Bidwell family seeks daughter missing 4 years

Heather Moggy last seen in 2002

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-At the end of a bumpy dirt lane, half-hidden by a thick stand of trees, is the red brick farmhouse where Melvin and Linda Moggy make their home. They haven't always: across the lane, partially screened by a panel of sun-bleached boards, is the trailer where they raised their eight children.

The sixth child, Heather, arrived on February 16-her mother's birthday, no less-in 1985. She was blonde and blue-eyed. Her eyes would remain that striking hue, while her hair dimmed to a caramel colour.

In the spring of 2002, a few months after turning 17, she vanished under murky, sordid circumstances and has not been seen since.

Ms. Moggy's face, framed in long straight tresses, peers with unnerving optimism from a missing persons webpage maintained by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP). The accompanying physical descriptions are both blunt and-rather unhelpfully, for anyone hoping to pick her out of a crowd-bland: build, medium; hair, medium brown; height, 5'6". In the space allotted for "unique features," there is a blank. She could be any reasonably attractive yet relatively unremarkable young woman lost in the throngs of any mall in the nation.

Yet for her parents, there is of course nothing ordinary, or forgettable, about her.

"Heather and I were very close," says her mother. "Even though Heather never had much money, she never missed getting me something for Mother's Day. Can you imagine, as a mother, having a child missing for going on four years? It's a scary, funny feeling."

The parent says that anytime she sees a police car travelling along the road outside the family farm, or receives a collect phone call, her heart jumps in her throat. She hopes for good news, but fears the worst. "I live in constant fear. I don't know if she's okay or if he's got her locked up."

The 'he' isn't used in a generic, speculative way. Mrs. Moggy firmly believes her daughter fled Manitoulin with a specific individual-namely, John Tucsok, a married man, many years her daughter's senior, who had lived in the Manitowaning area.

And so do the police. The two had a joint post office box in Brantford, Ontario, until September of 2003. A month later, the Moggys received a letter, postmarked from Calgary, in which their daughter "talked about working in a Walmart," Mr. Moggy notes. She also phoned around this time, indicating she might be "moving to a large hog farm in Saskatchewan," her father says.

She didn't mention Mr. Tucsok, but the hunch is the two were still together at that point.

The phone call was the last time the couple heard from their daughter, and as wonderful as it was to hear her voice, neither trusts the information. "I think it was a way to throw us off," remarks Mrs. Moggy.

All attempts by police to locate either person have so far failed.

"I heard she was pregnant and in Calgary," says Jenn Bowerman of Tehkummah, a contemporary and onetime friend of Ms. Moggy's. "But that's just one of various rumours."

Ashley Deforge was one of Heather's closest friends. "She stayed at our house on school nights," she says. "The last time I saw her, we went swimming, and he (Tucsok) was there. She was staying at a house in Sandfield at that point, and a few days later I was supposed to meet up with her to go swimming again, but when I got there, she was gone."

Given that Ms. Moggy was 17 at the time she left Manitoulin, and is assumed to have willingly accompanied Mr. Tucsok, the case has never been considered an abduction, notes Constable Allan Boyd, community services officer with the local OPP. But it does remain an open file, he says, with police still hoping to locate Ms. Moggy and, just as importantly, Mr. Tucsok, who is sought by police on a number of charges.

"He's wanted by us for seven counts of sexual assault on female youth, as well as failing to appear in court," Mr. Boyd indicates. "If any officer happens to pick him up out west somewhere, they'll run him on the system and arrest him. At that point we would check with the crown's office to see if he's 'returnable,' meaning he could be tried in court here, and if so we'd fly two officers out to pick him up."

One person, apart from the Moggys, who would dearly like to see this occur is Bob Pearson of Tehkummah. "When he was supposed to be going to court, I showed up at every court date for a year, because I wanted to see him squirming in his chair," he says. "But he never showed up."

