Hockey hair for cancer

Don Graham played a key part in resurrecting the hiking trails that are now owned by South Nation Conservation (SNC) and referred to as Two Creeks Trail.

At the November 15th South Dundas council meeting, Mayor Steven Byvelds said, “I think it would certainly be fitting if Don’s name be named on one of the trails.”

Byvelds had already approached Graham on the subject and reported that “he said he’d be honoured with that recognition.”

The mayor also “talked with Josée Brizard (Director of Conservation Programs at SNC) and she thought that would be a great thing to do.”

He told council that he was looking for their approval to pursue the request with SNC.

Deputy-Mayor Jim Locke saw the request as “very fitting” and later referred to Graham as a “very very dedicated man.”

Councillor Jim Graham agreed adding, “over the years Don’s done a lot for the community.”

Byvelds said, “I’d like to call it the Don Graham Trail.”

He pointed out that SNC has a trail in Russel named after James Reid so, “we’re not setting a precedent. It’s been done in the past.”

[…]

 

Change is in the air for many of the United Churches within the Seaway Valley Presbytery.

Presbytery Chair, Wendy Wright MacKenzie revealed that last year the Seaway Valley Presbytery received “a number of requests from the people in the pews for help in addressing over-all declining membership.”

“We realized that the people knew their community better than anyone else,” said Wright MacKenzie, “and so in January 2011, 85 people gathered to dream about what the church might look like in a changing world.”

“In March 2011, over 800 people gathered at North Dundas High School for a vote to divide the Presbytery up into districts in order to continue a process of visioning and change. There was an overwhelming YES vote.”  

“Since that time, the congregations have been doing self-reflections and analysis. By November 28th, all congregations within the Seaway Valley Presbytery voted on whether they wanted to be in conversation with other churches to discuss possibilities for the future,” she continued.  

“At this time, we have 13 churches already in conversation, visioning and dreaming of what it might look like when following a different model of being ‘church’.”  

Iroquois United Church Reverend Janet Evans revealed that the “Iroquois United Church has a team of four people who will be meeting with some local churches – Brinston, Hulbert Valley, Williamsburg – to see where we might go from here.”

 The United Church in Williamsburg was recently listed for sale. The congregation, like so many  others, has grown too small to manage the upkeep of such a large and outdated building. 

Retired Reverend Ralph Taylor recently joined the Williamsburg United Church to help the congregation through the upcoming changes.

Taylor said that he is there on a renewable six-month contract, but will stay “as long as it takes.”

As for the decision to sell the church in Williamsburg, Taylor admitted that it wasn’t an easy choice to make for the congregation. “Some are more excited than others and some are anxious,” he said.

“The congregation is getting older and the cost of maintaining (the church) means they’d just be focused on maintaining, not on missions,” said Taylor.

He admitted that the choice is ‘heart wrenching’. “But what other choice do we have at this point?”

Currently, Williamsburg’s United Church congregation is meeting at the J.W. MacIntosh Seniors Support Centre on Sundays.

The congregation will return to the church in March, if it hasn’t sold. When it does sell, the congregation will seek an alternative location in the area.

Taylor admitted that “eventually they’ll be joining another congregation, but it will take a little while.”

With this news, comes the question of what will happen to the many other United Churches within South Dundas. How will they fare in the months and years to come?

According to Evans, “people from Iroquois United Church are both excited and nervous about the changes that will inevitably come our way.”

“Iroquois United Church, for example, has been able to support a full-time minister which means that the present minister has time to care for all of the shut-ins who are associated with our congregation,” she explained.

“Perhaps more people will have needs when several churches work together under a new model. Lay people may have to undertake more of the church’s work.”

“No one really wants to lose their building but that may or may not happen under a new structure,” she said, adding, “new structures could mean, however, more people coming together to offer their gifts and talents in God’s service.”

Wright MacKenzie said, “we realize that everything in life changes.” 

“The way to experience our worship needs an extreme makeover,” she added, pointing out that “the world is changing and so we have to look at new ways of what it means to reach out to the community. The way we ‘do worship’ does not appeal to the younger generation so we need to also look at some other options.”

“This is still very much a work in progress so it is exciting to see what the congregations come up with as they talk together.”

“Change is always somewhat nerve wracking but God will be with us as we journey into the future,” reminded Evans.

The Presbytery, according to Wright MacKenzie, will continue to offer help and support in whatever way possible.

As for the years to come, she said, “time will tell what this looks like in the future. This is completely in the hands of the people in the pews.”

[…]

 

The families of fire chief Les Bilmer and captain John Lortie were joined on Saturday, October 6, by uniformed South Dundas firefighters, dignitaries and members of the community for the re-dedication of a memorial plaque in honour of the two men and of the Morrisburg firefighters who have served over the last 70 years.

Also dedicated was a plaque recognizing the members of the current South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services.

In his address, Morrisburg deputy chief, Kevin Keyes, recalled that it was almost 20 years to the day that the original memorial plaque was dedicated in 1992, through the inspiration of then chief, Les Bilmer.

“After the passing of Les and Captain John Lortie, the Bilmer family and the Lortie family gave a very generous donation to this fire department,” Keyes said. “We did not want to spend the donations on tools and equipment but rather something that would pay tribute to these two highly respected firemen.”

He pointed out that the firefighters looked at a number of different ideas, and finally decided that the original plaque should be refurbished, updated and relocated to the wall of the fire hall.

In this new location, the plaques would not only be “paying tribute to Les and John, but to all firefighters who have served this community.”

The plaques were officially unveiled at Saturday’s ceremony by Inez Bilmer and Julie Lortie as piper Jack Yourt played and those gathered at the ceremony applauded. 

South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds, on behalf of the South Dundas council and the township, said that “we have come to honour those past and present who have dedicated themselves to the community. We are always able to count on our firefighters in our time of need, and we are proud to have these plaques recognizing them.”

Chief of South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services, Chris McDonough, thanked the Bilmer and Lortie families for their generosity, and praised the efforts of deputy chief Keyes and assistant deputy chief Brian St. Pierre in bringing the project to completion. “Members of the South Dundas firefighters are a diverse and terrific group. I feel fortunate for having been given the opportunity to work alongside our men and women in the firefighters.”

Brian McBain, from the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office also expressed his deep appreciation for the generosity of the Bilmer and Lortie families for making this “recognition of our firefighters possible.”

Inez Bilmer told the audience that her late husband, Les, was a proud member of the Morrisburg Fire Department for 33 years. “He took a great deal of pride in his fellow firefighters and the department in general. When we lost Les, our family was deeply touched by the outpouring of kindness and camaraderie demonstrated by the department. These are things that are never forgotten.”

Julie Lortie said that Saturday’s ceremony of dedication would have meant a great deal to her husband, John. “The fire department was a very big part of his life. I think he would also be very proud that his son Bradley, and his stepson, Jason Denio, are both following in his footsteps as firefighters.” 

Kevin Keyes concluded his address with a remark from the original 1992 dedication ceremony, made by Lorne Campbell, then editor of the Canadian Fire Fighter magazine.

“Somewhere down the road, in another 20 or 25 years, somebody is going to be talking about you, and they will be respecting you, the way that you and I respect the members who have given their services to this community.”

[…]