At their 21st Annual General Meeting on June 22, David Townsend, the Executive Director of Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS), presented an overview of the strategic planning process the agency is undergoing.

But before Townsend made his presentation, Leslee Thompson, who has been the President and CEO of Kingston General Hospital for just over a year and has taken the hospital through to the launch of their own strategic plan earlier this month, delivered a keynote address.

Thompson said that one of the first things she did as CEO of the hospital was to embark on a campaign to find out what people’s expectations and opinions were of the hospital. And, much to her chagrin at times, she found out.

“Some of what people had to say about KGH was difficult to hear. ‘We want it to be a lot better.’ ‘We want it to be cleaner’. People were very comfortable about making those kinds of statements,” she said.

After a long process, and a lot of internal work, KGH has come to identify 4 strategic goals, focussing on patient experience, new models of care, patient-oriented research, and increasing the hospital’s focus on complex-acute and specialty care.

Thompson also talked about how the hospital is one part of the health care system, not an entity unto itself, and this is how it relates to community agencies like Southern Frontenac Community Services, which focus on keeping people well and cared for in the community, and away from expensive hospital care.

In discussing the SFCS strategic planning process, David Townsend talked about ensuring that all services must be provided “as efficiently and as effectively as possible. This requires that each decision ensures that there is a maximum value for dollar expended and that the service provided meets the intended need.”

The idea of tracking the outcomes from every dollar that is expended is something that the Southeast Local Health Integration Network (SELHIN) has been pushing for the past couple of years,

The SELHIN is a body within the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care that is the major funding source for both Southern Frontenac Community Services and Kingston General Hospital.

The SELHIN has also been pushing for co-operation among service delivery agencies and to that end David Townsend talked about SFCS undertaking a “review of all services and programs (children, families and seniors)” that the agency offers.

He said that as part of that review, “increased partnerships and coordination with other agencies and programs” will be explored in order to allow SFCS to “focus on those services that we can afford to deliver and deliver well.”

The next stage in the SFCS strategic planning process will be an all-day board workshop in early July.

The strategic plan will be presented to the public for comment in mid-October.

Anyone wishing to provide input to the process is encouraged to contact Joan Cameron, the SFCS Board chair at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-376-6477

Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) held their 35th Annual General Meeting on June 17 at the Olden Hall. The anniversary brought a celebratory mood to the proceedings, which were hosted by long-time NFCS staffer Mike Procter.

Procter pointed out that over the years NFCS has maintained a tight connection with the community it served in the portion of Frontenac County north of Verona that now encompasses North, Central and parts of South Frontenac townships.

“Occasionally over the 35 years, NFCS has lost its way or become complacent, and the community has told us very clearly that this was happening. We’ve had to listen or we would have lost community support, and that would have been the end of us,” Mike Procter said.

NFCS provides a basket of services for seniors, families and children out of its office on Garrett Street in the centre of Sharbot Lake and from the Child Centre on Highway 38 just north of the village.

Services for seniors include an Adult Day Program, foot care, friendly visiting, meals on wheels, a referral service and more. Family counselling, a women’s program, mental health, adult protective services and more are also offered. The Child Centre offers day care and nursery services and a summer program. It is the Ontario Early Years Centre for the region, providing early education services through workshops, weekly baby groups and drop-ins throughout the county. A youth program is also provided out of the Child Centre.

Procter introduced Don Amos to the membership. Don Amos took on the role of executive director of NFCS in early April. He said he appreciates the welcome he has received from the staff at the agency and the community as a whole since taking on his new job. “The staff has been very welcoming. They’ve even been willing to listen to my ideas for change, which I appreciate,” said Amos, who then paused for effect before saying, “and then they go back to doing things the same way they always have.”

A keynote address was delivered by Amy Ruttan from the City of Kingston. She explained how funding for childcare spaces and other children’s programming is allocated to NFCS and other agencies that work with children.

Susan Leslie, who retired as executive director this spring, was presented with a painting, courtesy of the NFCS Board of Directors. The painting was a watercolour by a former NFCS Director of Adult Services, Linda Rush.

