October 27, 2017

Team Fergmeijer received a lot of feedback on our tree puns last week. We thought they were pretty oak-ay, but some people thought we needed to spruce up the column, branch out with our humour, and have fewer acorny jokes in order to stay poplar. Coming up with puns can be overw-elm-ing, especially since we don’t want the column to be too sappy, and for a while we were feeling completely stumped.

Luckily for those of you pining for a good pun, yew are in fir a treat! Those of you who aren’t excited by puns, beleaf us when we say, it might be time for you to put down the paper and leaf right now. Let us axe you a question: Can you be arrested for too many bad puns? Would you be charged for tree-son? That would be a real face-palm moment, for sure! We’re going to go out on a limb here, and say we have done a tree-mendous job with the puns this week.

Put on your squeaky clown shoes or your sasquatch slippers and head on down to the Family Hallowe’en Dance put on by the Billing Recreational Committee! There will be pumpkin carving, cookie decorating stations, as well as treats and prizes - you won’t want to miss it! Saturday, October 28, from 7pm - 10pm at the Park Centre. Be sure to bring a canned good donation for the food bank to get yourself in the door.

Congratulations to all the Kagawong Eco-Warriors! Check out the Billings Go Green Committee’s blog (https://goo.gl/SzH7BB) to see the names of everyone who rose to the reducing waste challenge last week. Thanks to everyone for making Billings a little more green!

Happy Birthday to Rachel B who turned 29 on Wednesday. A very happy birthday also goes out to Meranda N who is NOT turning 29 on Monday.

Starting to get into the Christmas spirit? Kagawong Christmas Craft Fair will be November 17-19 at the Kagawong Park Centre. Stay tuned for more details on activities and hours! And don’t forget the annual Kagawong community Christmas Concert on Saturday, December 9. You won’t want to miss all the amazing singers, comedien(ne)s, musicians who come out to perform. Rumour has it Superman will be back, as will Santa… but only if we’re good!

Note that there is no Tai Chi this coming week (Oct. 31). Practitioners are asked instead to mindfully walk the streets in the costume of your choice.

Last week's Euchre results are in! First place went to Ted Debassige and Dorothy Allard; Mike and Susan Arbour took second place; third was Sheila and Graham Fogel; fourth was Brad Parkinson and Bill Traynor (who generously donated back their winnings). Low score was taken by Candy Tracy and Phyllis Cacciotti. Most loners went to Ted and Dorothy and the door prize went to Charlene Van Horn.

Most weeks we end with a joke or pun, but you may be re-leafed to hear that we’re just going to direct you back to the first two paragraphs. Have a great week!

October 20, 2017

Team Fergmeijer has had to bid farewell to a dear friend. Copper dog was a warm hug on a cold day every time we would visit Burt Farm. We’re going to miss him.

With all the talk of fancy words last week (we hope you got over your sesquipedalophobia), Team Fergmeijer has been working at crafting our own unique words. We finally invented a brand-new word: Plagiarism.

Put on your squeaky clown shoes or your sasquatch slippers and head on down to the Family Hallowe’en Dance put on by the Billing Recreational Committee! There will be pumpkin carving, cookie decorating stations, as well as treats and prizes - you won’t want to miss it! Saturday, October 28, from 7pm - 10pm at the Park Centre.

What did the Tin Man say when he got run over by a steamroller? “Curses! Foil again!”

Now’s your last chance! Do YOU have what it takes to be an eco-warrior? The Go Green Committee of Billings invites everyone to participate in Waste Reduction Week Oct. 16-22 (http://wrwcanada.com) and is celebrating local green heroes! Check out posters around town, on the Kagawong Facebook page, or on the Go Green Committee’s blog (http://gogreenkagawong.wordpress.com/) for more information.

Speaking of going green, congratulations to new local celebrity Barb E on her recent interview on CBC’s Up North with Jason Turnbull! Up North is broadcast from Kenora all the way to Mattawa, and Barb did Kagawong proud. On a completely unrelated note, a local youth asked Team Fergmeijer to explain to him what an acorn is. We told him that, in a nutshell, it’s an oak tree.

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is updating its list of Billings Township War Veterans. If you know of anyone who should be added to its records, please call:  705 282 1442 or e-mail: oldmillheritage@billingstwp.ca

Happy Birthday to SPOO member Joanne P who celebrated her 29th birthday this past Wednesday. May you always have materials for roads, and may you never catch the boot. Another happy birthday goes out to Ken F who has made it all the way to his 29th year. Mostly due to the efforts of Linda F to keep him in line.

Kagawong is getting active this fall! There’s Tai Chi on Tuesdays from 6:30pm - 7:30pm, Karate on Wednesdays from 6:00pm - 7:00pm (for youth) and 7:00pm - 8:30pm (for adults), and Zumba on Thursdays from 7:00pm - 8:00pm. And with the Kagawong Fitness Club (KFC) on top of all that, there’s no excuse for not getting out there!

Last week's Euchre results are in!  Sally Langtree had Ladies High Score’ Mike Arbour took Mens High Score. Ladies’ Loner was won by Muriel Hunt with Lil Boyd taking Men’s Loner. Doris Tustian had the low score, and Lynda Mullis took the door prize.

