There are people who know why former CAO/Public Works Manager Jim Zimmerman is no longer working for Central Frontenac Township, but they aren't in a mood to share the information, certainly not with the press.

There was little warning before he was let go. In fact there was no public notice before what appears to have been a hastily called meeting of Central Frontenac Council on Tuesday, June 16 at 5 pm.

In the minutes to that meeting, which were released this week, it only says that as soon as the meeting started, Council moved into an in-camera session to discuss “personal matters about an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees.”

In addition to all nine members of Council, Township Clerk Cathy MacMunn, and Jim Zimmerman attended the meeting.

When the in-camera session ended, the following motion was passed in open session: “that the employment contract between Jim Zimmerman and Central Frontenac Township be terminated immediately; effective June 16, 2015, all agreed conditions of the contract will be fulfilled.”

It is not known if Zimmerman was still at the meeting when the motion was approved, or if he left earlier.

A further motion was approved directing staff to prepare an ad for a public works manager “immediately”. The meeting ended after two hours, at 7 pm.

On Thursday, June 18, the township put out a press release that said essentially the same thing as the motion, but added, “Mayor and Council wish him all the best in his future business endeavours".

In the short term at least, the township is not seeking a new chief administrative officer (CAO) and Mayor Smith indicated that it is not necessary for the township to have a CAO in place.

The clerk, Cathy MacMunn will handle corporate matters and all of the managers, including Public Works, Treasury, Chief Building Officer, and IT can take their marching orders directly from Council. This is the structure that Addington Highlands Council, for example, has used ever since the township was founded in 1998.

Aside from these skeletal facts, no one is talking about the reason for what appears to have been an unceremonious dumping of Jim Zimmerman just three months after he was hired to fill two critical vacancies, at the CAO and public works manager's positions.

No one on council or staff has commented on the dismissal, with the mayor saying only, “Read the press release; that's all I have to say about it.”

Attempts to contact Jim Zimmerman by phone have been unsuccessful.

Jim Zimmerman was Central Frontenac's ninth appointee as chief administrative officer, on a permanent or temporary basis, over a nine-year time span. One of those, John Duchene, served on three separate occasions. Prior to Zimmerman, Mike Richardson had served as public works manager for five years until he retired in the summer of 2014. Kyle Labbett (waste management supervisor) and Steve Reynolds (public works supervisor) filled in between August of 2014 and late March of 2015, and they are doing so again now until a new person is hired.

Louise Moody, the newly appointed executive director of Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS), attended her first event with the organization at their sixth annual Great Outdoor Adventure, which took place at the Child Centre in Sharbot Lake on June 13.

The event, which was funded in part by the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Kingston Community Foundation with help from Pathways for Children and Youth, included many activities for youngsters, an Aboriginal corner, live music courtesy of Tom Asselstine and the Kokumis Drummers and a United Way yard sale. New this year were demonstrations and workshops in snowshoeing and lacrosse that came about thanks to a successful two-year grant obtained by NFCS through the Ontario Sports and Recreation Communities Fund.

A partnership with the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation, the Limestone District School Board, the First Nations Youth Advisory, Kingston Kross Fire Lacrosse League and the Northern Rural Youth Partnership will make these two new traditional sports activities available to local children in the community, who will also now have access to a snow shoe lending library and will be able to participate in a new lacrosse league as well as in a number of skills-related workshops and demonstrations in both activities.

Maribeth Scott, manager of children services at NFCS, was thrilled with the opportunities these two new activities will bring to youth in the area. “Getting local youth active in a relevant, cultural way is exciting. We have a large population of native families here and now through this grant, we are able to continue to encourage youth to be active by introducing them to these two culturally relevant activities.”

On June 12, students in Mr. McVety's grade 10 Civics class at the Granite Ridge Education Centre competed in the finals for the Youth Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Award, a $5,000 grant awarded to the winning students to fund a local charity of their choice.

The program teaches secondary school students the fundamentals of philanthropy by giving them the opportunity to play a direct role in making a financial grant to a local social service organization in their own community. Four groups of students who made it to the finals of the competition took to the stage in the school’s cafetorium and gave presentations to a panel of judges made up of staff and students from the school. Also in attendance at the presentations was Steve Humphries, the final presentations coordinator from YPI Canada.

The program, which is run through the Toskan Casale Foundation, takes place across Canada, the U.S. and the United Kingdom. It is a philanthropic initiative that aims to engage grade 9 and 10 students in local social issues by asking them to choose an issue and then to research a local charity of their choice. They then create an in-depth presentation and make a case as to why their chosen charity should receive the $5,000 award.

