Review-Mirror

OPINION PAGE Publisher/Editor– Howie Crichton hcrichton@review-mirror.com Advertising Sales – Bill Ritchie advertising@review-mirror.com Office – Louise Haughton lhaughton@review-mirror.com Reporter-Photographer - Margaret Brand mbrand@review-mirror.com 4 – October 5, 2017 The Review-Mirror 43 Bedford St. P.O. Box 130,Westport, Ont. K0G 1X0 Ph. 613-273-8000 • 1-800-387-0796 • Fax 273-8001 editor @ review-mirror.com • www.review-mirror.com • PAP Registration No. 01601 • Printed in Smiths Falls, Ontario • The Review-Mirror is published Thursdays. Subscriptions: $33.84 online; $44.50 locally; $55.00 elsewhere in Canada; $150 sin the U.S. We acknowledge the support of the Government of Canada. Publishers ONTARIO COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION 1893-1897 — H. E. Bywater 1897-1916 — W. B. Adams 1916- — Arthur Niblock -1967 — Jim Niblock 1967-1987 — F. Lea and Phyllis Hutchinson 1987-1988 — Bob & Sandy Runciman 1988-1993 — Phil Rutherford 1993- — Howie Crichton CANADIAN MEDIA CIRCULATION AUDIT Mirror The Review Letters to the Editor The Review-Mirror accepts Letters to the Editor. Letters may be edited for content, space and libel. Please include a phone number for confirmation. If you grew up in Westport when I did, you knew Gary "Fetch" Mur- phy. Gary's barber shop on Church Street was a gathering place. His wife Betty-Anne, originally, was located upstairs for the renewal and issue of dri- ving licenses and plates for vehicles. It was really downstairs where the "action" was. Gary knew everybody and everybody knew Gary. When he start- ed doing his column for The Mirror, no activity was safe from humorous scrutiny. Gary was an icon and the naming of the strip of land leading to Westport Harbour, "Fetch Murphy Way" was a fitting tribute to the man and the contribution he made to Westport. Several meetings ago Councillor Mark Parliament raised the issue of pedestrian safety on Fetch Murphy Way. During the busy months, significant pedestrian traffic from the harbour travels up to Main Street. Although it is illegal, there is angle parking on Fetch Murphy Way for customers of the bank, dentist, etc. As a result of the concern raised by Parliament, staff put together a report outlining the issues. There is not sufficient room to back up and turn in order to exit the road without backing over the sidewalk. Fetch Murphy Way has never been properly surfaced and the gravel is washed away during most storms. Parliament called for the removal of parking on Fetch Murphy Way. Although no major decisions were made at the meeting Mon., Oct. 2, it was clear that council, as a whole, was not prepared to remove all the parking from the street. The report presented to council recommends a number of improvements that would enhance both safety and appearance for approximately $11,000. The suggestion is that the required work on the road be included in the 2018 budget. While making it clear he supported the rehabilita- tion of Fetch Murphy Way, Councillor Gerald Schwinghamer argued that doing work on Bedford Street was a much higher priority. For Schwing- hamer, the money that would need to be allocated to Fetch Murphy Way should be spent on getting start- ed on Bedford Street. Some time ago he had request- ed an estimate for simply resurfacing Bedford Street and he, once again, argued the Village has to do something. There has to be a way to improve Bed- ford Street without the entire street being rebuilt. When it was pointed out the proposed work for Fetch Murphy Way was to address public safety, Schwinghamer argued that people driving Bedford Street create a "pubic safety issue" when they swerve to miss potholes. The debate is just the first round in what promis- es to be another tough budget process. There is sim- ply too much work to be done and too few resources. A $20,000 study to determine costs and options for Bedford Street was included in the draft 2017 budget but dropped. The proposed work on Fetch Murphy Way would be a welcome improvement. For Schwinghamer it is a question of planning, to ensure that whatever is done, the entrance of the harbour is everything it can be. There is no doubt, with the introduction of Le Boat in 2018, it is important to get both the harbour and its entrance from the village in the best possible shape. A full scale plan needs to be put together to ensure that everything is in the mix. Mike McIntyre joymikechloe@gmail.com A matter of road work priorities Editor, The third season of The Festival of Small Halls is wrapping up this week- end. I want to shout my appreciation of this initia- tive because of the posi- tive impact it has on what now includes 16 different municipalities in Eastern Ontario. The Festival team's warm and respectful engagement with hundreds of community volunteers, and local businesses, hits the mark perfectly. And of course, the astonishing calibre of big talent the series brings to our local hamlets is top notch and perfectly cho- sen. I am deeply grateful to Mark Monahan, head of the Ottawa Bluesfest, for seeing the potential of this rural partnership, to Kelly Symes, the Festival's Executive Director, who has the magic touch for making everything work perfectly, and to the Gov- ernments of Canada and Ontario for seeing the value – both cultural and economic – in supporting this festival. Everywhere from North Glengarry in the east, to Renfrew County in the north, Stone Mills in the West, people have been touched by this Festival. And best of all, our Leeds and Rideau communities are right at the heart of the action. Seeley's Bay is still swooning over our evening with Ashley MacIssac – world class talent in a small hall indeed. Liz Huff Councillor Leeds & 1000 Islands Small Halls had a huge impact Ashley MacIssac poses with Seeley's Bay volunteers at last Friday's performance. Editor, On Thursday, Sept. 28 Portland hosted the Small Halls Festival. The "Birds of Chicago" performed well beyond the chirping and tweeting of birds. I was amazed how three peo- ple could perform so entertainingly for more than two hours. The music was not in my genre but the performance was such that I remained and enjoyed it all. Allison Russell led the group with her pow- erful voice, which she proved did not require a microphone, and car- ried the momentum for the entire performance. JT Nero, the lead gui- tarist took considerable time tuning his guitar but somehow was able to maintain the audience interest with his very clever repartee as he twisted the headstock adjustments. It is no wonder that the place was packed. But none of this would have been possible without the extensive com- mitment and involvement of many local volunteers. Recognition was given to the late Doug Good's early efforts but the final performance required the active involvement of a number of people such as Connie and Larry Cochran and Pat Evans. But just a minute! The Small Halls Festival may be over for this year but we still have our small hall. All the talent is not in Chicago. Portland needs this kind of interven- tion and entertainment and a Small Halls Festival is not the only way to make it happen. What we do need is the continued involvement of a group of commit- ted volunteers who will reach out to performers. I don't think we have to reach out far since there are people in our community who have talent to share. All they need is opportunity. A community such as ours func- tions on volunteers and, indeed, that's what makes places like Port- land such welcoming communities. So the challenge is there to the vol- unteers who made the Small Halls festival such a success. Thanks to Del & Carolyn Bresee, Paul Dehler, Chris Good, Bob & MJ Leblanc, Pat Evans, Robert Fisher, Connie & Larry Cochran, Virginia Bourget, Patrick Fogarty. Let's do this again, locally! Bill Belanger, proud member of the Portland community Small Halls - large performance

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