LivingInAurora.ca has left a new comment on your post "I Didn't Say That..":
To the 5:09 pm Anonymous:
Nah, when comes to politics I suck big time. Yet I don't know why I stick my nose, probably because it is challenge ....
Enjoy your weekend.
Anna :)
**********************
Anna You are not sticking your nose in. You are accepting an invitation.
It is your business.
You don't have to be a candidate to have the right or inclination to talk about politics.
Traditionally it has been considered to have potential for discord. Most people tend to keep opinions to themselves.
Not everyone enjoys the roustabout nature of the subject,
That's why I think social media and the opportunity to throw one's opinions into the melee is so very valuable.
It provides an opportunity people have never, in all of history, enjoyed.
It's why tyrants and despots in the Middle East are being toppled.
It's why the insanity of medieval religious cults are losing their grip.
It's why women throughout the world will eventually achieve freedom.
Television allowed people to see freedom ,opportunities and lifestyle enjoyed in other parts of the world.
The internet allows them to exchange ideas.
To say to each other, whatever the sacrifice, "the cause is just, the dreams must be kept alive".
In Canada ,we have rights and freedoms only dreamed of by others. Yet incredibly, there are those among us, like the majority in the last Aurora Council who decided we did not.
Under a cloak of righteousness, even religion, they contrived a cockamamie code of conduct ,retained lawyers at great expense, appointed and discharged an integrity commissioner and sued citizens for exercising democratic rights, all at public expense, in a determined attempt to deny our freedom.
All of this a quarter of a century after the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom was passed into law.
Don't let anyone tell you Anna, we do not have the obligation "To Stand On Guard For Thee"
"We have seen the enemy" and" it is us"
Monday, 22 August 2011
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Stop Saying That
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "I Didn't Say That..":
Yes,but the Mayor is only Tim Jones puppet.
Kettle,pot,black.
************
Nobody runs for the Office of Mayor to be someone else's puppet.
Tim Jones has moved on.
Geoff Dawe will stand or fall on his own merits.
Being elected to political office is still an honour worthy of the most earnest endeavour.
Yes,but the Mayor is only Tim Jones puppet.
Kettle,pot,black.
************
Nobody runs for the Office of Mayor to be someone else's puppet.
Tim Jones has moved on.
Geoff Dawe will stand or fall on his own merits.
Being elected to political office is still an honour worthy of the most earnest endeavour.
I Didn't Say That..
LivingInAurora.ca has left a new comment on your post "A Question Posed . Here's One Answer.":
Evelyn, you wrote: 'I find that several councillors are unable to express themselves in simple organized sentences and the thoughts or opinions they are attempting to state become blurred and unintelligible.'
Oh that is very sad to hear
**************************
I did not write that, Anna. It was an observation posted to the Blog by a reader.
We had a single council meeting in July and another in August.Two meetings a month on camera are the average.
Speaking while organising one's thoughts is not as easy as it looks.The skill must be acquired. But it is worth cultivating, if only to become more comfortable doing what people expect.
People say I do it well but I hate to watch .I hear myself repeating things and speaking in disjointed sentences.My enemies,I'm sure, make much of it.
Actually, speaking in debate is not required. No record is kept. It's not like Hansard. The Municipal Act stipulates only that a Councillor is required to vote.
In my early days, if a point had already been made, a Councillor in agreement would simply say so:
".I agree with Councillor so and so" and the discussion would move along. Everybody was conscious of the hour of adjournment and the need to complete town business .
Deferring business to the next meeting was by no means considered competent or efficient. It was a sign of incompetence of the chair. There's more to that job than wearing the Chain of Office.
Back then, we did not have cable t.v. We started public forum. But few took advantage. Delegations were seldom and certainly nobody took the microphone to demand Council bend to their demands.
There was a clear understanding, if one had a desire to participate, the thing to do was put your name on the ballot.
There was never an occasion a resident was encouraged to delegate to call a Councillor a liar. Or hurl unsubstantiated allegations and unfounded accusations at a member of Council.
I think it had to do with respect for the office we each held and the people who gave their confidence,for at least the term we served.
I have never mastered the discipline of detachment. I can live with the reality I have a single vote. That's not an option. It doesn't mean that outside of council meetings, I have to quietly accept or,perish the thought, pretend to agree with decisions having ongoing negative consequences for the community.
A waste of trust and confidence and time and resources mitigate seriously against satisfaction from a job well done.
Having the blog and a direct conduit with people helps to makes up for that.
When I started it in August 2007, I hoped it would stimulate interest in the town's affairs and more people would turn out to vote. It didn't.
But since I started it, several more blogs have come into being.
One thing for sure...politics will never be the same since people have had the opportunity to make their observations and contribute to the debate.
Evelyn, you wrote: 'I find that several councillors are unable to express themselves in simple organized sentences and the thoughts or opinions they are attempting to state become blurred and unintelligible.'
Oh that is very sad to hear
**************************
I did not write that, Anna. It was an observation posted to the Blog by a reader.
We had a single council meeting in July and another in August.Two meetings a month on camera are the average.
Speaking while organising one's thoughts is not as easy as it looks.The skill must be acquired. But it is worth cultivating, if only to become more comfortable doing what people expect.
People say I do it well but I hate to watch .I hear myself repeating things and speaking in disjointed sentences.My enemies,I'm sure, make much of it.
Actually, speaking in debate is not required. No record is kept. It's not like Hansard. The Municipal Act stipulates only that a Councillor is required to vote.
In my early days, if a point had already been made, a Councillor in agreement would simply say so:
".I agree with Councillor so and so" and the discussion would move along. Everybody was conscious of the hour of adjournment and the need to complete town business .
Deferring business to the next meeting was by no means considered competent or efficient. It was a sign of incompetence of the chair. There's more to that job than wearing the Chain of Office.
Back then, we did not have cable t.v. We started public forum. But few took advantage. Delegations were seldom and certainly nobody took the microphone to demand Council bend to their demands.
There was a clear understanding, if one had a desire to participate, the thing to do was put your name on the ballot.
There was never an occasion a resident was encouraged to delegate to call a Councillor a liar. Or hurl unsubstantiated allegations and unfounded accusations at a member of Council.
I think it had to do with respect for the office we each held and the people who gave their confidence,for at least the term we served.
I have never mastered the discipline of detachment. I can live with the reality I have a single vote. That's not an option. It doesn't mean that outside of council meetings, I have to quietly accept or,perish the thought, pretend to agree with decisions having ongoing negative consequences for the community.
A waste of trust and confidence and time and resources mitigate seriously against satisfaction from a job well done.
Having the blog and a direct conduit with people helps to makes up for that.
When I started it in August 2007, I hoped it would stimulate interest in the town's affairs and more people would turn out to vote. It didn't.
But since I started it, several more blogs have come into being.
One thing for sure...politics will never be the same since people have had the opportunity to make their observations and contribute to the debate.
Friday, 19 August 2011
Thank You For Asking
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "And Another Thing":
Ummm, do we not also have a deficit of industrial lands?
Giving this land up for parks would mean less commercial taxes, and less local employment.
You criticized the previous council for not selling the old hydro building for the vary same reason, yet you are so willing to give up this important source of revenue.
Keeping this for a park will surely result in tax increases.
**************
The last shall be first.
This land was purchased for recreation . The town did not borrow money to buy it for industrial development. We still need the land for recreation purposes. If we don't use it for the purpose we bought it, at a good price nine years ago, we will need to buy it at to-day's prices which will be considerably higher.
I'm not one hundred per cent sure of this point. But I think we have to publicly declare land surplus to our needs in order to be able to sell lands in town ownership. We cannot do that with any integrity. We do need it. If we have to make a public declaration . I believe that entitles any member of the public to challenge the veracity of the claim, it is surplus to our needs.
I did and still do criticize the previous and previous to that, council for not selling the former hydro building to recover the assessment revenue and jobs lost when the building was suddenly, on one month's notice , vacated by Powerstream.
The building was eventually being utilised by our parks department and for storage of town hall artifacts when the former council announced triumphantly, the lease to the Department of National Defence well nigh a year ago ,at a rent of $139,000 a year.
The parks department was able to construct parks furniture and items like gazebos due to the amenity of the hydro building. .
Now we are talking about twelve million dollars capital expenditure for space adequate for works and parks combined.
Parks could have been accommodated in the Hydro building.
Works could have taken over the parks building.
Whamo!!!! no need for twelve million dollars which .I understand it is currently being spent.
Rent for the hydro building didn't start until February 2011, I heard the former Mayor altered the lease agreement after her defeat in the election and without Council authority.Completely illegal.
We spent far more than a year's rent in improvements to the building. We have funds in capital expenditures for continued maintenance because we are the landlord . So the publicly declared rent is not precise.
In the meantime, the building has been empty and idle since the parks department vacated it in time for commencement of the lease.
Which near as I can tell, was supposed to start in September 2010 but didn't until February 2011.
The announcement was made by the Chief Administrative Officer while a campaign being fought and short weeks before the election .
I do not argue definitively the entire parcel of Leslie Street lands be used for recreation. 404 frontage obviously has a high value. Expressway frontage is not necessary for successful recreation .Profit on 404 frontage could go a long way to developing the rest as leisure lands.As well as increasing our assessment base .
