News

 

With more than 60 participants currently registered, there are plenty of people excited about the second annual WDMH Foundation’s Heel ’n Wheel for Local Cancer Care.

Taking place on Saturday, September 7, participants will be walking or cycling on four active routes including: Finch, Osgoode, Russell and South Mountain.

As with last year’s event, due to the far-reaching WDMH catchment area, seven communities were initially chosen as starting locations for all walkers, runners and cyclists including: Crysler, Finch, Morrisburg, Greely, Osgoode, Russell, or South Mountain. 

The final routes chosen for the event include: Finch, Osgoode, Russell and South Mountain. 

By merging some of the initial routes, fewer resources are required, including food, shelter, portable washrooms and even volunteers, therefore making the event more cost effective.

Walkers will be leaving from the Community Centres in Finch and Osgoode at 9 a.m. and from the South Mountain Township Agricultural Hall at 10 a.m. Cyclists and runners will be leaving from Russell High School and the South Mountain Township Agricultural Hall at 2 p.m. 

If you’re into cheering on these participants, you can meet the walkers along the Finch, South Mountain or Osgoode routes between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.; or you can meet the cyclists or runners on the Russell or South Mountain routes between 2 p.m, and 4 p.m.

This event’s proceeds are designated to the WDMH Foundation Cancer Fund, many people who are participating or pledging are interested in the event because they or someone they know has been touched by cancer. 

 

In 2012, More than 6,300 patient visits took place, including people: having a colonoscopy, using the Ontario Breast Screening Program, or having Chemotherapy visits. 

In addition, many surgical procedures occur at WDMH, including biopsies and cancer surgeries.

Once the active portion of the Heel ’n Wheel is over, participants, their families and friends, as well as any members of the general public, can attend and enjoy an After-Party and BBQ in the Winchester Public School Field on York Street in Winchester (in case of rain, After-Party and BBQ will be at the Winchester Lions Hall). 

Meant to be an inclusive event, this family-friendly afternoon will feature a barbecue, musical entertainment, mini-putt, face painting, balloon animals, a photo slideshow and an awards ceremony. For only $5, the general public can purchase a barbecue ticket which buys: a drink, a burger or hot dog, and a bag of chips.

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MORRISBURG – While the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic group had optimistically planned to be opening the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic in its new Morrisburg location September 3, the SLMC team now has a new plan to open in its new location September 9.

According to Stephen McCann, SLMC business manager, to facilitate the move and to allow time to connect and set up the data system, internet and phone lines the Morrisburg clinic will be closed September 6. 

South Dundas chief administrative officer Steve McDonald says that South Dundas municipal officials have been trying to ensure that the SLMC group is satisfied with the space and that it meets their requirements, before the move. 

Last week, the cleaning process had started and the SLMC had their own contractor in the building doing some installation work, preparing for the September 9 opening.

“Our contractor (RJ Bourgon through Chris Markell) has worked expediently over the last week, towards completion of the first floor,” said McDonald. “Progress over the last week has been amazing.”

The first floor of the South Dundas Municipal Centre will be the new home of the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic. The SLMC group holds a long term lease on the site.

“We are really excited about the space,” said McDonald of the SDMC project.

South Dundas is now headquartered in the new building, on the second and third floors.

While South Dundas staff are moved in, this week’s council meeting had to be held at the Morrisburg arena, because council chambers was not yet fully accessible. 

The plan is for the September 17 council meeting to be held in the new council chambers, located on the third floor of the SDMC.

The incomplete elevator was the reason the space was not accessible.

“But, the elevator guys are on site now, and they will be until it’s done,” said McDonald. 

When it is complete, including the necessary approval process, the building will meet all accessibility requirements.

“We are really excited about the new space,” said McDonald.

When the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic move is complete, the contractors will shift their focus to the library phase of the project, which will transform a portion of the adjoining SLMC building into a new home for the Morrisburg branch of the SDG Library.

Once the library moves into its new home, its space, in the Morrisburg arena, will be transformed into a new home for the Dundas County Food Bank’s South Dundas location.

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A wrinkle has appeared in South Dundas’ ongoing project to expand the Morrisburg’s commercial business park.

South Dundas council decided that offering more readily accessible commercial land in the Morrisburg Industrial Park was a priority, so this summer they broke ground on a project that has been in the works for several years.

The $535,000 road extension to extend roadway 500 metres north and 400 metres east to complete a loop to Prospect Road is underway and will make available municipally-owned commercial properties, located on the west and north sides of the new road.

“When South Dundas decided on constructing the road it was with the understanding that the wetland was not a current issue but may impact us down the road,” said South Dundas Mayor Steven Byvelds. “However, now it may become an issue sooner.”

