Student organizations furious
over education funding changes

By Shelby Lisk

The Ford government has unveiled their

plan to reduce tuition for Ontario postsecondary

students by 10 per cent.

“For the first time in Ontario, students

at every publicly assisted college and university

will see their tuition rates go down

by 10 per cent thanks to a province-wide

tuition rate reduction introduced by Ontario’s

Government for the People. The

tuition rate reduction is the latest step in

the Ford Government’s plan to keep more

money in the pockets of Ontario students

and families,” stated the Ontario government’s

official news release posted Jan. 17.

The release stated that, for example, an

arts and science undergrad at the University

of Guelph would see a reduction

in their tuition of $700 and a Conestoga

College student enrolled in practical

nursing would see a decrease of $300 in

their 2019-2020 tuition.

While a decrease in tuition sounds like

happy news for students, the announcement

came at the same time as proposed

cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance

Program, or OSAP, and the introduction

of a new program, “the student choice

initiative,” which will allow students to

opt out of paying ancillary fees, which

are non-academic fees that pay for student

services. The Ontario chapter of the

Canadian Federation of Students took to

their social media with this statement:

“Today’s announcement is a devastating

one for students and workers in the

post-secondary sector in the province of

Ontario.

“The announced ‘Student Choice Initiative’

is a transparent attempt to bankrupt

students’ unions in the province who

are the most critical of sector underfunding

and cuts to needs-based grants.

“The 10 per cent tuition fee reduction

is nothing more than a red herring. The

proposed cuts to OSAP will harm those

students most in need. Moreover, without

an increase to operating funds for institutions,

this tuition fee reduction will most

likely come at the hands of cuts to campus

workers and services.

“Students and workers in the province

of Ontario will fight this announcement.

This government does not represent students.”

The main concerns that emerged following

the official announcement are

what the funding cut will mean for services

provided by college and universities

across Ontario and what changes are

being made to OSAP that will affect students.

Specifically, those changes include

no longer offering free tuition to lowincome

students, replacing grants with

loans and getting rid of the six-month interest-

free grace period to pay back loans.

Meanwhile, the PC government stated

that it worries about the overspending of

the previous provincial leaders, stating

that a report released by the Office of the

Auditor General for Ontario in December

2018 highlighted concerns that OSAP

was causing major overspending while

not resulting in proportionately higher

enrolment. The summary reported that

“OSAP could cost $2 billion annually by

the 2020-2021 fiscal year, a net increase of

50 percent from the 2016/17 fiscal year.”

Nour Alideeb, chairperson for the Canadian

Federation of Students – Ontario,

says that the changes to OSAP will most

greatly affect low-income students and

those individuals who are most at risk

of becoming trapped in cycles of debt

for years after they graduate. “It impacts

being able to buy a home, finding really

good long-term sustainable jobs, being

able to start a family, going on to higher

post-secondary education,” says Alideeb.

The Canadian Federation of Students –

Ontario is the oldest and largest student

organization in Ontario representing

more than 350,000 college and university

students in all regions of the province.

They have been instrumental in advocating

for converting OSAP loans into nonrepayable

grants, for changing the rules

about which spousal and parental income

needs to be declared, all of which is being

erased in the new OSAP model.

While the tuition fee cut will save students

money, they won’t be able to access

grants from OSAP and will be taking out

higher loans.

“This 10 per cent tuition fee cut is really

only helping the people who could

already afford it, which are rich people,”

says Alideeb.

As the third part of the Ontario government’s

plan, students will now be able to

decide which student services they would

like to opt in to pay for. Services provided

and fought for by student unions which

are paid from the student dues, includes

health and dental insurance plans, transit

passes, support services such as equity

centres, sexual violence support centres,

food banks, academic support, creating

volunteer and job opportunities for students

and operating non-profit services

like bookstores and cafes.

“This is a cynical move by the provincial

government to undermine the very

organizations that will fight Doug Ford’s

cuts to public post-secondary education,”

said Sami Pritchard, National Executive

Representative for the Canadian Federation

of Students – Ontario, in a press release

Jan 17.

The CFS also released documents explaining

their concern that the tuition

slash means universities will be facing a

$360 million cut to revenues while colleges

will face an $80 million cut which will

lead to larger class sizes and unfair wages

and benefits for workers.

Students rallied with the Canadian

Federation of Students at Queen’s Park in

Toronto on Friday afternoon.

Joining to show their support was the

Ontario Public Service Employees Union

or OPSEU.

“They have just blasted a hole in the

operating budgets of the colleges and

universities. That means more precarious

work, less services, and a further assault

on the quality of education offered to our

students,” said RM Kennedy, OPSEU college

faculty executive chair in a statement

release by OPSEU on Thursday.

NDP MPP Chris Glover, Toronto’s Spadina

– Fort York riding, has also been vocal

about his opposition to the decision.

“This is just another way to undermine

student organizations that have often mobilized

against the government to call for

more funding, free tuition etc. and again,

it will disproportionately impact historically

marginalized groups who need

funding to support their members,” he

wrote on his Twitter account.

These sentiments were echoed by

NDP MPP Joel Harden for the Ottawa

Centretown region: “The Ford government

announced that they will bring

in American-style ‘right to work’ rules

for student unions, making payment

of dues optional. This is an attack on

services students rely on, an attack on

democracy, and an attempt to muzzle

Ford’s critics,” says Harden on his Twitter

account Jan. 17 following the announcement.

The PC government is proposing limiting

the funding for the groups and services

that are put in place to lobby for the

interests of students and keep the government

accountable for actions that affect

students.

“Our campuses are going to have to

make tough decisions,” says Alideeb. “Can

we continue to provide this service to students?

Can we continue to hire more staff

so our classrooms have a better studentto-

faculty ratio? Who can we make up

this money from? International students

and students in deregulated programs. So

at the end of the day, it’s sort of pitting students

against each other while some students

get the benefits and other students

have to carry the weight of that.”

---

Pets can also give at
blood donor clinics for animals

By TaeHyeong Kim

Your lovely dog can help other dogs that

might be sick. For dogs that are sick or

injured and need blood, there are animal

blood donor clinics to help those pets in

need.

“(We do it) to help some other dogs.

