Sydenham’s junior girls AA basketball team had a great season this year but their luck ran out at the EOSSAA (Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association) tournament on November 12, which was hosted by Sydenham High School. The Arnprior Redmen defeated the Junior Golden Eagles in the first match, which their coach Janet Sanderson described as a very close and exciting game.

The Golden Eagles led by eight points early in the game but turnovers hurt them in the second half and Arnprior capitalized on their chances.

Sydenham hung in, though, and got back their focus near the end of the game, sinking a number of threes.

“It was the first game the team had lost at home in a long time,” Sanderson said, adding, “The girls played really hard and I am really proud of the effort that they made but we ended up losing by 3 in the end”.

You would never know that they had lost their first game by how hard the team played in their second game of the day against the Thousand Islands Pirates, even though they would not move on to the finals. In their last game of the season Sydenham beat the Pirates 41 to 27.

Ms. Sanderson, who coaches the juniors along with Mark Richards, said the team came a really long way this season.

“We started off the season slowly due to some injuries and sickness but we had a great positive stretch towards the end of the season. I'm really proud of the girls and what they were able to do this year. They were really dedicated and there was almost a kind of a family feeling within the team, which was great,” she said.

Photo 2018-       

by the Verona and Sydenham District Lions

For the past two weeks, Lions volunteers from Sydenham and Verona have conducted the annual vision and hearing screening for approximately 200 senior kindergarten and grade one students at Harrowsmith, Loughborough, and Prince Charles public schools as well as at St. Patrick Catholic School in Harrowsmith

For young learners, it is critical that any vision and hearing problems are detected early before a child's performance at school is affected and that is why for the past seven years, the local Lions have conducted the screening program for the youngest students at the start of every school year. It is estimated that one in six children has a vision problem. The vision screening section consists of three stations that help identify children who have trouble seeing things at a distance, up close or who may have difficulty making both eyes focus together. The hearing section of the screening program is comprised of a sound test. The child wears headphones and is asked, at increasingly lower audio levels, to point to various pictures.

The results from both screening tests are sent home to the child’s parents/caregivers that same day. If the child's results fall below the prescribed level, a recommendation is also sent home asking that the child have a complete examination by a vision or hearing specialist. The screening results also remind parents that annual eye examinations are recommended and important for school-aged children and are covered by OHIP.

The vision and hearing screening program for senior kindergarten and grade one students is provided free by the local Lions Clubs and the expensive equipment used in the testing was purchased through the fund raising efforts of many local Lions clubs. At the start of every school year, local Lions clubs quickly circulate the equipment through more than 50 schools in the local and surroundings community in order to screen as many children as possible in the hopes of identifying as early as possible any vision or hearing problems.

While most of the Lions screening volunteers are retired, the younger Lions volunteers work hard to juggle their work and personal schedules so that they can be available for the school day screenings. Many volunteers are grandparents who themselves wear glasses and/or hearing aids and who have personal stories of struggling in school as a result of their own vision and hearing issues. They therefore understand first hand the importance of correcting any vision and hearing problems early so that local students can enjoy maximum learning and have basic everyday life enjoyment.

For 15-year-old Sydenham student, William Sanderson, it's a dream come true. Come Christmas Day the grade 10 student will be heading down south - way down south - and will be one of just 70 international students aged 14-18 boarding an ice breaker at the southern tip of Argentina and setting out to explore Antarctica.

The students will be part of a ten-day international youth experiential education program called Students on Ice. The program, which offers trips to both the Arctic and Antarctica, brings together students, scientists, artists, musicians and other leaders with the goal that they “become inspired, educated and empowered global ambassadors for a sustainable future.”

The expedition's home base will be an ice breaker and while on board students will learn from numerous polar experts, educators, researchers and scientists and will be involved in a number of hands-on research studies and experiments. Climate, the ice and wildlife will all be topics of study and for Sanderson it presents an opportunity to learn about and see one part of the world that most people never have a chance to visit.

