Thanks to the many members of Villages Beautiful, an army of volunteers, and not least, those who donated unique creations and/or their musical talents to this year's festival, the much-anticipated annual event once again made for a joyful start to the Christmas season. From December 10 – 12, the Oso Hall in Sharbot lake was again transformed into a warm, twinkling and colorful Christmas wonderland, where numerous local talents took to the stage to entertain, while guests had the happy task of choosing which of the beautiful trees, wreaths, gift baskets, wall hangings, anything goes or gingerbread creations they wanted to try to win. The entries were donated by individuals, organizations and businesses from in and around the local community. The theme of this year's festival, Christmas, Past, Present and Future, made for some very intriguing displays.

Hats off to the organizers and volunteers who worked so hard to bring the spirit of the holidays to downtown Sharbot Lake, and do not forget that the beauty of this event comes not just once a year. Proceeds from the festival support Villages Beautiful, who come spring will be busy helping our hamlets to come alive with flowers and shrubs in the upcoming spring and summer seasons.

2015 Festival of Trees Winners

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow was the theme for this year’s festival of trees, and those traditions were shown in many fine and creative entries. Winners were two-fold: those who entered an item, and those who took it home!

Large Trees: W. A. Robinson Asset Management Ltd. won 1st prize for their tree “Time Frame” and the lucky winner was Mackenzie Whan. The 2nd prize went to the Township of Central Frontenac for their decoration “Remember When”, taken home by Mike McGovern. The 3rd prize was Mike Dean’s Super Foods Store “Olde” which was won by Muriel Wager. “Brunfelsia” decorated by the Treasure Trunk went to Mary Raymond. St. Lawrence Employment Services “Out of this World Christmas” to Lorette Gray, and the Friday Night Ladies' “Santa Goes Back to the Future” to Shiobhan Weatherby.

Small Trees - First prize entry by North Frontenac Community Services “A Tree of Peace and Giving” was won by Steve Duggan; 2nd prize by North Frontenac Telephone Company, “Visions of Sugar Plums” went home with Cheryl Allan; and 3rd prize winner, “The Gift” by Subway went to Ainsley Thompson. “12 Days of Christmas” by RBC to Rob Harrison; “May the Light of Christmas Shine Through the Years” by the Sharbot Lake Pharmasave to Helen Hoogsteen; “Greetings Across Time” by Lake District Realty to Crystal Nedow; “Feeding Feathered Friends” by North Frontenac Little Theatre to H Ridell; and “Small Beginnings, Bountiful Future” by Flight Centre Associates to Alicia Cota.

Mini Trees: This new category was a great addition to the Festival. The CF Railway Heritage Society won 1st prize for their entry of “Getting Home for Christmas” which was won by John Lee. “Rewind, Play, Fast Forward” by Drapeau Automatic Sprinkler Corp. took 2nd prize and went to Deb Deline; and 3rd prize by Steve Duggan’s Law Office “Peace Tree” taken home by Ruth.Frontenac Plumbing’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” to Anne Howes.

Gingerbread Creations: First prize went to “Santa’s First Christmas” by the Whan/Melkman Family and was won by Bryson Gibson. Second prize, “Santa Got Run Over by a UFO” by Northern Connections Adult Learning Centre went home with Ben J.; and third prize “Traditions Through Time” by Linda DeVries to John Lee.

Wall Hangings: Carol Raymo’s 1st prize “Another Moonlit Christmas Eve on the Farm” to Brian West; Arden Batik’s 2nd prize “Christmas in the Spiral Galaxy” to James Duthie; and Ann Howitt’s 3rd prize winner “Forever Snoopy” to Glenys Bender. The winner of “Christmas in the Woods” by Helene Riddell was J. Copes; “Christmas is by Glades Taber” by Clip It went to Shiobhan Weatherby; and Gordon Wright’s “Old Tyme Country Christmas” to Barb Neil.

Wreaths: “Christmas in the Country ca. 1900” by Arden Seniors received 1st place and was won by Joanne Delyea. The 2nd place wreath, “Indulgence”, created by the Community Living North Frontenac, went home with J.C.; and 3rd place, “Honour. Live. Dream.” by Black Kettle Catering to Rob Moore. “Christmas Bells” by Seeds, to Doug Steele. The wreath titled “Where the Future Meets the Past” by CREC Student Council went to Ryan Michie.

