“Today’s question is, ‘where will we put the fax machine?’ says Dr Jeanette Dietrich with a smile, “ and this afternoon I have to measure all our current furniture so we can decide what we’re taking with us, and how it will fit into our new space.”

Moving’s never easy, and Sydenham Medical Clinic’s move is particularly challenging for it’s essential to keep down-time to a minimum throughout the whole exercise.

Sydenham’s clinic is a part of the Rural Kingston Family Health Organization (FHO); an administrative body made up of the physician-led clinics in Sydenham, Verona, Sharbot Lake, Newburgh, Tamworth and Northbrook. Dr Dietrich is the lead physician for the FHO.

For many years the medical clinic has operated from a rented building on Campbell Road, south of Sydenham. Over the years as services have expanded, space has become increasingly tight, and staff is looking forward to moving into their new, much more spacious location on Rutledge Road, just past Silverbrook Garden Centre. (Darryl Silver, who purpose-built the new structure to accommodate the clinic, will be their new landlord.)

Family practitioners Jeanette Dietrich, Steve Ingo and Jack Raleigh, nurses Meredith Prikker and Blaine Montroy and nurse practitioner Trisha Warren make up the core staff. As well, a counsellor comes weekly from the Kingston Community Counselling Centre to help women dealing with violence and domestic abuse, a nutritionist comes for a day every other week, and once a month an asthma nurse is in attendance. Two full-time receptionists, Tracy Semeniuk and Lorie Webb answer phones, coordinate appointments and help keep records organized; no small task in such a busy centre. They are assisted by Mary Day and Emma Stott who work part-time on reception, and Ms Stott also scans documents.

Each physician has their own roster of patients, and they share weekend and holiday ‘on call’ duty, and they rotate doing Monday evening clinics.  

Nurse Meredith Prikker’s position was created in 2010 and is contract funded by a Ministry of Health (MOH) program called ‘500 Nurses’. Prikker works closely with the Rural Kingston Health Link, established to provide better coordination of care for people with complex medical/social needs. She often makes house calls, providing care for frail seniors and connecting them with resources and other agencies within the community. Prikker also teams with the nurse in Verona to provide courses to help people who are dealing with chronic pain or disease.

The new larger building will be more comfortable and efficient with separate storage space for paper records*, more examination rooms, full accessibility (entries, halls, washrooms) and a large paved parking area on the same level as the main door. A separate exit door will provide easy access for ambulance pick-ups, but not  ambulance drop-offs (as was stated in a previous article).

Moving day’s this week: the office will be closed Thursday and Friday June 22, 23, and the morning of Monday June 26.

* “Aren’t all records electronic these days?” The law requires that medical records must be kept for ten years after last contact, and Dietrich explained that in most cases, it’s inefficient to put hours into scanning piles of historical paper into an electronic system, if there’s minimal likelihood of their being needed again.

Judy Borovskis came alive after the removal of a brain tumour gave her a new perspective on life.

“When I woke-up from the surgery, I wanted to be a better person,” says the friendly 68-year-old about her life-saving operation six years ago. “I was sick for three years. I had so much pain in my body, life was almost impossible.”

After almost nine hours of surgery, her life returned to normal.

“Six days after surgery I was swimming in my pool. My kids were there with me because they thought I was going to drown,” she says with a chuckle.

Healthy and happy six years later, the mother of three and grandmother of seven has worked hard at her recovery.

“Your brain controls so much of how you feel and I have learned that you can grow and develop it, if you work at it,” she notes with a smile. “I have four screws holding me together, but I’m not a loose screw.”

Blessed with a new lease on life, Judy is determined to make the world a better place through one act of kindness at a time.

“When you feel good about life, you want to share that feeling and for me – I am one of the lucky ones and life is really, really good,” she says softly. “Every day is a gift, never to be taken for granted.”

“I want to do things and I really enjoy people,” she explains about her motivation to help a group of volunteers improve the playground at Ken Garrett Memorial Park, a popular baseball park and children’s play area in Inverary where she has lived for the past 17 years.

“We need something for the kids. We don’t have a school or community centre. Kids are riding their bikes on the streets. They need a fun, safe, play area.”

