My my, no beach screening in Kincardine? Go figure

It seems after years of hounding, Kincardine council has finally taken some advise and decided not to screen its beaches (This year).

They however left the option open for next year, just in case they decide it’s too hard to pick up garbage and sticks the old fashion way, like Huron-Kinloss does.

Screening beaches was a foolish thing to do from the beginning. It doesn’t take a scientist to figure out if they kill every plant on the beach with heavy equipment, it isn’t a beach anymore. They have been doing it for years and as a result, all they have had is a pile of sand. Then the sand blows into the marina parking lot. I like to think of that as “Station Beach East.”

It’s as though no one on council ever noticed that there was more sand in the parking lot than on the beach. They must have not been able to figure out that without plants to hold it together, it blows away.

It’s good for Kincardine that Laura Height is there. She’s not one for ruining the environment. Apparently, neither is Councillor Ron Hewitt, as he’s not for screening the life out of the beaches either, as a decision was made at the last council meeting to save their $20,000 and not do it “this year.”

It’s nice to see that they used some of the money spent on destroying the beach to hire Geoff Peach, of the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation too. It’s about time. He knows his stuff and how to keep a beach in good shape. Now the question is, will council listen to what he has to say, or did they just contribute to the Coastal Centre so the Blue Flag folks will consider them “environmentally friendly.”

Their Blue Flag consideration is a joke anyway. If they get it, it makes a mockery out of the program. Until they prove that they are done wilfully destroying the beach, the Blue Flag should be should be out of the question. Any municipality that kills its beach with screening, (not to mention all the sewage that has dumped into the lake from Kincardine over the years) doesn’t deserve a Blue Flag. It’s for municipalities who look after their beaches, not ruin them.

Day of mourning

Bruce Power’s “Day of Mourning,” held on April 26, meant to honour and remember workers who have been injured or lost their lives in work related accidents was a fine gesture.

These days, health workers, teachers and other professionals make the news because they feel hard done by and underpaid. While that may or may not be true, many have never given much thought to the folks who made the chair they are sitting on or the equipment they use.

Many who spend their lives safely behind a desk also never see close up what can happen on the job and how it is for the people who manufacture the products each of us takes for granted.

Whether it’s a toaster, a wheel barrel, parts for your car or a home, someone breaks their back working long days to produce them. Many go inside a smoky shop or plant and don’t see the light of day for 8-10-hours and in too many cases, it’s for less pay than they deserve. Many are injured, too many have died.

Those whose lives were lost, or changed forever due to an injury on the job, should not be forgotten once their “usefulness” is gone. It’s nice to see Bruce Power remembering them.

I take this issue to heart for two reasons. One, admittedly is a selfish reason. I was left with a serious spinal injury due to a work related accident about five years ago, which doctors have said will one day leave me unable to do the things I’m used to. A specialist in London told me “One day you’ll go to stand up and you won’t be able to.”

I recall driving home to Moorefield following the appointment in London. After a long silence, I said to my wife, “Did I hear him right?” She knew what I meant. She put her hand on mine and said, “Yes.” I’ll never forget it.

I thought about my three kids, my wife and what I would do for the rest of my life. I was 200-pounds, 6-feet tall and strong as a bull, but with little education and no prospects. I could build just about anything out of steel and I was quite proud of it. It wasn’t very helpful however. Everything I had learned on the job in 25 years was lost with one accident.

There was no help from the company, as a matter of fact they made things a lot harder. We were on our own.

Things worked out I suppose. I got my grade 12, took some college courses, now I write news. I may not be able to build things out of steel anymore, but I like to think I still help other hard working folks by letting them know what’s going on in the area and where their tax money is spent. I consider myself lucky compaired to some.

When I left school to work full-time it was at a manufacturing company in Waterloo, I was 15. It was a necessity at the time and I was happy to help out.

It was what we called back then, a “finger factory.” I mean that literally. Many presses and machines were not properly guarded, and there were very few rules. It was quite common for workers to lose fingers (and other things). We’d go in to start the morning shift, see a press taped off and know full well that someone else was hurt. We didn’t think much of it at the time. It’s the way things were back then. We figured we had it pretty good compared to the guys who worked high up on construction for example.

We didn’t think much about lost fingers back then. We all cared about one another, but tried not to worry about things too much. We were a rough bunch I suppose, but I don’t recall ever meeting a better group.

When I started, there was a fellow named Grant Warner, a great guy who became a respected friend. He was the foreman of the press shop at that time. He worked his way up the ladder and ended up as General Manager of the place. He helped me get started as a machinist and fabricator.

It was inspirational to all of us to see a hard working guy like Warner make his way to the top. We didn’t like most of the “suits” up there, maybe it was jealousy, I don’t know. We felt that “Daddy bought them an education” and “without ever getting their dainty hands dirty, they ran companies, not having a clue what it’s like on the floor or to work hard.” Let’s just say there were very few of them who had the respect of the workers. They felt the same about us. The injury rate was proof of that.

The place was bought out by the competition and downsized, I was given a severance package and laid off after nearly ten years. Thinking back, it was for the best.

After the buy-out, Warner ended up back where he started, running the press shop. The new company had their own “suits” to run the place and didn’t need him anymore. It was no surprise to us. Back then it seemed the guys who broke their backs always got the shaft. There are times today I think that not much has changed.

Warner’s life was lost in an on the job accident not long after I left.

He and another buddy of mine were setting up a large press. A new die was being put in and they were bringing down the press slowly, to be sure both pieces were lined up properly.

There are steel blocks put in between the two sections when the die is not in use, separating the sections so they don’t jam up and get stuck together.

What the two did not realise, is there was still one block in the press when they brought it down. I wasn’t there, but I was told by another friend who was working nearby, that when bringing down the press, the block (or die) shattered, shooting pieces of steel out like bullets. With 500-tons of pressure coming down, something had to give.

A piece (or pieces) hit Warner. He died on the floor with my friend Sam doing his best to keep him alive.

I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news. A nice guy who worked hard, loved his family and knew right from wrong was dead in an instant, simply by doing his job. His wife said goodbye that day, not knowing it was the last time. There was no one to be angry with. It wasn’t caused by faulty equipment, negligence, or foolishness on the part of the company, or employees. It was a simple oversight that could have happened to anyone.

While I’m writing this, I’m sitting safe and sound in my office, wishing I were up at Bruce Power to join their ceremony. I was invited, but could not attend. Unfortunately, there are times my legs don’t quite work as well as they should and it’s best I don’t drive. Today is one of those days. Other times, I get around OK. It changes from day to day.

I don’t feel bad about what happened in my case, it was just one of those things. I hold no grudges. I consider myself lucky compared to some.

Grant Warner and countless others are not so lucky.

Many injured workers feel useless when they can no longer do what they spent their lives doing. Everything they learned can be tossed down the drain in a heartbeat. At times, there are financial troubles. They can become depressed, lonely, isolated and angry. I know. They continue to get up early out of habit, but have nowhere to go. They watch their spouses and children leave for work each day and wonder what they will do to kill the day for the next ten hours.

I’ll be thinking about them today, along with the families of those who have had their lives changed forever, simply by earning a living and building the things that most people take for granted.

It’s nice to see a big company like Bruce Power taking the time to remember them.

It’s a crazy business

My lovely wife and I went over to the Governor’s Inn (Kincardine) on Sunday to check out the imported talent from the big city (Toronto). We had a few beers, listened to some tunes and enjoyed a good time with some fellow music lovers. It was a great afternoon all around.

