Month: May 2014

Anne Richardson, (nee Smyth) a native of Iroquois, passed away peacefully at Peel Manor in Brampton, Ontario, on Wednesday, May 14. She was in her 73rd year.

The beloved daughter of the late Oliver and Geraldine Smyth of Iroquois, Anne will be missed by her children Jeff (Cheryl) of Brampton, John (Wanda) of Toronto and Jo Anne of Brampton.

She was loving grandmother to Jeffrey, Ronan, Kyle, Noah, and Samantha and cherished sister of Orvill (Carol) of Iroquois and Gerald of North Augusta.

Anne was dear aunt to Debbie (Chuck) and Tom (Amanda) and great aunt to Emily, Michael, Owen, Madison and Pyper.

Anne taught school for over 20 years in Brampton. She loved her profession and loved people. It was especially evident in the patience she had with children and how they were drawn to her.

Anne was the resident council president at Peel Manor nursing home for the majority of the years she spent there, a job she thoroughly enjoyed. She loved Peel Manor and all the people there, and always felt that it was her home.

Her family was grateful to the Peel Manor staff and nurses who made her final days so comfortable.

Funeral service was held in Brampton on Saturday, May 17.

A family burial service was held on Tuesday, May 20, at Spruce Haven Cemetery in Brinston.

EOSSAA gold for Seaway’s Brynn Gilmour

Junior runner, Brynn Gilmour led Seaway District High School at the EOSSAA Track and Field championship hosted by TISS here on Friday, May 23 with a gold medal run in the 400m and second place finishes in the 200m and 800m races.

Collecting the only other medal for Seaway was field athlete Kaitlyn Stewart with a second place 9.91m jump in the midget girls triple jump.

The two, along with midget athletes Maggie Wells and Cassie Hummel, will compete at the East Regional Meet at the Terry Fox Facility in Ottawa, this Thursday and Friday, May 29-30.

Wells qualified in shot put with a fourth place, 8.66m throw and discus with a 25.93m fifth place throw, while Hummel qualified in javelin with a 24.59m fifth place throw.

Gilmour had a very solid day on the track. After winning the fastest qualifying heat in the 400, she claimed gold with a time of 1:01.59. (She got to EOSSAA in the 400m with a gold medal win at the SD&G in Cornwall two weeks ago with a time of 1:04.83.)

She claimed a silver EOSSAA medal in the 200m with a time of 27.20 behind the winner, Teri-Anna Libby of TISS who crossed the finish line at 26.84 seconds.

Gilmour claimed her second silver medal in the 800m with a time of 2:28.65. The win went to B. MacDougall of Kingston at 2:28.47.

“Brynn ran well and hopefully still has some improvement left,” says Mark Lewis, who with Trevor Thompson is co-coaching Seaway’s track and field team. “She hasn’t run as fast as she can yet, so we will see.”

Lewis explained that Gilmour, a very successful distance runner, “moved to the 200 to work on and improve her speed. That will be determined this week at Regional as the competition gets a lot stiffer.”

Kaitlyn Stewart improved on her 9.31m triple jump which won her a gold medal at SD&G with Friday’s EOSSAA jump of 9.91m.

“Kaitlyn had a very good jump, but I feel there is more left in the tank as well,” says Lewis. “We are hoping to peak with all of the girls this week to get some of them to OFSAA.”

“Maggie [Wells] and Cassie [Hummel] are both rookies and just learning their respective events. We have been working on a lot of technique the last few weeks, and we are starting to see some improvement. I think they will throw even better this week.”

Wells won gold medals at the SD&G with an 8.78m throw in shot put and a 25.91m throw in discus. She was third in javelin with an 18.80 throw.

While she came up just short of the two SD&G medal throws at EOSSAA, she vastly improved in javelin at 21.23m for a non-qualifying eighth place finish.

Hummel won the midget girls javelin at the SD&G with a 23.08m throw and was fifth at EOSSAA with a pb throw of 24.59m. She struggled at shot put with a 7.14m throw and did not qualify in the event. She threw 7.45m for a fourth place finish at SD&G.

Coaches Thompson and Lewis are happy with this year’s team with 15 athletes competing at the SD&G and 12 of them qualifying for EOSSAA.

