Central Frontenac Township paid $110,000 each for the Sharbot Lake and Hinchinbrooke schools and their surrounding properties.

The township announced the purchases after a council meeting in late February, but the purchase price was not revealed at that time.

There are no firm plans for the use of the schools and township staff have not yet evaluated whether one or both of the buildings can be renovated for an alternate use in a cost-effective manner. Another alternative would be to remove the existing buildings and make use of the properties as building lots.

The need for asbestos mitigation will also have to be evaluated, as that had not been done prior to the completion of the sale.

When she announced the purchase, Mayor Frances Smith said that a public process will be undertaken to determine future uses of each property. She also said it is possible that the Sharbot Lake property might be converted to seniors' housing, and that the Hinchinbrooke site might be a good location for a single public works office and garage for the entire township.

Consolidating public works garages was one of the recommendations of a report into Central Frontenac Township operations that was completed this fall by Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer, Kelly Pender.

It is my honor to introduce to you our New Face for Relay. Vicki Babcock has taken over the reins from Lesley Smith-Merrigan to chair Relay for Life 2016.

Vicki brings with her a wealth of knowledge about Survivors as she was Chair and Co-Chair of Survivors on the committee for a number of years. As well, she brings first-hand experience on how cancer impacts the lives of those affected by this horrible disease. Vicki’s daughter, Kylie, is a survivor. A month before she turned two she was diagnosed with hypatoblastoma Cancer (a tumor on her liver that spread to her lungs). She is now eight and still going strong.

So be sure to mark June 18, 2016 on your calendar and once again we will be going from noon to midnight.

Once again we will have a full line up of entertainment including our very own HD Supply and Feral Five, who have already confirmed their attendance!! The day will be jam packed but in order to make this happen we are looking for more committee members, so if you are interested, please let Vicki or any other member of the Relay for Life Committee know. The committee is geared up for the Relay and have lots of ideas to make this year a successful one.

Registration is open so be sure to get your team registered; we are hoping for 25 teams for the 2016 Relay.

Our first incentive for teams is that if you happen to be one of the first 10 teams to register for Relay by January 17, your team will go in a draw for…(drum roll please…..)…..FRONT ROW SEATS when your favourite band FERAL FIVE play – and munchies! What a sweet deal – so be sure to get your team lined up and registered by January 17 in order to get in on this.

When Vicki was asked what made her decide to take on the role of chair, she said, “After being survivor chair on the relay committee for five years I decided to take on the role of chair because I love being part of relay and a great committee and community, and after seeing first hand what this horrible disease can do I want to continue doing everything I can to beat cancer. I am hoping that everyone will come out and support this great event and help us beat this disease together."

What changes can we expect to see for Relay 2016? The registration fee will be $15 for everyone, with no increases as the date approaches. We hope that each participant can raise $150. This year, when doing a team fundraiser, we ask that you separate out the money raised by each participant - we are doing some new team incentives, with hopes of bringing out new and past participants.

For information call 613-375-6525 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Central Frontenac Township and the Limestone District School Board have come to terms over the sale of the former Hinchinbrooke School (Parham) and Sharbot Lake Public School properties.

After an in camera session at the end of their regular Council meeting on November 24, Central Frontenac Council passed a motion in public session authorizing the two purchases. The price of the two properties was not included in the motion, and will be released at a later date.

Mayor Frances Smith said the township and the school board have been in negotiations for several months about the township buying the Sharbot Lake School property, and at the last minute the school board brought Hinchinbooke school into the picture.

“When we had just about come to terms over the Sharbot Lake School property, the board asked us if we would consider looking again at the Hinchinrooke School property. When we had looked at it earlier, the board was asking for $220,000 and we were not interested in paying that much. Since that time it had gone onto the open market and the price had dropped. We made them an offer for it, and this time they accepted it,” she said.

In order to buffer the township's budget, the closing date for the Sharbot Lake School was the end of November, 2015, and for Hinchinbrooke it is the end of November, 2016.

“We have unspent money from township projects this year which we can put to the Sharbot Lake School, and we will budget for the Hinchinbrooke sale in 2016. Even though the closing for Hinchinbrooke is set for the end of next year, the School Board has agreed to grant us access to the property before then,” Smith said.

Smith did not rule out the township taking out a loan to pay for the two purchases.

She said that there are no fixed plans for either site, but Council has talked about the potential for senior's housing for the Sharbot Lake site, and a central location for a township garage at the Parham site.

