Latest / North Shore News / January 14th, 2026

Transcript

January 14th, 2026 · North Shore News

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  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on
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  Amherst Island Radio. Each week we keep you updated
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  on newsworthy events, happenings and conversations
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  that we've had with people in the local community
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  and beyond. BGC Southeast's first round of STEM
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  field trips were a success according to the organization.
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  Between September and December 2025, over 500
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  students from schools in Loyalist Township visited
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  BGC's STEM and Robotics Center. Students from
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  grades 5 through 12 were able to take part in
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  free field trips funded by a community grant
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  from Loyalist Township. Associate Director of
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  STEM and Strategic Initiatives at BGC Southeast,
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  Bruna Guarino Marais, explained how the Loyalist
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  Township Community Grant helped them organize
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  the field trips. We got a Loyalist Township Community
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  Grant, which is how we were able to do this project.
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  So yeah, we had never done it before, but I would
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  say that normally we don't get 500 kids and field
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  trips but yeah it was it was very successful.
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  I think having the Loyalist Community Grant be
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  able to fund this we were able to offer everything
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  for free to all the schools so we had the BGC
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  bus so we had transportation we had all the staffing
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  materials so we arranged everything for the school
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  so everyone that we reached out to was was really
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  willing to and excited to come. We really wanted
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  to reach everyone so that was that was really
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  nice that we were able to get Um, a class from
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  Amherst Island. So they took the ferry and our
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  bus met them at the ferry and brought them to
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  BGC and then dropped them off at the at the ferry
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  again. Um, so yeah, we were able to reach all
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  the schools in Loyalist Township, which was just
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  really, really nice to see. Guarino Marais talks
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  about what the students experience on the field
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  trips. It obviously varies a little bit depending
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  on their age range, but really we were doing
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  hands -on workshops in robotics, coding, and
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  3D design and fabrication. So they varied a little
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  bit, but most of them, they were using these
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  Lego Spike Prime robotics kits. So they get to
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  build robots, and then they also get to do coding
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  to program the robots. And then they also got
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  to do a CAD design session where they were designing
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  their own key chains, for example. And then we
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  were printing them off in our 3D printer and
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  they got to go home with it as well, which was
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  nice. And then just getting a tour as well of
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  the STEM Center because a lot of the kids had
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  never been here before. And even though, of course,
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  it's a little bit far for Loyalist residents,
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  it's still really nice that. they know that they
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  have this resource available. Guarino Marais
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  went on to note the interest from students and
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  teachers. Afterwards we had some teachers reaching
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  out wanting to book more field trips or you know
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  then they learned that we have our after school
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  evening STEM and robotics programs and so a lot
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  of the kids wanted to know more about that and
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  some of them even signed up so it was just really
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  nice for them to learn about this resource in
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  the community. Teachers were sending us like
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  emails after the sessions like completely unprompted
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  like the kids were like singing on the bus back
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  to school and things like that. So that was just
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  really, really heartfelt when, you know, we don't,
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  we're not asking for testimonials. They're just
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  kind of thanking us and giving us some praise.
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  So it just, you know, it helps us keep going.
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  Guarino Marais talks about the importance of
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  funding going forward. The constraint is really
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  just, just the funding. We would love to do it
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  for free, but finding that sustainable source
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  of funding is important. I think with the Loyalist
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  Township grant. We definitely are looking forward
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  to applying for it again, at least next year.
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  But in the time being, we saw how successful
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  this was and how much the kids enjoyed it and
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  learned from it. So we're looking at other opportunities.
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  I mean, we obviously can't offer the... We do
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  field trips for a small cost where parents can
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  pay a little bit for their kids to come. But
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  then it obviously becomes a bit of an obstacle,
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  but that is always... an option until we find
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  t this for Amherst Island minor hockey matchups,
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  and the annual historic hockey game recreating
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  Kingston's very first game. There will also be
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  a chance to skate with the Kingston Front Knacks.
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  Thursday, January 22nd from 6 p .m. to 8 p .m.,
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  it's the Greater Kingston Curling Demo. Friday,
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  January 23rd from 6 p .m. to 8 p .m., you can
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  enjoy Ringette. Then on Saturday, January 24th
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  from noon to 2 p .m., it's Kingston's historic
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  hockey game. Later that afternoon from 4 to 5
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  p .m., it's your chance to skate with the Kingston
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  Frontenacs. And finally, Sunday, January 25th
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  from 9 a .m. to 4 p .m., there will be kids'
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  minor hockey games taking place. It's Boards
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  Up Rink Sports at Springer Market Square in downtown
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  Kingston. For more information, visit downtownkingston
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  .ca. For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
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  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
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  News. close to home. Their community grant applications
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  are open right now with a deadline of January
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  19th. The Community Foundation of Lenox and Addicton
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  had another successful year of supporting local
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  charitable causes and students thanks to the
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  ongoing support of generous L &A donors through
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  its endowment fund. The foundation distributed
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  $107 ,000 $500 to 21 charitable initiatives in
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  2025 and continues to support local projects
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  across a broad range of community needs, according
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  to Foundation Executive Director Bob Baker. The
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  Foundation also distributed $80 ,500 in student
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  awards and scholarships to 28 Lenox and Addington
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  high school students pursuing post -secondary
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  education. Local community donors are inspired
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  to create transformational change in L &A by
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  creating funds that improve the quality of life
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  for those who live in, work in, and enjoy this
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  community," said Baker. This year, we added two
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  new funds from the Alkenbrecht family and the
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  Earhart family. The community foundation collects
