Reader Mail

Given the many and growing numbers of mean-spirited happenings emanating from The Town of Kearney, Kearney’s new identity can certainly be summed up as the “Meanest Little Town”.

Recently the Town of Kearney lost 3 members of staff; one for poor performance, one as a cost savings cut, and one who just walked away in disgust. The “cost saving” cut was imposed upon a long standing member of the Kearney Fire Department and First Response Team who has been an inspiration to others and her caring approach in helping those in need is beyond words. It will be interesting to see how the Fire Department functions without a Fire Protection Officer, the Fire Department Administrator, and the First Response Captain. This move not only reeks of stupidity, it is just plain meanness. Fortunately one member of staff had the courage to file a complaint against the Mayor for Bullying & Harassment, and that has got the ball rolling to get rid of this mean-spirited, arrogant, nasty, farcical Head of Council.

If the Town of Kearney is so hept on cutting costs, why are we still carrying a CBO that will cost in excess of $250,000 over the 4 year term of council and is busy doing make-work projects like terrorizing our seniors and the elderly, trespassing on people’s properties with the dishonest excuse of a septic inspection program, and killing economic growth. Council has had the good sense to censure the Mayor but there is still evidence that the only tune the CBO dances to is the private misdirection being given by His Worship. When will council start reining in the Mayor and start the CBO packing?

Speaking of the CBO and mean-spiritedness, the young Outfitters couple, who have tried unsuccessfully to expand their Kearney business, have found that for every hurdle they jump, Hess throws up another. A new restaurant wants to open in Kearney but every effort has been foiled by Guess-who. Well, maybe Mr. Hess has barked up the wrong tree this time. And what about the Proudfoot (yes Proudfoot) property owner who requested to see his “building permit” file and was refused by the CBO. WHAT??? It took a Freedom of Information application to get access to the file.

Council and Town Hall Meetings have become a blood sport and the spot light is now on the noble 4, who have taken a brave initiative, to follow through on shutting the Mayor down.

The 2012 Kearney Regatta lost money for the first time in 60 years. Why? Was it cancellation of the street dance, the kids water sports, Battle of the Bands, Kearney Revue, the Northern Lights Steel orchestra. or the consequently very low attendance. Profits from year to year normally fund subsequent years so there is no cost to the tax payers. Through the mean-spirited attitude of Mayor Tomlinson and his ambition to kill the Regatta, the Kearney Regatta is now seriously wounded and may not survive another abysmal year as was 2012. Councillor Wills and her 2 Committee members made a valiant effort against the Tomlinson Tsunami but they too have finally thrown in the towel.

Any masochists out there, who would like to volunteer for lucky 2013?.

And finally, Council has asked Mayor Tomlinson to resign and he has refused. Given the low level of support Tomlinson received in votes and his rapidly diminishing base of Proudfoot support, why is he hanging on? He is viewed as the lowest of the low and if he hopes to reclaim any dignity, he must resign or endure 2 more years or disdain, to be followed forever as a social pariah in the Town of Kearney.

More town staff gone

In order to find funding for their pay increases, a useless full-time CBO, and the tax-cut that the Proudfoot Four promised their Proudfoot backers, Council has fired Operations Manager Dean Hall and eliminated the Fire Prevention Officer position, also putting Captain Kim Harrison out of a job. We predicted this back in November 2010 but our exposé stalled Tomlinson's plan, at least until things got desperate. So, even in tough financial times the Proudfoot Four are going to make sure Proudfoot cottage owners will get their promised tax-cut even if it means taking food off our tables to do it.

Are you surprised?

More reader mail...

Dear Mr. Molnar and the Concerned Citizens of Kearney,

You should be proud of the excellent job you've been doing in keeping the people of Kearney in the loop and helping to empower the Little People. I hate to think of what else Mayor Tomlinson and his friends might have pulled if their antics weren't kept in the light of day. It's funny how we keep reading about the horrible blog and how anonymous writers are evil and twisted but I notice that most of those who write in want to also be anonymous, including those who support Tomlinson. I also notice that all the writers that complain about the blog (including Barry Dingwall in the Almaguin News) just bash the blog but never correct anything the blog has written. It's just a lot of Bad Blog this and Bad Blog that but never anything about the blog got it wrong or here's the real story. You guys must be bang on! Keep up the good work!

I would also like to remain Anonymous. Not because I don't stand behind my words but because I don't want my family targeted by those freaks in Proudfoot!

