OH NO: Two Lost Posts

I have a confession to make. Two really. First, I sometimes help out the Burd Report by moderating comments when the Master is away working.

Second, this morning, I rejected two comments that I should have published. One was about Town Councillors retiring, the other about the hospital cuts. I have learned that once you hit the reject button, there is no "do-over".

So, would the two posters care to re-post their items? I promise to pay closer attention to which button I am using and offer my sincere apologies for my mistake.

All eyes were on this guy last night

Robert Biron, the CAO of the Northumberland Hills Hospital appeared at last night's Council meeting in Cobourg to explain his case. Saying nothing new he just followed his flashy powerpoint presentation and basically said that because we have done what the LHIN has asked the hospital to do - cut costs and redefine core services the hospital can now move forward as good little boys. Like a school monitor seeking the approval of the headmaster Mr Biron now thinks, and he said many times, "We are in a stronger position to deal with the LHIN." But when asked by Bob Spooner "What will you be able to do in the next round of cuts?" Biron fobbed that of to the MPP - "That's Mr Rinaldi's problem"
In a stunning admission he stated that the Board made the decision to cut Outpatient Rehab knowing that low and fixed income earners would not be able to access services in the community. And he also admitted that the Diabetes Clinic will not be able to serve all of its pressent clients - offered no solution as he felt cutting costs was more important than saving healthcare. "If we don't balance the budget the Board will be taken over and we will have supervision imposed on us." Mr Biron received enthusiastic applause from the six supporters, including Directors Lynda Kay and Dean Pepper, in the front row. The rest of the romm sat in stunned silence.

The next phase of the campaign to keep the services will be to elect friendly Directors at the AGM and some members have already targeted the Directors who should not be re-elected. John Hudson and Lynda Kay are two prominent Directors seeking re-election wearing bullseyes. With new people seeking nomination the procedural; battles will be most interesting. All prospective Directors have to be nominated by the present Board's nomination committee, only those people who meet the "qualifications" will be nominated. So it is entirely possible that only "Board friendly" will be nominated setting the stage for a very nasty AGM.

Another one quits

Saying that he wants to have his winters in the sun, Dean McCaughey announced that he will not be seeking re-election in October. So two down and two to go - that will leave four vacancies for Council, enough to make a clean sweep of the place.

As Stan Frost watches the announcement (penny for your thoughts, Stan), will he make his announcement soon? And what will he choose to do?

A follow up to a comment

Anonymous said...For those of us who have missed the news could you let us know which two former teachers have announced they are leaving council? Also can you fill us in about the bad old days of Kay and Clement ?

In fairness the quote was: I suppose with two pension laden former teachers leaving the Council the complement should be filled by Mr Henderson, another former teacher - nothing against John but do we really want another teacher on Council? - I didn't "announce" but speculated.

The first question: Dean McCaughey, a career teacher is highly rumoured not to be running, I guess playing on his boat beats sitting in Council anyday! The bush drums beat larger gossip everyday about the Mayor's intentions, He is in the States sitting on some beach contemplating his navel and deciding whether he should be running for Mayor or not. The best indications that he is leaning towards NO is the big rumour that Gil Brocanier is assembling a campaign team. Oh, the Mayor is also a former teacher. They leave and two former teachers are gone.

A bit of history as the BR sees it, it may be called revuisionist by some so be prepared. John Kay was the Chief of Police after Dan McDougal and Gary Clement was the Chief after John Kay. Both men came in with great flourish, promised great things and left the place in tatters. John Kay's time was marked by the controversy over one of his Deputy's impaired charge after a Council event in Port Hope. Gary Clement's time was marked by huge budget increases and bad PR over the botched attempts to establish a West Northumberland Police Service.

