Food and Water First
Food Water FirstWe owe them our gratitude for quarry battle (letter)
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- Published on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 23:20
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Dear editor,
As we celebrate Melancthon’s jubilation at the good news that the mega quarry is cancelled, I hope all of Ontario will extend their thanks to the farmers who planted the seeds that brought public awareness to this issue.
If you ever wondered where the expression, “the salt of the earth” came from ... visit Redickville.
On the fertile Honeywood silt loam fields that, until last week, were proposed for slaughter, you will find a handful of gentle, unassuming farm families, and their country loving neighbours. Quiet men and women, who stepped far beyond their comfort zones to protect Ontario’s greatest gifts — farmland and water.
They sounded the alarm when no one would listen. They lit the flares when they were told it was a “done deal.” This victory was not won by politicians or government, heck, for a long time it wasn’t even supported by them. This battle was won with hope, and heart, and a relentless voice that would not be stilled. A voice that repeated time and again, “This is wrong and we will stop it.”
And, it all began with a handful of locals six years ago; Ralph and Mary Lynne Armstrong, Dale and Carol Rutledge, the Vander Zaags, the Blacks, the Wallaces, the Cosacks, the Levers ... and they told two people and they told two people.
They formed the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce; local son and engineer Garry Hunter prepared an undisputable technical case for provincial officials; they organized meetings and events that caught the attention of the media; and last year the social justice group, Avaaz, collected 100,000 signatures on a petition to “Stop the Quarry.”
They lost friends and sleep, money and time, but they spoke the truth, and they rallied a township, a county and a province, to beat a corporation financed by one of the most successful hedge funds in the world. They saved the Headwaters.
These folks have reminded us of something incredible: each of us truly does have the power to make a difference. The Highland Companies still owns thousands of acres of Melancthon land, and the coveted limestone that perfects the soil, lies beneath it; we are faced with more mega turbines and threatened by power lines; the county is considering a gasification plant; and Dundalk is crying foul over human waste.
Keep your voices raised.
Marni Walsh, Melancthon
Letter to the Editor, Published in the "Orangeville Banner", Nov. 28, 2012