Speaker’s
Regional - Chris Must chris@pdgmedia.ca
“I can’t put my arms around you and embrace you, but I’m hoping with my music to hug your heart,” said Tony Melendez to a youthful audience at the Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club on Nov. 1. Born without arms or hands after his mother was prescribed thalidomide to treat morning sickness during her pregnancy, Melendez taught himself to play the guitar with his toes. Now 54, he is a motivational speaker and performer who has visited 44 countries and shared a message of hope with millions.
As Melendez’s older brother Jose told an audience of students, educators, children’s aid society staff and foster parents at the event hosted by the Crown Ward Education Championship Team, “You can’t tell me that miracles don’t exist.”
Born in Nicaragua and raised in Los Angeles, Melendez has been married for 26 years, and has driven his car from one end of the United States to the other, using customized foot controls. He has recorded five albums of original songs and written an autobiography. He and his family now live in Branson, Missouri. Because he was born without arms, Melendez explained, he never had to adjust to losing them. “The foot just kind of took over
instantly,” he said. “The foot became the hand.”
Melendez was also born with a clubbed foot, requiring several operations to allow him to walk normally.
Although Melendez’s father was an abusive alcoholic who died at 42, he did leave an important legacy. A guitar player himself, he inspired his armless son to become a musician. “If I just stood still, I hated life,” Melendez recalled. “I hated the way people looked at me. That’s where the music came in.”
Melendez, whose motto is “If I do not make the effort to do something, I will never know if I can,” learned how to hold a guitar pick between the toes of one foot, and to change chords with a toe of the other foot. Using an open (Drop D) tuning that allows him to change chords with one toe, he can even play “fingerstyle” guitar using the toes of the other foot.
“Imagine if you (a person with arms) could learn to play the guitar with your feet?” He joked. “You could play lead and rhythm guitar at the same time. You wouldn’t need that other person.”
Melendez’s original songs shared messages of hope, belief and love for others.
Combining humour and audience participation with his serious messages, Melendez also sang some favourite songs by other art-
ists, including Don’t Worry, Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin); Grandma’s Feather Bed (John Denver); La Bamba; and We Are the World, from Live Aid.
Speaking to the audience later in the program, Melendez’s brother Jose described the experience of growing up with a brother with no arms, and how people would stare at him, or make hurtful re -
marks. As his older brother, Jose would fight with bullies, until one day Tony told him that, “If I had hands, I would never use them for violence.”
Jose urged the audience to remember that “words have meaning, and they hurt.”
Reinforcing the message of hope, he added, “If you say I can’t, I won’t, I give up, then you are more disabled that my brother will ever be.”
Among the many people Melendez has met in his travels was Pope John Paul II. In 1987, he was chosen by the youth of Los Angeles as their gift to the Pope. Recounting that experience to his Smiths Falls audience, Melendez recalled the Pope’s word to him the day they met: “My wish for you is that you continue giving hope to others.”
Born without arms or hands, Tony Melendez taught himself to play the guitar with his feet, and now travels the world sharing a message of belief and hope. He visited Smiths Falls on Nov. 1. Photo Credit: Chris Must
Page Two
Letter from our Editor
The costumes from Halloween are barely packed away (or still laying in a heap on the basement floor, as at my house) and already store shelves are displaying Christmas items. I understand that Christmas holds more meaning for most people than Halloween does, but that meaning is not the one the stores are displaying.
As someone with two small kids, I find it hard to teach them the true meaning of Christmas and the spirit of giving when Jolly Old St. Nick is everywhere, almost taunting them with his sack of toys filled to the brim.
To combat this, last year we sponsored a family through Family Services of Lanark, Leeds and Gren-
ville. We bought for two children — a baby boy and a little girl a year younger than my daughter. I will admit, I expected the worst when we strolled down the toy aisle but I was pleasantly surprised when my daughter started picking up toys saying, “The little girl would love this!” rather than saying “I want this!” It was a proud moment. I was proud of her for thinking of others, and honestly, proud of myself for that parenting win.
Sponsoring a family isn’t for everyone, and for many reasons, but there are so many other things you can do this holiday season to spread the message of joy and caring.
Try donating items or your time to help assemble and distribute Christmas baskets (read what’s happening in Carleton Place on page 8), support your local food bank (find out more about the Smiths Falls food bank on page 6), or simply do something as a family that doesn’t require you to spend (much) money, like the Celebration of Lights (page 11) or other events from around the region —
we’ve highlighted some great holiday themed ones on page 14.
Don’t get me wrong, we give gifts at Christmas. My kids get more than they need once all the family parties are complete. And as much as I say we’re going to cut back — and ask family to do the same — it doesn’t happen. This year we’ve instituted a toy in, toy out rule. For every new plaything they get, we donate one of our gently used ones.
I know that some of you reading this will think I sound very superficial and materialistic. Put the Christ back in Christmas, right? Well, here’s how I look at it. I do not love that the Christmas countdown has started already. I don’t love all the emphasis on Santa but at least my oldest (now 5) gets just as excited to give gifts as she does to receive them. She’s already talking about what she wants to get her sister (1.5 years) and if we are going to sponsor a family again this year. For a 5 year old, I can’t really ask for more.
April Scott-Clarke Editor, Hometown News
A Blast from the Past:
From the Lanark & District Museum Collection
Publisher Patricia Krotki pmkrotki@pdgmedia.ca
EditoR
April Scott-Clarke april@pdgmedia.ca
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CORRECTION: In the October issue we regret that there were some factual errors in the story "Community invited for supper every month" that appeared on page 9. Please note that Marie Wilde and Judy Snider attend Smiths Falls' First Baptist Church. Marie lives in Perth and Judy in Smiths Falls. First Baptist Church, Perth, started serving a monthly community dinner over 10 years ago.
Town of Smiths Falls reviews donation policy
Smiths falls - chris must editorial@pdgmedia.ca
The value of staff time in providing support for community events will be taken into account as the town of Smiths Falls develops new policies for awarding grants to community groups, as well as festivals and events.
In an effort to make the awarding of community donations less political, town staff have developed a matrix for use in determining whether applications should be eligible for grants from the town, and whether to recommend that they receive the full amount or a lesser amount than applied for.
Following an update presented by town clerk Kerry Costello at an Oct. 24 meeting of council’s Committee of the Whole, councillors agreed that any grant of more than $5,000 should require a memorandum of understanding between the town and the recipient group. Organizations applying for $10,000 or more will be required to appear before council as a delegation.
Councillors were told that the new policies will take into account the cost of providing staff support, such as setting up tables and chairs or closing streets for community events.
Community services di-
rector Art Manhire said these types of “in-kind” support for events are costing the town up to $90,000 annually in staff time.
In future, he said, organizations asking for in-kind support, even if they do not require actual funding, will have to go through an application process.
“There are all kinds of things staff are doing that aren’t being tracked,” said Councillor Dawn Quinn. “I think it’s a great idea.”
Costello said feedback from councillors at the Oct. 24 meeting will be incorporated into the new draft policies, and brought back to the next meeting of council.
130th Battalion Leaving Lanark Village in 1916 - the 130th Battalion was based in Perth and recruited gentlemen from Lanark & Renfrew Counties. Photo Credit: Heritage House Museum
Lanark Village on Armistice Day 1918 at the former Town Hall on George Street, Lanark
Smiths Falls council to invite public input on 2017 budget
Smiths falls - chris must chris@pdgmedia.ca
In an effort to ensure members of the public have their say in the development of next year’s municipal budget, the Town of Smiths Falls is committed to holding a public information session once the first draft of the 2017 budget has been completed.
In a discussion at an Oct. 24 meeting of town council’s Committee of the Whole, councillors were advised that the first draft of the budget would be presented at a special
meeting on Nov. 16. Councillors agreed that a public meeting should be held in an accessible location, such as the community centre, in the last week of November.
Clerk Kerry Costello suggested that the town will accept written submissions concerning the budget from anyone not wishing to speak in public.
The push for a public meeting came several weeks ago from Councillor Jay Brennan. “In the past we have had budget meetings with no one here,” said Brennan, not-
ing that in other municipalities meetings have been held in public locations such as shopping centres.
Councillors agreed that some form of public consultation should take place this year, and that the process should start earlier next year. It was also agreed that an informative “budget guide” prepared by the municipality of Port Moody would be an excellent model for a similar publication by the Town of Smiths Falls to help convey information to taxpayers.
Perth chef wins Chopped Canada
Perth - Jane Hobson
jane@pdgmedia.ca
“It’s amazing to feel so validated as a young chef,” says Nick Valliquette remembering the moment he won Chopped Canada in September. Valliquette, 24, is head chef at The Stone Cellar, a fine-dining bistro in his hometown of Perth. He auditioned for Chopped Canada in the spring of 2015. The Food Network reality show challenges four professional chefs to compete against each other to create a three-course meal with mystery ingredients before the clock runs out. The least successful dish of each course, which
is decided by a panel of judges based on taste, presentation and creativity, is chopped along with its respective chef. The winning chef of the final dessert round wins the title of Chopped Canada champion and a cheque for $10, 000.
Valliquette was named the winner in the episode that aired Sept. 10, 2016.
One of the notable judges on Chopped Canada is Lynn Crawford. Crawford is one of Canada’s most well-known celebrity chefs, and the author of an award-nominated cookbook. She has been in the culinary industry for more than 25 years.
Valliquette says he was
surprised that he was chosen for the show. A lot of the time, candidates are from bigger cities with a reputation for cuisine, like Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa, Valliquette says. Of the four chefs, Valliquette says two were older and one was younger than him. “I’m pretty young to have won it,” he says.
Part of the deal of being on the show id that Valliquette had to agree to keep the details of the application process, filming and his winning confidential.
On Chopped Canada, contestants have 20 minutes to prepare the appetizer, 30 minutes to prepare the main course and
30 minutes to prepare the dessert. Valliquette says these are extremely compressed preparation times.
“I trained myself really hard before the competition, and it was hard because I couldn’t tell anyone what I was doing,” he says. He timed himself as he cooked to make sure he was fast enough to compete on the show. “I told people I was writing a cookbook when they asked me why I was timing myself,” he says, laughing.
Valliquette made a fig and blackberry crumble with roasted marshmallow ice cream for the dessert round – which he says was his favourite part of the competition. “I nailed it,” he says.
Valliquette says he thinks his interest in cooking most likely comes from his upbringing. Dinner was always a family event and his dad, Kevin, made lots of jars of preserve sauces, pickles and jams.
At 12-years-old Val-
liquette started washing dishes in local Perth restaurants. “One of the restaurants was really understaffed and the head chef asked me to help him cook after school and on weekends,” Valliquette says. “Of course I also helped because I wanted to save up for a car,” he laughs. Valliquette’s skills – and passion – flourished as he learned more and more about cooking.
“I love the atmosphere,” he says, adding that the rest of the world is not important when he is in the kitchen.
Valliquette was sous chef at local Perth restaurants before he graduated high school. At 17 he was accepted in the culinary management program at Algonquin College.
During his two years of professional training, Valliquette volunteered to cook and helped host dining events at Ottawa restaurants. “I worked as many places as possible to get experience,” Valli-
quette says.
After testing the waters – and cuisine – of the Ottawa culinary scene, Valliquette returned to Perth to refine his skills and auditioned for Chopped Canada. Now a culinary champion, Valliquette and his dad are focused on promoting their preserve business, Modern Classic, that they started in 2014. “I’m the modern. Dad’s the classic,” Valliquette says, smiling. “We want to change the way people think about food,” he says. The preserves are vegan and gluten free. They are made in small batches with ingredients that are local as possible, depending on the season. “The cranberry sauce is really good,” Valliquette says.
Modern Classic is finding great success for sale at Mariposa on Gore St. in Perth. Valliquette says he and his dad might expand the business to Ottawa and Kingston if they continue to do well.
Perth chef Nick Valliquette poses for a photo with his father, Kevin, in front of a display of their preserve line called “Modern Classic”. Valliquette won “Chopped Canada” in September 2016. Photo Credit: Jane Hobson
Leveraging the riches of the region to attract investment
RegionalHowaida Sorour-Roberts heddy@pdgmedia.ca
Rising costs and a new world of information overload are encouraging municipalities more and more to move towards pooling their resources.
Mandated with the task of promoting and nurturing economic development in the Lanark and North Leeds region, Valley Heartland Community Futures Development Corporations (CFDC) has revived an Economic Development Alliance. The alliance includes representation from all the municipalities within the CFDC’s catchment region.
“There had been a couple of meetings about nine months ago but now we are committed to meeting every two months,” said Stacie Lloyd, regional economic development officer with Valley Heartland.
The group has only had a couple of meeting so far, so it’s still early days but on the plus side participants agree there is good reason to work together.
“From my standpoint working for a small rural community, the alliance means we’re able to tap into the resources around the table and can keep up to date with what other municipalities are working on,” said Larry Donaldson, CAO, Tay Valley Township.
The alliance is made up of economic development officers from those municipalities that have one, or the equivalent staff member under whose purview economic development
falls, and the benefits extend beyond the obvious.
“It is an opportunity to partner, reduce costs and staff resources, and visually to investors and local businesses it looks better if we are working together,” said Cyril Cooper, Smiths Falls director of economic development.
Already the CFDC is mobilizing the alliance to launch a project that could benefit the entire region.
The project aims to gather information about all of the agri-food businesses in the region into a single database.
“We’re taking the lead in gathering those Statistics, we’ll of course look to OMAFRA and Statistics Canada as well but we’ll also need to take inventory of our communities to facilitate growth in agrifood industries in the region and facilitate investment,” said Lloyd.
This asset mapping, as the exercise is dubbed, isn’t new. In 2014 the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance in Western Ontario identified all the agri-food assets in their region and built a comprehensive database of the area’s resources. Following the success of that project Ontario East Economic Development Commission is encouraging municipalities in Eastern Ontario to do the same.
Collecting the information is seen as a vital means to achieving development.
“In the short term, asset mapping offers quick access to the food sector
and up-to-date information that provides one more tool for economic development professionals to attract foreign direct investment (FDI),” says Cooper. “In the long term, it will build the region’s capacity to grow the Food Processing sector,” he continued adding that agrifood is a primary target identified in the Smiths Falls Economic Development plan.
The asset mapping is intended to capture not just the larger producers, processors, restaurants and distributors but also the smaller home based businesses that are related to the agri-foods industry.
“So we’re identifying cluster opportunities for investment,” said Lloyd.
Once the data is collected, it will be up to each municipality to sign a data sharing agreement so that information can be accessed for the whole region
According to Janet Horner, executive director of the Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance it’s taken some time but most of the municipalities in her region have now signed data sharing agreements so the data can be shared as widely as possible.
“The data is proprietary, because we don’t want developers targeting farms and trying to develop their land, but say an investor wants to know if there is a certain type of food processor in the area, they would be given access to the data they need,” concluded Horner.
Transportation plan to set direction for Perth over next decade
Perth - chris must chris@pdgmedia.ca
From simple fixes like installing signage or painting new traffic markings, to constructing a brand new traffic artery, Perth’s new Transportation Master Plan will address a wide range of issues.
Eric Cosens, director of development and protective services for the Town of Perth, said the town began the process of updating the transportation plan in 2014. The existing plan dates back to 1991 and has not been updated since then.
