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The Perth and District Community Newspaper since 1834 710 Barnes Street, Kemptville 613-258-9955
March 14, 2013 | 84 pages
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Highway 15 North Smiths Falls 283-1880 1-800-267-9256 www.rallyhonda.com
Towns plan for 200th anniversary
FEATURE
By TARA GESNER tgesner@perfprint.ca
R l for Relay f Lif Life ki kicks k offff reinvigoi i rated 2013 campaign. — Page 4
IN THE NEWS
Photos by PAGE TAYLOR
Above, Josh Pratt and Austin Ritz react as their bridge collapses under the weight applied to it by engineer John Ireland. At left, before their bridge was blown to smithereens, the duo were all smiles and high hopes that their bridge would withstand the test. Henry Norwood is looking for your vote. — Page P1
The Stewart School students enjoy bridge-smashing good time By DESMOND DEVOY
RELAY FOR LIFE
desmond.devoy@metroland.com
EMC News – John Ireland enjoys putting students under intense pressure. He just wouldn’t let up in the library of The Stewart Elementary School last week. Well, letting up on their Popsicle stick bridges, that is. Ireland was on hand for an event at the school for National Engineering Month, “to get young people thinking about a career in engineering,” said Ireland during an interview between periods of smashing up bridges, “to see how much of a load they (can) hold before they blow apart.” For this particular project, the lesson was “about making buildings and structures strong,” said Ireland, a member of the
Thousand Islands chapter of the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) who lives just south of Smiths Falls. Similar events are taking place around the area, including Brockville, Wolford, Elgin, Oxford-onRideau, and Smiths Falls. Ireland said he has seen for himself just how important early exposure can be to helping a child make a career choice. “I grew up on a farm and on a farm you are always doing troubleshooting, always fixing things,” said Ireland. It also helped that, away from the fields, his father was a radio and television repairman. “Engineering became a natural progression,” after an upbringing like that, he said. While Ireland’s visit was a chance for kids to show off their
building skills – or, sometimes, lack thereof, to be improved upon, and learned from – the importance of making structures strong and safe was being driven home that very same day at the launch of a provincial inquiry into the Elliot Lake mall collapse. The PEO “is participating into the inquiry,” said Ireland. “The point is that engineers came forward and volunteered to assist with that…We want to be part of this entire exercise to put additional regulations in place, if needed, to make sure that this never happens again.” Teacher Nathan O’Neill brought the project to the Stewart School for the first time this year from his old schools in Athens and Duncan J. Schoular Public School in Smiths Falls. The school bought 6,000 Popsicle
sticks – which were ultimately not enough to construct 85 bridges. All told, about 9,000 Popsicle sticks were used. “It’s great for the kids to see a real application of this stuff with professional equipment,” said principal Daryl Kelly. A lot of the students were “very, very interested in it, and the kids have such stringent requirements,” said O’Neill of the 100-stick limit. “A lot of the focus was on planning. I had gone in and given them an overview. I gave them tips and ideas, but wanted to see what they could do.” For older students though, “we let them research online,” but he did put forward one of engineering’s golden rules – “the wire triangle is the strongest shape.”
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EMC News – It’s going to be a big party! The year 2016 is the 200th anniversary of the settling of Beckwith, Drummond, Bathurst and Perth, and the communities are already starting to prepare. Although each area will celebrate individually, they will collaborate on advertising and grant applications to carry more weight. During Sunday afternoon’s (March 10) Heritage Speakers’ Series in Beckwith, residents heard from John Gemmell, deputy mayor of Perth and chair of his town’s 200th anniversary organizing committee. He spoke about the events being planned in Perth leading up to the yearlong celebration. “Maybe we can learn from some of their ideas,” said Beckwith reeve Richard Kidd. “The anniversary marks a milestone in our community’s history,” said Gemmell, “and we will celebrate by acknowledging our heritage roots.” He said a 200th anniversary advisory panel was established in 2008, which encompasses council representatives (Gemmell, Judy Brown and Beth Peterkin), town staff and community members. “Perth was founded in 1816 as a military settlement and has grown and changed over the years,” said Gemmell. “This is captured in our town’s branding: Heritage Perth.” The mission statement to guide the planning of events taking place three years from now: “2016 will be a yearlong celebration that links our unique past to the promises of our future.” “Our panel has also created a logo and completed a business plan,” said Gemmell. The anniversary advisory panel reports to the town’s heritage management advisory panel, which reports to council.
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