It sure didn't feel like a competition, due to the fact that creative people often prefer to collaborate rather than compete. But compete they did on March 27, when six students in total competed in the first round of the 2D Computer animation component of the Limestone Skills Competition at Sharbot Lake High School.

In the final minutes before turning in their finished products, the three teams, comprised of students from Sharbot Lake, North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne and Sydenham High School, scrambled to put together their final animated short films, all of which were created in Adobe Flash and ran just over a minute in length.

With just a few minutes left in the competition, one team groaned as they lost all of the backgrounds to their film but luckily managed to find a way to put them back in.

The students began at 8:30am and worked right through until 2pm, with a short lunch break. The goal was to write, design and create a “spring” themed 2D animated short complete with storyboard. The competing students, who were from grade nine through twelve, had to first develop their characters, complete a story board, create all of the backgrounds and then animate their characters.

I had a chance to watch the finished films along with three volunteer judges, Ilona Cox, Eric Wotherspoon and Josh Goodfellow. The judges marked the films out of a total of 100 points. Points were scored for clarity of the message, story quality, cinematography, storyboard changes and final animation. Under the heading of character design, the students were judged on their model sheets, character design, model structure, character expression and model control.

The competition was run by SLHS math and computer teacher Nick Laan. It is one of a variety of competitions that invites LDSB students to test their mettle in different hands on skills with the hopes of encouraging them to focus on skilled trades opportunities in their future careers and/or post secondary studies. “The students competing here today are employing numerous skills like creativity, originality, organizational skills, working under pressure and to a deadline as well learning how to collaborate in a team,” Laan said. “These annual competitions, which normally take place on a single day at St. Lawrence College, are happening at various locations this year and the goal is to allow students a chance to focus on a skilled trade option that they might be interested in pursuing after high school. A competition like this one acts as an entry way; this particular group of students, for example, who are interested in animation might end up working in animation, media or graphic arts, advertising or journalism, or in a number of other related fields.”

Katie Ohlke, who teaches graphic art and computers at NAEC and was also present at the competition, said, “Not only is this a real-world application of their skills and a chance for students to see if they are interested in the particular field of work but it also gives students in the north a chance to travel to other schools and meet and work with other students who have similar interests.”

Shortly after 2pm the final winners were announced. Kara Morey and Emily Woodcock of Sydenham High School won for their spring bunny love story. They are now eligible to compete in a regional qualifier round at St. Lawrence College in Kingston along with other high students all over Eastern Ontario. Emily said that she and Kara plan to keep training and working hard with the hopes winning the next round. Asked about the competition they were up against, Kara said, “I was pretty intimidated. The other films were really great and they could have easily won too.”

Should Kara and Emily win round two in Kingston, they will move on and will be eligible to compete in Waterloo at the provincial level. If they win again they can go on to the country-wide Skills Canada competition.

With March being Nutrition Month, Saman Iqbal, the registered dietician at the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team, was putting her best food forward. In order to share her know-how with those seeking to improve their everyday eating habits and overall health, she gave a special presentation at the Sharbot Lake Medical Centre on March 20, which focused on practical tips on how to improve your everyday eating habits.

The presentation included tips on navigating the aisles of the local grocery store; meal planning; how to choose healthier products by shopping for a more balanced diet; and how to decipher food labels. All of these can be difficult tasks, especially for those with time, budget and dietary constraints.

Saman explained how important it is to avoid the bad fats, high sodium and sugar and how to plan and prepare homemade meals based on healthier ingredients that are readily available. The workshop included a virtual grocery tour, a copy and overview of the Canada Food Guide, hand outs about deciphering labels, plus a healthy homemade lunch of chicken and veggie wraps with a frozen yoghurt berry dessert, all prepared by Saman herself. “Choosing healthier options from the start is the first avenue to healthier eating and a healthier life style, which can greatly reduce risk of diseases”, Saman said in an interview before the presentation. “We will be looking at what foods offer the good stuff, like vitamins and fibre and how to avoid the less healthy prepared food options, which can be high in saturated fats, sodium and sugar. With the food guide we will be looking at the numbers in order to be better able to discern what are the better choices to make.”

