In last week’s Frontenac County Council article, it was wrongly reported that a bylaw enabling Frontenac County to initiate expropriation proceedings on a piece of land owned by Bob Leonard had been deferred so the County trails committee could meet with Mr. Leonard.

The County needs the land in order to carry the K&P trail northwards towards Verona through the Leonard farm near Hartington.

As reported last week, when the bylaw was proposed at the June 20 county meeting, Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle moved that the vote on the bylaw be deferred.

South Frontenac Mayor Gary Davison began to talk about how the committee should deal with Mr. Leonard, leading County CAO Liz Savill to recommend that the discussion move in camera because it was a land deal with legal consequences and Mr. Davison’s remarks should not be made in public.

Since the meeting was finished, other than this item, I left without waiting for the end of the in camera session. I assumed that since, during the public session at least, Mayor Davison had not indicated he would oppose a deferral, the bylaw had ultimately been deferred.

It was only after going to press that I found out that after the in camera session, the motion to defer the bylaw was defeated, and the bylaw itself was approved. Dennis Doyle and David Jones, the two representatives from the Frontenac Islands, opposed the bylaw, in a 6-2 vote (North Frontenac representative John Inglis was absent)

We contacted Bob Leonard this week, and he said that as of this Tuesday, July 3, he has not heard from the county or the county’s lawyers since the meeting on June 20.

He said that he received an offer to purchase for the parcel of land, which runs through his farm property, earlier this spring.

He said that he contacted the county after receiving the offer, and did talk briefly to CAO Liz Savill, at which time he informed her that he required a different right of way than was included in their offer.

“I was waiting for them to get back to me to begin negotiating about what I really require for my own protection, but instead I got a letter saying they were planning to initiate expropriation proceedings.”

The Ontario Expropriation Act permits the province, municipalities and other bodies, such as hospitals and school boards, to expropriate lands for public purposes. The most common cases where expropriation is used is for transportation purposes, such as highways or railways, or for expansions of schools or hospitals. Expropriation proceedings follow a set of regulations, and can end up being the subject of an Ontario Municipal Board Hearing, and eventually divisional court proceedings.

Bob Leonard said that he has engaged a lawyer and that the county would have saved money had they sat down with him to negotiate before taking this step.

In terms of background to this current situation, Leonard said that 2½ years ago he sold a piece of land to South Frontenac Township to be used as a buffer for the Verona waste site. Those negotiations were carried out with Mayor Davison and Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth. While there was talk of the trail lands during the negotiations around that sale, nothing came of it, according to Leonard.

For their third fundraiser of the year, members and supporters of Grandmothers by the Lake, the local chapter of the Stephen Lewis Foundation's Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, donned cowboy hats and kicked up their heels in support of their African grandmother counterparts at a country-style fundraiser at the Verona Lions hall on October 5.

Chair of the group, Adele Colby, recently returned from a special tribunal hosted by the Stephen Lewis Foundation in Victoria, B.C., where six African grandmothers told their stories. Together with two expert witnesses from projects on the ground in Africa, they made their demands known to the four tribunal judges, who included Gloria Steinem, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, Joy Phumaphi and Theo Sowa. They stressed the fact that important changes need to be made at all levels of government in their countries so that their rights can be “promoted, respected and protected ” as they continue, often with the odds stacked against them, to care for the generation of African children orphaned by Africa's HIV/Aids pandemic. The African grandmothers are demanding their rights to “property, bodily integrity, income security, freedom from violence and quality health care” and are aiming to see “improved laws, funding policies, consultations, cultural practices, greater access to justice as well as freedom from discrimination based on their sex, age, and HIV status”.

The tribunal resulted in a “call for action” in the hopes that the necessary remedies be “secured as an urgent priority for the grandmothers at the local, national and international levels.” In her speech Colby expressed the continued inspiration she gains from hearing the stories of these African grandmothers. “I feel very excited about these women that I met. They are a representation of the new woman in Africa and let's not forget that it is these women who are raising the future generation in Africa. It is therefore incumbent upon us to support them and give them what they need in order to carry on.”

To date over 8000 grandmothers from all across Canada have raised over $19 million for The Stephen Lewis Foundation who have in turn funded over 300 projects on the ground in Africa.

