Sludge stench fouls moods of Wesley Road residents: A pile of sludge in Clarendon is creating a smell similar to that of dead carcasses and nearby residents have had enough.

“I’ve never smelled anything so bad and I’m 61 years old,” says Jack Harris, who lives about one kilometer from the 2,400-metric-tonne pile. “We drove to look at it, but the smell was so bad there was no way we could’ve gotten out of the van,” said Harris.

The sludge, biosolids from the Maclaren pulp mill in Thurso, has been piled in two fields on the 11th line since early June. Heat and humidity have caused the waste to ferment, producing the foul odor. Normally, the waste is spread on fields upon delivery, but the Ministry of Environment thought it would be ok in piles.

“We have authorized some projects to pile it first, then spread it,” says Daniel Dubuc, an environmental engineer with the ministry. “But, we see now it doesn’t work so well.”

The biosolids, used to increase organic matter, particularly in sandy soil, will be spread as soon as the oats crop is harvested, Dubuc says.

Stanworth benefit a hit despite nasty weather: It was a dark and stormy night, but the nasty weather didn’t deter about 170 people from passing through the River View Inn banquet hall in Norway Bay.

The hearty souls braved the lightning and heavy rain Saturday to attend the benefit party for Paul “The Painter” Stanworth, who fell from the roof of a two-story house in Shawville June 21 after he suffered a severe electrical shock. The benefit raised over $2,000 for the well-liked painter.

Stanworth was painting the roof when his ladder touched some hydro wires carrying 14,000 volts of electricity. Though he suffered first, second and third-degree burns to his arms and torso, Stanworth escaped with no broken bones.

“My body going limp and falling on grass probably helped,” Stanworth says.

After spending three weeks in bed, Stanworth is slowly restoring his energy level and is looking forward to a return to his routine.

“I’m moving slow,” he says. “I’m anxious to be back to work. I’m doing a little bit every day without pushing myself.”

River View Inn owner and benefit organizer Don McCredie says donations began coming in before the party began.