Nine-year-old Fynn Collins has a plan: grow seedlings, sell them at the Market and put away enough money to buy herself a car when she’s 16.

“It will be my car, so mom and dad shouldn’t have to pay for it,” she said last Saturday as the Frontenac Farmers Market opened for its 13th season. “I may save up for my own TV before that.”

About two years ago, Collins got interested in gardening. She particularly liked growing seedlings and this year when her mom Amanda told her the Farmers Market was opening soon, she knew exactly what she wanted to do.

“I decided I wanted a stand,” she said.

So, she got busy starting her seedlings, even to the point of growing some under artificial lights. For the opening day, she had a variety of pepper strains for sale, along with some mini-cheesecakes, but this is just the beginning. She plans on expanding her inventory as other seedlings reach the transplanting stage.

She said she loves all sorts of plants but Kale seems to be her favourite.

“I pick it out of the garden and eat it,” she said.

For now, Collins is looking at this venture as “a good summer job” but the idea of making a living as a market gardener some day does appeal to her.

“I love gardening,” she said.

Collins is a welcome addition to the Market this year, said self-described “chief go-fer/manager Debbie Harris.

“We have a full house this year with some new vendors like Fynn,” Harris said. “And it’s good that we have a variety of farm vendors.”

For example, she said, besides Collins they have people selling vegetables, including hydroponically grown varieties, prepared foods like pirogues, a couple of vendors selling meats, baked goods and “old favourites like jams, jellies and herbs and of course having coffee available is very important.”

The Market is open every Saturday in the parking lot of Prince Charles Public School from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. right through until Halloween.

They like to have ‘special’ days, like the annual Tomato Day, but those things tend to be dependent on things like weather, growing conditions and fate.

“We seem to like to fly by the seat of our pants,” Harris said. “But people can check our Facebook page for special events.”

The market goes every Saturday, regardless of weather. They’ve been rained on, snowed on, and lived through some pretty good windstorms.

Even this year, a little rain didn’t dampen their enthusiasm.

“We’re never very sure about the weather,” Harris said. “I’ve been doing my sun dance all week.”

But as long as people keep coming, they’ll keep doing it, she said.

“We appreciate the support the community has shown us,” she said. “If they’re not here, we’re not here.”

In conjunction with the Kingston Community Health Centre, Registered Nurses Annie Campbell (Verona) and Meredith Prikker (Sydenham) offer 6 week courses in the spring and fall for Frontenac County residents with chronic diseases and chronic pain.

The spring course, Living Well with Chronic Disease, is aimed at people with lung or heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, those who have suffered a stroke or have another long term condition. Anyone can attend, no doctor referrals are needed.

“The course offers coping strategies, it deals with the emotional, physical and social aspects of living with a chronic condition, and is also useful for caregivers,” said Meredith Prikker.

The workshops, which will run on 6 consecutive Wednesdays from 1:30 to 4:00 starting on May 24 at the Verona medical clinic, are being offered by Annie Campbell and Meridith Prikker

The workshops were designed by Stanford University in order to bring people together to help find ways of coping with their challenges. Registration is on a first come, first served basis and up to 12 people can be accommodated. For further information, contact Annie Campbell at the Verona clinic by calling 613-374-2077.

Living Well With Chronic Pain will be offered in Verona again September, and a series may be offered in Sydenham once the new clinic is up and running.

The Frontenac Cattlemen Association welcomed their Stormont counterparts Saturday April 22 for a presentation by two local Cattle breeders, Dave Perry of Perry Maine-Anjou Farm, near Yarker, and DJ Cooke of Otter Creek Farm, which hosted the event. Lunch was provided by Kim Perry at Food Less Traveled in Verona.

Of note were Perry's Maine-Anjou stock, as well as some Speckle Park,a breed out of Saskatchewan and one of few breeds developed in Canada,along with Cooke's Wagyu cattle, a Japanese breed that remains a rarity in North America.

The Maine-Anjou, according to Perry, are a breed prized for its fastgrowth and docile disposition.  The disposition, he explains, helps it grow at a steadier rate than a more skittish breed, which may beslower to take on weight.

