Good Neighbours Paint the Town

More than 30 good neighbours gathered at Sherbrooke Village on Saturday, Aug. 27, to help "paint the town." The Good Fences, Good Neighbours Painting Party, organized by the Historic Sherbrooke Village Development Society, saw the finishing touches put on several sections of new picket fences.

Lynn Hayne, chair of the society said that a special summer project saw the installation of more than a kilometre of new or refurbished fencing. "For a number of years now, fencing has had to take a back seat to more pressing maintenance issues, and as financial constraints grew, the fences inevitably started to deteriorate," said Ms. Hayne.

"While bad fences do not usually pose safety issues, they are often among the first things that visitors notice, and if we want to put our best foot forward, we should do all we can to make things as attractive as possible."

"A number of the society's members were on-hand for the event, as well as a number of local politicians, members of the surrounding community and Sherbrooke Village volunteer staff. Some visitors even got in on the act by painting a picket or two.

George Brothers, manager of program development at Sherbrooke Village, said that credit for the success of the Good Fences, Good Neighbours program should be shared with various partners. "Human Resource Skills Development Canada provided labour and we received donations of paint, lumber, transportation and other materials from local suppliers.

"The public has also responded well to the campaign which allows them to sponsor sections of fence. Our work crew has been first rate and we can't say enough about the work the development society has put into this project," said Mr. Brothers.

"Instead of complaining about how things are, the development society looked at how things could be and, more importantly, worked to make things better. They are certainly good neigbours on behalf of Sherbrooke Village."