The Frontenac Heritage Festival returns to Central Frontenac Township this weekend for its 12th year.

Things get underway Friday night with an opening gala at GREC and the annual local talent show — Frontenac’s Got Talent.

The Festival swings into high gear on Saturday with a variety of events and activities in Sharbot Lake, Tichborne, Arden and Kennebec Lake. You can skate for free at the Tichborne rink all day.

Sharbot Lake will be busy starting with the Lions All You Can Eat Breakfast, a bonfire at the CF Train Museum and a Bucket Drumming Workshop for kids at the Child Centre.

But the Arden area has historically been the busiest area on the Saturday and this year is no exception with the Empty Bowls lunch with proceeds going to the food bank, the annual fur-traders camp reenactment, indoor displays from the Historical Society and Trappers Council along with games for the kids outside and chainsaw wood carving demonstrations. There’s a chili cook-off at the Legion too.

And over at the Kennebec Lake public boat launch, the Kennebec Lake Association is holding its 7th annual Winter Fun Day with skating, hockey, ring-toss, snow shoeing, ice fishing, campfire and hot food and drinks.

On Sunday, the focus shifts back to Sharbot Lake for the annual Polar Bear Plunge followed by live music and chili at the Legion. At 6 p.m., the winners of the photo contest will be announced at Oso Hall followed by a family movie.

On Monday, there will be games and activities at the ball field in Sharbot Lake and demonstrations of logging skills at Glen Matson’s farm in Arden.

Although there’s no official ‘chair’ of the festival committee for this year (founder/showrunner Janet Gutowski has stepped down), Mike Procter, who’s busy with different events three of the four days, said they’re always looking for volunteers (they’re good for this year), especially when it comes to planning next year’s event.

“All it would take is a 10-15 hour commitment, all indoors if you want,” Procter said. “We will train you.”

You can call Procter at 613-279-2572.

(And you can look for Procter at his “jockularity and prestidigitation” at the talent show, the fur traders camp on Saturday and with the Frontenac Blades tomahawk/knife throwers at Matson’s Farm.)

Back in August the 11 year old goalie with the Napanee Crunch Pee Wee B team who attends Loughborough Public School entered a contest that is open to Montreal Canadian Fan Club youth members. She submitted a drawing to be considered for a special ticket to be used for a single Canadians game during a promotion the team was organising for Family Weekend in February when they were scheduled to play Saturday and Sunday afternoon games at the Bell Centre.

“I think we heard that she won in late August or early September,” said her father Adam, in a telephone interview this week. “It seemed like it was so far in the future we didn’t think that much about it. Then all of a sudden it was here.”

Meredith, along with her parents Sue and Adam, all Canadians fans who have been suffering through a disheartening season, had a big lift when they went to the game this past weekend. Meredith’s drawing had been transformed into an NHL ticket for Saturday’s game between the Habs and the Anaheim Ducks. The Canadians came into the game on a three game losing streak, with season record of 20 wins, 25 losses, and six ties, headed nowhere, but somehow they put a good game together and won 5-2.

The ticket had nothing to do with the team’s improved play, or did it? Nothing else changed for the team that hasn’t been able to score goals all season, except for the ticket.

The Canadians went on to win again on Sunday afternoon, as the Peters returned to their home base in the Godfrey area.

“We had a lot of fun,” said Adam, speaking for Meredith, who was under the weather, so much so that she missed a hockey practice on Tuesday afternoon.

As for the Canadians. They have been off until tonight, when they play in Philadelphia.

Well, it was billed as a 4 on 4 hockey tournament.

The posters mentioned goalies.

And there was trophy presentation of sorts.

But mostly it was more in that great Canadian shinny tradition as a bunch of guys got together at the Tichborne Rink Saturday to lace up some skates and take shots at nets placed face-down, all the while building up some bragging rights. Oh, and they raised a few dollars for the rink project in Sharbot Lake.

