Saturday … in the park … I think it was the 20th of July.

With apologies to Robert Lamm, there wasn’t a man selling ice cream but there was a ton of other stuff going on at The Point in Sydenham Saturday for the 3rd Annual Lakes & Trails Festival.

“We’re here today because they like doing things outdoors,” said “closest to an organizer as we get” Ross Sutherland. “And it’s a fun festival for kids.”

Sutherland said the underlying purpose of the Lakes & Trails Festival is three-fold.

“First, it’s a celebration of our natural beauty,” he said. “Second, it’s a celebration of our active lifestyle.

“And (third), it’s about our history and bringing it all together in one place.”

And that’s exactly what they did.

Natural History wise, displays from the Frontenac Arch Biosphere and Reptile and Amphibian Advocacy provided information and a platform for their interests.

“I think it’s very well organized with lots of activities and a great location,” said Julie Servant, executive director of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere. “We’re a community organization ourselves so anything the community does is important for us.

“And it gives us a chance to tell you we’re having a Trails-Fest ourselves, Sept. 28 at Charleston Lake Provincial Park.”

And trails figured prominently on this day as well.

“We’ve had about 40 do the cycling trip with about a couple of dozen doing the 21 kilometre long bike route around the lake,” Sutherland said. “And the dragon boat out there has been quite popular.”

The South Frontenac Museum had a booth set up and there were walking tours of historical Sydenham.

“We even have Wallace’s local roast beef and portabello mushroom sandwiches,” Sutherland said. “Surprisingly, that turned out cheaper than hot dogs and hamburgers would have been.”

On a still, hot summer day in Sharbot Lake, not a creature was stirring … but then came a slow thumpity thud, followed by a pause, followed by another thump, then two thumpity thuds … the zombies had appeared.

They congregated by the old Sharbot Lake Public School, drawn by the odour of decay, mold and asbestos. They did their best to scratch their way into the building before departing for the Zealand Cemetery seeking to bring some more recruits to their midst. Rumour has it that they then congregated in Clarendon, at Unusual Acres, where they gathered at sunset amidst the deer flies and a fierce lightning storm, before heading north to the ghost town of Robertsville where they will remain hidden until October.

They will be back then, with more recruits, gathered from the historic graveyards ‘north of 7’ for the 1st annual Sharbot Lake Zombie walk on October 26, presented by Unusual Acres and the Oso Recreation Committee.

Zombies from far and wide will gather in Sharbot Lake on that gloomy Saturday.

More details about the walk will be available soon. Check the Facebook page, Undead in Frontenac for all the details and more photos.

For those who fear zombie attacks, and who doesn’t, one resident expert pointed out that zombies are dead, so they are neither more agile nor more intelligent than they were when they were alive.

Look to these pages in October for the 3 steps to survive a zombie attack. The watch words are Avoidance, Termination, and Disposal – and always remember never to incinerate a zombie, it releases air borne toxins which spread infection.

Most Ardenites are aware that the outdoor rink, here in Arden, at the Community Centre is slated to be demolished this fall. In order to replace our outdoor facility, fundraising efforts have been underway since March of this year, beginning with a Skate-a-thon.

This month, in co ordination with some volunteer Firefighters, the Kennebec Recreation Committee will be hosting a Trivia Night, Friday June 21, at the Community Centre.

Teams of 8 to 10 will compete for bragging rights and the title of the team with “The Most Trivia Knowledge”. The first-place team will also be reimbursed their $10.00 entrance fee.

Helping out with their contribution to the cause will be Jossy’s Chill and Grill, east of Arden in Sharbot Lake, and Gala Pit Stop, west of Arden in Kaladar.

Rachael Scott is in her 3rd year of operation, keeping the original name and a lot of the well-established favourites. She has added her own special flair to the menu, selling gluten-free products as well as the popular “Frontenac Burger” which is almost as big as the County.

New to Arden is Gala Pit Stop’s owners Sylvain Bertrand and his partner Lynn (along with the kids participating as well). Purchasing a home in Arden in 2017 and working tirelessly on the renovations, they decided this spring to put all of their past experience in the hospitality industry to work. They bought a Chip truck in Kaladar, on Highway 7, renovated it and renamed it the Gala Pit Stop. Holding true to the regular menu, they also offer gluten-free products. Sylvain’s passion, though, is poutine - and they offer various sizes and different flavours of cheese. But get the Basic Poutine and you will be very pleased, because it is the most popular.

The Kennebec Rec Committee and the volunteer Fighters would like to thank both Rachael and Sylvain for their support and generous donations.