“We will go to the public for ideas about what the best use will be for the two properties,” she said.

The township is not interested in taking on any major ongoing costs for property maintenance, she added, so any proposed use for either property will need a firm business plan before council will seriously consider it.

Frontenac County has a goal of establishing a five unit senior's housing complex in each of the Frontenac Townships, and has some money set aside to facilitate that.

Central Frontenacs currently has two township garages up and running, one at the Olden Waste site on Highway 7 near Mountain Grove, and the other on Road 38, 10 km south of Parham.

Both sites have relatively new salt and sand storage domes.

In an effort to share ideas and to encourage networking amongst the area's local small business owners, members of the Central Frontenac Development Committee held their most recent “Business over Breakfast” event at the RKY camp in Parham, where camp staff served up breakfast and offered guests a cozy and campy backdrop to the meeting.

Though just 20 guests attended, a wealth of important information was shared with small business owners thanks to committee member Karen McGregor, who is also the coordinator at St. Lawrence College's Employment Services located in Sharbot Lake.

McGregor spoke on a number of topics, including the hiring incentives that are available through St. Lawrence, and how business owners can use social media to improve their business profile, build their customer base and promote their services.

On the first topic, McGregor spoke of the various supports her organization offers small businesses, one of which is to help find a job matching process that would work for employers, and which could include planning a job fair, collecting resumes, or providing pre-training to potential employees. Employee training could include health and safety training, WHMIS (Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System), and more and McGregor said that these types of training opportunities would ensure that potential employees are properly trained for new jobs. Once an employer decides whom they wish to hire, the employer can then access certain incentives that can help support the employee for several weeks and that could support them through the initial transition period until they are working independently in the new job.

Regarding social media McGregor stressed, “It is free, it is out there and for business owners who say they do not have the time, they should get someone to do it for them. It takes just a few minutes a day and it will definitely pay off in the long run.”

One idea that came from the meeting was for the CF Business Development Committee to start a local community business association, which would help small businesses promote the products and services that they offer. “We feel that as a network of businesses in a rural area, we would have more strength in a group than we do independently and that many of our marketing and advertising campaigns could be coordinated so that they could be more effective and less costly.”

The CF Business Development Committee has plans to coordinate a local business association list in order to have a comprehensive data base of all the businesses in the area. McGregor said she was very surprised to learn at the meeting that many people who attended, some of whom have lived in the community for as long as 50 years, have never been to the RKY camp before. “That really surprised me and is just another indicator that we have a wealth of resources in our community that we are not tapping into. By forming a local business association, we can share that information so that everyone is getting equal billing and opportunities can be made apparent so that we do not have go outside our community to find what we need.”

Those who missed the meeting but who might be interested in being a part of community business association can visit the Central Frontenac Development Committee's Face book page.

The Friday night horse pull is a signature event at the Parham Fair, and this year was no exception. Long before the demolition derby or even the midway were part of the fair, the horse pull filled the stands.

It is a mesmerizing sight: the horses champing at the bit as their owners pull them back before they simultaneously drop the clasp in place, loosen the reins and jump out of the way as the horses bolt forward and begin pulling on thousands of pounds of concrete slabs stacked on a sleigh that is almost embedded in the soft, brown earth.

And of the people behind the horses, who feed and train and live with the horses year round, the king of them all in the Godfrey/Parham area has to be Bill Lee. Bill has won the horse pull countless times, and when he is not working on his own team he helps less experienced horsemen handle their horses.

He not only participates in the Parham Fair each year, but at other fairs too, as well as in the annual Christmas parades. Also, when any charity or organization needs a team of horses for wagon rides, Bill has always been the one they call.

About a month ago, Bill Lee suffered a serious accident while training his horses. He lost an eye and his face and body are battered. It was hard to imagine the Parham Fair Horse Pull without him, but thankfully that did not happen. Although he wasn't in the pull, he nevertheless made it to the fair, having almost forced his way out of Kingston General Hospital earlier in the week. He sat in a lawn chair next to his car by the announcer’s booth at the main ring, and visited with dozens of friends while shouting encouragement to the teams throughout the light and heavy horse pulls.

There were a dozen teams in the heavy horse pull this year, more than have participated in many years. Over $2,500 was raised on Friday night to help Bill out. Some of that money came from the fair board, which donated $1 from each Friday night admission fee. The Teamsters (Ottawa Valley Horse Pull Association) donated $900 and the rest of the money came from passing the bucket at the fair.

