Scots and other enthusiasts all over the world will celebrate Robbie Burns Day near his birthday. In the North of Seven area it shall be done at the Lions Hall in Northbrook on Saturday Jan 23. The Cloyne & District Historical Society who bring you this event, are particularly careful to not leave out any fun-filled traditions. Tartan will be worn; pipers will play; prime rib will be served; Scotch will be consumed; Auld Lang Syne will be sung; and the lads will dance with the lassies. Once again, the highlight of the evening shall be Gordon Sparks plunging his knife into the haggis as he addresses it. The tickets are limited in number and are $35, with a charitable receipt for part of it. The piper shall greet you as early as 5pm for a 6pm sitting. To reserve your place, call Ian Brumell at 613-336-2203 or Gordon Sparks at 613-336-0157

Members of the Sharbot Lake and District Lions were out in full force on November 21st at their Oso hall/den and served close to 120 all you can eat pancake, sausage and egg breakfasts to hungry diners looking for a hearty and fair-priced feed to start to their weekend. Proceeds from the meal will help fund the Salvation Army's annual Christmas Basket campaign in the township. For diners with a sweet tooth, Lions members were also selling their seasonal fruitcakes and cookies, the former for $18 in a tin or $17 in a box and the latter for $6, all of which make great gift giving items for Christmas. Anyone interested in purchasing Lions' cookies and/or fruitcakes, please call Dave Hansen at 613-375-6318.

Twelve members from the Sydenham and Verona Lions clubs and three volunteers recently completed vision and hearing screening of approximately 200 senior kindergarten and Grade 1 students at Harrowsmith, Loughborough, and Prince Charles Public Schools, and St. Patrick’s Catholic School.

For the past eight years, the local Lions clubs have conducted this screening of the youngest students at the start of the school year in order to detect any vision or hearing issues early. It is estimated that one in six children has a vision problem. For young students, to optimize their learning and school experience, it is critical that vision and hearing issues are detected early.

The vision screening consists of three fun visual stations that check both eyes for distance, depth perception and alignment. Hearing is screened with a sound test of both ears. The child wears headphones and is asked at increasingly lower audio levels to point to various pictures.

The results from both screening tests are sent home to the child’s parents/caregivers the same day. If the child’s results fall below the prescribed level, a recommendation is made that the child have a complete examination by a vision or hearing specialist. Parents are reminded that annual eye examinations for school-aged children by a vision specialist are covered by OHIP.

The Lions screening program is free. The expensive vision and hearing equipment was purchased by the Lions with community fund raising and is circulated to various Lions clubs to conduct screening at more than 50 local schools.

While most of the Lions screening volunteers are retired, the younger volunteers juggle their work schedules to be available for the school day screenings. Many of the Lions are grandparents who themselves have vision and hearing issues and have personal stories of struggling in school due to those problems. They understand first hand the importance of correcting vision and hearing issues early.

The Land O' Lakes Lions are having a fundraising golf tournament for all on Saturday, September 19 at Hunter's Creek Golf Course, Cloyne. Registration 11:30am for shotgun start at 12:30pm. Money raised will help sustain different community programs such as Pine Meadow Nursing Home, Swim Club, Food Bank, Drop-in, Bingo, Santa's parade and many others. The few Lions of your community have been working hard almost every day to secure funding for different programs. We would like you to help us by coming out for a day of friendship, fun golf with numerous donated prizes, games, music, dinner, dance and auction; all for $45 per person, guests (dinner/dance only) $20. The best is that you don't have to excel at golf. Some of us will make sure you come out a winner, OK, at least feeling like one! So please come out and support our Lions who support your community. We guarantee that you'll want to return next year. Call Debbie at 613-336-8502 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as soon as possible to book. If you are unable to participate, financial donations are welcome by contacting us at the same addresses. Golf carts can be reserved by calling 613-336-2587.

Verona Lions Club will be hosting the 64th Annual Verona Lions Jamboree at the Verona Lions Centre, 4504 Sand Road, from July 9 to July 11. Starting on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, canteen and rides will open at 5pm. The bingo pavilion and other Verona Lions’ activities open at 6:30pm. Once again this year the Bingo Pavilion will have one grand prize bingo game worth over $100 during each evening. The Verona Lions Jamboree Raffle will be drawing three prizes, one each evening. The first draw will be on Thursday at 10pm for a prize worth $400. The second draw will be on Friday at 10pm for a prize worth $600. The final draw will be on Saturday at 10pm for a prize worth $1000. Tickets can be purchased from any Lion member, Mom’s Restaurant, Asselstine Hardware and Verona Hardware. Established in 1949, the Verona Lions Club is a non-profit organization. Funds raised go to programs for the blind, hearing, diabetes and also for many local needs.  