Talk to your friends and neighbours and form a team. Call me at 335-3186 or talk to any member of the Rec. Committee for tickets. There are lots of door prizes and a canteen with beer, pop, coffee and tea. Come on out, have a lot of fun and support an extremely important fundraising project in our village. We thank you in advance for all of your continued support and stay tuned for our next fundraising adventure.

It’s the law in Canada that operators of powered recreational boats have a basic level of boating knowledge. Providers developed courses and tests and a proof of competency “card” was issued to those who successfully completed the test.

Called the Pleasure Craft Operator’s Card or PCOC, it is a first step towards acquiring the skills and know-how to safely operate a motorized vessel in Canadian waters.

The requirement to have a PCOC has been phased in over the past years and the final milestone is only one year away. By Sept 2009 everyone operating a powered recreational vessel will need one and based on the results so far, the rush for all those remaining to obtain theirs is expected to be overwhelming.

However, keep in mind that the PCOC is just a first step in boating education. This ‘legal minimum’ doesn’t even cover non-motorized craft such as sail, canoes, kayaks or even any passengers in any boats. To truly enjoy the boating experience, all boaters need boating safety education.

The Canadian Safe Boating Council wants every boater to be as safe as possible on the water. The more knowledge you have, the safer you and your family are.

The PCOC is a great first step but don’t stop there. Organizations like the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, local sailing schools and paddling organizations offer boating courses. Give them a call or look them up on the internet at www.cps-ecp.ca

The more knowledge you have, the more enjoyable boating becomes.

Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation For Kingston and Area, the group/township subcommittee working to turn the former Hinchinbrooke school into a recreation and cultural centre has been able to engage Social Focus Consulting to help do a business plan for township council.

The first step is a two part survey of community interest in such a centre and your ideas about what it should include plus a survey of groups and organizations that might use it and provide programs there. The survey should take about 5-10 minutes to complete.

For those who live and/or work within the Township, complete this survey: http://bit.ly/Hinchinbrooke1

For those who are senior decision makers within organizations that serve the Township, please complete this survey too: http://bit.ly/Hinchinbrooke2.

You may have already seen the surveys on Facebook or been given them at a meeting. In order to get more responses there is a new deadline of March 7th so the links to do the survey could be published here in the newspaper.

Your answers will be anonymous. If you need a paper copy you can get one printed for you at the township office, the Frontenac News or from the following group members:

• Janet Anderson 613-375-9280
• Bob Teal 613-375-6525
• Sue Leslie 613-483-5695

The 4th annual Telus Ride For Dad raised about $8,000 for the fight against prostrate cancer Saturday at the Snow Road Snowmobile.

Awhile back, organizer Brandon Crain heard about a motorcycle Ride For Dad on the radio.

“I don’t have any personal connection to the fight against prostrate cancer, I just thought it would be a good thing to do,” he said. “It’s just a good reason to get out and ride.”

“He sucked me into it,” said co-organizer Shelby Knight.

The ride itself ran from the clubhouse, up to Wilbur, across to Dalhousie Lake, around through McDonalds Corners and back to the clubhouse for lunch.

“We were going to go to Lanark but there just isn’t enough snow on that part of the trail for this many machines,” Crain said. “You need at least two feet of snow and it didn’t have it.”

The run didn’t just include snowmobiles.

Although they couldn’t go on the trail in the their enclosed, heated 4x4, Bob Olmstead and Janet Rhyndress still managed to participate.

“We’ll ride the roads,” Olmstead said. “We’ve managed to get about $2,300 in pledges.”

Even those who didn’t get pledges managed to participate through the Slap-Down-a-$20 campaign.

If you’d still like to contribute, you can do so by calling Crain at 613-277-0092.

Hidden among the communications reports to South Frontenac Council this week was the quarterly report by one of the most active volunteers in the township, and likely one of the most active trail cyclists in the township, Robert Charest from the Perth Road area. Charest is a member of the township’s trail committee, and he reports on the upkeep of the trails to Council.

His interest in the trails started when he moved to the area in 2005, and finding that he lived right on the Cataraqui (Cat) Trail he took to trail cycling. Cycling, along with kayaking and skiing in the winter, has become a way of life for him. He uses the trails near his house often.

He has taken on responsibility for maintenance on some sections of the trail, including the picturesque section that’s runs northeast between Perth Road and Chaffey’s Locks just over the county line.

He spends some time each spring and autumn cutting up deadfall along the trail with a chain saw, He also takes the trail to go to Sydenham to buy groceries and rides regularly on the whole Frontenac County Trail system, including the new K&P sections.