Anything Goes: “A Natural Merry Christmas” created by the Sharbot Lake 39ers received 1st prize in this category and was won by Dawn Ray. “Wishing you Happiness in the Future” by Linda DeVries took 2nd prize and was won by Ardith Arney. The 3rd prize, “Life” by George Allen went to Helene Riddell. “Inspiration for a Christmas Tomorrow” by Larocque Masonry & Donna Larocque’s Sign Shoppe was won by Sue Kerteston.

Baskets – Friday Night Ladies’ “Always Time for Tea” took 1st prize and was won by Pam Giroux; “Christmas Nostalgia” by Friends of Arden won 2nd prize and went home with Heather Eagen; 3rd prize, “T’was the Night Before Christmas” by the St. Lawrence Employment Services to Diane Morrow. “Reading Through Time” by Lakeside Readers – T. Cox; “A Hair Raising Holiday” by Dynamic Hair Design – Brenda Whan; “Christmas Gone By, Happening & Yet to Come” by Sharbot Lake and District Lions – John Sparks; “A Taste of Summer Past ” by Sharbot Lake Farmers Market – Paula Rupert; “A Taste of the Season” by Cottage Country Outdoor Supplies – Heather Card; “I Think I’ll Go Back to Using Reindeer” by Desrosiers Small Engine Repair – Diane Morrow; and “Relaxing was, is and will always be the best time” by Sharbot Lake Country Inn – Linda Cooke.

Table Decorations – “Timeless Beauty” by Ram’s Esso received 1st prize in this category. The three parts of it were won by Ruth Pearce (chocolate basket), F. Harvey (Nutcracker), and Glenys Bender (floral arrangement). “Luck in the Future” by Norma’s Barbershop & Hair Styling and was won by M. Gilchrist.

Gift Certificates – The Gibson’s Garage gift certificate for an Oil Change was won by Chris Johnson, and the Amazing Dollar Store certificate went to Tina McConnell. The food hamper, put together by Villages Beautiful, was won by Chris Bertrim and Villages Beautiful “Snowman Evolution” went to Penny McGonagel.

The People’s Choice Award went to “Inspiration for a Christmas Tomorrow” (Larocque Masonry & Donna Larocque’s Sign Shoppe). The Children’s Choice Award was “Visions of Sugar Plums” (North Frontenac Telephone Company).

Each year Villages Beautiful recognizes a person or persons who have contributed their time and effort to the festival over the years. This year that recognition went to the Township of Central Frontenac. .

Many others must be recognized too: there are those who, instead of making an entry, contribute “in kind”, either financially or through services needed by the festival. Villages Beautiful thanks the following: Woodwark Legal Services; Sharbot Lake Marina; Sharbot Lake Medical Centre; Sharbot Lake Dental Office; Sharbot Lake Lawn Service; Robinson’s Excavating & Trucking; Donna’s Sign Shoppe; Rebekahs Society; Home Hardware; Gray’s Grocery; RTR Tree Service; Angelo DiCintio; Mike Dean’s Super Foods; Tarasick Carpentry, Sydenham Veterinary Services; Leonard Fuels; Goodfellows Funeral Home; and Ken Young.

Thank you to all the volunteers who made this year another success.

Central Frontenac Township paid $110,000 each for the Sharbot Lake and Hinchinbrooke schools and their surrounding properties.

The township announced the purchases after a council meeting in late February, but the purchase price was not revealed at that time.

There are no firm plans for the use of the schools and township staff have not yet evaluated whether one or both of the buildings can be renovated for an alternate use in a cost-effective manner. Another alternative would be to remove the existing buildings and make use of the properties as building lots.

The need for asbestos mitigation will also have to be evaluated, as that had not been done prior to the completion of the sale.

When she announced the purchase, Mayor Frances Smith said that a public process will be undertaken to determine future uses of each property. She also said it is possible that the Sharbot Lake property might be converted to seniors' housing, and that the Hinchinbrooke site might be a good location for a single public works office and garage for the entire township.

