest and other local health services currently cant meet all the needs of the aging community. Obviously, there is definitely a need in the community. I think people are recognizing that, he remarked. Right now, your options are the hospital long-term care or try and do some home care. But there has to be a different level for people that just need a little bit of assistance, Woods conceded. Locally, 18.9 percent of the population is over age 65, compared to 13.7 percent of Canadas population, according to the 2006 census. And 37 percent of the population here3,035 individuals as of 2006is over 50. Many local seniors and their families will, at some point, have to face the decision of what kind of care they need to live healthy and happy lives as they age and their needs change. Provincially, the government has encouraged programs that keep people living in their own homes longer, such as the billion-dollar Aging At Home Strategy, which, according to the Ministry of Health and Long-Term care, aims to ensure that seniors homes support them, that seniors have supportive social environments, that seniorcentered care is easy to access, and identifying innovative solutions to keep seniors healthy. The local Assisted Living Action Group is hoping to make a new option available herea place for people like Mary Caul who no longer can live safely alone in their homes but who are capable of many independent activities. People have left Fort Frances and the district because there is Please see Elderly, A5

Families moving off soiled site

After spending more than two years concerned about the level of contamination in their backyards, Couchiching residents who live on the site of the former J.A. Mathieu sawmill will move into new homes beginning this summer.

School board rescinds contract changes

By Peggy Revell Staff writer Rainy River District School Board voted 5-2 last night to rescind the changes madebehind closed doorsto severance packages of senior administration by the former board. While actual conditions of the contracts could not be reversed unilaterally, the motion was brought forward by trustee Ralph Hill so the public would know the current board was not in favour of the previous boards actions. The controversy surrounding the severance packages first arose when the new board discovered in January that the outgoing one had amended the contracts in-camera at its final meeting back in November. These amendments saw the severance package of both Education Director Heather Campbell and Superintendent of Business Laura Mills increased to four years worth of pay and benefits (instead of one and two years, respectively) if let go. Voting in favour of the motion at last nights regular board meeting were Hill, Michael Lewis, Earl Klyne, Dianne McCormack, and David Kircher. Voting against the motion were Dan Belluz and Marg Heyens the only two trustees to return to the board following last falls municipal election (with Belluz being the former chair of the board, as well). During the meeting, Belluz objected to the motion, citing Roberts Rules of Order and arguing that it was not present on the given agenda for Junes meeting. But chairman Michael Lewis ruled against this objection, saying Hill gave notice of the motion at the May meeting and all trustees were informed of it. While Belluz said he accepted Lewis ruling on this aspect, he also asked if the motion is in order, pointing to Roberts Rules of Order whereby the motion to rescind can only be applied to votes on nay motions, with the following exceptions: votes cannot be rescinded on something has been done as a result of that vote that the assembly cannot undo; or where it is in the nature of a contract and the other party is informed of the fact. Its a motion that youre making, and possibly passing or rejecting, that can have no value, Belluz said, arguing that if the board wanted to make a statement, then Please see Trustees, A5

See story on A3

Celebrating water
Area woman sings the blues
Shes been compared to the likes of Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald, but blues singer Sunday Wilde says shes just a small-town girl working hard to share her music with the world.

With prayers and thanks, participants in the annual Mother Earth Water Walk offered tobacco last Wednesday afternoon to the waters at the Ranier rapids, where Rainy Lake ows into the Rainy River. The walkwhich has seen a copper pail lled with water from the Hudson Bay travelling by foot southwards

passed through the district on its way to Bad River, Wis., where walkers carrying water from the Pacic, Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico will meet up on the shores of Lake Superior. See story, more photos on A2. Peggy Revell photo

See story on A6

Native housing project launched

By Heather Latter Staff writer To help address the need of providing safe, affordable housing to aboriginal people living off-reserve, Wahkaihganun Futures Corp. yesterday held the ground-breaking for a 10-unit apartment complex, which will be located at 237 Eighth St. W. We have long recognized that the urban aboriginal population is growing, noted Peggy Loyie, secretary/treasurer of Wahkaihganun Futures Corp. And we are very excited over the current development. The board has been working for several years towards developing aboriginal housing in Fort Frances. Funding for the new rental apartment is provided through the First Nation, Inuit, Mtis Urban and Rural Housing program being administered by the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services (OAHS). OAHS was allocated funds by the Ontario government. Several dignitaries were on hand Please see Native, A5

Racing season starts in Emo

Following two consecutive rain-outs, the 2011 racing season kicked into high gear under clear skies Saturday evening at the Emo Speedway.

