News

Delia and Bill Barkley of Barkley Farm, have always had concern for greater environmental issues, but one of these issues is hitting especially close to home, prompting them to take action.

For 30 years, the Barkleys have maintained 10 beehives to provide honey, and pollinate the farm’s strawberries and apples which they sell at market.

Having weathered various factors that have impacted their bee population over the 30 years, they harvested their last honey in 2012.

“We believe the bees died because of exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides,” said Delia.

Neonicotinoid pesticides are systemic pesticides applied to corn and soybean seeds. 

She explains that, as the pretreated seed grows, the insecticide incorporates into every leaf, bud and branch. 

Pollinators, like bees, are dying and the Barkleys are not the only people blaming neonicotinoid exposure.

They have joined a class action lawsuit against neonicotinoid producers with other Ontario beekeepers.

The Ontario government is examining possible regulatory changes to reduce the use of neonicotinoids. An ongoing public consultation period ends January 25, 2015.

Delia Barkley says there is a strong lobby against the regulatory changes and she urges people who may share her concerns and favour the regulation changes to submit their comments to PollinatorHealth@Ontario.ca, before the January 25, 2015 deadline.

[…]

As of January 1st 2015, the Ontario government has put in place new regulations to protect the public from tobacco and its harmful effects.

The new regulations that have been added to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act have made it illegal to smoke on bar and restaurant patios, and on (and within 20 metres of) playgrounds, and public sports fields and surfaces. Selling tobacco on the campuses of postsecondary education institutions is now illegal as well.

Strengthening the ban on smoking in bars, restaurants, playgrounds and public sports fields

In the past, smoking was only banned on covered or partially covered patios in Ontario. The new regulations have made it illegal to smoke on all outdoor bar and restaurant patios.

The province has also banned smoking on and around playgrounds, public sport fields and surfaces. The ban applies to all outdoor public sports facilities such as basketball courts, baseball and soccer fields, ice rinks, tennis courts, splash pads and swimming pools that are owned by a municipality, the province or a postsecondary education institution. Besides sport fields, it is also illegal to smoke on sport surfaces, in spectator areas around sport fields and 20 metres surrounding these locations. The ban includes playgrounds at hotels, motels and inns as well.

Banning the sale of tobacco products on school campuses

Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care has also banned the sale of tobacco products on the campuses of postsecondary education institutions, such as colleges and universities. The new regulations apply to buildings and areas that are owned or leased by postsecondary education institutions or student unions and that are used for students’ education programs, recreational activities or residential services.

For more information visit  www.eohu.ca.

[…]

Even though tickets sold out for Saturday’s Blok Family benefit fundraising dance , the community’s generosity didn’t stop with ticket sales.

The evening featured a live and silent auction, and by the time those were finished, more than $25,000 was raised to help Jessica (Beckstead) Blok and her family as she battles stage four rhabdomyosarcoma cancer. Jessica recently married Dustin Blok and the young couple have a baby daughter Autumn.

The Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club organized and hosted the event at Matilda Hall, January 10. Eddy and the Stingrays provided the entertainment, free of charge to allow all proceeds to go the family.

“Let’s help make a difference,” was our motto as we approached this event,” said Henry Swank, president of the Iroquois-Matilda Lions. “And, I think we did.”

Swank was ecstatic to announce the fundraising tally Monday morning. “I’m just damn proud of everyone,” he said. “Not just the Lions, but the family and friends and the community who supported this. This was a real unified effort.”

“What made it even more special was the family being there,” said Swank. 

“We’re just really appreciative of everything everyone has done for us,” said Dustin. 

“We need to say thanks to everyone. To everyone who donated, to the Lions and Tony (Hall) and family and friends thanks so much,” said Jessica.

The $25,000 tally only takes into account funds raised at Saturday’s benefit. At a recent regional meeting of area Lions Clubs, Swank made an appeal to all the area clubs to contribute to the Blok family, so even more money will be raised for this family.

Shortly after the print deadline, members of the Lions club updated the fundraising total for the event to over $31,000.

[…]

Since the day a group of volunteers united as the South Dundas Community Playground Committee to bring a newer, bigger and better playground to Earl Baker Park in Morrisburg in 2011, the people of South Dundas have expressed a strong interest in a splash pad.

Although still about $20,000 short of a $200,000 fundraising goal, this year, the splash pad will become a reality.

The South Dundas playground/ splash pad committee set a fundraising goal of $200,000 and had hoped to break ground on the splash pad at Earl Baker Park in Morrisburg in the fall of 2014, but were unable to get started as they had hoped.

Weather and expert advice were big factors in the committee opting to wait until spring 2015 to get the splash pad project underway.

Michael Domanko of the committee said that the project will get started as soon as weather permits.

“Once the installers arrive on site, it will take one week to complete the splash pad,” said Domanko. 

“So, there’s no question, kids will be splashing out there this summer.”

The Vortex splash pad will be installed by ABC Recreation of Paris, Ontario. 

