Path: news.eternal-september.org!eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
From: Nyssa <Nyssa@logicalinsight.net>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: US-CBP Closes Border-Straddling Library Entrance to Canadidians
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2025 09:44:37 -0400
Organization: Logical Insight
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BTR1701 wrote:

> STANSTEAD, Quebec (AP) =E2=80=94 For more than 100 years, people
> in Stanstead, Quebec have been able to walk into Derby
> Line, Vermont to enter the border-straddling Haskell Free
> Library and Opera House =E2=80=93 no passport required.
>=20
> https://ibb.co/3YNCz3BV
>=20
> But municipal and library officials said on Friday that
> U.S. authorities have unilaterally decided to end the
> century-old unwritten agreement. Coming at a time of
> heightened tensions between the two countries, the
> decision is prompting an outpouring of emotion in
> communities on both sides of the border, which in places
> has been marked simply by flower pots.
>=20
> Inside the library celebrated as a symbol of international
> friendship, Pauline Lussier and Chris Blais put their arms
> around each other's shoulders Friday as they stood on
> either side of the line taped down the floor marking the
> border. Lussier, a Canadian, and Blais, an American met
> for the first time that day.
>=20
> https://ibb.co/b5KW402g
>=20
> "A line doesn't separate us, it never has," said Blais,
> who held an American flag in her hands while Lussier held
> a Canadian one.
>=20
> "Our kids have gone back and forth over this border
> without any problem at all... this is all going to change
> now, and there's no reason for this," Blais added.
>=20
> Once inside the library, Canadian and American citizens
> have been able to mingle freely across the border line
> drawn on the floor =E2=80=93 as long as they return to the proper
> country afterward. In 2016, then-president Barack Obama
> hailed the symbolic importance of the library, built in
> 1901. "A resident of one of these border towns once said,
> 'We're two different countries, but we're like one big
> town,'" Obama said.
>=20
> A spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
> CBP, confirmed that the divide is about to become more
> pronounced. Starting in the coming days, only library card
> holders and employees will be able to cross over from
> Canada to enter the building through the main door on the
> U.S. side.
>=20
> And as of Oct. 1, no Canadians will be able to enter the
> library via the United States without going through the
> border checkpoint, though there will be exceptions for law
> enforcement, emergency services, mail delivery, official
> workers and those with disabilities.
>=20
> The statement acknowledged the library as a "unique
> landmark", but said the border agency was phasing in a new
> approach for security reasons.
>=20
> "Due to the library's location, and convenience of local
> populations, CBP has allowed customers of the library to
> access its sidewalk, without inspection, for decades," the
> agency said in a statement. "However, during that time,
> this area has witnessed a continued rise in illicit
> cross-border activity."
>=20
> It noted there have been a number of incidents in and
> around the library that resulted in apprehensions in
> recent years, including a person attempting to smuggle
> firearms in the past year.
>=20
> Town and library officials say Canadian visitors without a
> library card will have to enter by a back door on the
> Canadian side, across a muddy stretch of grass. The
> library announced Friday that it was launching a GoFundMe
> to raise the estimated $100,000 Canadian (US$69,000) it
> will cost to build a sidewalk, new parking lot, and
> wheelchair access.
>=20
>=20
> https://apnews.com/article/canada-america-library-vermont-quebec-7c48=
51c705d18e0cc891c3ce085e15e4

Just a follow-up to the story.

As of yesterday, the library has received over $150,000
in donations to be used to add an entrance on the Canadian
side of the building plus a parking area on the Canadian
side.

Louise Penny, a Canadian author (of a mystery series I
enjoy) who lives in a nearby region of Quebec, contributed=20
$50,000 to the fund.

I hope that the Canadian patrons of the library can eventually
enjoy the facility without any additional hassles from the
customs and immigration folks, but I guess we'll see what
happens.

Nyssa, who hopes for the best, but these days figures on the
not-so-good happening instead