Photo: Medal Winner Kayleen Lambert at the Ontario Trillium

The Sydenham Lake Canoe Club will be hosting an Open House AGM on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Sydenham Town Hall. Interested paddlers, ages 8 to adult, will have the opportunity to speak to board members and parent volunteers to learn about the club’s activities. Come try out an ergonometric paddling machine, view a slide show and enjoy some free warm seasonal refreshments.

The Sydenham Lake Canoe Club has been in existence for almost 15 years. It was founded by George Jones, an Olympic qualifying athlete in sprint canoeing and kayaking, with the help of his wife Sue Bayly. They wanted their own children, Devon and Jordon to have the opportunity to paddle competitively close to home. And paddle they did! Devon went on to paddle in the National Division and eventually became the 2011 club’s coach, along with Natasha Ostopovitch, another well known competitive paddler and rower from Sydenham. Both coaches are regarded in paddling circles to be tough, but fair, expecting a standard of excellence rarely seen in Ontario’s smaller clubs.

“Now that the club is on firm ground, we plan to head into the future with a new sense of conviction. In the 2012 season, with strong local support and a solid board of directors, the club intends to become more competitive, expanding its membership to allow more youth and adults to participate in regattas held throughout Ontario and Canada,” says Commodore George Jones. “To present, we have had participation from youth at the provincial and national level, but very little participation from adult Masters Paddlers. The club would like to change that by starting adult and youth competitive training earlier in the season, in mid-May rather than July. This summer, successful competitors will have the opportunity to compete in Provincials in Ottawa and Nationals in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.”

“Paddling has a lot going for it as it is carbon neutral because the paddlers provide the power,” says Roger L’Abbe, the club’s maintenance officer and parent of youth paddlers Genevieve and Sebastien. “There is also little chance of head injury as it is a non-contact individual sport providing many opportunities to achieve personal bests. It is a relatively inexpensive social sport that the whole family can participate in, either on or off the water. I recommend it to any parent as it keeps my children active, and I don’t have to worry about ‘warming the benches’, as sitting in the sunshine by the lakeside watching them compete in regattas is definitely no hardship!”

For more information, please contact Helen Parfitt at 613-376-6613, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Photo: Johnny Vinkle hitting, (check out the height) with Skyler Howes and Callum McGregor covering the hit. Photo courtesy of Diana Billingsley

The Senior Boys Panthers headed to Mackenzie High school in Deep River on November 17 after winning two in eight of their KASSAA season. The team was seeded sixth at the EOSSA tournament and played Renfrew High School in their first game. Both games were extremely close, though the Panthers lost the first two sets to Renfrew, and in the second game played Rideau HS with Rideau coming out on top in the end, taking the first two set 25-20 and 25-30. Sharbot Lake coach Mark Elliot, who has been coaching volleyball at Sharbot Lake since 1985, was pleased with how the team played. “Our guys played exceptionally well. They picked up most of the other teams’ hits, blocked well and were really powerful at the net.” Elliot said even the opposing team coaches felt the Panthers might have stood a better chance if the circumstances had been a bit different and if our team had been seeded differently. Following the Renfrew game, the opposing coach told Elliott that the Panthers likely could have been third or fourth in the other pool and that if that had been the case, they likely would have made it into the semi final round.

Panthers middle hitter John Vinkle had “a mammoth tournament”, Elliot said. “I have never seen him play that well and everyone had their eyes on him… Setter Skyler Howes also had a great tournament and was consistent throughout.” Hats off to the Panthers who had a great season this year and for making it to EOSSA for their first time since 2003. Coach Elliot is already fired up for next year. “We have a number of juniors coming up so we might just be that much deeper and stronger next year and in fact might just be looking at giving OFSSA a go” Things are looking bright for Senior Boys Volleyball at SLHS.

Photo: Joan and Roy Shepherd (front right) hand over the FOTMC banner to its newly appointed organizers Mary and Cliff Rines (front left) and are flanked by supporters

Long-time community supporters of the Frontenac Old Time Music Championships gathered outside the Bedford hall on Oct. 23 to officially pass on the banner to the event’s new organizers Cliff and Mary Rines. Joan and Roy Shepherd, who started the event four years ago to help financially support music programs in local schools, officially signed off at this weekend’s jam.

Community members who supported the event over the years were also invited to pose in the photo that included both the founding/outgoing and new organizers. Joan spoke of the ongoing fundraising efforts of jam attendees, who have formed a committee called the Bedford Efficient Energy Project and who over the last year have raised $2000 to upgrade the Bedford hall, which is fast deteriorating due to mold and other structural issues. The committee intends to purchase an air conditioning/heating unit to address the mold problem. The committee has the support of the Bedford District Recreation Committee who in a letter said they had “already made the decision to request that all of our budgeted funds will go towards the mold, safety and structural upgrades needed at the (Bedford) hall.”

