If only

Dogs, geese, and strippers seemed to be the hot topics of conversation here this past week.
Social media was abuzz over the town’s musing to ban dogs from the Seven Oaks area at the Point while the Times’ weekly web poll on the issue garnered nearly 500 votes as of late this morning.
Council’s decision last week to approve an “adult entertainment parlour” on the 200 block of Scott Street, and the possibility of killing Canada geese due to their excessive excrement along the waterfront, also trended on social media—and even prompted letters to the editor.
In terms of the potential dog ban at Seven Oaks, it will be interesting to see if the apparent backlash results in a large turnout for a public meeting on the issue set for this Monday night (Jan. 26) or if, as is typical, people simply are content to complain in the coffee shops and on Facebook rather than be part of the solution.
The bright side of all this is that residents are attuned to issues and decisions that affect them. The troubling part is all the hoopla is over dogs, goose poop, and “peelers.”
If only our idled mill drew similar howls of protest. If only the town’s crumbling infrastructure, the doctor shortage here, maintaining municipal services, all the vacant buildings around town, school closures, attracting visitors, and the continued out-migration of our youth prompted a comparable groundswell of reaction.
If only we can get people interested in voting in elections or answering the call for public input when such a plea is issued.
If only, indeed.