In addition to electing a 10-member board, the presentation of a life membership was made to Jeff Green, a long-time board member.

Youngsters learned a few pointers and received treats from Deputy Chief Bill Young from Central Frontenac Fire and Rescue

Maribeth Scott, manager of the Ontario Early Years Centre in Sharbot Lake, was pleased with the close to 200 children and families who came out for a day of family fun on June 5 at the Sharbot Lake High School. “Our goal is to promote healthy living in the Sharbot Lake area; part of the grant we received from the Ministry of Health Promotion Grant was to educate the public on preventable addictions so we are showing kids and their families other healthy ways to be active and have fun,” she said. Don Amos, executive director of the centre, was equally pleased and added, “It’s been a great day and the staff have done a great job organizing the day’s events.” Both thanked Success by Six and the Northern Rural Youth Partnership, who contributed to the day’s events.

Scott informed me that a recent grant from the United Way will allow the centre to expand their summer camp services to children ages six through nine. With that in mind, the centre is planning a number of upcoming summer dances, the first of which will be held at Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake on June 18 from 6 to 9PM for children in grades four through eight; there will be a professional DJ, light show and a canteen as well. Tickets are $6 and are available at the door. Funds raised at the dances will be put towards youth programming at the Ontario Early Years Centre.

For more information on the new United Way funded summer camp for children aged 6-9, call Charity Garey at 613-279-2244.

Beth Clancey, Mary Meyers and Dorothy Cornwall at the Open House at the SFCSC’s new Harrowsmith Centre

With much fanfare and community celebration the Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation (SFCSC) held the official ribbon cutting and Open House at the Saint Paul’s United Church manse in Harrowsmith, which now has officially become known as the SFCSC’s Harrowsmith Centre.

The centre will be the new home to a number of services offered by the SFCSC, including one of two seniors’ day-away programs, bereavement and end of life counseling programs, as well as the entire family services department, which offers the Food Bank, Rent Bank, and Good Food Box programs, plus a number of other family-related services and referral services.

The SFCSC serves just over 1000 seniors in its catchment area and the program at the Harrowsmith Centre will be serving 12 seniors per day on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.

Beth Clancey, who is the adult day services co-coordinator at the centre and runs the seniors’ program there, gave tours of the new facility and expressed her own and her clients’ delight in the new centre.

“The facility allows us to provide more care to more people and it is really all about expansion. It allows us to do more activities as well. We feel great to be able to serve clients on more than one level and can now better serve families in both the Sydenham and Harrowsmith communities.”

At 101 years old, Dorothy Cornwall of Sydenham is the oldest senior to attend the program at the new centre. She was present at the opening and said, “Everything here is just absolutely beautiful and I just love it.” Her daughter Mary added, “She’s always asking me when we are going again next.”

The SFCSC partnered with St. Paul’s United Church to be able to rent the manse and since December of last year a number of changes were made to the building to allow the programs to begin officially in March. Changes have included the addition of a new front deck, wheelchair-accessible washrooms and a ramp that allows wheelchair access, a new driveway, and widened doorways.

Future plans include the addition of a back door, which will provide seniors with access to the back yard. There are plans to build a number of raised beds so seniors can garden comfortably.

Though most of the funding for the project came from the South East Local Health Integration Network, which funds the seniors’ programs, the SFCFC is required to fund their family services department themselves and are therefore dependent on the generosity of the community and individuals to help them provide those additional services offered at the new centre.

David Townsend, executive director of the SFCSC, said, “This is a great way to show the community the services that are available in the community but also to make them aware that we need their support to continue delivering these services. There is limited funding available and with the demand and increase in the aging population we very much require the community to help out.”

Joan Cameron, board chair of the SFCSC, spoke to me of the importance of community awareness of the available programs, which are critical, and also of the need for additional volunteers to keep these services up and running.

