Photo: Bell Line Road resident Ed Warren encountered Vincent Gabriel Kirouac and his mare, Couer de Lion, on their cross-Canada trek to promote chivalry.Is chivalry dead? Not in the heart and mind of Vincent Gabriel Kirouac of Quebec City, who arrived in Mountain Grove fully clad in knightly attire and mounted atop his mare Coeur de Lion.

Vincent Kirouac is on a six-month journey to Vancouver, BC, with a mission to promote the ideals of chivalry. On May 16, following his usual 30km daily ride, he spent the night at the home of Rick and Elaine Steele of Mountain Grove.

I came across the noble pair on the Bell Line Road just west of the Hwy 509 roughly six weeks after the two set out from the village of St. Pacome, QC. Vincent explains on his website (www.chevalierautourdemonde.com) that his is not a violent sword and throat slashing crusade, but one that “takes its source from the spirit of altruism and selflessness...that calls for mutual aid, solidarity and devotion, love pure and free...erected by nations across difficulties, disasters and above all, rising beyond the very limits of human beings.”

Riding across the country to promote chivalry is not something that came out of nowhere for Vincent. “For eight years I've always dreamed of being a knight and I wanted to realize my dream,” he said as he steadied his mare by the side of the road. “At the same time I wanted to try to bring chivalry back into our world and society. I'm hoping that people can become more warm and whole-hearted to others without having to ask anything in return. I'm trying to encourage people to bring back those chivalrous virtues such as valour, honour and generosity. I believe that 90% of people are good but that the pressure of our society doesn't allow people to be good to each other. So if we just remember that and take the time to smile and speak to people from our hearts, it can make such a huge difference in the world.”

Vincent’s attire includes a metal helmet he had made especially for the journey. He said he is relying on the kindness and generosity of farmers to provide shelter and lodging for himself and his mare. Though traveling light, he always carries a first aid kit for himself and his horse, a raincoat, and a collapsible water bucket from which his mare drinks.

Vincent said that his mare is the perfect horse for the trip and is “really very special.” One half Belgian, one quarter quarter horse and a quarter thoroughbred, he said she is “full of heart and full of muscle, in great shape with good feet and has no fear of cars, trucks or fireworks.”

And Vincent should know a good horse. When he is not riding across the country as a knight, he works as a horse trainer, and he studied equine science in Quebec for the last three years. He expects to arrive in Vancouver in September and once there, will meet his fiancée with plans to make the trip back across the country to Quebec.

It doesn't end there, though. Following that trip the two are planning to ride from Edinburgh, Scotland to Jerusalem. With six weeks under his belt and a gentle smile on his lips, he tells me that he feels his message is getting through. With that he bids me farewell and continues on his way up the Bell Line Road where the Steeles were waiting to welcome him and his mare for the night.

Cost-cutting proposal founders under bickering

Mark Segsworth presented a recommen-dation from the Public Services Committee, that electronic waste be accepted only at the Keeley Road Hazardous Waste site. Currently, the Township pays $30,000 a year to dispose of E-waste left at the Port-land and Loughborough waste disposal sites, but Ontario Electronic Stewardship has agreed to take all E-waste left at Keeley Road free of charge. This change would lower 2012 waste disposal costs consider-ably. A side benefit would be that residents could dispose of their hazardous waste at the same time.

Councillor Robinson objected, say-ing that this would be a backward step, for “People don’t want to travel from Portland to Keeley Road to dispose of electronic waste.” Mayor Davison noted that “It’s a change, and people have to change with the times.” Councillor Vandewal said he agreed with using only the Keeley site. He reminded Coun-cil that until relatively recently, people had had to buy a $30 permit from the township offices, then take their e-waste to Kingston. Councillor Naish made a motion to defer a decision, until the township lawyer could be consulted on the definition of conflict of in-terest. Council voted 5-3 in favour of defer-ral. Councillor McPhail expressed frustration that council was disregarding the Public Ser-vices Committee’s work.

