Colborne athlete, Brandon Clark showed he still has the moves on ice last week when he won the annual Red Bull Crashed Ice competition in Toronto.

Wikipedia describes Crashed Ice as, a "winter extreme sporting event which involves downhill skating in an urban environment on a track which includes steep turns and high vertical drops".

To get a feel for the event click on the Youtube video of the Quebec 2008 Finals.

The Toronto qualifier was held at the Mastercard Centre where the Leafs practise. Participants got two timed runs on an obstacle course, with their best time counting. Brandon explained that the skaters dove under some objects and over others. He says it's not a lot unlike the red line-blue line-redline drills he experienced while playing OMHA hockey in Colborne as a kid. His best time was 22.099 seconds.

The more than 200 competitors were broken into flights of ten. The group included the ten best skaters from 2011 who got to skate in the first flight on February 2. Brandon was in flight two and planned to leave after his skate - but his score was the best of the 20 skaters who had already gone.

So he hung around with the others who were watching the results. There was some surprise that the leading skater had skated in a "D" centre. Most players would have come from much larger places than Colborne.

Nearly five hours after he had finished, he had the results. He was the best. Only three skaters finished in under 23 seconds. He was off to an all-expenses-paid trip to Quebec City on March 15-17.

The 25-year-old Canada Colors employee has no illusions about winning the Quebec event. He says he will consider it a success if he makes it down the hill twice without injury. Injuries are a factor in the races, as skaters are often airborne and have to make tough turns within the boundaries of ice retaining walls.  

The rules of ice cross downhill are relatively simple - four skaters start at the top of the hill. The first one across the finish line wins. Red Bull says it requires speed, agility, perserverance, toughness and courage to do well.

Each year the company which markets the energy drink operates 13 qualifying races across Canada. Anyone can apply to skate. Organizers picked 200 men and 20 women from the 2,000 who submitted their names. Another 50 walk ons were considered as entrants. The top ten in each qualifier goes to the Quebec contest.

Brandon won't be alone in Quebec. His parents, Rose and Don Clark, his sister, Rachel, girlfriend Erin Keeler and friends all plan to be among the 100,000 expected to be in Quebec for the event, cheering as he races down the track at close to 60 km.hr..

Township to look at succession

Cramahe Township Council has been asked by Operations Director Dan O'Brien to consider planning for the retirement of its staff.

Mr. O'Brien's request came at council's first budget meeting for 2012. In his request, the Operations Director asked council to approve the hiring of a new staff member in July who would be qualified or trained to operate the township waste water treatment plant.

In his comments, the director explained that one of the two men who now operate the plant will probably retire within the next six months. That would leave one man on 24-hour call, and no back up.

Only two of his current works staff members have the educational requirements to qualify to take the necessary waste water treatment courses. One of them, Phil Kelly, is already being trained for the position. If the township is unable to hire a qualified replacement for the retiring worker, or someone that can be trained, it might have to resort to the much more expensive alternative of hiring a consultant.

A new hire would take a year to train if (s)he did not have the qualifications. Mr. O'Brien is satisfied with that, saying that he is encouraging his staff to feel they can work in both the Works and Parks Departments which are under his direction. He was up front in his comments, stating he would be looking for someone who had that flexibility.

This is not the same type of situation that the township placed itself when it hired a planning official and bylaw enforcement officer late last year. In that situation the township appeared to hire a non-local person with none of the paper qualifications, rejecting the application of at least one local applicant with some of the papers required. In that situation the township chose not to answer general requests about applicant qualifications, citing the Freedom of Information Act, and it did not appear to give a public explanation of the rationale behind the hiring.

Council did not make a decision on Mr. O'Brien's request. Estimated cost of the staff member would be $20,000 in 2012.

The issue seemed to divide council, with Mayor Marc Coombs and Councillor Pat Westrope on one side and Councillor Ed Van Egmond on the other.

The mayor sees it as good business planning to go this route when there is no one on staff to take over the role. Councillor Westrope worried about the cost of hiring consultants to fill in.

Councillor Van Egmond argued that it wasn't worth it to hire someone ahead of time, not knowing if there was a suitable replacement ready to apply when the job came open. He would like to see the township wait, and start the hiring process when someone is actually needed. If no one applied with the qualifications, perhaps the current staffer could be asked to stay on part time for a period.

A regular contributor to Cramahe Now, Ken Awender was in attendance at the Cramahe Township budget meeting on February 7. He sent us this comment which we have posted below our story.

