First Appearances

Mallory Kehoe, 27, is charged with theft of a vehicle and four counts of driving while under suspension. She will return on November 20th and is seeking legal aide. She is currently in custody in Ottawa on other charges that will be dealt with before the November Sharbot Lake date.

Marion Vanalstine, 59, Sherri Wylie, 44, and Devin Kennedy, 27 are each facing a charge of production of an illegal substance. They will return on November 20.

Ongoing

The lawyer for Jeremy Pershaw, 34, is facing a charge of operating a vehicle while disqualified from doing so, a charge of dangerous operation of a vehicle, and two charges of failing to comply with court ordered conditions. His lawyer appeared before the court, but said he has not been able to contact his client since the last court date in September.
“I’m hesitant to act without consulting my client. I do believe this is headed for trial, but I really can’t say” he said.
The matter was deferred until November 20.

Alison Potter, 40, had her charges of possession of an illegal substance, production of an illegal substance, and un-authorised possession of a firearm deferred once again, to November 20. It is still anticipated that her co-accused in the matter will have his case resolved in Kingston, and the charges against would then be withdrawn. The matter has been on the books for 14 months.

Sue Vinkle, 42, is charged with obstructing a peace officer. She will return on November 20.

Christopher Leger, 53, is facing 5 counts of assault. His lawyer, John Norris, said through Duty Counsel, who was acting as agent, that he is still reviewing the disclosure package and asked for the case to be deferred until November 20. Judge Griffen said, “when you are communicating with Mr. Norris that I would like to set a trial date on November 20.”

Peace Bond – A charge of Assault against Reinhold Zuther, 62, has been resolved by means of a Peace Bond wherein he has committed to keeping the peace and avoiding contact with certain individuals. The charge has been withdrawn.

Withdrawals – A charge of theft against John Texeira, 65, has been withdrawn, as has a charge of mischief against Kevin Camilleri, 53.

Enhanced tools work across all platforms County of Frontenac GIS (geographic information system) staff successfully migrated all County mapping features to the most up to date standards over the weekend. Labelled Frontenac Maps 2.0, all maps available to the public at www.frontenacmaps. ca, and all applications used by the County and its four member municipalities, have much greater zoom and search capabilities and provide enhanced access to endusers with disabilities. Frontenac Maps 2.0 is fully compatible across all devices and has two sets of imagery available (2008 and 2014). The upgrade replaces the system that was put in place in December of 2010. In the past weeks County GIS staff have visited all four Townships and provided training in advance of the upgrade. Many staff in all member municipalities use the interactive mapping features including planners and public works employees. The website www.frontenacmaps.ca hosts a wide variety of mapping applications available to the public including cycling routes in and beyond the County totaling more than 600 kilometers, a map of Frontenac Brand Ambassadors and a listing of Frontenac Paramedic Services stations. The section labeled Interactive Mapping is home to the upgraded system, which includes an extensive collection of zoning information, roads data, points of interest and much more.

North Frontenac Little Theatre (NFLT) President Brian Robertston once again presided over a ceremony to honour long time contributors to the Little Theatre at the former church in Tichborne that serves as a storage area/program space for the group.
This year the honorees included actor Norman Guntensperger, who performed in over a dozen shows in the 1990’s and into the new millenium. Guntensperger, who is also a musician, played in musicals, including Guys and Dolls and Oliver, dramatic productions such as Our Town, and comedies including The Foursome and others.

“I’m glad he moved to Kingston so I could have a chance at some roles,” said Robertson when handing out the award.
There were two recipients in the Youth category. Nic Alarcon-Belanger has been in a number of productions, but he is best remembered for playing Alladin a couple of years ago, a roel he took on only three weeks before the production when the actor who had originally been cast in the role had to back out.
“It was very stressful but exciting learning all those lines nad getting ready for the play,” he said in accepting the award as presented by Robertson.
Tim White, who played The Music Man a couple of years ago and is a choreographer for the NFLT, presented a second youth award, to Gillian Hoffman. His tribute, which including an exhortation to Gillian to continue on her artistic path after performing in numerous productions in a short few years, brought tears to Hoffman’s eyes, and White’s as well.

