NORTH FRONTENAC

Unless the Ministry of Natural Resources has some potential solution, residents on Shabomeka Lake that have been using the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority dam to access their properties will have to find alternate access, North Frontenac...

Snow Road author Joelle Hubner-McLean was at the Snow Road Community Hall Saturday to sign copies of her novel Corvus & Me: The Indigenous Spirit, the third in her Corvus & Me series. “In this latest one, the protagonist, Janine, along with Corvus...

MALLA  (Malcolm and Ardoch Lakes Landowners Association) started up a Walleye spawning bed enhancement project on the two lakes back in 2008. Enhancements took place on Malcolm Lake between 2008 and 2010 but then the program was suspended. The...

For many summers now, Northern Frontenac Community Services (NFCS) has invited the community to a barbecue at Oso Beach. It’s generally been a low-key affair, designed to foster community spirit and spend an enjoyable afternoon featuring some...

For the first time ever, and as a Canada 150 project, North Frontenac Little Theatre held a theatre camp this summer. All they really needed was a place to perform. “Louise (Moody) said ‘why not piggyback onto our barbecue’ and we said ‘sure...

It appears that much of North Frontenac Council has heard enough about Mayor Ron Higgins innovative and imaginative theories about how the Township might evolve. However, when the topic arose from Business Arising Out of the Minutes at last...

The last little while has been a busy time for the Clarendon & Miller Community Archives (CMCA), Coordinator Brenda Martin told North Frontenac Council last week at its regular meeting in Ompah. The CMCA is planning an open house Aug. 30 from 1-4 p...

“This is where your tax money goes to,” said North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins at the 2017 Essential Services Fair last Saturday at the Ompah Rest Stop. The idea was to get representatives of the various essential services in one place —...

Arguably the biggest block of North Frontenac Council’s debate time at last Friday’s regular meeting in Ompah centred on the Frontenac News story two weeks ago in which Mayor Ron Higgins discussed his thoughts and plans for community development...

While many rural municipalities are still looking to squeeze more dollars out of tourism and Frontenac County wants to turn us into a community of goat farmers, one of our township mayors is definitely thinking outside the tourism/agrobusiness box....

St. Kilian’s Catholic Church in Ardoch celebrated 125 years as a parish last Sunday with special guests, a special mass and luncheon. The current building celebrated 50 years. Wayne Manion, chair of the cemetery board has been around for many of...

Saturday July 8 was the third annual Sail Mazinaw.  14 different sailboats and dozens of sailors participated.  The weather was very cooperative.  There had been repeating thunderstorms through the night, but the skies cleared and a very sailable...

Fiddlers and Friends have filled the Ompah Community Centre several times in the last few years and the appreciative audience left wanting more.  In fact the audience joined in whenever the opportunity arose and felt that they were part of the...

Making a living from June to September in this area is a relatively simple matter. However, the rest of the year is often quite problematic, as many a failed business owner has found out. But Jeff and Jenna Fenwick may have found a wrinkle that...

On Saturday, June 24, as part of our Canada 150 celebrations, Ompah resident Cille Harris presented a video, “Let’s Celebrate Canada’s Flag”, produced by the Flag Wavers of Waterloo Region. The video is a history of Canada's maple leaf flag...

It was standing room only at the former schoolhouse, now know as the Snow Road Community Centre on Saturday afternoon (June 17) Gerry Lichty, President of the Community Centre, was the Master of Ceremonies. The building was originally constructed in...

North Frontenac will tackle invasive plants with a cut and spot-spraying approach following a recommendation by Public Works Manager Jim Phillips at Council’s regular meeting last week in Harlowe. In his report, Phillips said that in a series of...

Back Forty Cheese will be open on Saturdays throughout the summer, and to mark the start of the summer season, they are holding an open house and party onn June 24 between 10am and 4pm. The converted drive shed that serves as a cheese factory and...

On Wednesday, May 31st, North Addington Education Centre’s Grade 11 and Grade 12 Recreation and Fitness Leadership class, travelled to Algonquin park to partake in a 4-day canoe trip. The students prepared for the trip during the month of May...

North Frontenac Township, in conjunction with the Ottawa Valley ATV Association,  hosted the Ontario Federation of All Terrain Vehicles (OFATV) Annual General Meeting last weekend, with great success. Dave Baker, the OFATV Association President,...

Perhaps North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins said it best himself: “It doesn’t look like this will be going through.” It wasn’t exactly an admission of defeat, more an acceptance of reality, but being that Higgins was the driving force behind...

How North Frontenac disposes of waste and recycling is about to go through some major changes. At a special meeting of Council last Saturday at Clar-Mill Hall in Plevna, Public Works Manager Jim Phillips went through the proposed changes, not all of...

It’s a quiet evening with a few clouds in the sky and annoying clouds of blackflies when the breeze fades every few moments or so. And then  . . . “Jupiter!” shouts amateur astronomer Guy Nason, pointing to the southern sky. As if by magic,...

Shawn Merriman, the new Chief Building Official (CBO), offered his opinion on how Council should proceed with penalizing North Frontenac residents who constructed a yurt in the Township without the proper permits in place. “This case should still...

A dedicated crowd defied some rainy weather on Saturday to celebrate concurrent events, the ribbon cutting of a newly constructed rest stop in Ompah and the unveiling of 5 murals painted by North Frontenac artists Fred Fowler, Marlene Leeson, Cathy...

