FSR president Gray Merriam and North Frontenac mayor Ron Maguire at the Story Lake sign unveiling

A small group gathered on July 3 on Road 506, just north of Northbrook, for the official unveiling of the third and final story board sign, which brings to completion the cooperative watershed sign project initiated by the Friends of the Salmon River (FSR). The project aims to highlight the importance of the Salmon River watershed to permanent and seasonal residents, and visitors, in the hopes of generating local awareness of and concern for the watershed’s ongoing health and protection. The sign highlights general information about the Salmon River watershed along with specific messages about the particular area, including a list of species at risk.

Gray Merriam, president of the FSR, unveiled the sign and spoke about its purpose to “help people relate to the land where they live.” The sign is positioned where Story Lake meets Beaver Creek, the latter being one of the Salmon's major tributaries, which flows into Kennebec Lake. ”These upstream areas are the most important in any watershed. Anything dumped in here will travel all the way down to Shannonville”, Merrriam explained at the presentation. “ If we can get people to relate more strongly to their land and get people to care, then we really have it made. That's much more effective than passing regulations.”

The project was a joint effort between the FSR, the Frontenac, Hastings, and Lennox and Addington Stewardship Councils and Quinte Conservation Authority, and, according to Merriam, “is a remarkable example of how cooperation can work.”

The signs were designed by Carolyn Butts and Hans Honecker of Bon Eco Designs in Tamworth. North Frontenac Mayor Ron Maguire, Ken Hook of the Land O' Lakes Tourist Association and Terry Kennedy, president of Kennebec Lake Association, each spoke and Steve Medd, former director of the FSR, ended the event with an original song called Dare to Dream - A tribute to the Salmon River.

For more information about the FSR visit friendsofsalmonriver.ca

This year’s Hands on Harvest Guide to Local Products has arrived!

There has been a change in funding for this project in the last year. The County of Frontenac has accepted a proposal to cover the costs of printing the brochure and a group of volunteers has continued to gather the information and carry on the on the work of creating and updating The Guide to Local Products that was started in 2007.

Hopefully, if you are a producer, you made it to the list and if you didn’t but would like to be included, you will find all the information you will need on the brochure. We strongly recommend that you save this brochure so that you will have it handy when you feel the urge to take a tour down our country roads to see all the great products our neighbours have available. Call ahead so that you are not disappointed. We hope to see our community continue to support its store owners and restaurants, so to this end, they are included here again this year.

Check out the local markets, or make a visit to your neighbourhood farm. There is no way to really explain what an experience it is unless you have tried it. It’s the simple pleasure of seeing where your food comes from. Best of all you will get to create a relationship with the producers themselves…you will learn about the farm where you buy your meat, eggs, plants, honey or whatever you purchase. You will find that the animals are healthy and cared for and that the vegetables are fresh and vigorous.

Simply put, you will learn a lot about who grew your food and how it was grown. Take the family along as well, as it’s a very educational experience and one the kids won’t forget it. It’s simply amazing how many products are available. If you haven’t checked it out before, this may be the summer to do it.

A Visit at River’s Bend Farm By Christina Wotherspoon

As soon as you arrive at River’s Bend Farm there is no reason to wonder how it earned its name. One can’t help but to stop and gaze at the Mississippi River that runs by Bill and Ellen Raeburn’s farm, providing a beautiful backdrop for both home and work. They care for chickens, cattle, horses, bees, geese, and ducks, but their primary efforts are dedicated to raising North Country Cheviot and Suffolk sheep.

Working with the animals is one of the best aspects of living on the farm for both Ellen and Bill. The look on their face as they watch a lamb jump and play in the field makes this apparent. It’s amazing to see that after years of working with the land and animals, Bill and Ellen still approach what they do with a sense of excitement and curiosity.

With all the time and care that goes into raising these animals, of course it’s difficult to part with them when the time comes. Sometimes you can't help but get attached, but it is this level of caring and commitment that makes a small family farm like this so special. They seem to have found a way to accept this harsh aspect of farm life by trying to keep the bigger picture in mind from the beginning - that they are raising these animals for meat. Great efforts are made so that the animals have a high quality of life, from the beginning until the very end.

One of the other big challenges of living on the farm is being at a distance from the hardware store. (along with most everything else) This makes it very important to make lists and plan ahead in advance of making a trip to town. People who are used to life in the country can surely relate to this problem. When you have the responsibility of caring for and protecting a large number of animals, that tractor part, bag of feed, or piece of fencing can play a critical role on the farm. Waiting for another day to make the trip can be a big problem.

