Month: November 2014

There were nearly 50,000 participants in the 2014 New York City Marathon, November 2, but only one of them was from South Dundas, Ontario. Seaway District High School principal, Don Lewis, finished the gruelling race, which takes in five boroughs of the Big Apple, in a time of 3.36.09. 

From start to finish, Lewis found the marathon challenging and exhilarating: he has nothing but praise for the race organizers, the police who lined the route and for the ordinary people of New York City who turned out in their thousands to support the international runners, many of whom had travelled thousands of miles to take part. “The crowds were huge; at places like 1st Avenue, five or six people deep,” Lewis said. “I was wearing a red shirt with Canada written across it, and I could often hear people shouting “Go Canada!” when I ran by. It meant a lot.” Lewis dedicated his run to raising awareness about PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) which has affected a member of his family.

Lewis has taken part in six previous marathons, including the run in Ottawa (now a gold standard meet) four times. He has been training six days a week since June to prepare for the world class NYC event. 

On Sunday, November 2, all the runners were bussed to the start point of the race, on Staten Island, around 6 a.m., although the event did not begin until after 9 a.m. “It was a little chilly waiting,” Lewis said, “although later in the day it was ideal running weather (except for the wind which got gusty at times), around 8-9 degrees celsius. The organizers are really efficient. There are four different start times, and within each of the start times there are six different carrals. Wheelchair athletes start first, then the elite women, then the elite men. The elite runners are all in serious contention so they can’t get caught up with the masses. Everyone runs at his own pace. I noticed,” he laughed, “that the guy running next to me was actually in his bare feet.”

Lewis said that he felt really good for the first 30 kilometres of the race. “Then, around the Queensboro Bridge, I thought oh boy, my quads are shot. Gusts of 60 kph wind in some places really slowed the race, and cross breezes on the bridges made it tough. My hat blew off. Everyone’s racing bibs were flapping up and down like sails: you can’t lose your bib, so you end up holding on to it as you run. There are also slight upgrades on 5th Avenue, and I remember thinking are these hills ever going to be done?” 

Then he saw the 800 metre sign in Central Park, “and I got that adrenalin rush. I’m going to finish this race.”

He crossed the finish line a little over three and a half hours after he started. There are medical tents at the end of the race because some runners experience cramping and some distress, but Lewis said that he was alright. He was given a poncho to wear until he could back to where he had left his outer clothes at the start of the race. He was also given his precious medal of participation, which he was able to get engraved the next day. 

Principal Lewis is very encouraging to Seaway students who want to get involved in running. “I try to suggest that kids try a 2, 5, 10 or half marathon, or a full marathon in Ottawa. We have a lot of kids in our local schools who have been attempting the Kids Marathon, a local event, and there is technology for young runners to track their progress. We’ve got some students now who are seriously working on distance running.”

There was a time when the four minute mile was “the Holy Grail of running. But now it’s the two hour marathon.” There was only 7 seconds between the first and second place women marathoners, three seconds between the men. A two hour marathon may one day be reality. 

Would he compete in the New York City Marathon again?

Don Lewis says a resounding yes. “It was my toughest marathon so far. And next time I’ll factor in the hills and wind, and adjust my pace a little slower at the beginning, but yes, I want to go again. This was my fastest marathon since I took up running again last spring.”

[…]

The Green Food Bag program has been suspended indefinitely.

South Dundas recreation and program coordinator Ben Macpherson reported that November 19 will be the last pick up date for the program that has recently seen a large decline in participation.

The green food bag program was essentially a service the municipality provided to its residents. Those participating would pay $10 to receive a bag of fresh produce. The money was pooled and used to buy items in larger quantities at a savings, thus providing program participants with a variety of fresh produce at a great value.

“At the peak of the program in 2012 there were an average of 130 bags being purchased monthly.

In January, 71 green food bags were ordered and this month it dropped to 31.

“Thirty-one bags allows for $310 to purchase produce to fill the bags,” said Mcpherson. “With the rising cost of produce, especially in winter, this will be a difficult task and will amount to a limited variety and quantity of fruits and vegetables.”

Along with the decline in participation, the program, which relies on volunteer manpower, has been struggling to recruit volunteer help. 

