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| Several of the lumber piles in this photo from the weekend, were not in place on Tuesday afternoon. Where did they go? - Fred Schulz photo |
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PEAK OF WATER - YET TO COME
WHILE HUNTSVILLE OUT OF EMERGENCY STATUS, BRACEBRIDGE A WHILE TO WAIT
I HAVE YET TO WATCH OR HEAR A MEDIA REPORT, ON THE STATUS OF FLOODING, ON THE MUSKOKA RIVER, IN BRACEBRIDGE, WHERE AN EXPERT (THE REAL MCCOY) HAS BEEN INTERVIEWED. SOMEONE WHO KNOWS ABSOLUTELY, THE UNIQUE SITUATION OF THE ALGONQUIN AND MUSKOKA WATERSHED. IT'S ALWAYS WORTHWHILE TO GET UPDATES FROM MUNICIPAL AUTHORITIES, BUT HONESTLY, MAYORS ONLY HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ON MATTERS LIKE FLOODING, BEFORE THEY BECOME ANECDOTAL AND REPETITIVE. THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEIR HOUSES SURROUNDED BY WATER, OR ARE NEARING THE POINT WHERE THEY WILL HAVE THEIR PROPERTIES FLOODED, AT ANY MINUTE, WOULD FIND LITTLE COMFORT IN THESE "WE'RE SCREWED" ANECDOTES, AND GENERALITIES, THAT OFFER VERY LITTLE ACTUAL INFORMATION. I CAN'T BROAD STROKE ALL MEDIA INVOLVED IN THIS EVENT, BECAUSE I HAVEN'T LISTENED TO EVERY STATION REPORTING ON THE FLOOD, BUT MY OWN SAMPLING OF RADIO, TELEVISION, NEWSPAPER AND ONLINE SITES, HAS OFFERED ME VERY LITTLE SPECIFIC INFORMATION….ABOUT THOSE STUCK IN BAD PLACES, AND WHAT THE AERIAL VIEW IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, WHEN THE RIVER FINALLY CRESTS SOMETIME IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. EITHER THERE ARE NO INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERS OUT THERE ANY MORE, OR THERE'S NO REAL APPETITE OR BUDGET FOR IN-DEPTH REPORTING…..SUCH AS FINDING A WAY TO INTERVIEW THE PEOPLE WHO FIND THEMSELVES STRANDED; AND THOSE COMMITTED TO LASTING OUT THE HIGH WATER, PROTECTING THEIR PROPERTY THE BEST THEY CAN. THESE ARE GREAT NEWS STORIES, AND WHAT READERS, LISTENERS AND VIEWERS WANT TO KNOW ABOUT. THE PERSONAL STRUGGLES. THE HIGH ANXIETY. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE IN THEIR HOMES, LOOKING OUT AT WAVES LAPPING UP AGAINST THEIR FRONT DOORS. EXCUSE ME, BUT THIS IS WHAT A MAJORITY WANT….NOT THE MEDIA GOING CHEAP, AND GIVING US MOST OF WHAT WE CAN SEE FOR OURSELVES. THOSE WHO ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS WATERY HELL, WOULD, I THINK, LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THEIR WEEK OF MISERY, TO SHARE WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE IN DANGER OF DROWNING IN YOUR OWN FRONT YARD. THESE ARE THE STORIES FOR THE FRONT PAGE….THE OPENING CLIP ON THE MORNING OR NIGHTLY NEWS. I WANT MEDIA OUTLETS THAT ARE GOING TO INFORM ACCURATELY, WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE…..THAT WE ALL NEED TO KNOW. THIS FLOOD MAY NOT BE THE BIGGEST NATIONAL OR EVEN PROVINCIAL NEWS, BUT BY GOLLY, IT DESERVES BETTER THAN IT'S GETTING AT PRESENT.