Hardwood Creek Repairs

Segsworth asked Council’s approval of a $620,858 bid from Doornekamp Construction, for the rehabilitation of Hardwood Creek bridge, at the southern edge of Verona on road 38. Segsworth said this is the most heavily-travelled road in the Township, with an average of 12,000 vehicles a day. Noting that the road will be narrowed to one lane for several weeks, Segsworth has recom-mended that the work be started in Septem-ber, after the summer holiday season. The work will include installing a much-needed pedestrian sidewalk along the west side of the bridge. $260,000 of the funding will be drawn from the County’s Federal gas tax allocation..

Township Growth Study Approved

Township Planner Lindsay Mills presented a list of proposed changes to the Official  Plan as part of the required five-year review. As well, he asked permission to issue an RFP for a consultant to prepare a Growth Study of the Township. Purpose of this study is “to help the public and the decision-makers to have a more complete understanding of the implica-tions of population growth and to determine the most appropriate locations for growth and the conditions under which growth can occur.” At present the Province is not in favour of severances along private roads, and is in-sisting all future development should occur only within the established settlement areas. This ignores the fact that with the exception of Sydenham water, none of the Township hamlets have the facilities to support heavy in-fill (none have sewage treatment plants), and many residents move into the Township  because they want to live in a rural setting. A Growth Study may help provide the province a clearer picture of rural development issues faced by South Frontenac.

Mayors’ Coalition Seeks Transparency Re Policing Costs:

On Mayor Davison’s recommendation, Council agreed to contrib-ute $1,000 to a newly-formed group of Ontario Mayors who are seeking a review of OPP costs, formulas and deployment models. It is hoped that information on costs assigned to municipalities and applicable deployment models will be made available to municipali-ties “in a timely manner.”

New Roof Needed for former Township Offices and Library

Rather than accept architects Shoalts and Zaback’s estimated cost of roof replace-ment ($108,000 plus 10% for architectural services), Council put the project out to tender. The  lowest bid that met all require-ments, including references and insurance, was Wemp and Smith.  Their bid, with all ex-penses included, was $76,700.

Thanks…

Councillor Vandewal mentioned that the flowerpot at the foot of the “Sydenham” sign east of the village has been planted: soil was donated by Mike Gossage, and plants by Darryl Silver.

Photo: David Arama demonstrates fire lighting using steel wool and flint.

If there is anyone you would want with you when things go wrong in the back woods, David Arama is that person.

David has made a career of preparing people to deal with some of the dangers of wilderness experiences. He is a consultant to the "Survive This!" television series on YTV, which is hosted by 'Survivorman' Les Stroud, and he has worked for 30 years as a consultant and wilderness instructor.

David and his wife Connie Hammer have established a permanent base for themselves in Eastern Ontario with the recent purchase of Marble Lake Lodge on Hwy. 506 near Cloyne. They already own an off-grid retreat near Palmer Rapids on the Madawaska River. Marble Lake Lodge, which includes cabins, trailer sites and tenting sites, and one of the region's best known restaurants, is also located within a short drive of all the services in the Cloyne-Northbrook corridor.

“Here we have all the conveniences that anyone would want, with access to wilderness as well, and on the Madawaska we also have the off-grid retreat for people who want that experience,” he said.

As a home base, the lodge will also become the headquarters for the WSC (Wilderness Survival School), which will offer everything from half and one-day wilderness survival courses to a one-week survival camp.

The couple will be opening a wilderness outfitting store on the property as well, and in addition to the existing services offered at Marble Lake Lodge, they will be doing survival courses and providing information, survival and safety gear for the local community.

“The first thing people need to do when they are planning a camping trip or a hunting trip is to leave what I call a flight plan behind. If they get lost, it helps if someone else knows where they are. They should also have emergency gear with them, proper clothing and some means of communication,” he said.