See story on B1

Scott Jolicoeur tried out the pilot seat of Patrick Langevins Grumman Tiger four-seater plane Saturday during the 12th-annual Flyin, Drive-in BBQ at the Fort Frances Airport. The eventdesigned to showcase the local

At the controls

airport by having private pilots y in here for the dayfeatured a number of planes as well as antique cars and motorcycles. Heather Latter photo

4G Internet & phone service for your cabin!

Just power on the Rocket Hub by plugging into an electrical outlet and youve got High Speed Internet access and phone service anywhere on Tbaytels 4G Network.
See us today about keeping in touch at your cabin.
290 Scott St. Fort Frances 274-6671

Lowes Lumber has all your building needs covered at competitive pricing.

Call 274-4444 for a quote today!

Building a new deck, garage, home or addition?

Located next door to Lowes Furniture, 2 miles west of Fort Frances (the old Pinewood Sports building)

Lowes

LUMBER LUMBER UM

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

FORT FRANCES TIMES A5

In dire need of immediate chocolate fix

It was the stupidest bet Ive ever madejust plain stupid. A week ago Tuesday (May 31), a crew of us from work had nothing better to do during the noon hour than invent a contest that would have each of us give up something for 30 days. I plumped up my feathers and said, Ill give up eating chocolate. Im not even sure what the winner gets. All I know is that besides the five bucks I forked out to be in the stupid contest, Ive already had to cough up two penalty payments. And the farm rooster hadnt even crowed yet when I mindlessly shoved two homemade chocolate brownies in my face and washed them down with Caldwell Coffee before I realized Id cheated. And it was 7 a.m. on June 1Day One. Im about to close the door on Day Eight and my willpower already has had to be duct-taped to the wall three times to keep it together. It would appear I have an infatuation with chocolate, or perhaps Im in denial and Im addicted. Ive come to the sobering conclusion that the next 22 days are going to be the bane of my existence. And I may be going crazy but I think Willie Wonkas Chocolate Factory has stepped off the big screen and into my shadow as part of an elaborate Universal plot to sabotage the single greatest challenge of my entire life. By comparison, I quit drinking alcohol three-and-a-half years ago. I drank a lot before that (more than anyone who knows me might have realized) but choosing to quit was, by far, easier for me than laying a wager that I could give up chocolate for a month. That was the stupidest bet Ive ever madejust plain stupid is my new mantra as I jump up and down in tantrum fits, kicking and screaming against the insanity of it all. So as one can imagine, chocolate is on my mind a lot these days. And how many sleeps is there until I can sink my teeth into the solid chocolate bunny from Easter that I found still untouched in the kitchen cupboard when I was spring cleaning this past weekend? Again, I reiterate the Universal conspiracy theory. The last time I found surprise chocolate was when I was smart enough not to be in the middle of a 30-day famine. I was cleaning my closet out and found a box of Pot of Gold chocolates Id forgotten to give as a gift. It was all over in under 15 minutes. The little morsels never knew what hit them. Hence everywhere I turn during this month-long fiasco, there it is. Choco-awareness is unrelenting. If its not in the candy bars dancing at me on the shelf at the grocery

The View From Here

By Beth Caldwell till, its the wafer covering on the bottom of nutrition bars, in cookies and muffins, flavored in coffee, and in the ice cream. Cant have that, cant have that. I swear at this moment, I can hear the bag of milk chocolate chips calling my name from the pantry. I can feel my age spots returning and my crows feet elongating with each passing day Im separated from my sublime chocolate experience. Ive always believed that those of us who eat chocolate will live longer than those who dont. I knew it long before the scientific studies claimed it so. My plan always has been to become a super centenarian using chocolate as my life preserver. Frankly, I want to follow in the footsteps of Jeanne Calment, who was born in 1875. She lived to be 122 years old and ate two pounds of chocolate of week until the age of 119. Regular consumption of chocolate has been thought to have circulatory benefits, aid in muscle recovery, be a cough preventer, anti-cancer agent, brain stimulator, and a migraine prophylactic. Well, Ive abstained for eight days and my cognitive abilities have wavered, I have a cough, my feet are cold, I have a headache, and a backache. In a word, Im a wreck! However, I am not among the 50 percent of women who supposedly prefer chocolate to sex or at least not latelyalthough I do agree with the following wise words of a fellow connoisseur: I am a serious chocoholic. For the serious chocoholic, chocolate is better than sex. If you believe that, you REALLY need to meet that special someone who can change your mind. If you HAVE met that special someone and still believe that, I REALLY NEED to know where you get your chocolate!!! I also would now agree with the sage who figured out that if you eat a chocolate bar before each meal, it takes the edge off your appetite and youll eat less. In the past eight days, Im sure Ive gained five pounds. All I know for sure is that Id rather pull stewed raisins out of a babys nostril and deal with poopy diapers than go without chocolate for the next 22 days. And no, my children, this is not a shout out to you about my babysitting services. Unless, of course, you arrive bearing lots of chocolatefor Day 31.

