News

 

On July 22, at Guindon Park, Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry MPP Jim McDonell hosted a summer picnic for everyone in his riding. According to his ‘tweet’ later that day: “SD&SG Riding Picnic was a great success today with almost 200 enjoying sausages, hamburgers and good company.”

The picnic is expected to be an annual event and, according to McDonell’s executive assistant Marilyn McMahon, “It gives the people a chance to chat with and maybe meet the MPP, if they have not met him before, and it  allows the MPP to have an opportunity to meet and chat with the people.”

South Dundas residents Lorne Strader and Doris Stewart were just two of the residents in McDonell's riding to attend and enjoy the picnic. Strader recently received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his many years of service to his community.

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The dock’s about to rock as the 42nd annual Tubie Weekend is set for this weekend featuring Dock of Ages as the theme for this year’s Tubie Parade.

“We are really excited about this year’s tubie theme,” says Michael Domanko of the organizing committee. “I think it provides a lot of opportunity for classic rock and 80s big hair band inspired floats, which will take a lot of tubie participants, and spectators, back to their younger days.”

Although Domanko has heard lots of rumours about float themes, some even considering using their vessel as a vehicle for political satire, he has no confirmed knowledge of what creative entries will form part of this year’s parade. “One thing that is clear, is that the competitors are putting a lot of thought into their floats, but the final displays are pretty closely guarded until parade day.” 

The tubie parade will take place at noon, Saturday, August 4, but this year that will not be the first tubie event. This year, the addition of Tubie a Teen, the new teen dance, will officially kick off the festivities. Taking place, Friday, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., under the big tent, organizers are hoping this inaugural teen dance will be a success. “I have heard a lot of positive comments about this event from the community, and specifically from the teens,” says Domanko.

While the teens will get to strut their stuff under the big tent Friday night, the older crowd will have their chance Saturday night when Ambush will rock the stage under the big tent from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The tubie races will take place at the Morrisburg dock Sunday at noon.

The state of the Morrisburg dock, which was this summer posted as unsafe for use, will not have an impact on the tubie races. 

“The loss of the dock won’t affect us directly,” said Domanko, explaining that the starting line goes from the concrete wharf, not the wooden portion of the dock.

The number of teams set to participate in the races this year has not yet been firmed up, as the participants are notoriously late to register, but Domanko suspects the field of entries will be similar to that of last year. “We have a number of seasoned veterans returning to race in this year’s event,” said Domanko, who also confirmed that last year’s rookie champion, Katherine Lee will return to defend her title. 

“We are really trying to encourage the younger people, like Katherine, to get involved in the race,” said Domanko. In an effort to do that, he would like those interested in getting involved in the race to contact him (mdomanko@sympatico.ca). “Even if you don’t have enough people for a team, contact me and we will try and find a place for you, in the race,” he said.

Although the Tubie dances, the parade and race are the weekend’s marquis events a number of other events will be taking place in Morrisburg throughout the weekend including Little Ray’s Reptiles Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at the Amphitheatre, a dog behaviour demo Saturday 2 p.m. at the dog park, the Lions Club Duck race Sunday, 10 a.m. at the Morrisburg beach and a free bouncy castle at the Docksyde at noon.

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August 5, before the Tubies take to the water, a truckload of rubber ducks will plunge into the St. Lawrence at the Morrisburg beach. 

Like their rubber-made cousins, the ducks will be vying for the chance to be the first to make it from the water to the beach. Unlike their Tubie cousins, the ducks will rely on dog power rather than man power to get there.

The Morrisburg and District Lions Club Duck Race fund raiser will take place Sunday, August 5, 10 a.m., at the Morrisburg beach.

Wendy Gibb will be providing the splash by splash for the five dogs, who will be helping the Lions Club retrieve the five lucky prize winners from the 1,000 rubber ducks that will be floating on the St. Lawrence.

The first dog with a duck out of the water, and on shore, will claim the first prize of $500. The second dog back on shore, with a duck, will have retrieved the second place winner of the $200 prize. The third duck out of the river will  win $100 for its ticket holder, and the fourth duck back on dry land will win a $50 gift card from Riley’s Valu-mart. The fifth duck claims a gift card of $50 from Canadian Tire.

Tickets are still available and can be purchased at the  Morrisburg Animal Hospital or the Lions will be selling tickets Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Riley’s Valumart. Proceeds from ticket sales will be directed back to the community.

The fate of the prize winners, will be clenched between the teeth of these five canines, who wanted to take this opportunity to introduce themselves to the community.

Heidi – Gilmer Family 

18 month old Chocolate Lab

Heidi was thrilled to be selected by the Morrisburg Lions Club to retrieve a duck. Since her successful application for this post, she has been training under the tutelage of her caregiver and BFF Scott Robertson. Scott reports that the ducks had better ‘watch out’ when Heidi comes their way.  As a result of her Olympic style training, Heidi has lost a pound or two and is no longer insecure about appearing at the beach.

