Month: June 2015

Get ready to take in some great toe-tapping, hand-clapping good times at Iroquois Point this weekend. The annual Bluegrass Festival, sponsored by the Galop Canal Committee, is running June 18-21 at 6020 Carman Road. This year, the Festival is even bigger and better.

Four days of music provided by outstanding live bands, will thrill dedicated bluegrass fans, and win new fans to the genre. And this year, there’s a special session, Friday, June 19, 2 to 5 p.m. only, of country music, featuring Ralph and Brenda Country.

Following the Festival opening ceremonies at 5:45 p.m., held at the Lions Bandshell, audiences can just sit back and enjoy some outstanding bluegrass for the rest of the weekend.

“We already have reservations for 200 campers right on the site,” said Geraldine Fitzsimmons, manager of the South Dundas Chamber of Commerce. “The chair of the Galop Canal Bluegrass Festival, Joey Vankoppen, and his team of dedicated volunteers, have been working a lot of hard hours to make this Festival a runaway success. And we have a great musical line-up for audiences, due in large measure to the efforts of Melissa Sherman, who helped put the band line-up together. And the word is definitely out there, since our advance sales are really good this year. I know that people simply love this South Dundas area.”

The bands featured this year are Grassy Fiddle Time, County Road 5, Maple Hill, County Road 44, Hard Ryde, Monroe Sisters, Barrel Boys, Canucky Bluegrass Boys, Georgian Blue and the Schotts.

Not only will people be able to enjoy the best of Bluegrass performances, the Festival also offers free workshops to those interested in learning more about playing traditional bluegrass. On Saturday, June 20, members of the band, Hard Ryde, will be offering an 11 a.m. mandolin workshop, a 12 noon banjo workshop and a 1 p.m. guitar workshop. All participants need is an interest and an instrument. All ages are welcome from novices to experienced players.

And there will be plenty of good eating all weekend to go along with the fun and music. The Iroquois Legion is offering a delicious breakfast on Saturday morning: tickets will also be on sale (reserve in advance with Barb Rabideau at 613-543-3114) for a Legion steak supper Saturday night. Halees at the Point will also be open for the entire Festival. Watch for interesting vendors on site as well.

In between acts, on Saturday, visitors to the Festival can also enjoy viewing some special cars, antique, muscle and modern, right on site with the members of the Golden Gears Car Club. “This is simply going to add to the interest and to the excitement of the weekend,” said Fitzsimmons.

Events like the Bluegrass Festival bring many visitors to the South Dundas area, helping to boost the local economy. “We are certainly very grateful for the sponsorship we have received,” Gerri Fitzsimmons said, “but since the Festival impacts the entire municipality, we hope to work more closely with the municipality in the future. Funds raised will go back into developing the Bluegrass Festival into one of the biggest festivals of its type in Canada.”

Passes for part or all of the weekend events, and additional information, are available by contacting galopcanalbluegrassfestival@gmail.com. There’s something for everyone at the Iroquois Point Bluegrass Festival June 18-21: come out and enjoy four great days.

Seaway Kickers preparing to host hundreds of players at June Festival

The Seaway Kickers Soccer Club is busy ironing out some final details as the club prepares to host the South Side Soccer League’s annual June Festival which will bring several hundred soccer players and parents to Iroquois the weekend of June 27-28.

The Festival is a big and fun event for the South Side Soccer League and Kickers club president, Phillip Blancher says, “we are expecting between 32 and 36 teams from six different clubs across the age groups. All five of our fields will be in use during the two days.”

The two days of action will begin with the all-girls teams playing on Saturday, June 27, beginning at 11 a.m. (immediately following the regular South Dundas Saturday morning program) and will run until approximately 6 p.m.

Then on Sunday, all of the league’s mixed teams will take to the fields beginning at 9 a.m. and wrapping up at about 5 p.m.

The June Festival is not a tournament as all games are scheduled South Side league games. It started three years ago when the league wanted to expand the schedule and time was a factor.

