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Back to Home Letters - October 6, 2011 Letters: Oct 6

Re: Sharbot Lake Farmers market, Pat Furlong & Mary de Bassecourt

Fracking – the new cussword, Gray Merriam

Discarded ducks, Dorothy Thompson

PC Fiscal Responsibility, Mel Therien

Re: St. Alban's celebrates 125 years, Ken Fisher

Voter's List, Garnet Brown

Phone Scams Continue, John Hindle

New Hardware Store, Gordon McGaw

Re: Sharbot Lake Farmers market

On behalf of the vendors of Sharbot Lake Farmers’ Market, we wish to express warm appreciation to Marlene Wheeler for her glowing letter (Letters, The Frontenac News, September 29, 1011) thanking the vendors. We also gratefully acknowledge the abundant praise we've received from other shoppers and local businesses over the summer. Also, we are very thankful to the Township of Central Frontenac, Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation, the Lions Club, the Frontenac News and EMC News for their outstanding support of the market. Please note that the market is still running this coming Saturday, October 8. It will be the last market day of the season, and features a Taste Fest. Hope to see you there!

Pat Furlong & Mary de Bassecourt,CoordinatorsSharbot Lake Farmers Market

Fracking – the new cussword

Folks who wish to prolong our dependence on petroleum are offering a new technology that they say will let us continue to use fossil fuels but with much less environmental impact. It's called "fracking", shorthand for "high-volume hydraulic fracturing".

By fracturing deep-lying shales, large volumes of natural gas can be released, captured and substituted for other fossil fuels. The shale beds being fracked extend from West Virginia north to upstate New York and recently have been the subject of a frenzied "gas rush". So it's not happening here, what's the problem?

Recent research at Cornell University* concluded that the greenhouse gas impact on the atmosphere by this "shale gas" is at least 20 percent greater than the atmospheric impact of coal. This is because the shale gas is 95 percent methane, a greenhouse gas that has 105 times greater impact in climate warming than does carbon dioxide.

The effect of "fracking" is at least 30 per cent greater than conventional drilling for natural gas because between 3.6 and 7.9 per cent of the methane released by "fracking" leaks into the atmosphere to become one of the most damaging greenhouse gases.

This effect does not last as long as CO2 but it is in the near future that we have the greatest crisis in the atmosphere. At present the atmosphere has 390 parts per million but in 30 years, that is projected to reach 450 parts per million, an impact considered to be irreversible.

No, "fracking" is not an easy way out of the petro-problem, its just another cuss-word.

Gray Merriam

Discarded ducks

This is a complaint dealing with an observed misuse of nature in our area. In the woodland just west of Myers Cave Road, which runs from Harlowe Road to Myers Cave, a friend and I found a pile about a meter high of moldering ducks, perhaps 20 or more, killed and thrown away in a heap. I support organizations like World Wildlife Fund and other similar groups who are trying to preserve nature’s survival at least into the next century. Are there persons in this area who are carelessly and arrogantly enjoying target practice, shooting birds and wildlife and throwing them away in the woods? Shame! Shame!

Dorothy Thompson

Re: Motocross in Harrowsmith

Once again someone steps up with little - actually no - valid information, and knows nothing about what has transpired over the last five months about the motocross track. If Mrs. Crawford (Letters, The Frontenac News, September 22, 1011) was so interested in Harrowsmith, why did she not attend even one council meeting about the track? Nearing the end of this ordeal there were two gentlemen who came to the council meeting and, like Mrs. Crawford, had no idea what they were talking about; one even tried to correct Mr. Mills, the township planner, on a distance issue. Of course, he was wrong.

Mrs. Crawford goes on about Councillor Robinson honouring his promise to let Mr. Day have his races. Well, some things just need to be said! Mr. Robinson, as a councilor, had his mind made up about the track long before any discussion took place! His facts were not accurate and most of his facts where fabricated. When challenged, he never once stepped forward to defend his statements! His last statement was “I live closer to the track as the crow flies than anyone and that’s a proven”. Now, if you know where the track is and where Mr. Robinson lives, you figure it out for yourself.