The four groups who competed chose four different charities: Almost Home, a Kingston-based charity that supports sick children and their families; Dawn House, a women's shelter in Kingston; the Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa, which supports women who are or may become criminalized and their families; and lastly Ottawa Therapy Dogs, an organization that trains and uses therapy dogs to assist individuals with disabilities and other special needs. The judges definitely had their work cut out for them as they made their final decision following the presentations, and after a long deliberation, they announced the winners.

Representing Dawn House, Grace Cumpson, Summer Kennedy and Emalee Ridell were called to the stage and presented with the $5,000 cheque. Randy McVety, who has been running the YPI program at the school for the last seven years, said that YPI encourages students to become actively and passionately involved in creating better communities by researching the organizations that exist to fulfill those needs. “At certain points in our lives we can need help from other people and organizations and this program is an incredibly tangible, authentic and relevant one that encourages students to identify those social needs and to actively connect with the organizations that address them”.

Over the last seven years, students at the school have raised $40,000 through the YPI program, which has helped to fund a variety of local charities. This year alone across Canada, 150 YPI awards will be given out totaling over $1 million in grants to grassroots social service organizations.

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A total of 13 locations opened their doors to curious history buffs at the special Doors Open event, which took place on June 13 to celebrate 150 years in Frontenac County.

At the Railway Heritage Park in Sharbot Lake, members of the Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Society greeted visitors to the caboose, which offers visual and written information about the area’s unique railway history. They served guests lunch and refreshments and want to get the word out that they are looking for new members and volunteers to assist them with their many ongoing projects. For information please call 613-279-2777

At the Bradshaw Schoolhouse near Tichborne, guests had a chance to meet former teachers and their relatives at the quaint and lovingly preserved one-room schoolhouse where Richard Webster greeted guests. Visitors included Marilyn Meeks, who supply taught at the school for one year in the late 1960s, filling in for a teacher taking maternity leave. She remembers the school with fondness and recalled how the older students assisted the teachers by minding the younger students while the teacher did her best to cover school curriculum for all ages. Also visiting was Daniel Hayes, whose grandmother Daisy (Margaret) Hayes taught at the school between 1916 and 1919, prior to marrying Edward Hayes, who at the time was a telegraph operator at the CP Station in Tichborne. Daisy trained as a teacher at Sharbot Lake's Normal School (teachers’ college) prior to taking the post at Bradshaw.

Other locations included in the Doors Open event included sites in and around North, Central, and South Frontenac and the Islands.

In June 2011, I shared the stage at Relay For Life with an amazing leader; a lady who had the determination to accomplish anything that came into her mind. It was on that stage that I first thanked her for bringing Relay For Life to our area and for showing our community, participants and volunteers alike, how it’s done. I said at that event, that without Claire Macfarlane, there would be no Relay For Life at the Parham fairgrounds. She is now, and will forever be, the First Lady Of Relay For Life North & Central Frontenac.

Claire was not new to volunteering as I was back then. She played numerous roles with the Canadian Cancer Society dating back to 1994. She was a residential campaign canvasser, community services chair, transportation coordinator, volunteer coordinator, volunteer driver as well as the Chair of Relay for Life from inception in 2007. And these positions overlapped each other. She had a way of knowing how to get things done.

In 2009, a friend said, “I could use your help on the Relay committee” and of course I signed up. My first impression was that Claire must be a self-employed business woman because she led her group in a very organized “time is valuable” way. Everyone was very task oriented and the meeting ran like a well-oiled machine. I was impressed that we were going to pull off this fantastic event in Parham with a budget of exactly $0.

But what an event it was! I had participated on a team the year before but being on the committee had a new set of demands. There were moments I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it, and I was the event MC!!! I had to dig really deep to find the energy to finish. Finally, Claire made the announcement that our efforts had raised over $65,000. She was beaming. No matter what the total, her face said it all. It was the face of someone who had accomplished something to be proud of and she shared that accomplishment with each of us. I felt it then, and I always feel it when I am at Relay For Life. The feeling that a small community of 6500 plus, can come together, walk together, share their stories, share their fears and at the end of the day, feel empowered by giving. This was what Claire wanted. She wanted us all to come together to support each other and empower each other. I have been with the event ever since.

When Claire asked if I would be co-chair with her, I asked what I had to do and she said my most important task was to “pay attention”. I tried my best. As we went through planning the 2011 event I made it my mission to learn everything I needed to in order to continue this event in our area. She taught me the importance of delegation and team work as well as attention to detail. She reinforced my life motto, as in “It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission”. She showed me how to rally people and get them excited about helping. But mostly, she encouraged me when things got stressful. She told me that things will always work out the way they are supposed to. And she was right of course.