Another rule of thumb for people to follow when they run into trouble, and this applies in the wilderness or also in any other emergency experience, such as a power failure, storm situation or being stranded at the side of the road, is to STOP (sit, think, observe, plan)

“The case last year in Nevada was an extreme but classic example of that. There was a husband and wife. He went to look for help and she just stayed where she was. In the end, even after a long, long, time, she lived and he hasn't been found,” Arama said.

David Arama often gets called by radio and other media outlets during emergency rescue situations to help people understand how they should handle dangerous situations, and a lot of what he says gets back to preparation and common sense.

“Last winter there was a case where dozens of cars were stranded on Highway 402 during a whiteout, and I got called by a bunch of radio stations when that incident was going on,” he said. “None of the drivers had blankets or first aid kits in their car. The weather forecast was available to all of them. There were signs on the road saying it was closed, but still a lot of people ended up in a dangerous situation. Now, they did work together well to pool resources and battery power, and the local people came to help them out, but they were lucky that everyone survived that - very lucky.”

In addition to running educational survivor training programs for individuals and groups, and certificate courses for wilderness instructors, WSC also has a not-for-profit corporation that it supports, which provides wilderness training and camping experiences for youth at risk, both from urban and rural backgrounds.

“I came from Toronto. I was raised in an apartment building. I only could dream of the wilderness, but at least I had something to work towards. Some of these kids can't see anything beyond what they have to deal with every day. At least we try to give them that,” he said.

WSC is committed to being a local resource. It has added an extra feature to the local tourist industry and as well will be providing survival tips to Frontenac News readers in the form of articles.

Marble Lake Lodge restaurant is now open on weekends (Friday to Sunday). The staff from last year has been re-hired and the previous owners are helping out with the transition.

“They worked really hard to bring the restaurant to a high level, and we are committed to keeping that up,” said David Arama.

The restaurant will be open 7 days a week later in May.

Over 33 years ago, in 1979, the first ever show of The North Frontenac Little Theatre (NFLT) was the musical “Alice in Wonderland”. This commitment to wonderful entertainment for our community continues with this spring’s production of “Annie”. It is a fabulous musical, definitely something to look forward to and to enjoy.

If you could peek into the auditorium at Sharbot Lake High School on a rehearsal night, you would see people of all ages milling about, resting, whispering, waiting, watching. Others would be on the stage acting, singing, and dancing. The pianist, music director, and choreographer are there, working with the cast, scene by scene. Tables are set up where the director and stage manager can record notes, make lists, keep things “on track”, scene by scene. In the lighting booth, out of sight, up high sits Derek Redmond. He is designing lighting magic for the show, scene by scene. Many of the people who create this musical are not present. They design and paint sets, design and make costumes, gather and logically arrange props.

More than 50 people are spending hours each week, getting ready to entertain us. In terms of numbers, 28 people are in the cast: 11 are children and young people. Bill Bowick is the oldest member of the cast. He is 71 years old and proud of it. It is his first appearance on stage since he was in school. He saw the announcement for auditions in the Frontenac News and immediately telephoned his daughter, Rhonda Gauthier. She loves the score of Annie and knows all the songs so Bill encouraged her to try out despite not being in a play since her school days. Rhonda now stars as Daddy Warbucks’ secretary.

There are many reasons why people sign up for the show. Pauline Muth wanted to reconnect with friends after being away from this community for several years. Husbands and wives, sisters, brothers, mothers and daughters have joined the cast or the crew. All of them work to bring magic to the stage. The school-aged actresses say that they could handle the extra work involved in being in the musical. They have no problem keeping up with homework and confided that there were side benefits such as getting out of household chores. The actress who has been with the North Frontenac Little Theatre the longest is Pam Giroux, who starred as Alice in the first ever production by the NFLT in 1979.

There are 15 people working behind the curtains and many crew members. That does not count seven or so artists who, under the direction of Geoffrey Murray, painted 480 square feet of flats designed and built by Paddy O’Connor. Geoffrey Murray designed and made the costumes. Mary Lou Quennville is invisible to the audience but behind the scenes she coordinates the actors, sets and props that create the magic that ends up on the stage. She also communicates with Derek up in the lighting booth, the musicians, the stage crew and keeps everyone ready for their parts in the entertainment.

