Prince Charles Public School in Verona was a busy place Saturday as the Frontenac Farmers Market combined with the School Advisory Council for a fundraiser that packed the place.

There were 38 vendors filling the hallways and library and 22 of the usual suspects from the summer market arranged in the gym.

There was even a breakfast with Santa and a mom-to-mom sale, where the community donated clothes with proceeds going back to the school and any leftovers going to the church.

“That did pretty good,” said SAC chair Alison Williams. “It’s a good fundraiser for the school and we also raised funds from table sales to vendors.”

“It was a huge group effort and the school benefits so we’ll definitely be doing it again,” said SAC treasurer Tina McHale.

Laura Simmons, who’s taking over the helm of the Frontenac Farmers Market from Debbie Harris for 2018 said “we’ve had a good turnout so far and we still have an hour to go.

“This is our last sale of 2017.”

Simmons said the first 2018 date of the market is “not certain yet but I expect it will be in mid- to late-May and continue through the end of October.

“We have a couple of new vendors coming on in 2018 and they’ll add some variety.”

The Frontenac County Economic Development wants to know how residents feel about allowing motorized off-road vehicles to access the K & P Trail at the planned Bellrock Road Trailhead among other things and as such held an Open House information gathering session Monday night at the Lions Hall in Verona.

“We’re here to listen,” said Richard Allen, the County’s manager of economic development. “Not to create a debate ground.

“There is a proposal for allowing (off-road vehicle) user access (but) we don’t have a proposal design.

“We’re getting people’s ideas.”

To that end, the County provided aerial maps where community members were invited to draw on their ideas, and a display where people were invited to write their thoughts about the potential off-road vehicle use.

Currently, off-road vehicles are not allowed on the trail south of Craig Road. However, there is precious little parking there and while off-roaders could access the businesses in Verona by taking to Road 38, there is little incentive for them to do so. Also, there has been damage to gates and the surrounding forest as some motorized users circumvent the measures used to prevent their access south of Craig Road. Thus the idea of extending the off-road permission to the larger Bellrock Road area at the south end of Verona was proposed.

For the record (and granted the comments hadn’t all been read) the tally of sticky notes at the end of the evening was 36 agreeing with the proposal to extend off-road use to Bellrock Road, 3 neutral and 13 disagreeing with the idea.

“Again, we’re not making any decisions tonight, this is a workshop,” Allen said.

Although ATVs seemed to be the dominating discussion topic for the evening amongst the sizable crowd, it wasn’t the only thing the organizers wanted to hear about.

There were also discussions about parking, benches, garbage receptacles, washrooms, signage and fencing.

For those who were unable to attend Monday’s Open House, there is an online survey at the www.infrontenac.ca website where residents can voice their opinions on all the above topics.

The survey is open until Dec. 1 and Allen said they’ve received 100 responses so far.

“I think it’s great that the community has been given this opportunity to voice their opinions,” said Warden and South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal.

At a special committee of the whole meeting Monday afternoon in Sydenham, South Frontenac Council committed in principle to some form of near-future project for seniors housing.

Just exactly what that project will look like other than 12 units with a price tag of around $1 million has yet to be finalized but CAO Wayne Orr expects to have some form of proposal ready for Council’s Dec. 5 meeting.

The reason for the sense of urgency, Orr explained, is that the City of Kingston has indicated that they have funding to support seniors housing but will need “final approvals by December 2018 and a ‘shovel in the ground’ by March 2019.”

Given that there is a municipal election in 2018 and Council could be faced with a ‘lame duck’ situation, a decision has to be made soon in order to make further decisions on financing before Council might not be allowed to make such decisions until after said election.

From the onset of the meeting, Council seemed quite unified in its belief that there is need for more seniors housing and its desire to proceed with with some form of 12-unit plan.

Several councilors were concerned should this be a repeat of McMullen Manor in Verona whereby units intended for seniors ended up being assigned to non-seniors (with challenged clientele) because of not enough seniors to fill the units.

“There’s such a small number of people from South Frontenac needing this,” said Coun. Ron Sleeth. “Are we going to create seniors housing for people outside of South Frontenac?”

“Do we run the risk of loosing control of this (new) facility like we did with McMullen Manor?” said Orr. “No — that was a provincial decision.”

“Will we be tied to Kingston and their wait lists?” said Coun. Alan Revill.

“No, Kingston will simply manage things as a South Frontenac board dictates,” said Orr. “We won’t be tied to their wait lists.”

So, that essentially left two questions — how this would be financed and where would it be built.

As far as financing, rather than take out a mortgage, Orr suggested the Township could “act as its own banker” by financing the project through reserves.

“But, the reserves would have to be paid back with interest (out of rents, subsidies and grants) similar to what we would get for investing the reserves,” Orr said.

The “where” part drew considerably more debate.

Sydenham and Verona would appear to be the frontrunners for such development given that they have the most amenities such as medical facilities, shopping and social opportunities within potential walking distance, ie ‘walkable communities.’ Also, several councilors pointed out potential sites already owned by the Township and the fact that Sydenham has municipal water, making it the front runner.