Brenda Crawford, council member at St. Paul’s United Church, was responsible for putting together the original proposal to bring the SFCSC to the Harrowsmith manse. “We didn’t want our manse just to be a rental property; we wanted to fulfill our mandate, which is to serve and help people in the region. She added, “If I never do anything else in my lifetime I’m happy to know that I have helped this to happen.” She is not alone.

For more information visit the SFCSC’s website at www.ruralvisionscentre.org

Northern Frontenac Community Services has a storied history.

Its roots go back longer than 35 years, to 1971 and a public meeting at Sharbot Lake High School, where one major conclusion was reached. The link between the communities in the northern half of Frontenac County, which was defined as north of Verona at that time, had been severed with the closing of the railroad and a sense of community had to be re-established.

With this goal in mind a number of initiatives were undertaken. The North Frontenac News was founded in 1971; two workers were hired to analyse organisational and social service issues in North Frontenac in 1972; and the first seniors’ clubs also started up in 1972.

In 1973 people began to discuss a vital concern, the plight of the mentally handicapped in the north, resulting in the formation of the North Frontenac Association for the Mentally Handicapped, which eventually became Community Living – North Frontenac.

By 1975 North Frontenac Community Services was ready to become a stand-alone Not-For-Profit Corporation, the first multi-service centre in the Province of Ontario. Its stated concerns were summed up in two founding principles:

“(1) the residents of North Frontenac have ready access to a full array of social services and these be coordinated, appropriate and effective;

“(2) citizens be encouraged and assisted to participate in community development and the solving of common problems.”

Thirty-five years later Northern Frontenac Community Services offers a range of programming for children, youth, adults, families, and seniors using the same basic multi-service model that it pioneered back in 1975.

Adult services are still based in the “mother ship”, the former Anglican rectory on the hill behind the Oso hall in Sharbot Lake, and Children’s services are based in the Ontario Early Years Centre further north on Road 38.

Much has changed over 35 years, and NFCS has faced a number of struggles over funding and structure, but the basic model of service has not altered. A phone call to 613-279-3151 opens a door to the kind of help rural residents in Central, North, and parts of South Frontenac need, be it help with income tax preparations, in supporting older family members, family or financial troubles, and much more.

NFCS offers a number of services of its own, and through a network of affiliates it can connect people to the supports they need, often from agencies that rent office space in the adult centre.

A phone call to 613-279-2244 will connect any young family with supports for their children, from playgroups, to daycare, nursery school, information about children’s health concerns, hearing, behaviour, and more. The Child Centre provides outreach programming for children and youth, through playgroups in communities throughout the region.

A recent addition to the NFCS family of buildings is the Seniors’ Centre, located beside the Sharbot Lake United Church.

After 35 years of service, NFCS is taking the opportunity to host a celebration next week.

35th Anniversary Family Day Event: On Thursday, 26th August, at Oso Township Beach, Sharbot Lake, Northern Frontenac Community Services would like to invite the community to come out to their 35th anniversary celebration, a free BBQ serving hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and pop to go along with some great children’s activities - air castles, pony rides, and face painting for the little ones, and local musicians playing for the adults. The event will run from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

In addition, a youth dance is taking place at the Oso Hall from 6 to 9pm, for youth in grades 4 to 8, cost of $6 per person. Sound on Sound Productions has been hired for a great light show along with awesome music. Canteen will be on site serving pop, water, chips and chocolate bars.

CHILD & YOUTH TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM UPDATE: Wow! Summer is almost over and our new program has been up and running for almost 8 months. We have had a very busy and successful summer with the program getting more use and with a very successful fundraising dinner/silent auction in August. We would like to thank to the volunteers, donors and the community for making it a huge success.

We started with an unbelievable donation from Murray’s Music (Murray Northey) and the Flinton Recreation Committee of $626.00. This money came from ticket sales for a fiddle at the Flinton Jamboree. Thanks to Murray and the Flinton Rec. Committee and to everyone at the Jamboree who bought tickets. All of the money donated and raised at the fundraiser will go into our subsidy fund to help with the costs to families using the transportation program.