It’s a good idea. Somebody would donate

their dog’s blood for my dog. Why not

donate blood for somebody else?” says Jill

Baker, the owner of a three-year-old golden

retriever named Jordan who donated

his blood for a second time on Monday.

Like a person, blood is needed when

a dog or cat is sick or in the surgery because

of some injury or health problem.

The necessary blood is covered by blood

donations. There are dogs that donate

blood regularly for other pets that need

help across Canada.

A local animal blood bank drive event

was held at Foster Park Pet Animal Hospital

in Belleville on the afternoon of Jan.

21. The clinic was scheduled from 12 p.m.

to 3 p.m. with appointments. This event

was held in co-operation with the Canadian

Animal Blood Bank, a non-profit organization

dedicated to supplying blood

products to Canadian veterinarians.

The first dog to donate blood on Monday

was Silas, whose owner is Demera

Hunter. She is a staff member of the hospital

that provided the venue for the animal

blood bank drive event.

“I think it’s really important especially

working in this industry, knowing if a

dog needs it, then it’s available for them.

Because, a lot of times go through fast in

emergency. So, there is not a lot of time to

find a donor. So, a blood bank does really

good work,” said Hunter.

Mary Robinson, who arrived in the

hospital in advance, did not take long to

get the tools ready for blood collection.

She is a donor recruitment director of

CABB, and collected blood directly at the

local animal hospital.

A big table was set for a dog to lie down

on it, and a red pillow was put down for a

dog. Beside the table, there was a medical

plastic collection bag to put the blood in.

Documents checking for blood type and

protein content, and treats for the dogs

were set on the other small table.

Silas donated his blood twice on Monday.

Robinson took a picture of Silas, then

uploaded the photo on Instagram to show

what dogs have donated, and to recruit

more blood donors.

Prior to the actual blood donation,

blood samples were collected to confirm

health status like protein concentration

and blood type. Robinson checked the

name of dog, how old he was, how much

he weighed, what vaccine he has had,

what time he ate breakfast in the morning,

and got a signature from the owners

consenting to the blood donation.

Not all dogs can donate blood. A dog

must meet several requirements.

“There’s a bit of a minimum weight requirement.

So, the dogs must be a minimum

of 25 kilograms, and up to date on

vaccinations. They have to be healthy

because certain diseases and medications

can be derived from donating temporarily

or permanently. They may have to be one

year to eight years to start donating. And

they have to have a really good temperament,”

said Robinson.

The procedure for drawing blood is the

same as human blood collection. After putting

the end of the hose connected to the

bag, the sterilized needle is inserted into the

neck vein of the dog. The red blood slowly

flows into the bag along the hose.

While collecting blood, the dog’s owner,

Demera Hunter, kept petting Silas, and

Robinson continued to compliment him

saying “Good boy” to prevent Silas from

more stressed. In less than 10 minutes,

the bag of 450 millilitres was filled with

red blood.

Robinson pulled the needle out of Silas’s

neck and applied pressure to stop the

bleeding.

Then she fed Silas a treat. Soon after

wrapping some medical tape on his neck

and taking a commemorative photo, Silas

was able to complete blood donation

safely.

Donated blood is separated with the red

blood cells and plasma, and sent to the satellite

office of the CABB, where distribute the

products to veterinaries across the nation.

“It makes sure that we have enough

blood products to support the veterinary

community nationally. We currently ship

anywhere from 60 to 80 units of blood

product a week. So that shows how much

what we do need every week,” Robinson

said.

After donating the blood, it takes three

months to return to their original state,

including red blood cells. So a dog can

donate again after three months.

The demand for dog blood continues

to increase, so the CABB needs a lot of

dogs to donate their blood. The organization

continues to promote blood donation

from dogs to their owners.

---

Ten per cent off:
What you need to know about education cuts

By Andrej Ivanov

A 10 per cent tuition cut means approximately

$300 in savings a year for college

students and about $700 annually for

university students.

However, these cuts come with several

cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance

Program, or OSAP, and some major

changes to ancillary fees.

According to the media release outlining

the tuition cuts, the change in ancillary

fees would allow students to choose

“which student fees they want to pay and

how that money will be allocated. Fees

for essential campus health and safety

initiatives will continue to be mandatory.”

These fees pay for many resources that

the college provides, including clubs and

hosting social events, the campus radio

station, athletics and campus recreation.

Furthermore, ancillary fees fund many

other student services, such as computer

labs or the Shark Tank. This would also

cause some problems in that the amount

allotted to different groups will likely

change from semester to semester. The

funding would be inconsistent and the

various groups at colleges and universities

would have no way of planning projects

and budgets.

The biggest changes, however, will be

coming to OSAP. The change causing

the most heated debate surrounds the

removal of the six-month grace period

to start repaying student loans.

This means that, although students

don’t have to pay back their debt immediately,

the interest rate will start

growing from the moment the student

graduates. Roughly calculated, this

would add, on a debt of around $40,000,

an additional $1,200 to pay back. This

would later accrue and increase with interest

rates.

Another change would be to the

grant-to-loan ratio to a “minimum of

50 per cent loan for students in secondentry

programs.”

This would mean that low-income

students would not be able to receive free

tuition covered by the OSAP program. It

would mean that low-income students

would receive loans that they would have

to repay. However, the Ford government

will “ensure that 82 per cent of grants”

will be allotted to students whose family

income is under $50,000, according to

their press release.

The Ford government also lowered

the threshold for the total amount of income

a family has to make to qualify for

OSAP. With the previous government,

the total income was at $175,000 and

that has now been lowered to $140,000.

This means that students who are not

supported by their families with incomes

above $140,000 may not be able to access

OSAP.

Overall, the program offers a 10 per

cent tuition cut, but it accrues student

debt and makes postsecondary education

harder to access for low-income applicants.

Women March On

By Natasha MacDonald

From pink pussy hats and colourful signs to

rainbow pride flags, colour filled the grey,

snowy sky at a Women’s March Saturday in

downtown Toronto.

The charged atmosphere came from the

strength in numbers and support for the

cause. Marchers said there was a feeling of

empowerment and community that was

evident during the event, and they said they

believe change was in the air.

Hundreds attended and trekked through

the freezing temperatures and snow for

Saturday’s Women’s March in Toronto at

Nathan Phillips Square. This was the third

year for the Women’s

March, which began in

2017 after the Trump inauguration.