A couple of personnel issues

Monday evening Council will nominate former CAO Bryan Baxter as the Town's representative on the Police Services Board. Bryan has done a great job as the Chair and a Provincial rep. But the Province has been tardy in reappointing its reps and both have run over their time. Now the Town has taken advantage of a vacancy in its own representation to appoint Bryan. A good choice but it does put the boots to Dean "I want to be top cop" Pepper in his bid for a spot. His braunnosing of Chief Sweet obviously means nothing as there are only Provincial spots left and as a Tory Dean is on the wrong side for a Lib appointment.
In another announcement former Police Services Board member and Chair, John Henderson who sat on the Board during the bad old days of Kay and Clement wants to be on Council. I suppose with two pension laden former teachers leaving the Council the complement should be filled by Mr Henderson, another former teacher - nothing against John but do we really want another teacher on Council?

post deleted

I have just deleted a post because I couldn't make it work, maybe with more time to play I will bring it back, but it was about the Hitler parodies, look here for background.

Reading between the lines

In his stirring defence of the new plans to cut hospital services here, the Chief of Medical Staff, Dr. David Broderick, makes many points. The main one being is that in order to protect the hospital it must cut services to save costs.

By making self-preservation the main ideal the Doctors' Chief is only protecting the status quo of having Doctors maintain their juicy investment in the system. He repeats the mantra: "Health care, already consuming approximately 46 per cent of current government spending, could balloon to 70% in the next 15 years." Perhaps if Doctor's pay was controlled, and they as a group have received far more of the health pie than any other group, health costs wouldn't rise so much. Hospital share of the pie has gone down over the last few years so why would the Doctors blame them for the cumulative increase?

So folks the fight is still on. Mr Biron will defend his moves on Monday evening and the rest of us will stand amazed that he could be following orders so well. The fight here is not with Biron and the Board but with the Central government, and to that end the first phase of our local message will take place tomorrow when a petition containing nearly 5,000 names - surely a local record and one that is easily twice as big as the last local petition, will be handed over to Queen's Park. The fight continues!

So what do the "truthers" think now?

With the many explanations about the SEC filing a charge against Goldman Sachs how does one sort it all out. The conspiracy theorist will jump all over this and shout, "We knew it" the Free-marketeers will say "No big deal it all has to be proven" and the great unwashed will simply shrug it off as another thing they don't want to think about.

So what really went down here? How could one of the largest investment banks get so messy? If one believes the banks they will say it's the fault of one man -a Mr Paulson, we have heard this before when one rogue trader called Nick Leeson nearly destroyed the british trading system a few years ago. But who allowed Paulson to benfit? The bank of course.

There have been many pundits looking at this and here a couple that try to put it in simple terms: the Guardian, and this one using the used car industry as an explanation Even so this move will do one thing - embolden the conspiracy theorists and as you, the good readers know, we at the BurdReport love a good conspiracy theory!

Another message for Cobourg Council

Last night the members of "Citizens for an Alternative Solution" spoke at Council. Mr Tony Farren, immaculately dressed as usual, complete with a brightly coloured tie impressed the assembly with his usual poise and eloquence. Flanked by his supporters, who included former Mayor Angus Read, organisor Bill Patchett local good guy and booster of Cobourg Rod Baker and others who included the former CAO of NHH Joan Ross, and a previous Chair of the Board Eva Nichols. Wow what a turnout.
Tony did not disappoint. Speaking from the same set of facts as last week's delegation he emphasised once again that he Hospital is a big engine of economic growth.and took exception to Mr Biron's insistence that we have the facts wrong, "The lack of dialogue from the Board has alienated both users and donors." he said he had two points to make: one was that the budget cuts had to be balanced and that we must solve the Long term Care problem. He stated that if the local health care issue in the past had been left up to government we would not have a hospital at all but would have been part of regionalisation. Finishing with the statement, "There are alternative solutions in the community and we do believe that Cobourg Council must express its concern."

Another speaker after Mr Farren was a former KPR schoolboard Trustee, Nancy Blakey. Mrs Blakely outlined her views based on her personal experiences over the last year dealing with both ailing parents and the NHH. Her position was simple: the amount of money required to keep the Rehab outpatients service open only costs $245K a year - peanuts in a $60 million budget, Cost savings must be found to offset the cut. She proposed that Council pass five motions.

In response to both speakers, and last week's delegation the Deputy Mayor stated, in the absence of the Mayor, that after hearing Mr Biron next week and on television, as Council is covered by cable, Council will have a position and make a resolution.

