Science on the Wall United Counties Science Fair April 2

This year marks the halfway point of this term of council and looking back over the first part of the term, South Dundas Mayor Steven  Byvelds is fairly satisfied.

“We’ve come  a long way,” Byvelds told reporters at the year-end interview at council chambers in Williamsburg December 14. “We have a lot of projects on the go.”

Old high school getting a new lease on life

One of these projects, the $4 million renovation of the former Morrisburg Collegiate Institute, will mean that this year’s interview will likely be the last to take place at council chambers in Williamsburg. The mayor already plans for the 2013 interview to take place in the mayor’s office of the new municipal building in Morrisburg.

For Byvelds, the highlight of 2012 has definitely been getting the reconstruction of the old high school started, as it has been in the works since before the start of this term of council.

“A lot of people are saying this project was the right thing to do, while others wonder why we would bother with that old building, but that’s okay,” said Byvelds, who is confident in the end this building will prove to be an asset to the community on many levels.

Not only will it bring municipal administration under one roof, it will bring a medical facility under the same roof. Byvelds believes the end result will be a building that the community can take pride in.”

“Personally, I’d just like to see it done,” said Byvelds, who is ready to mark that project off his ‘to do’ list. 

Waste water projects fully funded

The construction of a new waste water treatment plant in Iroquois is ongoing, and fully funded. Although it is running a little behind schedule, the mayor said there is no worry that it won’t be completed in time to take full advantage of the available funding.

Along with that project, the funds are also in place for a project to address some of the long-time sewer issues that over overburdened the villages sewer systems during heavy rainfall events.

“Once these key pieces of infrastructure are done, we will be well suited for our journey forward,” said Byvelds.

With the infrastructure of South Dundas seeming well looked after, South Dundas has also made great strides theoretically.

Planning for the future

Community and economic development planning processes were completed, the Morrisburg Waterfront plan has been submitted to council and they are looking forward to the Iroquois Waterfront plan in the near future.

“These processes gave residents the opportunity to express their feelings and what that gives us, council and staff, is direction,” said Byvelds, explaining that it helps them when they are trying to decide which projects to prioritize as most important to the community at large.

Few challenges in 2012

Categorized by the mayor as challenges for 2012 were the Morrisburg dock being condemned, the proposed sale of the 400 acre Williamsburg forest and the decision to proceed with the Morrisburg Collegiate project.

With the dock and the ‘400’, when council made decisions that negatively impacted people, they were quick to let council know. And, Byvelds said that council was willing to listen and to make the necessary decisions to attempt to rectify the situations.

One time that council has had difficulty addressing the concerns of residents has been when the group opposing local wind turbine projects surfaced.

“The South Branch Wind project has been on the books a long time,” said Byvelds, explaining that the project predates this council and that while there are area residents who oppose the project, there are other residents who have invested significantly in this project.

“This council had no say in that project, but we will have a say on any future projects that come to us, seeking our support,” said Byvelds. 

The decision to proceed with the renovation of the old high school proved to be a difficult one for council, and was definitely an instance when Mayor Byvelds found it necessary to provide some leadership and make his stance known.

Looking ahead to 2013, Byvelds hopes for the successful continuation and completion of the ongoing projects.

Budget predictions for prudent spending

First and foremost in the minds of he and the other council members in the new year is the budget process.

Byvelds won’t make any predictions about the budget, only saying that they as a council plan to continue as they have in the past, being as prudent as they can be when it comes to spending.

He said that they as a council are waiting to see where staff numbers come in and then to proceed with the decision-making process from there. “If we need to whittle it down, we will. That’s our job.”

“Council’s objective is to be as constrained as possible, and to be realistic with what we spend taxpayers money on.”

“Council’s attitude has been that we need to bring South Dundas forward, to spend conservatively, but not to be too conservative. The idea is to do the right things at the right times,” said Byvelds. “It’s important to seize opportunities when they present themselves.”

Satisfied, but still striving

Byvelds said that this council has gelled quickly from the day they were elected and that the all of the decisions regarding council business are made at the council table. “And, that’s a good thing for South Dundas,” he said.

He said that council has done well at being approachable and available to residents of South Dundas with concerns, and sees that continuing. 

“Everyone has an opinion, and it is up to us as a council to listen to those opinions.”

Reflecting on council in general, Byvelds said, “We can always be better, and we always strive to be better.”

[…]

 

Adrian Harewood arrived a little late for his speaking engagement with the Canadian Club of Morrisburg and District on Wednesday, May 16.

