A letter to the Town got a lot of mileage in last week's council meeting.
Kelsi Fry, an 11-year-old from Labrador City put in a very direct request asking council to ban drive-thrus from the town.
The young girl figures the fast food arrangement generates a lot of the garbage she sees around town, and she is worried about the effects this trash is having on the environment.
"I commend Kelsi for writing this letter," Mayor Janice Barnes declared. "And I know that she and some of her friends are on a campaign to address littering, which I think is wonderful."
The mayor said she hopes more like Kelsi will speak out against littering and if the public realizes this problem is being noticed by children, , maybe it will make people stop and think of the effects littering has.
"I think that this type of letter coming from an 11-year-old is very impressive," said Barnes. "We will respond to Miss Fry and thank her for her letter and commend her. We will let her know, we are going to work with her on the littering problem."
Handwritten touch
Councillor Nick McGrath said he, too, was impressed with the 11-year-old's initiative.
"She was very articulate and had some very intelligent ideas. And what I like was the letter was handwritten," McGrath said. "I am sure she has access to a computer but the fact that she chose to sit down and write this by hand, is very impressive."
Trashing around ideas
The letter drew discussion from Councillors around the table on how the litter problem in town can be dealt with effectively.
Councillor Linda Dumaresque said she was disgusted with the amount of littering that is going on around Tanya Beach area.
"The annual polar dip had to be cancelled because the area was in such a mess," she pointed out. "I think this letter from an 11-year- old should make people realize that young people are really concerned about this and maybe those responsible should give this a second thought."
Coun. Dumaresque suggested heavier fines could have an impact.
"I know Quebec has really, really stringent litter laws," she said. "They have a lot of signage with fines of like $10,000."
Coun. McGrath pointed out that, not only does Quebec have strong laws against littering, they are vigilant when it comes to enforcement.
"Having a sign on the side of the highway saying the maximum fine is $500 one thing, but enforcing it is another," he said. "I don't ever recall hearing of anyone getting a ticket for littering."
Discussion around the table involved the possibility of installing video cameras, adding lighting to the beach area in an effort to resolve the problem.
Coun. Dumaresque said it's important to work with the police and have the culprits charged as the littering practice is affecting events being cancelled and the safety of those people who use the Tanya Beach area.
SIDEBAR
KELSI'S LETTER
Dear Ms. Barnes,
My name is Kelsi Fry and I am 11 years old. I am very concerned that our town isn't doing enough to help our environment. One thing that you could do is close the drive thrus at Tim Horton's and McDonalds.
Do you realize how much drive thrus are polluting our earth? Well it is a lot. If you close the drive thrus, people will adjust to not having a drive thru. The only reason people use the drive thru is because they are lazy. Then when they get used to the drive thru it makes them lazier. And the drive thrus aren't as fast as going inside the building and getting what you want.
If you don't want to do that, another way to help the environment is start taxing businesses to help pay for a cleanup around town.
Thank you for taking the time to ready my letter.
Truly,
Kelsi Fry
.jpg)
.jpg)