Consolidating public works garages was one of the recommendations of a report into Central Frontenac Township operations that was completed this fall by Frontenac County Chief Administrative Officer, Kelly Pender.

After another year of difficulty at home and abroad, those of us who are Christians will gather to remember once more the birth of a child filled with hope and promise. In churches across Canada, we will join fellow believers all over the world and celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who preached goodwill toward all.

The birth of Jesus stands as a symbol of hope for all time. In his ministry, echoing the words of the Hebrew Prophets, Jesus envisioned a new world - the Kingdom of God - where the last would come first and justice would roll down like mighty waters. We remember God’s great love for the world in the gift of Jesus Christ. And we read once again of the flight of his family in search of a safer place than home. We also remember Jesus’ later teaching, as recorded in Matthew 25:40, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

Hope is important in times such as these. We live in a nation where one million children suffer hunger each year, and 30,000 people in Canada are homeless on any given night; climate change threatens God's whole creation; across the globe battles rage in places like Syria and Afghanistan; we are astounded after shootings in cafés, schools, religious institutions and theatres.

In the midst of these times, we find hope in the volunteers from diverse faith communities who work with people who are homeless and those who are hungry; we marvel at those who spend their lives fighting for environmental protections; we give thanks for those who are teachers and first responders; and we remember that blessed are the peacemakers who seek this Christmas season to end war and to provide homes for refugees.

In this festival season celebrating the Incarnation in Jesus Christ, let us honour every gift we receive from God the Creation, and let us respect every member of the human family! Let us offer prayers and sing praises to God for all the gifts we have been given, but let us also act on the teachings of Jesus to bring hope to people and places left in darkness.

May all the blessings of Christmas be yours, and may they be yours to share.

The Rev. Karen Hincke

Minister, Presbyterian Churches of Snow Road, Elphin and McDonalds Corners

It is my honor to introduce to you our New Face for Relay. Vicki Babcock has taken over the reins from Lesley Smith-Merrigan to chair Relay for Life 2016.

Vicki brings with her a wealth of knowledge about Survivors as she was Chair and Co-Chair of Survivors on the committee for a number of years. As well, she brings first-hand experience on how cancer impacts the lives of those affected by this horrible disease. Vicki’s daughter, Kylie, is a survivor. A month before she turned two she was diagnosed with hypatoblastoma Cancer (a tumor on her liver that spread to her lungs). She is now eight and still going strong.

So be sure to mark June 18, 2016 on your calendar and once again we will be going from noon to midnight.

Once again we will have a full line up of entertainment including our very own HD Supply and Feral Five, who have already confirmed their attendance!! The day will be jam packed but in order to make this happen we are looking for more committee members, so if you are interested, please let Vicki or any other member of the Relay for Life Committee know. The committee is geared up for the Relay and have lots of ideas to make this year a successful one.

Registration is open so be sure to get your team registered; we are hoping for 25 teams for the 2016 Relay.

Our first incentive for teams is that if you happen to be one of the first 10 teams to register for Relay by January 17, your team will go in a draw for…(drum roll please…..)…..FRONT ROW SEATS when your favourite band FERAL FIVE play – and munchies! What a sweet deal – so be sure to get your team lined up and registered by January 17 in order to get in on this.

When Vicki was asked what made her decide to take on the role of chair, she said, “After being survivor chair on the relay committee for five years I decided to take on the role of chair because I love being part of relay and a great committee and community, and after seeing first hand what this horrible disease can do I want to continue doing everything I can to beat cancer. I am hoping that everyone will come out and support this great event and help us beat this disease together."

What changes can we expect to see for Relay 2016? The registration fee will be $15 for everyone, with no increases as the date approaches. We hope that each participant can raise $150. This year, when doing a team fundraiser, we ask that you separate out the money raised by each participant - we are doing some new team incentives, with hopes of bringing out new and past participants.

For information call 613-375-6525 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

by Julie Druker and Jeff Green

MacDonald named deputy mayor

An election was held for the post of deputy mayor of Central Frontenac for 2016. It will be a year in which the deputy may be called upon to do more work than in other years because Mayor Frances Smith will be busy fulfilling the role of Frontenac County warden in addition to her mayoralty duties.