Funny things "over 'ome"

The British are in an election campaign, one which all Canadian parties will be watching with anticipation fully believing that conditions are so similar here that our election will mirror theirs.

But up until the TV debate, the first ever for the UK, electoral politics was pretty boring. A Conservative leader viewed with much suspicion for he might be concealing a hidden agenda, a Labour leader who had campaigned for many years for the top spot and when he finally got it proceeded to blow away his political capital and a Lib-Dem who nobody really took much notice of.

Enter the TV debate where the Tory and Labour guys failed to impress and even turned people off by resorting to form, and POW, Nick Clegg a Lib-Dem was not the other two and immediately stood out as a contrast. Up went the opinion polls and now he leads for now. But Why?

With an apathetic and jaded electorate the British appear to be grasping at straws for leadership. Nick Clegg, sometimes known in the past as "cleggover" because of his boasts about his conquests, has caught the imagination of the Country. But is it because the Country really believes it is Clegg's time or is it because the other two are so bloody awful?

It will be interesting to see if the polls hold up for the next three weeks and what the reaction of the Cons and Labs will be as they try to tear down the upstart. More interestingly enough will the contest produce more people at the polls. Or is it just retail politics turned into entertainment?

The BurdReport will keep watching but in the meantime if you want a humourous slant on the campaign follow this page: Two minutes of satire produced daily here

A guest post about the Ecology Garden - just in time for Earth Day April 22nd

Submitted by W Keeler

HOW DOES YOUR ECOLOGY GARDEN GROW?

Spring is poetic justice after the meltdown of the brutal reign of the 1-Colour regime we call winter. The natural diversity of Cobourg Ecology Garden will green itself into another season of multicolourfulism.

From you have I been absent in the spring,
When proud-pied April, dressed in all his trim,
Hath put a spirit of youth in everything,

-- Shakespeare

Fifteen years ago it was nothing more than a great idea with a little ground to root in. It was nourished with love, beginning with Minnie Pennell, chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee, in cooperation with enthusiastic partners Mayor Joan Chalovich and Cobourg Town Council, Engineering Dept, Community Services Dept. Department of Finance, and Dept of Parks and Recreation. Funding was received from the Federal Govt. Friends of the Environment (Canada Trust), Cobourg area Environmental Association, the Cobourg and District Horticultural Society.

There were scouts and students and others. Yes, yes, tree huggers, green thumbs, econiks, with lungs aching to breathe free. Give me Breath then give me Liberty.

A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King,
But God be with the Clown --
Who ponders this tremendous scene --
This whole Experiment of Green --
As if it were his own!

-- Emily Dickenson

The entrance to the new Ecology Garden had a wooden sign bearing these engraved introductory words, “If ecology is the study of relationships between organisms and their environment, then an ecology garden is a garden that is sensitive to and inspired by these relationships.” That’s the scientific description.

Spring is type2 onset-wriggling, nuanced, slight, mild shivers of warmth, nouns become verbs, wriggling with the itch of life, in the earth, inside seed pods, inside cocoons, inside female mammals, humans of mass creation.

spring omnipotent goddess Thou
dost stuff parks

Spring slattern of seasons
you have soggy legs
and a muddy petticoat

eyes are sticky with
dream

-- e e cummings

Cobourg Town Councillor and landscape architect, Miriam Mutton, who had been instrumental in the gardens initial design, wrote, “The main design aspect is to accommodate people and enable them to get closer and feel a part of the garden. [It] also uses exotics or non-native plants as a demonstration of how to combine plants in a healthy way for interest throughout the seasons.”

Minnie Pennell, chair of the organizing Committee, added that the garden is not only a place “to promote a natural environment, but also demonstrate methods of organic farming.” Organic, yes, organism to organasm in a single breakout season!

It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

-- Edna St. Vincent Millay

Who are the unacknowledged legislators who appropoetically aligned spring, poetry and Earth Day, and sang the Battle Hymn of the Poetic? The first Earth Day celebration at the Garden had a turnout of 40 people and that was at dawn. In a handful of years interest in the garden deepened, and Earth Day now attracts over 150 people. Did I mention that this ceremony of secular spirit happens at dawn?

