Fairy tale wedding complete with celebrities

The response to the Trade Roots event held here Wednesday, was unreal, according to event coordinator Elaine DeKroon.

DeKroon has been part of events all over and said, “I have never seen as much support for an event as we have had today.” 

The career event gave high school students, and members of the public, the opportunity to see skilled trades in action and gather information from skilled tradespeople and educators about career opportunities.

“A lot of the interest in this (Morrisburg) event is because of this facility,” said DeKroon of the Operating Engineers Training Institute of Ontario which offers heavy equipment training.

“It is a really good fit for us to have our event here. People really want to see what this place is about.”

Twelve high schools from Prescott to Cornwall to Ottawa, including Seaway, North Dundas and Rothwell-Osnabruck, were bussed into the event that was also open to the pubic.

They were treated to 46 exhibits showcasing various trades.

“It is great when we have the trades programs from the colleges participate,” said DeKroon.

St. Lawrence College had a strong presence with culinary arts students providing samples of their work and hairstyling students demonstrating their skills on willing volunteers.

Other, more obscure programs, such as the control engineering technology program, also had exhibits to show students what they do and how their efforts are put to use in various industrial applications.

This is the third year that Trade Roots has taken place in Morrisburg. The Morrisburg event was hosted by St. Lawrence College and is funded by Service Canada, in part by the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment Strategy. The final opportunity to attend a Trade Roots event will take place in March 2013, when they will be in Kemptville.

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Rusty

South Dundas Animal Shelter Name:Rusty. Four month old mixed, female puppy. Not neutered. Perhaps collie/lab/boxer mix. Not spayed. Hi folks, my name is Rusty and I am a happy go lucky young puppy looking for a loving forever home where I can grow up to become a family’s beloved best friend. I am a very good sized dog for my age, and I need puppy training asap. I would also need to be spayed in the next few months. I am a large, fun-loving, excitable puppy. Like all young puppies I like to chew and play and jump and play and play and play and play. You know how it is. If you would like more information on Rusty or to meet Rusty, please call Kevin at the South Dundas Animal Shelter for an appointment at 613-543-2980 or 613-913-1476. There is no adoption charge for Rusty but a donation of dog food is sure appreciated by all the boys and girls at the shelter. It is a kind of pay it forward system to help the Shelter care for my buddies while we wait for someone to come and pick us as their new best friend. If you do decide to make an appointment with Kevin to come and meet me, don’t forget to bring along a collar and leash so I  can go home with you. The Shelter has also asked us to try get the message out to everyone that appointments with Kevin to meet our dogs are mandatory…this is a necessary precaution to make sure everyone is safe, both perspective families and the dogs. All persons whether looking for their missing dogs or simply wanting to drop off donations are asked to please call and make arrangements with Kevin before stopping by…again just keeping everyone safe. So remember my name is Rusty….and I am a young lady lookin’ for a new loving home.

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The crowd was much smaller but the concerns were mostly the same at the May 16 SD&G Library Board hosted public information session which took place at the Morrisburg library branch.

About 30 people attended the meeting. Most had previously attended the meeting in Williamsburg the week before.

While this information session was meant to show the people of Morrisburg what the board has planned for the new branch, 95 percent of the questions asked and concerns raised from the floor were from the same people who are continuing to actively fight to keep the Williamsburg branch of the library open.

Karen Franklin made the County library presentation that rationalized and explained the need for change. 

“If we don’t make changes, the library system is at risk of sinking into oblivion,” she said. “Change is necessary and change can be good.”

Because the new branch location in Morrisburg will see foot traffic of 300-500 people per day passing through the doors of the building, they hope they will be able to attract some new users. Presently, about 12 percent of South Dundas residents are active library users.

At this meeting, as at the meeting in Williamsburg, South Dundas council was accused of not working for what the people want. 

Although some members of South Dundas council were at the meeting, they were there strictly in an observatory role. 

Library board chair Bill McGimpsey did comment on this point. “They too are elected to represent the other 10,000 people of South Dundas who are not using the library,” he said.

South Dundas deputy mayor Jim Locke did point out that council has yet to declare an official position on the matter and that will be done at the next council meeting.

Regardless of South Dundas council’s official position, the Library board has already decided that the consolidation is taking place and that the Williamsburg branch is closing. 

Even if South Dundas council supports the idea of maintaining a library in Williamsburg, the library is being displaced from their current home as of August 1, and the library board has no funds at their disposal to make arrangements for an alternate location. 

“Next election, people will remember this,” said Sandra Bailey to the politicians in the room. “As long as there’s 10 kids in Williamsburg using this library, keep the damn thing open. Find the money. There’s money for other things, why not this?” 

Someone in the audience explained that although he understands that the library is trying to stay alive, the library in Williamsburg is an important resource that the people there are trying to hold on to. “By removing this resource, children are being deprived.” he said. 

Mary Strader questioned how the consolidation would truly be an enhancement. “The only enhancement I see is a few additional hours of open time: Not more terminals. Not more books. I see it as less.”

“Look around, look at who’s here. Nobody in Morrisburg is even interested to see what’s coming their way. You are going after the non-users at the expense of the users,” concluded Strader.

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