Close to 30 people gathered at the Railway Heritage Park in Sharbot Lake on Labour Day to witness a special dedication ceremony honoring Bill Morton, one of the community's long-time Lions Club members. Lions president Bill Pyle hosted the event, which was the brain child of fellow Lion Ron Hollywood. Roughly one year ago Hollywood put forth a motion at a Lions meetings to honour Morton by planting a maple tree and erecting a plaque in his honour at the Railway Heritage Park.Permission was granted by the Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Society and Central Frontenac Council. Mayor Janet Gutowski, Councilor Frances Smith, and CFRHS President and Vice-president Sally Angle and Gary Giller were present at the dedication.

Bill Morton served as an RCAF pilot during WW 2 and joined the Sharbot Lake & District Lions in 1990, shortly after moving to the area. During his 25 years as a Lions member he served as club treasurer and was also named Lion of the Year. Active in the club’s vision screening program, Bill also visited local grade one classrooms to demonstrate to students Canadian pride. After his 90th birthday Bill submitted a letter of resignation to the club as he felt he could no longer properly fulfill his duties as a Lion. However, Lions president Bill Pyle said that the club members “respectfully declined Bill's request”, and instead decided to make him an honorary lifetime member of the club. Though Bill no longer attends meetings, Pyle said that he “continues to serve as an inspiration to us all as he instills in us the will to continue to serve to the best of our abilities”.

Morton is now 94 years old, and when Ron Hollywood unveiled the plaque and presented it to him, he was visibly moved. After the ceremony he said he was overwhelmed by the honour. “It was a pleasure to be a Lion and I just wanted to help out in the community as best I could.”

Bill's daughter Joyce Bigelow was in attendance at the event and said that both her father and her mother instilled in their children and other members of the family the desire to serve the community. The beautiful crimson red maple along with the plaque will now permanently honor their service.

At a special ribbon cutting ceremony outside of the recently renovated W.A. Robinson and Associates building in Sharbot Lake, guests witnessed the official handing over of a 31-year-old family legacy to a younger member of the Robinson clan.

The ceremony took place on August 21 last week, when Wayne Robinson, who has been head of W.A Robinson and Associates for over three decades, officially handed over the torch to his son Matthew Robinson, the business’s new CEO.

The ribbon cutting was aided by Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski, who spoke about how the family businesses, under Wayne's initiative and leadership, have had so much success and contributed so much to the local community.

Long-time friend and colleague, Colleen Allison, spoke about Wayne’s legacy and history.

Wayne is a graduate of Sharbot Lake High School and Queens University, and has had an extensive and diverse working career. Allison cited Wayne’s tendency to move on after every success to new endeavors. He was the first director of North Frontenac Community Services. Then in 1979 he formed a construction company and also worked as a plumber. His focus soon turned to propane and he established the company ICG Oconto Propane, which would eventually grow to sell 10 million gallons of propane to over 600 domestic clients and over 30 gas stations in eastern Ontario before being sold to Superior Propane. In February of 1983, Wayne, his wife Alison and Marcel Giroux, established a group self-directed RRSP where clients could invest in mortgages. The business immediately attracted interested investors looking to improve their investment returns, and in 1986 Wayne purchased the Simonett building, which now houses the many financial businesses that he developed and built up over the years. Over time, the businesses have grown from an initial $100,000 in investments to currently now over $140 million world-wide.

Colleen Allison described Wayne as a “visionary and a problem solver” and as the “heart and soul of the corporation. She finished by wishing Wayne the best in his retirement.

Wayne was then presented with a legacy plaque by Dawn Reiser and he thanked his family, friends and colleagues for giving him the opportunity not only to make a living in the community, but also to provide employment to many of its members and to support the local community in so many ways.

Next, Bill Calvert, chair of the board of the Frontenac Mortgage Investment Corporation, introduced Matthew Robinson, the company's new CEO. Matthew is a Queen's University science graduate, an accredited real estate and mortgage broker, a chartered investment manager and portfolio manager. He has been the executive vice president at the company, and over the last three years has played a lead role in the multi-year succession and transformation plan at W.A Robinson Asset Management Ltd. Under Matthew’s direction staff teams at the company were strategically restructured and expanded; treasury management systems and regulatory requirements were refined and enhanced; and the lending policies, principles and procedures were also studied, advanced and refined. After being presented with an “Our Team” plaque that will be displayed in the building’s board room, the new CEO spoke briefly, citing his excitement over his new role. He said he believes he “won the lottery” on the day he was born. He spoke of the pride he takes in living and working in this special community and thanked his parents and the dedicated staff at the company. He said he was honored to be heading up the business and promised to “do his best to continue to build and grow the company.”