Bill and Ellen are not the only protectors of the sheep. They also have a donkey that lives with the sheep and will chase off predators such as wolves and coyotes. I had heard that donkeys are good protector animals but I didn't realize how tough they can really be. They discourage predators from coming close and they will chase, bite and kick anything that comes too close. Another important worker on the farm is Kate, the Border collie. She was at our side as we moved around the farm, keeping an eye on everyone and everything. Like the donkey, she deters predators and will chase after them if needed, but she also lets Bill know when a predator is in the barnyard, will herd errant sheep, and is a constant companion.

In the near future, Kate will have an additional job as a trainer for a new Border collie puppy, although it’s hard to imagine another dog that could do her job nearly as well.

As well as managing all the animals, the Raeburns also have a large garden where they grow a lot of their own food. And on top of that they are also helping other people to be able to do the same thing by creating a community garden. They have made arrangements with neighbours who would like to be able to garden but who don’t have any arable land available. There are a couple of families who live on the other side of the Mississippi River and paddle to the garden to plant their vegetables in the fertile ground at the Raeburn farm. There is deer fence around the entire garden and a source of water is also available. This is the second year that the community garden is underway on the Raeburn farm, with great success for all concerned.

There is an adventurous spirit at the Raeburns’ as the season starts up, with talk of the new and different crops being attempted each year.

The community garden is a one that may catch on even more, as people discover the joys and benefits of gardening and growing their own food. When the gardeners arrive from across the river, they carefully find their way up from the shore to the garden and leave the same way.

This is an apt expression of the idea of having a small ecological footprint in food production. 

Raised with Love on Tiraislin Farm by Kirsten Jackson

Taking care of farm animals is a big challenge. Especially when you grow to love them, and then sooner or later, having to turn them into food.

I know for a fact that Rosemary Kralik would agree with me. Rosemary has been working on Tiraislin Farm, where she lives, for ten years now. Her number one goal is to make sure all the animals have a great life and are very happy before their life is over. Rosemary decides that if the animals haven't had a great life on the farm, that she will keep them on the farm for another year or two. When it comes for the animals’ time, it is a very gentle process. When the animals are injured, Rosemary tends to them herself, if the injuries are very serious or something she can't fix, a vet comes out to the farm. Rosemary has about 100 animals including: 24 Highland cattle, 35 sheep, 22 lambs, 8 goats, 1 donkey, 1 guanaco, 50 chickens, 20 yaks and nine horses. The meat that Rosemary sells is yak, Highland beef, and lamb. It costs $15 a pound. Rosemary believes that it's not enough just to have healthy animals, they also need to be loved. This is the real value in her products.

Sumac – A Tasty Treat By Joyce Bigelow

The sumac seed head makes a delightfully tart and refreshing drink with a light pink colour. It is delicious hot or cold, and is easy to prepare, nutritious, unique and free. This beverage has been called sumac-ade, sumac lemonade, Indian lemonade, sumac tea and probably other names that I haven’t heard yet. Whatever people call it, they find it is delicious as lemonade.

When I mention making sumac tea, many people ask, “Isn’t sumac poisonous?” Poison sumac, however, is very different from the true sumacs and is, fortunately, less common. All of the true (edible) sumacs, like the Staghorn Sumac, have dark reddish or purple fruit borne in erect, tight clusters. The surface of the fruit is fuzzy or grainy. The poison sumac, Toxicodendron vernix, is in a different genus (along with poison ivy and poison oak). This shrub has berries that are whitish, waxy, hairless, and hang in loose, grape-like clusters. They are quite unlike the red seed heads (berries) of the edible sumacs. Poison sumac also differs in that it rarely grows in dense, pure stands, such as are common at the edges of fields in our area, and in that it inhabits swamps rather than dry areas.

Preparing the tea is simple. First, pick the berries. I usually use six to eight average-sized clusters for a pitcher of sumac tea. The large clusters of sumac "berries" are so easy to collect that in just a few moments you can have enough for a pitcher. These berries are just seeds covered with a thin coating of hairy substance, which holds the flavour. I usually snap off the twig just below the fruit by bending it quickly, but pruning shears or a knife work, too. If you pick the berry heads before they are ripe, dark red and mature, they will not have developed their flavour and will produce a bitter brew. But don’t wait until the rain washes out their flavour, either. Usually, the first clusters are ready sometime in July, with the prime time being in early August. Sometimes a white, sticky substance coats the berry heads. Don’t let this scare you, it also holds good sumac flavour. To enjoy this refreshing summer beverage in the middle of winter, you can pick the heads in prime time and dry them, so you don't have to worry about using washed-out berries. Remember: do not wash the red seed head, for the flavour is contained in water-soluble crystals on the outside of the berries.

After you pick the berries, you may prepare the tea two different ways:

Take the berry clusters, crush them up a little with your hand while putting them into a pitcher, pour cold water over them and then let the pitcher sit in a cool place, such as your refrigerator, for one to two hours. Your taste buds will know how long. Keep the water cold to prevent bitterness. Strain the results through a fine strainer or cloth to remove the seeds and hairs and serve sweetened to your taste with sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.

