The largest prison break in Canadian history happened just down the road…

.Reading time less than 1 minute.
Twelve men broke loose in seventy-three
From Millhaven Maximum Security
Twelve pictures lined up across the front page
Seems the Mounties had a summertime war to wage…

While most of my generation is familiar with The Tragically Hip classic 38 Years Old, many are too young to remember the actual event that inspired it.

This summer, I had the privilege of interviewing P.J. McCaffrey about his experiences in 1972 on the fiftieth anniversary of the largest prison break in Canadian history. Visit my article (below) in the Kingstonist and watch this page for more to come.

Officer recalls the summer of ’72 Millhaven escape

GETTING COVID

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Mask mandates were lifted in Ontario on March 21.  Exactly two weeks later my teenage daughter tested positive for Covid after having done everything right for two years.  My second daughter tested positive on Tuesday.  Both felt like they were “hit by a train”, one said she thought she was going to die, and they both had had two inoculations. One missed a camping trip she had been planning with her class and one missed culminating activities in Math and English.

I, with three shots, started getting a scratchy throat Wednesday afternoon, couldn’t sleep all night and by 9 a.m. I had a fever and headache and sore throat akin to when I had strep throat and scarlet fever in the past.

Today, Saturday, I thought I was feeling better after about 15 hours of sleep, but within an hour I changed my mind. Now my husband has it too even though we have been sleeping in separate rooms, masking and taking all the other precautions.

COVID, even Omicron, is not a joke. Vaccines lessen the severity of the disease and I still feel like the worst strep throat I have ever had.  I don’t have it in my chest, thank god. I worry for my one child who has had pneumonia in the past. 

Please wear a MASK!  Don’t GO OUT if you are feeling sick.  Imagine if your grandma or grandpa felt sick like I do right now.  You don’t want this, you don’t want anyone with immunodeficiency to get this.

Alderville First Nation Commemoration Project: Manidoo Ogitigan

.Reading time 6 minutes.

I wrote the following back in the winter for that other paper…. The Kingston Local, now I am going to cover the project’s unveiling. It is really exciting!

Kingston’s largest public art installation set for unveiling in June

“Manidoo Ogitigan” installed at Lake Ontario Park as Alderville First Nation Commemoration Project

The site in January 2021

Almost eight years ago, representatives from the Alderville First Nation sat down with Kingston city staff to establish an effective way to commemorate Nation’s ties to the Kingston region.

Since 1837, the Mississauga Anishinabeg of the Ojibway Nation have called Alderville First Nation home.  However, before that the Mississauga people lived on their traditional lands around the Bay of Quinte and St. Lawrence River, including the land where the city of Kingston now stands.

After having lost the American colonies in the American Revolutionary War, the British began to move soldiers and civilians who had remained loyal to the King (The United Empire Loyalists) to these traditional lands.  As the population grew, a “land surrender”  was negotiated and Mississaugas moved from Kingston to their current 1,450 hectare site near Rice Lake, north of Cobourg.

Danika Lochhead, Manager of Arts and Sector Development for the City of Kingston explains, “Then Chief of the Alderville First Nation, James Marsden, approached the city with a request to form some sort of partnership in the development of an appropriate vehicle that would commemorate the story of the Mississaugua Nation in Kingston.”  

“There was discussion about a plaque and it was determined that it wasn’t the right vehicle for this kind of a commemoration and for what Alderville wanted to explore,” says Lochhead.  Public art [on the other hand] has the ability to respond to ideas and connect with people and so this was the way they chose to go.”

Thus began a two stage process laid out in the city’s Public Art Policy. There was an open call process, which went out internationally.    An all indigenous jury, including three members of Alderville First Nation, and three indigenous artists, whittled down the entries to three shortlisted artists.

These were asked to submit a proposal and visit Alderville First Nation to present them to the community.  “This was an important part of the process, for the artists to get that feedback to integrate into their proposals,” explains Lochhead.

2020 Project progress Fall

After deliberations by the jury, “Manidoo Ogitigan” (“Spirit Garden”) by Terence Radford was selected as the winning proposal to be installed at Lake Ontario Park as the Alderville First Nation Commemoration Project.

