A sick moose led to over 35 Parry Sound residents rallying together to get it the help it needs. 

James Lapointe, longtime area resident, says it all started about a week ago when he spotted a moose near Otter Lake that was circling around one spot and moving poorly. 

"All our neighbours were concerned and then eventually last Wednesday (Jan. 24) the moose came up onto our private road. We watched it and the neighbours came to see as well that he was doing the same thing, circling and not doing well, seeming very fragile,” he says. 

Lapointe says the group then called the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, but they were not able to help. He adds Aspen Valley staff then came out and assessed the animal. “They said that for sure it most likely had a brain worm, but it was young and seemed to be doing ok but not terrific, and it would need help to survive,” he says. 

Lapointe says the sanctuary said they would get a crew together to do the rescue using a trailer, adding the residents had to keep corralling the moose to make sure it didn’t go into the lake which could be fatal in its current state. He says then on Sunday when the sanctuary staff came out he put a word out to everyone to find people to help lift the animal. 

“We needed roughly eight people. I think we had over 35 people show up, neighbours and friends, all wanting to help and it was a successful transfer,” he says. 

Lapointe says the crew got the moose loaded up into the trailer and now he's at sanctuary getting the help that he needs. 

“It was the most Canadian thing and we had people say they've travelled to Newfoundland several times to see moose, but have never seen one. It was majestic. It's just a majestic animal. It's so beautiful. The colouring, the white tinges on its legs and the beautiful colour on its nose, and it was just quite amazing and gentle,”  

He ate our hemlocks. He was eating lots of our hemlocks and we were just watching him eat and trying to survive. It was it was pretty amazing. 

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The province has greenlit the West Parry Sound Ontario Health Team. 

Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Health Minister made the announcement in Parry Sound on Friday alongside the region’s MPP Graydon Smith and local Health Officials. 

Jones says this approval will not only bring coordinated care to our district but also marks a milestone for the province by achieving full provincial care with a total of 58 Ontario Health Teams. 

“Ontario Health teams bring together a wide variety of healthcare providers from across health and community sectors, including primary care, hospitals, home and community care, and mental health and addiction services,” she says. 

In addition, Jones says starting in April the province is investing up to $130.5 million to provide every Ontario Health Team with $2.25 million over three years to better coordinate people’s care by providing 24/7 help navigating the health care system.

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The Town of Parry Sound declared its “Significant Weather Event” over as of 9:30 AM Friday. 

Mayor Jamie McGarvey thanked the town’s talented crew for the work that they've done to try and keep the streets clear.  

“We've had a significant snow event and on Tuesday we had to declare it as such to give our crews the time and opportunity to be able to clear the snow. We have a little bit of a reprieve today. The sun is shining, but it is colder. But I noticed this morning that our crews were out and they're trying to get things cleaned up even more,” he says. 

McGarvey says he wants to thank everybody else for their patience, adding the town went from zero to 60 in a short period of time with no snow to a lot of snow in just a few days. 

Moving forward, he hopes we don't get as much as we have been so crews are able to keep up. 

McGarvey says he’s noticed neighbours helping each other, adding he saw one fellow going down the sidewalk with the snow blower for a distance to help clear things. 

“I've always said that this is a very giving and caring community and I appreciate the fact that neighbours can help neighbours and that people can help each other out,” he says. 

Vinni Bonazza, Manager of Operations says staff has almost completed cleaning up the town. 

"Now we had a couple of hiccups with some garbage issues. If there are issues for residents, please call the town office, but we've been checking around and getting bags that are messed up. Also, the town will be starting on our plan for snow removal due to the amount of snow that we've got,” he says. 

Bonazza says the last time Parry Sound had to declare a Significant Weather Event was Christmas of last year. He says the grand total this year was anywhere between 60 to 80 centimetres of snow. 

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Parry Sound is set to see temperatures drop to –28 overnight and the public is being warned of the risk of frostbite. 

Hayley Redman with the Parry Sound District Paramedic Services says with the plummeting temperatures, people need to be aware of how it occurs, what can happen and how serious it could be.  

“Frostbite firstly is an injury caused by freezing skin, which I think most people know. What they may not know is how it occurs and how rapidly it can occur. It happens on exposed skin, usually, but it can also happen to areas that are not adequately covered, or if you're covered by something that's wet,” she says. 

Redman says that means if you're shoveling snow and your gloves are wet, then your fingers are at a risk of frostbite. She says the first thing people will notice is cold skin and that prickly feeling that we get when our on our skin gets very cold. 

