Scouts honour Tyler

By early Monday morning the former Dundela schoolhouse building, that has long served as a recreation building for the Dundela outdoor rink, was a pile of rubble. 

The decision to demolish this building was first discussed by South Dundas council in February 2014, and officially finalized last July, as reported in the July 23 issue of The Leader. The mural on the building was relocated months ago and is now freestanding in Dundela’s McIntosh park. 

The municipality plans to replace the building with a new structure to accommodate skaters at the popular outdoor rink. 

When the excavator arrived on scene to demolish the building, a group of area residents expressed their opposition to the demolition, however upon closer inspection agreed that saving the building was not feasible.

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Both the Matilda and Williamsburg waste disposal sites have a limited lifespan, and South Dundas township officials want the residents of South Dundas to do what they can to prolong the life of these waste disposal sites.

One way to prolong the lifespan of the waste disposal sites is to reduce the weekly two bag limit down to one bag weekly, but South Dundas council is not willing to take that step …yet.

At the October 31 special meeting, council spoke at length about the need for the public to be educated on the use of the sites and the impact misuse will have on the community.

Presently, South Dundas pays almost $40,000 a month for garbage and recycling pickup. Officials warn that amount could easily double, or more, when South Dundas no longer has access to its own waste disposal sites and that day could come within the next few years.

Based on the current deposition rate, the anticipated date the Matilda waste disposal site will reach full capacity is 2015, and the Williamsburg site will reach full capacity in 2017. 

“We as residents need to do our share for the environment,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds. He believes if each resident improves their own waste management they will easily reduce their waste to about one bag weekly, which is where the municipality wants to set the limit within the next few years.

The province of Ontario sets the recycling target at about 60 percent of waste being diverted from landfill, but South Dundas is far from that, diverting less than 20 percent from landfill through its recycling programs. 

Council and staff agreed that a concentrated public education campaign is needed to promote recycling in South Dundas.

As part of a review of the municipality’s garbage bylaw, staff proposed eliminating cash transactions from taking place at the waste disposal sites through the implementation of a voucher system, however council was not happy with the proposed changes. Council opted to keep the sites operating, as is, with a cash system. 

Other discussions at the October 31 meeting will likely result in a couple of changes to the existing garbage policy.

Residents will no longer be allowed to take two bags of household waste to the dump each week for free. The practice was put in place for those who happened to miss their roadside garbage pick up day. With the new policy, that will no longer be an option. Those wanting to take those bags to landfill can expect to pay.

Council asked staff to investigate the possibility of allowing those with documented medical incontinence issues to exceed the existing two bag limit.

Staff is also putting together a new fee schedule that will eliminate the separate rate category for farm waste. Farm waste will be treated as commercial waste.

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Are you a student interested in starting your own business? If you’re between the ages of 15 and 29, you might just qualify for a little help in making that dream into a reality. 

According to a recent release from the Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre (CBEC), they are now accepting applications for Summer Company 2012.

“Summer Company is a program sponsored by the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation (MEDI) and administered by CBEC, which assists students in starting and running their own business through the summer months.”

“Participants receive hands on business training and are matched with mentors who help guide them through the business stages.”

Furthermore, “each Summer Company participant can receive up to $3,000 to start their own business.”

According to Candy Pollard, a business consultant with CBEC, “we have had a couple of students from South Dundas as part of Summer Company in the past.” 

“We usually see about 30 to 35 initial applications. We then contact each student to provide information on continuing the application process,” she informed.

“It really is an excellent opportunity for our youth to learn about business and to make some money at the same time,” she said.

For more information, visit www.summercompany.ca.

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