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Back in the ’60s and ’70s, the concept of living ‘off the grid’ was generally the purview of counter-culture types, back-to-the-earthers and such.

However, in this day and age, technology and ingenuity have made the concept attainable for most people and motivations have evolved as well.

And last Thursday, several area residents got to see three examples of what modern off-grid living looks like as Stan and Marily Seitz opened up their home and cottage along with Rick and Debbie Morey. The two couples live at opposite ends of Canonto Lake near Ompah and while their setups differ, their approaches — and motivations for going it alone are remarkably similar.

“The Hydro guy told me, ‘you’re about $120,000 away from our line,” Doug Morey said during his part of the tour.

Stan Seitz told a similar tale.

The Seitz’s have been off-grid for about 40 years. They built their place just up the hill from the cabin her parents have had since 1970.

Marily defers defers to Stan when it comes to explaining how it all works.

“I’m the big picture,” she said. “I said ‘solar would be good.’”

Stan, it would appear, is the the architect of their off-grid existence. He sounds for all world like Star Trek’s Scotty talking about how warp drive works when describing his setup, all the while insisting how simple it really is.

And when it comes down to it, the solar system is relatively simple. Solar panels convert sunlight into DC current electricity. Then you need an inverter system to change that to AC current to run a household and you need some sort of monitoring and control for the whole thing.

The devil, it would seem, is in those details but both Seitz and Morey seem to have it down and while they proudly explain their systems like any enthusiast in almost any pursuit, they continue to extoll the simplicity virtues of their systems.

One of the major variables in the systems is the batteries used to store power. (“The solar panels charge the batteries, which run the lights and appliances,” they both said.)

In the main house, Seitz has batteries of a size you might expect to see on an aircraft carrier. The batteries in the system down at the cabin are more pickup truck size. Morey has similar size batteries, just a lot more of them.

One thing they both agree on is that the roof is no place for solar panels.

“You have to get up there and shovel them off in the winter,” Seitz said.

He did however, move the roof panels he started out with on the main house down to the cabin which isn’t used in winter.

Seitz also has a windmill but it was struck by lighting and is out of action.

“And the company is out of business,” he said.

They seem to be getting along fine without it.

For Morey, wind power isn’t an option.

“We’ve very sheltered here and don’t get enough wind.”

But neither of these operations seem to lack for anything. They have video systems, satellite TV, radios, stereos, plenty of lights.

They do use propane for appliances (fridge, stove, deep freeze, hot water heater) and have wood stoves but microwaves and coffee makers are plugged into the wall.

Other than the fact they’re not hooked up to the electrical grid, they don’t seem to be living life much differently than anybody else.

Except that they’re all ready for a zombie apocalypse.

“When the grid goes down occasionally, our kids would get phone calls from their friends to find our what happened in their favourite TV shows,” Seitz said.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 03 July 2019 15:20

Repair Cafe Frontenac Comes to Bellrock

What’s a Repair Cafe? It’s a free meeting place where folks who have a broken item meet with ‘fixers’ who will help them repair it. It’s friendly, fun and free.

The original repair cafe was started by Martine Postma in Amsterdam ten years ago. She wanted to cut down on the amount of waste we produce in our society. We often throw away items that might be fixable because we don’t have the skills or lack the proper tools.

Repair cafes connect people who have broken items with volunteers who have the tools and experience to help fix them. An unravelled seam or hem, a missing button, or a sock with a hole in the heel? Sewing machine no longer works the way it used to? Electrical appliance with a frayed cord, a jammed part? DVD player or record turntable not working? A chair that’s coming apart? A bicycle that doesn’t work the way it should? Damaged crockery, toys, jewelry, etc? Wonder whether grandmother’s oil lamp could still be used? Bring it to the Repair Cafe Frontenac and learn to fix it with the help of an experienced volunteer who will work with you. There is no charge for the repair, the coffee or the cookies.

On Sunday June 2, Bellrock Hall hosted Frontenac’s second Repair Cafe. Fixers were there to help repair sewing machines or electronics, do clothing repairs both by hand or machine, repair bicycles. Seven items were fixed, and some folks from Tamworth are planning to go home and start their own Repair cafe.