“But it will progress from that to numbness, that’s when it becomes a little more dangerous because people may not realize that the exposed skin is actually being affected. The other worrying thing is that usually the most vulnerable areas of our skin that would be affected are on our face, our ears, our nose and our chin, and those are areas that may not be noticed by the person themselves,” she says. 

Redman says you might not know you have frostbite until someone points that out to you. She says especially if you're outside shoveling and your body is warm, then you may not notice frostbite setting in to the point where it's quite severe and the skin has become hard or waxy looking, or in severe cases will turn black.  

“These injuries can occur when temperatures reach -15. And if you're outside at -15 for 30 minutes, you're definitely at risk of frostbite. We're expecting temperatures lower than that and when you add in the wind chill then it becomes much more serious,” she says. 

Redman says another thing to keep in mind is that other factors can increase the risk of frostbite. She says there are medical conditions that can affect your ability to be frostbitten and increase the risk like diabetes and any conditions that affect the blood flow to your limbs.  

“Someone who has excessive sweating that causes moisture on their skin, they are at more risk. People who have issues with alcohol or drug use, smokers, and if you have been previously frostbitten,” she says. 

As for the course of action if you think you have frostbite, Redman says early signs where your skin is tingling and it's a little red is more known as frost nip, the precursor to frostbite. 

“That will alleviate with some gentle warming. I wouldn't recommend submerging frostbitten fingers into hot water but gentle warming. And you'll know if you've been frostniped because as you warm those areas up, they'll be quite painful,” she says. 

Beyond that, she says if you've experienced some numbness, or that skin is hard, white or waxy, or if blisters appear on the skin after warming, then it's time to seek medical attention and a visit to the emergency room would be recommended. 

Redman says people should take it easy, move the snow that you can, move it safely, don't overexert yourself and keep an eye on the time and go back inside to warm up regularly. 

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The Town of Parry Sound declared a “Significant Weather Event” on Tuesday. 

Dave Thompson, Parry Sound Fire Chief, says that means normal levels of service standards the town usually sees may not be met. 

“For instance, the plows are out operating on the roads full-time right now. However, that does not mean that they'll be able to maintain the same standards as what the residents usually expect. Public Works has declared that significant weather event and it will remain in place until the crews can catch up so that they feel they can maintain the minimum standards that are required by the town,” he says. 

Thompson says the main things affected will be roads, sidewalks, and parking lots. He says officials suggest residents consider staying at home and avoid any unnecessary travelling. 

“I do just want to touch base with regards to treating all the people who are operating plows, be that municipal employees or private employees, with respect. They're doing a job and clearing the roads off to the best of their ability and dealing with the parking lots,” he says. 

Thompson says no one likes to have a pile of snow put at the end of their driveway immediately after shovelling it, but we need to treat each other with respect and understand that we all have a job to do. He says no one's trying to create more work for each other.  

“It's just the situation means there's a lot of snow to move and we appreciate everything that the plow operators are doing and keeping the roads clear,” he says. 

According to the town, the event will be declared over once staff are able to cope with the volume of snow and have had an opportunity to return to a normal level of service. 

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The Warmth for Winter tree, located on James Street in Parry Sound, is stocked and ready for its third season. 

The initiative, run by Parry Sound’s own Stephanie Jay, started in 2020 when COVID-19 forced local shelters to stop accepting donations. 

Jay says she still wanted to do something around Christmas time, so she started posting some winter clothing and pinning them to the tree closest to her home. 

“It kind of exploded [from there] and the community wanted to donate and I saw that there was a really big need for it here in the community, so I've continued it ever since,” she says.  

Jay packages and labels items folks would need for the wintertime including gloves, mitts, hats, long Johns, jogging pants and socks which she says is a big one for the homeless community in Parry Sound. She then pins them to the tree and the community just goes and helps themselves.  

“I have had a handful of people come up to me and thank me. It kept them warm one day when they forgot their hat. I got an e-mail from a counselor one day, she was working with one of her clients and they were walking past the tree and she really needed a scarf. She found a nice scarf on the tree and apparently she was just the happiest person,” she says. 

Jay says it's just a small thing that she could do to help the community in the winter. She says the community has been “awesome”, adding she couldn't do it without their generosity. 

Anyone interested in donating items for the tree can drop them off at Jay’s official donation spot at White Squal Outdoor Store on James Street during the store’s business hours. 

