The Town of Gananoque has a new chiropractor joining its medical community, and he’s tasked to make sure that his patients get to learn how to live healthy and active lifestyles, and also how to prevent catching common diseases caused by unhealthy habits.

Dr. Peter C. Burgess, a chiropractor who just got his license, is opening up shop in the same building where his father, who is a dentist, has his clinic.

According to the younger Burgess, his father was happy to welcome him to the building, where he started attending to patients on the 26^th of April. Already, a steady stream of people visit Dr. Burgess’ clinic to have their body pains checked out.

He added that the town and its people have always had  special spot in his heart. Burgess spent his younger years in the 1000 Islands, and since day one, Gananoque would always be the town where he wanted to open a practice.

Dr. Burgess’ interest in chiropractics was first sparked when he suffered a back injury when playing minor hockey. He says that he was amazed at how a chiropractor profoundly reduced his pain, without any surgery or serious procedure of any sort.

The Town of Gananoque has a new chiropractor joining its medical community, and he’s tasked to make sure that his patients get to learn how to live healthy and active lifestyles, and also how to prevent catching common diseases caused by unhealthy habits.

Dr. Peter C. Burgess, a chiropractor who just got his license, is opening up shop in the same building where his father, who is a dentist, has his clinic.

According to the younger Burgess, his father was happy to welcome him to the building, where he started attending to patients on the 26th of April. Already, a steady stream of people visit Dr. Burgess’ clinic to have their body pains checked out.

He added that the town and its people have always had  special spot in his heart. Burgess spent his younger years in the 1000 Islands, and since day one, Gananoque would always be the town where he wanted to open a practice.

Dr. Burgess’ interest in chiropractics was first sparked when he suffered a back injury when playing minor hockey. He says that he was amazed at how a chiropractor profoundly reduced his pain, without any surgery or serious procedure of any sort.

It may be temporary for now, but Gananoque residents can breathe a sigh of relief as council has agreed to put off the 6% increase in the town’s water rate until the 1st of September, 2010. At a council meeting that took place on Tuesday, Mayor Jim Garrah expressed his understanding of the community’s worries about higher water fees.

However, he pointed out that an increase was the only solution to making sure the town had a stable future.

He added that the town is working on a more effective closed loop system that will result in a full cost recovery in the future.

According to town treasurer Ross Jeffrey, the 6% hike was the best they could do under the current circumstances. He noted that there’s a capital of around $13,500,000 for water and sewage projects outlined in the town’s 10-year plan. But $10.7 million of that money may not be required if the lagoon cleaning projects and the inflow and infiltration projects are successful.

It’s pretty clear however, that the community will be clearly affected by this increase, with many residents and business still trying to recover after the economic crisis. They can only hope that council finds a viable solution to the town’s water woes.

It may be temporary for now, but Gananoque residents can breathe a sigh of relief as council has agreed to put off the 6% increase in the town’s water rate until the 1st of September, 2010. At a council meeting that took place on Tuesday, Mayor Jim Garrah expressed his understanding of the community’s worries about higher water fees.

However, he pointed out that an increase was the only solution to making sure the town had a stable future.

He added that the town is working on a more effective closed loop system that will result in a full cost recovery in the future.

According to town treasurer Ross Jeffrey, the 6% hike was the best they could do under the current circumstances. He noted that there’s a capital of around $13,500,000 for water and sewage projects outlined in the town’s 10-year plan. But $10.7 million of that money may not be required if the lagoon cleaning projects and the inflow and infiltration projects are successful.

It’s pretty clear however, that the community will be clearly affected by this increase, with many residents and business still trying to recover after the economic crisis. They can only hope that council finds a viable solution to the town’s water woes.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics finally coming to an end, it looks like it’s time for Gananoque’s police forces stationed at Vancouver to head back home. A number of the town’s police officers were sent to the Olympics host city to help serve and protect the public from possible criminal and even terrorist activity.

Gananoque’s police chief summed it all up by saying his squad of officers put forth a gold medal performance during their stay in the city. Furthermore, all of them had something in common to say: it was an experience they would remember for the rest of their lives.

According to Sergeant Junior White, it was the experience of a lifetime to have the opportunity to work in Vancouver. Constable Rhonda Grant on the other hand, said she’s thankful to have had the once in a lifetime opportunity to serve her country in a very special way.

The two were part of the 4-man team handpicked from the Gananoque police service to don their uniforms and represent the town at the 2010 Olympics.

Of course, it wasn’t all work and play for the team. They had a chance to watch the games in the flesh, and they had a grand time watching the figure and speed skating events.

With the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics in full swing, it’s no wonder that everybody across the country has turned their attention to the athletes playing in home soil. Unknown to some, another group of equally talented athletes are also competing for glory and pride here at home.

