I hope you all had an enjoyable Family Day
long weekend. I would like to thank all those who put together the retirement
party for Bev Carpenter last Sunday. It was a very nice get-together for Bev
and I thank all of you who were able to attend. Thanks also to the speakers and
presenters. I am sure all of your words meant a lot to Bev. She will be here
until February 28th. As I
said last week, we all thank Bev for her dedication to St. Dominic Parish and
the surrounding community.
Finally I have some space to talk about
several issues happening at the parish. As you probably know, the basement/hall
has been torn up again because of ground water leakage. We requested an expert
from the Mike Holmes approved team of contractors to come and examine the
problem and help us to determine the best way to resolve it. Colin, who came
within hours of our request, told us about the problem and how to resolve it.
He also offered us any assistance, free of charge, in getting the job done in
the best possible way in the least amount of time. Most of the work in the hall
is complete and we are working on the handicap washroom beside the caretaker’s
room which requires the installation of a drain, a new floor and rebuilt walls
and tiles. A new sump pump has been installed in the caretaker’s room to
collect the ground water and dispose of it.
If you were at the 5 PM Mass on Christmas Eve,
you will know that the sound system in the church breathed its last just as the
Mass began. That accounts for the
portable system now being used. This system has been rented from Long and
McQuade for a period of 3 months. In the meantime, we are getting estimates for
a new permanent system.
The third current issue/problem that we are
facing has to do with the brickwork, both in the parking lot area and on
Atwater Ave. The bricks need to be re-faced and the cracks in the walls,
repaired. Needless to say, it has been a
challenge trying to keep up with all the expenses attached to these repairs and
it is not over yet! None of these current expenses are covered by insurance as
they are not connected to the July flood but rather, are issues of wear and
tear due to the age of the building. Your donations to the Maintenance
Collection every month certainly help and so I ask you to continue your
generosity to this fund in order to help us cover these expenses. Thank-you!
I look forward to seeing you at the pancake
breakfast after all Masses next weekend.
Fr. Phil
