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Obituaries

Albert Bert Whittaker

 

A resident of British Colombia for 26 years, Albert Whittaker, better known as Bert or Al, passed away suddenly at his home in Quatsino, B.C. on January 8, 2015.  He was 75.

Bert was born in Williamsburg Township, on March 17, 1939, to his parents Lawrence and Edith Whittaker (nee Black).

He attended Colquhoun Pubic School and Chesterville High School. Following school, Bert worked for a brief time in Iroquois during the construction of the St. Lawrence Seaway. 

In the late 50’s, the Canadian Armed Forces drew his attention and focus. He joined the Army and started his training as an auto mechanic.  Following basic training in Kingston, Ontario, he found his first posting in Calgary and was introduced to the Western way of life.  

After a few years in Calgary, Bert was posted to Egypt, where he spent a year serving his country as a peacekeeper.  This was an experience not soon to be forgotten.  While on leave, he had the, once in a lifetime, opportunity of visiting the Holy Land. 

Upon his return to Calgary, Bert left the Army, and put his learned trade into practice. His extensive knowledge in auto mechanics drove him to create his own start-up company, Specialized Services Ltd. which involved work in the oil industry.

While Bert was living and working in Alberta, he often spent vacation time on Vancouver Island. On one of those vacations he was introduce to a small community on the northern most tip of the island called Quatsino.  His love for this beautiful part of the country led him to eventually retire there.

Albert lived his life as only he could: Independently and as a dedicated friend to those who were fortunate enough to get to know him. He was passionate to a fault when it came to anything in the Western Canada.

Bert is survive by his brother Gordon Whittaker (Mary) of Iroquois. He will be fondly remembered by his niece Catherine Van Vliet (Larry) of Kemptville, and his nephew Michael Whittaker (Vanessa) of Toronto.

He is also survived by his great-niece Amelia, his great-nephews William, Owen, James and by several cousins.

Friends called at the Marsden and McLaughlin Funeral Home, Williamsburg, on Tuesday, January 20th from 9 a.m. until time of the funeral at 11 a.m. with Rev. Valerie Vande Wiele officiating. Interment followed at Maple Ridge Cemetery, Chesterville.

Pallbearers were Dale Whitteker, Jack Barkley, Gordon Beckstead, Michael Whittaker, David Lapier and Lyal Kehoe.

Donations to the South Dundas Food Bank would be gratefully acknowledged by the family.  Online condolences may be made at marsdenmclaughlin.com.

 

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Obituaries

Phyllis Simser

 

A lifetime resident of the area, Phyllis Simser passed away suddenly at the Winchester District Memorial Hospital on Monday January 19, 2015.  She was 71. 

Phyllis was born in Mountain Township, on March 11, 1943, to her parents Robert and Effie Simser (nee Skuce).

Phyllis is survived by her daughters Kate Gray (Barry) and Laurie Barkley (Gary) both of Williamsburg.  

She will be lovingly remembered by her grandchildren Nathan Kerr (Kaitlin), Maria Gray, Julie and Crystal Barkley, Melissa McKiel (Sean) and Lisa Turner and by her great-grandchildren Rose, Emmitt, Madilynn, Easton and Ainsleigh. 

She is also survived by nine brothers and sisters and many nieces and nephews.

Phyllis was predeceased by her lifetime companion Garnet Stata, her daughter Linda Turner, and by two brothers and one sister.

Friends called at the Marsden and McLaughlin Funeral Home, Williamsburg on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m.  A private family interment was held at the New Union Cemetery in Williamsburg.

Pallbearers were Barry Gray, Nathan Kerr, Gary Barkley and Jonathon Moore.

Donations to the charity of your choice would be gratefully acknowledged by the family.  Online condolences may be made at marsdenmclaughlin.com

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Obituaries

Ian McGillis

 

A resident of Cardinal for the past 23 years, Ian McGillis passed away peacefully at the Brockville General Hospital on Saturday, January 17, 2015, age 53. 

Ian was born in Cornwall, on November 27, 1961, to his parents Doug and Joan McGillis (nee McGuire). He grew up in Morrisburg where he attended Morrisburg Public School and later Seaway District High School.  

