CJRO Radio News - April 14th, 2026

Hello! This is Manuela Dascal and you are listening to the CJRO Radio local news.

Photo by Russel Township.

On April 7th, Russell Township announced funding in the amount of $50,000 for emergency preparedness and $36,000 for the fire department. The funding was received through the Community Emergency Preparedness Grant (CEPG) and the Fire Protection Grant of the Province of Ontario.

The emergency preparedness funding will be used to address any needs and gaps in preparedness for severe winter weather, ensuring upgrades for essential equipment including drones, cots and emergency communication tools. 

The Russell Township Fire Services used the funding to purchase a Solo Rescue® Decontamination Washer System, a much needed piece of equipment that will ensure cancer prevention efforts and reduce firefighters’ exposure to harmful contaminants.

Councillor Isabelle Skalski in her weekly newsletter announced that at the latest Rural Affairs Committee the City of Ottawa has approved a new groundwater monitoring programme. The Committee embraced Councillor Skalski's request for better communication, coordination with Conservation Authorities and support for private well owners when faced with drought situations. The committee also supported the renewal of the Ottawa Rural Clean Water Program for 2026 to 2030. This program helps farmers and rural landowners protect surface water and groundwater through cost-shared projects such as erosion control, tree planting, wetland restoration, and well decommissioning. Over the last five years, Ward 20 saw 64 projects supported through this program, representing more than $220,000 in grants.

The Ottawa Rural Clean Water Program is now accepting applications. Landowners with property in rural Ottawa and agricultural or well decommissioning and septic projects within Ottawa’s urban boundary are eligible to apply for funding. Non-profit organizations are also eligible for demonstration and other educational projects. For more information anyone interested should check The Ottawa Rural Clean Water Program on the Ottawa City website.

On April 9th, the Mayor of Casselman, Geneviève Lajoie held a dialogue session about the ALTO project. In a packed room at the Center Education and Training de L'est Ontarien, close to one hundred residents presented their questions and  opinions in regard to the ALTO project. Most of the residents raised the issue of not being heard, of a shortfall in communications between them and the ALTO representatives. One of the issues that kept coming up was also the lack of transparency of information about the high speed rail train’s impact on property, on farms, on wildlife, on soil and water. Mayor Lajoie, with a lot of support and enthusiasm embraced everyone's position and wrote down every suggestion. She intends to communicate to ALTO and to MP Mingarelli everything that was discussed in the hope that residents will get most of their concerns answered. 

Photo by Olivier Berthiaume, Prescott Russell Director of Communication.

In February the United Counties of Prescott Russell launched a new Virtual Triage and Assessment Centre (the “VTAC”) which allows for better access to health care, when and where it is needed.

The VTAC services are offered to anyone with non-urgent health concerns who lives in the Prescott and Russell region. The services are especially useful for those who do not have a family physician and for those whose health concerns require care sooner than the appointment dates offered by their primary care provider.

Based on their needs, people may receive an in-clinic appointment in Bourget, Casselman, Hawkesbury, or Rockland, or they may receive a virtual or hybrid appointment. Care is provided by a nurse practitioner and by community paramedics. Since the VTAC of Prescott and Russell’s launch on February 23, 2026, 240 patients have already received the care they needed.

An official launch event was held on April 9, 2026, in Bourget. Elected Officials and partners were in attendance to celebrate the successful launch of the new Centre. 

To access the VTEC services, please call 1-800-240-5581 from Monday to Friday, from 8:15 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information, please visit: cupr-ucpr.com/vtac.

That wraps up our local news. If you have any questions, stories or news to share, contact us at the following email address localnewscjro@gmail.com . I also invite you to visit our website at cjroradio.com  for the latest news.