Not surprisingly, the two representatives from Storrington District, Sleeth and Dep. Mayor Norm Roberts argued for the ‘Inverary Corridor.’

“I’m going to push the Inverary Corridor,” said Roberts. “There is development coming and as far as water goes, I’ve talked to a home in Gananoque who uses a 10,000-gallon tank from which they draw 3,000 gallons a day.”

There was even a brief consideration of Fermoy Hall.

“We do own the building,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal.

“But there’s not much land there,” said Coun. Pat Barr.

Eventually, Vandewal said “we’re not much further along than when we started.”

Orr disagreed.

“We’ve moved from ‘should we do it’ to ‘how do we do it.’” Orr said. “The biggest variable now becomes land.”

Council decided to have Orr return a report with recommendations.

It’s kind of a shame that Louise Day’s A “Day” in Nature photographic exhibition at Blueroof Farm ended Nov. 12 (it was open each Sunday since Sept. 24). While there were many competent images of animals (including an excellent grab of a Cooper’s hawk and its prey) and Day’s beloved tulips, it was her unique images of frost that broke many molds and rose above standard photographic fare.

Although the frost series pieces all have titles like Fire Frost, Frost Medallion or Spider Frost, Day opted not to have them displayed with the works preferring the viewer see “what you envision or see yourself.”

And in hindsight, that seems to have been an astute decision because these images certainly do invite interpretation.

The enlargements were done on a “special paper” at Kingston Frameworks and then mounted on acrylic or in one case, metal. They presented without frames.

And simply put, they’re magic.

“Frost presents itself so differently and like snowflakes, no two images are ever alike,” Day said.

And, we suspect, neither are the interpretations.

(For example, this reviewer saw alien jungle landscapes and seashores, and the lair for some otherworldly giant spider queen.)

Day said her fascination with frost happened somewhat by chance one day in Verona.

“I saw frost on a sunroom and went up to it, knocked on the door and asked if I could photograph it,” she said.

She’s been doing it ever since.

“I also take ice images along the river,” she said. “You only see these images once — that’s your chance.

“You can skip living where you are and imagine yourself anywhere.

“But I’m not going to forget my tulips.”

Day began photography in 1991, taking lessons from Kim Ondaatje.

“She (Ondaatje) taught me how to see,” Day said.

Day is a member of the Kingston Photographic Club and considers photography a hobby. However she does sell her work and several pieces from A “Day” in Nature are still for sale and if interested in buying one, you can contact Day at 613-374-3333 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The ever resourceful Grandmothers by the Lake have put together African Heart Beat to raise money to combat the HIV/AID pandemic in Africa. The evening will include a performance by Log house Rhythms, a West African drum group whose call and response style always engages audience. The other performers are more familiar to local audiences. They include the fabulous flute trio, Toute Ensemble, the Carpe Musica Septet, and pianist Noah Pederson.

The finale will be memorable. A performance by the Kingston based, all women choir, Shout Sister. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door, or at Memory Lane Flowers in Sydenham or Food Less Travelled in Verona. The show runs from 7pm-9pm on Saturday, November 18.

The Land Between, a grassroots ecology-focused charity, recognizes the landscape spanning from the Georgian Bay coast to the Ottawa Valley as “a treasure trove of ecosystem services benefiting all of Ontario.”
The organization held a knowledge circle Saturday October 28th in Verona, the third in a series of four within the region which seeks to address these questions: “Who knows the land?” “Who can speak for the land?” and “who cares for the land?”

Chief manager, Leora Berman, explains that the charity uses knowledge circles in place of the more familiar boardroom table for its governance. They are a democratic format, through which those in attendance, seated in an inward-facing circle, have equal voice and opportunity to hear and be heard.
“People feel grateful for the forum,” says Berman, noting that in previous years, advisory committees provided a mechanism for people to communicate local environmental needs and risks to the ministry. These have largely been scrapped in favour of regional-scale consultation.
Prominent in the discussions were current ecological changes: disruptions in the seasons' cycles (the lack of deep winter, the late onset of fall, the intensity of summer heat) and the related issue of declines in critical species such as birds, bugs and water fowl.

Participants also raised concerns around human causes and responses: complacency in the face of climate change (such as the sentiment that warmer winters are a blessing) and individual, government and corporate responsibility as it relates to reducing and better managing waste, using water sources carefully and not treating them as commodities, using land for renewable energy projects with adequate consideration for their suitability to a given terrain.

Addressing one of the enigmatic questions the forum set out to explore, '”who can speak for the land?” one participant proposed that without a shift away from the prevailing view of land as an object (as opposed to a being with rights) only ineffective, patchwork solutions to climate change and ecological degradation will be on offer. If non-human entities such as corporations are entitled to rights, so goes the notion, one should be able to give nature legal protection when it is threatened, and recourse when it is harmed.

A review of themes raised at Saturday's gathering, along with those from previous sessions held in Gravenhurst and Buckhorn, and a final one slated for November 4th in Madoc, will be published online by The Land Between for the public's benefit. Berman notes that each of the sessions held thus far reached forty people, surpassing expectations.