I must say, it wasn’t the audience I expected for an old blues man like Pickett. We figured we’d pull up to a bunch of Harleys and pick-up trucks in the parking lot. Wrong. I joked to my wife, “I’ve haven’t seen this many fancy cars and clothes since we drove past the Walkerton Courthouse at lunch break.”

It was a classy looking audience all right, but they sure got into the tunes. Underneath the clothes were some regular folks out for a good time. All joking aside, it proved that you can’t judge someone by the way they dress.

My wife and I used to be in a little four-piece country band call the Darrell Roberts band. When we played the circuit, it was the country taverns and bars, where everything from overalls to leather coats was seen, but not a lot of suits. (Unless their car broke down and they needed a phone) In the parking lot were bikes, pick-ups, hotrods and junkers, go figure. I said to Pickett, “Geez, you blues guys sure bring in the upper crust. Maybe we were playing the wrong type of tunes.” Pickett laughed, “Ya, it’s a crazy business isn’t it?”

It sure is.

As for the tunes themselves, I’ll be the first to admit I was never a big blues fan before Sunday. I was brought up listening to Conway, Haggard, Jones and Cash, when I got older, it was the Eagles, CCR and the old country. I still listen to the “oldies country.” (Don’t tell the folks at the Coast, Lynda or Mike may egg my house)

I’m glad we checked it out, it opened me up to a style of music that I never paid a lot of attention to. If I could just get Pickett to make 8-tracks so I could play them in the 68, I’d be laughing.

All in all, it was a fun afternoon. We met some nice people. We even bumped into the Daltons from Ripley. Both their family and ours moved up here from the Village of Moorefield, in Wellington County. Mr Dalton taught my oldest daughter art in Palmerston. Small world.

The only disappointing part of the day was the lack of representation from the media. I only noticed one media outlet that dropped by for a few minutes to take a few photos. Then again, you can't be everywhere all the time.

As for Pickett, he’s a showman who knows how to play the crowd and get them going. For a guy with no formal music instruction, he played a good guitar. His tunes were quite unique too. Some were serious, some cracked me up.

We dropped by Rod and Ruth’s place on the way home, where Pickett was staying. We talked a while and played a few tunes while Chef Rod looked after the barbecue. It was reminiscent of my days in the band. Back then, it was more fun sitting in the kitchen playing a few than it was playing in the hotels. I never liked bars in the first place, which is why we gave it up. The best part was the Friday night practices.

We talked about the business and found out that whether you play folk, rock, country or blues, it’s all the same and a tough way to make a living.

The days of good tunes getting air time on their merit alone are pretty much a thing of the past. Just because it’s good doesn’t mean it’ll be played. (Other than shows which spotlight new or local talent)

Most stations are top-40 or oldies, which means just that. If you aren’t top-40, you don’t get played. Of course, you can’t get to be top-40 without being played. Without some big bucks behind you to pretty much buy your way onto the radio, you’re doing well to break the top-100.

I commented to Pickett, “The highest we ever got on the Can-Country charts was 73 in the top-100. The other singles were in the high 70’s and mid-80’s.” That didn’t surprise him, considering the uphill battle independent artists have in Canada. There is very little grant money to help out and the Canadian content laws back then for radio stations were easy to side-step. The royalties weren’t the best either, unless you broke top-40. An average month for being 73 on the charts brought in about $80-$100 in royalties. Not exactly a big bucks.

I made more money singing the intro ditties on “Old Elpaso” taco commercials than I ever did making CD’s.

Folks like Pickett have a tough go in this country. He’s been doing it a long time and hasn’t given up on it. I wish him well.

Hosed again: Higher taxes for the same services

This year’s Huron-Kinloss budget nearly floored me, staff came in with a high number and it got whittled down, to another high number. Needless to say, I was still floored.

I don’t pound on council, or staff very often, because I believe they have a tough job to do and they do it pretty well. In this case however, this year’s 8.7 per cent increase hits taxpayers hard and it's way out of line. The 8.7 is bad enough, but the premeditated pick pocketing in a proposed “agreement in principle” for the next three years at seven per cent each year until 2010 is hard to swallow.

Yup, you heard it right. It’ll be 8.7, 7, 7 and 7.

Staff asked council to “agree in principle” to not only this 8.7 increase, but to seven per cent, each year, for the next three years. They say that the township will “go into deficit” if they don’t hike taxes at that rate. In other words, if the township keeps spending like they are, they are going to go into the hole. The only way to keep this spending rate is to hike taxes.

To be fair, much of this can be put squarely on the backs of the provincial government, particularly the downloading of services they have forced municipalities to pay for. It can also be put on the feds for not giving the province enough to help out municipalities and other budgets going up, such as the Conservation Areas, etc. On the other hand, there’s places to cut, lots of them.

Staff originally asked for a 10 per cent increase. Council instead got them down to 8.7. That’s about $35,000-$38,000 worth of cuts from a $3.0 million budget. Gee, thanks.

It’s as though council aren’t the ones running things.

I was told by one councillor, that members do not see what each department is spending its money on for the upcoming year, they only see the total for each department. The councillor told me that they see major purchases, but they have no idea of most of the particulars. For example, they are forced to take staff’s word that there is no money to be saved in Parks and Recreation or administration. They said that they don't see each department's purchases.

How are they supposed to make a fair and knowledgeable budget approval if they don’t see who doing what with the money?

I know there’s savings, as I’ve paid attention and watched the tax money spent hand over fist all year. A few months ago, as soon as there was talk of a “pre-budget” meeting, everyone came running to council saying that they “desperately need” something. Does a new ice surface machine ring any bells? How about a new employee hired for 35-hours-per-week to water flowers in Lucknow and Ripley? They could have seen if the Agricultural or Horticultural Societies would have helped out, as councillor Jim Hanna suggested. They are nice folks. No one complains when they ask for donations, I’m sure they would have lent a hand if asked. I can’t see as it should take 35-hours-per-week to do it anyway and for the life of me, I can’t understand why the township needed to hire someone. A brand new water trailer to haul along behind the new employee was also requested.

There was even talk of a $23,000 set of stairs to the beach last year. They paid an engineer big bucks to come up with a cockomainy design for galvanized steel and reinforced concrete stairs. With frost, waves, etc, within a year, the galvanizing would have started pealing and flaking and it would have been like running your hands up a rail with razor blades taped to it. It’s not suppose to happen, but if the steel isn’t prepared just right, it happens quite often. Don't get me wrong, the design was not created by staff, it was drawn up by an engineer. I built things like that for a living, it was a bad design. That design cost us dearly too, the township still had to shell out about $2,300 for the "engineered" plans. They should have been offered a refund on that one.

There’s also a list as long as my arm of folks wanting donations from our taxes, which costs us an arm and a leg. I’d wager that several percent of our budget goes to donations. While all are worthy causes, we simply can’t afford it. Staff writes out these requests and submits them to council. If the request seems resonable, at times they recommend it. Council rarely says no. I can’t blame them, as it’s awfully hard to say no to someone who represents a worthy group who helps the needy in the community. On the other hand, when folks come to my door or call the house, I tell them the truth. I tell them I can’t afford it. As hard as it is to say no, that’s what the township should be doing or at best, the donation should be small. In a year of a large tax hike, it's the fair thing to do.

I see Public Works being cut year after year, but never Parks and Rec or some of the other departments. Is a new ice surface machine more important than road maintenance? Not in my world. They should be driving that thing until the wheels fall off. As long as the exhaust is good, it steers and stops, keep it. As lame as it would be for it to have a problem during a game, we have to remember, this isn’t the NHL. The game would have to be put on hold for a couple of hours until the unit could be brought over from Lucknow to get the game going again. Once the machine is shot, it's time to replace it. They could also look for a used one.

