Legion facing fight for its existence

by Michael Erskine

LITTLE CURRENT-From one coast to the other, branches of the Royal Canadian Legion are closing, turning into bingo halls, apartment buildings and even private homes-and the burning question to have been answered at yesterday's (Tuesday's) urgent legion meeting was: Will Branch 177 be next?

The time for sugar-coating the urgency is clearly long past, as declining utilization of the legion's bar, low-to-non-existent turnout at Legion dances, and the inevitable toll the march of time is taking on the veterans' who are the Legion's main raison d'�tre, have all combined to produce a financial crisis that cannot continue.

A letter to the membership announcing the meeting lays the matter out in stark terms.

Of the $40 annual Legion membership dues, Branch 177 gets to keep a mere $6.28. Multiply that by 251 members, and you have $1,576.28 for the year-to-date.

The Legion has enjoyed a five-year property tax holiday, but that is drawing to an end and there is uncertainty as to whether the Northeast Town will extend that largesse any further.

Bar revenue has declined to the point where revenues often fall short of the cost of keeping the doors open-even as those costs continue to rise.

Fundraising has come to a standstill, as the handful of volunteers who have been carrying that function out have reached the end of their tether. Many of the stalwarts are performing multiple functions, have burnt out altogether, or, sadly, passed on.

Hall rentals have literally tanked at the Legion, despite its spacious capacity, and something must be done to improve the hall's image, make it more attractive and accessible to the public.

At the beginning of the week the Legion was still without a treasurer, a position one member noted consists of "around two hours work a month." Although the position was expected to be filled yesterday, an advertisement in the Expositor for someone to step forward for the position had gone unanswered.

Some of the problem was privately linked to the reluctance of the 'old guard' to relinquish control to the younger members. "They want to keep everything the same as it was," noted one member. But legion watchers also admit that few of the young members are willing to step forward and challenge the older members, many of whom are the very veterans the Legion was founded to serve.

Still, it is generally agreed that new ideas to attract the public are desperately needed.

In fact, it is in the area of ideas that the Tuesday meeting was called.

"I am really not fully up to speed on things myself," said acting president Rick Elliott, who stepped up to the post after the abrupt resignation of Ron Steeves. "But we need some new ideas to get things going again."

The Legion, he noted, is a community resource, and losing it would have a terrible impact on the social fabric of the town.

One of the solutions being put forward is to go back to the membership for a one-time $20 donation to buy time to get other ideas into play, leaving current membership rates at $40, or conversely, increasing membership dues to $50.

"But that isn't really the solution either," noted Mr. Elliott. "The problem doesn't lie with the memberships as much as it does the other revenue-although I haven't really had time to fully look into the books yet."

The bottom line does tell the story, however. In financial statements accompanying the Legion letter, it is shown that a $17,336.58 deficit has accumulated, with a $5,206.04 deeper hole dug for the month of July alone. Clearly that situation cannot be allowed to continue for any significant time.

The final line of the letter to the membership sums up the level of crisis being faced by the Legion: "Without your support and input your legion will close."

Although that decision was not expected to be made at yesterday's meeting, it does loom large and clear. Even if the community was not aware of the crisis and did not get a chance to attend yesterday's meeting, they can step forward to join, lend a hand or send in a donation.

Ballast water legislation deemed weak by critics

by Jim Moodie

GREAT LAKES-Ballast rules introduced this summer that are intended to limit the influx of invasive species to the Great Lakes are too lax, complain provincial representatives and commercial fishermen.

In late August, Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay warned that the federal legislation would "continue to put the lakes at significant risk" from such foreign invaders as zebra and quagga mussels, round gobies and water fleas.

The new rules are aimed at stopping invaders from entering the Great Lakes in the ballast water carried by ocean-going freighters, but critics say the federal government has fallen short of its initial plan to require all ships to flush residual ballast at sea. The final version of the legislation allows for some flexibility in how ship captains choose to deal with the ballast, depending on such factors as weather and time pressures.

As well, stipulations pertaining to 'NOBOB'-or "no ballast on board"-ships, are less stringent than required, the province maintains. According to information from the Ministry of Natural Resources, such boats still contain residual water and sediment that can host potentially harmful organisms.

Since 1989, voluntary guidelines have been in place that required ships entering the Great Lakes to exchange the water in ballast tanks at least 200 miles off the shores of Canada (flushing tanks with salt water kills species that might thrive in the Great Lakes), but these rules have not applied to cargo-filled boats that are perceived as being ballast-free.