I'D LIKE THE EXPERTS TO PLEASE START GIVING INTERVIEWS, OVER AND ABOVE LOCAL MAYORS, WHO HAVE HAD THEIR SAY. IF THE MEDIA WAS LIKE IT WAS IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS, THEY'D BE TRYING TO GET SOME REAL BREAKING NEWS - LIKE FINDING ONE OF THE WATERSHED AUTHORITIES, AND TRYING TO FERRET-OUT SOME SUBSTANTIAL INSIGHTS ABOUT WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING WITH THE ASSORTED TIME-LINES, ABOUT WHEN THE FLOODING PEAK WILL REACH BRACEBRIDGE. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE FLOODING STORY, FOLKS. THIS IS THE BIG ONE. WITHOUT IT, THE STORY IS ABOUT LOTS OF WATER CAUSING INCONVENIENCE. IT'S THE MEDIA'S JOB TO FIND THIS INFORMATION OUT, AND PASS IT ON TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST. REMEMBER THAT CREDO, "THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW." WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE MEDIA? HERE'S A BIG NEWS STORY AND YET THEY FILL THEIR COVERAGE WITH THE MOST GENERAL INFORMATION AVAILABLE. WHAT HAPPENED TO DIGGING FOR THE REST OF THE STORY?
CONSIDER THE FACT, THAT BRACEBRIDGE'S OVERNIGHT FLOODING INCREASED, AS A DIRECT RESULT OF A DAM IN PORT SYDNEY BEING OPENED, TO ALLOW MORE WATER TO DRAIN THROUGH…..WHICH HAS HELPED HUNTSVILLE, BUT INCREASED THE WATER VOLUME COMING THROUGH BRACEBRIDGE BY SEVERAL INCHES. THERE IS A SIDEBAR TO THIS, THAT ON EACH MENTION OF THE LESSER EMERGENCY SITUATION IN HUNTSVILLE, AND THE GREATER THE EMERGENCY IN BRACEBRIDGE, THE MEDIA FLIPS OVER AS GENTLY AS A PANCAKE TOSSED IN A FRYING PAN; THE TIDBIT OF INFORMATION NOTING SOME GROUND STABILITY ISSUES REGARDING THAT IN-DANGER (SUPPOSEDLY) PORT SYDNEY DAM. I HEARD THIS REPORT NUMEROUS TIMES IN RADIO REPORTING, YET NOT ONE INVESTIGATIVE PIECE ON THE STATUS OF THIS DAM OTHER THAN IT HAD TO BE OPENED FURTHER, TO RELIEVE STRESS. THAT SOUNDS LIKE A STORY TO ME, AND THE FACT, THAT SOME BRACEBRIDGE FOLKS, ALREADY IN PERIL, GOT HIT WITH MORE WATER, UNEXPECTEDLY, BECAUSE OF THIS PORT SYDNEY SITUATION. FOR WHATEVER REASON, THIS DOESN'T SEEM TO WARRANT ANY MORE THAN A BRIEF MENTION, AND THE CTV NEWS REPORT THIS EVENING, ONLY NOTED THAT HUNTSVILLE WAS EXPERIENCING AN IMPROVED FLOODING CONDITION…..THE STATE OF EMERGENCY STATUS LIFTED AT NOON ON TUESDAY. WHILE IT MAY SEEM THE FLOOD HAS HAD LOTS OF COVERAGE…..IT'S ALL BEEN OF THE SAME NATURE, AND FULL OF GENERALITIES FOR THIRTY TO SIXTY SECONDS OF AIR TIME ON A SLOW NEWS NIGHT. IT TELLS ME WE'RE IN BAD SHAPE MEDIA WISE, IF WE REALLY DID HAVE A MAJOR CATASTROPHE.
EARLIER TODAY, I WENT AND LOOKED AT SOME OF THE SAME PLACES, IN BRACEBRIDGE, I HAD VISITED ON FRIDAY, SATURDAY, AND MONDAY, NOTICING SOME SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES AND ADVANCEMENT OF THE WATER; INCLUDING THE DISAPPEARANCE OF A LARGE WRAPPED PILE OF LUMBER, STORED AT THE RIVER BEND MILL, ABOVE THE FALLS. IT CAN BE SEEN IN A FRED SCHULZ PHOTOGRAPH, USED IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG, WHICH I HAVE RE-RUN AGAIN WITH THIS COLUMN. WHERE DID IT GO? WAS IT SECURED AND PULLED AWAY FROM THE HIGH WATER, OR DID IT FALL INTO THE RIVER, AND GET SWEPT TOWARD THE DAM OVER BRACEBRIDGE FALLS? IT WOULD HAVE PACKED A SUBSTANTIAL PUNCH, HEADING DOWN THOSE ADJACENT RAPIDS AT ABOUT FIFTY MILES PER HOUR.