Sanderson has always been interested in climate, the environment, nature and the great outdoors and as a youngster spent many hours with his teacher father at the Gould Lake Conservation Centre, experiencing the outdoors, nature and wildlife. “I've spent a lot of time in the wilderness and feel that when you're out exploring and living in nature you get a certain appreciation for it and a certain drive to protect it. The best summer experiences I have had have been in the outdoors and that is what inspires me to do something so that we can have these kind of places forever.”

The students will make their way by plane to Ushuaia, Argentina, where they will board the ice breaker and will spend a few days traveling up the Drake Passage. Planned stops include an excursion to Elephant Island where famed explorer Ernest Shackleton was stranded roughly 100 years ago. They will then travel to the Antarctic peninsula and will be stopping at a number of research bases there. Because it is the summer season there now, they will be making their way through open water and will likely see Emperor penguins, whales and other native species.

Sanderson is looking forward to meeting his shipmates, in his words, “people who will likely have similar interests as me” and to seeing the continent of Antarctica. “It is a place that, for the most part, has been untouched by humans and it will be really interesting to learn about a place that so few people have had a chance to see and study.”

The Students on Ice program requires participants to raise $14,500 for the trip. Since his acceptance in April of this year Sanderson has held many fundraising events and he says family, friends, the school, the Limestone District School Board and the community at large all made generous donations to help him fund his journey.

Of course he will be packing a camera and upon his return, as a new ambassador to the program he will be making presentations to local students about the trip.

As far as his future plans go Sanderson says that although he has not made any concrete plans he is hoping that the trip might show him a path or an opportunity that he didn't know existed before. "I'm really looking forward to seeing what this expedition might lead to.”

In the early going of their EOSSA (Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association) semi-final game at the Point, the Sydenham Golden Eagles looked like they might make mincemeat out of the Brockville Rams. 30 short seconds into the game the Rams fumbled a kick by Mike Bashall, and Sam Moyse scored a touchdown in the next play. After a successful conversion, the Eagles were up 7-0.

Sydenham's defense shut down a push up the middle by the Rams and then Bashall scored again, on a long pass from Dylan Fisher, putting Sydenham at 14-0 just half way into the first quarter.

Early in the second Sam Moyse made great catch and although he was rammed hard by Brockville he miraculously held on to the ball, sparking a drive down the field that led to a touchdown on a run by Tyler Cancian

The Rams fought back hard nad finally put 7 points on the board, and Sydenham responded with a field goal tobe up 24-7 at the half.

At the start of the third quarter, Sydenham marched down the field again, mixing their passing and rushing games, all culminating in another touchdown by Tyler Cancian, bringing the score to 31-7.

Brockville then mounted a sustained comeback, scoring twice in the third quarter, and after makingonluy one of two conversions they were down 31-20. After dominating play in the foruth, the Rams finally scored late in the game and after a two-point conversion the score was 31-28.

Then Sydenham finally maintained possession near the end of the game and managed to run the ball until the clock ran out, clinching the win and sending them to the EOSSA final.

Following the game Brockville coach Pete Atkinson said he was pleased with how his team fared. “Sydenham attacked quickly and got a great lead but my guys persisted, stuck with it and stayed with them and came roaring back in the second half, making for a very close game."

Sydenham coach Mike Love said he found the game “a little more nerve racking” than he and his team preferred it to be. “Brockville had a very strong second half and we kept giving them opportunities and they kept taking advantage of them but at the end of the day, we got a win and that is what we wanted.”

The Golden Eagles will play the EOSSAA final against the Almonte Thunderbolts on Friday Nov. 14, at 1pm at the Invista Centre, Kingston. The winner of that game will go on to the National Capitol Bowl in Toronto.

Move on to EOSSAA on home turf Nov 7

Sydenham’s senior Golden Eagles football team finished off their regular season with a 6 and 0 winning streak and a final win at the KASSAA (Kingston Area Secondary Schools Athletic Association) double A championships, which took place at Richardson stadium at Queen's University on November 1 and was a stellar team effort. Sydenham shut out the LaSalle Black Knights with a final score of 47-0.

