Feature Article - August 17, 2006

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Feature Article - August 17, 2006

Local Fare

by Chava Field-Green

During the summer months, the Frontenac News will be profiling local restaurants. This week’s profiled communities are Harrowsmith, Verona and the picturesque surroundings of Silver Lake .

VERONA

Bravo Restaurant, situated right on Highway 38 just south of the village of Verona , serves a varied menu of Greek and Canadian dishes. Specializing in Greek dishes such as pork and chicken souvlaki, Bravo serves everything from fajita lunch specials for $7.95 to the Sunday night prime rib special, including soup or salad, choice of potatoes and rice pudding or jell-o for dessert, for $11.95. Owner Chris Lianos is pleased to be able to serve good quality food at a great price to the locals.

613-374-5444

MOM RESTAURANT

Located on Main Street (Hwy 38) in Verona , Mom Restaurant serves a full range of Italian and Canadian food. Specializing in pizza ($8.85 to $20.45), Mom offers everything from Spaghetti with meat sauce and a homemade roll for $8.25, to steak, to club house sandwiches with fries and coleslaw for $8.75.

Owner Peter Doulas has been offering good food at a good price for 25 years.

613-374-2817

RIVENDELL RESTAURANT,

Set on the luxurious Rivendell Golf Course located a few minutes north of Verona on Highway 38, Rivendell Restaurant caters to many more than just the golfers who visit the course. With weekday and weekend menus including sandwiches with fries and coleslaw for $6.95, salads, liver and onions, pork chops and steak dinners for 14.99, Rivendell provides excellent dining for everybody. Owner Ken Harper has turned what was once a golfer’s canteen into a full menu restaurant for everybody, and stresses that he wishes to see Rivendell Restaurant as a place for locals as well. 613-374-3404.

SILVER LAKE

SILVER LAKE MOTEL RESTAURANT.

Located across Highway 7 from beautiful Silver Lake , Silver Lake Motel Restaurant offers the classics at an inexpensive price.

The breakfast menu includes omelets done your way, 2 eggs or pancakes for $3.99. Lunches include classics such as BLTs with fries for $5.95 or burgers with fries for $5.25.

For dinner, specials such as the Friday night pork roast with vegetables; potatoes and a small side salad cost $7.99.

New Owners Janina and Steve Pokrajak say they intend to please their customers and provide the best service possible.

613-268-2511

SILVER SEVEN QUALITY FOOD RESTAURANT

Situated across Highway 7 from Silver Lake Provincial Park , Silver Seven specializes in hot sandwiches, and their ever popular burgers. On the menu, classic lunch specials are $5.95 and dinner specials cost around $8.00.

Silver Seven also offers live music on some Thursday evenings; call for a schedule of appearances by groups such as North of 7 and Country Friends.

Owner Brent Cariveau is pleased to serve good food at great prices.

613-268-5693

HARROWSMITH

THE OTHER SIDE RESTAURANT

Located on Main Street (Hwy.38) in Harrowsmith, The Other Side Restaurant is Harrowsmith’s breakfast hot spot.

Lunch specials include soup and a sandwich for $5.99. Dinner specials, starting midweek to Saturday, include fish and chips with coleslaw and tarter sauce for $7.49.

Owner Elaine Wilson is happy to succeed in providing a great service to Harrowsmith. 613-372-3663

PAPA PETE’S PIZZERIA

Situated right on Highway 38 in Harrowsmith, Papa Pete’s offers Harrowsmith’s best pizza.

Prices range from $8.75 for a small tomato sauce and cheese pizza and go all the way up to $24.10 for a Jumbo size (16 slices) Deluxe pizza which includes cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, green pepper, bacon, onions, and a choice of sausage or olives.

Papa Pete’s is open Sunday through Wednesday from 11 am to Midnight, Thursday 11 am to 1 am and Friday through Saturday from 11 am to 2 am. Slices are available from 11:30 on.

Owner Linda Irish-Burns welcomes all to come enjoy the great pizza offered at Papa Pete’s.

613-372-5693.

