Are you interested in getting more active? Did you know there is a group that meets downstairs at the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team every Thursday at 1:30pm and goes for a walk until 2:30pm? Did you know that a nurse and dietitian also go on this walk and discuss important health topics each week? It’s true! There’s also equipment to use free of charge including: snowshoes, walking poles, hand weights, and pedometers. Everyone is welcome, it’s free to anyone, and everyone can go his or her own pace.

The benefits of walking are incredible. It is a simple, safe, inexpensive way to improve blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, bone health, weight, energy, alertness, stress, tension, sleep, the list goes on. Walking also exercises multiple muscle groups including the arms, shoulders, abs, quadriceps, hip flexors, and hamstrings! In addition, walking reduces the risk of colon cancer, builds bone mass which reduces the risk of osteoporosis, improves balance, improves heart health by increasing heart rate and circulation, decreases your risk of catching a cold by 50%, reduces glaucoma risk, and halves Alzheimer’s disease over 5 years. Walking is also an exercise option for all ages!

It is recommended that most people complete at least 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity aerobic exercise each week. When you are ready, resistance exercises such as lifting weights should be added into your routine three times each week. There’s never a bad time to start increasing your physical activity level. Things that can help to keep you on track are doing something enjoyable, have a buddy join you, set very small achievable goals and celebrate meeting these goals often!

Please call 613-279-2100 for more information or to register for the walking group out of the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team.

Funding request is defeated in a 4-3 vote

(Update on this story. Tom Dewey of Central Frontenac has decided not to support the motion. Higgins still against it. The motion being voted on is for $105,750 over 10 years. There are only 6 members of council in attendance. 5 have indicated how they will vote. 3 for and 2 against. The final vote comes down to Natalie Nossal from Frontenac Islands. Recorded vote nossal votes no, motion defeated in a 4-3 vote.)

North Frontenac mayor, Ron Higgins, said he will be voting against a proposed grant of $125,000 for Pine Meadow Nursing Home when it comes up this week at Frontenac County Council.

The home, which is located in Northbrook, has asked the County for money in the past to help with capital projects. They asked for support on a yearly basis in the run-up to the rebuild of Pine Meadow, which was completed last year, but Councilors representing South Frontenac and Frontenac Islands have always voted as a bloc against the funding, ensuring that it has never happened.

When the matter came up last week at a meeting of the Committee of the Whole of Frontenac County Council, this time to pay for replacement bay windows in the older part of Pine Meadow, Councillor John McDougall from South Frontenac indicated he would be supporting the motion. This would give the elusive fifth vote needed for a majority in the nine-vote council (there are eight members of Frontenac County Council, and Ron Vandewal has two votes by virtue of being Mayor of South Frontenac).

But then Ron Higgins spoke.

“I struggled with this myself, but I can't see that the County of Frontenac should start supporting other homes. Based on the budget restrictions that we have in pace, I can't vote in favour, just from the fiscal responsibility perspective. I know I will hear about this,” he said.

Deputy Warden Frances Smith and Councillor Tom Dewey, both from Central Frontenac, as well as North Frontenac Councillor John Inglis, along with John McDougall, all indicated they would support the request. Ron Vandewal said that since he was already set to vote against the proposed 2016 Frontenac County budget because it includes a 2.5% increase, “so I can't support this because it will add even more to the budget.”

Warden Dennis Doyle and Councillor Natalie Nossal, both from Frontenac Islands, did not speak to the motion.

Frontenac County is the owner and operator of the Fairmount Home, which is located adjacent to the county offices. As a municipally run home, the 128-bed Fairmount Home receives $2.7 million from municipal taxation in addition to provincial funding and resident fees towards its $12 million annual operating budget. City of Kingston ratepayers contribute about $1.8 million and Frontenac County ratepayers will pay $908,920 towards the home's operating expenses in 2016.

By contrast, the 60-bed Pine Meadow Home receives only the provincial funding and resident fees with which to finance its operations.

Betty Hunter, a member of the Pine Meadow Management Committee, made the pitch for funding at the regular monthly meeting of Frontenac County Council on October 21.