Some people say that pouring boiling or hot water over the berries makes for poor flavour, for it leaches tannin from the stems, causing the drink to become bitter. However, I prepare it this way all the time, for a nice hot tea. Cover the seed heads with boiling water and allow to steep. I leave it up to an hour for a concentrated base, which can be diluted with ice for sumac-ade. Strain the brew through a cloth. The resulting pinkish liquid should then be sweetened to taste and diluted if too strongly flavoured.

The tartness of sumac is partly due to ascorbic acid (vitamin C) so there is also a health incentive to drink this beverage.

What else can you do with sumac? I sometimes make a potent sumac concentrate by soaking four batches of berry heads in the same water, one after the other, for one-half hour each. This concentrate makes a wonderful and very tart jelly. It can also be boiled with wild apples, elderberry and other that need a touch of tartness to liven them up in jam or jelly. Also, the young, thick, tender tips of sumac shoots (especially staghorn) in early summer can be peeled and eaten raw or cooked. They are sweet and delicious, much like raspberry stalks. I understand the berries make a delicious wine, too. Sumac can be dried, crushed and used as a spice. You can finely grind the sumac berries in a coffee grinder and use it for seasoning salads and it is great sprinkled over fish and grilled. And last but not least:

Sumac Meringue Pie

Combine: 2 cups sumac tea (prepared as above), 1 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, 6 tbsp. cornstarch

Cook in double boiler whisking constantly until thick. Beat 4 egg yolks; add a little of the hot mixture. Stir and pour back into double boiler. Cook and stir 2 minutes longer.

Remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter; cool. Pour into baked pie shell.

Top with meringue prepared by beating 4 egg whites with 6 tablespoons sugar and ½ tsp vanilla. Bake at 350 degrees until browned.

One warning - since sumac is related to cashews and mangoes, anyone allergic to those foods should avoid it, or proceed with caution.

The sumac is a wonderful tree, deserving of much more attention. Unfortunately, the fact that it shares names with a tree with a bad reputation has made many avoid it. That leaves more for us, but either way there's plenty of sumac to go around as it grows like a weed around here. Why not try some this summer?

A note from Growers in this year’s guide:

If you live in Central or North Frontenac, you will find a copy of the Hands on Harvest Guide in this week’s Frontenac News. It is also available at retail outlets throughout the region, and as a .pdf file at Frontenacnews.ca.

Some of the producers in the guide had some comments about the work they do and the goods that they make. They are reprinted below (the numbers correspond to their location in the guide).

#9 Zigrid and Gordon McCarthy:

The agriculture that we do represents our personal need for clean food, grown with care, and served fresh.

Our excess is sold upon availability to a privileged few. We develop new relationships through this contact.

People live in such a fast paced world. We have time, and we are so blessed. We just pass it on.

- Gordon McCarthy

#10 Silent Valley Alpaca Farm

At Silent Valley, we think of the Alpacas as the soft secret of the valley. These beautiful, intelligent and intriguing animals range over 400 acres of historic farmland. People visit us just for fun. The feel of the Alpaca fleece is sensuous, soft, and exquisitely luxurious. At Silent Valley Alpacas, we have a newly renovated ranch store in the Matter-o-Thyme Cabin.  We invite you to visit our website at www.silentvalleyalpaca.ca . We hold a Natural Fibre Festival on the September Labour Day Weekend. 

- Robert and Hanne Quigley

#11 D&M General Store

This year we are celebrating the 100th year of our family's traditional maple syrup operation!

#12 Lorie’s Home Baking

Our Products are made with natural local honey, eggs, fruit and unbleached flour.

#16 Ravensfield

I work with biodynamic principles because I believe that is the most holistic and the best way to grow the highest quality food and at the same time bio-remediate the earth. It is a completely mixed farm – animals are an essential dynamic. We need the energy from the manure that is going into the crop.

- Titia Posthuma

#17 Mountain Grove Seed Company and Spah Beauty Products

My focus is on providing local, historic and heirloom seed that has grown in the area for generations, much of which originated from my great-grandmother’s farm. Each year I continue to broaden my selection. I am a member of Seeds of Diversity, the Canadian seed exchange. I love providing beauty products that are all-natural and my focus is on creams, lotions and moisturizers made with pure cocoa and shea butters and local beeswax.

- Dawn Morden

#18 Elm Tree Farm

We are a family farm that specializes in growing a wide variety of fine organic produce. Our “home-style” gardens are filled with exotic salad greens and gourmet vegetables. The quality of our produce comes from the use of biodynamic preparations on our gardens and compost; growing open-pollinated heirloom cultivars selected for great taste and mineralization of the soil.

