The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It's not so much the removal of a popular wooden dock in Denare Beach that has many residents up in arms. It's how it was done. The village had the aging dock carted away from the main beach recently amid safety concerns. A floating dock has been brought in, but it's not nearly as big. Though there are plans to replace the main dock with a modern polyethylene version sometime this summer, there appears to be a strong sentiment that any period of time without a dock is unacceptable. "My opinion is, take the money and buy it (a new dock)," said Roger Cathcart. "If you want to assess all of us, do it." Sean Hydamaka, another summer resident, felt so strongly about the dock's departure that he launched a petition to have it replaced. "Everybody's upset about the dock being gone," he said. "That's people from out of town, that's businesses, you name it." "Everybody's mad, everybody's upset, everybody's like shaking their head," added another resident. "I think 'dumbfounded' is the perfect word." Hydamaka, for one, is equally frustrated that the area beneath and around the dock wasn't cleared of large rocks and refuse immediately following its removal. He was one of more than a dozen volunteers who turned out Sunday afternoon to clean the area. He said they removed boulders, wood debris, metal tie rods and even an old ax. "If they were worried about safety, what we were dealing with (Sunday), left for the kids to walk through, definitely was not safe," said Hydamaka. Deana Hilchie, the village's recreation director, said swimmers wouldn't normally be in the spot where those items were recovered. She noted that lifeguards who start work Friday will ensure children swim in the proper area. Also, signs to that effect will be erected. Hilchie said the goal is to bring in the new polyethylene dock as soon as possible, with money raised from this Sunday's Beaver Lake Day going toward the project. 'Safety Hazard' The rec director said the old dock "was a safety hazard" that had been damaged by high waters, winter freezing and some early spring vandalism that saw the lifeguard's mounted chair ripped out. The new dock, she said, will be safer, more durable and can be removed from the lake in the winter. Wanda Ginnell, a member of the Denare Beach rec board, said both council and rec board members agreed the dock had to be replaced. Her concern was where the money would come from. She planned to ask council to lend the board money for the project, which she estimates will cost at least $20,000. "It (the dock) means a lot to the beach," said Ginnell. "It's been there forever, different docks have been there forever. We've always had a dock." Hilchie said the recreation department wants to see a new dock in place as much as everyone else. "With so many children here, it's an understandable situation," she said of the demand for a replacement. Another concern stemming from the situation, according to residents who spoke to The Reminder, is that the public wasn't notified the dock would be gone. None of the representatives from the Denare Beach council could be reached for comment.