In this month’s report he summarised some of his observations about the trail from the past year. The first point he made is that trail usage is up, both for cyclists and hikers, the busiest section being the Cat Trail section between Sydenham and Perth Road. He also made note of the improvement in the section that runs west from Harrowsmith to the Lennox and Addington County border, which was resurfaced using $17,500 in township funds.

“We have a nice trail surface from the Loughborough/Portland Boundary Road all the way to the Strathcona Paper Plant [near Napanee], a 30 kilometre stretch. The trail ends at the plant, and one of Charest’s wishes for 2018 is to see the trail extended another 12 or 13 kilometres into Napanee. On the other end of the trail, he would like to see a Cat Trail extension from Smiths Falls to Carleton Place, a 30 km stretch.

But along with those loftier goals he had some more specific recommendations that can be implemented more easily, and cheaply.

Those include, among others: new signage to mark the distance between hamlets of main roads; identifiable shirts for trail volunteers to make it easier for trail users to access information and assistance; picnic tables or benches and garbage cans at the parking lots on Road 38 and Perth Road; a large trail map in Sydenham, and resurfacing of a section of a small section of trail near Sydenham.

Finally, Charest thinks “South Frontenac should become an off-road cycling hub,” linking Kingston, Sharbot Lake, Napanee, and Carleton Place.

“Harrowsmith and Sydenham should ante up the offering of services and facilities to cater to all these cyclists,” he concluded.

The KingSton and Area Ice Stock Club (KAISC) is sending 5 members of the club to be part of the Canadian Ice Stock Federation team that is competing at the World Championships in Austria (the gang leaves in late February).

Here are the members of the club who are going and what they are competing in.

Paul Blais: Canada's rep for "Individual Target Shooting". This is an event that challenges the Ice Stock player on their accuracy to hit targets and perform specific set shots etc. The player makes 24 shots and points are awarded based on how accurate the person is etc.

Tyler MacComish: Team Target Shooting: Tyler is one of four players for this team. It is exactly the same as above, except that each player performs a specific type of shot as part of the overall competition. Each person has 6 shots (4 x's 6 = 24) at the different elements of target shooting.

Mike Osborne / Kevin Bryan / Walter Schuster: Team Play. This is the typical 4 vs 4 team play tournament. Canada plays in the B Division for this.

Of the players going to the world championships, Tyler MacComish’s achievement is historic. Tyler was one of the first players to join the Club when it was founded. He has Down’s Syndrome, making this the first time an individual with special needs has qualified for this international event.

The team will also be participating in Skate the Lake in Portland for the third time next month. This year the idea is that Team Canada Men and Women will be playing against teams to help them prep for Austria. This will be occurring on Family Day weekend in Feb, and is also a good opportunity for the public to try the sport.

The Austrian Ambassador to Canada in Ottawa has been in contact with KAISC and plans are being worked out for an imminent trip to Rideau Hall to showcase the sport.

(information submitted by Karl Hammer)

When Council reconvened from a closed session for their regular meeting, CAO Orr announced that they had just accepted Fire Chief Rick Chesebrough’s resignation; after more than 14 years of service for the township, Chesebrough will be leaving at the end of this week.

Later, Orr said this did not come as a surprise; “It’s been in the works for some time now: he did the math, and realized he was eligible.”

On behalf of Council, Mayor Vandewal congratulated Chesebrough, wishing him “many years of health and happiness.”

Council then passed a motion to appoint Terry Gervais as acting fire chief.

Support for Seniors Active Living Centre
Following last week’s presentation by David Townsend of SFCSC, Council moved to allocate 20% of the net annual operating costs to support SFCSC’s proposed Seniors Active Living Centre funding application, to a maximum of $12,000 annually over the next three years in a combination of cash and in-kind services to be negotiated annually with the Township.”

It has been suggested that with the ongoing support of the township, the SFCSC Board may wish to consider inviting a member of Council to sit on their Board.

Tax Sale Policy
Council approved a revised tax sale policy which incorporates the legislative changes from Bill 68. Two related by-laws authorized the treasurer to enter into extension agreements and provided for an administration fee to be charged once the tax sale process is undertaken.

Details about the sale of properties in tax arrears and a flow chart describing the process are available on the Township website, or at the Township office.

