"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

Thursday 5 February 2015

The Thrill Of The Chase

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Marvel,Of The Age":

You are never going to nail that one down, Evelyn. There was too much staff-shuttling and paper-shredding initially. It does seem that you were deliberately kept out of the loop but clearly you were not the only one. Hopefully we can do better.

Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 4 February 2015 at 20:05.


***********************
The second lease was extended to thirty years and signed by the Mayor,Dawe .

The only staff change  at the administrative level was the Town Clerk,second signatory to the  agreement  who also informed Council the lease could not be fully disclosed because of the national security factor

His job disappeared in a rather odd circumstance the week before Christmas in the  year before the election.

Shredding files and documents in the Mayor's office happened at the end of the previous term before the new Council took office. 

Though Mayor Dawe  obviously knew the terms of the lease ,I would be surprised if they were kept secret because of me. It was my motion to direct staff to produce the lease but Council approved it.

The  pattern of undermining Council authority  was not yet established . The situation was still fluid.

We have learned  more about QYR affairs since yesterday . Links forwarded by Something  Fishy produced  a cornucopia of information and insight.,

The  rude comment published  on second thought also produced a raft of information and  more
questions.

The fund-raising to buy "blues" that Matthew disputed was documented. Sure enough,  former Councillor Ballard was the source.

I had been  earlier privately informed by a staff person that the  Federal government was planning to shut down Fort York Armouries . It seemed to be offered as the reason Aurora had to act to provide an option.

The former reservist told how reservists, when "activated" were sent to Petawawa to be trained to find Eds.

Someone else volunteered information no artillery range exists in our  Hydro building .

That prompts the question; if the Federal government closed down the Armouries  because  modern warfare requires a. military bases for appropriate training, would that not mean traditional Armoury facilities have become obsolete.

QYR web site indicates in various theatres of conflict in at least the last two decades  QYR has sent 40 reservists to join regular forces abroad. That doesn't seem like many.

What if, Fort York and Aurora Armouries disappeared and QYR  Squadrons A and B no longer had a home.

Would that mean  Queens York Rangers might also,be consigned to history? I think the question is valid.

The sudden bustle of activity of fund-raising and promotion may just be a last desperate attempt to survive.

Matthew  Maddocks referred to the noble purpose of the fund-raising and criticized myself for belittling same.

I was doing no such thing.

But  links  subsequently provided and Matthew's challenge compelled me to look closer.

In 2011, $300 was the  price of a ticket for a Levee with the Lieutenant Governor  at Church Street School and the ribbon -cutting at the new Armouries re-named for an earlier L.G. Colonel John Graves SImcoe.

Art was to be displayed  at the  Levee venue and snacks provided.

Funds  raised would be used to,assist past and present members  of QYR in "financial hardship ". That presents an interesting image. Too many nights at the casino perhaps.

That fellow Simcoe  and his wife went back to England when his tour of duty ended. Canada was never more than a short term posting. Although  he did good stuff and Mrs  Simcoe wrote an excellent diary while living in a tent. The Rangers spent years trying to get a holiday named for him.
They finally did got a day but it was named Family Day. Another purpose for fund-raising is to celebrate Family Day.

Care packages are listed  as a reason for fund-raising. Certainly no criticism can be made of that.

Maintaing two bands ,Fife and Drum,I believe , is probably expensive but also a likely source of revenue .

None of which is any of my business of course and if the people,of Aurora had not been shafted by
having  a six million dollar property shifted out from under them by two councils elected to,protect their interest, I would be having nothing to say about it at all,at all.

Don't look to me for Huzzahs and to buy $300. tickets to mix with the gentility.

Look to those who reamed you right out.

I do believe neither  the Colonel nor his Mrs  would have thought much of it.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I suggest Evelyn that if you have a problem with a $300 price tag, you don't have to buy. You don't need to find those that do as your enemy either.

Everyone has their "charity".

As noted here before - seems like many times - the QYRang Association (the group that did/does the fundraising) is NOT the same group that occupy the Hydro building. Until people realize that they are not the same, the inaccuracies will continue to be published here.

Anonymous said...

"Funds raised would be used to,assist past and present members of QYR in "financial hardship ". That presents an interesting image. Too many nights at the casino perhaps."

Is this one belittling (amongst other things)?

Anonymous said...

Your "rude" is another's forthright.

Anonymous said...

Weren't her dogs Tiny, Tay & Ivy ?

Anonymous said...

If they had planned to close the armoury, the town walked into a nice little trap. It probably was unwise to make such a huge deal out of what good value we received. sooner or later everything bubbles to the surface.

Anonymous said...

"Maintaing two bands ,Fife and Drum,I believe , is probably expensive but also a likely source of revenue."

Oh My God!!!

There is ONE band. It is the QYR PIPE AND DRUMS... that means it has bag pipes and drums in it!

They get NO revenue from it.

Anonymous said...

12:10 - Where did Evelyn say they were her enemy? She stated that she wouldn't buy a ticket and said why. That's all.

Anonymous said...

15:05
Then why is the "fund raising" held in disdain here?

Anonymous said...

@12:10
I believe that you are incorrect. This is likely that only place where inaccuracies DO get pointed out . Most residents do not care one way or the other; they do not even vote because they have more urgent things on their minds. Like surviving day to day. You are really making a big fuss about a small group.

Anonymous said...

15:41

Please explain it to me then...

I have shared my perspective, clearly you are the better one, let's hear your perspective.

Anonymous said...

15:20 - I have no idea where you're getting this "disdain" or "enemy" thing.