“It was problematic so they came up with the Festival,” says Blancher. “Every team is guaranteed a minimum of three games and each is a regular season game.”

“The festival has traditionally been held in Ottawa, and it has always been held the last weekend of June when the kids maybe haven’t started their summer jobs yet and families haven’t started summer travel.”

It has also been held at Kemptville Agricultural College, which is no longer available and due to growth in the league a previously used three-field venue is not big enough.

“Five fields made us and South Gower the only potential sites.”

Blancher says the Kickers are expecting well over 500 people including parents and players over the two days, so it will be busy. “Local business and restaurants will likely be very busy.”

The Kickers have applied to the municipality for road closures in and around the soccer fields.

Specifically they have asked to close Lakeview Drive between Elizabeth Drive and College Streets both days from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and to prohibit parking on the east side of Elizabeth Drive between Seaway District High School and the Beach Road.

Blancher says the local Kickers are delighted to be hosting the June Festival.

“The league itself provides some volunteer support, and we have added some volunteers at the snack bar.”

The Iroquois Scout Troop will provide a barbecue on both days.

“It’s a great opportunity for our club, and it is also a great opportunity for the South Dundas community to showcase ourselves as a sporting community.”

TransCanada donates to boardwalk project

The Friends of the Sanctuary “Get on Board” boardwalk project to replace and enhance the existing boardwalk system at the Upper Canada Bird Sanctuary east of Morrisburg, received a solid boost on Monday, June 8, when TransCanada presented a $5,000 funding cheque.

“We are thrilled to receive this important funding from TransCanada,” said Friends chair Chuck Clavet in a press release. “Our “Get on Board” boardwalk rehabilitation project is an important one as it helps to connect visitors to some very unique aspects of nature in our region.”

The Get on Board rehabilitation project was launched by the Friends in 2014.

One boardwalk at the sanctuary is currently closed due to deterioration and the existing Redwing Trail is seeing much deterioration.

“We do a lot of work in this area,” said Jon Pitcher, Trans Canada’s Ontario Community Relation Lead who was on hand to make the presentation. “Trans Canada has been in this area for the last 60 years. This goes with community and environment in a big way, and we are happy to help out. We are very happy to support nature and the beautiful environment we live in. TransCanada is very proud to be contributing to the Get On Board Boardwalks initiative.”

“This is a project that is the fruit of a lot of hard work, as well as thoughtful dedication by members of this community. As we plan, construct and operate the Energy East pipeline, TransCanada is committed to working with local communities along the project corridor. We believe in making a positive difference where we live and work. We are always looking for ways to help build stronger communities by investing in community, the environment and safety. Giving back has been both a part of our everyday culture and one of our core beliefs for more than 60 years.”

The Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary covers 9,000 hectares of wooded uplands, crop land, waterways and marshlands. It offers more than 8 km of self-guided nature trails where visitors can get up close to nature seeing countless species of birds, wildlife and natural habitat.

In addition to a campground located on Nairne Island, the Waterfront Trail for Cyclists runs through the Sanctuary.

“The Sanctuary is a wonderful place for everyone, but especially families and children to experience nature first-hand,” says Clavet. “The Friends is very much a community minded group of volunteers committed to the Sanctuary.”

Large corporations, groups and individuals are invited to partner with the Friends of the Sanctuary in support of the Get on Board project. The Friends of the Sanctuary is a registered charity organization and donations are eligible for a tax receipt.

Donations can be sent to PO Box 156 Ingleside, On, K0C 1M0 or made online at www.friendsofthesanctuary.org

Glen Baldwin

A lifetime resident of the Brinston area, Glen Baldwin passed away at the Ottawa Civic Hospital on Friday, June 5, 2014. He was 50.

Glen was born in Winchester, on September 20, 1964, to his parents Murray and Dorla Baldwin (nee Dillabaugh).

Glen was the youngest of six children and a red-head like his father. He attended Dixon’s Corners Public School, Nationview Public School and Seaway District High School.

