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Russell Township council is studying the possibility of rerouting heavy trucks around Russell Village as a result of residents' complaints about ground vibration and noise. Council resolved at its last meeting to ask the ministry of transportation to survey heavy truck traffic through the village. Council wants to know the origin and destination of the trucks before taking any specific action to control the traffic. It said, if the Ministry declines, it will consider doing the survey itself in answer to a growing number of complaints that in- creasing 'numbers of trucks pass- ing through the village are disrup- ting residents' lives. Rerouting the trucks around the village is one possibility being looked at by council, depending on the results of any survey. One detour discussed would send trucks north on Concession 3 then west cross country to the Russell- Metcalfe and North Roads. Also discussed was an eventual truck route west on Church Street to the boundary road with Osgoode Township but residents protested that would be simply shifting the problem from one residential neighborhood to another. Residents who attended the Aug. 5 council meeting were from Castor, Concession and Craig Streets -- the path which the trucks use to go through the village. They complained that: @ installation of sewers last fall weakened the road bed, ag- gravating ground vibration from passing trucks. : GIDDYAP! Se Twenty-five cents Ken McNeely of Kemptville coaxes his team through its paces during the heavy horse pull, part of last weekend's Russell Fair. See story, picture, P. 3; Castor Earl, P. 12. ® passing trucks shake houses to the point of waking occupanis. @ foundations and plaster have cracked. @trucks move too fast, have difficulty negotiating tight curves and pose a particular threat to senior citizens and children cross- ing streets. @trucks are abusing village streets for which only residents must pay. Marionville yappers An awakening experience In Marionville, dogs bark worse than they bite. Unfortunately, the barking is so bad some residents wish the dogs would: stop barking and _ start biting. The yapping, yowling, yipping and yawping is keeping most of the village residents wide-eyed all night. In fact, one resident wondered whether there weren't more dogs than people in the village. The din at night is that bad! Township councillor and village resident Leo Marion said the pro- blem is with people who leave their dogs tied outside all night. One dog barks and they all start, he said. He estimated there were as many as 30 dogs barking together in the wee hours of the morning in the village. And, while the township dog catcher has been able to remove nine of the dogs with the consent of the owners, other owners have not been so cooperative. Township council will seek to solve the problem for sleepless residents by looking at whether it can enforce fines against owners of troublesome dogs itself. Cat and mouse game Russell's Jeanne Chaters just can't abide that two-kilometer stretch of moonscape at the top of the North Road. So she's mounted a one-woman campaign to get the remaining stretch paved. To date, she has contacted Prescott-Russell MLA Albert Belanger, Cumberland Township, which oversees the piece of road, and Russell Township, hoping it might put a little heat on its municipal neighbor. The net result so far has been a heavy dose of frustration for Mrs. Chaters. Here are the main obstacles in her path: *Cumberland has custody of the jaw-jarring stretch but isn't anxious to spend money on it believing that regional govern- ment may soon take it over. *Regional government doesn't see a pressing need for pavement because of the Osgoode-Russell boundary project which will transform that road into a smooth link to Highway 417. "Cumberland and the region are playing a cat and mouse game," Mrs. Chaters said. It's ridiculous, she insists, to have two fine strips of pavement connected by two kilometers of potholes. Residents also said an increas- ing number of trucks carrying chemicals were passing through the village, raising the prospect of a large-scale mishap. Allan Anderson, of Craig Street, said his house not only shuddered but seemed to sway when a truck passed. Greg Rokosh,. of Concession, said his chimney had shaken loose and was ready to topple. Castor Street resident Gord Fleming said the trucks were travelling at speeds considerably above the limit. They felt that only local trucks should use the streets. Essence of oink--Phew! A bunch of pigs are raising a stink in the heart of Embrun and it's wrinkling some noses. The oinkers are tenants of Gerry Menard's barn at St-Pierre and Notre-Dame streets. Mr Menard's 'is the only active farm within village limits. Lately, some neighboring residents have been complaining about the pungent aroma drifting from the barn and Russell Township council has decided to do something about it. Council will ask Mr. Menard to try to keep the smell down, possibly by more frequent cleanings. As for a farm operating in the centre of the village, Councillor Leo Marion said "Mr. Menard has been there for a long time and has a right to make his living there." r I had .occasion recently to visit the Second National Square and Round Dance con- vention when it was in Ottawa. Now, I'm not a square dance fanatic but after spending a few hours there you could say I've become at least an arm- chair convert. It was fantastic! Here were these people from all across North America and the world -- 6,000. of them -- drawn together by their love for a common interest. They came from England, Australia, New Zealand, even Saudi Arabia. There were the Teen Twirlers, Stardusters, Hector Bells and Buoys, River Valley Swingers -- just to name a few of the clubs represented from Canada and the U.S. There are more than 60,000 club members in Canada alone, and more than 2,000 in the Ottawa Valley. The thousands who attended the- convention were living proof Sidewalk hidk By Mark Van Dusen Square learns to dance that square dancing is not just something performed by an ar- dent few in dimly-lit backwoods barns. They were from all walks of life and of all ages (as evidenc- ed by the three generations of dancers from the Savage- Cook-Waznica clan from Red Deer, Alta.). And they're more used to reeling and whirling their hearts out in public halls and community centres to capacity crowds. Their's is an art deeply ent- wined 'in Canada's national fabric and, if you ask any one of them, they'll tell you that once hooked they'd rather a-la-man-left than eat. The history of it goes back to the pioneer days when it was rare to have a man in the communi- ty who would play a fiddle. But one man was all it took and when he reeled off a jig the evening after the barn-raisin' there was only one way to res- pond -- get on your feet and get moving. In keeping with the close spirit of communities back then, the people formed groups called squares which in- terchanged so that, by the end of the night, every participant had whirled a few steps with everyone else. Square dancing was born. It was then, and still is, one of the cheapest and most relax- ing forms of entertainment, organizer Ralph Morin told me. All you need is a bright costume, a good pair of legs, a merry disposition and "a sprinklin' of craziness." I don't know if there are any organized square dancing groups in the Castor area but I imagine there must be some. In any case, I've seen 'lots of square dancing at various local functions during the past few years. It started spontaneously in an atmosphere of camaraderie, as it did when it first began. They yanked me up for a spin at the square dancers' con- vention and, frankly, I can hardly wait until next time.