Cocoa – Juli Strader 

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

As a veteran of the 2011 ParkPals Duck Race, Cocoa is determined this year to repeat his stellar performance. He has been in training for this year’s race while visiting with his Grandpa, Gary. Cocoa not only enjoys the heat of the competition but also the opportunity to socialize with fellow race participants. He is particularly interested in meeting Heidi since he has heard so much about her and wants to remind everyone that good things come in small packages.

Gemma – Bennis Family 

Gemma’s first visit to Morrisburg was last summer when the Cornwall Humane Society brought her to the Waterfront Dog Park grand opening. It was that day that Gemma found her forever home with Jim and Cindy Bennis and family. When not busy modelling for Arbonne, Gemma has been practicing her retrieval skills with the shoes belonging to those visiting the Bennis home. Gemma is looking forward to demonstrating her prowess at fetch by retrieving one of the winning ducks in the race this Sunday morning.

Dublin – Radoman Family 

Golden Retriever

One of the more intellectual K9’s participating in the Lion’s Duck Race this year is Dublin, the constant companion to Mike.  Although fetch is not Dublin’s forte, he and Mike were quick to volunteer when the Lions Club asked for their assistance. Dublin has been busy plotting his strategy to be the one who selects the first prize duck. He feels that his more academic approach to duck retrieval will be more successful than the physical training regimen of his compatriots. 

Willow – Pricilla Hubbard 

Black Lab x Border Collie

Willow’s person is Pricilla Hubbard. Willow is confident in her skills as a prize winning duck selector because of her proud heritage as a Labrador retriever and border collie. She believes she has what it takes to complete the task and bring in a winning duck with great speed and accuracy. As a new resident of Williamsburg, Willow looks forward to using this opportunity to make new friends, both human and K9.  To Willow, the organizers of the duck race say, “Welcome Willow….Your spirit of volunteerism is appreciated.”

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The possibility of a level three drought remains close, in the opinion of South Nation Conservation Authority officials.

The SNC examines triggers such as rainfall and stream flow along with other factors to form that opinion. However, it is up to the province to declare a level three drought.

There is the possibility of some rain, according to the latest forecasts. 

“Any rain that we do get helps somewhat, but what we need is a long duration of low intensity rain,” says Jason Symington, SNC environmental technician. He explained that the higher intensity rainfalls, which we have experienced tend to run off, rather than soak in to the ground.

Later this week the water response team, which is made up of stakeholders from business and industry, including the agricultural sector, the Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and municipalities will meet to discuss and record any low water issues they are experiencing.

As of Tuesday morning, no dry wells have been reported in South Dundas. SNC is still asking that anyone experiencing water-related issues contact them a 1-877-984-2948.

After the meeting of the water response team, if necessary, the SNC can make a recommendation to the province to up the drought level to a level three, which can determine further water restrictions above the 20 percent conservation that people are now being asked to do under the level two conditions.

In the meantime, PC politicians, including Stormont, Dundas, South Glengarry MPP Jim McDonell, met in Ottawa Monday, calling on the McGuinty government to take action to help Ontario farmers who have been hit hard by the drought.

Tuesday, Ted McMeekin, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs toured farms in eastern Ontario. 

Ontario has asked Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to join with the province in an assessment of support options for livestock producers affected by dry weather through the AgriRecovery framework – a disaster relief program for farms.

McMeekin called on the federal government to accelerate tax relief for livestock producers in affected regions through the identification of Prescribed Drought Regions.

Ontario is committing that farmers in Prescribed Drought Regions will be protected from reductions in their AgriStability coverage if they are:

• Experiencing challenges from the lack of rain and dry conditions.

• Forced to sell breeding stock due to hay and pasture shortages.

[…]

 

Who does not have a vision of the stern and unsmiling Victorian staring out of a black and white photograph?  

Coping with the rigours of 19th century life sure seemed to have taken a toll on people’s sense of fun.  Or did it?  

Visitors to Upper Canada Village on July 28 and 29 will find out that our ancestors enjoyed many diversions and pastimes, from puzzles, baseball and parlour games to cricket, croquinole and croquet.

It’s a chock-a-block weekend, with lots of opportunities to pitch a hand-sewn baseball, compete in the three-legged race, solve a riddle, make a whirligig and play a game of fox and geese. 

“The 1860’s were a much simpler time with less technology, so people played games for recreation,” says Dave Dobbie, manager of Upper Canada Village. “We hope that our visitors will rediscover how much fun you can have without technology.”

Visitors will be encouraged to roll up their sleeves and join in the fun.

Highlights include:

• Chess tournament – Saturday 1-3:30 p.m.  Please pre-register through website www.audiapason.ca.