Each person does his or her bit to create a special time of enjoyment for the audiences.

The show opens Friday, May 11 at 7 p.m. with performances on May 12, 18, and 19 at 7 p.m. There is one Sunday matinee, May 13 at 2 p.m. For ticket information please consult the website: www.nflt.ca or contact Barb Rodgers at 613-374-3521. This is a show that the whole family will enjoy.

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

For the past 7 ½ years Enright has been the Director of Children's and Rural Services at the integrated library city/county library, and before that she was the chief librarian at both the Clarington and Port Hope public libraries.

She came to Kingston in 2004 not only to join a larger organization, but also for the opportunity to go back to school and earn a Masters degree in Public Administration at Queen's.

“I really love Kingston, and I have loved working in the county as well, so when the chief librarian job came open I was ready to make the commitment,” she said of her decision to apply for the libraries’ top job.

The KFPL has a financial relationship with the City of Kingston and the County of Frontenac. The individual townships within the County are involved as well as they own and maintain the library facilities within their own boundaries.

“We have worked with the townships quite a lot in recent years, with North Frontenac on upgrades to the Plevna and Cloyne branches, with South Frontenac on the Storrington branch and the new Sydenham branch last year, and with Frontenac Islands for the Wolfe Island branch,” she said.

While there have been no changes in Central Frontenac, there likely will be in the coming couple of years.

“We have a three-way relationship with regards to the branch in Parham, between the library, the township and the school board because the board owns the portable we use, which is attached to the school,” she said regarding the pending closure of Hinchinbrooke Public School in 2013. An upgrade to the Arden branch is also planned for some time in the future.

One major issue that is being faced by the entire world of books and reading is the explosion of e-readers, tablet computers and e-books, and while the KFPL has the technology in place to deliver e-books, the rights situation for e-books is still in flux, and this has an impact on the acquisition budget of the library.

“People think they should be able to download e-books at will, but it is not that simple. The digital rights management system that is available is called Overdrive, and our agreement is that only one person at a time can access the books at a time. And some publishers will only sell the rights for a single copy. So people end up putting holds on the digital versions of books just like they do for the physical version.”

Library staff are also doing a lot of work demonstrating how different e-reading systems work. In fact, two of the Kingston branches are offering weekly e-reading and e-audio help sessions on an ongoing basis.

The challenge of adapting to e-reading is just another of the changes that have been faced by libraries during Patricia Enright's career.

“There have been more technological changes affecting libraries over the last 15 years than in the previous 100,” Enright said. “When I walk around in each of our branches now, I see people using all kinds of laptops to connect to our Wifi service. They do everything from filing EI [Employment Insurance] claims to using Facebook, reading newspapers and magazines that are available in paper and digital form. At the same time we still have people borrowing all kinds of materials to take home. The media might change, but our mission remains the same, connecting people with books, supporting literacy, that remains the same; we are very much a vital service.”

Patricia Enright has heard for many years that libraries are relics from a bygone era, but she points out that the KFPL is busier than it has ever been. Some of the improvements that have been made have had a direct impact on that use.

“When we look at the new Sydenham branch, we see that the use is up about 50% from where it was before, so the investment that was made has paid off and will continue to pay off,” she said.

With Patricia Enright taking on the chief librarian role, there has been a reshuffling of responsibilities. Barb Love is now the manager of Adult Services and Rural branches, and responsibility for Children's Services has gone to Lester Webb, who is also responsible for Systems and Technical Services.

A new position is being planned as well, a manager for outreach and programming.

While the library branches in the city and county and KFPL.ca bring significant access for people, Enright said that the focus on further outreach is all about expanding the reach of the KFPL further into the life of Kingston and Frontenac County.

Editorial by Jeff Green

When the Occupy movement, as it has come to be known, sprung up in New York as a kind of North American response to the Arab Spring last summer, I, for one, looked at it as an urban phenomenon.