For families with children attending Prince Charles Public School, Christmas for Kids can be a god-send. The group has been putting together Christmas packages for families in need for many years. The packages, which go to somewhere between 65 and 75 children each year, include new socks, underwear, pajamas, at least one new outfit, at least one toy, a book, and toiletries.

Prince Charles’ Public school is a key partner for the program. The school identifies families that might benefit from Christmas for Kids, and then approaches those families first to see if they want to participate. If they do, details about clothing size and interests of the children involved are determined and the Christmas for Kids Team takes it from there.

Packages are delivered in December.

“The packages cost from $120 to $140 per child, and we need to fund raise for those dollars,” said Nicole Van Camp of Nicole’s Gifts, one of the Christmas for Kids Committee members.
This year the committee needs extra money because one of the sources of dollars, Sisters by Heart at Verona Free Methodist Church, has disbanded.
“They used to cover the cost of socks and underwear, which is about $20 per child,” said Van Camp.

Christmas for Kids has a number of events planned for the next month, including a Christmas for Kids shopping night at Nicole’s Gifts on November 10, a bottle drive at the Verona Foodland on November 18, and a dance that raises funds for Christmas for Kids and its sister charity in the Sydenham and Perth Road areas, the Loughborough Christmas committee.

The date for the dance will be announced in the coming weeks.

Christmas for Kids accepts donations of money, un-wrapped toys and other new items, at any time. Donations are accepted during regular business hours at the Verona Hardware store, Nicole’s Gifts, and Asselstines Hardware, and tax receipts are available for monetary donations. Donation jars are also available at most stores in the Verona area.

For further information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

This weekend (Oct. 28) will be the final Saturday outdoor venue of 2017 for the Frontenac Farmers Market in Verona. (They do plan a Christmas market in December indoors at Prince Charles Public School.)

Self-described market manager/gofer/treasurer/visionary Debbie Harris said they are “planning a couple of special things” for the final market while pointing out that at this time of the year root vegetables and a great variety of apples are at their best. As well fresh baking and mushrooms will also be available.
“We still have garlic and grass-fed beef too,” she said.

This will be Harris’s final market in the head honcho spot, as Laura Simmons will be sworn in as “August personage and supreme commander” for 2018.
“It’s actually taking four people to replace me,” Harris joked. “It’s been interesting but we need new blood.”
“Debbie’s going to be a hard act to follow,” said Simmons.

Both the incoming and outgoing managers agreed that they’d like to see the market expand.

“We’re always looking for new farmers,” Simmons said, adding that in order to add more craftspeople, they have to add more farmers because of the rules for Farmers Markets requiring a larger percentage of farmers.
“Hopefully it will continue to grow,” Harris said. “The County is pushing for more local foods and it would be nice to get some support from that angle.
“But we’ll continue to provide good food.”

“We have a large following from the summer residents,” Simmons said. “We’d like to expand support from year-round residents.”

The Sydenham Food Bank shelves are getting bare, so it’s time for their fall food drive, to help those in need. On Saturday, October 21, from 9:00am to 3:00pm, volunteers from Southern Frontenac Community Services, which operates the Food Bank, will be encouraging grocery shoppers at both the Verona and Sydenham Foodland stores to consider making a donation of food or cash. “The Foodland stores are always willing to partner with our food drives,” says Amanda Pantrey, who is coordinating the fall food drive, “they prepare $10 and $20 bags of non-perishable food that is high on our list of needs that customers can purchase and donate on site.” Customers can donate other items as well, and the Food Bank welcomes gifts of cash.

“The Food Bank relies heavily on volunteers and donated food, but we still need to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, eggs and milk,” says Food Bank Coordinator Vicki England. As a member of the Ontario Association of Food Banks, there are often deals with suppliers that can result in huge buying power. “Donations of cash can really be stretched far.” Online donations can also be made through the organization’s website at: www.sfcsc.ca So this Saturday, keep an eye out for the volunteers at the Foodland stores in Verona and Sydenham from 9am to 3pm, and consider making a donation

The 2017 champion of the 21st annual Eastern Ontario Garlic Awards is Dorothy Oogarah of Wagar Oogarah Farm near Centreville. The reserve champion (2nd) was Catherine Cheff of Cheff Fields Garlic and Alpaca Farm near Renfrew and honourable mention (3rd) went to Ali Gangneir Ross of Swallowtail Farms near Perth.
Oogarah operates the Wagar family farm with her husband Viren and son Jeffe. The farm has been in her family (Wagar) since 1820 and although they’ve only been into garlic for about the last four years, they’ve gone into it in a rather big way.

“We had 3,600 plants this year,” she said. “For all of July, I’m busy digging.”
This was her third year entering in the awards and she said she’ll be back to defend her title.
“We’re really partial to Creole Rose de l’autrec garlic,” she said. “It’s really good and flavourful.
“Next would be Rocambole but you can’t store it for a year like Creole Rose.”