How do you get down from an elephant? You don’t. You get down from a goose.

So, how do you get down from a goose? You wait for it to kneel, swing your leg over it’s head, then slide down to the ground.

October 13, 2017

Happy Friday the 13th! Did you know that a fear of the number 13 is known as Triskaidekaphobia? And while we’re improving our vocabulary, turophobia is the fear of cheese, and omphalophobia is a fear of belly buttons. Those with meleagrisphobia are just relieved to get through another Thanksgiving dinner.

Now that Thanksgiving has passed, Team Fergmeijer has noticed an unusual number of pairs of costume glasses and fake moustaches in the ditch along Lebar Hill by Maple Ridge. In other news, the strange bearded and bespectacled (and vaguely turkey-shaped) tourists seen about the town in the last few weeks have all seemed to have gone home now.

Do you separate your recyclables from garbage? Do your turn off lights when leaving a room? Do you always use a refillable water bottle? If so, then you’re well on your way to becoming one of Billings Township’s new Green Heroes! The Go Green Committee of Billings invites everyone to participate in Waste Reduction Week Oct. 16-22 (http://wrwcanada.com) and is celebrating local eco-warriors. Check out posters around town, on the Kagawong Facebook page, or on the Go Green Committee’s blog (http://gogreenkagawong.wordpress.com/) for more information.

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is updating its list of Billings Township War Veterans. If you know of anyone who should be added to its records, please call:  705 282 1442 or e-mail: oldmillheritage@billingstwp.ca

Thanksgiving is all about taking time to get together with family and friends. This past weekend saw Zadie visit Kagawong for the first time to get together with Nicky, but then also happened to run into Isaac and Charlie. Literally. Did we mention there was a mud puddle involved?

Happy Birthday to Claire T and the oh so Italian Gofredo T who will both be turning 29 next week. And congratulations to local bard Jamie Ward on the release of his new album, yo!

Kagawong is getting active this fall! There’s Tai Chi on Tuesdays from 6:30pm - 7:30pm, Karate on Wednesdays from 6:00pm - 7:00pm (for youth) and 7:00pm - 8:30pm (for adults), and Zumba on Thursdays from 7:00pm - 8:00pm. And with the Kagawong Fitness Club (KFC) on top of all that, there’s no excuse for not getting out there!

Last week's Euchre results are in! Ladies high went to Karen Noble, who also won the door prize. Men's high went to Muriel Hunt. Ladies loner was won by Myra Duncanson, while the men's was won by Elva Lloyd.

In our quest to learn about phobias for Friday the 13th, we came across this gem: Sesquipedalophobia, which is the fear of long words. It's our favourite, for obvious reasons. Have a great week!

October 6, 2017

It is officially October, and the fall decorations are springing up all over town. Team Fergmeijer isn’t sure which group dressed up the sign at the main intersection, but they did a great job!

We know that for some, Autumn is a hassle as the leaves fall and cover lawns, but just think of it this way: raking leaves is Mother Nature’s way of easing us into shape for all the snow shovelling we’ll be doing in another month or two.

Last weekend’s 4elements Elemental Festival was a fabulous success, jam-packed with music, art, food and family fun! Kudos to all the volunteers and organizers for all their hard work.

Do you separate your recyclables from garbage? Do your turn off lights when leaving a room? Do you always use a refillable water bottle? If so, then you’re well on your way to becoming one of Billings Township’s new Green Heroes! The Go Green Committee of Billings invites everyone to participate in Waste Reduction Week Oct. 16-22 (http://wrwcanada.com) and is celebrating local eco-warriors. Check out posters around town, on the Kagawong Facebook page, or on the Go Green Committee’s blog (http://gogreenkagawong.wordpress.com/) for more information.

The Old Mill Heritage Centre is updating its list of Billings Township War Veterans. If you know of anyone who should be added to its records, please call:  705 282 1442 or e-mail: oldmillheritage@billingstwp.ca.

Happy Birthdays go out to one long-term resident, John B. and to one new Kagawongian Jon B. They not only share the same names and approximate birth dates, but they also both turned 29. What are the odds?! In addition, Jamie F is also turning 29 tomorrow. Best wishes to all of you!

Have you heard about the new trend for Thanksgiving feasts? Instead of turkey, more and more people are eating ham. We’re pretty sure the KGB are behind this paradigm shift (that is, the Kagawong Gobble Brigade).

Kagawong is getting active this fall! There’s Tai Chi on Tuesdays from 6:30pm - 7:30pm, Karate on Wednesdays from 6:00pm - 7:00pm (for youth) and 7:00pm - 8:30pm (for adults), and Zumba on Thursdays from 7:00pm - 8:00pm. And with the Kagawong Fitness Club (KFC) on top of all that, there’s no excuse for not getting out there!

Thank you to everyone in the community who supported Mary & Heather at the CIBC Run for the Cure in Sudbury last weekend: they were two of the top ten individual fundraisers for the Sudbury run! Between them, they raised just under $2500 for breast cancer research, outreach, and support.

And finally, daylight savings time isn’t for another few weeks, but with all the Thanksgiving goodies to be had this weekend, don’t forget to set your scale back 10 pounds on Sunday night. Happy Thanksgiving, and have a great week!