Kris Caird and Jean Freeman, both members of the congregation of the Cole Lake Free Methodist church located on White Lake Road near Godfrey are the long time organizers of the annual 101 Nativities show there. The two ladies used to think that their initial goal of collecting and displaying 101 nativity scenes was ambitious but that is no longer the case. Now in its 5th year, the number of scenes in the annual show has grown to over 200 and Caird explained that people at first did not understand the concept of lending their nativities to the show but over the years that has changed. “People now understand what we are doing and want to be part of it and this year we have over 200 scenes which shows that people not only understand what we are doing but also really want to be part of it” . This years show includes nativity scenes from all over the world with entries from countries like Uganda, Ecuador, Haiti, Ghana, China, Ireland, Bangladesh, Germany and more. The scenes are made from a number of materials including ceramic, fabric, wood, various plastics, burlap and more but all strive in their own unique way to show the true meaning of Christmas. One new and notable scene that hails from Ireland is very simple yet effective scene and is made entirely from flat river stones. Caird and Freeman said the central idea for the show is to bring forth the true meaning of Christmas.

“We want to stress the true biblical meaning of Christmas. These days Christmas has become more about consumerism and about Santa Claus and gift giving but we want to get back to its true meaning ,which is the birth of Jesus”, Jean said when I spoke to her at the show on Saturday.” Kris who made crafts with the youngsters who attended the show over its three day run this past weekend agreed. “A lot of the kids who come have no idea what the nativity is and the crafts that I do with them help them to better understand it.” The children were invited to paint and then bake a shrink art nativity scene and were also given a gift bag filled with Christmas themed cookies. Guests also enjoyed a selection sweet treats and beverages courtesy of the organizers. Hundreds of people return year after year to see the annual show that strives to stress the true meaning of Christmas.

Stefan Duerst is no stranger to the Lafarge sand extraction pit that is located just behind his house and property on Buck Bay Road. The pit was there when he bought the property, and a right of way through his property to access the pit is used by trucks to haul sand out to Lafarge's plant in Kingston five days a week.

Nonetheless when he bought the property with his wife Tanya Harrington, he planned to use it for a sculpture studio and yoga centre.

“When we bought our 60-acre lot, I asked the plant manager at Lafarge what their long term plans were for the pit, and he said they would be all done in five years. We talked about the possibility of me buying the land once the pit was decommissioned,” said Duerst.

That has all changed now, as Lafarge has applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry for an amendment to their site plan agreement at the property, which is known as the Fitzgerald Pit.

In a letter to adjacent landowners, Rod Price, Land Manager/Eastern Ontario for Lafarge, outlined Lafarge's current intentions towards the site.

“Given the number of years that the pit has been in operation and the limited area where the sand occurs, supply of this specialized type of sand has become limited. Lafarge has tested the sand material lying below the water table and found it meets its requirements when blended with the sand lying above the water table ... The current site plan for the Fitzgerald Pit limits excavation to being above the water table. In order to excavate from below the water table, the site plan must be amended,” he wrote.

Accompanying the letter was map of the land in question, which includes the outline of a lake that would be created by the expanded operation. The lake is described on the map as plus or minus 18 hectares (44 acres) in area, and plus or minus 10 metres deep. The lake is to be located over a hill at the edge of the Duerst/Harrington property.

In his letter to the landowners, Rod Price invites them to call him at his office in Ottawa “if you have any questions.”

Since receiving the notification letter, which was sent by registered mail on November 19, Stefan Duerst said he has called Price many times, each time leaving a message, but has not received a call back.

“My concern is about water running through two creeks on my property; the impact on my well; the impact of the expanded operation and excavation in terms of noise; and the impact of all this water and the materials it will carry on the watershed,” said Duerst.

The watershed drains into White Lake, within the Quinte Valley Watershed.

When contacted, staff at Quinte Conservation said they have received a hydrogeological study that was prepared for Lafarge in support of their site plan amendment application for the Fitzgerald Pit and are preparing to comment on it.

Paul McCoy, Planning and Regulations manager at Quinte, said that in these cases, hydrogeological studies are prepared by engineers working for the applicant to show that there will be no detrimental impacts on wells and groundwater in the vicinity of the site.