Anonymity is a double-edged sword. It offers the opportunity to speak without fear of reprisal by those in power. Sadly, in Kearney, those in power (and their friends) will lash out in all directions in the hope that one of their bullets might find its mark. Even on the power of rumour and innuendo we see Kearney citizens beaten in the street. In Kearney, anonymity protects us and our families, but it also means that the innocent will be rounded up with the "usual suspects". Even after I came forward as the "Chief Editor" of the blog, zealots like Mayor Tomlinson's friend Jim Skelton continue to harass those who have contributed to the blog and have been so bold as to sign their names. In the Town of Kearney, anonymity isn't a symptom of a deranged mind as Councillor Dingwall would have us believe, it's a symptom of a town living in fear of a mean, brutish mayor and his henchmen.

R. Molnar

Town kills Fire Prevention Service

According to one of our readers:

I just got off the phone from a dear friend. She informs me that the Fire Prevention position has been cut.
Kim has lost her job she held for so long and was an exceptional person. Is this typical of Kearney to get rid of such a dedicated person and great program?

Shame on Kearney to be so cruel!!!!!

More Reader Mail

Dear Editor:

I read your blog and weep for the Kearney staff and ratepayers. Kearney is not unique; however, as many Municipalities have become embroiled in a “stew” lending to a perception of meanness and of being leaderless. These municipalities have limited the dialogue with Council resulting in trust and transparency being diminished.

Kearney is proof that the Municipal election should be held every two years to give the electors an opportunity to provide the ultimate report card on the Mayor and Council.

Please do not publish my name.

A Reader Writes In

Blogs can offer a number of advantages, in that they permit ordinary folks to voice their opinions or concerns, the public is no longer dependent on whatever media coverage may be out there and the limited information that reporters may be able to access prior to his or her deadline, and they are relatively instantaneous.  They should promote community interest and involvement, if at all possible.
But I have to indicate that the general tenor, the often cruel depictions of different members of Council and members of the public, some of whom decided to write into your Blog and take as stand now and then or voice an opinion (particularly opinions that may contradict or oppose the Blog's regular authors), and the antics often exhibited by the Blog are somewhat distasteful.
As a result, despite some of your readers' recent letters, far from promoting community interest and involvement in local affairs and issues, the Blog is coming perilously close to resembling a hate propaganda machine, where members of Kearney council or occasional citizens who disagree with the Blog's commentary from time to time are targeted with cruel, vile and remarkably defamatory insults.
Although you appear to have some knowledgeable and quite possibly intelligent regular contributors or authors, it is unfortunate that many of these authors have to resort to cruel, vile, accusatory and defamatory pictorials and commentary. It really does bring the whole purpose of the Blog, which ostensibly may have been to permit citizens to review recent decisions (Council's mainly here) and voice any concerns they may have had, down to a very base, hateful level.
If you want to continue with a Blog, you should reconsider the monster you have created, and do away with the foolish pictures of politicians you are currently displeased with, the horrific and damaging accusations that one or more politicians may have had something to do with a very serious and dangerous recent assault occurrence (apparently involving the former Mayor's son) and the very nasty commentary about those who write into your Blog to express a different point of view.
Kearney should be a quiet, peaceful wilderness community.  Instead since about 2007 it has become an example of the kind of community most would want to avoid in the same way as a Town hit with the "black plague".  Your contributors are just as responsible as any politician who may have stepped over the line in the community, including the past Mayor and the current Mayor, for creating or continuing an atmosphere of hate and distrust at all levels.
As I have indicated, a Blog can be helpful or it can be destructive.  I hope your regular contributors consider this.  The messages they are sending to the young and old alike are very unpleasant at best and quite dangerous at worst.  If you do not rethink your approach, and start emphasizing the good in your community, you are well on your way to complete destruction of the beautiful Kearney wilderness environment.
Just another voice, which I hope and trust, you will let be read.
It is fairly unlikely that you will publish this comment, but if you do, I am requiring that you withhold my email address and preserve my anonymity.

We don't so much ridicule, as provide a display of the ridiculous. That's a real photo of our mayor you've been seeing in various newspapers. Perhaps you should consider writing to him as well.

New Email Address

We've been having some problems with our Hotmail, so we've switched to Gmail. Our new email address is:

kearneyconcernedcitizens@gmail.com

Skelton still had access to voters list

We received a couple of emails today from Jim Skelton in which he denies having been a scrutineer during the election. It appears that our source may have been off on that one. When we're wrong, we're wrong. But that only means that Skelton had other access to the voter's list, or someone accessed it for him. Either way, friends of Mayor Paul Tomlinson enjoy special privileges and access to confidential information they can use against their enemies. And nobody's buying Jim Skelton's back-pedalling "shot in the dark" explanation. Editor Molnar actually doesn't appear on the voter's list because he doesn't appear on the title to the family cottage. This and that he's unlisted in the Kearney phonebook (same reason) contributed to his decision to be the one to step forward. That Jim Skelton has already started tracking Mr. Molnar and his family makes it clear that anonymity (or near anonymity) is a must unless you want to find yourself being beaten in the street in front of your family.