Cobourg Ecology Garden is located at the foot of Hibernia Street on the lakefront immediately south of Legion Village, a local transit stop. A sizable parking lot is available across the street. Every day, in every season, people use the boardwalk that skirts the full length of the garden.

Councillor Mutton, explaining the initial site choice, wrote that “what distinguishes this Ecology Garden is access and location...it is in a high traffic place, easy to visit, it is relatively small and compact and has good sight lines for safety.”

It wasn`t long before the garden was given national exposure in the Globe & Mail by garden columnist, Marjorie Harris, who asserted that ``Public spaces reflect our values and define what kind of society we are.`` She visited the garden on a summer afternoon, describing it as `` bathed in golden light and filled with glorious scents.” She added that ‘It seemed the most enchanting place on earth.”

This is April’s way: a woman:
“O yes, I’m here again and your heart
knows I was coming.”
“Who most loves danger? Who most loves wings? Who somersaults for God’s

sake in the name of wing power in the sun and blue on an April Thursday.”

-- Carl Sandburg

The Cobourg Ecology Garden is well positioned to midwife the grounds surrounding the west pier of the harbour. The area has become an exciting location for daily landings and takeoffs by squadrons of Canada Geese one moment, Mallards another. There is a wildness to the place that compels us to commune with our inner wild nature.

Cobourg Ecology Garden is an outpost for a lakefront feature that will be as treasured by the local community, as Toronto is of the evolution of the Leslie Street Spit. It is a commitment to a relationship between nature and culture in very close proximity to each other.

Over the years the garden has become a living classroom for students from all area schools. A number of workshops are held next to the garden each year, running the gamut from composting techniques to growing herbs to growing ornamental grasses. July is the month for a well-attended garden party. See you there.

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

-- Robert Frost

No resolution from Council Monday

Despite being told on Monday last that Council will pass a motion reflecting its position on the hospital cuts to service this Monday, it will not happen. When queried about the lack of a resolution on the agenda, for Monday, the BurdReport was told that because Council will listen to Mr Tony Farren, a member of the "Citizens for Alternative Solutions", who is speaking on Monday evening, and that they also want to hear Mr Biron tell the public what he's telling selected invitees in private, Council will be making a resolution some time in the future after they hear everybody.

So thanks to all the people who had planned to be at the meeting on Monday to support the resolution, but keep your powder dry until the time is announced.

This stall certainly helps the Council members who are uncomfortable with having to make a decision on this. It was obvious from the Mayor's body language during the last presentation that he would have rather been elsewhere that night. Let's see what kind of gushing orgasmic welcome he gives to Tony Farren who represents the people that the Mayor is most familiar with - Rotarians and the cocktail set.

That brings us to another point now being raised by segments of the poulation - the non-support of the issue because some people don't like the messenger. Well folks the question is is simple - "do you want to have community services delivered by a community hospital?" because if you do just sign the bloody petition and don't bellyache about the people who are asking you to sign it!

Just so that it's not just a Ben thing - here's Patty

Wally K has sent over the other part of the presentation made to Council on Monday.

I was shocked

Click on this link if you have about five minutes to play. It is another innovative interactive election tool from the UK election campaign. Answer some questions and they will be analysed and then the machine will tell you which political party lines up with your views. As I said I was shocked at the final result.
How should I vote in the General Election 2010? - Telegraph

Spooner Puts Foot in Mouth Again

One thing about watching Town Council, you can always count on a moment of head smacking astonishment at something said by the esteemed Mayor and/or his Councillors. This week it was perpetual jokester Bob Spooner who provided the occasion with his co-ordinator's report.

He was describing his attendance, along with Councillor Mutton, at the GRCA Sportsmen's Dinner, when he said speaking of meals, he could tell the food was good by the size of the plate-ful Councillor Mutton had, which he said required a side plate too. Not satisfied with that, he elaborated that for a "diminuitive" woman, he didn't know "how anyone could eat all that food but she sure put it away".

After a brief millisecond of shock, nervous laughter erupted from the others, but it was quickly squelched and then Mr. Spooner's illuminating report continued. One can only speculate whether old boy Bob knew what a gaffe he had commited, or had to have it explained to him at home by his wife.