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West Parry Sound OPP has joined a growing number of Ontario police services implementing a CAMsafe program. 

Constable Brandon Charlebois, the detachment’s Community Safety and Media Officer, says the program was originally developed by Belleville Police Service. 

The program aims at creating a database of residential and commercial security cameras within a community that may act as a resource for police when investigating offences or crime. 

“What community members can do is log into camsafe.ca and they can register any cameras that they have in their home or at their business or cottage. It doesn't give police access to the cameras itself, and there's no live feed or anything like that.” he says. 

Charlebois says the database only gives police access to contact information. He says that way, if there is an incident nearby, officers can pull up a map of available security camera in the area and just start calling around and asking to look at footage, which saves a lot of time for investigators. 

Charlebois says the program has been well received by officers, adding it acts as another tool for police to use in certain situations where they may have a larger investigation.  

He says interested community members are only required to provide basic contact information and camera location but, can include more details if desired, such as direction the camera faces, footage retention details or screenshots of the camera view.  

To learn more about the CAMSafe program and to register security cameras please visit https://camsafe.ca/ 

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Glenda Clayton is the recipient of the 2023 Order of Parry Sound. 

A dedicated Harvest Share volunteer and one of the founders of Parry Sound Community Gardens, Clayton was given the award over the weekend by Mayor Jamie McGarvey at the Town’s Levee.  

In recommending the recipient for the 2023 Order of Parry Sound, McGarvey says something that came through about Clayton from the Awards Advisory Council was “multifaceted and well-rounded".  

A Parry Sound resident since 1999, Clayton has a Bachelor of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo and a Bachelor of Education from Queens.  

“She worked for three decades in the outdoor environmental education field, including time with Ontario Parks, private outdoor education centers, a school board, conservation authorities, and locally with Georgian Bay Biosphere. She supported people with developmental disabilities at Community Living Parry Sound for the last three years of her working career,” he says. 

McGarvey says Clayton has been a vital part of Parry Sound Nature Club for over 20 years, acting as either president or vice president for the club. In addition, he says she is also a representative of the Huronia region of Ontario Nature. 

“She's driven many miles to participate in turtle surveys and gardening projects. She's been a keen fundraiser for the Outer Islands Project, getting sponsors and paddling the Franklin Challenge. She has volunteered an annual fundraising efforts for Global Medic, a Canadian volunteer disaster relief group. Her efforts, combined with others, have led to significant annual community donations,” he says. 

As for Clayton’s work with Harvest Share, McGarvey says she packs food hampers, does food rescue, prepares kids bags, and participates in food drives and other fundraising activities. 

“She helps with serving and cleaning up twice monthly, community dinners, delivers food hampers to clients within Parry Sound and food inventory to the North and the east side of the district, where communities including Britt, Callander, Powassan, South River and Burks Falls, all supported by Parry Sounds Food Bank,” he says. 

In her acceptance speech, Clayton thanked the mayor, the selection committee for taking the time to review the applications and whoever was responsible for her nomination. 

“To say I was surprised when I got the call is an understatement. There are so many things that go into making this such a wonderful community,” she said. 

Clayton said there are just so many ways that people contribute to making this a great community, adding Parry Sound is one of the most beautiful spots on Georgian Bay but there's an opportunity to explore.  

“To the folks that are out there volunteering and getting connections made to the community. I encourage you to reach out to some people, people who recently moved to the area, people who maybe just retired and maybe have some extra time and help connect them to the things in this town. So maybe they could put some of their time because of course, it's rewarding for them to make those connections and meet other people. But of course, the real benefit is for our community and the residents here,” she said. 

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Over 60 residents have tested positive at Parry Sound’s two long term care facilities since late Dec. 

That from Jess Fargher Lee, Communications and Public Relations Officer with the West Parry Sound Health Centre. 

She says as of Jan. 9, 40 confirmed cases are at Belvedere Heights and 23 are at Lakeland. 

Fargher Lee says the Belvedere outbreak, declared on Dec. 29, has six residents who tested positive at the Oak Home area, 14 in the Pine Home area, and 20 in the Willow Home area. She adds staff at Belvedere has been able to remove 11 residents from isolation precautions. 

As for the Lakeland outbreak, declared Dec. 30, Fargher Lee says six residents are at the Lake Rosseau unit, six residents in the Georgian Bay unit, and 11 residents in the Magnetawan unit.  

