Student painting banned from exhibit at local high school

The painting “In Celebration of the Mother” by student Skye Hunt was ordered removed from the Earth Day display at Gananoque Intermediate and Secondary School. Lorraine Payette/for Postmedia Network

(Gananoque, ON – May 1, 2023) One student believes censorship is alive and well in Gananoque Intermediate and Secondary School (GISS). She produced a special painting – “In Celebration of the Mother” – to be hung in the school front foyer for Earth Day, but it was hardly up before she was told to remove it.

“When I heard about Skye’s painting not allowed in the show at GISS I was shocked,” said Dennis O’Connor, proprietor of the O’Connor Gallery. “It’s 2023 and it’s an image of Mother Nature painted for Earth Day. The painting is quite a statement not only on our beleaguered planet but the continued suppression of women. Censoring it is taking yet another giant step back in women’s rights.”

The work shows a topless woman rising from the living soil. She is proud and strong, a mother looking out over her realm. Her stretch marks crack her stone outer surface to reveal the pure gold beneath, and she has all the marks normal adult women can identify with – hip dips, cellulite, comfortable fleshy rolls, breasts. Her hair is made up of dark clouds swirling around her head, and water flows from them nourishing the ground below. Moss creeps up her hips as it does many boulders rooted to the earth, clothing her in life itself. She is powerful, an image representing not only the planet we depend on for our very survival, but all women and all mothers everywhere.

“I usually work in acrylic paints, and for this piece I really wanted to normalize our ‘flaws’, as the media calls them – things like stretch marks, hip dips, cellulite, rolls – and breasts in general,” said artist Skye Hunt. “I think it was really important and when I hear ‘Earth’ I think ‘mother’ and women. Earth is ‘woman’. I think this piece really helps display that.” 

Continue reading
Advertisement

Gananoque seniors getting tired of snow between sidewalks and street

Deep mounds of snow between the sidewalk and street have made safe access to parked cars, meters, and the mid-block crossing on King Street virtually impossible. Local seniors are concerned for their safety and would like the town to remove the snow. Lorraine Payette

(Gananoque, ON – originally written March 5, 2023, with Town’s comments added March 7 (a.m.)) The snow situation is getting out of hand and Gananoque seniors are tired of it. Although there are snowploughs for the streets, and other ploughs for the sidewalks, as of March 5, snow between the sidewalk and the street is a hazard that many of them are finding extremely difficult to deal with.

“Gananoque is a town full of seniors, but if you park on the main street your passenger can’t get out of the car for the snowbanks,” said Lynette McLellan, local resident. “The snowbanks up the street are terrible. The driver must fine a small, shoveled part to let off their passengers or we have to walk a way in the road to get to the sidewalk. A few storekeepers shovel a way through so people can get to their stores, but cars often park in front of the spaces. Gananoque needs real answers to this problem and not just ‘we are doing the best we can.’”

Continue reading

TLTI Deputy Mayor Gordon Ohlke dead at 69

(Leeds and Thousand Islands, ON) written February 24, 2023

Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands Deputy Mayor and Ward 2 Councillor Gordon Ohlke passed away peacefully in his sleep on February 21. supplied by TLTI

Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands (TLTI) Deputy Mayor Gordon Ohlke passed away peacefully in his sleep on February 21, 2023, at the age of 69. Married to wife Lorraine for 33 years, they have four children.

Continue reading

Survey for Bus Service Being Presented Online

(Gananoque, ON – February 5, 2023)

An online survey is now being presented to determine the need for a bus service running between Kingston and the rural areas surrounding it.

“The City of Kingston, in partnership with the Town of Gananoque, Township of South Frontenac, and Loyalist Township, is undertaking a Rural Commuter Transit Study to examine possible public transit solutions for residents, workers, students, and visitors,” said Justin Bromberg of the city in a prepared statement. “The objective of the study is to review existing services, identify local travel needs, and develop a plan to address the needs identified.”

Continue reading

PUBLIC TRANSIT BUS SERVICE FOR GANANOQUE?

