Jeff Charlton, 32, who has lived his entire life in Osoyoos, is very upset about the amount of broken beer bottles and other broken glass that is being discarded along the shoreline of Osoyoos Lake near the dog walking area located between the Osoyoos Museum and Osoyoos Sailing Club. Charlton said he’s personally removed hundreds of broken bottles and pieces of glass over the past several months and he’s worried a person or animal is going to get seriously hurt if more glass continues to be thrown into the lake. (Keith Lacey photo)
Someone continues to dump broken bottles and other shards of sharp glass along the shoreline of Osoyoos Lake near a popular dog walking area and a local man is worried an animal or citizen is going to get seriously hurt.
Jeff Charlton, 32, who has lived his entire life in Osoyoos, takes his American Bulldog for a long walk along the shore of Osoyoos Lake on a regular basis.
Earlier this spring, he noticed dozens of broken bottles and other sharp pieces of glass had been thrown into the lake.
It bothered him so much, that he took the time to personally clean up the broken glass along the stretch of shoreline located between the Osoyoos Museum and the Osoyoos Sailing Club.
“There was enough glass to fill up a regular-sized cooler,” said Charlton. “I couldn’t believe how much glass was not only along the shore, but also within a few steps of the shoreline in the lake.”
He stopped going down there for his daily walks because he was exceptionally busy with his contracting business all summer, but returned a couple of weeks ago and saw that the problem was just as bad, said Charlton.
Early last week, Charlton spent several hours picking up broken beer bottles, mason jars, broken pop bottles and assorted broken glass along the same stretch of shoreline.
“I picked up literally hundreds of pieces of broken glass and it really got me upset because all of the tourists are gone and not too many people come down here,” he said. “It makes me think that maybe somebody is purposely breaking glass and throwing it in the lake. The only reason I could think of is maybe they don’t like the fact that many people take their dogs for a walk down here.
“I don’t know what the reason is, but it’s very upsetting to see so much broken glass being purposely thrown into our lake. I think it’s just a matter of time before a dog or child gets seriously hurt. It’s not cool. It’s not cool at all.”
His dog loves to jump in the water, but he holds him back because of all the broken glass he’s found in this area, said Charlton.
“I contacted the paper because I want people to know what’s going on and I want people to be careful,” he said. “Some of the pieces of glass I’ve taken out of the lake would cause some pretty nasty damage if somebody were to jump or walk on it.”
It’s not only dangerous to discard broken glass into the lake, but potentially hazardous to local citizens and pets, he said.
“It’s very rude and ignorant and potentially very dangerous,” he said. “Every single time I take my dog for a walk down there, I return with a few pieces of broken glass.
“When I saw how much broken glass was being thrown in the lake last week, I decided to try and do something to let people know what’s going on down here.”
Charlton said installing video surveillance cameras in the area is probably not feasible, but he hopes the town will erect signage warning people not to throw glass or other objects into the lake.
“I think that would help,” he said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