The focus of the protest

is for equal rights,

equal pay, health care,

education, consent, safety

for diversity of race,

class, and sexual orientation,

resisting the new

provincial government’s continuous cuts,

and ending gender-based violence.

Some of the many speaker’s included

Toronto Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam,

Sandy Hudson, a Black Lives Matter activist,

sex-ed activist Rayne Fisher-Quann,

Dawn Maracle, a professional speaker and

organizer in a variety of groups that focus

on the Indigenous community, she is also

from Tyendinaga, as well as equity and

gender-based violence expert Farrah Khan.

The RAW (Raging Asian Women)

drumming group gave a banging performance

in the blistering cold, invoking urgency

for the importance of equal rights,

policy changes and the protesters chanted

back, with a boisterous chant of agreement.

Once it was time for the march, the

drumming and chanting of, ‘Women

united will never be defeated!’ began. With

thousands of all ages flooding the streets,

the marchers followed a route that ended at

Queen’s Park.

“We’ve been feminists all our lives and it’s

important to get out there,” said Paula Bowley,

63. “Things are changing, especially

with the intersectional approach, which is

making a difference.”

“I’m happy to see this kind of activism,”

said Daphne Ballon, 60.

Despite the positives that many saw from

the March in Toronto, there has been some

controversy on what was alleged to be the

original Women’s March leadership’s connection

to anti-semitism. It has been reported

that the co-president of the national

Women’s March, Inc., Tamika Mallory, has

an association with the leader of the Nation

of Islam, Louis Farrakhan.

March on Canada released a statement

to address the concern:

“We, as members of March On Canada,

strongly denounce any individual or

organization who supports the increasingly

hateful rhetoric regarding the Jewish

people. In today’s world, we must celebrate

the diversity of our communities. We must

be firm that our steadfast and unwavering

commitment to inclusion must include our

Jewish sisters, brothers and neighbours.

“It is unacceptable that the leaders of

Women’s March

Incorporated are

normalizing antisemitism

under

the guise of the

progressive movement.

Requests

from fellow activists

asking

Women’s March

Incorporated to

denounce anti-semitism have been met

with silence. In our view, that silence equals

complicity.

“We feel it’s of the utmost importance to

speak out to show our solidarity with Jewish

communities around the world in their

fight against this discrimination.

“March On Canada will not support

women’s movement that allows anti-semitism

to take place at the leadership level

— or any level whatsoever. We welcome all

those who wish to continue the good work

of grassroots feminist organizing in a space

of inclusion and acceptance.”

Despite the alleged negative affiliation,

groups all over the world formed their own

marches, like the one that took place in Toronto.

After the end of the march, people left

their signs on the Queen’s Park statues and

in the bushes of a nearby subway station,

boldly stating that the march may be over,

but the fight for equality didn’t end then

and that there is power in number and purpose.

The Women’s March in Toronto was just

one of the few marches that occurred all

over Canada and in many other countries

where people walked in solidarity with the

Women’s March on Washington.

For a video look on the march, click on

this link:

---

Mohawk speaker opens march with

Land Acknowledgement ceremony

By Sasha Sefter

Local woman Dawn Maracle, of Tyendinaga

Mohawk Territory gave a Land

Acknowledgement statement before the

third annual Women’s March in Toronto

Saturday.

Maracle is Mohawk from Tyendinaga

Mohawk Territory in southern Ontario.

She has worked with Indigenous and

non-non-Indigenous communities for

over 25 years in Canada and overseas on

issues such as women’s rights, Indigenous

education, activism and health and governance.

She has a masters of education

from the Ontario Institute for Studies in

Education at the University of Toronto, a

bachelor of education from Queen’s University,

and bachelor of arts from Trent

University.

Currently, Maracle works as a communication

co-ordinator for Kairos, a group

of 10 churches and religious organizations

working together for ecological justice

and human rights.

Territorial or land acknowledgement

ceremonies are an act of reconciliation

which involve recognizing the traditional

territory of the Indigenous people who

called the land upon which the ceremony

is taking place home. This is a tradition

which dates back centuries for Indigenous

people, however, for many non-

Indigenous Canadians, it may be a fairly

new concept.

Maracle opened her speech by recognizing

the original peoples of the territory,

the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee,

the Métis, the Wendat, the Chippewa and

the Mississaugas of the Credit.

She then called for a peaceful rally,

stating that residents of Toronto live in

“the dish with one spoon territory.” This

was a treaty signed by the Haudenosaunee

and Anishinaabeg people. The

“dish” represents what is now southern

Ontario, the sentiment of the treaty being

that all people in the territory eat

out of the same “dish” and therefore,

must ensure the health of the land and

the creatures within it, so the “dish” will

never be empty.

Maracle then led the crowd in a thanksgiving

address, which is a tradition of the

Haudenosaunee people in which one sets

the tone of their day, grounding themselves

by giving thanks to the creator and

creation.

The crowd was then asked to take a

moment to think on what it is they are

thankful for, before moving on.

Maracle then brought attention to

Canada falling short on its duties to its Indigenous

people. She specifically cited recent

events in British Columbia in which

Unist’ot’en peoples were forcibly removed

from their homes by the government to

ensure the Coastal Gasoline pipeline project.

Maracle stated that these actions are

directly in opposition to The United Nations

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous

Peoples of which Canada has signed

on to, with no caveats. Article 10 of this

declaration states the no Indigeneous person

shall be removed from their lands and

territories for any purposes.

Maracle closed her speech by reminding

the crowd and all Canadians that even

though the government’s report on missing

and murdered Indigenous women

and children comes out this year, it is

not enough. Maracle urged the crowd to

pressure the government to do more and

make Canada a safe and prosperous place

for all people.

---

Local musicians jam at Night Kitchen Too

Photo by Amy Walton

Belleville’s very own Theatre Guild is in its

sixth consecutive year presenting Night

Kitchen Too, an event that showcases local

musicians and poets of all ages in the Quinte

and surrounding area, giving them a chance

to perform and share their talents in front of

an audience of people.

Joe Callahan, along with Gary Magwood,

and Marvin Tucker, produce the show to develop

a community of musicians who may

not have the opportunity to perform as often

as they may hope.