"Perhaps the Township should understand what Succession Planning really is.  Allow me to explain…Succession planning is a process for identifying and developing internal people with the potential to fill key leadership positions in the township. Succession planning increases the availability of experienced and capable employees that are prepared to assume these roles as they become available.

In contrast, replacement planning is focused narrowly on identifying specific back-up candidates for given positions. But to get back at the gist of the argument… without identifying individuals but putting two and two together it is obvious a waste water plant operator is retiring.
 
It is well known a current employee is in the training process for an “operator”…but first off what classification is the Cramahe “plant”? There are 4 classifications of “treatment” plants and 4 classifications of licenses. Therefore according to Ontario regulations. An owner (Cramahe Twp) must ensure that every facility has designated an "operator in overall operational responsibility". This operator must be licensed to the class of the facility or higher.

This requirement ensures that knowledgeable, experienced staff are available at all times to provide advice to any plant operator and to respond to any emergency. For example a Class III waste-water treatment system requires an "operator in overall operational responsibility" who holds a Class III waste-water treatment license.

A facility may identify more than one person with this responsibility (i.e. on a shift-to-shift basis, on a week-to-week basis). Owners may use a "backup" as the operator with overall operational responsibility for up to 150 days per year. These backup operators may be licensed no lower than one class below that of the facility. Likewise, several different operators identified as the backup may be utilized, on different shifts, provided that the total number of days the backups are used is not greater than 150 per year.

This all about having the right people for the right job…Operations Director Dan O'Brien says he would like to hire a person with flexibility…but we went down that road with Bylaw Planning and ended up hiring an inexperienced archaeologist who, in the end, requires training.

A qualified “Waste-water Treatment Plant Technician Class IV” is a $28-$36 per/hour in most locals some working 24 hours shifts...so waiting for the present-day operator to hand in papers is asking for trouble…Kudos to the employee who has stepped up to the plate to fulfill this roll…but we need more than one qualified OIC(operator in charge)…The twp really needs to re-evaluate its responsibilities!  “Remember Walkerton”"

Northumberland Big Sisters Big Brothers is holding its annual Bowl for Kids Sake fundraiser. We have posted the press release below -

Come out of the crazy weather and spend some quality time with friends or family at the bowling alley, while helping raise funds for Northumberland's kids! It's our 31st year of bowling to provide mentoring programs for children and youth in our community.

We’re relying on the county's generous citizens to sponsor a friend, neighbour or co-worker, or better yet, form a team with them and come out for an hour of fun, great prizes and unmatched community spirit! Baltimore Public School has gotten things off to a great start, setting a new record of over $1,800 for their fourth Bowl for Kids Sake event.

“Mentoring has been proven to change the lives of both the person being mentored and the mentor themselves,” says Tom Copeland, owner of eagle.ca. “Over more than three decades of serving our area, Northumberland Big Sisters Big Brothers has made a real difference for hundreds of local kids. We have supported the agency in many ways for many years, and we're very pleased to support their work again this year.”

Sponsors are vital to Bowl for Kids Sake, which is the agency’s biggest annual fundraiser: OnSite Computer Services & Sales has joined us again as a Gold Partner, and this year's Media Partner is Star 93.3 and 107.9 The Breeze. A number of businesses and individuals have signed on as Silver Partners again: AkzoNobel, Behan Construction, Cobourg Lions Club, Northumberland Mall, and we’re
welcoming back Marlin Travel (Northumberland Mall branch), Sine’s Flooring and Vandermeer Toyota.

This year’s Bronze Partners to date are ABR Autism Services of Northumberland and Curtis Chicks, and there are still many partnership opportunities available. And for our top fundraiser, B&D Liquidation is generously providing a Baker Hall bench, valued at $250.

The goal for BFKS 2012 is $50,000; last year’s campaign brought in just under that, raised by more than 1,000 bowlers from local corporations, factories, service agencies and clubs, restaurants, businesses and area schools, as well as teams of families and friends.

Three bowling venues across the county will host major events, with many “challenge” games among business sectors, as well as school “bowls” happening from February to May. Saturday, Feb. 18 from 1 to 7 p.m. is the big kick-off at Northshore Lanes at Cobourg’s Northumberland Mall; BFKS comes to the Trent Valley alley in Campbellford on Sunday, Mar. 25 from 2 to 4 p.m.; in Brighton, we’re bowling at Presqu’ile Lanes on Sunday, April. 15 with lanes booked for 2 and 3 p.m.

To participate, just get four to six people to form a team, collect a minimum of $30 per person in pledges, call Sophie at Big Sisters Big Brothers (905-885-6422 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) to book your time slot on the big day, (or pick a Monday or Wednesday evening, if that’s more convenient).

