Basket Case owners expand into antique and collectable market

 It was a nail biter ending to the 2012 Tubie race.

Held on Sunday, August 5, from the Morrisburg dock, the race for gold ultimately came down to two crafts, Gary Magee’s and Jon Domanko’s, both battling waves and a strong wind at the finish. 

At the Morrisburg beach, with both sets of paddlers pumping furiously, the winning decision was made in three seconds. 

Gary Magee’s team pulled up on the sand first, to be crowned the new Kings of the River in a time of 6:12, while Team Domanko took silver with a time of 6:15. 

Seizing bronze in a time of 6:44 was Jeff Barclay’s team while Curtis Fowler and the South Nation Conservation Authority came fourth (7:17) and the Waddell/Millard team took fifth (7:42).

A big upset in the race came earlier in the afternoon when the Katherine Lee team, the defending 2011 Tubie champions, got caught in the wind, during their qualifier, and turned turtle in the river. Team members, all wearing life jackets, were dumped into the St. Lawrence. No one was injured in any way, but the rowers and their craft had to be ferried to shore and were out of contention.

The crowd waiting for the final race outcome at the Morrisburg beach, felt they had certainly gotten their ‘money’s worth’ with the 2012 competition. 

“This was the best race ever,” said Wayne Domanko, who served as official timer for the races. “What an incredible finish.”

Gary Magee shared some thoughts with Morrisburg & District Lion, Mike Domanko, one of the prime organizers of the annual Tubie weekend.

“Jon Domanko and I worked together for years,” Magee said, “but we have different ideas about how to win the contest, so we split up and made it a rivalry between us. 

This year my team went with a new rudder design and we were able to steer despite strong winds. Even thought the Tubies is over 40 years old, there’s still room for creativity.”

Mike Domanko said that some special creative awards were  acknowledged this year. The Emergency Preparedness nod went to Jeff Barclay, whose Tube-in-a-Tube design kept his team in the race, when their outer tube blew. Magee received kudos for Innovation of the Year for his foot operated rudder controls.

The Magee Tubie  (Gary Magee, Irene Shaver, Adrienne Leroy, Jay Griffiths, Susie Wye and Dan Shaver) took home $400 in prize money, with the Domanko team winning $250 for second place. The Barclay team won $150 for third. The South Nation group received $50.

Taking part in all the Tubie fun, although they did not qualify for the final race, were crafts  skippered by Tommy Keyes and Canadian Tire. 

The weather for the 2012 Tubie weekend co-operated for the most part, although Sunday did start off a little threatening. Saturday was hot, but that did not deter the annual parade of Tubie floats. The  Friday night Teen Dance, a new addition to the weekend, proved to be a success as did the Tubie Dance on Saturday night. 

The theme of this year’s Tubies  was ‘Dock of Ages’, and there were some highly creative floats in the noon parade.

The Barclay/Laurin float, which celebrated the Muppets, was awarded first prize by float judges and a cheque for $400 on Saturday. Alice in Wonderland (Waddell/Millard) came second, and won $250. It’s Good Tubie Under the Dock, the Magee/Domanko float was third, tied with the Lions Mini Pops float, each winning $150.

 The Katherine Lee float, Dock of Ages, came 4th, the Red Neck Tubies 5th and Canadian Tire 6th. The last three each received $50.

[…]

August 24, 1957, Constable Ronald Pitt, then 34, of the Morrisburg Police Force, was shot by two gunmen as he approached a stolen vehicle in Morrisburg. He died from his injuries and no one has […]

During the May 15th South Dundas council meeting, councillor Evonne Delegarde submitted three requests from the Bluegrass Festival Committee.

The requests included the borrowing or renting of chairs as well as the use of the Iroquois Campsite showers and dumping station.

It was estimated that there would be 70 to 80 campers ‘rough camping’ at the Bluegrass Festival, which takes place June 15th to the 17th at the Iroquois Locks.

 Mayor Steven Byvelds reminded council that the committee had submitted a request at budget time for $10,000 and were granted $3,000 from the township.

He also pointed out that “we had this request last year and denied it.”

Chief administrative officer Stephen McDonald pointed out that there is a grants policy and “I don’t think this group just thought of this request today. I think it was purposefully not given to staff.”

In terms of the shower request, Councillor Jim Graham said, “people pay to camp there. It’s not fair.”

Delegarde suggested there might be a fee for showering.

Deputy-mayor Jim Locke said, “I don’t think we’re supporting our tourism by not allowing dumping. You’re not going to have them lined up.”

Clerk Brenda Brunt pointed out that there is no staff working on Sunday afternoons.

“I do see a line up,” said Byvelds. “I don’t like getting last minute requests. It’s not fair to council and it’s not fair to staff.”

As for the paying campers at the Iroquois Campsite, Byvelds said, “it’s not going to be an enjoyable experience for them.”

In the end, it was decided that there weren’t any chairs sufficient to the task. It was also decided that allowing the showers to be used would be too much of an inconvenience to campers at the Iroquois Campsite. The request to allow dumping, however, was approved.

[…]