Mr. Pearson became familiar with Mr. Tucsok and his family through the Clover Valley Gospel Hall, an evangelical church in which the latter was deeply immersed, and which Mr. Pearson himself attended for a time. "But we stopped going there before all this stuff about abuse popped up," he notes.

The Clover Valley church is an offshoot of the Gospel Hall in Gore Bay, which follows a type of fundamentalist faith associated with the so-called assembly movement or brethren sect. According to Mrs. Moggy, the Clover Valley group was also aligned with the 'Seed Sowers' movement, a non-profit Christian group that originated in Western Canada and is devoted, according to the organization's website, to "distributing God's word."

But Mr. Pearson cautions against equating the faith with the "the bad stuff that happened at Clover Valley-that has nothing to do, necessarily, with what's being taught in the church."

Mr. Pearson says his family attended the Gore Bay Gospel Hall for six years after moving to Manitoulin, and "had a super time of learning and fellowship." Their experience at the Clover Valley version of the Gospel Hall wasn't so 'super,' but that, he says, is a comment on the leaders of that specific church, not the religion itself.

Others who were drawn into the fold of the Clover Valley congregation, only to regret it later, find it difficult, however, to separate the religion-or at least, the form it assumed in this particular instance-from the 'bad stuff' that occurred to impressionable youngsters like Ms. Moggy. They describe a church culture that was dysfunctional at best, and predatory at worst; one which manipulated vulnerable youth and drove a wedge between parents and their children.

The Clover Valley church originated with the arrival of Christopher and Veronica Cawte to the Manitowaning area in 1990, according to a chronicle of the assembly movement in North America penned by Robert L. Peterson (a Colorado-based author of several books on Christian themes). The family had previously been associated with an 'exclusive' assembly-members of which adhere to very isolationist and traditionalist views, and often practise home-schooling-in Gravenhurst, according to this account. Others who moved to the area and helped found the church were Alvin and Jackie Cook, and Mr. Tucsok and his wife Kelly.

The first meetings were held in the old Clover Valley Schoolhouse in September, 1994. "Gospel meetings then began in the Tucsok home," Mr. Peterson writes, and "several persons were saved and joined with the group." Yearly tent meetings were initiated in the summer of 1995, "with Alvin Cook preaching and different men assisting," and in 1996 the old schoolhouse was renamed the Clover Valley Gospel Hall.

A new building was subsequently constructed on a corner of the Cawte farm, at the T-intersection where the Clover Valley Road splits to the east and west. The church, Mr. Peterson writes, "is primitive, but a place where warmth and love have shown forth."

Many who attended the church during this period would beg to differ. One parent feels she "was conned" into joining the church, which she likens to "a cult." And although she eventually "got so disgusted I left," and hasn't been involved in years, remains bitter and emotional about the experience, particularly in regard to its effect on her daughter, a teen at the time. "My daughter kept going against my wishes," she says. "I tried to talk her out of it, but they worked on her mind."

The church leaders weren't as interested in the adults, she claims, because "they knew it would be harder to change their minds," whereas the children could be more easily moulded. "I thought, 'hey, you're trying to brainwash our kids,'" she recalls.

Seeing her daughter become caught up in the church, and increasingly cool to her own attempts to communicate with her, was a harrowing experience that she says she's "just beginning to get over now, and it's been several years."

The parent says it became obvious to herself and several others that something more than religious instruction was occurring during suspiciously private sessions that were held between Mr. Tucsok and certain girls. "He was always 'counselling' this one young girl in private," she says. She also recalls a church picnic, at which a girl "was feeding him a sandwich, like they were a young married couple."

Mrs. Moggy also developed a queasy feeling early on about the church. "It was bad news," she says. "Melvin and I went down just a couple of times to these so-called meetings, to see what was there. Alvin (Cook) would be going around yelling, 'Do you want to be saved? Do you want to be saved?' But they were just trying to get young girls to do things for them."

