Feature Article - December 6, 2007

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Feature Article - December 6, 2007 Christmas CelebrationsSanta Claus Parades took place just about everywhere last weekend: Harrowsmith, Parham/Tichborne, Sharbot Lake, Ompah/Plevna, Kaladar and Denbigh. Above Majorettes from the Kaladar parade. Below: Mini ATV rider reaches for some candy in Sharbot Lake. Photos: Meghan Balogh

Below left: Mater from the movie 'Cars', sponsored by Cornell Auto Sales of Wilton, joined the Harrowsmith parade. Below right: Colleen and Bill Kendall leading the carol sing at the Verona Tree Lighting.Photo: Louise Day

Below left: Santa Claus in the Harrowsmith parade. Below right: Snow didn't stop the North Addington Education Centre's secondary music class as the serenaded the elementary division las Friday, during the annual jingle Bell Run.

Back to HomeFeature Article - March 5, 2009 Addington Highlands CouncilBy Jeff Green

Monitoring of Kaladar Waste site –

“Here we have our favourite topic, it seems, the Kaladar Waste site,” said Deputy Reeve Helen Yanch, sitting in for Henry Hogg to chair this week’s Council meeting (March 2).

Council received a report from Quinte–Eco Consultants regarding leachate, groundwater, surface water and gas found in and around at the Kaladar waste site. The report was based on tests that were conducted in the spring, summer, and fall of 2008.

The test results showed there have been impacts on the groundwater in the vicinity of the site, such as increased ph levels, iron and manganese levels, etc. but “no health related parameters exceed the 'Ontario Drinking Water Standards'”.

The waste site is located near wetlands and therefore monitoring is necessary on a consistent basis. The report recommends that a monitoring and sampling program be continued in 2009, and this was accepted by Council.

“I don't think we have a choice,” said Councillor Eythel Grant.

The recommendations were accepted.

Rec. club has ambitious plans – As outlined in a letter to Council, the Flinton Recreation Club would like to enlarge the existing canteen on the grounds, a project that could include building a storage shed for a zamboni that they may be able to acquire. They are seeking council's “support and funding if necessary”. They hope to be able to get a grant from the Hydro Power Play Program to cover the expansion.

The second thing they want to do is put in a coverall for the outdoor rink. This is described in the letter as a “massive project” for which the club will need Council's “permission, guidance and financial support to obtain estimates, expertise, knowledgeable advice, etc. to move forward this project for our community.”

Club President Duane Thibault proposed to meet with Council to discuss the proposal.

Doctor recruitment ad – Ken Hook sent a letter to Council proposing that the township purchase an ad in the Bon Echo tabloid that is “presented each year to 180,000 visitors.”

Of those, a number might be health care professionals who might like to practice in the area if they knew an opportunity existed. The ad would direct readers to the Friends of Bon Echo web site, which would contain a link to the Addington Highlands Doctor Recruitment site.

Council agreed to purchase a 3” by 4” ad for $350.

Half loads on this Sunday – Anyone with major hauling to do should think about trucking this week, because half loads on township roads will be enforced as of Sunday, March 8th, said roads supervisor Royce Rosenblath.

This is consistent with previous years.

“The restrictions will be enforced whether the roads are frozen or not,” Rosenblath said.

Tower upgrades – A letter was received from the lawyers for Bell, Telus and Rogers, which said “one or more of them will be looking to improve the quality of their wireless service in this area within the next 12 months.”

The letter goes on to point out that communications towers are federally regulated and are not bound by municipal zoning laws.

It suggests that a protocol for a consultation process be followed in the mutual interest of providers and the township.

Council passed a resolution to adopt the process and appointed Reeve Hogg to be the township contact for it.

Flinton Bridge construction – Royce Rosenblath reported the Flinton bridge construction is now on track and will “hopefully be completed on time.”

(Information for the following was gathered from the books “The Oxen and the Axe”, and “Lennox and Addington”, which was written by Orland French, although the sections that were used here were written by Marg Axford)

Photo right: Drive the Mississippi, courtesy The Oxen and the Axe

It takes about 45 minutes to drive the roughly 65 kilometres between Kaladar and Denbigh on Highway 41. Starting with the push up Kaladar Hill, the route meanders through rocky, swampy ground until it passes through Northbrook. It then passes over rolling hills, passes along the shoreline of Mazinaw Lake and then heads over hillier and hillier vistas until it reaches Denbigh Lake.