“We haven’t done one for the better part of 25 years,” said Cousens. He added that the project is being managed by Stantec Consulting Ltd., and will address more than 20 separate issues related to transportation.
The process is nearing completion. A draft master plan is to be completed
by the consultants in this month, and will then be reviewed by town staff before going to council for approval.
The study has considered changes in the town’s traffic patterns and parking needs, and looked at the need for new routes for pedestrians and cyclists. The potential need for another community safety zone near St. John Elementary and Queen Elizabeth schools will also be addressed. The town currently has two community safety zones, in the areas of St. John`s Catholic High School, and on Sunset Boulevard next to Stewart School.
Another key issue is the need for a new arterial road to connect Highway 7 to Highway 43, running along the east side of Perth. A new road would divert heavy truck traffic from the downtown core, as well as allow a faster route for emergency vehicles. An environmental
assessment concluded that there are no other routes for an arterial road “that are any more physically viable,” said Cousens.
The completed plan will assess the town’s short-term and long-term transportation needs, and address all forms of transportation, including pedestrians and cyclists as well as cars and trucks.
According to information presented by the consultants at a Sept. 22 public information session, “The Town of Perth’s transportation system needs to be enhanced to improve the mobility and safety of all road users including pedestrians and cyclists.”
Because the transportation plan is part of the master plan process, provincial regulations require the town to hold two public information sessions. The second and final session held Sept. 22 attracted about a dozen interested members of the public, said Cousens. Feedback received from the public to date indicated that “trucks are being problematic and disobeying posted truck routes.” Public comments showed particular concern about truck traffic on Gore Street. With the need for a new north-south arterial route identified as the most common priority, other improvements requested by the public included reducing congestion, improving safety at intersections, providing more parking, and more pedestrian and bike facilities.
The recommendations contained in the final plan will be implemented in the future through capital projects and new policies, said Cousens.
Rising energy costs driving energy audits across the region
Regional -
Howaida Sorour-Roberts heddy@pdgmedia.ca
With skyrocketing energy prices, it’s hardly surprising that municipalities in the region are not just reducing their energy consumption on an ad-hoc basis but are taking a closer look at their operational efficiencies.
“We actually started the process,” said Art Manhire, director of community services, Smiths Falls.
After meeting with Honeywell (who are currently working with the Perth and Smiths Falls District Hospital), Manhire said he met with Lanark County and neighbouring municipalities and proposed identifying a suitable company that could perform operational assessments for everyone.
“On March 31, 2016, Lanark County issued a RFP for energy management services. The RFP docu-
ment stated that member municipalities could also use the selected proponent if they wished. The successful proponent of the RFP was Honeywell,” said Kevin Wills, financial/IT systems manager, Lanark County. Honeywell emerged as the winning competitor because they had the size, the resources, the proven history and very attractive guarantees and terms. “Honeywell is a $40 billion worldwide company with 25 years experience in energy solution. We have the expertise in finding new technologies that save energy and we’re prepared to stand behind our operational assessments and offer no-risk financing programs for residents of the region,” said Luis Rodrigues, vice-president, Honeywell Energy Services Group.
While the agreement reached is between Honeywell and the county each
municipality within the county plus Smiths Falls can participate.
“Each municipality of Lanark County is able to use the agreement reached between the county and Honeywell. But each municipality will make their own decision if they wish to participate and will form their own contract with Honeywell,” said Wills Honeywell is now working with Smiths Falls, Lanark County and some of its municipalities to prepare opportunity assessment reports for each.
“They’ll be looking to identify projects that have a pay back of 12 years or less,” said John deRosenroll, Perth chief administrative officer. “What’s interesting here is they will, through the agreement guarantee their work and the energy pay back. If any of their assessments are wrong, they will literally write us a
check for the difference.”
In addition, Honeywell is in a position to help clients finance upgrades to their systems.
“We offer several different funding approaches, we can put the money up front and then the client pays us back through the guaranteed savings — and if the savings are not realized, Honeywell will make up the difference,” said Rodrigues. “We’re in effect guaranteeing that what we’re installing will save the client enough money to pay for the project.”
The whole process starts with comprehensive audits of energy and operations identified by the client, according to Honeywell.
“We then prepare a report identifying energy saving projects that allows municipalities to select the most appropriate projects for them,” said Rodrigues.
Each of the participating
municipalities has it’s own set of buildings or operations that it’s hired Honeywell to examine.
“In Smiths Falls one of the things we’ll be looking at is how efficient are we being in using consumable resources such as electricity,” said Manhire. The main areas Honeywell will examine in Smiths Falls are the Water Treatment Plant, the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the arenas and the North and South buildings of Town Hall.
Perth has another set of areas it wants examined.
“We’ll be looking at the arena, the water treatment plant and street lighting,” said deRosenroll.
The county has other priorities driven by a rising Hydro bill.
“Lanark County and the Lanark County Housing Corporation (LCHC, owned by Lanark County) spends a significant sum
each year on utilities. For example Lanark Lodge utilities are $470,000 per year. LCHC annual utilities are $1.1 million per year. Many of the LCHC properties are heated by electricity,” explained Wills. They’re not alone. Smiths Falls spent $1.33 million last year on Hydro alone, so as Manhire points out a 10 or 15 per cent reduction in that bill is a significant saving that would free up money for other projects. With Hydro costs expected to continue rising, municipalities with complex infrastructure are looking for relief. “The long-term forecast is that electricity rates will increase substantially. The county has hired Honeywell for energy management services as our intention is to help mitigate the expected rate increases so that the impact on the local taxpayer is minimized,” concluded Wills.
A new arterial road that would ease congestion on Gore Street is among the issues to be addressed in Perth’s updated Transportation Master Plan.
Photo Credit: Chris Must
community
Injecting a youthful presence into Smiths Falls council
Smiths Falls -
Howaida Sorour-Roberts
heddy@pdgmedia.ca
Two Smiths Falls and District Collegiate Institute (SFDCI) students are keen to start their duties as student councillors on Smiths Falls town council. The two young men, Jordan Drummond and Ben Seward, were called to serve on council at the regular Committee of the Whole meeting held at SFDCI on Monday Oct. 17.
“The purpose of the program was to establish a policy for the appointment and participation of a non-voting Student Councillor Program in recognition of the need for youth empowerment,” explains Nadine Bennett, deputy clerk, Smiths Falls.
The student councillor program has been in place since 2013.
“I think it’s a great way to introduce young people to the workings of the municipality,” says Dawn Quinn, long-time Smiths Falls councillor.
For students to participate, they have to apply to the program with a short essay explaining why they want to serve.
“All the work we’ve done on the Vimy Oaks project really inspired me to get more involved. I always hope to make a differ-
ence in the community and represent the student population, and on a personal level, I hope to find out what I’m capable of doing,” says Drummond, a grade 12 student.
The Smiths Falls native is involved in numerous extra-curricular activities: he tutors math, does improv comedy, sits on student council, is taking part in the SFDCI musical and is a member of the Reach for the Top trivia challenge. Over the summer he worked at Heritage House museum, a job he says he thoroughly enjoyed and taught him a lot.
“I’m also a member of the Smiths Falls men’s curling league as a spare, and used to play rugby and football,” he says.
Drummond plans to pursue a degree in history with a minor in political science at Nipissing University.
“I want to get into the teaching world, because I love it and love helping people,” he says.
Both Drummond and Seward are team leaders on the Vimy Oaks project that will see one of the first of the Vimy Oaks planted in Smiths Falls as part of the 150 celebrations next year.
Seward, who is a grade 11 student, says his ap-
plication to council was spurred by inquisitiveness. “I’m curious about the decisions and mechanics behind how our society and town works,” he says.
A good student with an avid interest in music, Seward plays the guitar and enjoys learning.
“Civics class lit a fire under me, and I enjoy Canadian history,” he says.
A former football player, Seward suffered a concussion and now only participates lightly in soccer. Older than his years, Seward has one older sister and says he tends to enjoy the company of older people, with whom he finds he can have meaningful conversations.
Seward thinks he’ll pursue a degree in political science but he still has a year to decide where he wants to go.
Both young men say they hope they’ll be able to make a meaningful contribution during their time on council.
“Maybe I’ll be able to look at something in the future and say I had something to do with that. I just want to participate in the society we all live in,” says Seward.
As much as the students want to participate, Smiths Falls council members are looking forward to their
column: Carleton Place Social Notes
Carleton Place -
Sarah Cavanagh
editorial@pdgmedia.ca
November already! The month when days become obviously shorter, colder and damper. We have yet to be invigorated by the colours and sounds of the holidays and who knows when the first billowy snowfall will make us (briefly) believe in magic. It’s a month of remembrance where, with poppies on lapels, we pause to remember the sacrifices of others in the defense of our freedom and the freedom of others.
Carleton Place has a rich military history with prominent figures like Roy Brown and dozens of honorable service men and women either born or making their homes
here in Carleton Place. There is a very interesting piece written on the website Carleton Place Local History (carletonplacelocalhistory.wordpress.com) that recounts some of the stories of local soldiers. November is a time of reflection but also one to be grateful for our many blessings. It’s a month that can easily feel a little humdrum, but around Carleton Place there is plenty to keep our spirits up!
November is the kick off to the holiday shop ping season and where better to do it then our own friendly streets. I challenge all our lo cal readers to make it a Carleton Place Christmas! Support your neighbours and local small business owners by shopping here. Take pleasure in
presence on council. “We believe it is important to gain insight from a different perspective on the various issues we face. Many decisions council makes today will have a long-lasting impact on the town and it is the youth of our community who will live with the results of these choices,” says Shawn Pankow, mayor, Smiths Falls.
The mayor isn’t the only council member who believes there is tremendous value in having student councillors present at the table.
“We want them to bring us their ideas and thoughts and we want them to go back to their peers and discuss with them what we are doing, and report back to us. We also want them to tell us what’s happening at the high school,” says Quinn.
While the students don’t have a vote on council they are encouraged to participate in discussions at committee of the whole meetings.
“We hope our student councillors take the time to prepare for meetings. Understand the issues that will be discussed at each committee of the whole or council meeting and come prepared to fully participate,” concludes Pankow.
a stroll along beautiful Bridge Street, take part in our many weekly social events or check out our bounty of local handmade makers at the many upcoming handmade craft shows and church bazaars. Experience the arts by getting your tickets for the Mississippi Mudds production
Two Smiths Falls and District Collegiate Institute students have been appointed to Smiths Falls council. From Left: Jordan Drummond and Ben Seward. Photo Credit: Howaida Sorour-Roberts
community
Smiths Falls looks forward to Build a Mountain campaign CP crafter sells decorations for Dominican fundraiser
Smiths Falls - Chris Must chris@pdgmedia.ca
After a summer of scarcity, some recent community support has left the Smiths Falls Community Food Bank in a good position heading into the year’s biggest food drive.
“During the summer things were very, very scarce,” food bank executive director Carolyn Barr told the Hometown News recently.
However, things have improved in recent weeks. The food bank has received 1,705 pounds of food and $6,327.40 in cash from members of the leagues at Lombard Glen Golf & Country Club. Another 1,325 pounds of food and a cheque for $247.60 also arrived from Tweed Inc. The Smiths Falls Police Service collected over 4,000 pounds of food and over $1,000 in their Stuff a Cruiser Campaign. The Harvest Fun Run held on Oct. 7 also collected 4,320 pounds of food and $1,082. These donations will be counted as part of the annual Build a Mountain of Food Campaign spearheaded by Hugh Colton of Town & Country Chrysler in Smiths Falls.
Thanks to these donations, said Barr, the food bank can continue to serve clients leading up to the arrival of the Build a Mountain of Food campaign in Smiths Falls on Nov. 26. Although the food bank is
normally able to purchase staple items, such as canned goods, when they become scarce, these recent donations bring an added benefit.
“We got a lot of things we don’t normally carry, and we are able to pass those on to our clients,” said Barr.
In the meantime, the food bank would especially appreciate receiving donations of certain items including perked coffee (which is too expensive to purchase), children’s pasta (e.g. Zoodles), and large containers of juice.
The annual Build a Mountain of Food campaign, now in its 10th year, will kick off in Carleton Place before heading to Perth, then Smiths Falls, and finally in smaller communities including Portland, Elgin, Athens, Westport, and Merrickville.
The campaign begins Saturday, Nov. 12 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Patrice’s Independent Grocer in Almonte, and at Mitchell’s Independent Grocer, FreshCo, and Giant Tiger in Carleton Place.
On Saturday, Nov. 19 donations will be collected in Perth at Brownlee’s Metro, Barnabe’s Independent Grocer, Foodsmiths and Giant Tiger, and Lanark at Lanark Highlands Food Pantry and Thrift Store.
The campaign continues Saturday, Nov. 26 in Smiths Falls from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
carleton place - Jane Hobson jane@pdgmedia.ca
About 16 people from Carleton Place will travel to Dominican Republic for a week in December to build a house for a family who lives in poverty.
Organized through a missionary program called Casas Por Cristo, the team will transform an otherwise empty and un-liveable lot into a safe and secure home for a family in just one week.
the word about her crafts via Facebook. Search Casas Por Cristo Fundraiser on Facebook and you’ll easily find the public group with pictures of all that she’s offering. To order, you can contact her via Facebook or email (chrisrawding@hotmail. com).
“They make great gifts and can be used all year-round by simply switching the colour of the candle,” she said.
the ground and the electricity is often out for the entire day,” Rawding said.
“We provided the last family with rechargeable batteries, towels, sheets, curtains, pots and pans and non-perishable foods before we left,” she said.
In some areas, the sewage system runs in a long wide ditch in front of all the houses. “The smell is enough to kill you,” Rawding said.
at Andress’ Independent Grocer, Food Basics, the Garden Market, and Giant Tiger.
“The Build a Mountain of Food campaign is absolutely imperative to our ability to supply food for the hungry people,” said Barr. “It stocks the shelves well into the April-May time frame.”
Gifts of cash during the campaign also help food banks regularly purchase perishable staples such as meat, milk and eggs.
Barr has managed the Smiths Falls Community Food Bank for the past five years. The non-profit organization was founded in 1996 by a group of Smiths Falls residents who were volunteering at the Carleton Place food bank. They noticed that some clients were coming from Smiths Falls, and decided under the leadership of the late Wilma Oatway to try to meet their needs closer to home.
The food bank opened in Smiths Falls at 42 James St. under the name Tay Rideau Food Bank. It moved to its current location at 93 Russell St. East (a former grocery building constructed in 1910) in 1997. In 2009 the name was changed to Smiths Falls Community Food Bank.
The most recent improvement was moving the reception area for clients to the front of the building two years ago, providing a more pleasant atmosphere than in the past. This is a spacious and well-lit area, complete with stylish stained glass windows. “The first-time clients are often quite nervous, and it makes them more comfortable,” said Barr.
The food bank served an average of 540 clients, or 256 families, each month in 2015. “We certainly have well over that on our database, so it’s not as if clients come every month,” said Barr. She noted that the number of new clients arriving each month is in the double digits.
Dominican Republic is a Caribbean nation in Central America that borders with Haiti and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. About 10.4 million people live in Dominican Republic. The country is roughly 48,000 kilometres squared - that’s smaller than Nova Scotia.