Ian was a long-time resident and third generation owner of McGillis Home Hardware in Morrisburg. After selling his Morrisburg business in June of 2011, Ian worked for Home Hardware in Winchester, until February of 2013.

He continued on to work at the Home Hardware Building Centre in Brockville, where he was highly regarded by his co-workers and where he made many friends. He worked at the Building Centre until he became too ill this past summer.

As a kid, Ian enjoyed playing hockey in the winter. In the summer, he couldn’t wait for the Sunday afternoon boat rides with his family, when his dad would put him on his lap and let him drive the boat.  

If they weren’t on their way to Brockville to go camping with the Stevens and Thom families, it was a nice cruise over to “A Bay” for groceries and maybe an ice cream if he got lucky.

As Ian got older, he enjoyed family gatherings. Whether it be a birthday or a holiday, he would always be up to putting on his Sunday best to greet the family at the door. Even if he wasn’t feeling up to it….his mother Joan would make sure he was ready to go for the special day ahead.

Ian was involved in many sporting activities whether it be playing hockey as a young boy or playing softball as a young adult in the Morrisburg Mixed League. 

If Ian wasn’t playing a sport he was watching them and cheering on his favourite teams. If not the Montreal Canadiens at home or at the Bell Centre, it was a trip to the Skydome to watch the Toronto Blue Jays with Nancy and the grandchildren all the way up to the final games this season to share a weekend with her and their two oldest grandchildren Brock and Joshua. 

There were special times watching the Montreal Alouettes, when he and his best friend Craig Harriman shared seasons tickets for six unforgettable seasons. 

Ian was a devoted family man. He spent countless hours taking in his grandchildren’s golf, curling, baseball and 4H shows. He was their biggest fan on the sidelines throughout the years.

Ian’s true passion of course was the game of curling. He made many contributions to the Morrisburg Curling Club where he started curling, was a member for many years and eventually became club president. 

Ian was also a member of the Brockville Golf and Curling Club, where over the years he made many friends. 

When not playing, he and Nancy would take vacations across Canada to many curling events whether it be to The Brier or the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. 

Ian loved the game of curling so much that he volunteered countless hours to the game, to eventually make his way into the Ontario Curling Association (OCA). 

Here he started on the Board of Directors as a rules chairperson. He served as President of the OCA from 2013-2014 and become past president from 2014 until his passing in January 2015. He was presented a lifetime honorary membership by the OCA in December 2014. 

In Ian’s short life, he was highly regarded and respected by his many friends and acquaintances on and off the ice.

Ian is survived by his loving companion Nancy Skakum (nee Bennett); his stepchildren Michelle Skakum (Larry Mastine) of Danville, P.Q., Steacy Skakum (Kevin Laming) of Cardinal and Nicole Goodenough (Gregg Moulton) of Boucks Hill; his grandchildren Brock, Joshua, Michaela, Meghan, Justin, Jessica and Jason; his sister Ann Miller (Jeff) of Kemptville. 

He will be sadly missed by his nieces Laura and Emma and his nephew Norman.  He will be fondly remembered by his aunt Norma McGuire of Etobicoke and his cousins Susan, Elizabeth and Bryan.  

He was predeceased by his parents Doug and Joan McGillis.      

Friends called at the Marsden and McLaughlin Funeral Home, Williamsburg, on Thursday, January 22nd from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral service was held at the funeral home on Friday, January 23rd at 11 a.m., with Rev. Feras Chamas officiating.

Interment of cremated remains will be at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Morrisburg. 

Pallbearers were Craig Harriman, Allan Brunt, Scott Shaw and Gord Gark.  

Donations to the Morrisburg Curling Club or Kingston Cancer Centre would be gratefully acknowledged by the family.  Online condolences may be made at marsdenmclaughlin.com. 

 

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Opinion

Where tax dollars go

Where Do Your Federal Tax Dollars Go?

Constituents often ask me various questions about federal government finances. 

How much does the federal government spend each year? Where does the money go? 

I thought this week I would try and supply you with an insight into how your tax dollars are spent. While it can be difficult to summarize and explain in a brief article, here is a quick overview of the expenses.

