PORTAGE DU FORT, QC | Gloomy news -- business closures, loss of jobs, decline in forest resources, low farm-product prices, school drop-outs, illiteracy and uni-linguality, population out-flows, drop in tourism -- chronicles the march to the bottom here in QuebecÕs Pontiac region. Amid all this pessimism, signs of life are important.

ThereÕs lot of liveliness, sports, school activities, weddings, traveling, but among it all, the liveliness of thought and word are exceptionally important. Thought and word Š plus a lot of hard work Š are our only salvation. WeÕre used to the hard work but it alone hasnÕt provided the long-term assurances we and our kids require. Thought and word are needed, plus tones of creative imagination.

That was the point of the story about the little stone school in Portage. Cultural and artistic tourism is one of many routes to improving our regionÕs incomes. The stone school is the symbol of that, and I insist there is still a danger of having that very symbol demolished because of an old and habitual lack of imagination.

By drawing attention to the tourism industry, to our wealth of arts and heritage(s), and to Portage du FortÕs remarkable concentration of old stone buildings, including the school house, we can make that demolition impossible. It is this sort of public arousal and civic mindedness that will lead us out of all the bad news stories.

That brings us to the school board...

The school board owns the stone schoolhouse. The school board, its table of commissioners, and its head-office administration, are mum on this, as they are mum on so many subjects, due in part to a jurisdictional un-clarity. Is a school board in fact no more than the local office of the Ministry of Education?

If so, why should it have any commitment to the community other than to provide the services promised it by the Ministry? Many administrators think this way. The result is, "so what that the stone school house could become the centre for a new growth-industry Š our job is schooling, not business development. Go talk to another ministry for community development."

But the school board is not this, in one important respect. We, the people here, can elect commissioners who have some, a little bit, of influence in what the board does within our community. No other ministry has this doorway to influence.

Why donÕt we use this lever of influence?

Two of three people donÕt vote; no one runs for office, most of the time Š PontiacÕs seats are all acclaimed but for one. This gives the impression we donÕt want this influence, and there are political forces trying to abolish the school board system.

Presumably, everything would be run out of Quebec City, with the absolutely rotten results we find in some of the other ministries of that nature. The boardÕs unresponsiveness and lack of engagement and the publicÕs uninterest and lack of engagement, means more bad news unless we turn things around.

ItÕs easy to know where to start in all this. Anywhere would be good.

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Copyright © 2007 Fred Ryan/Log Cabin Chronicles/10.07