CENTRAL FRONTENAC

Thanks to a grant from the Community Foundation For Kingston and Area, the group/township subcommittee working to turn the former Hinchinbrooke school into a recreation and cultural centre has been able to engage Social Focus Consulting to help do a...

There was a time, not so very long ago, when horses and hand saws were the tools of the trade in the logging industry. Arden’s Matson family was very involved in all that. So it probably comes as no surprise that they decided to do some...

On the agenda of the July 5, 2017 council meeting held in Arden, a presentation was made by Glen Matson and Wanda Harrison requesting permission to remove a large pine tree in front of the Community Centre. With permission granted the tree was...

A broomball tournament Saturday in Mountain Grove raised $350 to go towards a portable pitching mound for the baseball (yes, hardball) team at GREC. The baseball club isn’t the highest profile squad at the school, in fact they don’t even have a...

“The committee knows we need some form of seniors housing, tell us what . . .” Central Frontenac Mayor Frances Smith told a gathering last Thursday afternoon at Oso Hall to discuss seniors housing in the Township. To that end, the committee...

The Frontenac Heritage Festival returns to Central Frontenac Township this weekend for its 12th year. Things get underway Friday night with an opening gala at GREC and the annual local talent show — Frontenac’s Got Talent. The Festival swings...

Following up on a very good construction year in 2016 ($8.7 million in construction value and $125,000 in permit fees collected), values jumped 18% to $10.34 million in 2017. Permit fees also jumped to $147,000. Looking further back to 2015,...

It took three special meetings but Central Frontenac Council and staff have their 2018 budget in order following a meeting Friday morning in Sharbot Lake. The bottom line is that the Township will be asking its ratepayers for $434,525 more than it...

Gypse Villa, 58, and Jessica Villa, 38, are facing two counts each of fraud over $5,000. It is alleged that the two defrauded a local man of upwards of $80,000. Jessica Villa worked a special assistant to former Newfoundland Labrador MP Judy Foote...

Well, it was billed as a 4 on 4 hockey tournament. The posters mentioned goalies. And there was trophy presentation of sorts. But mostly it was more in that great Canadian shinny tradition as a bunch of guys got together at the Tichborne Rink...

Four years ago Joanne Pickett of Arden Pottery decided to start up an Empty Bowls project in her own community. Empty Bowls is a fund raising project that has been embraced by potters throughout North America as a way of raising money and awareness...

Central Frontenac Fire & Rescue (CFFR) will soon be equipped with a potentially life-saving tool to deal with opioid overdoses. CF FR fire trucks will be carrying naloxone for use by trained firefighters to treat patients. "The administration of...

Lilly Legacy-Zierer picked up the drumming bug playing the snare in her high school marching band. From there, she moved on to a Djembe troupe, the Fire Drums Festival and a host of other percussive pursuits. And now, she’s the leader of the...

Central Frontenac Council and staff met at the Oso Firehall Tuesday to have a second round of budget talks and while Treasurer Michael McGovern estimated they managed to cut about $10,000 out of the 2018 budget, it still looks like the Township...

The Township of Central Frontenac, in partnership with the County of Frontenac, is hosting two upcoming Town Hall meetings to explore opportunities for a senior’s housing project in Central Frontenac. Two sessions will be held. The first will be...

Over the past 10 days, three sets of break-ins have been reported, each affecting multiple cottage properties, on lakes in South and Central Frontenac. Eleven cottage properties were vandalised on Bobs Lake on the evening of Friday, January 12, five...

The 12th Annual Frontenac Heritage Festival is set to go Feb. 16-19 and one of its regular features, the local talent show, is once again the big draw on opening night (6:30 p.m. at the Granite Ridge Education Centre). Once again it will follow the...

The trains keep on rollin’, the whistles keep on blowin’ and Crow Lake Village resident Donald Lafleur hasn’t given up his battle to at least cut down on the whistle-blowing part. Lafleur was at Central Frontenac Council’s regular meeting...

Central Frontenac Township has scheduled Feb. 8 for a Seniors Forum at Oso Hall in Sharbot Lake from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. to get feedback on the need for seniors housing in the Township, Mayor Frances Smith told Council at its regular meeting...

At home and on their royal yacht, the Royal Family eat simply cooked but elegant food from the Prince’s Highgrove/Duchy Home Farm. When she travels, the Queen has her own water brought with her because she can’t afford to get sick. Looks like...

OPP released information today about an investigation that was initiated on January 17th, when a cottager on Craig's Island, Sharbot Lake (west basin) contactedd them about damage to their cottage. Police have no information indicating a connection...

Minor softball has held a fundraising 4 on 4 hockey tournament for several years now at the outdoor rink in Tichborne but last year the weather didn’t cooperate and so it had to be cancelled. This year, organizers decided to move it up a couple of...

49 year old Debra Anne Hill (Teal) was found by her son in-law Owen Young early on Saturday morning outside of her home on Steele Road near Tichborne, and was declared deceased by Emergency Srevices personnel a short time later. As reported in the...

“Life’s good,” said guitarist Shawn McCullough in between sets Saturday night at The Crossing Pub in Sharbot Lake, where he and fiddle player Wade Foster played to a sold-out audience that contained more than a few musicians. “I’ve got a...

OPP Investigate Death SIU Invoke Mandate   Members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Frontenac Detachment, along with the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), are currently investigating the death of a 49-year-old female in South Frontenac...

