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Page 5, News, Tuesday, June 11, 1991 Dear Editor, This note is regarding the clean-up that the Schreiber Public School had several weeks ago. I think that when we went there we weren't expecting that much garbage. - Not only was it bags and wrappers, but we also found things like clothing, car batteries and oil. We also saw a dead rabbit stuck to a piece of wood under the water. We were very disgusted with all of this. We didn't know that some people were so selfish as to do this. Next time we go back there we hope to find a big change. We hope that the people will listen to us and other people and the message that we're trying to get out. Wendy Morrison Schreiber Public School Dear Editor, I'm a grade six student at Schreiber Public School and I was one of the students who helped clean up the creek. When I cleaned up the creek I was surprised none of my classmates got sick. It was revolting - baby diapers, an old trunk, tonnes of household garbage 'and to top it all off a rabbit corpse. But the creek has come a long way with our help and now the creek looks a lot better but it still needs work. Hopefully more people will go to clean it up and maybe the fitness trail could be restored. The creek is one giant step A brighter, for the next generation. Jessica Hodder Schreiber Public School Dear Editor, My name is Harry Tymko III. I was wondering if you could keep writing articles on what is happening to the earth today. Our class is trying to get the town to start cleaning up and to stop throwing cleaner, and greener future School. The day I went to clean the creek I was thoroughly disgusted with the garbage I saw. I was glad to see the edtorial you did expressing the problem and now I hope something will be done to make every child's future brighter cleaner and greener. Jim McKeever Schreiber Public School Schreiber Creek - north of Langworthy Street their garbage out in the first place. If we all pitch in we can make our planet a cleaner and a better place to live. Harry Tymko III Schrieber Public School Dear Editor, I am a student at Schreiber Public Dear Editor, I am a student at Schreiber Public School. When our class went to the creek to clean it up we found leaking batteries, oil cans, lots of popcans, shingles, papers, candy wrappers, old Christmas trees, old tires, etc. I would just like to tell everyone that we can make a difference. Please make our world cleaner and greener! In the future I would like to see fish in the creek and a beautiful Fitness trail, not a garbage dump. Kerry McBride Schreiber Public School Dear Editor, I'm a student from Schreiber Public School. Our Grade 6 class assisted in cleaning Schreiber Creek. I think there should be some major changes. For one, the Fitness Trail. I used to use it regularly but I can't use it now because of the garbage. I think all of the garbage should be cleaned and the creek maintained. This also worsen Schreiber's image. Jackie Flear Schreiber Public School Dear Editor, My name is Dani Garon. I am a student at Schreiber Public School. I recently helped my class to clean the creek that travels through Schreiber. Even though we removed what garbage we could I felt that our actions put only a small dent in what needs to be done. The household garbage and chemicals floating downstream cannot be stopped by one person. A concerned person Dani Garon Schreiber Publci School Gunilda A couple of weeks ago, I told you a story (in two installments) about the death on August 12, 1989 of Reginald Barrett, from Brampton. Barrett died while diving in the frigid waters of Lake Superior while examining the wreck of the Gunilda on McGarvey Shoal, near Rossport. I have received a lot.of comment and reaction to those columns - more so than to anything else I've written in this space. Most of the calls are very supportive. They agree with me that there are many unanswered questions surrounding Barrett's death, and about artifacts which may or may not have been taken off the Gunilda. However, several callers pointed out some incorrect facts and allegations in the columns, which, for the record, should be set straight. First, my historical information was taken from a book and magazine articles on Lake Superior shipwrecks which several people have pointed out contain incorrect information. I said the wreck was in 300 feet of water - in fact, it's only 260 feet of water, by modern measurement. Still dangerous diving depth. The historical articles I was working from also said that on August 9, 1970 the Gunilda claimed the life of Charles "King" Haig, and that his body was never recovered. It's true that Haig died diving on the wreck, but the facts are that his body was eventually recovered, seven years later. According to a man REED ETS Perey tilted pot adits de still sunk in controversy discovered the body and still has the line Haig's body was fouled up in as a memento! This man also told me Haig's body was remarkably well preserved, because of the cold'water in Lake Superior. In Part Two of the column, I speculated without any basis about the connections between a north shore innkeeper, the Barrett family, and a Thunder Bay lawyer who was a classmate of Premier Bob Rae. I artifacts on the Gunilda. The head of the Canadian Coast Guard base at Keefer Terminal in Thunder Bay, George Steih, told me "we're going to get involved this summer in putting marker buoys for the Heritage Society around it (the Gunilda) and another wreck." The purpose of these markers, according to Steih, is to warn mariners about the treacherous shoals, and to deter inexperienced divers from examining speculated the =: wreck whether NORTHERN without there was INSIGHTS professional So, In-=¢ supervision. connection spa ds Since diving to Queen's on the Park which might have affected the public scrutiny of Barrett's death. All of that speculation was totally without foundation. The Thunder Bay lawyer in question has never had any involvement whatsoever in this case, directly or indirectly. This is a fact, and not speculation. I also suggested that this Thunder Bay lawyer was a boastful person and this simply is not true. I apologize to the lawyer for any suggestion of impropriety or boastfulness on his part, as his reputation for integrity is a very solid one. Aside from those problems with the columns, most of the reaction has been favorable. Nearly everyone who called me agreed that there needs to be some kind of public inquiry, if not a coroner's 5 Oe eee de Dariott<death.orine Gunilda has already claimed two lives, and a substantial number of diving injuries know as "the bends", the marker buoys are a wise move. Whether the buoys will actually deter anyone from diving on the Gunilda without proper professional supervision remains to be seen. The archaeologist in Thunder Bay with the Ministry of Culture and Communications, Bill' Ross, told me that the Ministry's Marine Heritage Unit (based in Ottawa) has conducted investigations into the allegations of artifacts being taken off the Gunilda, but had not been able to collect enough evidence to charge anyone. There are disputed legal claims and counter- claims surrounding the wreck which involve the insurance company Lloyd's "O¢ London and Fred Brunelle from Thunder Bay. Brunelle bought the rights to the Gunilda from Lloyd's several years ago. But there is some question about whether Brunelle"s claims are still valid, since his purchase was conditional on raising the Gunilda to the surface, and was only valid for a certain period of time. Ross says, "since the Gunilda has been sitting on crown land for so long, there is some thought that it belongs to the crown, period." That is disputed by Brunelle, however, so the legal rights to the artifacts remain in doubt. Those doubts make it nearly impossible to charge anyone, if indeed any artifacts have been removed. Beyond all the legalities surrounding the wreck itself, there are questions of public safety here. If the authorities determine that there are no grounds for either an inquest or criminal charges, does that mean no public hearing of any kind will be held? Are the current regulations governing diving on wrecks like the Gunilda strong enough to prevent future injuries and deaths? Given the treacherous conditions involved in diving in very deep cold water, are diving rules written in such a way that only those with high levels of qualifications, or professional supervision, can explore a wreck like the Gunilda? On highways, there are different kinds of driver's licences - you need more qualifications to drive a school bus or a transport truck than a regular , yy oe Continyed.on page 12 |