Head coach for the senior Golden Eagles, Mike Love, who has been coaching the team since 2006, highlighted some of the more important points of that game. He cited the team’s quarterback Dylan Fisher as a important piece of the team’s win. Fisher threw four touchdown passes, earning himself the MVP trophy, which was presented to him at the end of the game.

Running back Brodie Latimer also had a great game and ran the ball for two touchdowns.

Love credited the team’s defense led by line backer Mitch Herron for virtually shutting down the Knights’ offense and preventing them from getting a single point on the score board.

The Knights came into Saturday’s game with a 6-1 record, having lost their one and only game of the regular season to Sydenham at the annual Bubba Bowl event.

Love credited his “great group of players both in offense and defense” for a great regular season and the KASSAA win.

For their first EOSSAA (Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association) game, the senior Golden Eagles will be taking on the Brockville Collegiate Institute’s Rams on Friday, November 7 in Sydenham at 1:00 pm. The winner of that game will play the following weekend at the winner’s field. If the Golden Eagles keep it up they may indeed land themselves a spot at the National Capital Bowl, which is scheduled to take place on November 22, with the location to be announced.

In other football news the Sydenham Juniors also played at the KASSAA double A finals and lost their game against the LaSalle Black Knights 27-7.

Two dances are being held to support Christmas toy drives in Frontenac County, one in Verona at the Lions Hall on November 15, and a second in Sydenham at the Sydenham Legion on December 13.

All of the proceeds from the events will benefit the Verona Christmas Committee and the Loughborough Christmas and Emergency Relief Committee.

Tom Revell, Matt Clow and James Deline of Sydenham have joined forces to put the two events together, and while they will both have the same format, the character of the two communities and different bands will make the events quite different.

On November 15, the doors open at 8 pm and there will be items on display at the back of the hall for a silent auction that will wrap up later in the evening. On stage, three bands will take turns entertaining the audience and filling the dance floor: Bauder Road, the Feral Five, and Ten Cent Hat. As well, some special friends might show up to add to the line up.

Tom Revell, who started organizing these events with his Little Betty band mate Matt Clow ten years ago, said that he was taken with the commitment made by 30 or 40 volunteers of the Verona Christmas Committee.

“They each have a number of kids to shop for and they need to find out about the kids, their ages and interests and then shop just for them. I hate shopping, so I thought I'd play some guitar instead and the dances started happening,” he said.

Last year the Verona dance raised about $3,000 and they hope to do the same again this year.

The dance starts at 8 pm and ends at 1 am. It is a licensed event and tickets are $20, available in advance at Nicole's Gifts and Toppers in Verona. For further information, call Tom at 613-888-2429.

The Sydenham event is still a month off but mark December 13 on your calendars now. The bands that are already booked for that event are Dark Horse, Bauder Road and Still Standing.  

Lindsay Mills said on Tuesday that he is ready to recommend that South Frontenac politicians vote in favour of approving the Frontenac County Official Plan.

Mills, who is the head of the South Frontenac Planning department, attended what he described as an “excellent” meeting between Frontenac township chief administrators, planning departments, county staff and senior officials from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing on Thursday, October 23.

However, on Monday of this week he added that he needed to see the proposed changes to the plan that resulted from the meeting.

When contacted again on Tuesday, after seeing the changes, he said that most of the “drop dead requirements for changes” that his department had identified had been made and he thinks South Frontenac can live with the document.

“I still have problems with it. I think it is too detailed, too prescriptive, and gets into things that might lead to difficulties down the road, but as they say it is a 'living document' and we can make changes if parts of it turn out to be unworkable,” he said.

He added that he had not been alone in expressing concerns and asking for changes to the document at the meeting that was held last week.

“Jenny Duhamel from North Frontenac and Cathy MacMunn from Central Frontenac both raised important points that had to be addressed. This was not only a South Frontenac issue,” he said.

