Cobourg Blog

The Cobourg Star today reported from Cobourg Council that councillors and the public would, this week, get a look at the “first draft” of a proposed community centre for the town. Delanty said that “the community centre was front and centre in council’s ‘visioning’ sessions”. Further, components for the community centre would include a gym, rink and pool. I assume this is to replace the apparently now defunct seniors’ centre - but I should not assume anything. Once again, the council tells us nothing. Is this the first they knew about it? No mention in any of the quartely newsletters; no press releases; no mention on channel 10; no letters by a councillor to the paper - nothing at all. Who decided it would include a gym, rink and a pool? Sounds like a multi-million dollar project to me.

Don’t get me wrong, I think we need a community centre to supplement the arena, the YMCA pool and the inadequate senior’s centre. (Currently public skating and public swimming means going to Port Hope). My problem here is with the total lack of communication and total lack of public involvement at the beginning of something so important. It would have been nice (I’m being sarcastic - in case it’s not obvious) if the public were asked to assist with visioning. And before I’m told that this is what this “first draft” does - NO, a ‘first draft’ means (in my version of English) the first idea of a complete plan for a community centre - not visioning.

Since the Council does not seem to know how to communicate, would someone like to pass the hat to pay for them to go on a communication course at Fleming?

For more on Cobourg’s council - see Grahame Woods’ great article in the Star - here.

The votes have been consistently 4 in favour and 3 against. Mayor Delanty, Bob Spooner, Dean McCaughey and Bill MacDonald in favour; with Miriam Mutton, Stan Frost and Gil Brocanier against. Agree with them or not, it’s interesting to analyze why they vote this way. Why would they vote as they do?
I suggest it breaks down as follows:

• Peter Delanty asked his Liberal friends for money, got it and now has to follow through or lose face.
• Bob Spooner is a big hockey fan and the more chances for people to play hockey the better
• Dean McCaughey - probably believes he is supporting the silent majority (the only acceptable reason)
• Bill MacDonald - maybe the same as Dean - who knows.
• Deputy Mayor Gil Brocanier - thinks it’s a waste of money - he manages the budget so is more attuned.
• Miriam Mutton - wants to delay to be sure the council really knows what the majority wants - a good thing in this case.
• Stan Frost - seems to share Gil and Miriam’s concerns.

The Rink is certainly not what was originally suggested. Originally a park was suggested with space for a natural rink with no concrete. Then the Fountain, Pond and Artificial rink were suggested when we got the grant (courtesy of Peter’s connections).

Let’s see what happens. The upside is that the Rink may turn out to be a big success - I’d be interested in a count of users through the next winter. We may even get bus tours with people marveling at the “Rink in a Park”! More likely it will be mostly deserted except for one or two families on one or two weekends in winter. With no fence, I can’t see hockey being played there.

Another upside is that the next council could spend a few bucks and add a border to the concrete and create our pond after all.  Council changing its mind implies the majority would (hopefully) vote for new councilors. However, I understand that at least two of the frink supporters are not expected to run again next time.  Something to look forward to!

Has anyone noticed a trend in the last few years about what jobs are available? In general, there are fewer manufacturing jobs and more service jobs. Every few years I read an article that talks about that in general terms and it’s happening right before our eyes. Workers who are in manufacturing are being replaced by automation and by off-shore workers who are paid less. Unions can slow down the process but not stop the trend. The best thing unions can do is to stay away from the factories - witness the Japanese factories in Ontario. The next thing they can do is offer concessions - witness the recent concessions at Ford. But eventually, there will be fewer manufacturing jobs.
To cope with the coming change, we need to direct our energies at service jobs. These include financial, call centres, construction, retail, travel, health, and more. Some very specialized manufacturing that benefits by being very close to the end market will survive but automotive manufacturing in Canada will basically get to be quite a small industry.
Since Ontario depends more on manufacturing than western provinces, Ontario is truly in danger of becoming a “have-not” province. So instead of subsidizing industries with little future, Governments should be developing new ones. Focus should be on retraining and support for new small businesses. Why throw good taxpayer money at a lost cause? Buzz Hargrove is already trying to convince politicians to support the CAW - um, sorry, support auto manufacturing. But I bet Buzz is pleased that he’s not too far from retiring from this losing game.
John Draper

First of all, you have to wonder about Brenda Martin’s common sense - why did she not leave when her boss was charged. Did she have faith in the Mexican Justice system? Maybe hindsight is why we know better but it seems she wanted to stay in Mexico for some reason we don’t understand.