Between the new employee and the ice machine, there’s likely two per cent of the tax hike right there. There’s lots more to be saved, but no one on council, nor myself, can tell you the details, as we don’t see the particulars. We only see the bottom line of each department, not where they are spending the loot.

How about spending on things the ratepayers asked for? It would be easier to swallow if some of the money went to where they wanted it to go, such as Hanna suggested.

Councillor Jim Hanna hit the nail on the head at the special budget meeting. He said that those living west of Highway 21 pay 70-per cent or more of the township’s taxes. “They pay the bills,” he said, “we have to pay attention to their concerns.”

I don’t recall hearing any of those people asking for a Zamboni or new staff to water flowers at any of the meetings. While it would be nice to have those things, we simply can’t afford it, considering the proposed increases in taxes.

Any work on the Attawandaron Park? I doubt it. (They did sell a portion of it a couple of years back and told me that they were going to buy playground equipment with it. I never did see any equipment however.)

Any nice improvements going to happen at the lighthouse? If there is, it’s being kept a secret, as is all the other projects.

Are they going to open the beach accesses like the ratepayers asked for? Don’t count on it.

Ratepayers made it loud and clear that they want the accesses opened up and made safe. Will it happen? Don’t hold your breath.

Last year the township hired a person to find them, map them, etc. Council and ratepayers expected them to be made safe and opened up for those of us that do not own lake front cottages to access the beach. At a recent meeting, the parks and recreation supervisor said, “We weren't told to open them, just to map them.” I must have misunderstood, along with several council members, as they looked as surprised as I was. Maybe the new employee should be given a rake, shovel and a chainsaw and go do what the ratepayers are asking for. So much for what the ratepayers want eh?

Anything west of 21 will soon be out of reach for young folks by hiking taxes at that rate. Soon, it'll all be out of line like the lake front homes are.

I live a block from an unusable beach. People on my street have to drive somewhere to go swimming, just like those in Ripley or Lucknow. Although that's not the end of the world, I can't understand why we pay more taxes than they do? Do we get more services? Nope. Do we have hanging plants, fancy street lights or signs? No to that too. We do however have roads that you can bottom a car out on.

The increase is way out of line. The "agreement in principle" is worse. We in the township get no more services than last year, with the exception of some extra roads being re-paved. That's a priority and something we need.

Anyway you look at it however, the taxpayer got nailed. They will be nailed repeatedly for the next three years unless thing change.

The 8.7 budget and the “agreement in principle” for three years of seven per cent increases will be voted on at the April 16 meeting in Ripley at 7:00 p.m.

If you have something to say, say it fast, or you are going to pay for it, literally.

Those who were still hoping the that somehow the countryside surrounding the former Town of Kincardine would not be turned into a giant electrical company filled with hundreds of towering wind turbines have a little less to hope for.

Enbridge recently announced that the Ontario Ministry of the Environment has said the project will not be required to go through a full Environmental Assessment (EA).

The company will be building110 wind turbine generators, claiming each can produce 1,650 kilowatts of power under perfect conditions. There are other projects in the area as well.

In reality, a huge units run at about 30 per cent of their maximum rating average, so each unit will be putting out about 550.

Unfortunately, during the summer months when those in Ontario push the power to its breaking point, the turbines will be putting out next to nothing thanks to a lack of wind, just like the Kingsbridge units did last year.

There is a website called sygration.com in which, you can see what any power plant in Ontario is putting out. This site monitors 24-7 and keeps records. I followed the output at the Kingsbridge station last year quite closely. During last year’s August heat spell, when electricity providers begged residents to use less power and electricity from the mid-US coal plants had to be imported, the Kingsbridge turbines ran at a snail’s pace. For weeks, only a trickle of power came from Kingsbridge. Occaionally the wind would pick up for a few hours, other times, while air conditioners pushed us closer to the edge of a black out, the towers put out next to nothing.

They proved that wind turbines don’t produce power when we need it most; in the summer.

After being told time and time again that the provinces’ tax payers can’t afford to pay the staggering subsidies the liberal government is doling out in its efforts to look green, the other local media outlets are finally listening. Two weeks in a row I’ve read grumbling in editorials and columns saying the same thing I’ve been telling them all along.

Someone should tell these folks that the time to ask questions was before the deals were done, not after.

Wind turbines are simply too inefficient to be built on such a large scale.

Until technology improves, turbines will continue to be huge eyesores that do not produce enough power to be bothered with.

The steel gets made in North America, then shipped to Europe, the units are built there, then shipped back here. Tons of cement has to be made, spewing emissions into the air, much like all the steel production and diesel fuel needed for shipping does. The units themselves would have to produce no emissions, clean power for years, just to make up for how much was used to build them.

Then there’s the subsidies. It costs more than twice as much to produce the power than the consumer pays. The provincial liberals are subsidising the rest, plus a bonus to make the companies profitable, out of your tax dollars. We are paying a huge price to make the liberals look green and getting very little power in return.

Municipalities get very little either, as the province has set the property tax assessments low. The units are worth over two million, but they are assessed so they only pay about the same taxes as a nice house. The province forced small townships to subsidies them with low property taxes in order to make turbine companies profitable. The large corporations pay less, the average tax payer pays more.

At a meeting with Huron-Kinloss council, Liberal MP Carol Mitchell was asked about the unusually low assessments by Deputy Mayor Wilf Gamble. She replied, “Did you want them lower?”

Gamble asked, “Three million to $40,000, how did you justify that number?”

“We had to come up with a number. The Minister of Finance will be looking into it. I’m not going to argue with you,” said Mitchell. “I supported that, but now I think that number has to be re-formatted.”

“Are windmills exempt from the planning act?” asked chief building official Matt Farrell. “We are concerned there will be no local control,” adding that there are many other concerns.”

“We have just as many municipalities wanting us to take control,” claimed Mitchell. I don’t see as you should be left out of the process, but I don’t want to see projects held up by a year.”

Held up by a year? Why the rush? Is there something the province doesn't want us to know about? (Like the fact they are a huge waste of money)

Councillor Don Murray said that residents were concerned that their property tax dollars are subsidising the large wind farm owners with the low assessments. He mentioned damage to area roads as one example of expenses they will have to shell out.

“I’d be careful with that type of language, because if they (large wind farm companies) aren’t there, you won’t get that money,” warned Mitchell.

Since then, "energy" has been taken out of the planning act and municipalities can not refuse to let turbine companies change the landscape forever if the provincial liberals give the ok. Which they will, in order to look green.

Huron-Kinloss is lucky, as only 38 are in the works, unlike Kincardine, who will see them popping up like giant weeds on the lawn.

What happens to the landowners when the provincial government puts an end to the subsidies? The subsidies aren’t going to last 25 years. They can’t pay more than double the price of electricity with your tax dollars forever. Once the taxpayers realise how many millions it is subsidising large corporations to produce very little power, they will demand that it stop. Either that, or a new government will get voted in and end the subsidies out right.

Will big turbine operators run if they are losing money? Maybe we’ll see companies pack up shop and leave. Who looks after things then? Will the farmer be stuck with the base, cables, etc, or worse, an inefficient, old turbine? I hope not.

The power corporations say they will provide jobs too. Ya, sure they will. Other than construction, there will likely be one or two people hired for the Ripley Wind project at the most. Construction will be over in no time, so that work is only short term.

