Good Morning! Welcome to your latest TVC News. This week (Friday 19th March) in Clarence-Rockland's regional update:

 An update on COVID-19 for Clarence-Rockland and Prescott-Russell;

We start the show with some very positive news as the mass immunization center here in Clarence-Rockland will be administering it’s first vaccines before the end of the week.

The online booking system for residents aged 80 and over in Ontario went online on Monday the 15th of March, though there were some difficulties. Many people reported errors, with the page saying “The form has been tampered with” - an issue that persevered for most of the day.

However, Dr. Paul Roumelitotis of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit told the press on Monday night that the error had been fixed.

Whether it be online or over the phone many residents from Clarence-Rockland were successfully able to book their vaccine appointments, which will be administered at the Jean Marc Lalonde Arena as of today.

Despite this positive news, there are further concerns regarding the VOCs as Dr. Roumeliotis explains…

With Ottawa having moved to the red zone eyes are being cast towards our local numbers as we edge ever closer to further restrictions too.

In Prescott-Russell there are currently 30 active cases, of which 14 are in Clarence-Rockland. There are a total of 181 active cases across the EOHU with a total of 16,355 vaccines having been administered so far.

Ottawa River flooding risk assessed;

As the weather warms and the snow melts, minds are cast towards the benefits of spring.

Locally, following the events of 2017 and 2019 there are fresh worries concerning floodings.

With a warning having been issued by South Nation Conservation over the past couple of weeks, I spoke to Manon Lalonde, an executive engineer with the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board to find out the risk for this coming spring.

Ms Lalonde explained that the snow cover, not only along the Ottawa River but in the basins further north is very usual for this time of year.

As for the risk of flooding, Ms Lalonde said it was a 1% chance, but that it all comes down to the kind of rainfall we experience over the coming months.

To make sure that you are prepared, keep an eye out for press releases by South Nation Conservation especially if we experience rainfalls of over 25mm. The full interview with Manon Lalonde is available in French via our Youtube channel.

Changes to Hawkesbury Water Treatment Plant;

Our next story takes place in the town of Hawkesbury, where the local Water treatment plant is receiving a much needed upgrade.

They will be replacing the plant’s clarifier, which is used to separate solid waste from clean water using gravity and has been in use since the plant was built in 1954.

The construction will result in two new clarifiers that utilize acti-flow technology, that leave a smaller carbon footprint, but will still be able to outperform the old equipment. TVC22 reporter Bruce de la Cruz has more.

Road closures in Clarence-Rockland;

There have been some local road closures announced due to the risk of spring flooding.

Du Lac Road, from 2787 going South to Lalonde Road - Lalonde Road, starting 15m east of Labelle Road to Rollin Road - and from 4043 Boileau Road to Ettyville Road will be closed for the foreseeable future.

There are also some upcoming changes to Du Parc Avenue to accommodate the vaccination clinic days.

Today, Friday the 19th of March; Thursday the 25th of March; and Thursday the 1st and 15th of April will see Du Parc become a one way St.

The access will be from Simoneau Street, and traffic will head west bound towards St. Joseph Street in order to provide accessible parking spaces for residents who will get vaccinated at the Jean-Marc Lalonde Arena.

And an extract from ‘In Your Ward’ with Councilor Simard

And speaking of roads, in this week’s episode of In Your Ward I spoke to Councilor Christian Simard about the upcoming work on Du Lac Avenue as well as the Municipality's 10 year plan…

You can view all the episodes from our show “In Your Ward” on our Facebook page or our Youtube channel.