“Local numbers are reflecting high levels of COVID-19 that are being experienced across the province. We are currently seeing COVID-19 activity circulating within our community and encourage everyone to take routine precautions to limit their chances of exposure. Currently, both of the long-term care homes located in Parry Sound are operating under facility wide outbreaks,” she says. 

She says all residents presenting with symptoms at both centres, as well as close contacts, are being placed on droplet/contact isolation with additional outbreak measures in place.  

In terms of what the public should know and do, she says health officials encourage all residents to wear masks if they are able when they are out and about outside of their rooms. 

Additionally, only one visitor per resident will be allowed in outbreak units at a time, small unit-specific programs are taking place, but large group programs have been cancelled at this time and the centre is encouraging physical distancing between residents and visitors even when the visitors are in the resident’s room.  

“We have enhanced our high touch point cleaning, disinfecting and all rooms, dining rooms after every meal. And frequent hand hygiene is encouraged for all staff and visitors. We also ask that the public in general self identify if they have any symptoms and to choose a different day to go and visit their loved ones if possible,” she says. 

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A local resident is among the 25 new appointments to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour.   

Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont announced Jay Aspin is among the people who have made exceptional contributions to help build a stronger province, nation and world.   

The province says Aspin has dedicated more than four-and-a-half decades to enhancing the growth and all aspects of life in Northern Ontario.   

Along with being a former councillor in North Bay, he served as Chair of the Near North District School Board, Trustee with the Nipissing Board of Education and was the Member of Parliament for Nipissing-Timiskaming. More recently, he has served with Ontario Health to enhance the province’s healthcare system, notably in Northern Ontario. 

“As Chancellor of the Order of Ontario, it is my privilege to congratulate the Order’s appointees for 2023. These Ontarians have demonstrated the highest levels of merit, excellence and dedication in their respective disciplines, and they have made significant impacts here at home and around the world,” says Dumont. “Our province gratefully acknowledges their remarkable contributions, which inspire us all to be leaders and change-makers.”  

Officials say members of the Order come from all walks of life and represent various sectors of society including public service, business, journalism and health care. 

***With files from Richard Coffin

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The OPP’s West Parry Sound Detachment conducted 61 checks during the Festive RIDE campaign.

The initiative aimed at reducing impaired driving ran from November 16 until January 1.

Police report 11 people across our region were charged with impaired driving offences.

On top of the charges, one person was issued a driver's license suspension as a result of registering an "Alert" on an approved screening device.

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Parry Sound High School (PHSH) students are spreading positive messages through posters, vinyl and murals throughout the school. 

It’s all part of a campaign kicked off by the Doc Rob Foundation’s Terry Lynn Stevens and Maria Rutledge, who began a friendship as shared survivors of suicide loss.   

Melissa Beasley, Visual Arts Teacher at PSHS, says Stevens and Rutledge came to the principal asking if there were some teachers that would take on a project to do positivity messaging as a suicide prevention campaign at the school.  

Beasley says Emily Jenkins, Drama teacher, took on the project which she says is threefold.  

“We have vinyl posters that were designed and created by Aqua Graphics that have gone up in the hallways, on doors and in the bathrooms. We have these other message holders that are still in the works that will go up with QR codes of services that students can access if they're struggling with mental health, addiction or any other problems that we come across that we can provide a service for,” she says. 

And finally, Beasley says there is a tech hall beautification project where senior visual arts students are choosing a positive quote, song lyric, poem or message and then they design it like graffiti or text as art and paint the walls above and around the lockers. 

She says the school already has about 20 of those designs going up so far. Beasley says the idea is that if there's somebody suffering in silence or needing somebody to talk to that maybe they will take in one of those messages and go talk to somebody in guidance or at home about getting some help. 

"What we're actually seeing though, which was a nice surprise, is increased student engagement and attendance. That’s because they're painting the halls and it's their own design, they've taken a lot of pride into it and I've seen better attendance and involvement from both of my senior classes. It’s what keeps them in school instead of deciding not to come,” she says. 

Beasley says she’s had numerous students who are not in her visual arts program come and ask to complete a mural. She says they'll do it on their lunches or if they have a spare or even on snow days. 

“My students are getting a mark for it as a project, but I have students that aren't in my program at all coming and asking if they can paint a positive message. And I have numerous students in my class that have done more than one,” she says. 

Beasley says the program had such a good response from the students that Terry Lynn and Maria have offered to keep it going year long.  

