…just found out the best chip-stand in the region is finally open — actually, Grenville’s ‘Jos Patate’ has been open since March 26, but I just crossed the bridge into Quebec on Tuesday to check the chip stand situation out.

Over the past few years, one of the most relaxing times of my week has been to head over to Jos, grab a #1 (two steamed hotdogs, all dressed, in a box, with a bottle of water), and drive down to the Ottawa River on the Hawkesbury side for a late supper and listen to ‘As It Happens’ on CBC Radio One as the water flows by, the seagulls fly overhead waiting for handouts, and the ducks float by.

But I’ve been going down to Hawkesbury’s Chenail Island to take my two sons down to the little patch of green so they can run in the park, dip their toes and feet into the water of the Ottawa River, and just cool off in general while watching the geese, ducks, and other birds raise their kids as well for almost sixteen years now.

Unfortunately, someone on Hawkesbury’s local Council has recently decided to put down a foot-high, eight-foot wide barrier of six-inch stone between the water and the parking and play areas all the way around the Island. So now the Geese have to waddle across near-razor sharp stone to get to the grass, one of their food sources, and the ducks have completely lost a place to wander.

Over the weekend, my youngest son and I — with our hotdogs, water, and fries from Jos, watched a few of the Canada Geese slowly, very slowly, try to cross the rocks in a line, and they were not having fun doing it… most of them turned back and swam away. And, of course, now the people who used to come to the island walking, biking, parking in their RV’s, to dip their toes in the water or go fishing, will all be missing out as well.

I don’t know who sits on Hawkesbury’s Town Council, but at least one of them thought surrounding a public park where kids used to sit in the water, where people used to launch their paddleboards, where people would bring their dogs to play in the water, in sharp rocks would be a great idea — I don’t know, maybe to help stop erosion, but I don’t see the reasoning of coming to that decision without leaving a tiny bit of room for a tiny little beach area where the public can access the river.

…Hawkesbury has been spending a LOT of money over the recent years, to improve their Cultural and Tourism sectors, including investing in the Chenail Cultural Centre, and creating the very successful annual Multicultural Music Festival, and other festivals in the downtown area, known as Pioneer Place.

It just seems as though Hawkesbury just keeps finding more obstacles to put in its own way.

..most of this was recently published as a Letter to The Editor in the local English-language paper of record, The Review.