Two candidates were nominated: Brent Cameron and Bill MacDonald. They both spoke briefly about their willingness to serve and they each also indicated they would be supportive if the other person was chosen.

Councilors Sherry Whan and Cindy Kelsey were absent, leaving six members of Council to vote. The vote was tied 3-3 and Mayor Smith cast the deciding vote for Bill MacDonald.

MacDonald has served six years as mayor of Central Frontenac and two as warden of Frontenac County, but this is his first term as deputy mayor.

Planning report

Township planner, Joe Gallivan, reported on the work plan for township planning for 2015 and 2016. He said that he hopes to bring forward proposals for an Official Plan update and a new comprehensive zoning by-law in the spring of 2016 for public scrutiny.

Both of these documents have been delayed, but Gallivan said, “That delay may be to the township's advantage, because indications are that the first Frontenac County Official Plan will be approved shortly and once that happens the County will be the approval authority for the township's Official Plan update.”

Since two members of Central Frontenac Council sit on County Council, Gallivan said the “County will be more aware of the reality on the ground in Central Frontenac than the current approval authority, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.”

He said minor Official Plan amendments can take over a year to complete when the approval is done by the ministry, and he expects a six-week time frame will be sufficient once the county takes over the approvals.

Building starts hit $7 million for 2015

Chief Building Official Jeremy Neven reported that as of the end of November permits for $6.9 million in building projects had been taken out, and a week into December that number has gone over $7 million. The total for the first 11 months in 2014 was $4.6 million and in 2013 the 11 month total was $5.6 million.

Permits for 18 new homes have been taken out this year, up from 10 at this time last year, and 15 in 2013.

Permit fees are set to hit $100,000 this year.

Olden waste site date changes effective Feb. 1, 2016

Council agreed to the recommendations put forth by Public Works Manager John Badgley to close the Olden waste site on Mondays and open it on Fridays instead, with the changes to take effect as of February 1, 2016. Badgley said that the change would give the Olden site attendant two consecutive days off. As well, due to low traffic counts, all waste sites in the township will be closed on Remembrance Day.

Council upholds no parking by-law on Anne Street in Arden

Regarding a request by an Arden resident at council's last meeting to park on Anne Street, council adopted Badgley's recommendation to deny the request since a no parking by-law is in effect there. “Staff do not need any more obstacles than they already have,” Badgely said when Councilor Tom Dewey asked him why an exception could not be made in this case since the resident has no place else to park at his home.

Dewey then asked council to defer the issue until staff could look further into it. Council upheld Badgley's recommendation, with Mayor Frances Smith stating, “We have a by-law in place and until it is changed it must be enforced.”

Council agreed to review the existing parking by-law in the new year and until that time the resident will, by law, have to park elsewhere.

Public Works Activity Report

Badgley reported that township staff are continuing to brush, grade and patch local roads throughout the township when the weather permits. A recent meeting with the trappers' council in an effort to get the township's beaver issues under control is ongoing and staff are perusing new ideas to address the issue. Crews have also been installing a fence at the Parham cemetery.

Fire Report

Fire Chief Bill young reported the number and types of calls received from December 1, 2014 to November 30, 2015. He said that the number of controlled burning calls, 22, is a continuation of a three-year downward tend. When questioned why the number of medical/resuscitator calls were so numerous, at 163, Young reported that the unit has been receiving these types of calls roughly every two or three days. Of the overall hours of servicing, these calls required 691 hours of service. Young said they are expensive to do since the department receives no outside financial assistance. Young also reported that training sessions and hours were up in this period as a result of a number of mandatory training sessions where often over 100 volunteers were required to take part. Council requested a break down in the calls per district in the township as a way to better understand overall service requirements and expenses.

Parham fire hall update

Fire Chief Young outlined changes in the costs to the building of the new fire hall in Parham, which included a $40,000 increase as a result of office code regulations to make the building's public library/community space fire rated. Young said he expects the building to open, if not before Christmas, then in the early new year.

Surplus equipment up for grabs for non profits/general public

Council passed a motion offering up the surplus equipment in the former public school in Sharbot Lake following council's recent acquisition of the property. The equipment will be up for grabs first to non-profit organizations in the township, and second to the general public at a nominal fee. The equipment includes desks, chairs, filing cabinets and shelving units. Chief Building Officer Jeremy Neven volunteered to head up the project.

