Rumours, rumours, everywhere a rumour

Well, today, on good authority, I heard the following 'rumours'...

Rumour #1: Municipality is suing a certain former consultant (and his firm) turned interim CAO for "Breach of confidentiality", who in turn is counter suing us, for who knows what? "Defamation of character"?

Comment #1: This should keep our municipal lawyers pretty busy, on our dime, now shouldn't it? They sure know how to spend and tax, now don't they? But to earn a buck, create wealth, jobs and opportunity, they know nothing!


Rumour #2: Fire Departments have been instructed (ordered) 'NOT' to speak with the Ratepayers Association.

Comment #2: And the 'hammer' comes down.


Rumour #3: Mayor and council will 'NOT' run again in the next municipal election, as they feel they will have fixed all our problems by next year, and therefore their job will be done.

Comment #3: Nothing here about them 'possibly' thinking they wouldn't stand a chance in hell of getting back in again, hey?

This makes me think about the surgeon being asked "how did the operation go"? Fine, the operation was a success... but the patient died.


Rumour #4: Municipality is advertising with out of town newspapers encouraging people to attend a job fair next month in Pincher Creek that could very well entice mine workers in B.C. to work up north instead, being flown in and out of Pincher Creek airport.

Comment #4: Well this should make the guys over at TECK, who just donated $100,000 to our local golf course and untold amounts to numerous organizations throughout the Pass over the years, happy! Now shouldn't it?



NOTE: Now, like the Mayor is fond of saying, "we must remember to take all of this with a 'grain of salt'"... or something to that affect.




There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking.

Councillor Gallant, and the Goofy Gopher Goof-Up

According to this week's Crowsnest Promoter Councillor Gallant goofed-up big time on the 'gopher' issue. No thanks to him, it only took two months or more for the story (facts) to finally come to lite.

During the June 21, 2012 Town Hall Meeting, Councillor Brian Gallant spoke to the attendees, quelling numerous rumours that he had heard around town, one of those being the hiring of a gopher assassin by the municipality. As it turns out, there were two members of Animal Damage Control in the Crowsnest Pass during the previous week, using air rifles to control gophers. Councillor Gallant was reached for comment, confirmed that it was his mistake and apologized for any controversy it may have caused amongst those who saw the crew around town.

“It was an error on my part,” said Gallant in an email. “I was told that we were not hiring ‘gopher shooters’ just before the meeting and I thought it was funny so I joked about it. It was my mistake for not doing more research before talking about it.”

Read the whole story here:

Gopher control underway in the Crowsnest Pass


Comment: My, my! This council seems to be in the dark on so many issues? Including that we recently hired some 'outsiders' to help eradicate gophers in the Pass. When we could have easily invited our young friends and neighbours in one of the local Hutterite colonies to do it for free. Apparently on Saturday nights, with a jug in hand, this is one of their favourite past-times. :-)

Obviously, these councillors got to learn to economize and shop around for the best deals, including what makes for the best gopher hunters. Shit, I'm sure even some of our own local boys could have done this job for next to nothing... if only they had been asked??

In case council screws up again, maybe they should do some research on this subject beforehand. They can start here by watching this short video to find out how NOT to do it... gopher hunting that is...

A Laurel & Hardy Cartoon (Goofy Gopher Goof-Up)




The one serious conviction that a man should have is that nothing is to be taken too seriously.

Government cancels funding for Fort Macleod police training college

Terrible news for Fort Macleod. The government has just announced the cancellation of funding for the much touted and anticipated police training college.

Read the story here at the Pincher Creek Voice


Comment: This is terrible news! Sympathies go out to the people and Town of Fort Macleod.

I guess with the election over with and a majority government they feel safe to go back on their word.


UPDATE: Livingstone-Macleod MLA Pat Stier speaks out against decision to quash Fort Macleod Police College...

Pincher Creek Voice


UPDATE: (August 30)
Town in shock - Mayor Patience echoed that bitter disappointment, mourning a project that had been hailed as a saviour for the town's economic slump - a project he'd poured his hopes into for years.

"Right now, I just have a community that's extremely devastated and the rationale behind it is so hollow that it doesn't even allow for anything to lean on," he said. "You know what, we're tough out here and this process has made us stronger and it's united this community. I want to ensure that the community stays united. As for the provincial government, if that's their rural development strategy, then I suggest they take a hard look at it."

Lethbridge Herald - Town in Shock




A conservative government is an organized hypocrisy.

Crowsnest Promoter refuses to print letter to the editor

... because they already have (1) one.


10 days ago today, on August 19, I contacted the Crowsnest Promoter about a letter to the editor I had for them. Thinking they and their readers would be pleased, considering I haven't sent them one in over two years, I was rudely mistaken.

Several days later, on Friday, August 24, I received an email from them informing me they would not publish my letter to the editor due to the fact they had one (1) letter to the editor already. Yes, my reaction was what? Knowing I have seen at times several letters to the editor in one publication, I was floored by this new turn of events.

... Please understand we had a letter submitted to us before yours. It was our intent to print both this week, but as things go, that just can't be done...

So, despite having contacted them 10 days before publication of their August 29 edition, I was not able to get my letter to the editor published... as they already had 'one'?

Folks, the lesson to be learnt here is book your letter to the editor 'way ahead', I mean 'way ahead', if you want to see your letter printed in the Crowsnest Promoter.

Sad to think a local newspaper's sole and primary concern is the selling of advertising than sharing the views of what locals think on given issues important to their community, now isn't it?

In a 16 page newspaper filled with advertising (including inserts) I'm surprised they actually found room on 1/5 of one page, for their one (1) measly letter to the editor?

Crowsnest Promoter - a newspaper that informs the public... I think not! At least not the week of August 29.




When the media refuses to inform and the public no longer questions, that truly is the beginning of the end of democracy.