It seemed that they might be keeping score, as it was explained that a ‘goal’ involved hitting the mesh only. If you could hear the clank of puck on metal, it wasn’t a score.

But as the 5 on 4 ‘game’ ended, it seemed that a ‘winner’ was chosen more by consensus than anything else.

“It’s last goal wins,” said Joan Hollywood, whose husband Rudy seemed to be the main ‘organizer’ of the event. “Rudy organized this.

“That should tell you a lot.”

“We don’t keep score when we play cards either,” said Richard Struthers, one of the ‘players.’

“We tried playing zero on zero but it was too low-scoring,” said another of the ‘players,’ Peter Shaver.

A lot of the participants play hockey Wednesday and Friday mornings at Piccadilly and as hockey aficionados, they were more than willing to help further the fundraising cause for the Sharbot Lake project.

“We made enough for a bundle of shingles,” said Gary Giller.

All kidding aside, there was a pair of sunglasses in the donation box.

As Tim Cota arrived with a box of hamburgers and hot dogs, everybody sat down to kibitz about their prowess, spurred on by the contributions of “beverage coordinator” Darrin Richard.

“All in all, it wasn’t a bad idea,” said Hollywood. “We made a little money for the roof, which has been held up by the weather, and we’ve managed to keep interest going for the project.

“We’d like to thank the District 4 Rec Committee for the use of the rink and thank the fans (all three of them) for coming out.”

It’s February in the Frontenacs.

Like most of Canada, there’s a lot of hockey going on. Down at the Frontenac Community Arena, there are of course the Frontenac Flyers and Frontenac Fury organizations for boys and girls organized hockey respectively.

But what about when you leave your teens?

Well, on Sundays at noon, the Frontenac Arena is the home of the Frontenac Fly Girls, a ladies team that boasts 18 members on its roster — and they’ve been doing it for 17 years.

“It’s a bunch of ladies having social fun time,” says Glenna Asselstine, Fly Girls captain, player/coach, organizer (“all of the above”). “We play some tournaments but essentially it’s just for fun.”

The Sunday games are played against two other ladies teams, one from Kingston and another essentially based in Tamworth that includes players from all over.

They play real games, with referees and timekeepers. And they keep score but they don’t have standings or playoffs.

“Our officials are kids of some of the players who are looking to get some refereeing experience,” Asselstine said. “We had one penalty called today (in a 3-3 tie with Tamworth).

“But we like to have some structure to the game, you know, some stoppages for line changes and such.”

And perhaps the odd break for aging legs?

“Yeah, that too,” she said, chuckling.

Their oldest player is 67 and their youngest “28, I think,” Asselstine said.

“Some players leave and we recruit new ones,” she said. “We’ve had a core of six or seven players for quite some time now.”

One of the newer recruits is self-confessed ‘rink rat’ Julia Schall.

“It’s great, lots of fun,” Schall said. “If it were up to me, I’d be on the ice the whole time.”

And fun is kinda the point with this bunch.

Asselstine’s been playing hockey since she was 11. She took some time off to have a son, but was soon back into it.

And it’s still fun for her.

“Well, there’s a tournament in Tamworth next weekend and at the end of April, we’ll be going down to Lake Placid for a four-day tournament with men’s and women’s division, but essentially that’s for fun too.”

Lisa Myles, a Napanee fitness trainer who plays with the Tamworth group said they do have a tournament team (The Bucketlisters) who placed second in the 55+ provincials last year and will be heading to St. John NB in August for a national tournament agreed that the fun aspect was the big attraction.

“You know, some young girls came into our dressing room after the game and said ‘there’s a bunch of old ladies in there,’” Myles said.

For hockey players, age is just a state of mind.

Minor softball has held a fundraising 4 on 4 hockey tournament for several years now at the outdoor rink in Tichborne but last year the weather didn’t cooperate and so it had to be cancelled.

This year, organizers decided to move it up a couple of weeks.

