"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Did I Mention

Susan Morton Leonard was on the initial  governing body of the Church Street School . The agreements were signed by Susan  Morton Leonard as Interim Secretary.

One of  the first events held at the school was a pre- jazz -festival party  I think admission was $75.00.  So far as  I could discover, no user fee was paid for that facility either.

The town provided a sponsorship grant that year of $2,500.

Council approval wasn't sought.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

But, "was" being the operative word. She jumped before being pushed.

Anonymous said...

It was interesting to hear bits and pieces of last night's discussion by both Councillors Ballard and Thompson in connection with user fees for the Town's internet services.

In the first place the Town website is virtually useless as I had to Google "Town of Aurora garbage collection good Friday" in order to find out what the alternative would be. Trying to get this information from the Town had me directed to dozens of old Council meeting minutes, presumably all containing the words "Garbage" or "collection."

This cost me five minutes out of my life, something that will not come back to me again, and accordingly, is priceless.

Messrs. Ballard and Thompson seemed confused as to whether a cost to the Town was "x" or "y" based on a portion of a year and then annualized, or would there be potential deviations? Was $11,000 going to become $22,000 or $25,000 or even $50,000? No one knew. Is it reasonable for the Town to charge a used fee for internet services? Should these be shown separately ( such as HST) or buried in the total bill, as apparently ATM machines do according to Mr. Thompson?

Mr. Ballard talked on and on and I finally had to leave the room for a pit stop. I wasn't exactly following his dissertation in any event.I am eternally grateful to Rogers for broadcasting Council meetings so that you can tape them and then watch at your leisure.

By the way, if a member of Council calls for a five minute recess there should be a valid reason for this, not some mumbled nonsense. And if the recess is for five minutes it should not last for eight.

One last observation, Councillor Gallo was positively radiant in his matching hair, goatee and sports jacket. I bet Don Cherry is envious.

Anonymous said...

STOP, could we have some FACTS up here. Have they lost the Trillium Grant and what about other sponsors? We are just penny ante stuff and don't matter to them.
Facts, please.

Anonymous said...

CRA for them and the Heritage Centre. Otherwise they will continue to rip us off. Please write letters and include quotes of problems. Sorry, don't much like CRA but these two group are beyond the pale.

Anonymous said...

For those with a long literary memory, "Peyton Place" was a best-selling novel published in 1956, the name of a small fictional New England town.

Hypocrisy, social inequities and class privilege are recurring themes in the novel and the book's title has become a generic label for any community whose inhabitants have sordid secrets.

Does any of this resonate with today's Aurora?

Possibly there is a degree of similarity.

Who will write our story?

Anonymous said...

9:04 PM And who would believe it if it were written? As I recall, the author of Peyton Place was hated in her town, not because of the contents of the book, but because she had dared to write it and individuals were easy to identify. Don't think anyone ever sued though.
Councillor Wendy keep saying that the truth will be revealed and Guy Poppe uttered a similar refrain. We are still waiting

Anonymous said...

To take a Canadian bent on it (and perhaps more humourous) I somehow think of Stephen Leacock’s “Sunshine Sketches of a Small Town” – I remember reading it in high school for Can. Lit.. Sometimes I guess we all have to take a step back and have a laugh to stay sane about the situation.