Tourism? Sure, gas stations may make money, from people driving to see them on their way to somewhere else. Are folks going to buy a home or cottage near the lake if they are allowed west of Highway 21?

I’ve stood down wind of some Kingsbridge units. Anyone who says they don’t make noise needs their ears checked.

There’s lawsuits and claims that the units can cause real medical ailments in the U.S. and Europe. It’s not fanatics or “nutbars,” making the claims, but respected doctors and those in the scientific community.

I’ve asked questions many times to various levels of government and passed it on to readers. Our own council here in Huron-Kinloss worried that the township would get the dirty end of the stick. They were cautious and they asked plenty of questions too. I wrote about it as much as I could so everyone knew the facts.

Where was Kincardine council during all this? They were welcoming the tax dollars and the local media was singing the praises of “Green Power.” They were touting the provincial liberals as being green angels by forcing small municipalities to allow them. Like it or not, if the province says ok, they are next door to you. All they need is a landowner who could use some extra cash. We all know in this day and age, there’s farmers out there that could use it. Townships and ratepayers have no say.

The media knew this. Now they ask questions when the deals are done?

We in Huron-Kinloss will have nearly 40 of them to look at for the next 25 years, more, if they can be refurbished. I can’t imagine what the sight and sound of hundreds along 21 near Kincardine will be like.

Huron-Kinloss acted quite carefully and asked questions when the windmill companies came to the door, so did Saugeen Shores. I’m glad they did and I hope they continue to do so, as there are more corporations eyeing up Huron-Kinloss, some of them have their sights on properties west of Highway 21. They claim that those who live “below the hill” won’t see or hear them. Ya, sure.

Others are not so careful. Some councils see easy money and jump at it, not worrying that residents will have to spend the rest of their lives paying for it. Some media outlets “don’t ask questions” if it puts advertising money at risk.

With all that’s happened in the area over the past while, I nearly forgot that the first day of spring is only two weeks away, March 21. I would have forgotten if not for a reminder from my father, who seems to have a better memory than I do at times. It’s soon time to change the clocks too. Wow, hard to believe considering the recent weather.

March sure came in like a loin.

The past week has been exciting, to say the least. The power went out in my part of Point Clark on Thurs, Mar 1 at about 5:00 p.m. We ran on a generator until Mar 4 at about 12:45 p.m. It was an adventure. Nearly 70 hours here, reports say others in the township did not get power until Monday, March 5. Which is nearly double of what some papers reported.

It got quite busy here trying to keep up with weather and road reports, along with keeping everyone up-to-date on the power situation. It had to be done however. People couldn’t wait five to six days to read about it in the weekly news.

The folks at the Coast FM were quite busy as well. They had to scramble up a generator, get it rigged up and then stay on top of things in the area. They had their share of internet problems too. Under trying circumstances, they managed to let everyone know what was going on. Good job guys!

Other than being busy, we had it made at our house. We keep at least three days worth of emergency supplies on hand, as is recommended by the township and we got by fine. The kids (Our daughter and son-in-law) got by just dandy too. (Wood stove, food, etc)

Most people in the area got by ok actually, although we were among the last to get power back. A warming centre was set up at the Point Clark Community Centre. Folks used it more as a way to relieve the boredom than as a means of survival and that’s just fine. That’s what it was opened for. People could get a bite to eat, play a game of cards and talk to neighbours who were in the same boat. It was a good call by the township to open it up. It's important for residents to remember, that at times like that, they open it up. Go down and use it.

The Point Clark Beach Association, the Point Clark Kinsmen, Ruth’s Bakery in Point Clark and the Wooden Spoon all pitched in some food, coffee, etc.

J&G Variety in Point Clark and the Amberley General Store kept everyone in essentials. Many times, Lake Range was in fine shape, so those who needed something more substantial in the way of grocery items, gas, or beer, could get what they wanted. The Wooden Spoon also opened up.

My lovely wife managed to make it into work on Saturday, March 3, after being off the day before.

She made sure the Foodland on Queen Street in Kincardine had some yummy baked goods and picked up an extra five-gallons of gas for the generator, along with a few other goodies. Hats off to Foodland, who ran on generator power themselves to help reduce the strain on the fragile grid. Hats off to Sobey’s as well, for providing them with the generator.

Those in the former Town of Kincardine got off rather easy, seeing only minor interruptions compared to areas around them.

The wind warning kind of took me by surprise though. First thing I did was head up to Amberley for five more gallons just in case.

It sure caused some problems on the roads.

The drive home from the council meeting in Ripley on Monday was a little "white" at times. It may have been best to cancel the meeting, but it was hard to know before hand that it would turn so ugly in such a short time. It’s also quite hard to re-schedule a meeting at times. The drive in was ok though. It didn't get too bad until later. I couldn’t understand why there were no other reporters there again.

It was a good meeting. Lots went on, which will be in the Observer and on the Coast FM over the next week or so.

I couldn’t believe the traffic on Lake Range in Point Clark when I got home from it at about 11:30 a.m.

It's too bad there isn't some other route for trucks to take at times like that. As much as I dislike the idea of causing an inconvenience to the truck drivers by signing the road off to heavy trucks, there may be a safety concern. Those guys weren’t sparing the ponies. Some were clipping along at a fast pace. I also doubt the road was designed to take that type of wear and tear. That’s a lot of pounding for that little part of the road.

All in all, it was quite the week. The plow guys did a great job, as did the police. Volunteers, service clubs, township staff and residents all pitched in to help each other out. It’s nice to know that’s the kind of folks living in the area.

It’s hard to believe that some people had the brass to blame the power outage on Hydro One, rather than the often-fierce weather thrown at us by Mother Nature. Some folks (and media outlets) would rather complain and point fingers than to be thankful that hydro and emergency crews worked so hard to get the lights back on under such harsh conditions. It’s funny; some of the first people to get the power on were the first to criticize. Shameful.

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For years, Huron-Kinloss has had a water quality monitoring program, along with other more recent programs like the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network and now the septic re-inspection program. Where’s everyone else?

Take its neighbour to the north. Thanks to revenues from Bruce Power, along with a larger population of ratepayers, they are arguably the wealthiest municipality in the county, yet they continue to spend next to nothing on keeping its greatest asset in good shape. At times, harm has come to the lakeshore due to their management practices.

While its smaller neighbour has spent hundreds-of-thousands of dollars over the years on studies designed to find sources of the bacteria, Kincardine sewage has made its way into the lake.

They are not alone. Goderich as well, has had accidental, or “controlled spills, done with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment’s (MOE) approval.

Another practice by some municipalities is something they affectionately call “beach screening.” It’s an annual event. It appears they believe that if they remove all the pebbles, stones and native plants, the beach will suddenly turn into a perfect Hawaiian paradise.

Last year I took a drive into Kincardine to photograph their yearly event. Let’s just say it wasn’t exactly something their tourism folks would want the Blue Flag people to see.

A company was hired to take heavy equipment out on to the beach, dig up every living thing on it and run it through a screen. All that remains afterwards is a pile of sand. They then spread that sand around with a bulldozer and call it a beach.

When asked about the practice at the time of last year’s annual screening extravaganza, Geoff Peach, from the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation had this to say.

“On the surface, it may only look like small patches of grass and stones, but the root system runs deep into the sand, twisting and winding along, acting like re-bar in a concrete structure. It’s what makes it a beach and not just a pile of sand. If you were to dump a pile of sand in the middle of a parking lot, how many wind storms would it take before much of that sand has blown away?”

“The Kincardine shoreline is not managed well,” he says. Click here for that story

The municipality now regularly takes equipment along its boardwalk and parking lots to gather the sand that blew away and dumps it back on the beach. Pretty clever, not.