There were also two community awards this year. One went to Dianne Lake, who ran the cafeteria at Sharbot Lake High School for many years and over saw Dinner Theatre as well as intermssion snacks for dozens of productions. In he presentation, Pam Giroux talked about the dinners that Lake prepared with the help of students, and her ability to serve them and clean up before the play started, and then serve dessert during intermission.
Finally, the Frontenac News received an honour for helping promote Little Theatre Productions over many years, going back to the founding of the NFLT in 1981. In his remarks, award presenter Craig Godfrey took a light hearted approach, talking about how as a producer he learned how to get more coverage in the paper by engaging the community columnists, and about the reviews of his own performances over the years, rave reviews that this writer does not remember seeing in the newspaper.
The next scheduled Little Theatre Production, Sunshine Sketches of our Little Towns, is set for November 23-26.

In response to the front page article last week on the projected construction costs for the final 13 km stretch of the K&P Trail from Tichborne to Sharbot Lake, Frontenac County Manager for Economic Development Richard Allen sent an email pointing out two things. First, his last name is Allen, not Allan, as it said in the article. (The News apologises for the error)

Secondly, he said that contrary to an assertion in the article, the price paid by the county to the private landowners along that section of the trail is public knowledge, as the prices of each parcel were included in two bylaws passed by Frontenac County Council in June.
The bylaws include information about the sale of 16 parcels, which sold for prices ranging from $2,000 to $35,000, reflecting different amounts of trail and other circumstances. The total paid for the 16 parcels was $260,120. The county had legal costs on top of that. For a full breakdown of the payments go to Frontenaccounty.ca, click on Council at the top, then on the next page under County Council select Bylaws from the drop down menu, and navigate to 2017 and look for bylaws #22 and #24
The money for the purchases was drawn from a reserve fund transfer from the Kingston Frontenac Renovates Program.

Kingston Frontenac Renovates is a provincially funded program that provides forgivable loans to low income homeowners for necessary renovations, such as new roofs, heating systems, etc.
Over the years the program has been well used by Frontenac County residents in particular. In 2014, Kingston City staff, who administer the program on behalf of the city and the county, informed Frontenac County Council that the province was considering pulling funding for the program. In response Frontenac County set up a $400,000 reserve fund so the program would continue to operate if the province pulled out. The City of Kingston created a reserve fund as well. The province has continued to fund the program, however, and has committed to maintaining funding until at least 2019.
In September of 2016, Frontenac County staff came to Council with a proposal to divert the $400,000 reserve to the K&P Trail construction project. They proposed using $300,000 for land purchases in the 13.5 kilometre section between Tichborne and Sharbot Lake, and $100,000 to go to turning a former gas station at Hardwood Creek at the foot of Verona into a trail access park.

Against some objections, the proposal was accepted.

If current projections hold, it will cost $1.1 million for construction of the 13.5 kilometre stretch, and with the addition of about $300,000 ($260,000 plus legal fees, etc.) the section will cost $1.4 million in total, a little over $100,000 per kilometre. The money has come from grants, reserve funds and direct county taxation.

To put that total into context. When the Trans Canada Trail was being proposed, back in 1992, the ballpark price per kilometre was set by trail proponents at $36,000 per kilometre, which translates to about $55,000 per kilometre in 2017 dollars.
However, the final 13.5 kilometres of K&P Trail could be expected to cost more, for two reasons. First, the land was owned in small pieces by landowners rather than one large chunk. Second, the rail bed is not intact on that stretch and construction costs are therefore much higher.
Members of Frontenac County Council, in particular Councillor John Inglis, have requested an accounting of the entire 65 kilometre trail project, but no accounting has been forthcoming as of yet.

A lot of people who live in rural areas value their privacy. For those living on lakes, privacy is hard to come by. That view of the water brings a view of other people with it. There are next door neighbours, across the bay neighbours, and boaters and fishers buzzing along the lake whenever they want to.
The attitude of lakefront property owners, and this is played out in planning applications throughout Frontenac County all the time, is basically “last one in bar the door”.

This is not irrational, it is not wrongheaded of people. It is in fact clear-headed. The moment someone buys a piece of waterfront property, whatever they see and hear when they walk out their door on the first sunny morning, is exactly what they have purchased and what they expect to enjoy. Any change is not in their interest.