They have installed many splash pads including Long Sault, Cornwall and Brockville.

The South Dundas splash pad will include the top five elements voted on by elementary school students in South Dundas. 

Water tunnel, cylinder spray, loop sprayers will be elements included for the older children, while the water bug and aqua dome will be features of the toddler section of the splash pad.

“The design is a very active one,” said Domanko.

Although they have not yet reached their initial $200,000 fundraising goal, Domanko says the community has done extremely well in raising funds to support this project. 

The committee had applied, unsuccessfully, for half a dozen different grants from various funding sources. 

The absence of securing such a grant is the main reason for the shortfall.

To help make up for some of the shortfall, the committee is trying to secure more in-kind contributions to the project to reduce some of the overall cost. 

Already, Cruickshank construction has donated 180 tonnes of aggregate for the project and Lloyd McMillan has provided some trucking, in-kind.

The committee is planning a trivia fundraiser for the early spring. 

Until then, the committee is gladly accepting donations towards the splash pad.

[…]

“Being in a small community, this is what it’s all about. This is the way it should be,” said Tony Hall, of the Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club, and part of the committee that has been working to organize and host a benefit dance and auction for the Jessica (Beckstead) Blok, her husband Dustin and young daughter Autumn.

“The Lions Club and the community just can’t wait to help these young folks,” said Hall, in the days leading up to the event, which will take place January 10, at Matilda Hall in Dixon’s Corners. Doors open at 7 p.m. The dance starts at 8 p.m.

Community support for the young family has materialized in the wake of 19 year old Jessica’s diagnosis with stage four Rhabdomyosarcoma cancer.

Popular entertainers Eddy and the Stingrays have volunteered to provide the entertainment for the dance. 

Emcee duties for the evening will be handled by Joel Lamoureaux of Country 101 radio, with the help of Erica Scott, a local comedian who is now a member of the Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club.

A call out to the community to donate items for a silent and live auction, which will take place in the earlier part of the evening, resulted in over 50 donated items that will be up for grabs, ranging from food baskets to tutus to event tickets (Upper Canada Playhouse, Neil Diamond, Bryan Adams, Ottawa Senators Hockey).

Hall reminds those attending to bring cash or cheques to purchase items. (ATM, debit or credit will NOT be available on site).

“This week ticket sales have been brisk,” said Hall. 

As of press time 300 of the 375 event tickets were sold.

“We have been completely overwhelmed, in a good way,” said Hall.

It is unlikely that Jessica will be able to attend the event having undergone a chemotherapy treatment this week, but Hall hopes to have a recorded message from Jessica to share the night of the dance.

A trust fund has been set up for Jessica and her family at the Bank of Montreal (BMO transit #0358 A/C #8989-553). Donations can be made at any BMO.

[…]

The lights went out on the 14th annual Alight at Night Saturday, January 3, 2015, ending one of the brightest seasons yet for the Upper Canada Village attraction.

“This year was an amazing year for Alight at Night,” said Susan Le Clair, manager, customer service and corporate communications with the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. “We had almost 40,000 visitors in this our 14th year.”

That’s about 5,000 more visitors than the next best attended Alight at Night season.

Le Clair credits a number of factors with this season’s success.

“For sure, great weather provided us with the perfect backdrop,” she said. The Ferris wheel and Saint Nick’s Merry Mansion, were a couple of new additions to this year’s event.

Also, the success of Pumpkinferno has helped spread awareness of Upper Canada Village and Alight at Night.

Le Clair was not yet willing to share any details that could be in the works for next winter’s Alight at Night, which will be the 15th annual event, but says the team is already thinking about it. 

[…]

With the new year, came a new year’s baby.

The first baby born in 2015 at Winchester District Memorial Hospital was Lilah Shay Thurler.

She is a very considerate little girl. 

She let her parents, Robert and Brittany, attend a family New Year’s Eve party before making her debut at WDMH  January 1, 2014 at 12:26 pm.

“She gave us an hour’s sleep before Brittany began feeling labour pains,” says proud father Robert Thurler. “We got home from the party at 2 a.m. and headed to the hospital three hours later.”

Lilah is Robert and Brittany Thurler’s first child. The Thurlers live in South Mountain.

[…]

South Dundas mayor Evonne Delegarde is much more interested in looking ahead to 2015, than looking back at 2014, as we head into the new year.

Much of 2014, for her, was focused on the fall election where she ultimately achieved her goal of becoming mayor of South Dundas: South Dundas’ first female mayor.

Speaking with media days after being sworn in as mayor, she had already noticed that things are a lot different as mayor than they were as councillor, a position she held for six years.

“There’s definitely more pressure as mayor,” said Delegarde. “It’s totally different.”

She said that in preparing for a council meeting, she has always been pretty well-read and well prepared for the issues at hand, but she is nervous to be at the head of the table. “Part of the job in this position is to get all the facts. I have to listen to everything so that I can make decisions that are in the best interest of South Dundas. We all have to do that, with every issue,” she said. 