It costs $8,500 dollars to build a house for a family there. While it may seem cheap to the western world, this home provides the family with a cement foundation, electricity, windows and doors. It usually consists of one living space, two bedrooms, an indoor bathroom and a front door with a proper lock — priceless necessities in a country where crime is common and tropical storms are a recurring threat to living conditions.
“A lot of the time, families are raising their children and grandchildren in one room,” said Christina Rawding. Rawding is a member of the team travelling to Dominican Republic in December. She was already there in March to build a home for a family. “It’s backbreaking work but I don’t dare complain.”
The team heading south in December is responsible for raising $8,500 to build the house. “We pay for our accommodations, food and flights on our own,” Rawding said. “I want to stress that the money we raise only goes towards the building supplies. You can see the receipts.”
To raise money, Rawding is selling festive crafts. Rawding is handcrafting autumn and Christmas decorations that can be displayed inside or outdoors. She’s spreading
Prices vary from $40 to $70. If candles aren’t your thing but you still want to support the cause, private cash donations are also accepted.
“In Dominican, they don’t know they live in poverty,” Rawding said. “They are very thankful. They are always joyful and smiling,” she said, remembering her spring missionary trip.
According to recent official poverty data at ruralpovertyportal.org, more than a third of the Dominican Republic's population lives in poverty. The UN defines poverty as a lack of income and productive resources to ensure sustainable livelihoods. Hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education, homelessness, inadequate housing and unsafe environments are included in this definition.
“Hydro wires are all over
Casas Por Cristo uses local lumber companies and hardware stores to get supplies for the house, Rawding said. Sometimes locals come to lend a hand.
“The boys like to come chat with us and help us build because they don’t get a lot of opportunities to socialize,” she said.
On the March trip, the team left the local helpers all their tool belts and work boots. “We left in our sock feet,” Rawding said, smiling at the memory. Giving locals these tools gives them a better chance to get a job.
Rawding said it is difficult to return to Carleton Place after the trip. “It teaches me to give people things that they really need – like love and support instead of presents and money.”
Carleton Place local Christina Rawding is handcrafting and selling candleholders to raise money to build a house in Dominican Republic in December 2016. Photos courtesy of Christina Rawding.
Carolyn Barr, executive director of the Smiths Falls Community Food Bank, says the annual Build a Mountain of Food campaign is critical to the food bank’s ability to continue to feed its hungry clients each month.
Photo Credit: Chris Must
Smiths Falls Police Const. Dave Murphy and his colleagues visited St. James the Greater School in Smiths Falls on Oct. 7 to collect donations for the Stuff a Cruiser Campaign. The campaign collected over 4,000 pounds of food for the Smiths Falls Community Food Bank. Photo Credit: Hugh Colton
Getting to know the new Smiths Falls Police Chief
Smiths Falls -
Howaida Sorour-Roberts heddy@pdgmedia.ca
There’s a new chief in town. On Oct.14, Mark MacGillivray was sworn in as the 20th Chief of Smiths Falls Police (SFP).
“I’m very proud and very happy to take on the role of chief,” says MacGillivary. “It’s not something that you necessarily think about when you join but then you progress as you move up the ranks and take the opportunities for training.”
The 49-year-old, Ottawa native and father of two daughters has served in Smiths Falls for nearly 30 years. “He has excellent knowledge of the community and has been very involved in the community, and I think that’s important because people can put a face to their police chief,” says Karen Hallinan, chair of the Smiths Falls police service board.
Although MacGillivray grew up in Ottawa, his connection to Smiths Falls dates back to his childhood.
“My grandmother was from Smiths Falls and my grandfather was a railway engineer in Smiths Falls, they lived on Cornelia Street,” says MacGillivray.
He says he remembers travelling with his sister by greyhound to Smiths Falls during the summers. “My grandparents would meet us at the station, we’d go
to Gerbos for lunch before driving up to their cottage on Otter Lake,” says MacGillivray, “I have very fond memories of my summers in Smiths Falls.”
MacGillivray doesn’t remember exactly when he decided to become a police officer, only that he was very, very young, probably while he was still in public school. “My father was a police officer and I never thought about any other career, it just seemed to be the path I wanted to take,” he recalls.
After graduating from college, he says he applied to every police service he could — and back then there were a lot of municipal services. Smiths Falls was the first service to call him up and it’s where he’s stayed. His wife was born and raised in Smiths Falls and his two daughters have been raised in town, too.
“We spent a lot of time in the arena, both my girls grew up playing hockey,” he says. “We’re a hockey family and my wife and I also used to play hockey, but my wife doesn’t anymore.”
Over the course of his 30 years with the service, MacGillivray has been a front-line officer, a criminal investigator and finally an administrative officer. He has pursued every training opportunity he could and taken numerous courses over the years, including investigative techniques,
front-line management and senior police administration. As much as he immersed himself in work he also immersed himself in the culture of Smiths Falls from hockey to hunting.
Easy going and direct, MacGillivray is approachable as a person. “He’s a big strong guy, but he’s also got that compassionate side, that whatever situation he finds he’s able to deal with it without coming across as a hard-nosed cop,” says Hallinan.
MacGillivray’s appointment to chief isn’t a huge surprise, he has been serving as deputy chief for the past five years and it was the board’s plan to have a serving member of the current service move into that position.
“It’s not automatic that the deputy becomes chief, but it was part of our strategy that we were planning succession,” said Chris Cummings, councillor and council representative on the police services board. “When we appointed Mark as deputy, five years ago, it gave us an opportunity to watch his progress and measure his performance,” he explains.
The five years MacGillivary spent serving as deputy chief were crucial to his appointment as chief.
“He just has all the right boxes ticked off - personality, organizational skills, leadership and command
opinion: Am I the only one? Preparing for winter with a plan
Like squirrels gathering their nuts, we must use this transition period to mentally prepare ourselves for winter. I’m going to control my experience of winter this year instead of letting it control me. Winter always feels harder, darker and colder but this year I’m going to flip that around and make it easier, lighter and warmer. You can’t control the weather and if you want something different you have to do something different.
People isolate themselves in the winter (me included). We hole up in our cabins and waste our life on Netflix and gain 20 pounds.
Note to self: stop buying
Doritos. Can you take a class or a workshop, join a club or volunteer? How are you going to do winter differently?
As cold and hard as scraping ice off the windshield is I still feel warm when I’m sitting around a cozy fire, sipping hot chocolate and cuddling under warm blankets. In the summer there’s lots of extended daylight and time to tinker around, easy meals are flopped on the BBQ. Everything seems to flow naturally when it’s warm outside. In the winter, we have to create a new plan and use our time more efficiently.
Rushing around is so much more difficult in the winter. Life isn’t always easy but sometimes we create our own chaos. Give yourself lots of breaks, extra time to get ready, warm up the car, bundle up and put on warm socks. If life is extremely busy you need a winter plan. Don’t agonize, organize. We glorify busy and where it like a badge of honour.
I have great memories of winter playing in the snow
skills, and interactions with police officers, the public and the board,” said Cummings.
MacGillivray says his biggest challenge will be to continue providing the same level of service the town has been used to while remaining sustainable. “We’re always reviewing our service to see how we can do things more efficiently and keep costs down — but we are an emergency service, and we can’t predict how many
calls, or how much investigation we will need to do to get final results,” he adds.
One of the ways he says SFP keeps costs down is by nurturing and building partnerships with the local services in town. “Partnerships with mental health services, victim services and social services are important, we can’t do it all alone, it’s through collaborative efforts that we can stay sustainable,” he says.
Ultimately he says the
success of the service is the result of having an excellent team of officers and support staff.
MacGillivray’s appointment is also generally welcomed within the ranks of SFP.
“It’s nice to see that they’re promoting from within the ranks, it potentially allows other members of the force to move up as well,” says Constable Dave Murphy, community service officer with SFP.
with my sisters. When I squint up at the sky and melt snowflakes on my tongue I feel warmer and lighter. Slow down. Leave the rat race for the rats. I know there aren’t too many woes in life that a nice hot bath won’t cure, especially if your toes are frozen.
Albert Camus quoted, “In the midst of winter I found there was within me an invincible summer.” No matter how hard winter pushes against us, something stronger and better is within us pushing right back. Prepare and decide to do winter differently this year. One simple shift, one easy step, one moment of clarity can make all the difference in the world. Those purple flowers will be popping out of the snow in no time. Shovelling snow may be the new exercise but nothing beats a good sweat.
Signed, Am I the Only One ? Carrie Wynne Carrie Wynne’s column reflects her own opinions and not necessarily those of Hometown News.
The new Smiths Falls Police Chief Mark MacGillivray sat down with Hometown news to talk about his past and his future with SFP. Photo Credit: Howaida Sorour-Roberts
O HTO's Come Wander campaign meant to attract tourists to Ontario’s Highlands
Regional - Jane Hobson jane@pdgmedia.ca
Ontario’s Highlands is the place where people can come to take a deep breath and discover, according to a new campaign from Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO).
OHTO hosted its annual tourism conference at Code’s Mill in Perth at the end of October. The conference, also known as the OH!Tourism Sum-
mit, invites tourism leaders and community partners to network and share new ideas about tourism in Ontario’s Highlands. More than 120 people attended this year’s summit that focused on introducing a new branding campaign for the region called Come Wander. The Come Wander brand focuses on the ways the small towns in the region can use online content to generate tourism engagement.
OHTO is one of 13 not-for-profit tourism organizations created by the Ontario government to increase tourism to the province. OHTO covers a large region in eastern Ontario that includes the counties of Haliburton, Lanark and Renfrew, as well as some parts of Frontenac, Hastings and Lennox and Addington. Come Wander brands these counties as “an unpretentious place where travellers can come to
live like locals,” tourism consultant Chris Hughes told the room during the conference. Hughes is the co-owner of BC Hughes Tourism Consultants and has been working with OHTO for about four years. “Come Wander reminds everyone that sometimes the best way to reconnect is to disconnect, slow the pace, and just wander,” he said.
The brand is meant to evoke the feeling that inside each person is a
wanderer; someone who wants to stimulate the senses and nourish the soul by experiencing all the spontaneous adventures that the region offers, from the most popular white water rafting in Canada to a plethora of micro-breweries and everything in between.
OHTO hired Hughes to create and launch the brand after consulting with the different regions.
The brand is “soft, warm and welcoming,” Hughes said. “Try wandering for yourself,” he told the room.
After conducting travel and tourism research, OHTO decided Come Wander will target five different travellers who all seek different adventures – the creative cruiser, the serenity seeker, the freedom finder, the memory maker and the rustic roamer.
Year one of the branding campaign will focus on the stakeholders. OHTO will host engagement sessions, generate social media content, perfect the website comewander.ca and launch a video series called The Wanderer.
“We can all drive the creation and distribution of engaging content by
speaking to a core value that we all seek when travelling; experiencing and connecting to a new place,” Hughes said.
Hughes encouraged everyone in the room to promote the Come Wander brand through social media, via blog content or e-blasts. “This will resonate with people by creating a community where we share our secrets about our favourite places to hike, read or get a coffee,” he said. “Let’s include travellers in our local fabric.”
Come Wander tries to tap into the emotions, desires and interests of the consumer to inspire them and to really connect with them, agreed Stephanie Hessel and Jennifer Gilmer. Hessel is the tourism development coordinator at OHTO. Gilmer is the communications coordinator. They say connecting with people’s emotions will be a huge part of the campaign’s success.
“Come Wander means everyone works together to achieve the same tourism goal,” said Hessel, who called herself a rustic roamer and freedom finder. “The goal is that we see our region grow and become more vibrant.”
Carleton Place Christmas Basket seeks local support
carleton place - Jane Hobson jane@pdgmedia.ca
program a success once again as the holiday season approaches. The program relies on local donations to supply a complete Christmas breakfast and supper to families and individuals in need during the holidays.
“We distributed 297 baskets last year,” said Wayne Drummond, the Carleton Place Christmas Basket program coordinator. “All the baskets stay within the K7C postal area,” he said. Drummond says donations have traditionally come from both individuals and commercial enterprises in the community. No donations come from government programs.
“Not everyone can afford the traditional family festivities during the Christmas season,” Drummond said. “It’s really important that we connect as a community so that Christmas is a happy time for all.”
than 16, also received presents from the Angel Tree Program that is affiliated with Carleton Place Christmas Basket. Angel Tree Program gifts are combined with the appropriate basket.
“I think [the baskets] really do help,” said Dr. Sean Murphy from Murphy Chiropractic’s in Carleton Place. Murphy Chiropractic’s has been a drop-off destination for donated winter hats, mittens and
scarves for the last 13 years.
The office usually starts accepting donations at the end of October.
“Sometimes the Christmas Basket gets a last minute call on Christmas Eve so it’s really important that we start early to make sure we have enough for everyone in need,” Murphy said.
“I think it’s a success because giving makes you feel good, it’s healthy for everyone involved.” Murphy said.
“People are more willing to give at this time of year.”
“Ray always donates a lot which is very helpful,” said Drummond, talking about Ray MacLaren, the manager of the Carleton Place Giant Tiger.
Donated hats, mittens and scarves must be new. Handmade is accepted. For more information about Christmas Baskets, contact Wayne Drummond at wdrumm9@gmail.com.
Carleton Place Christmas Basket puts food on the table and presents under the tree for families in need.
Carleton Place Christmas Basket is asking for local support to make the
Christmas is a great time to reconnect with family and friends to share anecdotes from the previous year and well wishes for the upcoming over a hot meal. Unfortunately, the reality of the holiday season is not this bright and breezy for some in Carleton Place.
Each basket contains a pancake breakfast, complete with pancakes, syrup, bread, butter, peanut butter, jam and milk. The turkey dinner includes apple juice, potatoes, carrots, turkey, dressing, cranberries, gravy and a dessert.
About 1,000 people, a third of whom are younger
BC Hughes Tourism Consultants Co-Owner Chris Hughes presents to a crowd of about 120 people at the OH!Tourism Summit in Perth on Oct. 24, 2016. The conference focused on the new Come Wander brand that is meant to attract tourists to the region. Photo Credit: Jane Hobson
Dr. Sean Murphy (bottom left) poses for a photo with Wayne Drummond (middle) and Ray MacLaren (top right) with other chiropractic employees in front of a box of donated winter clothing on Oct. 24, 2016. Murphy Chiropractic in Carleton Place has been helping Carleton Place Christmas Basket collect winter items for 13 years. Photo Credit: Jane Hobson
Perth & District Community Foundation set for Xmas gala
The Perth & District Community Foundation (PDCF) has launched its ticket sales for its annual Christmas Gala, which takes place Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 from 7-11 p.m. at the Best Western Parkside Inn and Spa in Perth.
Heralded as the community’s official launch into the holiday season, the Christmas Gala has always been a good time filled with some fun memories — and this year will be just the same but with some good twists. The gala committee has been in the planning phase for a while now, and along with our widely-popular traditional items (host bar, live music by St. Jimmy’s 4, delicious cheese bar, live auction, memories to last a lifetime, etc.).
The Foundation will bring in some new and exciting features to an al ready exciting night here in Perth.
Here are just a few ways organizers plan to roll it out big this year.
Glass and Glitter Bar: Get the VIP experience. When you add an addi tional $25 to your ticket
price, you’ll get VIP bar access, which includes premium beer and wine as well as an extra hour of host bar. You’ll also receive a gala glass courtesy of McLean Insurance. But you’ve got to get on this offer fast. The foundation is only opening this VIP experience to 75 ticket holders. Ask for it when ordering your ticket.
