In the early ’70s, there was no fire protection in Barrie Township. Around 1972, Barrie purchased fire protection.

In 1990 the Fire Marshall’s office conducted a survey and a new department, the Kaladar-Barrie Fire Department was formed.

In 1998, municipal amalgamations took place but the Kaladar-Barrie Fire Department remained the same.

This past year, Loomex Training and Consulting conducted a North Frontenac Fire Review, an independent study on the level of fire service in Ward 1, as compared to Wards 2 and 3.

Last Friday, the Council of Addington Highlands met with their counterparts in North Frontenac in Plevna to discuss the results and recommendations of the study.

The study concluded that the level of service in the three North Frontenac Wards is very similar in the way they respond, the training standards, the challenge of recruitment and retention, the infrastructure and the daily operations.

“There is a difference, however, in how the departments are being managed, as well as differences in public education, fire prevention and inspections,” the report concluded.

As such, the report gave five recommendations as well as five service level options to be considered.

At the end of the day, however, things stayed pretty much status quo as both Councils passed identical resolutions.

About the only things changing are that Kaladar-Barrie Chief Casey Cuddy will present the Ward 1 budget to both Councils and a financial audit to ensure that the current 50/50 cost sharing is correct will be “discussed at the next Joint Fire Committee meeting.”

Both Councils agreed that the level of service has been working for some time now and took a don’t-fix-what-isn’t-broke attitude.

“The arrangements have been in place for four decades now and I’m not hearing people complaining about the service they’re getting at a car accident or house fire,” said Addington Highlands Dep. Mayor Tony Fritsch.

“I don’t think the service in Ward 1 is different than in Ward 2 or 3,” said North Frontenac Coun. Fred Perry.

When it was suggested that it might be an option for North Frontenac to simply purchase protection from its neighbour, Addington Highlands Reeve Henry quickly put an end to the idea by saying that while his Township might be able to afford half a pumper, the entire truck was essentially out of the question.

He also worried that without Ward 1 residents, they might have trouble fielding enough recruits for a fire department, especially when they’d still have to cover Highways 41 and 7.

Lennox and Addington Ontario Provincial Police received a report of an erratic driver on Highway 7 near Kaladar on July 13, 2019 near 4 PM. A driver was located at a local business. As a result of an investigation, A Peterborough area driver has been charged.

Michael John OCONNER aged 52 years has been charged with:

Operation while impaired - blood alcohol concentration (80 plus)

The accused had his driver's licence suspended for seven days and his vehicle was impounded for seven days. The accused will appear In Ontario Court of Justice in Napanee, at a later date.

It has been years since the Kaladar Hotel closed down, and for quite a long time before it closed, it was a struggle to remain open in a changing tourist region. It has also been a few years since the Ministry of Transportation purchased the property with the intention of tearing down the hotel and using the adjacent land as part of a planned redesign of the Hwy7/Hwy. 41 junction. The highway work is still pending, but this week the building was demolished.

The storied history of the Kaladar Hotel will be the subject of a meeting of the Cloyne and District Historical Society on May 19 at the Barrie Hall in Cloyne, starting at 1pm.

A request from the Too Far, Too Fast organization for Addington Highlands to declare itself an ‘unwilling host’ for any marijuana distribution operations once it becomes legal July 1 seemed to garner the most discussion at Council’s regular meeting Tuesday afternoon in Flinton.

“Is there any point to declaring ourselves unwilling?” said Coun. Tony Fritsch. “The government did say municipalities would have some input but we haven’t heard from them yet and they likely wouldn’t listen to us anyway.”

“A lot of things are like that,” said Reeve Henry Hogg.

Clerk-treasurer Christine Reed said she understood that the 14 municipalities who would have sales outlets have had some input.

“It used to be with alcohol a municipality could declare itself dry but who’s to stop somebody from going to Kingston or Belleville to get it?” said Dep. Reeve Helen Yanch.

“And what’s in it for us?” said Hogg.

“You mean other than cost?” said Fritsch.

“They’re not telling us anything,” said Coun. Bill Cox. “Will they be giving us anything?”

“I’d like to have some input if it’s available in our area,” said Fritsch.

“Our only option might be to wait until they say ‘hey, Addington Highlands, we’re looking at this in your area,’” said Reed. “We have had a couple of calls about zoning and where you could put a greenhouse.”

“When a taxpayer starts his own business, they call it a ‘grow-op,’” said Cox. “When the government does it, it’s a ‘greenhouse.’”

Community Transportation grant
Clerk-treasurer Christine Reed sought out and received Council’s approval to begin drafting an application to the Community Transportation Grant Program for a five-year grant that would lead to the implementation of of a twice-monthly bus service to various locations such as Napanee, Belleville, Renfrew and Bancroft for various services. The service would be available to the general public and there would be a fee.

She said the funding would be used to cover staffing and administrative costs as well as the busing costs.

Reed said the actual routes are still being determined in consultation with Land O’ Lakes Community Services and the community to determine interest in such a program.

“Thought would have to be given to the sustainability of the program at the end of the five years when the funding was depleted,” she said.

