A march is planned tonight in Iroquois Falls, as a grassroots committee tries to stop the closure of the town’s bowling alley.
Jackie Irvine is acting chair of the Community Living Iroquois Falls, and a member of “Save Earl Porter Lanes”.
Both of those groups want to prevent the bowling alley from closing, so that town hall can move into the building.
“A lot of the clients that we support use the bowling alley,” she explains. “They’re involved with Special Olympics and we have a supported employment client that works there.”
The march leaves the bowling alley at 5:45pm and heads to town hall, where council is meeting. A letter from Community Living will serve as a delegation to that meeting. In-person delegations are prohibited by COVID-19 safety protocols.
Irvine says that although the bowling alley is subsidized by the municipality, it’s much less of a drain on finances than other recreation facilities.
“I’m sure the arena and the pool lose a lot more money,” she confidently states. “I’ve been to the pool with my son and we’ve been the only two people in the pool at that time. And they’re paying for two lifeguards and a receptionist and all of the maintenance, the heat, the hydro…”
Although Community Living doesn’t have an alternative location in mind for a new town hall, Irvine is promoting the idea that the bowling alley is large enough for both.
UPDATE: Photos from the march by Danny McIntyre.
…and this one by Chuck Haskins, MyCochraneNow.com staff of supporters along the route.
