News

 

Change is in the air for many of the United Churches within the Seaway Valley Presbytery.

Presbytery Chair, Wendy Wright MacKenzie revealed that last year the Seaway Valley Presbytery received “a number of requests from the people in the pews for help in addressing over-all declining membership.”

“We realized that the people knew their community better than anyone else,” said Wright MacKenzie, “and so in January 2011, 85 people gathered to dream about what the church might look like in a changing world.”

“In March 2011, over 800 people gathered at North Dundas High School for a vote to divide the Presbytery up into districts in order to continue a process of visioning and change. There was an overwhelming YES vote.”  

“Since that time, the congregations have been doing self-reflections and analysis. By November 28th, all congregations within the Seaway Valley Presbytery voted on whether they wanted to be in conversation with other churches to discuss possibilities for the future,” she continued.  

“At this time, we have 13 churches already in conversation, visioning and dreaming of what it might look like when following a different model of being ‘church’.”  

Iroquois United Church Reverend Janet Evans revealed that the “Iroquois United Church has a team of four people who will be meeting with some local churches – Brinston, Hulbert Valley, Williamsburg – to see where we might go from here.”

 The United Church in Williamsburg was recently listed for sale. The congregation, like so many  others, has grown too small to manage the upkeep of such a large and outdated building. 

Retired Reverend Ralph Taylor recently joined the Williamsburg United Church to help the congregation through the upcoming changes.

Taylor said that he is there on a renewable six-month contract, but will stay “as long as it takes.”

As for the decision to sell the church in Williamsburg, Taylor admitted that it wasn’t an easy choice to make for the congregation. “Some are more excited than others and some are anxious,” he said.

“The congregation is getting older and the cost of maintaining (the church) means they’d just be focused on maintaining, not on missions,” said Taylor.

He admitted that the choice is ‘heart wrenching’. “But what other choice do we have at this point?”

Currently, Williamsburg’s United Church congregation is meeting at the J.W. MacIntosh Seniors Support Centre on Sundays.

The congregation will return to the church in March, if it hasn’t sold. When it does sell, the congregation will seek an alternative location in the area.

Taylor admitted that “eventually they’ll be joining another congregation, but it will take a little while.”

With this news, comes the question of what will happen to the many other United Churches within South Dundas. How will they fare in the months and years to come?

According to Evans, “people from Iroquois United Church are both excited and nervous about the changes that will inevitably come our way.”

“Iroquois United Church, for example, has been able to support a full-time minister which means that the present minister has time to care for all of the shut-ins who are associated with our congregation,” she explained.

“Perhaps more people will have needs when several churches work together under a new model. Lay people may have to undertake more of the church’s work.”

“No one really wants to lose their building but that may or may not happen under a new structure,” she said, adding, “new structures could mean, however, more people coming together to offer their gifts and talents in God’s service.”

Wright MacKenzie said, “we realize that everything in life changes.” 

“The way to experience our worship needs an extreme makeover,” she added, pointing out that “the world is changing and so we have to look at new ways of what it means to reach out to the community. The way we ‘do worship’ does not appeal to the younger generation so we need to also look at some other options.”

“This is still very much a work in progress so it is exciting to see what the congregations come up with as they talk together.”

“Change is always somewhat nerve wracking but God will be with us as we journey into the future,” reminded Evans.

The Presbytery, according to Wright MacKenzie, will continue to offer help and support in whatever way possible.

As for the years to come, she said, “time will tell what this looks like in the future. This is completely in the hands of the people in the pews.”

[…]

 

 On January 19th, South Dundas council approved Recreation Program Coordinator Ben Macpherson’s request to create a new logo for South Dundas Recreation.

This week, Macpherson is launching the South Dundas Recreation Logo Competition, which is open to South Dundas residents of all ages, except for those who are employees of the township.

In addition to incorporating the title ‘South Dundas Recreation’, Macpherson is looking for a logo whose artwork “reflects the values of the township of South Dundas and South Dundas Recreation in so much that any artwork will be tasteful and reflective of healthy living.”

As for why Macpherson has chosen to pursue the creation of a logo, he said, “South Dundas Recreation wants to make healthy active living a priority and in doing so want to become more visible in the community.”

“Branding will, over time, help develop an instant recognition of any program or activity run by or in partnership with South Dundas Recreation and the township.” 

“The underlying goal is to foster community ownership.” What do you think a South Dundas Recreation logo should look like? The township is giving residents artistic reign; giving residents ownership of the final product. 

“As part of the competition, the winning artist and logo will be launched on the cover of the next South Dundas Recreation Guide, due out the first week of March.”

“The guide will be delivered to every household in South Dundas and will also be available to pick up at a variety of places throughout the township,” said Macpherson.