In addition to the four mentioned, they included Izzy Burrell (triple jump), Kyle Ault (2nd SD&G midget 400m), Johnny Strackholder (3rd SD&G midget triple jump), Quinn Horne (4th SD&G 80m hurdles, 5th 100m), Kyle Ault (2nd SDG midget 400m), Keanne Van Dodewaard (4th SD&G midget 400m), Emily Hector (4th SD&G junior 100m, 5th long jump) and Ashley Whitteker (80m junior hurdles).

Library tenders sticker shock

South Dundas council promised library space in Williamsburg, but the unexpected $200,000 price tag now attached to the project has left them all with sticker shock.

“We didn’t expect the costs to come in at that level,” said South Dundas chief administrative officer Steve McDonald, at the May 20 council meeting.

The recent tender for an addition to and renovation of the North Williamsburg Recreation building to accommodate the Williamsburg library branch attracted four bids.

The bids ranged in price from the low bid by Wells & Son Construction of Morrisburg at $209,841 to a high of $372,900. The Wells bid was $80,000 less than the next lowest bidder.

Council deferred acceptance of the bid, instead directing staff to meet with Wells to determine if together they can identify any potential cost savings.

No member of council was willing to accept the tender price until after the value exercise takes place.

“It’s costly, but we fought to get here,” said South Dundas councillor Archie Mellan. “If there’s a cost savings to be realized we need to look at that. But, I don’t want this to drag on. We’ve got to get this wrapped up at the next meeting.”

Boat saves marine rescue

South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services will continue to operate its marine rescue program.

The only municipal water rescue service offered between Prescott and Cornwall, South Dundas council had to decide whether or not to continue to offer the service.

The 1985 Zodiac used by the unit is no longer suitable for emergency services.

Council unanimously agreed that the service is an important one, that needs to continue, so they subsequently agreed to the purchase of a $30,000 replacement vessel. Not new, the replacement vessel is a 2001 630 Zodiac Hurricane. The larger size is more suitable for rescue purposes.

South Dundas’ water rescue program is a partnership with the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary which aids in training and deployment. The partnership with the Morrisburg station has been in place since the early 1980s.

South Dundas Soccer kicks off in Iroquois

May 27, 2014 Editor

The South Dundas Soccer season got underway on Saturday with just over 400 soccer kids taking to the fields.

This year’s program is offering action in five age categories with eight teams in each of the U-6, U-8 and U-10 categories, six teams in the U-13 and four teams in the U-18.

Our numbers are about the same as last year, says association president Phillip Blancher.

“We have just over 70 coaches and 20 volunteers who are helping with the canteen and field maintenance. We opened on a beautiful morning, and had a great turnout and we are looking forward to a really good season.”

Although the canteen was open Saturday, it was not at full capacity. Thanks to two volunteers who have come forward to run it there will be expanded items available this Saturday, and “definitely some coffee”, says Blancher with a chuckle.

The association is pleased with the answer to the call that went out early this spring for more volunteers, but Blancher says a few more are still needed to help with field maintenance and the end of the year tournament in July (both for organizing and implementation of both the Friday night parade of nations and the Saturday soccer.)

Anyone who can help out can call Blancher at 543-2168.

The 2014 program got rolling Saturday with few changes with the exception of the teams at the higher age levels.

The U-12 was increased by one year to U13 to allow enough kids 14 to 18 years to make up a U-18, four-team division.

With this change a time adjustment was also made allowing for 90 minutes, 30 minutes for skills work and full 60 minutes for games with referees.

“We cut one team out, but we’ve enhanced the experience for the older kids,” says Blancher. “We got a lot of positive responses from this and also acquired a few new sign ups because of it.”

Blancher says the Association is absolutely delighted with the number of sponsors this year which include from Morrisburg: Tim Hortons, Home Hardware, Giant Tiger, Riley’s Valu-mart (sponsoring both sweaters and canteen), The Building Centre and Sports Fix; from Iroquois W.O. Stinson.

“Thanks to our sponsors, we are able to keep the costs down and our registration fees at $40,” says Blancher.

Volunteers appreciated at Senior Support Centre

Janet Levere, Executive Director of the J.W. MacIntosh Seniors’ Support Centre welcomed 80 volunteers to the annual volunteer appreciation event held at the centre on Tuesday, May 13.

Duane Locke, Chair of the Board of Directors, also spoke and shared the board’s appreciation to the dedicated volunteers.

