Feature Article - March 23, 2006

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Feature Article - March 23, 2006

Land o'Lakes community services:Adult protective services

by Cheryl Hartwick

Jilene Tooley is the Adult Protective Services worker for the Adult Protective Services Program. The program is a part of Land o’ Lakes Community Services providing supports and services to adults with developmental disabilities who live in north Lennox & Addington county, specifically people living in the Kaladar, Flinton, Northbrook , Cloyne and Denbigh areas and who are over the age of 18. Funding is from the Ministry of Community and Social Services, as well as from community donations and fundraising efforts.

The belief that all people have the right to equal opportunity, the right to live as an equal in their communities and the right to be supported as they choose goals and life paths is the basis of the Adult Protective Services Program. Services are offered both short-term (situational or crisis support) and long-term (case management) and include advocacy, case management, form completion and comprehension, life skills training and much more. The key is to assist clients to help themselves by providing them the necessary tools.

Fundraising efforts and donations from the community make it possible for the participants of the Adult Protective Services Program to enjoy extra activities that may not otherwise be possible. In the past fiscal year alone, several people participated in some day trips.

Jilene and the participants would like to thank everyone who has helped them. Earlier in the fiscal year, the Land o’ Lakes Lions club donated to the program, which allowed six individuals to participate in theatre trips to Napanee. The Public Relations & Promotions committee of LOLCS contributed funds last summer and eighteen participants enjoyed a wonderful trip on the Kingston Thousand Island Boat Cruise.

Most recently, on March 11, there was a delicious “all-you-can-eat” spaghetti dinner at the Barrie township hall in Cloyne. Thanks to North Frontenac township for the donation of the hall, the Public Relations & Promotions committee and other volunteers who worked hard to serve about 60 people. The approximate $400 raised will be used to help organize trips for this summer.

A major obstacle for the Adult Protective Services Program is a lack of volunteer drivers for these special outings. If you are interested in donating some time and your vehicle to take the participants on trips, please let us know. We always welcome new volunteers and remember - you would get to enjoy the trip as well and have some great new experiences.

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Feature Article - March 23, 2006

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Feature Article - March 23, 2006

LOLCS must move

by JeffGreen

At a sometimes bitter public meeting over a zoning issue, Addington Highlands Council has decided that Land o’ Lakes Community Services (LOLCS) have two years to vacate the converted house in Northbrook they use for their offices. Neighbours who presented a petition calling for just such an outcome, took pains to point out they were supportive of Land o’ Lakes Community Services and the work the organization does in the surrounding community, but they want their neighbourhood to be entirely residential, in line with the way it was originally zoned.

“I support Community Services completely, but I don’t think they should be located where they are now; it’s not a good place for them,” said Dale Northey, who presented the petition.

The issue came forward as the result of an application for a zoning amendment by LOLCS’ landlord, developer Ellery Thompson. The building is located within a subdivision Thompson developed, and has rented to LOLCS for the past ten years.

It was recently brought to council’s attention that the building is located on a lot that is zoned as residential, just as Thompson was preparing to construct a 22’ by 26’ extension to the building to accommodate the LOLCS’ increasing need for offices and storage space. Accordingly Ellery Thompson applied for a zoning amendment to the zoning bylaw to permit LOLCS to remain there.

A public meeting took place on March 6 to consider the zoning amendment bylaw and at that time a group of people living in the vicinity of the office expressed their concerns about what could happen to the building if LOLCS ever moved. They pressed council to ensure that if LOLCS moved no other commercial venture could be established in the location.

Council decided to prepare a second bylaw, which stated that the zoning would revert to residential should LOLCS move out, and they set a second public meeting for March 20.

At the first meeting people who spoke of their concerns made it clear they did not have an issue with LOLCS, just with the potential for other uses of the building. However, there was an underlying concern about Land o’ Lakes Community Services running their agency from the location.

“I realized at the first meeting that Council was not hearing the point that we preferred LOLCS to move, because the area was always designated as a purely residential one, and they would be better served by a proper office, so I organised a petition,” recalls Dale Northey.