This shows what some shoreline municipality’s attitudes are concerning the environment. Those attitudes make it harder for smaller, neighbouring townships to keep their own beaches in good shape.

Huron-Kinloss council and its residents should be applauded for their efforts to keep its beaches clean, as they are the ones willing to pay the price for the environmental programs needed to keep the shoreline in good shape for the next generation. The same can be said for South Bruce.

They are fighting a tough battle, considering what their neighbours are doing. After all, where are their “controlled” and “accident spills” going? Straight into the lake. The same can be said about the bacteria from poorly operating septic systems in other near-by municipalities. Do they know how old their septic systems are or if they are being properly maintained so they do not damage the lake?

Huron-Kinloss is a leader in caring for the environment. It’s time for its neighbors; both north and south, to follow their lead.

It’s also time for the provincial government to not only help fund Huron-Kinloss’ programs, but to put their foot down and ensure that other municipalities do the same. Laws need to be passed and more importantly, enforced, to ensure that "care-not” municipalities no longer willfully destroy the shoreline.

I’ve heard lots of talk from our present MPP about her concerns for the environment. I’ve heard tell that the environment will be one of her priorities if re-elected in the fall. Unfortunately, the government she represents seems content to force wind turbines down our throats in an effort to look “green,” rather than to give any help with water quality issues in the area.

Press releases have been pouring out of Mitchell’s office regarding new spending as fast as high-speed internet can send them. Where did all these millions come from for their pre-election spending spree?

There was no provincial money in sight on Jan 8, when members of the Point Clark Beach Association presented its petition, which asked for funding assistance to help with studies designed to improve near shore water quality in her riding.

There is no provincial money to help Huron-Kinloss with its septic re-inspection program either.

As for sewers along the lakeshore, which would eliminate the need for annual, never-ending septic re-inspections and cut down on the bacteria that causes beach postings and dead wildlife, forget it.

There’s no hope of getting sewers along the lakeshore in the foreseeable future without homeowners getting nailed for $25,000 to $30,000-per-household. Funding from the provincial government in regards to sewers and septic systems is pretty much non-existent. After all, it’s only a lake.

Something Huron-Kinloss residents should remember this fall when at the polls.

The township has been trying to arrange a time when Mitchell can attend a meeting of council, however, that has not been as easy as it sounds.

On the township’s January 15 agenda, it said, “It is extremely hard to book a day with Carol Mitchell as she is on a number of finance tours throughout January and February. About the only day she is available is February 2 at 1:00 p.m.”

As far as I can tell, “financial tours” means touring around the province, handing out our tax money in high-vote areas. I can’t recall any stops here in Huron-Kinloss announcing new funding.

The Ontario Municipal Partnership Fund Allocation this year didn’t go up any for the township either, not even to cover the cost of inflation.

This did not impress Mayor Mitch Twolan, who has on many occasions said that rural Ontario gets short-changed when it comes to provincial funding.

“The cost of gas, oil, insurance and wages have all gone up, but the province doesn’t give us a lick more money.”

As for the township’s expensive water quality monitoring programs, Twolan hit the nail on the head.

“Who do you think benefits the most from our water testing? The province and the federal government. We’re paying for studies that they can use further down the road. They keep putting more and more demands on us, (such as the new drinking water regulations), but do not give us additional money to help fund them.”

Twolan also hopes that neighbouring municipalities do their part concerning beach and water quality conditions.

“We can re-inspect and get our septic systems in good shape, but if ACW doesn’t do its part for example, what can we do? When Goderich and Kincardine has controlled spills with the MOE’s approval, where does it go?”

“We’re all in this together. It’s time for others to step up to the plate and do their part.”

Twolan’s right, we can’t do it alone, nor should we be expected to.

Quite the meeting

Huron-Kinloss council started the year off busy. The meeting on Monday, January 8 went on for quite a while, as you’ll see by the stories that will be in the Observer over the next two weeks.

If this meeting is any indication, it may be an expensive year for ratepayers.

Council agreed to start a “pilot” septic re-inspection program. Although it will cost us, it’s something that should be done. The trouble is, the meeting got more expensive after that.

Mike Fair reminded council that the floor of the Ripley arena needs repairs soon. We’re not talking about a coat of paint either. It could be an $500,000 job. If it needs to be done, well, that’s the way it goes. I kind of felt for Fair, it’s never enjoyable being the barer of bad news, believe me, I know.

Councillor Don Murray did however make a suggestion that could shave $100,000 from the price tag. It may not sound like much, but considering that $30,000 was about one percent of our taxes last year, it’s a lot. Hopefully his idea works. Who knows, maybe Mike will figure something out that can extend the floor’s life some, so we can put some money away here and there over the next few years, rather than fork it all out this year.

Another expense is a new summer employee that will be added to the parks and rec staff to water flowers 35-hours-per-week in Ripley and Lucknow, on top of the regular nine summer employees we already have.

Last year, a student was hired to inventory and map the lakeshore. At the time, I didn’t think we needed another employee, but the position was only to be a one-shot deal until the task was complete. The money needed for the wages of that employee came from a summer program in Ripley that wasn’t used much. It seemed fair enough. If the program wasn’t used, cancel it and save the taxpayers some money. As for the beach inventory, if the job needed to be done, so be it. Well, it’s done and the employee is no longer needed.

Instead of passing on the cost savings of one less employee to the ratepayers however, council agreed to hire another to water flowers.

Personally, I’d prefer to see one of the other students given some extra hours each week to water flowers, rather than to invent a new position, but hey, what do I know? I just know that extra staff is expensive and we should be pinching pennies.

To be fair, Mayor Mitch Twolan told me that Fair will likely be able to get funding to go towards wages and that it may only cost us $5-per-hour. The trouble is, adding EI, WSIB, etc. it still adds up to $200-$300-per-week for three to four months at 35-hours-per-week.

Last month, it was reported to council that the ice surface machine at one of the arenas needed repairs. The repairs were done, however, council was told that it’s soon time for a new one, (within a year or two), as getting one now while there's still some trade-in value on the old one may save money on the purchase. Although there’s some merit to the trade-in thing, I think it would be best to use that one as long as possible.

As long as it’s safe, then it should be kept.

If memory serves me, the cost on that one was about $100,000. ($60,000-$70,00 with trade-in) There goes another two percent of our tax bill that could be put towards badly needed roadwork or the septic program.

I’m not faulting Fair for wanting nice equipment, we all do. I wish I could buy a new vehicle too, but as long as mine’s safe, I’ll keep it. It’s the responsible thing to do.

It’s time to run things as though it was a responsible household that sticks to living within their means.

As for the septic program, it was suggested that $50 be charged to each ratepayer at the time of their inspection.

On top of that, Matt Pearson of B.M. Ross figures about $175-$200 in other fees. This would cut the township’s cost by nearly half and place it on the septic owners. Somehow it doesn’t sit well with me.

It’s not only those on septics that use the lake. It’s also not only septic users that pollute it. A septic re-inspection program benefits the whole township, as it is designed to help rid us of old and poorly maintained systems, which help raise bacteria levels in the lake. If it benefits everyone, then everyone should share the cost.

Keep in mind, the pilot septic program will only be about $65,500 for the first year, slightly less than an ice machine. Why ding us for $250 each? That’s about as fair as making those who skate pay half of the $500,000 for a new arena floor or for half of an ice machine. The same can be said about the new employee. Are those in Ripley and Lucknow going to be told to cough up an extra $50 a head to hire a “flower waterer?” I bet not.