Entertainment was the Sage Age Theatre Group comprised of mature actors and actresses who performed a variety of mini skits which enacted many of the issues facing seniors in today’s world.

Laughter was heard amongst the volunteers as situations evolved. Serious challenges were noted too.

Following the entertainment, Levere thanked the “best volunteers in our communities!”

Her speech noted that the volunteers are generous, caring individuals who are making a difference.

“Our communities are changing and the clients and their needs are changing too,” she said. “The volunteers’ commitment to embrace the changes is heartwarming. Like the beautiful caterpillars that we see everywhere today to the lovely butterflies they become, the volunteers display beautiful and lovely gestures of kindness as they face new challenges!”

Janet gave the volunteers an update of the Centre’s other activities including:

1) The increases in the Going Home Program with referrals from emergency departments and hospital discharges from the Winchester District Memorial Hospital as well as hospitals in Ottawa, Brockville and Cornwall,.

2) The seniors requiring minimal assistance such as one bath a week can now contact the MacIntosh Seniors’ Support Centre for this assistance offered under the respite service.

3) The expansion of the Assisted Living Services for High Risk Seniors program into the Kemptville area, (operating in the Iroquois-Morrisburg area since 2010).

4) The new physio and fall prevention exercise programs offered at the Centre through Ministry funded programs. This organization could not continue to expand its’ services without the leadership of the Board of Directors, volunteers who donate their time and expertise so that South Dundas is the place to live.

This past year, the Senior Support Centre recorded nearly 7,000 hours of volunteer service.

New volunteers are always welcome, and anyone interested in volunteering is invited to contact Cathy Tupper at 613-535-2924.

The following statistics review the work completed during the past year.

•33 persons received 1,513 meals

•298 seniors enjoyed 5,701 diners

•127 clients were supported with 1,594 one way trips or 3,188 round trips

•101 persons benefitted from the 477 foot care appts.

•23 clients enjoyed 491 units of the adult day programs.

•1,728 hours of work in the craft group, fundraising, social activities, exercises, committees, etc.

•10,172 hours of respite in the community and apartment

•13,792 hours of assisted living and supportive housing services

In total with the volunteer support services and the paid employee services, 585 persons were supported during the past year.

Returns for Leukemia, put your empties to work

A group of local folks are planning to hitch up the trailer this weekend so they can collect your six packs, empty six packs that is.

The annual ‘Returns for Leukemia’ fundraiser, run by The Beer Store in conjunction with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada is all set to roll out the welcome trailer this weekend in Morrisburg, and the local team is inviting everyone to drop by The Beer Store and drop off their empties.

“We are planning it as a ‘fill the trailer drive’,” says Tracey Veinotte whose 19-year-old son Cole, recently completed his of treatment for Lymphoma Cancer and has received a great report.

He joins many others in the South Dundas community who have battled Leukemia or a Lymphoma Cancer (Hodgkins and non-Hodgkins).

“Cole was very fortunate that one of the biggest advances in treatments was available to him,” says Tracy in emphasizing the importance of raising money for research and the equipment needed to provide successful treatments.

“When Cole had his PET Scan for his Lymphoma cancer, he was told he would be the last person in that scanner as it was being replaced. These scanners are state of the art and crazy expensive, but thankfully the money is there for them. This is a very valuable test for Lymphoma Cancers.”

Veinotte points to others in the community who are a testament to the success of cancer treatments that years ago might not have had quite the same results. She speaks of the very young Nash Nesbitt who underwent his treatment three years ago, and to Matt Bilmer and Sylvia Westphal all of whom have benefitted from the treatment availabilities. And to others who will benefit from more advances down the road.

“Many of us have friends and family who have been diagnosed with Leukemia and Lymphoma and this is our way to support them,” says Veinotte. “To fill a trailer with empties, how easy is that.”

Leukemia is the number one disease killer of children under 19 and the incidence of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in adults has doubled since 1973.

The drive will run this weekend on Saturday, May 24 and Sunday, May 25 and any bottles/cans that are refundable will be accepted…beer, (bottles and cans) liquor, cooler bottles etc. Cash donations will also be accepted.

Last year, over $1.7 million was raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada. One hundred per cent of the money raised through the returns goes to the Society.