Every fourth Sunday of a month from 2-4:30 Repair Cafe Frontenac will be held a church or community hall in Frontenac County. On July 28, it will come Ompah: check on Facebook, or watch for posters for location details.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Flooding, washouts, impassable trails and terrible conditions forced the postponement of the Spring ATV Ride for Dad in Ompah for a week, but even though it corresponded with the Mother’s Day weekend, organizers were still pleased that about 400 drivers and passengers that came out last Saturday.

Byron Smith of Ride for Dad said they’ve been coming up here for about eight years and even though numbers were down slightly this year, it’s still important to them.

“It’s important for us to get word to smaller communities,” Smith said. “The big attraction to this event is that so many participate.

“We get guys coming to us saying that because of this event, they got their prostate checked and it was caught in time.”

He said they still got plenty of pledges and sold some memorabilia.

“All the money we raise goes right into cutting edge research,” he said. “We don’t put any money into bricks and mortar.”

And even though the event had to be put off for a week, it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the participants.

“It was fun, and for a good cause,” said Beverly Bulman, who lives in Bailieboro but has a cottage in the area.

“I’ll go anywhere to ride a trail like this one,” said Roger Rocha of Ottawa.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC

Fire extinguishers aren’t for putting out fires, per se, said Glenna Shanks of Perth Fire Protection.

“They’re for use upon exit and to get people to safety,” she said. “They’re not used to play the hero.”

Shanks was at the Ompah Fire Hall Saturday to certify extinguishers as well as inform the public. The fire department also had a demonstration set up where people could ‘use’ an extinguisher to ‘put out’ an electronic fire, to get the hang of using one.

“To use an extinguisher, it’s PASS,” she said. “You Pull the pin, Aim, Squeeze the trigger and Sweep the base of the fire.”

She estimated that about 95 per cent of homes have extinguishers.

“This is important in areas like this one because of all the cottages where your fire protection options aren’t as extensive as more urban areas.”

She said the reason they do these clinics is that many people keep their extinguishers in cupboards and don’t realize they have to be certified every six and 12 years.

“Every six years they have to be emptied and tested inside and every 12 years, the hydrostatics have to be tested,” she said. “The first year we did this, many people thought their extinguisher was fine but then we had them go out and test it on a real fire.

“A lot of them didn’t work — it does make a difference to keep them updated.”

Shanks should know, she’s been involved with fire extinguishers since she was three years old.

“It was dad’s (Reg) hobby,” she said. “Then he started the company and I bought him out eight years ago.”

She recommends a five-pound ABC extinguisher, all metal.

“They’re pretty much multi-use,” she said. “And the government won’t let us certify anything that’s plastic.

“In a five-pound, you have five to 10 seconds of powder at 585 psi.”

But they have to be kept in good working order, through certification.

“You’d be amazed what it does, when you need it,” she said.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 17 April 2019 12:50

North Frontenac passes smoking bylaw

At first glance, the smoking bylaw North Frontenac Council passed at its regular meeting last Friday in Plevna seemed a lot more ominous than it actually turns out to be.

For example, one section contains the phrase: “No person shall, smoke or vape within 20 metres of any point on the perimeter of the outdoor grounds of a community recreational facility and public areas.”

Now if you interpret that to mean the property lines of Township facilities, you might conclude that the bylaw extends into private property. For example, in the case of Barrie Hall, that would mean extending across Hwy 41, into Addington Highlands Township and onto the home of Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg. It would also mean that in some cases, it would extend into Crown Lands (for example some boat launches).

But that’s not the intension, Clerk/Planning Manager Tara Mieske said Tuesday in an interview.

“It only pertains to Township-owned facilities and property,” she said. “The bylaw was updated to come into line with the updated Smoke-Free Ontario Act, which now includes cannabis and the bylaw is designed to reflect that.”

This means smoking is restricted to 9 metres from the entrance to a Township building and 20 metres from the ‘perimeter’ of a children’s playground, sporting area or recreational facility, but it doesn’t extend past the Township-owned property, she said.

“This includes the ballfield and tennis courts in Cloyne but not Township beaches and boat launches, or things that don’t have a roof like waste sites,” she said.

It also doesn’t include things like the Township garages and municipal office (although the 9 metres from the entrance still applies), she said.

Technically, the 20 metres doesn’t include fire halls but in some cases (notably Ompah and Snow Road) the fire halls are attached or adjacent to recreational halls and/or libraries where the 20-metre restriction does apply.

One other unclear aspect of the bylaw is what constitutes smoking.