“The program has relied on the same five people for several years. Recently, two of these people have decided to step away from the program, increasing the workload on the others who remain. Attempts to recruit volunteers have been unsuccessful.

[…]

The results are in, and the Community Food Drive, which takes place annually on Halloween, reached its goal.

The food drive, organized by the Dixon’s Corners Community and Williamsburg Christian Reformed Churches collected $194.46 and  2910 items for the Dundas County Food Bank, which they delivered to the food bank’s Morrisburg location.

This number is similar to the amount collected last year.

Small groups went door to door, rather than trick or treating, collected food items.

This food drive has become one of the largest that the food bank relies on annually. 

This was the 14th food drive by this group.

[…]

 Far too many Canadians are being left behind and counting on food banks to get by, according to HungerCount 2014, a national study released last week by Food Banks Canada.

Food bank use increased slightly in 2014 by 1 per cent. The report shows that in a typical month, food banks in Canada now provide food and other supports to more than three quarters of a million separate individuals – 841,000 people. The report also highlights the troubling trends that contribute to the increase in household food insecurity and food bank use across the country.

“The job market is very tough right now,” said Katharine Schmidt, Executive Director of Food Banks Canada, which coordinated the national study involving more than 4,000 food programs. “The unfortunate combination of low-paying jobs, inadequate supports for the unemployed, and a lack of training opportunities for Canadians is keeping food bank use near record levels.”

Ian McKelvie, Administrator for the Dundas County Food Bank, reports that food bank use at its two locations in Morrisburg and Winchester increased by 16 per cent in 2014. 

“It’s discouraging to see that the increase in the number of people using our local food banks is so much higher than what the HungerCount is reporting nation-wide” noted McKelvie. “One statistic that mirrors the study” McKelvie adds, “is that 40 per cent of those requiring assistance in our community are children.”

The Dundas County Food Bank now assists 580 people including 355 families.  

“The coming holiday season is a crucial time of year for providing emergency food for people in need. We are still seeking more donations of food and extra funds to purchase other items such as milk, fresh fruit and vegetables and meat,” said McKelvie.

The HungerCount 2014 study found that:

• Each month, 90,000 Canadians are forced to ask for help from a food bank for the first time.

• 4 in 10 of those relying on this assistance are children.

• The number of single adults helped by food banks each month has doubled since 2001 – from 80,000 to 158,000. 

“It has been six years since the recession sent food bank use soaring,” continued Schmidt. “It is time to stop waiting for things to improve – it is time to start acting to make real investments in policies that will reduce the need for food banks.”

The HungerCount 2014 report proposes key policy recommendations that can make significant progress in reducing the number of people who need help from food banks. These include:

– Investing in affordable housing,

– Providing more effective supports to low-income families with children, and

– Helping Canadians get the skills they need for the well-paying jobs of today.

[…]

South Dundas council adopted a resolution of support for Plan 2014, a modern water levels plan for Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.

Save the River, the Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper organization asked South Dundas to consider a resolution of support.

According to Lee Willbanks, Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper executive director, “The current regulation plan ‘Plan 1958D’ has caused clear environmental harm to fish populations, wetlands, coastal habitats, and the myriad economically and environmentally important species of plants and animals they harbour, thereby degrading the quality of life for all citizens of the Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence region.”

Last June, Plan 2014 was been referred by the International Joint Commission to the U.S. and Canadian federal governments, and is now communities along the waterway are being asked to formalize their support with resolutions. According to Willbank, “Plan 2014 will increase production of hydropower by dams in the St. Lawrence River, and maintain the benefits that regulation of the river and lake has provided to international shipping. By restoring some of the natural fluctuations in water levels, while avoiding extreme high and low levels, Plan 2014 will restore the plant and animal diversity of coastal wetlands without public investment and dramatically increase opportunities for hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing.”

“Our communities need this. In the River region our economy is directly tied to our environment. Plan 2014 will improve both. We can no longer claim that we don’t understand the effects of our out-dated water levels plan – we have the data and knoweldge we need to restore the Lake and River.”

South Dundas council approved the resolution at the November 4 meeting.

[…]