Big turnout for ‘Big Bike’

Health and wellness for everybody is the topic of the much anticipated “It’s All About “ME” Health and Wellness Fair coming up at the Winchester Arena on Wednesday, April 30 from 2-6 p.m. 

Presented by the Dundas Interagency there is no admission charge for the Health and Wellness Fair.

The Dundas Interagency is a local group comprised of various agencies representing North and South Dundas. 

Each year the Dundas Interagency plans a community event to showcase all that is available in Dundas County, and the Interagency is especially pleased this year to be offering a Health and Wellness Fair that’s focused on “It’s All About Me”. 

Too often caregivers of all kinds constantly look after others without stopping to care for themselves. This day is about celebrating the intrinsic value in all of us. 

Over 40 exhibitors will be at the “It’s All About Me” Health and Wellness Fair on April 30th. 

There will be a great selection of local business and services covering health, wellness, fitness, entertainment and much more. There will be demonstrations on food and food sources; exercise, yoga, dance; community resources on health, education, community building; arts and culture to name a few. 

Residents from throughout the Dundas community (North and South) are invited to come out and see what Dundas County has to offer and enjoy a variety of presentations and explore the many opportunities available. 

Demonstrations are happening throughout the day beginning at 2:15 p.m. In addition, each exhibitor will have a display and be happy to discuss their product or service. 

The mission of the Dundas County Interagency Committee is to provide a forum where individuals and organizations serving the residents of Dundas County can network for the benefit of the general population and to promote awareness of community services.

The initiative to promote networking began in the early 1980’s at a brown bag lunch meeting, where community workers from various agencies could share information.

In the early 1990’s, a number of interested individuals representing various agencies sat down together to plan a course of action. From a survey, quarterly meetings were established, which included time for networking and sharing information and, of course, lunch.

In 2005, representatives from several agencies serving Dundas County agreed to meet once or twice a year to share information about services available, participate in educational workshops, get to know new staff members and ensure that the community is well informed on what the agencies can provide

The committee has hosted a variety of event over the past five years.

Some of the 44 participants in the April 30th, “It’s All About Me” Health and Wellness Fair are: Canadian Blood Services, CMHA, Winchelsea Farms, TR Leger ALEPP, EOHU, SD&G County Library, Naomi’s Family Resource Centre, Upper Canada Playhouse, Eastern Ontario Agri-Food Network, Poppa Beans, Marion Stanley Mosaics, The Rythym Room, Linking Hands, Hartford, Kim Hutt, Garden Path Homemade Soap, Carefor Health and Community Services, Chesterville Dancers, Isagenix, Lakeshore Massage, Ryunolshi Tai Chi, Addictions Service Aura Culinary Arts.

[…]

The 2016 construction season is the season that 1,100 vehicles per day will be detoured around the County Road 16 (Brinston Road) 401 overpass.

Throughout the consultation process, the exact timing of the local project was not known, having been narrowed to either the 2015 or 2016 construction season.

Now, the MTO is now planning to replace both the Brinston Road and Aultsville Road underpasses in the same construction season, a revision from the plans presented at the last public information centre session last November.

“The contract is planned to be tendered later this summer, with some preliminary work expected in fall 2015,” said Mike Delugt, MTO spokesperson. “The bulk of the work is to be completed in 2016 with full closures of the municipal roads in the area of the bridges. Detours will be in place during the full closures.”

Both the Brinston Road and Aultsville Road overpasses will be demolished using a rapid demolition process. Rapid demolition minimizes the impact on 401 traffic, requiring the overnight closure of the eastbound and westbound lanes for 12-18 hours each.

Neither of these projects meets the criteria for rapid replacement, a process which is used in large cities.

The full closure season closure (April – December) 2016, reduces construction time, as opposed to using traditional on-lane closures, explains Delugt.

Brinston Road is a busy local roadway with annual average daily traffic of about 1,100 vehicles per day. During the road closure for the overpass replacement, traffic will be detoured to County Roads 40, 1 and 2. 

[…]

As of Monday, July 15, the Williamsburg branch of the SD&G Library is closed.

This closure is in response the municipality’s order to vacate the space in the Williamsburg building by August 1, 2013. 

Williamsburg will be without a library until a new location is agreed to by South Dundas council, who were expected to decide on a new location at the July 16 meeting.

It will either be portables located at J. C. Whitteker Park or 1,000 square feet of renovated space, the more likely choice, at the former Canadian Tire building in Williamsburg. Either way, Williamsburg will have no library for the next couple of months.

The showcase library that the SD&G Library Board had in mind for Morrisburg, won’t be all they had originally envisioned.

“With the consolidation of the two branches into the new Morrisburg branch, the Library had planned to re-allocate resources to longer opening hours, to double-staffing at peak times and/or during the evenings, and to new program and community engagement initiatives at the new branch,” said Erika Heesen, communications librarian for the SD&G Libary. 

The library must find a way to allocate some resources to the re-located Williamsburg branch.

That means that improved service, for now, is not in the cards for the new Morrisburg branch. 

“The library will maintain the same level of service in Morrisburg in the new branch as the current branch,” said Heesen.

Jim Locke, South Dundas deputy mayor and member of the SD&G Library board, says that the board has not yet discussed any potential changes to staffing or programming.

He says that the Morrisburg branch, with its new, renovated location will still be a showcase branch. 

“The furnishings and infrastructure will all be new,” he said. “It will be a showcase branch. By the time the new branch is open we will be in a new budget year,” said Locke. 

“It’s a showcase branch, and we’ll have to run it as one,” he said, adding that staffing will have to be something discussed by the library board at their next meeting in September.

[…]