“This year has been an unusual year, with the COVID-19 pandemic, and its effect on our health system, our hospitals, our long-term care facilities, and our day-to-day services such as education, protection, and even our grocery shopping,” said Pierre Leroux, warden for the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR) during the December 17 inaugural meeting. “It is thanks to these essential service workers that our communities were able to limit the impact and the spread of the pandemic.”