The Verona fundraiser included a homemade chili dinner with all the fixings, a lesson in square dancing from Ottawa's Graham Ingram, and live musical entertainment courtesy of the Sunshine Soul Band as well as a silent auction. Anyone interested in finding out more about Grandmothers by the Lake can contact Adele Colby at 613-375-8845.

On September 29 lovers of choral music packed Trinity United Church in Verona for a stellar opening concert of the choir season. The Trinity/St. Paul's Choir was joined by the Trenton Men's Chorus and together the two groups performed a very satisfying and diverse program that put the men's chorus, which is directed by George Couperus, front and center.

The Trinity/St. Paul’s choir opened the concert with members filing into the aisles of the church sanctuary where they enveloped the listeners as they stood and sang "Hallelujah", setting a tone of warmth for what was to come in the hour-long concert. The men's chorus demonstrated their tight-knit and pitch-perfect sound, which Couperus said is a result of every singer meaning what he sings. They opened with their own rendition of “My Lord, He is a-coming”, and they shone especially in their selections of more modern hymnology, pieces like “The Power of the Cross”, and “Still”, a contemporary piece by Reuben Morgan.

Interspersed throughout the concert were hymns sung by both choirs, with the audience singing along, and the men's chorus added their own harmonies, creating a sound not often heard in the Verona sanctuary. The concert finished with both choirs singing “Here's to Song” which launched a round of generous applause from the listeners. Lynda Boulter, who emceed the evening, admitted to having her “first ever choir crush” on the Trenton Men's Chorus, and judging by the reception in the packed sanctuary, she was not alone.

Organizers of the annual Verona Cattail Festival, which took place in and around Verona on August 10 and 11, do their utmost to make sure that festival goers of all ages are kept busy and entertained at the popular local festival, which continues to draw visitors from near and far. Music lovers come especially for the two-day long eclectic lineup of local musical entertainment on the main stage, and when I visited on Saturday, a sizable crowd under the shady Lions pavilion were taking in the mellow folk/rock sounds of Michael George, one of many performers who took to the main stage over the weekend.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of parade goers lined the village curbs for the colorful festival kickoff parade. After lunch, the younger more competitive types tested their skills and boat building ingenuity at the always popular duct tape boat races at McMullen beach. The educational component of the festival in recent years has become a highlight and inside the Verona Lions Hall, aptly named the Cameron Centre, local organizations and groups offered up a wide array of hands-on educational displays for all ages. Student biologists from Queens University, Eric Taylor and Jillian Lemon, had a wide array of taxidermied animals and birds, skulls and turtle shells for visitors to examine. The two, who volunteer with Queens University Biology Education, aim to promote education, research and conservation in the area. “Our hope is that by educating people about the species that live in these parts, people will become aware and do their part in protecting the lands where these creatures live. Some of the more exotic species on display included the barred owl, northern flicker, harrier hawk, a ruby throated hummingbird, an indigo bunting and numerous turtle shells and other animal skulls. Meanwhile outside the building youngsters were learning about antique model trains thanks to Philip Ibbotson and Dave D'Albertanson, both members of the Frontenac Society of Model Engineers Inc., whose goal is to “foster an appreciation of machinery, transport and equipment from the industrial revolution to the present day.” They had on display a coal-fired 3.5 inch gauge Hudson (4-6-4) steam locomotive for members' use as well as bright red model Royal Scott, a British engine from the 1930s and 40s.

Photo: On Saturday at the festival, Adam Clow, Union Gas drafter estimator (at right of festival mascot
Cameron), presented a $1,000 cheque in support of the "Just add Water" theme of this year's
festival to Deborah Spaar-Mueller, chair of the Cameron’s Cattail Centre.

John McDougall, who helped organize the educational component of the festival this year, said that more hands on displays were attracting many visitors to the centre. An educational program called "Just Add Water" put on by Union Gas was offered up to visitors and it included many displays about the role of water in the area.

The festival attracts generations of families, like the relatives of long-time festival volunteers and Verona Community Association members, Garry and Dianne Delves, who were joined by many generations of their family. They make the special trip annually from Cornwall, Ontario to attend the festival.

New this year at the festival were the village-wide garage sales, which attracted hundreds of watchers to the early morning parade, a bicycling course for young riders courtesy of Kingston Cycle, which aimed to teach young riders safe riding habits. All of the usual favorite activities attracted enthusiastic crowds and these included rides on the popular Verona Express Train, the celebrity dunk tank, the many inflatable bouncy toys and tunnels and much more. The Verona Lions offered their popular canteen fare for hungry visitors and Cameron the Bog Lemming as usual made an appearance at the parade and visited with youngsters all weekend long. Hats off to the Verona Community Association and the many volunteers who continue to make the Verona Cattail Festival a special and memorable place to be for the whole family.

