Sharky…..... its not my fault you can not deal with facts and truth ! Explain exactly what I am “twisting and misreading”, admittedly I am not an expert in the American language. If you post something that is not based on facts or truth I will dispute that. I’m sorry if that annoys you, nobody is holding the proverbial gun to your head. If you want to deal in myths and misrepresentaion go ahead but do not expect me to stand by and not have something to say…........and please try a little humor, it won’t hurt, even Gary has his fun !
Anthony Young

Anthony, just stop it. Your twisting and misreading of others’ comments ill befits your goals.

Marcy, just for clarification…........you do not go to the Beach because people from other towns take their dogs there ? In the summer months, before,  you could take your children to the Beach from 9am to 9pm without dogs, “residential” or “nonresidential” being there. It will more or less be the same this year (one hour less !)
If you want to have Willard Beach to be “residents only” you might want to have a referendum, I’m sure you would get a lot of support.
The only problem, in case you are not aware, is that plenty of people, without dogs, from surrounding cities and towns use Willard Beach. There may be repercussions from those surrounding cities and towns !
The hours designated by the City Council are fair to all beach users and certainly in line with shed and thoughtful usage of the Beach.
Anthony Young

“because his predetermined point of view ”
Gary if that statement was not so ludicrous it would be funny ! Tell me Mrs Gray and your goodself went to the Task Force meetings as panelists with open and flexible minds to listen to all sides in the discussion ? I think not.
Mrs Gray, ably assisted by you, played “show and tell” at one of the early meetings with photos of miscreants, especially around her yard.(a part of Willard beach?)In fact 20 valuable minutes of one meeting were taken up discussing Mrs Gray’s yard. It only stopped after protests to the mediator, Mr Carson.
I’m sure if Cape Elizabeth thought you had the expertise to give authoritative opinions on dogs Gary, they would be the first to call.
Anthony Young

I for one will take my family of 3 to Willard beach when the ban goes into effect. From all the stories I read in the local papers, alot of people consider Willard beach the destination for their dogs. The Press Herald article talked to 5 people (I think) and none of them were from South Portland. The fact is that Willard has become known as a dog beach and by banning them in the Summer, that image will change and more people will go to Willard. I would appreciate it and having talked to several families in the area they will too. We used to have a dog and never took her to the beach. There are plenty of sidewalks to walk dogs as most do in my area. I am familiar with the Willard beach area and know there are plenty there as well. Spring point is close as well. All of this arguing seems childish and looks more like the dog people don’t want to give up their turf. As someone who has lived here 30 + years, it was never like this. I guess everything changes and hopefully this issue goes to referendum and is settled. Thank you for reading, I will be voting to ban dogs in the Summer.  Marcy

Confused,  I don’t know if it’s required to be a resident but it makes no sense to have people that are not residents making these types of choices.  here is what it says on the city web site.

“The (currently named) Willard Beach Task Force was created by the City Council to develop the facts relating to not only the joint use of Willard Beach by dogs and people, but the broader issue of dog/human interaction in other public places as well.  The Task Force, made up of Councilors James Hughes and Claude Morgan (both ex-officio); residents William Arnold, Gary Crosby, Devin Gray, Elizabeth Ross-Holmstrom, Dr. Douglas Howell, Robert Johnson, and Reta Nappi,” 

I can only think of one reason to put him on and that would be because his predetermined point of view.  This would be like me going to his home town of Cape Elizabeth and sitting on a committee to deal with dogs there.  Wholly inappropriate.

Gary, thank you for your response.  I just reviewed the task force information online and cannot find where it states that all members must be residents.  Could you please cut and paste that statement and tell us where it can be found on the website?

Walrus…....but people with dogs cannot go to the Beach 12 months a year, and whatever way you wish to slice it you want to disallow a person the fun of walking his/her dog on the Beach with them. If your idea of owning a dog is walking “till it does its business”, I hope you do not own a dog. My old dog has been a constant companion, hiking in the hills and mountains, swimming in the ocean and lakes and walking on streets and beaches. I have an adequate yard for both my dogs and we have fun when I play there with them.
The only thing that I cry about in my old age is the state of the world today. In the 21st century I would have thought we would have learned much from our past, apparently we have not.
I do not wish, as with many other dog walkers, to find an alternative. There are no reasons to deny dog walkers access to the Beach, certainly not in the hours as designated by the City Council. Those hours are fair to all Beach users, and are in line with shared usage.
Anthony Young

Gary….......that is not what I wrote, this is what I wrote, “None of us without expertise and qualification can make proper decisions in scientific and medical fields” that is decisions in specific fields, not every field. I’m sorry I believe you do not have the necessary scholarship and qualifications to make an informed decision
“on the medical stuff regarding the dogs”. I believe the Dr does.
If the Dr was not entitled to be on the Task Force committee because of residency why did you not question his status at the time ? You were there.
” I have only seen one Dr say it’s okay or good for you to play in it.” How many have you “seen” who say that it is not, and who are they ?
I must say that if people choose not to patronize yours and Dan’s businesses they do have the right to make that choice. Personally I would disagree, I do not believe in interfering with peoples livelihoods over dogs. I know I have been to dan’s place when I need wood, I do not frequent your business I have my own W/D.
Anthony Young

Old Crow…...........my bet is you are wrong, I doubt whether banning dogs will make much difference. Most people going to the Beach go when dogs are not allowed to be there, that does seem to be an unconsidered fact. The other fact is during the summer for 11 hours between 9am and 7pm no dogs are on the Beach. People with dogs are being unreasonable ?
Sharky…....I can only repeat the above 11 hours, I’ve been going to the Beach with my dogs and with my grandchildren, toddlers to pre-adolescents, for more than 8 years now with no problems. I happily anticipate picnicking on the Beach in the evenings again this summer, I would suggest you join us, you just do not seem to have the right Zodiac sign or something (joke!)
By my Vote….....I welcome that people will make their own “informed” decision. Making an “informed” decision means considering the facts. The only facts presented in this dispute are from the people who would like to keep access for dogs to the Beach as the City council has decided. As you can see from Gary’s last post lots of dodging and weaving when you ask him to present facts.
Facts : there are 11 hours every day during the summer to be on the Beach “without having to worry about getting trampled, jumped on, etc.”
Dogs are not human beings, “a given”, but the people who walk them and own them are, and these people, the great majority of whom have done nothing wrong, are the ones who will be punished because rules or laws will be passed with no salient reason to ban dog access.
The 6 months split, which Gary and others call “fair and reasonable” must really be an inside joke, I do not get it. ” You have the foul weather months, we’ll take the summery months” ? Perhaps someone will explain the joke to me ?
Just as an addendum, what are ” SoPoDog’s bully tactics and entitled attitude ” Does it include going to City Council meetings to show support for our positions ? You would cast your vote on attitude rather than facts ?
Anthony Young