Even the slogan about the 1% who have so much and the 99% who have so much less is a bit of an urban concept to me, because while there are rich and poor in our rural communities I don’t see the kind of tension that would spring up into a movement. The difference between rich and poor is only one of the differences we have to bridge in rural communities, and we are more likely to look at an urban/rural split.

It’s not as if there are no issues to deal with in our region. Poverty is a massive issue around here, as is the fact of an ageing population, a lack of jobs, the decline in agriculture and the retail sector, drug and mental health issues, and much more.

In any event the Occupy movement became all about encampments in cities throughout North America and with winter coming internal issues came up within the camps and eventually there was a series of evictions.

Story over.

Not quite. When Occupy left the city parks it found itself back where it had all started, on social media, mostly Facebook.

Sometime in the fall Occupy Perth sprang up on Facebook and began to have a following. This led to a meeting in December, and this past Sunday the first General Assembly of Occupy Lanark was held at the atrium to Codes Mill in Perth.

Occupy Lanark is very self-consciously concerned with rural issues. Among the 75 or so people at the meeting were a number from Frontenac County, leading to the possibility that the name may be changed at some point.

It was not the most focused of meetings. Participants were encouraged to talk about whatever issues had brought them to the meeting and there was no attempt to narrow down the focus.

It was almost like what it must have been like when the Lanark Landowners were formed, except on the left instead of the right. The landowners were unified in their opposition to the political system and to the regulatory environment

The people at the Occupy Lanark General Assembly also expressed the feeling that the political system does not serve their interests.

Rather than seeing themselves as an alternate political party, Occupy Lanark wants to be a social movement that is able to affect the policies of all the parties. At the meeting last Sunday, people brought some deeply held concerns forward, about food, the environment, rural transportation, rural healthcare and more, and they listened attentively to each other. Communication is a major focus. The opinion was expressed that the media has been unable to bring real issues forward and it is the job of Occupy to not only inform their membership, but the public as well about the root cause of social problems.

There was even a proposal to start up an independent Occupy newspaper.

This First General Assembly of Occupy Lanark was not about political strategy or finding an issue that will capture public attention. It was more about making a start towards devoting a significant amount of collective energy towards working with existing groups and individuals who are already engaged in a variety of causes, and trying to help build a better rural community.

If it all sounds a bit vague, hopeful and even naïve, that’s because it is. But that does not mean it will not find its way and that it will not have an impact over time.

As an exercise in direct democracy, Occupy Lanark will undoubtedly be a messy, exhausting process, but that is the way with all politics.

Occupy Lanark may go nowhere, but maybe it will go somewhere and have a social and political impact, although what that impact may be is probably beyond what anyone at the meeting last Sunday can envision at this point.

To learn about Occupy Lanark, go to Occupylanarkcounty.org or the Facebook group Occupy Lanark County.

Back to HomeFeature Article - February 23, 2012 old is new again on the Fall River Roadby Jeff Green

Photo: Seed swappers at MERA Sulyn Cedar, Lori Beckstead and Karen Rodgers

Doctor Peter Bell of the Sharbot Lake Family Health team has been interested in the way people lived in eastern Ontario ever since he opened his medical practice over 40 years ago.

During that time he has developed a large collection of antique items, including not just furniture but tools, stoves, and other implements as well. All in all it makes up enough antique objects to fill a house - but where to get a house?

About four years ago he found an answer to that question. On a property at the junction of Brooke Valley and Strong Roads, there was a log home that dates back to 1840. The owners of the property, Bob Argue and Cheryl Nash, were building a new home and they had no need for the old one, so they put out the word they were willing to sell the old McConnel homestead.

Peter Bell bought it and then the work started in earnest. Not only were the logs removed and marked, but many of the stones that made up the massive hearth in the home were pulled apart and marked as well.

