Friday’s wind storm left a path of destruction that went through the Township of Central Frontenac, resulting in all sorts of downed trees and electricity disruption in many areas. One area par...
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For the Northbrook Lions, this year’s annual ‘Thank You’ barbecue took on added significance. It was the Club’s opportunity to publically thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation ...
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Frontenac County Warden Ron Higgins probably wouldn’t be offended if somebody said he tends to go about things a little differently from most politicians. So, it shouldn’t come as a surpr...
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It was a beautiful and warm, sunny day, as people filed into the Maberly Hall this past Sunday, to attend one of the Festival of Small Halls concerts. On the bill was our own Blue Skies Community Fidd...
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Malcolm Sampson always has a project on the go. When he first arrived in Arden 15 or so years ago he instigated the establishment of a soccer league. Over the years he has organised numerous events at...
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Disagreements and personality conflicts among members of municipal councils tend to remain in the ba...
Last week’s Addington Highlands Ward 2 all candidates meeting in Flinton will likely go down a...
While Council did approve $1,500 to help the Malcolm and Ardoch Lakes Association get started with i...
On September 15, a happy group of Branch 496 RCL members made the rounds to three other Legion Branc...
Central Frontenac celebrated its 2nd annual Trail Day Saturday with most events happening at the Cab...
It’s not unusual for candidates debate crowds to be small when the Mayor’s position is a...
It was a considerable attendance last Thursday night at the Storrington Centre as the Battersea Loug...
The end of September, one of the loveliest times in the Northern Part of Frontenac County, brings wi...
On Saturday, September 8, the members of Sydenham Women’s Institute turned Grace Hall into a w...
Jim Kelly had a distinguished career at Queen’s University, but what he is being remembered fo...
While Council did approve $1,500 to help the Malcolm and Ardoch Lakes Association get started with its battle against Eurasian milfoil and seems amenable to a further $10,000 to hire a grad student for the project at some time in the future, one of the potential weapons for the b...
The end of September, one of the loveliest times in the Northern Part of Frontenac County, brings with it the North Frontenac Back Roads Studio Tour. As with many such successful tours, the participating artists are a loyal crowd and most of them can be visited again this year. Since artists are always changing what they do and getting better at it, it is interesting to see how they have progressed and what is on their creative minds at present. As always there will be a few new artists joining the event. New visitors and old will enjoy the chance to explore this unique part of the province and find the many studios tucked away in its corners. And while it has proved impossible to predict what each Autumn will be like when it comes to fall colours, the last weekend in September has the best chance of providing the peak of the annual Fall Colour Extravaganza. Set off against the hills and many lakes of North Frontenac Township, the trip is worthwhile for that aspect alone. The tour covers a wide geographic area centred around the villages of Myers Cave, Fernleigh, Ardoch, Plevna, Ompah and Snow Road. It would be hard to do the whole tour in one day, and give the studios you are interested in the time and attention you would like. Non local visitors are encouraged to stay overnight at one of the accommodations recommended in the brochure, and to snack or have a meal at one of the establishments on the tour or in the brochure. Washrooms which are available thoughout the area are also indicated. For those who have not picked up a Tour Brochure already, a printable brochure can be downloaded from the website NorthFrontenacBackRoadsStudioTour.com. This, and the website itself, provide the information you need to have a fabulous weekend on September 29th and 30th.
Emcee Bill Cox welcomed residents, staff, board members, family and friends as they gathered on the lawns of Pine Meadows Nursing Home in Northbrook last Friday afternoon to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Pine Meadow is a 64-bed facility. “I don’t know how this happened, I haven’t been on staff here for 17 years,” joked Cheryl Hartwick, now board chair of Land O’Lakes Community Services. Hartwick noted that four employees, public service workers Nancy Gaylord and Tony Boomhouer-Wilson, office co-ordinator Christine Bolduc and RN Anne Grahm-Aholu, have been there for the duration. “There have been four administrators and over the years, there have been $1,339,749.10 in donations,” she said. And, she took the time to share one of her “pet peeves.” “When people say ‘Pine Meadows,’ I get upset,” she said. “It’s ‘Pine Meadow,’ — singular!” Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg brought greetings and congratulations from the Township. He also noted what the facility has meant to the community. “Not only is it an essential service, it’s an important source of jobs and economic opportunity,” Hogg said. Bringing greetings from North Frontenac Township, Coun. John Inglis said: “I’ve always been aware there is a significant number of residents from North Frontenac here. “It’s a mystery as to why there is no financial contribution from Frontenac County.” Sharon Gilmour, regional director for Extendicare, said: “I have 14 homes I’m responsible for and this one is my favourite. “The home continues to enjoy the highest standards of financial responsibility and residents’ satisfaction.” Land O’ Lakes Lions Club Red Emond said: “Twenty-five years ago, members of our club mortgaged their homes so this place could be built. “We’ve donated $130,000 over the years and we’ll continue to support it.” Representing the Family Council, chair Shirley Sedore’s voice began to shake as she offered her congratulations. “I’ve been involved since before it was a dream,” she said. Merritta Parks, president of the residents’ council who just turned 100, said she always she didn’t want to go into a nursing home until she came here. “Our staff is wonderful,” she said. “They go from person to person, put their arm around your shoulder and whisper in your ear. “I thank God we have a place like this.” Ernest Lapchinski concluded the speeches by saying: “Persistence, cooperation and the need for a facility like this moved from what seemed to be impossible to become reality. “Be proud, be very proud.”