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Back to HomeFeature Article - July 30, 2009 No rain delays at 3rd annual celebrity golf tournamentby Julie Druker

Celebrity hockey players Mike Smith, goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Dustin Walsh, recently drafted to the Montreal Canadians (4th and 5th from left) with charity tournament participants from (l to r) Ron Verkerk, Kevin Kirk, Bill Vallier and Paul Owen

Rain delays were not a factor this year for the 3rd annual Mike Smith Charity Golf Tournament that took place Thursday at the Rivendell Golf Course in Verona.

Twenty-five hockey celebrities teamed up with 39 participating teams to raise funds for the Frontenac Community Arena’s Project End Zone and North Frontenac Minor Hockey.

Because this year’s tournament fell on July 23, the 9th anniversary of Joe Goodfellow’s death, funds raised from the putting competition went towards the Joe Goodfellow Memorial Fund at Sydenham High School.

Mike Smith, who initiated the tournament, grew up in Verona, where he started playing hockey with the Frontenac Flyers. He now currently plays in the NHL and is a goalie with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Mike held court all day on the course at the 12th hole. Flanked by friends, family and organizers, he took time to meet and greet all of the participating golfers and posed for photos with each of the 39 teams.

The event, organized by Terry Gibson, Cathy Goodfellow, Mike’s parents Ron and Ingrid Smith, and numerous volunteers, raised close to $40,000 in its first two years for the Frontenac Arena’s renovation project.

Despite the drizzly conditions Gibson was pleased with this year’s turnout and when I met up with him at hole 12 he commented, “It’s going very well; the weather’s holding out and it looks like it’s going to be another great success.”

Mike Smith was equally pleased to have no delays in the game on account of the weather. Last year lightning delayed the tournament for two hours.

Mike instigated the tournament as a way to give back to the community. He explained, “ I decided when I turned pro that I wanted to give back to the community where I was raised.”

A silent and live auction were also held during the day and included a mural painted on site by artist Dave Arrigo, who also painted Mike’s goalie mask. It was anticipated that hockey jerseys autographed by Ovechkin, Steve Stamkos and Mike Smith would bring in some hefty donations.

After the tournament, participants dined in the newly constructed 2nd floor dining room at Rivendell.

Ken Harper, owner of the Rivendell Golf Club, was happy to support the event and admitted to being just one community sponsor in a long list of many whose ongoing support allows this event to take place.

Back to HomeFeature Article - May 21, 2009 Helping Isaac: Rivendell to Host Fundraiser for Rare DiseaseBy Jeff Green

“We just do whatever we can do for our children, just as all parents do.”

That's how Andrew McFadyen describes the efforts of his wife Ellen and himself over the past four years ever since their son Isaac was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that causes an enzyme deficiency, with devastating consequences to his quality of life.

Within a short time of Isaac being diagnosed with the condition, which has the medical name MPS VI, the McFadyens learned of a drug that had been approved in the United States. Naglazyme has been able to slow some of the effects of MPS VI and allow for improved life conditions for sufferers of the rare condition, which afflicts only three people in all of Canada.

Nagalzyme was not covered under the Ontario health plan, and at a cost of $300,000 to $1 million per year, it was well out of reach for the family. Thus began Andrew and Ellen's first campaign and Andrew's first media exposure. After major newspaper coverage in Toronto, and repeated interventions from Ontario Conservative Party health critic, and former Health Minister, Elizabeth Witmer, the province agreed to pay for the treatment. The treatment has had a major impact on Isaac's quality of life, and reversed some of the impacts of his condition.

“The treatment provides him with the enzyme he is lacking, but there are still many side effects. We call the treatment our lifeboat; it slows the ravages of the disease but it doesn't in any sense stop it,” said Isaac's father Andrew of the scenario faced by his now five-year-old son. “On the bright side, he is feeling better now than he has at any time in his life.”

For Andrew, a lifelong Liberal party activist (who is seeking the Liberal nomination in his home riding of Northumberland-Quinte West, a swing riding, for the next election) Elizabeth Witmer's efforts are a tribute to the role of a politician.

“She saw this as something she should be working on, and didn't stop. We sent her copies of Isaac's first report card and his class picture and she said she puts them up in her office to remind her why she is involved in politics,” said Andrew.

Finding a cure for MPS VI has become the major goal of the family, and when they learned that it takes $100,000 per year to fund a research project, the Isaac Foundation was established with the goal of raising $100,000 per year.