The more nutritious the soil, the more flavourful the food! We are working towards growing food year round as well as providing ‘put up’ food. We have also begun to teach people how to do this kind of gardening on a smaller scale.

- Tom Waller and Allaine Nordin

#19 Bill MacDonald

We are fully equipped and insured to help you with judicious and sustainable management of your forest resources

- Bill MacDonald

#22 Dragonfly Herbs

Growing herbs for sustainability.

Add a few herbs to your vegetable or flower gardens. Harvest them to dry just before they flower for the best flavor and high oil content. Using herbs during the winter months gives you an extra health boost at a time when flu and colds abound. Using local or your own herbs ensures that you are getting a quality product and one that is grown to your specifications without pesticides. Taking “herbal medicine” can help to alleviate or prevent a health problem but using herbs in our foods on a daily basis adds to the health benefits we get from eating locally sourced foods.”

- Kathy Martin

#23 Community Herb Garden

What is an Herb?

The Old Farmer’s Almanac Book of Wisdom says, “Botanically, an herb is a plant …... that naturally dies to the ground, having no persistent stem structure. For most gardeners, an herb is any plant grown principally for its flavour, fragrance or medicinal properties.”

At the herb garden we focus mainly on the second definition, as this is where most people’s interest and needs lie. However visitors to the garden will also find a bed of indigenous herbs (wild flowers) under the botanical definition as well as other useful plants. The garden is, after all, a teaching garden as well as a source of fresh herbs that you might otherwise have to go outside of the community to find.

Plants are labeled and most have a description sheet as to their traditional or recommended uses. If you are not sure, visit on Wednesday mornings, when the volunteers are at the garden, working.

During salad season especially, you can’t beat fresh herbs for flavour.

- Sally Angle

#27 Ludwig Ratzinger

Our chocolate bars are made from "noble-grade" Criollo, Trinitario and Wild Cocoa beans from selected suppliers in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Madagascar and the Dominican Republic. The chocolate is manufactured in Switzerland under the highest quality standards.

- Ludwig Ratzinger

 #29 Steeles Apiaries

Our honey is natural, local, and not pasteurized. The bees go to the wildflowers and that gives the honey a unique flavour. The landowners and farmers who live nearby are happy about the pollination that the bees provide, and the cottagers are happy to get a local product from us. I love the work - I grew up on a farm and this just feels natural.

- Keith Steele

#30 Audrey and Earl Bain

“We enjoy what we do… getting back to the basics of growing our own food as well as some for others.

- Audrey Bain

Hands on Harvest Brochure (PDF 333 Kb)

Editorial by Jeff Green

There are not many things that people dislike more than paying taxes. We like money, and we don't like to have that money taken away from us. And when we want to buy something, we don't relish the idea that the $100 price tag on that dress, that device, or that auto part, is not a true price. There is $13 in tax (8% PST and 5% GST) added to it.

We've all heard the refrain from the Ontario government telling us that for most products, including $100 dresses, devices and auto parts, nothing will change with the coming of the HST. They presently cost $113 and will continue to cost $113.

The biggest category of change with the HST will be in services. A lot of services have been taxed at 5%, GST only, but they will now be taxed at 13%.

The government says that the HST is not about increasing taxes, it is really about a seamless, fairer, tax system. But they gave us all a one-time bribe this month to cover some of our losses anyway.

Most people don't want to know about all of this, and most people have a nagging suspicion, borne out of past experience, that when any government says anything at all about taxes, it means taxes are going up.

So, who likes this HST?

Business does. Great, you say, we all pay more so some fat cat businesses can save time and money.

But there are more than one kind of businesses.

I'll use the Frontenac News as an example. The HST will change our pricing for ads. Every ad in the newspaper you are now reading is taxed at 5%. The pricing will be the same next week.

But in our July 8 paper, every ad will be taxed at 13%. The bulk of our advertisers, small businesses like ourselves, will indeed be paying 13% in tax on their ads, but every penny of that 13% will be deducted from the tax they submit to the government later on. In accounting terms, it's a simple in and out, or in this case, out and in.

The increase will however, be felt by our social ad customers and many of our classified ad customers.

There are two advantages the HST brings to business. From now on there is only one sales tax form to be filled out and one sales tax to keep track of. More importantly, the HST also means that from now on every bit of tax that we spend on business costs is fully deductible from the taxes we pay.

The HST is a rational, predictable, tax.

For example, if I destroy the laptop I am writing this article on today by spilling coffee on it, I will have to replace it tomorrow because without it we cannot put out next week's paper. And with no paper, there is no ad revenue. And with no ad revenue, we are out of business.

