The date change for this year’s 11th installment of the Canadian Guitar Festival, which takes place at Loughborough Lake Holiday Park just south of Sydenham, in no way affected the turnout for the annual three-day event, which showcases some of the best guitar playing gurus from near and far. The festival took place on July 24, 25 and 26, a week earlier than usual, but still attracted enthusiastic lovers of the genre.

Canadian guitar guru Don Ross not only played his usual inspiring and stellar set, but also manned the mic this year as festival emcee, standing in for Holmes Hooke, who had a conflict with this year’s dates.

Saturday evening’s performances rated high on a number of attendees’ lists, including the performance by John Ainsworth of Manchester, England, who was described by festival founder and organizer Del Vezeau as “a very cerebral young artist, a cross between Nick Drake and Sid Barrett” and was making his first trip from his native isle.

Other new and notable performances included the Dave Barrett Trio. Barrett, best known as one of the founders of Platinum Blond, closed Friday night’s show to much applause.

I saw the last performers of the festival, an eclectic virtuoso duo called 2ish, who played a mash up of fascinating originals and highly intricate tunes that come from a number of varying musical influences including jazz and folk, with additional elements sourced in from the deep and rich well of world music. Their sound is exclusively instrumental and is highly original, with Saskia Tomkins playing the nyckelharpa, viola and violin and Brandon Scott Besharah playing acoustic finger-picking guitar and the hurdy gurdy. Both have played and recorded individually with numerous solo artists and bands and together their sound is like none other, an intense intermingling of pure and joyful music that is highly complex and yet sounds fresh, clear and true.

Sunday’s finger picking competition had listeners sitting on the edge of their seats, eager to find out who of the long list of competitors that included players from all over Canada and the US, and from as far away as Japan and France, would take away the various prizes, which were musical instruments donated by a number of instrument-making kings in the field.

The competition was judged this year by five artists from the main stage that included Don Ross, Dave Barrett, John Ainsworth, Justin St. Pierre and Thomas Leeb. This year’s first place winner was Blake Goodwin of Little Rock, Arkansas, who chose a Stonebridge semi-acoustic as his prize and who dazzled fans with his masterfully quick yet subtle style. Like all past first-place winners, Goodwin was invited back to perform and will open next year’s festival. Adam Crossman of Peterborough won second place and chose a Hagstrom semi-acoustic guitar for his prize. Ace Ting, a Kitchener, Ont. native who now calls Toronto home, took third place and snapped up a brand new Breedlove mandolin.

The festival was founded and is run every year by Del Vezeau, who said he believes the festival date change will stick since lovers of the festival will return year after year no matter the date. That way, holiday campers who booked the park solid for the August long weekend, will not be squeezed out. In addition the change will also give Vezeau and other music lovers a chance to visit the Blue Skies Festival, which begins on Friday, July 31 in Clarendon.

There was as a time not so very long ago, when one could park on both sides of the street in Sydenham, facing whichever way happened to be most convenient. Mill Street on a Friday just before closing time at the Beer Store was no place for the timid driver or the pedestrian.

Although those free-for-all days are gone, traffic continues to increase and there are people who still park on the sidewalk in front of the bank or the post office, slowing traffic and forcing pedestrians into the street.

Tuesday evening Public Works Manager Mark Segsworth and his roads staff presented their proposal to improve parking in Sydenham. One big change would be to make Cross Street one-way from Wheatley to Mill, with parking on the north side only. Signs and lines would make it clear where people can and cannot park throughout the village, and would encourage better use of off-street parking spaces such as the area along the road into the Point.

Following the presentation, several people asked questions and made suggestions: the revised proposal will come to Council for their comments and approval in early September.

Once the parking signs, lines and supporting by-law are in place, the changes will be enforced with public education, and with tickets and fines for persistent offenders. Segsworth and his staff hope to have the new parking program in place before winter.

At the regular county council meeting in Sydenham on July 15, former South Frontenac mayor and county warden Gary Davison, and current mayor of Frontenac Islands and county warden Dennis Doyle, presented Maggie Clark with a special one-time 150th anniversary scholarship award on behalf of the county. The $1,000 bursary was open to all senior students residing in the County of Frontenac who are planning to pursue a post-secondary education.

Clark was chosen by members of the 150th Anniversary Planning Committee, who were looking for students, who throughout their school careers, have shown an enthusiasm for celebrating and enhancing life in their community through sustainable means, be they environmental, economic, social or cultural. Students were asked to write a 1000-word essay about these pursuits.

