This morning (Sunday, August 8 ) a black bear was spotted in a tree behind the Sturgeon Point Union Church.  The bear was discovered at about 7:30 a.m., and left the scene two hours later, missing Desmond Howard’s sermon at the church by 30 minutes. The bear obviously had other places to be.

The photos shown here were taken by Cacky Phipps and family, who watched the bear from their cottage. Thanks to Cacky for making them available.

This is a good time to remind everyone to beware of bears, and to give them plenty of respect. If you see a bear and believe that it poses a possible threat you can call the BEAR REPORTING LINE at 1-866-514-2327. For life threatening emergencies call 911.

Following a few simple steps can help reduce the chances of human-bear interactions. One of the most important is to reduce the smell of garbage in our village by keeping garbage in closed containers and not putting it out until the night before or morning of garbage pick-up. To learn more about black bears and what you can do to reduce the potential for danger from them, please visit the MNR’s BEARWISE web site.

on July 10th at 10:00 a.m. Rob Messervy of the Kawartha Region Conservation Authority will make a presentation about the Sturgeon Lake Management Plan that the KRCA is spearheading. The meeting will be held at the Union Church. The meeting will discuss local conservation efforts that are presently underway to protect our lake and local environment. The discussion will include issues relevant to Sturgeon Point, including wells, septic systems, and weeds in the lake.
See you there!

The latest newsletter provides important imformation about the upcoming by-election and the Official Plan. You can read it right now by clicking here. This is the last newsletter of the year, and we’re looking forward to another busy year in 2010. Happy Holidays!

Those interested in getting an early look at the documentation package for the upcoming Sturgeon Point Association’s Annual General Meeting can do so by clicking on the following link: SPA AGM Document Package. The document includes the meeting agenda, the minutes of last year’s AGM, and the financial statements. The document is in PDF format, so you can easily print it out and bring it with you. There will be copies of the document handed out at the AGM as well.  See you at the meeting on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 10:00 a.m.

Voices for the TSW are a group of concerned residents, cottagers, business people and city councillors intersted in issues such as infrastructure repair, water quality and conservation, and economic and environmental impacts of the TSW on the surrounding regions. Last year the group published a report entitled “Its All About the Water”. They recently published Position Paper-Voices for the TSW and will be discussing this at an open meeting on May 30th in Buckhorn. You can view the meeting notice here: Voices for the TSW May Meeting Notice

Every spring and summer our community is visited by one or two members of the local black bear community. Black bears are rarely aggressive but their presence can pose a real danger to both humans and ultimately to the bears themselves. To reduce the risk of attracting bears into our village, please keep your garbage in bear resistant containers and put it out the morning of garbage day, not the night before. More tips and information can be found on the excellent Bear Wise web site set up by the MNR.

If you do experience a bear emergency, call 911. To report bear problems contact the Bear Reporting Line at: 1-866-514-BEAR (2327).