The Sharbot Lake Property Owners Association is in its 46th year of operations, President Ken Waller said as he opened Saturday’s meeting at the Sharbot Lake Legion.

“We started in 1973,” he said. “And this has been one of our busiest years.”

Waller noted last September’s microburst that spread trees all over Shibley Road and Polar Bear Lane, the ongoing water testing program, four new loon nesting platforms (one of which loons actually nested on), as well as 33 entries in the annual photo contest.

Vice-president Guy McLeod gave an update on the new “data loggers” in operation to aid in the collection of information in and around the lake.

“The loggers collect the data and it gets downloaded to my computer,” he said. “One day, at nine feet down, it was 80 degrees.

Environmental issues coordinator Barbara Fradkin reported that the loon count this year is at 30, with 11 chicks, two of which were in the west basin.

“They (the loons) turned down all of our (nesting) platforms except for one,” she said.

Mayor Frances Smith addressed a number of Township issues on the minds of association members.

“We’re looking for fire department recruits,” she said. “Especially if they are under age 64 and available during the day.”

She noted that there are open houses Aug. 4, 14 and 21 regarding the revision of the Township Official Plan.

She said septic reinspection has already begun on Eagle Lake and Crow Lake.

“The cost is $100, payable to the Township,” she said.

On recycling, Smith said: “Used to be we got a reasonable price for it. Now we have to pay to get it hauled away.”

She urged residents to use the library, support the Farmers Market and go to the Parham Fair.

Firefighter Ryan Conboy gave a talk on the importance of smoke alarms and keeping them up to date.

He expressed disappointment at the “lack of compliance” evident during the department’s recent door-to-door campaign.

“The chief is seriously considering issuing some fines to get the message across,” he said, noting that’s law for every building to have smoke alarms on every floor. Carbon monoxide sensors are mandatory on each floor of any building that has a combustion system burning either fossil fuels or wood and if there is an attached garage.

The winners of the photo contest were: 1st — Helen VandeSande; 2nd — Bryan Hay; 3rd — Guy McLeod

Central Frontenac Council awarded the tender to fix Crow Lake Road from Road 38 up to the rail approach just before the hamlet to Gemmill’s Sand & Gravel for $1,021,681.48 excluding HST, further to a recommendation and report from acting Public Works Manager David Armstrong.

The Council meeting was held in Arden, as per Township policy to rotate meeting locations through the summer.

Armstrong said the project is set to begin “late July, early August” and should be completed by “Oct. 15.”

One potential speed bump in the road project could potentially be the fact there is a 1.5 km portion of the road that the Township does not have title to, as well as one portion over Crown Land and another which is a “registry PIN so ownership cannot be verified without further searching.”

In his report, Armstrong said “In the course of researching a location for a dry hydrant, it has come to the attention of staff that there is approximately 1.5 kilometres of Crow Lake Road that is not in the Township’s title.

“It appears to be a trespass road owned by the property owner of the concession lot,” Armstrong’s report said. “The Deputy Clerk recommends that we approach the land owner to negotiate a transfer of title so that there are no liability or other legal issues relating to the reconstruction.

‘A reference plan would be required to convey the road to the municipality, however, we can also incorporate the land needed for the dry hydrant at the same time, so we can either obtain an easement of transfer of that land as well.”

Gemmill’s was also the successful bidder on a tender for the supply and placement of gravel in the amount of $295,400 excluding HST.

Rock removal

Roadwork was the predominant item on this week’s agenda, with Armstrong outlaying plans for rock removal on Bell Line Road West (complete), Oak Flats Road (complete) and Echo Lake Road (expected to start shortly).

There was an emergency culvert replacement at Westport Road, grind-in-place work planned for the entire length of Price Road, and Henderson Road from Baker Valley Road to the Henderson/Bordenwood intersection.

He said paving repair of Road 509 is in the process of being scheduled.

“We’re also waiting for additional prices to micro-surface Arden Road (from the hamlet limits to southwest of Pit Road),” he said.

Coun. Tom Dewey thanked Armstrong for “getting to Arden Road” and asked for an explanation of what micro-surfacing is.

“Micro-surfacing is the laying down of an asphalt compound to about 2/3 of an inch,” Armstrong said. “It does act to stop water from penetrating potholes similar to crack sealant.