Other highlights on Friday night included the cowboy/cowgirl contest, and a performance by the Old Habits, followed by HD Supply.

Saturday was Family Day at this year's fair, and through a combination of new features - no charge for all of the events aside from midway rides, all-day fixed price passes to the midway, and brilliant weather - the fair was packed with kids this year.

One of the highlights was the Critter Corral, which was put together by Sasha Baillargeon of 4th Lake Road.

“It was really something,” said Fair Board President Wendy Parliament. “The old chicken barn was set up as a farm playground that was packed with animals. The kids went in there and didn't want to come out.”

Aside from the corral, there was a sheep shearing demonstration, a robotic cow from the Ontario Dairy Association that people could milk, and country games all afternoon.

“We are focusing on hands-on events for kids and families, and keeping the price down, and it seems to be working,” said Parliament.

This year, Sunday saw the return of the Demolition Derby to the Parham Fair.

When the derby did not take place last year because there weren't enough volunteers around with skills and strength to prepare for and put on a derby, some of the perennial participants missed it. So, they came forward and were instrumental in bringing it back.

“Dustin and Alan Kehoe and Spencer Robinson stepped in and put machinery and manpower to work and we had 19 cars, all local, in the derby this year, which was a great success,” said Parliament.

The fair has taken a turn towards local entertainers as well; Shawn McCullough and One Busted Ego were the headline bands on Saturday night.

Wendy Parliament said that over 60 volunteers, working anywhere from one hour to four full days, made the fair a success this year. The fair has also broken even this year and in a month or so, organising for the 2016 (124th) edition will start up.

Anyone who is interested in getting involved in some aspect of the fair is encouraged to go to parhamfair.ca and click on the contact link.

Signs are up for the 2015 Inroads Studio Tour, a familiar event for over 20 years here in Central Frontenac Township. This year, there are nine open studios and a dozen fine artisans displaying their work; hours are from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Sept. 5-7 of Labour Day Weekend. Now is the time of year when friends and visitors to my shop are likely to say something like: “You must be really busy getting ready for the Inroads Tour.” These comments got me thinking about what it is we do to prepare for Inroads – and realizing how long the process really takes.

Tour preparation began in January or February when former participants decided whether they wanted to do the tour again this year. With snow still on the ground, the interested parties got together, in person or via e-mail, and volunteered for various roles (chair, treasurer, secretary, sign manager, etc.) Previous tour members and possible new participants were contacted, commitments were made and cheques mailed to the treasurer so that the brochure co-ordinator could assemble the information and brochures could be printed to be given out during the summer.

For all tour members, preparation throughout the summer involves distributing brochures and generally promoting the tour whenever the opportunity arises. Closer to the event, we put up small signs and dust off the larger signs that we have stored, making sure we have enough and that they are in good repair. I think we all look around our studios and do whatever re-arranging and cleaning seems necessary.

For those of us on the tour who have a shop that is open throughout the summer, much of the pre-tour activity is what we would be doing anyway – filling current orders, replacing stock that has sold through the summer, and trying to keep ahead of the general mess generated in an active artist’s studio. Joanne Pickett (Arden Pottery) says that her usual long days just get longer. At this time of year, Joanne can often be found in her studio at 2 am, throwing pots or waiting for firings to be finished – fortunately, she finds these night vigils peaceful and rather pleasant.

Judith Versavel, who runs Gallery on the Bay in Arden, summarized her preparations for Labour Day thus: “Sprucing up the garden, mowing the lawn, washing gallery windows - again, rearranging items for maximum show, helping my guest artist and trying to figure out what to wear! Oh yeah … and trying to get new paintings and jewellery finished at the last minute!!!”

Here at the Arden Batik shop, I have completed some new pictures, and plan to get them matted and/or framed before the tour. However, I am also going to start some batiks that I know I will not finish, so there will be a selection of interesting pieces in process for tour visitors to see – and for me to demonstrate with during the weekend.

Nancy, at Hilderbrook Studio, tells me that she has some new necklaces, and is “madly busy” making more. Jo Crivellaro has been working on a new product -- collaged mirrors with hunting and fishing themes. She has yet to do the weed cutting and tidying up around her owner-built house in the woods, but will certainly be busy until the tour date. Laurel Minutillo, (Laurel Leaf Studio) has also been busy creating new work; she will be showing painted ceramic jewellery as well as new roller printed metal earrings and forged pendants for necklaces. The worst part about getting ready for the show, she says, is that you never think you are ready enough. Alas, how true!