Unless you have children playing minor league hockey, you probably haven’t bothered to pay attention to it. Sure, you might have heard of some games, even been to one or two, but you haven’t really bothered to keep track of rivalries, standings, and the like. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.

Hopefully, that changes as two minor hockey teams from Gananoque make their way to achieving something great. The Rob Nash Excavating Atom Islanders will be playing against the Aylmer Flames at this season’s semifinals match. The Home Hardware Novice Islanders are also doing well this post season, and are looking to make it to the OMHA levels.

With all these games taking place left and right, it’s no wonder that some of the players’ parents are having a tough time with travel and accommodations costs. While they might have signed up for this by letting their children play in the league, let’s help these kids represent the town and focus on the game. They need our support.

In a council meeting held last week, Gananoque resident Kimberly Higgs spoke at the meeting and presented a letter she wrote herself, along with Stephen Higgs, and Linda & William Steacy.

Higgs spoke about her worries on the new hydro poles slated to be built in the east side of Stone Street North, the neighborhood where she resides in. If the project plans are approved, Eastern Ontario Power will be in charge of building the poles, which are aimed at creating redundancy in the system.

But according to Higgs, the current system has a flaw that could prove disastrous for the town. A power outage, she said, could leave a large section of Gananoque in darkness. She added that it would be most expedient to have more power lines to safeguard against this scenario.

The original plan was to have the poles run through Stone Street, then turning west on King Street. But council wanted the development to look more pleasing to the eyes, so they agreed to subsidize another $200,000 to let the lines go through Brock Street to the library instead of King Street. It’s worth noting that the original plan proposed by Eastern Ontario Power would not have cost the town a single cent.

This decision, made without the consultation of the public, is something Higgs finds disturbing.

Council is set to hold another meeting on the subject.

In a move to answer the high number of complaints on the current snow clearing policy of the town, the Gananoque Town Council has assigned Darren Dalgleish, Chief Administrative Officer of Gananoque, to come up with a bylaw amendment.

Dalgleish presented the amendment two days ago, and council gave it their approval so as to ease the growing discontent in the community, this according to Gananoque Mayor Jim Garrah.

The new bylaw addresses the concerns of the Gananoque community, and is improved to be more informative and fair in the need to have clear and unobstructed sidewalks, this according to the report filed by Dalgleish.

While the Town Council chose not to disclose whether or not they would approve the amendment, which they’ll be doing in the next meeting, Dalgliesh’s proposed bylaw on snow removal in Gananoque would give a grace period for residents who fail to keep the area in front of their homes clear, as well as give violators a written warning for a first offense, instead of an invoice.

Mayor Garrah notes that the goal of the bylaw isn’t to create tension, but to encourage everyone in the community to keep the sidewalks in front of their homes clear of snow.

Noel Bullock, a photographer based in the town of Gananoque, describes himself as a man who likes to live on the edge. The local photographer was recently spotted snapping pictures of impoverished and homeless residents in the City of Vancouver. These telling pictures have been published and are now at display at Kingston’s Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre. They’ve been there since the previous weekend.

Some of Bullock’s thought-provoking pictures include shots of Vancouver from a very urbanized perspective, as well as pictures of indigent residents with their mobile homes on wheels, otherwise known as shopping carts. Bullock explained that homeless people are shunned and rejected by the public during the day. But in the nighttime, they congregate and form a small community of their own. He said that watching them has somewhat changed his views on life.

Even though the Olympics showcase the beauty and sights of Vancouver, nobody seems to address the problem of homelessness in the city, he said. With his exhibit, he hopes that the pictures displayed encourage people to act and pressure the local government into do something.

The Vancouver government is reaching out to indigents through support programs and the like, but Bullock thinks this is only because the Olympics are in town. When the Olympics end, he doesn’t want things to go back to “normal”.

With the 2010 Winter Olympics in full swing, thousands of police officers and other public service personnel from all Canada are deployed in Vancouver, British Columbia, to help keep peace and order in the region. Const. Rhonda Grant, from Gananoque’s Police Service, together with Sgt. Junior White and Constables Peter Lorenz and Mike Driscol are currently pitching in on the effort as well. All four Gananoque police officers are now in Vancouver working together with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Const. Grant is presently part of one of the event’s surveillance teams and is paired with another police officer from British Columbia. She commented that working behind the scenes in one of the year’s biggest sporting events has exceeded her expectations. A lot more work needs to be done but things are pretty relaxed, she added.

The Gananoque Police Service held a lottery last year for those interested to work in Vancouver during the Olympics. Three constables were chosen in June, with Sgt. White assigned to be their supervisor. Late last year, the officers got their first instructions from the Integrated Security Unit (ISU) regarding deployment dates and assignments.

Gananoque’s police officers will be working in their own uniforms and carrying their own equipment.