Both Deputy Mayor Mark Tinlin and Donna Brown, chair of the Bedford District Recreation Committee, offered letters of support regarding the much-needed upgrades. Deputy Mayor Tinlin stated in a letter that he would “continue to speak out in favour of addressing the Bedford hall structural problems and will urge my fellow councilors to address this issue in planning for the 2012 township budget.”

Photo: Tugging in Harrowsmith

Perfect weather had local members of the community out in droves for Canada Day celebrations across the county. Revelers enjoyed parades, live music, demonstrations, art, festive food, lakefront fun, and a plethora of activities for the whole family at various locations including Harrowsmith, Sydenham, Sharbot Lake, Arden, Denbigh, Long Lake, Crow Lake and Desert Lake Bedford, Verona, Snow Road, Maberly, Plevna, and Ompah. There were music jams, pig roasts, karaoke, astronomers, strawberry socials, boat tours, drummers, kids crafts, bingo, strong man competitions, duct tape boat races and so much more. Hats off to all of the community groups, recreation committees and individual volunteers who put so much time and energy into creating a cross county party that so many come out to enjoy year after year from near and far.

As usual, the festivities ended with many a bang as a number of firework displays closed off what many agreed was a pretty much perfect and very memorable Canada Day.

Photos: Left - Jello eaters in Harrowsmith. Right - Elvis at Oso Beach, Sharbot Lake

By Jeff Green and Julie Druker

Council cautious on Arden revitalization

The Aden Revitalization Project has been building up a head of steam in recent months, and Terry Kennedy submitted a report to Central Frontenac Council at their June 28 meeting on the revitalization steering committee’s goals for the next few months.

While the committee is proposing to do some work cleaning up Arden and sprucing up the park and recreation trails this summer, they were looking for council approval before getting underway because the property they are planning to work on is owned by the township.

Proposed projects include painting and staining facilities in the Kennebec Recreation Park, upgrading trails and parking adjacent to the park, cleaning up the stream bed from the Mill Pond to the Post Office bridge, and cleaning up and disposing of materials on private properties in the hamlet.

In terms of cost to the township for these efforts, the steering committee asked for some gravel for trail reclamation, and for waiving of dumping fees and some help in transporting refuse that is collected through the clean up exercises.

Council did not have much problem with the painting and cleaning up proposals, and accepted the request to waive fees and provide a truck to collect refuse. But even though the work that is proposed to be done on parking lots and trails will be done with volunteer equipment and labour, there were concerns over the scope of the work and potential liability,

“I would like to see some more detail about what is being proposed; who will be doing the work; insurance, etc., before approving that part of the proposal,” said Mayor Janet Gutowski (newly returned from a trip to Australia where she was on hand for the birth of her first grandchild.)

Council approved the painting and clean up proposals and will consider the trail and road construction projects at their meeting on July 12.

Funding application – Council is submitting a grant application for $25,000 for playground equipment for the Arden Park. With $20,000 already in the 2011 budget for equipment, if the grant from the Hydro One “Power Play” initiative comes through, there will be $45,000 available for a playground structure that would be comparable to the one that was put in at the Sharbot Lake Beach a couple of years ago.

Farmers’ market committee - Council appointed a committee to oversee the Sharbot Lake Farmers’ Market and report back to council in October. Councilor Wayne Millar will be the council representative and chair of the committee.

Lake associations - On July 9 from 10 am to noon at Oso Hall, executive members of six area lake associations will be meeting informally with members of council to bring forth any issues or items that are of concern

Approval of Road Closure - Council members agreed unanimously to close a short section of Road 38 for 15 minutes to accommodate a traditional wedding procession that will take place on Friday August 26

District 4 Recreation Issues addressed - Council passed a motion authorizing the facilities management coordinator (working cooperatively with the manager of public works) to arrange for and supervise all township dock installations and removals in the spring and fall. A previous letter to council had complained of unnecessary damage to docks in the past due to lack of communication between the recreation committees and the township.

On the same topic, council also agreed to form an Ad Hoc working committee consisting of chairs of the four recreation committees along with CAO, mayor and deputy mayor to review the roles of the township and recreation committees in the planning, providing and maintaining of public recreation facilities

Council schedule - Council agreed to reduce summer council meetings to one on July 12 and one on August 9. The meetings scheduled on July 26 and August 23 have been cancelled.