Callahan, Magwood and Tucker are all

musicians themselves and have been performing

in the shows each year. Callahan also

attributes the show’s continuing success to

hosts/performers, Alexandra Bell and Nathan

Mahaffy, who are also associate producers.

Night Kitchen Too was adapted from a

show presented in Wolfville, Nova Scotia by

Andy Flynn and Ariana Nasr who had a collection

of musical friends that they brought

together to create the first ever Night Kitchen

over 12 years ago.

Coincidentally, a couple who performed

together back at the original Night Kitchen in

Nova Scotia, have recently moved to Belleville

and were pleasantly surprised when they saw

a flyer in a grocery store for the Night Kitchen

Too on Jan. 19. David Marine and Amelia Keating

were eager to be a part the oh-so-familiar

event.

“We’ve only been in the area since the summer,

but we’ve seen a real dedication to community

both in Belleville and in PEC, not just

in music and creative arts but in agriculture,

commerce, tourism, the whole shebang. It’s

how a community is supposed to be.

“So, it’s a huge support for local musicians,

to know that your community supports you

and will even brave a bitter winter night to be

there. And let’s be honest, these are not easy

times for musicians to try to make a living. So,

it’s vital for musicians to have a venue so welcoming

and supportive,” said David Morine

while discussing how he felt about Belleville

adapting the same event and continuing the

tradition.

“I think it’s wonderful to see a second Night

Kitchen starting up. I wish every town in Canada

was fortunate enough to have one!”

On Saturday, 12 performers graced the

stage at the Pinnacle Playhouse, three Centennial

Secondary School students were a part of

that 12, and the youngest was Ridley Pierce,

who was only 10 years old. Night Kitchen Too

has been known to showcase a variety of talented

musicians of all ages and musical styles.

“We’ve now had 60 different feature acts

spanning the six seasons and have never repeated

a feature act ever,” Callahan said. “That

speaks largely to the depth of talent around

here.”

Saturday’s feature act was a pair named

David and Taryn, and the way they came to

be the feature also contributes to the notion

that talented artists can be found everywhere.

Originally the feature performers for the night

were Peter Boag and Christine Atrill. but they

had to cancel last minute due to the unfortunately

bad weather.

Callahan had seen David and Taryn preform

recently at Signal, a bar in Belleville.

After their performance at Signal, Callahan

invited them to come watch Night Kitchen

Too, only because they had filled their lineup

of performers already. At 1 p.m. Saturday, Cahallan

called them up to see if they would fill

in as the feature act only seven hours later in

the day and they graciously accepted.

Night Kitchen Too not only gives up-andcoming

artists a chance to showcase their

talent in front of others. The seasoned professionals

who perform offer mentoring and

advice to any performer who may want it.

Like the original, Night Kitchen Too is a

non-for-profit project, where all proceeds

from the concerts’ admissions are distributed

among the performers. Tickets to the show are

sold for $10 each.

The show is in the heart of Downtown Belleville,

at the Pinnacle Playhouse located at 256

Pinnacle St. This sixth season of performances

still has five upcoming shows if you’re interested

in seeing local talent thrive on stage. At the

end of the show you may dance, sing along, or

simply sit back, close your eyes, and connect

with the music.

If you’re interested in performing at an upcoming

show, Joe Callahan is the talent scout

you should contact. He can be reached at joecallahan48@

gmail.com. For more information

on the event, visit the Night Kitchen Too

Facebook page.

To see more about Night Kitchen Too,

click on this link:

https://vimeo.com/loyalistphotoj/soundcheck

——————————–

Curling fun for young and old

By Brian Choi

Curling may seem to some people to be

the slowest of all Olympic winter sports.

However, even though it is a game

that seems slow, it is a delicate and

sometimes even tense sport. Curling is

fun for younger and older people, and it

helps everyone to slow down and focus.

Curling originated from a game

played during the Middle Ages on frozen

lakes and rivers in Scotland where

players slid heavy stones onto the ice.

Then, in the 17th and 18th centuries, it

developed into a winter sport centred in

Canada. Since then, it has been selected

as an official event at the 1998 Nagano

Winter Olympics.

There are about 120 curling clubs in

Ontario alone. The season starts around

October and ends in April. A bonspiel

is a tournament or competition between

curling clubs.

Usually, four players in a group throw

two curling rocks each during the

game. The game is played in the form

of a tournament. During the break, they

spray the ice with small drops of water

so it’s ready for the next play.

The Belleville Curling Club was

founded in 1958. There are about 300

members active members and a committee

of 12 members manage the

club.

Bob McPhersonis a curling centre

employee and has been a member of

the committee in the past. McPherson

checks the facilities for defects and repairs

if something goes wrong during

the season.

In fact, the club does much of the

work in the summer off-season, when

they did maintenance such as painting,

installing new floors, and replenishing

new supplies because they ran

out of compressed air. McPherson has

worked at the curling centre for about

20 years.

Membership fees usually depend on

how many games you play, and are usually

between $300 and $500 in total. The

season starts at Thanksgiving or in early

October, and runs until early April.

It usually takes two hours per game,

which means it takes about 15 minutes

per person.

Some bonspiel games are for beginners,

games that take place every Friday

morning, and usually run for one day,

but sometimes for two days. The cost

of entry to the bonspiel game is usually

$25 per member, and the winner of the

game is given a pizza or free meal ticket.

The bonspiel is held in the form of a

tournament,and some of the best winners

have their names inscribed on the

bonspiel trophy.

Terry Lynch was the host of Friday’s

bonspiel game. He works as a volunteer

and said he is very happy to serve

the community. Besides Lynch, seven

to eight people came out to voluntarily

prepare items for the event and serve

food. Lynch has been a member of the

club for about 10 years.

For him, curling is more than just a

sport – it’s a social relationship itself.

He says that through curling, he has

a chance to socialize with neighbours

with the same hobby and to take care

of his health through exercise. Many

companies, organizations, and stores in

Belleville also sponsor the curling club.

Through curling, the club’s members

are creating healthy and social relationships.

Janet Quinn is vice president of the

curling club. She played in Friday’s bonspiel

and attended the event with her

family. She has enjoyed curling for 12

years.

She says the Belleville curling club

brings a sense of community, friendship

and harmony rather than competition.