The petition stated that LOLCS should move and no other commercial venture should be permitted. It received widespread support from people living in the immediate area.

At the second meeting, several people talked about some coarse language voiced by LOLCS clients, and police presence there on a couple of occasions.

“I don’t understand this,” said Councillor Bill Cox, “at the last meeting I heard the residents say they had no problem with Community Services being there, and now I see a petition saying they don’t agree with Community Services being there. What happened?”

“The message is, we support Community Services. We just don’t support them being located where they are, which is not really suitable for them,” said Dale Northey.

Susan Andrew Allen, the Executive Director of LOLCS, attended the meeting. She was asked why LOLCS had asked Ellery Thompson to increase their office space rather than looking for a location elsewhere in Northbrook .

“We looked at other alternatives, but we couldn’t afford them,” she said.

Councillor Eythel Grant then proposed an amendment to the second bylaw, granting permission for LOLCS to remain in the building for two years, after which time they must move. Ellery Thompson said he was willing to put on the extension to the building for LOLCS to use, and could accept the two-year limitation. Somewhat more reluctantly, Susan Andrews Allen said LOLCs could live with this. Many of the neighbours preferred limiting LOLCS to one year, and expressed that opinion in a straw vote.

“At least give us two years to work this out,” said Susan Andrew Allen.

Council decided to give LOLCS two years.

After the meeting, Susan Andrew Allen talked to the News in her cramped office.

“This wasn’t exactly what we planned,” she said, “but we have an ad-hoc building committee and perhaps someone will see this as an opportunity to develop some office space in Northbrook .”

(Cheryl Hartwick of Land o’ Lakes Community Services has been writing a series of articles about the agency’s history and services. This week’s article is about the Adult Protective Services Program. It can be found on page 12)

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Feature Article - March 23, 2006

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Feature Article - March 23, 2006

Addington Highlands considers telephone and internet voting:AHCouncil,March 20, 2006

by Jule KochBrison

At the Denbigh meeting, Addington Highlands Council discussed the possibility of replacing mail-in voting with Intelivote, a system of voting by touch tone phone, Internet, or cell phone. Intelivote Systems Inc. is headquartered in Nova Scotia . With the system they provide, PIN numbers are mailed to electors to enable them to vote by phone or online. Township Clerk/CAO Jack Pauhl presented an 18 point list that compared Intelivote favourably with mail-in voting.

Some of the advantages are:

- With Intelivote the elector gets positive and immediate confirmation that he or she has voted; mail-in ballots, on the other hand, can get lost, and there is no confirmation that they have been processed.

- No lead time is required for receiving and mailing ballots in; ballots can be cast right up to the last minute on voting day.

- Intelivote would eliminate the labour of handling, opening, sorting, validating, counting, storing and destroying ballots. Also, the count is immediately available after voting ends.

- Visually impaired voters are given options, including telephone and internet screen recognition.

- Candidates are able to print out updated lists of the voters that have already cast their ballots (but not how they voted), thereby avoiding the nuisance of pitching their campaign to people who have already voted.

- Intelivote Systems Inc. would match the cost of mail-in voting.

Reeve Hook said that electronic voting would be a very good service for seasonal residents. Some councilors expressed concern about the security of the system, and Jack Pauhl said that Intelivote uses a number of protocols to ensure against fraud and misuse.

Councilor Bill Cox asked where the votes are stored; “In a computer somewhere”, Jack Pauhl replied.

Mail-in voting has already eliminated polling stations, so Intelivote would make no difference in that respect; however Pauhl noted that Intelivote would be a problem for people who don’t have touch tone phones. Councillor Louise Scott confirmed that she knows residents who still have rotary phones. Pauhl suggested that voters could use the township’s CAP sites.

No municipalities in Ontario have yet adopted Intelivote, but Pauhl said that South Frontenac and Madawaska Valley are considering the system. Pauhl is also investigating another alternate voting system, about which he will present a report at a future meeting. Council will have to make a decision no later than August.

