Year: 2012

 

Now starting its 88th season, Canadian Club has 23 corporate sponsors for the upcoming year.

The Club meets at the Canadian Legion in Morrisburg six times per year, each meeting catered  (wonderfully I might add) by the Legion ladies. We are happy, as the Canadian Club, to support this wonderful organization, and we are extremely happy with the venue. 

Canadian Club encompasses about 25 villages and hamlets, and reaches into four counties. It’s a very inexpensive way to communicate with people from a fairly large area.

Our meetings for the 2012-13 season will be held on the third Wednesdays of  September, October, November, March, April and May.  Everyone is invited to attend any meeting with a $20 ticket. We do ask that you reserve at least a week in advance of the meeting you plan to attend. You are welcome to attend the social time at 6:15. Dinner follows at 7 p.m.

We have an exceptional line-up  of speakers scheduled.

On September 19, Sergeant J. J. Marc Godue, Acting Officer in Charge of the Musical Ride Branch, will be the first speaker. His topic is the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride and the Ride’s contribution to Canadian unity and to promoting Canada.

He will be followed October 17 by Robert Fowler, a Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations. Fowler was kidnapped in 2008 in Niger by an al-Queda affiliate and held for nearly five months. An Order of Canada recipient, Fowler will discuss his ordeal, and comment on Canada’s role at the United Nations.

On November 21, following Remembrance Day, Vice Admiral (retd.) Ron Buck, CMM, CD, will be the guest speaker. His topic will concern Canada’s navy, its origins, its achievements and its importance in going forward. He is a former Commander of the Navy and Vice Chief of Defence.

Major John Grodzinski (not as yet confirmed) is scheduled for March 20, 2013. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the St. Lawrence War of 1812 Bicentennial Alliance, and a professor of history at the Royal Military College in Kingston. He will focus on the War, events specific to our region, and provide insight on how this war made us who we are today.

The guest speaker for April 17 is Jim Brownell, a well-known person throughout Eastern Ontario, who served two terms as MPP in Queen’s Park for this region. Brownell, a former long-time teacher, and a volunteer with a host of community organizations, will discuss the Lost Villages Historical Society. He will focus on the Society’s role in history preservation and interpretation over the past 35 years.

The final speaker of the 2012-2013 Canadian Club season will be Wayne Domanko, M.D., a partner in the St. Lawrence Clinic since 1969. Over the years Dr. Domanko has been a main presenter and speaker at numerous seminars. He is a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, and has conducted significant research. He has served on several committees at Winchester & District Memorial Hospital. And, of course, he has been “doctor” for many in the community.

At Canadian Club, we hope that if you are currently a member, you will rejoin the Club. If not, we hope you will consider becoming a member or a visitor. Our average attendance at meetings is just over 100, and we always welcome new faces. 

For the past few years (with our gratitude) piper Marc Calder has piped in the head table to begin each evening. Current president of the Canadian Club, Dave Black of Morrisburg, presides over meetings whenever possible.

Each month we draw for a 3X6 foot Canadian flag donated to the Club by MP Guy Lauzon. We close each meeting with ‘O Canada’ accompanied by Eleanor Allison. 

We offer our thanks to the volunteers who care for the sound system and table settings for every meeting.

We look forward to seeing you at Canadian Club this fall. 

For tickets to the 2012-13 season of Canadian Club, contact Doug at 613-543-2922 or Clara at 613-774-2407. 

[…]

 

 Irena residents were on edge last week when a neighbouring farmer chose breezy days to burn brush piles left over from a recent land-clearing project.

Smoke and ashes from the piles located directly on the north side of the Irena Road were falling onto the homes located on the south side of Irena Road.

The land was cleared by Dentz, who did obtain a burn permit to dispose of the left over brush. 

However, according Chris McDonough, fire chief South Dundas Fire and Emergency Service, although Calvin Dentz did obtain a permit from the municipality, he failed to comply with the rules laid out in the bylaw governing this type of burning.

“The brush was piled in wind rows, rather than piles, and was too close to the road and too close to property lines,” said McDonough, who warned the landowner to stop burning on August 27.

“We gave him a warning and then we had to come back (August 28) for six hours to put out the fires,” said McDonough. 

The firefighters from the Iroquois Fire Station attended the scene.

Area homeowners couldn’t believe the landowner didn’t heed the initial warning, as it was obvious to them watching from their front yards and front windows, that the situation could have easily gotten out of control.