Talking about the town's assessment base. I'm really glad you mentioned that. Check out the massive areas around the station devoted to commuter parking. What a chunk of town core that takes up without a penny of assessment revenue for the town. In fact, revenue was lost as a result of provincial ownership.
Certainly no jobs came from it. Traffic congestion increased to boot .I predicted that. There's little doubt in my mind we are providing parking for commuters from an area far beyond our town.
We take money from business investing in our town, as Cash in Lieu of Parks. At the time of the election we had $12 million dollars Cash in Lieu in reserve funds. It must be used for the purpose taken. It makes sense, we use it sensibly.
To your final point. Do we have a deficit in industrial lands. I do not know that. But if we do, outside of the planning process, do we have any responsibility to provide lands for industrial development.
Buy it, develop it. market it ???
I know of no such mandated responsibility.
Not like the responsibility to provide lands for leisure services.
Nor the authority to take funds from developers with every building permit issued.
The moral commitment to new homebuyers that we provide the amenities they paid for when they signed on the dotted line.
When they took out a mortgage, with a high rate of interest, sufficient to pay hidden taxes, federal sales tax, municipal development charges, and a dozen other government charges within the price of a home.
When homes are assessed at market value, include hidden taxes, requiring the payment of taxes up on taxes for ever and a day. plus ninety per cent of the cost of whatever new recreation facilities the town chooses to build when they get around to it.
There's nothing simple about overseeing a municipal corporation. Councillors must be well-informed.
With the best will in the world, an uninformed Councillor is a liability to the corporation.More than one multiplies the liability.
When a person without experience is a candidate for council ,voters make allowances for that. They give an inexperienced Councillor time to learn.They watch for signs .
A quick reaction and an illformed decision does not reflect well . It is not defensible.
A thoughtful ,well considered , articulate rationale gets marks for trying.
People don't have to accept a Councillor's logic. They do have to know the Councillor believes it
Ummm, do we not also have a deficit of industrial lands?
Giving this land up for parks would mean less commercial taxes, and less local employment.
You criticized the previous council for not selling the old hydro building for the vary same reason, yet you are so willing to give up this important source of revenue.
Keeping this for a park will surely result in tax increases.
**************
The last shall be first.
This land was purchased for recreation . The town did not borrow money to buy it for industrial development. We still need the land for recreation purposes. If we don't use it for the purpose we bought it, at a good price nine years ago, we will need to buy it at to-day's prices which will be considerably higher.
I'm not one hundred per cent sure of this point. But I think we have to publicly declare land surplus to our needs in order to be able to sell lands in town ownership. We cannot do that with any integrity. We do need it. If we have to make a public declaration . I believe that entitles any member of the public to challenge the veracity of the claim, it is surplus to our needs.
I did and still do criticize the previous and previous to that, council for not selling the former hydro building to recover the assessment revenue and jobs lost when the building was suddenly, on one month's notice , vacated by Powerstream.
The building was eventually being utilised by our parks department and for storage of town hall artifacts when the former council announced triumphantly, the lease to the Department of National Defence well nigh a year ago ,at a rent of $139,000 a year.
The parks department was able to construct parks furniture and items like gazebos due to the amenity of the hydro building. .
Now we are talking about twelve million dollars capital expenditure for space adequate for works and parks combined.
Parks could have been accommodated in the Hydro building.
Works could have taken over the parks building.
Whamo!!!! no need for twelve million dollars which .I understand it is currently being spent.
Rent for the hydro building didn't start until February 2011, I heard the former Mayor altered the lease agreement after her defeat in the election and without Council authority.Completely illegal.
We spent far more than a year's rent in improvements to the building. We have funds in capital expenditures for continued maintenance because we are the landlord . So the publicly declared rent is not precise.
In the meantime, the building has been empty and idle since the parks department vacated it in time for commencement of the lease.
Which near as I can tell, was supposed to start in September 2010 but didn't until February 2011.
The announcement was made by the Chief Administrative Officer while a campaign being fought and short weeks before the election .
I do not argue definitively the entire parcel of Leslie Street lands be used for recreation. 404 frontage obviously has a high value. Expressway frontage is not necessary for successful recreation .Profit on 404 frontage could go a long way to developing the rest as leisure lands.As well as increasing our assessment base .
Talking about the town's assessment base. I'm really glad you mentioned that. Check out the massive areas around the station devoted to commuter parking. What a chunk of town core that takes up without a penny of assessment revenue for the town. In fact, revenue was lost as a result of provincial ownership.
Certainly no jobs came from it. Traffic congestion increased to boot .I predicted that. There's little doubt in my mind we are providing parking for commuters from an area far beyond our town.
We take money from business investing in our town, as Cash in Lieu of Parks. At the time of the election we had $12 million dollars Cash in Lieu in reserve funds. It must be used for the purpose taken. It makes sense, we use it sensibly.
To your final point. Do we have a deficit in industrial lands. I do not know that. But if we do, outside of the planning process, do we have any responsibility to provide lands for industrial development.
Buy it, develop it. market it ???
I know of no such mandated responsibility.
Not like the responsibility to provide lands for leisure services.
Nor the authority to take funds from developers with every building permit issued.
The moral commitment to new homebuyers that we provide the amenities they paid for when they signed on the dotted line.
When they took out a mortgage, with a high rate of interest, sufficient to pay hidden taxes, federal sales tax, municipal development charges, and a dozen other government charges within the price of a home.
When homes are assessed at market value, include hidden taxes, requiring the payment of taxes up on taxes for ever and a day. plus ninety per cent of the cost of whatever new recreation facilities the town chooses to build when they get around to it.
There's nothing simple about overseeing a municipal corporation. Councillors must be well-informed.
With the best will in the world, an uninformed Councillor is a liability to the corporation.More than one multiplies the liability.
When a person without experience is a candidate for council ,voters make allowances for that. They give an inexperienced Councillor time to learn.They watch for signs .
A quick reaction and an illformed decision does not reflect well . It is not defensible.
A thoughtful ,well considered , articulate rationale gets marks for trying.
People don't have to accept a Councillor's logic. They do have to know the Councillor believes it
And Another Thing
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Walk-About":
Why does "recreation" have to be synonymous with "sports"? There are many different types of recreational pursuits that do not have to include organized sports with screaming coaches and parents on the sidelines - and bad language to boot.
Isn't it time to be a little more creative?
****************
Recreation is a general term that includes sports . Leisure Services is the title of the department that
manages the range of activities the town provides. I think it fairly describes the service.
Many small neighbourhood parks, where there is no parking and tournament noise at the week-ends denies residents of peaceful enjoyment of their property, could cease to be used inappropriately if the town retained ownership of the Leslie lands for the original purpose.
It would be a supplementary benefit.
Why does "recreation" have to be synonymous with "sports"? There are many different types of recreational pursuits that do not have to include organized sports with screaming coaches and parents on the sidelines - and bad language to boot.
Isn't it time to be a little more creative?
****************
Recreation is a general term that includes sports . Leisure Services is the title of the department that
manages the range of activities the town provides. I think it fairly describes the service.
Many small neighbourhood parks, where there is no parking and tournament noise at the week-ends denies residents of peaceful enjoyment of their property, could cease to be used inappropriately if the town retained ownership of the Leslie lands for the original purpose.
It would be a supplementary benefit.
Thursday, 18 August 2011
That's Exactly What I'm Doing
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Walk-About":
The groups that put on that event showed they
could work for a common cause. Enlist them .The
Mayor is no slouch when it comes to supporting
sports and God knows, Sandra Humphreys deserves a
break from the cultural parasites.
*****************
Taking a tour of the land was my suggestion. All members of Council attended and enjoyed the opportunity.It is a beautiful spot.
Mr. Downey had most to do with the land from the beginning as Leisure Services Director. Mr. Garbe provided information about how it could be serviced for development.
The fact it has been designated as employment lands creates a problem for some Councillors.It means the use has to revert to its original purpose. I don't see that as a problem. I don't think sports fields need to have lands with 404 frontage. Those lands serve development best,
It's the rest of it I want to see maintained in wide sweeping fields,Warm summer air borne like a zephyr over the slopes. Families picnicking for the day, as young members engage in competitive sport
for the sheer enjoyment of life.
We need the land. We can justify its use.We bought it for the purpose. I think Council would be only too glad to hear you feel that way too. Nobody needed to have an arm twisted to come out and see it at its best.It will serve many generations of young Aurorans .
It will provide breathing space amongst all those tightly clustered residential areas, employment lands and traffic arteries..
A green and verdant land.
The groups that put on that event showed they
could work for a common cause. Enlist them .The
Mayor is no slouch when it comes to supporting
sports and God knows, Sandra Humphreys deserves a
break from the cultural parasites.
*****************
Taking a tour of the land was my suggestion. All members of Council attended and enjoyed the opportunity.It is a beautiful spot.
Mr. Downey had most to do with the land from the beginning as Leisure Services Director. Mr. Garbe provided information about how it could be serviced for development.
The fact it has been designated as employment lands creates a problem for some Councillors.It means the use has to revert to its original purpose. I don't see that as a problem. I don't think sports fields need to have lands with 404 frontage. Those lands serve development best,
It's the rest of it I want to see maintained in wide sweeping fields,Warm summer air borne like a zephyr over the slopes. Families picnicking for the day, as young members engage in competitive sport
for the sheer enjoyment of life.
