FRONTENAC COUNTY

Photo: Mike Nolan, the Chief of Paramedics in Renfrew County and current President of EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Chiefs of Canada We all can remember the last time we saw paramedics in action. We can see them carrying their gym bags full of...

David O’Toole, Deputy Minister of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), delivered a video message to ministry personnel in the wake of last month’s provincial budget. The News has obtained a transcript of the video, which outlines...

Ompah’s Helen Forsey has published two very different books in the last few months. One is a 400-page chronicle of the career and the ideas of her father, the academic activist, senator and constitutional expert Eugene Forsey. It is a book she has...

Last week’s Business over Breakfast at the Verona Lions Hall on March 29 was a great success, with both the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC) and local businesses having much to celebrate. Anne Prichard, executive...

Based on standardised testing results, the Fraser Institute published “A Report Card on Ontario’s Secondary Schools” last week. But this is one report card that parents should not pay much attention to, according to Limestone School Board...

Treasurer paints stark picture of infrastructure deficit In a presentation to Frontenac County Council last week, Treasurer Marion Vanbruinessen outlined some of the findings that are contained in a report that was released in early March by the...

Photo: In the past, the only way to cope with the stress of the annualpothole season was to make lemonade out of the lemons of life,like this optomistic chap is doing. But now there’s high-tech help- the new PH-APP (or Pot Hole - APP) for...

County makes significant cuts to sustainability projects: In a special budget meeting held on March 13, members of Frontenac County Council did not make any changes that will affect the county tax rate, which is now slated to go up by just under 1%...

Photo:Frontenac County CAO Elizabeth Savill receives input from Verona and area seniors in one of eight public meetings held across the county. On March 14 close to 50 seniors from Verona and the surrounding area attended one of eight public...

Photo: Scientific researcher with the MNR, Dr. Brent Patterson In an effort to dispel common myths and to educate the public about wolves and coyotes in Ontario, members of the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust Conservancy invited Dr. Brent...

Photo: Back row-Mike Barnett, Tori Babcock, Caliegh Churchmuch, Morgan Greenslade, Hannah Barnett, Head Coach Lynn Newton, Chloe Watson, Ken Newton, Ellie Hudson, Mitch Fallis. Middle Row - Kaylie Gill, Claire WIllis, Katherine Newton "C", ICE...

Photo: Cecilia Begg and Paula Sherman holding the wampum. Our Atom 212 team won the Brighton hockey tournament for second year in row. There were three games. The first was won against home team Brighton 8 to 0. Six goals were scored by Cole Pond,...

Local bus operators expressed solidarity this week with their colleagues from the Independent School Bus Operators Association (ISBOA), who staged an 80-bus convoy to Queen’s Park on Monday, followed by speeches and a rally. The event was timed to...

Editorial by Jeff Green The recently released census results that show a population decline in Frontenac County is bad news for the region, particularly because permanent residents are the mainstay of the local economy. Most of our businesses are...

Frontenac County sputters towards the budget finish line. Frontenac County Council cut $20,000 from their 2012 budget during a 2½-hour budget meeting last Wednesday February 15. The county has a $40 million annual budget, of which only $8 million...

The first results of the 2011 census don't paint the rosiest of pictures for future growth in Frontenac County. All three landlocked Frontenac County townships saw a decrease in population over the five years since the 2006 census, while Frontenac...

Efforts have been underway for several years by the Lanark and Leeds Grenville Stewardship Councils, and have been taken up by the Frontenac Council as well, to promote public awareness of the unique value and characteristics of the Black Rat Snake,...

As part of its Integrated Sustainability Initiative, Frontenac County has commissioned the same consultants who prepared the social housing strategy for the City of Kingston to complete a Seniors Community Housing pilot project study for the county....

Councilors get snippy in short budget meeting Displaying an uncanny knack for scheduling meetings during freezing rain events, members of Frontenac County Council found their opportunities to debate their 2012 budget limited to about 45 minutes last...

The Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL) Board opted for continuity when they chose Patricia Enright as their new Head Librarian/Chief Executive Officer late last fall, replacing Deborah Defoe at the start of this year. For the past 7 ½ years...

Paul Dewar, NDP federal leadership candidate, held an event in Perth on January 8. In what was more a concert than political rally, Fireweed and Jacob Moon performed for over 100 people at St. Paul's United Church. The numbers are significant,...

Draft Frontenac County budget calls for 1.34% levy increase At their final meeting of 2011, members of Frontenac County Council received the 2012 draft budget from the County Finance Department. The county expects to spend just over $42 million in...

Draft Frontenac County budget calls for 1.34% levy increase At their final meeting of 2011, members of Frontenac County Council received the 2012 draft budget from the County Finance Department. The county expects to spend just over $42 million in...

Frontenac County approves Ompah base construction agreement; Parham move put on back burner After confirming that North Frontenac Council had already approved a cost-sharing plan for the construction of an ambulance base/fire hall in Ompah,...

Frontenac County approves Ompah base construction agreement; Parham move put on back burner After confirming that North Frontenac Council had already approved a cost-sharing plan for the construction of an ambulance base/fire hall in Ompah,...

Anne Prichard, General Manager of the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC), criss-crossed the county last week to conduct information sessions about the newly announced Eastern Ontario Development Plan (EODP) At each stop she...

