Opinion

 

Dear Editor,

I read with great interest in your May 30th, 2012 edition regarding the state of disrepair of our local dock in Morrisburg.

How dare our council state that “over the past few weeks our local dock has been declared unfit”. Where have they been over the past few years? 

I moved back into this area in 2008, and the dock was in a state of disrepair then! Why now is it being declared unsafe. My only obvious answer is that it is not a country road north of the 401 and in need of paving

We as local citizens of this municipality, buy our yearly or individual fees for docking.

Where has this money gone? Certainly not into security or someone checking who has paid and not paid. We have people driving all the way from Montreal to off load their oversized boats and park in the Morrisburg Legion parking lot for weeks on end. We have people with large sail and motorboats coming up late in the day and tying up. Are they paying? No! If they were, they would be mooring either at Crysler  Marina or Iroquois Marina.

To Ms. Delegarde, yes, there is a boat tour scheduled. This was for a fund raiser for the Galop Canal (organized in Morrisburg). Why you may ask. Because we care what happens in this area. I am involved in this venture with the Basket Case, donating my time and food to bring this function to fruition. Again, because I care! 

According to By-law# 2010-40, 2011-72 or 2011-80, the charge for the docking is $10 which I will personally pay.

Do not get me wrong Ms. Delegarde, I think yourself and one other person is doing a great job for this municipality. I champion you. It just irks me to no end that the village of Morrisburg is forever at the bottom of the list for getting anything done. It must be that the council thinks that we are self sufficient. Movers and shakers to say. Maybe we are. 

All the better for us, because if we had to wait for this council (Evonne excluded) our dock would be down river somewhere and Iroquois would be having a fund raiser for us!

Best regards

Gregg Foss

[…]

 

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to a recent letter you published from a Mr. Mason about the Iroquois Farmers Market vendor permits. 

In his letter he referenced our farm located in Ingleside and that people such as myself are taking all the permits from local area vendors.

First let me start off by saying that permits are available to all and any persons willing to operate at the local area farmers markets and are available at the township office at the beginning of every year. We purchased our permit back in March of this year, and it states directly on it that sales of any goods are to start no earlier than April 15 and end no later than December 31 of that same year that they are purchased. 

It does not state an exact date for the market to begin and we have chosen to begin our market days in June as that is when the produce will be ready for our customers. 

I am sorry if Mr. Mason did not purchase his permit at an earlier date to ensure he had the right papers in place to sell his wears. 

As for the fact that we are not local vendors I am very saddened by this comment. It is true that we no longer reside in South Dundas, but before purchasing our farm we were long time residents of South Dundas (we lived in Morrisburg and in Williamsburg) and my husband’s family still resides in Morrisburg. Our farm is located on the South Dundas/South Stormont border. 

It is people like Mr. Mason and his opinions that have made it so that new vendors would prefer to take their business to larger cities instead of staying close to home and offering their services or products to the local residents. 

I am happy that I will be bringing my Gluten Free Baked goods and organically grown produce to South Dundas as there is a need for these products in our community. 

I hope that comments such as those made by Mr. Mason do not scare off potential new vendors. And instead of them looking to the larger cities they will look to our local farmers markets to sell their products so that there will be many options available for those who come to the markets every week. 

We should be encouraging others to come to South Dundas to sell their products not frowning down on them or belittling them.  

As only five permits are issued every year, we should be looking at the township to increase these numbers and ask them to make available more permits for vendors so that we can bring forth more people willing to sell their products instead of turning them away just as the township did to Mr. Mason in the first place. 

His issue should be with them and not with me.

I thank you for taking the time to read what I have to say and in listening to my side of the story as I felt like I was being attacked by the words Mr. Mason had to say in regards to his very upsetting letter to you. I hope you will publish this letter so that others can read about the other side of being a new vendor and purchasing permits.

Sincerely,

Ann Marie Hollister

SHELDANNA FARM

[…]

 

Dear Editor,

I have now heard everything! Wind turbines are going to affect the students of Nationview Public School (as suggested in a letter, published in the Wed., May 9 edition of the Winchester Press). Let’s not mention what the iPhone, iPod, Nintendo DS, and too much reality TV, and a lack of good old fashioned hard work is doing to our kids. This unfounded fear mongering is quite funny.

Just last week, I was working on a new piece of property and cleaning some brush. I thought I would be neighbourly and stop in to introduce myself. 

I barely got off the tractor when the lady stated she was totally against wind turbines. 

I followed by asking her if she had ever seen a turbine. She replied that she had not. I replied that I had seen many and talked to many people that had windmills, and they were completely happy with having them. I said that I thought they were beautiful pieces of technology and that we could be sitting underneath one and that the noise wouldn’t even affect our conversation. 