“We had to close up all our windows in this heat,” said one of the area residents. “Our houses were filling up with smoke so bad it was hurting our eyes and it was hard to breathe.” 

All were worried for their safety and the safety of their homes. “They’re showing no regard for us or our homes,” said another resident.

Because the South Dundas firefighters had to attend the scene after the warning, McDonough says that the landowner will be invoiced for the cost, which McDonough estimates at about $5,000.

[…]

 

South Dundas has re-instated the burn ban.

“It’s just not safe to burn,” said Chris McDonough, fire chief with South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services. “It’s still very dry.”

This ban comes on the heels of recent burning activities that have called on South Dundas’ fire services to extinguish fires lit by area farmers.

The burn ban means that no open air burning is permitted in the municipality and that no more burning permits will be issued until the ban is once again lifted.

[…]

 

A farmer’s brush fire set Saturday, along Ridge Road at Dundela, got so out of control South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services had to call in help from above to extinguish the blaze.

The fire to dispose of brush left over from land clearing lit Monday morning was out of control by 1-2 p.m. Monday, when firefighters were called in to try and extinguish the blaze which was starting to spread.

Iroquois, Williamsburg and Morrisburg firefighters were all on scene fighting the blaze from the ground.

“We had 1,600 feet of hose on the ground and we couldn’t get it under control said Chris McDonough, fire chief of South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services, who also reported that it was difficult to access the fire.

“The situation got really dangerous,” said McDonough. “Four guys were caught in a vortex, where there was fire all around them,” he said, of the very dangerous situation, that they managed to escape. 

However at that point, McDonough knew that drastic measures were needed to avoid injuries to the firefighters and to keep the fire from spreading.

“We had depleted all our resources,” he said, “We only had one truck left in Morrisburg, in case of some other emergency.”

So, about three to four hours after they were called to the scene, McDonough called in the Ministry of Natural Resources with their water tanker and spotter airplanes to extinguish the blaze that was starting to spread into an adjacent tree line towards the east.

The water tanker from North Bay was able to extinguish the fire in about four passes dropping a fire suppressant foam. 

“We were really fortunate to get the tanker,” he said. “Their turn around time between loads was 7-8 minutes. They did a really good job.”

One firefighter was treated by EMS for heat exhaustion and breathing issues.

The landowner, Alfred Ettlin, did have a burn permit, however the brush was piled in very large wind rows rather than piles. McDonough says these huge wind rows are the main source of the problem. 

“He had six rows (of brush) about 15 feet high and 500 feet long, spaced about 50-75 feet apart, so what was happening was the first wind row would start the next one, making it a very intense fire,” explained McDonough.

According to McDonough the farmer who owns the property will be responsible for paying for the cost of fighting the fire including the services of the fire bomber. 

The MNR rate for the services of the water tanker is $3,657.49 per hour. The required spotter plane costs $1,244.77 per hour and each load of foam dropped by the plane is $135.

[…]

 

A dog attack Tuesday, August 28, around 11 a.m. in the Morrisburg waterfront park left a four-year-old Yorkshire Terrier dead, and his owner injured.

Shirley Gillmor, of Morrisburg, was walking her nine pound dog Bruiser along the walking path just past the Docksyde restaurant, when the attack occurred.

Her dog was leashed, the German Shepherd that attacked them was not.

Gillmor. whose hand was bitten during the attack, says, “The marks this has left on the inside, are much worse than the marks on my hands.”

Though grieving the loss of her canine companion, she was compelled to share her story with The Leader and the community to make people aware of what happened, in hopes that such a tragedy will never happen again. 

She is especially worried because this attack happened in such a busy place, where people often walk their dogs and where families regularly spend time with their children.

Last Tuesday morning, at about 11 a.m., Gillmor took Bruiser for a walk, as usual. As they walked past the Docksyde, Gillmor notice a dark blue van parked. An unleashed dog was outside the van. She describes that dog as a 20-30 pound poodle type dog, that did not appear to be any threat to her or her dog, although it was unleashed.

She was correct in her assumption, that dog posed no threat. But, what she couldn’t see was a large German Shepherd inside the van, parked with its sliding door wide open. The dog owner was sitting in the van.

When Gillmor and Bruiser got within about 20 feet of the van the Shepherd leapt out of the van growling. 

“He headed directly for my dog,” said Gillmor. “It all happened so fast, I had no time to pick my dog up.”