Janet Hope, assistant deputy minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, presented a certicate to Connie Calder, president of Wahkaihganun Futures Corp., during yesterday mornings ground-breaking ceremony for a 10-unit apartment complex Heather Latter photo on Eighth Street to house aboriginal people living off-reserve.

Native housing project launched

More from A1 for yesterdays ground-breaking, including Janet Hope (assistant deputy minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing), Don McBain (executive director with OAHS), Sheila McMahon (board member of OAHS), Connie Calder (president of Wahkaihganun Futures Corp.), and Fort Frances Mayor Roy Avis. The ceremony originally was scheduled to take place at the site but was moved to the United Native Friendship Centre due to inclement weather. We look forward to celebrating the opening of these units together, Hope said on behalf of Municipal Affairs and Housing minister Rick Bartolucci. Together with our aboriginal partners, we are improving access to adequate, suitable, and affordable housing for off-reserve aboriginal people, he noted in a press release. As part of our Open Ontario plan, construction of these 10 units will stimulate the local economy by providing jobs and supporting local businesses. These 10 units wont solve the problem, conceded McBain. But it is a step in the right direction. And we look forward to build on this new development. Construction on the apartment complex is expected to begin in early July and be completed in November. Wahkaihganun Futures Corp. is a related company to Fort Frances Native Urban Wahkaihganun Corp., with the same board of directors. The Fort Frances Native Urban Wahkaihganun Corp. was founded in 1986 as non-profit organization, which works to provide affordable housing for families and individuals of native ancestry.

Elderly in need of more care here

More from A1 no facility like that, said Robert Schulz, co-chair of the Seniors and Law Enforcement Together (S.A.L.T.), which oversees the ALAG. Were looking at the private sector to get involved here. But we have to show a contractor that its a valuable project to get into, he noted. The group has asked town council to support its effort by providing future considerations in the towns strategic plan. Fellow S.A.L.T. co-chair Bob Armit questions the existence of a long-term plan for the towns aging population. We build our cemeteries along the river and we build our longterm care facilities in a swamp, he noted. If a long-term plan was in place, would that have happened? Were not pointing fingers at this [town] administration, Armit stressed. Its just that they didnt always plan long-term back then. All our group is looking for in this is that we would like to have the seniors retiring in a healthy, enjoyable retirement setting, he reasoned. Assisted living facilities vary in design across the country, but Schulz said hed like to see a facility in Fort Frances provide meals and a 24-hour nurse. Wendy Derendorf is a case manager with the North West Community Care Access Centre, where she assesses the service needs of elderly clients. She noted health care ideally should be holistica goal assisted living can meet. Derendorf has a positive impression of assisted living after visiting a family member in a Ranier, Mn. residence a few years ago. You walked in, it had a huge sunroom, it had a huge living room, the dining room, she recalled. And then it had a huge kitchen, and then the bedrooms were separated, men and women, sort of on a wing. Assistance there included medication reminders, shower assistance, and meals, added Derendorf, though it was not meant to support individuals with severe health issues. Adapting Since there is no equivalent locally, seniors and their families are adaptingor at least trying to adaptin other ways. My husband, hes hurt himself and hes got a bad heart [but] as long as Im around, I can help him, noted Joyce LaFreniere. But if something should happen to me, I know he wouldnt want to head for Rainycrest, whereas assisted living would be something that certainly would be much more conducive for him. As we get older, were all wondering and I dont want to go with family, LaFreniere added. That is not an option for me. Other seniors have looked to Meals on Wheels for help when concerns such as arthritis or failing vision impairs their ability to prepare their own meals. Theres lots of elderly people in this community who should be on Meals on Wheels and theyre not because theres no room for them and thats a tragedy, said local program co-ordinator Gaby Hanzuk. That is absolutely a terrible, terrible thing. Fort Frances resident Kate Meadwell said she previously had wanted to use Meals on Wheels because arthritis in her hands makes meal preparation difficult. She is one of the lucky ones, though, with family support available to balance her otherwise healthy life. My daughters being very nice, shes bringing meals over for me once in a while, Meadwell noted. There are quite a few people I know that would like Meals on Wheels, but they cant: there are no volunteers, she stressed. Meadwell has looked into assisted living facilities in Thunder Bay, which she said sounded wonderful, but she couldnt bring herself to leave her family here in Fort Frances. Hanzuk said for some people, getting help from their children simply is not an optioneven if a son or daughter lives locally. I dont care what anybody says, if your relationship with your parents was rocky, they are elderly and vulnerable, do you really want to put people in that situation? she asked. Hanzuk warned that creating that pressure between parents and children can lead to elder abuse, financial or otherwise. I know of people who do take advantage of that situation because they disliked their parents all their lives for one reason or another, and now all of a sudden, mom and dad have to depend on them, she noted. And sometimes its not a good