Sure enough, the weather threatened to intervene once again with a major thaw followed by freezing rain.

But while it was touch and go there for awhile, but the ice was in great shape when the first puck dropped Sunday morning.

“We weren’t sure with that Friday storm,” said organizer Christine Teal.

“Five guys came out and flooded it Saturday night,” said head ice-keeper Bob Teal. “Then my son (Riley) got me up at quarter to five Sunday morning and we flooded it again.

“Everybody seems happy with the ice but then again, they don’t complain because they know if they do, I’ll make them do it.”

It was a beautiful sunny day for a hockey tournament Sunday, albeit kinda cool.

“The mustard froze up earlier,” said Bob.

In the end, Kurt Thompson’s team edged Keegan Love’s team to take top honours (bragging rights) in the final. Thompson’s team earlier beat Mike Thompson’s team in the A final while Love’s team topped the Tichborne Termites in the B final.

“The winners generously donated their winnings back to minor ball and we thank them for this kind gesture,” said Christine.

Local hockey families will be celebrating their rural roots this January in true country style.

“Our annual dance this year is a Redneck Hoedown,” confirms Lisa Greenwood, a lead organizer of the Storrington Stingers Hockey Association’s annual fundraising dance to be held at Storrington Lions Hall on Jan. 20.
One of the most popular events of the year in Frontenac County, the dance is an important fundraiser for the hockey club which has been running for approximately 60 years.
“We sell-out every year,” says Greenwood with a smile. “People get excited just to know our theme.”

A resident of Battersea and volunteer with the association for the past 10 years, the married mother of one contributes the event’s success to the tightknit community in Storrington.
“Residents take care of each other,” says Greenwood proudly. “Many of the children develop lifelong bonds when they start hockey together at five or six years old and continue to play until they are 18. Along the way, parents become friends. The entire process makes the community closer, stronger and better. Our hockey club is just an extension of an incredible district in Frontenac County.”

According to Greenwood, a small army of volunteers works hard to make the event bigger and better every year.
“It’s a lot of hard work,” she admits with a laugh. “We set our expectations high and work to outdo ourselves every year.”

Reflecting back to last year’s dance and its winter wonderland theme, Greenwood notes, “I had my most fun last year.. We had a lot of positive feedback after that event which made it worth the time and effort. We’re hoping for similar results this year.”
Although most of the food, prizes and raffle items are donated to the dance, expenses such as music and decorations are covered by revenue from the sale of poinsettias; a fundraiser by the club held in late November/early December.

“This time of year is pretty crazy,” admits Greenwood from a busy manufacturing plant in Kingston where she has worked for the past 22 years.
“We’re accepting poinsettia orders until Nov. 25 and the plants will be delivered on Dec. 6.”
According to Greenwood, profits from the dance are directed back to the players.

“What’s raised at the dance goes to the players’ end-of-year party,” she says. “Approximately 115 players and volunteers receive a memento of their hockey year.”
The club will also use the money to replace jerseys and purchase socks.

“We’re always getting new jerseys,” she says thoughtfully. “Thankfully, sponsors also help out because jerseys cost a lot.”
Grateful for the support of the community, Greenwood is looking forward to another successful fundraiser in support of the local hockey club.

“I enjoy doing this,” she replies when asked to describe her involvement. “I love being hands-on. I love to see the kids and parents enjoying their hockey season.”
To order a poinsettia or reserve tickets to the Storrington Stingers hockey dance on Jan. 20, please call Lisa Greenwood at 613-353-7561 or text 613-770-1017.