CF Re-Use Center committee proceeds as planned

At council's last meeting, Councilor Victor Heese proposed setting up a re-use center at the Olden waste site, and at this meeting Heese and Deputy Mayor Bill MacDonald volunteered to sit on a planning committee. The committee will include members of the public and will investigate the viability of such a site. The re-use center's mandate is to “provide residents with a space to drop off usable items that will be offered free of charge to visitors”. The objective is to divert goods away from local landfill sites. It is expected that the site will be operated by volunteers.

Full day set for budget deliberations

Following his financial report to council, Treasurer Michael McGovern was asked by council when staff might have their numbers ready for upcoming budget deliberations. McGovern replied that it could take three weeks. Council set a date for Friday January 29 to meet for a full day of budget deliberations and McGovern agreed to get the numbers to council in advance of that meeting.

Delegations

Louise Moody, executive director at Northern Frontenac Community Services, made a presentation to council accompanying her $15,500 request to council for support for the multiple youth programs that NFCS offers in the township. The programming includes after school programs that are run out of St. James Major and Land O' Lakes schools, as well as the Child Centre. Last year 70 students were served. Programming included a day camp run at the Child Centre that had 29 participants aged 6-10, and a Steps to Success and Leader-In-Training program for older youth.

Youth dances, field trips, the Great Outdoor Adventure and Kids Fit Indoor Soccer were some of the other successful programs that Moody outlined.

Moody also hoped to recruit a member of council to the Northern Rural Youth Partnership, which has many members from various related organizations. Council accepted the report for information.

Central Frontenac Township and the Limestone District School Board have come to terms over the sale of the former Hinchinbrooke School (Parham) and Sharbot Lake Public School properties.

After an in camera session at the end of their regular Council meeting on November 24, Central Frontenac Council passed a motion in public session authorizing the two purchases. The price of the two properties was not included in the motion, and will be released at a later date.

Mayor Frances Smith said the township and the school board have been in negotiations for several months about the township buying the Sharbot Lake School property, and at the last minute the school board brought Hinchinbooke school into the picture.

“When we had just about come to terms over the Sharbot Lake School property, the board asked us if we would consider looking again at the Hinchinrooke School property. When we had looked at it earlier, the board was asking for $220,000 and we were not interested in paying that much. Since that time it had gone onto the open market and the price had dropped. We made them an offer for it, and this time they accepted it,” she said.

In order to buffer the township's budget, the closing date for the Sharbot Lake School was the end of November, 2015, and for Hinchinbrooke it is the end of November, 2016.

“We have unspent money from township projects this year which we can put to the Sharbot Lake School, and we will budget for the Hinchinbrooke sale in 2016. Even though the closing for Hinchinbrooke is set for the end of next year, the School Board has agreed to grant us access to the property before then,” Smith said.

Smith did not rule out the township taking out a loan to pay for the two purchases.

She said that there are no fixed plans for either site, but Council has talked about the potential for senior's housing for the Sharbot Lake site, and a central location for a township garage at the Parham site.

“We will go to the public for ideas about what the best use will be for the two properties,” she said.

The township is not interested in taking on any major ongoing costs for property maintenance, she added, so any proposed use for either property will need a firm business plan before council will seriously consider it.

Frontenac County has a goal of establishing a five unit senior's housing complex in each of the Frontenac Townships, and has some money set aside to facilitate that.

Central Frontenacs currently has two township garages up and running, one at the Olden Waste site on Highway 7 near Mountain Grove, and the other on Road 38, 10 km south of Parham.

Both sites have relatively new salt and sand storage domes.

A sold out sign was posted on the Crossing pub’s front door at the Feral Five's seasonal come back show on November 26 in Sharbot Lake.

In addition to the band, the evening also featured guest musician, Bob Miller, who is likely best known locally for his historical reenactments and for reproducing and restoring historical artifacts and paraphernalia. Not as well known is the fact that Miller has performed as a professional folk singer since the 1970s. For years he played the folk circuit in Toronto, and all across southern Ontario and Upper New York State before retiring from the limelight and settling down with his family here 22 years ago.

