News

 

With between three and four hundred people expected for breakfast, Debbie Rogers, chair of the St. Mary-St Cecilia Pancake Breakfast fund raiser didn’t have a lot of time to chat. 

“We’re just delighted with the turn out,” Rogers said, as hungry families and friends poured through the doors of the Morrisburg Legion, Branch 48, on Sunday morning, February 10. “This fund raiser, organized and run by the Parent Council, is one of our big events of the year. We have many parents and teachers out to help, and a number of St. Mary-St. Cecilia students are working as servers and clean up crew.”

Several area businesses helped off set the cost of the food.

This year’s Pancake Breakfast, the 12th one the council has organized, raised $5,500 towards the purchase of a new SmartBoard for the school.

“Ultimately we would like to see that every second class room has a SmartBoard,” Rogers explained. 

SmartBoards provide cutting edge technology for the classroom, allowing teachers to use computer programs which permit students, with all ranges of abilities, to interact directly with the white board as they learn.

There were also a raffle (principal Joy Martel was manning the table), a silent auction and kid friendly games like guessing the number of candies in a jar.

“We were very grateful to the businesses and individuals in the community who provided us with items for our auction,” Rogers said. “And it was great to see all ages coming out for breakfast.”

The funds raised from the breakfast will also be put  towards school trips and school events.

[…]

 

 Still going strong after nearly 20 years, the Iroquois Legion Darts for Hearts tournament was held at Branch 370 on Saturday, February 9, 2013, and raised $2,400 in total for Heart & Stroke. 

The Gerry Sypes Memorial Darts tournament, held on January 19, contributed $1,070 to that total. On hand to officially present a cheque for those funds were Brenda Sypes and Diane Baker, event organizers and members of Gerry’s family.

“We had 12 teams entered in our tournament this year,” said Iroquois organizer Wayne Bellinger. “The adverse weather conditions in the area affected attendance some,” said fellow organizer Tony Easter, “but we had a tremendous response for prizes from our local merchants. It was great.”

Cindy Rowe, area manager of the Heart& Stroke  Foundation of Ontario, tossed out the ceremonial dart and accepted the cheques with gratitude. “We experience 70,000 heart attacks and 50,000 strokes yearly in Canada,” Rowe said. “Research and education will help those statistics.” 

[…]

 

Some days, it would just be better to browse the catalogue and shop from home.

At 3:20 p.m., February 5 a car crashed through the front window of the River Rat Treasures/Sears store in the Iroquois Plaza. 

Staff are counting themselves lucky.

Store employee Evonne Delegarde was alone in the store when the 1992 Chevy Corsica, driven by an Iroquois resident, smashed into the building. Thankfully, she was not sitting at the Sears travel desk, which is located right where the car impacted the building.

“Thank God I was not sitting at the travel desk, which I often do. We all do,” said Delegarde, who a day later was still in disbelief of what had happened.

Delegarde had come in that afternoon to cover for fellow employee Carol Merkley, who had to leave early for an appointment.

Merkley most often sits at the travel desk, and was sitting there only minutes before the crash occurred. 

“If Evonne had been only a couple of minutes later arriving, I would have still be sitting at that desk when the car came through that window, and I would have been hit,” said Merkley.

When Delegarde arrived, she decided to do some work behind the counter. 

That’s where she was when the car hit.

“I heard a vehicle accelerate, and then the glass shattered and flew everywhere,” said Delegarde. She estimated that the glass flew about 10 feet. 

Luckily, none hit her.

The force of the impact pushed the brick wall under the window inward, bowing the wall inside.

According to Delegarde, the driver’s foot had slipped off the brake and onto the gas pedal, driving her forward into the building. 

“Both passenger side tires ran right over the curbing,” she said. 

“The driver of the car was not injured, no one was walking on the sidewalk and I was away from the window,” said Delegarde. 

Police did attend the scene, however did not choose to lay any charges against the driver.

[…]

 

If South Dundas council wishes to expand its fire services, they have to be prepared for the very large price tag that goes along with increased service levels.

South Dundas Fire Chief Chris McDonough presented a report to council at the February 5 council meeting outlining the services South Dundas does and does not provide, not to suggest any changes, but simply to make council aware of the costs associated with different types of services.

“Currently South Dundas does not respond to medical calls under a Tiered Response Agreement at the County  level,” said McDonough in the report. They are involved with motor vehicle extrication/rescue calls, but not medical-only calls.

In 2012, these medical-related calls cost South Dundas about $15,000, but if they were to start attending medical-only calls, that cost would increase dramatically.

According to McDonough’s report the cost would be at least $79,000 annually.

“I think we are fairly well served. Our average (medical) response time is about 14 minutes, the second best in the counties of the six townships served,” commented South Dundas Mayor Steven Byvelds.

“Medical responses could be a major cost to us and a major drain on our emergency services,” commented  Councillor Jim Graham.

“It would be a big responsibility for us,” agreed McDonough. “But, it would also deplete our resources, we just won’t have the manpower,” he added, explaining that the high volume of calls being handled by a volunteer force could be too much to ask of them and of their employers.

Council is willing to explore the possibility of providing high angle/low angle rope and confined space rescue, although it too has a significant price tag attached.

The additional equipment and training would cost about $50,000 according to McDonough’s report.

However, a recent donation of some equipment and this municipality’s large agricultural base have concil giving it some consideration. With far more on site grain storage than ever, the potential for an emergency situation exists. “We have some of the grain extrication equipment. It’s difficult to have it and just leave it sitting in the shed,” commented Byvelds.

He asked McDonough to provide a plan and report for council’s consideration. McDonough suggested the possibility of a joint services team, and will research the possibility.