Now, being realists people know they can not oppose others from buying and selling property and building according to a set of rules that are reasonable for all. One new cottage on a legally constituted lot on a lake, built according to zoning bylaw standards, will not ruin a lake, but a hundred built in a poorly designed subdivision or land use condominium just might.

The role of local township officials is to work with developers in order to make sure that before any proposal that makes it to the stage where it will face public scrutiny it is in a state where a path forward for approving it is there. There may be further changes required, there may be further studies to be done, but everything should be clear, both to the developer and to the public. And there are lots of complicating factors when it comes to balancing out environmental interests for clean water and a robust, diverse watershed with development pressures.

A couple of weeks ago, proponents of a plan of condominium on Loughborough Lake in South Frontenac found out that their proposal, which has been in the works for at least a couple of years, has been put on hold. The reason is that the township planners took a boat ride near the shoreline where the new development was to be located and measured the depth of the water, finding that it is a shallow water body and different rules will have to apply.

Over in North Frontenac the impact of a spawning bed, as well as a shallow shoreline, will surely be felt by proponents of a plan of subdivision on Ardoch Lake. In the case of Ardoch Lake there is an organized opposition to the development, willing to fund their own studies.
The system for evaluating these proposals, is becoming, at least in theory, more consistent and transparent. Township and county planning staff need to work together in a co-ordincated way because township zoning and site plans as well as county planning approvals are always required in every case.

The decision to form a county planning committee, and to include each of the township Mayor’s on that committee, is already beginning to pay off because the committee has political authority. This is in our collective interest because although some of us are lukewarm at best to the idea of development, we cannot thrive as communities without growth. South Frontenac just lost their new manager of development services after 6 months, just when the impact of that position was starting to be felt, which is unfortunate but progress has been made and that should continue.

When it comes down to it, we are all NIMBY’s and why shouldn’t we be.

We all enjoy our properties the way they are. The political system is all about mediating between the NIMBY impulse and a need for growth and the need to be a fair jurisdiction for investment even if there are stringent rules to follow. We also must ensure that environmental regulations are in place both at the time when planning is taking place, and through enforcement later on.

It will never be simple or easy in rural areas and particular on the water but it can be a fair process, although it takes time for the process to be followed and provincial regulations need to be changed to reflect that.
There will always be winners and losers in any planning process on the water. There will be anger and controversy along the way. The trick is to allow for development and protect the lakes and the life that they support in their waters and on their shorelines.

Several years ago, the CBC Nature of Things documentary ran a program on Coywolves and just recently they have been spotted around Toronto. As a result, I thought it would be interesting to run this article from 2013 again.
Coywolves are a hybrid breed of wolf and coyote. The term Coywolf is the unofficial name for a breed of Eastern coyote that has bred with wolves. The hybrid coyote/wolf has longer legs, bigger paws, larger jaws and brains, and a more wolf-like tail, with wolf-like traits like pack-hunting and shows more aggression than the original coyotes.

It’s thought that the hybrid animals first appeared around 1919 in Algonquin Park. It was probably happening earlier than that but it was about this time that sightings were reported. Some scientists still doubt that the Coywolf is a new species but evidence compiled for the past 100 years suggests the much smaller western coyote migrated from the Midwestern United States to eastern forests and farms where the wolf population was being killed off by humans. The coyote followed a path that took it through the Windsor area and the southwestern Ontario corridor, then north to Algonquin Park.
According to the documentary, Algonquin’s vast expanse of protected forest offered the animal a safe haven and a bountiful food source. It was there that wolves began to breed with coyotes, probably because available mates within the wolf population were in decline. Perhaps one third of the animals in Algonquin Park are now hybrids.

Coywolves have rapidly evolved and appear to have adapted to city life in a similar way that racoons have taken to big cities like Toronto. It used to be that only campers could hear the eerie howling and yipping of coyotes. Now, since the numbers of Coywolves have increased, you’re just as apt to hear them in and around cities. Their high intelligence has enabled them to survive, whether in natural surroundings or urban centres. They are so elusive that they seem to blend into parks, ravines and other green spaces in cities unnoticed for the most part. They can roam for miles at night routing through garbage and catching small animals such as squirrels, rabbits, woodchucks and cats or anything else that would make a quick meal.

