MORRISBURG – Gathered at the Morrisburg Lions Club’s weekly Docksyde Cruise-In last Monday (June 11) members of the Cornwall Olde Car Club had a lengthy discussion about the beauty of the Morrisburg waterfront and all it has to offer.
The next day they heard the news about the $19,000 worth of vandalism and tree destruction that took place in the waterfront that very night.
The club met in Cornwall Wednesday night and spoke at length about what had happened in Morrisburg and wanted to do something to help.
The Cornwall Olde Car Club decided to donate $500 to the Morrisburg Lions Club to help.
“We’ve attended the Morrisburg Cruise nights for years and we always look forward to it,” said longtime member Bill Parisien. “This is the nicest place that there’s a cruise-in.
“As a matter of fact we were sitting there, just the night before this happened, talking about how nice it was to see a group of 12 year old kids out fishing and enjoying the area and each other’s company, with not a cell phone in sight,” said Parisien. “The next day we were so sad to hear about what had happened.”
He hopes that the local Lions Club can do something beneficial to help the situation with their donation.
The Cornwall Olde Car Club was the first of many who decided to take action to help with this situation.
By the weekend there was little evidence that anything untoward had even occurred at the Morrisburg waterfront.
Members of the local business community, including J&M Contracting, KY’s Mobile Washing and Emard Lumber, quickly stepped up to get the damage to the lookout repaired.
Director of Parks, Recreation and Facilities for the Municipality of South Dundas, David Jansen said: “I can’t keep up the all the donations and outcry that have come out of this negative situation.”
All of the broken trees have been removed by municipal staff as they work towards a replacement plan.
It is most likely that replacement trees will be planted in fall to improve chances of survival.
“As much as this started as a negative situation, the positivity coming from it just makes the community stronger,” said Jansen.
While the municipality can submit an insurance claim to pay for the recent damage, Jansen said that will be determined by weighing the value of the damage against the insurance deductible.
He expects from the number of people and companies who have reached out wanting to help with donations to return the waterfront to its previous state that donations will exceed what’s needed to replace damaged items.
With that in mind, he is working on a plan to have any donations in excess of what’s needed directed to an upcoming Morrisburg Waterfront Committee fundraising campaign for a multi-use recreational pad at the waterfront that’s currently in the planning phase.
Investigation points towards four youths
MORRISBURG – The police investigation into the Morrisburg waterfront vandalism that took place during the weekend of June 7 is continuing.
So far, police are confirming that four individuals were involved, all of whom are under 18. At least one young offender was charged for mischief over $5,000.
Police will release further details as they become available.