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  donations from individuals, families, businesses
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  within L &A. pooling these funds into an endowment,
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  investing the money and then distributing a portion
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  of the earned income back to the L &A community
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  through grants to local non -profit organizations,
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  assessing diverse community needs and addressing
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  them. Since initiating this new strategic plan
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  in 2023, the endowment has grown by a million
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  dollars and now stands at $4 .5 million today.
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  thanks to the generous donations and the investment
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  growth. This includes the addition of five new
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  funds created by local donors, bringing the total
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  number of funds held to 44. In the past three
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  years, the Community Foundation achieved its
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  best years of fundraising in recent times by
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  securing a total of $597 ,000. We owe a great
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  deal of thanks to the hard work of our volunteer
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  board of directors and our dedicated donors,"
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  said Baker. The Community Foundation of Lenox
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  and Addicton is further reminding the community
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  that it's accepting applications right now for
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  the 2026 Community Grants Program. Grants applications
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  are accepted online on their website. CFF. The
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  deadline for receiving applications is January
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  19th at 4 .30 p .m. The community grants program
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  is coordinated by a team of community -based
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  volunteer reviewers who play an integral role
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  in assessing the grants and student award applications.
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  Grants for these projects come entirely from
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  funds established at the community foundation
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  by individuals families and organizations who
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  want to build a community in which we all thrive
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  together. A complete list of the funded projects
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  is certainly available by checking out their
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  website. So community grant programs, they support
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  projects across LNA County in the following fields
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  of interest, arts and culture, education and
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  lifelong learning, heritage awareness for preservation,
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  environmental awareness and engagement, youth
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  support and development, health and wellness,
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  sports and recreation, senior care and services,
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  and of course, Social Services. Community grants
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  are available to organizations possessing a registered
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  charity number issued by, of course, the CRA
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  and to not -for -profit organizations that are
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  sponsored by a registered charity. So talk to
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  your favorite registered charity, get them involved
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  and make sure they know about this opportunity.
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  The Community Foundation is interested in funding
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  projects that will make lasting impacts in the
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  communities of Lenox and Addington. And again,
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  for more information, just visit their website.
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  cffla .ca. I'm Eric Tremblay and this is North
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  Shore News. Loyalist Township has announced the
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  launch of recycling depot services at Violet
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  Landfill in Odessa. The service will be running
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  Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8am to
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  4 .30pm. This service change has a response to
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  the loss of access to recycling drop -off services
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  previously available at the Kingston Area Recycling
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  Centre. The change is due to updates to provincial
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  recycling regulations and the absence of long
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  -term funding through circular materials. Violet
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  Road Landfill is located at 1346 Violet Road
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  in Odessa. This service is available to Loyalist
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  Township residents only and is intended for bulk
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  recycling items. All visitors must check in at
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  the scale house upon arrival. Valid identification
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  is required. For more information, visit Loyalist
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  .ca. For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
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  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
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  News. Loyalist Township is reminding residents
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  as winter sets in, stormwater ponds are not safe
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  for any type of winter recreation. These ponds
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  have constant water movement, incoming runoff
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  and fluctuating water levels that prevent ice
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  from forming evenly or safely. Ice may look solid
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  but can be extremely thin in hidden areas. Snow
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  can cover weak or unstable spots and winter salt
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  applications entering the ponds can weaken ice
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  and speed up melting, even during very cold temperatures.
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  The township reminds parents and guardians to
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  take a moment to speak with your children about
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  the dangers of walking, playing, or skating on
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  stormwater ponds. Loyalist Township does not
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  permit recreational activities on or near stormwater
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  ponds at any time of year. These facilities are
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  designed for water management, not recreation,
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  and can be hazardous, especially in winter. For
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  Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
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  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
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  News. Loyalist Township has announced that the
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  Amherst Island ferry is moving toward reloadable
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  Smart Ferry transit cards. The Township says
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  it will make fare payment more convenient and
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  flexible for riders. This transit card will replace
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  the 25 -bulk ticket package. Passengers will
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  be able to choose between digital transit cards,
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  which can be stored directly in your Google or
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  Apple Wallet, or physical reloadable cards for
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  easy scan and go. Digital cards are now available
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  for purchase online, and physical cards are available
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  for purchase from ferry pursers. An increase
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  in the fares is now in effect as well. To help
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  transition to the new fare structure, white -colored
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  tickets purchased before January 5, 2026 will
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  continue to be accepted until February 15, 2026,
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  after which a 50 -cent fare difference will apply.
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  Now, in effect, a $1 fare difference will apply
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  to salmon -colored tickets. For more information,
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  visit Loyalist .ca. For Amherst Island Radio
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  and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted
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  Evans. This is North Shore News. A seasonal overnight
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  parking reminder for Loyalist Township. From
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  December 1st until March 31st, 2026, parking
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  is prohibited on any road or street in Loyalist
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  Township between 1 a .m. and 7 a .m. This restriction
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  is in effect regardless of weather conditions.
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  Vehicles in violation of this bylaw will be ticketed.
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  For more information, visit Loyalist .ca. For
• 13:06
  Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 13:08
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
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  News. This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
• 13:18
  If you have an idea for a story or want to create
• 13:21
  stories for the show, consider joining our volunteer
• 13:24
  team. Contact Amherst Island Radio for more details.