It’s inevitable. As lakefront properties get developed, some of the woody debris that naturally occurs in the lake disappears. “We’re putting some of that back,” said Melissa Dakers, lake stewardship co-ordinator with Watersheds Canada. Last week, Dakers, along with Vern Haggerty and other members of the Mazinaw Property Owners Association, were busily involved in placing 24 structures in the Upper and Lower Mazinaw Lakes. “We call them brush bundles of fish habitat,” Dakers said. “Each bundle is six to eight feet long and two to three feet wide, and made from a variety of woods including pine, cedar, maple — it doesn’t matter. “They’re tied together with rope and anchored with cinder blocks.” The bundles provide shelter and habitat for a variety of species including bass, walleye and a number of minnow species. Most of the bundles are placed in about 12 feet of water, so as not to be a navigation hazard, but some placed in back bays are much shallower, primarily to accommodate minnows. “They’re as big as two men can carry,” said Haggerty. Dakers said she was pleased the MPOA contacted her to add the Mazinaws to the project which also includes Canonto, Mississippi, Christie and Dalhousie Lakes. “When we put them in Otty Lake, one of the guys had a GoPro camera in the water and within 30 seconds, fish were coming in to check it out.” She said the project began in 2014, with funding coming from Fisheries and Oceans Canada under the Recreational Fisheries program. Dakers said this project in particular could show results. “The MNR did a net study of these lakes this year and plans to do another in about three years,” she said. “We should get some indication of how well it has worked then.” Dakers said that she’s still looking for more lakes to work with and encouraged lake associations to contact Watersheds Canada. “I’ve enjoyed this immensely,” said Haggerty. “I took water resources in college but I’ve only worked in project management. “It’s great that we have organizations like Watershed Canada to work with.” “This is a fantastic job,” Dakers said. “In the winter, I write reports and grants and in the summer, I get to do this.” From left, Melissa Dakers of Watersheds Canada, Vern Haggerty, Mazinaw Lake lead steward and Mazinaw Property Owners president Francine Bates spent two days adding protective fish structure in both the Upper and Lower Mazinaw Lakes. Photo/Craig Bakay
North Frontenac Council and the Township Committee of Adjustment went through its proposed new Zoning Bylaw page by page last Friday at a special meeting that lasted well into the afternoon. “I think it’s good to get these things cleared up,” said Coun. Gerry Martin after the meeting. “We’re dealing with a lot of history here and many of the items go back a long time.” Essentially, Council was pleased with the document enough to schedule an open house for the public to review changes and provide a final round of feedback on Oct. 27 at 10 a.m. Then, there will be a public meeting Nov. 23 at 1 p.m. (following the regular Council meeting) to finalize passage of the document. Council did pass a resolution to instruct planner Tracy Zander to make a few amendments. Here’s a list of said changes: • Add definition for aquaponics • Change medical marijuana to cannabis • Change tiny house to tiny home • Add a definition of Official Plan • Remove family farm from definition of rural co-op • Add doctor to definition of wellness centre • Remove deck from Section 3.12 • Change 1 square metre sign to 2 square metre sign throughout bylaw • Define nutrient unit • Remove Section 3.20 hunting/fishing camp • Change bylaw to guideline in Section 3.21 • Remove outdoor furnace section • Remove Section 3.28 c) and change to commercial Section b) • Add following uses to Hamlet Zone — cemetery and marina • Add following uses to Rural Cooperative — industrial class I, multi-residential uses, Personal Service, printing/publishing, retirement home, commercial greenhouse and add site plan as a requirement. Also Zander agreed to work on the section regulating the temporary use of recreational vehicles allowing trailers on any residential land for up to 14 days. Some sections of the bylaw that were removed, such as wood-burning furnaces and solar regulations will likely resurface as separate bylaws at the recommendation of the planners.
Friday’s wind storm left a path of destruction that went through the Township of Central Frontenac, resulting in all sorts of downed trees and electricity disruption in many areas. One area particularly hard hit was Coutlee Point Lane, off the Shibley Road) on Sharbot Lake...
Malcolm Sampson always has a project on the go. When he first arrived in Arden 15 or so years ago he instigated the establishment of a soccer league. Over the years he has organised numerous events at the Arden Legion, all aimed at enhancing the profile and/or raising money for the legion. Coming up to Canada 150 he took an interest in the names on the Cenotaph in Arden, particularly the names of WWI Vets from the former Kennebec Township. Sensing there must be a story behind the names of those men who set off from isolated hardscrabble in Arden and Henderson and set off to see the world, not having any idea what they were heading into until they got there, he began to do research. “I also knew that the people in the next generation, the last generation who remember who these people were and what they were like, are getting on and if their memories are not recorded in some way, those memories will disappear pretty soon,” he said, when interviewed this week with Rhonda Noble at the Frontenac News office. Malcolm is no stranger to the Frontenac News. He has been talking with us about this project, and others, on a regular basis for a couple of years. Once he knew he wanted to collect the stories of the men whose names were on the Cenotaph, he began to reach out, through word of mouth, notices in the paper, and through the Arden Legion, for information. Pretty soon the scope of his inquiry expanded to include the names on the Cenotaph in Mountain Grove because he realised the two communities were inextricably linked. Later, it expanded to people who are connected to long time Arden residents, even those who arrived after 1918. In the end, with one exception, he found out something about every name on the list, save one, J. Dawson-Mountain Grove. There are 34 names on the Arden Cenotaph and 32 in Mountain Grove. “There are two or three duplications,” said Malcolm, “and with all the other names people brought forward to us the book has 101 written entries, and 127 photos and documents. But try as we did, no matter where we looked, all we know about J.Dawson is his last name and first initial, nothing else.” Malcolm decided that the best thing for this project was to produce it in booklet form for the descendants of the men and anyone else who is interested in the history of Kennebec and Olden townships and how it was changed by a generation of men, most of whom were volunteers, who left and either came back profoundly changed, sometimes physically and sometimes psychologically, or who never came back at all. His only problem was that, although he knew we could print the booklet for him and that he could convince local businesses to support it so that he could sell copies for $10 without being out of pocket, he had not computer skills. None at all. That’s where his friend Rhonda Noble came in. “I was ready for a project,” Rhonda said, although she did not necessarily know how big an effort Malcolm was signing her up for. Rhonda typed and proofread and laid out the entire book, 250 or so entries. The result is a 70 page book, with original documentation and anecdotal memories from descendants. Of the men in the book, 12 died before returning from the war, and many others came back debilitated in some way. Each of the items in the book paints a distinctive picture of the past. This is apparent just by flipping to any page in the book, at random. For example, there is John Monds on page 35. He was born in 1896, was 19 when he enlisted on December 8, 1916. He had a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark hair. He sailed to England on September 25, 1916, fought at Vimy Ridge and died on April 11, 2017. Rockwell Newton, who was about 23 when he joined the army in 1918, made it to England within 6 weeks of enlisting and arrived in France just 5 weeks before the end of the war. He got back to Canada, uninjured as far as we know, on May 19/1919. His life ended in tragedy however, as he died in 1931 in a truck/train accident at Arden that also claimed one of his brothers, Freeman. Virtually every entry in the book manages to tell a compelling story, even those that have only the bare minimum of information available. Now that this project is over, Malcolm is planning the next one. “We thought of World WarII but not only would it be a huge project, we are also not able to use the archives because the records will be sealed for another 20 years, and without the archives we would not have been able to do this book,” said Malcolm. “Maybe, and I haven’t told Rhonda about this because it is a new idea, we should do all of Frontenac County,” he said. Rhonda did not respond. The book is available between 2 and 4pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Arden Legion.