Everyone knew Glen’s big-hearted smile and his fun loving mischief. He loved his motorcycle and always had fearless adventures with the boys.

Glen had a love for the land and very much enjoyed farming. He was employed at Floodview Farms (Gerald and Shirley Belanger) north of Brinston until 1989, when he left farming to begin his career at the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry in the Roads Department. This year marked Glen’s 25th year of service.

Always the brunt of jokes about easy laid back work, Glen would just smile, give some joke back and carry on. Very few people know of the endless hours County Roads Department snowplow drivers actually put in over the years. Glen did his job well and with pride.

In 1994, Glen finally married the love of his life, Leslie Disheau at Brinston United Church. They bought a house in Stampville and settled down to raise a family. Jessica and Erik would become Glen’s centre of attention and the pride and joy of his life.

Always an outdoor man; hunting, fishing, 4-wheeling, and snowmobiling, Glen taught his children the value of stewardship of the land and had some very memorable adventures with them by his side. For Glen, family was the centre of his life, and he made sure that his nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews were included in his outdoor adventures.

Glen was a community minded person and an active volunteer with many snowmobile clubs since 1990. Glen’s passion was snowmobiling, and he would stake snowmobile trails every year to ensure local recreational snowmobiling existed.

Glen and Leslie lived an active and adventurous life together for 28 years.

Glen is survived by his wife Leslie Disheau, his children Jessica and Erik, his parents Murray and Dorla Baldwin (nee Dillabaugh) of Hanesville, his siblings Sandra Strader (Randy) of Iroquois, Keith (Deborah) of Morrisburg, Kevin (Kathy) of Brinston, Dale (Kim) of Morrisburg and Connie Kerkhof (Rick) of Oxford Mills and his mother-in-law Louella Disheau-Smail.

Glen will be fondly remembered by his aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Friends called at the Marsden and McLaughlin Funeral Home, Williamsburg, on Friday, June 12th from noon-4 and 7-9 p.m.

Funeral service was held at Brinston United Church on Saturday, June 13th at 11 a.m. with Rev. Valerie VandeWiele officiating. Cremation followed. Interment of cremated remains will be at Hanesville Cemetery.

Pallbearers were Keith Baldwin, Kevin Baldwin, Dale Baldwin, Rick Kerkhof, Randy Strader and Bill Bennett.

Donations to the Upper Canada District School Board Champions for Kids program would be gratefully acknowledged by the family. Online condolences may be made at marsdenmclaughlin.com.

Austin Marcellus, Limestone Saints best offensive player for 2015 baseball season

It’s those well-known words, “Let’s Play Ball” that Austin Marcellus hopes he will hear this fall to herald in one more season of U.S. University NCAA level 2 baseball.

The Pigeon Island Road, 22 year old has been south of the border for the last four years, attending school on partial baseball scholarships.

He first completed the two year college program at Lochawanna Collge and one year of ball (he was injured the first year), at Scranton, Pennsylvania, and then transferred to Limestone College in Gaffney, South Carolina. He graduated from Limestone this spring and completed his second year of college ball for the Saints.

Austin, who was team captain at both schools, is back home for the summer but is hoping to return to Limestone for one more season.

“I was injured in my freshman year at Lochawanna, which means I have another year eligibility to play ball.”

Having graduated from Lochawanna this spring with “my Bachelor degree in Sports and my Bachelor degree in Business, if I go back this year, I would get my Bachelor degree in Marketing and a Coaching Minor.”

Austin began playing ball when he was six or seven years old. “I didn’t play when I was really young, and when I did start it was because my mom forced me.” He is the son of Bert and Sandi Marcellus.

“I started playing here (Morrisburg) and played on some Upper Canada All Star teams. I played with the Bunnies (Brockville) for about five years.”

It wasn’t until he was a young teenager that Austin, who plays the infield moving around between second, third and shortstop, began to lean heavily towards baseball.