However, this was understandable. 

He was still on air when the banquet began, anchoring CBC News Ottawa, before thousands of viewers. 

A renowned journalist, radio host (All in a Day) and respected news commentator, Harewood was the final speaker of the Club’s 2011-2012 series. A large crowd of members and guests was on hand to hear Harewood speak on topic about which he clearly has deep feelings, “Volunteers in the Community.”

Personable, outgoing and a gifted speaker, Harewood quickly won over the audience, with his sense of humour. However, there was a serious point to his address.

Canada, like the rest of the world, has changed, he explained, with traditional communities often lost in the new on-line ‘digital’ societies. This is a world made up of hundreds of “friends” that people have never met, will never meet.

“The digital world is, of course, a great creativity source,” Harwood said, “but one effect of this change is that we are in danger of losing the human touch in our lives. Research has found that more people feel disconnected from society than ever before. People seem to be craving the sense of community life,  of simple conversations,  of recognition. They share a wish that they actually knew their neighbours. Without reminders of what community can be, we may lose parts of our humanity.”

Harewood grew up in Ottawa, a member of a close-knit family where both parents were community activists. They instilled in their son the strong belief that he had a responsibility to people, even to people he would never know. Other people’s lives needed to matter to him. 

“Our home was a place where everyone was welcome. I remember my mother bringing  home a Tunisian woman, a woman struggling to gain an education and to leave behind the desperate circumstances of her old life. She was Tunisian, Arabic, a francophone, a Muslim, and a Canadian. She became part of our lives. She was a member of our community.”

Harewood’s parents emphasized the need to be involved with the people in one’s community, to work for justice and freedom. They always stressed that everyone has a responsibility to the community.

Years later, Harewood was interviewing former United States president Bill Clinton, and asked him what he saw as the biggest problem of the 21st century.

“The problem, Clinton told me, lies in the struggle to overcome the differences that divide us as a global community.”

Volunteering, actively and personally getting involved in the life of a community, is vital, Harewood stressed.

“The act of volunteering is the connective tissue that ties our communities together. Volunteers are the civil engineers who build a healthy community. They weave the webs of solidarity and compassion. We cannot survive without the support of others because we are the products of our communities.”

Harewood illustrated how  the power of volunteering can bring even the most unlikely people together. 

He cited the example, a few months ago, of a drought fund raising concert, arranged by young, educated Somalian activists at the Centre Point Theatre. 

“They asked me to volunteer to work with them. But what utterly surprized me, when I saw the entertainment bill, was the  highly unlikely presence on it of a country and western band made up of middle-aged, conservative, white men.  That’s when I came to understand that those young African men and those middle-aged white men shared in common a profound belief in a cause: they were determined to help their community.”

Volunteering, Harewood said, is a gift to our neighbours, and a gift to ourselves.  Volunteers often get back far more than they give in terms of new possibilities,  of new ways of looking at the world.

Caring about the community, and doing what one can to help and to work with neighbours, makes all of us “more ‘human,’ human beings.”

Adrian Harewood chose words from the reverend Martin Luther King to conclude his address.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

[…]

Tuesday, December 10, dozens of donors, patients, staff, and visitors gathered to watch the 16th annual Christmas Wish Tree Lighting Ceremony, hosted by the Winchester District Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Prior to the Tree Lighting, children from Morrisburg Public School, escorted by Vice President Seniors’ Services, Joanne Sidorchuk, and volunteer, Elva Rutters, visited patients in the Complex Continuing Care, Medical/Surgical and Maternal Care units. 

They gave out hand-made “Empathy Cards” and sang Christmas carols together.

In addition to the traditional lighting of the Christmas Wish Tree, Foundation staff released a Chinese flying lantern, symbolic of the losses that everyone experiences.

Troy Cross, WDMH Foundation Executive Director, spoke to those in attendance, acknowledging that the individuals they chose to honour and remember played a large part in their lives. 

“Today we join together with you to pay tribute to them in a special way. Not only have they touched your lives, but through their lives, they have touched the lives of everyone who requires health care here at WDMH, since the gifts designated by family and friends in memory of your loved one will help shape the way that care is delivered in this hospital.”

More than $22,000 has been donated in memory and in honour of loved ones at this point, which includes more than $2,000, which has been given in honour of staff and cargivers at WDMH. 

 

Regional sponsors have really committed to doubling the impact of donors’ gifts this year, by providing $22,500 to match the first $22,500 given to the program. Last year, this program raised approximately $75,000 for the highest priority needs at the Hospital.

[…]