With roughly 130 head on his farm, Perry sells most of his meat through the aforementioned family store in Verona, which has been in operation for a decade now. Cattle from the farm are also shown
frequently at fairs in the region.

Perry notes that with changes in consumer preference, he has shifted his practices in recent years to a strictly grass and hay diet, and has been marketing the beef as Grass Finished. While grass-fed cows tends to lack the levels of fat content of a corn or barley diet, the response from customers to the leaner beef has been positive. The farm also raises a small number of grain-finished cattle for those who prefer a sweeter, fattier meat.

Otter Creek is a more recent addition to the region (established in stages over the past few years, starting with the first of the cattle in 2013). Cooke, who owns the operation, grew up on a farm where Limousin cattle were raised. He took an interest in Wagyu - which has its origins in the region of Kobe, Japan - and spent a month there learning from local farmers. All of the genetics of his herd trace back to Kobe. He began by breeding Wagyu embryos into Angus Heifers and is currently into the third generation of naturally bred Wagyu.

Cooke also works with farms across Canada, supplying operations as far away as B.C. with cattle, while marketing his product centrally from Otter Creek. The aim is to develop a national brand for, what he calls, this "flavourful, tender, well-marbled meat. Otter Creek's cattle have won awards at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, and are made available to 4H clubs, allowing local youth the opportunity to show them.They are also brought to shows outside of the region; Cooke notes that his cattle will be at exhibitions this summer in Nebraska and then in Denver later in the year.

Perry, who is also the association's president, points out that events of this nature, where cattle farmers host groups from out of the region, are a way for people in the business to share knowledge, get exposure to breeds and talk about practices. The Frontenac Cattlemen have hosted similar events in the past and many members, says Perry, take the opportunity to participate in an annual provincial cow-calf tour coordinated by the Beef Farmers of Ontario.

For many years now, food bank volunteers have been joined by OPP auxiliary members and it’s been a mutually beneficial arrangement.

In Sydenham, Verona and Sharbot Lake (like last Saturday), auxiliary officers have brought a police vehicle to a local grocery store (like Mike Dean’s) and joined food bank volunteers to collect foodstuffs and cash donations. They call it Stuff the Cruiser.

“I’m local and my mom’s on the (food bank) committee,” said Aux. Const. Nicole Greenstreet, a veteran of a half-dozen or so Stuff the Cruiser campaigns. “So I know the need.

“Plus it’s a good organization to be supporting that’s vital to the community.”

“I just like to help out with the food drive,” said Aux. Const. Curtis Jacques, who was on his fourth Saturday. “There’s a need and it’s fun to meet people in the community.”

The new kid on the block this week was Steve Scantlebury, a “just retired a week or two ago” local whose wife Barb is also on the food bank committee and suggested he help out. He said he’d be back.

“Any donations of food and/or cash are useful,” said Barb, as the cruiser was starting to fill up. “It looks like we’ll have to take the cruiser over to the food bank and empty it out shortly.

“I just joined last year and we had one time when we had to empty the cruiser out twice.”

“We’ve been blessed with donations that keep us running,” said North Frontenac Food Bank Director Kim Pascal-Cucoch. “The auxiliary OPP officers have helped us collect a lot and they give us a presence.

“This is a wonderful community that supports us on an ongoing basis.”

The food bank, behind the St. Lawrence Employment Centre, accepts donations on a year-round basis.

In every basket they try to add tea bags, instant coffee, sleeve crackers, packaged pasta and jars/cans of sauce, boxed cereal, Kraft Dinner, peanut butter, jam, packaged rice and cans of beans, stew or chunky soup, salmon, tuna, soup, juice and tomatoes.

In baskets for families with children, they add snack pudding or apple sauce cups, fruit cups, granola bars, drink boxes, Rice Krispie squares, hot chocolate packages and canned pasta like Alphagetti or Zoodles.

The Frontenac Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is investigating a break and enter that occurred at a Snider Road residence in South Frontenac Township.

The investigation revealed that sometime between the 7th of April 2017 and the 14th of April 2017, culprit(s) gained access to the residence and stole a laptop, cellphone as well as several firearms.

