In Memorium

We are saddened to report the passing of Tip Logan, who died peacefully in his sleep at home on November 25, 2007. A Grey Cup winner with the Tiger Cats, Tip served 15 years on the LWRA Board of Directors, including 7 years as President. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and we invite our members to share their memories of Tip on our website forum.

A Message from the President:

Bruce Howlett, President

I hope that everyone has been able to keep up to date through the web site at www.lwra.net. Some further information is as follows;

1.         Sandy Sebastian has accepted a work contract in Africa that will keep her out of the country forcing her to resign as a director of the LWRA. On behalf of the directors and members of the association we wish her well and thank her for her time and efforts while serving as a director.

2.         The Pieper severance issue is a continuing saga. The OMB decision review held in August resulted in the scheduling of a full new hearing of this case. The directors of the LWRA, in consultation with our lawyer Chris Palliare, felt that this decision to hold a new hearing was unjust and in error. We had two options. One was to prepare for the new hearing, the second was to take our case to the divisional court. The directors decided on the latter route and submitted our factum (facts to be considered relating to the OMB decision) to divisional court. The divisional court has set January 15, 2008 to hear our application. It seems likely that the OMB hearing will be deferred until April 2008, pending agreement of all parties.

As you may suspect all of the above comes at a cost. So the directors will be contacting all the lake's residents, pleading for financial support in this effort to Save Our Lake!

Where have all the Buoys gone?

Mary McCulley, Huntsville Lakes Council

The Huntsville Lakes Council has been negotiating on behalf of all the lakes in the area needing buoys. The new mayor attended the HLC meeting in January and indicated that all our lakes should be marked by approved buoys for safety reasons.

The HLC sent out a questionnaire asking which of its members put out buoys and whether these were of the approved type.  Six lakes, including Waseosa, do use buoys and none had the approved type.  The mayor suggested a local company be approached to see if there might be interest in local manufacture.

Pipefusion Services Inc. agreed to undertake the design and construction of two prototype navigation buoys for testing at the Vernon Narrows bridge and Camp Kitchen to provide exposure and feedback from boaters. They were in place for several months this summer and some redesign work is now being done. The LWRA will be involved with the review process. The town will be approached regarding financial support arrangements.  The mayor has already expressed his opinion that it makes sense for Town to cover the insurance of these as there is much less cost doing it this way than to have each lake acquire insurance individually.

Pipefusion has done all its work on the prototypes free of charge.  Many thanks Jan!

Lake Plan Committee Formed

Dwayne Verhey, Secretary

This past August 5^th saw the formation of our new Lake Plan Review Committee. Ross Price was elected Chair and will be ably assisted by Bill Dowling and Dale Rhoads. This committee is to review lake plan and recommend to the Directors any changes they see as necessary. The Lake Plan will be the source of the Official Plan Amendment proposals by the Directors. The Committee will review any proposed OPA authored by the Directors and may send back any recommendations they deem necessary.

We would really like to see more representation from the smaller lakes (Ripple, Palette and Jessop/Jingo) If you are interested in participating, we would welcome your input!

Private Road Insurance

Bill Somers, Member

Throughout cottage country, there are many privately owned roads or municipal road allowances that cottagers regularly use and maintain.  While some cottagers might not object to maintaining their road for personal use, they may not realize that anyone who does so automatically assumes responsibility for its condition, courtesy of the Occupier's Liability Act.

Do-it-yourself roadwork isn't a great idea anymore since you can be held personally liable and sued for third-party accidents.  Maintaining a road, even minimally or occasionally, is considered to be an invitation for public use, regardless of who owns the property.  Don't assume that your personal or property insurance will protect you because this kind of liability isn't covered, except by special arrangement.  Even then, it's only available for certain types of roads such as deeded access routes.

Through incorporation, each member's liability is passed on to the association.  Also, D&O insurance ensures that directors and officers will not be personally held liable for actions carried out by them or under their direction and assets of the organization will not be lost or damaged because of their actions or lack of appropriate action.

As the LWRA is a member of FOCA (Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations of Ontario), private road groups within the LWRA membership would be entitled to the FOCA Road Group Insurance.  Each road group would have to apply for its own insurance unless a group of roads or all the roads came together as one body.

FOCA's Road Group Insurance is handled by Bob Maynard of Atrens-Counsel Insurance Brokers Inc. in Mississauga, Ontario.  The LWRA is insured through Atrens-Counsel. The Association itself, it's members, volunteers, Directors, Officers and any employees are afforded protection under the Commercial General Liability Policy when acting on behalf of the Association itself. This Policy provides coverage for "sums that the Insured becomes legally obligated to pay as "compensatory damages" because of "bodily injury" or "property damage". 

Porta-potty

Dwayne  Verhey, Secretary

Planning a gathering at the cottage this summer? Is your septic system up to the task of handling the extra, ummm, load without leaching the excess into our lakes? The LWRA has a porta-potty mounted on wheels that our members can borrow for special events free of charge. There's a $25.00 fee for non-members. (Gee, that's the same as the annual membership dues, isn't it?)  Warren of A1 Septic Services is supporting us with this project by providing free pump-outs of our rig, so please consider supporting them when it's time to pump your tank. 

Letters to the Editor

Ok, there aren't any because we don't have room in a 2-page newsletter. But you can have your say on our website bulletin board forum! Simply register and let us know if you are a member or family of a member and you can give us your feedback. www.lwra.net/forums.