“We are looking for only capital support,” she said at the time, “not operating funding, but this is a matter of some urgency for us. Pine Meadow is not located within Frontenac County, but neither is Fairmount Home. Pine Meadow serves a high percentage of residents from North and Central Frontenac.”

Pine Meadow received $250,000 over 10 years from the County of Lennox and Addington towards its rebuild and expansion project, which was completed a year ago. Like Frontenac County, Lennox and Addington also operates its own municipal home in Napanee, the John Parrot Centre.

In his report regarding the application for funding, Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Pender expressed the concern that supporting “a long-term care facility outside of our geographic boundaries will open the door for other facilities in neighbouring communities that routinely receive County of Frontenac residents.”

He also said that he was concerned about the “ability to pay” argument, which could surface in contract negotiations with unions and arbitrators representing Fairmount Home staff.

“If we can afford to financially support long-term care outside of our jurisdiction, the argument that we can only keep salary increases to the cost of living for our own employees would be weakened,” he said.

Pender also told the Committee of the Whole last week that he had requested financial statements from Pine Meadow after receiving the funding request in October, but had just received them and had not had a chance to look at them.

Ron Higgins then proposed a deferral of the motion to support Pine Meadow pending a review of the finances, and the matter was deferred until a meeting this week,

Since last week's meeting, the funding request has been clarified by Pine Meadow. The request is now $105,750. Pine Meadow administrator Margaret Palimaka said the Home would be happy to receive the money over five or even ten years.

“We would be happy to receive anything,” she said.

The proposal is included in the agenda for the county meeting that is set for Wednesday, November 18.

(This story will be updated at Frontenacnews.ca to reflect the results of that meeting)

A delegation from Frontenac County, including Pender, Fairmount Home interim administrator Steve Silver, and North Frontenac councilor, John Inglis, paid a visit to Pine Meadow in late October to meet with staff and administration.

Betty Hunter and Ernest Lapchinski, members of Northbrook-based Pine Meadow Nursing Home's management board, appeared before Frontenac County Council on October 21, seeking financial support for new windows at the home.

Pine Meadow Nursing Home, a 60-bed long term care facility, is located in Addington Highlands Township, County of Lennox and Addington, but up to 50% of its residents at any given time come to the home from North and Central Frontenac, Ernest Lapchinski pointed out.

Over the years representatives from the home have made numerous presentations to Frontenac County seeking funding, mostly for the major renovation and upgrade to Pine Meadow that was completed in 2014.

“L&A County put in $250,000 over 10 years, and Addington Highlands waived the building fees for the project, but Frontenac County declined several requests for support,” said Betty Hunter.

Frontenac County operates the municipally owned Fairmount Home. In rejecting annual requests for funding, successive Frontenac County Councils argued that maintaining Fairmount is already a burden for county ratepayers, and satisfies the legislative requirement that the county pay into the long term care system in Ontario.

There is a precedent for the county to support capital projects for health care institutions outside of its jurisdiction, however. The budget includes a 10-year commitment of $25,000 per year towards capital upgrades to Kingston General Hospital.

“What we are looking for today is funding support for the replacement of 11 bay windows in the original Pine Meadow building, which was built in 1993 to standards that are not what they are today. The new section of the building is up to those standards, but there are still challenges in the original building. The repair is extensive since it includes the supports, and the cost is $13,530 per window plus HST, about $165,000, which would be about $25,000 per year for seven years from Frontenac County,” said Betty Hunter. “It is a matter of some urgency.”

“The home operates within the funding envelope provided by the Ministry of Health,” said Ernest Lapchinski, “and we manage our operations within budget and have always done so, but since the home is owned by the Land O'Lakes Community Services, which has its own funding challenges, there is nowhere to turn except fund raising and grants for capital projects such as this one.”

“For years Pine Meadow has been coming to us looking for money. Council needs to find some niche to allocate money to this building, which is important to our residents in the North. We have to find an envelope to pull that money from; that is our challenge,” said North Frontenac councilor, John Inglis.