The cost of the arena floor will be shared by everyone. No one in my family uses either arena, however, as a resident, our tax dollars go towards their upkeep. I have no problem with that. We all share our resources and our facilities and we share the cost. The arenas and the lakeshore are the responsibility of all of us.

That said, why am I charged money that others are not being charged to help clean up our beaches?

If it benefits everyone, then everyone should pay equally, whether it’s an arena floor, or cleaning up our beaches.

As for the “flower waterer,” it seems to me that’s an expense we can live without. What was needed, was simply someone to water the flowers in Lucknow in place of the volunteer, not a 35-hour-per-week employee.

My bet is, if asked, the Horticultural Society may have been willing to do some of the watering. If not them, why not ask the Rec guys or the Agricultural Society? Too late now though, council already gave its blessing.

With all of the major expenses the township is looking at this year, the last thing we needed was another employee to water flowers.

There was a lot of promises made at election time, being careful with money was one of them.

Traditions that won’t change

My goodness, another Christmas. They sure seem to creep up on you sometimes don’t they?

I’ve always been a big fan of Christmas. Not so much the shopping part, I’m not big on crowds, nor the expense, but the rest is nice. I like the way it gets family together.

Like other families, we have our Christmas traditions. Some may seem odd, but we sure enjoy them.

At our house, the family gathers on Christmas Eve in the kitchen. It’s a night of playing board games, talking and enjoying some “Christmas cheer.” I normally break out the guitar and play a few tunes, the kids open one small gift each and we enjoy each other’s company. I normally annoy everyone with the camcorder throughout the night as well.

It’ll be a little different this year. There will be a couple more people to annoy.

Our oldest daughter married a nice young fellow this summer, so for the first time, he’ll be seeing how his new wife’s family does Christmas. It’ll be the first Christmas that she will only be visiting for the night and “going home,” too. (She only lives on the next block, so it’s not all that bad.)

Our younger daughter will have her boyfriend over as well. He’s a good guy and been around for a while, so he’s more than welcome, as long as he brings me something nice. Tools are always a good way to get your foot in the door.

The two guys will just have to put up with our unconventional traditions, such as “Christmas Wienies,” made by myself. My lovely wife has been known to make them too if I have had too much “Christmas cheer.” I could tell you how they were made, but I’d have to kill you, as it’s a closely guarded secret. (I heard that in a movie once, scary isn’t it?) I can give you a hint though, you need wieners, Pillsbury crescent rolls and cheese. We stuff our faces with crackers, cheese and cold meat too. They are nice to have around in case someone doesn’t fancy “Christmas Wienies.”

Normally, they play the games and I play a few tunes on the guitar, been known to sing a few too. If I need a break, I look after the cassette player, mostly old country. We haven’t broken down and bought a CD player yet. I still have records and 8-tracks. Who needs CD’s when there’s cassettes, records and 8-tracks?

Another new addition to our Christmas Eve will be out on the back cement deck. We’ll be setting up the new train set the back there, outside the picture window, so we, er, um, I, can watch it. I got it for myself for Christmas, sort of, as no one else would buy it. Go figure.

They call them “Garden Trains.” They are 1-24 scale train sets, meant to be used outside. Folks set up the track along a fence line or rock gardens for example, build scale houses, small ponds, streets, pretty much everything an indoor set has, only on a larger scale. They look very realistic. I’ve been wanting one for years and my wife finally submitted and let me splurge. Thanks darlin’.

They aren’t exactly cheap, but once the “starter kit” has been purchased, buying extra track isn’t all that expensive. I’m hoping that over the winter, I can sneak up to the Home Hardware in Goderich to buy extra track when my wife’s not looking so I can have a whopper of a set-up. I even asked Santa for more. I’ll let you know if he got the message.

My dad will be coming up that night too. He’ll stay until the next day, then go back to Kitchener and visit my brother’s family on Christmas afternoon. My mom passed away this year, so it will seem strange not having her with us. We’ll all get through it together though. I’m glad he decided to come up, it’ll be nice. Bet he’ll like my Christmas Wienies.

Christmas day is always fun here too. We adults are as excited as the kids.

Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t call them “kids” anymore. Amanda’s going on 20, Heather’s 17 and Michael’s 12. The newest member of the family, son-in-law Jesse, isn’t exactly a kid anymore either, nor is Stephan, Heather’s beau.

One tradition around here has always been tormenting the kids, although I think they are too old for it now. When they were small, the kids would get up early, all excited and ready to go. That was the fun part. Angela would take her time getting up, then say, “Not until my coffee’s done.” Sometimes she’d do it twice. Big meanie. We’d put it off until we thought they were going to burst, then let them go into the living room where the presents and tree were.

Thinking back and remembering their young, beautiful, smiling faces, still puts a smile on my face. The excitement in their eyes and voices was priceless. To them, the waiting was likely pretty lame, to us at the time, it was funny. It’s now a memory we will treasure as long as we live.

I’m betting this year it’ll bite us on the backside anyway and we’ll end up waiting on them. Paybacks can be brutal.

Amanda’s played Santa over the years and given out the gifts. She took the job years ago, figuring that since she was the oldest, she should do it. This year, seeing as she’s married, she’s passed the “Santa sack” on to Nipper, oops, I mean Heather. She’s Santa now. I’ll still be cam-cording the event, just as though they were still little. Angela will be drinking coffee and watching the kids open their gifts.

Dinner is no easy task either. It’s a tradition here to eat like little piggies. Angela makes turkey, ham, schnitzel, two kinds of stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, and dinner rolls. For those who live through it, there’s pie and ice cream. Normally we eat late, as once we’re done eating all that, we’re ready for a snooze.

Times change. Kids grow up, parents get older and sadly enough, loved ones are sometimes lost as Christmases pass. Other times, children are born. As more Christmases pass, these children grow and fill the chairs that are left behind.

It’s important to enjoy every Christmas. Things change fast.

I know our simple and sometimes silly Christmases may not sound like much compared to some people’s Christmas traditions, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. I hope my grand kids will one day be making Christmas Wienies for their little ones. “A secret recipe passed down from their grandpa.”

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day.

The Changing Seasons

Many years ago before white men first came to what is now known as Canada, there was only summer.

Only the native Indians lived along the shoreline of what is now known as Lake Huron, and life was good. Most Indian tribes led meek, simple, and peaceful lives. They hunted only what they needed for food and clothing.

One tribe however, the Black Creeks, were greedy and blood thirsty, with no regard for life or nature. The evil chief Grey Crow sent out one hunting party after another along the wooded bluffs along the lake.

Grey Crow and the Black Creeks would kill any animal in the forest they came across to make jewellery from the animal’s teeth, leaving the carcasses to rot and cause disease.
The tribe believed they could become wealthy by trading jewellery to other tribes.

This brought great sorrow to the Spirit Bear, whose job it was to watch over and protect the animal kingdom.

One night the Spirit Bear appeared before the evil Chief. The Spirit Bear pleaded with Grey Crow to stop the killing before a great curse was put upon the land. The chief believed he was more powerful than the Spirit Bear, and taunted him by dancing and shaking his bear-tooth necklace. In sadness, the Spirit Bear turned away, and disappeared into the night.

After three full moons had passed the Spirit Bear once again appeared before Grey Crow.

He told the Chief he had one more chance to change his evil ways, and pleaded that he order his people to stop the needless slaughter. Again the Chief began to dance and shake his bear tooth necklace. This act angered the Spirit Bear very much and with a deafening roar, he disappeared into the night.