Woe is me! Cried Mayor and Council

I see in the last couple newspaper editions, including this week's Pass Herald, that our Mayor and Council are having little to no luck getting people to join their Economic Development Committee and as a result they have had to extend their application deadline...

Three applications have been accepted for the Economic Development Board. The board requires seven to nine members.

With me being one of the three who threw his hat into the ring of fire, so to speak, that means only two other brave hardy souls here in the Pass threw theirs in as well. Two others from a population of approximately 5,400 residents? Something definitely wrong with this picture?

Could it be that word got out that the former Adhoc Committee, which for all intents and purposes was and is a duplication of what the intent behind this latest reincarnation is, was a colossal waste of everybody's time? In other words, here we go again... more déjà vu. No thanks!

Or was it the recent sour taste of what transpired with the cancellation of Thunder in the Valley followed by the brave and admirable attempt by some members of council and their spouses to make good of a bad situation with going ahead with Rum Runner Days, as if the same crowds would appear, costing us an arm and a leg in the process. The lack of volunteers there spoke volumes... as did the collective pie in the face.

Or could it be that almost two thirds through their mandate mayor and council still hasn't gotten serious about economic development in a majorly depressed area with record levels of unemployment, stagnation, population decline, business and industry closures and economic decline bordering on depression, as well as social collapse.

I mean if mayor and council doesn't take any of this seriously making it their number one priority from the get-go, then why should anybody else, right? Maybe this here is the message people have received and therefore they can't be bothered flogging a dead horse... never mind actively working to resuscitate one.

For years now, I have stated on numerous occasions when as a former councillor, in letters to the editor, in election speeches, in public forums, etc., etc. and here on this blog, that what this community needs is a catalyst.

Many communities appear to have the characteristics that support community development and yet there is no community development initiative or plan in place. The reason for this is that the conditions that support community development are not, in and of themselves, enough to initiate community development. A spark or catalyst is needed. A catalyst for community development is an individual or group who believes change is possible and is willing to take the first steps that are needed to create interest and support.

Community development catalysts create a vision of what is possible. They ask questions and promote discussion among community members. By creating interest, energy and motivation for action, the catalyst makes community development come alive.

Time, after time, I offered myself up for this role. Whether it was in applying for a position as a Tourism Coordinator/EDO, or when I applied to sit on the Adhoc Committee, or in my failed attempts to be Mayor. All my actions to help were brushed aside, by people who thought they knew better, or whose pride coupled with their arrogance couldn't stand the thought of someone from the other side of the tracks knowing better or having more passion than they did, having in the past only had their moneyed-class in positions of authority.

So what have we landed up with over the years? More "tyranny of the status quo", as we slowly sink away like the Titanic into oblivion. Who will remember our heritage, that we seem so unduly fixated on, when there is no one left to remember?

Alright, the last part was a a slight exaggeration. But I think you get my point. Do we continue down the road we have been on for so long, or do we finally change direction by admitting people to the club who can effect the change we need?

This, I believe, is the question mayor and council needs to address if they ever hope, during the remainder of their term, to get the right people on board to effect the change this community desperately needs.




Knowing how to think empowers you far beyond those who know only what to think.

Chinook Pipelines suing the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass

As already mentioned in a heads-up previous comment of mine in an earlier post our municipality is in fact being sued. The front page story in this week's Pass Herald (not available on-line) lays out the 5 w's, as you can read here...


Chinook Pipelines suing the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass

By Lindsay Goss

Chinook Pipelines Inc. has confirmed that a statement of claim file has been sent to the municipality of the Crowsnest Pass.

"I can confirm that a statement of claim file has been sent," confirmed Archie Craig, Vice-President of Chinook Pipelines in the morning of Friday, Aug 24.

Chinook Pipelines is a construction group based in Western Canada and provides service to Alta, Sask, and B.C. The company specializes in pipeline installation, utility projects and oil and gas related activities including excavation, directional drilling, pipe bursting and pipe plowing.

The statement of claim file was sent to the MD of the Crowsnest Pass last month.

"We are still waiting on the statement of defense from the municipality," said Craig. "We are anticipating it by the end of this month."

After the statement of defense from the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass has been processed, the next step would be to go to trial.

According to a PDF file found online via Alberta Employment, in 2009, the Crowsnest Pass Municipal Council has contracted Chinook Pipeline Inc. at $2.7 million for an infrastructure program.

The $800,000 trail reconstruction project that was expected to span over three years had been announced for the Pass. The project included trail grades, rerouting trail alignments, installing drainage features and repairing or replacing trail bridges.

Upgrades for the Bellevue-Hillcrest wastewater treatment plant was expected to be completed by December of 2010. That project was estimated to cost $3.8 million dollars at the time it was announced.

Craig informed the Pass Herald that he was not at liberty to give any specific details regarding the trail at this time but would elaborate more on the topic at a later date.

Chief Administrative Officer for Crowsnest Pass Myron Thompson was also contacted but he would not make a statement to the paper until talking to his legal advisor.


Comment: Apparently, next week's edition of the Pass Herald will be featuring another story of yet another company suing our municipality... and the 'hits' keep on comin'.




Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.

Marilyn Milley: My Thoughts on Council Over-Spending

The Crowsnest Pass Ratepayers Association now has a Facebook presence. I just joined the group and later found the following letter (statement) that I believe sums up quite well what they are all about, and where they plan on going.


by Marilyn Milley
Crowsnest Pass RatePayers Association

Given the performance of council over the past 18 months it is time to address the issue of overspending. One can understand that some costs have to go up but they should be kept in line with the rate of inflation not impose 6% cost in our electrical distribution, a significant increase in fees, permits, fines, offset levies, taxes and service costs to the point that these increases become a cash cow to enable council to balance their overspent budget figures. Never once have any of them considered just what these increases are doing to our residents especially those on a fixed income. Many of them live in fear that they will lose their homes. Consider the 1.123 million dollars spent on hiring high paying consultants and outsourcing service contractors. Most people will admit that costs do increase but if they are held at the inflationary rate and not squandered upon wants instead of needs within our community then perhaps we can live with responsible increases. Given that this community has at least 180 homes for sale, and that we have a dwindling population and dwindling tax base, how are we expected to absorb the further tax burden left when these people move away?