It was while performing back in the day that Miller, who has always played on his own guitars, Celtic mandolins and dulcimers, began getting commissions to build instruments for other players, which he still does to this day.

Miller stuck to this long time tradition and came armed to the show with three of his own guitars, each tuned to three different modal tunings, which he said “saves me a lot of time on stage and helps to move things along.” He performed a number of traditional British Isles folk classics from what must be a very impressive folk repertoire.

Miller has a very laid back and natural approach to his music and he opened with “P is for Paddy”, a traditional Irish folk tune. He was joined on stage by the Balogh sisters, Meghan and Kaitlin, who have been playing fiddle with Miller “since they were in their single digit birth days”. Their seamless sound as a trio proves the fact that years of musical sharing between players makes for very easy listening. The three made their way through a number of offerings that included the classic instrumental “The Butterfly”, an upbeat jig, the more modern “Rose Hill Fair” and “Caledonia”, a traditional British Isles folk tune that tells of the first coal mines set up in eastern Canada. The three closed the set with a cover of Joni Mitchell's Circle Game with an explanation by Miller: “just because I really like that song”.

Newly called “Music and Friends”, the Feral Five will return to The Crossing Pub on the fourth Thursdays of February, March and April and will be joined onstage by some notable new and old favorite musical friends.

The band opened the evening with front man Terry Reynolds performing a rousing version of The Tragically Hip's “Ahead by a Century”. The band also performed a number of firsts time covers that included “Radioactive” sung by Jim MacPherson, Alice Cooper's “Be My Lover” sung by Terry Reynolds and drummer Dave Limber's singing Los Lobos' “Evangeline”.

Next, the Feral Five reassembled their gear and cleared away a few of the front row tables to make room for the dancers who like to get their groove on for the band's always upbeat final set. The tunes that brought the crowd to their feet were ”I Want You to Want Me”, “Runaway” and the show's epic closer, Jeff Healy's "Can You See the Light", which featured Dennis Larocque's amazing guitar solos.  

(with files from Jeff Green)

On November 29, North Frontenac Little Theatre ran their final performance of “The Miracle Worker”, and what a brilliant and empowering production it was. The plot follows the lives of Helen Keller, her family, and her teacher, Annie Sullivan.

Keller, due to an illness contracted at the age of 19 months, became permanently deaf and blind. The play was an accurate portrayal of the disciplinary struggles that Sullivan faced while coaching Keller on obedience, language and the raw foundations of appropriate human behavior.

Meanwhile, Keller’s family, in a desperate and naive effort to protect her by using pity and love, objected to every form of help Sullivan provided. Sullivan was convinced that Keller was more disabled by her over-entitlement than her deafness and blindness.

“The Miracle Worker” was a well-rehearsed, family-appropriate play with themes and humour that could appeal to a variety of age groups and audiences. It reached beyond Keller’s struggles and gave new insight into the hardships that Keller’s family and teacher faced. You could feel the frustration and despondency that Sullivan, played by Annika Putnam, experienced while trying to control Keller’s tantrums and while helping her to make the connection between words and objects. Putnam, who is only 12 herself, did a remarkable job portraying Sullivan as a cheeky, stubborn 20-year-old girl in a world dominated by middle-aged men. As the play progresses her own demons and insecurities come out, and Putnam was up to the task of showing Sullivan's growth, a key component of the play.

Although, as Helen Keller, Sydney Drew played the part of a silent person, her actions were expressive and convincing. Keller’s limited tactile connection to the world and the constant frustration caused by her inability to communicate was well portrayed by Drew throughout the play.

Many of the scenes were long and contained complicated and articulate dialogue, and the entire cast did an impressive job remembering their lines and staying true to their characters. NFLT veterans John Stephens, Angie Cowdy and Pam Giroux were very solid. Barbie Matson as Helen's mother was particularly convincing, as was Nick Alarcon as Helen's half brother.

The set was simple yet effective. The lighting and sound management was accurate, timely and well controlled. Many of the themes of discipline and family dynamics still resonate with anyone of this generation who is experiencing similar struggles.

Although the story of Helen Keller is fairly well known, the plot was well delivered and informative enough that it wasn’t necessary to have had any background knowledge to enjoy and understand the play.

