Month: July 2014

Playhouse Theatre School Show Always A Crowd-Pleaser

This Saturday July 12^th at 10AM there’ll be a lot of clowning around at Upper Canada Playhouse! That’s when The Playhouse Senior Theatre School presents its original production SEND IN THE CLOWNS to parents, friends and the general public. The show will mark the culmination of two weeks of creative theatre arts instruction led by instructor Mary Ellen Viau. The first weeks of July are always exciting ones for students recently released from the rigours of classroom studies and home-work. But for the 20 young participants of this summer's Playhouse Senior Theatre School, it marks the beginning of two very intense weeks filled with drama exercises and theatre-themed fun and games. This year students are being encouraged to do as much clowning around as possible in the ten day camp as they focus on the role of clowns in theatre. From Marcel Marceau's famous 'Bip the Clown' and Charlie Chaplin's 'Little Tramp', to the Shakespearean clowns in A Midsummer Night's Dream, these young actors explore the many techniques used to make clowns funny. Teamwork, creativity, enthusiasm and problem-solving are just a of few of the many skills these energetic kids bring to the daily workshops and rehearsals that will prepare them for their final production on the Playhouse stage. Drop by The Playhouse this Saturday, July 12^th for "Send In The Clowns." The 45-minute performance is free, and if past Theatre School shows are any indication, it’ll be fun, educational and sure to put a smile on every face! 

[…]

July 4, interim Ontario PC Leader Jim Wilson announced the critic portfolios for the Ontario PC Caucus, and with that announcement, local MPP Jim McDonell received a new portfolio.

Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP McDonell was named critic for Children and Youth Services Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy. “Our interim Leader, Jim Wilson, recognized that our region requires a strong focus on childhood achievement and early development,” said McDonell. 

This is the third portfolio for McDonell since he was first elected in 2011, having formerly served as Critic of Consumer Services and then as Critic of Municipal Affairs and Housing. 

Steve Clark, MPP for neighbouring Leeds-Grenville was named Opposition House Leader. 

[…]

Seventy-eight participants in the Carkinator Car & Moto Rally raised almost $40,000 for the Winchester District Memorial Hospital Foundation.

The event’s namesake, NHL Defenseman for the New York Islanders, Matt Carkner, is a passionate supporter of the hospital foundation, continues to be a great draw for the event.

The 2014 event, July 5, raised just under $40,000 for the Undesignated Fund at the WDMH Foundation, supporting the highest priority needs at WDMH in a range of departments.

The event began this year at the Rideau Carleton Raceway, stopping at Emerald Links to putt against Matt Carkner; then visited Osgoode Scotiabank to complete a puzzle against the clock; and stopped in Inkerman at the Rink House to try to out shoot retired Inkerman Rockets players Denzel Crowder and Percy Armstrong. 

Along with the many returning rally-ers, there were also a few dozen new participants who loved being challenged by the various clues and the activities at these “pit-stops” along the route.

The wrap-up and barbecue was held at the Winchester Curling Club where the event MC Al Armstrong walked guests through the prize and awards ceremonies and welcomed special guest Liam Maguire.

Many great prizes were handed out to event participants, thanks to great sponsors.

The highest individual fundraiser was Diane Crummy – and by doing so, won a trip for two to New York to see an Islanders’ home game as a special guest of Matt Carkner, value $2,500.

The highest team fundraiser was “Driving Miss Daisies” who won 14 seats in the Ottawa Senators’ Alumni Box for the Sens vs. Islanders.

The Morrisburg and District Lions Club Team posted the highest pit stop activity score, winning them $500 in Greg’s Quality Meats gift certificates.

[…]

Over $18,000 was raised for two children’s charities by area McDonald’s restaurants on this year’s McHappy Day. 

The success of this fundraiser was the best ever tally for the one day event locally, said Charles Gagnon, owner of the Morrisburg McDonald’s locations and seven others including those in Brockville, Prescott, Cornwall and Lancaster. 

Two cheques for over $9,200 were handed out at Gagnon’s newest location here in Morrisburg July 2. One went to the Ronald McDonald House charity in Ottawa, and the other to the Children’s Treatment Centre in Cornwall. 

In handing over this donation to the CTC, Gagnon pledged that a portion of next year’s McHappy Day proceeds will again go to the Children’s Treatment Centre. “We will continue to help you. I have you in my heart,” said Gagnon. 

The Children’s Treatment Centre provides free assessment and treatment to children in need in Cornwall and SDG and Akwesasne. 

It is a community supported agency, staffed with a team of professionals skilled in the assessment and treatment of physical, emotional and sexual abuse. 