Mr. Tucsok was "old enough to be (Heather's) father," she says with disgust. "But even when I told her not to go down, she'd go. And the most frustrating part was that he would come to the farm to get her. She even got baptized in their church, and I told her not to. I said, 'This is wrong, they're just using you, Heather.' I told her, 'I realize I can't stop you, but my advice, as a mother to her daughter, is don't go.' But she wouldn't listen."

Despite her misgivings about the church, Mrs. Moggy maintains she "did not know Heather was that close to John. I wish somebody would have told me-I would have reasoned more with her, or at least tried to."

Marilyn Harasym of Manitowaning took her children to one tent meeting hosted by the group, but found the scene "too creepy," and later felt hounded by Mr. Cook, who continually approached her and tried to get her to watch a videotape promoting the religion.

Mr. Tucsok, on the other hand, "seemed really nice," she notes. "He seemed like a nice family guy, with a wife and four kids." Ms. Harasym ran a store in Manitowaning at the time, and the Tucsoks were frequent customers. Eventually, however, she noticed that Mr. Tucsok "started coming into the store with just Heather and the kids. He was a lot older. And then all of a sudden he just left."

According to Mr. Pearson, Mr. Tucsok, who home-schooled his children along with his wife, built a small log home in Clover Valley, and seemed like a handy, likable guy on the surface. "But he fits your typical profile of pedophile: quiet, blends in, all those characteristics," he says.

Since the allegations of abuse popped up and Mr. Tucsok bolted with Ms. Moggy, Kelly Tucsok has reportedly relocated to southern Ontario with the couple's four children.

Other families associated with the church have also fallen apart. Ms. Harasym rhymes off a number of couples who once worshipped there with their children, and then remarks, "all of these families have split up!"

The Cawtes, home-schoolers credited with initiating the Clover Valley assembly, are one such fractured unit. "That family was destroyed," says Mr. Pearson. Apart from the likelihood that Mr. Tucsok had a negative effect on one of the Cawte children, the family was further traumatized when a grandchild of Alvin Cook's was accidentally run over by a hay mower on their property, and lost a limb. The parents went separate ways, and the farm, according to Mr. Moggy, was sold.

Attempts were made to reach Alvin Cook, but his number is no longer in service. Mr. Moggy believes "he sold his house and moved to Powassan, but then he came back and was apparently living in the church building for a while."

A visit to the church gave little impression of habitation: the parking lot was empty, and the grass grew untended around the bottoms of large signs bearing such stark messages as "Ye must be born again" and "The wages of sin is death."

It is unclear whether the Clover Valley church persists in any form, but the key figures are now scattered and the congregation, if it exists at all, must be much smaller than it once was.

"It used to be like a social club, with people coming and going into the night," says Mr. Moggy. Writing in the late 1990s, Mr. Peterson put the number of parishioners at "13 in fellowship and 18 children." Before it imploded, those numbers were likely higher.

Of the Moggys' eight children, Heather was the only one to fall under the spell of the church. But that's one too many, for her parents.

Knowing now that she absconded with a disgraced member of the group, and remains unaccounted for, is "just devastating," says her mother. "If we had the money, we would go looking for her, but where would we start? We would be like a dog chasing its tail."

Husband Melvin conjectures that "they could be in Pennsylvania, among the Mennonites, or maybe up north of Earlton, where the Tucsoks had friends. Wherever they are, they've got to be supported somehow. If we had money, we'd hire a private eye."

The Moggys, however, don't have a whole lot of spare cash, and never really have. Raising eight children in a trailer while trying to make a go of it as cattle farmers-particularly now, in the wake of the BSE crisis-has not padded their bank account.

"It's a tough old grind," Mrs. Moggy says. "You look at how bad the cattle prices are, and then you go into the grocery store, and it's $5.95 for a little package of stewing beef that wouldn't even feed Melvin and myself. We've been at this for 30 years, but sometimes the stress of farming gets to be too much."

