by Sylene Argent
With support from local businesses and residents, the Cottam Rotary Club was able to install a bus shelter on Fox Street, recently. On Saturday, the local service club celebrated having the project come to fruition through hosting an official ribbon cutting ceremony.
With the temperatures having dipped well below freezing recently, the Rotarians knew their hard work on the project would pay off as students who live in that area will now be able to utilize the shelter to keep out of the wind, rain, or snow as they await their bus each school morning.
With its location, adjacent to Cottam Ridgeview Park and in front of the Cottam Library, youth will also be able to use the shelter when waiting for parents to pick them up after a sporting activity or program, if needed.
Dan Levy, President of the Cottam Rotary Club, gave credit to fellow Rotarian Paul Tremblay for all the work he dedicated to the project, which included attending Kingsville Council meetings with an aim in getting permission to have the infrastructure installed. In addition, he was also able to get the Town of Kingsville to allowed The Cottam Rotary Club to utilize the piece of property upon which the shelter now stands.
It took months of planning and preparation for the bus shelter project to get completed, Levy said. The actual installation of the infrastructure took only a few days.
The Rotary Club used some of the funds it has raised through its various annual fundraisers to financially support the project, and, in addition, accepted many generous donations from local businesses, such as Gosfield North Communications, and area individuals and families.
Altogether, the project cost was around $15,000.
“We are all very proud of what we’ve accomplished. We showed what we are able to do for the community,” Levy said.
Levy noted, to his knowledge, four or five different schools head into the area the bus shelter is now located, to pick up around 30 different students each school morning, and drops them off in the evening.