And now, it seems clear why the verdict had to be guilty. No judge in Canada , US or Western Europe would find her guilty based purely on what the Mexicans admitted was purely circumstantial evidence - or do I have too much faith in our system? But if evidence is only that “she must have known” - it’s ludicrous that she would be found guilty. So why then? It can only be because the Mexican judge wanted to support his peers who had imprisoned her for 2 years. How else to justify this? If innocent, then they would have to explain why they imprisoned an innocent person for 2 years? This way Mexico “saves face”! The judge makes/keeps friends and he keeps his job. I’m not usually this cynical but I am when it comes to third world countries and their rampant corruption. Looks like Mexico just proved it really is a third world banana republic. Why would I want to holiday there? Big risk!!

Hopefully, she can now be transferred to Canada to serve her sentence and for once, Canada’s lenient prison laws are a benefit and she can be released immediately. But the Mexicans will want their money (fine) first - where else will the bribe money come from? Maybe the Canadian Government can “lend” it to her and get it back from the taxpayers. But wait, that’s a “gift”. I’m sure the Mexicans do equally devious things - so why shouldn’t we in this case?

John Draper

In about 1995 I started lugging around a laptop as part of my job for the obvious benefit of taking most of your office with you. When I got home or checked into a hotel, I would plug into the phone jack and download emails at about 20kbps. There were no social sites like Facebook and no home video sites like YouTube but we were a lot more connected than only a few years earlier. Even in 2000, this was the situation. Today, I went to the Human Bean and used their free wireless network to do the same thing except at much higher speeds. There are 3 places I know of where you can do this in Cobourg. But I am behind the “mobility times” - many people have Blackberries and do the same thing anywhere - not just in a cafe or hotel.

This is an incredibly fast change - I can’t think of all the social implications but they will come. This is as certain as the fact that Tibet is now in the Internet world and Chinese actions cannot be hidden from the world like they could when the Dalai Lama was forced to leave. Technology sometimes changes the way we live as well as the way we work. Examples: Telegraph, phone, TV, Internet, High speed Internet, Social networks…. What will be next? Biological technology has also made big social changes - antibiotics, effective birth control and more.

Hiding from technology does not help. Saying “I don’t need or want to participate” is not like insisting that radio is just as good as TV - it’s more like saying that being a hermit is better than living in a town. The world will change - you can either participate and benefit or live in a world that no longer exists.

But human nature is such that change is resisted - by some more than others. Some change should be resisted (e.g. pulling down historical buildings) but other changes both technological and social are inevitable. We should try to cope with them rather than try to stop them. This is a wide ranging comment - I don’t want to colour it (yet) by picking on a particular “change” but I’m sure others will!

John Draper

When the Fountain/Rink project was proposed, it was a plus for Summer and a plus for Winter. In summer, the green space would be enhanced with a moderate sized shallow pool with a small fountain in the middle. No one imagined a large fountain (e.g. like in Las Vegas) - so the pool was the main feature. In winter, the pool would become ice and there would be skating. At all times, an attractive feature in our “downtown” park. Budget issues were covered by the Provincial Government grant (except for maintenance). We can argue about the actual usage of the rink but it would not be ugly.

Now, because of budget restrictions, the winter part stays much the same but the summer part becomes ugly - a large slab of concrete will certainly be ugly unless it is 100% covered with planters - I think the plan is just some planters. And lots of planters adds significantly to the maintenence cost (do we know the number?). I’d rather spend the extra cash up front to save on maintenance and end up with the original project. The bastardized version now proposed is no longer the original project - it will be plain ugly and awful in summer. We’ll start to look forward to the Rotary tent covering it!

All we need is one more councillor to recognize this situation and speak up.