Saman also planned to give concrete examples, like the difference between canned soups and homemade, and the benefits of choosing healthier prepared cereals like shredded wheat and those higher in fibre instead of others that offer very few nutrients. For those who missed the presentation, Saman is available to give one-on-one dietary sessions to those looking to improve their dietary habits. She can be reached by calling the Sharbot Lake Medical Centre at 613-279-2100.

Love was definitely in the air on March 21 in Sharbot Lake as music lovers filled the Legion for the third installment of the Centre Stage Cafe. Members of the CSC house band, Jim MacPherson, Gary Giller and Terry Reynolds and Dave Limber demonstrated their love for the recently deceased Canadian music giant Stompin' Tom Conners who passed away on March 6 with their renditions of his classics Big Joe Mufferaw and Sudbury Saturday Night. Jim MacPherson tackled the two densely lyric'd, rapid fire tunes with precision and heart-felt enthusiasm and left the crowd wanting more. The band then cleared the stage for couples duo Rob and Nancy Moore, whose set of sensitive covers that included Willow Tree, Birds and Ships and a beautiful rendition of Sarah Harmer's classic Basement Apartment. They quickly won over the capacity crowd in what was just their third public performance. Last up was old world, but still young, country crooner Mitch Barker who demonstrated his love for two of his favorite older musicians, Dan Gibbs and Lorna Cooke, who shared the stage with him and who in his early years helped to give this amazing vocal talent his musical start. Dan performed numerous favorites, such as “He Stopped Lovin' Her Today” with Lorna playing some impressive dobro solos throughout the evening. Mitch, always a humble performer, shone brightly in his classic country covers of “Please Release Me”, Dwight Yoakam's “Heartaches by the Number”, and Ray Price's “Don't You Ever Get Tired of Hurting Me”.

Mitch's voice and delivery never fail to meet the mark with his perfect pitch, subtle phrasing which are the backbone of his exquisite gifts, along with his guitar playing.

The lack of dance floor space due to the capacity failed to deter a few dancers in the crowd who were obviously taken over by the musical love in the air. The final Centre Stage Cafe event will take place in April, featuring the Cellar Hounds and more. Watch Northern Happenings to see who will be joining them at the final installment in what has been a very popular first winter season.

n an ongoing effort to boost its public profile, Community Living - North Frontenac has launched a new website (communitylivingnorthfrontenac.com), which provides information that is useful to potential clients as well as to the community as a whole.

“It has been a goal of ours, and the website is part of this, to be an integral part of the communities in North and Central Frontenac,” said Community Living-NF Executive Director Dean Walsh. “We do that through our annual BBQ, through the services offered by the Treasure Trunk and by participating in events, and the website is another part of that effort.”

The website includes a history of the agency, a description of services for adults, families and children, the home share program, vocational services, and person centred planning, as well as other information about the agency. It also includes an extensive photo gallery showing Community Living members at events throughout the region.

“Putting together the photo gallery was one of the most important parts of building the site,” said Community Living staff member Joe Jarvis, who built the site.

Long-time Community Living board member Bob Miller said the site will be useful to the agency as it reacts to the ongoing changes in the way the agency receives funding and how it supports families in and around its official catchment area of North and Central Frontenac.

“There is always change in the way governments provide funding,” said Dean Walsh, now entering his second year as executive director, “but the site shows that the agency is really about the members and clients of the agency and the staff that supports them.”

“We need to continue to work on our public profile,” said the agency's Co-president Bob Miller, “as we face funding challenges and some of the realities that families face in this region.”

According to both Walsh and Miller, two cohorts of people are increasingly at risk: young adults with developmental disabilities who are leaving the school system after high school, and families with ageing parents no longer able to provide ongoing support for their adult children.