For the last fiscal year, Canada’s federal government spent $276.8 billion from a variety of revenue sources. That represents roughly 15% of our country’s $1.9-trillion economy.

Transfers payments, which are federal funds that go directly to persons, to provincial governments, and to other organizations, are the largest category of government spending. They compose about 61 cents of each tax dollar spent ($169.4 billion).

Major transfers to individual Canadians cost 26 cents of each tax dollar spent ($72.2 billion). The biggest category in this line item was elderly benefits, which cost about $41.8 billion, or roughly 15 cents of each tax dollar spent. These transfers include Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, and the Allowance for Spouses.

Another major transfer to persons is Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. Altogether, EI benefits cost over 6 cents of every tax dollar spent ($17.3 billion). 

The final major types of personal transfers are child benefits. The federal government provided $13.1 billion to help families raise their children through the Canada Child Tax Benefit and the Universal Child Care Benefit. These payments cost almost 5 cents of every tax dollar spent.

 Major transfers to provincial and local governments totalled $60.5 billion, or 22 cents of each tax dollar spent. These transfers help fund health care, post-secondary education, and other vital programs for Canadians.

The Canada Health Transfer provided $30.5 billion for health programs, representing about 11 cents of each tax dollar spent.

The Canada Social Transfer provided $12.2 billion for post-secondary education, social programs and programs for children, representing close to 5 cents of each tax dollar spent.

Other major transfers, including provincial equalization programs and our Gas Tax Fund program to municipalities, totalled roughly 6 cents of every tax dollar spent ($17.7 billion).

The items listed above account for approximately 70% of the federal government’s annual expenditures. If you are interested in knowing where the additional 30% is spent, please visit ‎my website www.guylauzon.ca for all the information anytime.

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Sports

Novice Bs, a little good, a little bad

 

A pair of 5-1 hockey games spelled both good news and bad news for the South Dundas Novice B Lions in Upper Canada Minor League action this week.

Last Thursday night, January 22, the Lions picked up a home ice 5-1 win against the visiting South Grenville #1 Rangers, but then on Sunday, January 25, they were on the road to Kemptville where they were dealt a 5-1 loss by the B 2 Panthers.

Sunday in Kemptville, Nick Connors scored the lone Lions goal, spoiling Gareth Robinson’s shut out late in the second period. Luke Byvelds provided the helper.

After a scoreless first period, the Panthers went up 3-0 in the second period on goals by Brandon Taylor, Nolan Dulmage and Carter Lemay.

Dulmage counted his second goal early in the third period, and Rhett Mclean made it 5-1 minutes later.

Last Thursday night in Morrisburg, it was goaltender Aiden Hutt’s game as he gave up only one goal early in the third period to Zander Pittman.

Lions Devon Honders (from Cooper McCooeye) and Nick Connors (from Mason Hummel) gave the Lions a 2-0 first period lead.

Three unanswered goal in the last five minutes of the second period put the Lions in the driver’s seat.

Nick Connors kicked it off with his second of the game with help from Hummel and McCooeye, and then it was McCooeye with the goal and Connors providing the assist.

Ben Radley counted the Lions fifth and final goal with 35 seconds left in the second period with Luke Byvelds providing the assist.

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Sports

Circuit Pro snowmobile tour at Cornwall Speedway, Jan. 30-Feb. 1

 

–The thrill of the race will be on at the Cornwall Speedway this weekend as the local track hosts its first ever Pro-Racing Circuit tour which features renowned snowmobile racers from all over North America.

Last Wednesday, January 21 event organizers gathered at a press conference at the Au Vieux Duluth Restaurant in Cornwall, where two popular Quebec drivers, 61 year old, racing legend Jacques Villeneuve and rising superstar, 17 year old Steve Marquis made appearances to promote the Circuit Pro event.

Cornwall is the first stop on the Eastern Canada Tour. The Friday (evening) and Saturday and Sunday races will be run on the quarter mile Cornwall track, now ready and waiting with an 18 inch cover of ice. Even the pits are iced.

The Pro-Racing Circuit Tour event is a first for Cornwall and is the result of an effort  to make the track more active by owners Raymond and Jacques Lavergne who took over the Speedway in the spring of 2014 from long time owner Ron Morin.