That means instead of just two classes that she has running now, Beasley’s next semester classes will be able to add on to it.  

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No injuries were reported after firefighters and emergency crews responded to a fire at the Turtle Jack’s on 22 Bay St. 

Dave Thompson, Parry Sound’s Fire Chief, says the fire department was called to the location at about 11:45 AM.  

“They had a fire in the kitchen. It was witnessed and was due to the deep fryer and they were unable to extinguish it on the inside. They evacuated the building, [the] fire department attended, and by that point it had spread to the upstairs apartments,” he says. 

Thompson says crews were on scene for most of the day extinguishing the building.  

“We had probably about 30 firefighters on scene. With McDougall fire department here fully, and then we also had a crew from Carling and a crew from Seguin. Parry Sound Public Works were on scene, as was Enbridge and Lakeland Power to disconnect services,” he says. 

Thompson says the building is a complete loss with the damage estimated at approximately $1.2 million. He says the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office was contacted but will not be doing any investigation as the fire has been deemed not suspicious. 

Thompson says the fire department will have people on scene overnight doing a fire watch to make sure there's no rekindling of the fire before they come back in the morning and declare the fire out. 

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Parry Sound is calling for the Rural Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) program to stick around. 

Council carried a motion this week supporting the RNIP program becoming a permanent program. 

Officials say the community driven program began as a federal initiative designed to spread the benefits of economic immigration to smaller communities by creating a path to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers who want to work and live in one of the participating communities. 

Clayton Harris, Parry Sound’s Chief Administrative Officer, says the resolution also calls for the program to be expanded. 

"We also think local northern communities like Parry Sound have the same challenges as the cities in northern Ontario and there's no reason this pilot program shouldn't be expanded to all northern Ontario,” he says. “Hopefully that resonates with the federal government and those copied on the resolution and gets some traction as well from other communities and other levels of government,”. 

Council says they are supportive of encouraging continued immigration in the area that can lead to permanent residency. 

The federal government's program, which includes five northern Ontario cities, will come to an end on February 1. 

According to council, the resolution will be sent to the federal and provincial governments as well as the Parry Sound Area Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Business Association, Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, the municipalities of West Parry Sound and the Rotary Club of Parry Sound. 

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Industry partners and students came together recently for Parry Sound High School’s Tech and Trades Showcase. 

School officials say the event saw industry representatives visit the school for a tour of the school’s construction, automotive and culinary arts classrooms. 

Officials say they had discussions with teachers about skilled trades education and career pathways. The tour was followed by an opportunity for industry partners to showcase their businesses directly to students.  

Officials say the idea for the showcase came last year when the school hosted a construction and transportation dinner after the development of their construction and mining specialist high skills major program.   

Blair Cousins, hospitality and culinary arts teacher and technology team leader, says students had the opportunity to talk directly to potential employers. 

“Students were able to view presentations that will inspire questions and develop opportunities for co-op placements, Ontario youth apprenticeship program (OYAP) training and future meaningful well-paying careers," Cousins said. 

NNDSB Trustee Jeanie Fuscaldo, who helped to facilitate the Tech and Trades Showcase, said that there has been a decline in skilled tradespeople across all sectors that has been rapidly increasing over the past decade.  

“One of our guest attendees said it best ‘10 years ago you would be coming to us for a job, today we find ourselves in a position where we are competing to hire and retain you, the employees.’ By providing our students with information and direction about a variety of pathways into the trades, we're helping remove barriers and open doors they may not have known existed,” Fuscaldo said. 

Cousins described the showcase as a ‘second step’ in a program of engagement in the trades which will grow to include students as young as Grade 7. 

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McKellar Public Library’s revitalization project is getting this year’s Learning and Engagement Accelerator Fund (LEAF). 

Ontario-based company Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group’s initiative announced its recipients for this year's grant, given to local community-led and focused projects. 

Lynne Aylsworth, a member of the library’s board, says the project dubbed “creating our future together” will include a better kids’ section with STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) kits for learning, more books, an educational computer for special needs children and more storage space. 

“We're making a Makerspace and hoping to purchase a 3D printer and get a Cricut in there.  We're going to beef up our lending library so It's not just lending books, but also lending out small tools like gardening tools and Radon detectors to detect whether there's CO2 and other gases in your house,” she says. 

Aylsworth says the library has had a huge response from the community adding they can't thank the community enough for the support. 

According to the library’s strategic plan for the project, the Children’s Department will receive some significant improvements with all the children’s books moved into the children’s room. Due to space issues, some are currently housed in the adult room. 

