Canada Day celebrations took place through out the Frontenacs both on the weekend leading up to and on the day of the July 1 holiday.

While the communities of Denigh, Arden, Long Lake and Kennebec Lake, Bedford, Ompah, Snow Road and Verona held their celebrations on the weekend before the holiday, the villages of Sydenham, Storrington, Sharbot Lake and Harrowsmith chose to hold their celebrations on the holiday Tuesday and despite a rather grim weather forecast, the celebrations (so far, as of mid afternoon Tuesday when this article was submitted) went off without a hitch though the day was a hot and humid one.

Some volunteers did plan changes of venue in case of inclement weather and in Sharbot Lake the festivities planned to move indoors to Oso Hall if need be with talk of delaying the fireworks until the following weekend if necessary.

In Harrowsmith the plethora of colourful classic vintage cars were a hit and in Sharbot Lake it was the parade fairies and the gathering of hundreds of holiday goers at Oso Beach following the parade that made for a fun and relaxing day. Thanks to the all of the service clubs, community groups, organizations and individual volunteers who continue to make the Canada Day Holiday in the Frontenacs one to remember each and every summer, rain or shine.

On June 26 the 59 students of the first graduating class of Granite Ridge Education Centre sat gowned and capped and looking ahead to their futures at the new school's first official commencement ceremony. The celebrations in the school's spacious new gym/cafeteria were well attended, with hundreds of friends and families taking pictures of their loved ones, many of whom will either be heading to post-secondary institutions, returning to the school to complete a final fifth year, or looking to enter the work force. The ceremony was emceed by Elizabeth Steele-Drew and included addresses by Principal Heather Highet, Vice-principal James McDonald, and Brenda Hunter of the Limestone District School Board, with musical interludes performed by the GREC school band.

Numerous awards and bursaries were handed out to the graduating students. Long-time music teacher Claudio Valentini, who retires this year, received the Earl Memorial Trophy in recognition of his outstanding achievement and contributions to the school over his career there.

One emotional highlight of the evening was the address by GREC's first official valedictorian for 2013/2014, grade 12 student Hillary Howes, who was chosen by her peers as the student who “best represents the graduating class.” Hillary, who has been accepted into Fleming College's paramedics program in Peterborough, was introduced by Ms. Steele-Drew as a student who is “determined and reaches her goals”, and “an incredible athlete and team player, an enthusiastic leader and a confident lady with an extremely bright future ahead of her.” Hillary received a standing ovation and in her speech she started by congratulating her fellow graduates. She then recalled many of her favorite memories from her four years as a student at the school, the many teachers who guided her over the years, and this year’s grad trip to New York City. She ended her speech stating “I know that all of you in 20 years will look back at your years in high school and remember what we experienced here and how that helped to shape us.” Following the ceremony the grads posed for a picture and then joined friends and family for a festive reception.

On the previous evening, June 25, the grade eight graduates from the school held their own special graduation ceremony, when each student crossed the stage to receive recognition from their teacher Miss Julia Schall. Numerous students received special awards for their accomplishments. Grade eight student Sam Kempe was chosen as the grade eight valedictorian, and following her address, the students, their friends and families also enjoyed a special celebratory reception at the school.

Congratulations to all of this year’s graduating students at GREC.

On June 27, volunteers with the North Frontenac Food Bank (NFFB), which had been run out of the basement of St. Andrew's Anglican Church in Sharbot Lake for close to three decades, celebrated the official grand opening of its new location in Sharbot Lake.

The food bank is now located at the rear entrance of 1095 Garrett Street, directly across from the Frontenac News office in a space that was donated by Rosemarie Bowick. The new and improved space is equipped with a new fridge, a new freezer, new storage space and new shelving units.

Kim Cucoch, the coordinator of the North Frontenac Food Bank, spoke at the opening and said that the impetus for the move was an increased demand in food due to an increase in their client base and the need for more space to store food supplies, especially fresh items like milk, meat and eggs. “The number of seniors we are serving has greatly increased as a result of the high cost of heat and hydro,” Cucoch said, “and this past year alone we served over 100 families on a regular basis, which is an overall increase of upwards of 15% from the previous year.”

While the North Frontenac Food Bank has always been its own separate entity, prior to the move volunteers relied on staff at Northern Frontenac Community Services in Sharbot Lake, who managed all their telephone communications. Now the NFFB has its own telephone line, 613-532-8855, where inquiries can be made. Volunteers will return all inquiries and set up appointments. The acquisition of the new equipment and the new stairs were made possible through the NFFB’s recent partnership with the Ontario and Canada Food Banks, which came about last fall and enabled NFFB volunteers to apply for one of just four capacity-building grants made available through KRAFT Canada and Food Banks Canada. The North Frontenac Food Bank was successful in their application and received a $3148 KRAFT Canada grant in February 2014. Kim Cucoch said the new equipment will go a long way in increasing the quantity and quality of the food they are able to provide to their clients.

