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Thursday, 26 November 2009 08:48

Relay for Life relocates to Flinton

For the past three consecutive summers the Parham Fairgrounds has been the location of Frontenac, Lennox and Addington’s Relay for Life which, up until now, has been headed by Claire Macfarlane, Chair of Relay for Life for Central Frontenac.

In its short three-year history, the Central Frontenac Relay, a 12-hour event that runs through the night, where teams obtain pledges, camp out all night and walk throughout the night, has raised close to $70,000 each year.

Last year there had been talk about finding a new location for this year’s relay in order to give area residents and supporters a break, and to give another community an opportunity to host the event.

The Flinton Recreation Centre was suggested last year as a possible new venue for the event since it offers ample indoor and outdoor space along with kitchen, canteen and washroom facilities, plus ample parking.

It also helps that the Rec Club's board of directors have experience putting on large-scale events such as the Flinton Jamboree, now going into its sixth year, which has seen attendance grow to over 1000 people last year alone.

So when Helen Yanch and Mayor Janet Gutowski were speaking about Flinton as a possible location for the 2010 Relay, Yanch mentioned her sister-in-law, Carolyn Hasler, as a possible new chair.

Carolyn recalls, “I got a call from Helen and then I spoke first to Janet Gutowski and then to Claire Macfarlane and I remember that I told Claire that I would have to think about it. I knew it was a big job to take on and I really had no idea what was involved.”

Carolyn currently holds positions as president of the Flinton Community Club, secretary of the Flinton Recreation Club, treasurer at St. Paul’s Anglican Church and she sits on the library board as well, so it was no wonder she needed a bit of thinking time to consider taking on the role as Relay chair.

When she announced the possibility of taking on the position to members of the Recreation Club at their monthly meeting back in October, the 15-member committee agreed to support her and each volunteered either to head up a team or one of the committees. Carolyn also had the support of various members of the community and it was with that knowledge that she enthusiastically agreed to take on the role.

Judging by the turnout at the recent November 18 information session for the 2010 Flinton relay, Carolyn has every reason to be enthusiastic and her connectedness in the community has served her well.

Present at the meeting along with outgoing chair Claire Macfarlane was Cheryl Bird, manager for the FLA unit of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), who along with Claire, explained the role of the CCS and that of the annual relay, the single largest fundraising event (and by far the most emotional) that the CSS holds through out the year.

After playing a documentary DVD, Claire openly admitted, “Every single time I watch that DVD I still get emotional.” She was also quick to point out that volunteers are the backbone of the CCS and “drive the emotional support, fundraising, services and leadership. In FL&A there are only three full-time staff members and a total of 852 volunteers.”

Prior to the November 18 meeting in Flinton, and to better prepare Carolyn for her new role as relay chair, Claire accompanied Carolyn to the recent 2009 Relay for Life Summit held in Toronto on November 13, 14 & 15, along with 300 other relay chairs and co-chairs from across the province.

The Flinton community’s earlier promise of support was made good and by the end of the Flinton meeting on Wednesday night many of the committee head positions had been filled: Sherry Tebo in the role as Survivor chair, and Sue Tobia as Luminary chair. Carolyn informed me also that Scott Pettigrew of the Tweed Twangers had agreed earlier to take on the role as Entertainment chair.

Carolyn has every reason to believe that this year’s relay will be a great one. She said, “We (in the Rec Club) have been organizing the Flinton Jamboree for five years and so have loads of experience. And the facilities that we have here are wonderful and offer everything that we need.”

Outgoing chair Macfarlane made it clear that she will be available for support and advice. She also confided that while the first year as chair can be the most challenging, it is also the most exciting. "You just get so revved up. It's phenomenal and the feeling that you have when you stand on that stage and see all of the people who have helped can be very emotional."

Carolyn explained, “The real challenge for me will be coordinating everyone and everything to make it a successful event. I have the bonus of working with a lot of people who I have worked closely with before and who thankfully are very willing to help out. I wouldn‘t have been able to take this on without their support.”

Carolyn's impetus in becoming chair comes from a need to help fundraise for all types of cancer and, as she explained it, "as way of fighting back and raising funds that will go directly back into the community."

The Flinton Relay for LIfe is scheduled to take place on June 11/12 at the Flinton Recreation Centre. Anyone who missed the first meeting and who would like to volunteer to help or participate in the 2010 Relay for Life can contact Carolyn Hasler at 613-336-8659 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Thursday, 29 October 2009 09:36

Denbigh_trillium_grant

Back to HomeFeature Article - October 29, 2009 Trillium Reps at Denbigh Ribbon CuttingBy Christi Schroeder-Laundrie

Representatives from the Ontario Trillium Foundation traveled to Denbigh on Saturday, October 24 to attend a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Denbigh recreation facilities. An $82,000 grant from the foundation had provided funds for a much needed facelift to the rink/ball field building and outdoor facilities.