Township Granted $80,882 for Commuter Cycling Program
The township’s application through the Public Works department for funding from the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program has been successful: it will be applied to one of two projects planned for this coming year: fully paved bike lanes between Harrowsmith and Sydenham, or a bike lane adjoining a pedestrian sidewalk along the south side Bedford Road between the end of George Street and Alton Road in Sydenham. Public Works Manager Segsworth also plans to fit in a bike lane on the north side of Bedford; Mayor Vandewal questioned whether this might narrow a busy stretch of road too much. Segsworth replied that because of the busyness of the road, it was also a very dangerous stretch for bicycles.

Storrington Centre Upgrades
Council directed staff to issue an RFP for improvements to the Storrington Centre, to include a new optic system, accessible washrooms and entrances, kitchen upgrades and a new folding wall. $333,000 has been approved in the 2018 capital budget, for this. Councillor Sleeth thanked the Township’s Public Works staff and the Storrington Recreation Committee for all their help in planning the project.

Back-up Generator for OPP Station
Council has approved purchase of a backup generator to provide overall backup power for the OPP building at Hartington. This had been held up when Councillor Revill questioned whether a second generator was needed. Further investigation showed that the existing generator on site at the OPP station only provides fire pump back-up power for the sprinkler system.

Briefly
On the recommendation of Corporate Services Committee, Council agreed to extend the contract with Frontenac Municipal Law Enforcement Inc. for a further two years from March 1, 2018 to Feb 28, 2020.

The 2018 members to serve on the Committee of Adjustment will be: Al Revill, Ross Sutherland, Brad Barbeau and Ron Sleeth.

There being no further questions for the planner, Council approved the zoning of a new waterfront lot on South Basin of Buck Lake, Loughborough district.

Council adopted the Corporate Services Committee’s recommendation to maintain the Township’s current investment strategy and to issue an RFP for investment advisory services.

A proposed by-law to amend speed limits on Rutledge Road was, on Councillor Revill’s recommendation, referred to the Public Works Committee for discussion.

When you think ‘martial arts,’ chances are your thoughts tend towards the Orient. When weapons are concerned, in particular, swords, the long, curved, slashing blade of the samurai — the katana — usually comes to mind, doesn’t it?

However, there is a long-standing tradition of European martial arts as well and Enterprise’s Robert MacLeod is dedicated to preserving and promoting that tradition.

MacLeod, an anthropologist by trade who teaches at St. Lawrence College in Kingston, is also head instructor at Ironwood Sword School. He runs several classes and is currently beginning an eight-week session at the Bellrock Hall in German Longsword for youths ages 10 and up on Saturday mornings with the motto “Strength, Flexibility, Growth.”

For those unfamiliar with the German martial art, it is a combat system taught during the 1300s by Johannes Liechtenauer.

“There were two schools of longsword, the other being Italian,” MacLeod said. “Actually there was also an English tradition but that wasn’t written down.

“And a big part of what we do is teaching the techniques that come from Liechtenauer and a number of his students. We try to stay close to the historical manuscripts.”

In addition to longsword techniques, MacLeod also includes dagger and wrestling in the Historical European Martial Arts (HEMA) tradition.

“Knives were actually my first love, I started collecting them when I was younger, and then in university I joined the fencing club and started doing sabre,” he said. “But soon after I joined, it went electric and good, clean cuts became flicks in order to score.”

As a young boy, he had taken judo classes and so returned to the Eastern martial arts traditions to study tae-kwon do for several years.

“But then, my son bought a collectable sword and my wife said ‘if he’s going to have it, he should know how to use it,’” MacLeod said. “So, in 2008, we found a group of guys in the park playing with swords and we discovered HEMA.”

That led him to join a local study group working in the German longsword tradition and he was hooked.

“A lot of people really don’t know the longsword,” he said. “It’s a lot lighter than you might think — less than three pounds and just under three feet (blade).

“And it’s a cutting weapon a lot more like a katana than it is like a club, which it often portrayed as in movies.”

MacLeod said he has no problem teaching beginners and has all the equipment needed for novice level students. All the beginners have to have is loose, comfortable clothes (no shorts), flat-soled, non-marking shoes and a pair of thin leather gloves.

The Bellrock classes begin this Saturday (there was actually a class last Saturday but he’s prepared to start again because of the weather issues last week). It’s $100 for an eight-week term, which should take most students through the novice rank to the scholar rank.

While the Bellrock classes are specifically for youths, MacLeod said he’s happy to start a class for adults anywhere in the area if there are four willing students.

Contact MacLeod at 613-358-9642 or www.irnwood.ca for more information.

“Swords are cool,” he said.

Robert MacLeod runs Benjamin and Anna Tucker through a series of thrusts and parries at the Bellrock Hall, as part of his ongoing series of German longsword classes. Photo/Craig Bakay