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 – March 15, 2018 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 in 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 Recently I had a wide-ranging con- versation that turned to Le Boat, the European company getting ready to launch first class touring boats into the Rideau Waterway from its base in Smiths Falls. As the conversation unfolded it became obvious that Le Boat was seen as a big deal and with Westport, a harbour village on the waterway, there was interest in just what Westport was doing to bring Le Boat customers to the village. With the help of a transcript from a CBC pro- gram and the Le Boat web site your columnist came up with what follows. What we need to start with is a recognition that Westport and its har- bour are not exactly on the main Water- way route. Some how Westport has to do the work required to bring Le Boat off the main waterway route and down into the village harbour. How great is it that Le Boat has moved its North American headquar- ters from Clearwater, Florida to Smiths Falls? How great is it that Smiths Falls has decided to invest $335,741 in new docks and associated services in order to accommodate the Le Boat Fleet? Le Boat's investment in its boat rental business is estimated at $16,000,000 by the time the operation is fully up and running. So what is Westport doing to draw them in, with all its amenities, and wonder around Westport to shop and dine? To begin at the beginning, the pro- posed Westport budget for 2018 has no line item for improvements to the dock- ing. Whatever was available last sum- mer is what will be available this sum- mer, and the charges went up, with the possibility of 16 Le Boat vessels (not all at once obviously) that may want to dock. One of the previous harbour committees, aware of the impact Le Boat could have, proposed that new floating docks be purchased, used for the summer and sold at the end of the boating season. At this point, there is no 2018 budget line item for publicity to attract Le Boat patrons. There have been opportunities to be included in the publicity Le Boat is generating and these have been taken advantage of when offered. It is possi- ble to go to the Le Boat web site and look over the printed promotional material that will be provided to patrons. In fairness there is mention of Westport, but it is minimal. None of the proposed tours, which will be offered to those renting the boats, mention West- port as a specific destination. There is reference to Westport being a charming village with bakeries and restaurants. In one mention of the Village it is referred to as a 'city'. On one page of promotional material is a section titled "Top Ten Secret Gems of the Rideau Waterway. The only mention on the Top Ten is the Scheuermann Vineyard and Winery. Le Boat promotional mate- rial makes reference to the Rideau Waterway, Visitor Information Centre, the Perth Museum and the Smiths Falls Railway Museum but no mention of the Rideau District Museum. A good look at the Le Boat promo- tional material for their operation would indicate Westport needs to put something together that needs to find its way onto the rental boats before they leave Smiths Falls. This would cost some money but you can't make money unless you spend some money. In the opinion of the writer the promotion of the village by Le Boat is not sufficient or all encompassing enough to do its beauty and amenities justice. I know Westport doesn't have any money. There is no question as to the source of the funds that are being spent to help Le Boat. Organizations like the Eastern Ontario Development Fund, The Tourism Development Fund and The Destination Ontario Tourism Industry Partners Program have all put money forward to attract Le Boat to the area. There has to be some way that the Village can raise, or access, the funds required to properly promote Westport to the Le Boat patrons. So we have to get the visitors off their vessels. Would it make sense for the Chamber of Commerce to support a plan that would see more businesses open beyond 5 or 6 p.m. during prime season. The mayor and council have certain- ly welcomed and talked the talk about Le Boat. Riding the Le Boat promotion for its operation is not doing Westport justice in terms of what it has to offer. Money needs to be found to add to the harbour space and its amenities, and money needs to be found to put togeth- er a professional marketing plan. Mike McIntyre joymikechloe@gmail.com 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. Editor, I am writing to agree with the letter from Myrna Lee in The Review-Mir- ror's March 1st edition about her concern regard- ing the roadside spraying. Roadside spraying with Clearview should be stopped immediately as Myrna quotes that Clearview's own liter- ature states that the two main ingredients of this product are persistent in water and harmful to aquatic life. I remember walking across the grounds of St. Lawrence College in Kingston a number of years ago and seeing a chipmunk dying in con- vulsions there from the spraying of the land in that location. We must have more respect for nature, and stop spraying the land with poisons. Jess Saunders, Elgin, ON Roadside spraying should be stopped By Brent Royce, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture As the leading advocate for farmers in our province, the Ontario Fed- eration of Agriculture (OFA) relies on regular grassroots member feed- back to make sure we're representing our member- ship and their needs. From leadership elections and consultations with our Policy Advisory Council to on-the-ground Member Service Representatives and online poll questions, OFA uses a variety of ways to collect member feedback and consult on issues and concerns facing their farm businesses. From March 5-25, OFA is conducting a general survey asking OFA mem- bers for their input on a wide range of topics. OFA wants member feedback on priorities and issues that impact farm business- es in Ontario, the most effective communications channels to reach mem- bers, the value of OFA's various Benefit Program partners and member engagement in advocacy efforts. Representing 37,000 farm businesses across the province, OFA has a strong voice advocating on behalf of our members, rural communities and agri-food industry on issues, legislation and reg- ulations covered by municipal, provincial and federal governments. Member input ensures OFA continues to advo- cate for what matters to our members and that everyone has an opportu- nity to be heard. Grass- roots input also helps guide research priorities, legislative and regulation concerns, member ser- vices and the direction of our organization. For more than 80 years, OFA has been a leader in results-based advocacy and lobbying, and we need to hear from our members to continue delivering results. OFA wants to hear from as many members as possible. Members can watch their inbox for an invitation to fill out the online survey, click on the survey link available at ofa.on.ca or call 1-800- 668-3276 to have a survey mailed to you for comple- tion. OFA seeking feedback from farmers Effort needed to draw Le Boat customers off their vessels Westport native Norma (Genge) Hargreaves came across this Westport Public School Grade 1-5 class photo from 1939, and they are looking for some help identi- fying some students. Back row, from left, Norma Genge, unknown, Donna Wing, Lor- raine Rice, unknown, Letitica Dennison, Lorna Wing, Beth ?, Fern Rice, Louise Pre- vost, Mary Puttenham, Jean Salter, unknown and unknown. Middle row: unknown, ? Jones, Carl Brash, unknown, Eric Stoness, unknown, Neal ?, Dale ? and ? Jones. Front row: unknown, unknown, Tommy Gordon, Charles Rice and Kervan Salter. Any readers that can fill in some names for Norma, can send them along to us.

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