Letter: Freedoms taken away

 

Dear Editor,

The present state of the Morrisburg public dock is a disgrace. It needs to be repaired and put back into service as a matter of urgency.

Summer evenings and week-ends at the Morrisburg dock have become a major draw for locals, boaters and out-of-town visitors.  In many ways, the Morrisburg waterfront and dock has become the town meeting place where you can always be sure to find a few friends and neighbours.  

It was becoming an ‘attraction’ that drew tourists by both water and land.

Now what do we see?  A “Dock Unsafe” sign and a make-shift barricade to stop folks from using the main part of the dock. It looks terrible and sends a really bad message to visitors about our town.

The dock has been neglected since the Federal Government gave it to the township.  

A large part of the outside face of the dock was destroyed some years ago, the rubber buffer strips on the concrete wall are gone, the concrete slabs of the western launch pad are breaking apart and have a dangerous drop-off at the end that is in the water, the wooden base for the mooring cleats on the concrete wall are rotting and exposing loose bolts and the boardwalks have heaved up so much that it is not even safe to walk on the dock.

The dock is actually much worse on the water side than it is on the land side.  You would really be risking your boat if you tried to moor alongside the outside face of the dock. 

 Last year I took some photographs of the dock from the water side and sent them, along with a request that the dock be fixed before the 2012 season, to the Mayor and most of the councillors.  In reply, Steven Byvelds said there were no budgeted funds for maintenance and that the council could look at this issue next year (2012).  

I may be wrong, but I do not believe that there was any follow-up to my letter, certainly nobody contacted me.

It seems to me that the Morrisburg dock is really the jewel of the town and yet we cannot maintain it properly.  

Imagine belonging to a golf club where the executive decided not to maintain the greens in order to save a little money.  That is what has happened to our dock.

My wife and I are active boaters, and we have cruised our boat from Lake Ontario to Florida stopping at town docks along the way.  We moved to Morrisburg because of the river and access to boating.  

We always felt that the Morrisburg dock could easily become one of the nicest places to stop, but in recent years it has been neglected and is now an eyesore.  

We have posted information about local docks and anchorages in “ActiveCaptain”, a very popular online boater’s cruising guide.  We posted a positive review of the Morrisburg dock in the guide, but we have now advised visiting boaters not to stop here until the repairs are complete.

I am very concerned about how long it is going to take to get the dock repaired.  The township has given no estimate on this, and I fear that work may not even start this year.

I think that this matter should be treated as an urgent priority and that every effort should be made to finish the repairs as soon as possible.

Don Taylor

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There is a third choice…

In late July, while Dave was with me here in Morrisburg, we went out for a walk with Ziggy, our big, goofy, yellow Labrador retriever. As a good pet owner, I am vigilant about cleaning up after my dog. When I was picking up Ziggy’s “calling card” I noticed that he needed to go to his doctor to be treated for worms. The appointment was made for a couple of days later.

Two days later, I loaded the Ziggy into the car and off we went to one of his favourite places in the entire world – to see Dr. Hunt. Now, you may have gathered that my dog is out of the ordinary – where many critters aren’t thrilled to go to the clinic, my dog loves to visit the people there. While we were there with our ‘sample’ Dr. Hunt noticed that something didn’t “look right.” I agreed to leave Ziggy for some x-rays. Dave and I returned to pick him up later that afternoon.

Upon meeting with Dr. Hunt later that day, we were given the worst news that we could have received about our big, goofy dog. He had a hemangiosarcoma – that is a cancerous tumor growing on the blood vessels of his spleen. 

We were devastated by this – after all he was just his usual self, running around, playing, sleeping – all the things that a dog does. It was then that we were told what our options were.

The first option was that we could just leave it. The tumor would eventually rupture and there would be internal bleeding – that in our minds was not an option. 

The second option was for the veterinarian to do exploratory surgery and remove the spleen if the cancer hadn’t obviously metastasized. The conversation continued around this option which included things like the seriousness of the surgery, the cost, what happened if the cancer had spread. We cried as we tried to figure out what was best for Ziggy. 

It was then when Dr. Hunt said, “There is a third option.”

We considered how our 13 year old dog would tolerate the surgery. He had already lived past the average age of a dog his size. The recovery would be hard for him. We needed to decide about the third option – the option of euthanasia. 

Dave, Ziggy and I headed home. When we arrived he was happy to be home and Dave and I had the difficult decision to make. After a lot of talking, crying and hugging of Ziggy and each other, we decided that there was no option but number three.

If anyone ever questions why God created animals to be pets, I simply say, “To bring more joy and more love into our lives.”

We were blessed in so many ways by having Ziggy as a part of our family. He was one of God’s special creatures. We were chosen to be his caregivers and I give thanks to God for that privilege. 

Part of being a servant of God in the world is to care for God’s critters as well as God’s people. The way I see it we were good stewards of God’s creation. 

Now when I sing the hymn “All Creatures of our God and King” there will be new meaning for me – not only will I think of the human creatures, but I will think of all those creatures who have brought so much joy to God’s people.

 

Cheers,

Sue+

Rev. Sue McCullough

Anglican Parish of Morrisburg, Iroquois & Riverside Heights

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