---

Cops and kids come out for frosty fun

at weekend ice fishing derby in Belleville

By TaeHyeong Kim

The Cops and Kids Ice Fishing Derby

event was held Saturday on the

shores of Lake Ontario on one of

the coldest days so far this year.

The event, now in its third year,

went from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Herchimer

Boat Launch in Belleville.

“We do it because we want a partnership

with kids in the community.

So we do this as a way to make

a friendship through fishing,” said

Const. Patrick Comeau of the Belleville

Police Service.

For this event, members of the

police service provided and prepared

fishing gear and bait and

made holes in the ice for fishing.

On the shores of the lake there was

a tent to get out of the cold. Chili,

donuts, hot chocolate, coffee and

Timbits were also available to help

keep everyone warm. A free toque

was given to the first 100 children

at the ice fishing derby. The ambulance

service also attended in case

of any emergency.

Snow was piled up on the surface

of the Bay of Quinte, which was

frozen near the Herchimer pier.

Some nearby clear ice was over 30

centimetres thick, so there was no

need for any concerns about ice

safety.

“The hardest thing for today was

weather and making sure that everyone

was safe,” Comeau said.

In the southern Ontario region,

there were extreme cold warnings.

Even close to noon, the cold still

exceeded minus 18 degrees C. Ice

holes drilled for ice fishing were

frozen over again; the bait was frozen,

and the fishing lines were frozen.

However, the cold was not a big

problem for the children who were

catching fish.

“It’s so cold, but it’s good,”

young participant Avery Kelleher

said, while laughing brightly as he

showed off the fish he caught in the

derby.

“We had over 130 kids, probably

got 200 people all together,” Comeau

said.

Many participants pledged to attend

next year’s derby already.

Today’s event was short and sweet

and it was very, very cold, but I

continue and do it every year,” said

Gordon Mclean who participated

with his son, Kieren.

---

Magic of making costumes

for children in wheelchairs

By Debbie MacNevin

Halloween is one of the biggest nights of

the year for most young children. They

rush home from school full of excitement

and get into their costumes.

Soon they go from a regular kid to whatever

they want to be. That could be anything

from a powerful super-hero to pretty

princess. Companies all over the world are

making it easier and easier for children to

became anything they want when it comes

to costumes. However, for some children,

it isn’t as easy as slipping on a cool costume

to go out. For those children, it takes a

little more effort.

The non-profit organization, Magic

Wheelchair, began in 2015 in Oregon in

the United States. A father whose children

were in wheelchairs talked with one

of his children about what they wanted to

be for Halloween. When one of them, who

is in a wheelchair, said he wanted to be a

pirate, it gave the father the idea to create

a costume. He made a pirate ship for his

child’s costume. That’s how it began. From

that moment on, the organization has gone

nationwide in the United States, creating

everything from Halloween costumes to

comic convention costumes.

Loyalist College is the first college and

the first in Canada to be inspired to create

a club with this project. The Magic Wheelchair

Club here at a Loyalist creates costumes

for local children in wheelchairs using

the skills and knowledge they have here

at the college. Last year the club created a

costume for a boy named Brady Wilson.

Wilson, an 11-year-old boy who is nonverbal

and colour-blind. One colour that

really stands out to Brady is the colour red.

After awhile, his family noticed that one

thing that Brady really seems to enjoy most

was The Wiggles and he loved the big red

car. So, it was the perfect idea his costume.

“When we took Brady out in this, it was awesome

to see the response from people that

didn’t realize that this child was disabled,

let alone in a wheelchair,” said Stephen

Zammitti, who is a Loyalist staff member.

“They just thought it was an awesome costume.

That he’s rolling around in this car.”

The big red car was constructed out of

foam. The outer shell is hard and resembles

much of an actual car. The Loyalist

club is interested in taking this farther than

they have. Instead of simply creating costumes

for children to wear on Halloween,

they want to allow the children to be able

to use their costumes for things such as going

to a comic convention.

The idea to bring this to Loyalist came

from the founder of the club, Cameron

McLean. McLean is a Loyalist alumni.

While reading an article about the original

organization, McLean had the idea to

bring this idea to Loyalist.

McLean, along with Zammitti, thought

that Loyalist could really be the cornerstone

to making this more of a reality. After

the costume was created, Zammitti and

McLean joined Wilson and his family on

Halloween. Both walked with Wilson, side

by side and were dressed as Sharkie and

Lanny, Loyalist’s mascots.

---

Fascinating history of tombstones in Belleville

By Matthew Syriac Elias

The dead and buried of Belleville didn’t go

down without stories to tell through their

graveyards and headstones.

The Hastings County Historical

Society, or HCHS, kicked off the new

year with a public presentation called

“The History of Tombstones” on Jan.

15. The event was held at the Maranatha

Christian Reformed Church on

College Street in Belleville.

Richard Hughes, president of the

historical society co-ordinated and

kickstarted the event for the night.

Less than a year ago, the Archives

Association of Ontario awarded the

HCHS for its prominent role in the

creation of new community archives

in Belleville, under the leadership of

Hughes.

Downtown Belleville’s first of four

historical plaques were also unveiled

last year, which were inaugurated by

then Mayor Taso Christopher.

Minus One Hundred, a talk by historical

society board member Trevor

Parsons, gave an insight into what was

going on in the Belleville area exactly

100 years ago. Parsons cited letters,

flyers, and even news headlines from

1919 issues of the Belleville Intelligencer.

They included military recruiting

ads, a letter between a mother

and her son in the military, weekly

shopping deals and upcoming movie

posters.

“A speech in Belleville by Robert

Borden, former Prime Minister at the

time, and now the leader of the opposition,

met with a bunch of Liberals

and did something that our prime

ministers tend to do now. He issued a

great apology,” said Parsons, referring

to an article in the Intelligencer.

The main presentation was given

by Gary Foster. Foster is an expert

on cemeteries and is a Belleville resident

well-known for his expertise in

the field, knowledge on the history

of tombstones, and the Belleville area

itself. He frequently conducts presentations

and history classes for the historical

society, and the public.

A graduate of the archaeology program

from Trent University, Foster

worked as an archaeologist in Parks

Canada in Cornwall until 1986, when

he moved to Belleville. He currently

serves as the president of Campbell

Monument, a cemetery headstone and

monument company. Campbell Monument

has a history of over a century,

being locally owned since 1909, and

has been an employee-owned company

since 1984.

