Month: July 2012

South Dundas will see some work done on portions of County Road 18 and County Road 31 in the coming months.

During the June 26th South Dundas council meeting, deputy-mayor Jim Locke reported that work is to be done on the portion of County Road 18 between Dixon’s Corners and Hanesville as well as on the portion of County Road 31 between Williamsburg and Winchester Springs.

Contacted following the township meeting, United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry engineer Ben De Haan confirmed this, but could not give a specific start date for the work. 

According to De Haan, the contractor is currently working on projects in North and South Glengarry and is expected to arrive in Dundas county in early August.

In addition, it was reported that the portion of County Road 31 just north of Morrisburg that has a substantial and noticeable vertical rut will be investigated sometime in August or September of this year.

“We are going to do a test pit,” said De Haan. “We are planning to excavate a one foot wide hole through the rut and down to the sub-grade to try and determine what is causing the issue.”

“I expect we will see thicker road base under the center part of the road and thinner road base or questionable material at the exterior,” he explained.

“This analysis will help us determine how to repair this section of the road.”

De Haan said he would prefer to “do it once and do it right.”

[…]

“It would be nice if people would just be a little considerate,” said South Dundas councillor Archie Mellan.

He was referring to the recent unsightly dumping of a toilet and sink in the middle of a rural road in Hulbert, just in front of the Hulbert-Valley United Church.

Dumping along rural roads is one of Mellan’s pet peeves and an issue that he says is plaguing neighbouring townships as well.

Mellan, who had lobbied for dumping options for both tires and, eventually, electronic waste at both South Dundas landfills, was admittedly “frustrated” by the unauthorized dumping. 

“Spring is usually the worst time,” he said. “It’s the bigger stuff that gets thrown off on some of these side roads.”

Among some of the worst side roads “hit” in South Dundas, according to Mellan, are Waddell Road, Nine Mile Road and Fulton Road.

He said that people have thrown tires, televisions, refrigerators and bags of garbage into ditches, into people’s fields and even into some of the creeks and ponds. 

While the township does have a by-law against unauthorized dumping and littering, Mellan said it’s hard to enforce.

“Fortunately, we do have people out there who take pride in their community,” he continued. “We have people in the township who will go along and pick up garbage a couple of times a year.”

“If you didn’t have conscientious people like that it wouldn’t be long before you’re driving along and all you see is garbage.”

He pointed toward people coming into South Dundas who are considering buying homes and settling here and he said, “you don’t want that first impression to be of garbage in the ditches.”

“It’s just a frustrating thing,” he continued, “and the toilet just sent me over the edge.”

“Have a little more respect and a little more decency,” he pleaded. “It’s unfair to the people who try to keep their properties and roads cleaned up.”

Mellan pointed out that this issue is “a combination of things.” It isn’t just about dumping large items on purpose, but also about throwing things like cups and wrappers out of car windows.

In the case of the toilet and sink, Mellan believes the items weren’t dumped on purpose, but rather fell off an unsecured load. Unfortunately, the owners did not return to claim or clean up the mess.

So, in addition to not using rural roads and ditches as dumping zones, Mellan would also like to ask that people “secure your loads and don’t throw your stuff out the windows.”

[…]

 The medal reads “Tu Haces La Diferencia.” In English it means, “You Make a Difference.”

George Jackson, of Iroquois, is a man who has tried to make a difference in the lives of some very special children since 1985, when he set up the Partners for Children in Development, a charitable organization, and began work in Honduras, one of the world’s most troubled nations. 

In May of 2012, Jackson was recognized for those years of service with a Coca Cola Heroes Award.

The Coca Cola company operates a very large plant in Honduras, making both coke and beer. Coke is very popular in the nation. Like every major industry, profits come first with Coke, “but I believe they are trying to make a difference in the lives of the people in the nations where they operate,” Jackson said.  

The medal was presented  to him by representatives of Coca Cola at the Centro de Artes,  an Arts Centre Jackson built for local children in San Pedro Sula, with the support of Partners. Reporters from Prensa, the San Pedro Sula journal, and staff at the Centre were also on hand. 

