Dear Editor:
The 2018 Yuletide season has come to a close and it was nice to see the pedestrian bridge in Fergus lit up in blue during the month of December.
Several citizens and a few downtown businesses had asked if the lights could be left on over the Christmas season to supplement the BIA’s annual Christmas tree lightings.
With approval from Centre Wellington Parks and Recreation, the Fergus Lions Club left the lights in place this year – normally we remove them at the end of November, as they are a part of our annual Diabetes Awareness Campaign (blue being the international colour for diabetes).
Sadly, not everybody liked the lights – vandals wrecked one set of lights that resulted in the railings from the bridge to the library being rendered useless. This was noticed and the damaged light string replaced before Christmas Eve. Again, the same individuals or another bunch decided to rip/cut wires and smash several of the light lens covers, resulting in only a portion of the lights being left operational.
With nice weather on Dec. 28 we chose to remove the light strings to preserve the still-functioning lights. It was our hope that the bridge could remain illuminated into the New Year, however some other types made a decision to damage and destroy what seemingly everyone else enjoyed. That is why the lights were removed.
Will we do it again next year? Why not!
The bridge lighting signifies that Centre Wellington supports diabetes awareness and it is our view that we will not allow a few misguided souls to stop something really worthwhile. Happy New Year to all.
Brian Martin,
Fergus Lions Club