Recreation bites South Frontenac Council

South Frontenac Council ploughed through a heavy agenda at their only formal council meeting this month. Then they put the brakes on public works spending in anticipation of tackling the entire public works budget next week (March 22) in the context of a draft budget that calls for a 26% increase in taxation, an increase that a number of councilors indicated they would be chopping considerably.

And just when everything on the agenda had been reconciled nicely, a dispute over recreation raised the temperature in the room.

Planning issues:

The zoning for the subdivision in Sydenham on Rutledge Road, west of Stagecoach Road, which will create 20 building lots and eight seniors’ housing units, received final approval. At a public meeting, one member of the public argued that the engineers who had prepared supporting documentation for the application regarding the water levels at the lower end of the property had underestimated the extent of the flood plain in a wet year, but council passed the zoning nonetheless. The plan of subdivision still needs to be approved for the project to move ahead.

Scott Asselstine's proposal to alter a site plan agreement with the township in order to build storage units on his car wash site on Road 38 south of Hartington was also approved, with the deadline for construction being set for October.

 A subdivision, long in dispute, on Collins Lake in Storrington, has been approved as well, after the developer and his neighbour, who farms, came to a settlement after several years of acrimony. “If they are both happy, then I am happy,” said Councilor Ron Vandewal.

Finally, the zoning was approved for an office building on Rutledge Road near Boundary Road

Council also approved a tender by Upper Canada Stone House Group for the shoring up of the bell tower at the Hartington Schoolhouse at a cost of $14,396.

Public works:

Public works Manager Mark Segsworth received Council's blessing to enter into an agreement with Ontario Electronic Stewardship, which will allow the municipality to receive a rebate for electronic waste that is properly handled and sent to an approved site. The first site to be listed under the program will be Keeley Road, but others will follow. The plan should save the township some money.

Segsworth also received approval to hook into an electronic based re-use strategy that will be housed at a new web address southfrontenacreuses.com. The site can be accessed directly or through the township’s web site. There is no cost to the township to use it for one year.

In other matters, ones where there was a cost involved, the public works manager was asked to wait until the budget is finalized.

He proposed awarding the contracts for the engineering and design of four bridges to four different consulting engineers with a view towards doing construction in 2012 or later.

The bridges in question are Clair Road Bridge #36 ($17,488 in engineering costs), Petworth Road Bridge #35 ($13,750), Maynard Bridge #48 ($22,000), and Hardwood Creek Bridge ($27,920)

“Is there any danger in us waiting until after our meeting next week before deciding to award these contracts?” asked Councilor Larry York after a number of councilors suggested they wanted to look at the entire Public Works budget before approving anything.

“I'll sleep very well until next week,” Segsworth said.

Finally, an $818,000 paving contract with Smiths Construction was also deferred until the budget.

Recreation woes – The ongoing relationship between the township, public works, the district recreation committees and the central recreation committee blew up last week over a proposal to tender the maintenance of the grounds and buildings in Portland District, leading a member of the Portland Recreation Committee to resign in anger.

Council bandied the issue around and was on the point of sending it back to the Portland Recreation Committee for clearer direction when Clerk Wayne Orr, who seemed to be feeling the heat himself, explained in detail how the decision to tender the job had come about.

Council approved tendering out the work, with both Portland councilors voting against the proposal.

The Arden Legion Annual Deer Hunters Ball will be held this year on November 16. For 2013 it has been decided to follow a new format: Entertainment will be supplied by two groups of artists; one will play from 6-8 p.m. and the second from 9 p.m. on. From 3:30-7:30 p.m. the Legion will offer “All you can eat" chicken wings for 50¢ each and fries for only $1. Accompanying the food special from 6 to 8 p.m. will be a group of musicians from the Denbigh area called “Pickled Chicken". This group supplies a unique blend of Country, Blue Grass, Rock & Roll, Blues and Folk music plus some original presentations.

Pickled Chicken has been playing together for 2-3 years and two members of the band, Mark Rowe and Joe Grant, have been playing for more years than they care to remember. This unique band, consisting of all retirees, stress fun and relaxation in the presentation of their music, playing any requests they are familiar with. They also encourage toe-tapping, clapping, singing along and any form of dancing that fits the songs.

At 9 p.m. the stage will be taken over by Tribute Artists Steve and Suzanne Roberts, who play as Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. They will present three shows over the balance of the evening performing the hits we all remember so well of the late Johnny and June.

Steve and Suzanne have performed in Tribute shows all over Canada over the past 6-7 years. They also take requests with Suzanne handling most songs by Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton and Shania Twain.