And to Councillor Mutton, who is indeed a svelte and trim woman, may I extend my sympathy for having to endure Mr. Spooner's companionship at that dinner, and my admiration for your patience and endurance in the face of all of it.

Time for a reality check

In this morning's newsclip at GoNorthumberland.net sits the following:

"The C-E-O of Northumberland Hills Hospital says hospitals can't be all things to all people.

Robert Biron says the decision to cancel diabetes education and outpatient rehab services will allow N-H-H to focus on its core mandate of providing acute care.

Biron says diabetes education is already provided by the Port Hope Community Health Centre but admits outpatient rehab available in the community is not publicly-funded."

You can pay me now or pay me later! If we don't treat diabetes properly, and it is one of the epidemic diseases of modern times, you will have to deal with it drasticaly after a while. In other words no treatment/counselling now or we will cut your toes/feet/leg off in a couple of years time.

The lack of non-acute care follow up - like rehab - will mean that readmissions are going to be the norm (Hey that's good for the hospital business, readmission gets paid more than outpatient care). So the hospital will be generating more money on readmissions but at what cost to human health?

One can see a hospital cannot just concentrate on acute care and if it does it so at its peril. See the light folks and make your voices heard in this issue.

For those of you without Channel 10

Here it is the delegation before Council last night. Thanks to Wally K for the video. Hey I wrote that before screening it and didn't realise that Patty's remarks were not recorded - they were far more enlightening than mine! Come out next Monday to see what the Council does about this issue.

Well we did it - said our piece

Last night the Northumberland Concerned Citizens addressed Council in Cobourg. Yours truly and Patty Park - video to follow - made a presentation that laid out the health care issues that will grow from the proposed cuts to community health. A big part of the presentation, although it took little time to explain it, was the emphasis on the role that Council has to play in this. Cobourg has invested heavily ($4.4 million cash and untold millions in-kind) and set the hospital into the centrepiece of its economic strategy therefore it is essential that they protect that investment. Patty did an exceptional job laying out how the "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" and why it is absolutely necessary that Cobourg Council pass a motion decrying the cuts.

Council listened intently, although some really bad body language betrayed true feelings, and promised to make a decision next week after listening to an explanation, in a private meeting, (to be held on Thursday) from Mr Biron.

Finally let us all understand the this issue is not going to be solved by Mr Biron and the hospital board, it is a provincial gov thing. Rinaldi and his pals are not going to support this in any way ; that has to change! So the next thing to do is to pack the Council chamber next Monday and listen to Council discuss this important issue.

Vatican Forgives the Beatles!

John Lennon must be enjoying a huge laugh from his grave today as the Vatican has announced in a newsletter that it has forgiven him and the lads for those comments Lennon made in 1966. Trying to make the point that people had their priorities screwed up, he said the Beatles were more popular than Jesus, which caused a huge outcry among conservative Christians and apparently the Vatican too. Former fans in the southern USA made piles of their Beatles records and burned them, vowing to never listen to the infidels again.

While that controversy eventually died down, and we all moved on, it looks like the Vatican didn't. Until now, that is. Funny how, in the middle of what just might be the biggest and most fractious issue faced by the Mother Church in its entire history, their higher-ups found the time to forgive poor old long dead John Lennon.

What to make of it all? Surely they can't think this will distract us from the Church's abuse crisis, but what other reason would there be for making this announcement now? As a non-Catholic, maybe I just don't understand how things work. All I am sure of is that John is chuckling down at us now from whatever version of heaven he imagined for himself.

A busy weekend for some.

A wonderful weekend, sunny and brisk, but some of us were busy. The Northumberland Citizens Coalition certainly were. Parading in front of Vic Hall and signing petitions. The embedded video is courtesy of Rick Jansen - thanks Rick.

Naturally the road claimed me. Talk radio was the only relief and it was again repetitive and entertaining. Boy those hosts do love to talk about the same things don't they? The Helena Guergis deal and the Polish airliner crash were the biggies. But in the HG affair the original report in the TO Star carried a throwaway line that stuck with me and has been bypassed by all the commentary heard so far. The reporter speculated that the reason that Rahim J got off his cocaine charge might have been because he agreed to roll-over on his dinner-mates for other charges.