“This will do a lot of good,” Vince Robinson, board member for the treatment centre, said. “It certainly will help,” said Lyle Van Allen, who is also a board member. “A number of kids benefit from this service.” He presented Gagnon with a plaque acknowledging the McDonald’s support of the organization. 

Gagnon added that this support would not have been possible without the efforts of his staff and McDonald’s customers who made this best ever McHappy Day donation possible. 

This year, local schools supported the McHappy Day effort by offering the opportunity for their students to order a Happy Meal for school lunch on McHappy Day, which was May 7.

[…]

For info on the dogs or how to adopt a dog please call the South Dundas Animal Shelter 613-913-1476

To see more pictures and videos of all the dogs at the South Dundas Animal Shelter please go to the Facbook page: South Dundas Pet Rescue 

Cookie: 3-4 year old, Black Lab/Border Collie Mix. Not neutered. Some house-training. Amazingly friendly, fun-loving boy. Likes to play, loves people. Really, really needs a chance. Smart dog, very trainable and he keeps getting overlooked at the Shelter. Cookie is a really good natured dog who is looking for someone just to give him a chance…he has a favourite ball that he plays with all by himself and it is heart-breaking to see this happy guy so lonely….We suspect Cookie will need some house-manner training and leash training, but with his Lab and Border Collie mix, we figure he will be quick to learn whatever his new family wants to teach him. A real gem looking for a place to fit in.

Prestin: Under one year, male Shepherd mix puppy. Not neutered. Really smart, fun loving pup, with good disposition. Very trainable, likes to play & likes his new toy (in picture). Will be a fairly large sized dog. Is a really happy boy and really likes people.

Ellie: female, house-trained, 3-4 years. Recently had pups. Suspected unkind background. Ellie needs a single owner or quiet couple, no children and no other dogs. Ellie needs kindness, love and a gentle guiding hand to help her. Ellie has some personality issues so she would make a very special project for a kind and loving person…a dog really needing to be shown how to live life. Ellie, definitely needs to be spayed asap.

Gilmor: Happy male puppy, under one year, who so wants out of the Shelter so he can run and play (like other puppies) with a new and loving family. Beautiful, young mix Shepherd, good personality, not a big dog, smart boy. Poor Gilmor is a happy little guy who has spent too many weeks at the South Dundas Animal Shelter and should be out and about playing and being loved by a kind and loving forever family. He is not going to be a big dog when he grows up, but we suspect he is very smart and will make a very handsome pet. He is of course also near the age where he should be neutered…and it is likely he would need his series of puppy shots.

[…]

When Pastor Norine Gullons of the South Dundas Lutheran Community Church got a call from St. John’s Lutheran Church in Arnprior, she says it was a tough decision, but the timing seemed right for a change.

South Dundas Lutheran Community Church here has just undergone an amalgamation of the congregations of St. Paul’s in Morrisburg and St. Peter’s in Williamsburg, and Pastor Gullons says, “things are good and it’s a good time to go. We’ve gotten through the amalgamation, and we are now one congregation.”

“There is more to be done to move forward, and I’ve guided the congregation this far. It’s now time for someone else to step in and guide them the rest of the way.”

Rev. Gullons says it is hard to believe she has been here for nine years. “It feels like I haven’t been here at all, but when I look back, I’ve actually been here a long time.”

“It is hard to leave the people. I’ve made some really good friends. This congregation has a lot of good people and people in South Dundas are great people.”

The ministry is Rev. Gullons’ second career, and the two-point parish of St. Peter’s Williamsburg and St. Paul’s in Morrisburg was her first call. She came to South Dundas from Kingston following her graduation from the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary and her ordination in June 2005.

Her arrival coincided with the realignment of the Lutheran Churches in South Dundas, and she took over the newly-formed parish of St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s. Prior to her arrival St. Peter’s was aligned with St. Luke’s in Dunbar and St. Paul’s with St. John’s in Riverside Heights.

“For your second call, you are thinking about your parish, and also about yourself. This is my second call, so I may very well be there [Arnprior] until I retire. We have no idea what is going to happen in life, and I don’t move easily,” she said from the manse in Williamsburg where, surrounded by boxes and cleaning supplies, she was very much in the midst of packing and down-sizing from the four-bedroom manse to a two-bedroom condo. “I’ve been tapped (an invite from another church) seven different times in my nine years here, but I’ve never budged until now.”

The move to Arnprior takes Pastor Gullons, who was born in Renfrew, back to her hometown area. 

Rev. Gullons says the biggest change since she came to South Dundas is the amalgamation of the Williamsburg and Morrisburg parishes into the South Dundas Lutheran Community Church. “We really had to have patience with the process, and we had to keep pushing forward. I sat on the partnership committee, but it was the congregation’s doing.”

