This story has a local echo

At tonight's public unveiling of the latest playground - the harbour fountain and ice pond, I asked what was the history of this project. The answer I was given, by a member of Council who shall remain as an unnamed source, was that last October, the local MPP (our pal Lou) came to Cobourg and asked if he gave the Town some money, but not to be used on infrastructure, could the Town put it to use. Of course said the Leader of Bread and Circuses and guess what we now have funding for a fountain. All from Liberal coffers and of course nothing to do with the upcoming election or part of the ongoing Provincial mess that McGuinty finds himself in now. Read about the big picture in this article TheStar.com - News - Tories, NDP ask auditor to probe grants

The OPP proposal

OK, so the skinny is this: the OPP came to Town tonight and presented a proposal to Council, Council listened and then made a motion to refer it back to staff with a list of items that need answers. Here is the motion

The bottom line is that Cobourg will be policed by means of a "standalone model" which would be only one of two in the Province (Quinte-West is the other). Headed by a Staff Sergeant and 23 Officers led by 5 Sergeants. The cost for this is estimated at $4,129,665.00 for the first year.

Job losses would be in the Communications department as all communications will handled by OPP Orillia. Only 4 civilians will be keeping their jobs, 2 actually as the other 2 are not now used by Cobourg (datacentre).

The OPP will offer jobs to the current officers and the officers will be dedicated to Cobourg not the area.

A public meeting will be held in May to elicit public opinion.

Stay tuned.

BTW I have just checked my files and find that my monthly policing costs have risen $9.00 per month in the last five years. I can obviously handle that!!

Two interesting events this week

Cobourg Council is presenting two events this week: Monday - a presentation by the OPP, and Tuesday the open house about the planned ice rink at the harbourland.

The first; the OPP presentation will be a high powered dog and pony show designed to show how the OPP can deliver comparable policing for about a million dollars less than the current budget. However as the cliche goes "The devil is in the details!". My opinion on this is simple - we should not change and if we do the cost of change and the future cost will be no saving. So what do the opponents do to stop such a change? Firstly we have to smoke out the councillors who want to change. I suspect that Delanty, Brocanier and Spooner and perhaps Frost will be for change, the others will not say and wait for the vote and declare at the last possible minute. Secondly we have to have objective reports from places that have switched, to investigate their experiences. Thirdly the case for no change has to be made on economics and social good. Do we want to be policed by a bureaucracy in Orillia?

The event on Tuesday is an open house presented by somebody from TSH, who has drawn up plans for an ice rink at the harbourland. The circumstances surrounding this plan are mysterious. As Cllr. Frost says, "where does this idea come from?" we know where the money is coming from - the Liberals election slush fund! Delivered by our pal Lou to a smiling Mayor (who is lusting for another monument) we are now told that the citizens need an outdoor playground. What for and who has asked for this? The biggest questions for me are: how much are the operating costs and why are we creating ice space when we need a new arena - will the icepad be of regulation size to accommodate regulated hockey games and why are we now going to replace expensive grass with concrete, how pleasing will that be in the summer time?

So if you have any questions about these projects get down to Town Hall and participate in the process

More electronic voting woes - can the idea!

Read this and then think why some of us still want the old pen and paper ballots Recrimination follows chaos over new Scots voting procedures | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics

The Price of progress?

I came across a situation yesterday that made me feel older than I should. In the village of Baltimore there was a works crew consisting of 1 heavy truck and trailer, 2 light trucks and a water tanker, all manned by workers and two flag people all watching a backhoe fitted with a sweeper take gravel out of the gutters. The total cost per hour would be immense. Now for the flashback. 30 years ago there would be one man and a wheelbarrow and a stiff broom. The pace of work would be the same as the sweeper tractor but the overall cost would be about $30.00 per hour at todays rates. Just made me think that's all.

What is a curmudgeon?

This muse was posed by encountering a rant about the Cobourg Beer Store's parking lot by a poster on another blog only known as the "cobourg curmudgeon" So what is one?

definition from JON WINOKUR (someone in a Google search)

What is a Curmudgeon anyway?
A curmudgeon's reputation for malevolence is undeserved. They're neither warped nor evil at heart. They don't hate mankind, just mankind's absurdities. They're just as sensitive and soft-hearted as the next guy, but they hide their vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. They ease the pain by turning hurt into humor. . . . . . They attack maudlinism because it devalues genuine sentiment. . . . . . Nature, having failed to equip them with a servicable denial mechanism, has endowed them with astute perception and sly wit.
Curmudgeons are mockers and debunkers whose bitterness is a symptom rather than a disease. They can't compromise their standards and can't manage the suspension of disbelief necessary for feigned cheerfulness. Their awareness is a curse.
Perhaps curmudgeons have gotten a bad rap in the same way that the messenger is blamed for the message: They have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology. They not only refuse to applaud mediocrity, they howl it down with morose glee. Their versions of the truth unsettle us, and we hold it against them, even though they soften it with humor.

from the Merriam Webster online dictionary
curmudgeon

One entry found for curmudgeon.
Main Entry: cur·mud·geon
Pronunciation: (")k&r-'m&-j&n
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
1 archaic : MISER
2 : a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man (I love this definition)
- cur·mud·geon·li·ness /-lE-n&s/ noun
- cur·mud·geon·ly /-lE/ adjective

And if you want to know everything that references curmudgeon on the Internet click here

A new piece of business on the web

Cobourg Council's agenda for Monday evening has been posted on the Town's website. Nothing new here except that an addendum, an extra piece of business that was added to the agenda has appeared. I wonder if the administration follows usual practice and adds something at the last last moment will that be called an addendum to the addendum!

Two things come to mind

Two things come to mind these last few days: one is the increasing number of people who have began to question the ability of the Deputy Mayor in his handling of local democracy and the other is the sleeper question of what the OPP told Council about policing costs and when are they going to release it in Council.

Both issues if not handled correctly by Council will continue to dog them and drag them down, but see if they care, there's another 3.5 years before the next election and the four dead white men will not run again so the public be damned. I just don't understand who's driving the agenda!

Busy weekend too busy to post but look at these - I do

An interesting email from John Draper the other day telling me about his blog read it here The Cobourg Blog. Pretty presumptuous but hey first in gets the name. The other blog I look at, mainly for the political info not the Liberal crap, is Garth Turner's here

Anybody who is confused by the US Gonzales Enquiry should read this as background

Read this and weep if you believe in free access to the voting booth, watch for the same from the Harpocrits! Campaign against alleged voter fraud fuels political tempest

BTW I have just enjoyed a break in my favourite place - you may have wondered why no posts this week