We need the land. We can justify its use.We bought it for the purpose. I think Council would be only too glad to hear you feel that way too. Nobody needed to have an arm twisted to come out and see it at its best.It will serve many generations of young Aurorans .
It will provide breathing space amongst all those tightly clustered residential areas, employment lands and traffic arteries..
A green and verdant land.
A Question Posed . Here's One Answer.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Walk-About":
This is such a simple question with an obvious answer.
If Council spends as much time on the land issue relative to value as it did on the park apparatus the matter will still be in discussion during the term of the next council.
I find that several councillors are unable to express themselves in simple organized sentences and the thoughts or opinions they are attempting to state become blurred and unintelligible.
Possibly they should consider writing out in advance exactly what they would like to say and then stick to the script.
It must be frustrating to sit around the table, paying close attention to one's fellow councillors, and at the conclusion of their remarks, not understand what they have just said.
This is very often the case with motions where no one seems to have a clue what the mover said or meant and the exercise needs to be repeated, often more than once.
Finally, there should be a procedural change restricting a delegate to two appearances on a given issue. Last Tuesday was a complete waste of time on the part of several delegates and contributed to Council's inability to deal with the Agenda.
This is such a simple question with an obvious answer.
If Council spends as much time on the land issue relative to value as it did on the park apparatus the matter will still be in discussion during the term of the next council.
I find that several councillors are unable to express themselves in simple organized sentences and the thoughts or opinions they are attempting to state become blurred and unintelligible.
Possibly they should consider writing out in advance exactly what they would like to say and then stick to the script.
It must be frustrating to sit around the table, paying close attention to one's fellow councillors, and at the conclusion of their remarks, not understand what they have just said.
This is very often the case with motions where no one seems to have a clue what the mover said or meant and the exercise needs to be repeated, often more than once.
Finally, there should be a procedural change restricting a delegate to two appearances on a given issue. Last Tuesday was a complete waste of time on the part of several delegates and contributed to Council's inability to deal with the Agenda.
Walk-About
On Tuesday,Council took a tour of lands we own on Leslie Street where Petch House was perched .
The property was purchased in 2002. It was known future sites were needed for a second fire hall a recreation complex , a pumping station of sorts for York Region and sports fields .
The parcel became available at the right price and CAO of the day, Larry Allyson recommended the purchase to Council.
Subsequently. the farm of Stew Burnett became available. Services ran past the property. It meant two million dollars required to service the Leslie Street lands would not be required immediately , so the town bought the Burnett farm as well and eventually facilities were located on Wellington Street instead.
The Leslie Street lands were placed in the hands of a real estate corporation in the last term.
When the Petch House was being dismantled, I was over there a few times and ventured further onto the property. It looked fine to me. The Master Recreation Plan prepared by the consultant had recommended the town re-think the idea of selling the lands for industrial purposes.
But former Councillor Evalina Mac Eachern and the former Mayor's friend, Ken Whitehouse, nixed that idea and the property was subsequently designated employment.
Now we are said to be in a deficit situation for recreation lands in the amount of 121 hectares.It's far in excess of that allowed to be acquired by the Planning Act and proportionately more than the town has ever acquired before.
We are contemplating 2011 prices to fill that need.
We currently own 79 acres of beautiful lands . We made a good deal for them in 2002. Funds were borrowed and re-paid from tax revenues. We now need to use those lands.
As the master recreation consultant advised ,I think we need to re-think the idea of selling all of the land for employment. They are needed for the community.
The land is not surplus to our needs. I believe it is never too late for a Council to re-think a decision to put community needs first.
I am not seeing any signs Council shares my belief.
When two parents came to council and presented a horrendous view of a piece of playground equipment and demanded its removal, I didn't see it then either.
They were permitted to return two more times. Each time to repeat, without challenge, the contention the town had equipment in our playgrounds that were a threat to the life and limb of our children.
After the first exhibition, other parents with opinions and experiences of their own came forward to argue the contrary.
E-mails galore flew fast and furious. Links were provided to learned articles in renowned publications such as the New York Times, fulminating against the modern practice of making playgrounds so innocuous as to be totally without interest, purpose or use for the developing child.
We do not do that in Aurora . We choose equipment with care and intelligence. And thanks to community interest and input on the issue, we will continue to follow that practice.
But Oh My Lord, what a load of malarkey we listened to in the meantime. Over and over and over again. Town business went unattended, and a serious item was being decided once again after midnight.
So now we have another issue for the community to deal with.
Will we sell land we bought for community needs for less than we can replace it?
Or will we invite the community's input to the decision to be made?
I think no to the first and yes to the second.
I need support from the community. I don't have a sense of it from Council.
Just as happened in support of stimulating and challenging activities in town playgrounds, we should not allow all 79 acres of perfectly suitable lands needed for the purpose of sport and recreation, be sold out from under us at bargain basement prices.
What say you?
The property was purchased in 2002. It was known future sites were needed for a second fire hall a recreation complex , a pumping station of sorts for York Region and sports fields .
The parcel became available at the right price and CAO of the day, Larry Allyson recommended the purchase to Council.
Subsequently. the farm of Stew Burnett became available. Services ran past the property. It meant two million dollars required to service the Leslie Street lands would not be required immediately , so the town bought the Burnett farm as well and eventually facilities were located on Wellington Street instead.
The Leslie Street lands were placed in the hands of a real estate corporation in the last term.
When the Petch House was being dismantled, I was over there a few times and ventured further onto the property. It looked fine to me. The Master Recreation Plan prepared by the consultant had recommended the town re-think the idea of selling the lands for industrial purposes.
But former Councillor Evalina Mac Eachern and the former Mayor's friend, Ken Whitehouse, nixed that idea and the property was subsequently designated employment.
Now we are said to be in a deficit situation for recreation lands in the amount of 121 hectares.It's far in excess of that allowed to be acquired by the Planning Act and proportionately more than the town has ever acquired before.
We are contemplating 2011 prices to fill that need.
We currently own 79 acres of beautiful lands . We made a good deal for them in 2002. Funds were borrowed and re-paid from tax revenues. We now need to use those lands.
As the master recreation consultant advised ,I think we need to re-think the idea of selling all of the land for employment. They are needed for the community.
The land is not surplus to our needs. I believe it is never too late for a Council to re-think a decision to put community needs first.
I am not seeing any signs Council shares my belief.
When two parents came to council and presented a horrendous view of a piece of playground equipment and demanded its removal, I didn't see it then either.
They were permitted to return two more times. Each time to repeat, without challenge, the contention the town had equipment in our playgrounds that were a threat to the life and limb of our children.
After the first exhibition, other parents with opinions and experiences of their own came forward to argue the contrary.
E-mails galore flew fast and furious. Links were provided to learned articles in renowned publications such as the New York Times, fulminating against the modern practice of making playgrounds so innocuous as to be totally without interest, purpose or use for the developing child.
We do not do that in Aurora . We choose equipment with care and intelligence. And thanks to community interest and input on the issue, we will continue to follow that practice.
But Oh My Lord, what a load of malarkey we listened to in the meantime. Over and over and over again. Town business went unattended, and a serious item was being decided once again after midnight.
So now we have another issue for the community to deal with.
Will we sell land we bought for community needs for less than we can replace it?
Or will we invite the community's input to the decision to be made?
I think no to the first and yes to the second.
I need support from the community. I don't have a sense of it from Council.
Just as happened in support of stimulating and challenging activities in town playgrounds, we should not allow all 79 acres of perfectly suitable lands needed for the purpose of sport and recreation, be sold out from under us at bargain basement prices.
What say you?
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Language Confusion
Measuring leverage
A good deal of confusion arises in discussions among people who use different definitions of leverage. The term is used differently in investments and corporate finance, and has multiple definitions in each field.[7]************
I read the story about the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation being out of funds twice. It appeared in the local newspaper. I had commented before on the town's receipt of a letter requesting support for the Foundation to receive $11 million from the Province to keep them alive.
It seems they received $15 million from the Province in 2002 .They "leveraged " that to $50 million but now they are down to the last million. Having spent all the rest.
They are using the last million to catalogue their successes from spending money.
A naturalist in Richmond Hill praises their work. Minister of Provincial Community Safety and Correctional Services ",Jim Bradley describes their many accomplishments as laudable and said; everyone admires the work of the foundation."
I thought that was a bit odd. As a Councillor in a town situated in the heart of the Oak Ridges Moraine, I had no idea the Foundation existed. In fact, I drew the ire of a volunteer member of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trust by referring to the campaign to persuade the Province to continue to funnel millions to the Foundation. I did not know, there are two outfits committed to the preservation, acquisition of land and well-being of the Oak Ridges Moraine.
The story gets weirder and weirder. The Foundation wants another $11 million from the Province. One of its aims is to secure properties within the Moraine.
But that's what the Oak Ridges Moraine Trust is doing. It's set-up is to receive properties in the Oak Ridges Moraine,in consideration of appraised value exchanged as a tax benefit.
The Trust has ownership and control but no money to pay overdue taxes or maintain the lands. They came to the municipality to request we pay maintenance and taxes in return for Nothing.Nada, Zilch and Zero.
The McLeod lands were transferred with an agreement that permitted no public access for ten years thereafter and harvested
the good wood in advance.
