Month: November 2014

The Dundas County Food Bank is seeing a 15 to 20 per cent increase in usage over the same time last year, the food budget has been depleted, and a $46,000 renovation project is looming as the Morrisburg location prepares to move into its new location next year. 

Still, the board of directors is optimistic about the future as they prepare to launch a new fund raising campaign. 

“The food bank is not in desperate circumstances,” Jim Wilson, Dundas County Food Bank board member and fund raising coordinator, told The Leader, Monday.

“This food bank has been run astutely, frugally and intelligently, from a financial perspective,” he said, as he explained the food bank’s strategy to handle the expense of a capital building project, while the charity organization continues with their number one purpose, which is to help channel the community’s generosity to those who are in need of some of that generosity.

On the food front, the year’s food purchasing budget has been exhausted. Although the year is not over, and monetary donations are down, the community has provided generous support through recent food drives, and currently the shelves are well stocked.

Having faith that individuals in Dundas County will donate enough monetarily to keep up with cash flow needs, Wilson and the members of the DCFB board have a plan to cope with the cost of the $46,000 renovation that will set the food bank up, long term in its new location in the former library at the base of the Morrisburg arena.

While the Municipality of South Dundas has provided the DCFB with a $46,200 line of credit to help with the renovation. The money will have to be paid back. 

To do that, they are making an appeal to the South Dundas businesses to support the Dundas County Food Bank directly. The idea is that if businesses provide some sort sponsorship money at a corporate level, rather than at the individual level, where most of the donations now are generated, they will tap into a new revenue source, without taking away from individual generosity which they have relied on since their inception.

A food bank initiated campaign is something different for the DCFB, which is usually more passive, with people coming to them looking to donate.

Wilson explains that 30 appeal letters are being sent to businesses in South Dundas, mostly in Morrisburg and Iroquois, asking the businesses to consider making a commitment to  regularly donate an amount they are comfortable with, over a certain term. Sponsorship arrangements will allow the food bank some cash flow predictability as they work towards loan repayment.

Businesses that do not receive a letter but would consider a sponsorship commitment to the Dundas County Food Bank, can contact the food bank. 

Wilson and the board see the renovation as an opportunity for the food bank to explore new fundraising avenues and to build a stronger relationship with the business community.

Hopefully, this relationship will become a long term relationship, with the potential to last beyond the repayment of the capital project loan.

Ideally, this long term relationship could help stabilize the food bank’s cash flow situation, which frequently experiences peaks and valleys.

The schedule for the Morrisburg Food Bank move is back on track. A month ago, it was thought that the move might not happen until spring.

The biggest part of the renovation for the food bank will be the installation of a new loading dock, and Wilson believes that project contractors should be secured late this month. 

Food bank officials thought they had to wait for the South Dundas portion of the work to be completed before they could start work. This  is not the case. South Dundas and food bank work on the shared space will take place concurrently. 

“My guess, and it’s only a guess right now, is that we will be able to start setting up the new location for the food bank in the new year,” said Wilson. 

Occupancy will follow, maybe as soon as late January.

“Staff and our volunteers are really anxious for that to happen,” added Wilson.

[…]

 

“Dreams really do come true,” is actually inscribed on the inside of Hali Adair’s law school ring.

After 22 years of service with the OPP, this native of South Dundas is now a barrister, solicitor and notary, and has accepted a position with the law firm of Horner & Pietersma in Morrisburg. Her dream of practising law has taken her along exciting and challenging paths.

Raised  in “the big city of Iroquois”, where her parents still live in the same house, on the same street, Hali attended Iroquois Public School, and graduated from Seaway District High School. She then chose to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, Helen Smith, “who was a real force in my life,” and attend McMaster University where she earned a degree in sociology, with minors in history and political science.

“I hadn’t completely made up my mind about a career when I graduated,” Hali laughed, “but I did know that eventually I would be a police officer, and, one day, a lawyer. Blame Miss Gibb’s Seaway law class for that decision: I got hooked then on the law and I stayed hooked. But I felt that I also needed to get out and taste the world.”

