Opposition to logging route unanimous in Restoule

by Rob Learn

Apr 23, 2008

RESTOULE – The normally quiet hamlet of Restoule is unanimous that it wants to stay that way.

At a community meeting on Tuesday, April 15, each and every one of the more than 100 residents in attendance raised their hands in opposition to a major logging operation trucking through the heart of Restoule.

Safety, economic development and damage to local infrastructure were primary reasons cited by speaker after speaker at the town hall-type session held in the Restoule legion.

The meeting was called prior to an open house being hosted Nipissing Forest Resource Management (NFRM) today about the latest plan for logging Crown land in the area.

The recently released plan calls for the creation of new roadways west of the village that can only be accessed by one of the hamlet’s main roads – Hawthorne Drive.

Residents at the meeting said they are very concerned about heavy truck traffic from the logging operations.

“They’re (NFRM) going for the easy access that isn’t going to cost (logging companies) money, but it is going to cost us money,” said resident George Stripe.

He pointed out the Restoule Local Roads Board (LRB) had spent a significant amount of money over the past five years upgrading and black-topping Hawthorne Drive.

“I think we all know how long that will last with 50 tonne trucks constantly going across it,” he said.

Another resident pointed out that the trucks would be using the old one-lane bridge at the intersection of Hawthorne and Hwy. 534 going over the Restoule River.

“If a logging truck went through that bridge we’d have our fire trucks on one side and 911 services on the other. Not to mention that more than half the village would be cut of,” said the resident.

The biggest concern at the meeting wasn’t about the damage a fleet of transport trucks could do to local infrastructure, but what damage one truck could inflict on a person.

“It is a very busy thoroughfare even in the winter,” said the meeting’s chair Stuart McVeety. “With snowmobilers, skiers, two churches, the legion, the post office, the landfill and the general store, they really couldn’t pick a worse route through town.”

Several residents raised concerns about the condition of the logging trucks and the speed they might be travelling getting in and out of the logging areas.

“(Truck drivers’) money is from going as fast and as hard as they can for as long as they can,” said Kelly Roberts. “They’re paid by the load so that’s the way they operate, and not for huge dollars either.”

A member of the Restoule Volunteer Fire Department, Roberts said he has attended a number of incidents involving big scale logging operations, including one “where the guy literally ran the truck until it burned up.”

Jamie Board said that during the last round of large scale logging in the community she heard trucks running at all hours, both day and night.

“They would be using their jake-brakes at two and four o’clock in the morning,” said Board.

A few residents tried to start discussion about measures to slow trucks down and make sure they are road worthy, but didn’t get very far.

“That’s for if they are coming here,” said McVeety. “Right now I think we’re trying to make sure they don’t come through here and we need to concentrate on that.”

Shortly thereafter McVeety took a poll of the packed hall, asking for a show of hands from those opposed to the trucking route through the village. Every one in attendance raised a hand.

Scott Westall said he was incredulous that NFRM would even propose running log trucks through Restoule. He held a copy of the March 13 Almaguin Forester with a story about NFRM. The story reported on an NFRM presentation to Nipissing Township council to open a road allowance off of Hwy. 534 to allow access to Crown land north of Restoule.

“In this article (the NFRM is) telling Nipissing council they want to use this road allowance so that they don’t have to go through Restoule because of safety concerns. Then they turn around and propose a new route through Restoule that is even more dangerous. What’s going on?” said Westall.

McVeety steered the debate to strategies to prevent the trucking route from going ahead.

Stripe said he believes the community needs to identify its essential characteristics that drive the local economy.

“In Nipissing Township they did an economic development study that said residential and recreational opportunities were central to the local economy. I don’t think Restoule is any different. This development that is being proposed will have zero economic development spin offs for Restoule. In fact, it is going to hurt us. We are losing the recreational and residential values that we either moved here 100 years ago or more recently for. Nobody moved here to have logging trucks going up and down the road,” said Stripe.

He pointed out that in the past logging operations on Sand Lake Road had not rehabillated the road when they were finished and the cost fell to the local roads board.

“That was thousands of dollars. On Hawthorne Drive that’s going to be hundreds of thousands,” said Stripe.

Anne Board took the point to heart, saying, “We’re not responsible for saving the NFRM any money.”

At the end of the two hour meeting, a committee was struck to develop strategies to fight the proposed route. As the committee was being struck one man stood and asked the question, “Isn’t the real problem here logging? Rather than just opposing the route, why don’t we oppose the logging outright?”

That query was quickly shot down from all corners of the room.

“This town was founded on logging. We can’t turn our back on it now. Besides they’ll just dismiss us as a bunch of tree huggers,” was one response from an audience member.

After the meeting McVeety stressed that he became involved because of community interest and not over the logging activity itself.

“I’ve got nothing against logging. On that front I wish them all the success in the world. I just don’t want them to run over one of our kids doing it,” said McVeety.

Today’s open house is at the Restoule community centre from 4 until 8 p.m. There will be two presentations – one at 5 p.m. and another at 7 p.m. – for about 15 minutes.