Event promoter Brian Mulligan expressed the great excitement everyone has for the weekend event.

Each day we will have a complete racing program. Both Saturday and Sunday will feature 40-45 races. The Pro-Champ, Outlaws, Formula 500 Open, 440 Vintage, Single Cylinder Mod Open, Junior 340 Open, along with the 4-Wheeler and Motorcycle will all be on hand during the weekend.

Ice oval sleds are not the average snowmobile. A Pro-Champ sled can run as high as $30,000 and sled speeds will often surpass the 100 mph mark down the backstretch and over 80 mph into the corners.

A first for Cornwall race fans, organizers are hoping to make the Pro Racing Circuit stop an annual event.

“We’ve tried to incorporate the best of every track in the Eastern tour in the Cornwall facility,” said Mulligan. “It’s going to be a success, and it is going to be here forever.”

“It’s a remarkable event,” said Barry Holigroski who is working with Mulligan. “Just to see the veteran and the rookie in the same room here today is great. These are world class racers. They will be coming into the corners at 80 mph. They are flying. It takes a lot of skill and a lot of heart. You will see the very best ability.” 

“Me I like to win, ” said veteran driver Jacques Villeneuve. “I like to pass whoever is in front of me all the time. Cars you are paid to drive, and it is something you like to do. Snowmobile racing is physically harder and I am on my own. I have to find the money myself.”

Both Villeneuve and young Steve Marquis expressed their excitement of the upcoming weekend tour stop in Cornwall.

Friday night (January 30) and Saturday, (January 31) admission is $20. Sunday (February 1) admission is $25 and a weekend pass can be purchased for $50. There is reduced pricing for children 16 years and under. Friday night’s program will begin at 6 p.m. and conclude with fireworks. Action begins at 10:30 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.

Mulligan says that he thinks the price is right. Admission includes access to the pit area where they folks can warm up under a heated tent. 

“It is the first race of the year,” said Tour President, George Samson. “I am sure every driver is excited to get out there, and I am sure that the team here in Cornwall has done a super job.”

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Sports

Atom Bs leapfrog into first place

 

A pair of wins, beginning with a 3-1 victory in  Spencerville  on Wednesday, January 21, followed by 6-2 win on home ice against the first place Kemptville #1 Panthers in Morrisburg, Sunday, helped the South Dundas Atom B Lions to leapfrog into first place by one point.  

The Lions now have three regular season games left while the Panthers have five.  

The Lions dominated the play in both of their recent wins.

In Spencerville last Wednesday, Rangers goalie Bryce Kijewski kept the game close as he made save after save against the Lions attack.  He was most impressive when he stopped Sam Connors on a clear cut breakaway with 5:40 left in the first period.  

The Lions finally got one behind him with 13 seconds left in the opening period, when Cam Shaver passed it to Dryden Buter who fired the shot. 

Kijewski made the initial save but James Martens was there waiting to put the rebound away with a powerful wrist shot for a 1-0 Lions lead.

The line struck again early in the second period when Martens setup Shaver, but the Rangers pulled within one late in the frame with an unassisted  Hayden Walker counter.

The period ended with the Lions only up 2-1 despite heavily out-shooting the Rangers for two periods.

The Lions stretched it to 3-1 early in the third period when Shaver centered the puck to Buter and that is the way it remained.

The Lions had a strong work ethic all night, winning puck battles and pressuring the Rangers at both ends of the ice.  

James Martens had an excellent game releasing some powerful shots and being strong on the puck.  

The win pulled the Lions to within a point of first place Kemptville #1, who they would host on Sunday.

Heading into Sunday’s game, the Lions talked about taking the game to the Panthers and outworking them.  

Just 19 seconds in, the Lions hit a little speed bump when a Storm Briggs shot fooled Quade Mullin, and the Panthers went up 1-0. 

The Lions quickly regrouped and replied with three goals in under a minute. 

The first was a beauty when Nate Paulino made a long stretch pass from inside his blue line to a streaking Monty Dejong at centre.  The pass was perfect as Dejong took it in stride, went in and slid the puck past Jordan Zlomislic. 