If I have to replace this computer tomorrow, I will pay about $500 for the machine, (which is tax deductible) plus $25 in GST and $40 in PST. The GST will come back to me in 3 months, but the PST is gone. I need to raise $40 in extra ad revenue to cover that $40 PST.

However, if I can manage to wait a week before spilling my coffee, the computer I need to buy on July 2 will no longer end up costing me that $40.

Now, you might say, that's great for you; you've increased your profit by $40, but I'm paying sales tax on items I never paid it on before. Business wins, consumers lose.

There are two responses to this. Firstly, the computer I buy is essential to my business. It should, therefore not be taxed. I am not an end consumer when I buy that computer, I am a business owner buying a tool for my business. Secondly, if the HST is a boon to one business, it is also a boon to that businesses competitor. If one business decides to pocket the extra profit, another one will lower its prices to improve its own market share. The idea is that taxes alone don’t determine pricing; the competitive environment is a counterbalance that provides downward pressure on pricing.

But in the case of fuel, for example, the situation is not so clear-cut.

Gasoline and diesel for vehicles are not subject to PST, so the HST will apparently mean an increase of 8% in the price at the pumps. The problem is that there is already a substantial provincial tax on fuel, about 15% (based on the pie chart that you find on all the gas pumps at the stations) so the province is now adding a new tax on top. They are taxing the tax.

This, it seems to me, is an unfair extension of the HST.

Fuel prices rise and fall based on logic we don't understand, so we cannot count on the marketplace to correct for this one.

So, in the end, to me the HST is a good idea, and its coming was inevitable. All modern economies are moving towards value added taxes, which among other things make products for export more competitive on the world market.

But as is always the case, it is in the details of implementation that the mathematicians who run the finance department are ensuring that the government ends up with more, not less, revenue.

And we all know who pays for that. 

Amelia Redmond. Photo courtesy of Amelia Redmond.

Seventeen-year-old Amelia Redmond of Sharbot Lake was thrilled when she recently found out she was awarded a two-year scholarship to attend the Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia.

Nestled on the Pacific Ocean near Peddar Bay, the college - named after Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson - offers pre-university students an International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, an internationally accepted qualification for university. The mission of the college is to “make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future” and its specialized curriculum aims to “educate the whole person and work towards peace, compassion and understanding between peoples.”

Redmond is one of just 200 students from over 100 countries worldwide to be offered the scholarship, which will pay her tuition, room and board over two years.

Students are selected “based on promise and potential regardless of race, religion, politics and financial means.

Redmond is currently finishing up grade 11 at KCVI in Kingston and when asked why she feels she was chosen, she said that although good grades are a definite “must”, her numerous extra curricular activities went a long way towards her selection as one of the three Ontario students chosen. There were 65 applicants from Ontario alone.

Amelia has been a member of the Student Association during her two years at KCVI and has been active in fundraising events there. At just 12 years of age she was a page in the Ontario Legislature at Queen’s Park, an experience that developed in her a love for politics. She not only does ballet but is also a well-rounded musician and plays ukulele and piano. She is a long-time member of the Cantabile Choir of Kingston and is also one half of the contemporary folk duo “Sara and Amelia", which performs live shows in Kingston. Acting is an ongoing pursuit; she has performed various roles in a number of local NFLT productions. If that is not enough, she also speaks French and Spanish.

Amelia admits that the application process was rigorous and she was required to write numerous essays about her suitability as a prospective student. Redmond says that though at 17 she is not 100% certain of what career she will pursue, she is looking forward to the challenges offered at the college.

“The program promotes cultural understanding by living and studying with people from other cultures, which makes perfect sense, and I’m really looking forward to the curriculum which allows us to delve deeply into a number of different subjects. I also really enjoy immersing myself in new environments and meeting new people and I feel extremely comfortable when having to adapt to new situations.”

Amelia is also well aware of the opportunities that will come her way as a graduate of the program, since many prominent schools around the world offer scholarships specifically to graduates of the college. There are a few general goals that she is setting her sights on: “I am hoping the course will secure me the kind of future that I want - which is to be successful by doing things that will benefit not just me, but the greater world. I definitely want to be able to make a difference.”

For Amelia’s parents, her acceptance to the program is bitter sweet. While they share her excitement, they understandably become emotional when discussing her imminent departure. “I’m so excited for her," said her mom, Rosanna, “and I rest assured knowing that every person I have spoken to who has attended the school has said it was the best thing that ever happened to them.”

Amelia and her parents will be making the trip out west in mid-August when her job at the Silver Lake campground finishes at the end of the summer.

Jeff Peters of NFU local 316 organizes marchers at Sunday’s rally in Kingston

With the looming closures of six prison farms across the country, over 800 people gathered at a rally at the Sydenham United Church in Kingston on June 7 to hear a number of speakers from various groups declare their outrage at the Conservative government’s refusal to reverse their decision to close six prison farms across the country, two of which are located at the Frontenac and Pittsburgh Institutions in Kingston.