“We are trying to stay with the times, with the technology on how it's evolving in our world and we're trying to keep the residents in our community informed. Instead of having to drive 20 minutes to Parry Sound to the library, which is fantastic as well, we're bringing all the newer and up-to-date computers and books to our library,” she says. 

Aylsworth says the library asked for $49,835.88, with the limit for funding being $50,000. She says the money will go towards purchasing the new equipment as well as some services required to finish the work like a carpenter and electrician. 

Aylsworth says the board is meeting in early January to get started adding the project will kick off as soon as possible. 

“As soon as we can get the contractors in, get our quotes and get them in to start. It depends on their schedule. And then you have two years to complete your project according to the rules and regulations of the grant,” she says. 

McKellar Library’s project was one of 11 recipients of the 2023 LEAF grant through the Commonwel Initiative, chosen out of a total of 77 applications. 

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The local library is holding a grant recognition event on Tuesday Dec. 19. 

Selena Martens, Parry Sound Public Library CEO, says the event kicks off at 3 PM.  

“We will be acknowledging and celebrating a grant that was received this year from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation through their rural enhancement stream. The grants contributed towards allowing us to replace the libraries’ three rooftop mounted heating and cooling units,” she says. 

Martens says the old units were installed 23 years ago and are well past their life expectancy.  

She says in September the library replaced them with three brand new carrier units thanks to the NOHFC grant covering 75 per cent of the $45,000 price tag and the Town of Parry found contributing towards the remaining 25 percent, along with some added help from the library board’s own savings as well.  

Martens adds the library is funded not only by the Town of Parry Sound, but with three contracting municipalities, the Township of the Archipelago, the Township of Carling, and the Municipality of McDougal. 

She says the library board has been aware that the furnaces were at the end of their life and that they needed to be replaced for a couple of years.  

“We started pursuing this grant just late last year, so once we had everything in place and we applied for the grant, it was very fast moving. It took less than a year with the help of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation to get everything handled,” she says. 

Martens says on Tuesday, Parry Sound-Muskoka MPP Graydon Smith, Parry Sound Mayor Jamie McGarvey and the chair of the library board, Tom Lundy, will all be speaking at the event.  

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The 2023 Moose FM Radiothon in support of the Salvation Army is officially in the books. 

This year’s grand total exceeded last year’s, coming in at over $33,000. 

Major Debbie Allen, Church Pastor, says the radiothon raises awareness of how the nonprofit helps people and doubles as a major component of the Salvation Army’s fundraising.  

“What we raise at Christmas is basically what funds our year-round programming in addition to supporting the Christmas hampers and toy program,” she says.  

Over the two-day period, listeners were asked to give what they can, and local businesses were encouraged to donate and challenge other businesses.   

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A McKellar local is being honoured by the province for his exceptional volunteer work. 

Lloyd George is one of 14 people who were awarded the 2023 June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism. 

The award is in memory of late author and journalist, June Callwood, and recognizes the leadership, innovation and contributions of individual volunteers, volunteer administrators and volunteer organizations who have stepped up to help others, support communities and build a stronger Ontario. 

George serves as commissioner for the 3rd Parry Sounds Scouts. 

In a post to social media, the scouts shared they are thankful for George’s leadership, knowledge and dedication to the youth of our province.  

“You are a Scout, through and through, and certainly leave all those you have encountered better than you when you found them. Congratulations,” the post read. 

The June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Award for Voluntarism is presented each year to up to 20 individuals and/or organizations in recognition of their longstanding volunteer service to their community.  

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The Parry Sound Area Founders Circle has chosen its five finalists for this year’s Founders Choice Awards. 

The finalists are A Bushel & A Peck, Georgian Medical Aesthetics, Northern Swine and Steer, Rewind Design Studio and Sound Youth Counselling. 

Officials with the Founders Circle say the next step for the finalists is to create an “elevator pitch” video, describing their business in its entirety.  

In addition, the circle is providing two sessions for the finalists with Stand Out Business and Venture Bay Studio to help them work on their pitch. 

In March the finalists will pitch their business ideas to a panel of Founders for a chance at a $10,000 prize for first place and $5,000 for second place. 

Officials say the two successful recipients of the Parry Sound Area Founders Choice Award will be announced on April 11 at the Parry Sound Area Founders Award Dinner, to be held at the Log Cabin Inn. 

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