“We are racing against the clock, we realise that,” said Andrew McFadyen, “but there have been some exciting results from some of the research projects that are going on around the world.”

Ellen and Andrew, along with Isaac and younger brother Gabriel, live in Campbellford, but Andrew commutes to Kingston every day to teach at Winston Churchill Public School, and maintains a lot of connections in the city where he attended university.

Raising $100,000 per year while living on a teacher's salary and raising a child with MPS VI is certainly a challenge for the McFadyens, but they have received help from some unlikely places, including support from celebrities ranging from Stuart Maclean of the Vinyl Cafe, to Toronto Blue Jays Star Pitcher Roy Halliday (who recently donated $2,000 to the foundation, $1,000 from a prize he won and $1,000 of his own money) and musicians Danny Michel and John Mayor.

Since its inception thjree years ago, the foundation comes home to the Kingston area every year for its major fundraising event, a celebrity golf tournament and silent auction. The tournament has taken place at the Inverary Golf Club for three years, and this year it is coming to Verona's Rivendell Golf Club, where Andrew played golf all through his university days.

“The tournament is a kick off to the next fiscal year. We make announcements, have a big celebration, and if it can be hosted by people we care about and care about us, so much the better,” he said.

It is not only the connection that Andrew McFadyen has maintained at Rivendell that pulled the tournament there, the layout of the course and the extensive clubhouse facilities were another factor.

“The tournament is Isaac's favourite day, and some of the foundation’s supporters, like the Tragically Hip, donate auction items,” said Andrew.

There are still spots left for people who want to play in the tournament. The cost is $500 for a foursome until the end of May, and includes lunch, dinner, and a golf cart. For further information about how to get involved or donate to the Isaac foundation, go to www.theisaacfoundation.com.

Ninety-eight percent of all the money raised by the foundation goes to medical research. 

After 24 hours of grueling golf Edward Goodfellow and Andrew Fazackerley raised $330,000 for the Eastern Ontario Cancer Clinic at KGH in 2009 bring their 2 year total to $500,000

Andrew Fazackerley and Edward Goodfellow are remembering what it’s like to play 24 consecutive hours of cart-free golf – and they admit that with two years’ experience under their belts they know exactly what to expect. What keeps them coming back year after year is not the inclement weather, the chilly early morning rain or the blazing noon-day sun. Nor is it the dehydration, the blisters and intense fatigue. For both men, what keeps them coming back to Rivendell Golf Club to raise funds for the Eastern Ontario Cancer Clinic in Kingston is their fierce dedication to the cause and their love for the sport. What both remember most is the emotional high of accomplishing a difficult task, fighting for a local cause, and perhaps most importantly, receiving the ongoing support of community members, friends and family with every swing they make.

The two golfers will once again be taking over Rivendell Golf Club in Verona on June 24 and 25 for their third annual Strokes Fore Hopes. In the event’s two-year history, Edward and Andrew have raised $50,000, which through a government initiative program that matched their donations 9 to 1, has been multiplied into half a million dollars for the cause - no small feat for two young golfers, who in the process have gained national recognition and landed themselves on the front cover of Flagstick golf magazine.

While the government will be offering the same 9:1 initiative this year, the gentlemen fear that it might be the last year the offer stands. As a result they have been brainstorming new ideas for this year’s event, hoping to make it their best year ever.

New this year will be “Pledge to Play” forms, where supporters collect a minimum of $150 in pledges and earn a chance to play three holes alongside the gents. The size of the pledge will determine first pick of play times.

Also new this year is an invitation to local businesses to provide corporate sponsorship from $250 up to $5,000. Permission has been given by the Kingston Hospital Foundation to allow gold and platinum sponsors to defer their payments until September 1, 2010.

Corus Entertainment will again be broadcasting live from Rivendell on 104.3 and 96.3 FM and will be offering additional television coverage in the form of regular public service announcements. Last year’s radio coverage attracted the generosity of one anonymous sponsor who donated $11,000 - which through the government initiative became $110,000.