He challenged, “we want to see the creativity that we know exists in the Township of South Dundas.”

The contest will close at 4:30 p.m. on February 21st. For a list of guidelines, see the accompanying advertisement.

[…]

 

Williamsburg farmer Gordon Garlough, who has given much of his time to volunteering, both in the farming community and in the Dundas community in general, was recently honoured as the Dundas Federation of Agriculture’s ‘Volunteer of the Year’.

The Awards were made to mark the Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s 75th Anniversary. Regional and county level volunteers were recognized and from these one volunteer was recognized as the overall provincial leader.

The provincial award was won by Donna Lunn from Elgin County located along the north shore of Lake Erie.

Garlough, who lives on the Bouck’s Hill Road at Williamsburg, was nominated at the local level by the Dundas Federation of Agriculture (DFA).

In her nomination proposal, DFA president Jacqueline Kelly-Pemberton said, “Gordon Garlough for over three decades has given endlessly of his skills, time and energy to help agriculture move forward, locally, provincially, nationally and internationally.”

“His volunteer experience holds a long list of community involvement with the United Church of Canada-Williamsburg Congregation and the Canadian Food Grains Bank. He has hosted, through the International Livestock Management Schools, farm students from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Indonesia and Latvia. and he has participated with the CFA and the Agricultural Institute of Canada in two partners projects with the former  Soviet Union.”

At the Dundas County level, Garlough has served as a director, president and vice-president. He was a provincial director with OFA from 1981 to 1992.

“…Gordon exemplifies the word volunteer, by always demonstrating his career commitment to agriculture.

As one of the regional/county Volunteers of the Year, Garlough received a commemorative anniversary farm gate sign. 

The OFA represents 37,000 farm families across Ontario. Based in Guelph, it works to champion the interests of Ontario Farmers.

[…]

 

Many of the current Winchester Hospital Heelers were on hand to celebrate the hand over of 75 per cent of the funds they raised in early 2011 to the WDMH Foundation. Peter Linkletter, Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation (ORCF) Board Chair, addressed those in attendance and presented a cheque for $75,372. WDMH Foundation Board Chair, Diane Crummy was on hand to inform those present that the Heelers have raised over $500,000 towards cancer care in this region and applaud the Heelers for their commitment to this cause and specifically in helping to purchase the WDMH Digital Mammography machine. 

[…]

 

On December 6, 2011, the South Branch Wind Opposition Group (SBWOG) presented South Dundas with their case against Prowind’s planned South Branch Wind Farm near Brinston.

After taking some time to consider the requests, council came back to the January 17th meeting with a decision not to support SBWOG.

In fact, South Dundas Mayor Steven Byvelds summarized council’s stance, saying, “overall we are in support of the project.”

Councillor Archie Mellan declared a conflict of interest, taking himself out of the equation. The remaining council members were unanimous in their support for Prowind’s wind farm project.

In terms of why council landed where they did in terms of which side to support, it seems to come down to a matter of choosing the winning team.

Deputy-mayor Jim Locke reminded everyone that “it’s a known fact that the municipality really has no say in the matter.”

Councillor Jim Graham concurred, saying, “I think the government has set up a policy where they’re going to limit the interference of municipalities on these projects.”

“We don’t have staff and resources to fight provincial policy on this,” he added.

He suggested that it would be “foolish” for council to support SBWOG “because I don’t think we’ll get far on this.”

Councillor Evonne Delegarde agreed, “the province has taken a firm stand on this.”

However, she also said, “I don’t have a problem sending their concerns on to the Member of Provincial Parliament.”

In addition to council’s feelings that to support SBWOG would be pointless, Byvelds also pointed out that the project “started in 2008 and then in 2011 a group that decides it’s not right came along making demands that we don’t have authority on.”

Interestingly enough, Byvelds informed council of a deputy-mayor in a western Ontario municipality who had recently contacted him with a cautionary note concerning the wind farm project: she reported that those in her municipality were having some problems until the lines from the turbines to the substations were buried. Apparently, above ground, these lines emitted unfiltered electricity.

Byvelds also noted, however, that there “is not a lot to validate her concerns.”

“From a project overall, I think it’s at a point now where I’m certainly not going to stand in the way of it,” he said.

Locke interjected, saying he had heard of similar issues concerning “overhead wires and unfiltered power. There were houses that needed to be vacated.”

“I would definitely support an urge to bury,” said Locke.

With that said, South Dundas council decided against supporting SBWOG and their requests.

This may not, however, be the end of the discussion. On January 20th, Mark Wales, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), issued two releases changing OFA’s stance on wind farms in Ontario: Wind power versus rural power; and, OFA calls on government to suspend wind turbine development in Ontario.