Some ways the program is being used so far:

Weekly transportation to a focus group for youth (month of July); Medical transportation; Dental appointments; Helping to get parents to work and kids to daycare.

With school starting, there are many more uses for the program such as, after-school programs, and getting to co-op placements. Parents who are already transporting their own child(ren) to and from school events may want to consider becoming a volunteer driver to help other children be able to participate as well. Anyone who is interested in becoming a volunteer of the program can contact Cheryl Hartwick or Pat Vlasic at 613-336-8934.

We are looking forward to an incredible fall and hoping to see the program grow. Helping our children, youth and their families will help us grow strong, vibrant communities.

GRIEF SUPPORT PROGRAM: "Grief is like peeling off the layers of an onion." Grief presents itself often and must be dealt with one layer at a time. Land O' Lakes Community Services and Maschke Funeral Home is offering, free of charge, an aftercare program "Navigating the Maze". The group will meet weekly at first, move to bi-weekly and then monthly for 2 hours per session, eginning Sept. 16 and ending Dec 23, at the LOLCS Board Room. Space is limited, for more information or to register, please call Pam at 336-8934 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Derek at 336-6873 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

FALLS PREVENTION WORKSHOP: Land O' Lakes Community Services is hosting a "Stay On Your Feet" falls prevention program in conjunction with the KFL&A Health Unit. Research shows that most falls are predictable and preventable. Falls are the leading cause of hospital admissions due to injuries. One in three seniors 65 and older fall each year. One of the greatest costs to an individual is loss of independence. Please join us on Sept. 21 at the Northbrook Lions Hall for a free, one-hour presentation on Fall Prevention. For more information please call Pam Lemke at LOLCS 613-336-8934 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Photo: Arlene Uens, Greg Adams, Karen McGregor.

Word slipped out in mid-July that St. Lawrence College was going to locate their new Sharbot Lake-based Employment Service Centre at the site of the former Stedman’s store on Garrett Street.

The store, which had been vacant for a couple of years, has had a solid history as a retail venue, so community members were curious about how it would serve as an office space.

“When community members walk in here,” said Karen McGregor, the co-ordinator of the new centre, “they almost always say the same thing. ‘I can’t believe how big this space is, and how much like a big city office space it is.’”

The space might have an urban feel, but use of the office and all of its services is easy and informal, as befits a rural service centre.

In addition to the desks that are occupied by the three employees that staff the centre, there are two banks of four new computers in the middle of the room, all of which have high-speed internet access and a number of employment-related software packages installed.

There is desk space available with each computer as well, and they are available for use by anyone who is registered with the centre. There is also a bulletin board with job postings at the entrance to the centre, and there are comfortable couches. Free coffee is available every day of the week.

On the day I visited, two people were working away at the computers, using them as their own mini-offices as they developed their own employment plans. In addition to computers, they were using the telephone, printing, faxing and email services the centre offers.

Among the programs that are featured at the Employment Resource Centre is the Second Career Program, which provides an opportunity for people who have been in the work force for a number of years to receive additional post-secondary education.

Another program that is promoted is the Ontario Self-Employment Benefit, through which people can receive Employment Insurance benefits while they develop their own business. Apprenticeship information and job creation partnership services are also offered.

In addition to providing information and assistance accessing employment programming, the centre’s staff are committed to providing hands-on support, whether that means help in learning the ins and outs of certain software, help in building or fine tuning a resume, or providing referrals for people who require other kinds of training than is offered locally at Northern Connections, or at other locations.

“Our focus is clearly fixed on helping people gain employment,” said Karen McGregor, “and we are invested in the local community.”

It helps that two of the three staff members at the centre are from the local area, inlcuding McGregor herself, who lives in Sharbot Lake, and Arlene Uens from Mountain Grove.

“Sure, a lot of the work in this area is seasonal, but on the flip side of that there is plenty of time during the year for us to offer different kinds of training,” Karen McGregor said.