Fifteen seconds after that Sean Nicolaassen banged home a loose puck to make it 2-1, with Buter providing the assist. 

Then before the cheering Lions crowd could sit down it was 3-1. This one only took 13 seconds, when Buter slid it to Connors who sent his patented wrist shot to the upper right corner past a stunned Zlomislic.  

The opening period was a wild one that ended 3-1 in the Lions favour.

The Lions opened the second period on their power play and at 8:31 they capitalized. 

Paulino let go a  shot from the point that hit a crowd in front, and Spencer Barclay used his backhand to slide the puck past Zlomislic.  

This time it was the Panthers who countered quickly, with a Connor Arcand goal to cut the Lions advantage to 4-2.  

Late in the period, on the Lions power play, Buter finished off a pretty passing play with Nicolaassen and Connors. for a 5-2 Lions lead heading into the third period.

Early in the third, Dejong was the recipient of another stretch pass, this time it came from Jack McCann to make it 6-2. 

Mullin made some key saves throughout the game to keep his team in command. 

Two of the Lions even put their soccer skills to use.  Mullin headed a wrist shot into the corner, while on another play McCann lost his stick and used some fancy foot work to kick the puck to his teammate who took it from harms way.  

The Lions specialty teams were key as they went 2 for 3 on the power play and 3 for 3 on the penalty kill. 

It was also the second game in a row that the Lions had thoroughly outworked their opponent.

The South Dundas Atom B Lions next game will be at home on Sunday at 4 p.m. versus Smiths Falls when they will provide some great pre-Super Bowl action.

 

 

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Sports

Midget B Lions wind up

 

As the regular season winds down the South Dundas Midget B House Lions are winding up, this week adding a pair of strokes to their win column as they hold solidly to their second place standing in the Southeast division of the Upper Canada Minor Hockey League.

The Lions got it rolling last Wednesday night (January 21) in Morrisburg, with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Brockville #2 Braves, and then on Saturday, they collected a big 9-3 win over the South Stormont #2 Selects.

Tyler Nelson (from Matt Backes) and Logan Hummel (from Kody Arsenault and Drew Gillard) gave the Lions a 2-0 first period lead against the Selects.

The Selects charged back in the second period with Ty Fetterly and Andrew Lalonde goals to tie the game at 2-2. 

But the Lions quickly recovered with two goals from Nelson, the first unassisted and the second with help from Ewen Baril on the Lions power play.

The Lions carried their 4-2 lead into the third period and then stretched it to 6-2 with a power play goal from Drew Gillard, assisted by Nicolaassen and a Nicolaassen counter assisted by Matt Backes.

Bailey Gillard finished the Selects scoring with 8:40 left on the clock, setting the stage for another three Lions goals. 

Logan Hummel counted the first assisted by Jonathan Mayhew and then it was over to Noah Picotte for a pair. Tyler Nelson and Cassie Hummel assisted on the first and Nelson added his help on the second for the 9-3 Lions win.

Last Wednesday night, the Lions took a slim 1-0 first period lead against the Brockville 2 Braves on a Kody Arsenault goal assisted by Mitchell Woodward and Drew Gillard.

Their 1-0 advantage lasted until early in the second period when Josh Smith struck for the Braves to even it 1-1.

From then on the Lions took charge with goals from Matt Backs, Drew Gillard and Woodward which allowed them to carry a 4-1 lead into the third period.

Mason Cottie got one early on for the Braves to make it 4-2 but that was it, and the Lions held on for the 4-2 win. 

Earning assists on the three second period goals were Woodward, Noah Picotte, Tyler Nelson, Cassie Hummel and Backes.

South Grenville 2s lead the division with 28 points, while the Lions are in second spot with nine wins, eight losses and three ties for 21 points. Third place is held by the NGS 2s with 12 points.

The Lions will be on the road for their next game and will be on home ice February 4 at 8 p.m.

The regular season schedule wraps up for the UCMHL on Sunday, February 15.

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Sports

Jr. Lions collect overtime win from first place Vikings

 

The Morrisburg Junior B Lions reached up, way up from the bottom of the St. Lawrence Division of the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey league on Sunday, January 25, to nab the first place Casselman Vikings for a 7-6 overtime win.

