2008-2009 Annual Report

Message from Chair - The Applications - Our Case - Community Issues - Concluding Comments - Financials - Volunteer Committee - Public Activity Report - Appendix 1 & 2 - References

Concluding Comments

No individual is capable of fighting St Marys Cement by themselves, but united, our communities have gained significant ground. Momentum is in our favour. As we have demonstrated, our best chance of winning the battle is by working together.

Since May 2004, we have packed halls and auditoriums; we have driven through snowstorms to attend meetings; and when sessions were booked in out of town venues like the Royal Botanical Gardens, we drove up to 30 km after work and dinner to object with our neighbours. Furthermore, rather than join a process that was designed to select a haul route that would favour one household over another, we left the meeting en masse.

We continue to stack ammunition against the proposed quarry, but our best weapon is our committed communities. They are the places where we work, play, learn, and live together. Healthy communities contain rich networks of communication, social support, education, commerce, industry, and recreation. Our histories, our vision of the future, and threats to our wellbeing bind us together.

The only good thing to have come from this assault on our homes and families, is that the threat of an industrial operation in the midst of our rural residential and agricultural communities has strengthened our communities. We have joined with hundreds of neighbours in meetings; we have written thousands of letters to ministries, and sent hundreds of postcards to our Premier.

Perhaps best of all, we have even had some fun. We have swung our clubs in the FORCE golf tournaments, ridden our bikes in the Tour de Force, and enjoyed music and great food at the FORCE Galas, all because a proposed quarry is threatening our way of life. Despite a year when the economy was threatened, our communities still saw the need to give money, to make the investment, to support the fight.

At the outset, we were told that it could take ten or more years to win this fight. In May 2010, we will hit the six-year mark. Collectively we have the energy, the focus, and the resources to see this battle through to the end.

Since 2004, we have driven the first proponent off the battlefield, and have gained ground against the second one. Every day is a win, when the water still flows, the ground does not shake, and the trucks are not on our roads.

The sustained community support and engagement around this threat to our communities has been tremendous.