View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard
It’s amazing how contentious change can be. This issue of the Strip profiles the varying opinions about plans to improve the beach and its parking lot. Lambton Shores wants everybody on side so it can get on with the project.
Barbara Gare discovered this firsthand earlier this month, after she gave her opinions at the October 27 beach enhancement meeting. Representing herself, but mentioning she worked at the Chamber of Commerce, the (now) former executive director described concerns tourists brought to her attention at the tourism booth. The only note I made about her short speech was, “If you look at any websites for other tourist towns, they all have vital downtowns,” Gare said. “You have to have A before you can get B.”
Watching her give that speech, something didn’t feel right. It was the last straw for the chamber executive. Gare was reprimanded in an email for representing the chamber, which supports the plan. Gare wasn’t aware of that official stance.
She was fired days later.
Barbara Gare says the move came as a total surprise, but the chamber executive told its members last week she should have seen it coming. They’re tight-lipped about what led to her departure (under legal advice). The question is, was this the last straw or the only one?