“The OFA is calling on the provincial government to suspend the invasion of rural Ontario with industrial wind turbines.”

[…]

 

Nicole Sullivan, South Dundas Economic Development Officer, recommended to council at the January 17th meeting that directional signage be purchased for both the South Dundas Dog Park and the Iroquois Locks.

After hearing Sullivan’s recommendation and reasoning, council agreed to the purchase of six signs.

The South Dundas Dog Park in Morrisburg will have three signs in the following locations:  County Road 2 directing West bound traffic; County Road 2 directing East bound traffic; and, County Road 31 directing South bound traffic.

The Iroquois Locks will also have three signs. The locations for these are: County Road 2 directing West bound traffic; County Road 2 directing East bound traffic; and, County Road 1 (Carman Road) directing South bound traffic.

Each sign comes at a cost of $335. In addition, the township will need to rent the sign space. This is done through a membership fee of $75 per year in the County Tourism Signage Program administered by Seaway Valley Tourism.

In total, the cost of the new directional signage will be $2,085 for 2012. 

Sullivan’s recommendation, she said, “comes out of discussions with the Park Pals committee and feedback from the community about directing people to the Iroquois Locks.”

In her report, she referred to the township’s 2005 Strategic Economic Development Plan and two of it’s recommendations. “Both of these recommendations,” she reported, “aim to enrich the experience of visitors to South Dundas. This will result in extended stays, repeat visits and ultimately, greater benefits to the local economy.”

“I fully support signs for the Iroquois Locks,” said Councillor Evonne Delegarde. She was concerned, however, in the many other attractions at the waterfront that could benefit from directional signage, other than the dog park.

During an interview on January 23rd, Sullivan told The Leader that “signage is imperative when people are in your community.” In addition to making the experience more pleasurable, it “also grabs people who might not have been aware” of the attractions in the first place.

“We’re always looking for ways to enrich the visitor’s trip. We’re looking for things to add on to their visit,” she explained. “The longer someone is in the community, the bigger the contribution to the local economy.”

“Recognizing that,” she continued, “one of my goals is a signage review.” The review will begin by compiling a list of all the attractions South Dundas has to offer.

“It won’t be something we can do in one year,” said Sullivan. “Once we look at the whole scope of attractions, that’s when we can start prioritizing.”

[…]

 

“My recommendation is to brand South Dundas Recreation,” said Ben Macpherson, Recreation Program Coordinator for South Dundas, at the January 17th council meeting.

Council agreed to the recommendation and Macpherson will soon be introducing a logo design contest to South Dundas residents of all ages.

Macpherson suggested that “the winning design would be launched  on the cover of the upcoming Spring/Summer Recreation Guide.”

According to Macpherson, both North Dundas Recreation and North Grenville Recreation have created their own logo and branding. “I felt that this was a very good way to improve the visibility of programming in the township,” he said.

“Branding will, over time, help develop an instant recognition of any program or activity run by or in partnership with South Dundas Recreation and the township,” suggested Macpherson.

“The underlying goal,” he continued, “is to foster community ownership through continued efforts, partnerships and cross-promotion of events involving residents, community groups and local businesses.”

Macpherson believes that “the symbol can be recognized as one of commitment, by the Township of South Dundas, to improving the quality of life of its residents.”

[…]

 

At the January 17th South Dundas council meeting, council members were treated with a presentation of the proposed new branding options for the Untied Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.

South Dundas Economic Development Officer Nicole Sullivan presented council with a report outlining the creation process behind the proposed brands. The presentation came complete with visuals and detailed explanations.

Both branding options incorporate SD&G’s geographic location in their proposed catchphrase. Each option is being considered for its wording, not for the accompanying picture. That will be decided on at a later date. 

Option one, The Counties @ 45, was chosen because “the Counties of SD&G are located at the 45th parallel, halfway between the Equator and the North Pole – @ the juncture of balanced living, adventure and business opportunity.” 

Option two, Gateway Counties, was chosen because “the Counties of SD&G lie on the doorstep of Ontario, near major Canadian cities and the United States – opening up new opportunities for business, tourism, and balanced living.” 

“To enhance its economic development activities, the United Counties wish to: position the region as an attractive location for business and tourism; present a unified and consistent brand message to strengthen recognition and become more effective; and, help locate Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry on the map.”

“A new logo mark has been developed that aims to convey key attributes to a wide range of target audiences spanning from business relocation consultants to tourists to local residents through a fresh look and feel.”

Following the presentation, council members were advised of an anonymous online survey to evaluate the two options. Mayor Steven Byvelds encouraged council members to complete the survey to “give the Counties something to go on when trying to make the decision in February.”

