Town of Essex Mayor Larry Snively is excited to announce the launch of Essex Plays at Home, a new online initiative to bring recreational activities to the comfort of your own home.

“With recreation facilities closed and programs cancelled, we know that a lot of our community members are looking for something to do, whether it’s to be active or learn something new,” Snively said. “The Essex Plays at Home project will give families and individuals of all ages the chance to participate in some at home recreation.”

The Essex Plays at Home project is broken down into four categories: pre-school, youth, family, and lifestyle & adult fitness. Each category will offer unique activities such as self-guided arts and crafts, home scavenger hunts led by staff via online video feed, fitness classes, as well as links to other online resources.

The online initiative will launch on Monday, April 6 with information posted to www.essex.ca/PlaysAtHome

You are invited to watch Glenwood United Church Online Worship Services live on Sundays at 10:30am at facebook.com/glenwoodunited/ or visit our website glenwoodunited.com.

"Quinte Connection" on YourTV is the hub for community events, groups and individuals to share information and ideas.  Join host Lindsey Harren as she speaks with interesting individuals from the Quinte region on this weekly informative magazine style program.  This week Lindsey chats with Wendy Warner from the Trenton Memorial Hospital Foundation, Frank Rockett from Quinte Humane Society and a visit with some of the members of the band "Long Range Hustle".  Quinte Connection airs daily at different times including Fridays at 7:00pm.  Check the website for more airdates and times.

Windsor Fire and Rescue and the City of Windsor are rolling out a new way for residents to receive emergency information—fast!

It’s called Windsor Alerts. Visit windsoralerts.ca to sign-up.
The Windsor Alerts system will be used to notify subscribers of significant emergency situations and disasters, such as large fires, tornados, flooding and more. Every resident is asked to sign up by providing their cell phone, email address, home phone and home address. The home address information is important as it allows for geo-positional notifications to be sent out to affected areas.  

Alerts may be broadcast via the following delivery methods:

·Email account (work, home, other)

·Cell phone (SMS Text)

·Home phone (Voice)

·Cell phone (Voice)

·Everbridge Mobile Member App

·TTY device

The City of Windsor encourages residents to register everyone in their family for this important service. Each family member will have to be registered separately. Residents will always have the option to remove their contact information in the event that they no longer wish to receive notifications. More emergency and non-emergency options will be added for residents to sign up for at a later date.

The Windsor Alerts system is built on the same Everbridge platform used by numerous municipalities across Canada, including our neighbours in Essex County. Everbridge is a global leader in mass notification.

For more information on City Services, visit www.citywindsor.ca or call 311. For more information on fire and rescue, visit www.windsorfire.com.

To better protect people during this COVID-19 outbreak, the Ontario Government has signed a ministerial designation under the Provincial Offences Act to authorize municipal by-law enforcement officers to enforce emergency orders under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA).

Leamington By-law Enforcement Officers are now working together with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to enforce EMCPA orders which include prohibiting persons accessing outdoor recreational amenities; prohibiting persons attending organized public events, social gatherings or religious services of more than 5 people; and prohibiting the operation of non-essential businesses.

Anyone found to be violating an order under EMCPA, will be required, upon request, to provide their correct name, date of birth and address to the OPP and/or Municipal By-law Enforcement Officers. Failing to correctly identify oneself carries a fine of $750 for failure to comply with an order made under the EMCPA or $1,000 for obstructing any person in exercising a power if a provincial offences officer issues a ticket. In addition, failure to comply with an emergency order could carry punishments of up to one-year imprisonment or a fine of up to $100,000 for an individual, $500,000 for a director of a corporation, or $10,000,000 for a corporation itself if a provincial offences officer charges the individual by issuing a summons.

Members of the public can report EMCPA infractions by calling the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or the Municipality at 519-326-5761 or reporting online at www.leamington.ca/reportanissue. Citizens are requested to use their judgment and only report blatant infractions.

In addition to responding to calls from the public, Bylaw Enforcement Officers are also conducting community patrols.