Firearms include;
1. Savage Long Range Hunter Riffle with post and scope, .338 caliber, black in colour.
2. Savage Axis Vortex Viper Riffle with a scope, .243 caliber, black in colour.
3. Mossberg 12 -gauge shotgun pump action with scope, a brown wood colour.
4. Winchester Ranger 12-gauge pump action shotgun, a light coloured wood.
5. Savage Lady Hunter Riffle with a scope, .308 caliber, a medium brown wood colour.
6. Rossi British Riffle, .303 caliber, dark brown in colour.

The OPP Forensic Identification Services assisted in the investigation.

The matter is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about this matter is asked to contact the Frontenac OPP Detachment at 613-372-1932 or 1-888-310-1122.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you are encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Persons giving tips to Crime Stoppers that lead to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward. Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to Call Display. Your call will stay anonymous and your presence won't be needed in court. Tips can also be sent via text message and e-mail. For more information visit the National Capital Crime Stoppers' website at www.CrimeStoppers.ca.

Don’t be alarmed at the sight of OPP cruisers at Verona and Sydenham Foodland stores on April 1st – in fact, be sure to stop by and see how much food can fit into a police cruiser.

On Saturday, April 1, from 10:00am to 3:00pm, the OPP Auxiliary will be supporting the South Frontenac food bank by hosting their bi-annual “Stuff the Cruiser” event. In partnership with the Foodland stores in Verona and Sydenham, customers will be encouraged to make donations of non-perishable food, and stuff their donations in the OPP cruiser on site.

“The community was incredibly generous over the Christmas holiday season, and the food bank shelves were full and overflowing,” says food bank coordinator, Vicki England, “but as spring and summer approach, stocks begin to go down, particularly of certain items that are given out regularly” England states that the food bank is in need of certain items. “We are in need of cereal, small jars of peanut butter, chunky soup, pasta sauce, and canned fruit.”

England also states that the food bank is completely supported by donations, not only of food, but also of cash. “Many people don’t think of the food bank as needing money, but it needs to pay for operating expenses, and to buy fresh food like meats, dairy, and eggs.” Cash donations over $20 are eligible for a tax deductible receipt.

The food bank has one part-time staff member, and a dedicated team of twenty volunteers who receive and sort donations, and prepare and distribute food hampers to over 50 families – or about 80 people total – each month.

Adds Janet McComb, a food bank volunteer; “The Foodland stores are great, and put together packages of some of our most needed items. Then they sell these packages to customers at a significant price reduction.” Customers can choose to purchase a pre-packaged bag, or to donate whatever they would like.

“It’s always fun, and a great visual to see the OPP officers interacting with the public, and giving of their time to support our community,” says England.

Dr. Sabra Gibbens took over Dr. Laurel Dempsey’s practice at the Verona Medical Centre on July 1st of last year, a daunting leap for her. At the time, she had been practicing family medicine for three years, and was suddenly faced with the reality of managing a roster of patients, and running a business. She was also facing a shortage. The other doctor at the centre, Dr. Oglaza had taken a fellowship to study Public Health for two years, leaving Dr. Gibbens with responsibilities for his patients as well.

The result has been a steep learning curve in how to manage a business, a lot of scrambling to make sure that patients who need care the most get the care they need, a lot of work making sure referrals are made and records are kept, and the joy of learning all about the patients in a country clinic. All the while overseeing a major upgrade in digital record-keeping.

“When I first talked with Doctor Dempsey about taking over her practise it was as part of a two doctor clinic. Then Dr. Oglaza had this great opportunity that he was drawn to, and until now we have not been able to find a full time doctor to replace him. I have been lucky enough that since September Trish Warren, the nurse practitioner at the Sydenham clinic has been working here two days a week. Doctor Kalyniuk has been coming in on Monday and Friday afternoons to help cover the load, but she has her own roster of patients in Kingston and those are the only hours she has available,” she said.

Dr. Gibbens works most evenings and weekends, catching up on endless amounts of paper work, which was not what she had been planning, but other aspects of the clinic have gone very well.

