The June 13 delegation proposing a Rainbow Pride Crosswalk was led by Upper Canada District School Board student trustee and Seaway student Eshal Ali and Seaway teacher Sarah Ball. Council unanimously supported the installation of the crosswalk. (The Leader/Blancher photo)nnIROQUOIS – A planned rainbow-painted crosswalk to celebrate the local LGTB2S+ community is delayed until the fall due to paint availability.nnSouth Dundas council gave its support to a June 13 delegation from the Seaway District High School Gender and Sexuality Alliance club which proposed painting a Rainbow Pride crosswalk across Elizabeth Drive in Iroquois. The crosswalk connects the school to the Iroquois Village Plaza.nnFollowing the meeting, Leslie Drynan, clerk for the Municipality of South Dundas, contacted municipal contractor Crossroads Painting to assist with supplying the proper marking paint for roads.nnDrynan explained that the company previously assisted the Town of Prescott when that municipality installed a Pride Crosswalk.nn“As with so many other things, there remains a paint shortage due to COVID,” she said.nnDue to the paint supply issues, Drynan said that the school, teachers and the GSA club agreed that they wanted the crosswalk painted correctly the first time, and asked to postpone the painting until just before the school year begins in September.nn“It’s unfortunate because the anticipation to do it immediately following approval was the goal,” she said. “We all agreed to waiting to do it right the first time.”nnTrent Carter-Edwards, Seaway’s principal, said the project is larger than they realized. With staff changes over the summer and having to go over details for painting with South Dundas, “we’ll be looking to get this going in the new school year.”nnOnce completed, the Rainbow Pride crosswalk will be the first of its sort in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry. Prescott painted its first rainbow crosswalk in 2019, Kemptville in 2021.