“So, the assumption we’re making is that after five years the fund could be zero because nobody can afford to administer it,” said Coun. Tony Fritsch.

“There used to be bus service every week but we just couldn’t sustain it,” said Reeve Henry Hogg.

Newsletter changes
Clerk-treasurer Christine Reed presented Council with a draft newsletter.

“A lot of people don’t notice the newsletter and it’s been the same for about 10 years so we’re trying a little different format,” she said.

“There’s no mention of my phone number anywhere on it,” said Reeve Henry Hogg.

“It’s on the website and people can call the Township for it,” said Reed.

“They usually call me to find out the Township number,” said Hogg.

“I think it would be wise to put the Council members’ names in,” said Coun. Bill Cox.

“But no pictures,” said Hogg.

“I guess they know who you are since they voted you in,” said Cox.

Dump hours
Roads/bridges supervisor Brett Reavie got Council’s approval to change winter hours of operation at Township dump sites to eliminate operating in the dark.

Although it won’t be immediate, Kaladar will change to 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

“There’s no lights and after dark it becomes a safety issue,” Reavie said.

He’s also looking at changing the winter and summer hours at Vennachar and summer hours at MacKavoy for the same reason.

He said they’re still working on snow removal at Weslemkoon and “it’s probably going to be April when we’re done.”

Still with dump sites, Reavie said the Ministry has asked for information on two of the dump sites that were closed.

“They asked for information on Denbigh and Kaladar and that’s what I gave them,” he said.

“There’s a house on one of them,” said Coun. Bill Cox.

Reavie said he has yet to receive any negative feedback on the previous recent changes to dump procedures and fees.

On July 31, 2017 at 12:30 in the afternoon officers with the Kaladar Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police responded to a head on collision on Highway 41 at Ashley Road.

Witnesses reported that one of the vehicles had crossed the centre line. The female driver was pronounced dead at scene and an autopsy is scheduled for today. The male driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

The collision is being investigated by the OPP's Technical Traffic Collision Investigators.

It’s been a rather topsy-turvy year for The Spud Box owner Jerry Sommut.

After finding out just before Christmas that MTO had bought the property he had been operating on at the corner of Hwy. 7 and 41 in Kaladar and a chip truck wasn’t in their plans, he thought he’d found a new home at the corner of 7 and Road 38. But it turned out that Central Frontenac didn’t really have a bylaw governing chip trucks per se and when opposition arose to him being there, the Township decided it needed one.

So, despite the fact that he’d already paid the Township $1,000 as well as rent, he decided to remove his chip trailer without having ever opened or selling a single burger.

“People were calling the bylaw officer and I wasn’t even open yet,” he said. “I was just getting ready.”

He did, however, manage to work out a deal with MTO for this year and is selling chips and burgers a few metres from where his operation had been for seven years. But it’s temporary.

And he still plans to be in Sharbot Lake once everything gets worked out.

“I’m not mad, just upset at the process,” he said. “But I understand.

“I have all the necessary certifications and I’m ready when they are.

“I will open up there.”

Sommut comes from a long line of cooks starting with his grandmother who was the head chef on a Great Lakes freighter. His introduction to the business of food was helping her.

“They ‘snuck’ me onto the ship and I helped my grandmother,” he said. “It was her kitchen and she ran it that way.”

As he grew up, his family owned several restaurants and he even had one himself in Tamworth that specialized in perch and pickerel.

“I’d still like to do that again,” he said.

But Sharbot Lake appeals to him the most, not the least of which because he owns property on St. Georges Lake. And, he believes the area has great potential.

“I know I’m going to bring business to Sharbot Lake,” he said. “If I’m serving 1,000 to 1,500 burgers a day, at least one of those customers is going to make the trip through town down to the lake.

“And I don’t sell pizza or wings so if people want those, I’ll tell them exactly where they can get them in town.”

He seems to genuinely enjoy his customers, chatting up everyone and extolling the virtues of his “custom-made, six-ounce burger” while three others are busily moving about the trailer grilling, cleaning and deep-frying.

“You know, we’ve been getting a lot of Arden people coming in for burgers,” he said. “We’re actually closer for them than Sharbot Lake and they’re all saying ‘we’re glad you’re back.’”

He regrets any hard feelings from the spring meeting in Sharbot Lake about a proposed bylaw and said he’s prepared to do whatever he can to set things straight.

“Let’s have that meeting again,” he said.

As part of its ongoing effort to control the volume of waste entering its sites, Addington Highlands Council considered purchasing a manual lift gate to stop vehicles at the entrance to the Kaladar site in order for waste attendants to be able to inspect the load and ensure township diversion rules are being followed.

The cost of a solar powered automatic lift arm gate came in at almost $5,000. Deputy Mayor Bill Cox asked if one of the cheaper options that was also included in a report by Roads and Waste Supervisor Mark Freeburn would be a better choice.

“What if we move the little hut to the front, narrow the lane-way with some traffic cones, and put up a stop sign. That might be enough,” Cox said.

“We could try that for a year, and see if it works,” said Freeburn.

Freeburn said he will have to determine if the hut can be easily moved, and if so he will make the change.

