Teachers from Land O’Lakes and Clarendon Central Public Schools were on the “morning shift” of picketing at Granite Ridge Education Centre Tuesday morning in Sharbot Lake.

“We opted for a more visible location,” said picket captain Danielle Harding. “The GREC elementary teachers will take the afternoon shift and we’ll switch shifts tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Secondary teachers are scheduled to picket Thursday.

Much like their secondary counterparts, class size is a huge issue for the elementary and intermediate teachers.

“They (the Ministry of Education) want to remove all language involving class size,” Harding said. “That would have a big impact on special needs students, who don’t get the attention they need now.”

They also don’t want to see changes to kindergarten programs and are deeply concerned about the Local Priority Funding program not being renewed.

In the 2017 contract extension, $56 million was added to hire teachers and early childhood educators so that class sizes could be reduced to a cap of 30 students in the first year in most full-day kindergarten the first year of the contract and 29 in the second.

Also, that contract extension included funding resulting in a four-per-cent salary increase for teachers over two years.

And while there is a 1 per cent salary increase on the table this time around, that’s not why the teachers are out picketing, Harding said.

“It is a contract negotiation, so it’s in there, but it’s not what we’re fighting for,” she said. “We’ve already lost that increase from picketing days.

“We would be the worst mathematicians ever if we were to strike over 1 per cent.

“We want them to say they won’t change the kindergarten formula.”

In all, they say cuts to education funding totalling $235 million will affect all students but particularly at-risk and special needs students.

Harding said they’ve been bolstered by the support they’ve received, particularly from parents.

“A lot of parents have dropped off treats . . . we like the treats,” she said. “Some have even dropped off non-perishable goods and we’ll see they get to the food bank.”

There did seem to be a lot of public support Tuesday morning with a high percentage of passing cars honking.

One driver, Dave Hansen in his red Ford F150, noticed a painting of Premier Doug Ford eating an apple on one of the picket signs, rolled down his window and called out: “Fords don’t last forever, you know.”

Shirley Peruniak, who chronicled the history of the former Oso township, received the Order of Ontario for her work at Quetico Provincial Park, and spent her life exploring the world around her, has died at the age of 93.

Shirley spent her early childhood in Sharbot Lake, and left for Perth when she was 9, after having what would be a lifelong interest in the natural world sparked by her first school principal at Sharbot Lake Public School.

She visited Sharbot Lake often as a teenager because her grandmother lived in the hamlet. Her parents, the Walroths, eventually returned to Sharbot Lake and ran a cottage rental business on the east basin of the lake, just off Road 38. Shirley and her husband moved to Kenora, where he taught. When road access between Kenora and Quetico Park was established in 1956, Shirley made her way to Quetico, a place that became a second home for her.

She was eventually hired as the park naturalist in 1974 and although she officially retired from that post in 1993, she kept visiting Quetico and working as a volunteer until just a few years ago.

At the park, she archived written material about the park, and also collected the stories of the people who made up the history of the park. She began collecting oral histories.

“I talked to trappers, park rangers, poachers, and elders from the Lac LaCroix First Nations, anyone who knew about where the park had come from,” Shirley said in an interview with the News in 2010 on the occasion of her investiture into the Order of Ontario. “I remember getting children to interview their grandparents, who only spoke Ojibway, and having them translate for me.”

All of the interviews were transcribed and materials were stored away in filing cabinets. This part of Shirley’s personality is familiar to people in Sharbot Lake, where she did the same thing for the Oso Historical Society, starting in 1988.

In an article that was published by Quetico Park when she was named to the Order of Ontario, Jon Nelson summed up Shirley’s impact at the park: “In her quiet, unassuming way, she expanded and altered the scope of the naturalist program in Quetico Park. She then wrote a book that added a human dimension to the wilderness for which Quetico Park is known.

Through her decades of devotion to Quetico, Shirley has become Quetico’s most respected Elder. Shirley is highly respected both for what she has accomplished and how she has accomplished it.”

She established her winter home in Sharbot Lake in 1988, in an oasis like house, set just far enough back and below road 38 to muffle the noise from traffic, with a sweeping view of the lake. When the snowbirds were getting ready to fly south for the winter, Shirley would be returning to Sharbot Lake from Quetico, to resume her volunteer job at Sharbot Lake Public School, running the lunch program. She also introduced the younger students as the school to the wildflowers that grow locally, including a visit to the unique wildflower garden she had established in front of her home.

In Sharbot Lake, she established many long-term friendships, based on her wide breadth of interests in preserving local history, flora and fauna, current events and literature. A creature of habit, she walked to the store every day to pick up four newspapers, a ritual that she maintained until she took sick just a couple of weeks ago.

