Dear Editor:

Recently I found myself in a very uncomfortable situation in which I didn’t know what to do. I wanted a simple service from the local police force. I had found a set of car keys at my business, and wanted to try to get them returned to their owner. So I asked myself, where do I go and what do I do?
I phoned the local OPP detachment in Sebringville, and spoke with a polite woman who offered to patch me through to the dispatch (in London). I asked  her if I could drop the keys off somewhere in St. Marys. She suggested the town hall, but when I pressed her a little on where and with whom, and asked her if she was sure about that, she laughed and admitted that she wasn’t sure and that things had “changed” in St. Marys.
My options were to call the 1-888-310-1122 number and ask an operator to send an officer out to pick up the keys (a waste of time and taxpayer money, in my opinion), use the phone at the post office to call dispatch in London to see if there was an officer in the same building as I was calling from to come down the stairs and pick the keys up, or drive the keys to Sebringville.
I wasn’t comfortable with any of these three options. I eventually tracked down a friendly officer in town who was helpful and sympathetic to my thoughts on this set of circumstances.
I was never in favour of the loss of a local OPP sergeant, but I understand the reason – money. I figured that we would lose our sergeant after reading the stories in the  local media about costs. However, I do not understand how it is that we cannot afford a local OPP contact person.
An OPP co-ordinator, sergeant-lite, administrator, officer person; call it whatever you want, but it seems ridiculous that all local services are now provided out of Sebringville.
Simple items such as police checks, the organization of security for charity events, lost and found, police reports, etc., seem to be all administered out of Sebringville. Why can’t we have some sort of local administrator (even part-time, if money is the always the issue) to act as our community liaison. This to me is an important part of small town living. Have we become “the Town Worth Living In ... but head to Sebringville to deal with those pesky police matters ... ”
Before I digress into spending, budgetary matters and spending priorities within the town, I would like to mention that if you recently lost a set of keys at Little Falls Car and Pet Wash, they are with the OPP. My hope is the rightful owner is able to pick them up in Sebringville.
My hope is also that this loss of personal police service in St. Marys is not the first step in a process where all police services are based in Sebringville, and St. Marys loses its historical identity and joins the County of Perth in order to save money on policing and other services.
It has become a sad reality of life that small towns must continuously fight for their schools, hospitals, local police force coverage, and other services.
Maybe at budget time our council should re-examine our police services and have a heard look at the services which have made us the Town Worth Living In. Otherwise, we might just become another former town in the County of Perth.

Al Strathdee
St. Marys