Ottawa Ride for Dad making Iroquois stop

B. McNairn-Leader Staff

MORRISBURG–Business partners Bill Dennis and Cindy Lamothe have dropped anchor in Morrisburg and will be opening their new business, Bite me, Bait and Tackle in the Pinkus Shopping Plaza this coming Sunday, December 1.

Bite Me, Bait and Tackle is an extension of Bill’s manufacturing business, Jiggernaut Tackle which he and his wife Claudette have owned and operated in their Cornwall home for 34 years. In an effort to separate their home-based manufacturing business from their home life, the couple purchased a home and have lived in Morrisburg for the past year.

Soon after they arrived in Morrisburg, it became obvious to Bill and Claudette that there was one retail store that was missing….that being something for the local fishermen. And that’s where business partner Cindy Lamothe and her husband Dan entered the picture.

The Lamothes know Bill and Claudette as Dan works for Jiggernaut Tackle as an assembler. As sometimes happens they learned of each other’s interest in opening a retail store and that is how Bite Me, Bait and Tackle got its first bite.

Bill and Claudette first got involved in the fishing accessories/ tackle industry when, “I got tired of buying stuff that was made in China, that just kept falling apart,” says Bill. “So I started making my own stuff.”

Jiggernaut started slowly with the couple making their products and selling them out of their home. “Then we started going out and marketing ourselves,” says Claudette. “And now we sell to Walmart, Canadian Tire and Bass Pro Shops etc. We started out as a simple little business, and every year we grew and grew.”

Jiggernaut manufactures everything from worm harnesses to floating harnesses, Cornwall spinners to bottom huggers.

It’s been a busy 34 years, growing and expanding the business, and now comes the next big step…setting up a retail location.

“Dan and I have wanted to open a bait and tackle shop for years,” says Cindy. “So when we learned that Bill and Claudette were considering something in Morrisburg, we were on board.”

The Lamothes live in Ingleside and Cindy works in Cornwall, so while Bite Me, Bait and Tackle gets going the four plan to divide their time at the store. “We’ll all be sharing the time, our weekends are going to be busy for sure,” says Cindy.

Bite Me, Bait and Tackle is of course stocked with Jiggernaut Tackle products along with other well-known product lines. They will be retailing rods and reels, live bait, ice fishing gear and clothing.

The plan is to slowly grow the business by adding new products with the long-term goal to offer hunting supplies and clothing.

“We hope to sell licences as well,” says Bill. “Hopefully by spring.”.

“We are in a very popular fishing area,” says Bill. “There are plenty of activities and more tournaments all the time. We’ll be able to help people, show them how to fish and what products they should be buying along with how to use them.”

With several weeks of setting shop now behind them, Bite Me Bait and Tackle is excited to be opening in time for the Christmas gift season. With their knowledge of their products, they will be able to help all gift buyers ….even those who don’t fish, but are shopping for the fish enthusiast in the family.

Claudette points out, “we ordered 1,000 display hooks and ran out fairly quickly, so people should be able to find what they want with us. We will have a big assortment at a variety of prices. We will definitely be affordable for everyone.”

[…]

“They had so much fun. It’s such a positive experience,” said Fiona Carr, Family Resource Coordinator for GIAG.

Carr was referring to the full-day events on February 22nd, Ash Wednesday, marking the first day of Lent.

Organized and planned by Lutheran and Anglican churches in South Dundas, the base of activities took place at St. James Anglican Church in Morrisburg. Children from kindergarten to grade 12 were invited to join in the day’s activities where the theme for the day was “Lord Teach Us to Pray.”

According to Carr, “we had kids from tons of different schools.” The similarity? “They have a commonality of believing in God,” she said. 

Kids in Carr’s group, the intermediates, were exchanging phone numbers because although they hadn’t known one another before Wednesday, many of them “became instant friends.” 

Both the intermediate and senior groups took trips to the food bank where they dropped off donations, took a tour and helped out. 

“I was really impressed with them,” said Carr, of her intermediate group. “They helped pack some snack bags.” 

Carr was told that “they asked more questions than they’ve ever asked before,” and, in addition, they were fascinated to learn that donations can include pet food and toiletries, things they hadn’t thought of before the tour.

The primary group was led by Carol Rumble of Iroquois. According to Rumble, aside from honouring Ash Wednesday and having some fun in the process, the day’s purpose was to deliver the message of outreach to the children.

The primary group spent time during the day making cards for orphans in Madagascar. Mary Sherwood is a missionary at an orphanage there and had previously visited the area, giving a presentation of her work and what’s needed. According to Rumble, the cards will be forwarded to Sherwood who will see to it that the children receive them. 

The intermediate and senior groups had a visit from Karen Marshall who spoke about the outreach work her son Chris and his partner Shayna Campbell are doing in Uganda.

Currently, the couple is in the midst of a year-long mission to make a difference at St. Francis Health Care Services located near Mbiko, Uganda. They are trying to raise $33,500 to build a maternity hospital at the center. 

[…]

On March 2nd, the St. Lawrence Parks Commission (SLPC) announced they would be taking back control of Farran Park in Ingleside from the township of South Stormont when the lease expires at the end of the month.

On March 9th, South Stormont Mayor Bryan McGillis told The Leader the decision came as a surprise and a disappointment. “Residents have expressed disappointment too,” he added. 

“St. Lawrence told us last week that they were going to take over the park,” said McGillis. “We were upset, but there’s nothing we could have done about it.”

“We’ve done everything we could. Nobody can say we didn’t try.”

McGillis referred to several attempts at reaching an affordable lease agreement with SLPC who, as McGillis pointed out, has a new procurement policy that doesn’t allow for long-term leases. “There wasn’t much in the way of negotiations,” he said.

A feeling of loss for the township is palpable when speaking with McGillis. “There’s an untapped resource here,” lamented McGillis. “The potential that we’re losing out on is significant.”

“There’s a lot of upset local residents that use the park. They felt it was more intimate with our own municipality running this park.”

During the March 9th discussion, disappointment remained at the forefront for McGillis. However, he also recognized the need for cooperation between South Stormont and SLPC saying, “their door is open and ours is too.”

“They assured us everything is going to run the status quo. Hopefully they’ll hire the same people.”

“They have a lot of ideas,” he continued. “Hopefully they’ll come to the conclusion of doing what they’ve said.”

And, “hopefully it works out in the long run for the betterment of the community.”

South Stormont has been responsible for the operation of Farran Park since July of 1990. As reported in the October 10, 1990 edition of The Leader, the park had been closed by SLPC due to “cost-cutting measures.”

Following a July invitation for bids on five of their parks, SLPC granted a long-term lease for Farran Park to South Stormont. 

[…]