After accepting the award, Clark thanked council and spoke about her various pursuits, many of which are art-related. She has her own up-cycling art business in which she creates unique items from recycled materials. She currently displays and sells her work at the Frontenac Farmers Market in Verona. Clark plans to further her studies and will be pursuing a post-secondary commerce degree at university. Congratulations to Maggie Clark on her well-deserved award.

The controversial extra charge of $25 a month for residents of Sydenham who have not hooked up to the Sydenham water system has been revoked by Council. Residents who are not hooked up will continue to pay for the water that they don't use, as they have all along, but they will no longer pay an extra fee for not using the water they pay for.

Although Council revoked the fee at their meeting in Sydenham last week (July 7), they stopped short of rebating the money that has already been collected since the “non-usage fee” was instituted a year ago.

“I know Council is removing this charge and I know why, but the fact is that it is the only thing we have done that has resulted in people actually hooking up to Sydenham water, which is what we want,” said Mayor Ron Vandewal.

In a report to Council about the matter, Treasurer Louise Fragnito wrote that since the extra charge was introduced, 34 households hooked up to the system, a 22% increase. “At a minimum, 18 of those accounts can be correlated to the non-usage fee,” she wrote.

She also said that in the absence of the fee “consideration must be given to a mechanism to continue to encourage non-using accounts to begin to use the water system.”

The township has the authority to enter the lot of someone who refuses to hook up, and connect the building at the owner's expense, and use all methods to receive payment up to and including placing a lien on the property.

“We've never done that, and I don't see us doing it anytime soon,” said Vandewal.

On June 23, Council asked staff to prepare a revision to the Sydenham water bylaw to eliminate the extraordinary fees, citing their punitive nature.

Since June of 2014, the township has collected over $22,000 in “non-usage fees” $20 monthly per household before January of 2015, and $25 monthly from January to June.

Canada Day photo essay

Harrowsmith

Sharbot Lake

Sydenham

by Wilma Kenny and Jeff Green

Ah, the modern world

Holly Thompson started her valedictory address at Sydenham High School last Thursday afternoon, June 25, by asking her fellow classmates to refrain from checking or posting on their twitter and instragram feeds, but then, humorously flipping her hair for effect, she said, “But before you shut off your phones, feel free take a video of me and post parts of this speech on Vine.”

She then started her speech in earnest, touching on many of the experiences of the class of '15 at SHS over their four years, from the antics of staff members, the academic and athletic focus of the school, and mostly the feeling of togetherness that SHS is known for, which starts with the commitment and heart of the school's staff.

“Now I’m sure you can all agree with me when I say this, whether a teacher, an administrator, an EA, a custodian, or essentially any staff of Sydenham High, no matter the obstacle, someone is always there for you. Everyone and everything is there for you.”

Although the Class of '15 has been through events as diverse as a lockdown and a victory at the Capital Bowl, the school’s #Samstrong efforts for class-mate, Sam Eastman, who is battling cancer, are something that she is particularly proud of.

She concluded her speech with some words to her fellow class mates that were important for them to hear, particulary as the entire SHS community struggles to cope with the events of the past two weeks, which hover like a thick cloud of fog over the school and the local community.

“You’re something important. Something meaningful. Something worthwhile. You are a person with the ability to make change, save lives, live to the fullest. Take nothing for granted. This life is one big adventure, so take it. And let others take theirs as well. Make good decisions—decisions that you can live with. You don't have to be a dentist or a lawyer, skinny or rich to be happy. Just be you, and be a 'you' that leaves the world a little brighter.”

Local politicians, visitors from other social service agencies, and members of the business community were well represented at Southern Frontenac Community Services’ (SFCS) AGM on June 24, which was held once again this year in the morning in order to accommodate the schedules of most of those in attendance.

Breakfast was served at 7:30 and the meeting started up at 8:00 in order to be wrapped before 9:00 last Wednesday.

A few milestones were marked at this, the 26th anniversary of the agency. Joan Cameron, who has been the board chair for six years, stepped down as chair and retired from the board. As was pointed out by the new board chair, Nona Mariotti, Cameron's legacy at SFCS is exemplified in the Grace Centre, where the meeting was held. It was Cameron who was the driving force in the development of the centre as a multi-purpose space that is used both for SFCS programming and administration as well as for public use as an arts centre, breathing life into the former United Church building.

In her final remarks, Cameron commended the efforts of the board in developing a governance model. She also reported that the agency has enjoyed its best year both in terms of service and finances.

Mariotti, who has chaired the Adult Services Committee of the agency and has been involved in developing and publicising events at the Grace Centre, takes over a six-member board, which is looking for three members to restore a full complement, including a new treasurer.