The council must consider their direction they are attempting to take us. We are not Calgary residents expecting the same amenities they enjoy and we can only enjoy what we can afford. Council will have to go back to the table and begin revisions to their 3 year budget which is one of the worst concepts that they have put into place. They haven’t been able to stay within the 2.5% increase this year let alone spend an additional million dollars each consecutive year and expect us to absorb it all. A well known American senator gave a very enlightening speech in congress when the mortgage companies Fanny Mae and Freddy mac were bankrupt and the banks were collapsing said, “That this kind of spending only results in their businesses “hitting the wall” with nowhere else to go.

The mind set for council to do some damage control is to base their policies and revisions on a community need basis and not a community want basis. This must be accomplished within a short frame of time and hopefully we will be able to turn our economy around but we cannot and must not be forced to continue on the downward spiral.

If council will consent to a referendum of agreement to cut spending, the conditions being that if they are going to be overbudget they cannot raise taxes, fees, permits, service costs, utilities etc. in order to balance the budget but they MUST CUT SERVICES to bring costs back in line. This is now being practiced by our provincial government as well as the Federal Conservative Party. You cannot bring in $1000 and turn around and spend $1500.

A big issue under the overspending umbrella is the Peace Officer program which has been implemented by council and administration which when first presented by Mayor Decoux that according to the solicitor general’s office a peace officer could be appointed at no cost to the taxpayer. Well that is the biggest falsehood issued to date. We have already spent $140,000 dollars to outfit two enforcement vehicles containing all the bells and whistles that make them operational for service for example in Harlem New York. If we don’t have to pay their salaries then the fines they issue to us (the money being taken out of our left pocket) will pay for them and those of us who don’t get fined will still have to pay them out of our right pocket through our taxes. It definitely is not a win, win, situation for the residents. Consider that they don’t recoup their salaries we will spend at least $250,000 the first year alone that they are operating within our community. Add two peace officers to the RCMP 9 member detachment means that we have law enforcement for approximately 500 people per officer. I don’t know about anyone else but I consider this as overkill. All we require in this community is a qualified, responsible, intelligent, common sense by law officer who will do just that. Enforce our bylaws. Oh an afterthought…now and then the Sheriffs come to town to do their road stop checks. The RCMP have been enforcing the laws both federal and provincial for many years and as we have no drive by shootings, no gang wars, murders, and riots to contend with they have done an ample job of keeping the peace.

Council should take a look at their track record and face the reality that they are not working in our best interests and seem to have established themselves as an elite group who do not have to report to anyone. They work for us, which seems to have been forgotten and they must work within the parameters set by the population.

We have no input whatsoever into decision making especially if it concerns a large expenditure, (usually a ¼ or ½ a million dollars) and we don’t know the money has been spent until it is already a done deal and the equipment or policy is already delivered.

We must establish a two way line of communication between the council and the taxpayer or we will find ourselves at the Chapter eleven door if we continue on this rollercoaster spending spree.

• We are asking for responsible fiscal government,
• Government Transparency (keep us in the loop before decisions are made)
• Accountability
• A workable two way communication with the taxpayer and council
• Revisions to our budget that will bring taxes back in line with reality.

Marilyn Milley

Endorsed by the Crowsnest Pass Ratepayers Association




Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

A story that needs to be told

As a former resident (some 18 years back) of B.C., I still have plenty of friends and acquaintances over there that I keep in touch with, and vice versa. In this regard, one of my friends recently brought a horrifying situation to my attention that brought back bad memories of my own personal experiences as a young kid from years back growing up in Quebec) that he and his loving family are now going through; living the nightmare that in B.C. is called the Ministry of Children and Family Development... better known by many caught up in their vicious web as the Ministry of Children and Family 'Destruction'.

The following link that this friend sent me is one parents perspective on this issue that I believe is worth a read. Because the more people who are made aware of this appalling situation the sooner action can be taken to rectify this breathing, living, family nightmare that has the tentacles of a monster, and the insatiable appetite of a beast.

Welcome to Abusive-Ministry.ca

This is yet, but another example of a bureaucratic institution (system) gone mad, hiding at times behind a mostly fake or misguided concern for children, while raping the system for all it is worth.

Talk about white-collar criminals! Some would say the Ministry of Children and Family Development (Destruction) is filled with them. More concerned with keeping their gravy train going than doing what is right for both the children and their family's. Listening to some of their victims, the welfare and well-being of the children and families is not necessarily their top priority, but a handsome paycheque at the end of the day certainly is, for all who know how to milk the system for all it is worth. At the expense of broken homes and broken hearts, and crushed lifes, of course.

It's funny, politicians today (especially Conservatives/Republicans) say they want less government in people's life's. Well, if they really believe that, then maybe they should take a close hard look at this department, and put their words into action.




There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty.

Don't 'mess' with the Pass Herald

... because they're the kind of animal that bites back!


Those who read last week's expose in the Pass Herald on the mould issue at our local hospital (not available on line), including Lindsay's Outlook, may be surprised to hear that this story has now gone provincial, with the release of the following Calgary Herald article:


The Calgary Herald
By Don Braid


Braid: AHS apologizes to young reporter for bully tactics

Mould was discovered months ago in two rooms of the Crowsnest Pass Health Centre in Blairmore, but Alberta Health Services failed to disclose this publicly, electing instead to quietly fix the problem.