The life expectancy of the Kaladar dump has been shortened in recent years, which is one of the reasons that the township is now refusing to accept construction waste, but it still accepts furniture.

A resident in attendance at the meeting asked why the township does not collect garbage from people’s homes as they do in  urban areas.

“I’m a senior and I can’t manage those large bags. Why can’t I at least buy my bags at Wallmart” she said. The township requires all household garbage to be dumped in clear bags purchased from the township.

“I’m a senior as well, and by the time we recycle there is not much left to go in the waste pile,” said Reeve Henry Hogg. “Besides picking up garbage would cost way more than we can afford in our waste budget. We can barely afford what it costs to maintain and monitor our sites.

As of April 5, new tipping fees will be in place. Small loads, measuring 1’ x 4’ x 8’ will cost $15, box springs, mattresses, appliances, sofas and carpets will all cost $30, fiberglass boats $100 and a ½ ton load of shingles will cost $35.

3.9 million in construction in 2016
Permits for construction worth an estimated $3.9 million were sold in Addington Highlands last year. That is up by almost $1 million from 2015 and is $135,000 shy of the total for 2014.

Ninety residential permits were sold in the township. The total value of new construction was $2.45 million. $1.4 million worth of additions and renovations were undertaken, and only $53,500 in commercial construction was undertaken.

The investigation by the Office of the Fire Marshal and Emergency Management into the fatal fire in Brampton, on Tuesday, February 14, 2017, revealed that there were no smoke alarms present in the residence.

The Kaladar Barrie & Denbigh fire departments are urging the public to make sure that they have working smoke alarms on every storey of their home and outside all sleeping areas.  Have and practice a home fire escape plan with everyone in their home.

Early detection and warning of a fire in your home is crucial to your survival,” said Fire Chief Cuddy. “The Ontario Fire Code requires working smoke alarms on every storey of the home and outside all sleeping areas. For added protection, our fire department is recommending that you also install a smoke alarm in every bedroom. Larger homes may require additional smoke alarms. It is against the law for anyone to remove the batteries or tamper with an alarm in any way.”

Just as important as having working smoke alarms is making sure everyone in your home knows exactly what to do to escape BEFORE a fire occurs. It is up to you to make sure these types of tragedies do not happen in your home or cottage,” continued Chief Cuddy.

• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms can save your life:
  Install smoke alarms on every storey and outside all sleeping areas of your home. For added protection, install a smoke alarm in every bedroom according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
• Install carbon monoxide alarms outside all sleeping areas if your home has a fuel-burning appliance, fireplace or attached garage. For added protection, install a carbon monoxide alarm on every storey of your home according to manufacturer’s recommendations.
• Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms monthly by pressing the test button.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms wear out over time. Replace alarms according to manufacturer’s recommendations.

Give your family a fighting chance with a home fire escape plan:

• Everyone should know two ways out of each room, if possible.
• All exits must be unobstructed and easy to use.
• If someone in your home has a disability, develop an escape plan with your household that takes into account their unique needs. Determine who will be responsible for helping young children, older adults and anyone who needs assistance to escape.
• Choose a meeting place outside, such as a tree or a lamp post, where everyone can be accounted for.
• Call the fire department from outside the home, from a cell phone or neighbour’s home.
• Practice your home fire escape plan.
• Once out, stay out. Never re-enter a burning building.

If you are a landlord:

• It is your responsibility to ensure your rental properties have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in compliance with the law.

If you are a tenant of a rental property:

• Contact your landlord immediately, if your rental property does not have the required number of working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Theft of tire and rims worth $7,600

On January 25th, 2017 at 3 p.m. an officer with the Kaladar detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a theft of tires and rims from the FORD dealership on Highway 7 in Kaladar.

The tires and rims were removed from the bed of an F350 pickup truck parked in the lot between Saturday January 21st and Sunday January 22nd. The tires are Michelin LTX AT and the rims FC32 - 1007A 20” wheels worth $7,600.

Vandalism at Prince Charles

Sometime between 3:00pm on Sunday January 29, 2017 and 6:00 am Monday January 30, 2017, culprit(s) smashed 7 windows at Prince Charles Public School in Verona, South Frontenac Township.

Estimated damage is approximately $5,000. Frontenac Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) along with the assistance of OPP Forensic Identification Unit is investigating the vandalism.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents should immediately contact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1–888–310–1122 or leave an anonymous online message at www.helpsolvecrime.com.

On Sunday, December 4th, 2016 at 5:10 pm officers with the Kaladar detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a fatal motor vehicle collision on Highway 7.

A tractor- trailer travelling westbound on Highway 7 and a Subaru Forester travelling eastbound collided head-on approximately 2 km west of Highway 41 near Kaladar.  
OPP Technical Traffic Collision Investigators attended the scene to assist with determining the cause of the collision.

Preliminary investigation determined that the Subaru crossed into the path of the tractor trailer for an unknown reason.

The driver of the Subaru, 70 year-old Brian WARD and his passenger, 67 year-old Mary WARD, both of Ottawa were pronounced deceased at the scene.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 59 year-old Ottawa man, was transported to hospital for minor injuries.
A post-mortem examination is being conducted on the deceased driver today.