Perth Mayor and council honour Steve Tennant
At the regular session of Perth town council on Tuesday, November 23rd, Mayor John Fenik presided over the official presentation of this year’s Perth Medal to long-time volunteer Steve Tennant. Tennant is well known as one of the founders of the Stewart Park Festival as well as his support for those he met through his work at Lanark County as an adult protective services worker. He commented that now that he has been a resident of Perth for 40 years, he no longer has to refer to himself as a new comer but rather he is a part of the community and it’s a part of him.
Mayor and council bid farewell to former Mayor Lana March
At the same meeting, Mayor Fenik and council took the time to formally recognize and thank former Mayor Lana March who will be soon moving her residence to Penticton BC to be close to family. Fenik noted that Lana’s leadership style was exactly what was needed during the times of the infamous 1998 ice-storm that left a substantial number of Lanark residents out of power for days. According to Fenik, she seemed to be able to rally large numbers of volunteers at a moment’s notice. Lana will maintain her local summer cottage and is expected to visit on a regular basis. She thanked everyone for the kindness shown and commented that there was no community like Perth in terms of its wealth of giving people.
Vaccination policy finally passed
After several committee meetings and much discussion, Mayor John Fenik was visibly surprised at the opposition from some councilors to the town’s COVID-19 vaccination policy for staff and councilors that was on the table for a final vote. Staff had modified their policy after council feedback at the November committee of the whole meeting. That change would give the town’s CAO some discretion whether or not to terminate an employee who failed to get fully vaccinated. Councilor Leona Cameron couldn’t remember agreeing to that clause and Councilor Brock McPherson wished to see accommodation included for rapid antigen testing for those unwilling to be vaccinated. After some debate the policy was passed 4 to 2.