In early 2013 I got the news that my friend and fellow cancer fighter had the disease that we had fought so hard against. It didn’t seem possible to me. And even if she did, there was no doubt in my mind that she would beat it. That year, our leadership team attacked our tasks with new found energy and vigor. We invited Claire to be our survivor speaker for 2013 and we also started “Claire’s Caped Cancer Crusaders- A community team” that welcomes any and all members to relay. In her survivor address, Claire spoke of the “Why Me” thoughts that she had through her battle with cancer; and that she never thought that she would attend Relay as a Survivor.

In 2013, Relay For Life North & Central grossed the highest amount of fundraised money -$72,000.

Well Claire, because of you, many people have attended Relay as survivors for a lot longer than they could have without you. Our little Relay For Life community has raised a little better than $406,000 since 2007, when there was a little lady with a plan and a deep-seated love to help others. Claire, I will miss your emails of encouragement especially on the morning of June 20, when I start my last Relay For Life as Chair. My team and I will try our best to do you proud. We will miss your smiling face this year and in the years to come. Thank you for bringing Relay For Life to us and for your dedication to finding a cure. Every ride to treatment in this area, every supportive call that is made and every dollar raised from our community through this event is because of you. You will never be forgotten, my friend.

(Editor’s note: Claire Macfarlane-England sadly passed away at Perth Hospital on May 20, 2015, with her family by her side. The North & Central Frontenac Relay for Life will take place on Saturday June 20 from noon to midnight at the Parham fairgrounds)

Taylor Salmond has been a quiet leader at North Addington Education Centre, but when things need doing the students and staff at the school know who to look to. She has used her skills in Volleyball to set up lunchtime mentoring sessions with elementary panel students in the school and ran clinics in her spare periods. She was the treasurer of the Student Council last year and president this year, and organised fundraisers, charity events and more. She is also an active community volunteer and her grades have been very high as well. She has maintained a 90% average over her entire high school career and won numerous proficiency awards.

Austin Fuller is a guitarist, an A student, a volunteer firefighter, and is good at fabrication. At NAEC he was a music teacher for younger students all through high school, has supervised summer students at Bon Echo, performed at the Denbigh Music Fest, and met his obligations to the Ward 1 fire department - all while attaining a Special Skills Major in Construction with an 86% overall average. This year he has been participating in a dual credit program in Automotive techniques at Loyalist, where he is planning to attend college next year in the Welding and Fabrication Program

Last year, Taylor Meeks won the award as the best all around student at Granite Ridge. He has also played varsity basketball, soccer, volleyball and track, and he won the coaches award for Basketball in 2014. He has coached in the Northern Area Basketball League for elementary-aged students, was one of the student guides when Granite Ridge was introduced to the community last year, and has been an important member of the Student Council for the last two years. His voice is known to the entire school community because he is one of the morning announcment team at Granite Ridge.

Matthew Robinson of W.A. Robinson has been named in Wealth Professional magazine’s Hot List for 2015. This annual ranking honors 45 advisors and executives who have made waves in the wealth management industry over the last year and continue to shape its agenda.

“The volatility and change in the industry is unrelenting and greater than ever before. As the next phase of CRM2 comes into play, the Canadian wealth management industry will work through even more of that kind of upheaval. The Wealth Professional’s Hot List provides clues on who is going to come out on top,” says Wealth Professional editorial director Vernon Clement Jones. “Each has won a place on the list by capturing headlines in 2014/15 and leading their organizations to greater heights. As a group, they embody the excellence that characterizes Canadian wealth management.”

Mountain Grove resident petitions council for permission to keep pigs

In a delegation to council, Amy-Lynn Hole brought council's attention to a complaint lodged by a resident against the smell from pigs she is raising in a barn that is located at 1026 Mountain Grove Road. The complaint has led to an investigation by by-law officer Ken Gilpin.

Hole’s presentation included a description of the barn where the pigs are fed, watered and cleaned daily and she explained how their waste is shipped outside of the hamlet. She stated that when the by-law officer arrived to investigate, he said he did not smell anything odious. Though she did not mention how many pigs are being housed in the barn, she did say that the pigs do not run free and that she believes she and her family should be able to keep them. She referred to a council decision earlier this year allowing miniature horses and goats to be kept at a residence that is also located in a hamlet. As a member of a low-income family, she cited her difficulties paying for food, medicine, and hydro for a family of five, which includes her father, who is in the throes of stage four brain, lung and spinal cord cancer. She said the meat from the pigs goes a long way in helping her to feed her family. Hole also presented a petition with 51 signatures supporting her request to be able to keep the pigs.