Lochhead states proudly,“This is our biggest public art projection in Kingston so far, it’s a remarkable landscape installation created by Terrance Radford.  Terrence’s proposal was very unique in that it involved a landscape installation, not just a sculpture, though it does have sculptural components.” 

Terrance Radford is a practicing contemporary artist working in multiple media. He is also a registered Landscape Architect and runs Trophic Design, a landscape and architectural practice in Cobourg, Ontario. 

Radford’s study in Cultural Landscape Theory and Indigenous Art History  are informed by his Cree heritage and membership with the Metis Nation of British Columbia, as well as his work with the BC Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, 

“Manidoo Ogitigan” presents the history of select Wampum Belts, the symbolism of the medicine wheel and a selection of culturally significant food and medicinal plants in a formal layout based on the Alderville Methodist Church. The installation is to function as a symbolic reclamation and physical restoration of the land.  It explores how colonization and attempts at cultural assimilation influenced and impacted the living culture of Alderville First Nation.

“People can come and appreciate and learn through this commemoration,” says Locchead.  “But through the conversations with the artist and Alderville First Nation it has been acknowledged that this will actually act as a site and a space for future gathering and as a catalyst for teaching. There are so many elements to this project that are really exciting.”

Current Chief Dave Mowat sat on the jury and was an integral part in the selection of the work.  “He also facilitated a ground blessing event involving representatives from both the city and Alderville First Nation before the groundbreaking and installation,” says Lochhead.

The construction has been completed this past fall and in the spring it will be planted with the various culturally significant vegetation planned.  Lochhead says in June a public unveiling is being arranged, “Talks are ongoing with Alderville and the artist how they would like this to come forward and we are also recognizing how to as a city engage the local indigenous community in this project launch.”

For more information about the installation visit: https://www.cityofkingston.ca/city-hall/projects-construction/alderville-first-nation-commemoration

Little Forests make a big impact

.Reading time 7 minutes.
By Michelle Dorey Forestell — This article originally appeared in The Kingston Local in April 2021

Four new forests will be popping up in Kingston in October and that’s a good thing. “We are planting Little Forests of diverse trees and shrubs indigenous to this land and seed zone,” explained Master Gardener, Joyce Hostyn.

“This area was at 90% forest before colonization and we cut down the forests, and now we have very little forest cover left in the City of Kingston, only 17 to 25 percent of our forest remains in our area,” said Hostyn.

According to the Kingston Little Forests website, “Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. Climate change has driven widespread declines in bumblebee and other native bee populations. Nearly 3 billion (29%)  birds gone since 1970. Over half of the 690 species of conservation concern in Ontario use habitat in southern Ontario forests.” 

“Old science thought only 10% forest cover was required to support,” Hostyn said, “For supporting biodiversity, for supporting all the species, they now know that we need around 50% forest cover.”  

Hostyn explains “biodiversity, as the relationships of all species. That’s one of Kingston Little Forests’ most important motivators. This is some direct action that people can do. But for us it’s more about restoring relationships with the land with all the other species that live here with kind of as humans kind of forgotten about.  Everything affects everything else.”

Towns and cities have traditionally done uniform planting of solo trees in widely spaced rows rather than layered forest. “We, in our cities don’t really think about that even when we’re landscaping our homes, that it’s not just for us, it’s for the birds it’s for the insects, it’s for the pollinators it’s for everybody. We thought about trees as like solo objects, not as community beings that actually prefer to live together.”

“Tree planting alone doesn’t invite biodiversity” explained Hostyn, “Forests are complex multilayer plant communities. Forests are webs of relationships between plants, animals, fungi, birds, insects, bacteria and humans. Forests are home to 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.”

Hostyn and her partners will be using the method developed by a Japanese expert in botany and forest ecology, Dr. Akira Miyawaki. His signature method for growing naturally biodiverse forests that can outgrow and outlast “monoculture forests” which are single species tree plantings.

“In Japan, they cut down most of their forests, and when they replanted,  like here, they did a lot of monoculture planting, which then got attacked by pests and disease. And so he’s discovered how we can speed up natural succession with natural succession. It can take 115 years for a forest to return naturally.  But in this method, you plant three species per square meter,” and this encourages faster growth because the species actually grow faster to compete for the sun.

“It’s a mix of cooperation and competition that speeds up their growth so they grow much faster than when planted on their own,” she said.

