Successful Playhouse Auction

The veterans of Team Magee brought home their third consecutive “King of the River” title  as they took first place in the 44th Tubie Festival Race, August 3, 2014.

A return to the traditional race format, with crafts leaving from Arlor Haven Campgrounds and rowing to the Morrisburg Beach, saw Magee’s “Black Beauty” take an early lead in the field of seven tubies. “We were ahead all the way down the river,” said skipper Gary Magee. “It was a good race.”

“Black Beauty” and her crew of Gary, Jaime Notman, Stephanie Crowell, Sheri Halpenny, Mark Hayward and Mario Del Ricco pulled their Tubie on to the sand, to the cheers of a large crowd gathered at the finish line, in a time of 26.47 minutes. 

The second place team was also made up of river veterans. “Back in the Saddle With Our Paddles”, Team Barclay, came out of the water in 29.15 minutes. “I think we were the oldest people on the river today,” laughed rower Laura Barclay. “We’re exhausted.”

Taking third honours was the team skippered by Matt Laurin, who came ashore in 31.09 minutes.

To the delight of the crowd, the two craft contending for fourth and fifth spots turned the race into a real battle in the final stretch. 

Nose to nose all the way to the sand were the teams led by Josh Biemond and Corey Cassell. 

In a flurry of paddles, and the rush to get their crafts and crew completely out of the water (as per Tubie rules), the judges ultimately decreed that the Biemond Team was fourth, with a time of 34.00 minutes, and the Cassell Team fifth, with a time of 34.01 minutes. 

Coming in sixth place was the Gareth Cochrane/Jesse Swank craft and crew, with their time logged at 37.25 minutes. 

This 2014 Tubie Race definitely had its share of drama.

The Sage Barclay/Christyn Veinotte Tubie, turned turtle in the river about three quarters of the way along the race route. 

“We saw one of our tubes slipping,” said Veinotte, “then there was this big bang. The next thing we knew, our wood cracked, and we were all dumped overboard. It’s a bit of a blur after we hit the water.”

Spectators could see the South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services boat (which tracked the race from start to finish) rush to the stricken craft. However the crew of 10, all wearing life preservers, waved off the rescuers and boats offering to tow them.

Instead, the crew swam the remains of their tubie all the way to the finish line. 

When they finally hauled the  battered craft out of the water, 45 minutes after they started the race, the Veinotte/Barclay crew was met with loud cheers from the waiting crowd and congratulations from their fellow competitors. 

“I think we just wanted to finish with some pride,” a tired Veinotte said. 

First place in the 2014 race took home $400, second place, $250, third place, $150, and fourth, fifth and sixth places $50 each.  

The 2014 Tubie Festival, organized and run, for the first time, by the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce, was praised by all who attended the events as an unqualified success. 

“It was really just an amazing weekend,” said both Geraldine Fitzsimmons and Grace McDonough from the Chamber. “In the end, even the weather co-operated with us. The Tubie committee and our Board members from the Junior Bs, Lois and Kevin Casselman, really did an outstanding job. 

We had over 450 people at the outdoor dance, where One Night Standards was a big hit. We even had an unexpected but great fireworks display Saturday night, as Waddington, New York, was celebrating its Old Home Week. And our South Dundas community really came out to support the Festival.” 

The popular 44th Tubie parade took place on Saturday, August 2, at one p.m.

Despite the humidity, crowds lined the Morrisburg streets to cheer for the colourful and highly individual floats and their riders of all ages. The theme for this year’s Festival was “Splash”, in honour of the Splash Pad fund raisers hope to have started work on by fall.

Judges definitely had a hard time choosing winners among the Tubie floats, but finally made these choices.

First place, Disney on the River,  was created by the Morrell Sisters, sponsored by Classic Cuts and Lakeshore Massage Therapy. Second place was Splish Splash, the Veinotte/Barclay float. Coming in third was Matt Laurin’s Tubie Splash. Fourth was the Chamber of Commerce entry, Tiki Bar. Coming fifth was the Splash Pad Committee’s Splash Cash, while sixth place was given to the Domanko Tubie Colourful. 

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  For Jean Presley of Morrisburg, celebrating her 100th birthday on Sunday, at the Legion in Morrisburg, was a very special event. What made it even more special was that she celebrated it with a […]

This year’s first local Masonichip child identification clinic was extremely successful.

Don Salt, reported that the program funded by the Masons that gathers important data for parents useful to police in the case of a missing child, was very well received.

They had a booth set up at the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce Trade Show and there they saw 75 children. 

They even had six teenaged girls and two teenaged boys participate in the clinic. 

Salt was especially pleased that the teenaged girls participated in the program, a target group that he would like to seem more of at the clinics. 

From his years as a law enforcement officer, he knows that they are the highest risk group. For those who missed the first clinic, the Iroquois-Cardinal Masons are hosting their next clinic at the Cardinal Firehall Saturday, May 11, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. No appointment is necessary. 

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