"That's where I stepped in," says publisher Lisa Sygutek.

"I called the AHS person and said 'who the hell do you think you are, trying to get a copy of my story before it goes in the paper?

Why do you want to edit our story? Don't you understand freedom of the press?' "

The paper's owner and editor since 1953, Bud Slapak, adds angrily: "The civil servants treat the hospitals like something sacred they own. Some of them are so arrogant. They seem to think we're subjects of theirs."

read the whole story here.



Comment: The following is what I wrote in the comment section of the Calgary Herald...

"Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing columns for newspapers."

Knowing Buddy and the crew at the Pass Herald, I believe the above quote is the motto they live by. Good on them! Only an independent newspaper would have the balls to stand up to those in their ivory towers.

JP


UPDATE: Further to the above story. This time with our own Dr. Allan Garbutt weighing in...

Officials defend keeping quiet on hospital mould issue




When the media refuses to inform and the public no longer questions, that truly is the beginning of the end of democracy.

In CNP, Mayor 'sics' Peace Officers on kids

Having heard that during Rum Runner Days the Mayor's house was egged on two consecutive nights, and now in an article in this week's local newspaper (not available on-line) I see he had it done to him again this month as well. He now has had enough and wants his newly hired Peace Officers to nail the little bastards. :-)


Lindsay Goss
Pass Herald Reporter

Mayor Decoux feels the curfew bylaw abused

After a series of house egging's and vandalism to pubic buildings believed to be caused by youth of the Crowsnest Pass, people are wondering if the curfew bylaw passed by Council approximately two years ago is being followed.

In 2010, Council passed a curfew bylaw which applies to all youth 17 years of age and under, which states that between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., youth must be with a parent or legal guardian, or must have a valid reason for being out of their residence.

If found violating the bylaw, the youth can be fined $25 the first time and $200 the second time they are found guilty of the offense. The parent or guardian can be fined $100 for a first time offense and $200 for a second time offense.

Council passed the motion with a vote 4-2. "It's been an ongoing occurrence," said Mayor Decoux. "The bylaw has not been implemented and we lack the power to implement the bylaw," said Decoux, adding that in the past, bylaw officers only worked during the day. "We need to have zero tolerance." Decoux believes now that the municipality has hired one of two Peace Officers, the bylaw will be better enforced, and therefore, less infringement to the public.

The bylaw was originally requested by concerned citizens following numerous acts of vandalism done to private properties around the Pass.


Comment: Have a feeling this has more to do with his cancelling Thunder in the Valley, his own leadership style and the direction he is taking this community, than anything else. Also, there is no proof that these separate acts of vandalism are those of kids either?

Already have one Bylaw Officer down having been assaulted, is the Mayor next? Thank god he's got his own personal police force (storm troopers?) and is giving them direction on what should now be their top enforcement priority in the Pass... the Curfew Bylaw!!




Old age and treachery beats youthful exuberance every time.

A conservative government is an organized hypocrisy

... especially, when they have a majority government.


Our former Livingstone/Macleod riding MLA Evan Berger is in the news today... and not in a good way.


Evan Berger was deafted in the last provincial election, but was hired by the Tory government only months later.
Photograph by: Calgary Herald , Archive

BY DON BRAID, CALGARY HERALD

Braid: Evan Berger's case needs scrutiny

Even in the soft-landing tradition of PC politics, the case of Evan Berger is a shocker that moves the long era of Tory entitlement into a creepy new zone.

Here's a guy who was an MLA for four years and agriculture minister for five months. In the April election, he got fired by the voters of Livingstone-Macleod, and seemed to be done with government.

But no, the deputy minister who worked for Berger suddenly hired Berger to work for him, in a job with benefits, pension entitlement, and annual pay of at least $120,000.

I can't recall another case of a defeated minister being directly hired by his own department while his office chair was still spinning.

Since the early 1990s, the Conflicts of Interest Act has forbidden ex-ministers from taking any work with a former department for at least a year.

The language is clear - or so we thought.

Berger's gig was cleared by Alberta's ethics commissioner, Neil Wilkinson, on the kind of unexpected technical quirk Olympic athletes pray will move them up the podium.

Section 31 of the Act says it's OK to hire an ex-minister if "the activity, contract or benefit will not create a conflict between a private interest of the former minister and the public interest ..."

What this wiggly language means, given Wilkinson's ruling, is that Alberta really has no cooling-off period at all. Ron Liepert could be hired back by health or treasury. Premier Alison Redford could engage Ed Stelmach to arrange the draperies.

If the PCs get away clean on this one, they might well shoehorn other ex-ministers into lucrative work.

The larger question, perhaps, is whether the Ethics Commission itself is worth anything at all.

Since Wilkinson took office in 2008, there has not been a single formal ethics investigation that led to a report.

In March, Premier Redford tried to get him to look into Gary Mar's fundraiser.

He refused, properly, on grounds that it was beyond his mandate. Mar was cleared by a government investigation instead.

Before Wilkinson became ethics commissioner, his two predecessors - Bob Clark and Don Hamilton - conducted 21 investigations between 1993 and 2007.

Not a single MLA or minister was ever sanctioned for breaching the act. Most of the reports end with some variation of: "As I have not found any breach of the Conflicts of Interest Act, I recommend no sanctions."

In one case, Sustainable Resource Development Minister Mike Cardinal was found in breach of the act when he reopened walleye fishing on a lake where he owned property.

But then-commissioner Clark ruled that Cardinal did it to benefit his constituents, not himself.

My favourite case involved former BanffCochrane MLA Janis Tarchuk, who sat on the Local Authorities Pension Board while she was also an MLA.

The ethics commission goofed - and admitted it - by not telling her this was improper. Clark found that while Tarchuk technically breached the act, it was inadvertent.