Highway 41 follows pretty much the same route that was laid out by the Perry brothers (Aylesworth B. and Ebenezer) back in 1854 when they oversaw the building of the Addington (a.k.a. Perry) Road. The new road opened up the “back” country to enhance the logging industry and encourage settlement on lands that were thought to have the makings of good farmland.

In the 19th century, the trip along the old Addington Road from Kaladar to Denbigh took the better part of two days to complete. In the book “Lennox and Addington” (Orland French – 2010) the trip is described in the following way: “It was a tiring and sometimes painful experience, up and down endless hills, over bumpy corduroy and around rocks and massive tree stumps.”

There was an easier route to the west, along a well-established Aboriginal trail that ran near the shoreline of the Skootamatta River as far as Flinton.

The region, which had remained in the same state for thousands of years, had been severely impacted by economic interests long before the Addington Road was built. In the 1830s and '40s, drawn by the abundance of white and red pine, logging companies came to the region and they found they could send logs to markets in several directions.

Mazinaw Lake is a headwater lake for the Mississippi River system, draining into the Ottawa River. Skootamatta Lake is a headwater lake for the Moira River system, which drains into Lake Ontario. Just south of Mazinaw, Story Lake is a headwater lake for the Salmon River, which also drains into Lake Ontario, while to the north at Denbigh the lakes drain into the Madawaska River.

This made for a number of water routes for logs to travel to sawmills at major centres, and the seemingly endless supply of lumber from what are now Addington Highlands and North Frontenac townships was decimated by the early years of the 20th century.

With the development of the Addington Road later on, settlement in the area was encouraged for farming purposes, under the mistaken belief that once the pines were gone the land left behind would be rich farmland. But with the trees went whatever topsoil had built up over the granite rock since the last ice age, leaving several generations of settlers with a hard rock existence, trying to eke out a living from an unforgiving land.

Until the loggers left, struggling farmers were able to sell goods to the logging camps, and pick up seasonal work logging as well, but the 20th century brought hard times to the settlements along the Addington Road/Hwy. 41 corridor, although the return of logging with the building of the Sawyer-Stoll sawmill and company town, which was a major employer between the 1930s and 1960s, provided some economic relief.

With rock comes prospecting, and there have been several attempts to establish mines in the region. The Golden Fleece mine near Flinton was started up in 1881 and remained in operation until 1940, but was never a particularly lucrative property because of low-grade ore. Two smaller gold mines, the Star of the East and Ore Chimney mines, were established in 1903 and 1902 respectively in Barrie Township near Cloyne, but never had much success. Near Denbigh, the Jewell Ruby mine was established. It was the dream-child of J.H. Jewell of Toronto and garnets were the rubies that were being sought, but again the grade of the ore was less than ideal. For a time the low-grade garnets were a viable commodity for use in sandpaper, but eventually even that demand dried up.

Tourism has turned out to be a more viable economic activity in the region, with the same lakes and woodlands that drew the interest of lumbermen a century earlier drawing the attention of canoeists, hunters and fishers, summer cottagers and campers.

The foundation of the tourism industry in the region had an unlikely early boost in the mid-1890s from an Ohio dentist's honeymoon. Although Dr. Weston Price lived and worked in Cleveland, he was originally from Newburgh.

The Prices spent their honeymoon camping in the shadow of Mazinaw Rock on the narrows of Mazinaw Lake, near the Tapping family farm. They became so enamoured with the place that they purchased the land around the narrows and built the Bon Echo Inn by the end of 1899. The Inn attracted wealthy tourists from the United States and Canada and gave the region a profile in major cities throughout the Eastern Seaboard. The Inn was sold to Flora MacDonald in 1910. MacDonald was an ardent spiritualist and admirer of Walt Whitman, and although Whitman never visited Bon Echo, she went so far as to have a memorial to him chiselled on the Mazinaw/Bon Echo Rock on the occasion of his centenary in 1919. After Flora died her son Merrill Denison inherited the hotel, and during the 1920s it became a host to members of the Group of Seven and others.

As it turns out, just last week an Arthur Lismer painting called “Bon Echo Rock” sold for $778,750 at a Sotheby's art auction, demonstrating the enduring public fascination with the Group of 7 and Bon Echo.