A volunteer with Inverary Youth Activities Inc., a non-profit group in charge of the park, Judy helped launch a campaign last year to replace outdated playground equipment. In less than one year, the group has raised more than $36,000.

“I think our achievement has been amazing!” she notes about the work by volunteers. “We raised $36,000 from August to March. I never would have thought we could accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. Dig’n Dirt made that first cut into the soil for us and our ideas became a reality.”

“It’s been a real learning experience. I’ve learned so much,” she adds, referring to the strict safety rules they had to follow to install the equipment. “We’ve been so fortunate with the guidance from everyone we’ve dealt with.”

Sitting at Judy’s kitchen table with the evening sun at her back, committee member Kim Popovich looks at her friend with pride.

“If it wasn’t for Judy’s energy to get us started, we wouldn’t have the money,” says Kim respectfully. “And we really needed a new playground. A few years ago, we weren’t sure if we would have enough money to make ends meet. Greg Howatson, our president at that time, helped to put us on a track to success. We’ve built on that and look at us now.”

Supported by Dig’N Dirt, Township of South Frontenac, Larry Gibson Foundation and many generous community minded companies and individuals, the playground is coming to life.

Painted in bright colours, a new play structure includes slides and climbing poles. It is surrounded by a cedar weave safety mulch which was also placed under a nearby rejuvenated swing-set.

“We spread the mulch ourselves to save money,” Judy says with a chuckle. “It came in a 53 ft trailer. It looked like mountain when the truck dumped it.”

Pleased with the results of the first leg of their campaign to improve the park, the committee is now looking at Phase 2. It has started with the re-surfacing of the basketball court.

They want to renovate the park washrooms, buy a fryer for the canteen and add park benches. They also want to install a shade structure, outdoor musical play equipment, adult fitness equipment and a walking path around the perimeter.

Although the amount of this work hasn’t been calculated, the women know it will be much higher than the first phase of the campaign to improve the community park.

“I think this is going to be a tough-one,” says Kim with a sigh. “That’s a tall order. It’s a lot of money.”

Responding with a smile, Judy notes, “This committee has lots of spirit and determination.”

“We’ve got a big picture here,” she says wisely. “We’re looking at building our park area for the future. Our community is aging. It would be perfect to have a safe and accessible walking path in the village. A well-developed green space area is something to bring people to this area.”

“The borders (between Inverary, Sunbury and Battersea) are fluid,” adds Kim, “We need to be supportive of each other, closer and stronger. This is something we can all share. We have an amazing community here.”

The community is invited to the park this Saturday (June 10) at 11:30 am to celebrate the completion of Phase 1 and launch Phase 2. To support this campaign to improve the park in Inverary, please contact Judy Borovskis at 613-353-1768 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mikeal Teal had just turned 16. He was starting a summer job at Sunset's campground. He was in the midst of his first relationship and had just received his driver's license. He was thinking about buying a car. He was a devoted son and brother.
Those were the positive aspects of his life, but he also had many pressures, which all culminated in a final suicide attempt in the early hours of the morning on May 15th. He died five days later at Roger Nielson House, next to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa.

His mother Leslee, step-father Al Whan and sisters Alley and Sidney are devastated, but they are also angry and determined that the mental health system that they say failed Mike gets fixed, and soon.

They sat in the kitchen of their home, which is tucked in next to the edge of a narrow bay off Sharbot Lake and the Trans-Canada Trail, as the trees were still leafing out around them last Friday morning (May 27). It made for a peaceful backdrop to the agony in their voices as they went over, for the hundredth time, the string of events from the last few days oftheir son’s life. They also reflected on the previous weeks, months and even years of their son's troubled life. They were raw with exhaustion and emotion, sometimes grasping for details as they told their story.

But they are determined to do something about the fact that, in their view and experience, children and adults in serious trouble are just patted on the back and sent home when they attempt to harm themselves, and it is a matter of urgency for them because Mike's girlfriend in Kingston has been facing her own difficulties since his death.

“This is a nightmare that no family should have to endure,” said Al Whan.

According to his mother Leslee, Mike faced pressures in school and elsewhere for many years.

“He was very protective of his sisters, and me. He worried about me,” she said.

And suicide had already touched him, as his father hung himself when Mike was only 7.