WIND POWER: The engineering firm Conestoga Rovers has compiled a list of about 50 landowners in Addington Highlands whose properties are in higher wind areas and may be suitable for wind power generation. Conestoga Rovers will be contacting these people, and Council voted to draft a joint letter with Conestoga Rovers to mail to the landowners. An information package on wind power generation will accompany the letters. Jack Pauhl commented that an amendment to the Official Plan might be needed to establish wind farms.

AUDIBLE PEDESTRIAN SIGNAL (APS): Work on the Northbrook stoplight is expected to begin after Labour Day. Addington Highlands asked the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to install an Audible Pedestrian Signal with the stoplight and the ministry agreed to do so - provided Addington Highlands meets one condition: the township must provide training for visually impaired residents in using the signal. MTO is concerned about pedestrians being injured if they don’t know how to use the APS. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) in Kingston is fully funded to provide training to people who are its clients; however the township would have to pay the CNIB to come up to Northbrook to train people who are not visually impaired enough to be CNIB clients, but who would nevertheless need to use the APS. The cost to the township would be about $425, and council voted to go ahead with the CNIB training.

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Feature Article - March 9, 2006

Feature Article

March 9, 2006

FromParham toNewYork City and back again

by Jeff Green

Life on the farm can become a bit of a grind by the time mid-February rolls around, and even though a conveyer belt takes care of most of his daily barn cleaning job, Lynn Cronk was getting a bit tired of feeding the 30 or so head of cattle and 24 horses he maintains on his family farm near Parham.

So when his wife Leslie saw a Canadian Press article about a call for genuine cowboys to audition for a publicity campaign in New York City , they decided it was worth a try. And a mistake in the e-mail address in the article may have given Lynn a bit of a leg up on the competition.

“The email address didn’t work, so I phoned the office of the Whig Standard, where the article appeared, to see if they could find the right address.”

The next thing you know, Lynn ’s picture was on he cover of the Kingston daily, and the resulting publicity helped secure him a place in the campaign.

A week later, Lynn, Leslie, and their youngest daughter, Savannah , were off to New York City for three days of media events featuring a few cowboys, and a few models dressed up like cowboys. Even though the event was sponsored by the Alberta Tourist Board, there were participants from Texas , some hired models dressed up like cowboys, and Lynn Cronk from Ontario among the mix.

The publicity campaign was set up rather quickly. The Alberta Tourist Board wanted the people of New York City to know that the popular movie, Brokeback Mountain , was filmed in Southern Alberta . So they hired some cowboys and some actors and challenged New Yorkers to tell them apart.

For the Cronks it was an opportunity to live the high life in New York for a couple of days. They were greeted at the New York airport by a limousine, which whisked them to their hotel. Three days of events followed, at places like the Rockefeller Centre, Times Square , and other landmarks, attended by television, radio and newspaper reporters.

“After all that, it was nice to get back to Parham,” Leslie said.

The publicity surrounding the trip has been good for business at Eastern Cowboy Horseback Adventures, a four-year-old trail riding business that Lynn and Leslie run on their sprawling 2,500 acre farm.

They started the business after Lynn took early retirement from Corrections Canada, and the bottom fell out of the beef market. Two factors were in their favour. First, the Cronk farm had a long history with horses, being one of the last farms to keep running on horse power when Lynn was young. Second, Lynn ’s father Norm kept buying up the land surrounding his farm as neighbours grew old and left the farm.

With 24 horses, the capacity to board horses that people bring with them, and a series of lakefront cabins with corral facilities, Eastern Cowboy Horseback Adventures is attractive to a large range of trail enthusiasts, from people looking for a one hour ride, to families and horse clubs who want to ride the trails for a week.

At first the business was small, but the last two years have been very busy,” Lynn said. This year is looking to be busier than ever. “We are getting bookings for mid-April through to October,” said Leslie.

Farm families are used to struggling for markets, but tying their business to leisure activity is beginning to pay off for the Cronks. “This business is so perfect for us it’s scary,” said Leslie Cronk.