In the case of the Polish airliner tragedy the "Spaceman" on AM640, carried on in the vein he always mines - that one-world government and the illuminati are to blame. This time with the backdrop of the "Katyn massacre" tied to Prince Charles's recent visit to ancient heritage sites in Poland and the strange happenings of past events on the same date. fancifull stuff but he does make the hours pass easily!

But back to the local campaign by the Health Coalition folks. Tonight the campaign to educate and encourage goes to Cobourg Council. Local folks will be asking Council to support the efforts to retain services and pass a motion to that effect. Watch it on Channel 10.

An update and an opinion

The Northumberland Health Coalition had a meeting with the local MPP, it appears that no-one changed anybody's mind. Here is a report of the meeting that has been released to the media. Meanwhile the other group, Patchett's bunch, have released a progress report, that has been published as a letter to the editor in NToday, and makes interesting reading.
Mr Frank Farago, as the chair of the group which calls itself "the Citizens for Alternative Solutions", expresses frustration with a couple of things. One is that he complains that exclusive access is being denied, he is being told that his group will be meeting with other people, up to 60 of 'em. The other complaint is that he doesn't understand why the CEO and Board Chair doesn't avail themselves of the expertise contained in this group, the members of which are unknown to the general public. The BurdReport has heard rumours that this group is composed of business like Rotarians who think that their very names should open doors - obviously Mr Biron is not as impressed with them as they are with themselves. As a newcomer to the community he obviously does not recognise the social and financial impact of these guys. The BurdReport is impressed with Mr Biron's behaviour in this regard.
But back to the NHC's meeting with the MPP. It was a meeting that had to take place even if only to show just how stubborn he is being and how unresponsive he is to his constituents concerns. Having demonstrated indifference to the situation he now has to defend himself against complaints of his disregard to the situation. Not having answers about the purported new facilities that are going to be in place before any of the cuts take place is scandalous. Taking orders from the LibCentral is even worse especially when it disregards his voters problems.

I am only the enforcer of the orders

One of the disturbing things about these recent hospital cuts is the way that local hospitals have to implement central directives in a local way and make them look like local decisions. But let's be realistic. In an article published today in the TO Sun Christina Blizzard details how ALC patients are being moved from local hospitals by orders from the MoH. The moving of patients has had a terrible effect on family lives and should be stopped, especially when the facilities in local communities, for the transfer don't exist.
"Kenora-Rainy River MPP Howard Hampton says Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) are being told to get chronically ill patients out of hospitals and into long-term facilities."

So if you want to be heard in this debate get out to a meeting tonight at Trinity United Church in Cobourg at 5.30pm. The next person to be moved, as far away as Kingston, will be your Granny!

But on the flip side this debate has its supporters, a comment from the story is copied for its venom and lack of objectivity but it does show that some people just are not looking at this properly:

April 6th 2010, 11:06pm
This is about Howie Hambone backing Boob Rae when he would not allow the building of private/public nursing homes during his reign. This was felt worse in the north. Hospitals are for active medical care, not carcass storage. If you wanted to be closer, then you should have placed your name on a waiting list for the home of your choice. Everyone wants to go to heaven, yet no one wants to die. The family should take her in and have nursing care done at home, or are they just too busy, or who knows what to help out. Remember at some point, healthcare in ontario is really only about containing feces, vomit, urine, and smells.

Get out for this one

Join the others in our community protesting the hospital cuts.

Victoria Hall 10am on Saturday

Send a message

I bet the Harpercrits have one of these

Today is the first day of the election in the UK and will also be the place of new toys for political junkies. New polls based on real time, instant punditry and one of these - a swingometer - a tool that analyses election results based on swings in public opinion. Play with it for a couple of minutes and you will be hooked. The BurdReport wonders just which website in Canada will have one for us in the next few days.

How do we represent ourselves?

With some difficulty! In this story it is related that the Federal government intends to expand the House of Commons by another 30 MPs - that's just what we need another bunch of trained seals. Eighteen more MPs for Ontario, not all in Tory territory, may yet be another ploy for the Harpercrits to get nearer to the majority they lust for. But think about it just how much common sense is in this. The reason for it is to rebalance large ridings and make smaller ridings more representative. But why do we not establish rules that will allow larger ridings and keep the same number of MPs?

