Tom Van Dusen
Villager Contributor
RUSSELL – The group commonly known as Dump the Dump is the second cause in a week to reap huge benefits from Connie Johnston’s fundraising juggernaut known as Russell Trivia Services.

Held Saturday at Russell Arena, Trivia Night in support of what’s formally known as the Citizen Environmental Stewardship Association raised $10,000. President Harry Baker said the event was a sellout with 180 trivia players in attendance, 90 donations made to the silent auction and five oil paintings in the live auction; all items sold and all have been paid for.

At an Oct. 26 trivia event, $14,000 was raised for the Lowden family, among Dunrobin residents hardest hit by the recent tornado. The next Trivia Night is Nov. 24 in aid of Freedom Dog Rescue.

As usual, with Dump the Dump, Trivia Services mastermind Johnston spread accolades around to the organizing team, those who participated, individuals and businesses that donated auction items, and what she calls her “trivia clan”… regulars who almost never miss an event. One of them is Russell Township councillor Cindy Saucier who’s been on hand for at least 75 Trivia Nights with her table of likeminded pals.

Like other Russell residents, Saucier is amazed at how Trivia Queen Johnston is able to keep up, designing all the questions herself and changing them between events: “I’m always playing and there’s never a repeat. Sure, some questions may touch on the same topic… but they’re different.” Money raised by the Stewardship Association will help fund its ongoing campaign to get an appeal into the City of Ottawa decision to rezone the provincially certified Boundary Road site of the Capital Region Resource Recovery Centre without a Human Health Risk Assessment or an offsite monitoring network.

“The Ministry of Environment didn’t ask for them either,” Baker observed. “We tried to get an Environmental Review Tribunal but were denied.”

Dump the Dump hopes that the arrival of 800 new employees at the Amazon Distribution Centre, now under construction about one kilometre from the CRRRC site will prompt government officials to take a second look at human health ramifications.