“Smoke and Smoking includes carrying or holding of a lighted tobacco product, a lighted cannabis product, an activated electronic cigarette, or a lighted or heated water pipe,” would seem to prohibit the First Nation smudging ceremony, common at Powwows and other gatherings.

Mieske said that hadn’t been considered in the wording of the bylaw and she’d research the matter before bringing a report to Council.

 

• • •

On March 26, Mayor Ron Higgins sent an email to Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith asking about Central’s plans to fix potholes on Road 509 and Ardoch Road.

“How’d you make out?” said Dep. Mayor Fred Perry.

“You saw her response,” said Higgins.

“Although they did do some work,” said Coun. Gerry Martin.

“I didn’t agree with this action at all,” said Coun. John Inglis. “It was unnecessary and the tone wsas insulting.”

For the record, here are the two emails.

From Higgins to Smith:

“Frances, I was asked by Council to contact you about the road condition of 509 (near Ardoch Road) and 2-3 bad spots on Ardoch Road. We have been getting a number of residents asking if we knew what Central Frontenac was considering with regards to repair. They are concerned about vehicle damage due to bad road conditions.

“Would it be possible to provide us with any plans your Township has in regards to this issue?”

Smith’s response:

“Good morning Ron. I think it is the swamp on the flat that you are talking about. We are quite aware of it and as soon as the thaw permits, we will be dealing with it.”

 

• • •

With about a dozen members of the public in attendance at the meeting, Mayor Ron Higgins asked for a motion to move the public question period up on the agenda so that those members of the public who wished to could comment on the question of ANSIs (Area of Natural or Scientific Interest) in North Frontenac’s Zoning Bylaw could be heard.

Only Coun. Wayne Good voted against the measure.

Later in the meeting, Council voted to end the restriction that a public question period only be permitted if the Council meeting takes under three hours.

North’s meetings commonly exceed three hours. By comparison, Central and South meetings rarely exceed two hours and South has one or two meetings a year under a half hour.

 

• • •

In response to Kerry Skipper’s request for a Pickleball court in Cloyne, Coun. Fred Fowler challenged Dep. Mayor Fred Perry to the first game.

Fowler declined to offer Perry some sort of handicap even though Perry recently had surgery on his leg.

Pickleball is a racquet sport combining elements of badminton, tennis and ping pong using a whiffleball of some sort.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC

North Frontenac Township is recruiting for it fire department.

“We have banners up in the municipality and hopefully we’ll get some response,” said Eric Korhonen, director of emergency services/fire chief.

While Korhonen has no idea how much response he will get, he would like to add about 10 new firefighters per station (Snow Road, Ompah and Plevna; the department also has a joint operation with Addington Highlands in Cloyne) or 30 overall. But, he recognizes that goal is more long-term.

“Realistically, we’ll probably add a handful at a time,” he said.

Prospective applicants are asked to send an email to the chief (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) expressing interest. From there, there will be an application interview, basic medical requirement and a driver’s abstract.

“Then you start training,” he said.

New firefighters receive a rural firefighters course, first aid, CPR and defibrillator training. Once every four months, there is a mandatory training session as well.

There is weekend involvement but Korhonen said “as a department, we try to be flexible, such as training on weekends so students can attend their classes during the week.”

Korhonen said there’s no cause for alarm at the moment but they do need some more people.

“Our roster is just not where it should be,” he said. “We have sufficient people to respond but people have other lives outside the department and we have to be able to cover for this.”

For Korhonen, the biggest reward of the job is “to protect your community and the people you’ve grown up with.

“When people need us, it’s at a time when they’re really down and really need us.”

There are other rewards as well, he said.

“We’re also teaching you a skill as a young person that you can easily transfer to the big city,” he said. “Plus firefighting is a brotherhood and the camaraderie is a big part of it.

“It’s a family and as you make a commitment to them and they’ll make a commitment to you.”

There’s also a lot of gratification when you help somebody that really needs it, he said.

“And let’s face it, lights and sirens are a rush.”

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 17 January 2018 11:17

Ompah diners welcome a special guest

Somehow, they fooled Leeanne White.

She was going up to what she calls “the government lunch” in Ompah, the monthly Rural Frontenac Community Services Diners lunch at the newly renovated hall, and she said she “just happened to say to my friend that it was coming up on my birthday, and the next thing you know when I got to Ompah they had a cake out and Catherine Tysick was asking all these questions of me, like how much family I had and what work did I do and so on. I would like to thank the people who put it on. They got me,” she said when contacted over the phone earlier this week.

