OUR DOGMA.
1. Common sense, dialogue and civility are cheaper than lawyers.
2. The park is for everyone. Doggie lovers have no more right to frighten and terrorize doggie haters than doggie haters do to frighten and terrorize us.
3. The park has as many two-footed as four-footed problems. As summer approaches, so too does the spectre of petty and serious crimes: drug-dealing in the vicinity of the school and the arena, vandalism to the school and the park facilities, dumping, littering, speeding cyclists who do not understand that even a slow-speed impact can seriously injure a child or an elderly person, the seasonal flashers and bashers in search of purses.
4. The presence of doggie lovers day and night keeps the park safe. We are there to help and to discourage those, many of whose faces and addresses we know from our long hours of tromping, from turning Cedarvale into a Young and Old Offenders playground.
5. The park is a public trust. It belongs to all of us . We must respect and protect it as we would our own property and the property of our neighbour. If we don't, it will become just another isolated crap encrusted scary lonely brown space.
PLEAS 4 TREES: A TEACHABLE MOMENT
As Leo Baeck School opens its doors for its first year
in the old Arlington School Building, I have been
encouraged by their willingness to share and cooperate
with park users. It is my deepest hope that we will
continue to build a cooperative and convivial relationship
in the years to come.
An early glitch has emerged from the rumour mill, however.
Leo Baeck needs an enclosed playground and parking for
its staff. Parking Enforcement has apparently been
ticketing staff cars parked on the street, and the Arena
apparently cannot spare sufficient spaces for staff. The
park is abuzz with the rumour that the solution will be to
cut down a group of old willow trees at the side of the
school to make way for a playground.
Hopefully, all concerned will take Professor Franklin's
admonition to heart and do all they can to save the trees.
Here is an opportunity for the kids in the park to learn
what we have forgotten to the great detriment of those
who will have to live with the mess we leave behind.
Nature has a life of its own and the hardest and the most
helpful thing we can do to preserve the environment is
simply to leave it alone.
It seems a terrible travesty to sacrifice trees for parking
spaces when there are so many other available
solutions, not the least of which is just to allow street
parking or day parking in the huge and usually empty
Arena lot.
You can share your views with him as well as casting your
vote in Cedardogs' online poll. If you have suggestions
or solutions, you can post them in the guestbook below for
discussion or e-mail the Woofmaster with additional
information for the website at cedardogs@yahoo.ca. I can
be slow getting back because of the volume of junk
mail but I will try.