The medal, created by Coca Cola, seeks to recognize and commend the efforts of ordinary people around the world who have tried to do something to help their community and its people. It seeks to honour those who try, often against great odds, “ to make a difference.”

George Jackson, who admits that he tries to keep a low profile, has devoted much of his life to helping the children of Honduras. He has developed homes and schools, emphasized and supported education and, in 2006, opened an Arts centre in the heart of the community where children can feel safe, and perhaps find a way out of the grinding poverty of their lives.

“Since I came to Honduras in 1988, the population has doubled,” Jackson said. “The streets are very dangerous, far more so than when I started. Because Honduras has become a drop off point between Columbia and Mexico, gangs and drug lords are essentially running the country. Illiteracy is rampant, and so is government corruption. Sadly, the city of San Pedro Sula has recently been named the most dangerous city in the world.”

Yet Jackson perseveres.

“I still firmly believe that education for the children is the key,” he explained. “They must learn to think and to reason, to choose a different path. Through Partners, I want to continue to give kids choices, to keep them occupied with things of value to the nation, We must offer an alternative to street life, or to no life at all.”

He feels that the support of Partners, a registered Canadian charity, really has made a difference.

“We have 120 children in public school, three in high school, and we are supporting five students in university through Partners. Olga and Karla, (both of whom Partners brought to Canada, and who attended school at Seaway), well, Olga will soon graduate as a doctor and Karla is going to graduate as an elementary teacher. They came from tough, tough backgrounds, both of them, and they have made it. I am so very, very proud of them. Believe me, I look forward to the day I go to their graduation ceremonies.”

Jackson is deeply honoured that he was chosen by Coca Cola to receive a Heroes Award, but he sees himself as simply a representative of all the people who have kept the work of Partners alive.

“It is Partners’ work, and people’s support of that work, that really matters. Once an organization like Partners succeeds in helping a few, the effect ultimately spreads into the next generations. It is my hope that people will continue to support us, help us to continue to do what we are doing.”

Next week, Jackson returns to Honduras and the task that has become a big part of his life.

“I am going to keep doing this work until I can’t do it any more,” he said.

George Jackson and Partners for Children in Development can be reached at Box 466, Iroquois, Ontario.

[…]

“Life is about learning,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds, “I always encourage people to look for opportunities to further their education.”

Byvelds congratulated Brenda Brunt, clerk for South Dundas, on her recent achievement of the Certified Municipal Officer (CMO) designation.

“For you to achieve the CMO designation is great for you and for South Dundas,” said Byvelds. “Please continue to keep up the good work that you do.”

To apply for the CMO, Brunt had to first be a member-in-good-standing with AMCTO (the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario), complete the Municipal Administration Program, and be employed by a municipality for at least three years.

Brunt qualified for Certified Municipal Officer status by demonstrating proficiency in the following key areas: municipal knowledge, management, leadership, communication skills, and human resources.

She pointed out that “the CMO is widely known and recognized in the municipal world.”

“The CMO designation process is a huge undertaking but once attained, you feel a sense of achievement and self-worth.”

Brunt will need to recertify every five years.

[…]

“Marriage is too much trouble. Next time I’ll just find a woman I hate and buy her a house.”

Journalist John Cummings is a little bit bitter about his recent divorce and his subsequent move to a small flat in the Aurora Terrace Apartments, under a nearby airport’s flight path.

In fact, he has soured on the whole idea of romance, love, commitment, determined not to get involved in any serious way with any woman again. “It’s silly to think two people can stay together forever,” he says firmly.

Then he meets three rather remarkable women and gradually John Cummings begins to realize that in the battle of the sexes, both sides have unique strategies and  unexpected weapons.

Upper Canada Playhouse’s new production of Norm Foster’s witty, fast moving comedy, Here on the Flight Path,  (running until July 29) is a show for grown-ups.