“It’s a bit of a band-aide solution but hopefully it’ll give us two seasons. If it gets us through next season I’ll be happy.”

He said Arden Road should be done by the end of the summer.

Roadside mowing

Armstrong said that road-side mowing is “ongoing.”

He said they only have two tractors and “limited staff” so they’re considering contracting out some of the work if they can find somebody to do it.

Obligatory Raptors reference

This was Armstrong’s last Council meeting. Much like Kawhi Leonard, he has accepted a job in his home town. Only Armstrong will be replacing Mississippi Mill’s outgoing operations manager rather than becoming small forward/shooting guard for the LA Clippers.

Stop light on Road 38?

Council passed a resolution in support of the Sharbot Lake Business Group’s request to the Minister of Transportation asking for a traffic light at the corner of Hwy 7 and Road 38. Council plans letters to both the Minister and MPP Randy Hillier.

“David (Armstrong) has had conversations with the ministry so they know we’re supportive of this,” said Mayor Frances Smith.”

“Randy won’t have much clout,” said Coun. Tom Dewey.

Regional Roads plan clears a hurdle

Township staff has expressed concern about the legal implications of transferring minimal ownership (1%) of arterial roads in the township to Frontenac County. A proposal to undertake the transfer is being considered by all four Frontenac Townships in order to facilitate the establishment of a virtual county roads system to help secure more infrastructure grant money.

The townships lawyer, Tony Fleming, did not answer all of the detailed questions staff had about the implications of shared jurisdiction over roads, but on the key question of liability, he said that as long as the agreement between the parties is clear, liability will not be a concern. Given that, and some verbal assurances by Fleming on other issues, a staff report recommended that council consider a motion to approve the proposed virtual roads system, with one proviso, that any agreement that is reached be vetted by the township’s lawyer.

“Given the importance of the agreement between the municipalities, staff recommend the municipality seek independent legal review of that document, once we are at that stage in the process,” said the staff report on the matter.

The proposal will return in August for a vote.

Very few people do anything for 82 years.

However, Eileen Whan is a bit different in that regard. You see, at age 93, Whan is still writing to a friend in Quebec — a friend she began writing to when she was 11 years old, 82 years ago.

“I was 11 and she was nine,” Whan said. “Her name was the same as mine — Eileen.

“But she was a Beattie and now her name is Eileen Greer.”

Whan, who now lives just south of Sharbot Lake, was born on a farm near Leggat Lake, the eldest of 11 children. When they moved to Crow Lake, she began selling Gold Medal products — greeting cards, seeds, etc — door to door.

“I got a slip in the order sheets saying they wanted pen pals,” she said. “So I thought why not?

“I sent a letter and within a few days, I got one back.”

They’ve been doing it ever since.

So, what do they write about to each other?

“They say you’re not supposed to write about religion or politics,” Whan said. “So we don’t.

“We just talk.”

A big topic of conversation is their kids. Whan had six and Greer had seven.

“The best letters were usually about what we got the kids for Christmas,” she said. “We both shopped out of the Sears Christmas Wish Book and we could tell each other what page and the colour we ordered.

“It was nothing to write eight pages or so.”

It’s not that they completely ignored what was going on around them in the world. When 9/11 happened, they talked about it.

“You couldn’t avoid it,” she said. “It was everywhere on TV for weeks.”

And there were other things that couldn’t be avoided, such as when Greer’s first husband took his own life, or when Whan’s second oldest, Vickie, died in an accident.

But mostly, they just talk.

They have met over the years.

“We went to Quebec the first time,” she said. “Then she came here with her first daughter about four or five years later.

“That was around ’59, I think.”

And Greer came to visit when Whan married her second husband, Doug, in 2000. (They’ve both been married twice.)

And they’re planning to meet up again in May if things work out, in Cornwall, which is about halfway between them.

“My second oldest, Brian (who is married to Doug’s daughter) thought we should do it and he’s arranging things,” she said. “We haven’t heard back yet.”

But even if they don’t meet up, the letters will continue, she said.

“Aren’t memories wonderful things?” she said. “I wouldn’t say having a pen pal has played a ‘major’ role in my life, but it is part of my life.