[…]

 

Chris McDonough, Fire Chief for South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services recently requested funding from TransCanada Pipelines, and was excited to see that result in a donation of $30,000 from the company.

These funds will be used for emergency generators at the fire stations.

“This donation will finalize our goal to have generators at the three fire stations,” said McDonough. 

“This couldn’t have been accomplished without this donation, for which I am very thankful,” he added.

“I appreciate TransCanada Pipelines working with our community,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds. “This gives us a step forward in being prepared for an emergency.”

TransCanada has a long-standing history of supporting local communities. 

“I’m happy to work for a company that helps out,” said Sean McCann, TransCanada Pipeline technician from the Zeron Road Station.

[…]

 

In October, reports from the South Dundas planning department showed that South Dundas was having a good year, growth-wise.

 Last week, South Dundas council found out just how good, when they were presented with the 2012 building permit summary.

According to those figures, South Dundas experienced a record year, with construction projects valued at more than $27 million taking place.

That is a huge increase over 2011, when total construction for the year was valued at just under $13 million.

“That’s really good news,” said South Dundas mayor Steven Byvelds at the February 5 council meeting. “We have 34 new residences.”

While the number of new residences is about the same as the previous year, there were about 30 more permits for residential construction sold in 2012, meaning that more people are making improvements to existing residences.

South Dundas even experienced some industrial growth. Five industrial building permits were sold in 2012, as compared to only two in 2011.

The increase in the sale of building permits represents immediate revenue for the municipality when the permits are issued and fees are paid. South Dundas collected almost $40,000 more in permit fees in 2012, than 2011.

In the long run this growth will result in additional property tax revenue for the municipality.

[…]

 

Looking for a Forever Loving Home

Still a young fella, this Husky Mix was rescued just over a week ago in the Riverside Heights area. Small for a husky, he is brown with tan &white markings and is extremely friendly. He has one beautiful blue eye & one beautiful brown eye. 

Two advertised dogs (and one we didn’t advertise) were adopted this past week. The four year old ‘pretty lady’ shepherd & the little brown shepherd husky mix have found homes!

Still looking…large Hound mix (PIc 4),  young Yellow Lab mix male (Pic 3) (Adopted as of Sunday, February 10)

Seven year old, White Shepherd male named Casper (Pic 2), & special needs Bull dog (not pictured).

Interested in adopting a dog??? Call Kevin at the South Dundas Animal Shelter at 613-543-2980 to find out what dogs are available and to arrange a meeting. This could be one of the best phone calls you will ever make!!!

Join our Facebook family at South Dundas Pet Rescue. We are now pushing 1,500 Facebook contacts!

The South Dundas Shelter is always in need of blankets, towells, dog beds, bowls, collars etc. Thanks to the support of the Morrisburg Animal Hospital, these items can now be dropped off there. Anyone wishing to donate money to help with the support of the animals, particularly with the purchase of their food, can do so by cheque made out to the Municipality of South Dundas and specifically marked for the use of the shelter. Rescued dogs are kept by the municipality for four days after which they are signed over to Kevin Casselman (the municipality's animal control officer) who tries, on his own and with the help of a small group of dog lovers,  to find them homes. 

This is a public service column. The Leader accepts no responsibility for the dogs or the adoption process.

[…]

 

South Dundas now has a tourism strategy with a focus.

South Dundas council adopted “A Passport Forward:  A Tourism Product Development Strategy for South Dundas” in January.

Contained in that report are South Dundas’ priority tourism sectors, now identified as history and historical attractions, arts and culture and cycling.

History was identified as a priority, because history is the second largest draw in SD&G with 12.5 per cent of visitors going to historic sites during their stay. South Dundas has a unique historical narrative, which is an integral part of the community identity.

Identifying the arts and culture sector as a priority builds on thriving assets such as Upper Canada Playhouse. It responds to the increasing desire to experience the community and supports both local visitors and the family/relatives market while enhancing the quality of life for local residents.

Cycling tourism is the primary focus for sector development for Cornwall and the Counties Tourism. South Dundas identifying this too as a priority will facilitate the attraction of a new visitor market here in a format that is ideal for South Dundas as it links businesses and experiences throughout the entire community.

[…]

 

Last Wednesday, January 30, co-workers, customers and friends helped Morrisburg Branch Manager Connie Kirkwood celebrate her 30 year career with the Bank of Montreal. Kirkwood, who lives in Morrisburg, began her career in Ottawa…in a location that is now a Dairy Queen, she says with a laugh. During her 30 years with the bank, she has been located throughout Ontario. From Ottawa, she went to Kingston and then farther west to Don Mills and then Burlington. She is originally from Pembroke and started her career right out of school, beginning as a teller and working her way up to loans clerk, and eventually to loans officer. Since 2002, she has been at various locations as Branch Manager. Most recently, she was in Finch for six years and Winchester for seven. She has been in Morrisburg for just over one year. “It’s been an amazing career. I’ve enjoyed all of it, especially the people I’ve met over the years. I still run into people I have worked with.” Kirkwood’s 30 years with BMO have involved a lot of changes. “Lots of changes, all for the better,” she says, recalling how “we used to calculate interest manually. There were no computers back then.”

[…]

 

Five days in front of the Ontario Labour Relations Board, still have not resulted in a decision on whether the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario has counseled unlawful strike activities.

Upper Canada District School Board, along with the Trillium Lakelands District School Board filed the application with the OLRB January 23, and the hearing began January 25.

The school boards argue that the union’s direction for teachers to withdraw from voluntary activities constitutes an illegal strike.

The next OLRB meeting takes place February 6, when a decision could be reached.

While OLRB chair Bernard Fishbein’s decision on this complicated matter will apply to the applicant boards, its impact is potentially far-reaching.

[…]