• Crockinole party, dominos and skittles tournament – Saturday and Sunday all day at the Family Activity Centre.

•Massachusetts baseball – Saturday and Sunday 2-3 p.m.  Discover the distinction between this and modern baseball, especially in regards to scoring and layout of the field.

•Cricket – Saturday  and Sunday 11- noon and 4-5 p.m. with Tom Melville.  Tom is from Wisconsin and is an expert in all things cricket.  He will instruct novices and umpire matches between teams of visitors.

•Lacrosse – Sunday 1- 2 p.m.  Watch the Cornwall Celtics demonstrate this fast-paced traditional game.

•Croquet – Saturday and Sunday 2-3p.m.  Very popular in the 1860’s, croquet involves hitting wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded in a grass playing court.  It was made famous when Alice in Wonderland played a very special version involving live flamingos as mallets and hedgehogs as balls.

•Children’s games – Egg races, sack races, wheel barrow races and the always exciting tug-of-war are on the program on Saturday and Sunday 3:30 p.m.-4 p.m.

•Riddles, conundrums, singing games – Join the Upper Canada Village musicians and learn a few songs that accompany games.

•Card games – All day Sunday.  Whist, a classic trick-taking card game which had its heyday in the 19th century and Euchre which is responsible for introducing the joker into modern card packs will be played.  Everyone is welcome to join in!

• Parlour games – Sunday 3- 4 p.m.  “Hide the Thimble”, “I love my love with an A”, “Ring String” and “In my Lady’s Toilette” will show that sometimes mild-sounding games can be deceivingly rowdy.

•Garden syringe – Saturday.  Cool off with the “super soakers” of the past.

The weekend of July 28-29 has also been marked to celebrate the  anniversary of the Young Interpreters’ Program.

Since 1982, the Young Interpreters Program has given youth, between the ages of 10 and 15, an opportunity to experience 19th century life first-hand.  

Young Interpreters learn traditional skills from professional historical interpreters and take part in a host of typical 19th century activities.  

Hundreds of children have spent many of their formative years at Upper Canada Village and the program is still going strong!  

On July 28 and 29, it’s time to celebrate. 

“Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Young Interpreter’s Program is a perfect fit with this event (Games People Played) as many of the games featured will be familiar to anyone who was a Young Interpreter.” 

Former Young Interpreters are invited to re-explore their favourite Village hang-outs, chat with costumed villagers, and attend school or Sunday school.  Interpreters are invited to bring a brown-paper lunch and join other former Young Interpreters for a picnic with cake and lemonade at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 29.  

Former Young Interpreter who have not received an official invitation are invited to contact Gabriele.thomas@parks.on.ca. 

For more information on the above events please call 1-800-437-2233 (543-4328 locally) or buy your tickets online at www.uppercanadavillage.com. 

[…]

 

In recognition of their many years of contributions to the community, to the Morrisburg and District Lions Club and to Lionism, longtime Lions Les Cruickshank and Glen Cunningham were recently made Life Members. Following the announcement made by Lion Wayne Domanko, they were joined by Morrisburg and District Lions Club president Bob Bechard for the above photograph. From l-r, are Lions Bechard, Cruickshank, Cunningham and Domanko.  

[…]

 

There was some nervous peeking through the curtains, and some very excited whispers backstage. Occasionally teacher Kate Veinotte’s calm voice could be heard quieting  pre-show jitters.

 However, when they finally stepped on to the Playhouse stage Friday, July 20, the 27 children who took part in the 2012 Junior Drama School class at Upper Canada Playhouse behaved like seasoned troupers. They put on a great show. 

“Welcome to the first ever Upper Canada Playhouse Olympics,” said senior students Conor Veinotte and Grant Wells, who assisted with the junior school last week. The two narrators introduced the participating nations, cheered on the determined competitors and (tongue in cheek) praised the sponsors of the wonderful UCPO.

“We have had a very busy week,” teacher Kate Veinotte told the large crowd of parents, grandparents and friends who came out to see the culminating performance of the drama school.

“This was an incredibly creative group we had this year. We decided that the Olympic Games were going to be the theme of this year’s school, and we brainstormed a lot of ideas for the play. I asked the kids, if you could come up with Olympic events of your own, what would you put in the games? What you are seeing is their ideas, complete with commercials.”

Of course, every Olympics must begin with the parade of nations. And if the nations at the UCPO were a little unexpected, well, that was just part of the fun.

The nation of New Yolk solemnly promised to “scramble” its opponents. Spudland swore its team would “mash these guys.” Limbotania defiantly vowed their athletes would “go low” while Seekey Land expected to be the craftiest contenders for the hide and seek competition. And Alphadopia made it clear that its team members were utterly confident of capturing s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g bee gold.