Mike’s fragile circumstances took a real turn in March of 2016, when his maternal grandfather, with whom he was very close, died suddenly.

A couple of months later a social worker Mike was seeing from Pathways for Children and Youth demanded that he seek treatment in hospital for his mental health issues, a process that was ultimately ineffective.

In the late fall things took a further turn for the worse, when in an effort to protect the reputation of his younger sister, he got into a violent fight with a boy at Granite Ridge High School. The fight started at the park near the school and ended up within school property. It led to Mike being expelled from school, further cutting him off socially. He began a relationship shortly after that, with a girl from Kingston, but his circumstances kept deteriorating and suicidal thoughts haunted him over and over again.

In January he told a doctor at the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team, where he went weekly to monitor his medication, that he had attemped suicide. That time he was brought to CHEO for 5 days, and was sent home with adjusted medication.

In February, after ice fishing with Al, “he took off ahead of me on his bike across the lake and  at full speed and he ran off the road. He wouldn't say what he was doing or trying to do or anything. Mike told his doctors about that event as well,” Al recalled.

In March he downed two bottles, 50 pills in all, of his anti-depressant medication and was rushed to Perth hospital and then to CHEO, where he remained overnight and was released the next morning.

Then, in late April, he drove his ATV down the trail to a secluded spot where he slashed his wrists and then drove at break-neck speed back towards home, helmetless.  A police search party found him just off the trail and he was taken to Kingston General Hospital by ambulance.

“He told the doctor 'I don't want to be alive – help me,’ and the doctor said the cuts on his arms were not that deep and we should adjust his medication and watch him carefully,” said Al Whan, “The doctor told us that Mike 'doesn't have a plan', and his suicide attempts were not enough of a reason for them to keep him and get him some help. ‘He doesn’t have a plan,’ I can’t forget those words.”

“I asked the doctor if that meant I was on suicide watch again, and he didn’t say anything, just said we should keep an eye on him,” said Leslee.

“We kept asking for help, we kept trying to watch him, to make sure he was ok, to look for the signs, but he needed real help, not just a change in dosage, said Whan.

Ten days later, Mike spent Mother’s Day helping Leslee strip the floor in the family kitchen, preparing to put a new floor in. At one in the morning, his girlfriend called Leslee and said Mike’s messages had gone from wifi to text and she knew he wasn’t in the house and was worried about him. Al ran down stairs to his bedroom in the basement of the house and found the room was full of blood but Mike wasn’t there. He found him a short time later. He had cut himself in his room and was hanging in a tree by the lake. Al cut him down and called 911. He still had a pulse but he had been without oxygen for too long.

Both of Mikes parents are now very worried about his girlfriend.

“And the hospital is doing the same thing, refusing to take her in for long term treatment, just sending her home with new medication,” said Al Whan.

“This is what needs to stop. Doctors, the system needs to start taking people seriously and treating them. Telling people not to worry because their children or cousins or brothers “don't have a plan” did not work for Mike and won't work for anyone else.”

Mikeal Teal's parents are committed to bringing change about in the system and are planning to bring as much attention as possible to his plight in order to make that happen. They have contacted politicians and media outlets and are considering a fund raising campaign to keep a public focus on mental health and suicide.

This last February after seven hours of continuous skiing, Dave Linton completed a 51 km x-country ski race, as he has been doing every winter for 17 years. Thanks to generous sponsors, his efforts netted over a thousand dollars this year for the SFCSC (Southern Frontenac Community Services) Food Bank’s Healthy Snacks for School program.

“You’re under more pressure when there’s money on the line, and you push yourself harder,” says Dave; “My 76 year old body is now complaining, and it suggests that there might be a less strenuous means of fund raising.”

So this year to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday, Dave is launching a different one-man fund raising project which he hopes will bring pleasure to all who participate.

It involves sharing another of his passions; music. Piano music, to be specific. Dave is a familiar musician at community events in and around Sydenham, and is one of the volunteers who plays piano for the Adult Day Program at SFCS’s Grace Centre.