Central Frontenac celebrated its 2nd annual Trail Day Saturday with most events happening at the Caboose in Sharbot Lake’s Railway Park. There were trail rides, historic walks, bands, little theatre, pickle ball, washer toss, story tent and end-of-the-trail stew at the Legion to finish things off. Dep. Warden Denis Doyle brought greetings from Frontenac County. “We started a committee 11 years ago and I was on it,” he said. “It’s turned out to be a much bigger project than any of us expected and I want to see it completed.” A number of people were wondering when that might be. Colin MacDonald and his wife Claire cycled up from Kingston for the event. “We heard it went all the way to Renfrew but we only made it as far as that big swamp,” he said. Mayor Frances Smith conceded that there are a few gaps still from Tichborne to Sharbot Lake. “We’re working on getting rid of that swamp,” she said. “There may be some potential with beaver dams.” But overall, most were just enjoying a sunny day and a community gathering. “We want people to use FaceBook to report on and promote the trail,” said Doyle. “The more people that use it, the more we can justify the gobs of money we’re trying to find under every rock.” “The takeaway from this is that this (Central Frontenac and Frontenac County) is a great place to have fun and trails are a great focus for that,” said organizer Bill Bowick. Oh, and the pulled pork was particularly good.
It’s not unusual for candidates debate crowds to be small when the Mayor’s position is already filled by acclamation. When you take out the number of sitting Central Frontenac Council members and candidates from other districts in attendance, it was a rather intimate gathering indeed. However, it did make for some rousing ‘discussion,’ especially when moderator Jeff Green allowed the audience more leeway that is usual for such things. And mixed in there, the four candidates for the two seats in District 2 (Olden), managed to get their points across. Dan Cunningham wanted to see project management applied to every issue, not surprising given his background as a project manager for Stanley Tools. He said the septic reinspection program is a good example of something not being planned out. “We can save a lot of money,” he said. “One way is to stop the reinspection program. “It will cost money that would be better spent on our landfills. “And we need more work on roads.” Victor Heese said he thought stable leadership at the top has gone a long way in the Township. “We’ve gone through several CAOs and Cathy MacMunn being there has allowed us to focus on other things than hiring a CAO,” he said. “I know that hiring a full-time fire chief was controversial but we do now have better equipment for our firefighters, better halls and less liability.” Heese said he wanted to focus on better internet services to attract home-based businesses. Bill Everett said more people likely know his truck (B Sanitation) than himself but promised to “do my best to see improvements in Olden and Central Frontenac in general. “I’m not going to criticize anyone’s ideas — that’s for debate in Council.” Elwin Burke, who was Reeve of the old Olden Township for six years (three as councilor before that) said he’d like to see meetings moved from the 4 p.m. timeslot to the evening so more people could attend. (Mayor Frances Smith pointed out from the crowd that one of the the reasons they were changed to 4 p.m. was to cut down on overtime costs). Burke said he’d also like to see more recorded votes and gravel on the roads. Environmental issues took up much of the evening with a re-use centre at landfills being generally agreed to be something worth pursuing. However, septic reinspection didn’t sit well with three of the four candidates. “I have no issue with septic inspection but I have a big issue with more Big Brother,” said Everett. “Why are we inspecting? Do we have significant numbers of systems that are exploding?” “Around the lakes it can be very important but up here in the hills, where you can be miles from your nearest neighbour, I don’t see it as a problem,” said Burke. “It hasn’t been costed out and it doesn’t even meet the standards for being a project,” said Cunningham. “And, it’s separating people.” On the potential issue of there being a marijuana dispensary in Central Frontenac once it’s legalized Oct. 17, the candidates views were mixed, other than agreeing it shouldn’t be located near a school. “I’m not sure how much Council will have a say in it,” said Heese. “I would go with the provincial legislation,” said Cunningham. “I would have to vote yes,” said Everett. “A lot of people use it for medicinal reasons.” “I’m not a big fan of marijuana so if I lost an election because of it, I wouldn’t care,” said Burke. The purchase of two closed schools also drew a lot of attention. “Selling them off is part of my platform,” said Cunningham. “If I were to buy two schools, I’d want to have a plan of what to do with them, I haven’t seen a plan,” said Burke. “The plan for the Sharbot Lake school is some sort of seniors residences, but the current building will have to be demolished,” said Heese. “The Parham school could be some sort of recreation and community centre. “If we’d waited, they would have been much more expensive.” “I don’t know,” said Everett. “I think I would have been against it but we’re stuck now so we’ll have to make the best of it.”