Foster’s talk and presentation covered

a wide variety of information

about the history, trends and evolution

of the tomb, and tombstone designs.

He emphasised on how the history

of Ontario, and the 20th century

overall in North America and Europe

inspired the designs and trends of

monument building throughout.

“Factors of this evolution included

economic state, social cultural values,

transportation system and migration

patterns,” said Foster. “The

cemeteries of the past teach us of the

times they were built in, providing

more information than just names

and dates.”

Foster mentioned a few historical

cemetery monuments found in Belleville

too, mentioning lesser known

facts about their design.

Foster also touched on how many

tombstones from the past have humorous

lines engraved on them sometimes.

He mentioned a headstone

from 1900 that he had seen, which

reads:

“Here lays Doctor Bill, He took one

of his own pills, He swore it wouldn’t

kill, But he’s lying awful still.”

---

Karter Banger brings it to the main stage

By Natasha MacDonald

Karter Banger has been performing as a

drag king for just shy of a decade. Banger

grew up in the small town of Osgoode,

eventually making it to Ottawa, which is

where it all started.

After making the move, the experiment

with performing and impersonating a

male persona began. There was a comfort

and confidence that grew within all those

years of being a drag king performer.

The world has become familiar with drag

queens, who are mostly (but not limited to)

gay men performing as women. The drag

king scene is less well-known and is women,

trans or non-binary people of various sexual

orientations performing as men.

Banger started off solo and then shortly

after, moved to be a part of Canada’s Capital

Kings Troupe. One of five members, he

was also named Mr. Capital Pride 2016.

Being one of the five kings of Canada’s

Capital King’s troupe, Banger is known for

being that charming “bro” that exudes a

confident character. And that was just the

beginning.

Karter Banger is the confident, comedic,

curator of character, while Kim Stewart,

the actual person behind the drag king, is

one that is not seen right off the bat. Although

physically embodied in the same

human, this is what drag is about. Drag

does exactly that. It drags out a part of

someone and further acts as an outlet.

Now, specifically with the smaller or

lesser known scene of the Kings, they’re

still a mighty force in the queer community

when it comes to identity. Of course,

gender-bending is not only visible in that

community, but it’s where it often makes

its first appearance.

A drag king is a gender-inclusive performance

take of the male/masculine embodiment.

It means a person who identifies

as female, genderqueer, non-binary,

or trans, outside of drag, and identifies

as male, using he/him pronouns while in

drag, or “in face.” It’s playing off stereotypes

of masculine or male-associated characteristics

to create an enticing, provocative and

entertaining performance.

Most of the drag king scene is centred

on gay or alternative clubs, as entertainment.

Performance is a big part of drag,

where there can be lipsyncing, dancing

and comedic scenarios played out.

The lines between performer Karter

Banger and real-life Kim Stewart slowly

seeped and mended closer together. The

confident and cool, smooth and slick

Banger on stage, made for a massive

change in the everyday life of Kim Stewart.

At the beginning, Banger was introduced

by Stewart and today, you’ll likely be meeting

Karter first, and maybe get a chance to

meet Stewart.

“When I started doing drag, that’s why I

feel like there was such a line at the beginning

because I was actually me. And then

I could be that boy, you know? Whereas

now… I mean, that was almost 10 years ago.

So now, you can call people whatever you

want. You don’t need to be labelled and I feel

like that’s why it meshes so well. There’s no

line anymore. They just overlap each other.

“So, I feel like, since then, I was really

trying to find myself. In my regular life, I

identify as a female, I go by ‘her’ and ‘she’

but I also get that other aspect when I’m in

drag and I’m ‘he’ and I use the male pronouns.

And I’m glad that I have both, you

know.”

Keeping it cool and collected, Banger

exudes a compelling, confident persona.

“My stage persona is very confident.

Karter is this super confident and charming

is what I say. Where my real-life person

is that I’m not as outgoing, I’m more of a

dork, and if I were to be at a club, I’d be

like ‘Yeah, I’m going to snap my fingers,’

and Karter would definitely never do that.

That’s not cool.”

Having recently married burlesque

dancer, Koston Kreme, the two started

off performing together in shows here

and there, before discovering a liking for

one another. A drag king and a burlesque

dancer. Sounds like there is a new fairytale

for some to look up to growing up.

Burlesque performer Vixen Vega’s most

significant memory of Banger was the

wedding day.

“Standing in, watching him marry

the love of his life. That one pretty much

makes up for all greaseball pick-up lines

I’ve had to endure!”

Both being supportive of one another

only adds to the exuding and endearing

persona of the Karter Banger band wagon.

From upbeat dance moves and much

of the boy-band inspired tunes, Banger is

bringing it to the stage with a witty comeback

or a stand-up specialty.

Vega sums up the high-top sneaker

wearing Karter Banger this way:

“Karter is the charming bad boy your

mom always warned you about. He has a

way of wrapping his own brand of charisma

around all the dirtiest, greaseball qualities of

a man. It’s like being served Cheez Whiz at

a fancy dinner party, but then offered a vintage

bottle of merlot. It only takes one glass

to overlook the horrid snack.”

It can be far from easy talking in front

of people, but not for Banger. The thrill of

performing on stage is embedded in the

ability to appeal to everyone in the audience.

“Much like the wine, after witnessing

one Karter Banger performance, the audience

is truly captivated,” Vega says. “In the

blink of an eye, you realize this wily dirtbag

has hypnotized you into becoming the

guiltiest of your guilty pleasures and the

Cheez was the perfect appetizer.”

One of Banger’s most memorable moments

performing was during a troupe

show, and the tear away pants the members

of the drag king group were wearing

to perform in.

“The Toronto Burlesque Festival, we got

in…and we were the only drag kings in

that show.

“So, when we were backstage, I told the

guys, ‘So, if your pants start ripping, literally

just rip them off and throw them and

keep going.’

“So, we started doing the dance and David’s

pants start going. So, he takes them,

rips them. We’re still dancing and then

Jack’s pants start ripping, so, he pulls them

off, and then we are doing the chorus and

the second chorus.”