New Time: You’ll have the chance to grab an early dinner before you head over to the gala this year. The gals will run from 7-11 p.m. The host bar will run from 7-9 p.m.
Fewer Tickets: It may seem counterintuitive to reduce ticket sale numbers. But after last year’s gala, the foundation really liked how there was more space and better conversation! Only 200 tickets will be available
the foundation’s operating costs and ensures they can continue to help locally-based charities through its endowment — a permanent, self-sustaining source of funding that pays out a portion of funds each year in our community. Since 2002, the foundation has granted more than $320,000 to community organizations. By the end of this year, it will help 17 groups by distributing over $50,000 in grants and scholarships. Use this night as a way to support the PDCF while getting together with good friends and experiencing an unforgettable night.
Get Your Tickets! You can order your tickets ($110/person) online through Tickets Please at www.ticketsplease.ca, give them a call at 613485-6434, or visit the
Perth Union Library closes for renovations
The Perth and District Union Public Library will be closed from Dec. 5-16 for renovations. The library will be moving shelving, installing a new circulation desk, and making the layout better for everyone to use and enjoy.
For continued access to the library’s collections, library staff will host a ‘pop up library’ at Coutts Coffee on Gore St. every day from 2-3 p.m. during the closure. eBooks, eAudiobooks and digital magazines will also still be available 24/7 through the library’s website. To access these items, all you need is
your library card.
“Renting the Old Fire Hall from the Town of Perth for library staff workspace has allowed us to open up more space for the public in our main library building”, said Erika Heesen, CEO. “It has also given us the opportunity to rethink how our space is arranged, and make it more open and inviting for everyone in our community”.
The library invites the public to see the changes at our grand re-opening on Dec. 17 at 10 a.m. For more information, please visit www.perthunionlibrary.ca.
New Civitan club in Perth for people with developmental and intellectual challenges
The Perth Civitan Club is proud to announce their sponsorship of the Trillium Lanark County (TLC) Civitan Club. Created for individuals with developmental and intellectual challenges, this is the first Civitan Club of its kind in Canada.
Civitan International is an organization of volunteer service clubs around the world, dedicated to helping people in their own communities with a special emphasis on helping people with developmental disabilities.
There are seven Civitan Clubs throughout Lanark County and they help wherever the need arises in their respective communities. Civitans are also big supporters of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and in 2015/2016, eight participating clubs in Canadian District East donated over $108,000 dollars to Project Stitch.
The idea to build a unique service club with this type of structure in Lanark County was the brainchild of Trish McConnell, a 22-year Perth Civitan Club member and now the Canadian District East Governor for 2016/2017. The idea came after hearing a fellow Perth Civitan Club member, Bob Robinson a 25-year member, recount his visits as he travelled throughout North
literally changed some of the member’s lives. The club he spoke about was called the “Orchid Civitan Club”. His story had a profound impact on McConnell, and she immediately went to work speaking to the Developmental Support Service Caseworkers at Lanark County and further meeting with several representatives from agencies throughout Lanark County.
They provided her assistance and insight as to what would form a good foundation for a club of this kind and she, along with fellow club builders Robinson and Robinson’s wife, Wendy, set off to develop a club to meet the identified unique needs of its members.
Official notification of The Trillium Lanark County (TLC) Civitan Club was announced on Oct. 28, 2016 with its charter celebration planned for Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016.
The club is made up of a mixture of both intellectually challenged individuals and advisors, with the advisors acting as mentors to members. Since its inception, the club members have had many opportunities to participate in fun activities and been provided occasions to help out in their community.
On Oct. 25, 2016, after their charter elections,
over 900 goody bags with Halloween candies for the Civitan’s Halloween Haunt on Oct.31.
Members are in the process of organizing their Charter Celebration and are asking people to bring a non-perishable food item in order to fill a box for the food bank. It is their goal to gather 100 food items in order to meet the CDE Governor’s 100 Things Challenge, an initiative created by the Governor to celebrate Civitan International’s Centennial Year of 2016/2017. The club meets every second and fourth Tuesday in Perth but has members from different areas throughout Lanark County.
Transportation continues to be a barrier for club members and assistance with drives to and from the meetings would enable more developmentally disabled individuals to attend. We still need the community help in order to provide this opportunity for anyone who would like to enjoy themselves with great fellowship and a desire to help out in their community.
If you know someone who you think would benefit from being a member of the TLC Civitan Club, please contact trishmcconnell@live.ca or 613-2532269 or Wendy or Bob
Photo Credit: Submitted
Food & Drink
Perth - Jane Hobson
jane@pdgmedia.ca
The Fieldhouse restaurant in Perth was busy on October 19th as Perth locals dined out to support
Influenza (flu) is a preventable illness that can be very dangerous to some individuals. Influenza is extremely contagious and is capable of spreading rapidly from person to person, it is important for individuals to follow these steps to protect themselves as well as others in the community: get a flu shot, wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, keep frequently touched hard surfaces clean and disinfected, cover your cough, and stay home when you are sick.
Restaurants for Change.
Restaurants for Change is a one-day nationwide fundraiser across Canada that raises money to support programs that bring people
in low-income communities together to eat, cook and share healthy food.
“Fourteen cities participate across Canada - and one kick-ass small town!”
Flu vaccine provides adults and children with active immunity against the influenza virus. The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit recommends annual immunization against influenza for any persons over 6 months of age. There is a new flu vaccine produced each year to protect against the three strains of influenza most commonly circulating during the flu season.
Pregnant women are recommended to receive the influenza vaccine. Children
who are over the age of 6 months and under the age of nine and are getting the flu shot for the first time should get a second dose one month later.
Individuals who are at a greater risk for serious complications from the flu are as follows: very young children, pregnant women, people over 65, and adults and children with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, respiratory, cardiac, kidney disease or cancer. The vaccine protects
about 70 per cent of people who get a flu shot. However, the protection rate in seniors is less, as their immune systems are weaker. You may still get the flu even though you received your flu shot but being vaccinated will help to reduce the severity of your symptoms.
You cannot get the flu from receiving a flu shot. The flu vaccine does not contain live virus and thus is incapable of giving you the flu. Most people have no reaction to having a
The Table provides free meals to anyone in the community 3 times a week.
O’Reilly’s pub in Perth also participated. “It’s thrill-
says Ramsey Hart, referring to Perth. Hart is the executive director at the Table Community Food Centre in Perth. “It’s great to have the Table as a local connection,” he says.
ing to have local restaurants participate,” Hart says. Hart says funds raised on Oct. 19 are split between the Table and Community Food Centres Canada.
flu vaccine while some report having tenderness at the injection site for a few days. After receiving a flu shot some people may experience a mild fever, feeling tired, or having muscle aches and this is considered a normal reaction to having a vaccination. It is not the flu.
The Leeds Grenville and Lanark Health Unit will not be providing community flu clinics this year but are recommending that people get their flu shot at a local pharmacy or by visiting your healthcare provider. Most pharmacy clinics will be open and available to the public seven days a week and with evening hours. A health card in hand is needed to register with any pharmacy clinic. Check out the list of participating pharmacies in the next few weeks at www. healthunit.org. Pharmacies cannot give vaccinations to persons under five years of age.
Submitted by Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit
Jane Dugdale poses for a photo with friends on the patio of The Fieldhouse restaurant in Perth on Oct. 19, 2016. The Fieldhouse participated in a one-day nationwide festival called Restaurants for Change that raises money for community food centres across Canada. Photo Credit: Jane Hobson
Three cooks pose for a photo in front of the barbeque on the patio at The Fieldhouse restaurant in Perth on Oct. 19, 2016. The Fieldhouse participated in a one-day nationwide festival called Restaurants for Change that raises money for community food centres across Canada. Photo Credit: Jane Hobson
Discover
the communities of Lanark & Northern Leeds Grenville
Celebration of Lights ushers in the magic of Christmas
Smiths FallsHowaida Sorour-Roberts
heddy@pdgmedia.ca
Colourful lights are the first magical sign that Christmas is in the air, and this year Smiths Falls monthlong Celebration of Lights will kick off the season on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 5:00 p.m. Right now Together Smiths Falls Community Enhancement Association (TSF) is accepting applications from businesses, service clubs and individuals who want to participate in turning Victoria Park into an enchanted world of glittering lights.
“We’re going into our fourth season, and last year we had a total of 40 displays with about 25 community partners up from seven in the first year,” said Susan Richardson, TSF board member and organizer of the Celebration of Lights.
There is no fee for putting up a display, but participants are re quired to provide their own lighting and an extension cord. TSF augments the pageant of lights with numer ous displays of its own and strings of twin
kling lights in the trees that line the park. The beauty of the event isn’t just in the aesthetic of coloured lights and Christmas themed exhibits, but in its accessibility.
“You can drive through the park to look at all the displays, which is what I love about it, because it opens up the festivity to so many more people who might not be able to walk through the park,” said Richardson.
The entire event is volunteer run and driven, and that means there is always a need
hands. “We definitely need more volunteers for set-up and patrol,” said Deanna Garton, TSF board member. “We need people to walk or drive through the park throughout the month and make sure that displays that might have blown over are picked up – I call our patrollers our park rangers!”
The attraction of the event is the number of displays that fill the park with twinkling lights. “It’s good for the community, we have so many positive comments about how nice it is to drive or walk it
goodwill in the community,” said Garton. Business that have participated in the past say they’ll do it again because it’s rewarding. “It was a great experience and good exposure,” said Butch Webster, realtor and real estate agent with Re/ Max, Smiths Falls. “We had the popcorn machine on opening night last year and it was very busy and people seemed to really enjoy it.”
The event is so delightfully visible it attracts people from all over the region who happen to be passing
had a lady arrive at 7:30 on opening night, she had been in town for a hockey tournament with her son. She was from Renfrew, she asked what was going on and when we told her, she got her children out of the car, they took wagon rides and told us she thought it was amazing,” said Richardson.
In the course of the month, Richardson estimates about 10,000 people cycle through the park, which is open every night until Dec. 31 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
On opening night,
Pankow with Blinky, the event mascot, at his side. TSF organizes wagon rides, and Santa of course is bound to drop in with treats for the children.
“We also have Build a Mountain of food accepting donation at the opening, and there will be treats for people. We’re just firming that up this week, but in the past we’ve had cookies and hot chocolate,” said Richardon.
In the meantime, service clubs, businesses and individuals wishing to participate can go to togethersmithsfalls.com to access an
Events around the region
Almonte & Mississippi Mills
1
November • all month
“A Life Inspired”: The creative journey of William C.G. Hodge
Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, Almonte
613.256.3754
www.mvtm.ca
November • Wednesdays
Almonte Duplicate Bridge Club
Almonte Legion
613-256-4747
November 3
Meet the Author: Amanda West Lewis
Almonte Public Library
613-256-9090
https://millstreetbooks.com/ November 4
Meet the Artist: Jack Martin
Carriageway Studios
613-624-5104
November 4 to 6
Rosemary Leach’s Open Studio 255 William Street, Almonte
613.256.7719
www.rosemaryleach.com
November 5 & 6
Christmas Pottery Sale
Almonte Potters Guild
613-256-5556
http://almontepottersguild.com/
November 5 & 6
Light Up The Night Fundraiser
Almonte Community Centre
November 5 & 6
Cheerfully Made Holiday
Market
Almonte Old Town Hall
http://cheerfullymade.com/
November 5 & 6
Christmas In The Valley Almonte Community Centre Upper Hall, 613.256.4207
www.valleyartisanshow.blogspot.ca
November 7
Talk: Understanding Grief Orchard View 219 Patterson St.
