Close to 110 youngsters put their pedals to the metal at the Kids of Steel Triathlon, which took place at Oso beach in Sharbot Lake on July 28. The event, which saw its fair share of blood, sweat and tears plus lots of smiles and friendly camaraderie, was brought back after an eight-year hiatus by Greg Kealey, founder of the Bytown Storm Triathlon Club based out of Ottawa. Kealey, whose organization runs other similar events in and around the Ottawa area, decided to bring the Kids of Steel back to Sharbot Lake by establishing it as a new series for his club in Eastern Ontario. He was a volunteer at the Kids of Steel in its earlier inception eight years ago.

“Sharbot Lake is a classic venue and a great location”' Kealey said when I spoke to him at the beach on Sunday morning. “There's clean water, a great trail, a great park and the community is behind the event 100%.”

Kealey initially approached well known local triathlete, Rudy Hollywood, and his wife Joan about holding the event here again. The couple had helped run the triathlon years ago, and they encouraged Kealey and put him in touch with staff at the township office to get the approval and cooperation he needed. Both Rudy and Joan said that they were thrilled to see the event back, and Joan was the official Triathlon Ontario referee on Sunday.

Kealey and his team of 30 volunteers were bowled over by the over 110 participants who took part in this, a first-year event. “We were hoping to see 70 registrants but close to 110 signed up, so we are really pleased with the turn out,” he said. Participants traveled from as far away as Ottawa, Toronto, Whitby and Peterborough, and a handful of local youngsters from Sharbot Lake, Maberly and Harrowsmith also took part. For youngsters it was a better than average day of fun in the sun and a chance to compete in a friendly environment. Kealey said the event, especially for the younger participants, is designed to instill a “passion for an active lifestyle and to encourage them to take up swimming, running and biking.”

The day’s races ranged in length from the longest - a 400 metre swim, 10 km bike ride and 4 km run for the older 15 and 16-year-old athletes, to the shortest race - a 50 metre swim, 1.5 km bike ride and 500 metre run for the 6 and 7-year-olds, the youngest participants.

For the older athletes, aged 14 and 15, it was a more serious day due to the fact that the event is a qualifying race for the Ontario Summer Games, which will take place in 2014 in Welland, Ontario. Kealey estimated that by the end of the day, six athletes from the Frontenac and Ottawa regions would have qualified for those games.

I had a chance to speak to local participants, 11-year-old Oliver Bell and 13-year-old Tilda Bron of the Sharbot Lake area. Their father is Dr. Peter Bell of the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team, and he helped prepare them for the triathlon. Both were first-time participants, though Tilda vaguely remembered participating eight years ago when she was just four years old.

Another enthusiastic participant was 10-year-old Gabe Ferron-Bouius of Ottawa, a para-athlete and member of the Bytown Storm Troopers Triathlon team, who train with Kealey. Gabe has participated in three Kids of Steel races since he began training with Kealey's club in February this year. He has a half prosthetic leg below his right knee and swims the water portion of the race without his prosthetic leg. His dad will then carry him from the water to a chair, where he puts on his leg and runs to the transition zone to complete the biking and running portion of the event. Gabe was all smiles as he waited for his event to start and, asked if feels he is more challenged than most, he replied that swimming with one leg gives him an added advantage. He said that training for and running triathlons puts him in great shape for his favorite sport - hockey.

Over 30 volunteers assisted at the Sunday triathlon. The local OPP helped man the highway and stopped traffic for the bike portion of the race, the sole portion of the triathlon that took place on Road 38.

With such a good turnout for the reborn Kids of Steel Triathlon, Kealey said that he sees it continuing annually from now on and sees it growing as long as the community responds favorably. Judging by how the day unfolded, the community’s reaction was very positive indeed.

The weather could not have been better for this year’s Blue Skies Arts Camp, which took place in Clarendon July 22-25. The 52 campers who attended this year enjoyed a number of creative activities including dance, drama, choir, band, graphic design and animation and costume and prop making.

Campers had a chance to showcase their new found talents and skills at the Friday Showcase event on the Blue Skies main stage. The showcase included band, dance and choir numbers plus a dramatic production titled This Land is Our Land, a fashion show and much more. First-time camp director Susan Walker, who has been working with Blue Skies in the Community since 1987 and who has been the camp liaison for the last five years, said she was pleased with how the camp worked this summer.

“It was excellent. We had great weather and exceptional instructors and counselors this year which made for a very memorable and enjoyable time all around.”

New this year at camp was a plethora of yummy snacks from local farmer Janet Ducharme, owner of Johnston Lake Organic’s, who provided farm fresh snacks to campers and staff daily. Every morning a fresh delivery of home baked treats, bread, fresh fruits and veggies and other comestibles helped provide local organic food energy to campers.

Jared Salmond, a student at North Addington Education Centre, is the strong, silent type of leader that often flies under the radar, but his contributions to North Addington are significant.

He has resurrected the elementary intramural program, where students in Grades 5 to 8 participate in a lunchtime program of different athletic activities. Jared planned, organized and ran the program, always focusing on getting students involved in fun activities

Jared is an active member of the volleyball program at North Addington where he has played on the volleyball team for three years, acting this year as Captain. In all sporting events, Jared mentors others, modeling both sportsmanship and skill.