Due to a request by members of the Desert Lake Cottage Association, board member Kate Laird headed up a Bio-Blitz near Desert Lake on August 3. Laird, who also sits on the board of the KLF&A Land Conservancy and who is a property owner on Desert Lake, was joined by Anne Robertson, coordinator of the Kingston Field Naturalists’ Youth Program, which she has been running for 40 years. Their Saturday Blitz took place at the Bailey/Sutherland Conservation Reserve, which is part of the Nature Conservancy of Canada and it is located on Canoe Lake Road near Snug Harbour and Mitchell Creek.

The small group that took part ranged in age from preschoolers to seniors and the group ventured into three different habitats on the reserve, which included meadowlands, deciduous and coniferous woodlands and wetlands. Armed with nets and small plastic containers, the group found and recorded all kinds of flora and fauna that they encountered while witnessing first hand the incredibly diverse ecosystems that exist in the lands that surround Desert Lake.

The purpose of these Bio-Blitzes is to create awareness by educating residents about the complex ecosystems that exist around them. “It's important that people understand how important bio-diversity is”, Robertson said when I met up with the group following their hike. “We hope that by providing awareness and education, more and more residents will come to appreciate the nature that surrounds them and as a result be more apt to protect and care for the land,” she said. Regarding the property that they had just hiked, Robertson said, “ It was very good. We did not for example see a lot of garlic mustard, an invasive species that kills a lot of the important fungal roots in the soil, which all trees need to help them to grow.”

The group also reported seeing various moths and butterflies, countless species of dragonflies, a millipede, a painted turtle, numerous fish and tadpoles, frogs and a huge number of plant, grass and tree species, including over 16 species of ferns. Laird said she was pleased to have Anne leading the group as she was able to inform them about a number of interesting facts, like the differences between a millipede and centipede. The difference is not just in their number of legs - millipedes are herbivores and have two pairs of legs per segment while centipedes are carnivores and have one leg per segment. Robertson also pointed out the differences between the numerous pink-flowered plants the group saw, like purple loosestrife, swamp milk weed, steeple bush and Joe Pye Weed, as well as the difference between three-leafed plants like hog peanut, ash seedlings and poison ivy. She also identified the bulbed timothy grass, which is a favorite snack for meadow voles, which are in turn a favorite snack for owls. “We had one gentleman who did not know much about this environment and he was amazed at the abundance of life in these lands,” Laird said. ”You tend to not notice the incredible diversity unless you take the time and look very closely and Anne was really able to help us see the amazing abundance of life here.”

The group came armed with clear plastic berry containers which Anne said are great for holding butterflies and moths long enough to be identified, after which they are released. They also brought along a number of lidded plastic containers to hold fish and tadpoles that the group caught and identified at one of the beaver ponds on the property. Robertson also came armed with a butterfly guide book put out by the Kingston Field Naturalists, which helped her to identify the numerous butterflies and moths that the group came across.

Not many top notch rock and rollers can claim to have been making music back when rock and roll was born close to six decades ago. But that is the case for the band The Monarchs, whose average band member age is roughly 68.5 years. Their age is no way a detriment to the sound the band produces - a tightly knit classic rock and roll all cover band, who seem as at ease cranking out classic '50s doo- whop hits as well as cool, unnerving classic surfer tunes like Pipe Line and Wipe Out. The Monarchs consists of four players: Donny Candon on rhythm guitar/vocals; Peter Bebee on lead guitar/vocals; Gary Tisdale on drums/vocals; and Wayne Sweet on bass/vocals. The four play solely covers and their repertoire included numerous Elvis classics like The Wonder of You, Can't Help Falling in Love, America's Horse With No Name, The Hollies' Long Cool Woman, Eddy Rabitt's The Wanderer plus Chubby Checker's The Twist and many, many more. The musicians are each more than capable as soloists on lead guitar, drums and bass, with each playing their fair share of top notch solos. Guitarist Donny Cordon and bass player Wayne Sweet carried most of the lead vocals with ease and to great effect and each band member also assisted in the many four part harmonies, which are what make their early '50s repertoire so classic. The Monarchs fit in perfectly with the outdoor summer concert series that the Verona Community Association has been offering up free for music lovers. The crowd of 100 listeners ate up the Monarchs' music and two young toddlers could not keep themselves from dancing up a storm. Listeners also had a chance to take home some of the band's classic sounds in their latest CD recorded this year titled "Pub Night".

