Fishing fiasco

I would like to thank Mrs. Charron for her letter in the latest Chapleau Express.  For a town that worked so hard to become Canada's Ultimate Fishing Town winner in 2011, it sure doesn't show in 2012.  Apart from some signs and t-shirts at the Village Shops this summer and beforehand, a visitor would not have the slightest clue that our town won the contest a little over a year ago.  How come the zeal and effort by people like Charley Plourde did not continue into promoting our town as an ideal fishing destination?  I daresay that maybe we did not deserve to beat out Port Colborne if we can't seem to at least erect some decent signage to highlight the event in stead of...nothing.  More importantly, where is the $25,000 prize money?  Hopefully, it is still there waiting to be spent on a worthy fishing-related cause.  Maybe there should be an expiry date by which the money can be used.  Sometimes, doing nothing can be as bad as making a mistake.  Maybe worse.

Virtually speaking

I find it interesting that Mr. Hugh Kuttner thinks we should abandon our physical museum and have a virtual one in its place.  While this would simplify things a bit in terms of finances, there is a problem with this kind of thinking.  One of the reasons to have a vibrant and interesting museum in a town is to attract tourists.  How can a web-based virtual museum attract the same kind of attention?  Unless Hugh is thinking about virtual tourists.  Do the merchants in Chapleau accept virtual money?

Volunteerism works!

There is ample proof that volunteers are making a difference in our community.  A while back, a bunch of committees were set up to spearhead local initiatives.  One such example is the recreation committee.  Proof that this committee has done well and made a difference is easy to find.  One only has to take the outdoor skating rink (times two) as a shining example of the fine work that this group has done.  While we may not have had the perfect winter for outdoor enthusiasts, the ice surface was around for quite some time.  It was always well maintained by a small army of dedicated volunteers.  Even some of the users of the ice surface would take up the job of shovelling the ice after a dumping of snow.  The place was often very busy with some families even driving in from outside of town to make use of the ice.  Whether just skating or actual games of hockey, I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoyed this great outdoor activity.  None of it would have been possible without the hard work of the recreation committee and the support of the Mayor and council.  This is the kind of success that this town can accomplish and needs to build on to see other future endeavours realized.  I am not entirely familiar with all of the volunteer committees hard at work in Chapleau.  I do know that there is also a museum committee that has been formed.  We all know that our local museum desperately needs some TLC.  Let's hope that our Mayor and council can also get behind this important group and their monumental task.  They need all the help they can get.

Stick in the mud

Kudos to our Mayor, André Byham, for giving us an update of what council has been up to for the past year.  What is truly revealing is the amount of projects that have been planned and then scrapped or delayed due to the uncooperative nature of one or more council members.  It has been clear for some time, that certain elected officials in our town are not acting with the best interests of taxpayers in mind.  Our mayor has reinforced this sentiment with his latest article.  Not only are these people ignoring the will of the people who elected them, they are holding our town back.  We must all work together if we want to see our town prosper and grow.  What is on the minds of many townspeople, after having read the newspaper this week-end, is the identity of the council member (or members) in question.  I have my suspicions, as do many of you.  Our mayor was wise not to ruffle too many feathers by outing them publicly.  If anyone wants to discuss the matter further, including the behaviour of some of our elected officials, look no further.  I look forward to any comments you may have, or pointed fingers, for that matter.

Room with a view

It would seem that, without any fanfare, the webcams on top of the Redwood have been removed.  What was touted as being a major tourist attraction for Chapleau has run its course.  What are we to do without this vital boost to our economy?  What will all the railway aficionados do now that they can no longer gaze at the trains going through Chapleau?  Or the many people who love to admire our downtown from the web?  We will be hard pressed to find something else that is as equally stimulating to do in Chapleau.

Does the good Dr. have any other ideas up his sleeve?

Ice, Ice Baby...

In nearly all of Northern Ontario, school buses have been cancelled for the day due to freezing rain.  This includes Sudbury, Manitoulin, MOST of Algoma, Timmins, Kapuskasing, Hearst and MOST of the areas in between.  Strangely, although the same conditions exist throughout the entire region, school buses are still running in Chapleau and Wawa.  Ask yourselves, what do these two towns have in common, besides the aforementioned weather?  I'll leave you to figure out the answer.

Needless to say, this is an issue of safety and security and of great concern to local parents.  This is not the first time that such a thing has happened.  It will probabbly not be the last.  Hopefully, common sense will prevail BEFORE a needless tragedy happens in our community.

Be careful out there.  It's pretty slippery with all that ice.  Don't go out, unless you have to.  But I shouldn't have to tell you.  It's only common sense.  Did I mention that highway 129 is closed?