One of her closest friends was Sandra Moase, who worked for many years at the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team. Sandra was introduced to Shirley by Dr. Peter Bell, who shared Shirley’s enthusiasm for both birdwatching and preserving heritage artifacts.

“Peter said that we should meet, and they both got me interested in birdwatching, and so many other things,” Sandra recalled when contacted this week.

“She was a wonderful friend; we went hiking, exploring, snowshoeing, canoeing. She was always inviting me to see something interesting in the area. As she got older and needed a bit of help, I stepped in.

“She maintained friendships with people all around the world, keeping in touch by writing letters. Her grandson had two dozen people to call when she died, from Ireland, Newfoundland, Thunder Bay, Atikokan, all over,” said Sandra.

Connections Adult Learning is offering the free workshop Introduction to Indigenous Crafts on consecutive Tuesdays from Feb. 4 to March 10 at both its locations in Sharbot Lake and Northbrook (9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at both sites).

As of this writing (Feb. 4), there were still openings in Sharbot Lake (613-279-2499) and three spots in Northbrook (613-336-0691).

Connections executive director Joyce Bigelow said the courses being offered are part of the Hands-on portion of the Sioux Hudson Literacy Channel program, a non-profit literacy and basic skills organization in Sioux Lookout that offers courses on everything from reading, writing and math essential skills, preparation for post-secondary credits, art and photography to preparing for the zombie apocalypse.

“We’re not quite ready for that last one,” Bigelow said. “But both our organizations are funded by the Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development.”

Bigelow said they use five online channels. This one is the Native Stream and recommends blended learning — some online and some in person instruction.

She said they chose this course in an effort to foster understanding of First Nations culture through the arts.
“I’d really like to thank the Shabot Obaadjiwan for their help in this,” she said. “In the last two classes, we’ll be looking at feathers and what they represent.

“We hope to have someone from that community to join us for those classes.”
She said there is more to feather crafts than just the obvious aesthetics aspects.
“Feathers represent community,” she said. “All the little bits of a feather and all the feathers have to work together for a bird to fly.

“We have to work together with the indigenous community and we need mutual respect to work together.
“Understanding is the first step towards that.”

The workshops will include creating a beaded rosette medallion necklace, dying and painting feathers, getting quick feather jewelry ideas, learning to do thread work on feathers, and making individualized smudging fans.

Materials required include scissors, glue (E600 or Weldbond suggested) and used gift cards or hotel card for stiffness.

Connections will be offering a makeup class for those who missed the introductory class on Tuesday. The class will be on Monday, Feb. 10 and people can sign up for that class anytime up to the beginning of the class at 9:30 a.m.

Central Frontenac staff presented a 2020 budget last Friday morning (January 24) in Sharbot Lake that featured a 14.8 per cent increase in the tax rate.

Put another way, that would represent an increase in the levy to ratepayers off 24% per cent or $2 million than last year. Put yet another way, that represents an increase of $185 for every $100,000 of property assessment.

“Even if you say it fast, it still makes one puke,” said Mayor Frances Smith. “We recognize all of these projects here have to be done but realistically, what can we afford to do?”

As the meeting drew to a close, Council instructed staff to come back with a much more modest budget.

While Clerk-administrator Cathy MacMunn asked a couple of times what sort of increase would be acceptable — 4, 5 or 6 per cent, Dep. Mayor Tom Dewey insisted “we have to do better than five.”

“Aim for 3 per cent,” said Councillor Bill MacDonald.

Treasurer Michael McGovern suggested they could take out a loan for a new $700 pumper for the fire department and $1.4 million for roads.

“Maybe borrowing is an option but we’re still going to have to find savings,” said Councillor Brent Cameron.

And speaking of the fire department, Cameron also commented that this year’s fire budget increase only amounted to about $40,000. But the fire budget has increased substantially in recent years.

In 2016, the fire department budget was $838,054. Following a consultant’s report suggesting deficiencies in both equipment and computer software, that went up to $1,054,222 in 2017.

In 2018, the budget presented by then-fire chief Greg Robinson raised that to a whopping $1,634,702.

In 2019, that was lowered somewhat to $1,442,134, which would appear to be a new-normal, with this year’s fire budget pegged at $1,483,059.

And while CAO MacMunn insisted this was in no way a “wish list” budget, there was one curious line, $13,000 for “social media,” which she explained was to hire a consultant to “set up their social media presence and train a couple of staff members.”

Every 1 per cent levy increase represents $82,000 or an additional $9 for every $100,000 of assessment.

Council is holding more budget meetings in early February.