In addition to referrals, the centre’s staff will be offering training sessions on site in the coming weeks and months, including a fall prevention training course for roofers that will be offered by Greg Adams, the resource co-ordinator at the centre, and service training workshops that will be offered by other staff members.

The Employment Centre is charged with serving the population in Central and North Frontenac, and staff will be doing outreach throughout the region.

“Our goal is to eliminate barriers to employment, be they education-related, transportation-related, or whatever they may be. To do that, we will use our own resources and those of other groups and agencies wherever they are located,” said Karen McGregor.

Thus far, the centre has been a success. Since holding a soft opening at the beginning of September, almost 150 people have visited, and the grand opening of the Sharbot Lake Employment Centre is still over a month away. It will be held on Wednesday, November 3 (look for details in the Frontenac News in October).

Through St. Lawrence College, employment services are also offered in Sydenham at the South Frontenac Employment Resource Centre, and in Northbrook at Land O’Lakes Community Services.

Photo: Participants and staff at the SFCSC's Rural Women's Group in Harrowsmith

One of the new services offered at the Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation’s (SFCSC) new Harrowsmith Centre and fast gaining in popularity is the Rural Women's Group, an informal two-hour gathering where women of all ages from South, Central and North Frontenac meet together to talk, laugh and share.

Monica McWhirter is the family services coordinator with SFCSC at the Harrowsmith Centre, which heads up an umbrella of family services, and she explained how the group came about: “In the initial stages of working with women, I began to realize that many were often feeling isolated and were unaware of the services available to them in the community.”

The group meets monthly on the third Wednesday of the month from 1-3PM, and one of its goals is to connect women with a number of different services offered in the community. The meetings are geared to the specific needs of the women who attend and they have direct input in deciding which workshops and/or presentations they feel would best suit their needs. Transportation is provided to those who need it in South Frontenac.

This past Wednesday Barbara Matscheg, a CSW (Community Service Worker) student from Trillium College in Kingston, presented a talk on “Unveiling Conscious Competency” which covered various topics including setting goals, recognizing barriers, various types of motivations, and how to define “success”.

Other presentations to date have included a workshop on budgeting and finances put on by Kingston Credit Counseling, a presentation on coping by Mary Gaynor-Briese, who works as the caregiver and bereavement support coordinator at the centre, and a presentation on empowerment by Deb Kinder of the HIV/AIDS Regional Services of Kingston.

McWhirter said that the group often provides an opportunity for women to take a much-needed break. “For some, it's just a nice opportunity to get out of the house, talk, sip a coffee or tea, listen to a guest speaker and just relax.”

In the four short months that the program has been running, McWhirter says that she is already noticing the benefits. “Many women really start looking forward to the meetings and many are developing new and positive relationships. For those who tend to be somewhat isolated, they are coming out and finding and requesting specific resources and topics that they want to see addressed. It's very empowering.”

The group aims to serve all women who might be in need and McWhirter says that one important aspect of the group is that it can be preventative in nature. “Knowledge is power and it is here that women can access the resources that they might need in order to prevent a crisis situation from developing or occurring at all. We all have crises during our lifetimes. It just a matter of having the necessary tools and supports to deal with them.”

Everything is confidential at the centre and women can choose to verbalize their ideas or not. Participants are invited to fill out an evaluation at the end of each meeting and requests for particular topics or presentations can be made at that time.

The Harrowsmith Centre also offers a number of other services, including several types of financial services through the City of Kingston. These include the rent bank and utility bank, the homelessness prevention program, access to affordable housing, and access to the energy equipment upgrade program. There is also the Child and Youth Fund, which provides access to summer camp for kids, and the Caring Community Fund offered through the Hartington Community Care and Access Centre. The centre also does referrals for woman requiring other services not provided specifically through the centre but that may be available elsewhere.

David Townsend, Executive Director of SFCSC, is hoping to see the program continue on. He says, “We are very thankful to the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation, who gave us a grant to start up this program, which is the first ever opportunity to bring rural women together for education and support and which is far exceeding our expectations. The grant will allow us to run the program until December 2010, after which we are hoping that the Township of South Frontenac and the County of Frontenac together will find a way to keep this program up and running - for the sole reason that it is opening up many doors for rural women in the community.”

