NAL Wilbert Dick
A Note, released this past June 25th, 2014, from the Office of Niagara Regional Chair Gary Burroughs
It is with deep sadness that I learned of the passing of a friend and former Regional Chair Wilbert Dick on Monday, June 22. On behalf of Regional Council, I extend condolences to his wife Betty and his three children.
Former Niagara, Ontario Regional Chair and Niagara-on-the-Lake Lord Mayor Wilbert Dick
Wilbert enjoyed an active political life serving as Regional Chair from 1985-1991 and as Lord Mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake from 1977 – 1985. A long-time resident of Virgil, he was dedicated to his community well after his time in political office.
Wilbert will be deeply missed by all who knew him, served with him on Council and worked with him during his time at the Region.
The flags at Regional Headquarters will be lowered in his memory.
Gary Burroughs, Regional Chair
A Short Postscript from NAL publisher Doug Draper – I came to meet Wilbert Dick in 1979 when he was Lord Mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake and I was a cubby reporter, fresh out of journalism school and assigned to cover his town for The St. Catharines Standard.
It is exactly at that time that all hell broke loose with toxic waste dumps in Niagara County, New York leaking into the Niagara River, upstream from what was then the drinking water intake for Niagara-on-the-Lake. There was also a plan on the table in New York to discharge treated toxic wastes to the river and just upstream from that same intake.
A citizens group called Operation Clean quickly formed in Niagara-on-the-Lake to protest this pollution and I began what would become a 17-year journey as a full-time environment reporter covering these issues.
Wilbert, who was working hard at the time to advance Niagara-on-the-Lake’s fortunes as a world-class tourist destination, didn’t appreciate so much coverage on toxics in the waters bordering the town and got angry with me and the paper earlier on for writing so much about it. I recall once writing a column, comparing him to that mayor in the Jaws movie who didn’t want people to know about the shark feeding in the beach waters around his town, and suffice to say, Wilbert didn’t appreciate me making that comparison.
Yet he ultimately knew that the shark off the waters of his town had to be addressed and much to his credit, he and his council joined Operation Clean, Pollution Probe in Toronto, and groups across the border in paying for legal representation to address the toxic threat. He also played a lead role in switching Niagara-on-the-Lake’s drinking water supply from the mouth of the Niagara River to water piped in from the Decew water treatment plant in south St. Catharines.
Wilbert Dick, whether you butted heads with him or not, was for more than two decades a dynamic force on the Niagara political scene – so much so that it is hard to believe he is gone.
(Nagara At Large encourages you to share your views on this post. A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who share their first and last name with them.)
Niagara At Large 