The groups have opposed the closures, stating that the farms are economically feasible, beneficial to agriculture and good for public safety.

Civil disobedience was the topic of the day as many group leaders vowed to take whatever non-violent action is necessary to prevent the closures and the upcoming auctioning off of the Frontenac Institution’s dairy herd which is slated to take place on June 21.

Contact forms were circulated during the rally asking for willing volunteers to do what is necessary to prevent the herd’s removal.

Former Frontenac inmate and prison farm worker John Leeman spoke, saying that the farms are rehabilitative and prepared him for work as a heavy equipment operator when he re-entered society 19 years ago. He had entered the prison system as a 16-year-old with no education or work experience.

Sister Pauline Lally of the Sisters of Providence said, “I’m not soft on crime but I am big on rehabilitation and that is what these farm programs do.” She asked the crowd, “Why would Corrections (Canada) correct something that is working and working well?” She argued that the farms, which provide prisons with milk, eggs and other goods, are sustainable and said, “We are asking that a moratorium be placed on any dismantling of prison farms until independent experts have had an opportunity to review the value of the farm program.”

The conservative government has maintained that the farms operate at a cost of 4 million dollars a year; that they are not profitable and do not provide useful skills to inmates, though they have never brought forth the numbers to substantiate that claim.

Farmer Jeff Peters, director of the NFU Local 316 riled up the crowd stating, “Farmers are the backbone of our community,” and “You, the Canadian public are the real owners are these farms.” He told any “moles” or “spies” in the crowd to “go back and tell your people that we are going to win.”

Speaker Aric McBay reiterated the call for an immediate moratorium on the closures until the numbers are produced. He stated point blank, “The government claims they are concerned about the (prison) farm’s $4 million budget but they are happy to throw away $1 billion on fences and private security for a 4 day summit.” He used examples of successful movements that in the past used civil disobedience - the suffragettes and blacks in the southern United States and Gandhi who turned the tides through peaceful, democratic means. “If a government fails to be accountable it’s our job to make it accountable…..and that’s where civil disobedience comes in.” He added, “Civil disobedience is not a deviation from democracy but an essential part of democracy.”

Margaret Atwood spoke last and stated, “The government’s plan to close prison farms is a wasted opportunity and a direct contribution not to increase public safety but to increase public poverty, public danger and public instability.”

In her final remarks Atwood demanded of the government, “It’s time to come down from your ideological ballasts and get down to earth because that’s where the food comes from.”

After the rally Atwood led supporters on a walk to Corrections Canada’s regional headquarters on King Street where a manifesto opposing the closures stating “Prison Farms belong to all Canadians. Stop ignoring democracy. Save the farms… Now!” was tacked to the door.

For more information visit www.saveourfarms.ca

One in three adults in Canada, or close to nine million people, report having at least one of seven high-impact, high prevalence chronic conditions. More than one-third of these people have multiple long-term health problems.

Studies have shown the best defense to facing a chronic illness is to understand the condition and respond to it by becoming a skilled self-manager, leading to greater confidence in taking charge of one’s health.

In response to the need for self-management education, a free, six-week workshop Living Well with Chronic Conditions, hosted by the Sharbot Lake Region Community Collaborative for Seniors Health, will teach individuals skills for living a healthy life; including healthy eating; exercise; pain and fatigue management; stress management; communicating with healthcare professionals, family, caregivers and friends; managing medications; planning and problem solving. Adults living with a chronic condition such as arthritis, diabetes, depression, heart disease, asthma, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, fibromylagia or any other long-term health problem may benefit from this program.

The Living Well with Chronic Conditions program is open to all residents of Central and North Frontenac. Meetings will be held Tuesday afternoons from 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm, August 17, 24, 31 and September 7, 14, 21 at Sharbot Lake Medical Center.

Living Well with Chronic Conditions is based on a 5-year study conducted at Stanford University. This work has grown to include the feedback of medical professionals and people with chronic conditions all over the world. Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions has helped thousands of people with chronic illness fulfill their greatest possible physical potential and to once again derive pleasure from life. Its simple goal is to help anyone with a chronic illness to live a productive, healthy life.

For further information please call contact Gail Knowles at Sharbot lake Medical Centre, 613 279 2100, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Purina Walk for Dog Guides raises money to help train Dog Guides for Canadians with visual, hearing, medical or physical disabilities. To date the Walk has raised more than $5.7 million for Dog Guides. The Walk is Lions Foundation of Canada’s largest annual fundraising event.