Normally, we like to post Skelton's ramblings (they get a good laugh all around), but the two we received today offer little more than some rantings to Council about the Johnstons. It certainly appears that the email the Town of Kearney sent out in March 2011, about Jeff Jr. running "The Blog" worked very well in poisoning people against the family. Even when others come forward to take responsibility, at least one friend of the mayor continues to publish defamatory statements against the Johnston family on a regular basis. We're the pot calling the kettle black, but with two major differences: Skelton is making statements without basis of fact, or in this case, completely wrong statements. We always base on fact and can prove our statements, and we don't mind being wrong and saying so. But criticizing a public official in order to make Kearney a better place is one thing. Continuously attacking a local family (sometimes literally), and trying to poison people (and Council) against them, is harassment. If you don't like the Johnstons, that's fine. Nobody likes you, Jim. But enough with the daily emails to Council and the general public about them. Go find another windmill to tilt at. Or drink the Kool-aid already.

Skelton back-pedals fast!

From: "Jim Skelton"
To: Concerned Citizens
Cc: "Paul Tomlinson " ,
    "Steve Sainsbury" ,
    "Ken Ball" ,
    "Art Murdy" ,
    "Barry Dingwall" ,
    "Louise Wadsworth "
Subject: Molnar...
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2012 14:41:06 -0400

The vote thing was just a shot in the dark…appears to have hit the Bull’s Eye!

Thanks for the confirmation.

Stalking!!  Don’t get your hopes up…

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Jim

Suuuuuure, Jim. A shot in the dark. Just like how Dingwall's friend James Milner just took a shot in the dark about confidential legal correspondence to Council? Just a bunch of Amazing Kreskins up there in Proudfoot.

Guess we Townies ain't city-smart like you Proudfoot folk, huh? Had it all wrong 'n' such.

You enjoy the rest of your day, too!

The Municipal Elections Act violated?

Dear Concerned Citizens of Kearney:

Jim Skelton was a scrutineer during the 2010 election and had a copy of the voters' list, which he should have returned after the voting was completed.

The Municipal Elections Act:

Section 88(10) Restriction – No person shall use information obtained from public records described in Subsection 5, except for election purposes.

Section 88(11) Voters List – A voters’ list prepared under this Act shall not be b) made available to the Public.

Section 89 Offences – a person is guilty of an offence if he or she (m, attempts to do something described in clauses (a to (l, e.g. (h – “furnishes false or misleading information to a person whom this Act authorizes to obtain information” e.g. a registered candidate (authorized) furnishes misleading information to a member of the public (unauthorized) and in violation of 88 above.

Section 94 (2) Corporation (e.g. incorporated property owner association) or Trade Union

A corporation .... that is convicted of an offence under this Act is liable to a fine of not more than $50,000.

Anonymous
(I don't need Skelton stalking me and my family)

Jim Skelton stalks Molnar

Dear R Molnar,

Welcome aboard…

I’m certain the Johnston Family enjoy your company or is that ‘cover’?

You’ve clearly got one fact right… I’m definitely not a comedian!

But interestingly…

Your family lives in the west

No one knows where you live

You are not in the Kearney phone book

You don’t hold a vote in Kearney

??

In the meantime please send me the very first post you placed on your Blog.

Thanks,

Jim

Hi Jim.

Yes, we're sure it's got you up at night. It's going to be rough having to divide your time between stalking the Johnstons and the Molnars.

Interesting that you can't find Mr. Molnar in the phone book but you "know" his family lives in the west. If you mean west of Kearney, you're right. If you mean western Ontario, you're also right. If you mean western Canada, sorry. But, thanks for playing.

Now, what we find interesting is that someone has apparently, illegally provided you with a copy of the tax roll, or illegally used the tax roll to advise you if R. Molnar is a ratepayer. We're sure that Municipal Affairs and Housing will be very interested in knowing who provided the information. Just one more example of how friends of the Proudfoot Four have special privileges, eh Jim?

As for the first blog post, it predates the election in 2010 and was cleared when we started the post-election coverage. Was there something in particular you were looking for? Mayor Tomlinson claims to have every article we've ever written so he might be able to help you out.

You might not be a comedian, but we do think you're funny. Just not "ha-ha" funny.

Separated at birth?

Go have a read of this Toronto Star article and just replace:

"Rob Ford" with "Paul Tomlinson", 
"Doug" with "Barry", and 
"Toronto Star" with "Concerned Citizens of Kearney".

