Wading closer to community splash pad goal

Several South Dundas municipal managers will be eligible for retirement in the next five to seven years, so South Dundas officials are now trying to plan for the future. 

The Ontario Municipal Internship Program was developed to address the critical need to attract and train the next generation of competent, well-rounded municipal leaders. 

South Dundas is hoping through the program to bring in a recent graduate for a 12 month internship where they would work alongside the chief administrative officer and other senior staff members.

If South Dundas’ application is successful, the government program would provide 50 per cent of the intern’s salary, up to  $40,000, with an additional $5,000 available to subsidize ancillary expenses.

“At the conclusion of the program, the desired result is the development of a well-rounded, knowledgeable and grounded municipal professional who can ultimately rise to a leadership position in any municipality,” said South Dundas CAO Steve McDonald in his report to council.

“This fits very nicely with where South Dundas is going staffing-wise, with regards to succession planning,” he added.

“This is really a two-way street,” commented South Dundas deputy mayor Jim Locke. “We get someone with up to date knowledge, and they get valuable hands on experience.”

“This is a great opportunity for us to get another staff member and we could certainly benefit from that,” said South Dundas councillor Evonne Delegarde.

“After seeing the benefits of this program at the County level, I’m all for it,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds, explaining that the Counties intern has done a lot of extra work and gathered a lot of extra information for which regular staffers don’t normally have enough time.

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Almost 700 people attended the annual Morrisburg and District Arts and Crafts Association show and sale at the Morrisburg Legion over the weekend, a number that pleased the exhibitors and the association alike.

Linda Schenck, the association’s chairperson explained that this was the first year that she kept track of attendance, but said the crowd definitely seemed bigger this year than past years.

The hall was packed with the products of 27 vendors.

“I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I hope everyone knows how much we appreciate everyone who played a part in this great show,” said Schenck. “From the exhibitors who set up such nice displays to the people who showed up and spent their money, to the newspaper for providing such great coverage.”

Next year the show, which has been taking place for more than 30 years, will see a couple of major changes.

It will change from a three day show to a two day show.

“We are eliminating the Friday night,” said Schenck, explaining that a lot of the crafters work, so they find it tough to get set up in time for the Friday night. She hopes that attendance will still remain high over the Saturday and Sunday.

Another major change for next year will be a small admission charge at the door for those attending. “People will be asked to give $1 or to donate a non perishable food item at the door next year,” said Schenck. The sole purpose of this admission will be to allow another charity to benefit from the event.

“The whole point of this event is to help out different organizations in the community,” said Schenck, explaining that this change will enable them to help out the food bank, which helps those in the community in need.

In addition to expanding the charity network of the show, Schenck hopes to expand the event’s social network by creating a Facebook page.

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