Overall, “The Miracle Worker” was a thoughtful production with deep themes that resonate throughout the ages. The play has inspired me, and undoubtedly many others, to further research Helen Keller’s life to find out what happened after the final curtain call.

Yet another great job by NFLT!

On behalf of the Royal Canadian Legion, Sharbot Lake Branch 425, we wish to express our heartfelt gratitude to all who gave so generously to this year's Poppy Campaign, which made it once again very, very successful. Through your generosity we raised well over $3000. The funds donated during the annual Poppy Campaign do not belong to the Legion; however, the Legion is responsible for these funds. The funds contributed by the Canadian public honour the memory of those who paid the supreme sacrifice as a tangible means to assist with fostering the Tradition of Remembrance. All funds raised through the Poppy Campaign directly support veterans, serving military, and their dependents. It is only with your generous donations that the Legion is able to continue with the support of all our veterans. With the funds raised in 2014 the Legion was able to contribute over $1700 towards veterans' care, including the provision of new high-low beds for veterans at Providence Manor in Kingston; RCL District Charitable Foundation; Legion Villa trust Account; and for the Homeless Veterans.

We also would like to extend our appreciation to all those members and non-members of the Legion who gave their time to help with the 2015 Poppy Campaign tagging. It is only your volunteered help that makes this endeavour such a success.

Also, we wish to thank all who participated in the Remembrance Day service: the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics – Kingston; the Royal Canadian Legion Colour Party; our Piper Comrade Jeff Donnelly; the local churches; the First Nations; Granite Ridge Education Centre; St. James Major for singing the national anthem and all who laid the wreaths. Thank you to St. Lawrence Employment Centre for providing the refreshments.

The play, the Miracle Worker, is the inspirational and true story of Helen Keller and her miraculous transformation from a wild, frustrated, and unruly child who throws tantrums and lashes out at people into a literate, well-behaved, respectful young girl. The North Frontenac Little Theatre's production of the play, now half way through its four-show run, is well worth taking in.

Helen Keller, 1880 – 1968, became deaf and blind due to an illness when she was 19 months old. She eventually became a world-famous author, speaker, activist and advocate and was the first deafblind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.

Helen is played by Sydney Drew in the NFLT production and the story focuses on how she gradually learns from her young and dedicated teacher Annie Sullivan (Annika Putnam), not only to become communicative and literate, but equally how to behave as a civilized human being.

Sullivan, who herself had a very difficult life growing up in “the poor house” with her young brother and who remains haunted by those memories, refuses to abandon her young charge although her efforts are questioned and criticized by Helen's family. Their love and pity for Helen proves detrimental to the child and leads Sullivan to conclude in one of the play's most poignant moments that it is their love and pity that is more of a handicap to Helen than her deafness and blindness. The beauty of this story is in watching the changes in Helen, who from the start is a bright and intelligent child. This transformation is the main dramatic and narrative arc of the play, with Drew and Putnam front and center, and many of their scenes are perfectly drawn.

There are numerous subplots that weave throughout this drama, which include the family patriarch Captain Keller (John Stephen), whose denial and obstacles are almost insurmountable. Other softer obstacles posed by Helen’s loving mother Kate Keller (Barbie Matson) are also depicted. There is the coming of age sub-plot of son James (Nic Alarcon Belanger), whose mother's death leaves him not knowing his proper position in his father's new family, while Aunt Evelyn's (Angie Cowdy) confusion exemplifies the conflict of wanting progress but also trying to maintain the status quo. The play also investigates the history of the conflicting values of America's North and South at that time, with this Alabama family having trouble coming to terms with the outcome of the Civil War.

The play is profound, dramatic, and covers some heady subject matter, and director Carol Belanger along with her formidable cast and crew are up for the task. It is a play that will long be remembered as one of the NFLT's most successful undertakings in the category of drama.

The Miracle Worker continues its run at the Granite Ridge Education Centre in Sharbot Lake, with shows on Saturday, November 28 at 7pm and Sunday, November 29 at 2pm. Tickets can be purchased at the Sharbot Lake Pharmacy, the Cardinal Cafe and at the door. or by calling Nina Jenkins at 613-279-2945.