Nick Hally, our sign man, puts up the large highway signs, and makes sure that all studios are supplied with the signage they need. He and Annette, at Maple Hollow Studio, write that they “ensure that we have enough of our various stock on hand for the full weekend, make sure our signage is all up and visible the night before the first day, cut the grass, weed the garden and make sure our whole place wherever customers will be going is neat, tidy and welcoming, and provide adequate seating and iced bottled water for tired feet and legs.”

Doreen Morey doesn’t show at her home studio, but at her cottage location, so her preparation includes setting up a tent for display and arranging a temporary work space on the cottage deck. She sews in preparation for the tour, and continues sewing throughout the weekend.

For those who are guests at another artisan’s studio, the process involves less house cleaning and more carrying of boxes. Jill Ferguson, guest at Gallery on the Bay, writes: “Worst part is packing and carting all the stuff and the best part is looking forward to meeting new people and seeing regular visitors. I have my must do cards and coasters ready to go and all made with prints of original artwork. I still hope to prepare some mini-prints so I guess that's on my wish list. I have several new landscapes of Ontario country scenes ... roads, fields, waterfalls, trees.”

Janet and Steve MacIntyre are guests at Ken Waller’s studio, and enjoy both the tour and a good visit with the Wallers. This year, Steve and Janet have been trying an unusual jewelry making technique called broom casting. Yes, it involves brooms – they hope you will come and see their new work and find out how it is made.

In fact, all of us look forward to our tour visitors, and hope that the preparations we have made will mean a pleasant tour for all who come and share, for a day, our work, our studios, and a bit of our lives.  

The Parham Fair is all set for this weekend starting tomorrow, Friday Aug. 21 at 5:30pm with the opening ceremonies and running until Sunday, Aug. 23 in the afternoon with the Demolition Derby to end the weekend with a bang. Cost of admission is $5 a day for Friday and Saturday, with children 12 and under free. Admission to the Derby on Sunday is $10. Ride All Day Bracelets for the Saturday Midway rides are $22 when purchased ahead of time at the Parham General Store - Hope's Place. They are $33 when purchased at the fair, so it pays to be early.

The Parham Fair is a great place to take a family, and show off your musical talents, crops, art and animals! If you wish to enter your pet into the pet show, registration starts at 5pm Friday night before the opening ceremonies.

Bands set to play Friday night are Gilbert Riddell’s old time country band, Old Habits, at 7pm and rock band, HD Supply, at 8:30pm. Saturday bands are local country/rock stars One Busted Ego and country music aficionado Shawn McCullough.

There are contests to be entered for every age and hobby, including but not limited to: crafts, art, knitting, singing, quilting and children’s writing. For gardeners bring your vegetables, fruits, grains, flowers, pumpkins and herbs to see if you can win bragging rights. Do you cook? There are contests available for Honey, Maple Syrup, Jams, Jellies, Bottled Goods and Baking so come out and show them what you’ve got.

The weekend promises to be sunny and warm. Bring your lawn chairs for the shows, park your cars for free at the liberty of Darryl & Gail Fox and Randy McCullough, and get ready for local charm and great entertainment.

The Parham Fair has been celebrating local talent and farmers for 123 years, so come and show your support! For more information visit www.parhamfair.ca

President of the Parham Agricultural Society, Wendy Parliament, says interaction is the key principle behind this year’s version of the Parham Fair. “We wanted to plan an event where people young and old could enjoy trying their hand at farming activities.”

Friday night’s Opening Ceremonies include the Hay Bale Rolling Contest and the Cattle Calling Contest. The whole family can get in on the Pet Show and the Best Dressed Cowboy or Cowgirl contests.

Saturday is family day at the fair. Critter Corral will include ‘Moooonica’, a cow that teaches you how to milk her, from the Ontario Dairy Farmers. There will also be a children’s hay bale playground, lassoing games, horseshoe games, a giant corn-filled sandbox with farm toys, baby chicks and goats and a Petting Zoo of farm animals with free pony rides. Displays will encourage everyone to learn a little about today’s local farming practices. Extra seating in the shade will be provided to allow parents and grandparents to rest while the younger ones play in the Critter Corral barn.

The afternoon will feature Country Fair Games for kids “of all ages”. The ever-popular egg toss, pie eating, log sawing and nail hammering will be featured in front of the grandstand. Kids races, shoe toss, and sack races will take place in the Fair Games arena.