They had to break out the extra chairs as a capacity crowd filled Clar-Mill Hall in Plevna last Saturday to celebrate the rich history of lodges in North Frontenac. The afternoon began with guests invited to browse the various exhibits before CMCA...

In the 10 years the Ompah Community Association’s ATV ride has been running, it has grown by exponential levels. From about 70 participants at the first one, it grew to just over 1,000 participants two years ago and featured a still-whopping 857...

This week, the Land O’Lakes Traditional Country Music Hall of Fame announced who the inductees for 2017 are going to be. The second annual awards will handed out this summer as part of the Flinton Jamboree on Saturday August 5th at 3:00 during a...

At a meeting in Harlowe, Meredith Rush-Inglis and Laura Williams, residents of North Frontenac, made a presentation to Council on Mongolian yurts and asked for an exemption from a $300 penalty they were charged for building without a permit. A yurt...

We had another successful windup to the Snow Road Snowmobile Club breakfast season with three fundraisers for local charities.  Each year the club dedicates three end-of-season breakfasts to support charities in both Lanark and Frontenac.  This...

“We’re building a toolkit to increase overnight stays in Frontenac County,” Paul Blais of MDB Insight told a special meeting of North Frontenac Council last week in Clar-Mill Hall. “To do that, we need to establish supply and demand — how...

After a joint North Frontenac-Addington Highlands Council meeting last Friday at Barrie Hall in Cloyne, it appears that concerns about equipment reserves for the joint Kaladar Barrie Fire Department (KBFD) have been laid to rest. The meeting was...

By Kip Vankempen’s own admission, it’s just one man’s survey but the results did spark response from Mayor Ron Higgins at North Frontenac’s regular Council meeting last Friday at Barrie Hall in Cloyne. (The meeting was held in Cloyne because...

Clarendon & Miller Community Archives (CMCA) will be sharing their latest year-long research covering the topic of Lodges: Past and Present.  This project aims to recognize the huge economic contribution that local lodges/housekeeping cottages made...

Judd Tooley, Louise Lemke and their Lodge Clarendon & Miller Community Archives (CMCA) are sharing aspects from their research as an introduction to the public presentation May 6th (1 p.m.) Clar-Miller Hall, Plevna. Visitors can browse the many...

Twin Oak Lodge (Kashwakamak Lake) The story of Twin Oak Lodge starts in 1900 when Anton (Tony) Weiss was born August 21st, in Nandlstadt, Bavaria. Tony immigrated to Canada in 1913 with his parents and eight of his ten siblings. The family landed at...

David Bucholtz, a representative from the consulting firm Cambium, made a presentation to Council on Friday morning regarding the state of the Township's waste disposal sites. Bucholtz told Council that all of their current active waste disposal...

David Craig is currently living in Perth and is building an earthship home just east of town, but what he really wants to do, and soon, is start building a community of earthship buildings in North Frontenac. Earthships are a home design concept...

Last week’s warm temperatures and heavy rain that forced cancellation of an actual snowmobile ride, but unwavering volunteers at the Snow Road Snowmobile Club still hosted their third successful Ride for Dad event on Saturday.    Donuts donated...

Coun. Vernon Hermer will be required to apologize to Council and “send a follow-up email to a resident correcting his (Hermer’s) inaccurate statement” following a charge that Hermer breeched Council’s code of conduct in an email to a...

North Frontenac Council passed its 2017 budget at its regular meeting last week in Plevna. Residents will see a $23.91 increase on every $100,000 of their property’s assessment or 2.89 per cent. The Township portion increased by 2.39 per cent but...

Despite freezing rain Saturday morning, a full house turned out in Ompah to discuss proposed changes to North Frontenac Township’s Official Plan. Many of those in attendance were from lake associations and there was one proposed change they were...

When Holly Labow moved her spa business out of town to her home north of Grafton a few years ago, she was concerned that she may lose business being north of the 401, and in the country. “That didn’t happen. People made the trip for the services...

Deputy Mayor Fred Perry made a suggestion at last month's special budget meeting regarding borrowing money from the Federal Gas Tax Reserve to help pay for the new municipal complex as opposed to taking out a loan on the full amount. This idea could...

Council worked through their 2017 budget on Thursday last week and ended up with a 2.39% increase in dollars to be raised through taxation, or $134,331. Major increases were seen in the creation of a winter road maintenance reserve fund for $50,000,...

It was standing room only at the Clar-Mill Hall in Plevna last Saturday as more than 30 pickers got together to honour Jack and Lois Weber on the occasion of Jack’s Jam’s 10th anniversary. There were 90 people in total at that first jam (which...

Eric Kohlsmith, from the Mississippi Rideau Septic System Office (MRSSO) made a presentation to Council on Friday regarding the results of their 2016 Sewage System Re-inspections. The MRSSO made 67 voluntary re-inspections in North Frontenac in 2016...

Jack’s Jam is celebrating its 10th birthday Jan. 21 and as such, they’re planning a few extra features when the music begins again at 1 p.m. in Plevna’s Clar-Mill Hall. “Weather permitting, it’s going to be a special day,” said Karen...

All things being equal, Ron Higgins is planning to run for re-election as Mayor of North Frontenac in 2018. In an email early this week, Higgins said “When I took office as Mayor I said I would give myself 2 years to decide if I will run again or...

Vickie Leakey, a senior manager with KPMG professional services, appeared before Council to bring an update of the Asset Management Plan that the township has been developing and following over the last 5 years. She said that the township is in a...