The depression put an end to a prosperous decade for the hotel, which burned down in 1935. Merrill Denison continued to spend summers at Bon Echo and he was involved in the conversion of his property, and other surrounding lands, into Bon Echo Provincial Park, which to this day remains the singular most popular tourist destination on Highway 41.

KALADAR – Transportation Hub

Photo right: The kaladar Hotel, c1925, courtesy The Oxen and the Axe

The history of the village of Kaladar is connected to the era of motorized transport. Until the Canadian Pacific Railway came through in 1884, there was only sporadic settlement in the area, but with the arrival of the railroad, lumber began to be transported to Kaladar to be loaded onto rail cars. The first post office was established at the start of 1885. For 30 years after that, there were a number of jobs, both manual labour and office jobs, available in Kaladar with the railroad and lumber companies. The CPR shifted its focus to the south in 1915, building a line on Lake Ontario, and with the lumber industry having already fallen, Kaladar suffered. When Highways 7 and 41 were built in the ‘30s, the good times returned, and commercial ventures sprung up at the north end of the village on the highway. There were several garages in Kaladar in the 1950s and the Kaladar Hotel, which had been moved to the edge of Highway 7, thrived. The hotel closed in 2007. The Kaladar Planing Mill, a division of the Sawyer Stoll Company, operated in Kaladar until 1968.

Among the businesses that have come and gone in Kaladar, Bence Motors, founded in 1946, continues to operate as a family-run Ford dealership, garage and service centre. The Kaladar Public School, which was closed in 1971 when North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne was opened, was sold to the Kaladar Community Club. The club, which was founded in 1944, took possession of the Kaladar Community Centre on its 30th anniversary year in 1974. By making judicious use of government grants, the club has been refurbished a couple of times since then, and a youth centre was added in the early 2000s. It is also the headquarters of the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association, which was also founded locally in the 1940s.

Glenda Bence was the president of the association when the centre was established in 1974, and remained in that position until her death in 2007.

To this day, as the population is scattered throughout the countryside, the Kaladar Community Centre is the glue that knits the community together.

NORTHBROOK

Northbrook is a community that owes its existence to the Addington Road. Until the road was built, Glastonbury, located to the east along what is now Glastonbury Road, being located on Beaver Creek, was the site of the local mill, and other commerce built up around it. The two communities were both active until the school in Glastonbury burned down in the 1920s and a new one was built in Northbrook. Some of the businesses that have made Northbrook the commercial and administrative centre of the township of Addington Highlands today, were originally started up by families that are still prominent in the local community. Cas and Lulu Thompson started a grocery store in 1915, a business that was later purchased by Alf and Lulu Northey, who added it to their undertaking business. In the 1950s, John Bolton senior ran the major tourist hotel in Northbrook.

In the 1990s, community members teamed up with Land O'Lakes Community Services to obtain government approval and support to build the Pine Meadow Nursing Home. Today, the nursing home is the largest employer in the town, and is working hard on upgrading its services. This will not only secure Pine Meadow’s existence and provincial funding well into the future, it will also build on the home’s role as a health care centre. The recent announcement that the Northbrook Medical Clinic will become a Family Health Team underpins the role of Northbrook as a centre for medical and social services.

Although it sparked a certain amount of controversy, a stop light was put in by the Ministry of Transportation at the corner of Hwy. 41 and Peterson Road a couple of years ago, right in the middle of Northbrook where the Foodland and Bank of Montreal branches are located. The stoplight was put in to address the needs of seniors who live up the road at the Pineview Seniors apartments, but as the only traffic light on Hwy. 41, it marks the central role that Northbrook has established for itself in the region. Not bad for a town that once was called Dunham and only boasted 25 inhabitants.

FLINTON 

Photo right: The Skootamatta River at Flinton

Its location on the Skootamatta River made Flinton a settlement earlier than any other village in what is now Addington Highlands. In fact there is archaeological evidence that it was a seasonal Aboriginal settlement before the coming of European immigrants. Before roads were built and the land grant system was set up in the latter half of the 19th century, squatters made their way along an ancient trail on the route that is now County Road 29 between Flinton and Actinolite.

There is also a possibility that Samuel Champlain spent a winter on the Skootamatta River at Flinton, although he may have been further to the southwest on the Moira.

In the 1850s, a Belleville-based entrepreneur and future member of the Canadian senate, Billa Flint, built a grist and sawmill in what became known as Flints Mills. In 1859 the town was named Flinton and 98 small building lots were laid out in a grid formation along seven streets, forming a core village that remains intact to this day.