“May I point out there is no long-term facility in Frontenac County,” said Betty Hunter, referring to the fact that Fairmount Home, although county-owned, is located within the City of Kingston,

“I would try to see us do something; when it comes to budget time, I will be supporting this,” said Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith.

While Pine Meadow (60 beds) and Fairmount Home (128 beds) receive money from the Ministry of Long Term Care according to the same funding formula, and also charge resident fees, as a municipally owned home, Fairmount receives an additional $2.6 million from municipal sources. Of that money, $1.7 million comes from the City of Kingston and $900,000 from Frontenac County. The total operating budget for Fairmount Home in 2015 is $11.6 million.

The discrepancy in funding has been brought up at Frontenac County Council in the past, particularly under the late warden Bud Clayton, who coincidentally also chaired the Pine Meadow Management Committee.

Steve Silver, the interim administrator of Fairmount Home, said recently that care staff tend to be paid more at municipal homes as compared to the not-for-profit sector, based on how arbitration hearings tend to settle contract disputes between unions and management in the municipal sector.

Silver, along with Chef Administrative Officer Kelly Pender and Councilor John Inglis, are visiting Pine Meadow this week to get a first hand look at the operation and its finances. They will also be paying a similar visit to Rideaucrest Home, which is another municipally owned home in the City of Kingston.

Frontenac County will be entering budget deliberations for 2016 on November 12, when the draft budget will be tabled by staff.

Land O' Lakes Seniors rocked on at Pine Meadow Nursing Home just prior to Thanksgiving when they visited our friends and group members there, were welcomed by Barb Ellsworth, activity director and pastoral leader, and also shared some snacks and stories. Our Pine Meadow folks have been busy of late- enjoying Tai Chi, a visit to Miles Farm for a tractor and wagon ride, and of course their annual fall fair was over the top in fun. It featured balloon darts, bobbing for apples, judging of the staff's homemade pickles, snacks of popcorn, and apple slices dipped in caramel sauce. The Pine Meadow fantastic Kitchen Club have their baking supply cupboard all stocked up and ready to go thanks to generous donors, so the club will continue to bake their wonderful homemade treats based on their recipes and memories of years past.

The residents travelled down Memory Lane when they visited the homestead of Andy Armstrong in Plevna where Andy's niece and nephew offered tours and sharing of history. They also enjoyed a picnic lunch at Armstrong Lake where folks had a fun time. As well the residents went to Wheelers Pancake House for a super yummy treat and visit there. So, that's just a partial sharing of one month's activities, but other monthly happenings include weekly worship services, musical groups, exercises, singing, baking and so much more. We are so fortunate to have such a fantastic facility right in our area.

Close to 100 guests gathered under the outdoor pavilion at the Pine Meadow Nursing Home in Northbrook on September 11 to officially celebrate its long-awaited refurbishing and upgrading from a class B facility into a “new home” rated facility, which is one step above its initial goal of becoming a category A nursing home.

Carl Gray, on behalf of the board of directors of the Land O'Lakes Community Services (LOLCS), emceed the event, which included greetings and speeches by various dignitaries, including the Warden of Lennox Addington, Gordon Schermerhorn; Addington Highlands Councilor Bill Cox; North Frontenac Councilor Vernon Hermer; Pine Meadow's current administrator Margaret Palimka and its chair of family council Brenda Martin; and representatives from Extendicare, Sharon Gilmour and Tracey Mulcahey.

The road to the facility's redevelopment has indeed been a long one. It began 14 years ago when Kim Harvey, Pine Meadow's then administrator, initiated the process, which was approved by the LOLCS and set in motion with the appointment of a planning committee.

Ernest Lapchinski, chair of Pine Meadow’s planning and building committee, has been involved in the project from the start. He also spoke at the ceremony, thanking all of the individuals and parties involved in seeing the project through to completion. These included the LOLCS; the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care and Infrastructure Ontario; Georgina Thompson, first chair of the South East LHIN (Local Health Integration Network); the County of Lennox and Addington; Extendicare Canada; project manager Peter McConnachie and architect Gail Lamb; and Brian McMullen and Jamie Broeders of Frecon Construction of Kingston. Also thanked were the various local organizations and groups who supported the project, including the Northbrook Lions and Legion, as well as the staff and residents at Pine Meadow and the local and surrounding communities. Lapchinski ended his thanks by saying that, “Rural communities such as ours without significant political clout have learned that they must work together to get what is needed for our citizens and that takes persistence and passion, both of which have brought us to success”.

