News

 

Stormont Dundas South Glengarry Federal riding association President Del Jones today announced that National Liberal leadership candidate M.P. Justin Trudeau will visit Cornwall on Tuesday, February 12, 2013.

“We are pleased that Mr. Trudeau, the M.P. for Papineau has accepted our invitation to address, members, supporters and those interested in the federal Liberal leadership campaign,” said Jones.

The Stormont Dundas South Glengarry riding association will host a meet and greet for Trudeau at the Best Western Parkway Inn Cabaret Room at 1515 Vincent Massey Drive Cornwall from 4-5:30 p.m.

“This is an open event, anyone from the public that would like to hear Trudeau speak or meet him is welcome to attend, there is no admittance charge, everyone is welcome,” said Jones.

Trudeau was first elected to Parliament in the 2008 general election in the Montreal area riding of Papineau, he was re-elected in 2011.

“As the March 3rd cut off for signing up new members or supporters to be eligible to vote in the Liberal leadership contest Mr. Trudeau’s visit is welcome as an excellent opportunity for residents of this riding to see and hear first-hand why they might want to become involved in this process,” said Jones, “ all leadership candidates have been invited to visit our riding.”

Residents of the riding are welcome to contact Del Jones at 613-543-3588 or Denis Sabourin at 613-346-5416 for information.

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Good dental health hygiene is important, although it can be expensive.

Dental hygienist Lori Garlough, owner of the Tooth Fairy Dental Hygiene Clinic in Ingleside, understands that, and wants to give back to her community, so she is offering free dental cleaning for low income adults, this Saturday, February 9, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This service is not for those who are already participating in one of the existing government programs and is not geared towards children.

“I wanted to make dental hygiene more affordable when I opened my business in Ingleside seven years ago,” she said. 

Even though she provides an affordable alternative, she knows that the cost is still too high for some low income families.

To take advantage of Garlough’s offer of a free cleaning this Saturday, those interested must call the office (613-537-8427) to register.

This one day event is an independent dental hygiene practitioners effort called Gift from the Heart. It’s a day set aside for dental hygienists to educate everyone on the link between oral health and overall health by helping lower income Canadians. 

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The 2012 review of South Dundas website statistics will serve as a benchmark to help measure the success of the site, and the impact of the work being done to build up online traffic to the site.

Nicole Sullivan, South Dundas economic development officer recently reviewed the statistics.

“Now that we have a benchmark, just under 90 visits per day, we can better comment on the success we’re having with viewership in the coming years,” Sullivan said.

Having now established a benchmark for viewership over the full year, Sullivan has some insight into what information viewers are most interested in and how they arrived at the site. 

Knowing how someone arrives at the South Dundas site, is a key piece of information that will allow Sullivan to work on increasing the use of the site.

While most of the traffic to the site appears to be locals seeking municipal information, the visit and business sections average 300 to 350 hits per month.

“I am always looking at ways to increase the number of visits,” said Sullivan.

With that in mind, Sullivan plans to work with community partners to strengthen the connection between their websites and the South Dundas website. She plans to dedicate some of the marketing budget to online advertisements linking viewers to the website.

Sullivan will continue to build on the information disseminated through the “Experience South Dundas” Facebook page. 

Four per cent of referrals to the South Dundas website come from that Facebook page. 

Twenty-one per cent of referrals come from the United Counties of SD&G website.

[…]

 Spring is just around the corner, and so is the new South Dundas Recreation Guide.

Ben MacPherson, recreation programming coordinator for South Dundas is planning to finalize the spring/summer guide by the end of February.

Already some new offerings will be part of the guide including a gluten-free cooking class and a Qigong movement and meditation class.

New offerings like these are made possible by new instructors coming forward to share their talents. 

Samantha Gove will be leading the gluten-free cooking class and Kim Hutt the Qiqong class.

“What I am looking for right now is for any other instructors interested in sharing their skills by teaching a new class to contact me,” said MacPherson. 

Anyone with a program or a program idea is welcome to contact MacPherson to discuss the details. 

Most importantly, contact him before February 15 so that the new program can be included in the next edition of the Recreation Guide. 

MacPherson can be reached by telephone at 613-543-2937 or via email at bmacpherson@southdundas.com

The Rec. Guide is scheduled to be distributed before the March break, to let the community know about the March break programming that is available within South Dundas.

[…]

Only two days after a Stampville home was completely destroyed by a fire sparked by a space heater, South Dundas firefighters were again battling a blaze ignited by a space heater.

Tuesday, January 22, just before 10 a.m., firefighters from the Iroquois and Williamsburg stations were called to the scene of a house fire at 11397 County Road 18.

The fire was called in by a neighbour and passerby who saw smoke coming from the home. 

No one was home at the time of the fire.

Chris McDonough, Fire Chief for South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services, was the first to arrive at the scene.

“I kicked the door open and threw in a (Dry Sprinker Powder Aerosol agent) DSPA,” McDonough told The Leader. It landed very near the source of the fire and doused the flames somewhat until fire crews arrived minutes later to extinguish the blaze.

“A cat was able to survive the fire,” said McDonough. 

The residents returned home about half an hour after fire crews arrived a the scene.

The fire was caused by a space heater left running in the kitchen while the residents had gone shopping.

Firefighters remained on scene until about 1 p.m.