“We never talk about finances but we didn’t have any secrets from each other — we never held anything back.”

And has the content of the letters changed over the years?

“Not really,” she said. “Except that as we got older, we started telling about all our aches and pains.”

The trains keep on rollin’, the whistles keep on blowin’ and Crow Lake Village resident Donald Lafleur hasn’t given up his battle to at least cut down on the whistle-blowing part.

Lafleur was at Central Frontenac Council’s regular meeting Tuesday evening in Sharbot Lake to reiterate his request, as well as summarizing his bureaucratic adventures in seeking relief which includes a lengthy record of emails with various people at Transport Canada.

In December of 2016, Lafleur came to Central Frontenac Council asking for relief from the train whistles each time the train passes a crossing. He presented various documentation including Transport Canada’s procedure for whistling cessation, an eight-step process which includes the municipality making a request for cessation.

At the May 23, 2017 meeting of Central Frontenac Council, the following resolution was passed: “That the Council for the Township of Central Frontenac has reviewed all correspondence regarding the Train Whistle Cessation and based on costs and legal advice received, Council has elected not to proceed with the request.”

Lafleur said the issue was at least worth another look.

“Every time a train goes by, it whistles four times at each crossing,” Lafleur said. “There’s a crossing at each end of the hamlet plus we hear it from other crossings as far away as Tichborne.

“Some of them may not be as loud as when it comes through Crow Lake but each time we hear 24 whistles.”

He said he has confirmed that the trains in question are Canadian Pacific trains.

He said he and his partner took a train trip from Kingston to Toronto recently and “I would say more than half of the crossings didn’t have whistles.

“We’d be more than happy to do whatever is necessary to assist Council in this matter.’

Council passed a motion to receive Lafleur’s presentation.

Planner, for now
While Mayor Frances Smith recommended to Council they accept Frontenac County’s proposal to hire another planner “for the time being,” she also suggested there was still plenty of negotiation required before signing on for the long term.

At the Jan. 17 meeting, Frontenac County Council authorized the addition of a senior planner position, the reasoning being the increased workload the County planning department faces doing planning for North and Central Frontenac and the Frontenac Islands.

“There’s a three-year phase-in where our (Central Frontenac’s) costs would be $39,000 a year,” Smith said. “If that gets up around $60,000 a year, [which is slated to be the case in 2012 according to county staff calculations] then it might be more feasible for us to look at hiring consultants or to join with North Frontenac for planning.”

Clerk administrator Cathy MacMunn said the matter is scheduled for discussion at the next CAOs’ meeting and suggested North has similar feelings on the matter, a suggestion that surfaced at North Frontenac’s last Council meeting.

Changes to tax sale policy
As of Jan. 1, 2019, procedures regarding the tax sale process with the process beginning after properties fall into the two-year arrears category as opposed to the current three-year position. Treasurer Michael McGovern received Council’s permission to notify residents of the changes in their tax bills.

Coun. Brent Cameron expressed concern that “this catch some people off guard” because the three year window has been around a long time.

McGovern said the changes will mean he will have “about 100 more cases” than he regularly deals with because of the changes and he’s considering informing those people on coloured paper.

No plans yet for new council member
Council didn’t address the Council vacancy that opened up with the resignation of Jamie Riddell but Smith said it was scheduled for discussion at the next meeting (Feb. 8).

Eagle Lake pilot for septic program
The septic re-inspection committee announced that the 300 properties on Eagle Lake have been slated for its “pilot project.”

There were lots of smiling faces, full bellies and nimble fingers last Saturday at the Crow Lake School House for the Ardoch Algonquins holiday gathering. The event was co-sponsored by Apagadiwag Omamawi'ininiwag (Algonquin) Community development circle. This group is a cultural arm of the Ardoch Algonquin first nation that works with both heads of family and on multi-community initiatives such as this gathering which included a shared meal, turkey and ham raffles, song sharing, pouch-making for Tobacco and an explanation of the Apagadiwag Needs assessment project.

“Our focus isn’t on divisive political entities, we had people from Ardoch Algonquin, from Shabot Obadjewan, from Smiths Falls here today. Our focus is how to recover culture, language, ways of being. These things are needed in order to heal.” Said Paula Sherman, who will be spearheading the research part of the needs assessment. The group received a Trilium grant for the next year do this project.