“We have to try to think with our heads and not our hearts. That’s a challenge. We all grew up here.”

As soon as she was elected mayor, she noticed a big difference in the number of comments and inquiries that she is fielding. “On average, I probably get about three or four inquiries everyday. I get more calls now than ever before and numerous emails.”

Despite the increased workload, she plans to continue with her part-time job at the Sears in Iroquois.

Being at the head of the council table, Delegarde says, “I know that I may have to provide more direction for council.” 

She wants the process to be a little less formal than it has been over the last four years.

Delegarde sees the next year as a time to work at mending relationships and opening the channels of communication. 

“We have to get staff, and everyone working together again. That’s a goal of this council as a group,” she said.

She will hold regular office hours open to the public at the South Dundas Municipal Centre in the mayor and council office on the third floor, likely twice a month, the Friday before a council meeting.

“This is not a one pony show. We want people to tell us what they are thinking. As a council there is no possible way we can know everything. We need people to tell us, and to feel free to speak to us about their concerns,” said Delegarde, who will encourage the other council members to make use of the office too. 

Delegarde wants to see the municipality be more proactive than reactive in how they deal with complaints, and the complaints to be tracked to ensure they are dealt with in a timely manner. 

Over the last year council and staff have been working on five draft bylaws, and Delegarde would like to see those drafts dealt with as soon as possible, having already scheduled a special council meeting in mid January. Those bylaws include parking, signs, exotic animals, entrance and sewer use bylaws.

One of the first big tasks or council every year is the budget.

Delegarde acknowledges that the budget will be handled a little later this year than it has in the past, but in the coming years it is her aim to get the budget completed as early in the new year as possible.

As far as a tax increase, she is not making any solid predictions, although she was quick to point out that the cost of the South Dundas Municipal Centre alone means that six percent more is needed. But, acknowledges there have been significant savings in other areas that help offset some of that cost. 

“We want minimal increases, but it’s hard to do with no increase,” she said.

For her, village roads are a priority.

In the coming year she says that council will decide whether or not open question and answer sessions will become a part of the regular council agenda.

She plans to stay on top of landfill issues and succession planning, as staff retirements are likely over the next four years. 

Areas for review, according to Delegarde, include the rehabilitation of the Morrisburg Plaza, an inventory of municipally owned buildings and land, and the whole user fee system.  

[…]

“The strain on food banks is always high at this time of year, but for the Dundas County Food Bank this is unprecedented,” said Ian McKelvie, DCFB administrator.

While the food bank has been fortunate to receive much community support over the holiday season, the generosity hasn’t been enough to keep the shelves stocked.

Over the last several weeks, food is going out the door as fast as it is coming in.

Food bank use has increased by about 15 percent across Dundas County, but McKelvie says that it has increased even more here at the South Dundas location in Morrisburg.

With food going out the doors so quickly, the food purchasing budget for 2014 has been completely depleted. 

DCFB officials estimate that the food budget will be overspent by about $12,000 just to meet demand. “It’s possible that we could have our first deficit since the food bank was established in 1991.”

“We would like to appeal to the community to help us reduce this shortfall,” said McKelvie. 

Right now they are asking that people focus on monetary donations, cash or cheques payable to the Dundas County Food Bank.

Monetary donations allow the food bank to focus on their most immediate food needs, and gives purchasers a little more buying power to buy in bulk to turn the dollars into more food.

The need is immediate. 

Donations can be dropped off at the food bank.  They are open next January 5, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For added convenience, the Municipality of South Dundas and Township of North Dundas have agreed to accept donations for the Dundas County Food Bank at the municipal offices in Morrisburg and Winchester during regular business hours from January 2 on.

Donations are also accepted online at canadahelps.org : search for Dundas County Food Bank.

[…]

A fundraising dance and silent auction is being organized for the benefit of Jessica (Beckstead) Blok and her young family.

Jessica, who is 19 years old, has been diagnosed with stage four cancer, and every cent of the proceeds will go to help her and her husband Dustin as they care for their six month old daughter, Autumn, through these difficult circumstances.

A committee of volunteers and the Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club have held an emergency meeting to organize the event that will take place January 10, 8 p.m., at Matilda Hall in Dixon’s Corners.

Eddy and the Stingrays will provide the entertainment.

Tony Hall, one of the organizers of the event, says Eddy and the Stingrays are donating their time to the event, so that all proceeds can go to help Jessica, Dustin and Autumn.

“That’s just fantastic,” said Hall. “Their popularity alone will mean that this could turn into a huge event, and a really big blessing for this family.”

Last week, Hall said that Jessica is not doing well. “We are hoping to have her with us as long as possible.”

If anyone wants to donate items to the auction they can do so by contacting Tony Hall (613-330-1901 or tonythomashall@gmail.com). Tickets for the benefit dance are $20 and available at Mustard’s Variety or from any Iroquois-Matilda Lions Club member.

[…]