Entry to this fun-filled night of good food, entertainment, great music and the chance to win cash prizes is included in the $10 Deer Hunter Ball tickets. Ball tickets are now on sale at the Legion. The draws for all prizes will be held at approximately 10:15 p.m. and winners of awards announced at the same time. Cut-off of tickets for the Deer Contest will be 6 p.m. November 3 and tickets sold after that will be eligible for entry into the draw for the $500 and $200 cash prizes only. So, please make a point to come to the Legion for some good food and a lively time.

It came as no great surprise to see the Sydenham Junior Golden Eagles leading the Bayridge Blazers 41 to 0 with just four minutes left in the final quarter of the opening game at the Bubba Bowl last week. It has for years been the tradition of Sydenham's junior and senior teams to reign supreme at their hugely popular home football double header, which is played under the bright lights of the Point Park on Sydenham Lake. The annual event continues to draw thousands of fans, many of whom are former students and players at Sydenham.

The event was named for former grade 12 Sydenham high school student and football player Alex (Bubba) Turcotte, who passed away in his sleep 12 years ago. Bubba Bowl demonstrates how football players at Sydenham High School have flourished under the direction of a host of dedicated coaches.

I spoke with Jeff Ryan, educational assistant at SHS, now in his eleventh year of coaching football at the school. This year Ryan stepped in as the head coach of the Sydenham Junior Golden Eagles following an absence due to illness by long-time juniors' head coach Jim Latimer.

Following the juniors' win Ryan said that the final outcome of the game is one that is never completely predictable.

“We knew that our players had more experience playing the game because of the minor system that happens in this area through the Bulldog teams. Unfortunately for Bayridge, they don't have that feeder.” Ryan continued on to say that he “noticed that the Bayridge team has improved a lot this year and have become very physical.”

Following the game Ryan said that Latimer would be pleased to hear about the win, and that he would be sending him a text momentarily.

The Coffee Shop in Maberly was the place to be for lovers of British sports cars, specifically lovers of the MG. On October 6, the coffee shop's parking lot was bumper to bumper with an assortment of no fewer than 18 classic MG models spanning decades - the oldest was a 1951 MGTC. They represented just half the total of 36 cars driven by members of the Ottawa MG Car Club (OMGC), a club that boasts 140 members who were out for their annual Fall Colour Run. The tour is the last run of the year for the club and it began in Kemptville where the group split in two and drove a loop from Kemptville through Lanark and Maberly, then on through Westport, with a stop in Merrickville for lunch at the legion.

I spoke with Ivan Wood, past president of the club, and asked what happens in the event of a breakdown while enroute. “We have what we call a roadside technical session. Usually someone will have a spare part and can fix the problem,” Wood said. Asked what kind of person tends to drive an MG, he replied, “You definitely have to be a little bit crazy to own one of these cars. They all leak oil, the roofs leak, and the electrics don't work very well. You have to be dedicated." Wood said some of the members own not just one but sometimes two or even three cars. In the fair weather months, the club makes about two trips per month; one this past year included a trip to Stowe, Vermont.

Organizers of the Joe Goodfellow Memorial Race held the event at its usual location at the Hinchinbrooke Public School, although HPS officially closed it doors last June. The popular race took a hiatus last year, which was the result of a decision made at that time by some elementary school teachers at the Limestone District School Board to discontinue extra-curricular activities.

This year the race took place on Monday, October 7. Now in its twelfth year, it was named in honor of Joe Goodfellow, a student at Hinchinbrooke Public School who died tragically in a car accident in 2000 at the age of 19. It was founded by Dan Kimmerer, Joe’s cross-country coach at HPS, who initially set the event up as an invitational race in Joe’s memory. In its third year it became one of three qualifying races, (the Region 3 Meet) for the Limestone District School Board.

Anita Dannenberg, vice principal at James R. Henderson Public School in Kingston, who was on site Monday as one of the race organizers, said that more than 350 students from over 11 different schools took part. “It's been a great turn out and the race is a great way for kids to participate both independently and also as part of a team,” she said.

Six races took place throughout the day, with the runners who placed in the top 30 from each division qualifying to take part in the upcoming championship race at Fort Henry in Kingston. In the Atom girls race that I watched, three students from Loughborough Public School in Sydenham came out on top and placed in the top three in their division. They were, from left to right and in ranking order from first to third place, Siyerra Vandewal, her twin sister Olivya, and Lexa Shetler. One minor complaint from some was the rainy, cool weather and a bit of mud splash on the track, but for most of the young runners who took part it was a great day at the races. Congratulations to all of the runners who took part.