“My dog is leashed all the time. I was trying to hold my dog in my right hand while I put my left hand out to try and stop the dog, but in one or two seconds the Shepherd was there.”

“I was screaming at the (dog’s) owner to get his dog,” said Gillmor. “He yelled, but he didn’t make any move as I was struggling.”

In all the commotion Gillmor’s dog slipped out of his collar. That’s when the attacking Shepherd sank his teeth into the small dog and shook him. “My dog is screeching in pain and I get bit, that’s when the owner finally gets his dog,” she recounts.

“My dog is screaming in pain, my hands are dripping with blood and the dog owner gets his two dogs back in the van and starts driving away,” says Gillmor. “I yelled at him to help me and he cursed at me.”

Luckily, a quick-thinking eye-witness got the van’s plate number and another helped Gillmor by taking her and her badly injured dog to the Morrisburg Animal Hospital.

“They were wonderful at the vet’s,” said Gillmor. “They dropped everything to work on my Yorkie.”

However, though the dog was still alive, the dog’s internal injuries were so severe that Gillmor says, “I had to make the terrible decision to have him put down.”

Gillmor reported the attack to police, and following their investigation, the owner of the Shepherd, 57-year-old George Parent of Ottawa has been charged with dog owner failing to prevent it from biting or attacking a person or domestic animal. OPP media relations officer Pete Robertson reported Tuesday that the charge has been laid and that a court date has been set.

[…]

“I remember being very nervous in grade nine,” said 17-year-old Brodey Casselman. “I wasn’t from the area and I didn’t know many people at Seaway. I remember how scary it was not to know people, and how I would have liked some one to turn to.” 

Brodey, along with 15 other senior students at Seaway, has chosen to join the new board-wide Link program that will be introduced at Seaway this September.

When Seaway District High School opens its doors on September 4, the 2012 grade nines will find that there is definitely someone they can turn to, to help ease the transition from elementary to high school. 

“The Link program is based on a big project developed by California educators known as the Boomerang Project,” said Heather Thompson, the teacher who is heading up Seaway’s new program, with the support of fellow teacher Lilace McIntyre and guidance councillor Mark Lewis. 

“The focus of the Boomerang Project is to create a positive transition for grade nines into high school. That is also the focus of the Link program of the Board.”

Teachers introducing Link programs to their schools (known as Link co-ordinators) themselves take part in three days of intensive training with professionals, the “best training experience I’ve ever had,” Thompson said.

The one credit Interdisciplinary Course on Leadership that is now set up at Seaway High School (the Link program) has been developed for grade 12 students who will act throughout the school year as mentors, friends and role models to the grade nines with whom they are matched.

These Link leaders, as the grade 12 students are described, “we hope can begin to build strong relationships with our grade nines,” Thompson said. “They become people to whom grade nines can safely turn to ask questions, to seek help, to share worries and concerns as they adapt to a new high school environment. There are two link leaders for every grade nine ‘crew’ of 8-10 students.”

Grade 12 students get into the Link program by applying. Some Seaway seniors have had their names put forward by teachers who have seen qualities in them of which even they may be unaware.

“I was recommended to the program,” said Sierra Stone, 17, who has also opted to join Link. “When I came to Seaway in grade nine, I did know some people, but it was easy to be intimidated by kids older than me.”

The students who have been selected to join the Link program must make a personal commitment in terms of time and effort, and not just in a classroom. They must involve themselves in all aspects of the nines’ school life. Outside regular school hours training is mandatory.

The Leader attended an intensive work shop held at Seaway on Monday, August 27, where the 16 seniors, all chosen for different strengths and unique qualities during the June screening process, were undergoing training. 

The seniors were, in a number of organized activities, learning how to lead their student groups, how to break the ice and how to set up comfortable dialogues. The training they were undergoing teaches them leadership and communication skills, works with them in learning to cope with unexpected or challenging situations, helps them explore ways to reach younger students who need support.

“The Boomerang program is strongly organized and purposeful,” Thompson said. “and it’s been proven to have a positive impact on a whole school. It sends a strong message that we are not only supporting our nines, but teaching leadership qualities to our 12s. I think this program will start the school year off in a positive, energetic way that will make this the best year at Seaway.”

The newly trained grade 12s will have the chance to put their knowledge to good use on Thursday, August 30, when all grade nines are invited to attend their high school orientation, starting at 8 a.m. 

[…]