A good dose of Dr. Seuss

On January 17th, South Dundas council was visited by Marie-Eve LaRocque of The Economic Development and Employability Network of Ontario (RDEE Ontario) and Danika Bourgeois-Desnoyers of Place aux Jeunes Ontario – SDG.

LaRocque and Bourgeois-Desnoyers introduced council to their “newest project” called Place aux Jeunes Ontario – SDG, which means Make-Way-for-Youth SDG. The project “aims to promote and facilitate the integration of bilingual post-secondary graduates in Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.”

As Bourgeois-Desnoyers pointed out, “studies and statistics show youth have the tendency to leave after high school and they don’t come back.”

She went on to explain that the project, Make-Way-for-Youth SDG, has two components: Discovery Days for youth aged 18 to 35; and, Teens Place aux Jeunes for youth aged 14 to 17.

Discovery Days  provides young adult professionals with several opportunities: “training workshops, meetings with potential employers, and discover of different attractions in the area.”

Teens Place aux Jeunes provides bilingual teens to take part in activities that reinforce their “feeling of belonging to their native region.”

The objective behind the project is to strengthen rural communities by preventing “out-migration of youth,” as well as by “attracting young professionals to settle in the region,” and by promoting “the integration  of bilingual young graduates in the region.”

According to LaRocque’s presentation, RDEE “is the only national network which specifically supports economic development of francophone minorities in Canada.”

Funding for the shared project,  Make-Way-for-Youth SDG, comes from the Fondation franco-ontarienne and the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Following the presentation, Mayor Steven Byvelds thanked both LaRocque and Bourgeois-Desnoyers for coming. 

“There’s not a lot of francophone in the region,” he said. 

“It’s certainly interesting,” he added.

[…]

On October 9th, SD&G OPP officers responded to a report of a family dispute on County Road 31, South Dundas Township.

The investigation revealed that a male threatened other family members that were in the residence.

The 24yr old male was arrested and faces charges of: Utter Threat to Cause Death or Bodily Harm; Utter Threat to Damage Property; Mischief Under $5,000; and, Possession Schedule II Cannabis Marihuana. He was held in custody pending an appearance in Cornwall court.

On October 10th, SD&G OPP officers responded to a report of a domestic incident on Strader Road, South Dundas Township. 

The investigation revealed that a female and her 34yr old common-law husband were involved in a verbal altercation that resulted in the male assaulting the female. 

He was arrested and faces charges of: Assault and Mischief Under $5,000. He was held in custody pending an appearance in Cornwall court.

[…]

“In spite of the nasty weather, well, here we are!” said BIA co-ordinator, Grace McDonough, on Saturday, October 26. 

The Chamber of Commerce sponsored a family pumpkin carving event Saturday as part of the South Dundas celebration, the Season of Pumpkin People. Unfortunately, the night before the family fun activity (originally scheduled for the Morrisburg plaza near the clock) the weather turned bitterly cold. 

Rumour has it there was even some snow mixed in with the drizzle.

However, grey fall weather did not stop local families from coming out to take part in the pumpkin carving, nor did it stop the BIA from finding a way for the event to go on.

“We contacted the Morrisburg & District Lions Club in the morning,” McDonough explained, “and they loaned us their tent, and came and put it up for us, anchoring it in the grass near Riley’s Valu-mart. It was an enormous help to us.”

Valu-mart provided 200 pumpkins for carving. There were stencils and markers for drawing unique faces on the pumpkins prior to cutting, scoops for the “guts” and lots of support from volunteers.

Once a jack o’ lantern was completed, it was set aside for the official ‘lighting’: families were welcome to take their creations home as part of their Hallowe’en celebration.

“Everyone was welcome,” McDonough said, “and we had all sizes and ages here carving. Our event is a tie in with the Pumpkinferno at Upper Canada Village, and with the whole Hallowe’en and fall season.”

Assisting McDonough and the carvers were volunteers Christa St. Pierre, public educator for the South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services and Marwauh Almousawy, a community volunteer.

[…]