(February 6, 2023: Gananoque – outside submission) After 4 years exploring options for public transit by the Town of Gananoque the City of Kingston is looking to extend their bus service to Gananoque …..but they need your input to make it happen.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GananoqueRuralTransit

Continue reading

TI History Museum to host Summer Evening in the Islands

(Gananoque, ON) After three years of extreme caution due to the pandemic and no chance to really get together and have a good time, the Thousand Islands History Museum will be holding its Summer Evening in the Islands Fundraiser on August 11.

The Thousand Islands History Museum will be holding its Summer Evening in the Islands Fundraiser on Flying Mallard Island on August 11. Lorraine Payette/for Postmedia Network

“We are bursting with excitement to celebrate our achievements with you at our first in-person gala in three years,” said Joanne van Dreumel, executive director of the museum. “Brian and Lynn Knudsen will host the celebration at their elegant summer home on Flying Mallard Island. With beverage in hand, you can meander the gardens, greet old and new friends, and listen to live music. And you can keep mementos of the evening from the Live and Silent Auctions, emceed by Alicia Gordon of Gordon’s Estate Services, and know that your support keeps us strong in preserving and interpreting our collective history.”

Continue reading

Changes coming to 1000 Islands Gananoque Chamber of Commerce

(Gananoque, ON) Two new employees are planning significant changes for the 1000 Islands Gananoque Chamber of Commerce.

“Jan Murray, previously of the Brockville Chamber has stepped in as the new General Manager,” said Su Halle, new head of Marketing and Communications for the Chamber.

A new website/directory has been created and is now live. The site is open for all members to purchase advertising space and provides businesses the opportunity to reach out to the community.

Continue reading

More information needed to settle future of Kinsmen Hall

Floor plan of the Kinsmen Building as provided by the Town of Gananoue.

(Gananoque, ON) The Kinsmen Building Advisory Panel (KBAP) held a meeting at the Lou Jeffreys Arena on July 11. In attendance were KBAP members including Mayor Ted Lojko, Deputy Mayor Dave Anderson and Councillor David Osmond as well as Shellee Fournier, CAO and Penny Kelly, Clerk / CEMC.

A request for submissions of expression of interest was made at the KBAP meeting held on May 25. A set format was laid out, and interested parties were given until no later than July 6, 2022, at 4 p.m. to deliver their paperwork. Each group was required to provide a complete organizational profile as laid out by the Town, financial information, organizational experience, a concept summary, and letters of reference. Organizations were offered assistance in filling out the forms not only from the Town’s webpage, but they could also submit questions in writing to the CAO. Submissions were evaluated on a points system taking into consideration community benefit, the quality of the proposal, price per square foot, and references.

Continue reading

The Music Man marching its way to Thousand Islands Playhouse

Thousand Islands Playhouse Youth Ensemble running over the choreography in rehearsal for “Seventy-Six Trombones” with the Music Man himself, David Leyshon. Supplied by Thousand Islands Playhouse

(Gananoque, ON) Can even 76 trombones and 110 cornets save conman Harold Hill from the righteous wrath of River City if they should discover the truth about him? Or can Marian the Librarian work her magic to save him from himself? Find out when The Music Man marches onto the stage at the Thousand Islands Playhouse’s Springer Theatre in Gananoque starting on July 19.

“I’ve been working on this one for three years,” said Brett Christopher, Managing Artistic Director for the Playhouse. “It’s been a long haul to get it to finally see stage light.”

Continue reading

Horticultural Society holding garden tour in Gananoque

An arched trellis is an invitation to see more. The Gananoque Horticultural Society will be holding their Annual Garden Tour on Sunday, July 10. copyright Lorraine Payette

(Gananoque, ON) After two years of following pandemic protocols and being unable to hold their normal public events, the Gananoque Horticultural Society (GHS) is happy to be able to once again invite everyone to attend their Annual Garden Tour on Sunday, July 10.

“This is our first garden tour since 2019,” said Joan MacKinnon, GHS secretary. “Some of the gardens have been ‘on hold’ since 2020, while others were just chosen this spring. There’s not really a theme to the tour, but we’re always looking for appealing back gardens preferably within town. We are always on the lookout for gardens though sometimes gardeners contact us, and we go to take a look – interesting and unusual plantings always appeal to everyone.”

Continue reading