Like everyone else in the Rainy River District, I have been shovelling snow for six days. On Monday I looked out and was surprised that the town crew had been busy overnight. My driveway had the remains of Second Street being scraped and the town attempting to move the snowbanks back towards the curb. The banks were already a meter from the curb.
The two-foot-high drift in the driveway was made of large frozen blocks of snow and ice.
I fired up the snowblower and quickly discovered that I had to manually break up the bank with a shovel before the snowblower could throw it up on to the bank.
Before you think this is a complaint to the town or the grader operator, it isn’t. The crews from the town have done a tremendous job of keeping the streets, alleys, and sidewalks open through the snow, sleet, and rain that we have experiences in the last six weeks. The crews have done a tremendous job for all of 2022.
This year will probably go down as the year of the snow. Nothing had impacted our lives more than the snow that we received in the past year. The large snowstorms of March and April combined with the late spring saw our community and region inundated by floods. In less that a decade we have seen two major flooding levels. We have witnessed a once in a century lake flooding that, when it crested, set a new record.
We have witnessed the town; district and its people come together to fill and stack sandbags to protect homes and cottages. No one will ever be able to calculate the volunteer person-hours and equipment that were donated to help strangers, families and friends protect their homes and properties.
And it all began with unexpected large snowfalls at a time when the region does not expect them. And those snowfalls and cool spring led to later planting of grains in the district. It led to later harvests. It has led to a shortage of contractors available to repair homes and cottages. And the district, although frustrated by delays for supplies and help, understood everyone was doing their best to aid them.
At this time of the year, we must celebrate how fortunate we are to live in a community that reaches out to help one another. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.
Former Publisher
Fort Frances Times