Other presentations included a plaque in memory of former mayor of North Frontenac, Bud Clayton, which was presented to Bill Cox. Clayton was very involved with the project and Cox said he would have been “very proud.”

A presentation was also made by Margaret Anderson on behalf of her partner Brian Lorimer, who gifted a large work he painted, titled “The Weathered Pine” to the facility. The painting depicts a tree located near the facility, one that residents often walk by on their hikes. Anderson said it demonstrates how an old, weathered tree is still beautiful and can still offer an important role in the ongoing circle of life it inhabits.

Betty Meeks, president of the residents’ council, also spoke on behalf of the residents and said that despite the refurbishing process, during which residents and staff endured “..lots of dirt, noise and confusion, ongoing changes in routine, we now have a much nicer building - brighter, bigger, and more pleasant with more areas to visit with friends and family.”

The upgrades, which cost approximately $5.5 million, were completed at the end of July, 2015. They include two extensions made to each of the two wings of the facility, which each now have 32 beds and an increased number of square footage per resident. There were also upgrades and renovations to the dining room, visiting areas, washroom facilities and outdoor facilities.

Emcee Carl Gray especially thanked the staff at Pine Meadow, who he said always, throughout the construction process “maintained a 'residents first' approach”. He also thanked the members of the Pine Meadow Management Committee, past and present, who he said “have worked tirelessly to see this redevelopment become a reality.”

Following the ceremony, staff, residents and guests enjoyed cake and refreshments, and staff gave tours of the new upgrades.

The annual seniors’ baseball game took place on August 9 at the Arden ball diamond. There was an enthusiastic effort from both teams and an exciting level of play. It is wonderful to experience the ability of a group of seniors who are able to make impressive plays in spite of the 60 to 80 years of wear and tear. The Arden team provided a barbeque after the game, which all enjoyed very much. They likely report the results as a tie. We were indeed tied in our sheer joy of playing. Credit goes to the Arden team who won the tightly contested game 27-24. The Cloyne Grey Jays return home to Wednesday morning practice and preparation for the next meeting of these two great teams. Thanks to Gord Brown and Don Patry for organizing the event.

The sounds of the Arden Glee Club at the Oso Hall on a week day in late June can only mean one thing: it is the day of the Seniors of the Year presentation. This was the 17th edition of the ceremony, and the Glee Club has performed in at least the last 10.

This year, as has also happened in the past, one of their members was among the honourees.

The first person recognized was Reverend Jean Brown from Henderson. Jean is well known locally for a number of reasons. She is an ordained United Church minister who originally came to the area to serve as minister in Arden, Mountain Grove and Henderson between 1992 and 1999. Later she served congregations elsewhere in Eastern Ontario from her home base in Henderson, where she met Alan Gurnsey. The couple married in 1999.

More recently she has been filling in where needed at local churches and is currently serving at Sharbot Lake, Maberly and Parham United Churches.

As Frontenac News readers are aware, Jean keeps the community informed as our Henderson reporter and always contributes a seasonal recipe or two from Manitoulin Island, where she was born and still visits each summer. She may be best known however, for her love of the colour pink, which has adorned her clothes, vehicles and even her home. Her license plate reads “PINKJEAN”.

As Mayor Frances Smith said in presenting the award, “Jean is a real 'hoot'”.

Bill Powers, the Glee Club member among this year's recipients, moved to Mountain Grove 10 years ago with his wife Sylvia. They both joined the Glee Club, which is a major commitment, and Bill joined the fire department, where he brings the kind of background in emergency services that is hard to come by. In his previous life in Ottawa, where he taught high school, Powers joined a volunteer organization called International Rescue. They have developed expertise in dealing with global scale natural disasters that has led to them being called in first when a disaster strikes anywhere around the world. Through International Rescue, Powers provided assistance in Galveston, Texas after Hurricane Mitch, and in Gulfport, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. He was called to Indonesia after the tsunami, and most recently to Haiti after the devastating earthquake. By that time he was 70.

