Dear Editor,
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Shanahan and his staff for not only giving me this paper at no cost, but allowing everyone their opinion at no cost. Now with that being said, in a previous letter I mentioned the brick and mortar plans for the new prison. As this has not yet materialized, I must go with Ms. Kath Piche’s vision as mentioned in her weekly column. If this is the vision that is allowed to be planted in our minds, I totally agree with her.
I can see me driving down Old Highway 16 (County Road 44) looking to the left and seeing big muscle bound inmates pumping iron in the blazing hot sun surrounded by big fat bellied Prison Guards smoking stogies and resting their loaded shotguns across their arms. (they should know better, smoking is not good for you). And the children across the road innocently watching this would be negatively affected. As I progress South and enter the super slab (416 Highway) I will see prisoners dressed in orange with ball and chain picking garbage. True to course they will be watched over by the same Prison Guards in mirrored aviator glasses.
Oh! Now let me stop my journey, I have no need to go further. I have solved one of the issues of the CAPP. A prison will never in your wildest dreams bring economic benefits. By Ms. Piche’s vision I can see vintage prison films being produced in good old North Grenville.
Now is the time for the Ministry of Correctional Services to step up to the plate and make concrete statements on what they are building as they obviously know as they have a completion date of 2027. You must know what you are building to know how long it takes.
In closing, I would like to thank Mr. Stew Hamill for his very objective letter in the previous issue. Long time locals call it the Creek, newbies who want to make change call it the South Branch. In reality, the name has boiled down to personal preference and at the end of the day who really cares. May the Creek live on! West of Kemptville it’s called the Crik that runs all the way back to Wall’s Falls, mud pout capital of the world.
Dr. W.J. Young, C.O.E. (RET).