Hostyn explained how they are using 100% indigenous species to create a multi-layered forest, “And this type of planning also helps the soil return, like all the soil is like a whole complex ecosystem as well, right more, just as much or more life than above that species. So, with adding wood chips, with adding compost, adding a little bit of forest soil to introduce some of that soil life at the extreme diversity of underground soil life in the forests.”

“We need to rethink what landscape is, and get out of this notion of trees in rows with grass, we start seeing that they’re community beings.”  She explained, “In planting Little Forests we help the land remember. We invite home the many Indigenous species we’ve lost since colonization. We grow our relationships with the other-than-human world.”

You can help support Kingston Little Forests buy seedlings they need by visiting their gofund me https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-plant-little-forests-in-kingston

You can learn more about planting your own little forest or how to get involved with the ones under way by visiting https://rideau1000islandsmastergardeners.com/little-forests-kingston/

Watch Earth Breath https://youtu.be/x1SgmFa0r04 

Little Forest Walking the Path to Peace

We will build our capacity to care for the land by offering an Indigenous environmental education workshop series consistent with Indigenous pedagogical practice. This will be a series of teaching/sharing circles that explore Indigenous ways of knowing rooted in the place we live. The Little Forest will be a space for ceremonial practice, learning our languages and sharing a holistic understanding of the forest ecosystem—our kin relations.

– 600 Indigenous trees and shrubs

– 39 species

Little Forest Kingston Secondary School

At Kingston Secondary School, we want to plant a Little Forest outdoor classroom and pollinator garden to build a relationship between the natural world and our urban students. We’ll learn about biodiversity, climate change and Indigenous science as we nurture our Little Forest to maturity.

– 300 Indigenous trees and shrubs

– 42 species

Little Forest Lakeside

We will build our capacity to care for the land and our community by cultivating an edible nut forest. We will combine what we’re learning from Western science about rapid natural forest regeneration with teachings from Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) on how to transform our relationship with trees and with the land. The Little Nut Forest at Lakeside will be a space for cultivating a holistic understanding of an Indigenous edible forest ecosystem and learning about nature-based solutions to our biodiversity and climate crises. 

– 600 Indigenous trees and shrubs

– 49 species

Watch the Earth breathe:

Mapping survey of Deseronto WWI airfield begins in June

.Reading time 7 minutes.

Camp Rathbun is the most important World War I aviation archaeological site in Canada

Camp Rathbun is the most important World War I aviation archaeological site in Canada

Camp Rathbun 1917, Canadian War Museum

FRIDAY, MARCH 12, 2021UPDATED: MARCH 11, 9:12 AM

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NEWS

By MICHELLE DOREY FORESTELL,The Belleville Local

The last veteran of The Great War, Florence Green, a British citizen and member of the Women’s Royal Air Force, passed away in 2012 at 110 years old. In fact, if you were born on the day the war ended you’d be 102 years old today, so it is difficult for most of us to fathom what life was like during WW1 and much of what did happen is confined to history books, museums and monuments.

For the town of Deseronto, though, there is still a major touchstone to that era that has remained largely unspoiled, Camp Rathbun. Camp Rathbun was one of two airfields (aerodromes) constructed in Deseronto during the First World War by the Imperial Munitions Board on behalf of the Royal Flying Corps to use for pilot training.

Nearby Camp Mohawk was west of Deseronto, and the others were Camp Borden near Barrie, Armour Heights and Leaside in north Toronto, and Long Branch and Beamsville south of Toronto. However, Camp Rathbun, unlike the other aerodrome sites, was abandoned in 1919 and aside from the occasional cattle herd the land has had very little disturbance.

This is what makes this site so special to Dr. Michael Deal of Memorial University, Professor Emeritus of Archeaology.

Deal began research on Camp Rathbun in 2017, reviewing documents and visiting the site in Deseronto, and has now received funding from the  RCAF Heritage Fund and Memorial to take his next steps.

“The main goal of the project is to do a comprehensive map of the site. We have aerial photos, but we don’t know where all the buildings are and what they are. Some we know: we know which ones are the hangars and we know the guardhouse and hospital, the sports field and where the different messes are. We also know the water tower. But there’s a lot of other buildings that we’re not sure what they are, you know, we know what buildings were there, but we don’t know which ones match the photographs,” Deal explained.