There are several differences between curling and crokicurl, one of those being that these days, most curling is done indoors.

But, relatively new sport that it is, corkicurl is still played outdoors and as such is at the mercy of the weather.

But it won’t always be, said organizer Rudy Hollywood, who plans to keep Saturday crokicurl going at the ballfield parking lot in Sharbot Lake whenever the weather cooperates.

“This (the rainstorm) will just be an extra flooding,” Hollywood said. “Not the worst thing that could happen.”

Hollywood said the rec committee just bought a new liner for the rink and new rocks, so he’s been looking forward to trying them out.

“The new rocks are concrete and steel and as such they have to be stored outside or they’ll melt the rink,” he said. “We bought a freezer to store them in and we’ll be putting a combination lock on it so people can play whenever they want.”

He put a caveat on that by saying “people over 10 or with adult supervision.” The rocks themselves weight about 20 pounds and are tough for children to handle.

“There are sticks that can be used to shove them,” he said.

He said the game was “fairly successful” last year and they’ve grade the rink for this year.

“We’re planning on having a registered tournament on Heritage Weekend this year,” he said.

“We even have push sticks so you don’t have to get down,” said Joan Hollywood. “We’d just like to have people come out and have fun.

“Anything to get people out and moving.”

“You don’t have to play a whole game,” Rudy said. “We often have subs.”

Come to think of it, there is one other major difference between curling and crokicurl.

“The only problem is we don’t have a facility where the losers can buy the winners a drink,” he said. “But we’re working on having the canteen only.

“Hot chocolate is still a drink.”

Despite the rainstorms that dissuaded many from venturing outside their homes last Saturday, the Sharbot Lake Lions went ahead with a wellness day at Oso Hall and were encouraged enough to plan for a second one.

“Lions do service projects, it’s not just all fundraising,” said Lion Dawn Hansen, organizer of the event. “We thought we could do some vision screening, diabetes awareness, youth outreach and hearing tests.”

Hansen said they had planned on having people bring in their old eyeglasses to be sent to third world countries as well as used prescriptions for disposal but that can be done another day. For her, the only real disappointment was not many children coming in for vision screening.

“We were hoping for more children to get vision screening,” she said. “They only do it in senior kindergarten now.

“But this was just the first one. I think we’ll try another in better weather.”

Hansen wanted to remind everyone that monthly Lions Breakfasts begin again on Jan. 25 and “we’re always looking for new members.”

The Sharbot Lake Business Group’s twice annual gatherings, winter and summer, are opportunities for groups of individuals and local business owners with an interest in developing the hamlet and the surrounding region, as an economic hub in Central Frontenac.

They are also social gatherings, with free food and coffee, and a cash bar, available for all who attend. At the winter gathering on Monday night, which was attended by 63, according to the group’s official chronicler, Ken Fisher, a delegation of department managers from the Frontenac County planning and development department was on hand.

The delegation included Megan Rueckwald - manager of community planning, Richard Allen, manager of economic development; and their boss, Joe Gallivan, director of planning and economic development.

In addition to county officials, senior managers from Central Frontenac, Mayor/Warden Frances Smith and most of the township council, were on hand.

After hearing updates from the business group leadership, Gallivan made a presentation that was the main event of the evening.

His presentation was based on a section of Draft 2 of the updated Central Frontenac Official Plan – Special Policy Area – Sharbot Lake.

“The goal of the section is to create a cohesive plan for future development in Sharbot Lake,” Gallivan said, quoting from the text.

After a brief trip through the history of Sharbot Lake as a frontier town/railway hub in the 19th and early 20th centuries, Gallivan talked about the current configuration of the hamlet, from its southern entranceway over a causeway that divides the two basins of Sharbot Lake, to the junction of Road 38 with Highway 7 at the north end.

In addition to the waterfront and business core sections of the hamlet, he said that attention needs to be paid to the Highway7/38 intersection.

Destination - Sharbot Lake, which is the heading for a 7- page section of the official plan, talks about some possible future developments in Sharbot Lake.

“A lot of people here take the entrance to Sharbot Lake from Road 38 for granted, but when you come around that curve and see water on both sides as you approach the causeway, it says everything about it being a village on the water. A gateway at that location would communicate to people that they are leaving the rural road and entering the village,” he said.

As examples, he showed slides of the entranceways to Richmond, Gravenhurst, and Gananoque. Gallivan also pointed to language in the Destination - Sharbot Lake section of the official plan that talks about the core of the village, the impact of improvements to Elizabeth Street that will take place in the coming year or so, and “the need to develop infrastructure necessary to sustain existing businesses and community services as well as new commercial development.”

