Port Bruce beach clean-up begins

Cottager Sue Wiltsie, front, was among over 25 local residents who participated in a clean-up of the Port Bruce beach on Friday, May 29. The clean-up was to last several hours that day and included Ontario Parks employees who were on hand to identify patches of poison ivy and mark them with small flags for eventual eradication through Roundup spray. The poison ivy was to be sprayed within a week of the clean-up and would be monitored to make sure the noxious plants were dead. The Roundup needed to be avoided for an hour after spraying and signs were to be posted warning visitors to stay away from those areas until the herbicide drys. Movable driftwood and garbage was removed during the clean-up. Larger pieces of driftwood that had become well-planted in the sand were to remain to serve as convenient resting spots for visitors. Ontario Parks officials planned to leave about a third of the provincial park beach in a natural state and encouraged Port Bruce residents to contact them when the area needed maintenance or garbage cans emptied.