Trent researcher looks to improve lives of people with dementia

“Mother Nature got us again ... two years in a row,” said McFarlane. “It’s heart breaking.”

The trails were groomed and ready, he said, but “the ice created a bobsled chute.” “I feel so bad for everybody.” McFarlane said the races had to be confirmed or cancelled by Wednesday since some racers come from the United States, Quebec and western Canada.

All other attractions will continue as scheduled, including the Marmora’s Got Talent Contest Friday and Saturday at Marmora Senior Elementary School, the Back of Cordova Curling Challenge at the Marmora Curling Club, the food and artisan show at the Marmora Community Centre and Saturday’s St. Andrew’s United Church lunch. All events are within a few blocks of downtown Marmora.

Visit the website at marmorasnofest.ca or the event’s Facebook page for details.

A potential strike on Friday at the Ventra Plastics plant on Technology Drive in the city’s southeast end was averted late Thursday afternoon after a tentative deal was reached.

Workers with Unifor Local 1987 had voted in favour of strike action to back up their contract demands and would have been in a legal strike position at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

They will vote on the contract settlement Sunday at the Trentwinds International Centre on Lansdowne Street East.

A professor at Trent University is about to receive a major grant to study the social inclusion of people with dementia.

Prof. Mark Skinner teaches in the geography department; he does research in the area of aging populations in rural areas.

Over the next four years, he will receive $477,178 to study innovative

GRAFTON - This is the last year the Shelter Valley Folk Festival will be held on the rolling hills of the Henkel Farm east of Grafton where it first began in 2004.

The decision was made at the Festival’s annual general meetinG Sunday, but it is a hard one for Tracy and Arnie Henkel to deal with.

“It’s very sad,” Tracy Henkel said in an interview.

“We understand why ... a matter of sustainability,” but it doesn’t make it any easier, she said.

Her husband Arnie was a former festival director.

For years, the Henkels accepted a $1,000 rental fee for the site and then donated the money to charity.

“They were very generous,” festival ways of improving the social inclusion of Canadians living with dementia.

The money comes from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

Skinner is the director of the Trent Centre for Aging and Society, which draws together academics, students and community agencies to study aging. board chairwoman Candace Shaw said in an interview.

The festival members appreciate this and recognize that the festival site meant a reduced use of their farm, she said.

But the site “is very costly to keep up,” Shaw continued.

The issue of sustainability, which the Henkels identified, includes the need for a flatter venue in the future for aging festival goers, plus new infrastructure for the festival, including performance stages, according to Shaw.

The group aims to challenge ageist policies and practices, and responds to issues facing older people and aging communities.

Skinner’s proposal was ranked first in a national funding competition. The CIHR commended the project for its emphasis on older people and their caregivers in rural areas.

In a written release, Skinner explained the scope of his research.

“This project has the potential to

Like other similar festivals, the Shelter Valley Folk Festival lost money in 2016 and 2015, so changes have to be made to “increase attendance and reduce expenses,” she said.

The membership voted Sunday to start looking for another festival location, preferably in the Grafton area, or elsewhere in Northumberland County, for the 2018 festival.

There is money in the “rainy day fund” to put this year’s festival on at the Henkel farm for one last time, plus dealing with the 2016 festival’s $10,000 shortfall, Shaw said.

Asked if the festival’s name or type of music or camping opportunities will change, the board chair said that the changes they are “hoping to make...won’t change the character of the festival” in those ways. change the way we help people living with dementia to participate in their communities, especially in rural areas where isolation is so prevalent,” he stated.

“It is important that we are also focusing on caregivers who support individuals living with dementia, many of whom are spouses and family members, because their social well being is also tremendously important.”

A key part of the festival has also been its exhibits and workshops dedicated to music, the environment, health and wellness, and artistic endeavours.

“We’re in a hopeful place,” she continued, adding that the Henkels are part of the Shelter Valley family.

Asked if they will remain involved, Tracy Henkel said they have not decided yet.

“We just don’t know ... it was a big part of our lives,” she said.

What the Henkels do know for sure is that there will be a Lavender Festival on their farm on July 1 with vendors, music and a celebration of lavender which grows in beds on the Shelter Valley Folk Festival site on their farm.

“It will be one day this year and we’ll see how it goes,” she said.