In his remarks to the membership, Executive Director David Townsend thanked the agency’s staff and talked about some of the new programming that SFCS has engaged in, including a homelessness initiative, as well as a palliative care counselling service for families throughout Frontenac County.

Tom Whiteman, then made a presentation on behalf of the United Way of Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington, of which he is a board member. He presented one of the agency’s annual Volunteer of the Year awards to John Trousdale. He said that Trousdale had been nominated by SFCS, which is a United Way member agency, and that when looking at the breadth of support he has provided to the agency and to the community of Sydenham, “It was very easy for us to make a decision.”

While many of John Trousdale’s contributions in Sydenham are well known, he has remained in the background over the 26-year history of SFCS, but on numerous occasions when there were either opportunities or crises, he has come through with a helping hand, either though in-kind or cash donations or by providing strategic advice.

Whiteman said that in recognition of his award, people in the community should “give John a hug”, something that Mayor Vandewal attempted to do later on without much success. Perhaps a simple handshake would suffice.

The keynote speech at the AGM was delivered by Donna Segal, the Chair of the Board of Directors for the South East Local Health Integration Network (SELHIN), which acts for the Ontario Ministry Health in funding hospitals, long-term care facilities, the Community Care Access Centre (CCAC), and also community support service agencies, of which SFCS is one. Segal said that the SELHIN spends about $1 billion annually, and one of its goals is to ensure that money is spent wisely and that service providers work together to provide “patient-centred care”, to cover all service gaps for patients and to avoid duplication of service.

She said that the SELHIN spends the second most money per capita among the 14 LHINS throughout Ontario on hospitals, the third most on long-term care, and the highest amount on home care, but the lowest amount per capita on community support services.

SFCS has been advocating for increases in its own funding from the LHIN for its popular Adult Day Program for the frail elderly.

Segal did not say if changes are coming to community support services funding, but she did indicate that the CCAC system, which provides nursing and other home services, may be seeing major changes in the near future.

The stepped concrete wall below the recent addition to Sydenham High has been transformed, thanks to the work of Darryl Silver of Silverbrook Garden Centre, just west of Sydenham. Soon after our article about the wall was published in the Frontenac News (May 14), Silver was approached by a school board representative who asked him to submit a tender for the job. He inspected the wall and researched wild parsnip before he tendered.

Once his bid was accepted Silver went to work wearing full protective gear including heavy rubber gloves. Working through what’s already the busiest time of year for a garden centre, Silver dug on the wall mornings and evenings to first get rid of the parsnip. He removed two and a half truckloads of the plants; “Some, especially on the north part of the wall, had already grown over a metre tall, and their thick tap roots were almost as long,” he said. Fortunately the weed had not yet blossomed or set seed so Silver piled it on his own property to compost down.

After that his summer employee, Kallista Smith, joined the work. She had only one slight brush with parsnip, but still has the scars to show for it.

Silver found that in some places there was more gravel than soil, and although a lot of good nursery stock was uncovered during the clean-out, very little thought had apparently gone into the actual placement of the plant material. He has filled in the bare spots with hardy perennials, and added groupings of celosia in the school colours for touches of brightness. Fortunately, his contract includes ongoing upkeep of the wall, for fresh weeds will soon sprout from the disturbed soil.

“I was amazed by the numbers of people who stopped and commented,” Silver said; “one man even offered to volunteer. People were so delighted with the results that it made my job feel worthwhile. The village really does have a lot of community spirit.”

As the first of 11 listed delegations relating to solar projects, Utilia Amaral of SunEdison said her company was not planning to proceed with the Groenewegen and Freeman Road projects at this time. She attributed this decision to the high degree of concern at last week’s community meeting about the connection lines from these projects running through heavily populated areas. She said her company would look at alternate routes, in the hope of submitting these projects at a later date.

Amaral went on to address other concerns, including impacts on property values, visual buffering and noise during installation. In regard to stray voltage, she said SunEdison was prepared to fund an independent engineer appointed by the community, who would establish baseline levels and investigate any concerns about stray voltage that might be identified, “providing resolution if related to the project.” She also described how the company planned to address issues related to environment, endangered species, groundwater/wells monitoring and future decommissioning of the facility.

Councilors Revill and Sutherland asked about buffer plantings, and were told that the Ministry of Environment required that all buffer plantings should reach 90% of capacity growth in five years. Amaral said a landscaping firm would be contracted to provide maintenance of buffer plantings and all on site growth, including grass cutting. Sutherland asked if there was any likelihood of shared use, such as grazing sheep or goats, or bee-friendly plants. Amaral said that plantings to attract honey bees and other pollinators would be a possibility. However although grazing animals are used in some countries, provisions for this are not in place in Ontario.

