Dear Editor,
So now the only bank that we have here is scheduled to close. This could have a significant negative ripple effect upon us all in terms of the general economy of our area. Let’s hope that the well organized local opposition to this decision by the Bank of Nova Scotia is successful, despite the huge difficulty of going up against a major corporation. It is interesting to look at what we have already lost in this area. When we bought our house here in 2003 we had four restaurants in the local area. Three of them have closed. So we lose. However the Whitewater Brew Pub opened up and has been a success. We lost a Church in Westmeath, and then one of our Schools closed! We have lost our General store in LaPasse. So we lose. We lost our daily newspaper the Pembroke Observer, we lost a weekly newspaper the Cobden Sun. Newspapers are part of the glue that keeps a community together. So we lose again. We do have however, thankfully, Whitewaternews.ca. We also had two resorts that a bunch of us used to boat to including one that had an amazing view of the Ottawa River and the sunsets. Rock bands on their huge deck, pizza ovens and craft beers. It all burnt down and is not being replaced. The other Resort where we could buy boat gas and grab a hotdog and walk the wonderful sandy beach is now in private hands. These were great spots where we took visiting family and house guests to by boat….now all gone…and so we lose. We have large areas here where there is no cell service…..total dead zones! How does that help the cause and attract folks, particularly young folks, as well as businesses to the area? Our train tracks have been torn up, so how can we attract any sort of heavy Industry? We do not have a local TV station and as the song says, “you never know what you’ve lost till it’s gone”. So now we face losing the only bank in the immediate area, which could be devastating . All very sad. Our politicians don’t do much to help instead seem to spend time sniping at the other party. We used to have a small but active community association here on our street. It folded a couple of years or so ago, due to lack of support. We used to have a sizeable group cleaning up the neighbourhood of trash in the Spring but the number of volunteers got smaller and smaller. Sad, and even sadder is that some folk really don’t seem to care. We seem to be ensconced in our own homes and properties with our toys and possessions, which in some respects, represents a silo effect. We live in a beautiful part of the province, and there are some wonderful people up here, always ready to help, but we really have to work at it to maintain what we have to prevent a slow erosion of our quality of life. But, how to do that?…all I can suggest (and I strongly suggest) is buy local, support local, and please look at the bigger picture and get involved locally as much as possible! Join the causes, even if it appears that they don’t directly affect you, please don’t just accept the statue quo, use social media and make your presence felt. It matters. It is easy to say, “what difference can I make?” But indeed you can, that’s for sure!
Phil Cottrell of Lapasse