“I was always excited about playing hockey when I was growing up. I actually thought I was better at hockey. Guess I just wanted to be different,” he says of his success on the ball diamond.

It was while he is was in grade 12 at Seaway District High School, that Austin began looking around for a U.S. baseball scholarship. He went to work sending a number of applications out and the result was the partial scholarship at Lochawanna.

“At Lochawanna, we won our conference both years, and we won the North East Region both years.” That put the team in the Jucco Division 2 World Series, both years in Enid Oklahoma.

Although Austin was injured his first year out, he recalls his first experience at intense training. “My junior college, the only way to describe it is if you’ve ever seen military training, that is what it was like. They are there to win, and you are there to play baseball. At the Junior College level there are no rules, so we would practise 10 hours a day around our studies. We would start at 6 a.m., go to class until noon and then practice until 8 at night.” The college baseball season runs from early February to the end of May.

In contrast, once he transferred to Limestone, there were some time guidelines that restricted practise to five to six hours per day.

This spring, Marcellus had a solid season with the Saints who play in the 12-school Carolinas Conference. At five foot 10 and 175 pounds, he had a .331 batting average and was named the Limestone College Saints, Best Offensive Player. He also led the team in stolen bases and was second in RBIs. As a team, “we didn’t do that good.”

Marcellus would like nothing more than to return to Limestone for one more year. Down the road he says he would like to be coaching at the college level, but right now, he just wants to play ball.

“I am kind of hoping baseball takes me somewhere. I am too old to get drafted, but I’d like to play some independent ball, or I might try to go to Australia. There’s lots of ball to play, now it’s finding a spot.”

Marcellus does have a spot with the Saints again this year, but again on a partial scholarship. So it is the remaining tuition money that is his consideration.

He is working the summer in interlocking landscaping, which helps to keep him in shape and is playing ball with the Capital City Reds in Ottawa which offers ball to college eligible “amateur” players. The Reds have games against teams in the Elite U-18 Summer Baseball program, college summer teams and with semi-pro and professional level teams.

Coming off a good college season with the Saints and playing well with the Reds, Marcellus is hoping he has himself positioned for the opportunity to play ball next season.

Playhouse opening night the setting for $97,500 expansion funding announcement

A construction delay has ended up being something very positive for the Upper Canada Playhouse.

Upon losing their rehearsal hall space with the sale of the Eastern Star building in Morrisburg, early this year, Playhouse officials looked at all the options and decided that they would build a new addition to the existing Playhouse to have their own rehearsal hall space on site.

Donnie Bowes, artistic director of Upper Canada Playhouse recently spoke with The Leader about the upcoming construction project.

“We had expected to start construction on the rehearsal hall March 1st of this year,” he said. He explained that once the permitting and approval process was completed, the start date had to be pushed back further than originally anticipated.

At that point, it was decided that it was better to wait until fall (September) to start the project. Not only is that a better time for contractors who are already busy this time of year, it would also be outside of the playhouse’s peak season.

With the delay, Bowes decided to check out funding avenues for the construction project, as the playhouse is an important part of the community, both culturally and economically.

That effort was very worthwhile.

At opening night of the first show of the 2015 season at the Upper Canada Playhouse, local MP Guy Lauzon announced that the government will provide $97,500 for the expansion project.

“It’s a great financial boost, and affirmation that what we have built here at the Upper Canada Playhouse is appreciated, as a cultural attraction,” said Bowes.

“Upper Canada Playhouse takes pride in making a significant cultural and economic impact on our local communities by producing professional live theatre for the past three decades. By investing in the growth of our theatre through the addition of a rehearsal facility, the Department of Canadian Heritage supports the impact we’ve been striving to have in our community,” said Bowes.

“The construction of additional space for artistic performances benefits both the artists and the general public,” said MP Lauzon. “I am pleased that our government supports the Upper Canada Playhouse, a group that gives so much to its community.”

The funding is through the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, which supports the improvement, renovation and construction for arts and heritage facilities. It is also designed to increase access for Canadians to performing, visual and media arts.