That seemed fair. But then Clark concluded that she didn't have to return $4,500 she'd been paid by the pension board.

This ethics commission, swimming in a murky netherworld defined by a flawed act, no longer has much connection with Albertans' common-sense notions of ethics.

We could do without it.


Comment: I've known Evan for some years now and for a conservative I think he did a pretty good job of representing our riding of Livingstone/Macleod, and particularly the Pass. When he was our MLA he was highly visible here, attending parades, dedications, events, socials, etc., etc. (unlike our current MLA who seems to be missing in action, or taking us for granted?). While also actively working with our mayor and council on specific areas of concern to our municipality. In other words, he was a tiredless hard-working MLA who served us well.

However, his appointment to the former Ministry he headed up for a brief 5 months, until losing his seat in the last election, smacks of cronyism and patronage, plain and simple.

The arrogance displayed by our ongoing nightmare of a conservative government here in Alberta for the past four decades or more, because they once again have been given a majority government by the shepple here with short memories, is nothing new. Just more of the same old, same old. The only difference is its closer to home this time, and as a result, the stench is more noticeable.


p.s. I wonder if he will even have to show up for work at the office, or can he just stay at home on our dime, waiting for the next election?

p.p.s. In regards to the above, people may remember the recent revelation that certain members of government, who sat on a particular board that never met/never attending a single meeting in over 4 years, still received a handsome stipend each month regardless.




The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.

Mr. Mayor, don't sell us short

For several months now our mayor and council are supposedly in negotiations with a major hotel chain to develop the property at the Crowsnest Learning Centre (CLC). These negotiations seem to be dragging on with no end in site?

At the same time it is fast approaching 9 months (the time it takes a woman to have a baby) and reconstruction of the Best Canadian Motor Inn (BCMI) in Blairmore, since the fire that destroyed a good chunk of it last December, has not even begun? BCMI, by the way, is a small chain having 7 hotel properties.

I have a sneaky suspicion that a large part of the CLC site is going to be sold off to this small hotel chain. If that is so, then we will have sold ourselves short. They are far from being a 'major' hotel chain with the pull such chains have. They will never be a tourist draw, or a major employer. In fact, in all likelihood they probably won't be any better than what they were in Blairmore at their existing location. It will be a net benefit to them having a far better location, but will benefit our municipality no more than what we already have with them in their existing location. In other words, we will have derived a ZERO benefit.

Hopefully, mayor and council are not so desperate because of their dismal performance to-date on the economic front, that in order to court public favour that they are actually doing something, they go this route. Sell us short, and thereby hurt this community for years to come due to their inability to have a vision and plan for this site that is both bold and daring, giving us the best bang for our buck, so to speak.

My proposal, from year's back, to develop this property as a Hotel/Casino Convention Centre is such a bold and daring plan. It only requires hard work, tenacity, and the will and desire to make it happen. Mayor and council need to roll up their sleeves, lobby government officials and departments, and respective politicians (including our own MLA to work on our behalf), and make the case that because of location, location, location, a depressed economy, a severe and on-going population decline, and economic and unemployment figures bordering on depression, we need and want a Casino, which will then be incorporated within a Hotel/Convention Centre.

They say, "Where there is a will, there is a way." So far, it seems this is the first obstacle we need to overcome. That is to get mayor and council to develop a will and find the way to make this vision into a living reality. A Hotel/Casino Convention Centre will be a magnet capable by itself of drawing tens of thousands of people to this community annually, while creating major employment for our people, a huge tax base, and untold spin off effects in both the private business sector and tourism industry. It's a win, win situation, requiring only a vision and the will to make it happen.

The question is, is mayor and council up to the task? Or will they sell us short again, settling instead for mediocrity... and the ongoing "tyranny of the status quo"?




Dream today; make it real tomorrow.

Council gets its pound of flesh, while at the same time playing favourites

Knowing as my readers do how I feel about this council's criminal, usury Late Penalty Property Tax Bylaw, to say I was pissed to read the article below (not available on line) in this week's Crowsnest Promoter would be an understatement. The arbitrary unfairness is so obvious you'd have to be blind not to see it...


Property tax penalties appealed

by Joni MacFarlane
Editor

Two property owners made appeals to the municipality to waive penalties for late payment of taxes, with one achieving success and one being denied.

On July 17, Director of Finance & Corporate Services Marion Vanoni reported to council that a woman who paid her taxes on July 3, which is after the due date, has made an appeal to council for a waiver of the penalty.

A Property Tax Penalty Bylaw was developed last fall that set out a tax due date of June 30. Vanoni said the bylaw was communicated through multiple venues as well as payment details and options.

Vanoni said the woman was basing her appeal on another community who gave their taxpayers a break because June 30 fell on a weekend

"Because the Crowsnest Pass provides numerous ways of making payment for taxes... and we provide 60 days worth of notice between when the tax notice goes out and when payment is due... we felt that June 30, even though it was a weekend, really should have no impact on one's ability to pay," said Vanoni.

For these reasons, she recommended the appeal be denied.

Various councillors weighed in with some saying penalizing someone for one day seemed excessive and others feeling deadlines must be adhered to.

"I feel for these people and if July 3 is okay, what about July 4th or the 12th," asked Councillor Jerry Lonsbury. "I really have a whole lot of difficulty with us establishing a guideline and then saying it's okay if it's just a day late... If I paid my taxes on the 4th and we forgive those who paid them on the 3rd, I would be here next council meeting saying, if the 3rd was okay, what's the matter with the 4th?".

Mayor Bruce Decoux said that last year council forgave some late payments, but said that this would be the last year this would be done. A motion to grant the appeal lost by a vote of 4-3. Mayor Decoux and Councillors Gail, Mitchell and Lonsbury opposed the motion and a tax penalty of over $1,000 will be applied.