David and Jeff Hamilton began working on the project, and it has taken four years to move the house and put it back together. A number of elements, such as windows and doors, had to be sourced, and the log walls and hearth reconstructed. Dry wall was used for interior walls in place of the lath and plaster that had been in the house.

The house is larger than many of the time, 1,000 square feet on the ground floor, with a high ceiling (10’) and a second story above. It made for quite a large home. It includes a main room, parlour, small bedroom and kitchen on the bottom floor and bedrooms above.

The fireplace, which is an old style cooking fireplace, is different from what is found in most log homes in the region, which were built a little later on and generally include more efficient heating sources like box stoves and cook stoves.

Most of the work on the main floor has now been completed and it has been fitted out with furnishings that have been found over many years from sources all around eastern Ontario. However, they all seem to fit into the available spaces in the home as if they have been there for 175 years.

This weekend, as part of the Frontenac Heritage Festival, the home will be open to the public between 10 and 3 on Saturday and Sunday. Pam Giroux, decked out in heritage dress, will act as hostess, aided by Tilda Bron, and Martina Field will drop by to entertain on the fiddle at times.

Weather permitting; a horse-drawn wagon will be available near the Trans Canada Trail at the top end of Fall River Road to bring people to the house in style. The wagon rides are scheduled for every half hour from 10 until 2:30.

He’s not exactly new to municipal governance, or to Eastern Ontario, and experience is exactly what Central Frontenac Council was looking for when searching for a new CAO this past spring.

After a revolving door scenario for 6½ years, Larry Donaldson’s regional experience and history may be exactly what Central Frontenac needs.

“When I first met the staff, on my first day on the job, the only question that was asked was if I was planning on staying,” he said from his office in Sharbot Lake early this week.

Larry Donaldson was raised in the Village of Lanark, where his mother still lives. His father, Ray Donaldson, a well-known guitarist and pedal steel player, died this past February. Larry went to public school at Maple Grove, and high school at PDCI. He then attended Carleton University and for two summers he worked for the City of Nepean. He also started working part-time for Nepean during the school year as well. When he graduated he was hired on by Nepean as a bylaw officer. Three years later, he went to Kanata, also as a bylaw officer, and eventually took over as manager of the Bylaw and Licensing department. His last job at Kanata was as the city clerk for a year and a half, before municipal amalgamation took place and Kanata became part of Ottawa.

Donaldson then took on the clerk-administrator's job in the newly formed Municipality of Hastings Highlands, and 10 months later moved to the Town of Arnprior as Chief Administrative Officer. He worked in Arnprior for 10 years, until the fall of 2011, when he was let go.

At the time, Arnprior’s relatively newly elected mayor, David Reid said, “We determined we wanted a new voice, a new start. Larry has a lot of skills, a lot of knowledge. Sometimes you need fresh blood.” Within weeks, the CAOs in two other Renfrew County municipalities were let go as well, leading one local paper to run the headline “Bad month for area municipal CAOs”

Larry Donaldson lives in Stittsville with his wife Tammy and two teenage children. He has no plans to leave Stittsville until his children finish high school, but after that he might mover closer to Sharbot Lake.

“Tammy has worked for Lanark County in Perth for the last 20 years, and we own land near the Village of Lanark, so we can look at that when the time comes.”

The fact that Sharbot Lake is within commuting distance from his current home was part of the reason he sought the job as CAO for Central Frontenac.

“I also looked into the organisation itself, understood there had been amalgamation and where it probably stands in terms of amalgamation, and thought it would be a good fit,” he said.

Central Frontenac is similar in some ways to Hastings Highlands, where he worked 12 years ago.

“The lands and rivers, the natural environment is a huge draw in Central Frontenac, and it's similar to Hastings Highlands in that the population doubles in the summer. I know that some commercial investment would help diversify the tax base and bring jobs, but I also know about the challenges that rural municipalities face,” he said.

Central Frontenac is in the middle of a services review that is being conducted by the accounting firm KPMG, and Donaldson sees this as a good time to start off as CAO.

