Tax rebate, med students, meal calendar, lemonade stand

Morning Coffee – By Aaron Hall

Tax rebate program meeting

The possible elimination of a program that gives tax rebates to owners of vacant commercial and industrial properties will be the subject of a public meeting Tuesday, June 27.

The meeting, to be held in council chambers at the Civic Centre from 6 to 8 p.m. will review the current program which allows property owners to seek a refund of property taxes paid on buildings that have been vacant for more than 90 consecutive days during the year.

At its May 15 meeting, Chatham-Kent Council supported in principle the elimination of the program which previous to this year had been mandated by the provincial government.

The program costs the municipality some $600,000 per year. In addition to the savings, council discussed whether elimination of the program could bring about a greater sense of urgency for development of vacant sites.

Interested persons can attend the session, which will feature a brief presentation and an opportunity for discussion, or they can make their views known by emailing Chatham-Kent Financial Services Director Steven Brown at steven.brown@chatham-kent.ca

A copy of the report on the issue can be found, here.

CKHA hosts medical students

Chatham-Kent was set to host 20 first-year medical students from Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, for Discovery Week 2017 from May 29 to June 1, 2017.

Organized by the Distributed Education Network (DEN), students from Schulich School of Medicine (London and Windsor Campus) partner with Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) for a unique learning experience that offers exposure to community medicine for medical students. Students were set to have the opportunity to shadow family physicians, specialists, nurse practitioners and allied healthcare professionals in many areas of Chatham-Kent to find out what a typical workday entails. More than thirty local physicians have signed up to be a preceptor/teacher to the students during this week-long learning experience.

“We have been hosting Discovery Week in Chatham-Kent for over 10 years now. We can’t thank our preceptors enough for taking time to give these students their first experience in a healthcare setting. Our medical education continues to grow with our partnership with Schulich School of Medicine. We look forward to this week every year,” said Kim Sutton, Medical Affairs & Education Specialist.

“It is so gratifying for all of us involved to watch these students come full circle, as they graduate from medical school, enter residency and practice medicine. Many Discovery Week students come back to Chatham-Kent to do electives during their third and fourth year of medical school based on their experience with us.”

Social events included in the week’s agenda included students having the opportunity to meet the physicians in a casual atmosphere and experience firsthand some of the many amenities offered in Chatham-Kent.

Here is a Medical Education video at CKHA:

Food Resource and Meal Calendar available

The Food Resource and Meal Calendar provides information on organizations and groups in our community that provide hot meals or soups kitchens available to individuals and families. The Calendar also includes information on fee for service meals (such as Meals on Wheels), local Food Banks and other food related groups such as voucher programs. In addition, there is information to help individuals and families access Emergency Shelters and Emergency Financial Assistance. This resource is updated twice a year in May and November.

This update includes a number of changes to the calendar. The following is a list of important updates:

– A reminder that many of the meal programs close for the summer. Please check to make sure that locations are open before you go as some close for July and August and others only for a short period of time.

– Knox Presbyterian (Soup Cellar), Wallaceburg has added an additional day – Wednesday’s from 11:3-12:30 pm.

– Food Vouchers are available in Ridgetown at St. Michaels Parish, 519-674-3343 but call before arriving.

– Praise Fellowship, Chatham is offering pantry items on the second Wednesday of the month from 10 am – noon.

– Updated copies of both the Food Resource and Meal Calendar were released to local agencies last week.

Additionally, if you are looking for an online version, visit the CK Food Policy Council website at www.letstalkfood-ck.com for ongoing updates.

For more information please contact Lyndsay Davidson, Public Health Dietitian at the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit at 352-7270 ext 2478.

To view the updated calendar, click here.

If you have a suggestion, story idea, column idea, or if you want to say hello… drop me an e-mail at aaron@sydenhamcurrent.ca.

Photo of the day

From the Chatham-Kent Police Service: On Saturday May, 27, between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Libby held her annual ‘Libby’s Lemonade Stand’ to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House in London. Last year she raised $951, but this was Libby’s fifth year and she was hoping to make it her best one yet.

This past weekend, Libby’s very proud family drove her to London where she personally delivered her total of $2,340 to the Ronald McDonald House.

Just over five years ago when Libby saw an advertisement for McHappy Day on television and how all the proceeds from that day go towards Ronald McDonald Houses, she thought of her own way to contribute… and the rest is history. We can all learn from this determined and very considerate young lady!