Regulations drafted in 2005 set out to address the loophole afforded to so-called NOBOB ships, but the final version of the regulations, enacted in June, "contained provisions for NOBOB ships that had been considerably weakened," according to a ministry release.

"We are disappointed that the new regulations put in place by the federal government exempt the majority of ships from important measures to reduce the risk of bringing invasive species into Ontario waters," said Minister Ramsay.

Commercial fishermen on the Great Lakes, whose nets get fouled by zebra mussels and whose catch is compromised by such imports as alewives, would also like to see much stiffer laws in place to curtail the invasion of foreign species. "They definitely have to do more," said Drew Purvis of Purvis Brothers Fishery at Burnt Island.

In Mr. Purvis's view, ocean-going vessels "shouldn't even be allowed in the Great Lakes." He feels "Great Lakes freighters should just remain in the Great Lakes, and the 'salties' shouldn't be allowed in. There should be an exchange point somewhere, in Montreal or Quebec City, where the salt water boats would unload, and this would give more business to the Great Lakes freighters."

If ballast water has to be dumped or taken on, "there shouldn't be an exchange into the lake," stressed Mr. Purvis, musing that "maybe they need tanks on the shore."

The fisherman admits that "this would be costly, but what does it cost me? We have two $10,000 net washers on board our boats, because otherwise we can't keep our nets clean and can't fish."

Mr. Purvis explained that fishing nets are regularly soiled by "green slime" that he attributes to the proliferation of zebra mussels, whose water-clarifying function allows algae to flourish on the bottom of the lake. As well, the mussels themselves damage the nets, as clumps of them encrusting small rocks get caught in the monofilament mesh.

"We didn't used to get stuff picked up off the bottom," noted Mr. Purvis, "but now we have a pickup load or two of rocks with a dozen zebra mussels attached to each little rock that we have to shovel overboard." The mussels, with their sharp edges, can also easily slice through the monofilament net material, he added.

This past spring was "the worst we've ever had for zebra mussels," noted Mr. Purvis.

According to the province, some 180 foreign species now exist in the Great Lakes, and a new one is found every 28 weeks, says a recent report by McGill University biodiversity professor Anthony Ricciardi. Most of these creatures arrived in ballast water.

Turbine coming soon to Island

by Lindsay Kelly

SPRING BAY-Construction of the wind generation farm in Spring Bay has begun, with concrete foundations now marking the area where the wind farm will exist, and a completion date currently slated for this fall.

Thomas Schneider, speaking from his office in Toronto, said the Schneider Power wind farm project is on schedule, and several new developments have taken place over the summer.

"Essentially, we have finished the access roads, and have completed pouring the foundations for the generators," he said. "We are now in the curing period, which is about 28 days, at which point, the turbines will be installed. We expect that to be around the end of September."

The turbines recently arrived in the port of Toronto, and Mr. Schneider said they will be shipped to Manitoulin in about two weeks' time.

The exact date for when the foundations will be ready is largely dependent on the weather, he added, noting that the cooler weather of the last few weeks has slowed progress down somewhat; however, Mr. Schneider said his company is generally pleased with the project's development. "So far, so good," he said.

Once the turbines are in place, which Mr. Schneider estimates will be in mid- to late-October, Hydro One will be brought in to hook up transmission lines. A test period of 120 days follows, during which any kinks can be worked out.

"We want to make sure everything is operating properly, and after that we'll have an official ceremony," he said.

When complete, the $25-million project will include eight wind turbines across 400 acres. Each turbine is expected to generate 800 kW to 2 MW of power, and combined will generate 13.6 MW of power.

Design and construction of the project was done by US-based wind project development company Sustainable Partners International, international project management and services company AMEC, and Enercon GmbH, a Germany-based wind turbine manufacturer, with the latter also supplying the turbines.

A public information centre will also be constructed on site, which will feature educational material on renewable energy, wind farm operations and energy conservation.

The wind farm is located along Highway 542 between Providence Bay and Spring Bay.

EDITORIAL

Keep a careful eye out for excited children

Fall is definitely in the air, as geese gather noisily on the lakes and rivers of the North, and the first hints of colour are already beginning to appear amongst the maple leaves. These harbingers of cooler weather must also serve as a reminder to all of us that big yellow school buses will be making their ponderous journey to and from schools each day, loaded with excited and perhaps over-eager young children racing to and from their stops.

As adults, we must each take greater care in our own journey to and from work, perhaps even leaving a little earlier after our morning coffee, in order to accommodate the slower traffic and to allow ourselves to watch out for the concentration of children on the roads.