The Games were naturally thrilling, with loud cheers from the audience.

When they won the egg-and-spoon race, New Yolk stood for their anthem The Chicken Dance. Spudland won the potato sack race and proudly sang their anthem “One potato, two potato, three potato…”

After their sweeping victory in  the limbo, Limbotania’s anthem, The Limbo Rock, had everyone toe tapping while Seekey Land’s dynamic gold in Hide and Seek led to a proud chorus of “Where is Thumpkin?”

As for Alphadopia’s taking of the laurels in the spelling bee, well, the whole audience could join in their national anthem “A B C D E F G, H I…”

Everyone knows how important commercial spots at the Olympics are to advertisers, so it was no surprise to see these young actors present some priceless ads.

Sweet Dreams Energy Drink guaranteed that athletes drinking it would get ahead. Cloud Shoes promised to be both “heaven on your feet” and “good for your soles.” The bilingual ad for Mattress Mart Shoe Depot claimed shoes so comfortable “they’re like mattresses for your feet.” And Zipster Drink declared its enormous benefits to athletes and “only $2.99!”

The show ended with the five teams, in the spirit of true sportsmanship and global friendship, passing around the  coloured hoops and creating on stage the proud symbols of the modern Olympics.

Jackie McCormick, stage manager at Upper Canada Playhouse, worked with the class, teaching how props are made, and ran the lights for the show. Rosemary Laurin came to help  for the week, and arrived with treats for the young actors at the end of the play. 

Artistic director Donnie Bowes made sure that everyone went home with a certificate of accomplishment, telling the children they had created a “wonderful, wonderful show.”

“The kids had so much fun,” Kate Veinotte said. “They came up with everything, the sports, the ads, the countries and the anthems. They were incredibly hard-working and very creative. I found myself wishing there really was a Kids Olympics.”

[…]

 

While many area residents were relieved to see a little rain on Monday, some were faced with the inconvenience of a prolonged power outage. 

Due to the July 23 storm, several homes in South Dundas powered by Hydro One lost power early Monday evening, including sections of Church Road, Glen Becker Road, Dunbar Road and County Road 31.

According to Hydro One Winchester, 1,842 customers were without power in the areas served by the Winchester location, including residents of South Dundas.

Hydro One crews were dispatched to several locations to investigate. As of mid-morning on July 24, a direct cause had not yet been identified. 

It was suggested however, that with a storm similar to the one on July 23, there is usually a ‘laundry list’ of possibilities including branches on lines and downed poles.

It was estimated that power would be returned by 6 p.m. Tuesday night, leaving some without power for almost 24 hours.

This story was ongoing and not yet resolved as of press time.

[…]

 

South Dundas council approved the removal of the Morrisburg tennis courts and the Iroquois Haldane Park East ball diamond during the July 17th council meeting.

According to chief administrative officer Stephen McDonald, the recommendation was “based on the usage and the cost it would take to bring them up to standard.”

The fact that the township doesn’t own the land on which the tennis courts are located was also a major factor in the recommendation and, in turn, a major factor in council’s decision to go ahead and dismantle the structure.

The Hartford Retirement Centre and the Upper Canada District School Board each own sections of the land where the tennis courts are located.

The main Haldane Park ball diamond will remain in use. It is the East diamond that is to be removed.

Dates have not been set for the removal of either recreational structure and the cost to remove both is estimated to be between $7,500 and $10,000.

[…]

 

If all goes well, residents of South Dundas will be able to use a new Morrisburg Dock beginning next season, in 2013.

During the July 17th council meeting, South Dundas chief executive officer Stephen McDonald recommended that council go ahead and retain Kehoe Marine of Lansdowne, Ontario to complete construction of the new dock and council agreed.

While the final report from Ottawa-based engineering company J. L. Richards was not ready at the time of the meeting, McDonald did say that, based on the draft report received in June, the entire dock would need to be replaced.

“The dock, as it is now, will not be there again,” said McDonald. “It’s lived a good life of 50 years.”

He suggested that council sole-source the project, hire Kehoe Marine immediately, and “get in the queue.” 

He pointed out that Kehoe already has several jobs lined up. If hired immediately, however, then the Morrisburg Dock would get into priority sequence permitting construction to start in September or October, depending on the time required to get the necessary permits.

Deputy-mayor Jim Locke agreed, saying that “timing is of the essence. If we don’t get at it this fall, there will be no dock there next year.”

“We look at this as a priority,” said mayor Steven Byvelds, agreeing that it would be best to have the dock reconstructed before the 2013 boating season begins. He offered apologies to residents for the loss of the dock for the current season.

According to McDonald, the dock will be reconstructed to match existing dimensions.

Thanks to last year’s surplus, it was agreed that financing for the project will come from the working reserve.

[…]