Serving breakfasts to over 100 Saturday morning diners has been a regular happening for the Sharbot Lake and District Lions over the last few months. Lions member, Linda Zwier, who has been heading up the monthly event said, “This is one of our best fundraisers and it makes us feel good because people are really getting something for their money.”

This year was the first that the Saturday morning $7 all-you-can-eat breakfasts have taken place regularly at the Oso hall and they have attracted on average over 100 diners each time. For members of the community, the breakfasts became not only a great way to start their weekend but also a chance to enjoy a meal and socialize with friends and relatives. ”People have started to attend regularly on the last Saturday of the month and I think that that is because we started advertising for them.”

Now that the breakfasts have come to an end for the year, the Lions are focusing on a number of other upcoming fundraisers. On Sunday, April 26 the Lions will be holding their annual Spring Jamboree Country Music and Dance event at the Land O' Lakes Public school in Mountain Grove. The event, which will be hosted by Fred Brown and his band, will feature many notable musicians including local young fiddler Jessica Wedden, Debbie McLean, Charlie Lemmon, Lyle Van de Bogart, Paige Rombough and the beloved Old Habits. The $10 ticket will include light refreshments, and numerous door prizes. The fun begins at 1PM and tickets can be purchased by contacting Dawn Hansen at 613-375-6318 or Linda Zwier at 613-335-2053. Something new this year for the Lions is a huge community yard sale that will take place at the Oso hall on Saturday May 16, coinciding with the first Saturday of the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market. There will be 25 tables for rent at a cost of $15 per table. The yard sale is a great opportunity to get rid of unused and unwanted items that have been gathering in basements, cupboards and sheds over the years. The Lions will be serving a light lunch at the yard sale for a reasonable cost and will hold their usual 50/50 draw. Because it is happening indoors, the sale will go on rain or shine. Interested vendors can contact Linda Zwier at 613-335-2053.

Zwier also would like to remind the public about the Lions bottle shed that is located at the Crow Lake waste site on Wemp Road, where members are collecting empty beer and liquor bottles. Visitors to the site can drop off their empties at any time during regular hours. To date the Lions have collected over 20,000 empty cans/bottles at a value of over $2500.

Proceeds from the Saturday breakfasts 50/50 draw were donated to the Crow Lake Community Association and while their regular breakfasts have now come to an end, the Sharbot Lake and District Lions are working hard to find new ways to raise funds for the many services and programs that they support, and which benefit the local community.

Sharbot Lake and District Lions, l-r Ron Hollywood, Bill Zwier, Coleen Richter and Candy Claessen served up a hearty all-you-can-eat breakfast on November 22 at Oso hall to close to 100 guests. Proceeds from the event will support the Salvation Army's annual Christmas Basket drive, which will benefit and brighten the lives of many local families during this upcoming holiday season.

Upcoming for the Lions is their Country Christmas Jamboree, an afternoon of music and dancing that will take place on Sat. Dec. 13 at Land O'Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove beginning at 1pm. The event will be hosted by Fred Brown with musical entertainment featuring Lisa Hart, Mitch Barker, Jessica Wedden, the Old Habits, the Fred Brown band and with special guest Steve Piticco. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by contacting Dave Hansen at 613-375-6318 or Linda Zwier at 613-335-2053.The Lions welcome donations of empty beer and liquor bottles all year long at the Crow Lake dump site on Wemp Road in Sharbot Lake.  

by the Verona and Sydenham District Lions

For the past two weeks, Lions volunteers from Sydenham and Verona have conducted the annual vision and hearing screening for approximately 200 senior kindergarten and grade one students at Harrowsmith, Loughborough, and Prince Charles public schools as well as at St. Patrick Catholic School in Harrowsmith

For young learners, it is critical that any vision and hearing problems are detected early before a child's performance at school is affected and that is why for the past seven years, the local Lions have conducted the screening program for the youngest students at the start of every school year. It is estimated that one in six children has a vision problem. The vision screening section consists of three stations that help identify children who have trouble seeing things at a distance, up close or who may have difficulty making both eyes focus together. The hearing section of the screening program is comprised of a sound test. The child wears headphones and is asked, at increasingly lower audio levels, to point to various pictures.

The results from both screening tests are sent home to the child’s parents/caregivers that same day. If the child's results fall below the prescribed level, a recommendation is also sent home asking that the child have a complete examination by a vision or hearing specialist. The screening results also remind parents that annual eye examinations are recommended and important for school-aged children and are covered by OHIP.