The plan envisions the establishment of a formal trail hub in recognition of the junction of the K&P and east-west Trans Canada Trails and the Railway Heritage Park that has become, in the words of the plan, “a core public space in the village.”

Two other major changes, which might be coming to Sharbot Lake, are out of the hands of local business people and politicians, but they are included in the plan because they would have a major impact on the future of Sharbot Lake if they come about.

The first refers to the possibility that Highway 7 will be made into a 4 lane highway, which is a long range plan of the Ontario government, although there are no active plans to bring it about.

“It is the position of Council that the redesign of Highway 7 as a highway similar to other 400 series highways in Ontario would damage the future rural economy of this part of the Frontenac region,” according to the draft Official Plan.”

The alternative for Sharbot Lake, would be for the township promote a parkway development when talking to provincial officials. The parkway would potentially run between Sharbot Lake Provincial Park and Fall River Road. This section of the roadway would see a speed reduction to 60km/h, would be only two lanes, with bike and pedestrian lanes at its sides, and would have a light at the junction with Road 38.

“The MTO [Ministry of Transportation] does not care about rural economic development, they only care about getting people from point A to point B as quickly as possible,” Gallivan said, “but the current Minister of Municipal Affairs, Steve Clark, from a riding just next door, he gets it, so there is an opportunity to put the parkway idea to him, which is something your mayor and council can do.”

The other project that may be in the cards is the VIA Rail hi frequency rail line between Toronto and Ottawa, which includes a stop in Sharbot Lake in the most current project map.

Gallivan said that developing Hi-Frequency Rail service was included in the letter sent to the new Provincial Minister of Infrastructure from the Prime Minister, and added that “a year or so ago I would have given the rail project a 25% of happening, but now I would put it at over a 50% chance.”

The township has passed a motion supporting the concept of a new rail service stopping in Sharbot Lake. It is however, the subject of some controversy in Sharbot Lake, because if the new line follows the path of the former line, it would cut the narrow piece of land in the core section of the village, and curtail access to the beach, which is the feature that is identified in the Draft official plan as central component to the entire concept of Destination-Sharbot Lake.

Thank you to all who participated in the Poppy Campaign - with your help and generous donations we raised over $7,000.00. Special thank you to Bethany Women's Institute, Sharbot Lake Lions Club, the Leo Club, Community Living, St. James Major Catholic Church, and Township of South Frontenac. lf anyone has been missed, please accept our apology, your donations are very much appreciated.

Poppy Funds can ONLY be used to support Veterans and Veteran's Spouses. We support homeless Veterans, also assisting in the purchase of medical equipment for our Veterans in Providence Long Term Care in Kingston.

Poppy Funds can not be used for any other Legion programs.

Thank you to all local schools for participation in our Remembrance Day Poster, Essay& Poem Contest. The importance of never forgetting our Fallen Comrades is evident with the number of young students participating. The Winning Contestants are: "insert"

Our Friday Night Dinners, Wednesday Afternoon Euchre, and Entertainment Programs all contribute to our continuing Community Support Branch 425 also supports our Community with donations to the local Meals on Wheels Program, the Food Bank, Christmas Food Baskets, the Summer Swim Program etc

SEE YOU AT THE LEGION

Poster, Colour

Category I, Primary, Grades 1, 2, &3 (Colour): 1st: Dixie Warren (P.C.P.S); 2nd: Sydney Potts (G.R.E.C); 3rd: Krisal Hickey (G. R.)

Category II, Junior , Grades 4,5,&6. (Colour): 1st: Poppy Miller (P. C.); 2nd: Savana Harrington Durst (P. C.); 3rd: Adam McMahon (P. C.)

Category III, Intermediate, Grades 7,8, &9 (Colour): 1st: Wyatt Clow (P. C.); 2nd: Logan Chiasson (G. R.); 3rd: Richard Minutillo (S. J. M.)

Poster; Black & White

Category II: 1st: Drake Thomas (P.C); 2nd: Sophie Shelley Harrell (G.R.); 3rd:Hayley Cooke (G.R.)

Category III; 1st: Kylie Babcock(G. R.); 2nd: Serenity Murray-Cotton (P. C.); 3rd: Madison Robidoux (G. R.)

Poems

Category II: 1st: Madison Brushette (P. C.);

Category III: 1st: Sloan's Putnam (G. R.); 2nd: Austin Barker (G. R.); 3rd: Madison Robidoux (G. R.)

Last year, we had our bathroom renovated. We saw an ad on TV, called the advertised company and signed them up. A friend dropped by while the drive-way was full of rubble.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Getting the bathroom redone”, I replied.