They are looking to hear from people about their knowledge and also their needs. Figuring out what needs can be met within the community, and in what ways could social programming and medical care be more culturally sensitive to indigenous experiences, trauma and ways of being.

“We want to get a sense of who all the indigenous people are, where they are? Are their needs being met? We want the needs assessment to be less formal, more holistic we want to gather together and build relationships in a community way. We want to create a safe space for any first nations to come”. Said Rosa Barker, director/member of Apagadiwag Omamawi'ininiwag.

The room was anything but formal, it was warm from the fire and folks were visiting and nibbling around the tables. Kids ran around, finishing the pouches they had just made and stuffing them with dried tobacco.

“To me its a very special medicine, its good for you and good for the earth” 8 year old Sadie Barker-Badour shared.

“Asemaa is how you say tobacco in Anishnaabemowin” (the language spoken by the Anishinaabe people) her mother, Rosa, explained.

If you would like to participate in the Apagadiwag Omamawi'ininiwag needs assesment contact Paula Sherman This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 705-930-6226.

A good crowd attended the first ever Lost Trades and Handmades event at the Crow Lake schoolhouse on July 2. Above: Jennifer and Dean Fredette of Primitive Catering hosted the event and cooked up delicious burgers and kabobs. Exhibitors included Brian Connolly, who makes handforged knives; Leeds & Thousand Islands Foragers, who brought different wild foods for people to try; Kathy Martin of Dragonfly Herbs with her handmade soaps and lotions; the Enright Cattle Company with their leather bags; quilters from St. Paul’s United Church; and basketmaker Jule Koch. Alan Kitching on saxophone and clarinet, and Brian Roche on guitar and vocals, entertained visitors with music from the 30s, 40s and 50s.

There was a moment during Lloyd Arnold's service with the Canadian army when he could have left the special forces and become a member of the permanent army. Doing so would even have allowed him to shave a month off his one-year commitment in Korea.

“But I told them that if I could make it through 11 months I could do one more and that would be that.”

Arnold signed up in August of 1950. He was 19 years old at the time and was working for a pipe fitting company in Shawinigan when he decided to heed a call from Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent for volunteers to sign up for a special force for a “police action” in Korea.

Lloyd Arnold's father had served in the First World War, and was stationed for a time in Vladivostok. He also had two uncles in that war, one of whom rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. A number of Arnold's cousins served in WW2, including one who was killed in a bombing raid in 1942 and another who participated in D-Day and died nine days later in battle.

“Back in those days King and Country was something to me, and I thought I should do my part when the call came in 1950,” he said.

He signed up in August and then trained both in Washington State and later, in northern Japan, where he took a Vickers machine gun course.

“I expected to be a gunner after that training but one day and officer came into my barracks where I was sitting with a buddy of mine and he asked us if we wanted to take a drive. The next thing we knew we ended up in transport,” he said.

He landed in Korea in May, 1951 and spent the next 12 months ferrying ammunition from a depot to the troops who were holding a mountain range near the 38th parallel, land that today is likely part of the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea.

He remembers how cold it was in the winter. “I don't think my legs ever really thawed out the whole time, and the truck was wide open to the elements, so I remember how cold it was in there,” he said, but apart from that says he did not think much about the danger.

“We had a job to do and we did it. We were very young,” he said.

One thing he remembers was a special delivery he made at Christmas time in 1951, a truckload full of Labatt's 50 ale, one bottle for each soldier.

“They counted those bottles before I drove off and when I arrived; I do remember that,” he said.

When his tour was over, the men made their way back rather slowly, finally boarding a train on the west coast in July.

“We stopped in Calgary and came off the train to a big meal and reception for us,” he said, “and there were other events as we kept travelling east.”

When they got to Montreal, where his family was, “We got off at the Westmount Athletic Town. There were about 15 of us, and our families came to meet us. We left and went on our way and I never really thought about the war after that - and the government never thought about us either. They called it a police action for all those years, until 2009.”

Arnold went back to Shawinigan and got his old job back. He stayed in the same business for his entire career, including taking a degree in business management at McGill University.

Even though he lived in Canada, he worked for Celanese Corporation (US) for many years, handling their accounts across Canada.

