South Dundas Celebrates Parks & Recreation Month

A fire Friday, February 6, caused extensive damage to the Nudell Bush Road home of Sarah Belanger and Marcel Desaulniers.

Belanger was outside shovelling the deck at the rear of the house, and could smell something burning. When she went inside she discovered smoke in the house and went to the neighbour’s to call 911.

Chris McDonough, fire chief for South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services reported that the call came in at 12:20 p.m. as a possible chimney fire. 

When fire crews arrived, heavy smoke and flames were coming from the rear of the house where the steel chimney was located.

“The fire started inside the wall surrounding the chimney and travelled into the attic area, making it very difficult to contain the fire,” said McDonough. 

Crews remained on scene until about 6 p.m. Damage was extensive, estimated as a total loss of $220,000. No injuries were reported.

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“The fact that you see kids and they’re smiling, that’s why we did this,” said Jack Barkley, a member of the South Dundas Community Playground Committee on Saturday, September 24, as he stood watching the children of South Dundas try out their new community playground.

From preschoolers on the super slide to older children on the pummel wall and swing bars, the  new playground was alive with activity. In a single day, volunteers,  arriving with tools, shovels, rakes and a lot of good will, started at 8 a.m., built the entire site and made the 2 p.m. deadline to open the new South Dundas Community Playground.

“Our community came together to do a wonderful thing in a single afternoon,” Barkley said. “I just hope the spirit of all this carries forward.”

Matt McCooeye, chair of the Playground committee, led the dedication ceremony.

“On June 8, we stood here, in this place, telling you of the start of this project,” he said. “Three months later, we have a playground. Our goal was to raise $100,000 (which was matched by the not-for-profit group Let Them Be Kids, which also provided expertise and a blue print for construction to the committee) and we raised $117,000 with more still coming in. We hoped to get 175 volunteers out to help today. We got 250.”

“It is incredible to see what we have accomplished,” said committee member, Mike Domanko. “We have built more than a playground here today. We have built a community. We owe many thanks to our volunteers, our neighbours and our friends.”

A very special moment in the ceremony came when the Playground was officially dedicated the SD&G Highlanders, past, present and future.
Led by the Glens’ Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Brooks (ret.HLCol), and Bill Shearing, former members of the Glens and other area veterans made their way to the front. Among them, were World War II veterans Harry Towes and Ervin Clements.

The Glens procession was greeted with applause and cheers  from the large crowd that only grew louder and louder as the soldiers passed.
“I cannot tell you what a fantastic tribute to this community and to our regiment this dedication is,” said Lt.-Col. Brooks in his address. “I am absolutely struck by the work and the co-operation that has gone into this playground and deeply honoured that you have seen fit to dedicate it to the Glens. And I also have the great pleasure of telling you all that the last nine members of our regiment, still serving in Afghanistan, have now made it home and are safe.”  

The flag for the new playground was raised by Emma Morrow, Keltey McCooeye, Xandra Furo and Kai Morrow.

In a very appropriate alternate to the traditional ribbon cutting ceremony, the children of South Dundas opened their own playground by running through ribbons made of dozens of coloured hands, symbolic of their participation in the project.
Then the children re-dedicated the playground in their own special way. They played.

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Stuart McLean is a nationally known radio broadcaster, humourist and author. 

During his outstanding career, McLean has won an ACTRA award, the Rooke Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Writing, Trent University, the Canadian Authors Association Best Non Fiction Book, 1993, the Canadian Author’s Association and Jubilee Award, 2004, and three Stephen Leacock Memorial Medals for Humour, 1999, 2001 and 2007. 

But Stuart McLean is probably best known, and loved, by generations of Canadians, for creating Dave and Morley, characters whose zany misadventures are often featured in his long-running CBC production, The Vinyl Café.

This January 28-29, 2012,  Stuart McLean is bringing his hit CBC Vinyl Café production to Upper Canada Playhouse, according to artistic director, Donnie Bowes.

Stuart McLean and his crew will be taping two live programs at the Playhouse in front of two sold out audiences. 

McLean, in his very distinctive voice, during the show, will narrate tales of Dave (who makes a living running the Vinyl Café in Toronto), his wife Morley, their children Stephanie and Sam, their friends, and the people in their neighbourhood. 

Dave keeps a juke box in his living room and the motto of his  record business is “We May Not Be Big, But We’re Small.” 

Each story performance by McLean is a complete tale in its own right, affectionate, often nostalgic,   gently humourous, as Dave and Morley cope with the quirks of daily life. 

These stories on air, and their appearance in a series of books and audio books, have won McLean millions of fans since the characters’ premiere. 

The Vinyl Café features essays, fiction and music. McLean is noted for introducing new Canadian musicians. Café episodes often begin with McLean reciting a description of the venue and the community in which he is appearing (Morrisburg) and end with his signature signoff “I’m Stuart McLean, so long for now.”

Which stories he will be sharing during his taping in Morrisburg are not yet confirmed, but audiences can hope that some of McLean’s beloved seasonal tales, Dave Cooks the Turkey, Christmas with Rasheeda and Ahmeer, Morley’s Christmas Pageant and Dave on the Roof may be in the line-up. 

While tickets are currently sold out for the The Vinyl Café, contact Upper Canada Playhouse at 613-543-3713 for additional information. 

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