When the ten years expire, Oak Ridges Moraine Trust will decide what, if any. public access will be permitted.
Heritage Ontario has the same function as OMRT. They accept land in return for its value as tax benefit. That organisation owns Sheppard's Bush and High Tor, the farm previously owned by the estate of Ann Bartley Smith.
They have no financial resources to manage lands. So they don't. They get to own it and do nothing with it. We don't get to own it, do nothing with it but take care of it thanks to the Mormac regime. The land sits for years . No use to anybody
Sheppard's Bush is the exception. The Conservation authority gets to manage that, But they don't have resources. So we do
it. But at least we get use from it. I think we need to ask Heritage Ontario to review that arrangement. Cut out the middleman.
Now, thanks to the Province, we have three agencies all in the same business.All with a payroll and a public profile. One having spent $50 million dollars in the last eight years and looking for another $11 million from the next Provincial budget
Two of them with ownership and control of lands within the municipality but no resources to manage them The town with no ownership or control but all of the financial liability.
WTF
Friday, 12 August 2011
The Secret
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Twins Are Away Again":
How did you protect your computer ? My sister
lost the best part of a text book she was writing
to her 2/3 year old.
**************
They never saw me use the computer. Had no idea where it was .So the plan must be, if you don't want them to know about it or touch it, keep it a dark and deadly secret.
Or as another alternative, abandon all projects and personal ambitions for at least a year, until they understand what the words "don't touch" mean. At two, they think it means they have to and as much touching as possible before somebody comes along to stop them.
My technique for enjoying summer was to feed them breakfast in the morning and take off immediately for a beach someplace.Don't stay around to wash dishes or make beds or tidy up. Do not return until bedtime. When they dropped into bed, exhausted from the days play and clean from the day's swimming, they would sleep soundly through the night and awaken fresh and eager to do it all again.
Which we did.
When we lived in Toronto, Kew Beach was the favourite. We were first there in the morning and last to leave at night. We moved with the sun. . As one part of the beach fell into shade, we shifted until the last of the the sun was shining on the lake.
When it finally left the sand, we would too.Collect our gear and trudge up Waverly Rd with a packed bundle- buggy, baby on top ,to catch a street car, then a bus back to where we came from.
It cost less than a dollar a day for fares. Everything else we took with us. Frozen lemonade costing no more than ten cents a can. A jug. We took water from the fountain. Fresh rolls from the bakery. On lean days, boiled eggs and fresh fruit from a family market on Queen Street.On flush days, freshly baked pies and Chelsea buns from Mascot Bakery at the corner of Wellesley and Yonge Street.
We never had money for pop or ice cream from the beach kiosk. But we might have enough for penny candy at the candy store on the corner of Queen and Waverley Rd.They could choose from the variety of boxes at eye level.
One year, after we came to Aurora, we camped the entire summer at Preston Lake. We knew Bruce's Mill before it became crowded, Sibbald's Point too. The ponds at Seneca and Scanlon Creek became familiar hang-outs.
The kids were brown as berries throughout the summer. The main challenge for the younger was to learn from the older to swim underwater. Wet smooth hair and brown skins made them look like little beavers when their heads emerged on the surface.
I did not have twins. But I had numbers. Raising a family leaves little time for anything else.
So it might as well be enjoyed
How did you protect your computer ? My sister
lost the best part of a text book she was writing
to her 2/3 year old.
**************
They never saw me use the computer. Had no idea where it was .So the plan must be, if you don't want them to know about it or touch it, keep it a dark and deadly secret.
Or as another alternative, abandon all projects and personal ambitions for at least a year, until they understand what the words "don't touch" mean. At two, they think it means they have to and as much touching as possible before somebody comes along to stop them.
My technique for enjoying summer was to feed them breakfast in the morning and take off immediately for a beach someplace.Don't stay around to wash dishes or make beds or tidy up. Do not return until bedtime. When they dropped into bed, exhausted from the days play and clean from the day's swimming, they would sleep soundly through the night and awaken fresh and eager to do it all again.
Which we did.
When we lived in Toronto, Kew Beach was the favourite. We were first there in the morning and last to leave at night. We moved with the sun. . As one part of the beach fell into shade, we shifted until the last of the the sun was shining on the lake.
When it finally left the sand, we would too.Collect our gear and trudge up Waverly Rd with a packed bundle- buggy, baby on top ,to catch a street car, then a bus back to where we came from.
It cost less than a dollar a day for fares. Everything else we took with us. Frozen lemonade costing no more than ten cents a can. A jug. We took water from the fountain. Fresh rolls from the bakery. On lean days, boiled eggs and fresh fruit from a family market on Queen Street.On flush days, freshly baked pies and Chelsea buns from Mascot Bakery at the corner of Wellesley and Yonge Street.
We never had money for pop or ice cream from the beach kiosk. But we might have enough for penny candy at the candy store on the corner of Queen and Waverley Rd.They could choose from the variety of boxes at eye level.
One year, after we came to Aurora, we camped the entire summer at Preston Lake. We knew Bruce's Mill before it became crowded, Sibbald's Point too. The ponds at Seneca and Scanlon Creek became familiar hang-outs.
The kids were brown as berries throughout the summer. The main challenge for the younger was to learn from the older to swim underwater. Wet smooth hair and brown skins made them look like little beavers when their heads emerged on the surface.
I did not have twins. But I had numbers. Raising a family leaves little time for anything else.
So it might as well be enjoyed
Thursday, 11 August 2011
The Twins Are Away Again
They were here two days and two nights. Not long enough to leave echoes behind. Long enough to remind what it's like living with very small children who can move about.
There's a picket missing from the railing at the top of the basement stairs. The first night they were here, I didn't sleep because of that missing picket. I wanted to get up and do something about it but I figured they would waken up if I did. So I didn't.
I mentioned it to Vanessa. She picked up the coffee table that had been taken out of the sitting room to make room for their play-pen cribs and put the legs through the picket spaces and Voila, the problem was fixed.
Heather came down in the morning with a length of stick. She hadn't been able to sleep thinking about they might be able to open the sliding door and get out to the pool.
Theresa whose room is downstairs under the sitting room couldn't sleep because she heard unexplainable noises all night long.
Reid found every button on every appliance ,including the washing machine which makes noises when buttons are pushed. At one point an alarm chimed loudly in my bedroom. I had never heard it before. It's the alarm to locate the mobile phone if misplaced.. I didn't even know that button existed and I've had the phones for years.
Claire can step more than two feet high in a single step. Running as fast as she can, and it's fast, is sheer delight. Jumping over and over and turning somersaults is also how she entertains herself .
While Reid quietly presses every button in sight on the television .
He can count to ten . I heard him count backwards from five while pushing buttons on the telephone. . Vanessa says he counts to ten in French and Spanish . I believe it.
Theresa brought a decorated board from the Market with the name Aurora.painted on it. Without prompting, he read and pointed correctly to every letter on the board.
It reminded me of something I read .. Children learn more in the first three years than they do in their entire lives.
I'm not sure how that could be measured . But it also reminded me of something else I thought when my own were going to school. Considering how much they had learned by themselves before going to school, it occurred to me , the time came when they needed new opportunities. to learn. They needed to go to school .
Then, more than once, it occurred to me one of the lessons they learned in school was about failure.
School taught them to doubt themselves and lose confidence.
Whatever they felt or thought about it, when the time came,I was glad when they had done with school.
Watching the twins, marveling at what they have already learned, no doubt with the help of television,between or during spurts of energy, in the short span of their lives, I wondered what their school experience will be like.
How will they adapt to sitting quietly at a desk listening and learning at the pace of twenty-four other children their age.
Inevitably they will learn. Intelligence never falters.
What about the way forward;.how many clunkers will they encounter along the way? Will they recognise them when they see them,.skip on over . jog right on past or be identified with attention deficits?
I read something else years ago . When people were living in caves and dressing in skins , they had the same intelligence as modern man. It surprised me. Then it surprised me that it surprised me.
Of course they had the same intelligence. How else would we have advanced from being hunters and gatherers.
So the twins will do just fine. Nothing will hold them back....for long
There's a picket missing from the railing at the top of the basement stairs. The first night they were here, I didn't sleep because of that missing picket. I wanted to get up and do something about it but I figured they would waken up if I did. So I didn't.
I mentioned it to Vanessa. She picked up the coffee table that had been taken out of the sitting room to make room for their play-pen cribs and put the legs through the picket spaces and Voila, the problem was fixed.
Heather came down in the morning with a length of stick. She hadn't been able to sleep thinking about they might be able to open the sliding door and get out to the pool.
Theresa whose room is downstairs under the sitting room couldn't sleep because she heard unexplainable noises all night long.
Reid found every button on every appliance ,including the washing machine which makes noises when buttons are pushed. At one point an alarm chimed loudly in my bedroom. I had never heard it before. It's the alarm to locate the mobile phone if misplaced.. I didn't even know that button existed and I've had the phones for years.
Claire can step more than two feet high in a single step. Running as fast as she can, and it's fast, is sheer delight. Jumping over and over and turning somersaults is also how she entertains herself .
While Reid quietly presses every button in sight on the television .
He can count to ten . I heard him count backwards from five while pushing buttons on the telephone. . Vanessa says he counts to ten in French and Spanish . I believe it.
