The President’s Message
By Judith Grant
This has been a remarkable summer. Four amazing months from June to September with the Bay swimmable throughout! I haven’t seen such warmth before in the 55 years I’ve been coming to Tiny.
This issue of The Tiny Cottager savours some of the particular pleasures of Tiny in articles like “Starry Nights,” “The Viking Ship,” and “Seeing the Forest AND the Trees.” And there are always new things to be learned about this place we love, as you’ll see in “Comparing Tiny with the Rest of Ontario,” “Review of Dynamic Beach Shorelines in Tiny Township,” and “Health Care in Tiny – Where to Start.”
But there’s a perpetual need for vigilance, lest we lose the things we value. Fortunately, our Council is conscious of its responsibilities in this regard: they have opposed Site 41, are persisting with septic re-inspections, and have rejected the inappropriate Trailer Park proposal in Concession 2 (“Report on Council”). There are also new issues to consider: a solution is needed for disposal of the septage that is pumped from our household sewage systems (“Septage – It’s Everyone’s Problem”). And Council and the rest of us will have an opportunity next summer to consider whether the proposed wind farm is good or bad for Tiny (“Proposed Wind Farm in Tiny – An Update”). And of course there are things we need to do personally to ensure our own and others’ safety (“How Safe Is Your Fireplace?”).
Past failures will require remedial action. The water level in the Bay, already near a record low, is threatened with further decline (“Georgian Bay Water Levels Trending Downward”) and one of our large shore parks needs considerable work if it is to be returned to its natural state (“Bluewater Park under Intense Scrutiny”).
I congratulate the thirteen associations that engaged in water sampling and the five that raised funds for the Huronia Hospitals Foundation this year. We will be posting the water results under Water Report on www.tinycottager.org when they are ready. Among the associations that together raised more than $10,000 for the Hospitals Foundation, Nottawaga and Addison did a particularly fine job. But the number of participating associations was fewer than usual. Next year, the hospitals are planning a major capital fundraising campaign. Shore area residents and inlanders alike rely on the hospitals, and we should prepare to do our share.