The site of Camp Rathbun today from Google Earth

The site of Camp Rathbun today from Google Earth

Deal plans to come to the site in June with a small research team to do the mapping.

“The main goal is to do a grid survey. The foundations for the hangars, you can still see on the ground. I mean, there’s a little bit of vegetation over them. But when I was trying to poke around with a probe, you can find the corners of all the buildings and get the exact plan and with survey equipment, we can map everything there.”

He pointed out that you can see the foundations of much of the aerodrome by looking at Google Earth, “You can see brown patches, where there were buildings. There’s one huge brown patch, where we can’t see any distinctive buildings. And that’s one might need something like ground-penetrating radar to see what’s under the ground there.”

The site spans both sides of Deseronto Rd., and there are important sites on both sides, Deal pointed out.

“On the south, there was a railway track that went up along the side of the property and at the road it stopped and they could take stuff across. And there was an ammunition dump over near the ammunition building, which is still there. And the guardhouse is still there. And the hospital is still there.”

The Hospital at Camp Rathbun 1917, Canadian War Museum

These buildings remain intact. The hospital building is now a private residence that has been renovated while other smaller buildings, are used as storage sheds and farm buildings.

Deal said, “it’s a really interesting site. I’m not sure how much subsurface excavation we will be doing. That’s kind of secondary right now. We’re just kind of curious to see what’s left of the site.

“One thing we might do is, is go over the airfield itself with a metal detector to see if there’s anything popping out — parts of planes. There were a lot of crashes at the site.”

“The dump — that would be kind of fun just to sample, you know. The owners have collected bottles that have come up over the years and they have some things from the original site. They have a stove that was in one of the messes,” Deal explained. The stove was in the barn when they bought the farm, but they didn’t realize until recently that it was from the WWI era.

“The people who lived in the hospital before, they found a cane, it would have belonged to one of the officers, probably he must have died and it got discarded somewhere around the hospital and they found it and they gave that to the current owner as well.”

Interestingly, Deal points out, “some of the original hangars are still standing, you probably know the ones on the Napanee fairgrounds.” The Lennox Agricultural Society still uses these hangars for the summer County Fair.

According to Deal’s research design proposal, “Camp Rathbun is the most important World War I aviation archaeological site in Canada, due to its potential for documenting RFC life in Canada during World War I. It is hoped that this preliminary survey will lead to a more extensive investigation of the site and the future granting of national historic site status.”

Proposed Napanee asphalt plant under municipal review

.Reading time 8 minutes.

This article originally ran April 14, 2021 in The Kingston Local.

Napanee could soon be home to a new permanent asphalt plant and that has some residents concerned.

The Local has obtained a copy of a letter to residents in the area surrounding what used to be the Don Hart Quarry, located north of Cty Road 2 at the east end of town.

The letter, dated April 12, details how R.W. Tomlinson Limited (Tomlinson) acquired the Don Hart Quarry, and the additional lands associated with the Quarry in 2018.  It goes on to inform residents of “Tomlinson’s plan to amend the Zoning By-law 02-22 to rezone a portion of the subject property located at Part Lot 21, Conc. 7 Part Lot 21, Conc. 7, geographic Twp. of North Fredericksburgh, now in Town of Greater Napanee (8205 County Road 2), to permit a permanent asphalt plant.”

Casey and Hannah Wells recently purchased a farm on nearby Switzerville Road. Hannah addressed her misgivings about the plant, saying that it has raised a number of concerns for them and their neighbours. Mostly because of the unknowns.

“I don’t know much about it (asphalt production). Will it affect our water supply? I’m sure factories use a lot of water are they taking from the river? Will our well water be contaminated? Will our houses lose value being so close to a factory? Will downtown Napanee smell? How will it impact the environment?” she asked.

Wells also pointed out that Coco Paving, a company that owns and operates an asphalt plant located in Belleville was recently convicted under the Environmental Protection Act.

In an interview, Rob Pierce, Senior Vice President of Planning and Development at Tomlinson, addressed some of these concerns, “The bottom line is, in terms of anything that’s going on with the plant itself — anything in terms of odour or dust etc — there’s emission modelling which we have to do. The simple answer is that any emissions will have to mitigated on-site as per Ministry of the Environment requirements.”