Eerie.

Can you guess who wrote this?

We were digging though some old material and found this:

"...I would therefore respectfully request that our Mayor do the honourable thing and resign from Council in an attempt to restore Council's integrity and the Town's reputation.
 
We do not need more headlines in the press nor scathing editorials and must restore the confidence of our ratepayers in Council's leadership of their affairs which we have been entrusted.

Sincerely..."

Guess who wrote it.

 

You won't be surprised.

UPDATE:

So who wrote it? Paul H. Tomlinson. The "H" stands for hypocrisy. During the last term, Councillor Paul Tomlinson emailed that to his entire address book after Mayor Johnston:

1. Bullied and harassed town staff?
2. Bullied and harassed townspeople?
3. Failed to declare a conflict of interest when a personal friend asked council for a fee waiver (and then came back for more favours), then lied about it?
4. Stuck his tongue out at a member of the public before allowing him to be unlawfully ejected from a public meeting?
5. Insulted townspeople with expressions like "Here comes some more trash"?
6. Killed funding to the local food bank during times of severe hardship for locals?
7. Gave himself two pay raises in two years?
8. Disrespected our MPP, ensuring that he naver came back to Kearney, then lied about it?
9. Disrespected our neighbouring town of Perry, ensuring that we have to pay for our own CBO at triple the cost, then lied about it?
10. Created ill-conceived by-laws that end up being rescinded?
11. Introduced a tax cut for his friends despite it bankrupting the town?
12. Secretly photographed and video-taped townspeople?
13. None of the above.

None of the above. Tomlinson demanded Johnston's resignation as mayor after the latter stepped down from three committees*. Wow! That's totally worse than all that stuff Tomlinson's done! So will Tomlinson hold himself to the same standard and resign for items 1 through 12? Of course not. As the Proudfoot Four Three regularly demonstrate, they love to talk-the-talk but never want to walk-the-walk.

* While Mayor Johnston may have vacated his seat at committee tables, as mayor he would have remained an ex officio member of all town committees. Committees don't make policy either. Instead they bring recommendations to Council who discuss and vote on the recommendations. Mayor Johnston would still have been an active participant in the process, so vacating a seat on a committee really has little impact in the grand scheme.

And more mail

Dear Concerned Citizens:

 

As a taxpayer and a concerned citizen of our town I wish to put a thought forward in regards to the costs that our mayor has cost us in the past and will in the future.  I do not know what Municipal Laws are  in regards to taking his honorarium from him, along with all costs incurred while he is still in office.  We now are faced with legal fees which obviously he does not give a toss at what the taxpayers will  have to pay.............................We recently saw democracy at work when 4 of the councillors voted to have Mr. Tomlinson resign as mayor.  It would be interesting to find out if that would be legal to freeze the honorarium, mileage costs etc.  I have never ever seen a mess like this before.  Maybe, Mr. Tomlinson should be held responsible for the money that everyone is losing in their investments (property)  in our town and be prepared to buy us out.  Food for thought.  This mess has to be cleaned up and fast.

 

 

I wish for my name to be anonymous, Thank you.


Mayor Tomlinson (and the others of the Proudfoot Four) have enjoyed TWO pay raises in as many years, all the while sucking money out of the Reserves just to keep Kearney treading water. During the last term Barry Dingwall yelled long and loud that our taxes were so high (although Skelton and his merry men wanted them higher!) because of the honoraria paid to the mayor and council. But now that Dingwall et al have their faces in the trough there's no longer any mention of the honoraria.

Are you surprised?

 

More mail

I would like to applaud Mr. Molnar. I would like to meet you one day and shake your hand for a job well done. Please don't stop writing the blog.
It keeps a lot of people informed of what is going on, with not only our wonderful Mayor and council but also others like Mr. Hess and Mr. Skelton.
Oh and speaking of Mr. Hess, I bet he is enjoying having some of the heat taken off him.
One more note:

Dear Mr. Tonge,

 

Thank you for your email concerning Mayor Paul Tomlinson.  I certainly appreciate your concerns.

 

I understand that Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing officials have been made aware of this issue.

 

As a separate level of government, the province has very little authority to intervene in municipal matters.  Some frequently asked questions about the province's jurisdiction in municipal affairs are answered on the Ministry's website at the link below: 

 

http://www.mah.gov.on.ca/Page2107.aspx

 

Please be assured that I am being kept apprised of this matter.  I do hope it is resolved soon, and to the satisfaction of Kearney residents.

 

Thank you again for sharing your concerns with me.

