"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

Monday, 4 June 2012

Herein Lies A True Tale Of Irony

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Master Plans Are Wish Lists":

"This has been a closely guarded secret. It is beautiful up there. No road access. You park in any of several subdivisions and hoof it in. Never know who or what you will meet. And, yes. I think Aurora holds some land. Check with Ron Wallace. He has watched the place for years. If we own a wee smidgen and can use it without spoiling the place, this could be something COUNCIL could motivate. GO!"

Spoil it?!?!?! Too late for that.
I wish people would stop parking in my neighbourhood to "hoof it in" - I'll key your cars. They had to rip down the house because of vandals. There are firepits everywhere from the "kiddies" and their booze parties.
*************
In  the nineties,High Tor Farm was transferred to Ontario Heritage in return for  market value in tax rebate.
Part of the property had development approval. Municipal roads and services had proceeded to a certain point and were intended to continue. 
This is the story, I have been able to glean from various parties  involved  at the time. 
Ontario Heritage is an agency set up to make deals with people of means. Sufficient means  they can benefit financially by giving  property away.
The agency at the time was short and in need of financial resources. An offer was made to the town. If they could sell the portion intended for development, the rest of the farm would be deeded to the town for community use.
I was  aware of uproar and accusations being thrown about willy-nilly that Council was in cahoots with skullduggery. Not being a Councillor I knew none of the details.
S.W.A.T. was formed. Susan Walmer, Evalina MacEachern and Walter Mestrinaro were in large part,  the movers and shakers.. 
They vowed  the scheme was  a betrayal of trust.    
I learned later ,Evalina MacEachern's home is on a street dead- ended when planned development was brought to  rude and abrupt termination.
High Tor Farm  is now literally an abandoned property.
We learn the house had to be demolished due to vandalism. 
The last  Council had talks with the Heritage about signing  a contract for maintenance in return for nothing at all. 
We were to take responsibility for property we had neither use nor  responsibility,while its closest neighbors would have it all  to themselves to enjoy.
Fire pits, booze parties and strange cars parked in the neighbourhood was not referenced at the time.  
Now,  Shangrila it appears, it is not.
Therein lies the supreme irony. 
My neighborhood had the S bends,fire pits and cars in our streets, where MacEachern's house was eventually built.
I doubt  S.W.A.T. would have listened to what the villainous veterans of  Aurora Council might have had to tell  at the time they were  raising hell fire and brimstone about the possibility of development and  community access to  land in their neighborhood they claimed for their exclusive  use. 
Spoiled is it? Well tough.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't forget some of the other "players" in the neighbourhood at the time. A certain Mr Granger lives in the 'hood as well as the former CAO (now since moved away) Mr M Neeb.

The issue was not the access to the land but the enevitable increase of traffic as the two major north/south streets in the area became conduits to Bloomington or Bathurst.

The house was quite a structure. It included an indoor swimming pool and was situated in a stand of trees.

Anonymous said...

Actually, it is not ' spoiled ' at all. Maybe they want you to believe it but it is easy to see for yourself how lovely the land is and the variety it offers, Sure there are fire-pits, and trails, and paths and forts and a group of dead trees used by paint-gunners. Not all the neighbours are like the one currently commenting. They are in there with their own kids both during the days and after school. As for the fire, fire-fighters speculated it was accidental, possibly caused by LOCAL teenagers smoking.

Anonymous said...

We seem to have stepped on entitled toes once more.

Anonymous said...

Could we please cut to the chase ? Does Aurora actually own some land up there that they are ' allowed ' to use? If so, perhaps our very own tree experts could get themselves up there and have a look at the various possibilities. No reason why tree seedings could not be given a home. We do pay those guys a hefty annual sum for their work in town - could we ask nicely for them to check this out? It would be a Council Plus to have professionals keeping a vigilant eye.

Anonymous said...

That is so funny! The place is ' spoiled ' because PEOPLE from Aurora are actually USING it. Heavens to Murgatroid, we can't have THAT!

Anonymous said...

I can see where this could get nasty. Someone may send photos of garbage and/ or beer cans purporting to be from locations beneath the water tower. Let me first out of the gate. I have been going there now for years and never seen any such thing. People, old and young, clean up after themselves, their kids and their animals. You do see folks with plastic bags where they have collecting something. Even a jar with a weird insect. No garbage.

Anonymous said...

Anon 6/4 - 2:42...

Who is the "they" you are referring to?

If only those LOCAL teenagers had a Youth Centre that they could go to in order to smoke instead of the woods.

Anonymous said...

7:42 AM
The fields are right next to their homes.Do you think kids won't go to smoke there? They could have mini-gyms in those large houses & would still meet in clusters to talk and sit around smokey fire-pits to deter the bugs. They are kids, for heaven's sake. It's normal. Do you want to introduce a Code of Conduct for the subdivision youngsters, too?

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:26 AM

You just proved my point of what a waste a "Youth Centre" would be.

Thanks

Anonymous said...

11:28 AM You're welcome. You are also being stupid. Those kids are not the ones that need a Youth Center, although they might use one. Their folks use the land up there as a giant baby-sitter. As they should - but others do not have access right after they get off the school bus. And that does not include evenings or during the winter when a place for kids would be more essential.

Anonymous said...

It's not very nice to call someone stupid. Momma always said stupid is as stupid does.