Unlike much of the land along the Hwy. 41 corridor, there was some reasonable farmland in the vicinity of Flinton, and a number of families raised sheep, but wolves/coyotes were a constant problem.

When the lumber industry collapsed early in the 20th century it hit Flinton harder than some other communities because Flinton is located several kilometres west of the Addington Road (and later, Hwy. 41). The Stewart Hotel, which was built just outside of the village boundary when Billa Flint was still a force (Flint maintained Flinton as a dry town) burned down in 1989.

No longer a centre for business and commerce, Flinton remains a population and recreation centre thanks to the existence of Flinton Recreation Centre and the fact that the Flinton Recreation Club is alive and kicking. Flinton is the location of a thriving Jamboree on the August long weekend, and as of this week, has also become the regional host village for the Cancer Society’s Relay for Life.

CLOYNE 

Photo right: Wheelers Store, Cloyne, courtesy Cloyne Historical Society

When North Addington Education Centre opened in 1971, it established Cloyne as an education and training centre. The village also is the home of the Pioneer Museum and is the closest centre to Bon Echo Park, which brings a steady flow of people through Cloyne all year round.

In addition to the tourist population, seasonal residents on Mazinaw, Skootamatta, Marble, and Mississagagon lakes spend up to five months a year living in the vicinity. Cloyne is unique among the villages along Hwy. 41 in that it straddles two townships (and two counties as well) and is the hub community for the Barrie ward of North Frontenac Township, as well as being one of the largest population centres in Addington Highlands.

The Irish heritage of many of the early settlers in Cloyne is reflected in its name, which is taken from a Village in County Cork, Ireland.

The first post office in Cloyne was opened in 1859, and the village grew quickly after that. The first hotel, the Wickware Hotel (which burned down in 1963) was built in 1864. The first school was opened in 1868 and a number of other trades and businesses necessary for a self-sufficient village in the 19th century (blacksmith shop, general store, etc.) all followed in due course. Many families that continue to be active in Cloyne today can trace their routes to pioneer days. For example, there are a number of Sniders in Cloyne today, and they can trace their family heritage back to Charles Snider, who built a sawmill and log slide on Marble Lake at the end of what is now Head Road. The business was sold to Peter McLaren (of the McLaren/Caldwell feud that is so prominent in the logging history of Lanark County). Although Charles returned to his home in Ernestown, three of his sons so preferred the rugged life in the 'back' country of the north to the easy life in the 'front' country to the south, that they stayed behind.

Today Cloyne is a centre for the building trade, as seasonal residents continually upgrade their cottages and year-round homes. There are three hardware/building supply stores in the vicinity of the village (Cloyne Home Hardware, Hook’s Rona, and Yourway Lumber) as well as numerous trades-people. Within the village itself, Cloyne Village Foods, Nowell Motors, and Grand’s Store are all going concerns.

DENBIGH - A community that stands alone

Photo right: The Denbigh Grist Mill, courtesy The Oxen and the Axe

In pioneer days the people who settled in Denbigh found that anything they could not make themselves or access locally was basically out of reach, unless they were able to travel for several days over rough terrain to Renfrew, or to the south on the Addington Road.

This led to a spirit of self-sufficiency, and at the turn of the 20th century there were a number of blacksmiths, a very busy grist mill, hotels, two churches and two stores in Denbigh to serve the population. A description of life in Denbigh in 1900 that was reprinted in the Oxen and the Axe illustrates what life and travel were like back then: “They used to gather all the produce that could be spared in the fall and drive to Renfrew to trade. They had butter in 90 pound firkins or in prints, potatoes, grain, beef, pigs, geese and wool in fleece and spun into yarn. The journey took three days down and back They traded their produce for sugar, flour, and meal by the hundred pound bag to do them a year.”

Until 1903, Denbigh had a lot of competition as a centre from the village of Vennachar, which is located only a few kilometres away, but a massive fire decimated Vennachar, and Denbigh has been a larger centre ever since. Not that Denbigh is large; it has 176 year-round households along with many seasonal residences on Denbigh, Ashby, and other smaller lakes. But the community is tightly knit, and community events are often better attended than those in communities ten times as large.

Located as it is at the junction of Highways 41 and 28, at the very top of Lennox and Addington (L&A), Denbigh is also somewhat isolated politically. Denbigh residents are understandably more oriented to Renfrew County, which is on its doorstep, than to L&A County, which has its administrative centre 90 minutes away in Napanee.