Local councils and municipal officials have known for many years that the Provincial Government (MNR) had intended to designate part of South Dundas’ holdings of municipal land in the Morrisburg industrial park as a provincially-significant wetland, but a loop-hole meant that the designation had not been made officially thus leaving open one last opportunity for the municipality to open up access to the lands, allowing them to be properly marketed for economic growth.

“South Dundas is still allowed to do what we want, within reason, in the area,” said Byvelds. 

That is why South Dundas undertook the study of the area and moved forward with the road project. 

“None of the roadway and adjacent lands are in the wetland but they are within the 120 meter buffer area. One can develop that area with a study that proves the proposed development does not impact the wetland.”  

In advance of this project, South Dundas and the United Counties had agreed that any employment lands that would eventually be lost to the PSW designation, would be shifted west of Morrisburg, through an expanded settlement area designation.

SDG is the planning authority for the region, by virtue of the Official Plan. A recent report to Counties Council revealed that, the province will not agree with the compromise.

“When this was put to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, they said we needed to do a study to determine what the future needs were and what was available to justify the proposal,” explained Byvelds. “The study indicated that there is enough vacant land throughout SDG to accommodate any growth for the next 20 years and as such, MMAH were not going to allow any expansion unless vacant land was traded off to do so.”

A trade off could mean that South Dundas loses potential employment lands completely, if the trade off is for land in another municipality within SDG.

South Stormont council is pushing the issue by passing a resolution supporting a proposed 260 hectare planning expansion of employment lands in South Stormont.

If approved by counties council, South Dundas would lose 160 hectares of potential employment lands and the other 100 hectares would come from other, much smaller vacant land parcels from all the other municipalities in SDG.

Counties council has made no decision on the matter, but it is expected that South Stormont will continue to push the issue.

“I acknowledge that some of the Morrisburg employment lands are wetland, however, I want to make sure the line is in the right place,” said Byvelds. The lines already exist on a map, and Byvelds is of the opinion that the designation extends too far to the south. 

If the lines were a little further north, it would move the buffer area away from the commercial properties South Dundas will market for commercial growth. 

Byvelds would like to see some of the vacant land being lost in South Dundas move to another area of South Dundas.

“I want to protect what we have and what we may be able to use in the future,” said Byvelds. “I am willing to work with our partners at SDG but it needs to be fair to South Dundas and all the townships.”

South Dundas and Counties staff will meet soon to determine a course of action.

“If it looks like things are changing, I would recommend South Dundas hires a firm to study the area and delineate the boundaries,” said Byvelds. “I strongly feel that there are less lands in the proposed wetland and it will be up to South Dundas to prove it, not MNR.  I know this does not sound right but it is the way it is for now.”

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 “We need to reduce as much as we can the incidents of suicide in Canada: it’s important to act now,” said Augusta Waddell, who lost her talented son, David, to suicide, a few years ago. September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day, designated by the International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organization. 

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the world, especially among young people. One million people world wide are lost to suicide each year. 

These are statistics that the Canadian Mental Health Association, Champlain East, hopes to address through educational programs, public awareness campaigns, and an emphasis on early detection and treatment of mental illnesses. 

“We need to alert and educate kids that mental illness is a disease like any other,” said Augusta Waddell. “It should be viewed the same way as any physical disease. A broken leg is obvious to everyone, but mental illness is less so. It’s important to approach kids as soon as possible, even at ages six, seven and eight, which is where the initial signs of mental illness can often occur.”

There are programs available to help people of all ages.

The CMHA offers high school units (Talking About Mental Illness.) that increase awareness of mental health issues, and introduce treatment options, support groups and specific information about organizations that can help teens and their families. 

Among the T.A.M.I. topics for high school students are life promotion and the impact of bullying on mental health.

“Mental health issues need to be out in the open,” Waddell said. “People should know that there are programs which exist right here in this community, and that help is available in South Dundas.”

She will be starting a support group for families in Iroquois later this month. Although government aid for mental health programs is very limited and often hard to get, there is absolutely no fee involved to attend this support group. The date and time of the meetings will be advertised, but people will register privately with Augusta. Health care professionals and guest speakers will attend the meetings. 

“There will be no judging at these sessions,” Waddell said, “just support from people who understand what a family is going through. No one should feel alone when dealing with mental illness.”

The CMHA offers websites and the expertise of trained professionals in the various fields of mental health. There are a wide range of programs and services designed to enhance the rehabilitation, recovery and independence of individuals living with a severe mental illness or concurrent disorder (mental illness combined with substance use disorder.) 

It is time to get rid of the stigma attached to mental illness and to find ways to  prevent suicide. 

[…]

 

Four months from the time that construction begins, MacEwen Petroleum Inc. expects to be opening the doors to the redevelopment taking place at the corner of County Roads 2 and 31 in Morrisburg.