Through an oversite, the tiered response agreement that determines which resources are deployed for emergency medical calls has run out, and in a report to Head of Emergency Services/fire Chief Greg Robinson recommended that Central Frontenac renew the agreement with no changes to keep things rolling along. At a meeting of Central Frontenac Council this week (Tuesday, September 11) Robinson presented a report that also called for the township to consider making changes to one of the protocols in the agreement. Central Frontenac volunteers answered 193 medical calls in 2016, “and that number has gone up since then” Robinson said. According to data collected by members of the Frontenac Paramedic Services, 67% of the time Central Frontenac fire fighters do not provide any medical services during the call. Currently, any time the dispatch service determines that an ambulance is more than 15 minutes away from a call, the fire service is called out. “Most of the time in Central Frontenac, the ambulance is more than 15 minutes away,” said Mayor Frances Smith. Robinson is recommending, in consultation with Chief Charbonneau, that for lower priority calls, those that are priority 4 (non-life threatening) firefighters only be called in if the ambulance is more than 25 minutes away. “Hopefully this will have an effect,” Robinson said. According to statistics provided by Robinson, among Frontenac County fire services, Central Frontenac is more encumbered by medical calls than either North or South Frontenac. “62% of our total emergency responses are medical; compared to 17% for Kingston Fire & Rescue, 30% for South Frontenac Fire & Rescue and 40% for North Frontenac. It is clear that the percentage of medical calls we have is out of proportion to the other Fire Departments in the County,” he said. He indicated that he believes Central Frontenac is being taken advantage of, so that the ambulance that is assigned to the Parham based can be re-deployed to the south in order to supplement the busy Kingston service. “The Parham ambulance is not often available because it gets called into Kingston a lot. It appears that it’s not an operational requirement to keep an ambulance at Parham. This may be due to the fact that Kingston Central Ambulance Communications Centre knows CFFR will respond to any medical call. We often get dispatched to calls that do not meet the response criteria. These calls are for very minor medical conditions but the Kingston Central Ambulance Communications Centre dispatches CFFR anyway when an ambulance will be delayed,” he said in his report. Members of Council want to hear more detail before making the changes that Robinson is suggesting. “This sounds like significant change,” said Councillor Philip Smith, “it certainly requires more discussion.” “Just because the ambulance service says no medical service was provided does not mean the people who made the call did not gain comfort from the arrival of someone within a reasonable amount of time, even if the ambulance does not arrive for 45 minutes to an hour,” said Councillor Brent Cameron. “Medical services were not what we were thinking about when the volunteer fire departments were being set up in the 1970’s,” said Councillor John Purdon “We are being dispatched to calls where we should not be dispatched,” concluded Greg Robinson. “There are provincial protocols for dispatch but there is leeway, and in my view calls come to Central Frontenac that would not go to other fire services. And this affects our fire budget” Robinson When asked afterwards why he thinks Central Frontenac is being singled out for calls, Robinson deferred, but he did confirm that he feels that calls to other locations are treated differently by the dipathc centre in Kingston than calls to Central Frontenac Construction reportConstructions starts were slow in August in Central Frontenac, putting a bit of a damper in what is still shaping up to be a the best year in the last three, and one of the best in Central Frontenac’s 20 year history. Permits for only $120,000 in construction were sold in August, down from almost $850,000 in each of previous two years. But overall in 2018, the township is just shy of $7.5 million, up a million from this time in 2017 and two million over the January to August total in 2016. Permits for 22 new permanent and seasonal residents have been sold this year, up from 21 at this point in 2017, and 14 in 2016. The building department budget is also healthier than in recent, with permit sales over $105,000 already, up from $91,000 in 2017 and $83,500 in 2016. Interim Chief Building Official Allan Revill said that he expects the numbers to keep rolling along over the next month or two as the department continues to be fielding inquiries about possible projects as the summer fades into autumn. Bordenwood RoadReg Peterson appeared as a delegate to Council to talk about what he considers inadequate maintenance on the road he lives on, Bordenwood in Kennebec ward. Mayor Smith encouraged him to call the Public works line during business hours when the road is in bad repair, or his local councillors. Fees waived for youth programMartha Johnson, the youth co-ordinator from Rural Frontenac Community Services (RFCS) appeared before Council as a delegate, A group of teenagers from Arden approached the RFCS Youth department of over the summer with concerns over feeling pulled into “unsafe activities” due to a lack of stimulation available in the local community. RFCS responded by holding a brainstorming session in early August and two other meetings, one in late August and one in early September. AS a result, they are setting up a biweekly drop-in as a pilot project this fall. RFCS is providing the staffing from its youth and family services departments, a private donor has come forward to pay for food, and in partnership with the Kennebec Recreation Committee, RFCS was seeking a waiving of $210 in hall rental fees for 7 Wednesdays between now and Christmastime. Council was happy to oblige.
On September 15, a happy group of Branch 496 RCL members made the rounds to three other Legion Branches. A total of 25 members joined in. The other Branches visited were Branch 231 in Portland, Branch 244 in Perth and Branch 542 in Westport. Our Sydenham members were warmly welco...
It was a considerable attendance last Thursday night at the Storrington Centre as the Battersea Loughborough Lake Association hosted a meet the candidates event for residents to ask questions of the three Mayoralty candidates (incumbent Ron Vandewal, Coun. Mark Schjerning and Phil Archambault), three of the four candidates for Loughborough Councilor (incumbent Ross Sutherland, Fran Willis and Randy Ruttan; candidate Farrah Soaft did not attend) in the October South Frontenac election. Storrington Coun. Ron Sleeth and Norm Roberts were acclaimed but were at the table anyway. The format was a little different from may such forums as the lake association provided candidates with three questions beforehand and asked them to answer two of them. The first question was on the importance of clean water and if the candidate would support a mandatory septic inspection program. Vandewal said he did not support mandatory septic inspection at this time, preferring an education program. Archambault did support it and advocated a “guaranteed loan program” to help homeowners affected. Ruttan said he could not support such a program. “I believe that’s not our mandate, it’s the Health Unit’s.” he said. Sutherland said they could work towards it but advocated starting with pumping tanks and making capital available to homeowners for system replacement. The second question was about the feedback lake associations could give regarding lakeside developments and not surprisingly, the candidates who chose to answer the question (Sutherland, Ruttan, Willis and Schjerning) were all in favour of association feedback. The third question referred to things lakeside property owners could do on their properties (ie docks, vegetation control) and specifically asked if the South Frontenac rules and regulation were vague and poorly communicated. “Surprises should never happen,” said Schjerning. “Each case is site specific but docks are either provincial or federal,” said Willis. “We need some common sense and emails need to be answered,” said Archambault. “The rules can feel complex but it’s usually a once-in-a-lifetime thing for most people,” said Vandewal. “But can it be better? Of course. We’ve got a new person in place moving forward.” The forum was then opened up to questions from the floor which ranged from communication issues, to funding for arts programs to potential farm runoff. When the talk turned towards cows in the water, most candidates agreed that while that had been a concern years ago, most farmers had used government programs to fence off their properties at the waterline, or in many cases, simply gotten out of the business. “There have been rules in place for many years,” said Vandewal. “And like most residents, most farmers do the right thing. “When I was young, there were plenty of farms with cows around Loughborough Lake but now I think there are none.” Sleeth said he thought the question might pertain to a particular incident that he knew of and said “much of the funding that was available has disappeared (and) I’m trying to find something to help in once case.” Perhaps the most poignant moment of the evening came when someone asked the candidates what they brought to the table. While most used the question as an opportunity to reiterate their strong suits, Vandewal started talking about his father (who was Reeve at one time) and with his voice shaking somewhat said: “This municipality has meant the world to me.”
