Disheau shifts focus to the 2014 election

“We’re batting a 1,000 per cent here at Seaway,” said science teacher Robin Gibbs. “Three years of entering the United Counties Science Fair and three years of going to the finals. I am very, very proud of Bronwyn, Stormy and Sophia for their success.”

Bronwyn Fowler, Stormy Howard and Sophia Currier entered projects in the United Counties Science Fair, held March 30-31 at St. Lawrence High School in Cornwall, and came home as winners in several  award categories. 

Stormy and Bronwyn, will, in fact, be taking their project on to the Canadian Science Fair taking place in May in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Sophia’s project, “Spoiling Fruit”  won a silver award from the Professional Engineers of Ontario, Upper Canada Chapter, and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation Plaque.

Bronwyn and Stormy’s project,  “What’s a Bean’s Favourite Colour?” won the Outstanding Research Award, and the Science Teachers’ Association of Ontario Trophy.

Sophia studied the best conditions for the preservation of fresh fruit, creating special environments for pears and bananas in particular.  “My mom was okay with fruit decomposing all around the house,” she said. Understanding and influencing fruit spoilage could help in healthier eating. 

Bronwyn and Stormy made the final determination of their topic after a 3 a.m. debate between studying light or temperature effects on the growth of beans. 

“We chose light,” Stormy said, “and used natural and artificial lights, along with our control bean plant, to affect the bean’s growth.”

“This project could help in finding out better ways to adjust green house glass for creating better crops,” Bronwyn explained.

There were 48 projects entered in the Fair this year, representing schools from all three counties, according to teacher Melissa Ringler, who is a member of the United Counties Science Fair Committee. Judges, who require the young exhibitors to answer questions and defend their ideas, are all community members involved in science careers.

Seaway’s proud principal, Terry Gardiner, added his congratulations to the three students, and to their teachers, Robin Gibbs and Janet Fowler.

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 Big, orange and thousands of them! They are all at Upper Canada Village for the all-new Pumpkinferno which opened Friday night.

Pumpkinferno creates a new family tradition and fall experience unlike any other in Canada.  A unique blend of creative artistry combined with a definite sense of humour, this mesmerizing installation of 1,000s of LED-lit pumpkins of all sizes is a ‘must do’ fall event.

“The St. Lawrence Parks Commission has invested more than half a million dollars into this new event along with approximately 6,000 hours of labour,” says Darren Dalgleish, General Manager and CEO of the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. “Pumpkinferno will have an instant appeal to absolutely everyone of any age – it will actually reignite many an imagination! ”

A walking tour will take visitors through 30 artistically carved, internally lit, themed exhibits.  Guests will be amazed by an eclectic display of scenes from exotic places and historic ages, forest animals and sea-born creatures, story book heroes, mythical characters, cultural icons and more … all creatively carved from artificial pumpkins! 

In addition, Eastern Ontario school children were invited to share their artistic carvings using real pumpkins. With 13 schools and over 640 school children participating, UCV will display hundreds of their carved pumpkins at “Our Children’s Pumpkin Art”.

Pumpkinferno visitors can stop in at the Village Store Pantry, or the Tent O’ Treats just outside the Village, to discover a variety of fun foods … try a Mummy Dog on a stick, with a side of Brains and Bones Poutine! Enjoy a hot bowl of Spooky Soup or Stew topped with a Spider Croissant, or slurp back a Pumpkin Pie soda … plus lots more!!  The Village Store is the exclusive Canadian supplier of Pumpkin Pie Soda.

Full service dining is also available in the ambience of historic inn Willard’s Hotel and at the Upper Canada Golf Course Bar and Grill which will remain open after sundown throughout Pumpkinferno for groups (minimum 16) who reserve their dinner five days in advance.

Pumpkinferno is open on select nights from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. throughout October: Friday to Sunday, October 12-14; Thursday to Sunday, October 18-21 and October 25-28; Halloween night, October 31st.

The event has family friendly pricing of $10 adult (13-64yrs), $7 senior (65 plus) / youth (6 – 12) and is free for children five and under.

“The Pumpkinferno team has worked really hard to bring this event to fruition,” says Neil Shorthouse, SLPC Special Events Officer. “I think our visitors will be awed by the artistry of the carvings but at the same time they will be entertained because our design team developed some great themes that I think people will really enjoy.”

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This year those enjoying Canada Day at the Morrisburg waterfront will have a new opportunity that has never before been part of the Canada Day festivities here.

This year, there will be a cruise boat operating from the dock offering tours. Some tickets will be available the day of the event, ticket sellers will be set up at the Morrisburg dock. 

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for families to go out on the river,” said Tracey Veinotte of the Morrisburg Canada Day Committee.

In the park there will be plenty of activities including activities and entertainment for the kids. Inflatables, rides and games will be on site. The Ontario Early Years will have activities on site and from 12-3, some more traditional games like the three legged race are being organized by Carrie Van Allen.

For those who like a little competition the Children’s bike decorating contest takes place at noon and there is a new competition this year.

This year, a pie baking competition is taking place. A table will be set up in the market for entries. The pies must be in by 2:30 p.m., with judging to follow immediately. A cash prize is up for grabs.

Musical entertainment, will be much the same as previous years but a couple of new bands have been added to the lineup including Furious Gord (with special guest appearances by Sons of Furious Gord) and Rogue.

Plenty of Food will be on site, including a Thai food vendor, lobsterfest, and sugar monsters (fried dough) along with all the standard fare.

Mobile Gamerz, which features a trailer of gaming equipment with enough room for 16 players at once, will be on site this year. They had planned to be at last year’s event but their trailer was stolen. 

The popular market will be even bigger and better this year. Last year the market had just over 20 vendors and this year, it has been expanded to nearly 30 vendors and displays.

According to Veinotte, the market proved popular with both the public and the vendors, so the committee has expanded it a bit and prolonged the hours, running from noon until 7 p.m.

Fireworks will go as planned. Organizers had some tense moments when they realized that the fireworks factory that burned, and sadly where two lives were lost, was the company that they deal with. 

Since the tragic event the company’s customers have been notified that orders will still be delivered on time.

This year the committee will have some well marked volunteers collecting donations for those who want to give to the fireworks for next year. 

“It would really help us if people made some donations, it would mean we would have to spend less time selling tickets. Then we could focus more of our time on the event,” said Veinotte. Seventy percent of the cost of running the event is spent on fireworks.

Also new this year, is a giant Canada Flag to be painted on the Cruickshank Amphitheatre. The committee hopes that this 18×36 will bring added enthusiasm.

This is the third year the Canada Day Committee, of about 10 volunteers has run this event.

The committee generates funds for the event through raffle ticket sales, the support of many wonderful sponsors from the local business community, some township and federal government funds and the Red and White Dance organized by Kaylee Morrell. 

The Morrisburg Legion helped the cause by donating the use of the hall for that important fundraising event which brought in $1,177 for the fireworks.

“The efforts of everyone who donates and supports this event are much appreciated,” said Veinotte.

[…]