One thing that Community-Living NF is loathe to do, and this is reflected in the website and in all of their operating guidelines, is to set up formal group homes.

“We may help set up communal living situations and provide extensive support to clients, but when one of out staff members visits a client it is with the client’s consent. We don’t own property or run any kind of institutions. That is not our way of doing things,” said Walsh.

Another challenge faced by Community-Living concerns the way clients are funded.

“When people come to us with needs now, we can’t immediately provide support. The process is different, funding applications are different. But what we can do is start working with the family immediately to identify needs, and help them find a way to get service,” said Dean Walsh.

In an effort to raise public awareness about development on “at-capacity” lakes – i.e. ones that are labeled as highly sensitive lake trout lakes –the Township of Central Frontenac held a workshop on September 7 at Oso hall outlining exactly what those development guidelines are.

Township planner Glenn Tunnock headed up the meeting, which included a power point presentation, an examination of three fictional case studies of proposed developments or redevelopments, and a quiz for the 30 audience members who attended the workshop. Tunnock said that the purpose of the workshop was to ensure that people understand what the impacts of development are on these at-capacity lakes and how decisions made regarding development on them impact their water quality and shore lines. “If we raise public awareness, property owners will make better decisions regarding development and that is the key thing here,” he said.

There are four highly sensitive lake trout lakes in Central Frontenac: Crow, Eagle, and Silver lakes as well as the west basin of Sharbot Lake.

The guidelines in the township's zoning bylaw provides for a setback of 300 metres for new construction on these lakes.

Where the confusion can often occur is for those looking either to renovate or redevelop existing structures on these lakes.

The current Zoning By-law defines the term renovate as “strengthening, improving, retrofitting or restoring to a better state any aspect of an existing structure and it forbids the removal of more than 50% of the walls (or wall studs) of that existing building or structure.

Redevelopment is defined as “the removal or rehabilitation of buildings or structures and the construction, reconstruction or erection of other buildings or structures in their place”. Buildings on lots that do not meet current lake frontage and lot depth requirements are referred to as “non-conforming and non-complying uses” and construction on these lots must meet development requirements and setback standards for both the structure and the septic field. Any deviations require a minor variance and approval from the municipality.

Tunnock was quick to point out that the rules are not “black and white” and that knowledge and collaboration with township staff are the key to property owners being successful in meeting their goals.

“We want to collaborate and work with people because there is always more than one solution to a problem.. It is not necessarily black and white. Every property is different and there can be more than one solution. What we strive to do is to collaborate with people and together come to the solution that has the best merits for any one particular property.”

The presentation also highlighted some of the exceptions to the existing guidelines. For example, vacant lots having a lesser frontage and/or lot area than required in the Zoning By-law may be used for a purpose permitted for waterfront residential properties provided it can be adequately serviced with water and sewage services and has a minimum lot area 1,950 square metres (20,900 square feet). Similarly, alternatives to a septic tile bed are permitted, such as a composting or chemical toilet, as long as they are approved by the local Health Unit.

Regarding commercial development on these four at-capacity lakes, a hand-out from the township highlighted that applications for enterprises such as trailer parks, commercial cabin rentals, campgrounds or marine facilities would require rezoning and “would likely not be approved by the municipality.” Back shore (back lot) development is permitted provided that lake capacity exists. It can occur beyond the 300 metre zone and would also require municipal approval.

Tunnock’s presentation went into greater detail regarding specific rules and regulations and those present had many of their personal queries answered. Irv Dardick, who is the current president of the Eagle Lake Property Owners’ Association, was present at the workshop. He was also instrumental in making the workshop come about.

“It’s been obvious for years that property owners on these at-capacity lakes do not have a lot of information readily available to them on what they can do regarding renovations and redevelopment of their properties. The ministries came up with so little information at the beginning of all of this and although it was incorporated into the Official Plan and Zoning By-law, it was very difficult to access since it was spread out all over the place,” he said.