Here’s how his new project would work: in return for a donation (the amount is up to you) to SFCS, either the Food Bank or the Adult Day Program, Dave will bring his full size keyboard to your home or other venue (within a 35 km maximum distance from Sydenham) to play and sing. He’d be happy to share memories in song and story of the one-room school he went to, or the 100 acre rock farm where he grew up. Or he’ll play soft background music for dinners, club gatherings or family celebrations such as milestone birthdays or anniversaries. The choice is yours, and your donation will be tax deductible, as long as it’s over $20.

To participate in this 150th birthday celebration fund raiser, call 613-376- 6883, and ask for Dave or leave a message.

“Our community is so fortunate to have SFCSC and the programs they offer,” Dave says, “I’ve provided music for their wonderful day program for seniors and I want to do what I can to support it even further. Caring staff and volunteers have created a very special place where seniors can spend an enjoyable day. This helps to delay or deter the need for seniors to enter a long term care facility by providing a few hours respite for caregivers (usually a son, daughter or spouse). A combination of government funding cutbacks and increasing need for seniors’ services means community fundraising is necessary to fill the gap, so programs such as this can continue.”

A three-person jury has chosen a winner for this year’s Award Of Excellence in Fine Arts and Fine Crafts supporting the work of Fibre Artist and Quilt Maker, Bridget O’Flaherty. Jurors Sunny Kerr, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Agnes Etherington Art Gallery at Queens University in Kingston, Victoria Henry, curator and art critic, and the former Director of the Canada Council Art Bank, and Ankaret Dean, Artistic Director MERA (McDonalds Corners/Elphin Recreation and Arts), unanimously selected Bridget O’Flaherty for the 2017 award. Victoria Henry said of O’Flaherty’s entry, “Her unique and technically brilliant quilts recognized both the old tradition of quilt making in Canada and the merits of a sensitive aesthetic.”  Bridget O’Flaherty describes her process, “I learned traditional quilting from my mother over 25 years ago, but I had always been drawn to natural landscapes and exploring the blend of contemporary fibre art techniques with the traditions of quilting. I utilize layers of thread for shading effects, much like pencil crayon or pen and ink, stitching techniques, traditional piecing of fabric and quilting techniques to convey my landscape art.”

According to Ankaret Dean, “This year, the entries to the MERA Award Excellence again demonstrated the amazing talent, skill, and variety that exists in our community.  We chose the work of Bridget O 'Flaherty as the winner. She combines the traditional art of quilting with machine embroidery to create the effect of painting.  Her images reflect the beauty and colour of the natural environment.”

Honorable mention was awarded to Sarah Wright for her “exquisite and very personal pen and ink drawings” according to Victoria Henry.  Dean stated that ”The drawings of Sarah Wright were quite unique and personal, and a delight in their simplicity. We chose Sarah that her work be recognized with an honourable mention.” The artist commented “"If an image makes someone feel uncomfortable, I think it’s important to not turn away but to take a closer look.  Why does this make me feel this way, what does that discomfort say about me, our society, our expectations of women, our views on sexuality, gender, and mental health?”

The MERA Award, consisting of a $1000 prize, will be presented to Bridget O’Flaherty at a reception on Friday, June 16th. 2015 from 4:30 pm until 6 pm at the Schoolhouse in McDonald’s Corners. Sarah Wright will also be present. Both of these artists will show examples of their work at the reception.

The MERA Award, which is given every two years, was conceived and made possible by a generous donation by Lanark Highlands residents Chris and David Dodge to the Perth and District Community Foundation, which manages the funds. Recognizing MERA’s important contribution to the arts community, the Dodges chose MERA to select the Award winners.

Anyone interested in learning more about the MERA Award is invited to send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., visit MERA’s website: www.meraschoolhouse.org,  or leave a telephone message at 613-278-0388. The next award will be given in 2019.

Penny Harper is fighting a war she will never win.

The mother of a child with a rare genetic disorder, Penny knows her daughter will never live a normal life. The most she can hope for is to manage the behaviour that accompanies the affliction. It is a battle she fights every day, in a war lost to a condition without a cure. For a mother devoted to her children, it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

“When she was born, she was showing signs of failing to thrive,” says Penny thoughtfully about her daughter’s birth on Oct. 1, 2010.

