Roberta Anderson | Jul 30, 2015


July 18 was a fine day. At 10am my husband, Carl Conboy, and I attended the annual general meeting of the Sharbot Lake Property Owners Association (SLPOA) at St. James Church. Everyone had lots of table space; there was tea and coffee and lots of chatter and buzz. For those who stayed until the end of the meeting there was a free lunch of delicious sub sandwiches provided by the Sharbot Lake Country Inn. How generous was that?!

The meeting was very worthwhile. The mayor was there, as was a pollinator (think bees) biologist and two enthusiastic women from the “Love Your Lake” program (LoveYourLake.ca), which is sponsored by the Canadian Wildlife Federation and Watersheds Canada. These women have been examining all our shoreline with the assistance of volunteers from SLPOA. The program is offering FREE reports to individual owners on their specific properties and FREE plants to protect and sustain our lake.

We learned about everything from the bridge work on Hwy. 38 in the village to septic systems on the lake to what attracts the many pollinators so essential to our local agriculture. The meeting lasted about two hours and held everyone's attention to the very end.

Congratulations to those who have shown leadership in the community by providing us with an opportunity to help keep our lake healthy and beautiful.

The meeting was well attended, but not well enough. Those of us who live beyond the shores of the lake, both in the village and throughout our network of local roads, benefit from a healthy, beautiful lake and can help. The lake association needs more members. A $20 membership fee enables our volunteers to carry on their labour of love monitoring the lake and environment. I invite everyone in the area who has not yet joined - business owners, villagers, farmers, professionals and shore-dwellers - to invest $20 in the future of Sharbot Lake.

There was more to the day. From 5 to 7pm we attended an exceptionally good barbecued chicken dinner, which included a silent auction with a variety of offerings from local businesses and other generous citizens. Barb Wilson's beautiful custom-tailored tote bag drew several bids, as did Ken Waller's meticulously-turned beech wood bowl and a three-dimensional puzzle. Senators’ hockey fans also had an opportunity to get a bargain.

Clark Lawlor's “Kingmakers” group (Clark is the lead singer and an east basin cottager) provided swinging music from Nashville (where they have recorded), Elvis to Blues, all of which had us prancing around the dance floor.

The SLPOA offered this truly fun event as an opportunity for those of us who are committed to the future well-being of Sharbot Lake to have a really good time together. The whole community was encouraged to come. Again, while it was a great crowd, it wasn't a large crowd.

Sharbot Lake is vulnerable to pollution, weather and neglect. The lake association needs us to support it in its monitoring work. I encourage everyone in our area to show support for our volunteer “lake-minders” by becoming members of the association - and when there is an SLPOA event, whether a meeting, a dinner or another event, I encourage you to attend. You'll be glad you did and you'll be helping our lake.

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