“Bagpipes in the ‘Burg” happening next week

By Hailey Zimmerman

The Bagpipes in the Burg parade is coming to Amherstburg next Monday.

On March 20 at 5:30 p.m, organizers say everyone is welcome to come watch and join in. There are over 20 groups who have already committed to this parade, which will be filmed as part of the “Still Standing” CBC TV production.

The groups include the Windsor Scottish Regiment Bagpipes, the Fort Malden volunteers, North Star High School, Anderdon Public School, Amherstburg Public School, Malden Central Public School, Saint-Jean Baptiste Elementary school, town staff and council, police, fire, Irish dancers, St. Thomas of Villanova Secondary School, 2nd Amherstburg Beavers, 2nd Amherstburg Cubs, Amherstburg Minor Hockey, Amherstburg Minor Baseball, the Miracle League of Amherstburg, the Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce, G.L. Heritage Brewing Co., the Garage Gym, the Amherstburg Admirals, the House Youth Centre, Ki Moo Gwan School of Martial Arts and Windsor Ultimate Frisbee. More groups could possibly be added to that list in the future.

The starting point of this parade will be the Fort Malden gates, and the finishing point will be at the fountain in the King’s Navy Yard Park parkette in downtown Amherstburg.

People are encouraged to set up along the sides like a normal parade. When the parade passes them, they can then join in with the flow of the march. By the time everybody finishes walking in the parade, organizers say everyone is welcome to take photos by the fountain with the soldiers and mingle downtown.

Last year was the first year for this event, which was held as part of Open Air Weekends. The parade took place five times at 6 p.m Friday nights from May to September. There were hundreds of people who showed up downtown, and participated in the parade.

Stu Stewart, the founder of this event is hoping for an even better turnout this year.

“This parade will be the biggest one we have planned. Everyone loves to listen to the sound of bagpipes, and the environment at a parade is so fun people are bound to get swept up in the parade. Who wouldn’t enjoy themselves a little?” said Stewart.

Sometime in the near future, the organizers are hoping to be able to continue the Bagpipes in the Burg parade together with Open Air weekends.

“It’s great to see the event taking off, but one of the issues we had with this event last year was the consistency. We hope to bring more consistency to the parades, so people can know exactly when to expect them,” explained Stewart.

The parade is not organized by the town but by a group of local individuals who have set the goal of creating an event to celebrate the history of the town of Amherstburg. Those include Kyle McDonald and Lauri Brouyette, who had aided with the original planning and funding of the parades last year. While McDonald originally helped get the volunteer soldiers from Fort Malden to march in the parade, Brouyette made sure the Windsor Scottish Regiment Bagpipes were on board as well. Others who were just as involved in making the parade happen include town council and the town’s tourism department.

“Everybody banded together to make this event happen. All of this is in order to celebrate our town, and show we are proud of it,” said Stewart.

Kyle McDonald, who aided in the parade plans, had one final note on the parade.

“All these parades can each be used to celebrate something different. It can be from things like sports groups, boy scouts, dog owners, anything that people want to celebrate. It would be tremendously helpful if anyone interested in getting involved in one of these parades, and giving ideas gets in contact with us if they can. It will allow people to get more involved in their community, and it helps us plan more themes for the parades. Anything is useful,” finished McDonald.

The rain date for the parade is Tuesday, March 21.

Essex County Library, CUPE, reach tentative deal New deal is for three years

Special to the RTT

The Essex County Library has reached a tentative three-year agreement with staff represented by CUPE Local 2318.

The agreement would go into effect April 1, when the current collective agreement expires, according to a press release issued last week by the County of Essex.

Details of the agreement are not being released until it has been ratified by members of the local and the Essex County Library board.

“Essex County Library staff have shown outstanding commitment and imagination in providing our users the best experience possible. We have worked hard with the union to craft a tentative agreement we feel is fair and equitable,” said Adam Craig, CEO and Chief Librarian.

CUPE Local 2318 represents more than 50 Essex County library resource assistants and other staff.

“The bargaining team and I are happy to be able to bring our membership a collective agreement that is a testament to the positive working relationship between the employer and the union,” said CUPE Local 2318 president Laura Wilkinson.

Kristie Cronin, Human Resources, for the County of Essex, gave both sides credit for reaching a tentative agreement in a timely manner. “It has been heartening to see the professionalism and determination shown by both management and CUPE Local 2318 to find the best possible path forward.”

The union membership will hold a ratification vote soon and the agreement will then go to the Essex County Library Board for approval.