In attendance at the special ceremony was Town Crier Paddy O'Connor, who said in his address that “one child going to bed hungry is one child too many.” Mayor Janet Gutowski also spoke, thanking the volunteers with the NFFB for the important work they do in the community and citing the importance and need of members of the community “to step up and do more." She said, "I want to ask members of the community if there is something else they can do to help reduce the demand for food in this community”. She suggested mentoring young people to enable them to be more gainfully employed; becoming an angel investor in a small business; or as an employer, paying employees a living wage.

The North Frontenac Food Bank is run solely on donations and by volunteers and therefore is always seeking both. In addition to ongoing donations which assist in covering the average monthly cost for one $53 family basket, they are also currently in need of volunteers to work for one or two hours on a monthly basis. They are especially in need of volunteers in the winter months.

For more information about the NFFB and the services it offers, to become a volunteer or to make a donation call 613-532-8855. Every call is returned and clients can then arrange an appointment with one of the NFFB volunteers.

The cream of Sharbot Lake society (and some others) were decked out in their finest evening wear for the premiere screening of seven short films by Jesse Mills profiling some new and not so new-comers to Central Frontenac. The films provide an insight into the lives of those who were willing to share their homes and their thoughts about where they live, work, and play. They also are meant to serve as promotional videos for Central Frontenac as a place to move to.

Mayor Janet Gutowski came up with the idea for the videos, and Jesse Mills, a young, locally raised videographer who has been interning with the township for four months, conducted the interviews and did the filming and editing.

The films, which are each about 5 minutes in length, feature some stunning landscapes and descriptions by the subjects. They are available for viewing on the township's website centralfrontenac.com.

The opening, which included a red carpet, wine and cheese, was organized by Mayor Gutowski and the staff at the St. Lawrence Employment Centre next door, in particular the center's manager Karen McGregor. The Oso Hall was full for the showing, and the audience response was overwhelmingly positive.

Students and staff at the Granite Ridge Education Centre in Sharbot Lake gathered for a special ceremony celebrating the recent planting of the school’s new tree nursery. Shawn Lavender, who teaches the Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program at the school, invited grade nine students in the SHSM forestry program to speak about the new nursery, where the students planted dogwood, sugar maple, and white pine trees. One of the goals is to replace each tree that was cut down during the construction of the new school with 15 new trees.

The project, which was funded with the help of grants from the Limestone Learning Foundation, the TD Bank’s Environmental Fund and Lowe's of Kingston, who donated the sawmill to the school, is part of the provincial government’s goal to plant 50 million new trees in the province. The nursery project was chosen by Lavender to allow students in the SHSM program at Granite Ridge to acquire skills and knowledge in sustainable economic and social activities.

Each grade nine student in the SHSM program was invited to plant one tree with a 3D label attached with their name. The labels were designed by the students with the help of Ms. Hurley using the school’s new 3D printer. Mr. Murray, who runs the wood and auto shop programs at the school, had students create the wooden signs that identify the new nursery using wood from trees cut on site and cut on the school's own saw mill. The students prepared the site and planted it with 400 new seedlings.

At the ceremony, students Dustin Granlund and Nolan Teal spoke about how the new nursery “will allow for carbon at the equivalent of 100 plane trips from Montreal to Vancouver (the equivalent of 100 tons of carbon) to be captured from the atmosphere in a single tree’s life time.” Students Craig Schonauer and Bailey Green spoke about the other projects the students undertook in the program, which included their maintaining part of the Lanark Mazinaw Forest by clearing a 20-acre parcel and “stripping it of iron wood, striped maple and small white birch thereby enhancing the mass trees and encouraging their growth while maintaining a healthier forest for animals and nature lovers.”

Last to speak was forestry student Robert, who spoke about Granite Ridge's forest management plan and the nursery project whose goal was “to remove the undergrowth and invasive trees on the property and to open the area for mass canopy trees and encourage the growth and regeneration of sugar maples, pine and dogwood”.

Shawn Lavender led the presentation and thanked all of the students and staff involved in the project as well as staff and representatives from the LLF and the SHSM program, who were present at the event. They included Leslie Myles, Mike Sewell, John Chomitz and Shawn Lehman. Mr. Lavender concluded the presentation with the words, “I like to think that we are doing our part here at Granite Ridge though our tree planting and continued involvement with our community partners to improve the landscape and restore our area back to pre-European times. This is an initiative that the government has mandated in its forest operations and we would like to succeed in restoring pine back to 14% of our landscape from the 7% that it is today.” Following the presentation students and staff enjoyed an outdoor barbeque lunch at the new nursery site.

In conjunction with the new Subway Restaurant in Sharbot Lake, which will be opening in late June in the building on Hwy. 7 that used to house the Rising Bun Bakery, the St. Lawrence College Employment Centre in Sharbot Lake is hosting a job fair at their office on Thursday June 12, between 6 and 8 pm.

The manager of the new store will be on hand to look at resumes and talk to prospective employees. The new restaurant plans to hire 7-10 people to start off with. Positions that are available include that of sandwich artist, senior sandwich artist, and others.