All candidates debate on poverty for SD&G

The Social Development Council of Cornwall and Area’s Poverty Working Group in cooperation with Linking Hands, a project of the House of Lazarus are excited to announce an all-candidates’ debate on the topic of Poverty Reduction in Ontario on the evening of June 5, 2014 from 6-8 p.m. at South Nation Conservation Authority at 38 Victoria St. in Finch, Ontario.

The debate will focus on the candidate’s points of view about the growing issue of poverty in our province and locally in our area and explore the programs and solutions they intend to implement and those they intend to maintain should they be given the opportunity.

The Social Development Council’s Poverty Working Group and Linking Hands believe all community members have the right to know our potential leaders position on an important issue like poverty reduction which is key to building sustainable resilient communities.

It is our hope that this debate will bridge the information gap between our leaders, agencies, and community members.

The event will be moderated by Hugo Rodrigues, managing editor for the Standard Freeholder.

The debate will ask the candidates to answer several questions about the state of poverty in our province and our community and how they intend to improve these situations.

All community members are invited and encouraged to attend this event; there is no prior registration required.

There will be an opportunity for audience members to ask the candidates questions.

For those who would like to ask questions, the questions must be e-mailed to linkinghandsdundas@gmail.com in advance.

With the provincial election taking place on June 12, it is intended for this debate to be a resource to help inform voters in the community.

Lena Edwards (nee Gallinger)

A longtime resident of the Ingleside area, Lena Edwards (nee Gallinger) passed away, peacefully, at Heritage Green Nursing Home in Hamilton, on Saturday, May 3, 2014. She was 99.

Lena was predeceased by her beloved husband Marshall in 1992. She will be missed by her children, Lynda Jackson (Keith) of Sauble Beach, Anne Lapinsky (Gerry) of Stoney Creek, and Brian Edwards (Diane) of Brinston.

She was loving grandmother of Marsha Miller (Australia), Sonia Lapinsky and Patrick Lapinsky, and Ian Jackson (deceased). She was great-grandmother of Lauren and Seth Miller.

Lena was younger sister to Laura Wells, Garnet Gallinger and Ken Gallinger (all deceased), and she was a good friend to all of her brothers and sisters-in-law in both the Gallinger and Edwards families (all deceased).

Many of her nieces and nephews kept in contact with Lena over the years.

Lena grew up in Aultsville, Ontario, married Marshall Edwards, and raised her family there until 1958, when they relocated to Ingleside due to the expropriation of their home to make way for the St. Lawrence Seaway.

A year later, the family moved to Morrisburg.

Lena and Marshall were not only husband and wife, but best friends, doing most things together. Marshall died in 1992.

In Morrisburg, Lena returned to teaching. She remained with her Grade 6 classes until the late 1960’s when she retired. She loved teaching and had some very long-term relationships develop with students, right up to the end of her life.

In her spare time, Lena enjoyed knitting and creating quilts for her family. She had a very inquisitive mind and loved to read newspapers and discuss politics and current events.

She was often seen on her bicycle until her mid 80’s, when progressive blindness curtailed many of her favourite activities.

Lena moved to Stoney Creek in 2000 to be closer to her daughters and to downsize her residence from a house in Morrisburg to an apartment in Stoney Creek. Here she made many new friends.

Lena was very fortunate to meet Della Boyd, who became her third daughter and a dedicated caregiver. Della remained with Lena until the last day, and was a source of great comfort to Lena and her family.

Lena also enjoyed having daily telephone conversations with her niece Shirley Stewart of Ingleside.

Lena had a long enjoyable life until she became ill over the last four years. She will be remembered as a very caring and concerned wife, mother and friend.

Lawn Bowlers rolling it out at Iroquois

The Iroquois Lawn Bowling court is open and the season has started with some lively participation by the club members. Last fall the entire court surface was reconditioned to level it and prepare it for use this year. As a result the court is in excellent shape. The game times are every Monday, Wednesday and Thursdays at 7 p.m. and the court is located at the corner of Elizabeth Drive and the Carman Road in west-end Iroquois. It is a spectacular location with the Iroquois waterfront providing the backdrop to the courts. The club is welcoming new members, and encourages all ages to come and give the game a try. It is a fun sport for young and old and one that allows the participants to determine his/her own level of competition…just for fun or a little more. Above Connie Keeler makes a pitch, while Bert Mudd and Nelly Papenhoven watch and wait for their turn. If you would like to give it a try, drop by the Iroquois Lawn Bowling court on the nights listed.