 

Sincerely,

 

Norm Miller, MPP

Parry Sound-Muskoka

I have not and will not be afraid to post my name. The only thing I ask is not posting my email address as I am not looking for a tonne of Grass and Loon Lake hate mail.

 

Bill Tonge

Where's Pauldo? Or the rest of Council?

On September 15, 2012, a benefit was held at the Kearney Community Centre for Lois Lahn's great-grandson who was born prematurely on August 31. Proud parents Gary and Marly Lahn have had to stay in Toronto while little Sayyer is in Sick Kids Hospital and it's understandably been a tremendous burden, emotionally and financially. You can read more in this Almaguin News article.

But while the locals were chipping in and helping make the fund-raiser a success, where was Mayor Tomlinson and members of Council?

One concerned ticked-off citizen wrote us:

Click on the image to enlarge.

Thanks, Carol!

A sad commentary on our Council's lack of commitment to issues that don't involve their friends or a photo-op.


Ms. Parker's letter is also telling of the environment of fear in the town of Kearney in that a citizen makes a point of closing her letter with "I am not afraid to sign this complaint against council".

Are you surprised?

Another Concerned Citizen Writes In

Dear R Molnar!

Kudos to you by coming forward to unveil your true identity! And kudos to all the contributors to this Blog for which I know for a fact there are many! I for one like anonymity as my family and friends all live or have cottages within Kearney and will not put them or myself in jeopardy of being harassed and/or bullied by Paul Tomlinson, Jim Skelton (who has definitely been into the Kook Aid), or their cronies of thugs!

(btw Jim Skelton ...Kudos = Congratulations)

I applaud your decision to at least put a sock in the mouth of Mr. Skelton where the Johnson's are concerned. Jim is obviously no relation to the wonderful comedian RED Skelton. Maybe Jim Skelton is trying to be a comedian, but fails miserably at his attempts of humour. Mr. Red Skelton was far more funny and intelligent! I find Mr. Skelton's rantings to be almost bordering on insanity - but most definitely some sort of personality disorder I think. Maybe he is off his meds - or drinking some of the contaminated lake water from his septic system?

So - to Mr. Jim - GIVE IT A REST! And, due diligence is always a good idea before you speak or type!

Signed,

A Concerned Citizen

(Anonymous)

A Letter From the Editor

Dear Citizens of Kearney,

Given all the hostility Mayor Paul Tomlinson, Councillor Barry Dingwall, Jim Skelton, James 'Rhys' Milner, and others from Proudfoot and the Grass and Loon Lakes Residents Group have been directing toward the Johnston Family, particularly the assault in August on Jeff Jr., we have decided that anonymity is doing more harm than good. The Johnstons, very graciously, have continued to encourage our efforts even though their family has become a target of harassment, hate, and violence, mostly at the hands of the Town of Kearney and its council. Not all on the council have openly attacked the Johnstons, but all have stood idly by and allowed it to happen, so none have clean hands.

Originally, our anonymity was intended simply to keep the focus on our message, rather than the messenger. Often if people cannot dispute the facts they will attack the character of the bearer instead, as we've seen with the misguided belief that it's the Johnstons who run this blog. Suddenly, it wasn't the words being attacked, but innocent people.

Not surprisingly, not all 'contributing editors' of the Concerned Citizens of Kearney blog wish to make their identities known - they also have families and don't wish to see them endangered, just as is the case with many who write in - so I decided that I would step out of the shadows and give a face to our writings. I'm not overly well known, so most probably don't know where I live, and my family doesn't live in Ontario so are not in harm's way. Of course, many of Tomlinson's and Dingwall's supporters have in the past been provided with confidential information, such as tax-roll addresses and confidential correspondence, so what little anonymity I might have left will probably be fleeting.

But in the interest of the greater good, let us finally put an end to some of the rumours and speculation.

Yours,

R. Molnar
Concerned Citizen of Kearney

Negative attention better than no attention, says Jim

From: jskelton@caseworks.ca
To: concernedcitizens@hotmail.com
Subject: Toronto Star...
Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2012 08:18:19

Dear Johnston Family (aka Concerned Citizens of Kearney BLOG)

Here you go…get it out there!

Then turn up the ‘ridicule’ and ‘distortion’ machine…

We can hardly wait for the next episode.

We will also have much more to say…all in due course. [Oh yay...]

However, unlike your views ours will always be based on verifiable, undistorted facts!

The good citizens of Kearney deserve the ‘truth’…

Or as they well know…there two sides.


Jim Skelton
Paul Tomlinson's Attic
Proudfoot, Ontario

Hi Jim,

We hadn't received an email from you in the last 20 minutes and we were starting to get worried.