A 29’x51’ addition is planned for the building. Construction is expected to take 2-3 months. The new addition will impact a portion of the existing mural that adorns the building, with a section being covered by the addition. It will only result in the loss of a few staff parking spaces.

About 10 feet of needed storage space will be added to the building as part of the project.

With the rehearsal hall delay, Bowes has had to find spaces for the actors to rehearse upcoming shows for this season and for the children’s summer camps to take place.

“It has actually provided the playhouse with the opportunity to get out into the community more,” said Bowes.

Their rehearsal hall this year will be at the McIntosh Inn, and summer camps will be taking place at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Morrisburg.

Perspectives by Rev. Feras Chamas

Just when I thought I had something to teach her….

By the beginning of this year we (as a family) received a very special gift; a baby girl we named Michelle. By all means, she is a God-sent beautiful present to all of us.

We already have two girls 10 and 13 years old. So, it has been a while since we’ve last been involved with tiny one-piece outfits, diapers, formulas…the whole nine yards. In the last three years we were more into books, sports equipment, fashion accessories and electronics. Lucky us, we have the two worlds under one roof now…

Michelle is almost five months old today. It’s the time when she can sit upright for longer periods of time, try to roll over from her back to her tummy, make more voices and pull objects (or hair – not mine) closer and pick them up in the palm of her hand then move them from one hand to the other. But more importantly, she is more alert and interactive now. It’s an amazing thing to watch her grow every day.

As I did with her two older sisters, by this time I start to investigate some objects and behaviours that can encourage her sensual, mental & emotional development and help build her focus and attention span. Always believed that the earlier and more intentional parents are about their children’s growth, the better abilities they accumulate. In this time and age, they have lots to learn even before they are teenagers.

Last evening, after a dear dark-skin friend paid us a visit, my oldest girl asked if Michelle is able to tell the difference between dark and light skin people.

I was quick and nervous with my answer: “she can tell the difference in color, but this is the only difference she makes.”

Suddenly, it felt like she is advantaged with the many things she doesn’t know compared to adults. The question made me think if a little baby like mine has something to teach us. It made me consider how informative babies and little children’s ignorance can be to our culture.

Babies could see color from birth. When they are five months old, babies can distinguish between similar bold colors, though they would have difficulty distinguishing similar tones, such as red and orange. Lots has been written about baby’s sensory development and we can always learn more about it from different sources.

But, there is another set of questions about color that are not as easy to answer. For example: Why for decades we read into different skin color more than we’re supposed to read? How did we learn that? How come it stayed with us for a long time before it was challenged?

In fact, the color issue triggered all kinds of things that we would have been better off had we not learned them.

As adults, money has a central place in our life. Babies don’t believe that life’s biggest issue is money or how much we have of it.

Babies don’t judge people by the way they dress, look or talk; how come we try to fit people in one of the categories we have in our minds seconds after we first meet them?

Little babies are dependant creatures (some people believe this is the very first thing babies are aware of). This is why it’s very soothing for a baby to touch his /her mother’s skin. Dependency is a very early experience in our life, and a late one as well (we are dependent again when we’re seniors.

Who could convince us otherwise in between? How could we forget this early lesson?

Thankfully, for babies, beauty has nothing to do with waist size. If not so, feeding time could have been even more difficult. And it has also nothing to do with the way our faces look.

Babies smile at their moms when they wake up in the middle of the night with no makeup and with tiered eyes. They love their smell without any deodorant or perfume. Why did we let commercial standards define beauty for us?

As adults, we need to put different hats per day to achieve our tasks and duties. Sometimes we become so good at it that role playing can make us put on masks and not only hats. The end result can be that we will need a historian to rediscover the “original us”.

Transparency is innate to babies. They might not be able to tell you what they want, but they definitely depend on being who they are to let you know what they need so you can help them.

Why did environment conquer some of our innate qualities? Why do we still allow it to do so?