John Draper

This in the Star, “along with demanding his resignation, Mr. Ma said he will be calling on Mr. Gilchrist to take anti-oppression training.”
Mr. Ma is the ‘co-ordinator of something called ‘Community and Race Relations Committee’, a professional Racism Finder General.
“See we got racism, I say racism, right here, right here in River City”.
Peterborough a hotbed of racial strife? Always seemed a rather multiplayer poker onlineholdem pokerbest online poker sitecredit card debt calculator,credit card debt payment calculator,calculator card credit debt repaymentapplication bad card credit creditcard credit debt statistics teen,card credit debt teencard consolidation credit debt graphcalculator card consolidation credit debtapproval canada card credit instantcredit card account business,citi business credit card,business credit cardno credit card0 advance card cash credit,0 credit card,0 balance card credit life? ?card citibank credit visa,card citibank credit payment,citibank credit cardcard consolidate consolidate credit debtcredit card counseling debt consolidation,card consolidation counseling credit debt texas,card card consolidation counseling credit credit debtbusiness credit card application,application bank business card credit nacard consolidation credit non profitcard consolidation credit debt loansecured credit card canadaamerica bank card credit visacredit card services merchant accountcard credit payment searscheap credit card deal,card credit deal,air mile credit card dealcard credit hsbc philippineshell gas credit card0 balance transfer credit cardconsolidate credit card billbank card credit orchardprovidian credit card,providian national bank credit card,card card credit master providianinstant approval uk credit cardcredit card consolidation calculator,calculator card consolidation credit,calculator card consolidation credit deb ?discover credit card online,card credit discover online paycredit card application online0 card credit interest offer,0 card credit interest rate,0 interest credit cardmbna credit card logincard consolidation credit debt helpcapital card credit one service,capital one credit card servicesaccount card credit merchantcheap credit card ukmy premier credit card accountcredit card debt consolidate itbusiness credit card consolidationbest credit card interest rate,best card credit interest ratediscover credit card phone numbercard credit number valid,valid credit card numbersfirst premier credit card applicationuk credit card applyamerica application bank card creditbank card credit providiange card services online credit dull town to me.

The Great Gilchrist has been much in the news lately over his comments in the local press about immigrants. There are calls for his resignation before the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board. If El Gordo does exit ungracefully and under a cloud it won’t be the first time. Check this link from the Parliament of Canada. On the left side there’s a heading called ‘Deaths and Resignation’. Click on it and up comes alist of the dead and disgraced. Gordon Gilchrist falls into the latter catagory because of his conviction on income tax evasion. Ergo, Gordo’s a convicted criminal. So….how is it he ever managed to get himself on the schoolboard in the first place? Secondly, what kind of ego does a convicted criminal have to have to (a) demand that those under his command -like teachers- undergo criminal record checks, but not him and (b) make blanket public accusations connecting immigrants and criminal activity.Here’s your hat, Gorf. What’s your rush?

The revised Frink design was released today and is on the agenda for approval at Monday’s Council meeting. The new design is staggeringly atrocious. The pond is gone. The concrete basin will be simply that — a bare concrete basin — during all the warm months of the year. This is approximately what will be in the centre of the concrete oval:

Can you believe it — a self-contained crappy little fountain surrounded by bare concrete. The concept of a year-round water feature has been completely discarded. What we end up with is a skating rink for a number of months per year and for the rest of the year a huge patch of concrete sitting there in the middle of our beautiful new waterfront park. Does anyone else think this is insane?

According to media March 4 is the day that the House of Commons will vote on a possible Liberal motion to ammend the Federal Budget.  In recent days Dion has gone from voting against the budget to perhaps abstaining and even voting for it if it doesn’t hurt Canadians or the economy.  Dion is sniffing around Quebec this week during the House of Commons break to see if there is any support.  Depending on what he finds we could be off and running to an election.  Last year the Liberals raised 3 million dollars to the Conservatives 12 million.  While the Libs are likely to get financing for the National Campaign, what about the 308 Riding Associations .  Word is they are tapped out and without organizations.  So the question remains on March 4th will Dion march forth and send us to an election?  I think he will.  If he waits and loses 2 of 4 bi-elections as is now being projected for March 17, he will lose more credability.  He might as well lay it all on the line on the 4th.