Pierce discussed the company’s history and good reputation, “Essentially we’re a family-owned business in Ottawa. We’ve been around for 67 years now. We own a number of quarries, asphalt plants, sandpits and construction, mostly focused in Ottawa. We also have a reasonable presence in Kingston to do environmental services down there as well as construction. 

We acquired the Don Hart quarry in 2018, and we’ve been operating out of there as a quarry since that time.”

Pierce pointed out that, “The quarry is actually permitted already to have a portable asphalt plant. If you remember the paving that went on in Napanee around 2018, that was Tomlinson doing the work and we actually had our portable asphalt plant in the quarry at that time.”

He added, “The land area itself we have is quite large and I think even local residents were not aware that we had a portable plant for example in there. Modern asphalt plants are fairly non-intrusive.”

Will there be any new jobs brought to Napanee by this plant?  Pierce wasn’t specific about if the employees were new hires, “The plant itself normally directly employs 2-3 individuals, plus any other spin off jobs that could be created or local services utilized by the plant and quarry.”

Asked if he would personally be concerned, if an asphalt plant moved in down the road, Pierce said, “Not at all.”

The application for re-zoning has been submitted by MHBC Planning, Urban Design and Landscape Architecture on behalf Tomlinson. The Town of GReater Napanee’s Director of Development Services, Michael D. Nobes, explained that “The following studies/reports have been submitted in support of the application and are under municipal review: Environmental Impact Assessment, Transportation Impact Assessment, Acoustic Assessment Report, Stormwater Management Report, Planning Justification Report.” 

According to Nobes, “The re-zoning application will require public consultation through at least one statutory public meeting held by Council in compliance with the Planning Act wherein the proposal will be formally presented to Municipal Council and the opportunity.”  But, “At this time, R.W. Tomlinson Limited has not requested to advance the application to a public meeting.”

Residents can make comments directly to Council at the public meeting, or submit their comments beforehand to municipal staff who will present their concerns.  After the meeting, there will still be an opportunity for public comments to be made, and presented at a subsequent Council meeting.

Nobes, himself an Engineer, explained, “The proposed plant would be required to operate in compliance with Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) standards. In order to operate the asphalt plant, Tomlinson would need to obtain an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) from the MECP for air and noise emissions as well as water discharge. The MECP reviews the associated technical studies (Stormwater Management Report, Acoustic Assessment Report and an Emissions Summary Dispersion Modeling Report (ESDM)) and must be satisfied with the studies prior to issuance of an ECA.”  

“In general, the ESDM would identify all air pollution sources and contaminants emitted from the plant, and assess the significance of the sources and contaminants, as well as the concentrations relative to MECP limits and criteria. A dispersion model would also be developed which is an established method to predict how a specific emission concentration moves through the atmosphere. Finally, details of the proposed emissions control equipment must be provided for MECP review.”

“The Ministry also requires plant operators to complete an acoustic audit after operations begin, development and implementation of the best management practice plans for emissions, and regular inspections of operations to ensure the equipment is operating as designed.  MECP will not issue an ECA unless it can be demonstrated the proposed asphalt plant will not cause adverse effects”

The MECP has recently developed a new technical standard specific to asphalt plant operations and the proposed asphalt plant design and operation would be required to comply with such standard. 

Lincoln’s Fight

.Reading time 6 minutes.

Belleville family looks to community for support

Childhood cancer patient and severely ill mom about to lose their home

Sweet smiling Lincoln has been fighting Cancer for five years. | Jamie Parks

THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021

NEWS

By MICHELLE DOREY FORESTELL,The Belleville Local

A Belleville family has faced more than their share of life-threatening health problems and now they are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. 

Ongoing blood transfusions and upcoming heart and abdominal surgeries are going to make going to work impossible. That would seem like enough challenge for any family to face, but for Tina Sedore, it is just one more struggle.

Her six-year-old son Lincoln was diagnosed with a cancerous astrocytoma brain tumour as a toddler and has been fighting it ever since.

And on top of everything, Sedore and her partner have recently learned that their landlord is going to sell the home they rent. They have until the end of June either to purchase the home or move on to another one.

“We have Lincoln who is six and our daughter Faith who is eight, and our older daughter Caitlin, who’s 18. And then we have an older son who is 22 that doesn’t live at home So, big family,” said Sedore.