“I have been lucky to have support from the staff here over the last 8 months. They have been with me from day one when we painted the waiting room on Canada Day. I also can’t say enough about the community. There is a committee in Verona that has been devoted to health care for years, and as soon as I arrived they began supporting my work here. Among other things, the community purchased an accessible treatment bed for one of the exam rooms, not a cheap item but one that is really necessary.

“It has also been wonderful, but a lot of work, getting to know the patients. Since they were new to me, I have had to spend more time with each patient to learn their history, to understand their needs,” she said.

One of the issues that she has faced, given the situation at the clinic, is having to turn down requests to join the clinic’s roster of patients,

“We have people calling every single day looking for a doctor, and we are saying no because we cannot meet the demands of the patients who are already here. How would they feel if I was taking on new patients? There are those exceptional cases where I have said I will take them on, for cancer patients or those who have recently suffered strokes or heart attacks and have no family doctor,” she said.

While the situation at the Verona clinic is difficult, it is only one of several in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Counties that is short of doctors.

The Rural Kingston Family Health Organisation (FHO) is an administrative body made up of the physician led clinics in Sydenham and Verona and the Sharbot Lake Family Health Team in Frontenac County, and the physician led clnics in Newburgh and Tamworth as well as the Lakelands – Northbrook (L&A) Family Health Team in Lennox and Addington.

“Within our FHO there are a number of doctor shortages, as there are elsewhere in Ontario” said Dr. Gibbens. The situation I am facing here is not unique in the region by any means. We need more rural doctors.”*
Taking on the clinic has certainly been a major challenge, but Gibbens is no stranger to challenges.

Her preparation for being a country doctor in Eastern Ontario began in an unorthodox way, by studying philosophy in Minnesota. It was there that she met her husband, and they eventually moved to New York City to do graduate studies. Her husband did his PHD at the University of Toronto and they moved to Kingston when he got a full time position at Queen’s. At that point, as they were starting a family, the idea of pursuing her 'dream job' in medicine, began to take form.

“Ever since I was a teenager I had been thinking about family medicine, and with all the publicity about the lack of family practioners that was in the media at that time, in 2004 or so, and the way our lives were going, the opportunity was there to finally pursue it.”

She did some online science courses through Athabasca University while home with young children and eventually finished her pre-med requirements at Queen's. In 2009 she started Med school at Queen’s and started practicing medicine in 2013. Her family moved to a farm property in Godfrey in 2014.

While the sheer volume of work required to run the Verona Medical Centre has certainly stretched Dr. Gibbens, it has not weakened her resolve to make a difference for her patients and the local community.

Theft of tire and rims worth $7,600

On January 25th, 2017 at 3 p.m. an officer with the Kaladar detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a theft of tires and rims from the FORD dealership on Highway 7 in Kaladar.

The tires and rims were removed from the bed of an F350 pickup truck parked in the lot between Saturday January 21st and Sunday January 22nd. The tires are Michelin LTX AT and the rims FC32 - 1007A 20” wheels worth $7,600.

Vandalism at Prince Charles

Sometime between 3:00pm on Sunday January 29, 2017 and 6:00 am Monday January 30, 2017, culprit(s) smashed 7 windows at Prince Charles Public School in Verona, South Frontenac Township.

Estimated damage is approximately $5,000. Frontenac Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) along with the assistance of OPP Forensic Identification Unit is investigating the vandalism.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents should immediately contact the Ontario Provincial Police at 1–888–310–1122 or leave an anonymous online message at www.helpsolvecrime.com.

Food Less Travelled, a store devoted to selling products produce within 100 miles of its Verona location, is taking Canada's 150th anniversary celebrations to another level. The business, also known as Local Family Farms, will feature a special promotion every month of 2017, fostering Frontenac County agriculture, with profits going to the North Frontenac Food Bank and Southern Frontenac Community Services.

“We’d been thinking about how we could celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary, and this idea just fits,” says Kim Perry, co-owner of Food Less Travelled. “We have always promoted local food, and we really enjoy giving back to our community. We firmly believe that people who rely on food banks for their next meal are deserving of the same quality food that we eat,” Perry said.