In the second case, an appeal was made on compassionate grounds.

Vanoni said the property owner paid his taxes well in advance of the due date every year but this year, "due to personal tragedy (he) was incapacitated and unable to make arrangements." A relative contacted the municipality on July 6 to make payment.

Council unanimously agreed to waive the property tax penalty of $686.


Comment: What do we have here, old-school vs new-school, long-time resident vs weekender or newcomer? Or is it just playing favourites again and sticking it to those we don't like?

The person who got dinged here with a $1,000 penalty ($5,000 x 20%) for being 3 days late while the one who was 6 days late saw their penalty waived, must be pretty upset... and rightfully so.

Double standards you say? Favouritism you say? Hypocrites you say? Damn right! Never mind that it was a long weekend and that the $1,000 penalty for being 3 days late on a $5,000 bill is outrageous and criminal usury!

But hey, what do you expect from the Pass having, once again, four 'old-school' councillors (and CFO) vs three 'new-school'?

It seems the more things change here, the more they stay the same. Doesn't it?




Tossing out one set of bums for new ones just gives us more of the same bums with different faces.

Where's the jobs?

It seems with almost two years under their belts this Mayor and Council are all about status quo, just like the previous Mayor was for almost two decades before them. They've created absolutely no jobs, enticed no businesses or industry to setup shop here, have not yet even put together an Economic Development Committee, never mind the hiring of an Economic Development Officer. Nor have they hired a Tourism Coordinator either, as promised.

Yep, this Mayor and Council are all about status quo alright "we like things just the way they are, thank you very much". Fine, if you got money in the bank, are umpteenth generation, or if you're getting a handsome pension from one government entity or another, but for the majority of people living here who are barely scrapping by that attitude just doesn't cut it, now does it?

But then again, what do you expect from people who for the most part have had a silver spoon in their mouths most of their life's? Can't blame them, for they know not what they do, being ignorant as they are to what it's like to struggle through life... nor apparently do they give a shit.

Well, I give a shit and so do a lot of people I talk to here who feel hard-pressed by this council's attitude and misplaced priorities. After all, what have they delivered here in the last two years? Aside from cancelling a revenue and job generator, spending like drunken sailors, taxing us to death, creating a police state (Revenue police) and an over-bloated bureaucracy, while at the same time having previous councils doing the hard work regarding the CLC, needing only to put up a For Sale sign, they seem incapable of moving ahead on something that should be a piece of cake, never mind thinking outside the box with a vision and a plan, like a Hotel/Casino Convention Centre.

It seems the only job creation these guys know how to do, being the major job creators in the municipality over the last couple years, is within their own organization i.e. municipal hall. With even these jobs being given only to outsiders?

Yes, I'm looking for a job as are many others living here in this community, and I'm pissed off that there aren't any, and that this council is doing absolutely nothing about it!

If residents here would have listened to me last election when I said I wanted to be a paid full-time Mayor, not only would I have had a job, but a lot of others here would have too, by now. And it would have landed up being a whole lot cheaper by far for the taxpayer here than what we've already had to pay for all this 'good government' we've gotten so far by this Mayor, who needing his hand held by highly paid consultants neglected to mention he was going to go down this road at election time. Not very forthright and honest, now was he? Unlike moi.

Come next election, I'll be into retirement age and won't need a paid full-time job. But as a committed full-time Mayor, I can guarantee you that status quo will go out the window and creating good paying full-time jobs will be my number one priority. People here can take that to the bank!




It’s much harder to be a liberal than a conservative. Why? Because it is easier to give someone the finger than a helping hand.

See Me

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man’s sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this ‘anonymous’ poem winging across the Internet:




Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? What do you see?
What are you thinking when you’re looking at me?

A cranky old man, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice, ‘I do wish you’d try!’

Who seems not to notice the things that you do.
And forever is losing a sock or shoe?

Who, resisting or not, lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill?

Is that what you’re thinking? Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse. You’re not looking at me.

I’ll tell you who I am as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, as I eat at your will.

I’m a small child of ten, with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters who love one another

A young boy of sixteen with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now a lover he’ll meet.

A groom soon at twenty my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows that I promised to keep.

At twenty-five, now I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide and a secure happy home.

A man of thirty, my young now grown fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last.

At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me to see I don’t mourn.

At fifty, once more, babies play ‘round my knee,
Again, we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me. My wife is now dead.
I look at the future. I shudder with dread.

For my young are all rearing young of their own.
And I think of the years, and the love that I’ve known.

I’m now an old man and nature is cruel.
It’s jest to make old age look like a fool.

The body, it crumbles. Grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass, A young man still dwells,
And now and again my battered heart swells.

I remember the joys, I remember the pain.
And I’m loving and living life over again.

I think of the years, all too few, gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.

So open your eyes, people. Open and see.
Not a cranky old man.

Look closer .. See.. Me.


Comment: If the above didn't bring tears to your eyes, you've got a stone in your heart... something, thank god, I don't suffer from. :-)

Thanks go to my friend on Facebook, Christina Howard, for this.




Youth is a blunder; manhood, a struggle; old age, a regret.

Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious

The following letter to the editor in this week's Crowsnest Promoter (not available on-line) by way of satire, takes a serious issue, pokes fun at it and the deceitful and foolish clowns responsible for it i.e. the fiasco known as this year's Rum Runner Days, while heaping an abundance of well-deserved scorn on them at the same time.

A well-written letter that I'm sure most residents here can relate to:


A success story: the big picture of a few people is realized

Dear Editor:

For some people, I am sure Rum Runner Days was exactly what Mr. Gallant and Mr. Lonsbury said it was - a success. The weather was good, there was nobody parked along the tracks, no traffic in town, parking was absolutely a non-issue, crime apparently was rampant, but an enforcement blitz handled this well through stringent enforcement of selected laws.