As Councillor Victor Heese said in presenting the award, “There is no retirement for Bill Powers.”

In presenting the award to Ron Hollywood, Councilor Bill MacDonald deferred to his neighbour Skip Moyse.

“Ron is as old as dirt,” Moyse said to start, but then grew more complimentary as he went along. He described how Hollywood is a tireless volunteer for the Lions Club, the Railway Heritage Society, and the Silver Lake Pow Wow, which granted him their highest honour, the Eagle Feather, two years ago.

“Ron is the quiet guy you always see setting up or tearing down at just about any community event,” said Skip Moyse, who added that perhaps Ron's most enduring volunteer work is done informally. He has been known to cut, split and deliver wood to neighbours who need it, or help fix a roof, or shovel a driveway.

“I cannot think of a more unassuming person who has done so much for so many,” Moyse concluded.

Finally, it was the turn of Hinchinbrooke Councilor Brent Cameron to present the award to a couple he has known all his life, Joan and Roy Shepherd. Again, as readers will know, the Shepherds were the founders and driving forces behind the monthly Piccadilly Jam sessions, which over the years have become known as the “Bedford Jam” at the Glendower Hall.

“These weekend sessions not only showcase local talent and provide an opportunity to share and collaborate, but they offer audience members with a cultural gift. They provide us with performances in a genre that connects us with our rural traditions and heritage,” said Cameron.

The Shepherds have successfully transitioned a new couple, the Card's, to the helm of the Bedfod Jam, ensuring its continued success.

You are invited to attend a FREE community public information session about Advance Care Planning.

“…it’s about making choices now, while you are capable, about how you wish to be cared for in the future if you become incapable of making decisions. It is also about giving someone you trust the information and authority to act on those wishes for you…” (Ontario Government’s “The Advance Care Planning Guide).

Have you made these plans? Does your family know what these plans are? Do you have an up-to-date Power of Attorney for your Personal Care should you not be capable of expressing your plans before you die? Is your will up-to-date? Do you want to have extreme medical procedures done to prolong your life if you are in a coma or situation with no hope for a full recovery? Have you made funeral arrangements?

Although these are difficult questions to face, unfortunately each of us will eventually die, and more and more people are looking into these question to make sure their plans are carried out. Such pre-planning also spares family and friend the difficult task of making such decisions, saving them much time and extra stress. It also means peace of mind for us as we don’t have to worry or think about it again. The information sessions will provide the opportunity to have these and other questions answered as the presenters include a physician, lawyer, family member who experienced this, a representative from the Alzheimer Society, and a funeral home staff person.

This event takes place on two occasions: Wed. June 10, 2-4pm, at Sydenham Grace Centre, 4295 Stagecoach Road, and Wed. June 17, 2-4 pm, at Verona Lions Centre, 5404 Verona Sand Road. It is sponsored by the Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation, in cooperation with the Verona Medical Clinic. Coffee and refreshments will be served.

It is suggested that you pre-register as seating is limited. To pre-register for either session, contact Southern Frontenac Community Services office at 613-376-6477 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Janet Brooks of Ompah was one of over 60 protesters who attended the Enough is Enough Hydro One protest, which took place outside of the Hydro One offices in Perth on May 2. The event attracted local and area residents fed up with the high cost of their bills.

Brooks described her financial situation as desperate, and says she has had to put the home she bought seven years ago up for sale. Presently her outstanding Hydro One bill is $4,000. “My second mortgage people are repossessing my home and I have nowhere to go,” she said in tears. Brooks, who is a single mother, said that unfortunately her situation is not unique. “I know of others in the Ompah area who are experiencing the same kind of situation and I know of 10 other home owners in the area who are going to have to walk away from their homes.”