Following the speeches guests were invited to enjoy refreshments and tours of the building.

On August 21, staff of Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) put on their annual community family BBQ at Oso beach in Sharbot Lake as a way to thank the community for their support of the services and programs that the organization offers. As usual, Don Amos, executive director of NFCS, was one of those who manned the barbeque as guests enjoyed the free dinner, live music and numerous games and activities. Luckily, the threatening clouds earlier in the day had given way to sunny skies. Amos said that the organization and the community make up what he terms as “a true community partnership. .. Without the community who rally around us every year and enable us to do what we do, we would not be here. We hold this event every year as our small way of giving back to the community and saying thank you.”

Valerie Wedden and Norm Herns provided free musical entertainment on stage at the park’s pavilion before being joined by talented local fiddler, Valerie’s daughter Jessica, who treated the crowd to an electrifying version of the Orange Blossom Special.

Children and adults of all ages enjoyed a petting zoo, bouncy castles, pony and wagon rides, face painting and more. Staff, board members and a number of adult and youth volunteers numbering close to 30, helped organize another great community gathering that was enjoyed by all. Amos said that the event is not just for families and young children but for all members of the community, and this year staff made a special effort to include activities that offered something for everyone. “That is what our agency is about, offering services to all of the different types of people in the community and the people that we are seeing here today really reflect that.” Amos thanked the staff for all of their hard work for the event, which takes over a month and half to plan.

Photo DCS 01437- several youths enjoyed a bit of time in the rabbit hutch courtesy of West Wind Farms of Westport at NFCS's annual community BBQ at Sharbot Lake beach on August 21  

Visitors to the special Heritage Day at the Sharbot Lake Farmers Market on August 16 got a chance to see why throwing razor-sharp wooden-handled instruments around is fast becoming a trendy activity.

Mike Procter gave tomahawk-throwing demonstrations where guests were taught how to properly and safely throw a tomahawk at a wooden target, and it is easy to see why the activity is catching on. Mike Procter has been throwing tomahawks at targets for close to 15 years and this year he took home the Bob Gregory Provincial Tomahawk Trophy after placing first at the Ontario Muzzle Loading Association’s tomahawk throwing competition, which took place in Chatham on the August long weekend. Mike competed against 16 other throwers from across the province and scored nine points after his fourth effort, which clinched his first place win. Procter has won the trophy for the last three consecutive years, every year he has attended.

Procter, who is well known for his love of everything heritage, said he loves the simplicity of the activity. “It doesn't take a whole lot of equipment but requires skill that comes from a lot of practice.” He has a target set up in his backyard and tosses tomahawks all summer long. He said he enjoys the exercise, the concentration involved and the fact that the activity has put him in touch with other like-minded folk who enjoy traditional heritage activities. “Back in the 1700 and 1800's, tomahawk throwing was a pastime. You'd never throw them during a battle because you would lose your weapon but being a good thrower was a form of intimidation for sure.”

Last year when Procter was fundraising for his three daughters' annual Swim of Hope, he set up a tomahawk-throwing fundraising event that attracted several people who have since come together to form a Sharbot Lake group of knife throwers. The group has yet to be named but likely will be called the United Sharbot Lake Knife Throwers. They meet regularly and toss knives at a target, honing their skills and having a bit of social fun. “The guys love throwing knives and now we throw both knives and tomahawks. When the guys first joined they couldn't hit a thing but since we've been meeting they have really improved,” Procter said. The group presently has five members and is open to anyone. Interested parties are invited to contact Mike Procter at 613-279-2572.

Currently the members are in the process of making their own traditional throwing knives from tempered steel. They will be longer and heavier than modern throwing knives. The targets used are playing cards mounted on wooden stumps and points are awarded for hitting the target and/or hitting or cutting the card. Safety when tossing lethal metal-bladed tools around is key and the throwing booth at the market included a back screen as well as a roped-off throwing section.

When he is not tossing tomahawks around Procter also makes bows and atladdles, which are long flexible spears that are thrown with a stick. Procter also tans hides and makes all of his own heritage equipment.

Also present for Heritage Day at the market was heritage enthusiast Bob Miller, who was showing off rifles, muskets and other historical items, all hand-made by himself. His display included common heritage trade items like copper kettles, woolen blankets, hatchets, axes, bone powder horns and other horn containers, which Miller said were the “plastic of the day and used for things needed to be kept dry like gun powder, salt and pepper and more.”

Miller gave heritage fire-making demonstrations with flint and steel and shredded hemp, and visitors to his booth had a chance to try it themselves.