A deep sense of shame should be felt by the thoughtless vandals who destroyed four school crossing signs in the Northeast Town recently. Those signs are there to remind us that the most vulnerable of our society are engaging in the most dangerous activity of their day-we all should be striving to increase their safety, not inviting tragedy through careless destruction.

A number of schools will be seeing quite a difference in their day, as Assiginack Public School and Lakeview School in M'Chigeeng will be embarking on a new block timing schedule this year. Under the new schedule, students will have two longer breaks earlier and later in the day, rather than the traditional morning and afternoon 15-minute breaks and an hour-long lunch. The new schedule is designed to better accommodate young minds and stomachs, and parents are encouraged to design their children's snacks to reflect the new regimen.

Lakeview will also be entering its new school year with a brand new drum, courtesy of the White family of Toronto. The drum will be a great addition to the school community, and its steady drumbeat will serve to help keep the proud traditions of the forefathers of one of Canada's founding people vibrant and alive for seven generations to come.

Little Current Public School will also be seeing quite a change this year, as the New Beginnings daycare program begins within its walls. As part of the province's commitment to integrate daycare spaces within existing schools, the program will ensure that our schools, smaller though they may be, will be efficiently utilized even if regular enrollment continues to decline slightly.

A brave new year is beginning in the school calendar. Let's all work together to ensure it is a happy, safe and rewarding experience for all of them.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Escarpment corridor conditions are a smokescreen

The province's decision will soon tell us whether it is serious about protecting the Niagara Escarpment

To the Expositor:

Rumour has it that the provincial Cabinet will make a decision very soon on whether to protect the Niagara Escarpment wildlife corridor, or cave in to the aggregate industry and give Dufferin Aggregates Quarry at Milton a new license.

Since the purpose of the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act (NEPDA) is a 'continuous natural environment,' it is infuriating for landowners within the Niagara Escarpment planning area, and protectors of the escarpment alike, that Dufferin Aggregates may be allowed to break the rules and mine across the corridor. Big companies somehow are able to avoid the very purpose of the act, while ordinary folk must jump through hoops for any small development.

In the joint board decision to allow mining across the wildlife corridor, much was made of the 44 conditions. However, at a meeting in Puslinch, Stuart Thatcher, a representative from the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), told the audience that the MNR is not able to enforce many of the conditions on licenses. This makes those conditions a smokescreen to make citizens 'think' the environment is being protected.

Recycled aggregate could provide almost five times more aggregate per year than would be extracted annually from the Milton quarry expansion, showing that this new license is not even needed. This approach would support the aggregate recycling recommendation made by the environmental commissioner in his 2003 report.

With the quarry in the middle of the Liberal's much-touted greenbelt, Cabinet's decision will tell us whether the government is serious about a greenbelt and protection of the Niagara Escarpment.

Barbara Halsall

Georgetown, Ont.

Reader invokes a time when streams ran full and free

Tossing in a few rocks so fish can spawn downstream from cow dung doesn't cut it

To the Expositor:

There was a time when brooks and creeks ran all year long and everyone could swim in, and drink, the clean water. Now look-brooks run dry all summer from diverted farm use, swamps are dumping grounds for cattle waste and run-off that would make your mouth water in Walkerton.

Let's realize the cow is the rural equivalent to the car in cities-polluting everywhere they go. From chemicals used in cleaning dairy facilities, to antibiotic/drug-laced dung, farmers consider our water system their free dumping ground. Regarding the "makeover" by Manitoulin Streams: tossing in a few rocks so fish can spawn downstream from cow crap doesn't cut it in my books.

Scott McDermid

Toronto

Nelson Runnalls weighs in on Northeast Town police plan

Municipal governments are not there to recreate provincial policing techniques

To the Expositor:

Re: Northeast Town's consideration of the creation of a municipal police force.

Looks like, from an onlooker's perspective, to be lacking in substance, leaving motivational factors unaddressed by councils.

Fear of change. Fear of failure. Fear of not having able bodies to support such an endeavour.

However, Minister Monte Kwinter already has received direction for this: not to leave honest, hard-working Ontario Provincial Police unemployed. A beneficial weeding method.

In fact, there recently was a deer/cruiser collision. An unfortunate mishap. Arguably an accident that would have been avoided had the officer not had to travel such distances required within the workload. Personally, I sympathize with the officer. He is a good man.

Problem number two: it has come to my attention that there will be a federal election called this fall. It seems that a budget will not pass due to lack of funds.

I'm not in any way saying that all errors can be stopped. Municipalities aren't there to constantly argue with provincial government and its policing techniques, nor are they there to recreate such at this time.

Municipal government is there for you and I.

Nelson Runnalls

North Bay