November 10
Vernissage: Ann Jezewski Fairview Manor
613-256-3113
November 10 & 24
Jimmy Tri-Tone Band
The Barley Mow dave@barleymow.com
613-256-5669
http://barleymow.com/
November 12
Almonte Farmers' Harvest Market
Almonte Community Centre
November 12
SchoolBox Latin Fiesta
Almonte Civitan Hall
http://schoolbox.ca/fiesta/
November 12
The PepTides & Ramblin' Valley Band
Almonte Old Town Hall
http://www.thepeptides.com/
November 13
Book Launch: Ron Corbett Mill Street Books
613-256-9090
https://millstreetbooks.com/ November 15
Puppets Up! AGM
Almonte Old Town Hall https://puppetsup.ca/
November 16
MSB Book Club: Sue Grafton's X Mill Street Books
613-256-9090
https://millstreetbooks.com/
November 17
Almonte Holiday Street Market
Downtown Almonte Mill St www.downtownalmonte.ca
November 18
Violet Femmes Girls Night Out Almonte Arena, Almonte
613.257.3469 www.lcih.org/events
November 19
Fundraiser for Almonte General Hospital The old Fairview Manor 613-257-7894
November 19
Charity Auction Almonte Legion www.trumanauctions.com/ November 20
SRO Big Band Tea Dance Almonte Old Town Hall sro.teadances@sympatico.ca 613-692-5380 srobigband.weebly.com/
November 20
Selina Martin Carriageway Studios 613-624-5104 http://selinamartin.com/
November 24
Book Signing: Sandra Nikolai Shoppers Drug Mart
November 25
Violet Femmes Gala Almonte Civitan Hall brianne@lcih.com 613-257-3469 EXT 63 http://lcih.org/ November 26 Coins & Strings Alliance Coin & Banknote sean@alliancecoin.com 613-256-6785 http://www.alliancecoin.com/ site/landingpage.cfm
November 26
High Times at the Heart Institute Almonte Old Town Hall 613-628-6600 http://stonefence.ca/ November 26
JazzNhouse: Rebecca Noelle Trio
Buy tickets online. An email with address details will be sent to you. arnie@jazzN.ca http://jazzn.ca/index.html
November 27
Trad Song Session The Barley Mow dave@barleymow.com 613-256-5669 www.shantyman.ca/TradSing
November 13
Book Launch: Brian Tackaberry North Lanark Regional Museum, Appleton appletonmuseum@hotmail.com 613-257-8503 www.lanarkcountymuseums.ca
November • Mondays
Mixed Euchre
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 192
November • Tuesdays
Cribbage
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 192
November • Tuesdays
Ladies Drop-In Darts
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 192
November • Tuesdays
Civitan Bingo
Carleton Place Arena
November • Wednesdays
Storytime
Carleton Place Public Library
613-257-2702
November • Wednesdays
Open Jam Night
The Waterfront Gastropub www.thewaterfrontgastropub.ca
November • Thursdays
Indoor Walking at Carambeck Carambeck Community Centre
November • Thursdays
Karaoke Night
The Waterfront Gastropub www.thewaterfrontgastropub.ca
November • Fridays
Victim Services Lanark County Carambeck Community Centre www.victimserviceslanark.ca
November • Fridays
Une Heure de Conte en Francais carletonplacepubliclibrary@ gmail.com
November • Fridays
Ballroom and Latin Dance Social
Total Rhythm Dance Studio
November • Fridays
DJ Whisper
The Waterfront Gastropub www.thewaterfrontgastropub.ca
November • Saturdays
Acoustic Saturdays
The Waterfront Gastropub www.thewaterfrontgastropub.ca
November • Saturdays
Queens Live Music
Queen's Hotel
November • Saturdays
Music at the Moose
The Thirsty Moose Pub & Eatery
November • Sundays
Music at the Gastropub
The Waterfront Gastropub www.thewaterfrontgastropub.ca
November 3
“Roy Brown - The Man and the Myth” Talk
Carleton Place and Beckwith
Heritage Museum
November 3
Queens Jazz Night
Queen's Hotel
613-257-7639
November 5
Child Haven Fundraiser
Carleton Place Canoe Club
November 5
St.Andrew's Fall Craft Fair and Bazaar
St.Andrew's Presbyterian Church
November 5
29th Annual Women’s Fair
Carleton Place Arena
613.257.3469 www.lcih.org/events
November 5
Garage Sale 7:30-Noon
Breakfast 7:30-11:00
Perth Legion
November 11
Remembrance Day Ceremony
10:30am
Zion Memorial United Church
November 12
Finders Keepers Craft Show
Carleton Place Canoe Club www.facebook.com/finderskeeperscraftshowcp/
November 13
Lanark Drum Circle
The Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum
November 17
Ladies Night Out
Bridge Street
November 18
Lego PA Day Drop In
Carleton Place Public Library
November 24
Trip to Sens Game (fundraiser for CP hospital)
Carambeck Community Centre rarseneau@carletonplacehosp. com
November 24
Open Monitoring Meditation
Carleton Place Public Library
November 25
Movie Day Drop In Carleton Place Public Library
November 25
Comedy Night
The Waterfront Gastropub www.thewaterfrontgastropub.ca
November 25 to 27
November 26
Annual BIA Santa Claus Parade 613.257.8049
www.downtowncarletonplace.ca
November 26
Breakfast with Santa Carleton Place High School
613-257-2720
November 26 & 27
Itty Bitty Teenie Tiny Art Show & Sale
CP Canoe Club artscarletonplace.com
November 29
Christmas Craft Night
Registration Required Carleton Place Public Library
November 5
Lanark Co. Genealogical Mtg Brunton Community Hall, Beckwith lcgsinfo34@gmail.com
November 11
Remembrance Day Ceremony 10:40am
Beckwith Park
November 26
Christmas Craft Fair 1523 9th Line, Beckwith 613-435-8929
November • all month
Perth Remembered: Looking Back Over 200 Years Perth Museum, Perth 613.267.1947 www.perthtourism.ca
November 3 to 5
Evening of One Act Plays The Real Inspector Hound Studio Theatre. 613.267.7469
November 4 to 6, 10 to 12
Death + Taxes the Musical Mason Auditorium at PDCI 613.485.6434
November 5
Library Bake Sale for Perth Union Library
November 5
Ther Holly & The Ivy Show and Sale
Best Western Plus Perth Parkside Inn and Spa 613.326.0082
November 6
Perth Blue Wings vs. Stittsville Royals Perth Arena www.perthbluewings.ca
November 10
Income Tax Basics Seminar Perth & District Union Public Library 613-267-1224
November 11
Remembrance Day Parade
From the Royal Canadian Legion to the Cenotaph 613.267.3311
November 11 to 13
Eastern Ontario Dramma League One-act Play Festival The Studio Theatre www.studiotheatreperth.com
November 11
Perth Blue Wings vs. Prescott Flyers
Perth Arena www.perthbluewings.ca
November 12
Lanark County Quilters Guild
Christmas Sale & Luncheon
Glad Tidings Pentecostal Church
November 13
Perth Blue Wings vs. The Alexandria Glens Perth Arena www.perthbluewings.ca
November 14
November 16
Harry Potter Trivia Night
Perth Union Library 613-267-1224
November 17
Talk: The Lives of the Settlers and a Celebration of the 200th Anniversary Year www.perthhs.org
November 17 to 20
Book Sale Fundraiser 613-264-8381
November 18
Launch of “Christmas in Perth” 613.267.3311 ext. 2251 www.downtownperthbia.ca
November 19
Lanark County Quilters Guild Christmas Show St. John Catholic High School www.lanarkcountyquiltersguild.wordpress.com
November 19 & 20
Holly Jolly Art Sale 647-963-8358
November 21
Lanark County Quilters Guild Meeting Lions Hall, Perth Fairgrounds
November 24
The Ennis Sisters
St. Paul's United Church
November 25
Perth & District Community Foundation Christmas Gala Best Western Parkside Inn and Spa, Perth www.pdcf.ca
November 25
Perth Blue Wings vs. Brockville Tikis Perth Arena www.perthbluewings.ca
November 26
Festival of Good Cheer Crystal Palace, Perth 613.267.3311 ext. 2251 www.downtownperthbia.ca
November 26
Yuletide Fair
St. Paul's United Church 613-267-2973
November 26
Holiday Makers Market Second Floor, Old Shoe Factory 613-390-0765
November 5
Go Wild Gala w/Michael Runtz Temple's Sugar Bush, Lanark syrup@templessugarbush.ca www.templessugarbush.ca
November 11
Remembrance Day Ceremony and Parade 10:30am Ceremony and Parade. Council Chambers 99 Christie Lake Road, Lanark
November 25
Old Time Talent Night Lanark & District Civitan Club, Lanark Village www.lanarkcivitan.com
November 26
MERA Christmas Fair McDonalds Corners meraschoolhouse@bell.net 613-278-0388 www.meraschoolhouse.org
November 5
Dance with the Doherty Brothers at the Gallipeau Centre
November 5 & 6
Art Journey's Annual Fall Show and Sale
Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre www.artjourneysmithsfalls.com
November 5 to December 23
35th Annual Art Show & Sale
Heritage House Museum 613.283.6311
heritagehouse@smithsfalls.ca
www.smithsfalls.ca/heritagehouse
November 10
Vimy Oak Project Presentation Heritage House Museum 613.283.6311
heritagehouse@smithsfalls.ca www.smithsfalls.ca/heritagehouse
November 10
Lushes with Brushes Paint Night Heritage House Museum 613.283.6311 heritagehouse@smithsfalls.ca www.smithsfalls.ca/heritagehouse
November 11
Remembrance Day Ceremony 10:30am
Victoria Park 30 Lombard St., Smiths Falls
November 12
40 Plus Singles Dinner & Dance Smiths Falls Civitan Club
Casual Dress but no jeans please. November 13
The Rideau Mellowdears
Westminster Presbyterian Church
November 19
Christmas Tea, Bake Sale & Luncheon
Salvation Army Church
November 26 - December 31
Celebration of Lights
Victoria Park Campground, Smiths Falls www.togethersmithsfalls.com www.facebook.com/smithsfallscelebrationoflights
November 27
The Last of the Good Years Station Theatre
November 27
Lost Beneath the Ice: The Search for Franklin’s Lost Ship and the discovery of HMS Erebus Royal Canadian Legion Branch 95
November 5
Giant Falls Craft Fair Lombardy Agricultural Hall 613.283.3631
November 29
Tupperware Party Lombardy Agricultural Hall
November 4
Tom Savage & Tony Silvestri The Cove Country Inn info@coveinn.com
1-888-COVEINN
November 5, 19, 25
Head over Heels
The Cove Country Inn info@coveinn.com
1-888-COVEINN http://coveinn.com/
November 11
Art Lajambe
November • Mondays
Christmas at the Heritage House Heritage House Museum 613.283.6311 heritagehouse@smithsfalls.ca
November 5
Annual Craft Sale
Smiths Falls Civitan 613.283.7172
613.293.5405
The Cove Country Inn info@coveinn.com
1-888-COVEINN http://coveinn.com/
November 18
BOTR: Karen Lovely Band
The Cove Country Inn info@coveinn.com
1-888-COVEINN
613-257-1704
November • Thursdays
Toddler Time
Carleton Place Public Library
613-257-2702
“Mary Poppins” by the Mississippi Mudds
Carleton Place Town Hall 7:30 pm 613-253-3000 www.mississippimudds.com
Blood Donor Clinic Civitan Club of Perth Canadian Blood Services 1-888-2-DONATE
November 5
Candy Cane Bazaar & Luncheon
Trinity United Church
http://coveinn.com/
November 20
Roast Beef Dinner Lions' Hall 613-273-3223
Fundraising Snow Ball aims to rock the house
RegionalHowaida Sorour-Roberts
heddy@pdgmedia.ca
It’s going to be a rocking Christmas season in Merrickville, and it’s kicking off with the Snow Ball at the Baldachin Ballroom on Nov. 26.
“It’s fundraiser for the Merrickville food bank, and I thought November would be a good time for the food bank to have a little extra before Christmas,” said Steve Hurndell, Snow Ball founder and organizer.
The Snow Ball will also showcase some fabulous music with room to dance.
“I wanted to get the season started with a great musical event before everyone settles down to their family and work celebrations,” said Hurndell.
The headline act is 4 Way Street, a tribute band for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young (CSNY) as a group in all their various band incarnations and solo projects.
“We do all the CSNY material but we also play other music of the era. There are seven members in the band, we’re kind of an experience,” said Sean Harris, band member, guitarist and vocalist.
4 Way have been around for 27-years and are fa-
mous for their high-energy performances. “We give our all at every show, so we do one-off shows, we’re usually pretty fried after the show, we wouldn’t be able to perform like that night after night,” said Harris.
Sadly the band has announced their retirement at the end of this year and the Merrickville Show will be their second to last show.
“We have a fairly large following in Ottawa, and a lot of them are coming to our show in Merrickville – I’ve sold out of the tickets I was allotted – I’m feeling pretty humbled that all these people would drive all the way to Merrickville and spend the night just to take in the show,” said Harris.
4 Way Street will play two sets preceded by Hawkins and Radisch.
“I’m excited about being part of Snow Ball, and anything that supports Merrickville and the arts,” said Hawkins, who was named one of Ottawa Top 25 People by Ottawa Life Magazine in 2016.
Dubbed Queen of the Blues, Hawkins will be the mistress of ceremonies but plans to perform at least a few songs. “I’m going to do something a little Cajun and up-beat, I know what 4 Way are doing and I know
what Sophia is doing so I want to add a little something, something,” said Hawkins with her rich and infectious chuckle.
Bringing an entirely fresh and youthful vibe to the event is Radisch, the 18-year old Ottawa musical sensation. A singer/ songwriter and actress Radisch burst on the music scene at age 13. With
nearly 200 original songs already under her belt, her compositions have been used in several films, as part of film scores, including a feature film, Thirteen Downs, in which she was also cast as lead.
“I would describe my music as alternative rock and soul rock, and I’ll be doing a acoustic solos feature a selection of my orig-
inal songs, “ said Radisch.
Local talent will include Heather Snow and the Flakes and Lori Sutherland and Friends.
Two auction will be held at the event, a live auction with Wayne Poapst as well as a Chinese auction. The latter is where interested guests place their bids in a jar, and at the end of the night the winning bid is
picked out of the jar.
“It’s fun and that way people don’t end up going home with something they don’t want,” said Hurndell. Tickets are $25 and available online at www. beaflake.com or in Merrickville at Bullets and Bones, the Merrickville Book Emporium or The Village Bean.
Christmas Roundup
To help you plan out your holiday season we’ve highlighted some local time-honoured events that you’ll want to mark on the calendar.
Smiths Falls Celebration of Lights
Opening ceremonies to be held on Saturday, Nov. 26 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in Victoria Park on Lombard St. The lights will be on until Dec. 31.
Smiths Falls Holiday Train
Sunday, Nov.27 - arrival 6:20 p.m., show from 6:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Smiths Falls Railway Station at 63 Victoria Street.
Smiths Falls North Pole Express
Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario, 90 William St. W, Smiths Falls
Merrickville Holiday Train
Sunday, Nov.27 arrival 4:45 at 103 East Broadway & County Road #2. South side of crossing near Bay Street. Show from 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Merrickville Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 11:00 a.m.
St. Lawrence Street
Merrickville Lighting the Christmas Tree
Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 5:00 pm
Corner of Main Street West and St. Lawrence Street
Carleton Place Santa Claus Parade “A Candy Land Christmas” Parade
Saturday, Nov. 26, 2016 at 5:00 p.m.
Perth Festival of Lights
Friday, Dec. 2, 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Crystal Palace
Perth Holiday Train
Sunday, Nov.27 - arrival 7:40 at the Railway Crossing on South Side of Wilson Street. Show goes from 8:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.
Perth Santa Claus Parade
Saturday, Dec. 3:00 p.m. at 5:00 p.m. St. Lawrence Street
Westport Santa Claus Parade Show
Saturday Nov. 26, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 pm The Cove 2 Bedford St. Westport
Westport Christmas Farmers' Market
Saturday, Dec. 3rd, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Rideau Vista Public School
Delta Celebrating the Season Nov. 19 & 26, Dec. 3, 10, and 17 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Delta Christmas at the Mill Nov. 19 & 26, Dec. 3, 10, and 17 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Old Stone Mill
Almonte Light up the Night Friday, Dec. 2nd Main Street - Almonte, Ontario 7:00 pm
Almonte Holiday Night Parade
Almonte Community Centre
Sunday, Dec. 07, 2014 6:00 PM
Pakenham Country Christmas Nov. 26th, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Pakenham
Pakenham Tree lighting and Caroling Nov. 26th, 4:30 p.m. Park by 5 Span bridge
4 Way Street are Canada’s only Crosby, Stills,
Garden Matters
It’s not over yet:
Winterscaping is a whole new element of gardening that incorporates elements of decorating. Who wants to pass by an empty urn at their front door filled with frozen dirt when you can create a beautiful evergreen planter that will last all winter long. This is one of the hottest trends in gardening that happens at the coldest time of the year.
Any outdoor plant arrangement classifies as a winterscape, although the most common are wreaths, planters and hanging baskets. Decorating in winter extends the gardening season in a fun and low maintenance way. You really only have to water once and you are set for the season
winter gardening
once it freezes. You don't have to deal with bugs or diseases, there is hardly any maintenance and the performance is guaranteed. For many people, regardless of the season, that is an example of gardening at its finest.
There are so many colours you can choose to accent your evergreen creations with. Traditional red still reigns as the most popular colour but current trends have leaned towards more elegant white wash, mahogany and natural. There is an art to creating a beautiful mixed evergreen display. Always use black earth as a base to fill your pots, and water well after this will freeze up and hold the branches in place. Try and use a variety of mixed greens to create texture and various shades of colour. Ontario cedar, white pine, red pine and spruce are all excellent evergreen boughs to use. Red dogwood, birch, are the traditional branches for height and colour contrast but there are many designer branches now available at your local garden centre, such as kuwa branches, painted jay branches and yangi branches. Everyone loves pinecones but have
Smiths Falls resident's account of recent Toronto marathon
Michael Cliffen, 62, of Smiths Falls ran the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 16. He finished 1,735 of 5,000. It was his 18th marathon. Here is is personal account.
you ever tried lata stars, wild rosehips, buddha nuts (our favourite), banana stems, or lotus pods? There are so many interesting things available to make your winterscaping project unique, elegant and stylish. Evergreen planters and wreaths are the most popular amongst the winterscaping trends but what about evergreen hanging baskets? Like their beautiful summertime cousins, they make a terrific addition to yards. They look stunning on any front porch.
If you are not one to trudge out in cold and snow in the bush on a bough collecting mission then why not consider signing up for an Evergreen workshop? You get to create a fabulous planter in a warm greenhouse and then leave all the mess behind!