Miller is a member of the Pioneer Gathering group and he said he became involved with heritage activities when he fell in love with the history that got us here. “What particularly interested me was how people came here with practically nothing and still managed to survive and thrive.” Miller's display along with Procter's tomahawk tossing booth attracted numerous curious visitors to the special Heritage Day market.

Sharbot Lake and District Lions members Dave and Dawn Hansen along with Lions President Bill Pyle were stationed outside the beer store in Sharbot Lake on August 16 accepting empties for the club's annual bottle drive. Funds raised go towards the Lions' Seniors' Night celebrations, which will take place this October.

Donations will also help support a number of programs that the Lions support in the community including the recent purchase of a brand-new $7,000 auto refractor, an instrument used in the vision and hearing screening program that the Lions carry out every year at Land O' Lakes Public School in Mountain Grove, Clarendon Central in Plevna, and at Granite Ridge Education Centre and St. James Major Catholic School in Sharbot Lake.

The Lions also support the No Child Without program, which provides children with Medic Alert bracelets, as well as the local food bank and the local summer swim program. The Lions also support families in need of emergency relief in the community. Empties can be donated all year long at the Lions bottle shed that has been set up at the Wemp Road Waste Site off of Crow Lake Road.

Upcoming for the Lions is a $7 All You Can Eat breakfast at Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake on Saturday September 27 from 8-11am. The Lions are always looking for new members. For more information call Bill Pyle at 613-539-8190.

by Gary Giller

Beginning Thurs., Sept., 11 at the Sharbot Lake Legion, the Center Stage Cafe will once again be providing an evening of live music on the 2nd Thursday of the month. Hosted by the Feral Five (Terry Reynolds, Jim MacPherson, Dennis Larocque, Dave Limber and Gary Giller) the Center Stage Cafe is designed to provide a venue for good quality, amateur, musical entertainment. The evening runs from 7-9:30 pm, and admission is $5 at the door.

Running for its 3rd consecutive year, the Cafe has enjoyed a wide variety of local musicians, and has received great audience support from the community. Thurs., Sept. 11 will feature well known musician, Adrian O'Connell, who is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser with his resonant voice, wonderful musicianship and varied, folk-based repertoire. O'Connell is a former member of the Irish-Scottish group, The Clansmen, and the Irish Rovers group.

Thurs., Oct. 9 will see Rob and Nancy Moore return again to the Cafe stage backed by their recently formed band made up of Gabby White (fiddle and vocals), Dan Keeler (lead guitar), Mike Dellios (bass) and Nathan Paul (drums). The audience is sure to be delighted by the combination of this accomplished group of musicians as they add a wonderful fullness to Nancy's angelic vocals.

To close off the fall series, Thurs., Nov. 13 will feature the cover band, One Busted Ego. Consisting of Adam Lake (guitar & vocals), Joe Normalie (drums & vocals), Steve Curtis (lead guitar & vocals), Marc Giroux (guitar & vocals) and Tom Baird (bass & vocals), this newly formed band is really impressing its audiences with its easily recognized country and rock tunes.

Opening and closing each evening, the Feral Five usually starts off with a set of eclectic songs for the audience's listening pleasure, but makes sure to end off the night with a set list designed to get folks burning up energy on the dance floor. If you enjoy live music, be sure to set aside the 2nd Thursday of the month at the Sharbot Lake Legion. It's well worth the modest price of admission.   

Goodfellow's Flowers, the local flower business that was started by Ann and David Goodfellow roughly 20 years ago in Parham, has once again changed hands.

Until June of this year the business had been owned by Michelle Greenstreet, who bought it from the Goodfellows around a decade ago and moved it to Clement Road. Greenstreet had been looking for a buyer for the business and in late May, 2014 she paid a visit to Rimpy Kaillon, wife of Ram Kaillon, owners and operators of Ram's Esso station on Hwy 7 in Sharbot Lake.

It was then and there that Rimpy, who has always loved flower arranging, decided “on the spot”, as she says, to purchase the business and move it to its new location at Ram's Esso. Rimpy is no stranger to flower arranging; she studied it in the past with Erik Wesseling of the Canadian Association of Flower Arrangers in Woodstock. She recalled that, “When Michelle came here in May and we spoke, I decided right away to buy the business. I knew it was the right kind of business for me and the kind of business that I always wanted to have."

The official transaction took just a few days to complete and a few more to move the shop from Clement Road to Ram's Esso and into the store where it is now open for business.