“As a conservation authority, we comment on whether those studies, in our view, prove the case they are making, but we have no authority in site plan amendment matters under the Aggregate Resources Act. We are simply a commenting agency. The authority lies with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. If there is also a permit to take water being sought, it comes under the purview of the Ministry of the Environment. We have received the study for this application,” he said.

The hydrogeological study and other documentation have also gone to Frontenac County and South Frontenac Township.

The News contacted the MNR, the approving agency in these matters, for details about how a site plan agreement amendment is evaluated by them under the Aggregate Resources Act, and we expect a response later this week.

Stefan Duerst has contacted his neighbors, who, he says, are upset about the potential implications of this change on their water and the use of their property going forward. He is meeting with the South Frontenac Township's planner this week, and has been in contact with the Ministry of the Environment as well.

“My understanding is that the land in question is considered a water regeneration resource for the watershed.” Duerst said.

Duerst and Hannigan are planning to develop a sculpture park and yoga retreat on their property. Duerst is a well known sculptor in Eastern Ontario. Just this week he found out that his piece “Soul Gate #4” is to be installed in the lobby of the newly established Tett Centre For Creativity and Learning in Kingston. Hannigan has moved her yoga studio, Feel Yoga, from Kingston to the property.

A public information session on the site plan amendment is set for the Bedford Hall on December 16 between 4 and 7 pm.

On December 5 following the Harrowsmith Santa Claus parade, the South Frontenac Museum on Road 38 in Hartington opened its doors for those with a hankering for some local history. For anyone who may have missed the quaint new museum’s official opening in August of this year, it was an opportunity to see what all the fuss is about. Members of the Portland District and Area Heritage Society, who currently manage the museum, were on hand passing out hot cider and inviting guests to enjoy a wide range of sweet holiday treats while perusing the many historical displays.

One display set up especially for the holiday season was a Christmas tree decorated with very old Christmas ornaments, many of which came from their former home at the old Verona post office. Santa Claus also made a visit and youngsters received candy canes from the jolly old elf.

Barb Stewart, president of the heritage society, was pleased to see so many guests enjoying the displays, which feature a wide range of home furnishings, memorabilia and archives from various hamlets across the township, including Murvale, Harrowsmith, Petworth, Verona, Hartington and Bellrock.

The museum came about thanks to a number of local citizens who formed the society in 2002. In 2008 they moved to have it become a committee of the council of the Township of South Frontenac. In 2012 the society was contracted to manage the museum, which is housed in the old limestone schoolhouse in Hartington. Since that time the building underwent a number of renovations, making it the perfect location to house historical artifacts. Ann Archer and Debbie Twiddy of the local flute trio, Toute Ensemble, were on hand playing beautiful music and guests included David Jeffries of Noor in Kingston, who headed up the renovations to the museum’s front door and the design and building of its accessible outdoor ramp. Jeffries, who lives in Oakville, also donated a number of books to the museum. For more information about the South Frontenac Museum or to become a member of the society visit www.portlandheritagesociety.ca

No less than five generations of the Halligan family gathered to enjoy Sydenham’s Santa Claus parade on November 28. Great great grandparents Bill and Edna Halligan had front row seats. Hundreds of parade goers lined the streets to take in the colorful floats and costumed participants, which also included a number of four-legged friends dressed up in celebration. More pictures from the parade will be included in our upcoming Christmas issue.

Perhaps it was not just the pure enjoyment of hearing so many talented female voices joining together in song that attracted the capacity crowd to the community hall in Bellrock on November 28 for the Frontenac Women's Chorus' annual Christmas concert. It may have also been curiosity, since it was the first concert conducted by the chorus' new leader since the group's long time conductor, Betty Wagner, passed her baton to Kingston singer and voice teacher, Patty Smith, in the spring of 2015. Smith proved that Wagner made a good choice and Wagner, who was also in attendance, likely agreed. Smith proved that she is more than capable of taking on these ladies in her new role as their fearless leader and the audience seemed to enjoy her quirky sense of humour to boot.

The choir performed a concert titled “Deck Those Halls” and their Christmas program included offerings that were as diverse and they were delightful. The concert opened with an eerie tune titled “Soul Cake”, a traditional Hallowee'en/Christmasy tune that showed off well the chorus' apt harmonies and which also showcased an impressive flute accompaniment by special guest Christine Kennedy. The choir sang a glorious version of the well known carol, “Do You Hear What I Hear”, a favorite call and response carol that features the great range of the chorus' sopranos whose high notes inspired (in myself at least) the kind of head tingles that only practiced voices joined together in song can bring.