Although not ready to release full details about what MacEwen has planned for the site,  Allan MacEwen, company president, confirmed that the new location will include a gas bar, fast food outlet, convenience store, and touchless carwash.

Once the new property is ready, the existing MacEwen, location, which includes a McDonald’s Restaurant, will close. He said that the property will either be redeveloped or sold.

MacEwen would not discuss details regarding the McDonald’s.

Plans are to start construction this fall. “We won’t open the doors until the pavement is done,” said MacEwen, who expects the re-development to be complete in the new year.

“We are really looking forward to this better location,” said MacEwen. “It has good access, puts us closer to traffic from the 401 and will really improve the looks of that corner.”

“We love having a site in Morrisburg.”

[…]

 

MORRISBURG – Happy Face Nursery School is patiently waiting to gain occupancy status to the two classrooms at Morrisburg Public School that will be home to their new Morrisburg location.

“Construction is a bit behind schedule,” said Cheryl Firlotte, executive director with Happy Face Nursery School and Child Care.

Although they were hoping to be ready to open September 3, Firlotte now hopes that they will be able to open by mid September.

“Morrisburg is a priority for Happy Face and for the Ministry,” said Firlotte.

“This centre, here in Morrisburg, is going to be a really nice centre,” she said. Happy Face will be operating six centres in SD&G once this Morrisburg centre is opened this fall. 

Community need is what brings Happy Face to Morrisburg. 

“There is really nothing like this available in the area,” said Firlotte. “This area has been identified as needing child care for some time.”

The Morrisburg location is a day care facility. This new location is a partnership between Happy Face, the Upper Canada District School Board and Cornwall Child Care Services.  

Happy Face at Morrisburg Public School will have room to accommodate 15 children in the toddler program and 16 children in the pre-school program. Toddlers are aged 18-30 months and pre-schoolers are 30 months to kindergarten age. 

“Response, so far, has been fantastic,” said Firlotte. When it was announced earlier this year that Happy Face was coming to Morrisburg, about 50 per cent of the available spaces filled up right away. They are holding a registration night August 29, 4-7 p.m. at Morrisburg Public School. 

Happy Face follows the Ontario Early Learning Framework of play-based learning with literacy and numeracy embedded in the every day curriculum. 

The Morrisburg location will be staffed by four qualified early childhood educators.

The facility will feature two classrooms, a kitchen, office and storage space. Each room has its own washroom and there are two outdoor fenced yards, one for each age group for outdoor play.

The site will be open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Meals and snacks are provided. The cost is $32 or $35 per day, depending on the age of the child, with subsidies available.

“This will definitely fill a real need in this community,” said Firlotte.

[…]

 

The $2 million Lakeshore Drive sewer project was scheduled to get underway this week.

With this project, and the upcoming sewer project for the St. Lawrence Street area, those driving in Morrisburg can expect to see construction detours for the next year.

For those living in the affected areas, they will see no interruptions in water or sewer service.

Temporary water lines have already been put in place. 

Because there are a lot of unknowns in an underground project, Chris Bazinet, manager of public works for South Dundas, says that there may be some minor interruptions in water service, but they would be site specific. Those affected would only be affected for a couple of hours and would be notified directly.

During any sewer project, waste is diverted (pumped/rerouted/piped) around areas where work is taking place so there are no service interruptions. 

Bazinet explains that in the case of this project where the sewer lines are being replaced, the old line stays in service until the new one is ready.

Detour signs will be going up to divert traffic away from construction.

Because there will be two sewer reconstruction projects going on simultaneously the detour route will change occasionally.

“Traffic from Ottawa Street will be diverted to St. Lawrence until minor repairs are done on Second Street. At that time, the diversion goes to Second Street,” he explained. “It will be signed,” he added. 

Even though the Lakeshore sewer project is taking place from Canada Way to almost Steward Drive, which is the only route to the Morrisburg dock, Bazinet says they will make sure there is always one lane open to allow traffic to get to the waterfront.

The project, which will see sewer, water, sanitary sewer, paving and sidewalk infrastructure re-constructed, is starting at the intersection of Ottawa Street and Canada Way. The contractors, Cornwall Gravel, will work their way west, as quickly as possible to get as much done while the weather permits. 

Once weather ends their progress, the priority then becomes the completion of the new sewer line that ends near Steward Drive.

Prioritizing the sewer line portion, is necessary to ensure that South Dundas takes full advantage of the government funding they received for this project. That funding, which requires completion of the sewer portion, must be used by March 2014. “And, it will be,” said Bazinet.

Bazinet asks the public to please be vigilant in staying away from the areas where construction is taking place, for the safety of the public and contractors.