The major work involved upgrades to the recreation building itself, including a kitchen renovation, a new septic system, two handicapped accessible washrooms, a handicapped accessible entrance and new siding. In addition, improvements were made to the picnic shelter, children's playground, additional bleachers and safety fencing.

The OTF reps had a tour of the upgraded facilities at 1:00 pm, then they, and the members of the Recreation committee proceeded to the Denbigh Community Hall where they were officially welcomed by Janice Kerr, the Recreation Club Chair. Kerr introduced Ontario Trillium Foundation representative Mimi Clancy, and after Mimi delivered a short speech, Janice Kerr accepted a plaque from the foundation on behalf of the recreation club.

Over 1300 volunteer hours went into the project, and in their speeches, both Addington Highlands Reeve Henry Hogg and Janice Kerr recognized and thanked the volunteers for all their work.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony followed, after which attendees partook of a light and refreshing luncheon.

As well as serving as a change room for skating and ball games, the new facilities will be used extensively for the community activities that the Rec Club arranges, such as snowmobile poker runs, Winterfest, children's Easter parties, Canada Day celebrations, community lawnmower pulls, Countryfest, community dinners and dances, children's Halloween parties, the Santa Clause parades, and much more.

Denbigh is situated along Highway 41,at almost equal distance from Renfrew, Bancroft, and Napanee. To access any avenue of recreation, residents would have to travel an hour to any of the three ports. With Denbigh’s own recreation facility now modernized, it can offer a very wide range of activities close to home, accessible to everyone in the Denbigh area. 

Published in 2009 Archives
Sunday, 02 February 2014 12:18

Robbie Burns Night at Sharbot Lake Legion

Members of the Frontenac Masonic Lodge and the Sharbot Lake Legion joined forces for the first-ever Robbie Burns Dinner at the Legion, which took place on January 25 and was a sold-out event.

Bill Bowick, who is the Master of the Frontenac Masonic Lodge No. 621, initiated the idea for the event after a member suggested having a dinner. Bowick then approached Legion president Dave Whalen thinking that the Legion would be an ideal place to hold it. “The Legion is not only a great service club but they are better set up with the facilities to put on an event like this,” Bowick said.

Dave Whalen said that he was on board from the get-go. “My mother is from Aberdeen, Scotland and I love everything Scottish and have been there a number of times. When Bill asked me to partner with him for this I jumped at the chance.” Whalen credited Bill and Rosemarie Bowick, and his wife Kathleen for organizing the event.

Robbie Burns, who was born January 25, 1759, was a very well known Mason who made numerous Masonic references in his poetry. He was regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement. He inspired the founders of both liberalism and socialism as well as contributing to the value systems of Freemasonry. He influenced the leaders of the French and American revolutions, many of whom were Masons. His birthday is celebrated across Canada and around the world and he has become a cultural icon to Scots everywhere.

The celebrations in Sharbot Lake got underway with over 80 guests in fancy attire sipping beverages and snacking on hors d'oeuvres as volunteer cooks for the evening, Kathleen White, Peggy Muldoon and Sharon Quinn, managed the seven pots on the stove. They served up a meal that included cock-a-leekie soup, roast beef, haggis, mashed potatoes and turnips, and for dessert, sticky pudding with toffee sauce and ice cream.

A number of Masons assisted with the meal. Former master of the Frontenac Masons, Simon Spanchak, obtained the haggis, which were made by expert haggis maker Kalvin Holland of Kemptville. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish made with oatmeal, and the lung, heart, kidney and liver of a sheep, which is all stuffed into a sheep's stomach. Mason Bill Kennedy of Kingston made the cock-a-leekie soups, one of which was made with pheasant and the other with wild turkey. Both included prunes, leeks, onions, carrots, and pearl barley.

Prior to everyone tucking in, Legion piper Jeff Donnelly “piped in the haggis” with his version of "Highland Laddie", after which Bill Bowick made a toast to the famed Scottish delicacy.

The evening included numerous toasts and readings of Burns's poems, and was dedicated to the late William “Scotty” Meldrum, who was the founding president of the Sharbot Lake Legion, and also the first member of the Frontenac Masonic Lodge to be appointed officer of the Grand Lodge of Canada. Meldrum, who was a resident of Sharbot Lake, originally came from Scotland and after arriving in Canada he enlisted and served at Passchendaele.

