Lion Aaron Badour volunteering at the canteen at the Lions’ Beach. Lion Treats is open every Saturday and Sunday from 1– 4:00 p.m.
Westport Lions Roar
By Lion Bob Reddick
The Westport Lions held their last general meeting of the Lion calendar year and hopefully our last Zoom meeting. Usually, this is a time when we celebrate our achievements and give out awards. This year, President Michael Harris has decided to delay giving out awards until September, when we can meet in person.
It was a busy Lion year for the Club, with most of our regular 22 activities taking place with some modifications. In addition, the Club launched several new, exciting, and successful ventures: the Re-Use & Recycle Centre, the Lions Community Gardens, Lion Treats at the beach and the clean-up of the trailer park.
The success of the Westport Lions Community Gardens is the result of a team effort from volunteers, the Village of Westport, and Lions. All 18 beds are utilized, plus a potato, bean and squash patch.
Mark Harley from Harvestthyme donated close to 300 plants. With such a generous donation, it was necessary to plant them in pots around the garden perimeter and at gardeners’ residences. The best news is the deer have not jumped the fence, and the plants look great.
Lion Marty Hawkins reported record sales for last year’s Spring Draw, $10,000 Draw, Calendar Sales and TV Draw. The winning ticket for this year’s $1,500 Cash Draw will be drawn at the beach on July 31.
Lion Harry Beckett was given a big thank you by the membership for dispatching and doing all the driving during the pandemic. We were limited to just one van this year because of Covid-19 restrictions.
The Re-Use & Recycle Centre has been a huge success in the first six months of its operation. It has proven convenient for the public to have the R & R Centre, medical equipment loans and metal recycling centre all in one location. A bonus that many Lions did not foresee is the centre gives the Club a storefront presence that helps in recruiting new members, publicizes our services and provides a venue for special events like the dispersal of the gypsy moth lures. The sales centre has added greatly to our revenue stream and the club is optimistic about its future.
The Lions beach is fully operational. We wish to remind patrons to please take their garbage home with them. The Club and our volunteers cannot handle the volume of garbage if people do not adhere to this policy. Please exit by the road which goes down to the boat launch. This will help traffic flow and is safer.
Chris Hartley is organizing recreational beach volleyball every Tuesday and Friday evenings starting at 6:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome. On Sunday evening, Chris runs a competitive league.
During the last two weekends the Westport Lions Club, Wolfe Lake Association, Westport Outdoor Association and Devil Lake Association gave out over 4,000 gypsy moth lures free of charge.
Many people have asked if the Westport Lions Club and their partners can obtain more lures this season, and if we are going to offer the same service next year. We cannot procure more lures this year, and whether we will be able to secure lures next year we do not know.
Even though we have exhausted our supply of lures for this year, you can cut the elastic bands in two to extend your number of lures. The lures are good for the whole season, and you can freeze them at the end of the season to use next year. Many people have found floating or suspending the lure in a large tray filled with soapy water is more effective than using a plastic bottle trap as suggested in the information given out with the lures. You must keep the lure dry.
The male gypsy moths hatch before the females. The male gypsy moth flies but the female doesn’t and stays close to where she hatches. So, if you see a bunch of gypsy moths flying about in an area, chances are that there are females close by. If you are so inclined, you could always pick off or squash the females or their cocoons.
The Westport Lions Club wishes to thank Lion Bruce Maynard, Tom Myatt and their helpers for packaging and distributing the lures.
Westport Lions Club 