In for a penny...
It is disconcerting that Central Frontenac Council purchased Sharbot Lake Public School on November 24 for $110,000, and five weeks later had to hold an emergency meeting just four days before Christmas to decide to tear down the building. The emergency meeting was needed because after a site visit the… READ MORE
A Year to Celebrate Frontenac County and Reveal its Weakness
This year in the paper, we looked backwards many times, running a year-long series of articles to mark the 150th anniversary of Frontenac County. Many of the articles, which will continue into 2016, were based on interviews with people from our communities who made their lives in this part of… READ MORE
The 2% Budget
This week South Frontenac passed their 2016 budget with a 2.00% increase in taxes. That sounds pretty reasonable. But when you look at the budget summary you see some other numbers. The first number that I look at with these budgets is the “levy to ratepayers”. That is the total… READ MORE
On Pine Meadow funding
Two weeks ago, after years of fruitless requests, there was a chance that Frontenac County would approve a $105,750 grant, over 10 years, to support a capital project at Pine Meadow Nursing Home. The home is not located in Frontenac County. It is owned by a not-for-profit corporation and run… READ MORE
Of Power Failures and Saying Goodbye
It has been a strange week here at the News. A Tuesday power failure certainly put a kink in the works. Seven hours sitting around waiting for the power to come back so we could put the paper together was not exactly part of our plan. We attempted to fire… READ MORE
Winners and losers in the 2015 election
It is not exactly news now that the biggest winner in the 2015 election was the Liberal Party and Justin Trudeau, who have been given the right to push through their agendas without consulting any other party, even though they received less than 40% of the popular vote. Does that… READ MORE
This time seems different, for what it is worth
It would be a mistake to take the pulse of an election campaign, particularly one in a geographically diverse riding such as the new Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston riding, based on the tenor of a single meeting held in one of its corners. The riding is actually even larger, in a sense, than… READ MORE
Time to focus on the election
It's a stretch to say that election fever is about to grip the new Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston riding, but after going door to door for two months and appearing at dozens of events, the candidates are certainly campaign hardened. The rest of us have been enjoying some pretty good late summer weather,… READ MORE
Do we have an election race in Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston?
With three parties locked in the national polls, the outcome of next month’s election is clearly in doubt. Will the Conservatives pull out of their August slump and foment enough doubt in voters’ minds about the alternatives to return them to power? Will one of the other two parties pull… READ MORE
Federal election: Angst in August
Thinking about an October 19 vote in early August is like worrying about your wood supply on the hottest day of the summer. You know winter will come and you know you didn't get enough wood cut last spring, but it would be crazy to fire up the chain saw… READ MORE
Odds and sods as Flinton decision day nears
A lot has been written and said about the proposals for wind turbines in Addington Highlands and North Frontenac. Most of the strongest, and certainly the loudest, points have been made by those who oppose the very idea of wind turbines in the region. One of the reasons for this… READ MORE
It's coming 'round the bend – Flinton Community Jamboree
The Flinton Community Jamboree, originally The Flinton Country Bluegrass Jamboree, is all set for another successful weekend with three days of non-stop entertainment from Friday, July 31 to Sunday, August 2 at the Township Rec Centre. This year will mark the 11th consecutive festival, which was originally started by Donna,… READ MORE
Verona Still Reeling From Tragic Car Crash
Everywhere in the Sydenham High School catchment area, the communities are still reeling from the car crash that happened on Rutledge Road at 10:45 at night on June 16. The crash took two lives and left Verona teen Tyler Parr in a fight for his life, a fight he is,… READ MORE
The Duel Over Wind
In recent weeks, we've had some interesting debates around our office about wind turbines in North Frontenac and Addington Highlands. To settle matters, we settled on a duel. Jonas Bonnetta has written a column opposing wind turbines, and I wrote one supporting them. Here they are, in alphabetical order by last name… READ MORE
Ranked voting could be a game changer
Municipalities in Ontario will soon have the option to switch voting systems and adopt ranked voting. The impact of this on local municipal elections would likely be negligible, but if the system is applied to provincial or federal elections it would be a big deal indeed. Ranked voting is not… READ MORE
Sydenham High’s Wild Parsnip Bed
When the Sydenham high school addition was completed last year, part of the structure included an imposing stepped concrete retaining wall on the west side, looming over Mill Street. The three-foot deep terraces were filled with earth and planted. Landscaping is the last step in a construction project, when time… READ MORE
