Community Concerns for the Medically Fragile (CCMF) is a parent-led community group in Sarnia-Lambton dedicated to meeting the needs of medically fragile young people and their families. In 1989, Monica and Frank Vautour, Diane and Jim Lambert, and Dave and Lori Ashdown, all parents of medically fragile children, began dreaming of a life-long home for their children. During this time, they visited several group homes in southwestern Ontario. As Monica Vautour shares, "We saw everything from the sublime to the ridiculous as we visited different homes. By the end of the trip we had a good idea of what we wanted and what we didn’t want for our children."
In 1990, the group founded CCMF. After ten years of extensive research, applications, and proposals, CCMF established a partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Health Long Term Care Division, the Rotary Foundation and the Ontario March of Dimes to build a home for medically fragile young people in Sarnia-Lambton. In 2001, CCMF temporarily rented a three-bedroom, wheelchair accessible townhouse from the Sarnia and District Association for Community Living while Standing Oaks, the permanent group home, was being built. The Rotary Club of Sarnia donated the land for Standing Oaks and CCMF worked with a local architect to design it. Frank Vautour remembers, "From the start, we knew we wanted to build a home, not an institution."
Standing Oaks opened its doors in February 2004 and welcomed five full-time residents. After the completion of a large addition in October 2018, that number increased to nine. The home is staffed 24 hours a day by the Ontario March of Dimes. Each resident has an individual plan developed with their parents or guardians. Standing Oaks offers a variety of activities, including art and music programs, pet therapy, game nights, and outings. Each family paints and decorates their child’s room with their own furniture and belongings. The home also has a respite bed available to families who continue to care for a medically fragile child at home.
In 2014, the Judith & Norman Alix Foundation provided $60,000 to CCMF to purchase a new van that can accommodate wheelchairs safely and has medical equipment to transport the medically fragile. The van is used for medical appointments, outings and family vacations. Dave Ashdown, Chair of the fundraising committee, explains that "Sarnia is a very generous community. None of this would be possible without people donating their time and money."
The Vautour’s son Jeremy was the first one through the doors when Standing Oaks opened. He was fifteen and Monica and Frank could no longer care for him at home. Jeremy spent the next several years in long-term care at Bluewater Health. Monica explained that he was well looked after there, "but a hospital is not a home. Standing Oaks has made all the difference for Jeremy. He has friends here and adults that are dedicated to caring for him. He has quality of life."
Mike and Lori Beggs packed up their personal belongings and moved to Sarnia in 2002 after purchasing Enviro Trends (now Halo Hair Salon), which is located in the Lambton Mall. An esthetician by trade, Lori previously worked at a c...
Beehive Windows, Doors, and Renovations was founded by Brian and Carol Miller in 2007. Brian started in the window business, in 1989, as a service technician. Three years later he returned to school to get his carpenter's ticket,...
You could be looking the enemy right in the eye and not know it is there. Such is the life of those who are fighting to eliminate phragmites (pronounced frag-migh-tees). Nobody knows this better than Nancy Vidler, chairperson of the Lambton Shores Phragmites Community Group (LSPCG). It is invasive
Kulpreet Singh is thrilled with the success of his new restaurant, Tandoori Joe, but when it comes to taking credit for its success, he defers to his wife, Satmeet Kapoor. "Basically the idea behind the restaurant came from my wife," Kulpreet says. "Satmeet loves cooking and we always thought
Most times when Karen and Art Shura hop on their Harley-Davidson motorcycle to go for a ride with their bike-loving friends, they do so with a mission of raising money for various charities. The owners of Ozweld's Diner—a motorcycle-themed eatery in Sarnia they opened five years ago—Karen
Jack Botma immigrated to Canada from Holland in 1962. Initially, he settled in Owen Sound with one of his brothers. “One of my uncles convinced Dad to move to Canada and start farming sugar beets. When the sugar beet market crashe...
Born and raised in Sarnia, Matt Dochstader went to Mohawk College, in Hamilton, to study broadcasting. After graduating, he landed a job with a visual effects company in Toronto. "I did a lot of commercial work for national brands like Dove, Home Hardware, KIA, and Telus. Visual effects is the last"
Have you ever dreamed about making a career change? Doing a 180 and going in a completely different direction? Karen Callies did exactly that when she left her job as a sales and marketing rep with the Sarnia Journal and purchased Sarnia's About Face & Body Laser & Wellness Clinic in January.