With the publicity that came from the trip to New York City , Eastern Ontario Horseback Adventures is receiving enquiries from people in the United States and beyond.

Feature Article - March 2, 2006

Feature Article

March 2, 2006

Letters to theEditor

Scott Reid's Promises Promise #2: “I will consult constituents on key issues and act according to their instructions.” Scott Reid’s Annual Report to Constituents, January December 2005.

O.K. Scott, time to put your money where your mouth is. Should Minister Emerson be recalled to stand for re-election as a Conservative? Should Senator/Minister Fortier stand for any type of election? Should the Conservative government cut funding for provincial child care programs?

Waiting…

- John McEwen

Polygamy

Polygamy! One man two or three wives. Gee Whiz! What will they think of next -- sneaky adultery?

Take a look at the “black” African Americans (every shade of brown). Illegal until recently to intermarry, but very easy to abuse them, especially as slaves.

In this modern world we can now know who is “Daddy” and maybe there has always been a lot of polygamy of sorts. Should we make it legal? Well, if we do, the first rule should be that no one can be forced into such a marriage. Second rule the female shouldn’t be less than 21 years old and should be carefully informed of all her rights and the possible consequences of sharing a husband.

More important because it’s more common, there should be a law that married people must tell new lovers that they are already married. Otherwise, the victim of the deceit should be able to claim damages, such as his little red BMW or his Rolex watch or his teeth or hairpiece, or all of the above. Don’t forget “that rotten little tramp” is probably a much loved and treasured child of someone, if not a lot of family members. If the old creep wants an extra woman he should at least be honest about it. If the old lady wants an extra man, she should tell him about her husband’s 38 Smith & Wesson.

Regarding the young female “spare lover”. Still worse what if she gets pregnant? Will the Right-to-Life people get her to have the baby and if they do they should be made legally bound to support her and her child until that child is through university. Probably the father should also have to pay, if married to her. It’s very easy to be a single mom, until you’ve tried it.

It is probably not any better to share a husband but everyone is different and this old world should learn to respect that fact. Are people’s brains so small that we all have to be the same just for their convenience?

-Carmel Gowan

Feature Article - April 27, 2006

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Feature Article - April 27, 2006

LOLCSsays thanks

byCheryl Hartwick

Throughout previous articles, I have stated that volunteers are the backbone of LOLCS. In an attempt to illustrate just how indispensable and invaluable they are, to our very existence, I have tried to put a dollar value on the services they provide. In 2005 our volunteers contributed 10,746 hours; if we calculate at just the minimum wage in Ontario, $7.75/hour, the final figure is $83,281.50!! Imagine, all of that work has been done free of charge.

Our volunteers do every job imaginable, they are our Board of Directors, they plan, prepare and cook for Adult Drop-In and Meals on Wheels, they drive for Meals on Wheels and Transportation, they set up and do dishes for Adult Drop-In and other special activities, they provide friendly visiting in homes and at Pine Meadow Nursing Home, they provide hospice/palliative care for people choosing to die at home, they bring instruments and voices to entertain others, they call square dancing, they act as trustees for clients, they organize bus trips and special occasion trips, they organize and supply snacks for weekly euchre games, they do income tax for others, the list is endless.

Although we appreciate our volunteers throughout the year, this week is special. It is National Volunteer Week and we want to take this time to recognize how important they are to our organization and more importantly to the community. So many activities that take place happen only because of people who give of their own valuable time.

People volunteer for various personal reasons, usually the main one being to help others. Peggy Rahm, one of our many dedicated volunteers has said that volunteering keeps her going and active. Peggy coordinates the Community Bus and the Tuesday night euchre games she has been organizing the bus trips since 1983! “I would rather volunteer than work for money” Peggy said. “I get a much better feeling about myself”.

“In 1990, the third week in April was proclaimed National Volunteer Week in all communities across the country. This week is now firmly established as the highlight of the year for paying tribute to Canada's volunteers.” (www.volunteerwinnipeg.mb.ca/newsite/national_volunteer_week.htm).

Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you, to all of the people who are so generous with their time! If it weren’t for you, we couldn’t be us.

Information about National Volunteer Week can be found at

www.communityfutures.ca/volunteer/ www.volunteer.ca/nvw.

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Feature Article - April 20, 2006

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Feature Article - April 20, 2006

Letters to theEditor

Roadside garbage accumulating againI am in my 81st year and have just spent three days “cleaning up” in advance of the #4 Recreation Committee clean up day on April 29 (We have other commitments that day). I began at Road 38 at the White Lake Road to our place, a distance of a little better than a quarter of a mile. I gathered 10 bags of garbage - plastic and pop bottles (some still half full). We do not have Tim Hortons, MacDonalds, Wendys or Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets in Godfrey but a lot of their garbage ends up here. Other garbage included a bag of men's filthy towels and clothing, someone’s pillows from their bed, tires, glass pop and beer bottles, advertising signs blown off trees, a load of old floor tiles which included a paper plate decorated with the words “I love you Chantel” on it, a (now) stinking cow hide which I could not lift and other stuff I couldn't get to because of water. Are you sick yet?

Would the people responsible for this mess toss it out the window going down Princess Street ? You could get caught and fined for littering. Does anyone have an answer to this problem?

Let us take some pride in our roadways and please don't use them as garbage dumps in the future. Think about it the next time you roll down your window to toss it. I also notice since I cleaned a portion of the White Lake road the garbage is starting to accumulate again already. Some people never learn.

- Jean Campbell

Central Frontenac - a 2006 tax objective? Council will commence their consideration of the Township 2006 budget on April 25. What lies ahead for the Central Frontenac tax payer? MPAC has increased the assessed value of the average residential property by 16.25%. Obviously, council cannot hold the tax rate at last year’s level - that would increase township taxes by 16.25% on the average property. They could keeptaxes, onaverage,at the same levelby loweringthe rate14%. But we have to be realistic; costs are increasing for the township just as they are for us. With roads being a major part of the township budget, the rising price of fuel will have a significant effect. Perhaps, even though this is an election year, we should make allowances for these extra costs. Is a tax rate reduction of 12%, which would increase townshiptaxes for the average property owner by 2.3% (an increasesimilar to that in the general cost of living) a reasonable goal?

- Michael Wise

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Feature Article - April 13, 2006

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Feature Article - April 13, 2006

CentralFrontenac Council does an about face onSunday gun hunting

by Jeff Green

Almost a year to the day after soundly rejecting a request from the Ministry of Natural Resources to endorse Sunday gun hunting, Central Frontenac Council has changed their mind.

On April 13, 2005, the vote was 7-2 against the idea, but this Monday, in a vote of 6-2 (Councillor Bill Snyder was absent) Council has decided to request that the Ministry of Natural Resources institute Sunday gun hunting in the township.

Michael MacDonald, a regional representative for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH), the group that spurred on this reconsideration through a letter to council, said that it might be possible for the Ministry to institute Sunday hunting in Central Frontenac in 2006. “It might have to wait until 2007, however, depending on how quickly the Ministry can act,” MacDonald said.

Michael MacDonald appeared before Central Frontenac Council in support of the proposal. He pointed out that 67 jurisdictions supported the idea last year, including Tay Valley Township, and those townships will enjoy the extra tourism benefits of Sunday gun hunting when duck hunting season begins on September 6.

During his presentation, MacDonald characterised hunting as a very safe sport, posing little risk to participants or bystanders.

“People are more likely to be struck by lightning than hit by a stray bullet from a hunter,” he said in response to concerns by Councillors Logan Murray and Janet Gutowski about people not being able to walk in the woods for fear of gunfire, mostly during the busy two week deer hunting season.

The OFAH letter was received by council at their meeting on March 28, after which time an online survey was posted on the township’s website. Although the survey was not publicised in any direct way (it was indirectly referred to in an article “Central Frontenac might budge on Sunday gun hunting Frontenac News vol. 6 issue #13), it received 162 responses. Of those, 128 said yes to Sunday gun hunting, 33 said no, and 1 was undecided.