Theresa brought a decorated board from the Market with the name Aurora.painted on it. Without prompting, he read and pointed correctly to every letter on the board.
It reminded me of something I read .. Children learn more in the first three years than they do in their entire lives.
I'm not sure how that could be measured . But it also reminded me of something else I thought when my own were going to school. Considering how much they had learned by themselves before going to school, it occurred to me , the time came when they needed new opportunities. to learn. They needed to go to school .
Then, more than once, it occurred to me one of the lessons they learned in school was about failure.
School taught them to doubt themselves and lose confidence.
Whatever they felt or thought about it, when the time came,I was glad when they had done with school.
Watching the twins, marveling at what they have already learned, no doubt with the help of television,between or during spurts of energy, in the short span of their lives, I wondered what their school experience will be like.
How will they adapt to sitting quietly at a desk listening and learning at the pace of twenty-four other children their age.
Inevitably they will learn. Intelligence never falters.
What about the way forward;.how many clunkers will they encounter along the way? Will they recognise them when they see them,.skip on over . jog right on past or be identified with attention deficits?
I read something else years ago . When people were living in caves and dressing in skins , they had the same intelligence as modern man. It surprised me. Then it surprised me that it surprised me.
Of course they had the same intelligence. How else would we have advanced from being hunters and gatherers.
So the twins will do just fine. Nothing will hold them back....for long
Monday, 8 August 2011
Yesterday
I didn't even open up the computer. My great grand-baby twins were here for a visit. They were two years old in March. In the middle of the terrible year.
The first part of the day was taken up with going around the house and putting things up high before they got here. Really high because two means climbing up to get at everything they see. Or just to see what they might not be seeing. Some stuff had to be dumped into a box and hidden under the bed.
But they were hardly in the house. The pool captivated them. Their home is in Tacoma, Washington. On the Pugeot Sound. Ocean is a word in Reid's vocabulary. They just came from a month at the family cottage with lakefront on Georgian Bay. They are already familiar with the fun water provides.
Reid is a noisy boy . He shouts and raises his arms in exultation with everything he accomplishes. Every time he does it. He throws the ball, he shouts. He catches the ball. he shouts. He kicks the ball. he shouts.
On the far side of the pool are field stones. Quick as a flash, he picked one up and threw it into the pool. He did not shout. He was intent on doing what he intended before anybody might stop him. He managed it once more before the day was done.
Claire also shouts. But she concentrates on making sure she is ahead of Reid in all things.
At one point, great-aunt Theresa and mother Vanessa were both in the pool arms waiting for each twin to jump. Much as she enjoyed jumping she had to stop. She had to get in front of Reid to stop him from jumping into anybody's arms while also protecting her own space.It was fascinating to watch her determination and the speed of movement.
Reid doesn't appear to pay a lot of attention to what Claire is doing but never at any time is Claire not conscious of Reid.
She is smaller than her brother. He looks like a normal two year old. But he weighs like a tank.I had to lift him to join her on my knee when I was singing the jingle about head and shoulders knees and toes.
It was tricky for both to be part of the action but a thumb on each nose at the end brought gales of giggles and a demand to do it again. Which I did. Despite my youngest son's broad hint that Granny should stop now.
There's nothing tedious about listening to the uninhibited laughter of a two year old and I had two on my lap.
It was a great day. They had cheesies and chips galore.Mum tempted them with strawberries and banana. They nibbled on that too. But chips and cheesies were best. Little fists took handfuls . Cheeks bulged.. Well......it was better than candy or cookies.
They are not going home until mid September. They are coming back to stay for a few days at Heather's house. They will be here at the pool every day.
They are only two and a half.
But there's a chance a memory will stick .
The first part of the day was taken up with going around the house and putting things up high before they got here. Really high because two means climbing up to get at everything they see. Or just to see what they might not be seeing. Some stuff had to be dumped into a box and hidden under the bed.
But they were hardly in the house. The pool captivated them. Their home is in Tacoma, Washington. On the Pugeot Sound. Ocean is a word in Reid's vocabulary. They just came from a month at the family cottage with lakefront on Georgian Bay. They are already familiar with the fun water provides.
Reid is a noisy boy . He shouts and raises his arms in exultation with everything he accomplishes. Every time he does it. He throws the ball, he shouts. He catches the ball. he shouts. He kicks the ball. he shouts.
On the far side of the pool are field stones. Quick as a flash, he picked one up and threw it into the pool. He did not shout. He was intent on doing what he intended before anybody might stop him. He managed it once more before the day was done.
Claire also shouts. But she concentrates on making sure she is ahead of Reid in all things.
At one point, great-aunt Theresa and mother Vanessa were both in the pool arms waiting for each twin to jump. Much as she enjoyed jumping she had to stop. She had to get in front of Reid to stop him from jumping into anybody's arms while also protecting her own space.It was fascinating to watch her determination and the speed of movement.
Reid doesn't appear to pay a lot of attention to what Claire is doing but never at any time is Claire not conscious of Reid.
She is smaller than her brother. He looks like a normal two year old. But he weighs like a tank.I had to lift him to join her on my knee when I was singing the jingle about head and shoulders knees and toes.
It was tricky for both to be part of the action but a thumb on each nose at the end brought gales of giggles and a demand to do it again. Which I did. Despite my youngest son's broad hint that Granny should stop now.
There's nothing tedious about listening to the uninhibited laughter of a two year old and I had two on my lap.
It was a great day. They had cheesies and chips galore.Mum tempted them with strawberries and banana. They nibbled on that too. But chips and cheesies were best. Little fists took handfuls . Cheeks bulged.. Well......it was better than candy or cookies.
They are not going home until mid September. They are coming back to stay for a few days at Heather's house. They will be here at the pool every day.
They are only two and a half.
But there's a chance a memory will stick .
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Did I not Say Already
Time Keeper has left a new comment on your post "Petch House Safe And Sound":
The answer could be in the town accepting the anonymous donation.
They had no way of returning it and felt bound to complete the resurrection of the rotting copse that is the Petch house.
************
We had the $8,000. anonymous donation. I expect someone knows the donor. An amount like that doesn't change hands that easily.
We also had $50,000. from Whitwell Development.
We had an assurance the structure could be cleaned and restored, despite it's deplorable condition after eight years of mouldering by the wayside.
It would have cost a fraction had it been moved eight years ago.
Money was wasted on a consultant .
A use and a location for the cabin was identified that never was before. Because the obvious person wasn't asked.
The saga is nothing to be proud of but I believe we 're doing it right now.
To the credit of the new Mayor and Council.
We may not do everything the way we all agree is right. But if we move forward an inch we'll be ahead of the last lot.
Wait till you see the old cabin spruced up and in its new pride of place.
Then tell us what you think
The answer could be in the town accepting the anonymous donation.
They had no way of returning it and felt bound to complete the resurrection of the rotting copse that is the Petch house.
************
We had the $8,000. anonymous donation. I expect someone knows the donor. An amount like that doesn't change hands that easily.
We also had $50,000. from Whitwell Development.
We had an assurance the structure could be cleaned and restored, despite it's deplorable condition after eight years of mouldering by the wayside.
It would have cost a fraction had it been moved eight years ago.
Money was wasted on a consultant .
A use and a location for the cabin was identified that never was before. Because the obvious person wasn't asked.
The saga is nothing to be proud of but I believe we 're doing it right now.
To the credit of the new Mayor and Council.
We may not do everything the way we all agree is right. But if we move forward an inch we'll be ahead of the last lot.
Wait till you see the old cabin spruced up and in its new pride of place.
Then tell us what you think
Friday, 5 August 2011
It Bears Repeating
The Green Thing
The Green Thing
In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment.
The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."
He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.
But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.
But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.
Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.
Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana.
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us.
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.
But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.
We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water.We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.
But we didn't have the green thing back then.
Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service.We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.
But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.
The Green Thing
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Petch House Safe And Sound
on its re-construction site. In the hands of a local artisan. It came down smoothly in a matter of days. Not weeks, not months and without need of multiple visits by engineers and architects and building inspectors and whatever other bureaucrats could be mustered as necessary to the task.
After a report, at no expense, had been provided saying the structure could no longer be moved in one piece,former Councillor MacEachern directed staff to retain an engineer and obtain another opinion. Several thousand tax dollars later and more staff and council time wasted, a report was received advising the structure could not be moved in one piece.
Specifications for dismantling and re-construction were prepared by staff which could not be followed. Bids were called and received and the lowest was close to half a million dollars.
Still without a site or a purpose. And with tax funds spent to no useful purpose.
A few weeks ago the new council accepted a plan from parks staff.
Since then, the ancient rotting structure was opened up to light and air and drying winds.Then scraped clean of eight years of animal defecation and putrefaction and mould and damp and infestation.
Its condition and plans for restoration were examined by an engineer familiar with the craft and given a stamp of approval.
Ceiling and attic floor was removed.
Last week, I was there for the start of the dormer and roof removal.By week-end it was mostly off. By the end of Tuesday, the roof was all gone and trim around doors and windows removed.
Yesterday morning, Wednesday,I drove past. The walls had started to be dismantled. When I drove past again before five o'clock in the afternoon, walls were all gone and transported to the site for re-construction.
There's a picture of the logs,neatly and precisely arranged in Peter Van Nostrand's yard, awaiting repairs.