McDonough said that the major difficulty in fighting fires in the extreme cold is keeping the firefighters safe from the effects of the cold and the equipment functioning properly.

Although fire crews were able to save the structure, damage is still quite extensive, estimated at $60,000.

[…]

Friday, January 25, employees were evacuated from Beavers Dental in Morrisburg for about 2.5 hours while South Dundas firefighters from the Morrisburg station located and extinguished a fire.

“The fire was caused by the roofing contractor heating the membrane along the flashing on the roof’s edge,” said Chris McDonough, Fire Chief for South Dundas Fire and Emergency Services.

McDonough was first to the scene at around 10:30 a.m. 

“When I arrived I was met by the facilities manager who explained that there was work being completed to the exterior roof and excessive smoke was penetrating the interior of the building and the air-handling system,” he said. 

Upon further investigation, fire crews discovered several areas where flames were visible along the north wall of the building, at ceiling level.

Firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the flames, with access through the roof and interior ceiling.

Once the fire was out and the smoke cleared from the building, employees returned at about 1 p.m. 

Damage is estimated at $4,000.

[…]

Casper, is a German Shepherd, aptly named for his unusual white colouring. He is friendly and house trained (not neutered) and is about seven years old. Since he was a pup, he has lived in a loving home with his loving, forever best friend. Having come from a single person (male) environment, Casper would probably flourish in a quiet home. He has been at the South Dundas Shelter close to two weeks, where he has been allowed to come to terms with his devastating loss. It is so hoped that this beautiful dog can find a loving, comfortable home to replace the one he has lost.

Ten dogs at the South Dundas Shelter. 

There were no adoptions at the South Dundas Animal Shelter this past week. Anyone interested in adopting a dog is invited to please call Kevin at 613-543-2980 to meet any of the dogs there. With  just eight indoor kennels, it has been difficult pairing some of the dogs so all are indoors and out of the extreme cold of the last week.

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

[…]

Thanks to the Morrisburg and District Lions Club, students attending Morrisburg Public and St. Mary/St Cecilia schools continue to have access to the No Child Without (NCW) program. 

Sponsored by the local Lions, in partnership with the Canadian MedicAlert Foundation, the NCW initiative focuses on children who suffer from childhood diabetes and asthma, and allergies like peanuts. It also protects children with other pre-existing medical conditions.   

NCW provides elementary students with a MedicAlert bracelet or necklet custom-engraved with the child’s medical information, member ID and the MedicAlert 24-hour Emergency Hotline number, free of charge. 

This service is available to all children in our community, ages four – 14 with pre-existing medical conditions or allergies to ensure first responders have access to the student’s vital health information during a medical emergency. 

By calling the Hotline, school staff or health care providers have immediate access to vital information from the child’s electronic health record, including existing medical condition. 

The emergency numbers found on the back of the MedicAlert bracelets and necklets provide Morrisburg Publilc and St. Mary/St. Cecilia schools with important information to assist a student in an emergency situation. 

In addition, parents are immediately notified by MedicAlert when the Emergency Hotline receives a call about their child. 

As a result, parents of children who wear MedicAlert bracelets or necklets have peace of mind knowing they will be advised in the event their child has a medical emergency and furthermore the comfort that proper care was quickly provided.

Parents are encouraged to contact their school to obtain a brochure about the No Child Without program, providing more information and how to participate in this initiative.     

[…]

Never leave it unattended: That’s the most important advice South Dundas Fire Chief Chris McDonough has for area residents using space heaters.

He understands the need for people to make use of these heaters, especially during the extreme cold weather. 

In fact, he himself uses one in the municipal office where he works. 

“These heaters create such an intense heat that you just can’t have any combustibles anywhere near the units,” said McDonough.

The two recent house fires graphically demonstrate the consequences of leaving a heater unattended. One was left on with no one at home, the other just in a back room, with the resident nearby. One home was completely destroyed and the other seriously damaged.

“If you need to use a space heater, just don’t leave it alone,” reiterated McDonough.

[…]

Last week, the conditions of the Dundela house fire were just right for the South Dundas Fire Chief to use a Dry Sprinkler Powder Aerosol extinguishing system that he has had at his disposal since the summer.

When he was the first to arrive at the scene of the fire he assessed the situation and found that the DSPA would be quite effective. 

“It won’t put the fire out completely, but they do work well in a confined space,” said McDonough. Since the windows of the home were still intact, McDonough opted to throw in the DSPA. It landed very near the fire source. 

The DSPA is a type of extinguisher with a string attached to an igniter. When the igniter is pulled, a foamy agent is released from the canister, trapping and dousing the flames. 

“This is the first one I’ve used and it certainly worked very well,” said McDonough. “It certainly slowed the fire,” he said explaining that by slowing the fire, some of the smoke cleared and the internal temperature of the structure was lowered, to allow fire crews to immediately access the source of the fire when they arrived on scene minutes later. 

“I’m very pleased with how the DSPA worked,” said McDonough. “It’s a great tool for us to have, especially in the rural areas, where I can often get to the scene before the fire crews.”

McDonough said that the DSPA is a very cost effective tool as it may result in saving structures.

The cost of each DSPA is about $1,500. The fire chief’s truck and each of the first to call vehicles are presently equipped with a DSPA. The cost of the DSPA may, in some cases, may be reimbursed by the insurer.

[…]