The next morning was as beautiful a morning anyone had ever seen. The sky was clear, the birds were chirping, and the sun was warm on the earth. As morning turned to afternoon, the winds picked up and turned very cold from the north. The sky clouded over and a frightened hunting party returned to the village. They told the Chief that the rivers had turned hard and stopped flowing, and there was no game to be found.

The Chief remembered the Spirit Bear’s warning of a great curse. That night, the Chief called for the Spirit Bear to appear but to no avail. His people were cold and frightened and needed food. Grey Crow kneeled, and pleaded into the cold night air. Still, the Spirit Bear did not appear.

As days turned to weeks, the leaves turned brown and fell from the trees. Cold, white rain fell from the sky and the tribe became hungry and weak. Death seemed imminent. When all hope had gone, a neighbouring tribe appeared bringing corn, and jerky to help the Black Creeks survive the curse.

After what seemed like forever, the build up of white rain began to disappear, and the rivers again began to flow. The birds began to sing and the sun once again shone warmly upon the earth.

That night, the chief called on the Spirit Bear to thank him for lifting the great curse.

The Spirit Bear appeared, and told the Chief that the curse had not been lifted. The people would be allowed seven moons to hunt and fish before the curse would again appear. The curse would come in four stages, beginning with the leaves turning brown. The four stages would be called Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer.

The Chief fell to his knees and promised the Spirit Bear that from that day forward, he would order his people to hunt only what they needed to survive.

The Spirit Bear once again disappeared into the night air never to be seen again, his presence only to be felt by the changing of the seasons.

The shore is no longer the wooded splendour the Sprit Bear watched over, instead, it’s home to cottages and roads. It’s shorelines and sandy beaches destroyed by wealthy and selfish white men, who believe altering nature and ruining its natural beauty is their right as property owners.

If you listen closely below the bluffs along the lakeshore as the seasons change, you can still hear the Spirit Bear’s cries in the evening hours off in the distance. Some say it’s the wind, some know different.

Good intentions sometimes create mixed feelings

I think the 50 or so members at the August beach association meeting had good intentions when agreeing to the idea to start a petition.

The idea of requesting that studies be done on what could improve the water quality seems fair enough, so does repairing some of the shoreline where lakeshore residents dug it up to bring their boats in. If there was a time to do it, it’s now, while the water level is a low point. It may be easier; both from the equipment operators stand point and environmentally speaking.

According to Geoff Peach of the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation, getting rid of the groynes (“jetties”) would help the water flow along the shoreline and reduce the amount of sludge in Point Clark. He says much of the sludge people keep complaining about is actually plant life that has settled in the channels. It’s decomposes and causes a foul odor along the shore.

He also says it’s possible that filling the groynes would allow sand to once again wash in on the rocky, south side of the lighthouse. That’s something we all want.

It wouldn’t be all that expensive to fill them. The rocks are right there, they just need to be pushed back in the holes.

If all those signing the petition pitched in 20-bucks or so, it would not only help pay for the costs associated with removing the groynes, but it might inspire others to kick in a bit of cash themselves. It will show people that those organizing and signing the petition are actually dedicated to fixing the problem, rather than signing their names and expecting “the government,” or, “the other guy” to do something about it. Action speaks louder than petitions.

Maybe the beach associations could pitch in some cash too. They say they are all for bettering the community and I believe it. Well, there’s never been a better way to improve the community than this. Volunteers could work towards getting proper approval to push the rocks back in the holes, while a fundraiser was going on.

We have to remember, it was lakeshore residents who created the problems associated with the groynes, therefore, those of us fortunate enough to live near the lake should work on providing a solution. As for money, if a cottager can afford to hire a contractor to come down and push the rocks aside, why can’t we as a group, come up with the cash to get them pushed back?

We don’t need big cities and the province to pay for it, nor do we need to bring to the forefront the fact that it was local residents that caused the problem in the first place. It’s an embarrassment. Some folks are forgetting an important fact, it’s possible that non-lakefront taxpayers in the township may resent their money being spent to repair something that only a few people caused.

Another thing folks seem to forget is that the water level is very low. Peach says that the amount of phragmites, sludge and algae may be reduced once the water levels rise again. Much of what’s in the petition is greatly compounded by the low water levels. That’s something to keep in mind.

We all know that nutrients are added to the lake from farm run-off and it needs to be reduced, the same goes for the nutrients from septic systems. Anyone who denies that has blinders on.

Although most of us are responsible, I’ve seen weekend residents have 3-4-day parties with 20-40 people at their cottage. All the guests shared an inadequate, worn out, old septic system. No, they didn’t rent a porta-potty.

Any idea where all that waste goes when their friends go home? Right into our ground water and the lake. They go home, forget it and leave the rest of us with the mess. (Likely the same folks who run the sprinkler all weekend and let their dogs dirty up the beach.)

Maybe some action should be taken in that respect, although I have no idea what or how.

Another thing, has anyone pushed for a halt in development along the lakeshore until sewers are installed? It’s likely one of the most important steps to take if we don’t want the problems along the lakeshore to get worse.

Those who are against more intensive livestock operations should be just as adamant in keeping future development on septic systems from compounding the problems. Anything less would be hypocritical. How can someone claim to be against nutrients going into the lake and turn a blind eye to development on septics? That goes for residents and government officials of all levels.

The folks at the Pine River Watershed Initiative Network (PRWIN) have started some great projects in the agricultural community and are working with farmers to help reduce the amount of farm runoff entering the lake. Hopefully, more money for them from the county and province will allow them the opportunity to do more. They are on the right track and I’m looking forward to hearing about future projects.

Maybe lakeshore residents can band together and with the help of the Coastal Centre, work towards solving the groyne problems without outside help or interference.

Right now I’ve heard there’s quite a few names on the petition, which is good. They all feel strongly enough about the issue to put their names on it, hopefully they will also feel strongly enough to help us with a solution and not rely entirely on others.

Although some of the wording and comments left on the petition leaves me with mixed feelings, I do believe its authors are acting with good intentions. A local petition signed by township residents to pass along to the various levels of government is a good idea. (I’d scrap the on-line petition however, as anyone can sign them as many times as they want by simply filling in a bogus e-mail address, making on-line petitions less-than-accurate/credible.)

If they do something useful with it, such as push the county, province and feds for some extra funds to find methods to slow down the contaminants that are entering the lake, then I’m behind them. If they are going to bring their beefs to the big city papers hoping that will solve our problems, I’m not.

Bylaw nothing new

Back in February of 2003, the township held a meeting, informing lakeshore residents of the new Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw. Granted, many part-time residents couldn’t be there, but a meeting was held just the same.

The bylaw was then posted on the township’s website and available at the township office. An information package was given to anyone affected by the dynamic beach line and environmentally protected zones, explaining what the changes meant.

In it among other things, were changes that affected property on environmentally fragile land. There were some added restrictions that concerned about 25-30 vacant lots and 250-300 lakefront properties on areas considered environmentally protected.

Residents not only along the lakeshore, but also throughout the township have long asked for environmental issues to be addressed.

Because the bylaw addresses some of those concerns, the vacant lots may have troubles with future development on environmentally protected areas.

The average lakefront property owner’s biggest change was that they couldn’t build structures on the lakeside of their cottage in some areas. Because of their proximity to the lake and dune system, the west side of existing dwellings were classed as environmentally protected areas.

That was nearly three years ago.

An Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing put the breaks on things.

The province objected to several sections of the bylaw, meant to protect the environment from the adverse effects associated with intensive livestock operations. They forced the township into a costly OMB hearing. Lakeshore residents overwhelmingly supported the township in its fight to protect the environment and did not seem to mind the comprehensive zoning bylaw being held up as a result.