They've moved out of the trailer, finally, graduating to the old farmhouse previously occupied by Mr. Moggy's parents, but life is still a struggle. People who know the family describe them as hard-working but unlucky, and also too proud to accept financial help when offered.

Mr. Moggy, whose right hand now trembles with stage-one Parkinson's Disease, says he tried to "keep order" in the household, but became less strict after he was accused of being too heavy-handed-even though he was "cleared" of all allegations, he stresses.

Mrs. Moggy says she wishes her daughter's face could be circulated on milk cartons or posters across the country, increasing the chances that someone might recognize her and phone the police, but such campaigns apparently don't exist in Canada for individuals like Heather Moggy.

"We do have Child Find, for missing children," says Constable Boyd. "And there's the Amber Alert program, where if a child is abducted, you'll see their information on digital billboards on highways. But (Heather) left willingly, and she's not a minor, so it's different."

But not so different to her parents, who had a teenaged daughter vanish from their lives, and haven't a clue where she is, or how she's doing. "She might not be missing to others, but she's missing to us," says her mom. "I've told the police that when they find her, to tell her that no matter what shape she's in, or how many kids she might have, please tell her to come home."

As for Mr. Tucsok, there has been at least one, likely apocryphal, sighting. "Supposedly someone saw him working in the bush within the last year," says Mr. Pearson. Mr. Moggy, who has heard this story as well, specifies that the sighting, as he understands it, anyway, occurred near Charlton, which itself is near Earlton.

"He's either working in the bush, or hiding out in a Mennonite community or something," theorizes Mr. Pearson. "But you can only run for so long-eventually he'll get caught, and when he does, I'll be in my glory."

Mrs. Moggy, for her part, just hopes that someone, anyone, might come forward with news about the whereabouts of her daughter. "It gives me a little bit of encouragement to know that people can click into the Internet and see her picture. It's so frustrating to not know where she is, and to think that I could have maybe done something to prevent it. But they had these girls so brainwashed, and Heather wasn't a leader. And you can't do much when they get something into their heads at that age."

The teen, now 21, could look a lot different than she did when she was last seen on Manitoulin, but her father notes that, in keeping with her faith, as preached by Mr. Tucsok, "she didn't believe in dyeing her hair, or wearing makeup," so a total makeover, he believes, is unlikely.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Moggy points out that, despite the lack of a distinguishing feature being noted at the missing persons website, "Heather did have a little strawberry birthmark on the top of her head, so even though it's not something you'd see just by looking at her, a hairdresser could notice it."

The mother can't shake the feeling that someone out there does know what's happened to Heather, but just isn't sharing it with the family. "I've got no proof, but, in the back of my mind, I think the church knows something," she says.

AOK plans group home for youth

by Michael Erskine

MANITOULIN-For generations First Nation communities have watched their children go off-Island, even out-of-province, if they require foster care and especially if they have medical conditions. That is all about to change.

"What really provided the impetus for this project was when I had an opportunity to visit a group home in Sudbury where a couple of our community members were staying," said Aundeck Omni Kaning Chief Pat Madahbee.

What he found was an institutional setting that, while perhaps fine for children brought up in an urban environment, he felt was entirely unsuitable for Aboriginal children brought up in a rural world.

"For kids who have never been away from home and their community, let alone in an urban setting, it just made a bad situation worse," noted Chief Madahbee. "The atmosphere was just not right. I told myself , 'We have just got to get these kids home.'"

After a considerable amount of planning and lobbying, Aundeck Omni Kaning is now on the verge of building a five-bed residential treatment home. There will also be a bed for emergency care.

The clientele for the home is envisioned as, first and foremost, Aboriginal children from the Manitoulin First Nations, then other First Nations from the province, but Chief Madahbee is not ruling out accepting children from the non-Native community once First Nation needs are met.

"As far as I know, this will be the first facility of its kind," he said.

