LETTER

Cleaning up after floods: Volunteers gathering May 20-21!

 

Dear readers,

It's Sunday evening (May 14) and the great Ottawa River has finally decided to return to more predictable flowing spaces after having wreaked its nasty havoc on south-west Deschênes, chemin Fraser, Wychwood's dead ends, and along parc des Cèdres past de la Cédrière. The turmoil of the past two weeks grimly reflected in soggy sandbags, military trucks, discarded furniture, washed up debris, and on the fatigued faces of residents seeking to restore normalcy to their surroundings.

Starting in mid-April, our city's administration had been keeping Council informed of the possibility of a 20-year high and had an emergency plan ready in the case of any flooding. We were invited to tour the command centre, ask questions, and observe our staff in action. We are very fortunate to have such professional and diligent management. However, the first week of May belonged to Mother Nature, and she decided to put us all to the test by unleashing the flood of the century. Though not unscathed, we the people of Gatineau have shown ourselves to be equal to the task, able to keep our heads above the water!

There was no shortage of motivated citizens lending hands, tools, talents, refreshments, and encouragement.

My experiences working from Louis-Roy Park on the Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (May 6-8) have branded me with tremendous civic pride. Audrey Bureau's letter in last week's edition describes the situation quite accurately and admirably.

It's now clean-up time and the city is organizing volunteers for next Saturday and Sunday (May 20-21) to help retrieve sandbags. To help in Aylmer, let’s meet at Duchesnay arena at either 7:30 am for the early shift or at 1:00 pm for the later shift. Crews will be leaving by STO buses to work sites, so please be properly prepared for 2 hours of heavy lifting and the handling of soiled objects. There is no need to register. Call the city (311) or check around on social media for any last-minute details.

Have a pleasant and productive week.

Mike Duggan
Councillor for Lucerne District