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.

A Guest Post - short and to the point

Martin Partridge

How's this for an idea? Let's immediately stop building the ridiculous ice rinks on D'Arcy Street and direct as much of the thirty-frickin-million dollars as possible to the real needs of our citizenry, in particular the hospital's capital and operating shortfalls. I think we're crazy to be throwing money away on frills as we enter the tightest fiscal period in almost a century.

It just get wierda and wierda

Perhaps Lou Rinaldi, our local MPP should think of packing it in, he obviously hasn't been to Timmies lately, maybe he is waiting for the new one in Brighton to open. If he did enter the hallowed halls of coffee he would sit at any table and eavesdrop on outraged constituents rant about the latest actions taken by the local Health Industry. Maybe that's his problem, having done nothing to stop the savage reorganisation of the Quinte Health Centre he is now impervious to the local complaints coming out of Cobourg and West Northumberland.
His latest quote, that hit the editorial pages today: "It's not the end of the world" and noting that hospitals should get back to the traditional services of caring for the sick. He apparently doesn't understand that rehab services make people well a lot faster than usual if rehab doesn't take place. Not to mention the rising costs of healthcare due to readmissions.
Well Loo if we all earned a fat MPP's salary with lifelong benefits then we would be saying the same. But we don't, most of us are a paycheques away from bankruptcy due to extra-billing and out-sourcing. If the previous MPP's reputation was gained by the refusal to say no to the non-funding of the building of the local hospital it will be Loo's epitaph if he doesn't do a lot more than he has done to date.

And in the meantime the two agencies named to help shoulder some of the burden of the redirected healthcare - Wraparound and The Hospital Elder Health Care program - are not service providers in these fields, just facilitators. That's all we need more peolpe talking about what should be done and no money to do it!

A very pertinent guest post

submitted by Martin Partridge

All good things must come to an end so I so suppose the demise of First Night Cobourg was inevitable. I'd like to briefly document the history of First Night Cobourg from my perspective as former chair. Others may wish to augment the record.

Former Councillor Pam Jackson fired up the original First Night Cobourg volunteer group in about 1994. The committee created a small-scale version of Toronto's successful New Year's Eve non-alcoholic street festival, which in turn was modeled on major events in Boston and elsewhere. Local entertainers, performance groups and face painters warmed up clusters of Cobourg families, both inside and outside Cobourg's historic downtown municipal properties (notably the Firehall, Market Building, and of course Victoria Hall). There were horse-drawn hay wagons to ride on, and barrels of burning firewood to keep volunteers warm. At midnight, mainly for the benefit of the remaining hardy volunteers, there was a small fireworks display right in front of Victoria Hall. The cost for the whole evening was $5, free for children.

After three modestly profitable years, the committee responsible for the event ratcheted up the entertainment, running carefully timed hour-long music events for three hours in six locations, for a total of 18 highly professional and diverse shows ending at 9:30 p.m. A people's parade was then led by the Town Crier down to the waterfront for a much larger fireworks display, which had been moved to earlier in the evening for the benefit of the children. The evening ended with a two-hour major show in the Concert Hall. The price was kept at $5 with children free, thanks to ever growing sponsor donations.

This new-style First Night Cobourg, with its tightly formatted entertainment program, culminated in a major millennium event on December 31, 1999. More than 7,000 people thronged the downtown buildings and the waterfront for double-decker bus rides, very high quality children's shows, notable entertainment from across Canada, and a huge fireworks display. There was a cultural exchange, which resulted in a musical group called Middle Tickle travelling from Fogo Island in Newfoundland to perform in Victoria Hall with Aengus Finnan simultaneously travelling to Fogo Island to entertain the residents there. A rudimentary internet camera was set up at each end to allow each side to see what the other was doing. Fireworks were set off here at precisely 10:30 p.m. to coincide with the first Canadian arrival of the year 2000 in Newfoundland. A conference call, initiated in Cobourg, was held among federal, provincial, municipal and European politicians and personages to exchange millennium greetings. Hovering over all this were the Y2K fears, which seem quaint now but were genuine at the time and resulted in a broad scramble for backup generators and had all emergency services on standby.

