The 20-unit low-cost housing project in Perth kicked off last week on the 17th of February, and Perth Mayor John Fenik couldn’t be happier at how the partners that made the development possible came together to work for the betterment of the community. He went as far as to say that the partners are the best of everything.

Appearing during the project’s groundbreaking ceremony last week, Fenik said that he’s excited with what the future holds for the Town of Perth, especially after how everybody in the community seemed to look after one another with the planning of the project.

Indeed, the day was an exciting one for those in Perth.

Located along Rogers Road, the 20-unit project will cost $1.69 million to construct. But the best part is that 15 out of the 20 units will be specially designed for individuals and family members with special needs.

The project was made possible by the efforts of the federal and Ontario government, the Town of Perth, the Lanark County, and investors from the private sector. Designed by Perth architect Geoff Hodgins to be a structure that uses energy efficiently, the 2-story building is slated to be fully operational and ready for occupancy by mid-summer.

Volleyball season is upon us once more here in the Province of Ontario and the eastern towns of Carleton Place and Perth are all set to host the All Ontario Senior Girls’ AA Volleyball Championships, an event that’s expected draw in over 280 students and coaches from the high school departments of schools scattered across Ontario. Recognized by the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations, this annual sporting event will primarily be hosted by Perth’s St. John Catholic High School.

The event will highlight intense volleyball play between 20 of Ontario’s best all girl volleyball teams, which include a number of regional competition winners and two teams from the Eastern Region. The games are set to take place on the 9^th and 10^th of March, and will be divided into four venues in both Perth and Carleton Place.

Shawn Retty, head coach for St. John’s ladies’ volleyball team and one of the event’s organizers commented that the school is proud to be chosen as one of the hosts for this prestigious event. She added that this opportunity not only presents the school’s students a chance to get a close look at the performance of other teams in the region, but will also allow local residents to watch the games and cheer for the home team.

The Lanark County Food Bank is ridiculously busy these days and volunteers working with the charitable institution wonder if the need for help will ever subside.

From January 2009, the number of people in need of assistance has steadily increased as the months passed by, this according to the food bank’s executive director, Natine Kennedy. She also noted that more people have come to the food bank for help, with 519 in January this year, a significant increase to last January’s 402 people.

Kennedy is worried that the trend won’t stop any time soon. If the recession is indeed over, she says her team of volunteers certainly haven’t felt it yet. “It’s a battle here every month”, she adds.

Since December of 2009, more and more people have begun to flock in asking for food and a place to turn in for the night. She said that it’s heartbreaking to see these people, most of whom are embarrassed to be asking for help but are left with not choice.

The food bank is presently tending to 241 adults and over a 100 kids in Carleton Place, while the rest of the clients are from the Almonte, Perth, and Smith’s Falls area.

Residents from the Town of Perth as well as workers from the local branch of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario have a real reason to smile, as a brand new AED, or Automated External Defibrillator was deployed for patients a few weeks ago.

The deployment of this medical device was made possible by the help and donations of Canadian organizations such as the Heart & Stroke Restart a Heart, the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund, and Transamerica Life Canada. The deployment of the new AED means that Perth now has a total of 14 machines which are under the Lanark County PAD program.
According to statistics released by the Heart and Stroke Foundation, over 40,000 Canadians suffer from sudden heart attacks every year, most of which take place at home, at work, or at public locations. For every minute the patient is unattended to, his or her chances of living are reduced by 10 percent.

David Sculthorp, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, hopes that AEDs become common one day, used in even the most remote places in Canada. Only through the help of the community, volunteers, and sponsors like Transamerica Life Canada can this become possible, he added.

Perth, Ontario’s sister city, Perth, Scotland, is celebrating its 800^th birthday this 2010, and officials from the Canadian town are working to put together a delegation which will be sent to the Scottish city.

The city, which sits along the banks of the old River Tay and has a population of 43,000 residents, is gearing up for a host of anniversary celebrations and events this summer, these include visits from dozens of sister communities scattered all over the world. Some of the centuries-old city’s twin communities are from Gernmany, France, China, and of course, here in Ontario. Officials from Perth, Scotland have promised to welcome their guests to the city like family.

While the city is a place rich in history, it’s grown to become a major shopping and retail district today for surround communities. The city boasts of a large shopping centre matched with wide sidewalks, and a great number of specialty shops like antique stores and the like.

And like Perth, Ontario, the city also has big swimming facility. Opened in the 80’s, the Perth Leisure Pool is widely regarded as one of Scotland’s premiere tourist destinations.

Officials from the Canadian town are already buzzing with excitement, as the lucky delegates who will be sent to Scotland will get first-class treatment, complete with a tour of the city’s sights and attractions.

The town of Perth will be home to a new and affordable housing project that is set to bring some 20 brand new one-bedroom apartments to the community. The project is estimated to be finished by 2011.

The Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program recently shelled out $1.05 million for the project, while the County of Lanark gave $350,000 as part of the Delivering Opportunities for Ontario Renters (DOOR) fund. The 20-apartment complex is one of the 345 approved AHP capital projects which are aimed at offering over 10,000 housing units across the province of Ontario.

Once the project is completed, the 20 units will be up for renting at a rate that’s 20 percent lower that the average apartment on the market.

According to Nancy Green, social services director for the county, the project is primarily targeted at the area’s most vulnerable individuals, men and women who are eligible for the social housing waiting list, as well as those that are in it. Many of these individuals are in current financial binds, she said.

Groundbreaking will be held today at the site, which is located along Rogers Road and Lansdowne Avenue. The ceremony will be led by John Fenik, the Mayor of Perth.

Resting Place, an establishment that now occupies what used to be a vacant storefront along Wilson Street in Perth, is a hard place to describe. Those who have visited the place say that it’s a lot easier to ask what it’s not. When you get inside Resting Place, the first thing you see are fabrics draped artistically and a hodgepodge of mismatched chairs arranged in a quirky but attractive sort of way.

In a nutshell, Resting Place is an art gallery, classroom, ministry, and meeting place all in one. The establishment is fairly new, and it remains to be seen how it will fit into the Perth community.

According to one of the owners, Resting Place was created with the goal of hosting occasions where “love becomes art”, a place where people can pursue their dreams, whether it’s through exhibiting artwork, or teaching a classroom full of students.

Resting Place is also open to hosting all types of events and speakers. In fact, it recently hosted a workshop with Lise Lamontagne, a program called “Living the True Process”.

Resting Place doesn’t have regular hours, but those interested in having their events or exhibit featured can simply drop by. It is located at 5 Wilson Street, Perth.

Good new for Perth residents. Local taxpayers will most likely see a drop in their taxes of up to 1.3 percent at the counter after town council recently passed this year’s budget in record time.

Although they still had about 5 meetings left to pass the budget, future discussions were cancelled after Perth’s councilors gave the thumbs-up to the $6,609,372 budget in principle during the first budget committee meeting of the year that took place on the 21^st of January.

Jorgen Hoeven, director of corporate and environmental services, as well as Perth’s treasurer, thought that the first meeting would be a kickoff of sorts. He never expected to get the budget passed so fast.

The budget for 2010 is a bit higher compared to last year’s $6,247,035, but this is due to a 5.8 percent for the municipal portion of taxes. When this factor is combined with the proposed new tax rates for the county and school board, it results in an “at-the-counter” rate that’s lower by an estimated 1.3 percent.

However, final tax figures won’t be made public until the county and school board make the final decisions with regards to their respective budgets.