Food Less Travelled was one of the first local businesses to become a Frontenac Brand Ambassador, a program designed to build the reputation of Frontenac as a great place to do business and enjoy an outstanding quality of life. To date, nearly 60 businesses have signed on to the ambassador program and are collaborating #inFrontenac.

“There are so many great businesses in Frontenac, like Food Less Travelled, who work hard to provide quality products and services, and build up our communities,” said Alison Vandervelde, Community Development Officer at the County of Frontenac. “The brand ambassador program connects business owners to a growing network of resources and supports, and multiplies our efforts to raise awareness of Frontenac,” Vandervelde said.

Food Less Travelled is posting their monthly specials on its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/locallyfarmed. To learn more about the Frontenac Brand Ambassador Program connect with Alison: avandervelde@frontenaccounty. ca or 613-548-9400 ext 331. This Friday, February 3, Kim Perry will be at Southern Frontenac Community Services in the Grace Centre in Sydenham at 11 a.m. to make a donation of 25 meat pies.

In light of this year's drought, which bore down on the Frontenac region with particular might, concerns over the continued welfare of our watersheds have come to the fore. Where precipitation might have been abundant in recent years, this summer saw sharp declines in water levels, which affected residents, businesses, as well as the ecosystems of ponds and lakes, and brought up questions about our preparedness to conserve and manage our water sources for possible repeats of hot dry weather in the coming years.

Some residents north of Verona are raising specific concerns about the pond along which their properties are located, charging that intensive water uptake by a neighbouring golf course has been, and will continue to be detrimental to the welfare of habitat and to the landscape in general. The site is Martin Pond, which is a short distance from Rivendell Golf Course.

Local property owner John Scherk explains that since the 1980s, there has been a neighbourly agreement in place for residents along the pond to allow Rivendell to take excess water. In 1997, the agreement was updated as a man-made dam was built to ensure that the beaver dam that was currently occupying a part of the pond and containing its flow, would not rupture. Rivendell paid part of the cost of the dam's construction and, in turn, benefited from access to the source. "When water is abundant," says Scherk, "everyone benefits. The golf course receives water and alleviates overflow."

Scherk, along with the owners of five neighbouring properties, want to ensure that when water is not abundant, it is not taken to a point where its natural flow is disrupted. neighbour Dorina Friedli echoes these concerns, noting that landowners have rights to the same water the golf course is taking from the pond (as opposed to that which is taken downstream or from the golf course's pumphouse). This hearkens back to riparian law, which has its roots in common law, and states that landowners have the right to reasonable use of water that flows through or over their properties. Both Friedli and Scherk charge that the water taken by the golf course this past summer was excessive. Says Scherk, "the amount of the drop in water has been destabilizing. Ecosystems function best when they are stable."

Meanwhile, Rivendell owner Ken Harper denies that the golf course has been taking water beyond agreed upon limits, and states that the amount of water it takes is in accordance with their permits from MOE, and is low compared with many 18-hole courses. “Thousands of ponds went completely dry,” notes Harper. He is confident that Martin Pond is recovering quickly with the late summer and early fall rains.

This scenario raises questions about whose rights to water are to be given priority in the current age, and what the province's role is in encouraging businesses that need water, without infringing on riparian rights or ignoring today's reality of increasing water scarcity.

A high-profile example from recent months is the round of protests over Nestle's use of a Wellington aquifer. A 2015 report from Ontario's environmental commissioner noted, among other things, that many industries, including golf courses, do not pay for water, (while companies such as bottled water producers pay $3.71 per million litres). the Ontario government, presumably in response to this criticism as well as public outcry over Nestle's operations, has recently announced that it will be regulating more closely such water-intensive industries as water bottling and now, golf courses. The ministry has not, however, given specifics to the public on what those measures placed on golf courses might be, and, according to Ken Harper, has not contacted Rivendell to give notice of any changes they can expect for the coming year.

Friedli, meanwhile, says that she, along with the other residents of Martin Pond, would prefer that landowners work out an updated agreement with Rivendell as neighbours, as opposed to relying on the Ministry of the Environment.