Those who missed the concert have no fear. The Monarchs will be performing at the upcoming Verona Cattail Festival on August 10 and 11. The final concert in the VCA's McMullen beach free concert series will be the gospel group Faithful Friends on Sunday August 25 from 1-3 pm, with the VCA BBQ beginning at noon. In case of inclement weather, the concert will take place indoors at the Verona Lions Hall on Verona Sand Road.

Hard-core rock n' rollers might have been surprised by the kind of “rock” that comprised the Frontenac Women's Chorus' repertoire at their May 25concert at Trinity United Church in Verona. But lovers of the rocky Frontenac landscape would have been pleased, as were the listeners who came out to enjoy the fresh and rock-solid offerings of this impressive three-part ladies choir.

Led by their fearless leader, Betty Wagner, the group performed a number of landscape-inspired tunes from a wide range of popular, folk and classical music. I was unfortunately only present for the first half of the concert but got to enjoy the group’s top-notch rendition of Ian Tyson's popular Canadian folk classic “Four Strong Winds”. The song’s opening verse was sung in multiple harmonies, in long and languid lines that quickly swelled into a moving lament that came together in unison and broke out yet again into luscious harmonies. The last chorus, which was sung without piano accompaniment, was especially memorable.

Local composer Jennifer Bennett was present for the choir’s interesting rendition of her piece titled “Psalm: For the Wind and the Shield Country”, which she wrote in 1995 with poetry by Steven Hayden. For this piece the choir moved from the stage and took up staggered positions, fully filling the aisles of the sanctuary and enveloping the audience with their voices. The effect allowed for a rare listening experience for individual members of the audience who were able to hear first and foremost the part from the voices closest to them. The forever favorite classic American folk song “Shenandoah” was next and was spine-tinglingly good, with an oh so memorable opening line that seemed to float in the air forever.

The always recognizable Fields of Gold was also moving, especially in the final key change nearing the end of the piece. The group took a calculated risk with Wagner's own rendition of the “Geographical Fugue” by Ernst Tosh, reworded by Wagner with Frontenac County place names and renamed by her as “The Frontenac Fugue”. Wagner's aim in rewriting the piece was to “celebrate all of the lovely names in the area”, which also happen to be some of her favorite sounding place names. The concert wrapped up a succession of three concerts over the years that have had the theme “animal-vegetable-mineral”. The “Rock On, Frontenac” concert was the final mineral element and also the last concert in the series.

Vendors at the Frontenac Farmers Market, which runs from 9am-1pm every Saturday until October at the Lions Hall in Verona, held their first outdoor market day of the season on May 4. The market has been running since 2005 and attracts many local vendors, including farmers, growers and makers of a wide variety of locally grown and produced products.

At the market there are home made preserves and other comestibles, fresh organic vegetables and meats, cheese, sauces, maple syrup, fresh baked goods, Middle Eastern cuisine, and many other delicious edible items plus a wide assortment of hand crafted items made by local artisans, which make beautiful gifts. For those who have never been, the Verona Lions Centre offers the perfect setting for a farmers’ market, with a large covered pavilion where the vendors set up their stalls, a large grassy area with picnic tables where families and individuals can sit down for a meal, plus the Lions hall itself, which offers washroom facilities and can be used during inclement weather and for special events. Pets are welcome too.

I spoke with Monique Hagar who has been selling her fine homemade Middle Eastern food products at the market for years under the label, “Memories of Alexandria”. She encourages those who have yet to experience the market to come by for a visit “Our products and produce are wonderful, of excellent quality and come directly from our farms, kitchens, gardens and workshops and its a great all around venue.”

The Verona Lions also serve up a delicious, affordable breakfast for those who might have skipped their first meal of the day. The market is also always looking for new vendors. For more information visit www.frontenafarmersmarket.ca. The Verona Lions hall is located at 4504 Verona Sand Road.