After retiring in Kingston, he purchased a home, with his wife Gail, in Crow Lake about 14 years ago and they have been enjoying their retirement ever since.

Lloyd Arnold has been acknowledged for his war efforts by the Canadian government. In 1990 they sent him a medal, and in 2000 he received a letter from the US government thanking him for his contribution. In 2009 he also received a medal from the government of Japan.

Although the stayed away from the Royal Canadian Legion for many years, particularly since in earlier times Legion membership was not open to Korean war vets, but he has joined the Sharbot Lake Legion since moving to Crow Lake and is an active member.

He is not taking part in the Remembrance Day ceremony this year, however.

“I can't stand that long,” he said, adding that he might go to the Legion for the reception afterwards.

It is not often that someone gets to walk away significantly richer after a cow does her business in a field. But that was the case on August 2 when five-year-old Holstein dairy cow, Emmy-Lynn from Barr Farms in Burridge, answered the call of nature in a fenced field beside the Bedford Hall near Godfrey. 

In fact three individuals, Roger Bradley, Donna Stairs and John Parks, took home prize money totaling $3200 in the famous cow flop bingo, which offered up 1600 chances to win. The bingo has become a major draw at the annual Frontenac Frolic at the Bedford hall, a fundraiser for the Bobs and Crow Lakes Foundation that is now in its fourth year. The frolic included a huge indoor/outdoor flea market, bake sale, and silent auction with members of the association donating all of the items up for grabs. There was a canteen and numerous activities for kids that included a petting zoo, pony rides and more.
The foundation is the financial funding arm of the Greater Bobs and Crow Lake Association, which boasts over 250 members who together are committed to enhancing and preserving the water and air quality, nature and wildlife in and around the lakes and educating residents about how best to do just that. The GBCLA is one of the first lake associations to create its own funding arm and it was created in 2005. On average the frolic raises upwards of $10,000 each year for the foundation and the funds raised are used to support the numerous projects initiated by the association.
Susan O'Brien MacTaggart, past president of the foundation and currently a sitting board member, outlined the recent projects that are underway. They include fish restocking, placing fire pumps around the lakes and providing boating guides to all the boaters on the two lakes. Other projects will also be announced later this year.
MacTaggart said that it is important to have a foundation in order to be able to independently raise funds for lake area projects since provincial grants are fast becoming harder to acquire. “Since forming the foundation in 2005 we are now able to independently raise funds for our own projects. We have successfully not only become a charitable foundation in Canada but have also received clearance in the US by the IRS, so that anyone who owns a home or cottage here can receive a tax receipt for any donations or bequests that they make."
For more information visit the foundation's website at www.bobs-and-crow-lakes.org and /or the association's website at bobsandcrowlakes.ca

Leah Neumann is a wiry, athletic, 9-year-old girl. She does just about everything she wants to do. Whether that means climbing trees, doing somersaults, riding a bike, swimming or kayaking on the lake.

She lives with her two sisters and parents, who run Brown’s Campground on Crow Lake. At the camp there are lots of opportunities for Leah to enjoy outdoor activities. She has to improvise sometimes because she lost her right arm just below the elbow when she was a baby as the result of a congenital condition.

In order to do everything she wants to do, Leah needs devices, and thanks to support from the War Amps CHAMP (Child Amputees Program), her parents Angie and Dana are able to get her whatever she needs.

“We just call Smith Prosthetics in Ottawa and they are generally able to figure something out. And the War Amps have always been there to cover the costs. From the time Leah was a baby until now, they have been there,” said Angie Neumann.

Leah has a prosthetic arm and hand, with electronic controls so she can control the hand, as well as an arm with attachments for gymnastics and other sports. She also has a bicycle arm that is attached to her bike frame, as well as a guitar pick attachment. She recently started kayaking, and after a long paddle found that her right shoulder was quite sore, so she will need something new to grip the paddle, and Smith’s is working on something.

“Do you want to see how my biking arm works?” she said when visited earlier this week at the Brown’s camp. She then jumped on her bike and pedaled down the yard to the edge of the water, turning just as the ground began to slope and then pedaled hard up the hill, a smile on her face, her arm steady on the handle bars.

As she grows, she needs new equipment frequently.