“Maddy was a quiet baby, but I didn’t think anything of it at first because her older sister was quiet as well. We knew she was different soon after her birth and she came home from the hospital with a nasogastric feeding tube. I had to syringe food into her stomach, past her lungs so she wouldn’t choke.”

Born seven weeks early, Maddy Harper was diagnosed with Prader-Willi Syndrome, which causes delayed development and insatiable hunger. Shortly after she was diagnosed, her lungs collapsed; a life-threatening situation that would happen again and again.

Reeling from the severity of Maddy’s illness, the family was thrown into an unending series of medical appointments and treatments to address the absence of the paternal component in her 15th chromosome.

“She finally got to baseline when she came back to Kingston,” says Penny about Maddy’s six-week stay at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto. “And every-other-day for a year she was at Hotel Dieu Hospital doing therapies, check-ups and studies.”

Sitting at the kitchen table with her colouring paper, Maddy is sweet-natured and loving. She smiles when her older sister Mya comes into the kitchen, trailed by their little brother Ayden.

Ayden’s father is Kyle Gordon of Battersea who manages the Creekside Bar and Grill. The children divide their time between their family in South Frontenac and their home in Kingston.

Enjoying this warm day in May, Penny smiles at the children who are scanning the counters for food. They know not to try the fridge and freezer which are secured with locks. Penny opens a cupboard and gives the children a nutritious snack to tide them over until dinner.

“There’s been a lot of issues, but we’ve been hospital-free for three years,” says Penny, a Central Reprocessing Technician at Kingston Health Science Centre.

Asked how her daughter acquired the condition, the 28-year-old brunette notes, “It’s a completely random roll-of-the-dice fluke.”

Statistics show Prader-Willi affects one in 15,000 people. It is a rare syndrome that took the family by surprise.

“At first, you’re that person in denial because you don’t see all of the symptoms you hear about,” says Penny with heartbreaking honesty. “Now that Maddy is six, I’m starting to see the behaviours they talked about.”

Because of the syndrome, Maddy is always hungry. She doesn’t have a gag reflex or sense of fullness when she eats. If left alone, she would eat until her stomach bursts. She currently weighs 100 pounds.

“I have to be on my game all the time,” Penny explains, nodding towards the locks on the fridge and freezer that were supplied by the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research.

“I left the fridge unlocked the other day and she ate six containers of yogurt.”

Placed on a strict diet, Maddy has to be constantly supervised. When she’s not, she’ll seek food including discarded items in the garbage.

“Their brain still thinks its hungry and people keep eating,” says Penny, listing complications that can follow such as obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and sleep apnea.

Looking calm and happy, Maddy can turn violent if her brain is focused on food. Because of her low muscle tone, she only requires 700-1,200 calories a day. All of her meals are based around fruits and vegetables. She loves sushi.

“She’s hysterical,” replies Penny when asked to describe what happens when Maddy wants food. “You would literally believe I’m starving my child, despite the fact that she just ate her favourite meal. She’s programmed to believe she’ll starve if she doesn’t eat. She can’t help it. She can’t control it. Her body believes it’s starving.”

To help Maddy, the family works to control the behaviours by reassuring her of the next meal and providing distractions.

“I did a lot of research quickly,” says Penny about how she learned to parent a child with this rare genetic disorder. “I got in touch with other families and asked for help.”

Determined to inform the public about the syndrome and help the Prader-Willi Research Foundation, Penny has organized a fundraiser in early July.

"I never heard of Prader-Willi syndrome before I met Maddison,” admits Kyle, Maddy and Mya’s stepfather. “It was, and still is, very hard to keep things away from her that she will eat. Penny has recently installed locks on the fridge, but Maddie has already trained her younger brother to climb the counter and get the keys from on top of the fridge. This walk and awareness that Penny has organized has been great. Not only has it raised awareness about this rare genetic disorder, it has opened doors for Maddy who was just accepted to see specialists in Toronto.”

The proud father notes, “Penny has worked hard and has even found a few other ways to help Maddison and keep her at a weight that won't be harmful to her health."

Pointing to the $50 locks on the fridge and freezer, Penny wants to return the help she received by holding a fundraiser for the Prader-Willi Research Foundation.

“The locks have really helped,” Penny says about the device that help Maddy lose five pounds the first month it was installed.