Of the remaining delegations, seven were speaking in particular reference to the Groenewegen proposal and two to the Freeman one. They questioned the management of other SunEdison projects in the Kingston area, said that all the profits would be going to the US, raised the issues of stray voltage, threats to wildlife, and damage to property values. They asked what benefit the South Frontenac would gain from solar farms. Mayor Vandewal said that Council was still in negotiations with SunEdison as to amounts, but there would be an up-front payment to the township, and “annual contributions.”

One delegate, former Bedford Councillor David Hahn, spoke in support of solar power. He said he had a small solar project on his own property, and was a member of a 150-member green energy cooperative which invests in solar projects. He said the world was shifting to renewable power: that in the past year, more solar and wind projects had been developed than any other power sources, such as nuclear or coal. He also pointed out that solar power had the advantage of being most available at times of peak use, especially in the summer when air conditioners are in use.

CAO Orr said that six or seven letters addressing solar issues had arrived too late to be included in this agenda, so would be brought forward next meeting.

New Solar Proposal for Storrington Area

Jeff Allan and Greg Rossetti came on behalf of Bondfield Construction with a new project proposal, this one south of Battersea, covering a 300-acre site. They emphasized that theirs is a wholly Ontario company, and they already have elicited very positive responses from abutting landowners. They are planning a community meeting soon.

(In order to accommodate the unusually large number of delegations, Council met at 6:00 to deal first with the following items of business.)

Parking Restrictions and a One-way Street for Sydenham?

Public Works Manager Segsworth is scheduling an open house at the municipal hall, Sydenham, on July 28, 7:00-9:00. Residents can view maps of proposed parking changes, and get information about making Cross Street a one-way street.

Hartington Brownfield Cleanup

Segsworth said the cleanup of the corner site in Hartington has been completed for $137,000: this leaves enough remaining in the budget to cover installation of monitoring wells. No mention was made of the (reported by a resident) dispersion of rats into the neighbourhood, when the building was torn down.

New Scales at Portland Waste Site

The scales are on site, and will go into operation July 15: from then on, all waste brought to the Portland waste site will be charged by weight.

Banners will be used to notify residents of the change. “We will have some hiccups: everything associated with solid waste seems to be complicated,” said Segsworth.

Reconfiguration of Intersections

“Historically, one can drive from Hartington to Holleford without stopping,” said Segsworth, “For experienced locals this is no problem, but newcomers don’t always realize one should yield at Vanluven and Trousdale Roads.” He showed maps of these intersections and another in Storrington that he is recommending for reconfiguration as soon as possible.

Appreciation of First Responders

Mayor Vandewal expressed deep thanks on behalf of Council to the fire department’s first responders who were on hand during the recent highway tragedy near Spaffordton.

Genevieve L’Abbe, a 17-year-old Sydenham Lake Canoe Club sprint paddler and Junior National Team Member, successfully competed in Montreal at the National Team Trials regatta last weekend for one of five positions on the Junior World’s Women’s Kayaking Team.

L’Abbe will be on her way to Portugal this summer to compete in the ICF Canoe Sprint Junior & U23 World Championships Regatta, which will be held in Montemor-O-Velho, Portugal on July 24-26.

“I feel very fortunate to have made the team as it was a real battle to make the 5th spot on the team. When the points were added up after the National Team Trial qualifying event last Saturday, I ended up beating my competitor by one point. It was my faster time in the 500m race that got me on the World Junior Team”.

It is going to be a busy summer for L’Abbe. who will be graduating from Grade 12 this week. She will be spending a month in Montreal training with her new five teammates who are all from different regions of Canada. “I am looking forward to getting to know them and learning to work as a team” says L’Abbe. An Ottawa paddler will compete in the individual K1 races and K2 races, and she, and her other three teammates, will compete in the K4 events”.

“My family and friends have been very supportive in helping me get to this level. If my family hadn’t become involved in the Sydenham Lake Canoe Club, I wouldn’t have been introduced to the wonderful sport of sprint kayaking. Knowing previous Olympian, George Jones, from the Canoe Club for the last seven years really helped me keep my eye my goal. I had heard him tell stories about the comradery that he had experienced paddling back in the 80’s and it made me think that I wanted to do that too. I guess, for lack of a better word, you could call him my hero. My biggest challenge in the next month will be the cost of traveling to Portugal as Canoe Kayak Canada only partially covers the fees. I may have to pass around the hat this summer and ask for a bit of help. I feel fortunate that I am a part of a good community”.