Arden Legion President Dave Moore kind of said it all: “this open mike is scheduled from 1-4 but since everybody’s having such a good time, I’d like to remind you we don’t close until 2 a.m.” Such was the inaugural session for a series of...

District 2 (Olden) will be without its compliment of two councilors for the near future as Coun. Jamie Riddell resigned his seat at Tuesday evening’s regular Central Frontenac Council meeting in Sharbot Lake. Riddell told Council he was resigning...

There were lots of smiling faces, full bellies and nimble fingers last Saturday at the Crow Lake School House for the Ardoch Algonquins holiday gathering. The event was co-sponsored by Apagadiwag Omamawi'ininiwag (Algonquin) Community development...

This past weekend, Oso Hall was decorated in the Christmas spirit for the 16th Festival of Trees, Villages Beautiful’s annual fundraiser (which actually began in 2000 but one year was missed in favour of a dance). Not much has changed since the...

Budget deliberations for Central Frontenac Township began in earnest Monday night at the Oso Fire Hall and although it was only the capital budget discussed (the operating budget, which tends to affect the tax levy more than the capital, is still to...

On November 25, the University of Waterloo held the first Ontario Winter Camping Conference with over 400 people in attendance. People of all ages are realizing that camping in the winter need not be a hardship but can be very enjoyable. The woods...

Sunday in Sharbot Lake featured the seventh year of Ecumenical Carol Service put on by six ministerials in the area. “This is our second time here at St. James Major,” said Rev. Mark Hudson. “We rotate around the different churches. “We’d...

Canada 150 Finale   Canada’s Sesquicentennial is drawing to a close and the people of Central Frontenac should congratulate themselves for having staged a great year. We have marked the occasion with some truly memorable projects.   Each of our...

Reconstruction of Elm Tree Road has been delayed until Jan. 8-12, Public Works Manager Brad Thake told Central Frontenac Council at its regular meeting Tuesday in Sharbot Lake. The job was to have begun Monday, Dec. 11. “It’s very disappointing...

On November 25, the University of Waterloo held the first Ontario Winter Camping Conference with over 400 people in attendance. People of all ages are realizing that camping in the winter need not be a hardship but can be very enjoyable. The woods...

Construction is now underway for a third gas station located near the junction of Road 38 and Hwy. 7. The project is being undertaken by Gama Engineering of Woodbridge, and company President Wajid Mansuri said that work on the site is progressing...

Victor Hesse is a frustrated municipal politician. He served, as the sole council rep, on the septic re-assessment committee for Central Frontenac Council for three years. After submitting a draft plan, then holding public meetings, the committee...

RKY Camp of Eagle Lake near Parham has officially launched a $1 million capital campaign to support the RKY Revitalization Project. To kick off the campaign,  a very special recognition plaque was presented to  the camp’s biggest benefactor,...

Santa and Mrs. Claus came to Sydenham on Saturday the 25th of November. The little bit of rain sure didn’t dampen the spirits of those who lined the streets to see them arrive. The floats were fantastic, lots of smiles and laughter to be had and...

Central Frontenac Council came out of a closed session at its regular meeting Tuesday in Sharbot Lake and immediately introduced a motion to spend $207,509 “to mitigate legislative health and safety risks.” It was an unusual outcome given the...

OK, it may be time to re-think the name for it, but there’s no disputing the popularity of the 101 Nativities display at Cole Lake Free Methodist Church on Road 38 south of Parham. Now in its seventh year, 101 Nativities no longer seems...

Mich Cota is a two-spirit Algonquin woman living in Montreal but her roots run deep in this area. Two-Spirit comes from an Ojibwe phrase niizh manidoowag and has become an umbrella term for many Indigenous people across Turtle Island to verbalize...

Last Wednesday, students in Barry Harding’s grade 6-8 class made the trek down to Kingston to be the first class in the Limestone District to problem solve their way out of four Victorian style rooms. The goal of an escape adventure is to work as...

At the latest induction of new members into the Frontenac Catalyst Leo’s Club, District Governor Bill Zwier issued a challenge to the young Leo’s. Lion’s members were challenged back in 1925 by Helen Keller to be “knights of the blind in the...

Central Frontenac Council voted 8-1 to have staff prepare a plan for septic re-inspection at its regular meeting Tuesday. A plan for septic re-inspection presented at the Oct. 24 Council meeting had been defeated. This time, Councillor Tom Dewey...

Tom Power has appeared at the Crossings Pub in Sharbot Lake as a member of the Dardanelles, an energetic young Newfoundland band that, among other things, is devoted to keeping traditional Newfoundland music fresh and modern. One thing has led to...

It’s like speed dating for services, said organizer Maribeth Scott said in the GREC gym last week as 14 organizations gathered to inform families as to what services are available for children and youth in the northern Frontenac area. Scott stood...

Sometimes, it all just works. Such is the case with Jess Rae Ayre, Amber Rose and Michelle Anderson, aka Sweet Alibi, who brought their brand of harmonies to The Crossing Pub in Sharbot Lake last Saturday night. Ayre and Anderson met in high school...

Enforcement of the Building Code, including the proper installation and operation of an on-site (residential) sewage system, is the legislated responsibility of the Township. Council chose to shirk its oversight responsibilities for system...

Central Frontenac firefighters responded to a house fire on Road 38 near Ball Road last Thursday morning about 9 a.m. Upon arrival, the house was “heavily involved in fire,” said Fire Chief Greg Robinson. “High winds contributed to the extent...