 

Photo: Dylan Walker (in back) and Jakob Vlasic

Six-year-old Dylan Walker of Plevna, who is winning his battle with neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nervous system that is now in remission, was invited by seven-year-old Jakob Vlasic of Northbrook to make the first cut of the latter’s blonde locks on Sept. 25 at the Kaladar Community Centre.

Jakob spent the last two and half years growing his hair in order to raise money for Locks of Love, which donates the hair to wigs for young cancer patients in need. Jakob decided to grow and donate his hair after finding out at that time that a friend of the family was diagnosed with cancer, and after becoming aware of Dylan's battle as well.

The event was part of the Kaladar Neighbourhood Block Party, which included live entertainment by the bands Bordertown and Day Street Brothel, a silent auction and barbeque. Two members of the First Canadian Army Veterans' Motorcycle Unit, Tim McCully and Pat Owen presented Jakob with a cheque for $130 to be put towards the cause. The event, which was attended by friends and family of both boys along with members of the community, raised over $500 for children's cancer through the Canadian Cancer Society. Anyone who missed the event but would still like to donate can do so through Facebook at “helpmehelpthem”, where they will find a link to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Denbigh School purchase “imminent”

One of the hurdles to establishing a satellite medical clinic in Denbigh is about to be removed. The Limestone District School Board sent a letter to Addington Highlands Township last week formally offering to sell the Denbigh School to the township for $75,000 on an “as is” basis.

The board has received certification that all of the remaining asbestos in the building has been removed.

With the purchase of the school now imminent, although a final date for the transaction has not been indicated, the township will be contacting the retired school custodian in Denbigh who has been monitoring the building to see if he is willing to continue to do so for the township. As well, snow removal and water testing will need to be arranged.

Other items from Addington Highlands Council:

PINE MEADOW FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN:

Pine Meadow will be starting up a $50,000 fund-raising campaign to support the redevelopment project. The township has allowed the Pine Meadow Management Committee to put up a thermometer sign at the Flinton Hall to mark the progress of the campaign.

KALADAR WASTE SITE – Works Manager Royce Rosenblath informed Council that the Ministry of the Environment is requiring that no less than 15 different issues need to be resolved at the Kaladar waste site. He will provide details as to cost.

BRUSHING – In response to a letter from Skootamatta resident Rosemary Teed complaining about the brushing job that was done on her road, Rosenblath said that the brushing is designed to limit growth in future years, even though it looks messy at the time.

 

 Under a bright sky and a brisk, chilly wind parade goers lined Highway 41 in Northbrook for the annual Santa Claus parade on November 24. Sponsored by the Land O'Lakes Lions and the Kaladar Community Club, the parade began with a spritely and impressive version of Frosty the Snowman courtesy of the RCSCC marching band. Judging by the thrilled faces of the youngsters who filled the curb sides and collected treats from the numerous colorful floats, the parade did not disappoint. Photo: members of the local Brownie troop enjoyed participationg in the parade.

The cold wind on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 24 provided the perfect environment for Santa’s return to Northbrook.

Together, the members of the Land O’ Lakes Lions and Kaladar Community Clubs coordinated another successful Santa Claus Parade. The annual parade has become a shared venture by the two clubs in recent years, alternating between the communities of Northbrook and Kaladar. The residents of Northbrook, especially those residing at the Pine Meadow Nursing Home, were very happy that their village was hosting this year.

At 10 a.m. the OPP blocked of a section of Highway 41, allowing parade participants the opportunity to delight young and old with Christmas joy. Parade Grand Marshall Lion Ric Godard organized numerous floats and marching groups. Among those represented were Land O’ Lakes Community Services, the township of North Frontenac, local Cadet Corps, 1st Cloyne Girl Guides, and many more.

The parade route wove around by the local nursing home, allowing all its residents an opportunity to enjoy the holiday event. The procession finished at the Land O’ Lakes Lions Community Hall, were Santa continued to spread his joy to the children of the community by listening to their wishes and giving out treats and advent calendars. For all those who attended, spectators, volunteers, and participants, members of the Kaladar Community Club served donuts and hot chocolate. The warmth inside the hall was shown through the smiles on all the faces.

Land O’ Lakes Lions president, Marilyn Bolender, greeted and thanked all those in attendance, and announced the winners of the float contest; 1st to Yourway Home Centre, 2nd Land O’ Lakes Emmanuel United Church, and 3rd to Land O’ Lakes Horticultural Society.

