The strip of beach in front of Wing ’N It and the Chateau Suites could be described as a mess up until this morning, when the town councillors took it upon themselves to clean it.
The initiative was spear headed by Coun. Dale Plante, who said he challenged his fellow councillors to cleaning the beach area.
“This is a great little beach that kids love, it just needs some work being maintained,” said Plante.
The idea was initiated by Plante after hearing a few people refer to the stretch of beach as “Hepatitis C Beach.”
As the area is beloved by children, he wanted to ensure it was usable and clean.
“My granddaughter loves playing down here, I think a lot of kids do,” said Plante.
The councillors banded together early this morning to clear away the garbage and debris from the shore for families and guests to enjoy.
It was all volunteer based, and the group acted as citizens not as councillors, said Mayor Sean McIntyre.
“It’s amazing what a little team work will do,” said McIntyre.
The garbage collected filled more than a couple of the Town’s black garbage bins.
Altogether the clean up of the beach took the councillors roughly one hour, having started around 7:30 a.m.
“I am so proud of these guys who came out this morning to clean this beach,” said Plante.
The members of council worked as a team to clear away the garbage on the beach.
There has been some concern lately about the state of the lakefront, Plante says this is an action anyone can take.
He says all it takes is picking up after yourself.
“We take pride in where we live. I think if we work together, the Town and the citizens, we can make a difference,” said Plante, emphasizing the councillors decided to clean the area outside of their duties as councillors.
The strip of beach is often over looked due to the ownership and sometimes lack of resources. According to McIntyre the bit of beach is not owned by either the Town or Provincial Parks.
That particularly stretch falls under the jurisdiction of Sustainable Resource Development.
Part of the problem is there is no agreement in place for maintaining the small patch of beach.
Even when the Town take’s possession of the provincial park later this summer, that particular bit of beach will not be Provincial Park nor Town park.
“When the Town takes possession of the parks, I look forward to having more control over maintaining the beachfront,” said McIntyre, with Plante agreeing.
In September there is a volunteer lakeshore clean-up planned and Mayor McIntyre encourages anyone looking to help to come out to that.