On Saturday, September 8, the members of Sydenham Women’s Institute turned Grace Hall into a well-organized workroom for members from five area counties to participate in an all-day sewing bee. Their goal: to produce, sort and prepare for shipping 1,000 items for the Canada Comforts Society, to be sent to children in need throughout Canada and the developing world. The items included baby clothes, girls’ dresses, boys’ shorts, sweaters, blankets, washcloths, diapers and socks. The hall was filled with work stations for cutting, sewing (14 machines arrived), ironing, inspection, vacuum bagging and packing. Thirty women worked all day, and many more dropped in with donations of fabric and clothing. A student volunteer acted as runner, assisted by Councillor Brad Barbeau. Mayor Vandewal and David Townsend came to welcome the workers. Linda Bates of Verona, the Kingston Area WI President, opened the day by thanking Southern Frontenac Community Services for donating the use of the hall, and soup for lunch, and Wilton Cheese and Wilton Wheat Kings for the cheese and bread. Bates says other donations came from Hartington Community Care, Harrowsmith Oddfellows and Rebeccas, and Sydenham area residents. At 9am the hall already had some tables heaped with new goods sent ahead of time by Institute members who could not be present. By the end of the day, 943 items were neatly packed for shipping, with promise of more to come. Bates has no question their very ambitious goal will be surpassed.
Jim Kelly had a distinguished career at Queen’s University, but what he is being remembered for in the days following his passing on Sunday, is his devotion to his family and the local humanitarian causes in Sydenham, Loughborough township and beyond. Jim was a long-time member of the Sydenham Lion’s Club, where he not only held every position on the executive at one time or another over the last 14 years, but also spearheaded the Vision Screening program at the elementary schools in Sydenham and Harrowsmith. He also founded a Lion’s golf tournament to fund the medic alert bracelet program in all of the school’s in South Frontenac. He was also one of the dedicated members of the Loughborough Christmas and Emergency Relief Committee, that provides Christmas baskets each year for dozens of families and also helps cover critical costs for families facing the threat of eviction, hydro disconnection, and other urgent situations. Jim also served on the Board of the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation. In 2013 he was named as a Volunteer of the Year by South Frontenac Council. He is survived by his wife Bev, daughter Alison and her partner David, and his son Christopher and his wife Karen, and grandchildren Sarah and Jason. For funeral or wake information, go to trousdalefuneralhome.com
Inverary Youth Activities came to South Frontenac Committee of the Whole Tuesday night in Sydenham asking for “$10,000 to $15,000” in financial support to offset “this year’s extreme and unforeseen expenses totalling $24,530 over normal year expenses.” Treasurer Judy Borovskis told COW that in a normal year, the organization takes in about $30,000 from various sources mostly related to activities at Ken Garrett Memorial Park in Inverary. In a normal year, that represents the break even point. But this year, the organization was faced with replacing foul ball nets ($16,240), underground wiring repair for diamond lights ($710), replacing a lawn mower ($7,380) and replacement of the canteen fridge. They’ve been able to pay the bills by borrowing the $9,545 in the playground fundraising account, she said but general costs between now and the start-up of next season (insurance, hydro, bank fees, property taxes, employee wages fro September and October and the initial float for starting up the canteen) total $8.616.32. When combined with paying back the playground fundraising account, the organization is $18,161.32 in the hole. Borovskis said they’ll continue fundraising through bottle drives and the advertising sign campaign. She said they’re looking at other possibilities such as doing lawn and diamond maintenance for the township park on Latimer Road for a fee, hosting children’s birthday events, a family fun day and a pizza dough sale. But the organization is facing washroom renovations to meet accessibility standards as well as work to the holding tank and a variety of other expenses. Councilors were in general sympathetic to the organization’s plight. “I would urge Council to support this application to cope with the burden they’ve got financially,” said Coun. Ron Sleeth. Mayor Ron Vandewal had some more practical and immediate suggestions. “There’s a lot of history here and I don’t think the youth group wants the Township to take over the fields,” Vandewal said. “But we do give them a $600 grant every year and looking at the property tax expense ($1,643.76) I think we can do something there. “We can’t waive taxes but we could increase the grant to the amount of the taxes. We’ve done that for other groups.” CAO/Clerk Wayne Orr said he could have a resolution prepared to that effect for next week’s Council meeting. Vandewal also suggested that the group approach the County for information on grants available for accessible washrooms and said that if some of the financial problems could wait for budget time, they could probably help more. “I think there’s potential for you cutting Township grass,” Vandewal said. “I’m sure you can do it cheaper than we can. “That’s just the way it works.” • • • The South Frontenac Museum would like to focus more on the entire Township instead of just the “west side,” secretary Alan Boyce told COW. He said they’ve been working with Bedford district for use of empty rooms in the basement and have been discussing ways to create an “oral history” archive. However, like most organizations these days, lack of volunteers, particularly on the executive, remains a roadblock to many of their plans. “The big thing for us operationally is to get more people in,” Boyce said. “There’s no doubt the support we receive from the Township is substantial.” Boyce said one example of this is providing summer student Vanessa Kennedy, a third year museum administration student whom Coun. John McDougall described as “a crackerjack.” Anyone interesting in joining the museum board or executive is asked to contact Boyce at 613-985-8404 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or president Andy Adamson at 613-389-3619 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Frontenac County Warden Ron Higgins probably wouldn’t be offended if somebody said he tends to go about things a little differently from most politicians. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Higgins decided to hold his first Warden’s Reception outdoors, at...