The Lions were aided 2:04 into the overtime period when Vikings Harrison Wood drew a two minute slashing period. That set the stage for the Lions power-play winner from the stick of Jacob Kendrick, assisted by Eric Evans and Tanner Hummel at 3:48. 

It was the ninth win of the season for the Lions and the first overtime loss for the Casselman Vikings who lead the St. Lawrence Division with 64 points. In 35 games the Vikings have lost just two games (one to the Lions), had one loss in a shoot out and now have one loss in overtime. 

They have pulled well away from the rest of the division with 64 points. The Alexandria Glens are in second spot with 45 points, the Winchester Hawks have 39 and the Char-Lan Rebels 29.

The Akwesasne Wolves, with 28 points, are on the heels of the Rebels for the fourth and final playoff spot, and the Lions are way back in the standings with their 19. 

The Lions were solid out of the gate on Sunday, with goals from by Dylan Nixon (from Jordan Smail and Landon Veenstra) at 2:37 of the first period and Jacob Guilliot (from Eric Evans and Ryan Griffin) on the Lions power play at 5:54.

They maintained their lead until 15:25 of the frame when Taylor Widenmaier got one past Keiran Weir to close the gap to 2-1.

But the Lions came charging right back with a Michael Paquette goal assisted by Brodie Barkley and Jacob Kendrick at 17:07.

The second period  went to the Vikings who counted two unanswered goals to tie it 3-3. Harrison Wood made it 3-2 at 5:17 and Luc Forget counted on the Vikings power play at 7:10.

The 3-3 tie held until 4:24 of the third period when Kendrick pushed the Lions ahead with help from Justin Lefevbre and Guillot.

At 6:42 Cole Fowler, assisted by Landon Veenstra and Evans put the Lions up 5-3.

Grant Hebert cut the gap to one at 7:06, but again the Lions were able to maintain their two goal edge with a Lefevbre power-play goal assisted by Brodie Barkley and Smail at 9:09 of the third.

The Lions held on until 18:51 when the Vikings, opting for the extra attacker, got one back from the stick of Hebert to cut the gap to 6-5.

The Vikings, again with goaltender Reilly Tondreau out of the net in favour of the extra attacker, tied the game 6-6 at 19:22 to force the overtime.

The Lions power play was working well in the game as they were successful in three out of four opportunities. The Vikings managed only one goal on their power play in five opportunities.

The Vikings sat on 12 minutes in penalties on six infractions and the Lions were assessed 34 minutes on nine infractions. 

Coming up this Thursday, January 29, the Lions are on the road for a make up game against the Akwesasne Wolves. Friday night, January 30, they are in Winchester to take on the Hawks, and Saturday night, January 31 they will host the Alexandria Glens. Game time is 7 p.m.

 

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News

Air show lands Iroquois airport venue

An air show is planned for Iroquois, this summer–A Miniature Air show.

Members of the Ottawa Valley Zone of the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada, were thrilled to have discovered South Dundas’ municipal airport in Iroquois.

Ken Park and Brent Norman of the club which flies radio controlled miniature jets, both electric and turbine powered, requested the use of the Iroquois airport facility to host an event the weekend of July 4, 2015. 

“The airport manager John Ross gave us a private tour, and we were truly blown away as this location has everything we could think of for a possible successful event,” said Park.

For them, for a first time event, they hope to attract at least 20 pilots and planes.

South Dundas council unanimously approved the use of the airport for the club, which carries its own liability insurance, looks after its own crowd control barriers and takes responsibility for all safety measures.

The event would be open to the public and free. 

Oftentimes, flying will be stopped for a short time to allow the public to see the models up close, and ask questions of the pilots.

Organizers expect those pilots participating in the event will like the proximity to the Iroquois Municipal Campground to the airport.

The site plan and logistics will be fully detailed when the organizers come back in May for another site meeting.

The plan is for all flying to take place south of the airstrip. The airstrip would be closed to other air traffic that weekend. This miniature air show takes place two weeks before the annual fly-in breakfast.

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