It's always an honour to emcee the CIBC Run for the Cure in Dwight, a task I've been privileged to hold since the run started here some 8 years back.
Every year, I'm stunned by the response from the community. Every year, I think, it just can't get better! And every year Lynn, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, CIBC, the community and the sponsors all go that little bit more. Wow. This year, the run raised $62,800.00 here in Dwight.
The Lake of Bays is crammed with generous people. Marie Poirier, with a committee of three other people, raised $250,000 to provide the Volunteer Fire Department with a Fire Boat. Has it been used? Absolutely. There are many places on this lake that can be accessed faster by water than by road, and there are often times when small boats are in distress.
Marie is currently fundraising with Rick Davison on a committee chaired by Deb Harrold to raise $250,000 towards the new Huntsville/Lake of Bays Residential Hospice. $800,000 is needed for this facility, and this contribution will go towards a Lake of Bays 'Wing.'
In Dorset last week for a meeting of the Community Group, I was almost overwhelmed with the enthusiasm in that community. There are so many projects on the table, working forward, some of them already well into the grant application process. Ruth Ross was delighted to make the presentation at this meeting of the Muskoka Heritage Foundation award for Built and Cultural Heritage, given this year to the entire Village of Dorset. That nomination came forward through the Lake of Bays Heritage Advisory Committee -- which I chair -- but it was driven by Ruth Ross, who's boundless enthusiasm for her hometown is infectious.
There are so many people in this township who volunteer for so many fundraising causes -- Saturday at the Dwight Community Centre there's one raising money for Team Kenya, a group of young people heading over to that country to do humanitarian work. Sunday, there's a turkey dinner at Dorset, hosted by the Lion's Club -- and the work they do is amazing. The list goes on and on...
We know the folks who come out to all of these, who serve, sell tickets, bake goodies, provide prizes and sponsorship. You're the ones who make this a wonderful place to live, a vibrant community. So here's a cheer to the volunteers, and those that come out to support their efforts.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Polar Bears and Circus Clowns
Nothing brings out the laughable like an election. Back in May, The Best Party in Iceland, headed by comedian Jon Gnarr found itself in power in Reykjavik. Just six months old, and as surprised by anyone by the victory, this part ran on a platform of 'sustainable transparency', free towels at the swimming pools and a polar bear for the zoo.
Now we learn that an illiterate professional clown named Tiririca has won the seat to become Sao Paulo's state representative in the federal Chamber of Deputies. His campaign slogan (written by someone else, evidently)? "It Can't Get Any Worse." His platform? Tax breaks for circuses and help for the needy (including his own family).
But perhaps it can, since that same magazine reports that Donald Trump is considering running for president in 2012. His slogan? "It has never been worse."
It's entertaining, particularly since those elections happened somewhere else. But it also perhaps a salutory lesson in what happens when people vote for change simply for the sake of change. Change is a good thing, when that change is knowledgeable, when it is change for the better.
There will be plenty of change at the Lake of Bays Council table next term, with both the current mayor and District Councillor Ben Boivin retiring. We are assured of that.
Your vote matters. Please do some homework before filling in the boxes and mailing back the ballot!
Now we learn that an illiterate professional clown named Tiririca has won the seat to become Sao Paulo's state representative in the federal Chamber of Deputies. His campaign slogan (written by someone else, evidently)? "It Can't Get Any Worse." His platform? Tax breaks for circuses and help for the needy (including his own family).
But perhaps it can, since that same magazine reports that Donald Trump is considering running for president in 2012. His slogan? "It has never been worse."
It's entertaining, particularly since those elections happened somewhere else. But it also perhaps a salutory lesson in what happens when people vote for change simply for the sake of change. Change is a good thing, when that change is knowledgeable, when it is change for the better.
There will be plenty of change at the Lake of Bays Council table next term, with both the current mayor and District Councillor Ben Boivin retiring. We are assured of that.
Your vote matters. Please do some homework before filling in the boxes and mailing back the ballot!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Transparency does matter, so does memory
Shane Baker has emailed me, and gone on record in the Huntsville Forester. He suggests that the post showing the cheque written to his legal firm for costs awarded to himself constitutes a smear campaign against him.
I'm sorry that he feels that way. In an election where Accountability and Transparency have been all the buzz, I do not see how posting a public document can be castigated. The facts are there. Shane now says that he 'forgot' he received the money, and we have no reason to doubt his memory. Township accounts are open to any scrutiny. District Councillor Ben Boivin came with me when I collected the copy of the cheque. It was in part because of his insistence that, according to HIS memory, money had in fact been paid out by the Township that I made the request. Let's see the evidence.
Perhaps seeing the cheque was what jogged memory. In his email sent Monday, Shane objects " Click on the cheque you posted with the article. It was not made out to me. It was assigned to BakerLaw in Toronto, not Shane Baker RR#4 Huntsville. Just as the courts instructed." Indeed. I have never disputed this, it is pretty clear from reading the document that the cheque was written to Baker Law In Trust.
Equally clear is the line below the cheque stating that the payment was to cover court costs awarded to Shane Baker, not to Baker Law. It's a fine distinction, but I'm willing to post it here if it will make Shane happier.
At no time have I suggested that he was not entitled to money ordered to be paid by the court. Or that he was not entitled to pursue the matter through the courts. He may well have struck a blow for democracy, ensuring that the new mail-in ballots are clearer and easier to use. What troubled me was his insistence that he had not received a penny from the Township of Lake of Bays. He had, whether he considered that 'his' money, or simply payment towards his legal fees. How he spent the money was never the issue. The only question, and the one he was directly asked (not by me) in a public forum was whether he had received funds.
He did. He now admits that. And I think that perhaps a small blow has been struck in favour of transparency and accountability.
And now, we can put the matter behind us all.
I'm sorry that he feels that way. In an election where Accountability and Transparency have been all the buzz, I do not see how posting a public document can be castigated. The facts are there. Shane now says that he 'forgot' he received the money, and we have no reason to doubt his memory. Township accounts are open to any scrutiny. District Councillor Ben Boivin came with me when I collected the copy of the cheque. It was in part because of his insistence that, according to HIS memory, money had in fact been paid out by the Township that I made the request. Let's see the evidence.
Perhaps seeing the cheque was what jogged memory. In his email sent Monday, Shane objects " Click on the cheque you posted with the article. It was not made out to me. It was assigned to BakerLaw in Toronto, not Shane Baker RR#4 Huntsville. Just as the courts instructed." Indeed. I have never disputed this, it is pretty clear from reading the document that the cheque was written to Baker Law In Trust.
Equally clear is the line below the cheque stating that the payment was to cover court costs awarded to Shane Baker, not to Baker Law. It's a fine distinction, but I'm willing to post it here if it will make Shane happier.
At no time have I suggested that he was not entitled to money ordered to be paid by the court. Or that he was not entitled to pursue the matter through the courts. He may well have struck a blow for democracy, ensuring that the new mail-in ballots are clearer and easier to use. What troubled me was his insistence that he had not received a penny from the Township of Lake of Bays. He had, whether he considered that 'his' money, or simply payment towards his legal fees. How he spent the money was never the issue. The only question, and the one he was directly asked (not by me) in a public forum was whether he had received funds.
He did. He now admits that. And I think that perhaps a small blow has been struck in favour of transparency and accountability.
And now, we can put the matter behind us all.
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