Cobourg citizens, in part through its automotive dealers, industrial plants, lawyers and other groups, came up with about $30,000 in donations and badge purchases to pay for the big Y2K entertainment, and Council contributed $15,000 for the grand fireworks. The event was such a great success, with tourists writing in to say keep up the good work, that the committee asked Council to endorse a similar approach the following year. Instead, major funding was denied and the event ended up being cancelled altogether. December 31, 2000 was the only "dark" New Year's Eve in downtown Cobourg in the last 15 years.

The event was resurrected a year later thanks to new committee chair Gerry Drage and many long-time devoted committee members including Bert McMillan, Sharron McMann and (eventual chair) Brian Edmiston. The event has been held successfully throughout this decade.

I thought the one saving grace of installing the controversial concrete frink in place of parkland in downtown Cobourg was that it would be used to inject new purpose and vigour into First Night Cobourg. Indeed, the new frink was well used at last year's First Night event.

I'm sad but not surprised that this Council could not see the logic, after blowing off about $1.5 million to install a concrete skating pad in the centre of First Night Cobourg operations, to invest a little more to shore up the one established and well loved winter event that could put it to good use. After all, increasing tourism during the winter months was cited by Council as a prime rationale for the frink decision. Perhaps a refreshed and revived future Council will see things differently.

It feels good when it stops!

As you know I have a spotty record in math calculations, so hack away at these observations!
The image on the left shows the latest addition to our household - the Smart Meter. You know those gizmos that will make us all educated and wiser users of hydro. At a cost of over a million dollars all household units in Cobourg will have one of these fitted by the local utility company LUSI.
The rationale, touted by all supporters of the device, is that consumers will now have the freedom to choose how to save money by selecting which time period they use when consuming hydro. What a load of bollocks!
This move to smart meters is the biggest moneygrab in the history of the province. A stealthy move designed to get consumers to pay more for hydro.
Hydro pricing has been a political football ever since Mike Harris destroyed the stable forty year amortisation of capital costs repayment programme for ideological purposes.
We currently pay 5.7 cents for a kw/hour on the basic allowance per household of 1260 kw/hrs. That means if granny, wrapped in sweaters, keeps her usage down to the minimum she will only pay $71.82 per billing period. Under the new program of time choosing, the basic price of $.57 goes to $.68 (this is obtained by calculating the average cost per hour - cheapest being $.42 and most expensive being $.91 over a 24 hour period). So without even being given the freedom to choose when one can use hydro, the price has jumped 19.74%.
When one looks at the periods that one can choose to use hydro and consequently shift their consumption times, there are costs that cannot be shifted - heating costs, cooking times etc. So to try to con us with buzzwords like "consumer choice" is fraudulent. There are very few moves left to do that the educated consumer can now do to save hydro costs: they have already converted light bulbs, they already have fitted programmeable thermostats, most are aware of the benefits of high efficiency appliances and furnaces - some have converted. So not only are we accused of being ignorant for not doing these things but now are hit with a huge hydro increase and then told we can save money. And, to add insult to injury, we will be paying for these smart meters on our bills (estimated at $4.00 per month).
Remember photo radar? It became a symbol of political unrest and rebellion. Smart Meters have the capability to become such a symbol - an impotent device that we have to pay for. The first political party pledging to remove them them will garner votes, and lots of them.

If you want to see how much of your money has been wasted on this promotion of a moneygrab look here it is a glitzy flash interactive web site of a fictional house that uses typical appliances. I defy any of you with the patience to use this site properly to believe the results.