Hockey season is just around the corner and we have some important information and dates we need you to be aware of. Remember to register prior to August 31st to avoid a $100 late fee. Registering early helps us plan practice times, number of teams and coaches required for the upcoming season so please be sure to register as early as you can. We will kick off this year’s season on Saturday September 23rd with our annual 3 on 3 tournament fun day. Guaranteed 1-1.5 hours of fun and a t-shirt for only $30. Conditioning Clinics and Goalie clinics will start the week of Monday September 25th. House league evaluations will start Saturday Sept 30 Register NOW at www.frontenachockey.ca

Frontenac Community Arena Receives an Ontario150 Community Capital Program Grant

The Frontenac Community Arena (FCA) Board of Directors is pleased to announce that it is the recipient of a $30,000 Ontario150 Community Capital Program grant. These funds will help fund the capital costs of replacing the Arena’s 30-year-old dehumidification system with a new, more energy-efficient Desiccant system.

“Our community arenas act as a hub where people come together to share and grow; the Ontario150 Community Capital Program grant is providing for improvements at Frontenac Community Arena will help secure the continued enjoyment and enhance the benefits of this much-loved facility,” said Randy Hillier, MPP for Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington.

Administered by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, these grants will help non-profit organizations, municipalities and Indigenous communities to renovate, repair and retrofit existing community and cultural infrastructure. The one-time, Ontario150 Community Capital Program has been designed to help honour Ontario’s past, showcase the present and inspire future generations.

“We are very pleased to be a recipient of a Ontario150 Community Capital Program grant. It will support the replacement of aging equipment vital to ice making process,” said Sherry Whan, Central Frontenac Township Councillor and Arena Board Chair.

“This important Capital project along with work completed over the past two years is vital to the Frontenac Community Arena operations,” said Tim Laprade, Arena Manager. “This work reflects the Arena Boards continued commitment to investing in infrastructure that will reduce our energy consumption and support ice activities,” added Laprade.

The Ontario150 Community Capital Program is administered by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, an agency of the Government of Ontario and one of Canada’s largest granting foundations.

Feature article, June 23, 2005

Feature article June 30, 2005

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North Frontenac Arena Expansion plans

by Jeff Green

Thirteen months ago representatives from the expansion committee of the North Frontenac Arena came to Central and South Frontenac Councils with an ambitious plan to upgrade the arena and develop a community centre and banquet facility as well. The plan was nicknamed Project End Zone. Both Councils extended their approval in principle for the plans, and the committee went off and did some further study.

This week, Laurence Villalta, OPP Constable Bill Robinson and Arena Manager Jim Stinson were back, presenting a Business Plan for construction of a scaled-back renovation.

As Laurence Villalta explained, the committee did extensive costing work on all aspects of the original proposal, and have come to the conclusion that building a 38 ft by 100 ft. one-storey extension at the west end of the arena, to accommodate new and larger change rooms and showers, is the way to proceed. The best estimate as to the cost of this renovation is $430,000.

The initial plan was to build a second storey onto the extension for a banquet hall, but the cost was prohibitive. Thought was given to building the one- storey addition with provisions for putting on a second storey at a later date, but that would add $100,000 to the project, said Villalta.

Instead of that, the committee proposes to tear out the existing bleachers, which are at the end of their life cycle, and renovate the existing second storey that is behind the bleachers. I would rather see an existing space made more functional that put money into a potential future use, Villalta said.

The committee proposes to fundraise for the $430,000, and will be asking South and Central Frontenac Councils to approve using existing arena reserve funds for the $68,000 renovations to the bleachers and the existing second storey.

While the committee has taken a full year to get from the initial conception stage to this business plan stage, things are expected to move quickly from here. Two well-known individuals, former Limestone School Board Superintendent Jack Fox and former South Frontenac Mayor Phil Leonard, have agreed to come on as co-chairs of the fundraising committee. The planning committee is also planning to apply for a $75,000 Trillium grant for renovations to the existing change rooms, a $25,000 grant from the Bell Canada Community Sports fund, and a $5,000 grant from Domtar Incorporated.

If we have raised 50% of the money by next spring, we plan to go ahead with the groundbreaking, Villalta said.