Policing, she felt, offered a combination of paper work and action that interested her. In her 22 years serving with the OPP, Hali experienced virtually every aspect of police work.

“I served as a motorcycle officer, and worked undercover to arrest drug dealers. I dealt with riots in Toronto where I was out on the streets with Molotov cocktails flying. I’ve worked everything from murder investigations to traffic citations, even to dealing with terrorists. I’ve run the gamut of experiences. My life definitely didn’t lack excitement,” she added.

Hali served in a platoon, then became a detective constable, a detective, a platoon sergeant and eventually a detective sergeant in the intelligence branch of the OPP.

“Yet I always knew that I wanted more. There was always that draw to go back to Law school, and meet new challenges.”

“Members of the platoon I supervised often saw me reading case law, and examining and tackling different scenarios and they finally said to me, you’ve got to go ahead and try. And I really did want to be a lawyer.”

In 2007, Hali applied to Western Michigan University, to the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, which offered an accelerated program where she could complete her law studies in two years rather than four. Her police background was also taken into consideration by the school. She rounded out her American education by becoming licensed in New York State (since 2011). She then returned to Ontario, taking a full year of law school at Queen’s University followed by articling in the Crown’s Kingston office, 2012-13.

“I truly believe that every person is entitled to the best legal defence he can get, whether he is guilty or innocent. I feel, if missteps have been made, well, I have seen the impact that can have on an innocent person’s life. I don’t believe the end justifies the means.”

During her time in Michigan, Hali took part for eight months in the Innocence Project, which works to free wrongly convicted persons under the DNA Act. The cases she examined with the Project have had an effect on her views.

“I realize that having been a cop gives me a unique perspective on a case. When I look at a criminal case, I walk through the investigation. What is missing? What may have been overlooked? I like to investigate a case thoroughly. I want to see all sides, and there are often three sides to every story.”

Her police training has taught her to be calm, to carefully set aside emotions, even in a situation of utter chaos, to deal with the reality of “death and pain and deep sorrow,” with professionalism. For every scenario in law, Hali often has a corresponding real life experience upon which to draw. This allows her to listen to what people tell her, and not to leap to judgement.

“I love what I do now. I just love it,” Hali said. “The law is so interesting and challenging. And I am so fortunate to have Eldon and Eric here and acting as mentors too. I’ve only been here three weeks, but, boy,” she added laughing, “they’ve thrown a lot at me in those three weeks.”

Conversant in both civil and criminal law, Hali Adair brings a unique wealth of experiences to her new career in the legal profession. 

“I hope to be a good lawyer and a good litigator. Sometimes the art of being a good lawyer is knowing when to be on your feet in a courtroom, and when to sit down and negotiate.”

[…]

You get your drinking water from a private well. Is it safe? It’s easy to find out by having your water tested. 

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) provides a free well water testing service to households that get their drinking water from a residential well. 

Although your water looks clear and has no smell, it might not be safe to drink.

“Bacteria in water sometimes cause illness so severe that it can require hospitalization and can even cause death,” says Caroline Kuate, Program Manager, Water quality. “It is important to test your private water source to ensure its safety.”

Water quality can change over time, or it can happen suddenly and you may not notice a change in look, taste or smell. That’s why your water should be tested at least three times a year, especially in early spring when melting snow may cause water run-off to enter your well. 

Testing your well water on a regular basis is the only way to ensure the quality and the safety of your drinking water. 

The test results help you to address specific problems and to avoid any potential contamination.

Pick up your water test bottle at the EOHU and drop off your sample any day except Fridays. 

Better be safe than sorry and get your well water tested today!

For more information on well water testing, contact the EOHU at 613-933-1375 or 1 800 267-7120 and ask for Health Line or visit our website www.eohu.ca.

[…]