CENTRAL MANITOULIN—A recent spate of break-ins in Mindemoya, including post boxes at the Mindemoya Canada Post office, as well as incidents taking place in neighbouring communities, has led to a petition being circulated in the community calling for an increased police presence and the return of the satellite station in Mindemoya that was closed when the Manitoulin and Espanola detachments were amalgamated and the new headquarters building in Little Current was constructed.
Central Manitoulin council passed a motion endorsing those calls from the Concerned Citizens of Central Manitoulin group.
“I do have a concern, especially in Mindemoya,” said Councillor Derek Stephens. “There is a need for greater police presence and I totally support this motion.”
Central Manitoulin Mayor Richard Stephens concurred and pointed out that the lids on the postal boxes at the Canada Post office had not yet been repaired.
Councillor Steve Shaffer was asked if he had any insight into the situation (being a former Mindemoya postmaster before his retirement), but he laughed and said that he was “out of the loop” since his retirement and the incident “didn’t happen under my watch.”
All levity put aside, council unanimously endorsed the calls for increased police presence and the return of the satellite station, suggesting that the station had a deterrent value through its presence in the community.