The facility will be able to provide clinical treatment, with psychiatric care and social service personnel to deal with high needs children, such as those suffering from alcohol spectrum disorders.

Funded by Community and Social Services, the new group home will not only provide a badly needed service for local First Nations, but it will also bring a number of highly qualified jobs to the Island.

The home will be especially targeted to children between the ages of six and 12, where the demographics show a particularly high need.

While Chief Madahbee said he would like to see the facility open as soon as possible, and "everything is ready to go," there are still some details to work out. Personnel advertisements have been published in the Expositor, and extensive retrofitting of the building (which formerly served as a temporary home for Noojmowin Teg) are complete, but the final budget and certification inspections remain outstanding.

If all goes according to plan, first clients may be through the doors as early as this June.

"First Nation children will no longer be shipped out of their communities and into a strange and unfamiliar environment during what is already a very stressful time in their lives," promised Chief Madahbee. "It won't be a minute too soon."

MHC budget $1 million richer

In real terms, it's 3 percent a year for 3 years

by Michael Erskine

TORONTO-The Manitoulin Health Centre will be receiving $1 million in additional funding spread over the next three years after an announcement by the provincial government.

"The announcement of funding for the Manitoulin Health Centre is great news for the patients and hospital staff," said Algoma-Manitoulin MPP Mike Brown in a release. "By announcing the funding allocations for the next three years, hospitals are being provided with a critical tool in terms of planning for the future. This should ensure better access to better care for Algoma-Manitoulin residents, with the investment of $185.9 million in operating funding to Algoma-Manitoulin hospitals over the next three years."

Algoma-Manitoulin hospitals will receive $60.4 million in operating funding this fiscal year, $62 million next year and $63.5 million in 2008-2009.

The funding, asserts Mr. Brown's office, will put Algoma-Manitoulin hospitals on a more sustainable financial footing.

Although the news of multi-year funding received a warm greeting from MHC CEO Jim Van Camp, his response was far more cautious than that of the MPP's office.

"We have not received the details on the funding yet," said Mr. Van Camp. He pointed out that the funding increase represented a 3 percent rise in the hospital's $10 million budget. "It's more of a cost-of-living increase than anything else."

Costs in fuel, water, hydro, insurance and pharmaceuticals, as well as a host of other expenses faced by the hospital over the next three years, are expected to rise by more than 3 percent. That prospect throws a little cold water on any enthusiasm expressed by the hospital sector, explained Mr. Van Camp.

"We are very grateful for the multi-year funding announcement, however; that is a very positive thing," he said.

EDITORIAL

Politics has its place but that place has limits

Aristotle once said that politics is the master art, for it rules and dictates all of the others. But even the words of a wise ancient Greek can be taken too far.

Witness the rise of feudalism and the aristocracy whose very label is borne of Aristotelian philosophy and whose espoused members presumed to have a divine right of birth to rule.

A democratic society must always be on its guard lest the children of its wealthy and political elite begin to believe themselves to be better than everyone else, and possessed of some innate right to rule those they deem to be their social inferiors.

Our society is approaching that pivot point upon which the people of Rome cast their strength behind the first emperor, with the power of their senate usurped by the populist leader known to the world as Julius Caesar. Another epoch saw Adolf Hitler rise to power in the turmoil of the Great Depression, elected in a time when politics and democracy had also lost its credibility.

The rising power of technology, combined with the evil of terrorism which recognizes none of the bounds of civilized behaviour, is creating a fear under which too much power is being devolved onto those whose role is to defend our freedoms.

That power is being conferred bit by bit, voluntarily, piece by piece, and we risk once more falling into the abyss of tyranny.

Politics has fallen far into disrepute, and that disrepute, reinforced daily by what the people see on the evening news, is creating a contempt and revulsion of politics-leaving the field of Aristotle's master art to those who would misuse it.