The parade started on time and there was no problem finding a place to stand or sit to watch. There were no bands to interrupt the peace and tranquility of our lovely town. The horses could stand some training, maybe to use the supplied toilets, rather than do their business right there on the street. At least, it was not on people's lawns (horse or human, what's the difference).

There were no line-ups to get on the midway rides, there were lots of portable toilets so nearly everyone downtown had their own biffy, little or no garbage on the streets, no garbage on the soccer field following the music, no line-ups to impede the local residents from shopping in the local stores, no chance of running out of ice at Sobeys (one cooler of ice was sold, instead of the usual six coolers).

The Show and Shine was well attended by both vehicles and people, and the parking passes did a remarkable job of keeping those out-of-towners under control.

I should mention that the evening was not interrupted by any loud thundering noises or those blinding flashes of light that were so annoying. Even CN accommodated us
by having no trains go through the Pass between 9:45 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. The planning to accomplish this must have been phenomenal.

Traffic control was outstanding. I drove downtown just to see how the parking plan was working. The term "ghost town" came to mind.

The anticipated 20,000 people for Rum Runner Days may have been slightly exaggerated so there was basically nothing going on in town, and if this is classed as success, it was a roaring success. It is nice when a plan comes together to give the town a morale boost and the big picture of a few people is realized.

There certainly should be no excessive costs this year and our revenues should be up since we are more family orientated this year, with the Wine and Food Festival both of which had a significant dollar value attached. Maybe this year we will finally be able to get an actual cost of the festivities that the municipality is responsible for.

It appears thanks and kudos are in order to the Council members and the members of the community who have made this dream come true. Eighteen years and thousands of volunteers in the building of a great attraction; one year and seven people in the demolition. It is unfortunate that the Rum Runner Days committee and the town merchants had to take the brunt of this success. Hard work, planning and goodwill could not compete with treachery. So, to our town council, thanks again, we will be watching to see how this works out for you in the long run.

Wayne Girven



There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.

Speaking truth to power

The following letter to the editor in this week's Crowsnest Promoter newspaper (not available on-line) speaks volumes to council's misguided believe that the only way to manage this municipality is by way of paying top-dollar to out of town "consultants", who know little to nothing about this community and its people.

In my travels throughout the community it's becoming apparent to me that most people I speak to now regret voting for a name, not knowing the man. Add to that, if this man and his council had told residents here they planned on running this community with over-paid consultants telling them what to do, the people here would have told them what they could do, and where they could go, with that idea.

If ever there was a quote that summarizes this councils style of management, I believe the following is it:

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy."


Council asked to do job elected for

Dear Editor,

There have been many letters in the papers condemning the current Mayor and Council - how they are running the community - and questioning who is making the decisions that affect the bylaws and services of the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. As I do not sit on council, and as a taxpayer, I am not privy to most of the decisions made in council chambers - I can only base my feelings on what is being reported in the local papers and on the town website.

I base my opinion on my background and experience - and how the organization I headed handled the changing of our bylaws.

I am the past president of Hockey Alberta - an organization of more than 65,000 members with a multi-million dollar budget. An organization which has run successfully in this province for 105 years. Over the past two hockey seasons I set up a committee which looked at our current bylaws and regulations - which have been in place for decades. We conferred with our membership, travelling the whole province several times - received input, made changes and mostly listened to what our members wanted and needed.

The bottom line is that the new bylaws were passed with only three opposed - and were accepted with minimal changes by corporate registries.

The point is - changes that were needed were done without outside consultants, without spending exorbitant amounts of members' money, and without causing an uproar within the organization. The changes that needed to happen were done with the input of those people who were going to be most affected - our membership.

I was elected as President of Hockey Alberta to run the organization in a fiscally responsible manner and to ensure that services and programs were available to our members, without constantly asking for more money.

I voted for this mayor and council to run the community in the same way. What I am seeing is our elected council hiring consultants rather than making decisions on their own on how to run this community. Rather than looking internally for solutions, money is being sent outside the community to come up with supposed better ideas. A bylaw consultant, waste of time and money. A fire chief to tell our volunteers how to do the job they have been doing for years - an insult and a waste of time and money.

Strategic planning - great concept - Hockey Alberta is on year 12 of a 20 year plan. If not utilized by our council, senior staff and the community - another waste of time and money.

The bottom line is - council was elected to run this community - not to defer all decisions to people who are using the community as a way to line their pockets. I am asking you to please do your job.

Annie Orton




The government consists of a gang of men exactly like you and me. They have, taking one with another, no special talent for the business of government; they have only a talent for getting and holding office.

Alberta Municipal Tax Class Action Lawsuit

Many of my readers here know that since our local municipal government decided last year to impose an unfair 'usury' property tax penalty on our most vulnerable residents: the poor and downtrodden, along with victims of unscrupulous residential developers, that from this blog, I have pretty much launched a one-man crusade speaking out against it. Mainly for moral and ethical reasons.

Despite my repeated requests, this council to-date has refused to rescind this abomination of a Bylaw. However, soon, I believe, they will have to. Not on the basis of doing what is right, which as I have already stated they refuse to do, but because they will be legally forced to.

From what I understand by way of a comment on Dean Ward's blog a law firm on behalf of victims of this type of abuse is launching a Class Action Lawsuit, that if successful will force municipalities, such as ours, to mend their greedy ways and treat their residents a tad better than what credit card companies and loan sharks already do, when compared to them.

Along with the cancellation of Thunder in the Valley and the hiring of Peace Officers (Revenue Police), the charging of criminal 'usury' interest rates on unpaid property taxes is but yet another 'dastardly deed' residents here have been subjected to by a council that seems totally incapable of getting it right, when it comes to what you should and should not do, in providing 'good governance' to the people they were elected to serve.




