Iroquois Municipal campground rates raised

Before heading out to the Tubie races on Sunday, August 4, drop by the Morrisburg beach to watch one of the most unique duck race experiences around.

At 10 a.m. five dogs will take to the water, one at a time, to retrieve a duck from the pool of 1200 floating in the water, and return it to their owner.

The five ducks retrieved by the pooches will be the five prize winners of the Morrisburg and District Lions Club Duck Race.

One thousand dollars worth of prizes will be handed out, with top prize being $500 cash, second is $200 cash, third is $100 cash, fourth is a $100 Riley’s Valumart gift card, and fifth is a $100 Canadian Tire gift card.

This year the canine retrievers include Finnegan, Katie, Floyd, Cocoa and one dog yet to be determined.

Finnegan is a 3.5 year old black lab, who likes to dress up. 

He was a Tootsie Roll for Halloween.

He is the canine companion of Sunnie Cantin-Locke, Robin Cantin-Locke and Dominic Worthington.

Finnegan came to live with this family when he was one. “He loves attention and hands everyone his big paw for love,” said his owner. 

Katie, a two year old German Shepherd Alsatian, live with Leanne Casselman. Katie has service dog lineage, so she is definitely up to the task of helping out the Lions Club, because they too ‘serve’. “She’s a super all round dog! Intelligent loyal and great with kids,” said Casselman. 

Hopefully, Katie will be good with ducks too.

Floyd is a friendly nine year old Labradoodle, who is still a puppy at heart. 

“He is an all around good sport when called upon to render a service,” said his owners. Floyd comes from Montreal with Jean, Wendy, Nelson and Myles Landry but is here visiting his summer home, the Graham’s on Lakeshore Drive.

Floyd is obsessed with balls, but may give the ball a break for long enough to fetch a winning rubber duck from the St. Lawrence, Sunday.

Cocoa is described as a charming, flirtatious and stubborn six year old Shih-Tzu Cavalier Spaniel mix. He is a veteran of the duck races, returning to the task for the third time. “What he lacks in swimming speed is made up with his precise retrieving skills, some of the time,” said Juli Strader of Cocoa. “If you want to get his attention, all you have to do is say any of the following words: peanut butter, chicken, cheese, car ride or nap.”

Like all Morrisburg and District Lions Club fundraisers, the proceeds benefit the community. 

[…]

On February 24th, the Linking Hands Network held a working group meeting, Access to Transportation, at The Gathering House in Chesterville.

The meeting is one of six working group meetings set up in response to the outcome from the November 18, 2011 Dundas County Community Forum held at the Christian Reformed Church in Williamsburg. 

In November, Pauline Pratt, Executive Director for the House of Lazarus, told The Leader that “this Community Forum was the next step in the House of Lazarus’s Linking Hands in Dundas project. The overall vision of the project is to develop sustainable solutions to the increasing poverty we are experiencing in North and South Dundas, and create communities that are more resilient.”

The six working group meetings cover the following themes: access to transportation; access to basic health care needs; access to safe, nutritious, primarily local food; community connections and navigating the system; economic and entrepreneurial development and training; and, strategies for increasing participation in physical activities.

Nanda Wubs was the coordinator for Friday’s meeting, Access to Transportation, in which Robert Dupuis discussed the success of a similar venture in Quebec. 

In addition to Dupuis, Harry Gow also discussed similar transportation initiatives, like the non-profit transportation service in North Grenville. Following the presentation, audience members were able to ask both Gow and Dupuis questions.

According to Wubs, “the event was well-attended and there was a good representation of local agencies including both municipalities.”

In terms of a next step, Wubs said, “continue investigating other models of transportation networks, send out a survey to agencies to determine current transportation ‘stock’ and to the community to do a transportation needs assessment.” 

“In regards to political support,” she continued, “I feel that both townships are open to hearing ideas from the community that could make transportation less of a burden on some. At this point we don’t have any more expectation than that from them.”

“However, as Robert Dupuis mentioned, the Federal Gas Tax credit is available to Municipalities for transit only. They cannot access it otherwise which means there is a pool of money that could be used to help the transportation network. More research has to be done in this area.”

Wubs admitted, “this is a daunting task but the wheels are definitely rolling.”

“I want to reiterate the reason Linking Hands is doing this,” she said, “we are an advocacy group for rural poor in Dundas County and transportation was a key theme in the Community Forum held last November which was titled Building a Sustainable Dundas County.”

“If our community is not sustainable, there could be more on their way to being poor. As the Chesterville Record put it so nicely ‘economic hope begins with a ride to work’.”

For more information, email linkinghandsdundas@gmail.com or phone the House of Lazarus at 613-989-3830.

[…]

Passed away peacefully at the Cornwall Community Hospital on Thursday, June 27, 2024, Pat Hall-Beckstead of Morrisburg, age 79.  Loving wife of Glenn Beckstead for 37 years.  Loving mother of Kim McBain (Jim) of Morrisburg. […]