As the group gains popularity, demonstrating the increasing need for services for women in the area, McWhirter states that there is an ongoing need for volunteer drivers. “Many women who wanted to come today required transportation and there were no volunteer drivers to take them.”

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact the SFCSC at 613-372-2755 or toll free at 1-800-763-9610.

Photo: Candace Bertrim, Heather Balogh, Sylvia McMenemy and Ruth RuttanOn September 24, three local Advanced Footcare Nurses attended the 14th Annual Footcare Conference in Gormley, Ontario. The conference theme this year was "In Pursuit of Excellence". Ruth Ruttan is among the leading Nurse Educators in Diabetes and Footcare in Canada.Over 200 Footcare nurses attended the conference, which featured a Clinical Nurse Educator speaking on Chronic Venous Ulcers; Chiropodist Graham Curryer specializing in diabetic footcare; and keynote speaker Dini Petty, author, celebrity and entrepreneur speaking on "The Soul of the Matter".The footcare nurses attend the conference to keep up with current practices in techniques and infection control, participate in continuing education, and network with other professionals in the footcare industry.Candace Bertrim manages the footcare program at Northern Frontenac Community Services and has been providing footcare in the community for 18 years through community clinics, in-home visits and now at her own private clinic in Verona.  Sylvia McMenemy of Arden and Heather Balogh of Sharbot Lake area also manage their own private footcare businesses, providing footcare in long-term care facilities and in clients’ homes.We encourage anyone having challenges taking care of their feet to call on one of them. Taking care of yourself, one foot at a time.

Photo: Ella Branderburgt of Ella's Cafe and Bakery in Harrowsmith

The 2nd annual Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) Trade Show took place on October 21 under the bright lights at the Harrowsmith Free Methodist church's new gymnasium and 44 local businesses took part.

The show’s goal is to promote small businesses in the County of Frontenac by offering residents a chance to see what products and services are available in their own backyards while also providing business owners with an opportunity to network with other like-minded individuals.

Small businesses in the area are definitely growing, so much so in fact that the event, which was held at the Verona Lions Hall last year, had to be moved this year to the bigger Harrowsmith venue to accommodate even more businesses.

One new business owner joining the ranks this year was Ella Banderburgt of Ella's Cafe and Bakery, which just opened Oct. 1 in the former Castle Coffee building on Road 38 in Harrowsmith. Ella is offering a wide selection of full home-cooked meals that she makes from scratch, using no processed foods. She reports so far that business is booming. Ella expects to open the bakery part of the business by Nov. 1 and it is the baked goods that are her specialty. She will be offering breads, tarts and pies, plus her famous melt in your mouth shortbread cookies, which are made from a secret recipe she invented 20 years ago. She had the rich and buttery morsels on sample at the show and they looked as good as they tasted. They come plain as well as in flavors like Swiss chocolate, toffee, cafe mocha, and candy cane, to name a few. A former financial adviser who grew up in Sydenham, Ella has always wanted to run a bakery/cafe. “This business has always been a dream of mine so I just decided to make it a reality and it all came together very quickly.”

For already established businesses in the area the trade show is an opportunity to show off new products, as did Kwik Load Products of Harrowsmith. Owners Ron and Ingrid Smith established their business over a decade ago and sell various kinds of truck and car equipment. New this year, they are offering a number of different types of emergency LED lighting systems for various emergency, snow and other municipal vehicles. A large coloured billboard in their booth displayed the other products they offer including various innovative loading systems. Ron was happy to be part of the show and said, “I'm sure there are people within a 50 km radius who don't know what services we provide so the show is a good opportunity to get that information out there.”

For many local businesses the trade show represents a very local and affordable annual platform from which to promote their businesses. Thanks to the Frontenac CFDC for organizing and funding this important annual local business event.