Prior to the purchase, Rimpy had been making and selling silk flower arrangements at home and selling them at the store, but once the official papers were signed she was eager to learn everything she could about the business. She decided to enroll as a student at the Canadian Institute of Floral Design in Toronto for their three-week course. There she was taught everything there is to know about flower arranging, including its business side. Five instructors taught her, including Donald Waltho, Ashley Waltho, Brad Higginson and Rhonda Ristich and after successfully completing the course she was thrilled to finally return home to Sharbot Lake with her framed certificate in hand.

Rimpy Kaillon is now ready to serve her customers and she exudes the confidence and enthusiasm that new business ownership brings. She is planning a grand opening at the store sometime this fall. The store's name will remain the same, Goodfellow's Flowers, as will its website www.goodfellowsflowers.com, and long-time phone number (613-279-6446). Rimpy will offer customers a wider selection of fresh cut and silk flowers, and arrangements for all occasions, including weddings, proms, anniversaries, birthdays, funerals, memorial services and other special events as well as gift baskets, corsages and more.

Goodfellow's Flowers is located at Ram's Esso, 24515 Highway 7 just east of Road 38. Proud new owner, Rimpy Kaillon, will be on hand to serve you and meet all of your floral needs.

For the past six years the Procter sisters Becki, Theresa and Katie have swum across Sharbot Lake every year from the dock at Sharbot Lake Provincial Park to the sandy shore at Oso beach in support of the Canadian Cancer Society. They all agreed that this year's swim offered up “the best weather ever. ” Perhaps that was the reason why their father, Mike Procter jumped in and joined the ladies in the water for the stretch between the two islands before the trio finally touched down and walked up Oso beach to the applause of a crowd of well wishers. The three-kilometre swim took the women 1.5 hours to complete and is a challenging one. Becki admitted they would be feeling the effects of their exertion for sure the next day. The swim was made easier this year because the water was “amazingly calm, relatively warm and with just a few cold spots”.

The 2014 swim so far has raised over $800 for the Canadian Cancer Society. The sisters each live and work in different parts of the province but they grew up in Sharbot Lake. One year they missed the local Relay for Life event and felt that they wanted to do something on their own to contribute, so they came up with the idea for an annual swim fundraiser for cancer. “We wanted to do something for the CCS and always wanted to swim across the lake so we thought an annual swim would be a great way to get together with the family, swim the lake and raise some funds for the CCS,” Theresa said when I spoke to the trio at the beach just as they arrived. During the swim the sisters were accompanied in a boat by their parents. They were met on the beach by Katie's husband Greg and their three-year-old daughter Abigail, along with their brother Luke from Lindsay, Ont., his wife Beth and seven-month-old son Timothy. who made his first appearance at the beach to congratulate his three aunts. The non-swimming family members came armed with towels, food and cheers of encouragement and congratulations for the three swimmers. Those who might still want to donate to the 2014 Swim of Hope can do so online at

http://convio.cancer.ca/hopeswim2014.

This nest, which had reportedly been used in the past by Ospreys, has been a good spot for this bald eagle, judging by the size of the young, who should be flying within weeks, or even days. Bald Eagles, which had been almost wiped out in Southern Ontario by 1980, have made a comeback. They are still more common in northwestern Ontario, but nests have been identified on lakes in Frontenac, Lanark, and Leeds and Grenville in recent years.

Bald Eagles are designated as a Species at Risk by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), but their designation on that list is as a “Species of Special Concern” which is defined by the ministry in the following way: “Lives in the wild in Ontario, is not endangered or threatened, but may become threatened or endangered due to a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.”

The MNR has four categories of Species at Risk: Extirpated, Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern. Bald Eagles were listed as Endangered in Southern Ontario in 1980 and have seen steady improvement.

Still, active nests are not common sightings, judging by the number of nests reported in the latest Southern Ontario Bald Eagle Monitoring Program report by Bird Studies Canada in the spring of 2012. That report identified 57 active nest sites in Southern Ontario, the bulk of which are in the vicinity of Lake Erie. Of those, 41 were successful, and 67 chicks survived at least to the fledgling stage (the point when they were able to fly and leave the nest).

That study identified only three nests in Frontenac County, on Bobs, Wolfe and Kashwakamak Lakes, and one in Lanark County, on Christie Lake. The Bobs Lake nest was the only successful one, bringing two chicks to the fledgling stage. There were very likely more successful nests in the two counties in 2011, based on the regular sightings of Bald Eagles each year, but they were either in more obscure locations or they were not reported to Bird Studies Canada.