“Little Lincoln, he was diagnosed at one with brain cancer, a tumour,” said Sedore, “and he had a major nine-hour surgery right after he was diagnosed. Shortly after surgery, the tumour started growing.”

Unfortunately, the chemotherapy only slowed the tumour’s growth for a few months.

Lincoln’s treatment team then “tried him on a trial drug that damaged his liver, so we had to go off that,” she explained, “And during that time, it grew so big he had to go in for another major surgery.”

Lincoln in Hospital | Facebook

Trial drugs caused damage to Lincoln’s liver, and while doctors waited for his liver to regenerate, the tumour began to grow rapidly, culminating in a 7.5 hour surgery. Surgeons were able to remove 80 per cent of the tumour, and a combination of chemo followed for 68 weeks of treatment which made Lincoln violently ill. Chemo treatment was finally completed in September 2020. 

With an MRI scheduled for today, April 22, Lincoln and his family are hopeful. But they have still no idea of the prognosis for Lincoln who has spent so much of his tiny life in and out of SickKids (The Hospital for Sick Children) in Toronto and Kingston General Hospital (KGH) for continuing treatments, MRI scans, and for maintenance on his permanent IV access site. 

Lincoln’s tumour is near his brainstem and cannot be removed safely. As a result, Lincoln has been left unable to walk without aid and Sedore explained, “He can’t talk but he uses sign language, and he can’t eat and is fed with an NG tube.” 

Sedore used to work as a PSW but, she said, “they fired me while I was on my leave of absence, taking care of Lincoln.”

So now husband and wife work for a cleaning company that cleans workplaces at night while oldest daughter Caitlin cares for her younger siblings. All of them are homeschooled.

“That’s the only way we could do things,” said Sedore, emphasizing the importance of the family not being around other people lest they bring home the deadly virus to her already immunocompromised child.

The pandemic has also cut into their already-stretched resources with the couple’s work hours being drastically reduced.

To give Lincoln, Tina, and their family the best chance of recovery, they will require massive financial help. Jamie has started a GoFundMe campaign to help their financial struggle, in either finding a house to rent or raising enough to put a down payment on the home they already occupy. 

“We are really looking for a house that’s big enough for all of us. We really can’t do apartment buildings because Lincoln has a wheelchair,” explained Sedore.

Lincoln and Faith enjoy the sun in their frnced backyard, a feature that will be sorely missed if the family have to move | Facebook

Despite everything, Sedore’s empathy remains, “Renting is so hard. And it’s hard for everybody out there right now: for every house that’s available, there are 100 families trying to get it, right? It’s very, very hard out there for everyone.”

In the meantime, family friend, Theresa has begun a Meal Train campaign so the family won’t have to worry about cooking and finding groceries while Tina undergoes and recovers from surgery.

To find out more about Lincoln, the family hosts a Facebook Group called Lincoln’s fight . Alternatively, those looking to assist the family can contact Tina and Jamie through Facebook or GoFundMe.

True Crime

.Reading time 7 minutes.

Do you know Napanee’s Jane Doe who died in 1984?

Young woman was discovered near Newburgh in December, 1984; $50,000 reward for information

Napanee Jane Doe based on a 2005 reconstruction (photo courtesy Ontario Provincial Police)

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021UPDATED: FEBRUARY 4, 12:22 PM

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CRIME

By MICHELLE DOREY FORESTELL,The Kingston Local

Napanee Jane Doe, as she came to be known, was the victim of a brutal murder that has never been solved. After 36 years it is time we know her name.

It was a clear and crisp December day in 1984 when the body of a murder victim was discovered on a lightly travelled gravel road, just outside of Napanee, near Newburgh.

Andrew Dafoe was 16 at the time, enjoying the unusually fair weather with some friends. “We were riding dirt bikes. My parents were looking after a neighbour’s house. It was nice out, so they decided to walk to the house, back the side road.”

“And that’s how they discovered her,” he explains. “The wing of the snowplow had clipped the sod and, where it rolled the long grass back, it left the jeans exposed. That’s how my father ended up seeing it.”

The older Mr. Dafoe approached and was shocked to find the jeans contained human skeletal remains.

The younger Dafoe remembers a blur of activity. “I guess it would be a little surreal at that age, right? That’s generally not the kind of thing you expect right where you live.”