Rejecting a consultants report which called for their wages to more than double in order to keep up wiht wages in other Counties, Frontenac County Council raised the pay for members of Council from $9,400 to $11,900 for the new council, which takes office on December 1st. The wage for the County warden, which is currently $22,900, will go to $28,900, also a 26% increase. The Deputy Warden will receive $14,280. These increases will be topped up by cost of living (COLA) increases based on the consumer price index. The consultant report called for a 4-year phased in increase in compensation for members of the council.It recommended that the salary for a member of council jump from the current $9,400 to $19,400 by 2022, the final year of the term for the council that will take office in December of this year. The consultants also recommended that the deputy warden receive a 20% premium over the council members salary, bringing their pay to $23,200 plus COLA by 2022. Each year one of the 4 Frontenac mayors takes a turn as Frontenac County Warden. The position comes with a parking spot in front of the county administrative offices. The consultant recommends bumping the warden's pay package that to $46,900 by 2022. The consultants also recommended that a process be put in place to further compensate members of council in the coming term for the provincially mandated elimination of a tax benefit for members of municipal councils. 1/3 of the compensation paid to council members has been tax free, but from now on, all of the money paid to them will be taxable. This recommendation was also rejected by the council. Frontenac County council members also receive compensation from their role on their own township councils. The consultant hired to complete the compensation review, Krecklo and Associates, based their recommendations on a number of counties, which are listed in the report, that they claim are comparable with Frontenac in terms of three listed factors (annual expenditures, full time employees, and number of dwellings) and came up with the recommended pay structure for politicians. “It would be important to bring their compensation to the median (50th percentile) of the comparator group (i.e., paying the ‘going rate’) the report says. But even in advance of the debate on the merits of the report at the council table, some members of council were skeptical about the methodology employed by Krecklo and about the proposed wage increases. “There are counties’ on the list that are very different from Frontenac,” said John McDougall, a councilor from South Frontenac who is serving out his 8th and final year as a member of Frontenac County Council. “There are single tier municipalities included, some that are much larger than we are, and some that are responsible for roads and waste management which we don’t deal with at the Frontenac County level. I think the process we used recently in South Frontenac to come up with a proposal for council compensation, which was done by a panel of township residents, is a more realistic way to go about it.” When contacted on Tuesday morning (September 18), Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith said she was still reading the Krecklo report but she found, on first glance, that the proposed compensation increases were “bizarre”. “That being said,” she added, “the year spent as warden is a very busy year. The job does take up a lot of time.” For his part, South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal did not see much to like in the report. “I don’t know what it is like in the elsewhere, but is way more of a responsibility being the mayor of South Frontenac than it is being the warden of Frontenac County, many times more,” he said. “If I get re-elected, I’m looking at $80,000 in pay for the year when I am the warden. As a ratepayer, I don’t want to pay for that. And how do we try to keep the county budget to a 2% increase with this money going to council compensation.” “I think the study is way off the mark,” said North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins, “mainly because of the comparables that the consultants used. They did not compare apples to apples. We shouldn’t be looking at single tier counties or much more heavily populated counties at all. There are only two on the list of ten counties they looked at that are truly comparable to Frontenac County.” Higgins said he thinks the increases called for in the first year of the “phase in” envisioned by the report, $2,500 for council members and $6,000 for the warden, “are likely about enough” “From my analysis a $7,000 increase for the warden makes sense,” he said. The timing of the report also promised to have an impact on the debate at county council this week. Because the report came to Council during an election period, the 8 people debating and, ultimately voting on the pay package, fell into three distinct groups. One group, including Councillor McDougall (South Frontenac) and Nossal (Frontenac Islands) are leaving municipal politics and will not be affected one way or another. Another group, including Mayors Higgins (North Frontenac), Smith (Central Frontenac) and Doyle (Frontenac Islands), have been re-elected by acclamation. They were deciding their own rate of pay over the next four years, including their one year turns as warden and deputy warden. The final group are those who may or may not be in a position to benefit from an increase, depending on how the election goes. This group includes Councillors John Inglis (North Frontenac) who has been acclaimed to his own council, but may or may not be chosen by his own council to return to the county for the next four years, if he even seeks the position at all. It also includes Central Frontenac Councillor Tom Dewey who is seeking re-election in Kennebec Ward. If Dewey is re-elected by the voters he would have to put his name forward for the role the county role and then be elected by his own council to represent them to the county. Finally, South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal is seeking re-election in a contested race with two opponents. If re-elected, Vandewal willreturn to county council for four years and walso take turns as warden and deputy warden. Earlier this month, the salary for Mayor of South Frontenac was set at $33,621, a 9% increase. Vandewal voted against that increase, commenting afterwards “it could be interesting when staff come up for negotiation and ask for 9%. In the debate at the county table, there was little support for the Krecklo recommendations. Councilllor natalie Nossal did say that she "has been impressed by the effort and amount of hours put in by each of the warden's during my time on Council, and I think that should be recognised by a larger increase in wages." Councllor John McDougall said that if people back in his home town knew he had vote for doubling the wages of conty politicans, "They would be spitting on me in the streets" The vote for a $6,000 increase for the county warden was passed by 5 votes to 3. Mayor Vandewal voted against it. Vandewal was the only dissenting vote for the wage increase to Frontenac County Council members,
Frontenac Fury hockey organization president Lynn Newton welcomed the public to the Frontenac Community Arena Sunday for a get-together that featured sizing for hoodies and socks, an equipment swap, skate sharpening and an opportunity to meet new teammates and bench staff. “It’s also an opportunity to ask questions for everybody new to the organization,” she said. The Frontenac Fury Girls Hockey Association will field 10 teams this year including the First Shift program for those new to hockey, as well as five house league and three competitive teams (peewee, bantam and midget). “From atom to midget, our membership has quadrupled in the last five years,” she said. “They all drank the Kool-Aid.” She said more than 150 children have gone through the Fury and Frontenac Flyers programs in the past three years. Part of the reason for this get-together was registration for the upcoming season which is set to start Sept. 22 but (online) registration continues, she said. “You can still register online after the season starts,” she said. Another reason is for the players to get fitted for socks and hoodies. “The hoodies have the names of our sponsors on the back and the girls can wear them anywhere,” Newton said. “We used to put sponsors names on the individual jerseys but they’d have to be removed each off season and this preserves the jerseys a little while longer. “Plus, many of the girls tuck the jerseys inside their pants and you can’t see the sponsors’ names.” She said they want to see every girls who wants to play on the ice and there is (confidential) financial assistance available through the Jessie Arthur Bursary. Jessie Arthur was a young area athlete who succumbed to cancer. For information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Arena opens Sept. 14 with a free skate from 6-7 p.m.