There have been many sightings of coyotes in Toronto recently and people have been warned to keep their pets inside, especially at night. Last month, Toronto Police did shoot what is believed to be a Coywolf. The police had no way of knowing that the Coywolf they’d shot was a new father protecting his young. The animal and his mate had recently become parents which is likely why they appeared to be more aggressive.

While it may be unnerving to encounter a coyote in a park at night, there have actually been only two reports of fatal coyote attacks in North America in the past 500 years. The CBC documentary was filmed partly in the Cape Breton highlands where a fatal attack on a young Toronto woman took place a few years ago.

A hundred years ago, the odds were stacked against eastern wolves with deforestation and control programs, not to mention increasing urban development. Coyotes, however, were able to increase their numbers. This is when the two animals began to interbreed. Depending on their habitat and the availability of food, coyotes can adjust the number of young born. Young Coywolves strike out on their own much sooner than wolves or coyotes, leaving the den by the time they are two.

For more information on wolves and coyotes, in general, you can check out Steve Blight’s in-depth two-part article in the December 2008 online version of the Frontenac News.

Your project may be eligible for an Eastern Ontario Development Program (EODP) grant of up to 50% reimbursement. Some examples of eligible projects;

Trade Shows - to help you expand your market, EODP pays up to 50% of the cost of registration, travel, accommodation and meals to attend a trade show that you have not exhibited at previously

Skills training - we have had a self-employed plumber who have used this funding to become certified gas fitters to expand the services they offer as an example.

E-Commerce - want to build an on-line shopping component on your website – we will pay up to 50%. Or perhaps you need help with implementing a point of sale system

Technical / Expert support - would your business benefit by tapping into some expertise? EODP can reimburse up to 50% of the cost. We have a client who has benefited from hiring a niche marketing consulting firm. Another client built a new commercial facility and EODP assisted with the technical drawings.

Equipment - The EODP may be able to assist with up to 50% of the cost if the equipment is innovative and/or you can demonstrate that it will improve your productivity and profitability.

For eligibility criteria and guidelines, visit https://frontenaccfdc.com/start/grants/. If you don’t have the 50% required as your contribution, we may be able to assist with a loan.
We are accepting applications for projects that are completed by December 1, 2018 subject to available funding.

Normally if you have a fully completed application into us by the second Monday of the month, you will know by the end of the month whether it was approved or not.
If you would like to speak with someone about the funding, please call Sue at 613-372-1414 ext. 206 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We look forward to working with you.

Over one hundred participants and volunteers walked in the first-ever Lanark North Leeds Parkinson SuperWalk last Saturday (September 9) raising awareness, funds for research and bringing the community one step closer to accessing services for those living with Parkinson’s Disease.
“I want to thank my co-chair Gayle Truman and our organizing committee, the Town of Perth, our sponsors, volunteers and those who supported our efforts to bring the SuperWalk to Lanark North Leeds,” said event organizer Pat Evans, a resident of Portland who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2006. “I’ve met so many people in this area who have this disease, and I’m excited that in addition to the money raised, we have also raised awareness and a sense of hope. And hope is essential for improved health.”

The Lanark North Leeds SuperWalk raised over $30,000 in support of Parkinson Canada, a national organization that supports education and funds research to help find the cure for Parkinson’s, a neurological disease that affects over 100,000 Canadians. In addition to supporting research, organizers are hopeful that there will be increased funding for services in Lanark North Leeds including exercise programs, support groups and easier access to specialists.

“We are fortunate to have world-class specialists and quality care in nearby centres like Ottawa, Kingston and Toronto,” said Evans. “But the reality is that travel can be difficult for those with mobility issues. As well, many people are reluctant to even talk about their symptoms as they feel that people will judge them. Access to medical and other supports closer to home can make a real difference in the lives of those living with Parkinson’s and their families.

Lanark North Leeds SuperWalk is one of over 90 walks that took place across Canada this past weekend. Although the walk has taken place, donations are still being accepted at donate.parkinson.ca/lanarknorthleeds.