She then went on that she got all her information from the newspaper.

The fact is, these machines are air in, air out; they will not cause cancer, they will not pollute your water, and they are quieter then your refrigerator. From 550 meters in the middle of a field, you will never hear them. 

The Highway 401 noise pollution is much louder; so is a train passing by, an airplane or helicopter flying overhead, a lawn mower, a whipper snipper, a television, or a stereo, and we all live with these machines every day.

The fact is that everybody loves to plug in their two computers, two phones, three TVs, microwaves, iPods, and cell phones. People need to wake up. 

The global population in 1945 was under two billion people; we are now more than seven billion and by 2050 are projected to be a whopping 9 billion. 

We need new sources of energy — clean and renewable. 

Wind turbines are carbon neutral within nine months of their operation. I’m not saying that wind is the answer to all our energy needs, but it is the start of new technologies — better, cleaner technologies.

Green energy is being criticized for being too expensive. What alternative isn’t — big oil, nuclear energy, gas, coal… These are all big polluters and heavily subsidized by your tax dollars. 

Some say we could buy all the power we need from Quebec for five cents per kilowatt-hour — but for how long? Sure we could. That would be negative five cents to Ontario. Wind is 11 cents for 20 years — what a bargain! 

These projects are privately funded by companies investing tens of millions of dollars in your communities. 

The projects result in tax dollars for local schools and hospitals, local power and local jobs, lease payments to farmers — all money spent locally.

Then there are people crying that not enough studies are being done. They are uninformed because there are health studies, plus bat, bird, noise, flicker, water, archaeology, and frog studies preformed, just to name some. 

These studies have accumulated to the tune of $3 million for a 30-megawatt project. 

The problem in Ontario is not green energy, but too much red tape, and government agencies used to implement the red tape — not to mention ignorance and jealousy.

I am one of the proud farmers hosting three of the 12 turbines in the South Branch Wind Farm. They will be directly behind and in front of my house.

I assure you that I would not put my family’s health at risk for a lease payment.

 I know that change is hard, but it is necessary. I have no doubt that history will look brightly upon our decisions to invest in renewable energy. I am a local business owner who’s pro local jobs, pro local economy, pro solar, and pro wind!

Oliver Thurler

[…]

 

Dear Editor,

The subject of wind turbines is currently being hotly debated in Dundas County with strong emotions on both sides of the issue, pitting neighbour against neighbour and creating divisions within our communities. 

In an effort to inform and educate, the Dundas Environmental Awareness Group (DEAG) planned a town hall meeting to take place in Winchester in mid-June. The goal was to offer a balanced, science and fact-based forum representing the positions of all stakeholders.

Unfortunately, in spite of rigorous efforts, DEAG was not able to secure the participation of the wind turbine industry or its association for the proposed panel discussion.

We remain hopeful that there will be another opportunity in the fall to organize a forum, with an expert-based and balanced panel that will help community residents learn first-hand about wind turbines, draw their own conclusions and make informed decisions.

Maria Thompson

Secretary, DEAG

[…]

 

Dear Editor,

Re: Children’s Treatment Centre, Morrisburg/Iroquois Bike-a-Thon Plus.

Thank you for your newspaper’s coverage of the special services offered our residents of Dundas County by the Children’s Treatment Centre.Your coverage of the Bike-a-Thon Plus, along with the many volunteers of the Iroquois/Matilda Lions Club, the Morrisburg and District Lions and Leo’s Clubs and the Bank of Montreal made the event financially fantastic with $8,314.93 collected as of May 31, 2012.

Further donations are still welcomed and can be given to Lyle Van Allen in Williamsburg or Doug Grenkie in Morrisburg.

Yours truly,

J. Douglas Grenkie

[…]

 

If there is something in your life, in your community or in your world that you want to be different, what can you do to make it happen? 

You could wish for what you want, but will that guarantee the outcome? Probably not.

For there to be change, there needs to be action. 

With that being said, how many people would like to see some changes in South Dundas? More tourism, maybe? More jobs? Better recreation facilities?

As of 2011, South Dundas had 10,795 people living within its boundaries. During last week’s action planning “public” meetings, only six people showed up for the afternoon sessions and maybe 10 for the evening session. Are there only 16 people in South Dundas who believe changes need to be made? Probably not.

So where were the other 10,000 people? Granted, the afternoon sessions on Wednesday afternoon may have caused issues for those who work during the weekday, but what about the evening session? Accounting for previous engagements, illnesses, and other daily dramas, maybe we could eliminate the expectation of having all of South Dundas show for the evening session… but only 10? Really?