This season consider a foray into winterscaping. It is an excellent way to jazz up your property in the bleakest of seasons. Gardens spend so long cloaked in blankets of white snow. What better way to take winter head on?
Submtted by Kelly Heath Retail Manager
Gemmell’s Garden Centre
I am not old. I am 62. Every 82-year-old that I ask insists that 62 years of age is a mere youngster (and no, I am not going to ask any 22-yearolds). But I am older. And when it comes to running the marathon, older does not mean faster (heavy sigh here).
So why do I run? I know it is going to be hard, tough and it is going to hurt. Why bother? Why not call it a day? As time goes on, I’m only going to get slower. My first marathon was 38 years ago. Why not hang up the marathon shoes? Well, because it is hard, tough and it is going to hurt.
No matter how fast you run the race — three hours, four hours, which is the average finishing time, or five hours, it is a real accomplishment.
Run as hard as you can and you will feel ten feet tall when you finish.
The marathon (42.2 km) is a funny race. It’s really not a race at all for most — at least not a race against others. It is a race against yourself. You want to run as fast as your age and training will allow you. No holding back and no coasting. Nothing but your best effort. When you do that, you have won. There is only one men’s and one women’s champion in the race but there are thousands of winners.
146 bpm. It changes a bit when I’m going up a slope and when going down. The pace feels brisk.
10 km. Warmed up now. It is important to get a quick drink of Gatorade at the water stations. Pace still feels pretty good. Heart rate is steady at 148 bpm 15 km. We are running on Lakeshore now. The crowds are deep and supportive. There are rock bands and cheerleaders through the course. Many call “Looking good Striders!” They need glasses. Still, nice to hear. 21.1 km. Halfway. Wind is behind now and is not an issue. 152 bpm. That is a bit too fast, too much effort. Heat and humidity is getting tougher. Now the real business begins.
25 km. I hate this part of the course. There are constant slopes up and down. It seems more up than down. It is hard to keep a steady pace. It is hard to keep a steady heart rate. I am pushing 158 bpm too often on the uphills. Wind is in our face at times, and man is it strong. Rain is heavy at times.
So how fast to run the marathon? There has been a lot of research into the best speed and it actually comes down to your heart rate. I won’t bore you with the details (it has to do with your age and resting heart rate), but I should try to run at 85% of my maximum heart rate for 42.2 km.
Heart rate monitors are common now and look like a watch. Actually, since it also tells time I guess it is a watch. Heat and humidity can really affect the heart rate and therefore, performance. Here’s hoping for a cool dry day with no wind on race day.
Race Day - It’s 5 a.m., time to get up. Have a coffee. Stretch. Stretch some more. Eat a banana. Head to the washroom. Head to the washroom again (coffee!).
Well, so much for plan A. It’s warm, humid and windy. This might get ugly.
I am wearing a retro running jersey today. It says “Smiths Falls Striders.” This was a running club we had in Smiths Falls back in the 1980s. I’m probably the only one left with a jersey. Get to the start. 8:45 a.m. 5,000 in the marathon. Weather is going to be a factor. Not good. But then everyone has the same conditions.
The announcer is saying something that no one pays attention to. Everyone is thinking about the next few hours. There a lot of very fit young people here. Everyone is quiet. Go! Get into a rhythm. Don’t worry with heart rate readings until things settle down.
5 km. Heart rate is about
30 km. The rest of the course is flat but the last few kilometres have taken their toll. I have to really work. But only 12 km left. Running into the wind now all the time and it is hard going. I hear many call out “Go Striders!” and “Go Smiths Falls!”
35 km. Tough. Getting real tough. The finish seems a long way off. Feet hurt, legs hurt, shoulders hurt, eyeballs hurt (ok, I made the last one up). Other than that, things are good.
37 km. Hold on, hold on, hold on.
39 km. Crowds are quiet now. They see the effort on the faces of the runners. Souls are stripped bare at this point for all to see. This is what makes the marathon so tough. Heart rate 160 bpm. I can’t keep this up for long. I feel like I am running on the edge of life and death. Here is the last climb — up and over an overpass. Man that hurt. But I can pick up the speed here — it’s all flat now.
41 km. Heart 162 bpm. Things falling apart. Legs heavy. Breathing ragged. Strong head wind. But then I hear it: “Striders! Striders! Striders! Striders!” 42.2 km. Run all out to the finish. Strong emotions. The crowd carries me home. Done! Catch my breath. It takes a moment or two. Check my watch. My average heart rate for the run was a surprising 158 bpm. I reach out to congratulate the runner that finished just ahead of me and then to the one I just beat. I don’t think I really beat her though. I think she just won. And a funny thing, for a moment there, I thought she was ten feet tall.
Submitted by Michael Cliffen, Smiths Falls
Smiths Falls resident Mike Cliffen runs in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct 16. Photo Credit: Submitted
Mental Health
Depression, much more than simple unhappiness
What is depression?
Depression is much more than simple unhappiness. Clinical depression, sometimes called major depression, is a complex mood disorder caused by various factors, including genetic predisposition, personality, stress and brain chemistry. While it can suddenly go into remission, depression is not something that people can “get over” by their own effort.
What are the different types of depression?
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD): This type of depression is usually affected by the weather and time of the year.
Postpartum depression: This occurs in women, following the birth of a child. Upwards of 10 per cent of women will experience this type of depression.
Depression with psychosis: In some cases, depression may become so severe that a person loses touch with reality and experienc-
es hallucinations (hearing voices or seeing people or objects that are not really there) or delusions (beliefs that have no basis in reality).
Dysthymia: This is a chronically low mood with moderate symptoms of depression.
For this month, we’d like the put special attention on SAD, as many people begin to experience symptoms of seasonal mood changes as daylight hours get shorter - usually in late fall and early winter. Most common is the winter blues, a feeling of less positivity in the winter months, which dissipates when the winter season is over.
The most severe of seasonal mood change is SAD, which is characterized by feelings of hopelessness, lethargy and oversleeping and increases in appetite and weight gain. SAD affects more women than men: up to 80 per cent of those affected by SAD are female.
A range of treatments are available for SAD, from light therapy to natural supplements and cognitive behavioural therapy. Use of antidepressants is also highly effective when necessary.
What are the signs & symptoms of depression?
The main symptom of depression is a sad, despairing mood that is present most days and lasts most of the day; lasts for more than two weeks and impairs the person’s performance at work, at school or in social relationships.
Other symptoms of depression include: changes in appetite and weight; sleep problems; loss of interest in work, hobbies, people or sex; withdrawal from family members and friends; feeling useless, hopeless, excessively guilty, pessimistic or having low self-esteem; agitation or feeling slowed down; irritability fatigue; trouble concentrating, remember-
ing and making decision; crying easily, or feeling like crying but being not able to thoughts of suicide (which should always be taken seriously); a loss of touch with reality, hearing voices (hallucinations) or having strange ideas (delusions).
Depression is more common in women, though the sex difference diminishes with age in Canada. Many hormonal factors may contribute to the increased rate of depression in women, particularly during times such as menstrual cycle changes, pregnancy and postpartum, miscarriage, pre-menopause and menopause.
Men with depression typically have a higher rate of feeling irritable, angry and discouraged. This can make it harder to recognize depression in men. The rate of completed suicide in men is four times that in women, although more women attempt suicide.
The causes and risk factors of depression are widespread. Genetic or family history of depression, psychological or emotional vulnerability to depression, biological factors such as imbalances in brain chemistry and in the endocrine/immune systems, or a major stress in the person's life may play a part in the onset of depression.
Depressive symptoms may be the result of another illness that shares the same symptoms, such as lupus or hypothyroidism; a reaction to another illness, such as cancer or a heart attack or caused by an illness itself, such as a stroke, where neurological changes have occurred.
The most commonly used treatments are pharmacotherapy (medications), psychoeducation, psychotherapy and brain intervention therapies such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), transcranial magnetic stimulation
(TMS) and magnetic seizure therapy (MST). These treatments may be used individually or in combination.
Self-help organizations, run by clients of the mental health system and their families, can be an important part of treatment and recovery for people with depression and their families.
Clinical depression needs to be managed over a person's lifetime. Depression, like disorders such as diabetes, can be effectively managed and controlled by combining a healthy lifestyle and treatments.
Watching for early warnings of relapse may also prevent a full depressive episode.
The first step in seeking help, is going to your family doctor. They will be able to provide you with resources available in your community.
Courtesy of The Centre for Addictions and Mental Health
Overdose reversal drug now more accessible to community
Regional - April Scott-Clarke april@pdgmedia.ca
Opioid misuse and overdoses are a growing concern across Canada and the U.S. In Ontario alone, opioids cause one death every 13 hours — and Lanark County is not immune. Twenty-four people in Lanark County have died of opioid misuse since 2010.
As part of a larger harm reduction strategy, on June 24 the province expanded access of naloxone: the drug used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose to pharmacies.
Kits, which contain two or more doses of the drug, needles for injection, arm snappers, gloves, a rescue breathing barrier and a client ID card, can be obtained by eligible recipients free of charge from participating pharmacies. As of Oct. 7, health units were also given the same access.
Eligible recipients include opioid users; anyone with a history of use; and family members, friends or other people in a position to assist a person at risk of overdose from opioids. Kits are given without a prescription.
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit has been distributing naloxone kits since December 2014, but until the Oct. 7 decision, only to members of the community that have a history of opioid use.
“We’ve distributed 158 kits. We’ve had 15 kits been used and used successfully,” says Jennifer Adams, registered nurse and harm reduction coordinator at the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit.
Now that friends and family members are able to obtain kits as well from the health unit, it gives more
meaning and purpose to the program. “The group that is going to need it is the friends and family,” Adams says.
Because the life-saving drug is injectable, training is given at the same time the kit is distributed. Adams says this could hinder the pharmacy program as sometimes the training takes about 10 minutes, or it can take upwards of an hour — it all depends on the client. At the health unit, clients are taken into a private room, shown how to use the kit and get any questions they might have
answered. When picked up at a pharmacy, the level of privacy could be diminished and time limited.
“Harm reduction programs often carry embarrassment and shame. But we have some clients who don’t care, who are very open about what they do,” she says, adding that the benefit of distributing kits through pharmacies is that pharmacies are often open longer and later than health units.
“It’s a good step in the right direction. It’s coming from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. They
are making it a priority,” Adams says. “This is just one step, one part of the solution.”
Adams notes that, so far, there has been very little negative backlash from the expanded access to naloxone. “The drugs are here, and they are here to stay,” she says. “We have a segment of the population that is going to use, despite the treatment out there. If we don’t provide them with the method to save themselves, there is no option for treatment. We are trying to keep them healthy while in their addiction.”
Real magic at the Insight Studio in Carleton Place
Carleton Place - Jane Hobson jane@pdgmedia.ca
While Halloween is a perfectly festive time to talk magic and cast spells, there is actually a business in Carleton Place that offers the very real benefits of sorcery all year round.
“I like to say that at The Insight Studio, we broker in insight,” Trevour Strudwick said, the owner of The Insight Studio in Carleton Place. “Modern and ancient insights are great for personal and professional development.”
Strudwick is a sorcerer who has been practicing and teaching personal development techniques for the last 28 years.
“I was aware that I could see spirits and auras from my earliest memories,” Strudwick said. “I knew when we would have unexpected visitors to the house.”
Strudwick said he grew up watching the 1970s television series Bewitched. Knowing he had a gift, he said he always knew he wanted to be like those characters when he grew up — and he is.
The Insight Studio is one
of the only places in Canada that offers a number of individual sessions for both modern and ancient insights as well as a number of certification programs, Strudwick said. No other business in North America offers the same depth and diversity of services, he added.
The studio uses modern and ancient insights, also known as solution-based approaches, to solve common problems that many people experience on a day-to-day basis, like anxiety, Strudwick explained. He said most of these alternative techniques aren’t recognized as mainstream problem-solving solutions in Canada, but they are recognized in places like the UK and the U.S. Ancient insights include branches such as astrology, numerology, tarot and magick.
Magick is a word used here to differentiate between performance magic, like the tricks perfected by Harry Houdini, and the science and art of causing intentional change to occur, which is what Strudwick does.
“Our ancestors used these techniques to live and survive for literally thousands
of years,” Strudwick said. He explains that ancient insights are a great way to encourage out of the box thinking and develop a broader perspective of the world.
Ancient insights add a spiritual dimension to all things in daily life, Strudwick said. Just like most people believe they have a physical body as well as a spiritual element to their being, our ancestors believed that physical objects also have a spiritual element.
Strudwick uses different herbs, rainwater, thunderstorm water and other physical ingredients, like feathers, to access the spiritual benefits that they offer.
“People might want to laugh when I say I cast spells, but I just say it’s like prayer with art,” he said.
Before science, astrology is what our ancestors relied on to understand the things we now call physics, medicine and psychology, he said.
Tarot card readings and palm readings are also a traditional part of ancient insights. Tarot cards can gives specific information about the future and the palm of the hand reveals general information, Strudwick said.
It’s the perfect time of year to learn a little bit more about our ancestors and the things that could be in your future, he added. He has always liked when people get excited about Halloween.
Halloween is the last harvest when ancestors would have slaughtered their livestock before the winter. People always seem a little more interested in history, the spiritual world, the dead and the predictions of their future at this time of year, he said.
Along with festive ancient insights, some modern insight techniques offered at The Insight Studio include life coaching, hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming and emotional freedom techniques.
Strudwick is also a certified member of the National Guild of Hypnotists. Hypnosis is most often used to help people quit smoking, lose weight and ease anxiety.
“I have a 90 per cent success rate when it comes to using hypnosis for excessive alcohol and drug use,” he said. “And PTSD is usually resolved within three sessions,” he added.
Strudwick offers
life-coaching programs that help clients increase their self-esteem, defeat negative thinking and overcome procrastination. Strudwick said these programs are successful because they educate clients for change at both the conscious and subconscious level. “We don’t talk about your mother and all the awful things in your childhood,” he said. “We focus on the future. How can you drive your car forward when it’s in reverse?” Strudwick
said clients are often ready to leave their negative thought patterns behind and move on with their lives in just one session. “I want people to know I’m here,” Strudwick said. “And I want them to be excited.” Strudwick opened his business in May and will be giving a talk on Witchcraft, Farming and the Wheel of the Year at the Carleton Place and Beckwith Heritage Museum on Nov. 30.
Trevour Strudwick, an experienced sorcerer and owner of The Insight Studio, poses for a photo in front of a display of magickal objects used for ancient insights. Photo Credit: Jane Hobson
Local musicians band together for food bank fundraiser
Smiths FallsHowaida Sorour-Roberts heddy@pdgmedia.ca
There was a time, not that long ago, when young local musicians could and did make a pretty decent living playing bars and hotels like the Arlington on Beckwith Street, the Rideau Hotel, the Mariner’s Inn and the Russell Hotel in Smiths Falls.
“Back then — in the 60s and 70s —you had to be a member of the musician’s union to play those venues,” said Dennis Staples, guitar player and former Smiths Falls mayor. “I was a member and I would often get calls, saying there’s a band coming through and they
Smiths Falls @ 10:30 a.m.
Victoria Park
30 Lombard St.
Perth @ 10:30 a.m.