Approving the draft document and sending it to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs had been expected at the regular monthly meeting of Frontenac County Council on October 15, but when the representatives from South Frontenac spoke against it, a deferral was proposed in order for the October 23 meeting to be organized in an effort to achieve a more solid consensus among members of Frontenac County Council.

That might prove relevant if, as is expected, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs seeks to make changes to the document that are not acceptable to Frontenac County.

“I can't comment on the issues between Frontenac County and the provincial government,” said Mills, “that's really for them to deal with. I can only comment on the document itself and its impact on development in South Frontenac. As it was before, I was worried that it might have stopped us in our tracks, and I am less worried now.”

Mills added that while he expects that the South Frontenac representatives, outgoing Mayor Gary Davison and Councilor John McDougall, will vote in favour of the document, he expects that Mayor Davison “will have some interesting things to say at the meeting.”

A picturesque setting sun followed by a bright moon made this year’s Bubba Bowl on October 9 one to remember.. The main event was a double header where the Sydenham Golden Eagles took on the LaSalle Knights in two very exciting and close games, one going to Sydenham and the other to Lasalle.

The Bubba Bowl, now in its ninth year, is named for Alex “Bubba” Turcotte, who played for three years as a member of Sydenham’s junior football team and sadly died of heart failure in May of 2001. The event continues to draw thousands of football fans from the local community and is popular both with former students at the school, some of whom played ball there, and others who just happen to be big fans of the Sydenham Golden Eagles and the game.

Th Junior Golden Eagles and Kinghts taking to the field first. Though I was not able to stay for the games, coaches Mike Love and Jeff Ryan got me up to speed on how they unfolded.

In the junior contest, Sydenham scored early in the first quarter in their opening drive, with Merrick Wilcock getting the touchdown. After missing a 2 point conversion, and with the score at 6-0 for Sydenham, LaSalle tied it up and their single point conversion brought them into the lead 7-6. In the second quarter both teams demonstrated strong defense, each making it difficult for the other team to score and the half the score was unchanged at 7-6 for LaSalle.

Early in the third LaSalle put together a great drive and scored a touchdown and with a successful conversion spread their lead to 14-6. In the fourth Sydenham came back strong and in a long drive Shane Herron scored a touchdown, narrowing the score to 14-12 for LaSalle.

The tensest part of the game happened next, when Sydenham's Colin Bowman went for a two point conversion that ended at the goal line, leading to a lengthy conference among the referees. In the end they decided that Bowman had not crossed the line, leaving the score at 14-12 for LaSalle.

Sydenham then executed an onside kick recovering the ball on the Knights 40 yard line. The Golden Eagles then made a final attempt but their stalled after a failed fourth down attempt.

LaSalle won the game with a final score of 14-12.

Mike Love, Sydenham coach for the Senior Golden Eagles, provided a description of the game against the LaSalle seniors. He said it was “a very close and exciting contest”.

Picking it up at the half time mark, the Golden Eagles were leading 7-6. Early in the third quarter Tom Withey of Sydenham intercepted a LaSalle pass and returned it for a toucdown. LaSalle responded quickly, scoring a touchdown and adding a two point conversion to tie the game 14-14.

Late in the third Sydenham jumoed back into the lead when Sam Moyse scored on a long pass from Dylan Fisher, putting Sydenham into the lead 21-14 at the end of the third.

Early in the last quarter Sydenham recovered a fumble and following a short drive to the line, Brodie Latimer scored a rushing touchdown from a yard out, bringing the score to 28-14.

LaSalle fought back, though, recovering a fumble to score a touchdown with just one minute 30 seconds left in the fourth, closing Sydenham’s lead to 28-21. The Knights then attempted a short kick to get back possession but the Golden Eagles were quick to recover the ball. The Knights had a final chance with just 20 seconds left in the game but failed to get far enough to score.

The senior Eagles have now won three in a row. The Junior Eagles are still trying for their first win of the season and are down three games.