Then you can bowl an hour away for prizes and lots of laughs! You can also register your team and
collect pledges online at http://www.northumberland.kintera.org/bowlforkidssake2012.

Sophie Kneisel, Communications Co-ordinator
tel: 905-885-6422;

toll-free: 888-278-2484;

e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We received this email from Cramahe Now reader Wayne Patrick. We've had some reservations about the sign. What are your thoughts?

Wayne writes, "...the new speed “radar “ sign  just south of the Timmies  going south on Percy Street is telling people they are going too fast ie. 60. The speed limit however is 60 and not 50, as it is trying to indicate. The 50 zone is after the sign."

It was roast beef all round on Feb. 3 at the Colborne Legion as close to 150 people crowded in for the bi-weekly $10 dinner. We've posted some photos below so you can catch some of the flavour of this popular community event.

The next dinner is the Winter Comfort Casserole Supper, Feb. 17. It will feature a ham/scalloped potato casserole plus a beef/ noodle casserole, Caesar salad, rolls, and for desert(s)— Pie R2! That’s pie prepared as squares.

Remember to click on the photos to see them larger.

It may not be a complete about face, but the Mayor's Task Force has definitely taken a turn this week.

The Mayor's Task Force on Facility Usage in Cramahe ran into some serious criticism of its initial proposals for room rentals, enough to force the group to meet and discuss other options.

Led by Mayor Marc Coombs, the task force met in Rotary Hall at the Keeler Centre on February 3 to look at a new proposal. The ideas discussed and supported at the meeting will become township policy if Cramahe Township Council approves.

The new plan would allow local not-for-profit groups to use the Rotary Hall at no charge. Not-for-profit groups using the hall would be encouraged to make a donation reflective of their use of the hall. The donated money would be allocated to a maintenance fund for the Rotary Hall.

The rental fee and all the peripheral costs for chairs and tables were dropped from the recommendations after groups pointed out to the task force that this would place hardship on them.

That move in itself was significant, but not the most dramatic new idea.

The task force will ask council to tender out the catering at the Keeler Centre to a private company.  If council supports this request, the in-house caterer would cater almost all events in the building, supervise township-employed bar staff. (Bar staff are unionized employees of the twp.), and be part of a Keeler Centre promotional team

Two groups were grandfathered in this proposal. The Auction Barn Jamboree has used its own caterer for the past few years and the task force recognised that Jamboree organisers may wish to continue doing this. Their caterer would pay the standard fee for use of the kitchen. Community Care is the other exception. It holds its monthly Diners' Club lunches in the Rotary Hall using a volunteer caterer. 

The successful bidder would pay the township a percentage of receipts. The actual percentage was not determined at the Feb. 3 meeting. A figure of 10% was put forward, but committee member Dave Rutherford thought it should be phased in.

Operations Director Dan O'Brien supports the proposal, as long as there is a two-three-year commitment by the township. The caterer would become a business partner with the township as it strives to better utilize Rotary Hall and generate more income.

The new plan maintains the committee position that profit-making groups, including caterers, should pay for use of the hall.

There would be no charges for use of dishes and cutlery or tables, as in the previous proposal. Setting up would be the responsibility of the caterer, as would care of the equipment and inventory. Caterers would build the township charge into the cost of meals.

Mayor Coombs commented that this would greatly simplify the management of the hall by municipal staff. By having a single caterer this should help with better control of the kitchen inventory as well encourage the caterer to draw more events to the Keeler Centre.

Not-for-profit fundraising events would have their hall and arena pad fees waived if the township received a percentage of the meal and bar receipts.

It was also recommended that a Keeler Centre Promotion Committee be formed to help with the promotion of the Keeler Centre for events etc. This committee would work in conjunction with Dan O'Brien & Keeley Biron and the proposed caterer to increase the usage of the centre. User groups may be asked to nominate one person from their groups to sit on the committee.

The Rotary Hall is one of the largest halls in the County of Northumberland. The committee feels that needs to be taken advantage of by the township.

The task force did consider the possibilities if no caterer tendered a bid. If that happens the township could rent the hall out under the same terms (taking a percentage) each time it is used for meals.

In his summary of the morning's meeting the mayor stated,  "I believe it is not the intent to penalize these (community) groups for using the Keeler Centre but to encourage their use of the facility while developing a method of being able to recover some of our ongoing operational costs associated with the Hall." He acknowledged having received some alternative suggestions from the groups. 