Highlighted in the program were a number of Canadian composers as in “Star Light, Star Bright”, an anonymous traditional verse put to music by Martha Hill Duncan. The program also featured the premiere of Parham-raised musician, Stanley Stinchcombe's “A Bear's Christmas”, a comical Christmas ditty that he wrote especially for the group, which was a delightful exploration of how bears might celebrate the holiday season.

“The Christmas Waltz” was the choir's most jazzy offering of the night, and the traditional Quebecois tune titled “D'ou viens-tu, bergère” with an arrangement by Mark Sirett was also memorable, as was the historic “Huron Carol”, composed by Jean Brebeuf.

Hats off to accompanist Kate Van Allen, whose talents created a solid foundation for this group to show case their own. The choir gave the audience a chance to join in for “Deck the Halls” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas”, bringing to a close a delightful night of premieres, one that will no doubt keep our local ears focused on the choir's next offerings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(with files from Jeff Green)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yet another great job by NFLT!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Young artists had a chance to try their hand at painting landscapes at this year's annual installment of the Land O' Lakes Art Club. Eighteen students aged 8-13 took part in the classes under the tutelage of grade 7/8 teacher Lee Hull, himself an accomplished and talented artist.

The students spent seven weeks painting the fall landscape surrounding the school. They took their easels, canvases and paints into the great outdoors and chose a section of landscape behind the school that they wanted to paint. Part of the challenge for the students was dealing with the ever-changing fall colours and Hull said that the students, who painted just once a week, were forced to remember the scenes in their mind's eye since the colours in the scenery were constantly changing.

The students also focused their talents on painting exactly what they saw rather than just the idea of it. Mr. Hull explained that, “Rather than painting the idea of a tree, the students had to paint a particular tree if that was their focus in the work.”

Other scenes included a wooden gazebo, and one student chose to focus on a bush with bright red leaves at the far end of the school yard. The students learned about scale, how to make objects in the foreground come to the front while keeping the other background elements towards the back of the canvas. The students learned how to mix colours and were also given the challenge of not using the colour black in the process.

The students began by painting a canvas with a neutral toned background and then used the colour green to sketch in with their brushes a drawing of the scene, paying close attention to detail and scale. The next step was to fill in the neutral section of the background, with the idea that once that had been done, the painting was then finished. The final step was to apply the colour white to hit the highlights in the scene and to bring the lightest parts of the picture forward.

To celebrate their finished works, the students held an art show and vernissage at the school on November 19 where the artists and guests enjoyed a multitude of fancy snacks courtesy of student parent Linda Tremblay, bringing to a close a successful exploration in landscape painting for students at the school.

Farmers gathered November 9 at Long Road Eco Farm near Harrowsmith for a year-end farm tour, with a cooking class, potluck lunch and open stage variety show. The event wrapped up the eastern Ontario CRAFT's (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training) season of on-farm educational opportunities, which included tours as far north as Maberly (Ravenfield farm), with visits to farms in Inverary (Edible Forest), Battersea (Patchwork Gardens) and into Kingston Township (Farewell Farm), among others.

The CRAFT chapter is seated in Kingston, but welcomes farmers from as far as are willing to travel to a given tour. Monday's event drew farmers from as far west as Prince Edward County, and as far north as Jasper, as well as the many more that came from within the Kingston area.

Ontario currently has two chapters: one in eastern Ontario and another serving mainly the southwest. While the latter has focused its efforts towards facilitating internship opportunities in its network of farms, the east has focused more on education in the form of farm tours and workshops. Farmers benefit from learning from other farmers with similar challenges and values (most member farmers are either organic or ecologically-focused).

The season-ending party coincided with a slowing workload on many farms as field production wanes for the season. Around 20 people attended, and participants learned how to make Chinese dumplings and steamed buns in a workshop led by local farmer and food vendor Xiaobing Shen. After a late-morning tour of the farm, attendees enjoyed lunch and music by several talented farmers, as well as guest performance by Kingston-based singer-songwriter David Parker, who performed songs from his most recent CD release, "Calm Me Down".