It's nice to see that despite all the proof you now have that the Johnston's can't possibly be the editors of the Concerned Citizens of Kearney blog (although they happily contribute, as do many), you continue to hold fast to your conviction. It just proves that, like so many from your neighbourhood, you're a zealot who will always put his own irrational beliefs before "verifiable, undistorted facts". You didn't have much credibility before, but so certainly have less now. If you can't dazzle 'em with brilliance, baffle 'em with belligerence. Eh, Jim? You guys in Proudfoot should be careful not to drink the Kool-Aid.

And thanks for the Toronto Star article (you must be so proud), but we had already posted it last night. And thanks for the advice, but there's no need for us to ridicule or distort. The mayor does that just fine with the help of his friends.

And it's no wonder your website has been forever under construction with all this time you spend grinding out these diatribes! You need to prioritize, Jim. But then again, any chance to be the centre of attention, eh?

And let us know how your septic inspection goes. 

More Skelton rantings...

Dear Blog Master Supremo

By allowing ‘anonymous’ persons to post unfounded allegations against private citizens you clearly define yourselves. [Wow! There's the pot calling the kettle black!]
In short you are in violation of your own responsibilities in running a blog.
You might wish to either remove the post below or have the individual identify himself/herself so we can meet on my family property and witness a paid for inspection (by me) involving the North Bay Mattawa Conservation Authority.

Jim Skelton
(Paul Tomlinson's Pet Fish)

Dear Jim,

If a writer wants to remain anonymous, we respect that. If a writer wants to sign his psychotic, drunken rants with his own name, we respect that, too. 

And we'll happily publish a copy of your septic inspection. If you ever actually get one. We've been hearing from some several knowledgeable sources that your leaching bed encroaches on the shore allowance.

Kearney's Buffoon Mayor Draws Widespread Interest

Proudfoot and the Grass and Loon Lakes Residents Group should be proud that their Golden Boy is making all the papers:

 

You can read the entire article here. 

Yeah! Three Cheeeers! Right, Jim?

Surprised Yet?

Council puts finances ahead of public safety

Today (Monday, Sept. 24th), Higgins Road, which provides access to North Shore Road, Silversand Lane, and Little Lane on Sand Lake, will be closed for 4 days while a new culvert is being installed. 

We've been told that Kearney's town council was advised to perform the work on one side of the road at a time so that one lane would always be available for emergency vehicles. But this method, as opposed to closing the road completely, would be more expensive. Since the town is in such bad financial shape, Council decided to put finances ahead of public safety and for the next four days, not only will the residents not be able to travel in or out, and local businesses have to close, but they had better pray they don't need police, fire, or ambulance services. 

Your tax dollars cut at work, Proudfoot.

And a Concerned Citizen Responds to Skelton

Dear Concerned Citizens

Jim Skelton should worry less about what ever psychotic paranoid delusion he dreamt last night and worry more about his septic system that he installed illegally too close to the waterfront and is probably leaching his excrement into the lake. I'd ask Henry Hess to investigate but he's too busy napping in Bracebridge.

[signed]

A fellow concerned citizen.

Oh snap!

And Skelton Keeps On Writing

    Dear Councillors ALL:

    A few thoughts on “Petitions”…

    I understand there is one with 381 names on it! [No, Jim. It was OUR poll in the right-hand column had 381 votes. We don't know how many signatures are on the petition. Nice try though.]

         If it’s the one I observed recently floating around town on the bloated ego of our former Mayor…the Distinguished Blog Master Supremo (aka Jeff Johnston Sr.) then I wonder what you’re going to do with it? [Actually, it's available at several town businesses and the signatories have asked former Mayor Johnston to bring it to council on their behalf.]

    But before you jump to kneejerk conclusions take a moment to reflect just what place so-called ‘petitions’ hold in our precious Democracy. [Here we go...]

     As background the Petition to put the ‘Wards’ debate in the hands of the OMB was given legal status by statute.  The Municipal Act granted the Right and Permission to assemble that Petition.

    Interestingly that same OMB grants no similar weight to petitions.  They simply table them when presented and provide no comment. [And abolishing the wards-system has allowed a small special interest group to now control the town.]

    So is that what you as Council should do too?

    Well actually I don’t think so!

    And, here’s why…when a petition such as the one in question targets or singles out one of you for sanction in reality it is against all of you! [Okay, let's say, for argument's sake, it's against all of them. It still expresses the will of hundreds of Kearney ratepayers.]

    Now you say “What does that really mean?” [It means that hundreds of ratepayers in Kearney think Tomlinson should resign.]