Also returning this year is the silent auction and prizes will include green fee passes to Woodensticks Gold Club in Uxbridge; a weekend excursion to Mont. Tremblant, QC; wood carvings by local artist Bob Ruttan; and a signed Toronto Soccer Club jersey, to name just a few.

PIN HIGH will be sponsoring the golfers again this year and will also be selling “Strokes fore Hopes" golf shirts.

Student volunteers from Prince Charles Public School in Verona will be participating in the event through “Golf in Schools”, a program aimed at increasing student awareness of the sport.

The $10 pre-tee-off breakfast will be available again this year and last year's 175 breakfast diners alone raised $17,500, which shows that every little bit goes a very long way.

Edward’s mother Cathy Goodfellow is one of the organizers of the event and stresses the fact that all of the funds raised will go far in supporting members of the local community - people from Kingston all the way north to Plevna who may presently or in the future require treatment at the centre. Last year alone the centre cared for close to 35,000 patients who received regular care, chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

This year’s motto for the event is “Strength Courage, Faith and Hope" and with just over three weeks to go till tee off both golfers have been thinking hard about that motto as they prepare for the event.

Edward said, “The memories from past years remain so strong. We never forget the feeling we get when so many people from the community come out to support us.” Andrew spoke of the opportunity he and Edward had to tour the cancer clinic and explained, “It really opened my eyes and has allowed my passion for the event to grow year after year. With the event looming you remember the physical pain but also how it made us feel emotionally - which is what makes me want this year to be our biggest and best year ever.”

For more information visit strokesforeshopes.ca. Anyone wanting to donate to the silent auction can contact Cathy Goodfellow at 613-375-6651

 

The GAO's Mary Ann Hayward presents Augusta James of Bath, ON with the Ontario Junior Girls championship trophy

When the final round of the GAO's Investors Group Juvenile and Junior Girls Ontario Championships wound up on July 8 at Rivendell Golf Club in Verona, seventeen-year-old Augusta James of Bath, ON remained true to the words she had spoken two days earlier after round one: “Winning the event would be a realistic goal for me.”

And win she did, becoming the new Ontario Junior Girls Champion.

Her final score after three rounds played in three consecutive days of blazing heat, was even par, four shots ahead of Brittany Marchand of Brampton.

James actually birdied her final hole to bring her score to 1 under par, but the three members of the final groups were assessed a one stroke penalty for slow play.

James and Marchand were battling for first place from the start of the tournament. Marchand carded the best round of the tournament with a two under par 69 on the first day, followed by a three over par 74 on day 2 for a 1 over score going into the final round showdown with James. James had been the picture of consistency, with identical even par 71s on each of the first two rounds, giving her a one shot lead going into round 3.

James extended her lead with a birdie on the par 3 second hole, but then fell one shot behind on the very next hole. She had a double bogie 6 while Marchand made birdie.

By the end of nine holes the girls were tied at two over for the tournament, but then James birdied both 10 and 11 while Marchand went par-bogie over the same stretch, giving James a three shot lead that was never really challenged.

James spoke to the press about winning the Ontario championship so close to home. “It means a lot that the win was close to home but I really wanted this win no matter what and I played out there shot by shot, really trying not to think about that– I'm just really excited to have this win at all, especially knowing that I'm competing against Ontario's best.”

Asked about her shaky first nine on day 3 and how she regrouped mentally, James replied, “I knew I had the shots so I had to just let them show. I wasn't too concerned cause I did the same on the first day as well.”

Her mindset coming into the third day was positive.

“I've been in this position before so I could draw on that and I felt confident. I was 'good nervous' starting out this morning which is something that I am always trying to work on.”

She said she could feel the energy in the crowd at the final hole but, “You have to use that energy in a positive way and not let it make you nervous.”

She said what she was happiest about in her game was that ”everything was decent-nothing was spectacular but also nothing fell apart.” James and Marchand have been playing against each other since they were 9 and 10 years old. Both are signed up to play at North Carolina State University. Marchand will attend this fall and James next year in the fall of 2011.

James is playing this week at a CN Canadian Women’s tour event in Gatineau, Quebec and is the first alternate for the US Junior Girls Championship in two weeks

Another local golfer, Rivendell member Sydney Asselstine placed in a tie for 36th, after a final round 89, to go with scores of 84 and 85 in the first two rounds. On the final day she ran into trouble at the bell hole, number 5 where she had a bad shot off the tee and ended up with a 9. Though she admitted that she was “never really in contention”, overall she was pleased with her play. “I just went out and played my game and tried to put a little competition out there and played as well as I could.”