Dardick hopes to see the township hold more public workshops that inform the public of the most current guidelines regarding development on at-capacity lakes. “In the past there has been a lot of confusion and misconceptions about what you can and can’t do and that was the whole rationale for holding this kind of workshop,” he said.

The Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board recognizes students who are the Beacons of Hope of their school and community. Each school selects one student whose contributions reflect our Catholic virtues and contribute to the betterment of the community with dedication, integrity and gentle spirit.

On Thursday, March 21, Director of Education, Mr. Jody DiRocco, along with Trustee Wendy Proctor presented Rawlin Millar with the Beacon of Hope award for his exemplary leadership at St. James Major Catholic School. Rawlin’s opinions and advice are sought by his friends and school-mates and everyone follows his gentle guidance and encouragement. In the classroom, at recess and in extra-curricular activities, Rawlin is a positive role model for behaviour and his leadership at St. James Major Catholic School is a blessing to all of us.

Annette Gray-Jackson, a registered massage therapist who has been working out of her home in Mountain Grove, has set up a clinic in the former dining room of the Sharbot Lake Country Inn. She will be seeing clients four days a week, Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.

She is being joined in the new clinic by Sean Rodgers, of Westport Chiropractic, who will be holding his regular Sharbot Lake Thursday clinic in the new space. Rodgers has been serving Sharbot Lake for years, most recently in a small room next to the Treasure Trunk.

Also, on Wednesdays and Fridays a physiotherapist from Perth Physiotherapy will be available at the new clinic. This is a first for Sharbot Lake.

“Our services complement one another,” said Annette Gray-Jackson as she was setting up the clinic with Sean Rodgers last week. “I regularly find myself recommending physiotherapy and massage for my patients, and it will be ideal to be able to refer people to the same clinic. It’s also a lot easier for people from Plevna or Arden to get to Sharbot Lake than to Perth for massage or physio. The 45-minute drive home can erase a lot of the good that comes from a treatment.”

The therapy room, which is on the main floor at the Country Inn, is bright and has a view of the lake. A smaller gift shop remains open next door. Patients can wait in the front hallway, or they can visit the restaurant downstairs.

“The idea for the clinic came from Sandra White [co-owner of the Country Inn with her husband Frank]. She thought it would be a good use of the space, and when I looked at it I couldn’t help but agree. It is also an opportunity to bring something new to Sharbot Lake, to go along with all the other services available here,”
said Annette Gray-Jackson.

For her own massage therapy business, the move has already started to pay off as she has already increased her client base.

While Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and Massage Therapy are not covered by OHIP, most extended benefit health plans do cover them. Although the three services are jointly being operated in the space, they are independent and each will be booking its own clients.

To contact Annette Gray-Jackson, call 613-449-0060 or got to annettegrayjackson.com. Her clinic is open from 10-8 Mondays, 10-5 Tuesdays, 1-5 Fridays and 9-12 on Saturdays.

To contact Perth Physiotherapy call 613-267-6789 or go to perthphysiotherapy.ca. Sharbot Lake hours are Wednesdays from 9-5 and Fridays from 9-12.

To contact Sharbot Lake Chiropractic call 613-279-3100. Sean’s clinic is open from 8-5 on Thursdays.

The Sharbot Lake Health and Wellness clinic is now open. There will be a grand opening celebration on Monday, April 29 between 4 and 7 pm. 

MP Scott Reid has a bit more time available these days than he normally would at this time of year because Parliament has been prorogued.

In what might seem an odd coincidence to some, he is using some of that time to work on what he describes as his major political passion, promoting democracy.

As Scott Reid told a room full of grade 10 students at Granite Ridge Education Centre (GREC) on Tuesday, Sept. 17, Canada does not use the form of democracy that he most favours. He prefers the way the Swiss govern themselves, pointing out that while in Canada citizens vote in a government once every few years, in Switzerland major public issues are settled through referenda. In 2010 Switzerland held six of them; in 2011 only one; in 2012, twelve; and by the time 2013 is finished there will have been nine.