The two clubs shared the profits from the event, with the funds going to the Legion's Bursary Fund and to the Canadian Blood Services. Judging by the sold-out event, it will not be the last time that the two clubs join forces to celebrate Robbie Burns Day. Whalen said he would definitely be on board should he be asked again next year. “It's a great opportunity for both service clubs to benefit from helping each other," he said. Whalen said that in his nine-year history at the Legion it is the first time that the two organizations have come together to put on an event.

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC

Thanks to a grant from the St. Lawrence College Employment Centre, the Frontenac Heritage Festival will employ a new marketing strategy this year and into the future.

Jesse Mills, a graduate of Sharbot Lake High School who has studied film in Toronto, has been engaged to help upgrade the festival's website and facebook page, to help promote the upcoming festival, and to create some videos to create visibility for the festival into the future.

Mills started his one-month contract with the festival late last week, and he began by bringing the festival website up to date, including all of this year's events and plotting the locations of each event on a map.

“The main thing I'm here to do is promote the festival, particularly to a younger group. I'll be running around and filming things for the next few weeks,” Mills said.

This year's Heritage Festival, which is set for the Family Day weekend (February 14-17), features many of the popular events from previous years, including the Sharbot Lake Snow Drags, the Fall River Pioneer Log Home, The Polar Bear Plunge and the Talent Show.

New this year will be a number of events on Saturday in Arden, including displays by the both the Kennebec Historical Society and the Kennebec Trappers, a Fur Traders Camp re-enactment, chain saw wood carving by Rob Deruchie, and more at the Kennebec Hall, the Arden Legion Fishing Derby and the Kennebec Lake Family Fun Day.

One of the events that Jesse Mills is promoting is the revamped Festival Photo Contest. This year there is only one category for the contest, Frontenac Landmarks, and entries, up to three per photographer, can be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The deadline for submissions is February 10, and there are cash prizes for contest winners, which will be announced on the Saturday of the festival.

Further details are available at the festival website, which is most easily accessed through the Frontenac Heritage Festival facebook page or Twitter feed.

“One of the things I plan to do is prepare a video from previous years' festivals and during the festival I plan to get as much footage as possible to prepare videos for internet release afterwards,” said Jesse Mills.

Mills graduated from Sharbot Lake High School in 2011, and has a sister attending Granite Ridge Education Centre, so he hopes to be able to approach the students and staff at the school seeking volunteers to help out at various festival events.

“I also want to encourage students to participate in the festival this year,” he said. “As I was updating the website I saw how many diverse events there are and I began thinking about how I can let people know what will be happening.”

He will also be looking at promoting the festival in Kingston and beyond through services such as Kijiji and Craigslist.

Look for more about the Heritage Festival in these pages over the next two weeks. A flyer will be included in next week's paper in many communities, or go to sites.google.com/site/frontenacheritagefestival/

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
Thursday, 02 July 2009 07:49

Ah_build_canada

Back to HomeFeature Article - July 2, 2009 More federal money for Addington HighlandsBy Jeff Green

Reeve Henry Hogg, MP Scott Reid, Roads Superintendent Royce Rosenblath and councillors Louise Scott and Eythel Grant are all smiles over $556,850 infrastructure money.

“So where should we do the photo this time?” asked Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington MP Scott Reid when everyone was gathered at the Addington Highlands township office in the basement of the Flinton Recreation Centre.

Reid presented a ceremonial cheque a few weeks ago in Flinton, and has been presenting cheques regularly over the past month in towns all across the three-county riding that he represents.

“The last time I think we took the photo in front of the Red Pines; let’s try that bench, and we’ll do the other one at the outdoor rink,” he said.

The cheque presentation had been organized in order to mark the $556,850 that has been promised to cover the federal and provincial governments’ contributions towards the Matawatchan Road in the north end of the township, and for work on the Denbigh works garage as well. The money comes from the Build Canada fund.

Those grants were announced a couple of weeks ago, but the big news on this day was a new grant, so new that Scott Reid and his assistant Mike Firth didn’t even have a cheque ready for it. This one is a recreation grant from a fund called the RInC fund, and it is a $124,000 federal contribution, to be matched by the Province of Ontario and the township, towards a coverall roof for the Flinton ice rink, which is located next to the Flinton Recreation Centre.

Members of the Flinton Recreation Committee were on hand to thank Scott Reid for that commitment.

Addington Highlands is one of two townships to receive RInC funding, but none of the Frontenac townships’ applications to the fund were successful. 