Landlords in Frontenac County are encouraged to register to attend one of five rural landlord information sessions during the week of September 17-21. The purpose of the sessions is two-fold: One goal is to bring attention to the services provided by the Housing and Homelessness Collaborative that supports vulnerable families in Frontenac County stay sustainably housed. Workers based in Frontenac County will work with landlords and tenants with limited funding, referrals to other community services, and more. A second purpose is to hear from landlords in Frontenac County. As the program coordinator, Amanda Pantrey puts is, “There may be innovative ideas that landlords want to see. We will have municipal staff on hand for most of the sessions and together we can brainstorm ideas together that will encourage landlords.” “There is a tremendous shortage of rental housing options in Frontenac County,” adds Pantrey, “so we are encouraging people who are interested in renting to attend as well.” There will also be discussions about other unique approaches, such as co-housing. The dates, times and locations of the info sessions are as follows. Refreshments will be provided, and all participants are entered into a draw for a $150 gift card. Sep 17, 6:00pm–8:00pm, Grace Hall, Sydenham Sep.18, 10:00am–12:00pm, Oso Hall, Sharbot Lake Sep 18, 2:00pm–4:00pm, Clar-Mill Hall, Plevna Sep 19, 1:00pm–3:00pm, Storrington Centre, Sunbury Sep 20, 12:00 pm–2:00 pm, Lions Hall, Verona Southern Frontenac Community Services is one of three agencies working together in the Housing and Homelessness Collaborative that serves the County of Frontenac, administered by the City of Kingston’s 10-year Municipal Housing and Homelessness Plan. Rural Frontenac Community Services and Addiction Mental Health Services, KFL&A make up the rest of team. For more information and to register, contact Amanda Pantrey, at SFCSC, at 613-376-6477 ext. 208, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The first incarnation of the #HikeCRCA Challenge was such a roaring success with area residents and visitors last fall that the Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority (CRCA) has decided to bring it back for 2018. This is an opportunity for individuals, groups, or families to spend some quality time together in nature, exploring the various trails at CRCA-owned conservation areas, and possibly win some great prizes. The #HikeCRCA Challenge runs from 8am Sept. 1 to 8pm on Oct. 31, and features a simple, three-step process: First, hike the designated challenge trail at each of our conservation areas and at least one designated section of the CRCA-owned Cataraqui Trail and find the special challenge sign with the #HikeCRCA logo. To find the challenge trails, visit the website at the bottom of this article. The second step is to take a selfie with each of the challenges’ signs and post it to social media – Facebook, Twitter or Instagram – and make sure that the hashtag #HikeCRCA and the location are included in the post. Finally, once you have hiked the designated challenge trails at each of our eight conservation areas and the designated portion of the trail on the Cataraqui Trail, fill out the challenge form to enter our grand prize draw. All eligible entries as of the closing of the contest will be put into a random draw for the prizes. A special twist to this year’s event is a family-friendly challenge where a family only has to visit four out of the nine locations. They will be able to enter a draw for a special family challenge prize. Besides that and the regular grand prize, there will also be draws for four CRCA annual passes, which gives users free entry to both Little Cataraqui Creek Conservation Area and Gould Lake Conservation Area. The CRCA is appreciative of the generous sponsors who help make the #HikeCRCA Challenge a success: Atmosphere Kingston, Trailhead Kingston, County of Frontenac, Go Green Baby, and the County of Lennox & Addington. For more information, including full contest rules, visit www.crca.ca/hikecrca.
For the Northbrook Lions, this year’s annual ‘Thank You’ barbecue took on added significance. It was the Club’s opportunity to publically thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) for a $54.200 grant that allowed the club to undergo renovations that have...
Last week’s Addington Highlands Ward 2 all candidates meeting in Flinton will likely go down as one of the shortest such meetings in history with only two questions asked of the five candidates running in the October election. After the candidates (incumbents Helen Yanch and Bill Cox and newcomer David Miles for councilor as well as incumbent Reeve Henry Hogg and newcomer Alice Madigan) gave their opening statements, one member of the audience asked about a broken swing on the playground at the Flinton Hall. “We are looking into that,” said Yanch. “But it probably won’t be fixed for awhile. “My wife likes the swings so it should be fixed,” said Miles. “There’s a report coming on what all needs to be fixed,” said Hogg. “I hope we can afford to get it all done.” When it appeared that there were no more questions from the 20 or so people in the audience, The Frontenac News asked the candidates for their views on whether or not they would support a marijuana outlet in the municipality when it become legal Oct. 17 (hey, we came all that way). (The question turned out to be prophetic as just that evening Hogg had been informed of a legal marijuana grow-op consisting of about 800 plants just outside of Flinton. Hogg said later that Health Canada is supposed to inform the municipality of such operations “but they didn’t in this case. The land is zoned agricultural and we’ll probably have to re-zone it to industrial so we can collect the taxes.”) Here’s the candidates’ responses at the meeting. “I doubt that there will be any requests,” said Hogg. “I know there are some legal grow ops we didn’t know about.” “It’s hard to see these things readily available in the area,” said Miles. “I’ve had friends use it for medicinal purposes (but) it’s sad when economics dictates our morality.” “I’m not really for it but I’m not for alcohol either,” said Madigan. “But if it’s what our residents want . . .” “I don’t think there will be too may dispensaries in our area,” said Cox. “We’ll know better once they tell us the rules.” “That’s very difficult to answer,” said Yanch. “You’ll be able to buy it online and there’s already medicinal marijuana available online. “We already have drugs in the community so if somebody had a storefront that was legal and protected, we could benefit from tax revenue and while personally I don’t want to see shops, but at least we would have some control.”