Okay, so you’re probably thinking… “ya, but it’s not like it’s going to make a difference” OR “we’ve done this before and nothing came of it.” Well, imagine life if, for those same reasons, everyone in the world just sat back and gave up trying to change things for the better. Think about the changes in technology, medicine, and human rights over the last hundred years… where would we be without them?

Changes happen because people make them happen. The people who make them happen often don’t have an easy road of it and most often have to keep plugging away in the face of rejection or failure until eventually they succeed. 

Sadly, I’ve often been one of the many who sit back and let others do the heavy lifting, believing that “they” would do it better anyway. Being propelled into so many community events and situations in the past year has changed the way I think. Sure, I still need some down time to “recharge” here and there, but I’ve come to realize that it is high time that I get out of my own comfort zone and start participating.

We each have our own talents, gifts, and ideas that only we can bring to the world. I don’t know about you, but I intend to make whatever contributions I can, while I can. -S.C.

[…]

 

Love One Another, As I Have Loved You

This past weekend marked the second anniversary of “Run for Davi”. Friends and family ran, walked etc. in memory of David Freire, a fine young man who suffered from a mental illness and died at a young age.

Davi touched the lives of many people, and his family cherishes his memory by helping others who live with mental illness. Money raised as a result of “Run for Davi” goes directly to mental health research, care and support.

I had the privilege of presiding at David’s funeral service several years ago. I was struck by how much his mom and other relatives and friends loved him, how much they want to create a world where anyone suffering from a mental illness obtains proper help, is not stigmatized, is understood to be precious in God’s sight.

One of the best known lines in the Bible is “Love one another as I have loved you.” Perhaps we might reflect upon loving our neighbour in this month of May, this month which focuses on mental health awareness.

“Love one another as I have loved you.”

During my years in ministry, I have often had people show concern for those with cancer, heart disease, addictions…yet those ill with a mental disorder sometimes receive little care and may even be ridiculed. Even clergy, a few of them, will say, “no one in my congregation has ever had a mental illness. I doubt that is true!

One in 10 is affected but as times no cards, phone calls etc. come to someone dealing daily with depression, schizophrenia, manic etc.

Mental illness can rob people of their joy, their dignity, their ability to function. Men, women and children can act “out of character” while suffering from an acute mental illness, but even when they apologize later, there is no forgiveness.

Unfortunately, some who profess to be atheists often show more compassion than those who profess to walk in God’s ways.

I urge all of us in this community to be the hands and feet of Christ by respecting those who are ill and celebrating when they begin to feel better.

In the eyes of God, we all have value: Perhaps we all need to remember that to ostracize the mentally ill is surely not the will of the Lord.

“Love one another as I have loved you.”

Let us not blame any who are ill, but share of God’s love with our brothers and sisters everywhere. Know that you cannot possibly know how an individual with a mental illness feels–don’t presume to understand until you have walked a mile in his or her shoes.

Over the past months, I have been touched by the grace and light that has shone forth from David Freire’s dearest ones. May every one of us pass on God’s love in words and actions, as they do.

I believe that David is secure within God’s compassionate embrace. I believe that those who have gone before us are at peace and rest with God.

It is so comforting to know that whether we are healthy or ill, male or female, outgoing or reserved, God is with us. We are never alone. In life, in death, in life beyond death, we are never left desolate.

God sheds His love upon us–how blessed we are.

The goal of “Run for Davi” is to ensure he did not die in vain. His spirit lives on and can encourage all of us to raise awareness and money to fund treatment and research for Mental Health.

God calls us to be His faithful disciples–to minister to the ill, the hurting, the forgotten. God can bring joy out of sorrow, comfort out of pain, resurrection out of death.

In God we have our hope, our inspiration.

Amen.

 

Rev. Janet Evans, 

Iroquois United Church

[…]

 

"Summertime and the living is easy…"

 My thanks to George Gershwin for this wonderful song.  Perhaps you have enjoyed a wonderful long weekend of garage sales or planting a garden or flowers, or doing nothing or something else.   

Whatever you were doing or not doing, I hope that you had a moment to be open to the presence of the Spirit.  Sometimes we are too busy in work or leisure to think about the One who brought this all into being.  The One who is Wholly Love for all creation.

The following psalm from Edward Hays in his book Prayers of a Planetary Pilgrim is one of my favourites for this time of year.  

I hope that you find yourself in this song.

A Summer Sunset Psalm

O Beloved Friend and Earth Designer, 

this day’s light is seeping away,

and dark night crouches

beneath the amber horizon.

I am tired from work of this warm day,

but not so weary that I can forget

this day’s rich harvest of gifts.

I lift up my heart to you,

singing a sunset song of gratitude.

I praise you for the blessings that fill my life,

for the gifts I can recall

and for treasures I take for granted.

Gently refresh me now

with your evergreen pardon

for my failure to drink deeply of your love,

hidden cleverly in each gift

that has come my way today.