The police came and he says, “I remember them shutting the road completely down. They did a complete sweep, ditch to ditch, and they were walking shoulder to shoulder. I remember that.”

The body had been there for some time and the initial investigation determined the woman had died most likely between April and November of that year, 1984.

Ontario Provincial Police East Region media relations coordinator, Bill Dickson, explains.

“There were no missing people in the local area, leading to the obvious conclusion she had been brought to the Newburgh area. We do not know if she was killed before or after she was brought to the area.”

The young woman had suffered severe head trauma, so foul play was immediately suspected.

“The victim was a Caucasian female, between 16-25 years of age when she died. She stood between 160 cm -170cm (5’3” – 5’7”) with a slim to medium build and blonde hair,” Dickson said.

2005 reconstruction shows clothing Jane Doe was wearing when discovered (Ontario Provincial Police)

She was wearing a pair of Farini brand blue jeans with a waist size of 74 cm (28.5”) and an inseam of 80cm (31.5”), as well as a black and tan leopard-skin patterned long-sleeve blouse. These items were sold in limited quantities at various stores across Canada, investigations concluded.

DNA samples were taken from the body, but no match has ever been found.

The young woman had a very distinctive dental record, according to Dickson.

“She had dental work which included silver-amalgam restorations (fillings) to her back teeth and white resin to her crooked front teeth. A forensic dental exam suggests that she had a root canal on an upper incisor tooth on the left side when she approximately eight years old. It was restored with a metal post and had a noticeable tooth-coloured filling replacing one corner.”

This particular dental structure was so singular, it was the main element used to reconstruct Jane Doe’s face in 1989. The results, while not perfect, hoped to show Jane Doe’s unique smile, along with her outfit, and approximate size.

As technology progressed, a more advanced facial reconstruction was released in 2005. However, no one has ever connected Napanee Jane Doe to a missing person case.

“Someone, somewhere knows who this woman is. She must have family members wondering what happened to her,” says Dickson.

“Initial investigators have retired since the incident happened and other officers are assigned to take a fresh look and carry on,” Dickson said. “Having a reporter look back at one of these cases can definitely help. It could spark a memory for someone.”

Of cases that have gone cold, Dickson assures, “We continue to work through potential leads that have come in over the years. We never truly close a case.

“The OPP wants to ensure we accomplish two things: we want to help give this woman her name back — providing resolution for her family. We are also committed to ensuring the killer or killers are brought to justice.”

It has been many years since this woman lost her life. Someone, or some family, lost a daughter, sister, granddaughter or niece.

“Social media didn’t exist when this crime happened, now one article can spread the word to a much wider audience, potentially reaching someone who can help us put a name to this victim.”

Could you be the one who gives Napanee Jane Doe a name and peace after so many years?

The O.P.P. has offered a $50,000 reward:

“The government of the province of Ontario is offering a total reward of $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of this unidentified victim.”

Any person with information regarding the person(s) responsible for this murder should immediately contact the director of the Ontario Provincial Police Criminal Investigation Branch at 1-888-310-1122 or (705) 329-6111, or their nearest police authority.

This reward will be apportioned as deemed just by the Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services for the province of Ontario and the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2021UPDATED: FEBRUARY 4, 12:22 PM

W5H?

.Reading time 1 minute.

Five Ws and an H. Who, what, where, when, why and how are the building blocks of any story. I don’t know when I first grasped this but I think it may have been in 5th grade when some of us “gifted” kids were given an enrichment project to create a school newspaper. The notion stuck and now I hope this page becomes my story.

Who? Me, Michelle, Mom, Wife, Daughter, Sister, Friend and Granddaughter.

What? A place to make a portfolio of all my writing and other media, starting with news and moving to fiction as I get going.

Where? Right here in beautiful Napanee Ontario.

When? On Monday morning, April 26, 2021, I was binned along with 100s of others by a Canadian media conglomerate without so much as a bat of an eye to us peons. By 6 pm I had miraculously been invited to join a local independant news organization fighting the good fight against the big guys.

Why? The lesson of the 8 hours I was unemployed was that I was not prepared. I needed a portfolio.

How? I am beginning to collect my work here, starting with my favourite stories from the big conglomerate and hopefully moving on to showcase more of my work.

I hope you enjoy your visit.