The Land O’ Lakes Lions would like to thank generous donations by COFA (Conservationists of Frontenac and Addington), the Township of Addington Highlands, and the Township of North Frontenac towards the 2012 Santa Claus Parade.

 

Photo: Jeremy, Josiah, Chloe, Naomi, Chloe and Gracie at the Kaladar parade

There’s nothing in my opinion that beats a marching band at a parade and that’s how the Kaladar parade opened on Nov. 26.

The RCSCC Quinte Cadets Marching Band of Belleville led the spectator-lined streets of Highway 7 at Kaladar with their festive and boisterous version of Frosty the Snowman. Numerous colorful floats, horse riders and a wide variety of festively clad vehicles followed behind, while float goers and individual parade marchers offered treats to youngsters, who in turn offered up their enthusiastic salutations to Santa when he passed by on his sled.

The parade began at the Kaladar Community Centre and did a loop, ending back where it started. It offered parade watchers double the fun with its repeat performance and then they were treated to hot chocolate and donuts at the community centre, where the festivities continued on indoors. The Kaladar parade is definitely back and better than ever.

 Under a bright sky and a brisk, chilly wind parade goers lined Highway 41 in Northbrook for the annual Santa Claus parade on November 24. Sponsored by the Land O'Lakes Lions and the Kaladar Community Club, the parade began with a spritely and impressive version of Frosty the Snowman courtesy of the RCSCC marching band. Judging by the thrilled faces of the youngsters who filled the curb sides and collected treats from the numerous colorful floats, the parade did not disappoint. Photo: members of the local Brownie troop enjoyed participationg in the parade.

The cold wind on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 24 provided the perfect environment for Santa’s return to Northbrook.

Together, the members of the Land O’ Lakes Lions and Kaladar Community Clubs coordinated another successful Santa Claus Parade. The annual parade has become a shared venture by the two clubs in recent years, alternating between the communities of Northbrook and Kaladar. The residents of Northbrook, especially those residing at the Pine Meadow Nursing Home, were very happy that their village was hosting this year.

At 10 a.m. the OPP blocked of a section of Highway 41, allowing parade participants the opportunity to delight young and old with Christmas joy. Parade Grand Marshall Lion Ric Godard organized numerous floats and marching groups. Among those represented were Land O’ Lakes Community Services, the township of North Frontenac, local Cadet Corps, 1st Cloyne Girl Guides, and many more.

The parade route wove around by the local nursing home, allowing all its residents an opportunity to enjoy the holiday event. The procession finished at the Land O’ Lakes Lions Community Hall, were Santa continued to spread his joy to the children of the community by listening to their wishes and giving out treats and advent calendars. For all those who attended, spectators, volunteers, and participants, members of the Kaladar Community Club served donuts and hot chocolate. The warmth inside the hall was shown through the smiles on all the faces.

Land O’ Lakes Lions president, Marilyn Bolender, greeted and thanked all those in attendance, and announced the winners of the float contest; 1st to Yourway Home Centre, 2nd Land O’ Lakes Emmanuel United Church, and 3rd to Land O’ Lakes Horticultural Society.

The Land O’ Lakes Lions would like to thank generous donations by COFA (Conservationists of Frontenac and Addington), the Township of Addington Highlands, and the Township of North Frontenac towards the 2012 Santa Claus Parade.

 

Waste management report may be based on inaccurate numbers:

A final report from Cambium Environmental on Addington Highlands’ Waste Recycling Strategy, which was presented to council two weeks earlier, was the subject of criticism at this week’s council meeting in Denbigh.

Several items in the report caused Reeve Henry Hogg to wonder if Dave Bucholtz, the Cambium consultant who prepared the report, “had ever visited the waste sites”.

Hogg noted that one of the items in the report was public access to the recycling bins; however, in order to ensure that only clean recyclables are shipped out, the township has a policy that only staff can place recyclables in the bins.

He also noted that Cambium had never consulted with the waste management supervisor, Royce Rosenblath. Also, there was a comment in the report that front-end loaders could be used to reduce the labour of moving materials. However, the township does not have loaders at all its waste sites.

The report was based on 2009 data, and concluded that Addington Highlands’ recycling costs are considerably higher than the recycling costs of other municipalities in the same category - $1,660 per ton for AH, as opposed to an average cost of $565 for similar municipalities.