The vision and hearing screening program for senior kindergarten and grade one students is provided free by the local Lions Clubs and the expensive equipment used in the testing was purchased through the fund raising efforts of many local Lions clubs. At the start of every school year, local Lions clubs quickly circulate the equipment through more than 50 schools in the local and surroundings community in order to screen as many children as possible in the hopes of identifying as early as possible any vision or hearing problems.

While most of the Lions screening volunteers are retired, the younger Lions volunteers work hard to juggle their work and personal schedules so that they can be available for the school day screenings. Many volunteers are grandparents who themselves wear glasses and/or hearing aids and who have personal stories of struggling in school as a result of their own vision and hearing issues. They therefore understand first hand the importance of correcting any vision and hearing problems early so that local students can enjoy maximum learning and have basic everyday life enjoyment.

by Marilyn Bolender

On October 1, the Land O' Lakes Lions Club presented a cheque to the Land O' Lakes Community Food Bank in the amount of $2,000. On the left is Lion Pam Lemke, in the centre Lion Red Emond, and missing from the picture Lion Phil Barchard, who were instrumental in raising this money by holding the 1st Annual Fun Golf Tournament, held at Hunters Creek Golf Club. Receiving the cheque is Betty Pearce. The Lions hope to make this event an annual affair and many people are already asking for a spot for next year. The local food bank has had an abundance of calls for help this year and with more money going out than coming in, the LOL Lions helped fill the void.

by Linda Zwier

Would you like to help local kids who have vision or hearing problems? Given the opportunity, wouldn’t you support people who may be blind, deaf, on dialysis or have diabetes? Would you say no to helping raise funds for the Food Bank, the Salvation Army Christmas Hampers, the CNIB or the Summer Swim Program?

The Sharbot Lake & District Lions Club has been serving this area for over 63 years. We are presently seeking community-minded people who want to make a difference in their own neighborhood or even half way around the world. Our official motto is simply “We Serve”. What better way to explain our mission? You can learn more about the Lions by attending our Information night on November 18 at 7 p.m. at Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake. Check us out on Facebook or visit our websites: www.sharbotlions.com or www.lionsclubs.org .

Anyone 18 and over can become a Lion. In fact, we have several couples who enjoy Lionism as a rewarding family activity. Yes, we work hard but there is also a social aspect to membership. We enjoy many fun activities with the folks from other Lions clubs, especially those from nearby communities here in Eastern Ontario. Membership in a Lions Club provides people with the opportunity to meet and work with other individuals, striving toward the common goal of helping those in need. We enjoy the camaraderie of the group as we involve ourselves in club activities. The satisfaction gained by being a part of these efforts is one of the big rewards of being a Lion.

How do we serve? We are very proud of our “Vision Screening” program. For over 10 years we have been testing the eyesight of local kindergarten and grade one students. In October we visited the schools in Plevna and Mountain Grove, along with Granite Ridge and St. James Major schools in Sharbot Lake. We use equipment purchased with the monies we have collected through our various fundraising activities. A new piece of gear now allows us to test their hearing as well. And we continue to support a project called “No Child Without”. In this program, we work hand-in-hand with the Medic Alert Association to provide every child in our local schools with the Medic Alert bracelets they may need to keep them safe at school, at home and everywhere in between.

We also enjoy working with our senior citizens. In mid-June each year we go to a seniors’ home to barbeque hamburgers and hot dogs for the residents and their families. And each October for the past 38 years we have invited local seniors to spend a wonderful evening of entertainment, prizes and good things to eat. We even provide the buses to bring folks in from all over the district.

We are proud to support Adopt-A-Highway, our pavilion at Oso Beach, the Central Frontenac Summer Swim program and the parades at Christmas and Canada Day. Over the years we have purchased equipment for the Medical Centre, the playground at the beach and have provided financial support to the Dog Guides, the Salvation Army, the Canadian Diabetes Association, the Food Bank and many others, including people with specific needs within our own community. We could do none of this without the support of local folks like you! When a Lion asks you to buy a chocolate Easter bunny, a Christmas fruit cake or a raffle ticket on any of our great prizes, your money goes to support all of the above – and more!

How can you help? You could add your name to our list of community volunteers or you could become a full-fledged Lion. We are always seeking new members in our club. We need people who want to improve their community. You can email us at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 613-539-8190 or 613-375-6318. WE SERVE!

In July of this year, the Lions Club held its 97th Annual International Convention in Toronto! The Lions Club is the biggest community service organization in the world with more than 1.6 million members and close to 20,000 of them came from around the world to attend the convention here in Canada. The eight delegates from Sharbot Lake were thrilled to watch as the Parade of Nations made its way, for over five hours, down University Avenue. That evening, delegates representing about 189 countries filled the Air Canada Centre to near capacity. Your eight local Lions came away with a renewed commitment to serve their community, their country and the world. Next year the International Convention will be held in Honolulu!