Our children are currently being sent into combat in a civil war in Afganistan, a civil war in which we cannot win-for our stated goal is to bring freedom and democracy to a land and culture in which our values are anathema. We do not want democracy in the Middle East, for those who would be elected will revile us as much we revile the Taliban-it is a game we cannot win and remain true to ourselves. But then the stated goal is itself just a cynical ploy of realpolitik-a sop to the masses.

While debating the original commitment to send our troops into that graveyard of empires at the edge of Asia would have been wrong, it is even worse to extend or expand that role beyond its commitment without strong and complete debate. The cynical manipulation of that debate by the current government will be paid for in the blood of our children.

Our cherised freedoms, like those of unreasonable search and seizure, the writ of habeas corpus, and the right to a fair and open trial, are all being sacrificed in the name of a war on terrorism. But this is not a temporary war of good against evil with defined goals and the hope of some glorious victory day that faced our fathers and grandfathers. This is the dawning of a new world order, and it is coming not with a bang or a whimper, but with the spoiled indifference of a consumer society gone mad with self-centred greed and power for its own sake.

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party. Which party? All of them. Unless people of good will from all points of views come forward to lend their aid in rebuilding our faith in politics, we will soon find the enemy is not simply at the gates-we will find him already within our walls and well-ensconced in the halls of power.

Wiky wind power project needs to be studied

The people need to know what's going on

To the Expositor:

An open letter to Wikwemikong band members.

This letter is in regards to the letter that Robert Corbiere sent to the band membership of the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve. In that letter he touts the success of a so-called band membership vote, authorizing the construction of a 30-megawatt windmill to be built in Buzwah and another 1,000-megawatt windmill to be located in Point Grondine. Also, he was touting the fact that a BCR was signed by his ponies that he is training, authorizing windmills to be built right away in the Buzwah community.

Since he made this announcement, a lot of band members have expressed serious concerns about the process that is being used to approve these developments, especially the speed with which this is being done. A lot of people feel that this is being rushed without a proper consultation process with the band members. Basically the only information that was given to band members was simple and espoused by only a couple of points, as follows:

a) This is going to lower your hydro bill.

b) Is going to create approximately 30 jobs.

c) This is going to generate tremendous amounts of money for the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve.

There are a lot more questions and concerns that people have about this project. But this does not mean they are against this project or another similar project of this type. Don't equate having questions and expressing concerns as being against this development. The people of Wikwemikong have a history of being careful and cautious when it comes to taking a major step in any direction that will have long-lasting effects and consequences on our community. This is the case in this event.

The people have to know what is going on.Who all is involved in this project? What other alternatives are available to us in regards to getting a project of this type being developed and licensed to operate?

How is it going to lower our hydro bill? In order for us to get the power we generate to market, how much rent do we have to pay to Ontario Hydro for using their transmission lines, hydro poles and towers? Who is our partner in this venture? In what capacity is the financier linked to this project? Are they just lenders or are they joint venture partners with an equity stake in the business? If they are coming in as equity investors, what percentage is their ownership in the business?

In most cases in the business world, the one who invests the soft cost money for a project usually gets a better percentage of the business because soft cost expenses are considered a high risk investment. After all the soft cost money has been spent in research and preparation work, in a lot of cases it is found that the project is not feasible. That is why these questions are important and should be answered before we proceed any further. We need to know more information about these projects. At the meeting where this project was supposedly approved by the band membership, the expert who conducted the testing was not available there to answer any of the concerns that band members had at that time. If they are going to be investing over $50 million initially in this project, I am surprised by their carelessness by not taking the time to meet with their potential partners in this venture, the Wikwemikong band members.

When Robert Corbiere stated that 30-megawatt windmills were to be built in Buzwah, how many windmills is that? Would that be 10 windmills that will produce 3-megawatts each, or 12 windmills that produced 2.5-megawatts each? Where in Buzwah is this going to happen?