Throughout the spring and summer, walks have been held in 180 locations across Canada. Now it’s your turn! On September 18, 2010 at the Sharbot Lake beach, the local Lions Club will host their second annual Walk for Guide Dogs. Last year, $3500 was raised during this event. This year’s goal is $5000 and you can help. Get a pledge form from one of our local business partners located throughout the village and get ready to walk!

Foster Puppy Program

Puppies are bred at the Lions Foundation’s facility in Breslau, Ontario or occasionally donated by generous, reputable breeders. At approximately eight weeks of age, puppies are placed in foster homes until they are ready to return for formal training – usually around one year of age.

Foster families attend puppy classes in Oakville and Breslau every 4-6 weeks throughout the oneyear commitment. The foster families house train the puppies, teach them manners and basic obedience, and socialize them to things like offices, shopping malls and public transportation.

Breeds commonly used are Labrador Retrievers and Standard Poodles (for those applicants who are allergic to dogs), Golden Retrievers, and some smaller breeds. The training for a Dog Guide is an intensive four to six month period, training one on one with a qualified trainer. Once fully trained, the dog is matched with a client who spends 2-4 weeks at the Oakville training facility, learning how to handle, trust and bond with their new Dog Guide. After graduation, follow-up visits and communication between the graduate and the training staff is maintained to ensure ongoing success. Each program trains Dog Guides to meet the needs of Canadians with various disabilities.

Dog Guides Canada operates five programs:

Canine Vision Dog Guides for people who are blind or visually impaired; Hearing Ear Dog Guides for people who are deaf or hard of hearing; Special Skills Dog Guides for people with a medical or physical disability; Seizure Response Dog Guides for people who have epilepsy; Autism Assistance Dog Guides for children with autism

All of this costs the foundation approximately $20,000 per dog. All Dog Guides, training and accommodation at the school are provided to qualified applicants at no cost.

2010 marks the 25th anniversary of the Purina Walk for Dog Guides. All ages, fitness levels, with or without a dog are welcome to participate in the event. To register, find a Walk near you or simply to donate, visit www.purinawalkfordogguides.com or call 613-279-2502. We’ll see you at the beach on September 18, 2010. The Lions Club: We Serve!

Over the past few years many individuals and businesses in Frontenac County have invested in solar panels to heat their water or to produce power for the Hydro grid as part of the MicroFIT program. Others have invested in geothermal heating systems for their homes, and there may be some farmers who are growing crops for biomass fuel production.

And for every one who has invested in a small-scale home energy project, there are many more who are thinking about it.

Frontenac County wants to hear from all of these people in their drive to lower the energy footprint of the county and establish it as a prime location for rural renewable energy projects.

The Assessment of Renewable Energy Project, which was one of the priorities identified in the county’s Integrated Sustainability Plan, is now seeking input from residents.

Working with County Sustainability Planner Joe Gallivan, Jessica Strauss of Genivar Engineering Consultants has developed a short online survey, which has two main goals.

The first is to gather information about small-scale energy projects that are already “on the ground” in the county. This information will be integrated into the county’s electronic mapping project, and will give a picture of the kinds and scales of energy projects that are already underway, be they solar panels under the MicroFIT program, wind power projects, or farm-based biomass projects.

The second aim of the survey, and this is the application that will be of use to a larger number of residents, is for home owners or businesses who have not embarked on a project but would consider doing so if they had a bit more information and perhaps could learn from the experiences of others.

The survey includes a section about “barriers to entry”, which includes a number of common concerns, such as: not understanding the incentives that are available; not knowing the best option for renewable energy in a location or region; not knowing what is permitted; and concerns about regulations and financing.

The county has gathered a lot of information about incentives and may also be able to match up people who have already jumped through certain hoops with people who are considering getting involved.

“We seek to enable knowledge sharing throughout each of our townships and in so doing, we aim to reduce carbon emissions, promote sustainable practices and ensure the longevity of our region,” said Joe Gallivan in introducing the survey.

People can fill in the survey anonymously if they wish, but if they include their name and address it will enable county staff to contact them with information, and assist them in finding the right fit for their particular circumstance.

The survey is available by going to FrontenacCounty.ca and following the links under the Frontenac County News section or at http://frontenaccounty.ca/node/91.

“Our target for this project is to get 30 responses from each of the four townships in the county,” said Jessica Strauss. “If we get that number we will have a good solid base to work with.

The renewable energy assessment is closely tied in with a number of other energy-related county initiatives, including a Green Energy Task Force, a regional green energy initiative, and a plan for each of the four townships and the county itself to invest in at least one renewable energy project in the near future.

Over 60 supporters of the Sharbot Lake caboose fund project gathered at Oso hall in Sharbot Lake for the second official fundraiser to pay for the costs associated with the caboose that landed in Sharbot Lake in mid-May. The acquisition of the caboose was part of a project begun by the Central Frontenac Railway Heritage Society (CFRHS).