Great War Memorial
33 Drummond St. W.
need a guitar player, are you available? So I played with a lot of those bands as well as my own band.”
Some of those people went on to become professional musicians; other like Staples chose more mainstream careers.
A group of those musicians are coming together and donating their time and talent to tell their stories and play music at the Station Theater on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2:00 p.m. at a benefit concert to raise funds for the Smiths Falls Community Food Bank.
“I managed to compile a list of about 35 musicians that played regularly in town during that time period. Sadly some of them
musicians have passed away but we’ve got about 12 musicians who will be sharing their stories and playing at this event,” said Staples.
Among the musicians who will be playing at the fundraiser are Freddie Dixon, Donny O’Neil, Harold and Rick Frizell, Art Lee, Terry Donahue, Gary Edwards and many more, including Staples.
The idea came about after Lyle Dillabough, a.k.a. the Valley Troubadour, wrote an audiobook about life, barrooms and the people of small town Canada in the 60s and 70s. “It’s a social commentary looking at the people and life of a lost period through the eyes of a fictional musician,” said Dillabough.
As Dillabough explains this was a time before cable TV and VCRs, when people went out for entertainment and gathered in the bars to listen to live music.
“All the hotels back then had live music from Monday to Saturday with a matinee on Saturday as well,” said Staples.
Dillabough will be among the entertainers and will have his audiobook available on CD.
Tickets for the event are $10 and will only be available at the door; there are no advance sales. “We’re hoping to see 145 people in the theatre on the day to hear the stories of these musicians and listen to music,” said Staples.
The benefit concert will wrap up before the Holiday Train makes it’s way through Smiths Falls on Nov. 27.
Itty
Bitty Teenie Tiny Art Show expected to
be a big success
Carleton Place - Jane Hobson jane@pdgmedia.ca
“The art scene is around you, you just have to check it out,” said Ina Jackson, chair of Arts Carleton Place. Arts Carleton Place is a local, not-for-profit organization with a mission to empower artists and area residents through the arts. “Art is an important part of every community,” she said, adding that she has always loved art.
Arts Carleton Place is hosting the second annual Itty Bitty Teenie Tiny Art Show and Sale at the Carleton Place Canoe Club on Nov. 26 and 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cards and cash are accepted. The Ginger Café will be selling sweet and savoury treats.
Beckwith @ 10:40 a.m.
Beckwith Park 1319 9th Line
Lanark @ 10:30 a.m.
Council Chambers
99 Christie Lake Road
Carleton Place @ 10:30 a.m.
Zion Memorial United Church
37 Franklin St.
Merrickville @ 8:00 a.m.
Cenotaph
400 St. Lawrence Street
Almonte @ 2:00 p.m.
Almonte Cenotaph
Beside the old town hall
Westport @ 11:00 a.m.
Lockwood Memorial Field
35 Concession St.
Jackson said there are already about 20 artists registered to display their art, which varies in mediums from painting, felt, pottery, quilting, photography and more. All items are priced under $100.
“It’s all affordable, original art,” Jackson said. “We’ve got a great selection and it’s a good time to do some holiday shopping.”
Jackson said the Teeny Tiny Art Show is a great opportunity that means a lot to local artists because they might not otherwise have a venue to sell their work. Most galleries charge money for the artist to showcase their work and often the artist only gets 50 to 70 per cent of the selling price. Jackson said
Arts Carleton Place keeps 10 percent of commission from the Teeny Tiny Art Show and the remainder goes right to the artist.
“Not everyone can go into a gallery and buy something, but people will find something affordable that they like at the Canoe Club,” Jackson said. “The quality of the art is really good too,” she said.
Part of the commission from the art show will go toward the $500 bursary that Arts Carleton Place provides to one student pursuing the arts in post-secondary education at Notre Dame High School and Carleton Place High School.
“I think it’s really important for kids as well as adults to get exposed to that part of culture,” said Jackson. “Experiencing art, music, dance, song is a part of experiencing culture.”
The Teenie Tiny Art Show is a family event. She said it is an important part of supporting the community and creating a sense of belonging.
“Art and heritage are a huge part of culture,” Strachan Johnston agreed. Johnston has been on the Arts Carleton Place board for about six years. “It’s an expressive form. It expresses emotion,” he said.
Johnston is an impressionist painter. He creates paintings that juxtapose primary colours for a bright and eye-catching final product. While he loves art, Johnston has a
background in foreign affairs and national defence.
“My mother was an artist but my father made me get a practical degree,” he said, throwing air quotations around the word practical. “My mother used to collect tons of art books and I would look through them and be fascinated as a kid,” he said.
Johnston will not be at the Teeny Tiny Art Show this year, but he said he thinks it’s important to support local artists who are brave enough to share their art with the public.
“The first few times I sold something was really scary, but it gets easier,” he said, smiling. “It’s just about getting your ideas out there.” Now retired and leaving public service behind, Johnston is taking a finger painting class and renaissance painting class.
“Artists like Strachan are committed to sharing their art with the community and that’s something we should definitely support — the same way we support our hockey team and our high schools,” Jackson said.
With less than a month until the Teenie Tiny Art Show, Jackson said she hopes the event will be as successful as last year’s.
The 2015 show featured 21 artists and about 200 people checked it out, Jackson said. The event is two days this year instead of one like last year. “Every artist sold something last year.”
Photo Credit: Submitted
Rememb R ance Day
Lest we forget
Smiths Falls taking part in commemoration of Vimy Ridge centennial
Smiths Falls - Chris Must chris@pdgmedia.ca
One hundred years ago next April, four divisions of Canadian troops captured Vimy Ridge, an achievement that has become symbolic of Canada’s journey to becoming a proud nation.
The battle for Vimy Ridge, part of a massive allied offensive attempting to break the stalemate of trench warfare during World War I, saw artillery fire more than a million rounds of ammunition. According to an officer in the Fourth Canadian Division, the bombardment “lowered the height of the
ridge by about four inches.” The once lush farmland was pounded into a nightmarish lunar landscape of mud, craters, and barbed wire obstacles.
One of the casualties of the fighting was an oak forest, shattered forever in the bombardment. Lieutenant Leslie Miller, a member of the signal corps, gathered some acorns from one of the battered trees and sent them home to Canada. After the war ended the following November, Miller planted those acorns on his family farm in Scarborough as a way to commemorate the battle.
The acorns later grew into majestic oaks, of which just eight remain today. The woodlot is located on land owned today by the Scarborough Chinese Baptist Church, next to busy Kennedy Road. A volunteer group, the Vimy Oaks Legacy, is working with contacts in France to commemorate the centennial of Vimy Ridge by replanting the oak forest destroyed a century ago. Cuttings were taken from the Vimy Oaks in Scarborough last January. The grafted oaks are growing at Connon Nurseries in Ontario, and will be shipped to France for planting next year, next to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
Blake Seward, a history teacher at the Smiths Falls District Collegiate Institute, told the Hometown News that not all the oak sapling are going to France. One of the oaks will be planted in Smiths Falls next summer. Seward did a presentation at the Smiths Falls Legion to other teachers about the project on Oct. 26.
Five of Seward’s history students are involved in the process of planning where to plant the oak, how to organize a dedication ceremony, and how to permanently commemorate this First World War memorial. Seward said a survey has already been conducted, and the list of potential sites to plant the
oak has been narrowed down to three: between the library and the town hall; at the Cenotaph; or at Heritage House Museum. By involving students in the planning, said Seward, “We’re actually trying to teach civic values.”
For a number of years, Seward’s students have been conducting research from primary sources – war records and battalion diaries – on some of the 619,584 Canadian soldiers who participated in World War I. He also takes groups of students and teachers to France each year, to visit the battlefields.
Some of the SFDCI students’ original research was used in a book, Vimy Ridge – A Canadian Reassessment, published in 2007. Seward said the book is a collection of articles and essays by academics which has generated some controversy because it challenges the traditional narrative that Vimy Ridge was a seminal event in Canada`s journey to full nationhood.
“We assume that there is a single narrative in history, and the reality is that there is not a single narrative,” said Seward. Reading primary sources from 1917 may lead some students to conclude that the importance of Vimy Ridge as a symbol of Canadian nationhood did not occur at the time, but was narrative that devel-
To Bernie and the vets: veteran memories
Regional - Linda Seccaspina
editorial@pdgmedia.ca
The cabinet card shown to the right, was a friend of my grandfather's whose name was Bernie. He had no family and was a great companion to Grampy Knight until he died in the trenches in WWI. Grampy always told me if anything happened to him to look after Bernie's picture so someone would always remember.
When the sun rises on Nov. 11 in Canada it becomes Remembrance Day. This day should be nothing short of a day of respect for the men and women that have and continue to fight for our countries.
oped later. Canada is the only country that considers Vimy Ridge as a battle separate from the overall Arras Offensive of 1917, Seward noted.
Seward said the attention focussed on Vimy upsets some people who feel that not enough attention is being paid to other battles in which Canada participated. A group is working to erect a monument in France to celebrate victory at Hill 70, a battle fought near the city of Lens.
Instead, the sculptor’s intent was to honour sacrifice and celebrate peace.
Controversy that still surrounds World War I came to light this year when British Prime Minister David Cameron dedicated a monument at Thiepval, and wanted to talk about Great Britain’s experience in the Great War. Both Scotland and Ireland objected that their experiences differed from England’s, and wanted to design their own monuments.
Smiths Falls will mark the Vimy Centennial next June.
“The monument for Hill 70 is about victory,” said Seward. “Walter Allward`s (the sculptor who produced the Vimy memorial unveiled in the 1930s) intent was that it was not about victory. He was adamant.”
membrance Day parade with the Brownies and then later the Girl Guides. We would stand on the frozen front lawn of Cowansville High School and listen to speeches and see the widows place their wreaths on the cenotaph.
Grampy Knight had fought in the British Army in WWI and had been one of the first soldiers to be poisoned with mustard gas in the trenches. My father had participated in WWII with the Canadian Army and his greatest disappointment was that I never followed suit.
As a child I would always march in the Re-
As a child, my father and grandfather would don their dress overcoats, berets, their war medals and proudly march with their fellow war heroes behind the flag bearer of The Canadian Legion Branch Number 99 in Cowansville, Quebec. The photo of Bernie was always kept in a business envelope in my Grandfather's upper right pocket.
At 11 a.m. the lonely sound of the Last Post played with the mandatory two minute silence following. It was always so deathly quiet you could hear the ghosts of the dead soldiers whisper. In the previous weeks the Legion members would sell poppy badges, as they still do, to remember all those who were lost in the wars.
In school I had to memorize and recite In Flanders Fields every Nov. 11.
In Flanders Fields was
written by Canadian John McCrae and my grandfather had met him during the war. The poem was written upon a scrap of paper on the back of Colonel Lawrence Cosgrave in the trenches. He wrote it during a lull in the bombings on May 3, 1915, after he witnessed the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, the day before.
It was first published on Dec. 8, 1915 in Punch magazine, in London, England and became a poem that is has always been related to war heroes like Bernie. Even though some of my memory blows through the wind now, I can still remember every word by heart. I remember them for Bernie.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.--John McCrae
Photo Credit: Chris Must
This oak sapling was grown from a cutting from one of eight surviving oak trees that grew from acorns gathered on the battlefield of Vimy Ridge by a Canadian soldier in 1917. Saplings will be taken to France next year to mark the centennial of the battle by replanting the trees that were destroyed in the fighting. A Vimy sapling will also be planted in Smiths Falls. Photo Credit: Blake Seward.
Perth Inside Out:
by Terry O'Hearn
Jack Walker and the HMCS Haida replica - Part II
In case you haven’t yet read the October edition Hometown News, Part I of the story about Jack Walker and his handbuilt replica of the Royal Canadian Navy warship HMCS Haida detailed some of the early history, when Walker took his miniature warship to Expo 67 in Montreal. To bring you up to speed, things turned sour between Walker and officials in the Town of Perth after Expo 67, and that relationship had its ups and downs over the ensuing years.
We hear again from Skipper Jack Walker in a letter to the editor of the Perth Courier on Aug. 13, 1970, after both the newspaper and Walker received a complaint about not all passengers on his Haida wearing lifejackets. Of course they didn’t have to be worn, just available, and Walker took great exception to the complaint. His wry sense of humour can be seen when he compared wearing lifejackets on a pleasure craft to “a parachute issued to a person on a Ferris Wheel.”
A story in the Feb. 18, 1971 issue of The Courier mentioned the previous week’s Private “I,” column and the fact that “Perth may lose the Haida replica as a tourist attraction.” That story goes on to give many details of the Haida history and is worth quoting extensively here:
“After checking with Jack Walker, owner of the craft, he assured the Courier that Perth’s floating tourist at-
traction could no longer be looked after properly until a boathouse could be built for the ship, and would not be on display in the basin this year. It was further learner that the entire Haida project as a tourist attraction for Perth depended on whether or not the Town, with its so-called green belt policy, would allow the proposed planned buildings, etc., to be put up in the future.”
The newspaper story goes on to state that the Chamber of Commerce and the town both had an interest in the Haida financially, but all Walker wanted at the time was a guarantee from the town that the buildings he needed could be built any time in the future if the town annexed the area he was going to build a boathouse in N. Elmsley Township.
“In the four years since her launching at the Canadian Legion, the miniature destroyer has carried Canadian Navy personnel on overnight runs; put on maneuvers for the Canadian Armed Forces; led marine parades and led mock invasion task forces against the U.S. In the last two years the ship has become one of the main attractions during the Perth Festival.” Walker was already thinking of changing port-of-call at that time. He told the newspaper that he needed approval soon, and “Toronto, North Elmsley Township, and the Federal Government had all indicated in-
Life on the farm:
War on the home front
terest in the project.”
Although it is believed Walker no longer officially worked for the Perth Courier from the 60s on, he was published extensively through letters to the editor, and the newspaper carried many reports of the goings-on of Walker and the Haida.
A good example of that coverage was a report in the May 27, 1971 edition: “At Tuesday’s special council meeting it was made clear that members of Town Council do not appreciate being called ‘Nazis.’ This statement was made by Jack Walker, operator of the Haida, in a letter to the Courier last week.” The mayor at the time was William Warren, and Reeve Art Daines stated he did not wish to talk to Walker after the letter was published. When it was mentioned, Walker was looking for another town to house the Haida, some members of Council said “Good,” and “the sooner the better.”
It should be noted that the name calling went both ways, and Perth town officials were not blameless for the poor relationship that developed over time.
It was expected that the Haida story would conclude with this second part, but feedback has uncovered some exciting information. The saga continues next month.
Terry O'Hearn is the Public Relations Officer for Royal Canadian Legion, District "G", Ontario Command
For those of us who came after, it is difficult to imagine life during wartime. What we know of it is often limited to textbook photos and accounts, the grainy black and white movie clips shown to us in school, or if we are fortunate, information passed on to us from a veteran who was willing to share their experiences — as painful as it must have been to recount.
Sometimes a good way to gain a bit of perspective on such things is to look at them from our current perspective. I have no military experience. I’ve never been to a battlefield. I’ve never heard the roar of active fighter planes overhead, punctuated by gunfire, and the various other sounds on the front line. For that, I am thankful.