Wait for it…

“And I’m in the front row, right in the

middle, and we’re going and I could feel

my pants start ripping. And right after the

chorus, after we were supposed to just rip

them off the pants, I was like, ‘I just have

to keep going.’ And threw it and was like,

‘Whatever,’ and then when it came to the

point to rip our pants, only three of us had

them. They did it and we did the motion,

and afterwards we were like, ‘Dammit,

these pants.’”

But the audience was far from complaining

and were gushing over it the

whole time.

From growing up in the small farm

town to becoming Mr. Capital Pride,

there’s never a way to know what direction

life can take you. For Karter Banger, the

simmering stud muffin, this was exactly

what happened.

Although drag is a performance, that

doesn’t mean it doesn’t find its way into

everyday life.

Although the song favourite Filthy by

Justin Timberlake may be a fitting flirtation

of his bad behaviour, Banger enjoys a

day off, just like the rest.

“So, a perfect day off would be my mom,

would have my dog, so I wouldn’t have to

wake up early, sleeping in and doing nothing.

Relaxing, watching some mindless

TV, ordering in, have a bag of chips (Plain

Ruffles), sweatpants all day. Regular me.”

Today, the lines have blurred for Karter

Banger and have allowed for the confident,

charming and charismatic undertones to

amalgamate with Kim Stewart.

---

Doodlers meet up monthly for some fun

By Mari Hiramoto

Doodle Group held a monthly meet

up on Jan. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon

at the Parrott Gallery in the Belleville

Public Library. Diana Bingham demonstrated

how to make a pop-up card

to the other eight members.

“This is a great little addition to

the doodling because we do a lot of

greeting cards,” said Marita Langlois,

the organizer of the Doodle Group.

They usually have eight to 14

people that show up to the meet up.

Bingham and Langlois brought most

of the supplies for the Friday’s session.

Langlois said she has too many

supplies at home so she decided to

share it with the group members.

There is no membership fees, as

the library provides them a room for

free. Most of the members are female

in their 30’s to 60’s.

“Every once in a while we get a

male member that comes in but I

haven’t seen one yet that lasted more

than one session,” Langlois chuckled.

This group was started a few years

ago by Laurie Sinclair and Racheal

Como. They were going to cancel

the group because there was nobody

leading it after both of them had to

leave.

Langlois volunteered to become

a new organizer and they have been

trying different types of artwork every

month.

“Usually we are doodling but we’d

like to change it up every once in a

while,” Langlois said.

Last month, they created Christmas

cards with “negative space letters”

where you leave the space for the letters

as blank and doodle all around it.

The greeting cards they were creating

this time have a couple of red hearts

that pop up when it’s opened.

They also have a Facebook group

where members can share their artwork

to each other. Langlois usually

takes pictures at the end of session

posts them to the page. For more information

about the Doodle Group,

visit their Facebook page (www.facebook.

com/groups/thedoodlegroup/)

or call Belleville Public Library (613-

968-6731 ext. 2040). Their next meet

up is on Feb. 21 from 10 a.m.

---

---

---

College launches Wellness Loft

By Sasha Sefter

Loyalist College has opened a new space

for students and staff to unwind and

destress from the demands of postsecondary

life.

A recent National Health Assessment

completed in 2016 found that 44 per

cent of the 43,780 Canadian students

surveyed felt so depressed over the previous

year that it was difficult to function.

Colleges and universities across the

nation have heard the call to action, with

many creating safe spaces for students to

destress and creating programs designed

to improve the mental health of their

participants.

Loyalist is working hard to understand

the needs of its students and staff

with to foster effective mental health services

and provide appropriate wellness

programming. Two years ago, the college

identified the need create programs and

solutions to positively affect waning student

mental health with a focus on longterm

student wellness.

Ryan Stoness was hired as the coordinator

of wellness programming at

Loyalist and is responsible for increasing

a culture of health and wellness at the

college.

“Wellness is for everybody, all of the

time. We want to eliminate as many barriers

as possible and make our programming

accessible, valuable and fun,” said

Stoness of his team’s mission.

Stoness said he feels this is best accomplished

by focusing on two major

areas, developing programs for proactive

wellness and putting an emphasis on student

engagement and leadership. Stoness

is not only involved in creating programs

and positions for students but also developing

policy and strategy that ensure the

college has the wellness of its students in

mind at all times.

Asked who may benefit from the services

offered by the college Stoness siad,

“Everybody needs to work on their

wellness. We can all benefit from getting

a little more exercise, a little more sleep,

a little more time to relax. Those are all

things that benefit us when we’re at our

best or when we’re at our worst.”

On Jan. 23, Loyalist launched its latest

student wellness effort, a barrier-free

safe space called the Wellness Loft. The

concept of the loft is that it will be a student-

led space where the colleges wellness

ambassador leadership team will

design and put into place programming

aimed at improving students’ mental

health.

The loft itself is furnished with comfortable

couches, bean bag chairs, and

yoga mats. It is also stocked with healthy

snacks and tea should a student need

to replenish some energy in-between

classes.

The space is open to students weekdays

9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will run a variety

of programs including mental health

seminars, relaxation nights, yoga and

guided meditation classes.

---

Knit One, Purl Two

Photos and Story by Brian Choi

In historic times, before the clothing industry was developed,

winter clothes were mostly made from the hands of mothers.

Times may have changed, but some things, like making

clothes by hand, have still survived.

Knitterati is a small knitting club held at the Belleville public

library. The group meets at 5:30 p.m every second Tuesday

on the second floor of the library. Although there are about

10 members, they usually get about seven to eight members

attending.

Annette Buckley is one of the members of Knitterati. She

was an immigrant from England to Canada 40 years ago. She

is 66 years old. When she was young, she learned to knit from

her grandmother and this small knitting helps her keeping

her life well. She believes that knitting helped her raise two

children well. Her husband died at a young age and she has

been with her hard-hearted people.

During the Christmas season, she knits and donates children’s

clothes for those in need. She knits with yarn provided

from Belleville Fire Department and gives it back to fire hall

for them to donate during the holiday season.

A small baby sweater takes Buckley about two days to

make, and a large sweater takes about two weeks to make.

Susan Mcdonald started to knit when she was eight years

old. After more than 50 years of knitting, she has improved

enough to make socks without using a pattern.