Published in 2009 Archives
Wednesday, 22 January 2014 19:00

Golden Links Hall suffers $20,000 in damage

Heavy snow, ice and the recent January thaw have wreaked havoc to a number of buildings and homes in the region. The Golden Links Hall in Harrowsmith was one building that has suffered, and as result two functions that were scheduled to take place there had to be canceled.

Debbie Green, who is the Vice Grand of the Rebekah Lodge Branch 358 and also secretary of the Golden Links Hall Committee, said that she became aware of a problem on January 10 after a couple of hall members arrived to take out the recycling.

“They arrived to find the small meeting rooms, the cloak room and the storage room all flooded. There was about 3-4 inches of water on the floor in those areas and my understanding is that the flooding occurred as result of the ice storm that took place earlier this month," she said.

The storm caused an ice dam on the roof above those sections of the building, which caused water to leak through the roof vents as the ice and snow began to thaw. Luckily the main hall of the building and the lodge room off of it were not damaged.

Green said that on the following Monday, Service Master, a water damage company from Kingston, was called out to assess the situation. They estimated the damage at $20,000. While the company reported no structural damage to the roof or building, all of the carpeting, drywall and ceiling tiles had to removed in the affected areas and will be replaced in the next few weeks. The company has installed numerous industrial-strength dryers to dry out the flooded areas, which Green said would take close a week. This must be done prior to the installation of the new materials.

Green said the repairs come at a terrible time since the hydro and heating bills at the hall will still need to be paid, but she did say they are thankful that the damage was not worse and that insurance coverage will pay for all of damages.

That being said, however, the revenue that would have been generated from the two canceled fundraising functions - the beef supper that was scheduled for Jan. 19, and the bingo that was scheduled for Jan. 21 - will be sorely missed.

Debbie Green hopes to be able to schedule some additional fundraisers to make up for the loss. She is hoping that the reconstruction will be complete by March 1, in time for the Oddfellows' Branch 306 120th anniversary celebration, which is scheduled for that day.

Green has been a member of the Rebekahs for 30 years and on the hall committee for the past 10 years. She said that she does not recall ever having to cancel a function in the hall's 40-year history, nor does she recall the building ever being damaged in any way before.

She thanks the community for their patience and understanding in this matter and said she hopes to see everyone at their next beef supper, which will take place on February16 from 4-6:30pm. The regular youth dances and ballroom dancing lessons will continue as scheduled at the hall.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 18 December 2013 19:00

NAEC Athlete Wins OFSAA Character Athlete Award

Jared Salmond, a Grade 12 student at North Addington Education Centre, won the OFSAA Character Athlete Award on December 10. The award is sponsored by the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations and is given to a male and female high school athlete each semester. Over the past two years, Jared has been a member of NAEC Senior Boys’ Volleyball team. This year the team had its most successful year in recent memory, finishing fourth in Bay of Quinte and third in COSSA, narrowly missing out on an OFSAA chance. Jared was selected as a winner for the award because of his demonstration of OFSAA’s values of leadership, commitment, respect, equity, growth, and development.

Jared, selected by his peers for the past two seasons to serve as team captain, has always acted in a positive manner both on and off the court. On top of volleyball, last year Jared help start an intramural program for NAEC elementary students and helped with secondary intramurals as well. In the past, Jared has helped with the North Addington Basketball Association and with the North Addington SPIKES program. Outside of school Jared is an instructor with the Mazinaw Lake Swim Program. In all of Jared’s endeavours, he positively demonstrates the core character values outlined by OFSAA.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS

Good things happen when community groups and organizations link up. That has been the case over the last year with participants in New Leaf Link (NeLL), a non-profit, charitable organization dedicated to the community inclusion of adults with developmental disabilities. NeLL offers their students a special education program that includes functional skills and literacy, arts and crafts, and health and recreation programming in the local community.

Dr. Karin Steiner, who is the organization's founder and executive director, connected with Marilyn Picard, owner of the AMHO U Fitness gym in Sydenham over a year ago, and since then Marilyn has been running Power Fit and Qigong classes at the gym every Thursday for NeLL students.

