Delivering basics to a Kenyan orphanage

The South Dundas Sports Lending Library, established in 2012 to allow residents of South Dundas to access a wide variety of sporting goods, is becoming very popular.

“The Sports Lending Library is working very well,” said Ben Macpherson, South Dundas recreation program coordinator. 

Macpherson established the program with a successful Trillium Funding Application and now has sports equipment of all kinds available, for for residents of South Dundas to freely borrow.

“The snowshoes have been very popular this winter,” said Macpherson, who says that area schools have made use of them to provide their students the opportunity to try something new.

“The schools are strong supporters of the program,” he said, adding that currently one of the schools has borrowed a number of helmets and skates for a skating trip to the canal in Ottawa.

“Also getting a lot of use are the skates at the arena,” said Macpherson. 

“We had one person borrow a pair because he hadn’t been skating in 20 years. Now, he comes every week and borrows the same pair.”

That’s the whole point of the library, facilitating physical activity for South Dundas residents.

The Sports Lending Library is located beside the Dundas County Food Bank. Available for borrow are snowshoes of all sizes, basketballs, volleyballs, footballs, cross country skis, badminton and bocce ball sets. Skates and helmets are available within the Morrisburg Arena in all sizes, from children’s to youth to adult.

“Several families have borrowed the cross county skis,” said Macpherson, explaining how great it is for people to have the opportunity to enjoy these outdoor winter sports without having to invest in the costly equipment. 

“It’s also great if you have visitors coming to town,” he said explaining that you can outfit them to enjoy some recreational activities with you, again without having to invest in equipment.

Looking forward to the summer months, Macpherson is hoping to bring in canoes and kayaks to the lending library.

Anyone with questions about the South Dundas Sports Lending Library can contact Ben Macpherson at 613-543-2937 or bmacpherson@southdundas.com

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There’s a new film maker in town. 

He’s still a little young, but judging by his enthusiasm for making movies, this grade four student already has a bright future ahead of him.

Derrik Jansen, nine, a student at Iroquois Public School, taught by Madame LaCroix and Mrs. Mac, has been awarded first prize in the Upper Canada District School Board’s Summer Fun Holiday Video Contest.  

The contest encouraged area families to submit short videos showing their favourite moments from summer vacation. Contestants posted their videos on the Board’s Facebook site.

Derrik’s award winning short film was created around his family’s camping vacation in Stowe, Vermont. 

“We wanted to create a fun way in which families in the UCDSB area could share their summer memories while drawing them to our Facebook site to learn about registering for our quality programs,” said David K. Thomas, director of education with the board. “We are excited to announce that Iroquois Public School student Derrik Jansen has won the grand prize of a two night stay at the Ambassador Conference Centre Resort in Kingston.”

The Leader had the opportunity to talk to the young film maker on Friday, September 7, at his school.

“I am really interested in making films,” Derrik said. “I’ve been making my own videos, lots of them, ever since I had the chance to attend the Real to Reel Film Festival in April. (The UCDSB has held this film festival for the last six years, and IPS teacher Mrs. Moorhouse took her students, including Derrik, to the event in the spring.) Mrs. Moorhouse taught me all I know about making movies.”

Derrik’s mother read about the Board’s video contest, and encouraged him to enter. 

“We’ve been going to Stowe, Vermont, camping, for about 13 years,” Derrik explained. “It’s a place really special to my mom and dad. Originally, when I was thinking about my film, I thought I might call it Stores in Stowe, but then I thought, who wants to see a lot of stores?”

With his camera constantly in his hands, Derrik followed his parents and sister Ruby as they vacationed. 

“I’m one of those kids who follows his family around with a camera,” Derrik laughed. “Basically, they’re used to me being there filming. We went to familiar places and some new ones.”

He filmed the Jansen family’s visits to Cider Donuts, to Spruce Peak and to Ben & Jerry’s factory (“we were eating ice cream cones at 9:30 a.m.”). Derrik himself appears in the film at a bungee trampoline site.

“My parents said this was the  most hilarious part of my video since there I am, hanging from a bungee line, and I’m whining because the harness is too tight.”

Back home, Derrik had to edit a lot of footage on his mother’s e-machine, using Windows 7, in order to get his video down to slightly over one minute in length (contest rules). His opening titles were shot over a Stowe, Vermont, license plate. “My dad thought of that,” he said.

While he could check voting on line after he submitted his entry, Derrik had no idea he had actually been awarded first place until August 30.

“I was out in a tiny fishing boat with my grandfather, when my dad called on the cell phone and said, ‘I’ve got good news. You won.’ I immediately started doing my excited dance, which is not easy,” he laughed, “on a small fishing boat. Lots of stares.”

Derrik’s interest in film making is already pointing him in a career direction.

“I really love this. I hope that it does become more than a hobby one day. I am very interested in making short films, maybe even commercials. Not educational films at this point. I don’t want to make Sesame Street.”

In the last months he’s made movies like Nerf Gunshots, Horror Film, featuring his sister, Ruby, and just this week, he made Crazy Dancing.

“After this, I would really like to experiment with special effects, but I would need a new program, and that will be expensive. Maybe down the road. 

In the meantime,” Derrik Jansen, South Dundas’ newest film maker, said, “my camera and I will be out there working hard.”

[…]

Three local Dundas Country agencies, Linking Hands, the J.W. MacIntosh Seniors Support Centre and the Dundas County Food Bank were all recipients of 2012 grants from the John Stewart Estate Memorial Trust Fund. The money is investment income derived from the 1991 sale of the John Stewart Home in Cornwall. Representative Adele Eyman said the board looked at the “sustainability of each organization, as well as the numbers of people it served” in determining recipients. These Dundas groups “are all good neighbours in their communities,” she added, presenting the checks on Saturday, March 10, at the Seniors Support Centre in Williamsburg. Linking Hands will use its $400 to continue to develop its Lunch and Learn program through the House of Lazarus. The Dundas County Food Bank will use the grant of $1,166 to help “keep stocking our shelves with healthy food,” said Food Bank administrator Donna Quesnel. Janet Levere, executive director of the J.W. MacIntosh Senior Support Centre hopes to use the $400 grant towards subsidizing vital transportation costs. Pictured (l-r) are Nancy Christie of the House of Lazarus, Janet Levere, Adele Eyman, Alvin Runnalls, chair of the Dundas County Food Bank and Donna Quesnel. 

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