Supporters were treated to an evening of song and dance with the Old Tyme Fiddlers & Friends, who included Art Barker of Mountain Grove, who called the square dances. In total over $600 was raised, which together with a number of generous private donations has seen the funds soar to $19,000 - just $1000 short of its $20,000 goal.

Sally Angle, chair of the CFRHS, said she is considering doing it again. “We were very pleased with the turn out and the generosity of people in the area, which shows ongoing widespread interest in this project.” She also expressed her thanks to Lois Webster, who helped to bring the musicians from Kingston to the event.

There are plans in the works for a second supper fundraiser this spring and on Labour Day weekend the society will be holding a membership drive at the Sharbot Lake post office on Friday September 3. There will be an official Caboose Open House on Saturday September 4. Everyone is welcome.

Central Frontenac mayoral candidate Logan Murray has been campaigning door to door since early May and recently has held three public forums to discuss the issues that most concern voters. “I'm doing this because I feel it is the most important part of the whole job. The biggest complaint I get from people is bad communication with the township. I want to talk to people so I know what their concerns are.”

The first forum took place in Henderson on August 13th, and Murray said that 25 people attended. Only a few people had been by the Olden Hall on the afternoon of Monday, August 16th, but he hoped to see more as the evening approached.

Murray says the three general issues that have been mentioned most at his meetings and at people’s doors are roads, dumps and communication.

As for roads he cited one of many voter's concerns. “Someone called the township on a Friday of a long weekend about a serious road issue- an accident waiting to happen and was told at 10am on a Friday that no one would be able to come out to deal with it. To me that is unacceptable.”

As far as dumps go Murray has been hearing a lot of complaints about the implementation of clear bags, but on that issue he differs from some of the people he has talked to.

“I support clear bags. We're filling up these dumps atrociously fast and we will never get another landfill site; there has not been a landfill site approved in Ontario in over 45 years.” He continued, “I have always been interested in waste management and have studied it. When you go to the dump and see first hand that of the first 20 bags you open every single one of them contains recyclables- that says something.'

Murray believes education is the way to go. “What I find is when you sit down and talk to people about the facts, most people eventually come to see the light.”

Which brings Murray to his third issue of primary concern - communication. “Regardless of what side of any of the issues that you happen to be on- what is most often needed is more education, more discussion and more dialogue. When I was on council I always tried to get public town hall days. I'd like to see at least two per year if not one every three months.

A lot of the people I have talked to have specific problems and complaints and most of those people feel that their specific issues are not being taken seriously.”

Murray summed up his intent. “If you want a ribbon cutter, I am not your guy but if you want somebody who is actually going to work at problems and solve them-that's why I'm running.”

Election updates

Francis Smith running again in CF – Francis Smith has been representing Oso ward for almost 10 years (she was appointed to serve out a term after a councilor resigned and has subsequently been elected three times), and she has now put her name in again. Smith is the third candidate in Oso ward, along with Rick Greenstreet and Wayne Millar, with two seats up for grabs. The other incumbent, Bob Harvey, has not yet indicated his intentions.

Hinchinbrooke ward also has a three way race shaping up (Phil Smith, Bill Snyder, and Heather Fox) but Olden (Justin Gray) and Kennebec (Tom Dewey) have only one candidate each thus far for two council seats.

In North Frontenac, there are no new candidates in the race, but one has shifted wards. Betty Hunter, who lives at the borderline between Ward 2 (Clarendon and Miller and Ward 3 (Canonto) was running in ward 2, where she has served a term as councilor, but has shifted to ward 3. At this point there are no contested races anywhere in the township. There are two candidates inward 3 Bob Olmstead and Berry Hinter, two in ward 2 (Paul Thiel and Elaine Gunsinger) and only one (fred Perry) in ward 1. Jim Beam is the only candidate for Mayor thus far.

Over in Addington Highlands, the first candidate for ward 1 (Denbigh) has come forward, Yvonne Rosein. There are three candidates for two seats in ward 2 (Bill Cox, Larry Pealow, and Helen Yanch) and one for Mayor (Henry Hogg).

In South Frontenac, where all of the positions are being contested, there is one new candidate to report this week. In Loughborough district, Randy Ferguson from Perth Road is running against Alan McPhail, Percy Snider and Fran Willis.

Then nomination deadline is now three weeks away. It is Friday, September 10, at 2 pm. It costs $100 to run for Council, and $200 to run for Mayor. If sufficient nominations are not received by that time, an additional nomination date, Wednesday, September 15 between 9 am and 2 pm may be established by a township clerk.

The election date is October 25th, but voting will begin before that as all local townships use either mail-in or internet balloting.