Food For Thought

A reader sent us this quote:

The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism — ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power.

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

And all this time we thought Mayor Paul Tomlinson was trying to create a dictatorship. Sorry about that, Paul.

How The Grinch Boycotted Christmas

Is Mayor Paul Tomlinson as big a Grinch as we made him out to be on December 16th? Probably not. At least as far as his friends and family are concerned. 

But time and time again he's clearly demonstrating how little he (and his cronies Steve Sainsbury, Barry Dingwall, and Louise Wadsworth) care about the Town of Kearney (outside Proudfoot) and its traditions.

We already know that Tomlinson and Wadsworth are against Kearney having Regattas and Dog Sled Races, so it wasn't much of a surprise that they and the other Proudfoot Two didn't show up Christmas Eve for the traditional "Lighting of Santa's Runway" on Main Street, by the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department.

Now, the first rebuttal that comes to mind is that His Worship and the other councillors were at home with their families, and what's more important than family, right? Oh, please. For as far back as we can remember, every other mayor and most members of council have come out to the lighting each year with their children and grandchildren. Not to mention the volunteer firefighters who "light the runway".

If Tomlinson can't drag himself out of Proudfoot to rub elbows with his Townie constituents for 10 minutes on Christmas Eve, maybe he should have let someone who actually cares about the people be the mayor. (You can run with the Olympic Torch when it makes for a great photo-op during your campaign, but God forbid you come out to a traditional Townie event, eh, Paul?)

And rumour has it that Deputy Mayor Art Murdy was in Kearney Christmas Eve but also chose to boycott the event. Apparently, it was too much trouble to step out the front door (Murdy's  weekend residence is on Main Street, next to the Fire Hall).

But one councillor did show up. Yvonne Wills.

Are you surprised?

High-Speed Internet for Kearney?

Xplornet, the company that already provides the Town of Kearney and many of its residents with high-speed Internet, is announcing that by 2012 all of rural Canada will have 4G internet access.

4G is the replacement for 3G technology that most of us have been using for our cell phones. Devices such as the new iPhone take advantage of new 4G speeds, which are about 4 times as fast as 3G.

What this means is that people living in rural areas like Kearney will be able to use an adapter with their computers to access high-speed Internet at speeds comparable to most mid-range DSL plans. No word of prices, though...

Read more about it at the Xplornet website.

The Lord's Prayer Saved

Bet you didn't know that Kearney's "Santa" doesn't believe in Christmas.

Mayor Paul Tomlinson (who was goaded into playing Santa this year by outgoing Mayor Johnston) tried his best to impose his non-Judeo/Christian beliefs on Kearney's council by having the Lord's Prayer struck from the opening proceedings. Fortunately, the majority of council is more tolerant than Tomlinson and voted to continue to recite the prayer.

Isn't religious intolerance usually found in a dictatorship?

If you see His Worship, tell him that the Concerned Citizen's of Kearney wish him a "Merry Christmas!", but he's probably back in Proudfoot decorating his Holiday Tree.

Verboten!

Word is, Mayor Paul Tomlinson is trying to forbid "his" councillors from reading this blog because we're "full of shit".

Well, first: We're always happy to support what we say and make any corrections if new information comes to light.

And second: Censorship is one of the most common hallmarks of a dictatorship. 

Kearney's councillors are all grown-ups and free citizens, Paul. They can read whatever they want no matter how badly that scares you. In a democracy we fight information with information and let free citizens form their own opinions.

Tomlinson spent the last four years screaming to the press that Mayor Johnston was a dictator, but now that he's in power Tomlinson's the one who's been violating municipal by-laws, ignoring the democratic process, and trying to control what law-abiding free citizens read. All in his first week as mayor.

Are you surprised?

Kearney Firefighter Helps Save Couple

When neighbouring Perry Township sent a 911 dispatch, Kearney's Frank Colley, a volunteer firefighter, responded. An elderly couple had fallen through lake ice by their home in Perry Township while trying to rescue their dog. Frank went into the water and, with the help of Perry firefighters, was able to rescue all three from the ice, saving their lives. It made the news on ABAR.

So, has Mayor Tomlinson showered this volunteer firefighter with praise? Bestowed accolades? Offered a hearty handshake? Bought him a Coke?

Naw.

But Frank did catch Hell for leaving the community centre before the end of his shift to help save three lives!

Remember what we said about being Tomlinson's friend if your house catches fire?

Are you surprised?

Art Murdy is the New Deputy Mayor

Mayor Paul Tomlinson has appointed Councillor Art Murdy as Deputy Mayor.

We have nothing against Art, but is it really all that smart to have a Deputy Mayor that's only in town on weekends? One duty the Deputy would have, if the Mayor is absent, is to sign the paycheques for the town. How's he going to do that if he's at home in Sudbury?

Would it not have made more sense to appoint a councillor like Yvonne Wills?

• She's a full-time Kearney resident.
• She's very dedicated to the betterment of the town.
• She received the most votes of ALL candidates, which demonstrates that she has the confidence of most of the ratepayers of Kearney.

So why not Yvonne? Why Murdy, who received less votes?

Well, we know that Tomlinson couldn't appoint one of his cronies without the  already pissed off town rioting, so that eliminated Wadsworth, Sainsbury, and Dingwall. So that left Murdy as the only Seasonally-sympathetic councillor available.

And, of course, it's well known that Councillor Wills won't play favourites and doesn't kowtow to Tomlinson or the cottage associations, making her an automatic enemy of the Proudfoot Four.

So, if you work for the town, you better hope Tomlinson signs your paycheque before he goes on holidays or you'll have to wait until Saturday (weather permitting, of course).

Are you surprised?

More Tomlinson Shinanigans?

Word is, Mayor Tomlinson is going to start off his term by violating one of Kearney's procedural by-laws. Tomlinson is going to hold his first council meeting this Friday, December 10th and unless it's an emergency meeting, he's violating the by-law that requires that council meetings be held on Wednesdays.

We know that Tomlinson wants to change the council meetings to the weekends to accommodate Kearney's new Weak-end Council, but first council has to vote to change the by-law. But it looks like Tomlinson isn't going to let something like the law prevent him from doing what he wants. 

Unilateral procedural changes. Complete disregard for council rules. Complete disregard for the democratic process. Kinda sounds like a... wait for it... dictatorship!

Unless you want to tell us what the emergency is, Paul.

Are you surprised?