Material is available from Harry Fry's barn, in the town works yard,improperly stored,with no plans contemplated for restoration or use.
The lesson from it all; a foundation needs to be formed of citizens committed to the town's heritage.We need more than advocates for the principle of preservation.
We need something other than the political body and the bureaucracy to make things happen.
Credit must be given to property owners who live and conduct business in heritage homes and spend their resources on restoration and maintenance. Their pride of ownership is the town's greatest asset.
If we are to save buildings like the Hartman House, we need an organised group with a firm commitment to developing and sourcing ways and means, independent of the political body to make that happen.
After a report, at no expense, had been provided saying the structure could no longer be moved in one piece,former Councillor MacEachern directed staff to retain an engineer and obtain another opinion. Several thousand tax dollars later and more staff and council time wasted, a report was received advising the structure could not be moved in one piece.
Specifications for dismantling and re-construction were prepared by staff which could not be followed. Bids were called and received and the lowest was close to half a million dollars.
Still without a site or a purpose. And with tax funds spent to no useful purpose.
A few weeks ago the new council accepted a plan from parks staff.
Since then, the ancient rotting structure was opened up to light and air and drying winds.Then scraped clean of eight years of animal defecation and putrefaction and mould and damp and infestation.
Its condition and plans for restoration were examined by an engineer familiar with the craft and given a stamp of approval.
Ceiling and attic floor was removed.
Last week, I was there for the start of the dormer and roof removal.By week-end it was mostly off. By the end of Tuesday, the roof was all gone and trim around doors and windows removed.
Yesterday morning, Wednesday,I drove past. The walls had started to be dismantled. When I drove past again before five o'clock in the afternoon, walls were all gone and transported to the site for re-construction.
There's a picture of the logs,neatly and precisely arranged in Peter Van Nostrand's yard, awaiting repairs.
Material is available from Harry Fry's barn, in the town works yard,improperly stored,with no plans contemplated for restoration or use.
The lesson from it all; a foundation needs to be formed of citizens committed to the town's heritage.We need more than advocates for the principle of preservation.
We need something other than the political body and the bureaucracy to make things happen.
Credit must be given to property owners who live and conduct business in heritage homes and spend their resources on restoration and maintenance. Their pride of ownership is the town's greatest asset.
If we are to save buildings like the Hartman House, we need an organised group with a firm commitment to developing and sourcing ways and means, independent of the political body to make that happen.
Monday, 1 August 2011
I Gotta Take A Break
Now I'm reading a mountain of stuff that isn't mine. It's more tedious than reading mine. It has to be done though and some of it is enlightening.
But re-living the 2006/10 term of Council, is worse than living it was. People watching it at home told me how awful it was. Looking back on it now gives me the perspective of distance.
I just read Chris Watts post about the demolition of a church in Picton. I have a different outlook on that from Chris.
A whoopee was expressed in a comment last week about a disagreement between Chris and myself about the Petch House.
What is that about? Why should a different opinion have to mean hostility and antagonism? Why can it not just mean a difference of opinion. Why does a line have to be drawn, cudgels raised and personal invective fly.
Why should a respectful discourse about options and alternatives not be more stimulating and interesting than the collective minds of sheep.
And a little salt in the language does not go amiss.
Chris compares a church on Main Street Picton, to a modest cabin in the hills of Whitchurch Township and finds the cabin of lesser significance.
It's like comparing apples to oranges. Picton County and all along the Ontario lake front to Kingston and beyond is chock- a- block with United Loyalist history.It's a feast for a history buff. A complete delight and an almost undisturbed journey into the ambience of the past.
Once when I was B&B ing it, while my family were camping, I stayed with a couple who came from West Toronto.They were involved in Picton's Little Theatre and trying to get the former movie house on Main Street donated to the municipality for a theatre. I believe they were successful.
Their's was an interesting story. They had a seasonal campsite for years.They saw a house they liked for sale. They loved the place and having no idea of how they would make a living, they put in an offer for the house and got it.
They took whatever opportunities there were; drove school buses,wrote bits and pieces for the newspaper, took paying guests and whatever else they could come up with to make a dollar. I stayed there twice.
Another time, I stayed at a farmhouse owned by a farming family of several generations.
When I was on the Social Assistance Review Board,I visited most places in the Province at least once. I amused myself on long drives contemplating where, if I won a lottery, could move anywhere and take all my family with me, where would it be? Prince Edward County was the stuff of dreams.
I would not presume to opine whether the church featured in Chris's blog should have been saved. But generally I think if a municipality has a different idea for the fate of a building, from it's lawful owner, the municipality should be prepared to pay a fair price for the building in order to exercise rights of ownership.The new Heritage Act notwithstanding.
It becomes a question of a municipality's role; appropriate use of tax resources collected for the purpose of providing services to property.
Is ownership and preservation of every old building in the community a service and the responsibility of the municipality to provide? I don't think so.
I represent people who have a hard enough time holding on to and maintaining the property they own. Often, it's all they have to show for a lifetime of hard work. It is at one and the same time, security of shelter and independence in old age.
The Petch House is not on my pedestal.
It's a project I put forward because non-tax resources are available to partly pay for its restoration. A good location and a practical use for 500 square feet of additional space has been identified.
Council gave staff the opportunity to undertake the task and do it for the least and tightly controlled expenditure. I am grateful and completely optimistic. I look forward to the project demonstrating to council, the simplest and most obvious route is likely always the best.
I think an opportunity for a council to be creative and add something of interest to the life of the community at minimal expense is golden.
This year, we expect to place two pre-fabricated public washroom facilities in two separate parks at a cost of $200,000. It's a one source supply and cheap at the price with a discount of $10,000 because we are buying two.
We expect the Petch House project to come in at considerably less than one of those public washrooms.
It will not be a three hole privy, I am pleased to say. The inside of the cabin is not in the same stage of rot as the outside. Craftsmanship is the key to restoration.
Not engineers. Not architects. Not building inspectors.
Psshaw!!!!
The Hartman House was a more interesting building. It had historical connections.We lost it.
The small school house on Wellington that came from somewhere else, had an adaptive re-use processed. It proved to be impractical and has now apparently reverted to residential use. It sits almost on top of the railway, within feet of; horrendous road traffic and exhaust fumes. It's the least likely location for a home.
How long will it last?
I have to go back to my reading.
But re-living the 2006/10 term of Council, is worse than living it was. People watching it at home told me how awful it was. Looking back on it now gives me the perspective of distance.
I just read Chris Watts post about the demolition of a church in Picton. I have a different outlook on that from Chris.
A whoopee was expressed in a comment last week about a disagreement between Chris and myself about the Petch House.
What is that about? Why should a different opinion have to mean hostility and antagonism? Why can it not just mean a difference of opinion. Why does a line have to be drawn, cudgels raised and personal invective fly.
Why should a respectful discourse about options and alternatives not be more stimulating and interesting than the collective minds of sheep.
And a little salt in the language does not go amiss.
Chris compares a church on Main Street Picton, to a modest cabin in the hills of Whitchurch Township and finds the cabin of lesser significance.
It's like comparing apples to oranges. Picton County and all along the Ontario lake front to Kingston and beyond is chock- a- block with United Loyalist history.It's a feast for a history buff. A complete delight and an almost undisturbed journey into the ambience of the past.
Once when I was B&B ing it, while my family were camping, I stayed with a couple who came from West Toronto.They were involved in Picton's Little Theatre and trying to get the former movie house on Main Street donated to the municipality for a theatre. I believe they were successful.
Their's was an interesting story. They had a seasonal campsite for years.They saw a house they liked for sale. They loved the place and having no idea of how they would make a living, they put in an offer for the house and got it.
They took whatever opportunities there were; drove school buses,wrote bits and pieces for the newspaper, took paying guests and whatever else they could come up with to make a dollar. I stayed there twice.
Another time, I stayed at a farmhouse owned by a farming family of several generations.
When I was on the Social Assistance Review Board,I visited most places in the Province at least once. I amused myself on long drives contemplating where, if I won a lottery, could move anywhere and take all my family with me, where would it be? Prince Edward County was the stuff of dreams.
I would not presume to opine whether the church featured in Chris's blog should have been saved. But generally I think if a municipality has a different idea for the fate of a building, from it's lawful owner, the municipality should be prepared to pay a fair price for the building in order to exercise rights of ownership.The new Heritage Act notwithstanding.
It becomes a question of a municipality's role; appropriate use of tax resources collected for the purpose of providing services to property.
Is ownership and preservation of every old building in the community a service and the responsibility of the municipality to provide? I don't think so.
I represent people who have a hard enough time holding on to and maintaining the property they own. Often, it's all they have to show for a lifetime of hard work. It is at one and the same time, security of shelter and independence in old age.
The Petch House is not on my pedestal.
It's a project I put forward because non-tax resources are available to partly pay for its restoration. A good location and a practical use for 500 square feet of additional space has been identified.
Council gave staff the opportunity to undertake the task and do it for the least and tightly controlled expenditure. I am grateful and completely optimistic. I look forward to the project demonstrating to council, the simplest and most obvious route is likely always the best.
I think an opportunity for a council to be creative and add something of interest to the life of the community at minimal expense is golden.
This year, we expect to place two pre-fabricated public washroom facilities in two separate parks at a cost of $200,000. It's a one source supply and cheap at the price with a discount of $10,000 because we are buying two.