After nearly three years, the township announced that the bylaw was about to move ahead.

It has been a topic of discussion at council meetings for well over a month. Much of the discussions were reported in the local papers.

A special meeting of council was held in Ripley on July 31 concerning the bylaw, many of the highlights were again published in the local papers.

The interim tax bill sent out to all ratepayers in February included as always, a newsletter. In it, homeowners were notified that there would be public information meetings concerning the comprehensive zoning bylaw, including the one in Point Clark set for August 27.

The most recent tax bill that appeared in our mailboxes about a month ago also had an information pamphlet, with the same public meeting announcement.

There have been ads in the local papers for weeks.

That said, I’ve still heard residents say they weren’t informed of the meeting in Point Clark.

Everyone was informed; the problem is some folks didn’t take the time to be informed.

If people have an interest in the area and truly care about Huron-Kinloss and its residents, they best keep up with what’s going on and read a local paper. It’s not hard and it supports local businesses.

Let’s give credit where credit is due

Needless to say there was a lot of talk in Point Clark over the weekend about water. Folks blamed everyone from the Township, to the health unit, to cutbacks from the province. Some blamed farm run-off and septics. I even heard someone pin the boil water advisory on a local construction company, saying they may have done something when working on the streets.

There sure was a lot of tongue wagging and finger pointing.

Many couldn't be bothered to read the news updates, which were posted on-line regularly (or had no computer), or didn't listen to local radio. They just passed rumors, whined and seemed to make things up as they went.

I heard of weekend residents singing the blues at the Amberley Store about how they "shouldn’t have bothered coming up to the cottage," and full-time residents singing harmony about how, "The Township should do this and the Township should do that."

No one said anything about the effort put forth by Township staff and council with regards to how quickly they acted when the boil water advisory was issued, or how fast they were out there pounding the pavement informing residents.

As for the beach posting, no one seemed to believe it was just one of those unfortunate things that happen. They were hell bent on blaming someone. It seems to me that it’s a combination of many things. Septic, agriculture, weather conditions, water currents/levels, even nature itself, such as rain and wind.

According to Lou D’Alessandro of the health unit, beach samples were within Canadian standards, but not Ontario’s. Ontario has the most stringent water quality standards in the world, we were slightly above Ontario's standards.

I’m not saying that I recommend going for a swim when the health unit says not to, but I can safely say it’s not the end of the world. I spoke with two experts last week who agree that it’s likely "an isolated incident" and all will be back to normal soon.

As for the blame game, find someone else to play it with. It seems that some people believe news writers are only here to jump all over council whenever they have a beef and to do their complaining and finger pointing for them. Sorry, I don’t play that game. I would suggest a letter to the editor or a letter to council.

I heard very little credit given out where it was due with regards to anything or anyone on the long weekend.

I think the Township deserves credit for doing what they could last week. Although they could not change the fact that these things happened, they did their best to keep us all informed and to see that testing was done quickly and regularly. They went door to door, stayed late to answer questions and likely took a lot of verbal abuse from residents.

Don’t get me wrong, once the cause is found, residents should be told what it was. I believe there’s no excuse for half answers or guesses either. At this point though, lets forget the blame game. They did all they could.

Now for some more credit.

The Point Clark Kinsmen are fine example of Huron-Kinloss community spirit. They did a super job of making the best of a trying situation on July 1. The day was great.

Because of the Kinsmen’s hard work, everyone got together as a community and enjoyed the day. I heard very little talk of water; it was just a bunch of folks having a good time with friends and family. The atmosphere seemed mostly, “Who cares about the water today, let’s have fun.”

It was just the kind of day we needed.

I’d say they deserve a big ol’ thank you for raising everyone’s spirits and working so hard to put on a wonderful event for us. They gave us all a great day when we really needed it.

* An off subject note of credit due, the federal government announced some new spending to help out our more-than-deserving armed forces.

Ottawa announced last week the purchase of three new navy ships, 2,300 military trucks and dozens of transport aircraft and helicopters.

It will be costly, but this will be new equipment (unlike the previous government’s deal with the British for obsolete subs). Maybe this equipment can save lives rather than cost them.

I wonder if the last two Prime Ministers would be interested in buying some worn-out Sea Kings to shuttle them around the golf courses. Maybe Paul Martin could use a submarine or two for the fleet of ships he has registered in banana republics to avoid paying taxes. On second thought, I don’t think they would go for it. Putting servicemen’s lives at risk is one thing, their own is a different story. Back to Index page

Cottage owners own cottages, not our beaches

He claims to be speaking on behalf of “local residents.” I truly hope he isn’t. Those who own cottages in Bruce Beach should be angered that they were even included in it. The letter is so appalling and down right nasty, it makes him and everyone in that area look like selfish children. It’s insulting and offensive to all of the hard working families who live in other areas of the Township.

How dare him act as though people who live close to the lake have more rights to the beach than residents who live in Ripley or Lucknow for example?

Although most of us laugh at the occasional cottager who thinks he or she owns the beach, they can be somewhat maddening at times. Occasionally, such as in this case, their attempts to keep us off the beach costs us all money too.

Last year, Bruce Beach cottagers wanted parking on concession 8 to be restricted, saying it was dangerous to park there because of the hill. They acted as though safety was their concern.

Council spent a great deal of time, money and effort to address their “safety” concerns and looked into ways to improve parking safety. They tried to lease a vacant lot by the beach access, but the owner refused. They discussed providing some parking along Cameron Lane, but Bruce Beach cottagers were against that too.

The recent letter received by council made it obvious that they were never concerned with our safety in the first place. They came right out and openly said that they were simply trying to keep us from using the beach by making it difficult to park.

The letter said, “If widening Cameron Lane or building parking lots is the only viable solution, I am sure that all (Bruce Beach) residents will vote for the “mess-on-the-hill.” (As if their “vote” is the only thing that matters in the Township)

He went on to say, “The only solution which is likely to work is to let walking distance be a deterrent, which will spread the day-trippers around the various Township beaches.”

“Day-trippers?” Sorry folks, we are not “day-trippers,” we live here. As for deterring us from using our own beach, that’s just down right pathetic.

Some cottage owners have even planted saplings on Cameron Lane along the public road allowance near the beach access, so that we can’t pull over and park there. It’s not even their property, it’s Township property and belongs to all of us. I don’t recall council giving them permission to plant trees there, so they have no business doing it.

Considering that these trees were only planted to “deter” Huron-Kinloss residents from accessing their own beach, I do hope that if public works is forced to remove them, the cottagers who planted them will get billed for the expense. It would not be fair for ratepayers in other areas of the Township to pay for their desperate attempts to keep us from enjoying the beach.

One of the most humorous parts of this letter is that he could not even bring himself to call the beach in front of their cottages, “public beach.” He called it “surrounding lakefront.”

He wrote, “On busy weekends, users of this area (where the public beach access is) spill over in front of neighbouring cottages as they are free to do so. On these days the public beach and surrounding lakefront, is reasonably crowded for five to seven lots on either side of the public beach.”

“Either side of the public beach?” It’s all public beach and of course we are, “free to do so,” as we all own the “surrounding lakefront.” The public beach is not just the tiny space in front of the beach access and we do not have to all pile on top of one another and stay in that little area because we don’t own lakefront cottages. It’s time that certain lakefront property owners face that fact and stop making residents of the Township feel as though we are intruding when we use our own beach.

It’s as though the sight of our families enjoying a day at the beach offends them.