She approached drivers stopped at the corner of Highway 7 and Drummond St., asking them to sign a petition that will be presented in the Legislative Assembly at Queens Park on May 13 the same day that a large Enough is Enough Protest will be taking place there. “As a kid I used to be afraid of the dark, Brooks said, “ and now because of Hydro One I am scared of the light because I cannot afford it.”

The Saturday protest in Perth was organized by Jeanette Kosnaski of Barry's Bay and Jenny Gates, both administrators of the Enough is Enough Hydro One group, which to date has over 21,000 members. Kosnaski said that the group is fighting Hydro One's delivery charges for rural Ontarians, as well as the HST charge, the debt retirement charge and smart meters. The petition that the group was passing around at the demonstration demands “The removal of all hidden charges that make up the delivery charge, and its replacement with one standard charge for all Ontarians." The petition also demands the immediate replacement of smart meters by analog meters.

Randy Hillier, MPP for Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington, spoke at the protest and blamed Hydro One's inflated regulatory and delivery charges on mismanagement and exorbitant wages. He said that the Green Energy Act is also to blame because FIT contracts “compel Hydro One to purchase renewable energy at inflated over market rates”.

He listed a number of solutions that he believes would fix the problems. These included auditing the MDMR (Meter Data Management Repository) and either scrapping or altering it; trimming wages to employees at Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One; canceling the Green Energy Act; stopping all new FIT contracts and imposing a tax on the excess profits of FIT developers, with the proceeds reimbursing Hydro One customers. Hillier said that he welcomes “an end to the Hydro One monopoly to allow for competition in a free market place”.

Tracy Stewart-Simmons of Carp also spoke at the event. Kosnaski encouraged those present to join the Enough is Enough Hydro One group and invited all present to attend a larger protest that will take place at Queens Park in Toronto on May 13 from noon until 3pm. The group is arranging bus transportation for out-of-towners, and speakers at the event will include MPP Randy Hillier, Steve Clark, Parker Gallant, Cindy Moyer and others yet to be confirmed. Kosnaski hopes to see many bodies in Toronto on May 13. “We need to get out there and make the Ontario government know that this is no longer acceptable.” For more information visit Enough is Enough Hydro One on Facebook.

Fourteen seniors attended a CPR workshop on March 30 at the Anglican church hall in Sharbot Lake. Headed up by Mark Powell, a local paramedic who works with Frontenac Paramedic Services, the presentation included a plethora of information on administering basic First Aid, like how to apply bandages, dressings, splints, slings and wraps. Other topics included how to identify and treat choking, stroke, heart attacks, bee stings, and nose bleeds and other kinds of bleeds. When I visited, the group was learning how to administer proper CPR and guests were also shown how to use a defibrillator.

Powell said that though the session was not a certified First Aid/CPR course, he was able to pass on a lot of important and helpful information to the seniors, who may not have been totally up to date on the most recent changes to basic First Aid and CPR training techniques. “The main idea is that, 'You can't do what you don't know’ and now that these seniors do know and are up to date on the latest techniques, they can now react to an emergency situation in a more informed and effective way.”

Vikki Newlove, community support service coordinator with Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS), who was present at the workshop, said that the session came about through a grant that NFCS received from the Seniors Community Grant Foundation whose goal is to provide information sessions to seniors in the community. Newlove said she and other staff from NFCS spoke to various local seniors groups through the Seniors Community Advisory Network, which is comprised of representatives from the various local seniors groups of Central and North Frontenac. Those representatives in turn advised NFCS staff of the kind of workshops that would most benefit themselves and their members. “We did not want to do a full First Aid/CPR course since most of the seniors have already done that in the past but we just wanted to do a review and allow seniors to have their personal questions answered”, Newlove said. Similarly because many of the First Aid/CPR techniques have changed in recent years, Newlove said that it is important that seniors are kept up to date of those changes. Seniors were also made aware of the numerous defibrillators that are located in the village of Sharbot Lake. Newlove said she was pleased with the turn out to the workshop, which included participants from Ompah, Plevna, Mountain Grove and Sharbot Lake.