However, Reeve Hogg said he suspects that those figures may be based on inaccurate numbers. Royce Rosenblath is presently investigating the figures and the township hopes to have some answers soon.

In the meantime, Councilor Tony Fritsch said that the council should express their dissatisfaction with the report to Cambium, as the township paid for 50% of it. Council agreed and will send their comments to the company.

Demolished Kaladar Home: An ongoing matter has been a request for free dumping for the remains of a Kaladar area house once owned by Winnie Gutsell, which is now owned by Marie Jeffries. Andy Anderson had attended the Nov. 7 council meeting in Flinton to make the request again. A part of the house was demolished using funding provided by Lennox and Addington County.

Reeve Hogg has contacted the Lennox and Addington Social Services department and although the details are confidential, he has ascertained that the township has no contractual liability whatsoever in the matter. Councilor Fritsch commented that the township had nevertheless offered a helping hand in the form of waiving $150 in dumping fees, but the offer has not been utilized.

 

Joint Fire Board: Addington Highlands and North Frontenac Townships share a joint fire board for the Kaladar / Barrie Fire Department.

At its November 14 meeting, North Frontenac Council accepted two 16-year-olds into the Ompah and Plevna fire departments, though they will not be allowed to attend incidents until they are 19.

Although the Ompah and Plevna fire departments are not part of the joint fire board, the motion that North Frontenac passed said that the policy would apply to all fire departments funded by the township. This has caused Addington Highlands to bristle because of its possible application to Barrie as well, and Reeve Hogg said that the matter should have been brought to the joint board before it was dealt with by North Frontenac Council.

Reeve Hogg also said that there have been similar problems in the past with North Frontenac not consulting with Addington Highlands on the joint board. He commented on Monday night, “..What would be the implications if the Joint Fire Board were disbanded? It shouldn’t come to that, but I’ve asked them before - what part of ‘joint’ do they not understand…”

Two years ago the Kaladar Community Club celebrated their 45th Santa Claus parade, but in 2010 there were not enough floats entering the parade for the club to carry on, and it was cancelled.

Earlier this fall, one of the members of the Land O'Lakes Lions Club, which has organized a parade in Northbrook for the past 5 years, suggested that the Kaladar Community Club be contacted to consider combining forces on the 2011 Santa Claus Parade. An arrangement was worked out to combine the parades and rotate their location each year.

“We were happy to be approached,” said Penny Hinchey of the Kaladar Community Club earlier this week when she met with Alex Chisholm of the Lions Club. “It would be shame to have the parade just disappear completely after all this time.”

“We decided that since the parade was cancelled in Kaladar last year, we should bring it back there this year,” said Alex Chisholm. “We plan to hold it in Northbrook in 2012 and back in Kaladar in 2013. Working together on the Santa Claus Parade might lead to more co-operation between our groups in other ways. Our communities are located just down Highway 41 from each other. ”

The two groups do have more in common than Santa Claus parades. They both run community halls on a shoestring budget, the Kaladar Community Centre and the Northbrook Lions Hall. Unlike municipally owned centres, such as the Flinton and Denbigh halls, the Kaladar and Northbrook halls receive no funding support from the municipality and along with all the overhead they face a substantial municipal tax burden.

“The hall uses up a lot of our fundraising and volunteer efforts,” said Chisholm.

Penny Hinchey agreed.

“It takes a lot of effort to keep the hall going, but at least we are lucky enough to have a renter, the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association, who have their offices in our building,” she said.

As far as organizing the Santa Claus parade, the groups have been able to book the Sea Cadet Corps out of Belleville for the parade, which is scheduled for Saturday November 26.

“We will be starting at 10 am instead of 2 pm, when the parade had been running, and I for one think it is a better time,” said Penny Hinchey.

Right now, the groups want to get the word out that floats of all kinds are needed to make this combined effort parade a success. Anyone who is interested in entering a float, and being eligible for three prizes of $100, as well as other prizes, is encouraged to contact Alex at 613-336-1573 or Tammy Gaylord at Bence Motors 613-336-2626.

And people should mark their calendars, blackberries or smart phones for November 26 at 10 am when the 46th Kaladar parade (or the 1st KalNor or NorKal parade) will start up. Afterwards in the Kaladar Community Centre, Santa will visit with treats for the kids, and there will be free hot chocolate, coffee and donuts available for all.