In a discussion following the presentation, CAO Jim Zimmerman said that he is waiting for legal advice regarding the matter and he advised council to defer making a decision until that advice has been received. Council agreed.

Gravel and road construction tenders

Council approved Jim Zimmerman's recommendation to accept bids from Crains' Construction to supply and place gravel on 12 township roads for $200,300, and to complete the rehabilitation of Frontenac and Mill Roads for $331,546. Both bids are under the amounts budgeted for the work involved; the gravel by $45,000 and the road work by $54,000. The total savings of almost $100,000 was called a "good news story" by Zimmerman. The savings will help to allviate the $225,000 in “budget pressure” identified by Treasurer Michael McGovern earlier this spring.

40km speed reduction approved in school zone on Road 38

Council passed a motion to approve the speed limit reduction on Road 38 in Sharbot Lake where the highway extends 150 meters in both directions from the limits of land used by the Granite Ridge Education Centre between the hours of 8 a.m. And 4:30 p.m. on school days.

May 2015 Construction details

Jeremy Nevens' report to council regarding construction values showed that although the May, 2015 numbers decreased to $270,000 from $935,000 at the same time period last year, 2015's year to date numbers are up by more than $750,000 – from $1.28 million last year to just over $2 million this year. Similarly, permit fees overall are up by $12,000 from last year. Permits for a total of six new residential units have been taken out so far this year as compared to just two at this same time in 2014.

On Sunday, June 14, at 11am, Sharbot Lake United Church will host the 48th anniversary of the founding of the grouping of churches known as the Centenary Pastoral Charge, and all are welcome.

Forty-eight years ago, in Centennial year 1967, the three congregations of Maberly, Sharbot Lake and Parham joined together to form one unit to serve God by sharing prayers, resources, clergy, sacred spaces, and sharing their joys and sorrows together. The three churches will join up for a joint celebratory worship service at the Sharbot Lake site followed by a light lunch, and they hope that many will come.

Rev. Jean Brown will lead the worship. Special music is planned. It is hoped to raise the roof in praise and in singing some of the older hymns from our founding years.

The founding year of the United Church of Canada, a uniting and united church, was 1925 when three denominations - Presbyterian, Methodist and Congregational, “united” to form one denomination. It was the first union of churches in the world to cross historical denominational lines and hence received international acclaim. Impetus for the union arose out of the concerns for serving the vast Canadian northwest and in the desire for better overseas mission. Each of the uniting churches, however, had a long history prior to 1925. Throughout the following years, this pattern of amalgamating, joining together to serve God and community, and sharing spaces continued, and it continues today as Maberly United Church prayerfully looks ahead to amalgamating with Sharbot Lake United. Past amalgamations in Sharbot Lake included Zealand and Oso, while Parham included Oconto, Tichborne, Wagarville and Long Lake.  

TAMI, which stands for Talking About Mental Ilness, is a program run by volunteers that is based on an awareness program originally called “Beyond the Cuckoo's Nest”, which was developed in Toronto in 1988.

“TAMI is about public awareness and reducing the stigma of mental illness, which affects 1 in 5 people some time in their life” said Laura Tuepah, a TAMI volunteer who is also an occupational therapist with Providence Care, based in Kingston.

The Sharbot Lake Family Health Team, in conjunction with Northern Frontenac Community Services, is presenting a TAMI event next Wednesday, June 17 from 6 to 8 pm in the lower level of the Family Health Team offices.

As part of the presentation, a number of people who have dealt with mental health issues will be on hand to talk about their experiences, about overcoming the stigma of the disease and about the kinds of treatments that were available to them.

In Frontenac County there are a number of resources available for people suffering from Mental Health issues, and professionals who provide service in the Sharbot Lake region under the umbrella of medical or community agencies will be on hand to talk about what they offer.

Laura Baldwin, program manager at the Family Health Team, says that one of the messages that the therapists and other service providers attending the meeting will be getting across is that they all work together on different kinds of issues that people face, and that “any of their phone numbers is the right phone number.”

Among the agencies that provide service in the Central and North Frontenac region are the Family Health Team, which has both a part-time mental health worker and psychiatrist on staff; Northern Frontenac Community Services, which has a full-time family counselor on staff; affiliate agencies such as Providence Care, and Addictions and Mental Health Services (KFL&A); and other addictions service providers as well.

“In rural communities isolation can be an issue that compounds mental health issues, and what TAMI is all about is providing people with an opportunity to share their experiences, find out they are not alone, and also give a chance for them to find out what help there is and how to access it,” said Laura Baldwin.

“It is also a chance for people to let the professionals know what they need and make suggestions about services they could use.”

TAMI is open to all, and pre-registration is not required. For more information call 279-2100 or 279-3151.