When asked by the Frontenac News, Michael MacDonald said that the OFAH had not organised their local members to respond to the survey.

“I only found out about it myself when I looked at the website to confirm the date of the meeting,” said MacDonald, who filled in the survey himself.

Councillor Logan Murray, an outspoken opponent of Sunday gun hunting, said that not enough public consultation had taken place.

“One hundred and sixty people responded to a survey that most people never even knew about,” Murray said, I don’t think that’s enough to make a decision like this. Of the 14 calls I’ve received, 11 have been against this idea.”

The online survey had been proposed when council rejected the idea of a public meeting on the subject.

Councillor Gutowski challenged some assertions Michael MacDonald had made about the economic benefits of hunting to rural Ontario .

“Any one can bring forward figures to support their position, but they aren’t always the final word on something,” she said.

Councillors Guigue and Harvey were the only two that supported the proposal in 2005 and Councillors Murray and Gutowski were the only two who opposed it in 2006.

The four members of Council who changed their votes from no to yes did so for different reasons. Mayor MacDonald opposed the proposal last year because it did not include Crown Land and he thought people wouldn’t know if they were hunting illegally if they strayed onto Crown land. A reversal by the Ministry of Natural Resources to include Crown Land in the proposal made him change his mind.

Deputy Mayor Frances Smith and Councillor Faye Putnam mentioned the problem of nuisance deer as motivating them to change their minds, and Councillor Jack Nicolson said he had done an “unscientific poll, and found that opposition was strong, but then again most of the people who I talked to opposed hunting, of any sort.”

While the final result angered Councillor Murray, who tried unsuccessfully to have the motion tabled in order to allow further public debate, Councillor Bill Guigue was more than pleased.

“This does not force anyone to allow hunting on their own property on a Sunday, it only allows those who want to hunt on their own property to do so,” he said, “and it will have positive impact on economic development in our township.”

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Feature Article - April 13, 2006

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Feature Article - April 13, 2006

Living in the country would be great, if there weren't so much vermin about

by Jeff Green

Many people who move from cities and towns to ‘the country’, do so for the clean air and the open spaces. The fact that there is an abundance of wildlife in the back country is, if anything, a bonus.

What a thrill it is to be able to go for a spring walk and see a porcupine in a tree; squirrels flitting about; deer droppings in a spruce grove; a beaver lodge in a quiet pond; and hear birds chirping away.

And what a shock it is to find out that local people don’t always share this enthusiasm. Beavers cause flooding, and removing dams is a tedious job that must be repeated daily. That is, unless they can be trapped. Porcupines get into vehicles, chew up plastic lines and suck out the antifreeze.

Squirrels penetrate our inner sanctums, our homes, chewing their way through soffits and running amuck inside the walls.

Birds are fine, I suppose, unless of course, they happen to be starlings, which have a habit of nesting in homes, and worse yet, tend to fly into chimneys. It’s not exactly pleasant to open a wood stove door only to have a soot-covered bird fly into the living room and begin knocking things over.

Let’s not even talk about racoons and skunks.

Until a few years ago deer were exempt from this kind of disdain, but for whatever reason, the deer population has increased, and they too have become a nuisance. The few remaining farmers in this part of the world have faced significant crop damage; gardeners have to imprison their gardens with 12 foot fences; and everyone else faces the very real danger of hitting deer while driving down the road.

While the issue of Sunday gun hunting has been contentious at local councils for a variety of reasons, it was concern over nuisance deer that tipped the balance in favour of Sunday gun hunting at a debate in Central Frontenac this week.

Governments have been wringing their hands about nuisance bears for years as well.

It seems that the longer people live in rural locations surrounded by wildlife, the less happy they seem to be to encounter them.

Somehow the delight over sharing the land with animals is overtaken by a sense that it is them or us.

So, for those of us who moved out from the city in the first place, and now find that there are way too many nuisance animals in the country, why don’t we just move back to the city?