Bazinet expects final paving in affected areas to take place in summer 2014.

[…]

 

While a grand opening celebration of the South Dundas Municipal Centre is not expected to take place until the entire project is complete, the mayor did have some comments as South Dundas staff moved into the new municipal headquarters this week.

South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds is impressed with the completed second and third floors of the building. “It’s great,” said Byvelds. “There is lots of space and the new council chambers will provide enough space, even for the meetings with challenging issues.”

“The staff floor is laid out well and I am sure they will be happy with their new surroundings.”

“I believe the best thing about this project will be the collaboration of the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic and the SDG Library all in one location,” said Byvelds.

Byvelds also noted the importance of using this historic building that will serve the community well for generations to come.

He admires how in Europe heritage buildings are looked after, and even after WWII were rebuilt into places that are functional, to keep the past in mind. This is something that Byvelds believes this project has accomplished.

The mayor is pleased with the contractors on the project, RJ Bourgon, through Chris Markell. 

“They have done a great job of staying within budget, with the exception of a few minor changes we asked for, and they have kept the schedule tight,” said Byvelds. 

“In the end, I believe we will have restored an old building to its former glory and made use of space that is needed in our community,” he concluded.

The second and third floors of the South Dundas Municipal Centre opened for municipal business Wednesday morning.

The elevator is not yet in service, so those attending the building are asked to use the south entrance until further notice. For those unable to access the second floor without the elevator, service will be provided on the first floor, according to the CAO. 

[…]

 

Here, this morning, August 28, at 8:30 a.m., South Dundas officially opened for business in the municipality’s new headquarters, the South Dundas Municipal Centre.

While the $4.1 million renovation project to refit the old Morrisburg High School, that broke ground December 6, 2012, is not yet complete, the second and third floors of the building, are ready to welcome its first new tenants.

The second and third floors are the domain of the municipality. 

Only days before the municipality moved in, reporters were allowed to tour the facility. 

The most striking features of the building, and the thing that many of those who will work there like best, is the many large windows that give the building a bright, airy atmosphere. Not only do they provide a great view overlooking surrounding Morrisburg, they fill the building with beautiful daylight and they can be opened too.

Those who visit the South Dundas Municipal Centre for municipal business will enter go to the second floor where they will be greeted by South Dundas’ administrative staff, at their new counter that opens into the large administrative area. 

The administrative offices, like all of the offices in the building are grouped together with other offices in areas that they are calling pods. The administrative pod includes the treasurer’s office and the clerk’s office.

According to staff, the administrative space is similar in size to that in Williamsburg, but the layout has been much improved for better efficiency. 

Another pod includes the planning and public works pod which includes offices for planning and building staff along with public works manager. This pod includes a common work area and three offices, each about 110 square feet in size.

Another pod features a meeting room and offices for the fire chief, economic development officer and manager of recreation programming. For the first time, these managers will all be under the same roof. 

At the far end of the hall is the chief administrative officer’s office which includes some extra administrative space and an extra office.

There are enough offices for all South Dundas office staff, and some room for growth in the new building.

The second floor has two meeting rooms, and an archive room for records currently in use by staff.

The third floor is where South Dundas council will meet. Council chambers, with a small caucus room and an office for the use of the mayor and council fill the east side of the third floor and the west side is a large recreation area, that will house some of the recreation programming activities that South Dundas offers. 

The old wooden front door, is being replaced with glass to preserve some of the look and character of the 1925 building.

Once paving is complete, there will be about 100 parking spaces available at the SDMC. The front lot alone has parking for 40. The paving is being done in two sections to allow the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic to remain open for regular hours throughout the construction process.

The next step will be completion of the first floor of the building, the new home of the St. Lawrence Medical Clinic. The clinic plans to be in that space early next month. 

Once the first floor is complete, the renovation project then shifts to the existing St. Lawrence Medical Clinic space. Part of that will be retained for SLMC for administrative purposes, but part of the building will become the home of the new Morrisburg branch of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Library. 

[…]

 

Information on bussing for the upcoming school year is just a click or a phone call away, for parents and students in Eastern Ontario.

Student Transportation of Eastern Ontario is the transportation consortium for the CDSBEO and the UCDSB. GM and CAO, Ron Cotnam, said, “STEO has developed a web site where parents and students can access important information including pickup locations and the name of the contractor serving their area.”

Parents and students can visit the STEO web site at www.steo.ca. Parents can then click on the “Find My Bus Stop” button and fill in the required fields to access individual bussing information such as pickup location and times.

The site also offers information on school locations, guidelines for parents, bus cancellations, contractor information, bell times, and frequently asked questions. STEO will also make it easier for parents and students to check on transportation information by maintaining a special bussing hotline. The number 1-866-895-8480 is active until September 30th.

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