Mrs. Crawford says in her letter she will remember what Mr. Robinson did for Mr. Day come election time. Well, I can say that I know people from all around the track area and over to Amy Road who will also remember what Mr. Robinson did come election time!

Mel Therien

Re: St. Alban's celebrates 125 years

While not a member of St. Alban's, but as an Anglican, I was deeply appreciative of Ms. Druker's article (St. Alban's Church in Maberly celebrates 125 years, The Frontenac News, Sept. 29/11). It seems that her writing and reporting is ever better; a fine asset to Frontenac. Part of the context of this story is that until the 60s, all social services were provided by voluntary community groups in the form of church women's groups and men's service clubs. Institutions like St. Alban's were, are, and can continue to be, the cornerstones of neighbourhood and community care.

Congratulations and thanks to St. Albans for its 125 years of service to Maberly and recently to Iqualuit.

Ken Fisher

Voter's List

At the time of the federal election, my wife was on the voting list and I was not. I had to swear that I lived at this location, and one would think that I had committed a crime the way I was treated. I see that I am still not on the voters’ list for the provincial election, so I’ll have to go through this swearing-in again. I gather a lot of people are in the same situation I am. Also, a person who has been dead for four years is on the voting list.

I have lived here for 16 years so something is sure wrong with how the voting list is made up. Somewhere the way things are done is far from right and I feel someone needs waking up. A lot of people who have to go through this swearing in will simply not vote. I have to wonder why this list is done this way.

Garnet Brown

Phone scam continues

There continues to be scam artists calling local residents, including in the Cloyne area, informing them they have computer issues that can be rectified immediately if they give them  $150. They say they will access your computer remotely and fix the problem immediately, thusly avoiding costly damage to your computer. This is a total scam! DO NOT give anyone money over the phone. DO NOT give anyone access to your computer over the phone. DO NOT give anyone your charge or debit card information over the phone. Your easiest response is: "I don't have a computer" and promptly hang up.

John Hindle

New Hardware Store

On Sept. 30 I arrived home and was shown a letter from the Township of South Frontenac informing us "as a neighboring property owner" of an application to create a nearby lot for commercial use. Excited I was for sure - imagining what on earth it could be. A Tim Horton’s maybe? A new IKEA? Even a local pub? Nope! Wrong on all three counts. On further investigation, it turns out to be a hardware store. Really? I ask. Don't we already have two of these nearby? And we NEED another? Neither I nor my neighbors think so.

The surrounding area is actually well populated with children, who play on the streets and many dog walkers who exercise their dogs faithfully and vigorously. The problem may not be crystal clear but for those not knowledgeable, we have NO sidewalks here, so the roads are used frequently as our sidewalks. Residents of the area are all aware of the children who learn to ride their bikes on our roads and always take care, drive slower and pay respect to our children and animals.

Should a hardware store "appear", would sidewalks also "appear" to keep our children safe? Increased traffic a problem? Well, with the school at the bottom of the street, I cannot imagine the chaos and danger that would be created by an increase in traffic in our area. We are always informed that "location, location, location" should be a good measure of any new business and finding a few empty businesses empty on Main Street in Verona, surely a better location could be found for yet another hardware store. Harrowsmith doesn’t have any and we would think maybe they could have one too?

Seems strange too that only neighboring properties were informed of this application. Something doesn’t add up as "Safety, safety, safety" for our children should be paramount in our lives

But if we get a whole neighborhood of sidewalks to alleviate our safety concern, all we would be left with would be the traffic …dare I say it… around the school premises. So, this is maybe of concern to more than just neighboring properties. We wish the applicant good luck in his new venture, sadly not a Tim Horton’s and hopefully not in our neighborhood.

Gordon McGaw