Without the locks, Maddy gained 10 pounds in two months.

“That’s basically what makes me want to do all this,” she says about the fundraiser at Lemoine’s Point.

To be held from 10 am to 3 pm, on July 8th, the community is invited to the walk called “One Small Step”. The goal is to raise $5,000.

Looking ahead, Penny knows she will be battling this condition until Maddy reaches maturity. After that, her daughter will likely go to a group home designed for people with Prader-Willi Syndrome where she can receive the help she needs.

“It will get worse,” her mother says sadly. “I’m managing it for her now, but I won’t be able to manage it forever. She won’t ever be able to manage it on her own.”

Always optimistic, Penny is focusing on her three children and a future that is brightened by a fundraiser for a good cause.

“But for now, we’re just going with the flow,” says Penny with a smile.

“I’m proud to say I’m a Prader-Willi Mom.”

To register or contribute to the One Small Step fundraiser in support of children like Maddy, please go to onesmallstep.fpwr.org

Chief Rick Cheseborough personifies the South Frontenac Fire department. Whenever and wherever the department is called out on a major call in the vast expanse of the township, he is there to support the firefighters.

Not many people in South Frontenac were aware, however, about the reputation Cheseborough has built within the firefighting community over the last 30 or more years, starting from his days as a volunteer with the former Pittsburgh Township fire department.

They know now, however, since Cheseborough won the Bill Williams Humanitarian award at the annual gathering of chiefs from the 400 plus Ontario fire departments in Toronto in early May.

Don King, currently a rep for Global Fire Safety, a major supplier of fire equipment, met a younger Rick Cheseborough in 1986.

“I was the national sales manager for Hearst Sales Jaws of Life and I was conducting training on how to use the equipment. I trained him on auto extrication, cold water rescue, all while he was a volunteer. I don’t know if people realise that Rick was always a volunteer firefighter. He took training over the years on weekends and vacations for all of his qualifications and on the business side of it before becoming a full time Fire Chief in South Frontenac. He knows what his crews face as volunteers because he has lived it,” said King in a telephone interview.

King said that he was very happy to hear that Cheseborough was this years recipient of the award, which given out jointly by his company and the Ontario Association of Fire Chiefs.

“The Association of Fire Chiefs handles the entire process of choosing a winner, we don’t see any of that. It is named for Bill Williams, who was a firefighter and later a salesman of fire equipment. Bill had a generous personality, he was always giving of his time, he was a very benevolent man, and that is what the award is all about,” he said.

To cite an example, King talked about an elderly woman in South Frontenac who had sort of been adopted by the department after they had received a number of medical calls for service, some of them unnecessary because her health monitors kept going off when she was not in distress. She was embarrassed by these calls and found them stressful. Eventually Cheseborough gave her his own phone numbers so she could phone and let him know if the call was necessary or not.”

“Not too many Fire Chiefs give out their phone number to residents,” said King.

King said that Cheseborough was not sure he was going to attend this years conference because he was busy and did not necessarily want to spend the department’s money because he has other requests going before Council for equipment and new halls, so he ended up being encouraged to go by senior township staff who were told to make sure he went because he was going to win an award.

Fire Chief Gary Bullock of the Gananoque Fire Department has also known Cheseborough from his Pittsburgh department days. A recipient of the Bill Williams award himself two years ago, Bullock sent a letter of nomination for the award.

“I thought Rick should be recognised for his commitment to South Frontenac and to the people who live there, both as Fire Chief and as a leader and for his contributions to the community. When I won the award, it was the highlight of my 53 year career and it is an honour to have it hanging in my home. I know Rick doesn’t like to be singled out, but I’m glad he won the award this year because it is well deserved,” said Bullock.

Something about fibre art is particularly enticing: Phillida Hargreaves, some of whose work is on display at Grace Hall from now until the end of summer, says texture was what first drew her to fabric as an art medium.

Hargreaves spoke Sunday afternoon to a fascinated audience of over thirty people who came to see her work and hear her talk to them about it.

