Willola Beach ready for a fight after fun night

By Karen Secord

Ottawa Valley News

Bring it on. Willola Beach residents are ready for it – whatever it may be.

In fact, the little community that knew it could has taken on three levels of government and proved it can.

So, on Saturday night they let loose, invited in a few supporters and hundreds showed up. They asked some local musicians to join them to liven up the family funfest at Pinto Valley Ranch, and the likes of Linda Grenier and Gail Gavan took to the stage.

“It’s just like a huge kitchen party,” the Smith’s declared.

And it was.

A friendly gathering of neighbours and comrades during a break in what has been an arduous battle over the construction of a 150m rock berm, to facilitate a boat bypass that Fitzroy Harbour residents believe few would use and even fewer want.

“Let’s just say we now have a nice little war chest to continue on,” said Mike Campbell, President of the Willola Beach Property Owners Association (WBPOA). “It was very successful.”

Campbell’s group had no trouble selling tickets to the event. And on the night they increased their profits by peddling raffle tickets and the like.

They’ll need the funds, they say, to pay for the biodiversity expert they have hired, and to finance a slew of anticipated legal costs if the proponent of the project, Ottawa River Inc., insists on moving forward.

“Let’s pass a motion tonight,” was Gail Gavan’s solution to the boat bypass issue “to ship ‘er over to Quebec, send ‘er over to the Pontiac.”