The committee hopes to have the renovations completed when the Arena opens in the fall of 2006, coinciding with its 30th anniversary.

In expressing their support in principle for Project End Zone, Central Frontenac councillors said it is high time the arena is improved.

The arena is an important facility in the life of the surrounding community, said Councillor Bob Harvey, after 30 years its time to do something with it.

Mayor Bill MacDonald also expressed support, and he offered up a novel way to fund the entire project.

You have Phil Leonard on board, he said of his former political colleague, perhaps he could just fund this on his own.

The arena has seen many changes in the 30 years it has been operating. Among them is the advent of girls and womens hockey, which have led to ever- increasing use of the ice, and increased demand for change rooms and other facilities.

It is funded by Central Frontenac and by the districts of Bedford and Portland in South Frontenac. Storrington and Loughborough districts contribute a fee per district resident that plays hockey with the North Frontenac Minor Hockey Association and the Frontenac Girls Minor Hockey Association.

Olympian Mike Smith got a send off to Sochi like no other! Mike is one of the three goalies who made the cut to play for the Canadian Olympic hockey team and on February 6 his former school, Prince Charles Public School in Verona, gave him a wonderful pep rally. The gym was packed with not only students and staff but also community members. With the great wonders of technology Mike was there via a Skype link that was set up by his supportive parents, Ingrid and Ron Smith. They were invited to the school by PCPS teacher Lisa Cousins-Badour, who wanted to help the students celebrate with Mike and his family.

Students had prepared for the day by decorating the school's main foyer and gym with 250 paper NHL jerseys, each inscribed with Mike's NHL number 41. Mr. Burnham's grade 8 class made a special banner wishing Mike luck at the games. Each student was given their very own Canadian flag to wave as Ingrid Smith set up the Skype connection with her son, who was in Phoenix at the time, which was then projected onto a large screen. Once the connection was made, the students began by chanting a number of cheers that they had prepared, one of them ending with the line “Go For Gold!”

The children were also able to ask him many questions including "Hey Mike, what are you packing in your suitcase?" and "Mike how do you keep fit?". The good-natured Veronaian had no problem replying... "Well of course my hockey equipment and I always start the day by having over 300 hockey pucks shot at me!"  He also said he would be using a brand new helmet that he had designed specially for the Olympic games.

Grade 7 student Olivia Minifie asked Mike how he planned to cope with the stress and pressure that competing in the Olympics can bring. Mike answered that he counts on his family for their support, which helps to relieve the stress and to keep him focused. Grade 2 student Clare Swinton asked Mike if his family would be joining him. He explained that the following Sunday he would be joined in Atlanta, Georgia by his parents (they have since made the trip to Sochi with him). Mike's wife Brigitte (a former Olympian herself) and their two young sons, both toddlers, would remain behind in Verona.

Mike spoke to the students of his days as a young student at PCPS and his dreams of going to Olympics as a hockey player, and of how he is now living that dream. He spoke of the importance of following your dream and encouraged the PCPS students to follow their own dreams and do their best to make them a reality.

Mike related to the students that even if he did not get a chance to get onto the ice at the games, he would be practicing with the team and that the experience of being chosen to be a part of the team will be something he will always cherish and be proud of.

After Mike thanked the students for all of their support, the school's principal, Peter Dendy, promised that should Mike play in any of the games, he would do his best to broadcast the games in the school gym and would invite all the students and members of the community to the school to watch. Mike's mother Ingrid spoke as well and became emotional, thanking the community for their ongoing support for Mike over the years.

Teacher Lisa Cousins-Badour, who organized the event, said one of her aims was to make the 2014 Olympics a more tangible and real experience for the students at the school.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and one to take advantage of and I wanted the students to be able to have a chance to make the experience an even more special and personal one."

She added that she wanted the students to also understand that Mike's dream has come with its own ups and downs, but that all along the way he has received support from his family and the community.

The Olympic men's hockey competition is slated to begin today, February 13.