Morrisburg Dock: unfit and unsafe

A fundraising dance and silent auction is being organized for the benefit of Jessica (Beckstead) Blok and her young family.

Jessica, who is 19 years old, has been diagnosed with stage four cancer, and every cent of the proceeds will go to help her and her husband Dustin as they care for their six month old daughter, Autumn, through these difficult circumstances.

A committee of volunteers and the Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club have held an emergency meeting to organize the event that will take place January 10, 8 p.m., at Matilda Hall in Dixon’s Corners.

Eddy and the Stingrays will provide the entertainment.

Tony Hall, one of the organizers of the event, says Eddy and the Stingrays are donating their time to the event, so that all proceeds can go to help Jessica, Dustin and Autumn.

“That’s just fantastic,” said Hall. “Their popularity alone will mean that this could turn into a huge event, and a really big blessing for this family.”

Last week, Hall said that Jessica is not doing well. “We are hoping to have her with us as long as possible.”

If anyone wants to donate items to the auction they can do so by contacting Tony Hall (613-330-1901 or tonythomashall@gmail.com). Tickets for the benefit dance are $20 and available at Mustard’s Variety or from any Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club member.

[…]

The doom and gloom being predicted for area farmers at the height of this summer’s drought, has not come to fruition locally and most area farmers are now wrapping up an early harvest season.

Archie Mellan, local councillor and Hulbert cash crop farmer, spoke with The Leader Monday about this year’s harvest. “Generally, I think most are pleasantly surprised,” said Mellan.

This year the soybean crop was about average on his farm. “The beans came through amazingly well,” said Mellan, explaining that they are more resilient to the drought conditions experienced this summer.

On his farm, the corn yield was about half a tonne per acre below the normal average. 

Mellan said the corn yields this year are very sporadic and directly reflect the amount and timing of the rain, explaining that those farms a little to the north of his farm seem to have even lower yields, while those to the south seem to have slightly higher yields.

“Those sporadic rains really made a difference,” said Mellan.

Although the corn harvest was below average, Mellan said, “We are satisfied with what we got. It’s a lot better than the doom and gloom they were forecasting back in July and August.”

The dry weather did allow the corn to mature and dry down quickly.

This year, his corn harvest was finished by the end of October, which is two or three weeks ahead of schedule for an average year.

Because prices are driven by the US market, droughts in that country mean that prices have been driven up. 

“So, the price makes up for the yield lost,” said Mellan.

“In this area, everybody’s down a bit, but we’re not too bad off. In other areas yields are down, 1-1.5 tonnes per acre, and it’s hard to recoup that.”

The farmers most affected by this year’s drought locally are dairy farmers, as there is a real shortage of forage. 

“The second cut of hay this year, was basically non-existent,” said Mellan. “I’ve seen them taking off hay into October, because they simply need the tonnage of feed. Maybe they can make up the difference with corn silage.” 

[…]

Over 175 people come out to enjoy a very special dramatic reading of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol on Sunday, December 4, a fund raiser to help Winchester Hospital with the purchase of new cardiac monitors. Lakeshore Drive United Church in collaboration with Upper Canada Playhouse sponsored the event, which raised close to $5,000, according to ecstatic organizer Gail McCooeye, with some funds still coming in.  Ticket sales are being matched by Scotiabank. “I couldn’t have chosen five better readers than the ones we had. They did an excellent job,” McCooeye said. “The Seaway Valley Singers added to the Yule spirit with Christmas carols and Margaret Whisselle sang a beautiful solo.” With the Seaway Singers in the background, the readers (l-r), in full Victorian costumes, are Joan Farlinger, Donnie Bowes, Paul Coolican (emcee), Wayne Domanko, Doug Grenkie and Wendy Gibb. 

[…]