The charm of knitting is that it is a peaceful and meditative

pastime. The members of the local knitting club all agreed

that they experienced the peace and relaxation that comes

from knitting.

The members said they each donate products they make

knitting to their own churches, local fire stations, and donations

to their neighbors.

Lolly Carr comes to the knitting group with her mother

Ellen Carr. Lolly Carr has been knitting for 25 years. She still

does knitting for one to two hours every day.

For her, knitting is relaxation itself. She learned from her

mother when she was young, but now she teaches her mother

some knitting techniques. It all comes from continuous practice.

With her long experience knitting, she now has an easy

grasp of difficult patterns. She is donating her knitted products

to the fire department at the end of the year, with Buckley.

This knitting club hasn’t membership fee so if you want to

be together with them, Just bring your own knitting materials

with you.

The group gathers together freely to share information on

knitting and share life stories. The members told that once

someone get involved in this club, it would become more and

more attractive. Laughter and laughter flowed throughout

the knitting circle.

————–

Campus Creativity

Photos and Story by Amy Walton

Everyone has a pasttime, whether it be watching television, reading a book or going for a walk. But you’d be surprised how many people have unique or extensive hobbies right here at Loyalist College residence.

The Acorn Painter

One creative hobby that many have is painting. There are all sorts of types of painting, realistic painting, abstract painting, watercolour, the list goes on.

However, one resident at Loyalist has a unique aspect to her painting. The way she paints is sustainable and eco-friendly.

Sonora Plumb, who is in a manufacturing program at the college, has an interesting passion of painting acorns. She paints tiny, very detailed designs on the inside of the acorn hat. She also paints full acorns and the little nubs that don’t quite grow. She paints tiny eyes on them, making them come to life.

Plumb got inspired to paint acorns after seeing people painting a certain mushroom that grows on trees back when she was living in Moose Factory, Ont. She loved the idea of painting something natural, but she wanted a slightly smaller canvas. She even asked her mom for acorns for Christmas, so her mom collected over a 100 for her to start creating her tiny acorn art.

Back in high school, Plumb would ask the woodshop teachers if she could use the scrap wood to do paintings on too. Anything she can get her hands on that is natural, or otherwise would be thrown out, she will use. She likes to repurpose things and bring them to life with her art.

“I do paint on canvases too, but I don’t like using them and buying them new because I feel conscious about the environmental impact of it. That’s why it’s really comforting to me to be able to get stuff that was going to be thrown out anyways, or natural stuff found in nature,” Plumb says. She is also a part of the Sustainable Loyalist club so she is passionate about the environment.

“I set out an hour or two to paint a couple so I’m not rushed. It’s not like I’m making money off these. it’s more like a calming down or getting in touch with myself sort of thing. It’s like my personal alone time.”

Plumb says her goal is to carve out a specific time each week to something creative.

“I’ve always said to myself that this skill is not important, but it can actually be useful in your life. It’s very calming to just do something that your good at and enjoy.”

The Chef

Most people probably wouldn’t consider cooking to be an outlandish hobby, seeing as we all must do it at some point. It’s quite easy to pop something in the microwave or in the oven, but considerably more difficult to make food by scratch.

Rachel Frederick is a culinary student at Loyalist and lives on the Loyalist residence, where she cooks all homemade food for herself and her roommates. She recently made a spaghetti dinner, completely from scratch.

She has lots of complex gadgets for making her food, one of them being a pasta-rolling machine. Frederick made the dough by scratch, rolled it over and over, stretching it so that she could put it through the machine, making strings of homemade pasta.

Although this method takes much more time than simply cooking already-made pasta, Frederick likes to go the extra mile and prepare all her food herself.

“There is just something about the way I can take a few simple small ingredients and make something that I can be proud of. However, the thing I love most would have to be the smiles on people’s faces when you take the time and effort to make something homemade for them.”

It’s the little things about cooking that bring her great pleasure. We all know home-cooked meals are always the best meals, and her roommates definitely agree.

The Model Painter

“The skies the limit with this game. Creativity is the main goal,” Seth Lightfoot says while describing his passion towards the board game Warhammer 40,000. Models is what he calls the war men figurines that he hand paints with teeny tiny brushes, giving them immense detail in every crevice. He has a collection hundreds of these models and his collection will only keep growing.

“I really wanted to have an impressive army of something I made myself. When I sit here and look at my models, I get happy because they interest me so much. I really enjoy them.” Warhammer 40,000 is an interactive board game with army men that you must put together and build yourself. They are very small in size and take a speciality paint and brushes to be able to get the fine detail on them.

Lightfoot enjoys zoning into his own little world while painting his models so that he can one day soon play the action game with his friends who are collectors as well. Lightfoot was introduced to the game in high school when he found a book in the library that was all about the game. He has since became very inspired by it, and two years ago he began his collection.

“It can be tedious sometimes, especially when you mess up. But it feels good when you get it done and you look at the final model and think, ‘Wow, I did that. I personally made it look that cool.’ It’s a good feeling.”

Within his hobby, there are many components. There’s the game itself, plus painting the models, plus alternative ways of playing the game, which are taught in a book he owns. It’s been a motivation for Lightfoot since high school to start his journey playing this game, and he was able to earn the money to start collecting.

“It’s an expensive hobby, but to me, it’s very worth it in the end game.”

The Digital Cartoonist

Rami Masri moved from Lebanon to Canada so that he could take the animation program here at Loyalist College. He always had a passion for drawing and is very well versed in realistic drawings and has a love of cartoons as well.

Masri has recently begun doing virtual drawings on a program called Procreate. He can create a drawing in only an hour, although he likes to take his time, especially when it comes to the fine details and colouring. In his program, he must make a short video using animations for his final project, and Masri’s idea for his video has lots of meaning to him.

He believes that every show, or video of sorts, should have a powerful message to it, and without a message, things can be tedious.

For his final video, he describes a character he has drawn on Procreate named Tim. Tim is being bullied at school, and bad names are flying at him, hitting him until he can’t take it anymore. Right when you think Tim has given up, nice words start flowing at him, and he gets the will to live again.

It’s a very powerful message with an important real-life lesson that words can really affect people and hurt them, but words can also bring people up and make their day. Masri is compiling a collection of cartoons that he’s drawing virtually, so that he may eventually make an art-related Instagram account to showcase his work.