In fact, so many questions come to mind. At the end of the day you start to wonder if we need to teach new born babies and little children what we know, or we need to take a step in their direction and start the process of unlearning many things that we have picked up along our trip in this life.

I can’t help it at this point not to remember an old teacher who used to say to his disciples: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 (NIV)

All this happened just when I thought I had something to teach her….

Seaway athletes,

To be in the top 15 in any event at the OFSAA championship “is spectacular” says Seaway District high School Track and Field Coach, Mark Lewis.

And Seaway had two, doing just that in three events at the provincial championship in Toronto last week.

David Swerdfeger and Sid Sideratos, did an “awesome” job said Lewis who co-coaches the high school’s track and field team with Lindsay Waddell.

Swerdfeger put his best performance together in the midget boys 300m hurdles to place eighth in the Province of Ontario, and added a 12th place finish in triple jump.

Sideratos registered a 13th place finish in midget shot put.

“David was 12th in triple jump, and was second overall of the athletes representing our East Region,” said Lewis. “His jump wasn’t the best of the year (11.96m), but it is pretty intimidating to jump in front of that many people in a large stadium like Varsity Stadium at the University of Toronto. I was pleased that he kept it together.”

“The next morning, he ran a personal best in the 300m hurdles, and qualified in his heat for the final. That is awesome in itself.”

“David finished eighth in the 300m hurdles and was disappointed in his place and time. But to be in the top eight in Ontario is a great honour. Lindsay and I are very proud of him.”

Sid came 13th in shot put which is also great. He didn’t have his best throw, but finished in the same spot that he finished at Eastern Region.”

“The fact of the matter is, this is the largest high school track and field meet in North America, and to even make it there is quite an accomplishment. To be in the top 15 in any event is spectacular.”

In the midget triple jump, Swerdfeger’s results show jumps of 11.64, 11.77 and 11.96m, the 11.96m jump putting him 12th in Ontario. The win in the event went in 13.74m.

He qualified in the 300m hurdles with a time of 42.76 seconds, and ran the final in 43.44 to finish eighth in Ontario.

The race was won in a record setting 39.99 seconds (40.01 seconds the previous record).

Sideratos registered shot put throws of 12.14m, 11.67m and 11.40m with the 12.14 placing him 13th in Ontario.

The event was won with a 15.20m throw, well back of the record 16.95m.

Lewis says he looks forward to working with and coaching all the kids next year, “as I think we can have even more success with the athletes we have.”

Swerdfeger and Sideratos were two of eight Seaway athletes who qualified to compete in 13 events at the Eastern Region meet in Brockville, May 28-29. This year’s Seaway track and field team consisted mainly of young athletes at the midget and junior levels.

Morrisburg Lions make a final big splash, Splash Pad build ready to start

It’s a go! With the Morrisburg and District Lions Club making a huge $20,000 splash on Monday evening, the $200,000 Splash Pad Project goal has been reached and kiddies from throughout South Dundas can expect to see shovels in the ground this week. If all goes well, they could be splashing away by early July.

“This finishes off the fundraising,” said Mike Domanko who was wearing two coats at the Monday night’s presentation as a Lions Club member and a member of the Splash Pad committee.

“This donation is wonderful. We finished the play park in 2011, and we have been actively working towards the splash pad for the last couple of years. It took a bit longer than we had anticipated, but we have made it.”

This latest donation from the Morrisburg and District Lions Club, under president Bruce MacIntosh is in addition to $5,000 donated when the project first launched.

“We wanted to finish it off,” said Lion Judy Charette.

“We [The Lions] are always helping the community,” said MacIntosh. “And we are always happy to help the kids.”

The Lions donation of $20,000 is from the operation of their Docksyde Snack Bar, located near the Morrisburg public dock area. MacIntosh explained that it is mandated that money made at the Docksyde goes back into the local parkland.

Previous projects that Docksyde money has funded include the lighting along the waterfront walkway, the beautiful Lions Pavilion, the interlocking paving enhancement around the Morrisburg Legion Branch 48 Memorial and the finger docks.