Members of the club who lined the sidelines were treated to some exciting golf over the three-day event. Long-time Rivendell Club member Roger Dixie of Kingston said, “These girls are sensational golfers. I'm really impressed. I knew they'd be good but I didn't know that they'd be this good.”

The club's owner Ken Harper was thrilled to be hosting the event for the first time in the history of the 32-year-old course.” The girls really seem to be enjoying the course and we've been a long time in making Rivendell into the course that it is. I feel that hosting this event is definitely like a seal of approval, and something we've all been working long and hard towards.”

Club officials believe that the tournament has opened the doors to the possibility of hosting similar high calibre events at Rivendell in the future.

 

Photo: courtesy of Krista Fazackerley

Culminating their three-year effort in support of the redevelopment of the Cancer Centre at Kingston General Hospital, the Strokes Fore Hope golfing duo of Edward Goodfellow, 26, and Andrew Fazackerley, 23, made their final cheque presentation to representatives from the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, KGH and the Cancer Centre of South Eastern Ontario at the Watkins Lobby at KGH on November 3. The final cheque in the amount of $58,500 brings their three-year total to $108,000.

For three consecutive summers Andrew and Edward participated in three 24-hour golfing marathons that took place at the Rivendell Golf Club in Verona, and with the help of a government initiative that matched their donations 9:1, the two young men have managed to raise over $1 million for the Cancer Centre.

Edward Goodfellow addressed the crowd gathered in the Watkins lobby and spoke about Strokes for Hope, an idea he dreamed up while on a family golfing trip. “Though Strokes Fore Hope will be no more, the memories will definitely stay in our hearts forever. Strokes for Hope has definitely changed us and made us realize that nothing is impossible,” he said.

He thanked the event sponsors, Corus Entertainment, Rivendell Golf Club, Krista Fazackerley, the generosity of the donors and of course, his best friend Andrew.

Edward's mother Cathy Goodfellow, who was instrumental in organizing the three-year fundraising event, spoke next and thanked the community, their sponsors and staff at the Cancer Clinic and the Hospital Foundation for all of their inspiration and support.

Addressing her son and his best friend Andrew she said, “These two have dug deeper than even I thought possible and have accomplished something truly amazing.”

When asked about their initial motivation for starting up the event, Edward responded, “The cause is one that I have always been really passionate about. We just really wanted to try to make a difference, and after touring the new facilities here and seeing what a difference they are making in so many people’s lives, it has really made this all extremely worth while.”

“Everyone has been affected by cancer in their lives in one way or another so it just made sense to us to try to do our bit to help out,” Andrew added.

Edward said they decided to bring the event to an end because “we have always made public our $1 million goal and we have reached that goal so we are just really happy to be stepping down on a real high note.”

That high note was later topped when immediately following the cheque presentation Michelle Miatello, president of the South Eastern chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), an organization that honoured Edward and Andrew for their volunteerism in the community last November, announced that the two young men had recently been chosen from a list of hundreds of nominees world-wide as winners of the “Changing Our World/Simms Award for Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy, Ages 18-23”.

The announcement was a complete surprise to Edward and Andrew and they were overwhelmed by the honour.

The award will be presented to Edward and Andrew in March at the AFP International Conference that will take place in Chicago.

Miatello then read a letter from AFP president and CEO Paulette Mahara, which said, in part, “Philanthropy knows no age limit and Edward and Andrew have proven that everyone can make a difference if they are truly inspired. We are honoured to be able to recognize them for their extraordinary work.”

Frontenac County Lions clubs have been working together to raise money for the “No Child Without Program”, a program that allows each child who requires a Medic Alert bracelet or pendant to receive one free of charge as soon as they enter kindergarten.

The Lions clubs provide money to Medic Alert to cover each school for a number of years’ worth of service, which is priced on the basis of a formula that is provided by Medic Alert.

