Page 4 - News On 7 August 2021

ONTARIO FLOWER FARM, STUDENTS GAVE EVERY RESIDENT OF THIS LONG-TERM CARE HOME A BOUQUET OF
THEIR OWN. COURESTY OF CBC NEWS

Dahlia May Flower Farm wanted to honor seniors who ‘had in some senses been forgotten’ during
pandemic. When Melanie Harrington was 18 months old, her mother was diagnosed with a rare but
aggressive bone cancer, and a subsequent surgery left her paralyzed from the waist down. As a result,
her mom spent much of her life in the hospital and long-term care. Harrington grew up there by her
side, eating cafeteria Jell-O and forming an "extended family" with the nurses.

Since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, Harrington says she's spent every day thinking of the people still living in long-term
care homes, which have been hit particularly hard. In Ontario alone, nearly 4,000 long-term care residents have died of COVID-19.
"I was fortunate enough to be able to hold my mom's hand as she passed away, and I know that so many people have lost family
members during COVID and haven't been able to spend that precious time, especially at [the] end of life, with their family members,"
she told The Current.
So when the pandemic's one-year anniversary approached this year, Harrington and her staff at the Dahlia May Flower Farm in Trenton,
Ont., wanted to honour long-term care residents who she said "had in some senses been forgotten, and in some senses had struggled so
much during COVID." With the help of Grade 8 students from Tweed Elementary School, they delivered bouquets of fresh flowers to
seniors at Moira Place — free of charge. The long-term care facility is home to 120 residents, and is located in Tweed, Ont., a community
of about 6,000 people northeast of Toronto.
Moira Place is just one of 21 long-term care homes in the Bay of Quinte area that have received
special deliveries from the flower farm.
Although the home has managed to avoid any COVID-19 cases during the pandemic, it's been a
lonely time for residents there, amid provincial lockdowns and visitor restrictions.
"It almost brings me to tears," said 90-year-old Marion Ducharme, who was among a handful of
residents waiting outside the care home when Harrington's truck pulled into the driveway.
Student Callie Derry told Ducharme that she and her classmates wanted her to know they care
about her, and that she's on their minds during this challenging time.
"To have young people think of us is really something," Ducharme said.
Read More go to: https://bit.ly/3zLDQa0

LEAVING A PLACE BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT!
Written by: Katherine Sedgwick, Queensborough, Ontario on July 28, 2021
Six kilometres, three and a half hours, and five bags (plus one old tire) later, I managed to collect all of the roadside trash on the south
side of Queensborough Road from Queensborough to Hazzard’s Corners today. Climbing into and out of ditches to collect Tim’s and
McDonald’s debris, beer cans, etc., is exhausting, and I am exhausted. And I still have the other side to do! Some people stopped and
kindly asked if I needed anything. My reply: what I need, and what we all need, is for people to stop throwing garbage and recyclables
out of their vehicles. What a wonderful world that would be.
Comments From Social Media:
Tonny Braden: What a big job you have done ! Thank you so much!
Kelly DeClair: Thank you yet again Katherine Sedgwick but people need to
stop this sickening habit!!!
Evan Morton
Katherine. Congratulations and thanks for your commendable efforts to
enlighten people about our obligation to be "stewards" of the earth!
Humanity will pay a heavy price for our abuse of the environment. Each
person needs to display his/her commitment to a better living space by
starting immediately in one's own community. Actions, not words, are going
to make the difference! Sincerely, Evan.

613 473 1891

31 Durham Street, Madoc, ON