The Docksyde has just started its 12th season of operation. “It is just great,” said Charette of the Docksyde operation. “We get a grant to hire students, and this helps us to make ends meet in addition to providing employment for our local kids.”

The Lions donation total of $25,000 is part of a $200,000 South Dundas community fundraising effort that was generously supported by clubs, businesses and individuals over the past couple of years. In addition, the Splash Pad committee organized several fundraising runs which were hugely supported by the community, young and old.

Coming up, the excavation, expected to take place this week, is donated by Cruickshank Construction. The local company has also donated the gravel, and Lloyd McMillan Equipment has donated the trucking to deliver the gravel.

“The splash pad people are scheduled to be here Monday, and it takes them one week,” said Domanko. “The municipality has set a tender to supply water, sewer and electricity to the Splash Pad, and it is closing June 10.”

With all the splash ducks now in order, Domanko, wouldn’t commit to a July 1st splash, but did suggest it is a possibility.

On hand representing the Morrisburg Splash Committee were Rosemary Laurin and Jack Barkley.

Happily handing over the $20,000 donation were Lions Bruce MacIntosh, Judy Charette, Shirley Gillmor Keith Robinson, Diana Stewart, Tracey Veinotte, Brian Erratt, Fred Langlotz and Jim and Viviane Martin.

South Dundas council says no to economic development

South Dundas council will not replace the economic development officer position.

After stalling for over a month, South Dundas council finally put the future of the economic development officer position to a vote at the June 2, regular meeting.

South Dundas deputy mayor Jim Locke has repeatedly expressed his support for South Dundas replacing its economic development officer who resigned April 23.

“If council feels we shouldn’t fill the EDO position, say so,” said Locke. “If any of you have ideas, I want to hear them.”

“I’m not in favour of hiring an EDO right now,” said South Dundas councillor Bill Ewing. “We need to do a review of all positions and go from there,” he said.

“We need an economic development officer,” said South Dundas councillor Archie Mellan. “Whatever handle you want to give it, we need one. We were ahead of the curve when it came to economic development, and now others are going that way. We have to have one.”

South Dundas councillor Marc St. Pierre disagreed.

He argued that tourism takes care of itself and the BIA, Chamber of Commerce and other business groups look after themselves, and that the Morrisburg waterfront committee is self-sufficient.

“For economic development, we need to be more geared to business and residential growth and I just don’t see that,” he said.

South Dundas mayor Evonne Delegarde suggested that the work being done by this full time person should be combined into other departments such as communications handling the promotion and marketing aspect of the job. She argued that business development is done through the planning department and that the website is sufficient as an investor profile resource, as long as it’s kept up to date. She also said that in some other municipalities, economic development is handled by the CAO.

“I am not for re-hiring until we’ve completed an organizational review,” said Delegarde, suggesting that until that review is done, that the workload be distributed amongst existing staff.

There is no money in the 2015 budget for an organizational review.

“Do you think we have the capacity to re-distribute the workload, if we take tourism out of the equation,” councillor Mellan asked the CAO.

“No,” answered chief administrative officer Steve McDonald.

“During a vacancy or transition, other staff pick up the priority issues, but that is not meant to be permanent,” he said. “I hope council has a plan.”

Council plans to hold a committee of the whole meeting to discuss those plans. A meeting date has not yet been made public.

Following the council meeting, South Dundas deputy mayor Jim Locke said that decisions like this have municipal staff very frustrated.

In South Dundas the economic development officer’s portfolio included tourism, strategic planning, business development, liaison work with various committees, promotions and marketing and administratively supervision of the communications coordinator and the initial redevelopment of the website.

Tourism stakeholder discussion forums, the first South Dundas Business Summit, the Upper Canada Region marketing plan and the uniform branding and sign program that has new roadside signs, hamlet signs and facility signs across South Dundas are some of this department’s recent accomplishments.