Special Education is a serious business for the Limestone District Board of Education. Alison McDonnell, Supervising Principal (Special Education), heads up the program for the board, and dozens of people work in her department at the board office,...

There are still five spaces available for anyone aged 15-30 looking for a paid training/employment opportunity this fall in the Sharbot Lake and surrounding area. The federally funded program called the Blossoms Project is being offered through the...

Anne Prichard, the executive director of the Frontenac Community Development Corporation (FCFDC), has been walking on egg shells all summer. While the corporation has continued to offer its core services this year, including providing advice and...

Frontenac County rebuffs L&A ambulance request Frontenac County will not be supporting the continued existence of the Denbigh ambulance base beyond paying the agreed-upon cross-border fee when an ambulance from the base answers a call in Frontenac...

For 16 years, a group of the 46 stewardship councils in Ontario (one per rural county) have been quietly going about their business, but that business is changing. The councils were set up by the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) as a way of...

Editorial by Jeff Green Taking a quick look at the online electoral map after last Thursday's election, you would think that the Conservative Party had won the province. The map is almost entirely Tory blue, except for a few pockets of red, and a...

Photo: Anaïs Fritzlan during the Perth Autumn Studio Tour. While Thanksgiving is a holiday whose tradition revolves around giving, for those of us always in need of a little bit of getting, this past long weekend presented many opportunities. One...

Photo:Frontenac CFDC staff, L-r, Krista Fazackerley, Sue Theriault, Paul Vickers, guest speaker Darin Madore of Shanti Yoga Retreat, Ann Prichard and Kevin Doyle It was business as usual at the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation...

Green, Nancy Matte Liberal, Bill MacDonald New Democratic Party,  Dave Parkhill Progressive Conservative, Randy Hillier Green Nancy Matte – In it for the long run Nancy Matte says that bad policies last for a long time, so politicians need to...

County Tackles Public Health: During her four-year term as the Frontenac County representative to the board of directors of Kingston Frontenac Lennox and Addington (KFL&A) Public Health, Central Frontenac Mayor Janet Gutowski often expressed her...

There was no shortage of strong language at an all- candidates’ meeting that was presented by the Frontenac News at the Verona Lions Hall on Monday Sept. 19. Randy Hillier, the Progressive Conservative incumbent, was the first to speak, and he...

Photo: Doug Lee, Kevin Hanse and Steve Pitt, harvesting Butternuts. Well, not that elusive on this day. Kevin Hansen and Steve Pitt have been working on the Butternut Recovery Project for several years and part of the project involves collecting...

Megan Hughes toils quietly most of the time in her office at the Child Centre in Sharbot Lake. She spends her working days digging into statistical information, and produces reports on the social well-being of children and families in Frontenac,...

Dave Parkhill lives in Kingston, but he is a familiar face in rural Frontenac County, where he worked for 21 years as a paramedic out of the Parham and Ompah bases. Parkhill is also the newly minted NDP candidate for LFL&A, and he said, “I may not...

Decision on Ompah ambulance base delayed again A motion that would have kick-started the long-delayed Ompah ambulance base/fire hall project was deferred by Frontenac County Council last Wednesday, August 17. The motion, which was proposed by North...

Every two years, the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association (LOLTA) celebrates innovative businesses in the nine municipalities where it operates with its Vision Awards. The biennial awards were created by former LOLTA General Manager Terry Shea and have...

While the provincial election campaign proper is still a few weeks away, at least three of the provincial parties already have their campaigns underway in Lanark Frontenac Lennox and Addington. Incumbent Randy Hillier (Ontario PC Party) was in...

L-r: County of Frontenac CAO – Elizabeth Savill, CASC - Al Rankin, Frontenac Paramedic Services Deputy Chief  - Gale Chevalier, CASC - Ignacio Melgar, Warden Gary Davison, and CASC - Sherry Purcell.A retired Frontenac Paramedic ambulance has...

 by Julie Druker and Jeff Green Local music lovers had a smorgasbord of live music choices to feast on this past weekend as no less than three high quality music festivals offered listeners a eclectic mix of top notch music from a huge roster of...

Visit from Librarian Deborah Defoe, the Chief Librarian/CEO of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library, outlined some of the issues and history behind the library board’s decision to close the Ompah branch of the library, which was one of 10...

Photo by Michelle Ross While politicians debate and debate some more about the location of a new fire hall and/or ambulance station the volunteers continue to serve the community. On July 5 the Ompah firefighters and EFR team staged a pretend jet...

Photo: David Hahn, GETF Chair, introduces Steve Lapp (St. Lawrence College), Mike Brigham (TREC Renewable Energy Coop) and Paul McKay (True Grid Power) The Wintergreen Initiative – A Community Energy Group was launched on June 25 mid-way through...

Photo: Tugging in Harrowsmith Perfect weather had local members of the community out in droves for Canada Day celebrations across the county. Revelers enjoyed parades, live music, demonstrations, art, festive food, lakefront fun, and a plethora of...

The Internet service delivery business in Frontenac County continues to develop in interesting ways. Six weeks ago Barrett Xplore purchased the assets of the bankrupt Omniglobe Corporation, changing the business landscape in the north end of the...