The Counties council is expected to make a decision in late February.

[…]

 

“This topic deals with my favourite topic, hewing. To that end I am asking those that can square timber by hand the ‘old’ way to drop by for a chat,” wrote ‘Northern Hewer’ on the Timber Framing Guild website’s forum.

Richard Casselman, otherwise known as ‘Northern Hewer’ first started this thread about four years ago. Since that time over 500,000 interested people have visited the site, proving that interest in the historic art of hewing is still alive and well in the world.

“It does seem to me that there is much interest in the preservation of the old ways and methods,” said Casselman, a long time resident of the area. He was introduced to timber framing by his father, Ross, many years ago. 

Interestingly, both men were previously employed by Upper Canada Village (UCV). According to Richard, his father “was in charge of the restoration of many of the log and timber frame structures at Upper Canada Village during the time frame 1958 to 1961. These structures include the Saw Mill, the Woolen Mill, both Craft houses, the Fort, the Cheese Factory, the Bakery, both Dutch barns” and more.

As for Richard himself, he “was involved in maintaining these structures and in overseeing the addition of the Grist Mill, two Drive sheds, one three-bay English barn, the Tin Shop, the Smoke House, and the Harvest Barn.”

Richard worked at UCV for approximately 30 years before he finally retired.  “During my tenure at UCV, I was very fortunate to have been chosen to work closely with many great artisans. My group put together yearly and daily events that not only showed the old techniques but, in the process, we managed to bring to life many types and styles of the early building and construction styles that were disappearing in this area, thereby preserving them for future generations.”

To call him a timber framing enthusiast would be an understatement. Richard Casselman is passionately devoted to preserving local heritage, especially with respect to structures and buildings.

“Since retirement, I have tried to carry on helping and showing many people the old ways, both on the Internet and locally. I take great pride in striving to retain heritage buildings in this area,” he said. As an example, he pointed to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Morrisburg. The Church, he said, was built in 1875 and “exhibits, on its exterior facade, hand made bricks of various colours set in lime mortar and, on the interior, the original paint graining on the pews (as well as) the plastered walls set on wood lathes with nicely rounded ceiling edges to enhance the sound distribution.”

As for Casselman’s forum thread, he said he “mainly talks about historic woodworking, hewing, timber framing, and, at times, strays away to other historic subjects.” He admits that he likes to talk about “life in the days gone.” People are interested, he believes, because “it’s not coming from a book; it’s coming from a person. I’ve lived that transition. I’ve seen both sides of the equation,” he said. Here, Casselman referred to his early days, before modern inventions and technology, when, for instance, people “hunkered down” for winter. 

“There is a real interest out there for true historic talk and displays,” said Casselman. “There’s an awfully big movement in the States and in Europe, too, to learn the old ways again.”

Through the forum thread, “I have been asked on many occasions to solve problems that deal with the old trades, especially historic timber framing, but discussions might lead into other associated topics like historic millwrighting, paint graining, and water and steam powered mills,” said Casselman. “The interest in this site shows that public support and interest is there to retain and reconstruct examples of our heritage that we are losing.”

“I hope that we can retain our local historic structures as well as other out buildings like the only surviving swing beam barn that remains in this area. There were two about 20 years ago, (but) now only one remains. With its demise, we will lose a great part of our heritage for future generations.”

Richard continues trying to preserve the old techniques at home and on the Internet. His thread on timber framing is still going strong with an average of 2,000 views per day.

Forums and Threads

“A Web forum is a website or section of a website that allows visitors to communicate with each other by posting messages. Most forums allow anonymous visitors to view forum postings, but require you to create an account in order to post messages in the forum. When posting in a forum, you can create new topics (or “threads”) or post replies within existing threads.” (www.techterms.com)

[…]

 

According to a report submitted to South Dundas council, the township currently owns 109 properties.

On January 17th, council agreed with Clerk Brenda Brunt’s recommendation that seven of these properties should be declared surplus and then sold.

According to Brunt, “staff has done extensive research on our properties. These seven have been identified, that we feel are surplus at this point.” Brunt’s report pointed out that two of the properties have buildings, while the remaining five are vacant.

The seven properties include various locations throughout South Dundas. They are: 5680 Duncan Street in Mariatown; vacant land at the corner of County Roads 8 and 41; vacant land beside the outdoor rink in Dundela on County Road 18; vacant land on Hanesville Road; vacant land on Pleasant Valley Road;  vacant land on Caldwell Drive in Iroquois; and, 2 Miller Street in Iroquois.

According to the report, “proceeds from the sales will go to the Sale of Assets Reserve Account.”

[…]