Forgive my rushing past

the countless visions of you, unique to this day,

held so tenderly in the beauty of your love.

Forgive my absent-mindeness, the deafness of my ears,

my senses blinded by my busyness today.

Blessed are you, Holy Parent,

who will soon wrap me in sleep

and cradle me in the womb of your peace.

Take a moment, breathe in and let that breath out, knowing that God is as close to you as the breath that you breathe.  Give God thanks for another day and for this glorious season of summer.

Peace and Blessings

 

Rev. Arlyce Schiebout

Lakeshore United Church

Morrisburg

[…]

 

Does Anybody Love Me?

Not long ago I heard a guy on the radio mocking Jesus. “Who needs him?” he said. The sooner we get rid of our silly belief in Jesus the better, he added. 

According to this guy, believing in Jesus was just an old-fashioned out-dated idea. He especially thought it comical how those NFL football players point up to the sky after making some great play. As if there’s anyone up there, he went on to say.

Now we may not be ready to chuck our belief in Christ completely, but I think many today wonder about how relevant he really is. I mean, when life seems to be going half-decently, who needs Jesus? When we’re relatively happy, have friends, family and food on the table, hey, who needs Jesus? Right?

Sure, we may think that way, but if we’re honest, we’d have to admit that there’s another side to our lives. Despite how well we may pretend that our lives are going, despite how well they may appear to be going, all of us have our struggles and issues.

We have these places in our lives where all is not well. Where we have questions, doubts, hurts, and heartaches. Our relationships aren’t going as well as we pretend they are. There is stuff going on in our lives, sometimes in our hearts, that not everyone knows about. That we don’t want anybody to know about.

The issue may be a gnawing emptiness. We ask, “Does anybody really love me?” Or “would anyone love me if they really knew me?” 

Maybe it’s a deep sense of worthlessness. “Everyone else seems to have it so together, but not me. I’m a failure.” 

It could be loneliness. “How come everyone has friends, but not me?” 

Maybe it’s deep pain from hurts or abuse from the past. It could be an issue with a violent temper. Or some addiction, maybe hidden from others. Or maybe we wonder and worry about death.

Henry David Thoreau, the great American philosopher and writer once said that “most men live in quiet desperation.” 

It’s when we admit that we often live lives of ‘quiet desperation,’ and it’s when we acknowledge our deeper struggles and issues that we will finally see that, hey, maybe we do need Christ after all. 

In fact it’s because of this ‘quiet desperation’ and these struggles that we so much need him. It’s because of these things that Christ came. 

He himself said that he didn’t come for the healthy, but for the sick. He didn’t come for those who have it all together (or pretend to), but those who don’t.

When we cry out ‘Does anybody love me?’, we need to know that Christ does, and he proved it by dying on a cross for our sins. 

When we wonder if we have value, we need to realize that Christ dying for us gives us amazing worth. 

When we feel friendless, we need to know that when we receive him as Saviour we have a friend forever. 

When we struggle and hurt, we need to know that he understands and cares. 

When we worry about the end of life, we need to know there’s eternal life available in Christ.

Soon the churches of South Dundas will be working together for another year of Love South Dundas. 

It’s our attempt to reflect God’s love to our community. To show the love of Christ. Sure, we’ll hardly do it justice. It’ll be a tiny and imperfect expression of God’s love. Yet it’ll be us trying to point our community to Christ. The Christ we all need. Where we struggle. Where we are broken. Because we are sinners living in a sinful world.

Getting back to the guy on the radio… the guy who asked sarcastically “Who needs Jesus?” I would suggest that the answer is “Everyone.” If we’re honest.

 

Pastor Clarence Witten

Community Christian 

Reformed Church

Dixon’s Corners

[…]

 

Dear Editor,

Hunger Awareness Week is May 7 to 11.

During the month of May, we are asking workplaces across Dundas County to pick a day for everyone to bring their lunch to work, and donate what they would otherwise spend to the Dundas County Food Bank.

We are also, during the month of May, offering food bank tours for groups and individuals and ask that you call ahead to indicate your interest. 

Dundas County Food Bank is seeing a steady increase in the number of visits for the first quarter of 2012, with approximately 15 per cent more compared to last year.

Current needs include canned fruit and vegetables, cereal, Kraft dinner and pasta sauce; also needed are toiletry items and school snacks.

It is with the kind support from individuals like you, in our community, that enables us to continue on-going efforts to our neighbours in need.

Your donations are greatly appreciated and recognized.

Those looking for more information can visit www.hungerawarenessday.ca, or contact our local food bank for more information.

Sincerely,

Donna Quesnel, Administrator

Dundas County Food Bank

Winchester and Morrisburg

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