She is not entirely surprised that has lived such a long life. “My grandmother lived to be 102,” she said.

Last week, Leeanne moved past that milestone when she celebrated her 103rd birthday.

She hasn’t changed a lot on the three and half years since she was interviewed by the Frontenac News for a feature and video on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Frontenac County.

Except for one thing. She no longer drives, and that is something she is not very happy about. In fact she pretty frosted about it.

“They just don’t want me to drive any more. I was just too slow on the draw for my doctor. But I tell you I’ve driven ever since I was 12 or 14 years old and I never had an accident in all that time, even drove mail for 38 years, but not any more. They just didn’t have anything better to do so they took it out on me,” she said.

She does get rides to places from neighbours and relatives but finds it frustrating having to depend on other people to get places, so she said that she stays home most of the time.

But she doesn’t idle away the hours too much. She still bakes all her own bread, gets her own meals, knits all the time, and keeps the house together. Any who helps her out and isn’t willing to take money for it ends up going home with new socks and mitts.

She said she doesn’t make fires in her woodstove too often anymore, “except when the hydro goes out or family comes to visit because they are in and out so much when they are here, that it gets cold and we need a fire.”

This past Christmas she made the dinner for 18, just like she normally does, even though she has problems with her knee. “I’m still doing okay,” she said, “and I have Catherine [RFCS Director of Adult Services Catherine Tysick] checking up on me.”

By keeping busy she avoids being lonely, but said misses all the people she used to know in the Fernleigh area, where she has been living since 1932.

“There were a lot of people here, but there isn’t anyone left,” she said.

A feature and a video on Lee White is posted at Frontenacnews.ca

frontenacnews.ca/frontenac-150th-anniversary/item/9043-happy-100th-birthday-lee-anne-white

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC

North Frontenac will be revisiting how it handles planning following a discussion at its regular meeting last Friday in Ompah.

Currently, planning work (subdivisions, condominiums, severances, minor variances, etc) is handled by Frontenac County on behalf of the Township.

But a recent report from director of planning and economic development Joe Gallivan says that the current workload leads to an unacceptable amount of overtime and therefore justifies the hiring of a junior planner with a salary in the range of $90,000 per year.

Gallivan’s report suggests that salary should come out of the County levy but also acknowledges that that might not be approved by County Council as the services provided would only be applicable to Central Frontenac, North Frontenac and Frontenac Islands. South Frontenac has its own planning department.

Mayor Ron Higgins agreed in a report to Council that the position should be covered by the County levy and also that that might not be approved by County Council.

“For North Frontenac, the priority today is an updated Zoning Bylaw (the current one is from 2004) which we wanted to have completed this past spring,” Higgins said. “I recommend we issue an RFP and hire a consultant to update our Zoning Bylaw to ensure that we have a Zoning Bylaw that meets the Building Code, other legislation and Official Plan requirements by spring 2018.”

“I don’t think a County planner should be making field trips on every application,” said Coun. Gerry Martin. “Our committee of adjustment is quite capable of making site visits.

“The County planner is wasting its resources (and) there’s a real deficit in management.”

“We should have a discussion on whether to stay with County planning or hire a contract planner,” said Higgins.

Central Frontenac Council had a similar discussion at a recent meeting.

• • •

North Frontenac will continue to review its strategic plan in the new year.

“This is a big document and I don’t think we’ve had the time to review it adequately,” said Coun. John Inglis. “I’d like to see it accepted provisionally.”

“We need it for the budget,” said Mayor Ron Higgins.

“I’m glad to see something about seniors housing in there (but) I feel it’s mainly your document,” said Inglis. “We haven’t had much discussion and I have something about the budget I’d like to get in there.”

“The main thing is affordable seniors housing (which was added by amendment),” said Higgins. “We’ll continue to review it in the new year.”

 

• • •

Following a public meeting on the subject, Council approved changes to the Fees and Charges Bylaw.

The fee for a Private Lane Name Sign increases to $400 from $250.

The Entrance Permit fee changes to $70 from $40.

The Blue Box Recycling Bin fee changes to $10 from $7.

The Composter fee changes to $40 from $30.

Township ball caps are $8.85.