Hard truths for candidates

Here is a story written by the King of verbosity, throw in some pomposity and leaven with arrogance and chill with a home-spun tale of humility and we have, tadah - Rex Murphy. However in this opinion he is dead on, it foretells the trials of a candidate. If Kim Rudd thought that having to brown-nose her way into the hearts of the the local Liberal Party was deadly and tedious, wait till she tries to do it with a very cynical and unloving populace.

Finally a Pol who is worth listening to

As you should know some extremists have been trying to distort the public meetings that Pols are using to explain proposed changes to health care in the US. As a result of the venom and hate being spewed at Pols, some have refused to meet with the public and others have resorted to electronic messaging avoiding the nasty people. BUT one brave soul has refused to cave, and here is a video of Barney Frank answering a stupid question.

Yesterday's comment was written in such a way that it implied, for some, that only the Bay St residents are looking for sympathy and action about the weekend beach invaders and the plethora of events in the Park. As pointed out to me the problem is not confined to Bay St but all of the South East side of Town, and when the music starts nobody south of Elgin is immune. The single point here is that we all have a problem and somebody should be leading the charge to fix it.
And to the person who asked "How do we know they are not towing from the Pier?" Because I heard it from the enforcement person myself.

I have admired this work for months now. Bob Owen, of "Cramahe Now" is a great example of 'hyperlocal news' - stories that the others don't do because of corporate centralisation, but of vital importance to his readers. The latest story is a prime example of just that. Read it here.

Are you atwitterin' and shakin' just waiting for Iggy?

A couple of bits of local stuff first. This is all we have to show for a promise of $29 million - a drawing. But we can have more. On Thursday at Vic Hall the consultants and, presumably, the full Council will be there to present another prep session for the yokels with a presentation from the consultants. Hopefully they have more than a Power Point presentation and are prepared to face the first full session of questions from a yet to be convinced population.

One of the stimulus programmes is called the "Community Adjustment programme" and is based on the level of unemployment in any area. The premise being that if there are unemployed people there should be a programme to put them back to work. Well in its wisdom the County of Northumberland has discovered this programme (I guess that's why we pay Bill Payett the big bucks) and has decided to apply for some funds and hopefully use them to put people back to work. But in an obscene corruption of the guidelines the County has applied for funds to build a new landfill cell at the Brighton Dump. How many people will be put back to work by doing this, it a highly mechanised project and all of the heavy equipment operators and sewer workers are already back to work, so how many unemployed workers will benefit from this application?

Decision day for Iggy. Today is the day that opposition leader Michael Ignattief will declare if the Libs will vote non-confidence. He has backed himself into a corner and twisted himself around more than a ripe pretzel [enough enough - ed]. Locally no signs of heated campaign emails. the dippers all received an email from the party prez saying that an election could be coming send us more money but no serious stuff yet. Pundits figure Iggy on backing down, my money is on Bloc MPs not being around for the vote and Iggy not getting his numbers. National News Watch has put up the first of many stories to come about Iggy's moves, this one (in French) says that 'reliable sources' say no election!

A stimulating essay bound to be dismissed by the blockheads who will first read who wrote it! here An essay by Ian Brown of the G&M about the relevance of traditional Marxism in todays reality.

"Democracy isn't voting it's the counting!" Tom Stoppard from the play "Jumpers" Iran has certainly played up to that quote. All week the West has been trumpeting how close the election is and now the 'official' results claim that the incumbent has won by a thumping majority. Here's the first commentary on the numbers in the Iran election,

And the experts said it would not happen. In this era of biometrics and enhanced passport identification all was supposed to go smoothly at the border. But this story tells of a woman who was pulled aside and asked to strip because of her name. Canadian Border Officials will not explain the case or issue an apology but does admit that the woman was mixed up by an identical birthdate of a criminal in the system. So much for the enhanced stuff when the bullies at the border still rely on old technology!