The Lanark & District Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (LDMSPA) is hosting a Maple Syrup Beginner’s Workshop on Sept. 30, 2017, an all-day event to educate those looking to enter into maple syrup production on a home or commercial scale, as well as veteran producers looking to expand their knowledge base. The course, which runs from 9:15am to 4pm, will be held at the Lanark & District Civitan Hall, at 2144 Pine Grove Rd., Lanark Village.
Participants in the workshop will get the basics on identifying maple trees and tapping, sap handling and storage, equipment and supplies, boiling, density, filtering and bottling, and regulations and grading. A panel discussion and information on maple syrup production resources will also provide valuable information for syrup producers.

“Everyone can learn something from this workshop,” Dwight James, LDMSPA Director said, “Maple syrup production is one of those industries where there’s always more to learn, and for beginners getting started the learning curve can be intimidating.”

LDMSPA’s workshop is intended to reduce or eliminate that steep learning curve for entering maple syrup production, while offering experienced producers access to resources and information for expanding production or keeping up with changing regulations.

LDMSPA is a group of over 90 maple syrup producers located in the Lanark, Frontenac, Leeds and Grenville Counties, as well as the Ottawa-Carleton areas of Eastern Ontario. LDMSPA is one of 11 local organizations that make up the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers’ Association (OMSPA), an organization that represents maple syrup producers across the province.
As a membership-based organization LDMSPA supports its members by providing a forum to promote the production of maple syrup products, assisting members to stay current on changing industry regulations, and providing opportunities for networking, and education on the maple syrup industry in Ontario.

Registration for the Maple Syrup Beginner’s Workshop can be completed online at maplesyrupworkshop.eventbrite.ca or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. While pre-registration is strongly recommended as space is limited, on-site registration will also be available between 8:15 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. on Sept. 30.

Cost for the event is $20 for OMSPA members, and $30 for non-members. Registrants who join OMSPA will receive the discounted price of $20. Registration fees include lunch during the event. For more information visit ldmspa.com.

September; the beginning of a new school year. It brings back memories. There were eighteen of us living in Gordon House that long-ago first year of Queen’s. Most of us were ‘freshettes’, the female equivalent of freshmen.
I was enrolled in four introductory courses and ‘Poets of the English Renaissance.’ This last was a fourth-year course where three of us freshettes had been tossed to fatten up the size of a class being offered by a “Recognized Canadian Poet”, the treasure of the English Department. He didn’t deign to acknowledge or learn the names of any of our little coven, sitting boldly together in the third row (though he did occasionally speak to the two first-year males).
The Feminine Mystique would not be published for two more years, so we three had no firm support for our puzzled indignation at being ignored. Fortunately the class material was fascinating, though the atmosphere was neither collegial nor welcoming. Eventually we squeaked through that course like most of our first-year courses; at the “B” level.

In any case, our heads were occupied with three other more obsessive “B’s” — Beehives, Bouffants and Backcombing. The latter being one of the mechanics by which the former two were accomplished. For someone like myself with fine straight hair, born seven or eight years too soon to be easily fashionable, this called for an array of backup paraphernalia and the ability to sleep on a head full of brush rollers.

Marilyn who lived on the third floor of Gordon House owned a rare portable hairdryer with a long hose which attached to a huge (to accommodate the rollers) crackly plastic hood. That hairdryer was heavily booked, usually for days ahead. And it was slow: Marilyn sometimes skipped first class, needing more time to dry her hair. I soon figured out that carbon-copied notes of those classes made good barter material for the hair dryer.

Like a troop of grooming simians, we Gordonites became skilled at backcombing each others hair; increasing its volume by tangling the under layers, then smoothing the top hair over the underlying scramble.
But the final step, the sine qua non of this carefully washed, curled, dried, bulked-up headpiece, was hairspray. It took a thick mosquito-clearing cloud of lacquer to cement such a confection in place. One would sit gasping for breath until the alcohol and other solvents had evaporated, indicating that the helmet was firmly set. A successful hairdo could last for several days, maybe a week, only slightly flattened here and there by sleeping.

I had grown up on a farm, almost an only child, and had spent thirteen years in Sydenham schools. It was Gordon House that marked the beginning of my initiation into the intricacies of the larger world.