    Well a Municipal Council is basically a Unit empowered by Statute…the various roles of the Councilors and Head of Council are rigorously defined but it is still a ‘single’ functioning Unit… [Whatever happened to your rant about "you (former Mayor Johnston), as Mayor, authorized the over taxation of your citizens...? Now you're flip-flopping again and saying that it's a single unit of which the mayor but one voice? Pick one, Jim]

    Which means that an attack on One is an attack on All…the concept of ‘joint and several’ comes to mind and is responsibly applicable.

         And, here’s the clincher…

    Any signatory to the aforementioned Petition is in fact signing in opposition ‘against’ the entire Council.

    So what; you ask?

    Well here’s the “So-What”…

       Councillors are elected and their behavior is governed by an articulated Code of Conduct. [And Tomlinson and Dingwall repeatedly violate the Code of Conduct, but you don't seem to have a problem with that. Why not?]

    Council “appointed” Committee Members hold their positions at the behest and mandate of Council.

    Obviously if any of the names on the Petition belong to any Council ‘appointed’ committee members then they have indulged in insurrection. [Insurrection: A violent uprising against an authority or government. The only violence we've seen has been against those perceived as enemies of Mayor Tomlinson, who regularly harasses and bullies town staff. Some similar governing styles come to mind...] There are consequence for this – [Proudfooters will beat you in the street! Yes, yes, Jim! We know.]

    Council must immediately request their resignation. [As a reprisal for exercising their freedom of speech under the Charter of Rights?]

    Otherwise ‘insurrection’ is being condoned by council and a mockery is made of democracy. 

     Freedom of expression only goes so far….when you attack the very institution that has appointed you; then you should be prepared to resign. [Hear that volunteers (if there are any left)?If you want to exercise your democratic right of free speech and association, you must to resign or face dismissal.]

    Failure to do so automatically must lead to outright dismissal.

         Over to you Council…Do the Right Thing! [Schnell!]

      Good governing…

    Jim Skelton

Avid Blog Fan Jim Skelton Writes In

 Good morning Blog Master Supremo,

 Throw the attached to the ‘mob’…

 Then have Jr. turn up the “ridicule” machine!

 Not “anonymous” and oh yeah…there are no bcc’d versions

 PS: Intriguing choice of words you employ…clearly runs (no pun intended) in the Family. [???]

 Dear ‘New’ Council…

 Congratulations on your election wins!!

 It seems, however, that some still don’t really know what happened…

 Mary was not running for Mayor! [Mary who? Running for mayor when?]

 Paul won a solid plurality at 40%... [Paul won 40% of the votes cast, but less than 16% of the popular vote. Popular votes are the total possible votes of the population. In 2010 there were 2406 registered voters in Kearney, so 381 votes is only 15.8%. Is the math getting confusing, Jim?]

 In speaking with folks around town there still appears confusion!

 No person or group assisted Paul...he did it all by himself! In fact he rejected all offers of help!

 As far as I am aware…neither the SLAPOA nor the GLLRG campaigned on behalf of any candidate! [You weren't at the July 10, 2010 GLLRG meeting so you missed the part where member Tim Brown canvassed for donations for fellow members Steve Sainsbury and Barry Dingwall.]

 Imagine if they had done so! [No need to imagine] Would the results be any different? Does it matter?

 A WIN is a WIN is a WIN…

 Always fun to replay the tape and play the speculation game but can you really do that? NO!! [But Jim's about to anyway]

 WHY? Because as circumstances change so too do the strategies behind each candidate!

 Accept the results…move on and celebrate the future not the past!!

Barry and Steve managed their own campaigns…[Actually, according to their campaign brochures, and other mailings, Tim Brown was their manager] they worked hard for every vote they received! They are heroes! ["Heroes"? Really? Like Mother Theresa, or Oscar Schindler, or rescue workers at 9-11? That's how you see them?]

Yvonne garnered votes from across the entire town…Wow! Good going!

Ken stayed out of sight and we hope he’s not being mentored by other Clam Lake parties…but we do wonder! [We have no idea what that means.]

Art amazed us all…great vote count! I’m told B & S loaned him some coattails; but so what…nice WIN Art!

Louise fashioned an impressive WIN and she did it in spite of spiteful and relentless personal attacks! What’s wrong with some people?

 Speaking of which…have you ever seen such ‘fuzzy’ math or at least such a pathetic version of it?

 Try this for sensibility…

 In 2003 Lynn Godfrey received 560 votes in Ward 3…318 more than her nearest second place rival! Now that was a WIN!

Jeff Johnston finished second to Paul Schaefer in Ward 2 by only 11 votes…but he was still SECOND not first!!