Congratulations to Dave Compton, who won the 50-50 draw, which he generously donated to SHS Athletics.

Over 30 art lovers gathered at the Southern Frontenac Community Service Corporation’s Grace Centre for a stellar afternoon of great art, both in works and words thanks to two accomplished local artists, Wendy Cain and Margaret Hughes.

While their works are in no way similar, hung side by side they represent two very different approaches to art, the results of which are surprisingly complementary.

Margaret Hughes, a former potter and co-owner of Cornerstone, Kingston's premiere fine Canadian craft and Inuit art store, took up chalk pastels years ago. Enjoying their directness and rich hues she approaches painting like one would a lump of clay, digging right in and working in a very direct, hands- on way. As a result the works are fresh and vibrant, and burst forth in an explosion of colour. Her past as a potter is literally apparent in her compositions; her colorful functional ceramic pieces are included in many of her still lifes.

Hughes creates her paintings by layering colour upon colour, often beginning on a black paper background. By allowing some of the black paper to show through, the colours have an added intensity. Pattern and surface decoration are key in these works, with rich, broad swaths of gorgeous colour lying side by side and portraying various table and wall coverings that boast rich plums, bright oranges, purples, blood reds and deep blacks and blues. These works are reminiscent of other colour and pattern-focused painters like Matisse and Cezanne, both of whom Hughes said are influences.

In her talk Hughes spoke of her former work as a potter for 30 years and how working with coloured glazes eventually led her to pastels. “The interaction of having made the pots and then re-presenting them in a two-dimensional form as part of a still life composition presents a stimulating challenge and connects my current practice to my past.”

Artist Wendy Cain, a printmaker/papermaker who teaches printmaking at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto and who has participated in over 250 individual and group shows, spoke next. Cain developed her own pulp paper painting technique and currently works out of her studio in Newburg, Ont. Paper and printing making are more process-oriented art forms and Cain's works are crisp, clean and precise, with a certain lightness that makes her pieces appear effortless. In her presentation she demonstrated through slides the processes she uses, and it became clear that each piece involves numerous carefully pre-planned steps. Her most intriguing pieces include her homemade patterned papers, which form the backgrounds of the piece. These beautifully patterned background sections boast mainly fish and natural foliage motifs, on top of which are screen- printed, larger, more central images - things like Grecian urns and other subjects that lend the works a more cerebral quality.

Cain likes to play with juxtaposing seemingly unrelated images in a single frame and this is what gives her work its edge. Considering how the images relate is part of the puzzle she seems to offer up to her viewers and as we learned from her talk, her work is always changing and developing. In contrast to these, some of her newest works involve actually using the pulp/paper mixture as paint by spraying it in layers and creating unique landscape pieces where swirling blue skies are often front and centre.

The complementary nature of both artists’ work and their talks, which gave additional insight into the minds of these two creative and finely tuned artists, made for a very worth-while visit to the Grace Centre on Thanksgiving weekend.

The show will be up until December 12 and many of the works are for sale.

Grade nine students at Sydenham High School participated in a special school orientation event at the Gould Lake Outdoor Centre on September 25, which geared them up for the school year. Organized by the school’s grade 11 recreational leadership class under the direction of SHS teacher Mark Richards, the event had students don their school colours and participate in a number of games and activities at eight different stations. The activities included potato sack races, tug-of-war and a number of other games.

According to Mark Richards the annual event has two key aims. “It provides an opportunity for the grade nine students to get acquainted with their peers while having some fun and also gives the grade 11 students a chance to demonstrate their leadership skills.”

The new students learned the SHS school song "Bobaloo", which no doubt will be heard at the annual Bubba Bowl tonight, Thursday, October 9 where Sydenham’s junior and senior Golden Eagles will be taking on the LaSalle Knights. The junior game kicks off at 6pm with the senior game to follow. Admission to the game is $2 and the canteen will be open. Proceeds from admission will be used to cover the cost of the event and to support SHS athletics.