THE PROBLEM FOR BRACEBRIDGE, AT PRESENT, IS THAT THE CREST IS ON THE WAY, AND SO IS THE RAIN. OBVIOUSLY, THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE PORT SYDNEY DAM, WHICH WILL LIKELY BE ADDRESSED, BY ALLOWING THE SAME LARGER FLOW TO PASS DURING THIS HIGH WATER PERIOD. I'M NOT A WATERSHED EXPERT, JUST AN OLD NEWSHOUND, WHO USED TO WORK THE FLOOD BEAT, EVERY SPRING FOR A DECADE, BACK IN THE 1980'S. WITH A SIGNIFICANT RAIN FALL, OVER THIS HUGE AREA, DRAINING THROUGH BRACEBRIDGE, I DON'T THINK THE CRISIS IS GOING TO BE AVERTED, WITHOUT MORE DANGEROUS ENCROACHMENT OF WATER ON THOSE ALREADY IN PERIL. WE'LL SEE HOW THE MEDIA HANDLES THIS LATEST TURN OF EVENTS, OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS….HOPEFULLY WITH FACT AND LESS IN THE WAY OF ANECDOTE TO FILL THE NEWS SPOT.
I HOPE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN AFFECTED ALREADY, BY THE HIGH WATER, ARE SAFE AND PREPARED TO EVACUATE IF IT BECOMES MORE DANGEROUS. IF THEY HAVE OPTED TO STAY IN THEIR HOMES AND COTTAGES, TO FIGHT TO SAVE THEIR PROPERTY, WE UNDERSTAND THEIR SENTIMENTS ENTIRELY. BUT FOLKS, DON'T TAKE UNNECESSARY RISK, IF AND WHEN THE CREST ARRIVES, BECAUSE IT WILL PUT EXTRA STRESS ON ALL FIRST RESPONDERS, WHO MAY HAVE TO COME TO YOUR RESCUE. THE MUSKOKA RIVERS, NORTH AND SOUTH, ARE POWERFUL ENTITIES NOT TO BE CROSSED. I GREW UP IN BRACEBRIDGE, AND I KNOW WHAT I'M WRITING ABOUT. FAR TOO MANY DEATHS HAVE BEEN CLAIMED BY THESE RIVERS, THROUGH HISTORY, AND THE UNDERTOW AT PRESENT, WOULD BE AN INCREDIBLE, WRENCHING FORCE ON A MERE MORTAL. SO BEWARE. THE RIVER HAS KILLED BEFORE. THOSE RISK TAKERS NEVER LIVED TO TELL THE TALE, OF HOW THEY BEAT THE ODDS OF WINNING A GAMBLE WITH A MIGHTY AND MYSTERIOUS RIVER.
WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THOSE MANY FOLKS AFFECTED BY THE SPRING FLOOD OF 2013. PLEASE BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.
(NOTE) DUE TO THE CURRENT FLOOD SITUATION HAPPENING IN OUR AREA, I'VE ONCE AGAIN, POSTPONED MY REGULAR ANTIQUE FEATURE, PLANNED FOR TODAY. I'M SORRY FOR THE DELAY, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THOSE EVENTS, A MUSKOKA WRITER NEEDS TO COVER…..BECAUSE THAT WATER IS FLOODING MY OLD HOMETOWN….AND I KNOW A LOT OF THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE SUFFERING THROUGH THIS….BRAVELY, HOPING FOR THE CREST TO FINALLY PASS.
YOU CAN CONNECT TO MY "MUSKOKA AS WALDEN" BLOG, BY CLICKING ONTO http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca/
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