We expect the Petch House project to come in at considerably less than one of those public washrooms.
It will not be a three hole privy, I am pleased to say. The inside of the cabin is not in the same stage of rot as the outside. Craftsmanship is the key to restoration.
Not engineers. Not architects. Not building inspectors.
Psshaw!!!!
The Hartman House was a more interesting building. It had historical connections.We lost it.
The small school house on Wellington that came from somewhere else, had an adaptive re-use processed. It proved to be impractical and has now apparently reverted to residential use. It sits almost on top of the railway, within feet of; horrendous road traffic and exhaust fumes. It's the least likely location for a home.
How long will it last?
I have to go back to my reading.
Sunday, 31 July 2011
A Lugubrious Week End
Filled with reading . My own stuff. I mostly hate that.
By the time I finish with a post, it' has usually been edited.edited,and edited some more. It seldom takes less than three hours. When I finally decide that' s it; it goes like that or it doesn't go at all. My mind concludes, no more reading.no more changes. It's only a blog. I'm just chatting with some of my neighbours. I'm not competing for the Gifford or the Nobel Peace Prize..
I threw that last one in to infuriate Evalina. I know she hates it when I display any sense of myself. She has to come up with the optimum deadly squelch which usually arrives seconds after I click on "Publish"
Adding tedium to the reading is trying to discern how words, published for anyone to read,frank and free without fear or favour, could be legally scrutinised and interpreted to mean evil intent beyond political ethics and morality.
I found something of current interest. The comments sent to the Aurora Citizen Blog by the town's Chief Administrative Officer in June 2010 in response to a critical comment which contained the word criminal.
The CAO demanded the comment be taken down, the identity of the pseudonym "New Man In Town" be revealed and by a deadline of 5.30 pm.
The deadline was a dead give away, The dictation was clearly by Phyllis. She was in the habit of issuing threats and deadlines in what she imagined was true style of a Monarch surrounded by loyal courtiers and servants.
At the time of that particular contretemps, she informed council "staff". meaning CAO and Solicitor,had not been able to do any of their own work for over a week while dealing with the Citizen Blog,Google and the anonymous author.
High-priced staff man hours used to fight political battles, no doubt cost many thousands of tax dollars in addition to legal fees paid to itinerant lawyers for the same purpose.
I swear, I have never seen politics done like that.
I sent a comment to the Citizen that the CAO was not directed by Council to engage in dialogue with a Blog about an anonymous comment. His statement therefore had no official status.I made a private reference to the CAO himself about it. Which, as far as I could determine, was water off a duck's back.
So here we are, in July 2011, after hundreds of thousands of dollars,public and private, spent on legal fees and court time.
A learned judge has ruled. People have a right to freedom of expression. They have a right to anonymity, if they so choose. Particularly, in the area of politics.
Was I right then? Or was I wrong?
Did we live through a twilight zone in Aurora for four years?
By the time it ends, what will the total tally be to fight, in the year 2011, for rights enjoyed by free societies everywhere and guaranteed in only one. By a Charter passed in 1982 and implemented in 1985.
Was there ever any doubt in anyone's mind,. except Phyllis, her loyal band , some town staff and the lawyers she found to do her bidding, at a price.
Criticism is an essential feature of a free society.
Even before there was a Charter, there was an old political maxim;
"If you can't stand the heat, stay the hell out of the kitchen"
By the time I finish with a post, it' has usually been edited.edited,and edited some more. It seldom takes less than three hours. When I finally decide that' s it; it goes like that or it doesn't go at all. My mind concludes, no more reading.no more changes. It's only a blog. I'm just chatting with some of my neighbours. I'm not competing for the Gifford or the Nobel Peace Prize..
I threw that last one in to infuriate Evalina. I know she hates it when I display any sense of myself. She has to come up with the optimum deadly squelch which usually arrives seconds after I click on "Publish"
Adding tedium to the reading is trying to discern how words, published for anyone to read,frank and free without fear or favour, could be legally scrutinised and interpreted to mean evil intent beyond political ethics and morality.
I found something of current interest. The comments sent to the Aurora Citizen Blog by the town's Chief Administrative Officer in June 2010 in response to a critical comment which contained the word criminal.
The CAO demanded the comment be taken down, the identity of the pseudonym "New Man In Town" be revealed and by a deadline of 5.30 pm.
The deadline was a dead give away, The dictation was clearly by Phyllis. She was in the habit of issuing threats and deadlines in what she imagined was true style of a Monarch surrounded by loyal courtiers and servants.
At the time of that particular contretemps, she informed council "staff". meaning CAO and Solicitor,had not been able to do any of their own work for over a week while dealing with the Citizen Blog,Google and the anonymous author.
High-priced staff man hours used to fight political battles, no doubt cost many thousands of tax dollars in addition to legal fees paid to itinerant lawyers for the same purpose.
I swear, I have never seen politics done like that.
I sent a comment to the Citizen that the CAO was not directed by Council to engage in dialogue with a Blog about an anonymous comment. His statement therefore had no official status.I made a private reference to the CAO himself about it. Which, as far as I could determine, was water off a duck's back.
So here we are, in July 2011, after hundreds of thousands of dollars,public and private, spent on legal fees and court time.
A learned judge has ruled. People have a right to freedom of expression. They have a right to anonymity, if they so choose. Particularly, in the area of politics.
Was I right then? Or was I wrong?
Did we live through a twilight zone in Aurora for four years?
By the time it ends, what will the total tally be to fight, in the year 2011, for rights enjoyed by free societies everywhere and guaranteed in only one. By a Charter passed in 1982 and implemented in 1985.
Was there ever any doubt in anyone's mind,. except Phyllis, her loyal band , some town staff and the lawyers she found to do her bidding, at a price.
Criticism is an essential feature of a free society.
Even before there was a Charter, there was an old political maxim;
"If you can't stand the heat, stay the hell out of the kitchen"
Friday, 29 July 2011
Google Glory and Shakespeare before that.
Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare
Well, honour is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life: but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself. (1.2.92)
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus; and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs, and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings. (1.2.135)
Well, honour is the subject of my story.
I cannot tell what you and other men
Think of this life: but, for my single self,
I had as lief not be as live to be
In awe of such a thing as I myself. (1.2.92)
Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus; and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs, and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings. (1.2.135)
No Inconsistency Here
Singing a New Tune has left a new comment on your post "The Story Continues.":
You're now waxing lyrical about the Petch House and its pioneer inhabitants, Cllr Buck. What happened to the "mouldering" shack littered with animal carcasses and faeces that you vociferously - and continuously - opposed preserving?
It's all rather confusing... and inconsistent
********************
Great-grand-daughter Cheyenne will have her ninth birthday party in my backyard with the pool tomorrow. They were here a couple of week-ends ago. The pace she went from wearing a life-jacket, sticking to the shallow end,to swimming in the deep end to jumping off the diving board, then trying to master a dive, to doing hand stands in the shallow end. was positively breath-taking.
I had to put new steps in last year. I couldn't manage the ladder any more. The first rung was too high off the floor. Abigail, Cheyenne's five year old sister, spent her time on the steps; stretching her legs out to pretend swim while staying safe. Every now and again, when she thought no-one was looking she put one foot down to see if she could risk letting the step handles go. The principle of floating in a life jacket was obviously not clear to her.
I believe these two will remember if not me, certainly the pool in my backyard. My childhood memories stretch at least six years further back than that
The Petch House was built in 1844. That was my great grandfather's generation. James MacCafferty. left Ireland as a young man and came to Scotland. He later married my great grandmother, Jane Fox, had also come from Ireland as a young woman. She was twenty four; already had a son and lost a husband. He was a coal miner. It's not known if he died from illness or accident. Both were equally likely. Tubercolosis was rampant.
James and Jane had ten children to-gether. My grandmother, Annie, was the youngest.
The interest I have in the Petch House is not about the house. It's not about the family. It's about all the people of that and later generations who faced unknown hardships when they came to Canada. After they survived the journey.
Black Creek and Upper Canada Village present an excellent picture of the lives of early settlers. The shoemaker's shop has a collection of lasts. The largest of them would not fit the foot of a modern ten year old.
In 1967, the Royal Ontario Museum displayed a collection of clothing and fashion from the previous hundred years. 1867 adult garments would barely fit to-day's pre-teen.
When they arrived, settlers received a package of tools with a parcel of land They were not necessarily the strong and robust figures we might imagine. From the U.K.they were often refugees from industrial slums and coal-mining villages. Many were from the Highland Clearances in Scotland.
.No doubt similar atrocities committed by man against man brought others from similar places in Europe. Ireland's history is no exception.
An immigrant myself,I came with a husband and two small sons with no idea of what life in Canada might have in store. In Aurora, I received an opportunity I could never in my lifetime have envisaged in the place I left.
Do I respect the people who came here to a wilderness in 1844. I most certainly do.
Pioneer graveyards in York County give an insight to life in early times. The graves of women,lost in childbirth with the infant following days later.It was not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife in his lifetime and not through infidelity. Graves of children, dying within days of each other,signify an epidemic of a disease that's no longer known to us.
In Kettleby, the grave of a young Irishman notes he was killed in Farmer so-and-so's thresher. A handsome stone marker notes his resting place.As a farm labourer. he would not have had the resources to pay for it. Someone considered his life to have been of value.