On another front we have municipal councils that, in my mind are too small. Seven councillors to run Northumberland is ridiculous, where is the reasoned debate pondering such weighty County questions? There is none. A small coterie of busy councillors is shortchanging the voters. Too often we have items on the agendas being passed over because of the lack of attention and the desire to placate staff positions, after all if the council directs reports to the staff they cannot then just dismiss the report when it comes back.

So the sad situation is this: we have too many MPs in Ottawa and not enough councillors in Northumberland, each situation producing a frustrated voter base and a contented bureaucracy.

And just when thought all the fun had gone out of politics

In rides a man guaranteed to stir things up in Cramahe Township. In this story it is reported that former Mayor Lee Dekeyser has filed papers to run against Marc Coombs for the Mayor's job. Coombs defeated Dekeyser last time around after some pretty stinky backroom dealings with a majority on Council that made the then Mayor Dekeyser look bad. Perhaps this time because Dekeyser is running from the oustside and public sentiment is against incumbents he will prevail. One thing to bet on this fight will be in the muck at some time during the next six months.

One for the lawyers

I am perplexed, Never being able to sort out weighty problems without help I am throwing this one open.
In a recent trial of two youths accused of murderering a schoolboy the key witnesses recant, on the stand, their previous and critical to the crown, evidence. This caused doubts about the evidence and the jury could not agree on a verdict. The judge declared a mistrial and the youths went back to gaol. But here is my point - why is there going to be another trial and if the evidence still fails to hold up in court, will there be another trial.
So the question is, how many times can one be tried for the same offence?

Sunshine List Fascinating Reading

My eyes are bugged out from scrolling through the Province's annual Sunshine List of public sector employees who earn more than $100,000. Of interest locally is the Northumberland Hills Hospital, whose CEO is already in the daily paper assuring us again just how lean a machine their management team has become.

I guess when you took home $230,969 last year, the value of money takes on a different perspective from the rest of us, given the median wage in our area was only about $27,000 and change. According to the Sunshine List, when you leave out the one registered nurse who worked a lot of overtime, the management team pocketed about $950,000 between the seven of them, not including taxable benefits. How many others linger just below the cut-off is unknown, there could be a few, there could be many more amongst the 38 administrative positions the union counted. Reading newspaper archives I learned that management costs, as a percentage of the paid workforce, has risen from 4.4% two years ago to 6% now. Tell me how that represents cuts to management as claimed by the CEO recently, because I don't understand.

Having decided to check out the List for the Central East LHIN, I found just 4 names at the top of the heap, earning $710,508 between them. Who knows how many lower paid employees there are, hanging around looking for hospital services to eliminate in our region? If their pay scale is anything like the senior staff, the costs must be enough to run a few diabetes clinics.

How about the Community Care Access Centres, those co-ordinating, home care service providing people? You know, the ones who have to come up with the long term care beds the hospital wants to eliminate. Well, our Central East region employs a total of 30 of them who made the Sunshine List, and together they earn a whopping $3,432.882! Again, the lower tier employees aren't listed here, and who knows how much they take home for their efforts.

Finally, we have the Haliburton Kawartha Great Pine Ridge District Health Unit, who also provide health care services and programs in our neck of the woods. The Medical Officer of Health takes home $212,418, followed by the Director of Oral Care at $157,851. The Director of Communicable Disease Control and her Assistant together made $223,563, leaving four others on the Sunshine List at about $105,000 each for a grand total of just over a million dollars.

That is one giant pile of taxpayer money going to top executives; money that isn't spent on actually providing health care directly. If our region is indicative of the rest of Ontario, and I suspect our high end wages are lower here, it's no wonder health care costs have gotten out of hand. If doctor's wages were included, I might just have a heart attack, although at least a doctor can treat me for it, unlike the coffee slurping, kiwi eating folks at the top.

I can hardly wait to see the numbers for the County, Children's Aid, and school boards. That will truly be the icing on the cake.