The problem is that cities are filled with people, way too many people.

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Feature Article - April 13, 2006

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Feature Article - April 13, 2006

Letters to theEditor

Re:Algonquin Land Claims

It was disheartening to read Jeff Green's latest article on the Algonquin Land Claim. On the face of it there seemed to be good news: Algonquins are happy, Ontario is happy, and Canada is happy. But that is not the whole story. The truth is that the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFNA) with 600 plus members remains outside of the Claim negotiations along with several other historic communities.

The real story might have been entitled "Algonquins Treated Like Third World Colony" because the truth lies somewhere in that comparison. Fourteen years ago the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFNA) met with the Algonquins of Golden Lake to discuss joining in a Land Claim which had been initiated under the Federal Government's Comprehensive Land Claims policy. AAFNA insisted on several criteria for its participation. They asked thatcommunity autonomy be respected, that all Algonquin communities share equally in funding for community development and education in regard to the claim, that each community have equal representation and that consensus be used for developing unity among communities. Early on it became evident that none of these conditions would be respected by the Band Council at Golden Lake . In fact every effort was taken to undermine the Algonquin communitieswhich were not recognised by the Department of Indian Affairs. In the end, Negotiations broke down. This is what happens in colonial countries where some of the colonised are recognised as the "the leaders" and the others are expected to fall into line. The Golden Lake Reserve acquires its legitimacy as "the leaders " because they are a Federal corporation under the Canadian Indian Act and because they arefully dependent on transfer payments from Canada . As such, they are in a naturally compromised position and therefore make the very best representative in negotiating a modern Land Claim.

Over the years other regions and some communities have been identified as having a possible interest as Algonquins in the Land Claim. This is important to ensure that the Treaty which emerges from negotiations will be the last one between Canada , Ontario and the Algonquins. Even though Ontario and Canada deny that Algonquins have ever existed as a people in the Ottawa Valley they are willing to negotiatethis Treaty as long as it extinguishes any future claim that Algonquins might have. To give these other communities legitimacy, a sham election was held last year to give the impression that representatives were being elected in a democratic fashion. While many Algonquins were excluded from electoral lists, others who were dead appeared. Algonquins who asked to be removed from fraudulent community lists were told that they could not be while others were shifted to a non-aligned list that had no voting privileges. An election is the best way to convince people that the selection of competent representatives has taken place, even when it falls short of the mark.

The Ardoch Algonquin First Nation (AAFNA) has chosen not to be party to the present Land Claims negotiations for a variety of reasons. Having fought for Algonquin rights and responsibilities on the ground, in municipal and environmental tribunals, and all the way to the Supreme Court we know what it takes and we are willing to fight again if necessary for the honour of Algonquin people. The Algonquin homeland is a sacred place that can be shared with many diverse peoples, but it is not for sale. If Canada and Ontario are interested in working with AAFNA, then AAFNA is interested in working with them.AAFNA will no longer accept the extinguishment of Algonquin rights and responsibilities either through colonial ignorance or by way of a Treaty.

- Randy Cota, RobertLovelace

Recycling - How are we doing?An open letter to SouthFrontenacTownship

Now that we’re six months into our roadside pick-up “Recycling Program”, I’m wondering when we can expect some feedback with regards to how it’s going. On the whole, as a participating community, how are we doing? Is participation good? Are we remembering our scheduled weeks and days for pick-up? Are we complying with the appropriate items that we’re placing in our blue boxes? We take great strides in sorting and organizing our recyclables each week, but I’m wondering if that is even necessary as there does not seem to be any differentiation of items when dumped into the recycling truck. Is this necessary? And, where exactly does our recycling go, once picked up? Are there holding depots for each district of our township or does it all go to one centre, and where is that centre?

Our family of six have been completely active in the recycling program since its commencement nearly two decades ago when we lived in Kingston . We have always been very environmentally conscious, and we have never had more than one bag of garbage per week, so we were happy to have this new expanded program begin, and now we’re wondering: How are we doing?

- Jeri Walker, Hartington

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