During her nine years, Rev. Gullons performed 50 baptisms and had three sets of confirmation classes.

She was very involved with the Dundas County Food Bank and in particular the New Born Necessities Program. She served on the Spiritual Advisory Board for Winchester Hospital. 

She and Rev. Craig Bowers of the Anglican Church in Morrisburg were co-organizers of the Ash Wednesday Faith Days for local youth, and she has been a strong supporter of the Williamsburg scouts and guides programs, the South Dundas Dog Park and the ecumenical Love South Dundas event.

She is clearly proud of the Junior Youth Club at the church and the Sunday School program. “One of the mandates I am leaving the congregation with is to keep these two programs strong. I am really concerned that we instill a faith life in children and youth. It is not so much to keep them in church but to instill in them the values and faith that were instilled in us.”

Pastor Gullons is delighted in the growth of the active congregation that has occurred over the last nine years, with 70 worshippers now in attendance on a regular basis.

She gave her final sermon on Sunday, June 29, to just under 150 worshippers. “It was unbelieveable,” shes says of the memories of that day that she will carry with her. “I did five baptisms and two confirmations. I blessed the delegates going to Synod, and the congregation had a farewell for me following the service. My kids (youth group) helped give communion, and all the Sunday School children came forward for homily.”

 “I think I am leaving them in good shape. I think I’ve brought them to a good place. The amalgamation has brought them into the future…and now they just have to move forward. This new congregation can grow even larger than it is now, but they have to allow it to happen. They have to take the chance and keep inviting the people.”

Rev. Gullons left for her new call on Monday, July 7. She leaves behind a host of friends and a strong church but points out with her warm laugh, “Arnprior isn’t that far away”. 

[…]

From rags to riches, that is the Cinderella story for homes that come under the hand of  Gerry Zeran owner of Zeran Builders & Wood Specialties Ltd. from Long Sault.

And that is the story that is currently being written for the home of the late Fred and Yvonne Veley at 44 Laurier Drive in Morrisburg.

Zeran has been in the building industry since 1977. “I built new houses for years and did renovations,” he says explaining that his current work involves the concept “Cinderella House Renovation” for which he takes the ugly and makes it into something beautiful. He selects only Seaway houses, meaning houses that were moved in the 1950’s for the Seaway expansion and dropped onto new foundations.

Zeran says that working on these older homes or any older home for that matter is “kind of a niche. A lot of guys don’t like doing it. It’s dirty work. New construction work is a lot cleaner so a lot of builders like that.”

When Zeran looks at a house, along with the cost, he is looking at its potential, the structure of the building, and whether it is solid and worth putting money into.”

The Veley house fit his criteria and in addition, “it had a fairly new roof, new furnace, new water tank and it was across from the golf course here.”

And with all that going for it, 44 Laurier Drive became the sixth Cinderella House Renovation for Zeran and his crew.

One added bonus, for the Morrisburg project, is that Zeran has a lot of old time friends in the community that he made during his days of playing Junior B Hockey with the Lions under coach John Rice. In fact, Billy Veley, son of the late Fred and Yvonne Veley, was a teammate.

“Billy’s been here and has gone through the house. He can’t believe what we are doing. His sister, Joanne, though has decided to come and see it when it is completely done.”

A defenceman with the Lions in early 1970’s, Zeran says he has halted his work a number of times to chat with some of his former teammates.

The project began on April 1, and the completion date is the end of July when an open house will be held.

The two-storey home was completely gutted, even the upstairs flooring was removed in order to level it. Along the way, says Zeran, there were some great finds.

They included a druggist bottle with the name of Morrisburg druggist Levi F. Selleck on it, other assorted bottles and “The Voice” a monthly magazine dated 1882. A wooden sap tap and a wooden tool (unsure of its use) were also uncovered.

All of the walls were exposed and opened in early April, and it was discovered that there were a total of six doors, two were in use and the others had been covered over.

Zeran says he receives support from the neighbours in the areas of his “Cinderellas.” His first was in Cornwall in 1991. His favorite is the home in Ingleside that was relocated from Dickinson’s Landing.  “I get a lot of support when the neighbours see that all of a sudden a house is being fixed up. It’s good for their property values,” he adds with a chuckle.

On Laurier Drive, everyone has been supportive, and in particular is backyard neighbour George “Junior” Beaupre. “George has been excellent. He’s helped us out with the home’s history and the families who have lived in it. This has been a really good community to work in.”

