Serving Lake Erie’s North Shore Friday October 25, 2013
INSIDE SouthPort Wellness Ribbon Cutting SouthPort Wellness was created to bring together a group of health practitioners in a holistic health and wellness centre. STORY PAGE 2
1812 Report HMS Little Belt launched in 1811 was captured by the British. STORY PAGE 2
History repeating itself! The battle would be fought by the tall ship fleet which had been sailing through the Great Lakes as far as Chicago in honour of the Bi-Centennial of the War of 1812. STORY PAGE 3
L&PS Corridor Grand Opening Robert Weare Summary of the LPS Corridor Grand Opening Held Sept 20th to 22nd 2013 at St. Thomas: With the completion of half of the total connection of the long removed London and Port Stanley Railway/CNR Talbot Subdivision we enjoyed the official gala opening of the L&PS Corridor event that occurred between September 20th and 22nd, 2013. We now look forward to a future reinstalled London, St. Thomas to Port Stanley Commuter Line.
Women’s Getaway Weekend During the November 1st weekend, the Port Stanley BIA will be sponsoring its first Women’s Getaway Weekend. STORY PAGE 5
The 2013 Galbraith Literary Awards Each year the Friends of DuttonDunwich sponsor a Canada wide writing contest. STORY PAGE 8
Port Bruce Report Many villagers noticed that the bell on the former Sunday School building was gone. STORY PAGE 8
LOOK AHEAD Community Events
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Classifieds & Service Directory Page 7 Business Roladex
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At 4:00PM the official ceremonies began with the opening of this new tourism jewel, followed by speeches from municipal, provincial and federal representatives and entertainment.
Left: Many of the guests wore period costumes for the Grand Opening. Photos Rober Weare.
this time period attire. Those that participated were able to pose with a photographer for future reference. On the return trip to St. Thomas a train robbery was enacted with donations taken for a charitable cause. Throughout this historic event there was not a sour face to be seen as everyone totally enjoyed being part of history.
Some blame the CNR for its removal in 1989, yet the removal was caused by the change in government policy that railways in Canada would be privatized to save costs. On Sept. 20th the Replica L&PS Station was opened to the public with telegraph demonstrations and Megan Pickersgill the new tourism coordinator welcoming visitors to the new station. The station will be the new headquarters for the St. Thomas tourism office. Huge crowds witnessed this historical and ECONOMIC event while seeing the first train off to Port Stanley.
The first train crossing Talbot Street into the new L&PS St. Thomas station during the grand opening.
The inaugural sold out train ride from the NEW St. Thomas L&PS station to Port Stanley and return began at 5:00 PM with an 8:30 PM return. On board dinner was served using the Port Stanley Terminal Rail (PSTR) dining car. A barbershop quartet entertained passengers at the PSTR Port Stanley Station upon arrival. A 1920s dress theme was encouraged with many of the passengers donning
On September 21st and 22nd free train rides were available to the general public using the standard PSTR 25 ton diesel L1 and three coaches with overflow crowds. The hourly trips started at the new St Thomas station and travelled as far as the PSTR Parkside Station and returned. Miniature railway spikes fabricated in St Thomas were handed out with a commemorative issue of the St. Thomas L&PS Corridor publication. This project fits into a rail group that is planning behind the scenes to Continued On Page 4
IJC Lake Erie public meeting Andrew Hibbert PART 2 OF A 2 PART SERIES: The single biggest source of Dissolved Reactive Phosphorous (DRP) in Lake Erie is the Maumee River in Ohio. Because of the intense storms related to climate change, future nutrient loading, coupled with warmer temperatures, could lead to increased severity and frequency of algal blooms. Climate change may also contribute to increasing hypoxia (dead zones) in the central basin of Lake Erie. In the western basin types of algae known as Microcystis and Anabaena both can secrete toxins that kill wildlife and pose a risk to human health. The IJC report also indicated that phosphorous monitoring is inadequate, especially with
regard to wet weather events as well as the share of phosphorous loading to Lake Erie contributed by the Detroit River. Other sources or contributors to the algal problem were said to be the invasive species Zebra and Quaga mussels that actually filter water making it clearer. Clear water allows algae to grow at greater depths.
What can be done? To address the challenge, dozens of scientists from both countries were brought together to examine scientific, socio-economic and regulatory themes as part of a comprehensive approach. With respect to action, the IJC has worked with their scientific partners to research every facet of the problem. At this meeting they presented a report
called the Lake Erie Ecosystem Priority (LEEP) Plan. The seventy-page document reflects the scientific findings and policy recommendations to reduce nutrient loadings and harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. The IJC Commission made 15 specific recommendations directed toward federal, state and provincial governments. These include: To reduce the severity and extent of harmful algal blooms to acceptable levels, governments should set total phosphorous load targets for the Maumee River and the western basin of Lake Erie that are roughly 40 percent below the average loads for the past five years. To reduce the hypoxic area by half, the DRP load Continued On Page 7