Over the past few years, the Sydenham Lions have teamed up with the Storrington Lions to cover Perth Road School, have covered Loughborough School themselves, and have teamed up with the Verona Lions for St. Patrick’s school in Harrowsmith. The Verona Lions have covered Prince Charles Public School on their own.

On June 17, the Sydenham Lions held a golf tournament at Rivendell Golf Club to raise funds for Medic Alert services at Elginburg Public School. With 19 teams participating, the tournament was a success, and a 30-minute rain shower did nothing to dampen the spirits of the hardy golfers.

Enough money was raised to cover the cost for Elginburg with some left over for other Lions programs.

But aside from the fundraising element to the tournament, there is a question of bragging rights for the winners.

The winners in the men’s category were the foursome of Gary Goodberry, John Steele, Wayne French, Henry Otenhoff, a team from the Verona Lions Club. The winning women’s team included Jennifer Linton, Muriel Laird, Linda Lauritsen, and Gerri Derue – Inverary Golf Club

Finally, the winning mixed team was made up of Carolyn and Jim Smith and Irene and Ken Johnston from the host Rivendell Golf Club.

A good time was had by all.

(Medic Alert bracelets inform authorities about underlying conditions, including medical conditions, allergies, medications, implants or devices, and special needs or requests.)

 

Photo: l-r, Jessica Crain, Stephan Hiller, Sydenham Lions Tail Twister Wray Gillespie, Tim Smith and Thomas Cabral at Rivendell

Jim Kelly of the Sydenham and District Lions club was thrilled to report that their recent golf tourney fundraiser, which took place at the Rivendell Golf Club in Verona on June 15, was by far their most successful to date.

The tournament raised over $5,000 for the No Child Without program, which provides MedicAlert bracelets to students in need. This year’s proceeds will assist students at Harrowsmith Public School.

Kelly said the tournament’s overwhelming success this year was largely due to the generosity of the many sponsors and prize donors, as well as the many neighboring Lions Clubs members who made the trip from Tamworth, Verona and Amherstview to participate in the tournament. The Sydenham and District Lions have supported the No Child Without Program in many of our local area schools over the years.

Photo: Junior Hartwick (centre) and a group of golfers at tee-off time at the SFCS's 4th annual 50 Plus Golf tourney at Rivendell Golf Club in Verona

At a time when some annual fundraising golf tournaments have been losing ground, the Southern Frontenac Community Services Annual  50+ Family and Friends Tourney has gained considerable momentum. Now in its fourth year, the event was begun by its co-chair and longtime SFCS volunteer, David Linton, and it has doubled both in field and  sponsorship, which is something that Linton is more than pleased about. In a recent email Linton sent to me, he wrote,  “I am ecstatic and very emotional on this evening before the tournament. To have so many businesses in the community come forward to sponsor this event is heart rending. To have so many golfers, and non-golfers sign up to support this endeavor....well, I can't describe what I am feeling. This is such an enormous example of support for SFCS, and all that they do for our community.” Linton says this year’s exceptional turn out and community support is a direct result of the efforts of the tourney’s co-chair, Junior Hartwick of Harrowsmith, who has been volunteering as a driver for the SFCS for the last eight years. Junior has lived in the community for 69 years and is a long-time member of the Rivendell Golf Club.

He spoke to me at hole #1 about his involvement as he was just finalizing some last-minute details prior to Saturday's tee off.  “I know a lot of people in the area and I was more than willing to help out and do some fundraising to help support this year’s event,” he said.

The tournament rallied over 35 groups of golfers, 140 participants in total, who teed off at Rivendell at the scramble shotgun start. They raised close to $8000 to help fund the various services that Southern Frontenac Community Services offers to residents in the community. Over 20 volunteers from the SFCS were also on hand to help out for the event.

This year was the first time the event has been held at Rivendell Golf Club in Verona. Jim Lansdell, the club’s general manager, said he and his team were more than happy to offer their services to this important community organization. “The work that the SFCS does in the community is just fantastic. The fact that they are able to reach so many different people in the community - seniors, adults and children is just amazing. This is just one way that we as a club can help them out.” 

Anyone who missed the tournament but who would still like to donate to the SFCS can do so by visiting their website at www.sfcsc.ca or by calling 1-800-763-9610 or 1-613-376-6477.