In addition to the actual construct, Zeran likes to put together the history of the house he is working on and has a friend who does the research. In this case, research wasn’t necessary. In fact, as Zeran was  providing a tour of the house, Mr. Beaupre dropped over for his almost daily inspection.

According to Junior, the house’s original location was across from the former egg grading station in Morrisburg and belonged to the Hanson family. He locates it approximately on the corner of park land north of the Lions’ Docksyde Restaurant. “I think it was purchased from the Hanson family by Clare Van Allen who sold it to Hydro at the time of the Seaway.”

Hydro moved it to its current Laurier Drive location and rented it to a Cayer family.  It was later purchased by the Veley family, who called it home for at least the last 50 years.

Zeran dates it to about 1880, but explains it is hard to date some of the Seaway houses as they are sitting on foundations put in by Hydro. He says the basement and their construction in old homes is often a helpful tool in dating a home.

Once the project commenced, the interior “was gutted right down to the studding” and the exterior layers were peeled away. “There were four exterior layers,” says Zeran. “So it had about 10 inch exterior walls with everything added to it.”

All projects on these older homes involve a lot of red tape as they don’t meet today’s building codes.

“This has been a really good community to work in,” says Zeran. “Dan Tessier, the building inspector, has been very helpful. We’ve worked on a lot of homes in other municipalities, and this is by far the best to have worked in. Nicole Sullivan, your economic officer, has also been very friendly and extremely helpful. If we could find a few more houses, we could definitely stay here. And there are certainly a lot of Seaway houses in Morrisburg.”

“Trying to marry the old with the new is not an easy job,” said Dan Tessier who was at the site for an inspection. “These guys are doing a great job. The walls will all be insulated and even the attic space is enhanced with new insulation.  It’s certainly a challenge to bring an old house up to new building codes. You have to remember these old houses were built when there were no building codes. Aesthetically, I would have to say that everyone on this street should be happy with what they are doing here.

Tessier says that his work in this type of project requires some “common sense” to make it all work.

Once Zeran had the house opened up, all joists were examined and reinforced where necessary. Once all was ready, the framing was done  and the Cinderella home began to take shape. Gone are the three bedrooms upstairs which required walking through each to get to the other and to the washroom. 

The upstairs now has a master to the front overlooking the golf course, a central bathroom with a new dormer window, a walk-in common closet and two small bedrooms to the back of the house each with their own closet. 

The main floor has an open type layout with the living room in the front and the dining and kitchen to the back. Patio doors open to a spacious back deck and bring light into the kitchen area. The front of the home has been enhanced with wrap-around porch with a newly shingled roof. All changes should be very appealing to today’s home buyers.

In the basement, furnace and laundry rooms have been framed in.  All beams have been reinforced and block repair has been completed on the south wall. The sewer has been camera’ed “to make sure everything under the floor is 100 percent.”

When the project is completed the basement walls will be dry walled, but the ceiling will be left open to enable new owners access for today’s technology needs.

Although the change at 44 Laurier will certainly be dramatic, Zeran says he does not out-price the neighbourhood. Cinderella House number 6 will have a new lease on life and will continue to fit into its space on Laurier Drive.

A preliminary open house for Cinderella #6 was held Sunday, June 29, just after the dry walling had been completed. A second  Open House will be held when the project has been completed at the end of July.

[…]

Over the past Holiday Weekend, SD&G OPP officers conducting speed enforcement intercepted several vehicles for excessive speeds resulting in the impoundment of the noted vehicles and seizures of the driver’s permits.

– 27Jun14, 4:30pm – Highway 401, South Glengarry Township, 2014 Fiat clocked traveling 154km/h in a 100 km/h zone. 42 year old male from Caledon, Ontario charged.

– 28Jun14, 5:00pm – County Road 2, South Dundas Township, 2005 Yamaha motorcycle clocked traveling 136km/h in a 80 km/h zone. 25 year old male from North Grenville, Ontario charged.

– 29Jun14, 1:30pm – Highway 401, South Dundas Township, 2014 Volkswagen clocked traveling 155km/h in a 100 km/h zone. 21 year old male from Montreal, Quebec charged.

– 29Jun14, 2:15pm – Highway 401, South Glengarry Township, 2013 BMW clocked traveling 162km/h in a 100 km/h zone. 48 year old male from Toronto, Ontario charged.

– 29Jun14, 4:15pm – Highway 401, South Glengarry Township, BMW clocked traveling 152km/h in a 100 km/h zone. 46 year old male from Montreal, Quebec charged.

– 01Jul14, 11:00pm – Highway 401, South Dundas Township, 2012 Nissan clocked traveling 159km/h in a 100 km/h zone. 24 year old male from North York, Ontario charged.

 

[…]