Deja Vu Anyone?
David Amos<david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 2:38 PM |
| To: "martin.gaudet" <martin.gaudet@fredericton.ca>, cityclerk@fredericton.ca, "kris.austin" <kris.austin@gnb.ca>, michelle.dickinson@municipalityofgrandlake.ca, aidan.cox@cbc.ca, mayor.doucet@hampton.ca, nipun.tiwari@cbc.ca, "kathy.bockus" <kathy.bockus@gnb.ca>, perry.brad@radioabl.ca | |
| Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, victor.boudreau@shediac.ca, vanessa.hachebreau@municipalitedeshautesterres.ca, janice.conley@threeriversnb.ca, clerk@frederictonjunction.ca, julie.jacob@caraquet.ca, jeff.silliphant@gmail.com, cao@fundyalbert.ca, canterbury@nb.aibn.com, jeanmccumber@fundystmartins.ca, linda.sullivanbrown@fundyshores.ca, cao@centralyork.ca, wanda.st-laurent@bellebaie.ca, jeff.renaud@chocolatetown.ca, robert.white@arcadianb.ca, erin.sweet@butternutvalley.ca | |
Tuesday, 15 August 2023
Software outage prompts cancellation of Fredericton city council meeting
Hampton honoured for helping seniors get the most out of town life
Hampton Mayor Robert Doucet says being connected to events and services keeps seniors from feeling isolated
From beautifully maintained parks to resource centres that connect people to needed services, Hampton has made strides in engaging seniors in community life, says Lois Moore, who has lived in the southern New Brunswick town for more than 30 years.
To Moore, making a community more welcoming to seniors simply comes down to ease, accessibility and communication — to keep seniors from feeling isolated.
"Making access for physical activity,
which are our trails, easy access to businesses, places to sit when
people are walking on the trails … making them aware of what's going on
in the community," Moore said as she described why Hampton deserved the
honour it received Tuesday.
Hampton, about 30 kilometres
northeast of Saint John, is the latest place to be recognized by the New
Brunswick Age-Friendly Community Recognition Program.
The program honours communities, from cities as large as Fredericton to villages like New Maryland, based on a set of milestones that include establishing assessing the senior community's needs and creating an action plan.
Kathy
Bockus, minister responsible for seniors, says that accessibility is
key to making seniors feel like they are a part of their communities. (Roger Cosman / CBC News)
Dorothy MacDonald,
who also lives in Hampton, agreed with Moore that the town of about
4,400 helps seniors connect with what they need.
"Because they
have to find out things on their own," she said. "Sometimes when you're
at a certain age and you've got to do that, it's just too much work.
Whereas this way they have it and then their friends find out about it
and they get them involved."
Hampton is the 13th community to
get a certificate for being "age friendly" since the program began in
2017, and it's the first to be recognized since 2020.
Kathy Bockus, the minister responsible for seniors, said it's important
for residents to feel like they're part of the community, and
accessibility is part and parcel of that. To Bockus, the award to the
town reflects that commitment.
"It's meaningful for the
residents here and for the community," Bockus said. "It shows that they
have empathy with their seniors. They want their community to be
welcoming and accessible for seniors and they want seniors to enjoy
living here."
Present wins and future goals
Hampton
Mayor Robert Doucet said that when seniors don't have any connection to
events and services in their community, it can lead to a sense of
isolation.
"They're living alone and they don't have any connection to organizations or events going on."
Hampton
Mayor Robert Doucet says that seniors can feel isolated when they don't
have any connection to events and services within their communities. (Roger Cosman / CBC News)
Doucet sees
the award as victory because it's a sign his town has taken steps to be
a place seniors enjoy living in — results of which are all around him.
"I see the involvement of seniors in the events they go to, in the
exercise programs, and the social aspects of things," he said.
"They are now realizing 'Gee, I got something else I can go to so I can
meet some people, and we can become friends or we go to tea and coffee
or just go to the exercise programs."
Dorothy
MacDonald has lived in Hampton since 1990 and says that one area that
she hopes to see improvement is transportation to bigger communities,
such as Saint John and Quispamsis. (Roger Cosman / CBC News)
MacDonald said seniors
who live in small towns like Hampton may not want to live in cities,
but they do want access to them, so it's good to have all the
information making that possible. They could also use a way to make the
trip in.
MacDonald is happy with the access to services she
has within the town but still thinks there is progress to be made in
other areas, particularly transportation.
"We do lack that a
bit — people still like to go into Saint John or Quispamsis and they
don't have that access. So I think to me that's one of the biggest
hurdles we're facing right now."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Robert Doucet Takes Next Step As Hampton’s Mayor
Robert "Dewey" Doucet. (Image: Town of Hampton)
A promotion of sorts for the new municipal leader in the town of Hampton.
Robert Doucet is the new mayor-elect after 13 years on council, including seven as deputy mayor.
Doucet, whose nickname is Dewey, said running for mayor was something he had planned on doing after a couple of terms on council
“Just to take the next level up for a while and see how it goes and work with the team to get what we want and need in Hampton,” said Doucet, who was elected by acclamation.
Doucet said his number one priority for the upcoming term is the new regional facility, which is something they have been working on for several years.
“Meeting with the provincial government on that to see if we can get it across the finish line,” he said.
The mayor-elect said he also wants to focus on policing issues in the town, such as speeding.
He wants to sit down with the RCMP and develop a plan to focus on problem areas in the town.
Doucet will have a mix of old and new faces around the council table to help him out over the coming years.
Incumbent Todd Beach and former mayor Ken Chorley will be joined by Jeremy Salgado and Kim Tompkins.
“It’s nice to have that experienced councillors there and someone like Ken,” said Doucet. “He’s been a wonderful teacher for us and basically I’ve learned a lot from him and it’s nice to know that if I need him, I can draw from him.”
Brad Perry
Regional News Director
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Regional news director for Acadia Broadcasting's New Brunswick radio stations. A self-described weather geek who wakes up way before the sun to keep you informed.
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