Letters: May 9/13

May 09, 2013

Ambulance Cuts

I have recently returned to the area after wintering in Peterborough with my mother. We made the difficult decision to winter away due to some health concerns she had, and she was taken by ambulance to hospital twice while we were there. After a couple of close calls due to a medication reaction, she was rebuilding her strength and looking forward to enjoying her semi-retirement at her beloved O’Reilly Lake this summer. Anyone who knew Marg understands that full retirement was not in the cards for her!

Sadly, she only survived two days into her return home. She experienced an episode of respiratory distress, and while she has managed in the past to make it through these events and come back stronger with medical attention, the wait for the ambulance proved too much for her. Was it 20 minutes? 30? I only know I called a 2nd time to ask them to please hurry as her breathing became slower and slower. The EMS personnel tried valiantly to resuscitate her when they arrived, and they were more than kind with me when they could do no more.

Our community lost a strong, vibrant business woman on April 21, 2013, and I firmly believe that had she received EMS treatment just 10 minutes sooner, she would be with us today. As for Mayor Gutowski interrupting a presentation by an EMS professional (twice!), I am embarrassed on her behalf.

Ambulance services are critical. I suggest that council appreciates this & makes them a priority before another life is unnecessarily lost.

Nancy Browman

 Save loon nests

Have you ever seen a loon on land? Probably not. Their legs are placed very

far back on their bodies which makes them excellent divers but very awkward on land. The only time they come on land is to "nest". They make a very rudimentary nest for their one to two eggs. They will be nesting anytime now.

Because they cannot walk on land, the nests are very close to the water's edge. This puts them at risk. If you like the sound of the loon's call, and to many it is synonymous with our northern lakes and natural habitats, we need to pay attention to how we may be influencing the survival rate of the chicks.

Because the loon's nest is so close to the water, it is very vulnerable to wave action. If the parent loon is frightened off the nest by a passing loud boat, the eggs may be washed out into the lake and lost. If the loon is

frightened off the nest by humans or dogs, the eggs are vulnerable to predation, commonly by raccoons or ravens.

You might say, well they can nest again? They might. There is nothing more

disheartening than seeing a loon chick, still fluffy, less than six weeks old, in August. This chick will not survive. It will not be big nor strong enough to migrate before the ice forms on the lake. To survive, the chicks

must be young adolescents by August, not fluffy chicks. Once laid, the adult pair of loons will take turns incubating the eggs for 30 days.

The loons will be nesting any day now. Do you think we might help by having NO WAKE month? mid-May through to the long weekend at the end of June? Please consider this if you are boating by a isolated island, large or small. Cut your speed, save a loon egg!

Charmaine Jones

It Takes a town.....

On the night of December 14, 2012, my son and his spouse, Shawn and Katie, were at the Smiths Falls hospital having their first child. They lived in the apartment above the Sharbot Lake post office and to everyone’s surprise, they came home to an extinguished fire that had destroyed almost everything in the apartment. Quite a welcome home for first time parents with a newborn baby.

I had already called the fire department to put out the fire. The department was quick to attend and searched diligently for the cats, which thankfully had already been removed prior to the firefighters’ arrival. The fire was determined to have been an accident, caused by something placed on the stove while it was left on. The two young parents were in hospital for the two days before the fire, so the cause was considered unknown. Thank God they did not go home sooner. The fire department stated that the fire had choked itself out and a person opening the door could have let in a rush of oxygen that could have been fatal.

People in the community may not know the two of them or myself at all, but were overwhelmingly generous in assisting in any way they could. They donated money, and all the baby, food and household items the family needed, plus many additional items, and Ken Bouchard, the owner of the building, went above and beyond in the repairs. Our heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for your amazing generosity (see also our Card of Thanks elsewhere in the paper).

The family has recently moved back in and are doing very well. I always wondered where the expression started, 'It takes a village'. Now, I've been so privileged to experience it first hand. I am so proud to be a part of this little town and to see how wide spread the hearts and souls of the people who live here go. Again, most of you have never met the parents, yet you gave assistance without batting an eye. It makes me proud to tell others about what you have done to help out. I can only hope to return the favor to this town in the future. I'm surprised Sharbot Lake isn't larger, needing more space to contain all these wonderful hearts.

Proud to call Sharbot Lake/Clarendon Station home..... 

Brenda Repaye

Speaking with one voice

When someone in a position of power starts talking about the need for everyone to "speak with one voice", watch out! That's code for the new Canadian way of quelling dissent and imposing tyranny.

The party in power muzzles its own Members of Parliament to ensure that only one voice – that of the leader – is heard. Public service scientists are gagged and bound to prevent them from voicing factual evidence that might throw government policies into question. Now the RCMP brass are prohibiting their officers from talking freely with politicians, saying the Force must "speak with one voice".

And don't think for a moment that this is happening only at the national level. In a small Canadian city, the board of the public library reprimands one of its members for criticizing an unfair policy, saying all directors should "speak with one voice". In an obscure rural municipality, a councillor is warned against publicly disagreeing with an ill-advised decision, because the entire council is supposed to "speak with one voice". To hell with public debate, informed discussion, citizen representation.

In countries like North Korea, people are still compelled to "speak with one voice" or remain silent. But democracies depend on a diversity of voices, and so do democratic institutions.

So whatever Big Brother may try to command, I for one will continue to "speak with one voice" – my own. And it will be loud and clear.

Helen Forsey