On December 8 she and her group of senior Iron Maidens, a group of 28 women who range in age from 47 to 83 and work out regularly with Marilyn at the gym, banded together to hold a special fundraiser there for NeLL. The event included a special Qigong presentation, following which guests and participants purchased copious amounts of baked goods, all baked and donated by the senior Iron Maidens. Marilyn said that Qigong, which is an ancient martial art, is an especially great exercise for all ages. “The word Qigong literally means 'breath work' and the whole idea is to accumulate and circulate energy in the body so that people can heal,” Marilyn explained. She said that she has seen incredible changes in NeLL participants especially as a result of the Qigong classes. One NeLL participant, Amy, who entered the gym on the first day of classes with a walker, has reportedly greatly improved her balance and her confidence. Jo Lyon, a volunteer with NeLL, said that Amy now runs unassisted and shows an improved sense of balance, well being, and overall confidence. “There is definitely something about being here that makes Amy's balance so much better.”

Karin Steiner, whose son Nicholas has autism, is also a NeLL student who takes part in the gym classes. Steiner said Nicolas now is imitating people much more readily. “He watches Marilyn and the Iron Maidens and does the exercises on his own and he really enjoys it. I can feel just how happy it makes him to be part of this. “ Regarding the program at the gym Steiner said, “This is just one prong of our program, the physical exercise portion and it really helps with the whole program because physical wellness leads to wellness in other areas”. Marilyn said the practice of Qigong really calms the NeLL participants and releases stress. "You can see the change as soon as I put the Qigong music on,” she said.

Steiner said that she and her volunteers will often do the Qigong breathing exercises regularly with the students at their regular location at St. Paul's Anglican church in Sydenham. “We use the Qigong exercises as a transition tool and also when students become anxious.”

NeLL is now in its fifth year of operation and currently has eight students enrolled in the program. Steiner said that NeLL has been able to continue to evolve as a result of finding community partners like Marilyn and the Iron Maidens. Marilyn said that she is very pleased to offer her support to NeLL as a way to give back to the organization and the community. For more information visit www.newleaflink.ca

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 11 December 2013 19:00

NAEC Has Spirit!

On December 6, "Frosty Friday" was held at North Addington Education Centre. The secondary students participated in a fun-filled day of activities, like tug-of-war, "Minute to win it," and NAEC’s "Next Top Model." The high school was divided into four house groups; N, A, E, and C, and competed against each other for the honour of winning the title of best house.

The day started off with a pancake breakfast provided by the school to the elementary and secondary students. After eating, the houses split up to work on their house cheer until going off to one of four different activities. The activities were short competitions for each house individually. They competed in "Minute to win it," "Molding minds", three-legged race, and six-person skiing. After a break for lunch, the houses cheered themselves on in a cheer off, and then had a tug-of-war tournament. A sled race after that, finished the physical activities. Then, the most anticipated activity of the day, NAEC’s top model! Four lovely guys showed their confident sides and competed in a fierce beauty pageant.

At the end of the day, and a long battle, N house was declared the winner! All students had an exciting day and enjoyed the formal that evening. The day was organized by the NAEC Students Council.

Published in ADDINGTON HIGHLANDS
Wednesday, 04 December 2013 19:00

A New Christmas Tradition In Verona

Members of the Verona Community Association (VCA) decided to change up their traditional Christmas activities this year. Wayne Conway, director with the VCA, said the change came about because the usual PA Day in November was moved this year to December, which meant that the free skate that usually precedes the annual tree lighting at McMullen Park would not take place. Also, the tree at McMullen Park was getting increasingly damaged from the Christmas lights. So VCA members decided to move the festivities to the Verona Lions Hall on Sand Road and make the event a day-long and evening event for the whole family. Local community businesses and individuals were invited to decorate a number of Christmas trees and 11 trees were set up in the hall's outdoor pavilion. Guests were invited to vote on their favorites and prizes were given out to the top three winners. The 11 gorgeous trees were simultaneously lit up at 6:30 pm. Youngsters had a chance to ride the Verona toy train and roast marshmallows at an outdoor fire pit. Inside the hall they enjoyed a number of special Christmas crafts, games, snacks and beverages, plus visits with the very jolly Santa and Mrs. Claus. A free meal of chili and hot dogs was also provided. Later in the evening music lovers enjoyed local songsters Crooked Wood.

Like all changes it takes time for a new tradition to catch on but by noon on Saturday the parking lot was quickly filling up as carloads of youngsters arrived with parents and grandparents in tow to enjoy the free festivities. Conway said that the event so far seems to be catching on. “It's the first annual and we are seeing a lot of enthusiasm so far. The nice thing is that here there is a place for people to warm up inside, out of the cold.”

The mandate of the VCA is to beatify the town of Verona and make it a place where residents enjoy to live. “We hope to see this new tradition become a successful, long-time ongoing event.” Conway also brought up the fact that the Verona Cattail Festival, now in its fourth year, took a while to catch on but was never more successful than this summer.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
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