“We helped them find people to work on the construction phase in the early winter,” said Employment Centre co-ordinator Karen McGregor, “and since we have the space we are happy to offer our space for the job fair now that the restaurant is opening up.”

Anyone interested in one of the jobs can contact the Employment Centre at 613-545-3949, press 3. See also the ad on page 11.

Staff at Community Living-North Frontenac (CLNF) in Sharbot Lake held their annual community BBQ on May 27 and the event was very well attended. Staff served up hot beef on a bun, hot dogs, ice cold beverages and cake to the close to 100 guests who attended. Two musicians, Brian Roche and Alan Kitching, played relaxing jazz as guests sat under tents and in the shade to share a meal and conversation.

The event is a way for CLNF staff to say thank you to community and give back, while also inviting those who may not know about the organization to find out more. Community Living- North Frontenac provides equal opportunities to individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families in North and Central Frontenac. They do so through a number of supports and opportunities, which include individualized services, education and advocacy, and by promoting and fostering meaningful interactions and relationships in families and communities with the goal of increasing personal growth, development and independence for those they support.

For more information about Community Living-North Frontenac visit communitylivingnorthfrontenac.com or call the office at 613-279-3731.

Students from the Granite Ridge Education Centre, assisted staff member Shelley Bertrim with the two-day Returns For Leukemia bottle drive that took place on May 24 and 25 at the Beer Store in Sharbot Lake to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. The annual event, which takes place every May, was organized by the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 12R24 in partnership with the Beer Store.

The drive invited shoppers to donate their empties, with 100% of the funds going directly to the society. The society is also looking for donors for bone marrow transplants. The test involves a simple cheek swab and potential donors are initially asked to give a transfusion that is similar to making a blood donation.

For more information on the steps involved in being a donor or to register online go to www.onematch.ca. For those who missed the drive you can still make a monetary donation by visiting bottledrive.ca

by Julia Schall

Teamwork, communication and music are alive and well at Granite Ridge Education Centre! The GREC School of Rock have been meeting weekly since the end of March. The primary goals of this extra-curricular program are to build confidence and foster communication and collaborative skills while learning some music basics. Although we started late this year, the students worked hard to build their repertoire - from Joan Jett and Lead Belly to the Sheepdogs and Augustina. Many thanks to the Limestone Learning Foundation for previous grants to purchase many of our instruments.

While the road to building the new 65,000 square foot kindergarten to grade 12 Granite Ridge Education Centre (GREC) in Sharbot Lake and relocating 500 plus students and staff there has been a bumpy one, the official dedication ceremony that took place on May 22 was one of celebration. The event packed close to 600 people into the school’s new gym/cafetorium, which is a testament to the fact the new school is indeed a place where hundreds of people can now gather comfortably for special large-scale community events.

The ceremony, which was headed up by the school’s principal, Heather Highet, was a formal chance for her to recognize and thank all of the parties involved in the $15 million project, which was designed by +VG Architects in association with Shoalts and Zaback Architects Ltd. and built by Pre-Eng Contracting Ltd.

The new facility ,which the students refer to as GREC or "The Ridge", brings together the former school communities of Sharbot Lake and Hinchinbrooke under one shared roof. While Heather Highet did not gloss over the many challenges along the way, namely the delay of the opening until January 2014, the less than satisfactory outdoor play areas for the younger students, and other logistical challenges faced by students and staff, the ceremony was more focused on the many positives of the new school.

Highet first thanked staff and students for their “flexibility and patience” along the way and then highlighted the school’s big pluses. She mentioned the school’s eco-friendly design; its abundance of natural light; the cutting edge educational tools and facilities it houses, like its Snoezelen room, double gym and stage; the smart boards in every classroom; the auto/wood shop; its music/drama, school to community and family studies/technology rooms; the 2000 square foot library/resource centre and more.

Following Heather Highet’s remarks, local resident elder, Danka Brewer, gave an Aboriginal welcome and blessing to the school. Next, a video of the school's construction put together by teacher Eric Wotherspoon was presented, after which a number of guest speakers from the Limestone District School Board had a chance to speak. These included Board Chair Laurie French, Director of Education Brenda Hunter, Trustee Ann Goodfellow and the education officer with the Ministry of Education, Michel Chartrand, who was one of six who unveiled the new school plaque.

The highlights of the ceremony of course came from the students themselves. Grade nine geography students under the leadership of Danka Brewer sang a traditional Cree honour song. Grade eight students participating in the School of Rock program under the direction of grade eight teacher Julia Schall performed “Boston” and the cutest of all was saved to the last when the school’s primary/junior choir under the direction of Norman Guntensperger and Mr. Christopher Davison performed the Gryphon Medley, in which the school's Gryphon mascot appeared from the wings and led a final rousing school cheer.

While the road to GREC was not a easy one, students and staff seem to be settling in comfortably to their new digs, which by the next academic year school should have all of the surrounding outdoor work completed, making it look as good from the outside as it does from within.