Oh yeah Tilley received just one vote less than half of Jeff’s total in 2003 and he still remains NEVER elected! [Bob Tilley? Who was elected to Council in 2006?]

That means Jeff received twice as many votes as Tilley but he was still SECOND.

Now for the clincher…and this is really very basic math and not even ‘fuzzy’!!

Wait for it…

In 2003 the winner for council in each Ward received more votes than the winning candidate for Mayor! [Okay... Still waiting for the clincher...]

And another very pleasant fact from 2003…Earl Herron came fourth in Ward 1 and barely polled half the votes of the winner Rick Philip….remember Earl was parachuted into the previous council to replace the resigning Rob Rickward. So Earl had been on the previous council and still lost! Remember the same guys tried to do the same for Earl with Sadie’s passing! So who says cronyism is dead in Kearney!?

Charlie had every right to ask for our votes…he’d definitely served his time! But Thrale…come on Kearney he doesn’t even know where the council chambers are…how gullible are we? [Well, you did vote for Tomlinson and look at how well that turned out.]

Oh! You didn’t want Paul…or was it you didn’t want Charlie?

Remember Paul barely campaigned and that other guy (soon to be our previous Mayor) campaigned relentlessly against him! So why have we not heard from that other guy except with his ‘fuzzy’ math? [If you're referring to former mayor Johnston, Council heard from him recently when he was delegated by the ratepayers of Kearney to deliver the petition for Tomlinson's resignation.] Do you think ‘congratulations’ just might be in order?

Congratulations Paul…in case you haven’t heard you’ve been ELECTED Mayor of Kearney! Yeah three cheeeeeers!!! [And now hundreds of ratepayers have signed their names an a petition for his resignation. Yeah three cheeeeeers!!! And Council had to censure him for harassing town staff again. Yeah three cheeeeeers!!! And now Council wants his resignation. Yeah three cheeeeeers!!! Our Reserves are being sucked dry and will be gone by the end of Tomlinson's term. Yeah three cheeeeeers!!! Tomlinson's critics are being beaten in the street in front of their families. Yeah three cheeeeeers!!!]

So you think if Thrale had pulled out Charlie might have Won? Not a snow ball’s chance…Charlie is restricted to no more than 290 votes! Why? It’s just the way it is! Fuzzy math? No it’s simply a well known Kearney factoid! [Gee Jim, if your astrologer says it would have been so, who are we to argue?]

 So if Charlie had pulled out? Well then there wouldn’t have been any need to cast a “not for Charlie” vote! Right? Of course and Paul would’ve WON in a veritable landslide…so much for the pundits…Kearney really is a strange place at Election Time!

And now for the ‘real time’ quiz…

How many envelopes with Bob Goodings greetings and the Proxy Form did the SLAPOA send out?

Well, I have it on good authority that they reached more voters than actually turned out….the object of the exercise (aside from recruiting new members) was to provide a ‘community service’ and “get-the-vote-out”!! Did it work? Was it helpful?

And, this may surprise you…almost twice as many were sent to ‘Local’ residents than were sent to seasonals! [No point in preaching to the converted.] And, of those sent to seasonals 10% of the number sent to locals were sent to seasonals living north of Barrie. Is the math getting confusing? [We're okay on the math, but we're having trouble figuring out your point.]

None were sent to the Loon Grass Lake seasonals…we really don’t like them folks!! Just kidding they were doing their own bit to get the vote out [And donating money to Dingwall and Sainsbury's campaign]…how we doing so far? Complicated stuff these elections Eh? 

Enjoy you evening…watch the USA election results…they just might affect your future!!

Thanks again for standing up for Kearney and good luck and much success in your upcoming term!

Kearney really does need you all…but actually four would probably do just fine!

And, that reminds me the average number of votes cast per elector for council was 4…prophetic??

Cheers,

Jim Skelton jskelton@caseworks.ca

Another nice rant, Jim. Must have pulled an all-nighter on that one.

And the never-ending history lessons are terrific! But Paul Tomlinson is still a bully and serial harasser, not that that's a problem for you. You clearly enjoy the mayor's schoolyard bully antics. But, Tomlinson has made himself a public laughingstock and a liability and now the Council and the people of Kearney want him gone. You might still be madly in love with your hero, Jim, but the Council and ratepayers of Kearney are not.

And we don't think there will be any need to "have Jr. turn up the 'ridicule' machine". First, the Johnstons don't run the blog and their contributions are always signed. Tomlinson took a shot in the dark and missed, but he and his sycophants need a target for their anger (and violence) so none of you can let go because it would leave you without a tangible target for your hate. Second, we really never need to ridicule the obviously ridiculous, we just do it for fun. Keep those cards and letters coming, Jim!