February 21, 2013
Vol. 13, No. 7
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Polar Bear Plunge 2013 by Mark Montagano here was a Devil, an Angel, a Ballerina, Pirates, Panthers . . . and the weather was definitely Polar as spectators, EMS personnel and 40 Plungers braved the elements in the third annual Frontenac Heritage Festival Polar Bear Plunge. Over $8,500 was raised for three worthy organizations in the community: the Child Centre, Sharbot Lake HS/MS School Council and the Alzheimer’s Society. Over the course of the last three years over $20,000 has been raised! Councilor Tom Dewey presented trophies to Mark Montagano for the most funds raised ($1,310) - narrowly edging out Art Holloway ($1,117) who did a terrific job of raising funds in the community and even had an Angel on his side. The youngest Plunger was Kayla Blenkhorn, 12 years old, closely followed in age by Amber Asselstine, who is still the youngest ever to plunge. The oldest Plunger was Karen Burke and the best costume was won by Perry Chafe (Habs Fan).
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While the best performance was definitely Jen Farnum and her ballet routine with a pirouette into the lake. HRH also made an appearance and wished the Plungers well. Once again the Plungers were led in by Amber Asselstine and Niki Greenstreet, who was the first Plunger to sign up three years ago. We even had the five members of Sherman Downey and the Silver Lining join us after their performance at the Sharbot Lake Hotel the night before - the hat was passed to sponsor them. Thanks guys, we’re looking forward to seeing you next year. Feedback from both the spectators and Plungers is that they are keen to do this again. It’s a great feeling to overcome your fear, step out of your comfort zone and, at the same time, do something good for the community - exhilarating and a lot of fun. So if you are considering taking the Plunge next year, don’t forget we only go this way once and Life is not a Rehearsal. Have no Regrets. Just do it.
Crowds come out for Snow Drags “Modern dance?” Rob Moore, foreground, doing the twist in front of Jen Farnum’s reverse pirouette just before they began their descent into the cold, cold water at the third annual Polar Plunge at the Frontenac Heritage Festival on Sunday. Photo Mark Montagano
Climate change Fair at NAEC by Jeff Green
F
ive years ago Robert McLeman, a geographer from the University of Ottawa, presented the results of a small research project on the potential effects of climate change on Addington Highlands and North Frontenac Township. His research project did not end there, however, and he has brought some of his colleagues and student researchers into the region on a regular basis since then to look at different aspects of climate change and social change on the local population. This week, McLeman bought these researchers together to present summaries of their findings at a research fair hosted by North Addington Education Centre in Cloyne. In addition to his own report, McLeman introduced colleagues from Queen’s and Guelph Universities, as well as Paul Lehman from Mississippi Valley Conservation (MVC). Paul Lehman presented annual temperature and water level information that MVC has collected over the years, along with projected temperature and rainfall levels for the coming decades. “We’ve seen a trend towards higher levels of precipitation overall, with the largest increases coming in the fall of the year, and also a trend towards higher minimum temperatures in the fall and the winter,” Lehman said. He also noted that the water flows have been lower in the dryer summer period, which has been persisting for a longer period of time. The implications of these trends are making the management of water levels on the lower end of the watershed more difficult, Lehman said. By storing and drawing down Crotch Lake, the principal reservoir lake in the Mississippi system, MVC attempts to
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maintain a flow rate of 5 cubic metres per second for the recreational season from May 24 to Labour Day. Lehman noted that the tendency towards more intense rains storms of recent years has affected the total amount of nutrients in the lakes as phosphates and other minerals are washed off the shoreline into the lakes. This decreases the available oxygen in the lakes, with effects on fish habitat. Scott Lamoureux from Queen’s has been taking sediment samples on two of the smaller lakes in Addington Highlands as well as two of the larger lakes. By analysing the sediment he can determine the amount of organic activity in the lakes over a period of decades. What he has found thus far is that the smaller lakes have seen a dramatic increase in activity since 1950, probably due to increased development. The larger lakes, however, have seen little change. Peter Keizer, a graduate student at the University of Ottawa, has been studying the pollen trapped in lake sediments on Tawney Pond in Cloyne and on Stoll Lake to the north of the hamlet. His studies have been able to determine the predominant tree species in the region over long periods of time. The main factor affecting the predominance of species has been temperature levels, with the notable exception being the logging frenzy that took place in the region in the mid 19th century. In general, the pine forest has thrived in cooler periods; hemlocks have been on a steady decline for hundreds of years, and the tendency since the 1870s has been for an increased hardwood forest and a decreased softwood forest. In terms of human impact, the preponderance of plants like ragweed and others can be seen as a direct result of human activity in the region.
Perfect weather greeted enthusiastic riders at Sharbot Lake’s third annual Snow Drags at Oso Beach on Saturday. see story on page 6 Dawn Dietrich, a PHD candidate from Guelph, is studying community and family vulnerabilities in the forestry sector, particularly in communities with a history of small, family-based logging companies. She has been doing a comprehensive case study of the members of the Mazinaw Lanark Forest Inc., whose members log on Crown Land under forest management plans that are approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources. She described what she called a “perfect storm, high cost of operations, a lack of markets, falling prices, and regulations stemming from the Sustainable Forestry and Endangered Species Acts that has pushed many of these businesses to the brink.” She said that while most of the loggers that she has interviewed are committed to sustainable forestry practices and the protection of endangered species, the way the regulations have been imposed has made it very difficult for them to operate. One of the loggers who was present at the Fair described a situation that has developed on a number of logging roads as the result of turtle sightings.
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“All summer long, ATVs and pickup trucks are allowed to bomb down the roads at whatever speed they want, and we are not allowed to use them for logging; where’s the sense in that.” Dietrich said that neither of the recent acts is responsible on their own for the plight of local forestry, but given how vulnerable the industry is, the way they have been implemented needs to be looked at again. Finally, Stuart Fast talked about his study into local attitudes towards renewable energy. The conversation returned to forestry when the subject of the potential for biomass power generation was raised. Although it is not in favour with the Province of Ontario in the way that wind and solar power is, it was pointed out that, on Crown land at least, less than half the volume of wood is forested than the amount that grows each year, leaving a large latent capacity for harvesting. “The resource is there, and it is increasing every year, but that does not mean it is viable from an economic point of view at this time,” said one of the loggers in attendance.
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