“There is no way we can cover all of this,” said Angie, “everything is custom made and custom fit for Leah each time.”

Earlier in July, Leah went with her parents to the semi-annual CHAMPS seminar, which brings her together with other children who are missing limbs. For Leah the camaraderie is important, and she also gets to hang out with her friend Olivia from Merrickville, whom she has known since before she can remember.

For her parents the first one or two CHAMPS seminars they attended with Leah were perhaps even more important.

“It helped us to talk to other parents. We did not really know what we were dealing with at first but with all the information that was available and the support from everyone it was a help to us.”

The Amputees in Action session is a feature of every seminar. It is an opportunity for children to demonstrate their athletic skills and the devices that help them improve those skills. This year Leah took part in the seminar by doing some tumbling using her gymnastics ‘shroom attachment on her utility arm. Next time around she might be showing her kayaking claw.

This fall Leah will be switching schools from Loughborough Public School, where she has been attending since she was in Kindergarten, to Sharbot Lake. She will be in grade 4, starting in the old Sharbot Lake Public School site, but she is looking forward to attending at Granite Ridge when the new school is completed.

The War Amps CHAMP is funded solely through public support of the War Amps Key Tag and Address Label Service.

“It is good for people who support the Key Tags to know that there are kids in their own community who are helped out by the program” said Angie Neumann.

Oil clean-up takes a week

As reported last week, within a few short hours of presenting a proposed Beaver bylaw to Central Frontenac Council, Public Works Manager Mike Richardson was rushing over to the Crow Lake Road to deal with the washout of two roads and resulting damage to neighbouring properties, which was caused when an old beaver dam let out after major rainstorms in the preceding days.

The washout took place very close to the location where a home was destroyed in 2006, but fortunately this time around the damage was less severe. However, an outdoor oil tank was ripped off the wall of a waterfront home, and ended up submerged in Crow Lake. Fire crews retrieved the tank, but not before it had spilled much of its contents into the lake.

“The property owner’s insurance company covered the cost of the clean-up, which is fortunate,” said Central Frontenac Fire Chief Bill Young.

Although the main house, which is a summer rental property, was undamaged, an enclosed porch that was attached to it has been destroyed. The property owner will not be compensated for that damage, nor will neighbours who are facing relatively minor damage to their grounds and driveways.

“The insurance companies are telling them they are not covered for high water, although the water in this case did not come from the lake,” Young said.

As the result of the oil spilling into Crow Lake, a water advisory was issued by Kingston Frontenac Public Health. Residents living in the vicinity of the lake were told to monitor their well water.

“If your water smells like fuel oil, stop using the water for all activities, including bathing and doing laundry,” the caution said.

Even a week later, after crews had been working in the lake and on the shoreline, the advisory was still in place. The Ministry of the Environment, clean up crews, and municipal officials were to meet at the site on Wednesday, June 19 to make an assessment, and it is hoped the advisory can be lifted.

The water took out almost 500 metres of the Cross Road, which is located uphill from the Crow Lake Road, in addition to a smaller washout on Crow Lake Road. The Cross Road, which is a gravel road, was repaired by the following morning. The Crow Lake Road was re-opened within hours of the incident, but it will need a further repair in the coming weeks.

“The culvert which runs under the road was not damaged, but it is old and in need of replacing soon, and since we will have to do some other work to that road to ensure it is secure, we are going to replace the culvert as well,” said Mike Richardson.

He is hopeful that all of the clean up work and repairs can be completed without affecting the Public Works budget, although other scheduled work for this summer may be delayed as a result.

Crews from Canadian Pacific were also on site the day after the flood because the rail line runs between the height of land where the dam let out and the Cross Road. No damage was reported on the line, and although trains were slowed down on the night of the spill, traffic has resumed as normal.

The dam that burst is not in the same location as the one in 2006. Mike Richardson said that a new dam has replaced the one that let out in 2006, and it is holding back a deep pond that encompasses dozens of acres.

He will be meeting with CP officials at the site of that new dam to see if there is a way to release water in a controlled fashion and avoid a spill in the near future.

“The flood last week was not as severe by any means as the one in 2006,” said Richardson, “and we hope we can do something to avoid another large flood in the coming weeks or months."