By David MacDonald
david@peicanada.com

A former Beach Point resident hopes massive public pressure from the community will convince the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to maintain the historic Beach Point Lighthouse.
Leah MacDonald of Stratford recently created a Facebook group entitled Save the Beach Point Lighthouse, as well as an on-line petition which has been signed by 262 people since Friday.
There are also petitions at Miller’s Esso in Murray River, Machon Point Fisherman’s Co-op and L&O Butler’s Store in Murray Harbour, while several private residents are also circulating petitions.
Ms MacDonald said she was compelled to start the petition after hearing media reports about the possible fate of the lighthouse, which was toppled over during a major wind storm in December. The need to save the lighthouse became more pressing after Ms MacDonald did her own research only to discover the lighthouse was on a list of active lighthouses declared surplus on the DFO website.
Ms MacDonald has already attempted to contact Fisheries Minister Gail Shea but she hasn’t heard back yet.
"It (the lighthouse) means so much to the community. It is needed (for the fishermen). Fishermen have said 'when there is thick fog, that’s how I get through that narrow little channel'."
The online petition has been signed by local residents, others from across Canada and the United States and Europe.
"It shows that it’s important to everyone, not just one little community," Ms MacDonald said.
The plan is to collect all the petitions by the end of the month and send them to Ms Shea. Ms MacDonald hopes DFO won’t decide to scrap the lighthouse and replace it with a metal range light.
Ms MacDonald’s online petition is at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/8/save-the-beach-point-lighthouse/
DFO communications manager Stephen Bornais said the Canadian Coast Guard will be doing something with the light but has not determined what it would entail. Repairs to the lighthouse are included in the $6.5 million recently announced by Ms Shea that would cover the cost of repairs to Island harbours as a result of storm damage.
"The toppled light may not go back on the original site if it is found that there was significant shoreline erosion," Mr Bornais said. "It's also my understanding the Coast Guard has to determine whether the storm altered the channel in Murray Harbour, which could also influence where the light is located."