 You have to have lived a little, loved a little, to appreciate just how clever Foster’s dialogue and characters are. In the course of Flight Path people are able  to catch a revealing glimpse of themselves in the on stage characters Foster has created: but because this is Norm Foster, there is no sting accompanying that look.

“With a Norm Foster play, people find themselves laughing hysterically, because he is just so funny,” Playhouse artistic director Donnie Bowes said during an earlier interview. “Ideas come to him and he channels them.”

“Foster is a gem,” added Walter Learning, who directed the show for the Playhouse. “Norm Foster is a funny, funny man, and people enjoy experiencing his view of relationships in this play.”

And the Playhouse has come up with a stellar cast for Here on the Flight Path.

The sometimes curmudgeonly John is played by veteran actor Jamie Williams (“There are two things a man wants in a relationship. And the second is that the woman not make a scene when the relationship is over.”). 

You just can’t help liking Williams’ character.  

His John changes during the play, opens up, and eventually learns a lot about himself. Williams portrays a man forced to take a fresh look at life and love, and invites the audience along. His Cummings is not quite the same man at the end of the play as he was in the beginning. 

Melanie Janzen is Fay, Angel and Gwen: three remarkable women,  all played by the same remarkable actress. 

In an earlier interview Janzen discussed the challenge of playing these radically different women in the same play. “You have to find three different motivations for each of these women to make her feel complete.”

Janzen does. 

Yes, she changes wigs and clothes (at incredible speed, kudos to her and the stage crew), but it is more than this. 

Each woman moves, speaks, projects differently: Fay, the amused cynic, Angel the wide-eyed ingenue, Gwen, older,  hurt, but learning to stand on her own. They are all Janzen, and all women we (and John) want to come to know.

The audience roared with laughter throughout the show I attended. 

Whether it was call girl Fay’s wry description of her  job (“I’m a consultant.” “Who do you consult with?” “Pretty well anyone who has the money.”) or Alberta Angel’s ingenuous comments (“I’m reading Withering Heights.” “Um, that’s Wuthering Heights. It’s a ‘u’.” “Oh, I thought that was a spelling mistake.”), the laughs are genuine and real. 

I heard more than one person leave the theatre the night I was there with the amused observation that  “there was a lot of truth in that play. A lot of truth.”

Sit back and savor the moment when John steps on to his balcony, at the Aurora Apartments, and says, “I’m going to tell you a story. Three stories really…”   It’s the start of an evening of witty and wonderful entertainment.

Norm Foster’s Here on the Flight Path runs at Upper Canada Playhouse until July 29. For information and tickets contact 613-543-3713.

[…]

Let the Canada Day Celebration Continue…Raffle Winners Named

This year’s Canada Day Celebration in Morrisburg was a huge hit that was topped off with a spectacular fireworks display. Thanks to the generosity of a number of business owners in Morrisburg, and the support of the community who purchased tickets, the Canada Day organizing committee was able to raise between $4,000 and $5,000 through a Canada Day Raffle which helped to offset the $10,000 cost of the display. Contributing enormously to the success of the raffle are the merchants pictured who generously donated gift certificates for their stores for the raffle prizes. They are, back l-r, Gurcharn Cheema of Ultramar Gas, Michel Proulx of Canadian Tire, Riley Hatherall of Valu-mart, Ken Rundle of Giant Tiger and Lloya Sprague of Home Hardware. Pictured front centre with her grandson Lincoln is Canada Day Committee representative Linda Robinson. On the left is Muriel McLean top prize winner of a $700 Canadian Tire gift certificate and on the right is Les Marshall who won a $100 gift certificate from Ultramar. Len Bellamy won a $500 Valu-mart gift certificate, Janice Casselman a $200 Giant Tiger gift certificate and April McKay a $100 Home Hardware gift certificate. “Our merchants are always so very generous,” said Robinson as she thanked each of them for their donations. “I have heard nothing but compliments about the fireworks. Their contributions, along with the support of the community helped to make the fireworks possible. The park was packed all day. ”

[…]