“The results of that review will give direction to Council in terms of how to proceed, and the decision council makes in light of that will give me a sense of what they want me to focus on,” he said

From his experience in the municipal world, Larry Donaldson knows that it is a political environment, and every four years the entire direction of council can change. One of his priorities is assuring that sound operational policies are in place in the municipality.

“The end goal is to have policies in place that cover 99% of what happens on a daily basis. The more we can deal with by way of policies, the fewer surprises there are; the more predictable things are.”

After years where the only predictable aspect of their CAO situation has been that they will call John Duchene back from retirement once a year, Central Frontenac Council is looking forward to some of the predictability Larry Donaldson intends to bring.

The seventh installment of the annual Sundance Studio Tour once again attracted thousands of visitors to the surrounds of the Fall River Restaurant in Maberly, where hosts Paul Zammit and Michele Murphy opened up their property and restaurant kitchen for those with an appetite for fine food, arts and crafts and local live music. The show, which was begun by Carmine and Cam Allen, was taken over two years ago by Zammit and Murphy who wanted to continue on the tradition after the former organizers let it go. “We wanted to keep that amazing show that they created alive and instead of letting it die we took their baby on and adopted it ourselves. We are offering people a little bit of everything here all in one single stop.”

The juried show boasts a riverside art booth walk along the picturesque Fall River. This year's show included 35 art and craft innovators, many of whom are local folk who create interesting and high-end art and crafts. One such artisan, whose booth was constantly buzzing with browsers and buyers, was that of Willa Murray, co-owner and creator at Mari Cla Ro. Willa and her business partner Sven Schlegel create a cutting edge line of bags, purses and knapsacks from high quality industrial materials, like seat belts, leather and recycled furniture upholstery. “Basically everything that we use was once waste and we figure out cool ways to design and transform it into long lasting pieces that are also beautiful as well as functional.” Part of the beauty of the bags is that they do not scream "recycled" but rather appear as brand new top quality original objects. Along with their wide selection of bags are a line of earrings and necklaces made from recycled wood salvaged from the dashboards of Jaguars, Mercedes and other high-end vehicles. They also sell earrings made from super 8 film. The packaging for the jewelry pieces often will include information about what film and what car they were salvaged from. The work demonstrates the two creators' keen design sense, which they honed at school - Murray as a graduate of heritage carpentry and Schlegel from a background in resource management. Both Murray and Schlegel have recently relocated their business/studio and homes to Snow Road Station after having run their own store location in Toronto's trendy Roncesvalles strip. I came away from the booth with a very handsome shoulder bag that boasts sturdy zippers and a generously wide strap, and which can carry everything I need while out on the beat.

Other notable items for sale included the intricate and beautifully designed jewelry by Anita Cerro, whose newest work includes a line of necklaces made with a blend of natural wood and silver. Andrea Crowe's felt creations were as eye catching as they are fashionable and included her felted bracelets and felted scarves, the latter of which played with the idea of light and shadow using rectangular felt attachments worked onto transparent scarf material. Local woodworker Frank Sammut of Kokopelli Custom Woodworking had on display his live edge furniture made from local wood plus clocks, boxes, cutting boards and his spectacular hemlock clothes trees, which work perfectly outdoors. His wife Sue Sammut had a booth next door showing off her colorful mosaic windows.

Visitors feasted at numerous umbrella-ed picnic tables set up on site where they enjoyed an organic lunch courtesy of the Fall River Restaurant, whose staff served up local and organic pulled pork sandwiches, turkey/cranberry sausages and grilled Arctic char burgers. Local beer and wine was also to be had as were fresh baked goodies and good coffee.

Local musicians Mario Franco, Hermann Amberger and Kevin Head played an eclectic range of folk music throughout the three-day event as visitors strolled the extensive grounds. By mid-day on Sunday over 3000 visitors had already been counted and Michelle Stewart, who helped organize the event, was pretty certain that this year's attendance would beat out last year's 4000 visitors. The participating artists and a few local businesses donated items for an on site raffle to raise funds for breast cancer research at the Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre. Zammit and Murphy both wished to thank all of the visitors, the artists and their crew of 12 volunteers who all help to make the show an ongoing success.