Scott Reid’s comments came about as part of an exercise in democracy organized by GREC teacher Randy McVety. The students were presented with a proposal, and then asked to move their chairs to one of four corners of the room, the far left if they were strongly opposed, left if they were just opposed, right if they were in favour, and far right if they were strongly in favour. For the purposes of the exercises, two votes were cast for the more emphatic responses, and one for the more moderate.

But before counting the votes up, the students were invited to say why they had chosen as they had, and a moderated discussion took place. Then Scott Reid went to the corner that represented his vote on the matter and made his case.

The question that precipitated his comments about Switzerland had to do with the minimum voting age in Canada. By a significant, though not overwhelming, majority, the 15 and 16-year-old GREC students supported lowering the voting age to 16.

Students in favour of the change argued that the driving age is 16, and if someone is deemed capable of driving, why not let them vote. As well, they thought that lowering the voting age would help entrench the habit of voting. Another student argued that since voting takes place once every four years, a 17-year-old who is not eligible for the vote has to live with the consequences of the result while they are 18, 19, and 20.

Scott Reid was moderately in favour of the status quo, noting that it is consistent with the age that people are eligible to join military.

The other proposal that was bought forward was about marijuana laws.

For this question, Randy McVety had those students who favour full legalization of marijuana, so that it will be produced and sold in much he same way liquor is now, to sit in the strongly in favour section; those who support decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana were to sit in the in favour section; and those who support the current laws were to sit in the opposed or strongly opposed sections.

The largest group of students sat in the strongly opposed section, although a number of students sat in the strongly in favour sections as well.

A wide-ranging, animated debate ensued, with some students arguing that marijuana is safe; others that it is dangerous; some saying it is a gateway drug to more dangerous drugs; some saying the current state of affairs is unworkable and should be scrapped; and some calling for more enforcement.

When it came to his turn, Scott Reid bounded down to sit with those in favour of full legalization.

He then took the stage and asked the students to name two things that Barack Obama, George Bush Jr. and Bill Clinton have in common.

“They have all been US presidents, and they have all admitted to smoking marijuana, and they all oppose legalizing marijuana,” Reid said. “I’ve never smoked marijuana, or cigarettes, but I favour legalization.”

Reid went further, saying that drug policies in North America are illogical, wrongheaded, and inconsistent.

“Let’s talk about gateway drugs and dangerous drugs,” Reid added. “The most significant gateway drug is cigarettes, and the drug that does the most damage is alcohol, and they are both legal, and should be in my view.”
He pointed out that an attempt was made to make alcohol illegal, “and it was a disaster.”

On this issue, Scott Reid differed from not only the majority of the students in the room, but with his own Conservative Party as well, which he pointed out has toughened the penalty for possession of marijuana.

“I was the only one in my party who voted against that legislation,” he said.

Reid may have been in the minority at GREC and a lonely figure in his own party, but his views are supported by the many across the country. Polls in recent years have consistently shown that a solid majority of Canadians, up to 66% or more, favour decriminalization of marijuana, and a slim majority favour legalization. And it is not the youth vote that drives these results. Thirty-five to 54-year-olds are as strongly in favour of change as are those under 35.

Using the weighted vote system, Randy McVety determined there were 42 votes in favour of the status quo and 36 for either decriminalization or legalization.

Scott Reid then spent the rest of the morning in smaller classroom settings at Granite Ridge Education Centre.

Students of the Skills Link Blossoms Pre- Construction Program, an eight-week program offered through the St. Lawrence College Employment Centre in Sharbot Lake through Services Canada, have strapped on their tool belts and hard hats and have been bettering the local community while putting their new skills to the test. Under the tutelage of Central Frontenac Fire Chief Bill Young, the students in the program have been tackling a number of projects in and around Central Frontenac to fulfill the practical element of the course, which also includes two weeks of in-class studies.