There is a “Unlimited Ride” program in effect for Saturday’s fair. This makes it easy for parents to outfit their family for a day full of midway entertainment. Coupons for ride bracelets can be purchased at local stores. Check the fair website for details.

The Exhibition Palace will feature displays of handiwork ranging from garden crops to works of art. Just outside the Palace the fair has added four new picnic tables to allow lots of room for people to sit down with meals and treats provided by the local churches.

There will be spectator sports as well. Friday night features the Horse Pull, Saturday morning the Cattle Show and Saturday afternoon the Miniature Horse Show and Lawn Tractor Races. Sunday afternoon the Demolition Derby returns. There will be concerts featuring local talent both Friday and Saturday night. Friday night “Old Habits” opens the evening and “HD Supply” shuts down the midway. On Saturday night “One Busted Ego” warms things up for “Shawn McCullough”.

This will be the Parham Fair’s 123rd year. For more than a century local volunteers have been working to highlight agriculture, horticulture and rural living in an event that brings the community together.  

This year’s edition of the Parham Fair is calling on you to share your creative side. The Exhibition Palace will be packed full of projects from canning preserves and baking, to needlework, paintings, sketches, pottery and photographs. Whether you’re a grandparent or a pre-schooler there are opportunities for you to share your passions.

The Palace is one of the most popular destinations at the fair. It provides a rare chance to share your own interests and to catch an eyeful of ideas for future projects. The colourful arrangement of home garden vegetables and flowers, beautiful photographs of local scenes and delicious smelling fresh baking brings olden days back to mind.

Participants bring their entries to the Parham Fairgrounds on Thursday evening, August 20th, between 5 and 8 pm. There is a $10 fee for adults to enter competitions – children’s entries are free. This gives you free admittance to Friday and Saturday’s events over the fair weekend. Volunteers organize the items and set them out for judging on Friday morning. By Friday evening the Exhibition Palace is open and busy with admirers!

There is a demolition derby for the mechanically inclined. Get that old car running again for a good smash dash in the derby ring.

All of the contests and other fair activities are outlined in the fair book available online through their website (parhamfair.ca) or their Facebook page (Parham Fair). There are also galleries of pictures from past fairs to enjoy. If you have some memorabilia from past fairs – trophies, silver plates, etc. – you might like to loan them to the fair board to display this year. They can be contacted through their website (parhamfair.ca).

Prizes for the various competitions range from a toonie to over $100 in gift certificates and prizes donated by local businesses. Last year’s top winner took home over $200 in prize money! This 123-year-old tradition is not to miss!

Residents who live on the Raymo Road were happy to hear that even though the Township of Central Frontenac was unable to provide a vehicle passage over Fish Creek where two culverts collapsed two weeks ago for liability reasons, at least a walkway was going to be put in.

Kyle Labbett, public works supervisor, said at a meeting of Council last Tuesday (June 23) that, “A walkway that will be suitable for someone pushing a stroller will be put in.”

However, instead of making it easier to walk over the road, the township ended up blocking the way completely with cement forms, even putting up a berm to discourage any kind of traffic.

“This is the opposite of what they said they were going to do at the meeting,” said Steve McCullough, who lives on the Raymo Road. “They made it harder to walk over the road, not easier.”

When contacted, Kyle Labbett said that the planned walkway hit a snag when crews went to put it in late last week.

“We had planned to smooth out a path on the west side of the roadway, but when the backhoe went to do the work, a sinkhole developed between the two pipes. At that point we realized there was no safe way to put in a walkway, so we had to block off the road. Again it is a matter of liability,” he said.

With the road now fully blocked off, Labbett said the township is scrambling to put in a final fix as soon as possible.

He said that they were able to get a geo-technical study done in two days, when it usually takes up to a month, and the engineering work is proceeding. He expects to have a proposal ready for Council approval within a week or so. Mayor Frances Smith said that Council will hold a special meeting as soon as staff is ready to provide options, including costs and time lines, for the repair.

In the meantime, the only way to cross Fish Creek from Raymo Road is to go south, take Echo Lake to Oak Flats Road and come out to Road 38 at Piccadilly.

The Raymo Road culverts were inspected in 2013, as part of a bi-annual inspection of all bridges and major culverts in the township. It was determined that it had one to four years of life left in it and was slated for reconstruction in 2018.

On the day that the road caved in, trucks from Crains' Construction were carrying rocks to repair a CP rail crossing on the Raymo Road.

“Crains' is not responsible for what happened,” said Labbett. “There are no load restrictions on Central Frontenac roads.”