Jared’s achievements in team sports at North Addington have been recognized through the school’s awards program where he has been named Male Athlete of the Year. He has also received a prestigious TEAM award which recognizes his commitment to Teamwork, Enthusiasm, Attitude, and Mentorship.

Jared is also committed to helping and developing others through his volunteer activities.

In the wider community, Jared has also been an active volunteer with the Mazinaw Lake Swim Program by assisting with information nights, registration, and the installation and removal of docks. He also participated in the Trick or Eat program, which collected donations for the local food bank, and Jared was also a member of a local Relay for Life Team to support the Canadian Cancer Society.

Jared’s focused efforts and achievements are not limited to sports. He has challenged himself with a broad range of academic studies and has maintained a 93% average throughout high school. At North Addington there is a five-tier points accumulation system which recognizes a student’s academic achievements and milestones. Jared has accumulated sufficient points to be recognized at the third tier and is on track to reach the fourth tier this fall.

Jared is a student who can, and does, do it all. He has pushed himself in every aspect of school life with a quiet confidence that serves as a model for those around him.

Sebastian Back, a graduating student at Sydenham High School, is known by staff and students as a positive, polite, and respectful student leader who is active in the Sydenham High School community, and beyond. He is a highly academic student who excels in his classes, and his teachers describe him as an inquisitive, engaged student, whose maturity and level of critical thinking are extraordinary.

Teachers describe Sebastian as always doing what it takes, not only to pursue excellence for himself, but to support others, and “bring them along” on his journey.

Sebastian serves as Grade 12 representative on Student Council, and in that role, he works hard to ensure he is providing a voice for his peers, as well as supporting the organization of arts-focused events in the school. Outside of School Council, Sebastian can often be found spending his lunch hours tutoring students in mathematics.

Sebastian is a very artistic and creative young man. He is highly successful in many media forms, including video, photography, and writing. He is currently representing Sydenham High School in the Skills Canada competition, in the TV/Video Production category. Sebastian is a writer for a community newspaper that celebrates rural life, and last year, he was one of three finalists in the 2012 KingstonWritersfest Youth Competition

Sebastian is a global thinker. He encourages students to have a broader perspective, and to consider their community, and the world. Outside of the SHS community, Sebastian volunteers for a summer camp for Cree and Ojibway teens from Constance Lake First Nation, 14 hours north of Kingston. The goal of the camp is to bring events into the community, and to motivate the youth towards a better future. Sebastian has also worked with the Kingston Arts Council committee that organized National Youth Arts week last spring.

Sebastian was recently recognized in in the “People to Watch” section, for his outstanding contributions to the school community and beyond. One teacher describes Sebastian as being “all about innovation, superior academic standing, and the well-being of others.” He makes a difference to the classroom, to Sydenham High School, and to his community.

On Sat. Aug. 17, the 640 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps held a pre-registration/information session at the Northbrook Foodland parking lot. The army cadet program in Addington Highlands and North Frontenac was established in 1998. It was successful from the start and after a few years there were 36 cadets in the corps. The numbers have slipped since then but that is now changing.

“We were down to about six cadets a couple of years ago but we are now back up to 20,” said Corps Commander Tim Trickey, a paramedic with the L&A ambulance service and a resident of Henderson in North Frontenac.

“We are still on probation from the military for numbers but I hope we can get back up to 25 this year, which will take us off probation.”

Trickey was the commander of the cadet corps between 1998 and 2007 and he has just taken on the job again with a three-year commitment. The cadet corps is free to join and the Canadian military covers all cost for the cadets, even providing uniforms free of charge.

“All that we ask is for cadets who decide to leave the corps to return their uniform to us,” said Trickey.

The corps meets for training weekly, on alternative Monday and Wednesday nights during the school year at North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne from 6 to 9 pm. A number of topics are covered during the training sessions.

“Three main goals are: promoting leadership in communities where we live, promoting physical fitness, and trying to create an interest in the Canadian Armed Forces, land, sea and air,” Trickey said.

In addition to the weekly sessions, the corps participate in Remembrance Day Services, which is the one event where Trickey likes to see a 100% commitment from the membership. Aside from that there are a number of weekend activities available to corps members, which include a lot of adventure training, including mountain biking, canoeing, orientation, camping, and more. Summer camps, in Ottawa and the Barrie area for army cadets, and as far away as the Yukon, are also available. Not only are the camps free to attend, cadets receive a $60 a week stipend.

As in military organisations, cadets rise through the ranks, and the corps offers leadership opportunities for older, higher ranking members who can take officer training.

“I have run into numbers of our former cadets who have moved on to some outstanding jobs,” said Trickey. “Some have gone into the military; some are reservists, and there are professional firefighters and many others who have done well.”

Trickey himself took the air cadet program out of Belleville when he was a teenager. “It was the cadet program that taught me self-discipline. As cadets we learn that if we want something we have to work for it.”

The program is open to youth between 12 & 19 years of age, both males and females. For information on the new cadet session, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 613-336-2885