“Guess you didn’t know I do bathrooms”, he said.

I didn’t know he did bathrooms but I knew he was a carpenter and that he did good work. I should have known; I just never thought to ask. So, I hurt both my friend and my community.

Shopping local is more than just buying groceries at Mike Dean’s, though he does bill himself as a local grocer. Shopping local is looking for a supplier in this community for whatever your needs might be. And there are lots of suppliers. For example, there are at least seventeen businesses boasting skills in building trades that do business in the north part of Frontenac County. These range from handy man services to licensed trades such as plumbing and electrical; from interior design to general contracting. There are five hair dressers in that same area and ten or more retail outlets (not counting the Beer Store and LCBO).

Are these suppliers perfect? Not by any stretch but we all play a role in the imperfections. A small-town grocer can’t possibly carry the same variety and freshness you would expect from a city Farm-Boy outlet, especially in winter when volumes are down anyway. But we would not want to see that store disappear and the higher that small grocer’s volume is, the better equipped he’ll be to meet your needs. That volume comes from our support. The same is true of skills we might hire. If all the work goes to people from Northbrook or Kingston, then those tradesmen get all the experience and all the opportunities to learn and improve.

Of course, buying on price alone does not help. Volume in larger centres often allows a retailer to sell something for less but going to get it is not free. With a reasonably efficient car (say 30 miles to the gallon) a round trip from Sharbot Lake to Perth will cost nearly $10.00; Arden to Northbrook will be about $7.50 and Sharbot Lake to Kingston will be $17.00. These costs have to be added to the purchase price. And shopping local has the added advantage of dealing with a person you know rather than a stranger in another town. I once saw a sign in a country store that said “If you want nice clean, fresh oats, you’ll have to pay a fair price. If you’ll settle for oats that have been through the horse, that comes a little cheaper.” It’s your choice.

So, my New Years resolution is not altruistic; it is selfish. In the long run, I think I get a better deal shopping local first. I don’t really need strawberries in February and all my other needs are met. As someone pointed out to me recently, “If Bob’s Petrocan doesn’t have it, you probably don’t really need it.”

When you’re trying to make healthy eating choices, the holiday season can be challenging to navigate. Gatherings, festivities, and social events are a wonderful time to get together and celebrate with loved ones, and they are almost always centred around food. Sometimes, these foods can be high in salt, sugar, and fat. Drink choices can include alcoholic beverages or other high calorie drinks. Enjoying these foods and drinks in moderation during the holidays and other special occasions can be part of healthy eating, but overindulging can throw your efforts off track. Here are some tips for healthy eating during the holiday season:

Include healthy choices

Whether you’re preparing a dish for a potluck, hosting a social event, or enjoying a meal at a gathering, choose healthy ingredients and dishes that include vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, such as seasoned roasted vegetables, a festive and colourful salad, or a fruit and cheese platter with whole grain crackers.

Eat regularly

Some people skip meals earlier in the day if they have a big event in the evening. Doing this can result in being famished all day long, and they then overeat when the event finally arrives. Afterwards, they may feel ill from eating too much. For people with diabetes, this can also cause extreme fluctuations in blood sugar levels. It is best to eat regularly during the day, including a small pre-event snack if hungry, to keep you from overeating at social events.

Use the healthy plate

When serving yourself at a party, try to build a healthy plate for a portioned and balanced meal. Fill ½ of your plate with vegetables and fruit, ¼ of the plate with grains and starches such as pasta, rice or potatoes, and ¼ of the plate with protein foods such as meat, fish, beans etc. Refer to the Canada’s Food Guide website for more information: www.canada.ca/foodguide

Be mindful

Eat slowly and mindfully, focusing on your food and taking the time to savour every bite.

Listen to your body, notice your feelings of hunger and fullness, and stop when your body tells you. Practice saying “no thank you, I’m full” when you feel pressured to eat food that the host has prepared.

Rethink your drink

Many holiday drinks can be higher in sugar and calories. Make healthy beverage choices such as coffee, tea, water, naturally flavoured water, club soda, light beer or wine spritzers.

Hold the guilt

If balance and moderation are a usual part of your lifestyle, it’s okay to overindulge once in a while. Remember the “80-20” rule, which says that if you are making healthy choices 80% of the time, it’s okay to splurge within reason for the rest of the 20%. So, enjoy your piece of cake during the holiday season.

Please contact the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team at 613-279-2100, if you would like more information about healthy eating or to make an appointment to see Saman Shaikh, Registered Dietitian. Visit our website at www.sharbotlakefht.com for more information about our Programs and Services.