I visited the students at the Treasure Trunk in Sharbot Lake last week where they were in the process of erecting a new portable 10 x 12 ft double-door storage shed, complete with vinyl siding and a shingled roof. They designed the project on paper first and Bill Young compared it to “designing a house, only smaller.”

Prior to this project the students had completed an earlier project at the ice rink in Arden where they replaced all of the rink boards. After completing the shed the students will be putting in a new stair well at the new basement access entrance at North Frontenac-Community Living.

Students who complete the course will receive a diploma and Young said the course is “a great way to impart construction skills, prepare them for the work force, and give them hands-on experience.” For one student, Cody Massey, it was the first time he has had the chance to learn how to use tools he had never used before and his first time doing any kind of construction work. After completing the program he will working in construction up north in Resolute Bay, where he landed his first construction job. Katie Hoadley also enjoyed the course. “You are working at something different every day, which makes it enjoyable, challenging and interesting,” she said. She is also hoping to land a job in the field in the near future.

There is nothing more inspiring than gaining access to the studio of a master artist and seeing first hand great art in the place where it is created. That was the case for those who visited studio #10 on the Inroads Studio Tour, the home and studio of Martina Field.

Field is one of the original members of the 21-year-old studio tour, which took place on Labour Day weekend in and around Central Frontenac.

She has been printmaking for almost as long as she has been walking. As the daughter of two artist parents, Saul Field and Jean Townsend, both print makers, Martina recalled making her first print when she was just three years old. “My parents used to give me a little corner in their studio and they put me to work on my own stuff to keep me out of their hair. I made my first plate when I was three years old and printed it when I was four.” That first print, called “Mommy and Daddy”, shows her dad sporting his goatee and her mom with her long braid pointed vertically straight up in the frame.

As a young print maker Field entered and won numerous art contests and was included in feature articles in various publications, including the Globe Magazine. Some of her first works were also included in the Home exhibit at Montreal’s' Expo 67. At 12 years old she began assisting her parents in their studio and she recalled her dad paying her $1 for every “good” print she pulled for him. Later she became her parents' master printer and she pulled many of their print editions.

In 1963 her parents invented and developed a non-toxic method of print making that involved a substance they named compotina, an acrylic and gesso-based composition. Field uses the technique in her own print making and it allows her to both add to and take away from the print plate, offering a multi-textured print.

On display in her studio, located in her 100-year-old farmhouse, are numerous framed prints demonstrating subject matter that is based on both literary and mythological themes, often producing a series of prints that explore aspects of one theme In one series, “Zodiac”, she studied and researched myths related to the zodiac system. In another, called “In the Garden”, he husband Jeff Green wrote poems about the garden season as seen through a child's eyes. In one print from that series the text reads “Sunflower Sunflower show us your face, before summer ends and fall takes its place” and the image depicts their daughters' airy faces peeking out from behind dark green sunflower stalks that stand in an opaque and azure blue sky upon a willowy, wheat yellow dry late summer grass. These prints often have a light and airy feel with multiple textured surfaces that somehow resemble impasto, plaster or pitted rock-like surfaces with mixtures of both opaque and transparent layers of colour. They recall the works of painters like Marc Chagall in the whimsical and child-like innocence of the imagery and composition.

At the other end of the spectrum prints like “Heron” and others from the Zodiac series offer up heavier, more strongly defined images printed in more opaque colors.

Martina Field's most recent prints, such as “First Run”, which shows the stark, dark trunks of a line of early spring maple trees hung with sap buckets, demonstrate her latest foray into landscapes, some real and others imagined. “I love trees and nature and am really awestruck by the way that light falls in a certain way on a certain tree or on a certain section of forest," she said. In “Little Shady Grove” she has imagined a section of shady forest in which she depicts a series of tree trunks that stand in a dimly lit and magical looking forest.

Field said that print-making is the perfect medium for her. “It's magic. You never know what you are going to have in the end. You have an image in your head and you work away at it on the plate and a very long time goes by before you see the finished result. There are many trials you go through before you finally work it all out and that is what makes the whole process really exciting.”