I am full of respect for the courage and endurance of the people who came before us. They created the foundations for the society we enjoy.They brought values from their past lives and left behind others not conducive to a Just Society and they fought here for the new principles to prevail. Right here in York County.
The Petch House sat on cinder block supports. at the side of the road, lost and forlorn for more than eight years. With no sign of interest or practical purpose. I did what I could to provoke a reaction.
No Friends of The Petch House emerged .
The idea for a use and a location came from town staff prompted by the availability of resources which would be forfeited if not used.and an artisan with proven skills, who could be depended upon to do the job and do it well, within a tight budget.
Five hundred additional square feet of space,will be in a place where a variety of uses can be made by people of all ages, at a fraction of the cost of modern space and honour local heritage at the same time.
Had we requested staff to put forward a use and a location eight years ago. the building would not have mouldered all that time. It would not be in an advanced state of decay. It would have cost less to re-locate in one piece than it does to take apart and repair and re-build.
It will be an example of skill and ingenuity.
I want to express my appreciation for David Heard's generous offer of the Petch Family Bible. Whether the building and its use will lend itself to the display of artifacts is yet to be seen.
There's a slighting comment about the book. It's an ungenerous spirit that finds fault with a generous offer.
I also wish to express appreciation for the anonymous donor of $8,000 to save the Petch House. In good part, it helped to persuade.
The Whitwell Developments commitment, maintained for eight years and their contribution of $50,000 to use however we choose,needs to be recognised and hopefully will be prominently noted elsewhere, when the time comes.
When the various layers of shingles came off the roof yesterday, the sheathing boards were two feet wide pine boards. Many were damaged by years of exposure.
But think of that. The trees were two feet wide and more. They were felled with an axe and block and tackle. By a man and his Mrs. who may or may not have had the slightest experience in doing so.
Do I enjoy telling a story worth telling?
Yes I do.
I am not in the least bit inconsistent.Or apologetic either.
You're now waxing lyrical about the Petch House and its pioneer inhabitants, Cllr Buck. What happened to the "mouldering" shack littered with animal carcasses and faeces that you vociferously - and continuously - opposed preserving?
It's all rather confusing... and inconsistent
********************
Great-grand-daughter Cheyenne will have her ninth birthday party in my backyard with the pool tomorrow. They were here a couple of week-ends ago. The pace she went from wearing a life-jacket, sticking to the shallow end,to swimming in the deep end to jumping off the diving board, then trying to master a dive, to doing hand stands in the shallow end. was positively breath-taking.
I had to put new steps in last year. I couldn't manage the ladder any more. The first rung was too high off the floor. Abigail, Cheyenne's five year old sister, spent her time on the steps; stretching her legs out to pretend swim while staying safe. Every now and again, when she thought no-one was looking she put one foot down to see if she could risk letting the step handles go. The principle of floating in a life jacket was obviously not clear to her.
I believe these two will remember if not me, certainly the pool in my backyard. My childhood memories stretch at least six years further back than that
The Petch House was built in 1844. That was my great grandfather's generation. James MacCafferty. left Ireland as a young man and came to Scotland. He later married my great grandmother, Jane Fox, had also come from Ireland as a young woman. She was twenty four; already had a son and lost a husband. He was a coal miner. It's not known if he died from illness or accident. Both were equally likely. Tubercolosis was rampant.
James and Jane had ten children to-gether. My grandmother, Annie, was the youngest.
The interest I have in the Petch House is not about the house. It's not about the family. It's about all the people of that and later generations who faced unknown hardships when they came to Canada. After they survived the journey.
Black Creek and Upper Canada Village present an excellent picture of the lives of early settlers. The shoemaker's shop has a collection of lasts. The largest of them would not fit the foot of a modern ten year old.
In 1967, the Royal Ontario Museum displayed a collection of clothing and fashion from the previous hundred years. 1867 adult garments would barely fit to-day's pre-teen.
When they arrived, settlers received a package of tools with a parcel of land They were not necessarily the strong and robust figures we might imagine. From the U.K.they were often refugees from industrial slums and coal-mining villages. Many were from the Highland Clearances in Scotland.
.No doubt similar atrocities committed by man against man brought others from similar places in Europe. Ireland's history is no exception.
An immigrant myself,I came with a husband and two small sons with no idea of what life in Canada might have in store. In Aurora, I received an opportunity I could never in my lifetime have envisaged in the place I left.
Do I respect the people who came here to a wilderness in 1844. I most certainly do.
Pioneer graveyards in York County give an insight to life in early times. The graves of women,lost in childbirth with the infant following days later.It was not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife in his lifetime and not through infidelity. Graves of children, dying within days of each other,signify an epidemic of a disease that's no longer known to us.
In Kettleby, the grave of a young Irishman notes he was killed in Farmer so-and-so's thresher. A handsome stone marker notes his resting place.As a farm labourer. he would not have had the resources to pay for it. Someone considered his life to have been of value.
I am full of respect for the courage and endurance of the people who came before us. They created the foundations for the society we enjoy.They brought values from their past lives and left behind others not conducive to a Just Society and they fought here for the new principles to prevail. Right here in York County.
The Petch House sat on cinder block supports. at the side of the road, lost and forlorn for more than eight years. With no sign of interest or practical purpose. I did what I could to provoke a reaction.
No Friends of The Petch House emerged .
The idea for a use and a location came from town staff prompted by the availability of resources which would be forfeited if not used.and an artisan with proven skills, who could be depended upon to do the job and do it well, within a tight budget.
Five hundred additional square feet of space,will be in a place where a variety of uses can be made by people of all ages, at a fraction of the cost of modern space and honour local heritage at the same time.
Had we requested staff to put forward a use and a location eight years ago. the building would not have mouldered all that time. It would not be in an advanced state of decay. It would have cost less to re-locate in one piece than it does to take apart and repair and re-build.
It will be an example of skill and ingenuity.
I want to express my appreciation for David Heard's generous offer of the Petch Family Bible. Whether the building and its use will lend itself to the display of artifacts is yet to be seen.
There's a slighting comment about the book. It's an ungenerous spirit that finds fault with a generous offer.
I also wish to express appreciation for the anonymous donor of $8,000 to save the Petch House. In good part, it helped to persuade.
The Whitwell Developments commitment, maintained for eight years and their contribution of $50,000 to use however we choose,needs to be recognised and hopefully will be prominently noted elsewhere, when the time comes.
When the various layers of shingles came off the roof yesterday, the sheathing boards were two feet wide pine boards. Many were damaged by years of exposure.
But think of that. The trees were two feet wide and more. They were felled with an axe and block and tackle. By a man and his Mrs. who may or may not have had the slightest experience in doing so.
Do I enjoy telling a story worth telling?
Yes I do.
I am not in the least bit inconsistent.Or apologetic either.
Thursday, 28 July 2011
The Story Continues.
I was just editing the last post when the phone rang. The permit was in hand. I clicked on publish and hied out to the site.
Peter was already on the roof with another Peter. His parents opened the first restaurant in the Aurora Shopping Centre fifty years ago. They knew me when I was Mayor. I was pleased to meet their son , a big burly man , on the roof of the Petch House at the side of Leslie Street, which wasn't even a part of Aurora when he was a boy.
So I stayed for a while and watched. I hadn't had breakfast. The sun came out and it was getting hot.
The part I really wanted to be there for would not be reached for a couple of hours.
The post was not fully edited. The permit was in hand.
I came home, picking up a Tim Horton breakfast sandwich on the way, to finish the last post and provide an update.
I want to be there ,when they uncover the roof boards. They haven't been exposed since the day they were nailed in place. The day, the farmer's family knew they would no longer be exposed to the elements of rough living because the cabin was almost finished.The roof was going on.
It must have been a great day.
I wanted to pay my respects to the people who made this place what it has been for the rest of us to enjoy.
There were no councils ,no bureaucracies, no government to speak of.
They built it all from scratch with nothing but hope , courage, goodwill of neighbours, the sweat of their brow, common sense and integrity.
Just like they built the rough-hewn cabin that still stands, with no help from the Chief Building Official of the Town of Aurora.
Peter was already on the roof with another Peter. His parents opened the first restaurant in the Aurora Shopping Centre fifty years ago. They knew me when I was Mayor. I was pleased to meet their son , a big burly man , on the roof of the Petch House at the side of Leslie Street, which wasn't even a part of Aurora when he was a boy.
So I stayed for a while and watched. I hadn't had breakfast. The sun came out and it was getting hot.
The part I really wanted to be there for would not be reached for a couple of hours.
The post was not fully edited. The permit was in hand.
I came home, picking up a Tim Horton breakfast sandwich on the way, to finish the last post and provide an update.
I want to be there ,when they uncover the roof boards. They haven't been exposed since the day they were nailed in place. The day, the farmer's family knew they would no longer be exposed to the elements of rough living because the cabin was almost finished.The roof was going on.
It must have been a great day.
I wanted to pay my respects to the people who made this place what it has been for the rest of us to enjoy.
There were no councils ,no bureaucracies, no government to speak of.
They built it all from scratch with nothing but hope , courage, goodwill of neighbours, the sweat of their brow, common sense and integrity.
Just like they built the rough-hewn cabin that still stands, with no help from the Chief Building Official of the Town of Aurora.
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