What I am familiar with though, is feeding people. Feeding our family, and yours. While thousands of courageous men and women were away defending our freedom, every single person here on the home front was called on to do their part, in one way or another. It’s really quite fascinating to explore the effects that wartime had on the agriculture and food systems in Canada.
Firstly, it is important to understand that even though thousands of Canadians were half a world away fighting the war, a large percentage of their rations still came from home. We were not only feeding ourselves and our soldiers, but many of our allies as
well. By the end of WWII, estimates suggest that Canadian exports made up 57 per cent of British wheat and flour consumption. Other substantial exports included bacon, eggs, cheese and evaporated milk.
Meeting the demand for the needed foodstuffs presented its own challenges, not the least of which was labour. With the majority of the young, able bodied men away from home, the responsibility of growing and harvesting fell to those who remained. School children and women of all ages spent their summers and harvest seasons providing agricultural labour to get the crops out of the fields. The Farm Labour Service implemented initiatives like Farm Cadets, Farmerettes, and the Women’s Land Brigades to address the labour shortages they faced. Schools were lenient about absences, knowing that the children were needed at home on the farms.
The other challenge was adjusting shopping, cooking and eating habits. We’ve
likely all heard about the rationing of staple items. There were only so many to go around. On the other hand though, what about the surpluses created by the loss of European export markets at the time? This gave way to the creation of patriotic foods. Two of the largest were lobster and apples. The Department of Agriculture ran ads suggesting to, “Serve apples daily and you serve your country too.” And the lobster! Canadians have probably not eaten as much ever before – or since! Visit www.wartimecanada.ca or www.veterans. gc.ca to learn more about the food shortages and surpluses during wartime. Better yet, next time you find yourself in the company of someone who experienced it first-hand, ask them about what things were like — with specific regard to growing and using food in wartimes. You might just learn something new.
Submtted by Millers Bay Farm
Perth Remembrance Day Parade and ceremony
are
The parade forms up on Beckwith Street in front of Legion parking lot at 10:15 a.m. , and the Legion Colour Party with then march on the Colours.
The parade route is as follows: Beckwith Street East; left on Herriott Street; right on Drummond Street; left on Isabella Street; right
on Alexander Street; right on Mary Street; right on Drummond to Memorial Gates at Great Memorial Hospital, arriving at GWM Hospital no later than 10:35 a.m.
The Ceremony commences at 10:45 a.m., and completed by approximately 11:35 a.m. The parade then marches back to Legion; right on Isabella Street; left on Gore Street; eyes left to veterans taking
The Colours will then be marched off and the parade will be dismissed to move to the Legion Hall for refreshments, followed by camaraderie in the Tay River Lounge. The Annual Remembrance Day dinner will be at 6 p.m. in the Legion Hall.
Legion Colour Party gets ready to march on the colours and lead the Perth Remembrance Day Parade in 2015.
Photo Credit: Terrance O'Hearn
Top inset, Haida replica, compared to the real HMCS Haida warship underneath. The detail in Jack Walker’s replica is remarkable. Photo Credit: Terrance O'Hearn
Participants
requested to arrive at Branch 244 Legion at 26 Beckwith Street in Perth by 10 a.m.
the salute at Perth Museum; left on Herriott Street; right on Beckwith Street, and halt in front of Legion.
spotlight on business:
Carleton Place mom creates a space to get fit with kids in tow
Carleton Placesarah Cavanagh editorial@pdgmedia.ca
If you have every meet Holly Bogaerts then it’s easy to see how she earned the nickname “Hollywood.” Her energy, optimism and genuine care for others follows her like a glow and is instantly infectious. Not only is she the owner/operator and chief butt kicker at Hollywood Fit Studios at 130 Industrial Park, Unit #540, in Carleton Place, she is also a mom, active community volunteer and a mentor to dozens of moms in our community. Hollywood Fit was an
idea that started while Bogaerts was teaching Zumba at another studio in Carleton Place. The then stay-at-home mom of three was finding it hard to find time to achieve her own fitness goals. She came up with an idea to run a circuit training class specifically geared to moms. A class that would allow busy parents to work out and bring their children along without the stress of busy evening classes or finding child care.
Knowing she couldn’t be the only mom struggling with balancing workouts and kids, she approached Brian Paquette, owner of
Zendragon and where she was teaching, and he “gave me the green light to go for it!” she said.
A post on a Carleton Place Mom’s Facebook group saying, “I don't know how this is going to go, but who would like to bring their kiddos to a class we workout in?” Eleven moms plus their kids showed up to the first class and the rest as they say, is history.
At first, Bogaerts rented space within Zendragon and also at the Carleton Place Academy of Martial Arts. In March 2016 she went from teaching MomFit classes at other gyms to opening Hollywood Fit.
With her three young children now all in school, it felt like the right time to make the move.
“I didn't want just any job. I wanted to make a difference in people’s lives,” she said.
Her vision continues to be one of collaboration, not competition, by offering Hollywood Fit as a compliment to what is already available in Carleton Place. Classes like MomFit (beginner to advanced), Zumba Step and Sentao, and resistance machines for HIIT circuit training are just some of the unique options available at the studio. With affordable prices and the ability to accommodate children, and constant support and encouragement for members no matter whether you’ve never stepped foot in a gym before or you go five times a week – there is no doubt that what Bogaerts has created is special.
And the process has already started for Hollywood Fit’s next step — a course designed to teach prospective MomFit trainers and trademarking the distinctive classes offered at the studio. Bogaerts hopes one day to see these programs in gyms all over the world.
It’s clear that Bogaerts loves her job and is passionate about helping
women feel confident in their own skin. “It isn’t just about mindlessly working out because you think you have to, but more of an educational journey that helps arm women with information they can put towards creating a life of confidence and self-worth…learning that they can love themselves and improve themselves all at the same time.”
There’s no judgement with Bogaerts or at the studio, no fear or worry of members competing or comparing bodies, everyone feels safe and accepted. It’s not too hard on the pocketbook either, offering a free week for new members and classes for as little as 10 for $80. She says she wanted “a place that everyone, no matter their financial backgrounds, can afford to attend because everyone deserves the opportunity to attend a place of health and wellbeing.”
A quick glimpse at the studio during a class is proof enough that Bogaerts has succeeded. It is a place of laughter and shout outs of encouragement, of friendship and support.
It hasn’t always been easy though, Bogaerts admits.
“Small business is tough, really tough. Starting off small and trying to get the word out that you are in business has been difficult.
I miss my kids, a lot,” she
says. “I went from being home all the time, to being gone 12 hours almost every day. I get to see them off to school in the morning and four nights a week I am working. I call them at night to ask them about their day and tell them I love them. My kiddos are so amazing and super supportive at their little ages [and at least] I get to bring them to the studio with me.”
Inspired by other women working towards their goals, she hopes to continue to help other women and moms go from never working out and never doing a push up to “banging out crazy burpees.” More than that though, she stresses the absolute joy and pride at watching children watch their moms work so hard and to know that she’s doing it so that “she can have the energy and movement to play and keep up with them.” These women are leading the next generation by example. Her secret of success is to be constantly learning, collaborating with others and asking questions. “Those that have been in business for a long time, they always offer up great advice that usually turns into the best pep talks,” Bogaerts says. “I try to be as coachable as possible and am always researching and learning.”
Photo Credit: Sarah Cavanagh
Feeling stressed about money?
smiths Falls - Shawn Pankow CFP, CLU
Life in the 21st century can be very stressful. Stress can come from a variety of sources and all of us face different stresses every day.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to positive or negative situations in your life, such as a new job or the death of a loved one. Stress itself isn't abnormal or bad. What's important is how you deal with stress.”
Chronic stress can wear you down and overwhelm you. It can negatively affect your mood, your productivity at work and your relationships. Stress may lead to sleep problems, headaches, muscle tension or pain, chest pain, fatigue, upset stomach, anxiety, restlessness, a lack of motivation or focus, irritability or anger, sadness or depression.
Stress can be very damaging. Chronic stress can be deadly.
Everyone has some form of financial stress at various times in their lives. However, the chronic stress of poor money management, poor planning, insufficient savings, and a lack of overall financial security can lead to worry and despair. A re-
cent report completed by the International Financial Planning Standards Board indicated that two out of every three people worry significantly about their financial situation.
If you worry about money, you are not alone. Fortunately, help isn’t far away.
According to a recent three-year study by the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC), “Those Canadians who engage in comprehensive financial planning with a CFP professional confirm significantly higher levels of financial and emotional well-being.” Furthermore, “Those with comprehensive plans feel their financial goals and retirement plans are more on track; their ability to save has improved in the past five years; and they are more confident they can handle the inevitable bumps in life. While planning for the future is important, those with comprehensive financial plans are also more able to fulfill their discretionary spending goals.”
This study concluded that 81 per cent of respondents who have completed comprehensive financial planning are substantively more likely to report feeling on track with their financial affairs compared to just 44 per
cent of respondents who have not completed a financial plan with a financial planner.
As well, 50 per cent of respondents who indicated retirement planning is an important goal feel they are on track to reach their objectives, compared to just 22 per cent of respondents who have not completed the necessary planning. The study, completed over three years with 15,000 Canadians also indicated that those who have completed comprehensive planning feel better prepared for whatever the future may bring.
When it comes to unexpected financial emergencies, 60 per cent of those who have completed planning feel prepared, whereas, only 28 per cent of those who have not done the necessary planning consider themselves on track. Those who have completed comprehensive planning are also far more likely to feel prepared for tough economic times and are also far more confident their loved ones will be looked after if they die.
Overall, Canadians who have completed comprehensive financial planning have a stronger sense of emotional and financial well-being and four out of five believe they are on
A Financial Planner can help!
track to achieve their life objectives.
Life is full of stresses, many of which we can’t control. Good habits, exercise and other stress management techniques can go a long way to reducing the negative impacts of stress.
Completing a comprehensive financial plan with a financial planner can go a long way to helping reduce financial stress and can contribute
to your overall sense of emotional and financial well-being.
According to the recent global study referenced earlier, two-thirds of Canadians do not know who to trust when it comes to their finances and almost everyone surveyed — 93% — say trustworthiness is the most important consideration when it comes down to choosing a financial planner. Don’t let a lack of knowledge or fear
of the unknown prevent you from taking the next step. Interview financial planners, get informed and find someone you are comfortable with and are confident you can trust. As the FPSC study concluded, the results on your financial and emotional well-being will truly make a difference in your life. Shawn Pankow is a Certified Financial Planner with Pankow Financial Solutions in Smiths Falls.
ontrac Employment Resource Services assists employers to hire staff
Advertorial
ontrac has been helping both job seekers in Smiths Falls since 2002, and has been located at their current location on Abbott Street since 2010. As well as helping job-seekers to find work, ontrac Employment Resource Services helps local businesses find qualified staff.
According to Program Coodinator Michelle Toop, an average of 10 employers each month come to ontrac for help in hiring new employees. ontrac will post jobs on its job board, website, and Facebook at no cost.
Matching employers with employees is a valuable service for
everyone. ontrac assists businesses in finding staff by helping to identify human resource skill requirements, and matching position and workplace requirements to a participant’s skills, capabilities, interests and experience. In some cases wage incentives are available.
A new program has been introduced that provides financial assistance to employers interested in investing in training for their employees.
ontrac hosts an annual job fair in March, which has been a very successful event that has been held at the Smiths Falls community centre for the last two years.
ontrac Employment Resource Services delivers provincial Employment Ontario programs through a contract with the Ontario Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development. There is no cost to job-seekers or employers looking for new hires for these services. ontrac Employment Resource Services operates offices in Smiths Falls and Arnprior. The Smiths Falls office is located at 52 Abbott St. N., Unit 2 and is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with rotating extended evening and Saturday hours. More information is available at www.getontrac.ca.
Staff at the Smiths Falls office of ontrac Employment Resource Services are ready to help both job-seekers and employers . Seated: Santana Villeneuve. Standing, from left: Lena O’Connor, Program Coordinator Michelle Toop, Linda Sovey, Sherry Laidlaw, and Joanne Watson. Photo Credit: Chris Must
business directory
Carleton Place - Jane Hobson jane@pdgmedia.ca
“I worked hard, I did a good job and I brought a lot of success to the downtown,” said Cathie McOrmond, reflecting on her 12 years as Downtown Carleton Place BIA project manager.
Just a few of McOrmond’s accomplishments include creating Bridge Street Bizarre, Lambsdowne Festival and the night-time Santa Claus parade.
“Now my time here is done and I’m confident that my life is going in the right direction,” McOrmond said as a smile spread across her lips.
McOrmond’s position was terminated in mid-August of this year after a 12year career with the BIA. McOrmond’s official last day is Oct. 14, 2016.
McOrmond said she was “shocked” and “appalled” when she was dismissed. She was called into a meeting while on vacation with no indication that her position was being terminated.
McOrmond confirmed she has engaged a lawyer
regarding her termination.
“Restructuring is okay but the way it was handled was not,” McOrmond said. She describes the process of her termination as “deeper than unprofessional” and “lacking emotional intelligence.”
McOrmond said her father’s favourite Shakespeare quote has been on a loop in her head since her termination was announced.
The quote from Shakespeare’s 17th century comedy ‘As You Like It’ goes something like this, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts.”
“My termination is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what’s really going on here,” McOrmond said. “I’ve been on a rollercoaster for two years and I’m happy to finally be getting off it,” she said. McOrmond did not elaborate on the past two years.
“I’ve built relationships that will last me a lifetime,” McOrmond said,
adding that the local business owners are like family. She received overwhelming support from the BIA members when news of her termination broke.
McOrmond started working for the BIA in Oct. 2004 on a six-month maternity leave contract. Twelve years later, McOrmond said she would do the job all over again.
But the BIA board has a different plan in mind.
A new 20-hour per week job called support contact will be replacing McOrmond’s full-time position.
McOrmond said the hours of the new position will be nothing close to the support she gave BIA members.
“Our local merchants have real lives, with real things happening and we need to respect that,” she said. “They are hugely passionate about their work, and that’s why I am so passionate about it,” she said. “We have a connection.”
Despite no longer working for the BIA, McOrmond said her personal and emotional commitment to the town will remain as strong
as ever.
“We have a great community but we need to work as a team to create opportunities for people to live here and to thrive,” she said. “Until we do that we’ll be spinning our wheels.”
McOrmond has lived in Carleton Place since she was 12-years-old. She lives with her husband Wayne, and both her son, Spencer, and daughter, Olivia, were born in Carleton Place.
McOrmond said her family has given a tremendous amount of support over the last 12 years.
“Our roots are deep and everyday they’re getting deeper and stronger,” said McOrmond.
“I was walking down the street when I first started with the BIA and a dear friend of my family popped out of Graham Shoes and said ‘Catherine, you’re mother would be so
proud of you,’” McOrmond said, remembering her late mother. “That was 11 years ago but I’ll never forget that moment,” she said. McOrmond says her experiences with the Downtown Carleton Place BIA have given her a deeper understanding of who she is.
“I will end this chapter of my life with a heartfelt ‘Thank you,’” McOrmond said. “I lived and breathed this job.”
Project Manager Cathie McOrmond sits behind her desk at the Downtown Carleton Place BIA on Oct. 12, 2016. McOrmond’s position has been terminated and her last day at work was Oct. 14. 2016. Photo Credit: Jane Hobson