There is nothing worse than aggressive stupidity.

WANTED: Ideas for Economic Development

We are a community split in two. One part is comfortable and satisfied with the status quo. Some would say, many of these people don't want things to change. Typically, these are for the most part long-time residents many of whom are 2nd, 3rd or more generation. Followed by many public service retirees (teachers, law enforcement, bureaucrats, etc. (many of whom are also from the former class) receiving handsome government pensions others would die for) and the well-heeled professional types who are either still actively working and/or retired too. For simplification, lets call these people the 'moneyed class'.

Then there is the rest of us who make up the majority of the population here. The ones fortunate to have jobs (in an area having few if any, especially the well-paying ones) who are just getting by, if that, needing to work (in many cases even after retirement), and those on basic pensions and fixed incomes who find themselves in financial hardship struggling each month in a hopeless attempt to keep up with the ever rising cost of living these days, with little to no chance locally to supplement their meager incomes. We'll call these people the 'money-less class'.

It stands to reason then that the moneyed class are not in real 'need' or 'want' but historically all there perceived needs and wants are met by a subservient local municipal government that caters to their every wish and desire, at the expense and lost opportunities, some would say, of the money-less class.

As already mentioned, the latter group are more predominant but because of their financial circumstances (or lack of) carry little to no weight in getting local governments to work on their behalf, to address the inequalities in living here in the Pass.

Which brings me to the subject of this post. This community needs a paradigm shift in thinking, if we hope to turn things around here and go from a depressed community - regressive in nature - having an on-going decades long declining population with high unemployment levels and economic stagnation, to one that is progressive, that encourages and promotes population growth and business development, ensuring a future for all.

In other words, what this community needs is a reality check in that the self-satisfied status quo for the few can no longer come at the on-going despair and misery of the many. We must open our doors so that all residents have an equal opportunity to live the good life by ensuring jobs and opportunities are here for everyone. Progress and growth must be encouraged and accepted by all as a necessary requirement to turn things around here.

In this regard, residents must step forward with ideas and suggestions on how we can do that? Sinister 7 and Thunder in the Valley are good starts but we need more of them along with businesses and services capable of being economic generators by being operational year round, such as the idea of turning the use of our ski hill from a one season operation into four.

Have you got some ideas or suggestions of your own? If so, lets hear them!

With the above in mind, one idea that I have spoken out on for some years now that I still feel has merit is taking our existing Crowsnest Centre and turning it into a Hotel/Casino Convention Centre capable of employing literally hundreds of locals, never mind the spin off effects that will come from such a venture. Just like Sinister 7 and Thunder in the Valley this would draw people to our community like a magnet. Doing so year round, rather than just for a weekend. The only thing stopping this idea from achieving fruition is the lack of vision, and political will.

The last we heard council is presently engaging in negotiations to bring an ordinary run of the mill hotel, along with strip mall businesses. Nice to have these types of facilities but they will by themselves as a whole not necessarily attract people to come to this area. At the very best all they will do is provide convenient services to those already travelling through, or to those who decide to stop for the night. Not much bang for the buck, so to speak. This would be selling us and our community short. Just as you don't sell a piece of property for $1m when you can get $10m, you shouldn't, because of a lack of vision and forethought by our currently elected representatives, miss out on an opportunity to do so much more.

Choosing the former versus the latter option would once again be catering to the moneyed class vs the money-less, now wouldn't it?

Location, location, location!!! A Hotel/Casino Convention Centre is ideally suited for this site. Anything less is a lost opportunity!




Awareness leads you forward, while lack of awareness leads you nowhere.

Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.

Maxine: Friday night humour

(Click on image to enlarge)




Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.

Aftermath of Rum Runner Days: What did we learn?

I think most people will agree on one thing for sure, and that is Rum Runner Days is nothing without Thunder in the Valley. Just another quiet local 'family event' with a parade. Not much different from what any other community puts on at this time of the year.

But before we go any further, let me remind people that this coming Heritage Day long weekend the Crowsnest Pass welcomes everyone to its seventh annual Doors Open and Heritage Festival from August 2 to August 6. This is a great 'family event' that gets bigger and better with each passing year. Kudos must go out to the likes of Fred Bradley and Community Futures, to name just one person and organization among many who have made major contributions to the ongoing success of this 'family event'.

Now back to the subject at hand. If you noticed above I stressed 'Heritage' and 'family event' on purpose to highlight the fact we already have times, places and events in which we celebrate our past and our history in family event ways. I personally believe this is a good thing. However, like anything it can get over done at the expense of everything else. Case in point, this year's cancellation of Thunder in the Valley, primarily because council behaving like a bunch of ol' folkies decided for all of us that they wanted to change what we had i.e. a 'celebration of life' into yet another one of their boring (for most) 'heritage', 'family events'.

Too much emphasis on being mediocre and doing what everybody else is doing and not enough on being unique, original, and progressive. Such as what we have enjoyed and succeeded in with Sinister 7 and Thunder in the Valley.

These last two events are what puts us on the map, and brings much needed economic relief to both our local businesses and to our community as a whole. It promotes us as a vibrant, healthy, community on the rise with untold future possibilities and potential. It speaks to life, not death. To me that's a welcome change. And one I believe we need more of.

Look at Community Futures Development Projects for example, primarily concerned with death and destruction (Heritage) with little to nothing in the way of building strong communities, industries, and markets for the living.

The above trend of living in the past is what this and past council's follows. If anything is to be learned from this year's Rum Runner Days fiasco, it is we need to bury the past by concentrating less on it, and more on the future, where opportunity lies... and is patiently waiting for us.




The past is to be respected and acknowledged, but not to be worshiped. It is our future in which we will find greatness.