Monday, May 8 was a sad day for me because city council is going ahead with stocking McGuire Lake with trout and I feel like we lost. I still don’t understand why this is happening. If trout were meant to be in that lake they would already be there. I also don’t know when or why the world got so busy that adults can’t take time to take their kids to a proper lake to fish. It’s funny how people say they can’t afford gas to go to the lake, yet they can afford laptops, computers, and other toys. People want everything to be convenient and fast and no one wants to take the time to stop and say let’s get in the car and go for a drive to a real lake and fish.
Also, people in Salmon Arm need to read the Observer, I could not believe how many of you did not know what was happening. Support your town by starting with your local paper. It’s a good paper and they do a lot for our community and charities.
Believe me, there are going to be a lot of eyes watching the lake for anything that goes wrong. In just a few days we collected over 250 signatures. Imagine if we had had more time. I hope the city council remembers the people of Salmon Arm are the city. The reason the city council is there is to work for the people. If the hospital never sold the lake to the city council we wouldn’t even be discussing this matter. There is no magic button, no magic lake. If we want to help our kids, let’s start by taking the time to show them other places besides a drive-thru trout lake.
One thing you can never take back is the damage done to the animals or the lake. Animals cannot speak for themselves so we must speak for them, I just hope we don’t hurt them or the lake too much. The council says one year, I hope that’s not the same time frame as the Coquihalla toll booth. We paid for that highway 10 times over, I think.
I sure hope I’m not around when they decide to fill in McGuire Lake so they can make it in to a parking lot. Oh no, I hope I didn’t give them any ideas.
So, I’m going to bed with a very sad heart but a hopeful dream that the lake which has been a part of Salmon Arm a lot longer than any of you have been alive will still be thriving long after we have passed, the way it was meant to be.
Sherrie Favell