Well worth the wait. Rented, in what must be the bargain of the year - $3.99 for two nights from Blockbuster, "Gran Torino" Clint Eastwood's latest movie. Nominated for an Oscar but not arriving anywhere near the podium, this movie is a traditional bad guy redeems himself to good guy. I enjoyed it but then I always enjoy the hokey complete tale.

A taxing problem

In a story printed today in the NT.com here the announcement of another Seniors complex is trumpeted. 118 units of expensive retirement dwellings has passed the first planning stage. Unfortunately Councillor Bill MacDonald reveals his ignorance of the problem of these units by declaring,:"this kind of facility could have an unexpected spinoff in alleviating a situation at Northumberland Hills Hospital (meaning that he thinks the problem of long term care beds will be relieved by these 118 units)"
Unfortunately what he says is pure fiction designed to allow the units to proceed without much delay. Ever since these facilities have been coming to Cobourg in the late 80s all we see is another burden on the local hospital. Retirement facilities are notorious for not providing health-care, why should they after all all they do is provide small overpriced rooms and three squares a day. Sitting outside of the Health-Care system all they do is aggregate the population of seniors and overload the local hospital. There isn't a day that goes past without me seeing, at about wake-up time at the Seniors residence just up the road from me, an ambulance , with its llights flashing, indicating an emergency, on its way to the NHH. Allowing more seniors to be brought into town to fill these facilities is not good unless we know just what the impact on the NHH is going to be. We have never had a Council commission one of these studies before granting permission to have one built - that is wrong.

What a load of Crap!

"The best protective factor against poverty as an adult is a good education," said Deb Matthews, Minister of Children and Youth Services, on a visit to Port Hope, on Tuesday, Jan. 27, which was Family Literacy Day.
This a quote from the Provincial person dedicated (by virtue of her position) to eliminate poverty. What a load of crap. Illiteracy is one of the factors of remaining in poverty but to say that it is the best protective factor is an abdication of provincial responsibility. I can see it now - blame the victim because they didn't like school or are handicapped in some learning way, for being poor and the Government can say "Ooops we don't have to help it's your fault -stupid!" In this case if we believe that 40% of adults are functioning illiterates, how come we don't have 40% unemployment?
How many times do the funders have to be told: THE CAUSE OF POVERTY IS NOT ENOUGH MONEY TO SPEND AND NOT ENOUGH GOOD PAYING JOBS .
Even if we agree that illiteracy will keep people from poverty, notwithstanding the number of unemployed graduates, how do we deal with the unemployed and disadvantaged in Northumberland today, not 15 years from now when illiteracy is eradicated?
Quite frankly the people who supported this puff piece in Northumberland should be ashamed that the province hijacked the process and sloughed off its responsibility.

A touch of Christmas and the New Year

Only one observation about Cobourg's seasonal recreation - the frink was used by people. As one of the opponents of this facility I am not eating crow, as some writers to the editor are suggesting, because we knew that the facility would be used. Things like the location, cost and maintenance obligations just led the majority of the taxpayers to gag on the project. The fact that the frink is being used is not a demonstration of success, I would prefer to judge that at the end of the operating cycle when we can see just how much it costs to provide recreation to the few. Unfortunately a Council that lives on "Bread and Circuses" only diverts attention from the real issue - can we afford to tax the population anymore and if we can't what do we stop funding. This issue is going to reappear when the Community Centre report is issued, hopefully just before the next election and then we will see which candidates have the "cajones" to defend it in public.

Another year end note - the Kenora police issue and the way Kenora Council handled it
In an editorial in the Kenora Miner and News here Bob Stewart, the news editor, has an illuminating piece, titled "Contempt for Citizens Damaging" about the way Kenora Council handled its decision to use the OPP and disband the local force. It will be telling for all municipalities to revisit Kenora in two years time and look for the promised savings.

Sad news
Bob MacCoubrey has died. Very sad and relatively young too. A great loss to the community. I liked Bob, didn't speak to him much but we knew each other - I respected and liked him. Condolences to his family.