2013 Eastern Ontario Garlic Awards winners; raising the bar on locally grown garlic

Garlic growers from across the region have come to appreciate the tone that the Verona Lions set for their annual garlic festival. Because the festival takes place within the context of the Frontenac Farmers Market, it has avoided some of the trappings that other festivals have succumbed to over the years.

The booths are mostly devoted to garlic production or other kinds of agricultural products, and the crowds, this year having to dodge raindrops, have become steadily larger over the years.

One of the features of the Verona Garlic Festival is the awarding of the Eastern Ontario Garlic awards, the official competition for the best garlic produced in the region.

The awards were founded by Maberly’s Paul Pospisil, with a view towards promoting continual improvement in the quality of garlic grown in the region. The awards were judged this year by the News’ own Wilma Kenny, who is certified by the Ontario Horticulture Society.

The awards this year celebrated one of the most accomplished growers in the region over many years, as well as newcomers and a home grower.

David Hahn won his 6th Champion Grower award his time around. New growers from Perth, Ali Ross and Glen Gangnier, also produced top-notch all around garlic, taking the Reserve Champion's prize. Bill Kirby of Yarker won the single bulb category.

Diane Dowling, president of Local 316 of the National Farmers Union, presented the $100 grand prize to David Hahn and she also stood in for Kim Perry from Local Family Farms in presenting the $50 prize to Glen Gangnier.

Exhibitors in past years have learned the meaning of “quality” from the scores assigned by the judge on their garlic entries. In this way, the Garlic Awards have contributed to raising the bar on the quality of garlic grown in the Eastern Ontario region, giving it the excellent reputation that it justly deserves.

A great vote of thanks to the Lions Club of Verona for again hosting this competition.

Six local artists/artisans from the Verona area will be showcasing their work at a special one-day art show in Verona on Sun. Sept. 8.

The artists, who work in a wide range of mediums including photography, quilting, painting and fibre arts, are hoping to attract a sizable crowd to the venue, which is an old historic Verona saw mill located on the property of one of the artists.

The old mill is an attraction in itself. It was built in the 1930s and was owned and operated by Orvil Kerr until it closed in 1956, when Orvil passed away.

“Art in the Sawmill” includes the work of three painters.

Jill Harris, who is a member of the Rideau Lakes Artists' Association, works mainly in acrylics and watercolors though she admits that on occasion she feels “the urge to bring out the oils and the palette knife”. She is inspired by the fantastic Canadian landscape, particularly the mountains and the changes that the seasons bring to the scenery that surrounds her.

Elaine Farragher started out as a landscape painter but has recently been exploring and recording the rich cultural heritage in the Land 'O Lakes region. She works in a realistic style in which she strives for “detail as well as effect by using intense but natural colours.”

Hartington resident David Gilmore is a retired engineer turned painter and he has been painting in watercolor for more than 30 years. Recently he has also tried his hand at acrylics. Gilmore has taken courses at McGill University, the Kingston School of Art, and St. Lawrence College. In 1989 his work took him to Asia and later to France and England where he studied under three well-known artists. He also completed several commissions while abroad. David has participated in many group and solo shows at various local and international venues and he will be showing work of local scenes and scenery at the Old Mill.

Quilter Judy Skeggs has been sewing ever since she can remember. “I became interested in quilting in my 30s and after having taken both hand and machine quilting lessons, I have never looked back.” She has taught quilting classes and now works from her home, where she continues to do commission quilt and machine embroidery work. Judy also

volunteers for Victoria's Quilts, a group that makes quilts for cancer patients.

Gina Ritchie calls her business Gina's Warm & Woolies and she has been knitting ever since her Oma taught her at a very young age. Twelve years ago spinning added a new dimension to her knits, which are now also enhanced by the art of hand-dyeing. “My own methods of coloring yarn & fibre allow me to create an end product - whether a sweater, mitts or socks that have my personal signature."

Sharon Sole is the sole photographer in the show and is a retired educator who settled in Verona with her husband Carl 16 years ago after “falling in love with the area”. She has owned a camera since she was seven years old; her first was a Brownie Hawk Eye. Now she photographs using a Nikon digital camera and edits her images on her computer.

“Art in the Sawmill” will take place on Sept. 8 from 1-5pm. The mill is located at 6037A Verona Avenue in Verona (just behind Trinity United Church) Visitors can follow the signs up the driveway and left past the house and are asked to kindly park on the street instead of in the driveway.