Marcus Saunders, from Clarendon, an avid bird watcher who did the research in Northern Frontenac and Lanark Counties for the most recent Bird Studies Canada Atlas of Birds of Canada, said that he sees Bald Eagles locally “just about every month of the year.” He said he was aware of a nesting pair on Crotch Lake a number of years ago, and he thinks there may be nests on or near other lakes.

Bud Andress spent 20 years working on the restoration of Bald Eagles in the Thousand Islands region, which included building eagle nesting platforms. He also was part of a team that attached a radio transmitter to six fledgling birds, three of which survived.

“The three birds travelled a spectacular distance. They went as far as James Bay, Labrador, West Virginia and Washington, DC..”

The travel patterns of adult Bald Eagles are not well known, Andress said. There are a number of birds that over-winter in the Thousand Islands region, where their largest food source is white-tailed deer. Unlike Osprey, which survive almost exclusively on fish that they kill themselves, Bald Eagles are opportunistic feeders, happy to steal fish from Osprey or scavenge for food in any way they can.

“What we don't know,” said Andress, “is if the nesting pairs we see in the summer stay here in the winter or travel elsewhere, and we don't know if the pairs stay together all year or just meet up in the breeding grounds in the spring.”

Bald Eagles do nest in the same location year after year, not necessarily in the same nest but in the same vicinity.

One male in the Thousand Islands area where Andress lives has had 37 chicks since 1999, likely with two different mates.

Over 130 youngsters aged 3-15 participated in this year's Kids of Steel (KOS) Triathlon event, which took place on July 27 in Sharbot Lake. The race was hosted by the Bytown Storm Triathlon Club and attracted racers and their families from all over Ontario some from as far away as Ottawa, Toronto, Kingston, Milton, Peterborough, Windsor, Cornwall, Pembroke and Petawawa.

The KOS is one of the five qualifying races for Triathlon Ontario's Youth Cup point series. The event included numerous races, all triathlon events and each with swim, bike and running portions of varying lengths depending on the age group. The shortest event, for participants aged 6 and 7, included a 100 metre swim, 5 km bike ride and 1 km run, and the longest event, which was for racers aged 14 and 15, included a 400 metre swim, 10 km ride, and a 4 km run.

New this year was a draft legal event, one of just three events offered in Ontario for participants aged 14 and 15. Greg Kealey of Bytown Storm Triathlon and the event's race director said Sharbot Lake offers up the “perfect” venue. “Not only is there clean water and a great beach-front park and plenty of parking but it's a very condensed course allowing racers to loop around numerous times, which gives parents and onlookers a great chance to watch the kids race. A lot of the kids come to this event from far away places just because they love this particular venue and the unique course that we have here.”

Historically, the event is one of the oldest races for kids in Canada. It was originally founded over 30 years ago by Sharbot Lake residents Rudy and Joan Hollywood and Joan was the head official at the race again this year. The event and venue is also a historic one for triathletes of all ages for another reason - famed Canadian triathlete Simon Whitfield, who won Olympic gold in the inaugural Olympic triathlon event in 2000, raced and won some of the earliest races here. Whitfield has been immortalized with a bronze plaque in his honor at Oso Beach Park.

Fifteen-year-old Liam Donnelly of Campbellville, Ontario who placed first in his event, said he enjoyed the course and he recalled the exact moment in the race where he was able to move into the first place position. “I was in second place out of the first transition and caught Kyle (who placed second) and attacked at that point not wanting Kyle to draft off me.” Donnelly paid homage to Whitfield, who he said is one of his heroes. He had a chance to meet the famed triathlete when Whitfield was racing in Toronto a few years ago. “I ran right beside him for the last 600 metres of his race and we talked afterwards... He is such a nice guy and definitely is the inspiration for the majority of Canadian triathletes. He even gave me a shout out on Twitter,” Donnelly recalled. Donnelly will be taking part in the third provincial race in the series in August and said he feels “totally ready for it.”

In the female ages 14 - 15 event, Erika Rankin, who also won here last year, surprised herself by taking first place again. Rankin also plays soccer and was not able to train much prior to the KOS due to numerous injuries. She said she was thrilled with her win. Unfortunately she will not be able to qualify for the cup since she missed the earlier races in the series. Racers looking to win the Triathlon Ontario Provincial Youth Cup have to compete in at least four of the five qualifying provincial races and their top four scores will determine the winner.

Liam Donnelly said he dreams “every day” of competing in the 2020 Olympics. Asked if he received any pointers from Whitfield, he recalled Whitfield's advice to him: “Follow your dreams, work hard and the rest will come.” Liam took the time out after his medal presentation to get a picture of himself beside the plaque of Whitfield before he departed for home.