Sometimes it is only through the fresh eyes, open hearts and keen minds of younger folk that any kind of sense at all can be made of decades-old global conflicts that have consumed thousands of lives, negatively affected ordinary people over many generations, and which have yet to come to any kind of lasting resolution or peace.

NAEC graduate Jory Bolton, who just completed her undergraduate studies in international development and Spanish at Trent University, recently returned from a trip to the Middle East, where she was a backpacktavist and participant in Operation Groundswell.

Operation Groundswell is a not-for-profit volunteer travel organization whose goal is to immerse like-minded young students in areas of global conflict while introducing to them members of all the parties involved. The hope is that their new ideas will “swell out” into the world and make positive change in these war-torn regions.

Bolton, who wisely kept a journal during her six-week trip there this summer, said that instead of trying to understand the conflict solely in political terms, she instead came at it from the human side. Her observations, experiences and understanding made for an exceptional account of life both in Israel and Palestine.

It was through formal meetings with politicians that included members of the Knesset, Hamas, and Fatah, meetings with activists, soldiers, freedom fighters, military people, Bedouin chiefs and villagers, lawyers, and with those living and working in refugee camps as well as many conversations with everyday people on the street both in Israel and Palestine that she came away with what proved to be a mature, wise and broad understanding of a part of the world that tends to baffle most people.

Bolton said that the main goal of her group was to “stand in solidarity with those oppressed regardless of race, gender and age ... I really tried to not pick sides, not to be pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli no matter what situation I was in. It's really important to try to sit back and listen to what both sides have to say; to support both sides even if you don't support some of their specific policies. You have to think that these people are just like me except that they have to live every day with these policies.”

She recalled how she and her group tried to behave always with the quote in mind: “Never doubt that it is small groups of thoughtful, committed citizens that change the world. It is the only thing that ever has.” Bolton added, “ It's not the big corporations or the presidents or the big political parties that make the change. For me it was the people I met in the Palestinian refugee camps delivering grass roots activism who were making the change, as well as the Israeli soldier who said he didn't want to fight but chose to in order to make sure that Palestinians' human rights were not being abused.”

Many of Bolton's insights seemed wise beyond her 22 years. “A lot of the misconceptions we have come from what we see on TV - like the radical Muslim man with the rocket launcher on his back - because that is what sells. I never once saw that - ever.”

She said that being there, she came to understand how, “There is this constant battle between the influences of the radicals on both sides who are a tiny minority compared to the much larger majority of people on both sides who are moderate and who want to stay that way.” She continued, “People often ask me about the fanaticism there. Yes, there are fanatics but what people don't realize is that they are the very small minority who are getting pushed out by the everyday activists and people just living their lives and who want nothing to do with fanaticism.”

Bolton also spoke of the volunteer work that she and her team did there. One stint was spent at Al Noor, a school for special needs children of Palestinian descent located in Jerusalem and funded wholly by the Israeli government. There Bolton spoke to one woman who has continued to work at the same job even though the separation wall that was built in 2006 turned the woman's 30-second walk to work into a three-hour commute each way. Asked by Bolton why she chose to keep her job, the woman told Bolton, “To exist is to resist.”

Bolton said she heard this phrase often during her trip and said it explained how everyday people are resisting government policies by continuing to live their lives. Bolton's in-depth presentation demonstrated that young people exposed first hand to the highly conflicted regions of the world and determined to make a positive impact on them often come away from the experience understanding that the majority of those affected by the conflict, on both sides, are ordinary people hoping and striving to live their lives in peace. It's inspiring to know that one motivated student whose mind and heart are in the right place is hoping to make changes in places where positive changes are both needed and wanted.

Bolton will travel to Spain this coming week, where she will teach for a year and then resume her academic studies in this country, with a focus on refugee studies.