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Gary Barton loves the rural lifestyle
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
an engineering review of the local arena.This was a “shotgun response” of theministry to a mishap that occurred at a small-town arena elsewhere in the province. “The engineering consultant said ‘You’ll have to close your arena,’” indicated Barton, adding that it sparked his decision then to get onto the local village council and do something to save the arena. The good news for Vankleek Hill was that the community got approved for $75,000 provincial lotteries grant. After that, Barton recalled, the whole community rolled up its sleeves on fundraising drives and volunteer work gangs to help build a newer, better arena and community centre facility. “Everybody pitched in,” Barton added. “It’s the people who live here who really did all the work.” Which is what stands out in Barton’s mind most when he looks back at his years on council, both before and after Vankleek Hill was amalgamated with its neighbours, L’Orignal, West Hawkesbury, and Longueil, into Champlain Township. Working with people to get things done, he mused, is like working with students during his years as a teacher, to help them to learn and to be excited about learning. “I’ve always said to people that being mayor is like being principal, you’re just administering a bigger school,” he affirmed, smiling. “Everything has its challenges.The only question is how canwemake this work ? That’s always been my lifestyle. It’s not my township. It’s not my council. It’s our town- ship.”
Gary Barton has a lot of sympathy for the farm folks in his rural community. “They’re doing pretty okay now,” he observed, “now that we have these quota systems.” But what he worries about more often now, during his last year as mayor of Champlain Township, is what might happen to farmers in his municipality and in neigh- bouring municipalities, like East Hawkes- bury or Alfred-Plantagenet Townships, if President Donald Trump has his way and cancels American involvement in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). «It would be a major marketing hit,» he mused. «I remember when I was a kid, some farm families were struggling.» Barton’s own background growing up was not living on a farm. His dad worked as a millwright who also worked hard to support a very large family. «I came from a family of 11 kids, he re- called. «I was born the last of all.» Besides himself, there are five other Bar- ton siblings still around. When his older brother Bruce celebrated his goldenwedding anniversary, the Barton family gathering that year numbered at least a hundred, including cousins, children, grandchildren, and even a couple of great-grandchildren. Junior Tax Man Barton observed that Vankleek Hill, where he was born and raised, has always been a small rural town where almost everyone knew everyone else. Which made for some interesting encounters for a small boy like himself working on his first real job as the assistant to the local village tax collector. «I delivered them (tax notices) door to door to everyone,» he recalled, with a grin. That may have been the seed that later sprouted into Barton’s decision to enter municipal politics. But that day was still far away and the youngest of the Barton boys still had a lot of time to spend on having fun before he had to grow up. «I played all kinds of sports,» Barton remembered, adding that he later got involved with the municipal recreation committee. Barton’s career goal after he left high school became teaching, which brought him back in the end to the Prescott-Russell region, after first finishing his first posting as a teacher at a three-room schoolhouse in the Cornwall area. That also saw his first promotion to principal. When he returned home to Vankleek Hill, he worked as either a teacher or a vice-principal in Plantagenet and Hawkesbury until he retired from full- time teaching in 1998. “I’ve enjoyed working with kids,” he said. “I always had good people to work with too.” Save the Arena When not in the classroom, Barton could be found on the local curling rink or else When not in the classroom, Barton could be found on the local curling rink or else helping to coach one of the local hockey teams. He also gave back to his home town as a volunteer firefighter.
Être maire du canton de Champlain exige souvent beaucoup de sérieux, mais Gary Barton aime aussi les choses amusantes qui accompagnent le travail. Comme quand il peut se changer en vieux bûcheron de l’Ontario, avec une tuque et une ceinture de bûcheron, et présider l’ouverture officielle du Carnaval d’hiver du canton de Champlain. —photo Gregg Chamberlain
helping to coach one of the local hockey teams. He also gave back to his home town as a volunteer firefighter for a time and also sat on the local Junior Chamber of Commerce. It was around the early 1970s, while he was still a teacher in the area, that Barton also became voluntary chairman of the local recreation committee.This was also the time when Provincial Labour Ministry demanded
Les gagnants du tournoi de pêche sur glace
Patrick Lortie de Hawkesbury a gagné le deuxième prix du tournoi en pêchant un doré noir de 288,8 grammes. Il a reçu une somme de 100 $. Il a été devancé par Yvon Charbonneau de Lefaivre, qui a remporté le premier prix de 150 $ avec une loche de 502 grammes. Aurélie Carrière de Lefaivre était la troisième avec un doré jaune de 250, 5 grammes. Elle a reçu 50 $. Notons que 64 personnes se sont inscrites au tournoi. Selon Marc Lavoie du Club Lions de Lefaivre, l’évènement a rassemblé quelque 150 personnes. « C’est un succès sur toute la ligne », a-t-il commenté. Il a ajouté que le souper organisé le jourmême au Centre communautaire de Lefaivre a drainé 180 participants. Celui de la veille, c’est-à-dire du vendredi 2 février, a réuni, selon les organisateurs, 210 personnes. —photo Frédéric Hountondji.
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