County Warden Christa Lowry presided over her last session of county council on Wednesday Nov 24. The Warden’s position is elected by members of county council and lasts for a one-year term. Nominations for next year’s Warden were finalized this week and Perth Mayor John Fenik is to be acclaimed for that position on Dec 1st. Lowry thanked council for the opportunity she has worked at for the last year and noted it was a welcome change to see councilors and staff in the chambers rather than through a zoom meeting as was the case at the beginning of her term.
She made two special presentations at Wednesday’s meeting for the County’s annual awards of excellence. The first went to Environmentalist and naturalist and long-time volunteer Cliff Bennett of Carleton Place in the category of Volunteerism and Community Service. The second, for the Heritage and Ecology category went to Adam Dowdall, also of Carleton Place for his work in discovering and promoting our area’s history though metal detecting.
Lowry recognized and congratulated Lanark County Children’s Services staff on the news they received a Local Municipal Champion Award from the Ontario Municipal Social Services Association (OMSSA). The award recognizes the work done in advancing excellence in human services integration and service system management by teams from Consolidated Municipal Services Managers, such as Lanark County, which are responsible for overseeing local municipal social services. It is also in recognition of Lanark County’s early childhood educator (ECE) recruitment and retention initiative as a notable example of the ongoing commitment to both the ECE profession and service system management.
The Warden’s giving continued with the presentation of a cheque for $2,500 to the United Way East Ontario. The donation represented proceeds of the Warden’s Slow Roll event on the Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail from Almonte to Pakenham on Oct. 23. More than 50 cyclists took part in the second annual event.
“We are delighted to present this cheque to the United Way in support of the many activities you do to improve quality of life for residents in Lanark County,” Lowry said.
Article by Brian Turner