“With fibre art,” she said, “you learn to use a multitude of techniques: stitching, dyeing, knitting, cutting, drawing, printing, felting and painting, to name a few.” She described how the very thing some thought of as daunting — the huge amount of time and stitching required to create some of her pictures — could be soothing and relaxing with its calm repetition that freed up the mind to daydream. “And if you don’t like what you’ve done, fibre art can always be changed. You can pick out a line of stitching and start over with another colour. Or cut it up and use bits in something else!”

Much of Hargreaves’ work is landscape based, inspired by travels in the Arctic, New Zealand and Morocco. It features textures of rocks, buildings, trees and water, and the lure of light shining through narrow spaces. One small narrative piece recalls the daily letters her grandfather wrote to her grandmother when he was on the battlefield in WWI, every letter beginning with the words, “My dear old girl”, seldom mentioning the horrors he was living through.

The pictures can be viewed Monday - Friday, whenever the hall is not in use: either phone SFCSC (613 376-6477) or drop by, using the side door. 4295 Stage Coach Road, Sydenham: just up the hill from the flashing light.

It was a quick day at Sharbot Lake criminal court, only stretching out to half an hour in order to give an absent accused a chance to show up, which did not happen.

Withdrawn – A charge of possession of an illegal substance against Thomas Quinn was withdrawn at the request of the crown.

Ongoing – James Godin, 55, charged on the 4th of March with 3 counts of driving while under suspension, a count of driving without proper vehicle plates, a count of driving without insurance, and a count of operating a vehicle with blood alcohol over 80 mg/100 ml of blood, and a new charge of operating a vehicle while disqualified, had all his matters put over until June 19th.

Allison Potter, 40, is facing a charges of production and possession of marijuana, and an unauthorised possession of a firearm charge. She has obtained a legal aide certificate and will return on June 19th with her lawyer in tow.

Finally, Chloe Lallemand-LeBrasseur, 22, charged with possession of an illegal substance, which Judge Griffin determined was 0.58 grams of marijuana, was not in court to face her charge.

The judge said he was reluctant to issue an arrest warrant under the circumstances.

“In a year’s time this substance may not be illegal,” he said. Lallemand-Brasseaur was searched while she was a passenger in a car passing though the township. A warrant with discretion was served and as long as the accused shows up in court on June 19th, there will be no consequences for missing this court date.

“If she is not here then, and the federal crowns seeks a warrant without discretion, I will have no choice but to issue one,” Griffin said.

Marco Smits, the communication’s officer with Frontenac County, is also a proud transplanted Canadian of Dutch heritage. When he became a Canadian citizen in 2005, someone told him that the flag that is raised over the Peace Tower each day is only used for one day and is then given away. He looked into it and found out that Canadian Citizen’s could put in a request for one of the flags. So he wrote a letter to the appropriate Ministry, asking for a flag.

Then, he heard nothing, not even a confirmation that his letter had arrived.

12 years later, early in the new year, he received a notice from the Canadian goverment which began "In response to your letter dated May 2005 we are..." and two months later a package arrived in his mailbox, containing a flag and a letter from Judy Foote, the Minister of Procurement and Public Works, which said, in part, “it gives me great pleasure to provide you with the enclosed Canadian Flag, which flew over the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on March 29, 2017  ... the flag is also a symbol of what people of diverse faiths, cultures and linguistic backgrounds can accomplish, and is a reminder of the responsibilities that come with citizenship in our great country.

As you can see from the photo, it is a very large flag.

For anyone who thinks they might put their name in for a flag, there is good news and bad news. The good news is the application is now a very simple online form. All it asks is name, street, town and provincial address, postal code, phone number and email address. It’s as easy as the short form census.

The bad news is that a lot of people have taken the 60 seconds required to fill in the form and it will take a long time for the flag to arrive.  The estimate noted on the website is 63 years. Don’t want to wait that long? Other parliamentary flags are available. They are smaller, 4.5’ by 9’ as opposed to the  7.5’ x 15’ Peace tower flag but the wait is shorter, only 50 years.

As for Marco, he’s happy to have his flag.

“I’m proud to receive this flag and I do consider it a reminder of the responsibilities that come with citizenship in this great country.”

One of those responsibilities now includes flying the flag and that might not be so easy.

“I do have another challenge ahead of me and that is how to fly it,” he said, “the minimum recommended height for the flag pole is 45 to 50 feet!”