Iroquois waste water treatment plant deadline extended

Ben Henriques is a man of few words. He prefers to let his saxophone talk for him.

On Saturday, December 3, at the St. Lawrence Stage, he “talked” to the audience with passion and fire as he performed classic and highly original contemporary jazz during his performance. Backed by the musical artistry of members of Trio Bruxo, Henriques delivered jazz his way.

Alternating between soprano and tenor saxes, Henriques  almost seems to lose himself in his music when he performs. His fingers flying, his eyes closed, he is a study in musical intensity. Whether his style of jazz is necessarily everyone’s taste doesn’t really matter: it is impossible to miss the passion, the artistry in his work.

A quiet, almost diffident speaker between numbers, he seemed comfortable letting David Ryshpan of Trio Bruxo make most of the introductions.

Since this was an evening that featured original compositions by Ryshpan along with many works by Henriques himself, it was an arrangement that worked. 

“You’ve just heard a piece of Ben’s called ‘Paranoia is a Flower’,” Ryshpan laughed, following a number by times dreamy, a little sexy, a little wild. “He called it that because he says both grow the more you put into them.”

Later, Henriques showed a flash of his own humour when he introduced ‘All of Me’.

“This piece has been ‘remelodicized’ into Background Music by Owen Marsh. Remember folks, you heard it here first.”

Expertly backed by bassist Nicholas Bédard, drummer Mark Nelson and pianist Ryshpan, Henriques performed in a way that was often non-traditional, and unrestricted musically. In an earlier interview with The Leader, Henriques said that in contemporary jazz, “we seek to write music in a different way.” He clearly loves the freedom to improvise that modern jazz allows him. 

Numbers like ‘Captain Awesome’ or ‘Fortress of Solitude’ showcased Henriques’ skill and virtuosity. A quiet duet between just Ryshpan’s piano and Henriques’ sax was a memorable moment to me. 

Solo spots highlighting the  formidable talents of Nelson, Bédard and Ryshpan rounded out the evening. 

“Thank you, Morrisburg,” Ben Henriques said, “for supporting live jazz.”

Tickets are currently going very fast for the upcoming St. Lawrence Stage January 21 concert featuring Don Ross, with Graham Greer opening.

[…]

“They had so much fun. It’s such a positive experience,” said Fiona Carr, Family Resource Coordinator for GIAG.

Carr was referring to the full-day events on February 22nd, Ash Wednesday, marking the first day of Lent.

Organized and planned by Lutheran and Anglican churches in South Dundas, the base of activities took place at St. James Anglican Church in Morrisburg. Children from kindergarten to grade 12 were invited to join in the day’s activities where the theme for the day was “Lord Teach Us to Pray.”

According to Carr, “we had kids from tons of different schools.” The similarity? “They have a commonality of believing in God,” she said. 

Kids in Carr’s group, the intermediates, were exchanging phone numbers because although they hadn’t known one another before Wednesday, many of them “became instant friends.” 

Both the intermediate and senior groups took trips to the food bank where they dropped off donations, took a tour and helped out. 

“I was really impressed with them,” said Carr, of her intermediate group. “They helped pack some snack bags.” 

Carr was told that “they asked more questions than they’ve ever asked before,” and, in addition, they were fascinated to learn that donations can include pet food and toiletries, things they hadn’t thought of before the tour.

The primary group was led by Carol Rumble of Iroquois. According to Rumble, aside from honouring Ash Wednesday and having some fun in the process, the day’s purpose was to deliver the message of outreach to the children.

The primary group spent time during the day making cards for orphans in Madagascar. Mary Sherwood is a missionary at an orphanage there and had previously visited the area, giving a presentation of her work and what’s needed. According to Rumble, the cards will be forwarded to Sherwood who will see to it that the children receive them. 

The intermediate and senior groups had a visit from Karen Marshall who spoke about the outreach work her son Chris and his partner Shayna Campbell are doing in Uganda.

Currently, the couple is in the midst of a year-long mission to make a difference at St. Francis Health Care Services located near Mbiko, Uganda. They are trying to raise $33,500 to build a maternity hospital at the center. 

[…]

“Four years ago, we all walked through the doors of Seaway District High School, not knowing which way to go, or where we would fit in,” said the 2013 SDHS valedictorian, Vicki VanHoof. 

She was addressing 63 fellow graduates in the beautifully decorated school gymnasium, before a packed audience. VanHoof recalled teachers, classrooms, assignments, assemblies, sports and  special extra curricular events (like Hay Day), describing how they brought everyone together.

“Regardless of where we came from, we were all willing to make new friends, and to become a new Spartan family.” Four years later, “I am standing here before you looking into our futures, seeing that we have many obstacles to overcome, many dreams yet to fulfill…but being a Spartan has taught us never to give up…”

For the grads and the community, this was a joyous and slightly nostalgic commencement. This is the final one which Seaway will hold in the fall. 

Beginning in 2014, in order to “facilitate student attendance at graduation exercises and to align our practice with other schools in the Upper Canada District School Board” Seaway will be holding the ceremony in June SDHS principal, Terry Gardiner, informed the community in July, 2013.

The South Dundas community, as always, was extremely generous to its 2013 graduates. 

Emcees for the graduation ceremony, teachers Sharon Last and Jeff Crooke, estimate that awards, bursaries and scholarships totalling more than $40,000 were presented to the graduating class. 

Vicki VanHoof brought laughter to the last fall graduation ceremony at Seaway, when she ended her valedictory address with the words of Dr. Seuss:

“You have brains in your head

You have feet in your shoes,

You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

You are on your own, 

And you know what you know,

And you are the one who will decide where to go…”

[…]