Fencing enforced at Matilda Landfill site

Local talent is taking centre stage at St. Joseph’s Secondary School in Cornwall.

Several area cast members are among the 40 featured in the production the two hour musical, Little Shop of Horrors. 

William Wallace, a grade 12 student at St. Joe’s, plays Mr. Mushnik, the miserable owner of a failing downtown New York flower shop.

“Opening night was great,” said Wallace. “The cast is really energetic.”

Opening night took place in the school auditorium, located along Cumberland Street in Cornwall April 17, at 8 p.m. and another public performance  took place April 18.

With two shows in the books, these student actors are looking forward to the final two public shows which will take place April 24 and 25 at the Cornwall school. She show is about two hours long.

“This is such a funny show. We have a really great cast,” said Wallace, who is from Morrisburg. “We have really pulled together and become great friends.” The group met with The Leader Monday after school to talk about the musical and to encourage the local community to come to one of the two remaining shows.

Maiko Button, of Long Sault, who plays Audrey, is a grade 12 students at St. Joe’s.  Audrey is one of Mr. Mushnik’s two shop assistants, along with Seymour Krelborn.

“This show is maybe not as well known, but it’s a really great show, It is fast-paced and witty,” said Button. It is directed by Mr. Gilles Levac, who all of the actors agree, does a fantasic job.

Seymour is played by Brett Weegar of Morrisburg, a grade 12 student at St. Joe’s. “This character was made for me,” said Weegar. “Ya, awkward around women, and kind of dorky,” the ladies of the cast chime in quickly.

“This is a really great show,” says Weegar. “We have a really good teacher. The amount of effort he puts into this is astounding. Actually, we put a lot of work into it too.”

Kamryn Frank, another grade 12 student at St. Joe’s is the voice of Audrey II, the villanous carnivorous plant. Frank, who is quite a vocal talent according to those who attended Friday’s show, says that she “loves that she actually gets to use her rock voice.”

She said that St. Joe’s puts on an awesome, full production musical. “We work on it from October until now. For only $10 a ticket it’s a great night out,” says Frank. The puppeteer for the Audrey II plant is Alexandra Lauzon, of the Long Sault area. Her fellow cast members agreee that she does a great job.

Three St. Joe’s grade nines from Morrisburg are part of the ensemble that sings and dances throughout the show.

“We make the show lively,” says Mallory Trizisky. 

“It’s a really fun show. I love the music,” says Abby Trizisky.

“Mainly, people don’t know how much work everyone puts into this,” says Jaxon Weegar. “For a school show, this show is really awesome.” Tickets are available at the St. Joseph’s school office or at the door.   

[…]

 

Antiquefest 2013 is cancelled.

“The members of the Morrisburg and District Lions Club regret that we will not be hosting Antiquefest 2013,” noted Bob Bechard, Lion President on the club’s website. “This decision was not taken lightly, and there remains the possibility it could return in the future.”

The Club is currently working to ensure that its vendors, business supporters and the community understand the complexity of the difficult decision. However, they were not prepared to go into those details at this time.

“Our members have enjoyed hosting Antiquefest and, as a result, this was a difficult decision for the Club,” said Judy Charette, the club’s communications officer.

“Although we have determined it is necessary to step back from the festival this summer, we will re-assess for future years and advise if a decision is made to resurrect Antiquefest,” she added in a prepared statement. 

This year, would have been the 15th year for the event, which had always taken place the last weekend in July.

Antiquefest started in 1998 as a South Dundas event at the Morrisburg waterfront. In its fourth year, it was moved to the Matilda Hall. The Morrisburg and District Lions Club took over the event from the township in 2006, and moved it back to the Morrisburg waterfront, where it had been ever since. 

[…]

 

As soon as the South Branch Wind Opposition Group asked South Dundas council to consider a motion to oppose the construction of industrial wind turbines in this community, they requested that the decision be delayed.

First, Leslie Disheau, president of the SBWOG, read the motion they drafted for council to address pass as a resolution with a recorded vote.

Then she said, “BUT – I would like to ask that council hold off on dealing with this resolution until your next regular scheduled council meeting.”

She invited them, with appropriate municipal staff, to meet with representatives of the SBWOG to discuss the suggested resolution.

The group wants the opportunity to discuss specific areas of concern and share information to help council be more informed. 

They will get the chance.

Council agreed to the deferral and have scheduled a meeting with the group for next week. South Dundas councillor Archie Mellan will not be part of that meeting as he has declared conflict of interest in the matter.

At the council meeting, Disheau spoke about four myths regarding the South Branch wind project.

According to Disheau, municipal council’s hands are not tied, a lot of money has not been spent on this project by anyone other than the wind developers, the South Branch wind project is not a done deal as it is still under technical review, and she disputes the fact that this project will have no negative impact on the community, pointing to the marked decrease in property values. 

“As a council, you should take notice and have concern over the reduction in property taxes, as this is a direct effect on your revenue income,” said Disheau.

Disheau informed council about a public safety matter regarding the turbines. 

The Ashfied turbine fire resulted in a debris field that extended 1,800 from the turbine base. “If turbine 15, which is located between the villages of Brinston and Dixon’s Corners caught fire and had a debris field of 1,800 m like that in Ashfied, we have two villages getting bombarded by flying debris,” said Disheau. 

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