Trustees rescind contract changes

June Caul feels her mother, Mary, pictured in the framed photo with her late husband, Stephen, could ourish in an assisted living facilityif one was available in Fort Frances.
Zoey Duncan photo

situation and I think that to keep elderly people not just happy, but safe and make them happy in their own home at the end of their life, they should have that choice. June Cauls aunt, Betty Martinson, 90, made a difficult choice to move from here, where shes lived since age 16, into assisted living in Winnipeg. She has family in her new city, but left behind a lifetime of friendships. I know she would have stayed here if there would have been something, Caul said. She talks about her friends. And my mom is her only sister living now and theyll probably never, ever see one another again. That was hard for her and hard for us. Its hard to make good friends, agreed Derendorf, who has seen many people move away from town for health reasons. And I think the older we get, the harder it is to make those connections. So its a shame somebody would have to leave a place theyve lived for the last 40, 50 years. The next step for the Assisted Living Action Group is to identify exactly what the public wants from

such a facility, and to bring community groups together to make assisted living a reality. Hopefully, the community can come together to do something about that, Armit said. Its a challenge, actually, he admitted. All the organizations and the general public, what do they want? For his part, Riverside CEO Wayne Woods said he thinks current services could be integrated into a future plan. Weve got the infrastructure and things to at least help the group, he reasoned. Weve got a lot of resources we can rely on. Were going to be in there and try and see what we can do to help out the group, push it along and see what happens. As for June Caul, her worries are shifting from just her mothers well-being to include her own. Us baby-boomers are soon going to be ready to move into a place like thata place where we need a little bit more assistance, she noted. And what are we going to do?

More from A1 it simply could take a show of hands and issue a press release. I believe that the motion is in order, [and] there are people who believe it does have value in making a statement, countered Lewis. If the assumption is that its not going to do any good, what is going to prevent the other two parties from doing the right thing and rescinding [the contract changes], as well? added Hill. It could actually be very usefulthe ball is back in their court to do the right thing. It does not have to be a useless exercise, Hill stressed. Campbell declined to comment on the matter while Mills was not available to comment following the meeting. As noted and approved in the minutes of Mays meeting, Lewis had reported that he had been in contact with the boards labour

relations legal counsel regarding the details of the discussion on the two senior administrators contract amendments that were presented to the board in November. Lewis noted the discussion with legal counsel was mainly about procedure and had little to do with the proposed content of the amendments being proposed. Procedurally, the counsel confirmed the regular practice of the board was to pass motions incamera and then approve the incamera minutes by motion in the public sessionalthough counsel confirmed this may be in contrast to the fact that motions or agreements made in-camera are supposed to be passed in public session. It also was noted that two of the five trustees on the former board did not vote in favour of the severance package amendments.

Weather mix on tap

It will be mostly cloudy tonight, then gradually become clear. Look for an overnight low of four C (39 F) and north winds at five-10 m.p.h., becoming calm later. Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high of 21 (70) and low around three (38). Friday will be partly sunny, with a 40 percent chance of showers in the afternoon. Expect a high of 18 (65) and low dipping to four (40). Saturday will see mostly cloudy skies, with a high again of 18 (65) and low around eight (46). Then Sunday should be mostly sunny, along with a high of 22 (72) and low near 12 (53). The extended outlook calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms both Monday and Tuesday, with highs of 22 (71) and 23 (74), respectively, and lows around 13 (55) and 15 (59). The record high for today is 27 (81) set in 1996 while the record low is minus-two (28) set in 1995. Normals are 21 (70) and seven (45). Sunset today is at 9:13 p.m., with sunrise tomorrow at 5:11 a.m.