The Westport Lions’ Beach is Open

The Westport Lions’ beach is officially open, and just in time for this week’s heat wave, which made it a popular spot.

Garrett enjoys a day at the Westport Lions’ Beach.

Westport Lions Roar

By Lion Bob Reddick

The Westport Lions Beach is now open for the public to enjoy. The club wants to stress that practicing good hand hygiene and staying six feet/two meters apart is crucial. People come from near and far to use this lovely sand beach. It is for the enjoyment of all.

For the safety of our volunteers and community, the washrooms are closed. We are constantly monitoring the recommendations by the local health authorities. When it is safe for everyone then we will open the washroom facilities and publicize it, in this column, on the Westport Lions’ Facebook page and our website. We appreciate your patience in this matter.

The club would like to recognize the efforts of several members in getting the beach ready for the summer season. Thank you to Jim Scala, Jim McGlade and Bill Garland for installing buoys, Paul Thorp and Larry Arsenault for distributing the picnic tables, picking up twigs and garbage, David Blair for levelling gravel on the exit road and Bob Reddick for picking up goose droppings.

Jim Scala, Dale Lyons, Wayne Bent, Dwain Smith, Joel McCullough and Donna Roth have volunteered to clean the beach daily. David Blair is in charge of maintaining the tractor and lawn mower. Harry Beckett will make sure the grass is cut when needed and Jim McGlade and Bob Reddick will do the lawn trimming.

Just a reminder that the beach is unsupervised and you use it at your own risk. Parents are responsible for their children and the location of the beach is 63 Mountain Road in case you need to call 911. Remember that pets are to be on a leash, and please clean up after your dog and remove the bag from the property. It is no fun to hit one of these bags with a grass trimmer. We appreciate the efforts of the public to keep the beach area clean and taking their garbage with them.

The sand and supplies needed to keep the beach property operational are provided by the generous support of our community. On Saturday, August 1, 2020, a winning ticket will be drawn for our $1500 cash draw. The proceeds from this lottery go directly to maintain the beach property. You can purchase tickets from any Lion member for $5 each or 3 for $10. You can alternatively buy tickets online by sending an e-transfer to breddick@rideau.net. I will fill out the ticket stubs for you and email a picture of your tickets so you have proof of purchase.