When this was presented to the band membership on May 11, none of this information was available for the band membership to make an informed decision. This has been the case on so many important issues in our community in the past. Things are brought before the council or the people at the 11th hour, and the people are basically told that you have to approve this tonight or it's too late.

Our chief and council are showing great disrespect to the band members of Wikwemikong by not giving our people a chance to decide for themselves on whether they approve this project or not.

They cannot disregard and exclude over 5,000 voting band members, as they tried to do with the custom election code.

We have a chance to change this. Please call our MP Brent St. Denis and call or email the Minister of Indian Affairs, Jim Prentice, and ask him not to sign and approve the BCR that was passed without the permission of the 5,000 band members. Let's include everyone in this decision. Let's be careful and take the time to make an informed and correct decision.

R.G. Kaboni

Wikwemikong

Tires need attention

Never mind Caledonia

To the Expositor:

I read in your local paper where Native people were marching in support of Caledonia protestors. What are they doing to get rid of those tires in Zhiibaahaasing? That's where they should be-putting the tires in smaller piles and cleaning up timber, etc. If a fire starts, it wouldn't be the whole pile.

This could ruin all Manitoulin. If non-Native people had done this, the Ministry of Environment would have made them pay a fine and clean it up.

Why did they keep on bringing in tires until their machine was running again? It's time they do something about this before it's too late. Lightning can strike any time.

Never mind the Caledonian ruckus. Get busy and do something with those tires. This mess should never have happened.

Mel Nickolas

Mindemoya

Upsetting that ramp closed

And the Prov beach is eroding

To the Expositor:

An open letter to Central Manitoulin clerk Ruth Frawley:

As a result of the hasty decision of the Township of Central Manitoulin, I can assure you that the most recent brochure put out as a joint effort of Chamber of Commerce and others-the maps of Ontario-are all misleading to would-be visitors and tourists to our area. The boat ramp indicated at Spring Bay is closed and not available for use, and a date for resumption of service is an unknown factor as testified by the letter from Ms. Frawley on behalf of the Township.

Reeve Richard Stephens was asked by a citizen group about the possible reopening of the ramp, and he was very evasive along with all members of council who were present. Consultation with those most affected as to the effects of this closure and subsequent fallout were non-existent. It is fair to assume that, before spending the money to print the attached brochure, those responsible did some research and were not apprised of any changes. I am currently assessing the harm done to area providers of service to our visitors and community at large. I also wish to inform you that the photos in and around Providence Bay Beach are somewhat misleading. The efforts of Central Manitoulin to preserve a weed that is not, as of yet, on an endangered list has caused the beach to take on a look that is not pleasing to the would-be bather and outdoor fun-seeker. I spoke with Ministry of Natural Resources biologists who have stated that with the increase of weeds and decrease of sand, it has become a haven and natural habitat for birds that deposit their droppings on the beach and in turn cultivate E. coli. Closure of the once-alleged longest sand beach on a freshwater island in the world is imminent in the summer of 2006, as it was in 2005.

It is upsetting that our township is, in my personal opinion, a catalyst to destroying a world class retreat for those seeking sun, fun, rest and relaxation. I have tried, along with others, to dialogue with the municipality. It appears that unless the government of Ontario helps them, they are not prepared to help themselves.

I recommend that you notify the would-be users of various facilities in advance of making their personal plans, the fact that the Spring Bay ramp is closed for an unknown length of time, and the Providence Bay beach is fast eroding into a less-than-pleasant place to be. I encourage you to visit the areas I have spoken of yourself in order to have an independent view. It might not hurt to notice how the absence of people screams out my message to you. I would rather see my credibility as a citizen of this township intact than further tainted by a less-than-accurate brochure handed out by trusting persons, whoever they may be.

Larry B. Killens

Mindemoya

Letters can also be dropped through the slot on the front door of the Expositor office.Send your Dear Dave letters to Box 369, Little Current, Ontario, P0P 1K0,