 

• • •

After Council considered some funding requests, Coun. Gerry Martin wondered aloud: “how come we never see any requests from GREC (Granite Ridge Education Centre in Sharbot Lake that many North Frontenac residents attend)? Are they not aware that we give out grants?”

“They will be as of Thursday,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal, while watching The Frontenac News reporter scribbling down Martin’s words.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 29 November 2017 12:14

Council backs out of support for energy project

Council voted to amend resolution 518-17 passed at the previous special Council meeting. The resolution extended Council’s support for the One Small Town project as presented by Mayor Ron Higgins.

Councillor Wayne Good and Dep. Mayor Fred Perry moved the resolution to exclude support for the electrical generation aspect until details of that particular project are made public.

Good said he and Perry had received an email from a constituent expressing concerns about the project that gave him pause.

Several other councilors appeared to be having second thoughts as well.

“I’d like to modify 518-17,” said Councillor John Inglis. “We weren’t given any technical details or information about financing.

“My concern is when a business comes with a plan, we don’t normally support it by resolution - our support should be identical to the support we’d give to any business venture.”

“How will this corporation be structured?” said Councillor Denis Bedard. “I’m scared to death a project of this nature can mushroom. We spent considerable time on researching wind turbines. We’ve spent no time at all on this.”

Councillor Vernon Hermer was even more concerned, especially when it comes to the involvement of Ubuntu Canada and its international leader/founder Michael Tellinger.

“I think we’ve been misinformed and misled,” Hermer said. “Contributionism is based on a political party in South Africa. I’ve watched hours of videos on this man’s (Tellinger’s) ‘visions’ (and) I find his opinions and themes disturbing and almost offensive.

Higgins said that Tellinger’s thoughts on some matters shouldn’t be used to discredit the One Small Town plan.

In one of his Youtube videos, Tellinger discusses his support for the argument that the earth is flat, which was addressed briefly by Higgins

“He (Tellinger) does have some off-the-wall theories and plans,” Higgins said. “(But) we do have a meeting scheduled to discuss the parameters of C & T (Contribute & Thrive) North Frontenac.

“And it (the electrical generation plan) was not the only way to generate electricity . . . it was the information I had at the time.”

Council voted to continue to contribute $5,400 to Rural Frontenac Community Services to provide youth programs and services to North Frontenac. RFCS director Louise Moody said it actually costs more than $7,000 to provide the services but was only asking for $5,400 and “we’ll get the rest.”

Funding in place for Ompah Hall kitchen reno

In his own words, Rick Morey “asked for $10,000 and came out with $11,500.”

The Ompah Community Association may not need all of it to complete their kitchen renovation plans for the Ompah Hall.

Morey was at North Frontenac Council’s regular meeting last Friday in Ompah to update council on the “1970s-something” kitchen and to ask for funding.

Morey was asking Council for $5,000 to match the Community Association’s contribution to the project. He said the $10,000 budget contains a $1,500 contingency fund.

“We’re probably going to run into safety concerns,” he said.

Corey Klatt, manager of community development, suggested that figure might be low and recommended Council double it.

“Our plan is to not spend $10,000 but to fix up the kitchen,” Morey said.

“And if we have to replace something, it could get expensive,” said Coun. Denis Bedard.

Morey said that one of the reasons he was at Council now was because there was a limited time to take advantage of a discount offer from Ikea. He said he’d taken their plan to local suppliers who couldn’t match Ikea’s deal.

He said that if they bought the cabinets from Ikea, they would get as much as $300 in gift cards.

“We can use the $300 gift cards to pay for knobs and hinges,” said Coun. Wayne Good.

 

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 29 November 2017 12:06

Update from Knitters for Global Warmth

The knitting continues.

We have donated over 11,800 articles in the last ten years. This past year we sent knitting up north with the Anglican Church Bales in the spring and recently Marge Taylor from Ompah took a hundred and thirty more toques, afghans, sweaters, mitts, socks, dolls and teddy bears to go north of Igualuit.

Many thanks to knitters Yvonne Leblanc and Liz Bruce from Sydenham and Val Kennett from Perth for their continued support. Also thanks to Bev Murdock and Jackie Saville for their generous donations of yarn. Best wishes to all during this Christmas season and keep knitting.

For info call Peggy Beckett at 268-2443.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
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With the participation of the Government of Canada