In other related business the task force took note of suggestions made by Mr. Rutherford and Pat Westrope. They suggested that some money be spent to refurbish the former lawn bowling clubhouse on Eligin St. S.. Ms. Westrope commented that the Rotary Hall and arena pad could be used more in the summer if the summer camp base was shifted to the lawn bowling building where there is plenty of playground and parkland nearby.

After some discussion it was agreed that a township staff member should be scheduled for times when the Castleton Town Hall is being used under a special occasion permit.

The task force is presenting its latest proposals to the public on February 7 at 7 p.m. in the Rotary Hall. The committee welcomes suggestions and encourages anyone interested to attend.

The revised proposals are expected to be taken to Cramahe Township Council at its February 14 meeting. Council may choose to pass some or all of the proposals at that time. It could also defer any decisions to a later date.

This press release came from the Halibirton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit.

People who cannot afford to get regular oral care can take advantage of free dental cleanings being offered in Cobourg on Saturday, February 11. Registered Dental Hygienist Mary Ito, of the Northumberland Dental Hygiene Clinic (297 Division St.), is taking appointments for dental cleanings for healthy individuals of all ages who do not have dental insurance.
 
To make an appointment, people can call Northumberland Dental at (289) 252-0232 before February 8. Callers will be asked to answer a short survey to determine those most in need of dental cleanings. Accepted clients will be contacted on February 8 and given an appointment time.
 
The Cobourg event is part of the Gift from the Heart Day (www.giftfromtheheart.ca) taking place in Canada. For the fourth straight year, dozens of Registered Dental Hygienists across the country are offering their professional services free-of-charge. There are more than 50 independent clinics and schools participating.
 
A representative of the Northumberland Oral Health Coalition welcomes the Gift From the Heart event as another way for people to get the oral care they need.
 
“Many Northumberland residents cannot afford regular dental care, so this event is one small way to break down barriers,” says Anna Rusak, a coalition member and a Health Promoter with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit.
  
While every effort is made to see as many clients as possible during the Gift From the Heart events, some people have had to be turned away in the past due to the overwhelming demand for services. Rusak says this shows the need for more permanent solutions to improve everyone’s access to oral care.
 
While there are no programs to cover the costs of oral care for adults, Rusak reminds local residents that financial assistance may be available through the Health Unit to cover dental care costs for children and teenagers up to the age of 17 years. To find out more, local residents can call the Health Unit at 1-866-888-4577.

We may not have had a tough winter, but spring is on the way. It must be. The Apple Blossom Tyme committee has had its first meeting of the new year, and plans are already in the making for the 23rd annual festival.

The committee is building on last year's successes and hoping to add some features suggested by our readers.

This year, the committee is condensing the event a bit. The Friday night dances have not been a hit so they are gone. And the Saturday stage show ran too long last year so it will end around four in the afternoon. If you know any young local bands who might be interested in performing Sunday, give entertainment coordinator Cheryl Casselman a call at (905) 344-7779 or email her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . They will get lots of exposure, as crowds stroll among the many vehicles in the ever-popular car show.

Anyone going on the May 26-7 festival website http://www.appleblossomtyme.com/ will soon see a new look, with apple blossoms greeting the viewer.

Saturday will continue to be the big day with bands all day, and many events returning from 2011. The committee hopes to have the soap box derby, the baby contest, Irish bowling, the Legion Blossom Tyme dinner, the spelling bee, and many of the popular food vendors back. They also hope to add the Hot Diggity Dogs, performing their flyball tricks. The dogs have done their stuff in Colborne before. If a large enough grassy area can be found they will be back to entertain festival spectators with their high-energy feats.

The committee will be inviting the owls back this year; the vintage tractors will grumble and roar, and the apple pie eating contest will be on the afternoon playlist. And the midway should return in its new location by the town hall. The children's play area was well received last year and the committee hpes to build on it.

There was interest expressed last year in having a Saturday evening street dance. If volunteers can be found to run it, the early evening family dance will be tried out.

Shoppers need not worry. Sharron MacDonald has  been getting calls since December from vendors interested in participating. The Garden Shed Marketplace will be busy.

And visitors on Sunday morning will have the pleasure of worshipping outdoors in an ecumenical church service. 

Add to that the various activities of community charities, service groups, and churches, and a full weekend is a certainty.

On another note, the committee regretfully accepted the resignation of treasurer Lenna Broatch. Lenna has been a steadying force on the committee and festival board for many years. She is the only member of last year's committee to resign, but there are many jobs to be done.

If you can lend some time to this year's festival, give committee chair Marc Coombs a call at 905 355-5004. By donating a few hours of your time, you can help make this year's festival a roaring success.