Addington Highlands Council agreed to pass the matter of flooding on Addington Road 5 over to its public works supervisor to see what can be done at its regular meeting Monday in Flinton. The decision followed a presentation from resident Erroll Ruth, who told Council that when he arrived in mid-April, it was another month until he could drive to his cottage. He said he’d spoken to the public works supervisor, who came out to look at the road and they agreed that at least another new 4’ culvert was needed. (New culverts were installed in the fall of 2013 but don’t seem to be enough. “We have a financial commitment from the trails people and we’ll buy the culverts from you people,” Ruth said. “If this (flooding) happens, it will get so that nobody will be able to use the road, including the snowmobilers. “And the road does get used. This weekend, I was thinking I should put up a coffee shop.” “Or a toll road,” said Coun. Bill Cox. Coun. Tony Fritsch said that Council has agreed in the past to assist with projects of this type. “But we do have a maximum that we can spend, I think it’s $5,000,” said Cox. • • • Council agreed to let Lennox & Addington Resources for Children use the Addington Highlands Community Centre in Denbigh for a playgroup on Tuesdays. “They ran this program before but it lapsed and now they want to run it again,” said Coun. Tony Fritsch. “They want to keep some equipment there so they’ll need a lock on one of the storage areas. “I’m happy to help out with that.” CAO/Clerk-Treasurer Christine Reed said that the rec club in Flinton pays for the program. • • • Council turned down a request from Jillian Mumby to use the upper floor of the Flinton Hall free of charge for a winter arrangement workshop. “I don’t see why it should be free for somebody who will be making a profit,” said Coun. Bill Cox. “We need to get a policy worked out for this sort of thing,” said Coun. Tony Fritsch. • • • Council agreed to meet with a resident and lake association wanting dump hours changed and/or an arrangement with North Frontenac to use its facilities but essentially it will be an information session as Council is firm on hours remaining at they are. “These are the hours,” said Coun. Bill Cox. “Use the dump when it’s open. “We can’t please everybody.” “This keeps coming back again and again,” said Coun. Tony Fritsch, who volunteered to arrange a meeting with the resident and lake association. “There’s some people who don’t like the word ‘no’ and haven’t liked it since they were five,” said Dep. Reeve Helen Yanch
Alice Madigan says that before and after she chose to run for Reeve she has been talking to constituents from all parts of the township and the message she heard was consistent and overwhelming “They want change,” she said, in an email interview early this week. Madigan was raised in Slate Falls, near Denbigh, and left the area for work. She moved back seasonally in 1991 and permanently in 2010. She became involved in the effort to maintain the Denbigh ambulance and as a volunteer on committees of the township, such as the policing and roads and waste management committee, and in 2014 she ran for council and lost out to Kirby Thompson and Tony Fritsch. She has remained as Chair of the Denbigh Ambulance Committee since then. She also teaches Sunday School and is a volunteer business manager for a children’s camp. Since her background is in business finances and management, she can provide a perspective on township finances if elected as Reeve. “I'm a very dedicated person with strong leadership skills who will serve the people honestly and diligently,” she said. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. of 613-333-9542
A year ago Brian and Joanna Milligan decided they wanted to open a butcher shop in Cloyne. It had taken a long time to decide this was what they wanted to do. Brian worked as a butcher for Quinn’s abbatoir in Yarker when he was young but had gone on to do other things. Joanna had her own path as well, but they both ended up together in Cloyne on a rural property. And they got married on July 5th, 2017. Brian had returned to working Quinn’s a couple of days a week, “and although I liked the work, this time I knew I had to find something else for myself, and I told Brian Quinn that I wasn’t going to be back working full time for him. I knew that people missed having a butcher in Cloyne ever since Cloyne Village Foods closed, and people encouraged us to think about opening one” said Brian last week, during a lull in the now thriving shop Once they realised opening their own shop was what they wanted to do, finding a location was the next step, and that took some time. The former Cloyne Home Hardware store is located really close to their Snider Road property but it was not the first place they looked at. “We thought it was a much larger building than we needed,” said Joanna. But eventually they took a look at it, figuring they could use as much of the building as they needed at first, and find something that fits in the rest of it. In February, they looked seriously at the building, and consulted with the people at the Prince Edward/Lennox and Addington Community Futures Development Corporation (PELA CFDC). “They really encouraged us. They looked at our numbers and said it could work, and helped with funding as well,” said Joanna. By the end of February they owned the building and from then on it has been a constant string of long days and short sleeps. They carved out a third of the building for the butcher shop, sold off or moved everything into another part of the building they are now using for storage, built a butcher shop and retail area, and were ready and approved to open by July, a quick turnaround. The store area is done in deep reds and black, giving the store a very contemporary feel. “I wanted to open an Irish Pub and Brian wanted a butcher shop, so I made a shop that feels like a pub,” said Joanna, who designed the store. “The butcher shop is visible from the front, however, and it is bright and clean. They just missed opening on Canada Day weekend, and opened instead on the 5th of July, their first anniversary. “We really wanted to be open right at the start of summer, but given how buy we were when we opened on the 5th, I’m kind of glad we missed the long weekend,” said Brian. Since they have opened, they have been overwhelmed by the community support they have received. “We are committed to quality, custom cuts, talking to people about what they want to eat, and bringing in the best products, not only the meat, which we get from Quinn’s, but cheese and other products as well, and people have really responded to that. They want us to succeed and they appreciate the efforts we are making,” said Brian. As the summer begins to wind down, Joanna and Brian are finally taking the opportunity to start thinking about the winter phase of their business. One of the first orders of business will be to complete the construction and licensing of a second work space for a wild meat abattoir in time for moose and deer season. “That’s a service we know is needed in this community and the region as well,” said Brian. Other work will be done on bringing other specialty food in for customers. “We would love to be able to offer local wine or beer to customers, just like we want to be able to offer local food, but that is not going to happen in Ontario just now,” said Joanna, “but we will be working on web promotions, putting together different meat orders for people, a bunch of things that we haven’t had a chance to do because the summer has been so busy we have really only been trying to keep up.” One thing that hasn’t been rushed at Milligan’s is service. Not only are the staff engaged with customers, Brian likes to use some added touches reminiscent of the old idea of a village butcher shop. “I thought, from the start, that I would use butcher paper and string, instead of tape. It doesn’t take a lot longer to wrap a piece of meat in paper and grab string off a roll, tie it and cut the string instead of slapping on tape, and I like doing it. Customers like it as well, even young ones who don’t remember the way butcher shops used to be,” said Brian. Joanna and Brian see their shop, and some of the other efforts people are making in business, as a new beginning for Cloyne and area. They hope to find another business to use the rest of the building in time, but before they do that they are focussing on making Milligan’s meats a success. And one year after coming up with the idea, they have already made an impressive start.
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