Gravenhurst; Criticism Isn't Solely For Hurtful Purposes; Some Good Can Be Achieved

Tree Damage and Power Outages Throughout Muskoka Region

 

The large accumulation of snow combined with mild temperature proved too much weight for many trees in the region of Muskoka bringing down braches and power lines throughout the area.    Power disruptions continue throughout the rural areas where hydro crews are clearing lines and repairing the broken power mains to areas of the region.  Fred Schulz Photos

IT'S HARD TO PLEASE EVERYONE - RIGHT? EVERYONE IS A CRITIC - RIGHT? EVERYONE WANTS A WINNER - YOU BET!

BEING A TOWN REPRESENTATIVE INVOLVES THE APPRECIATION OF ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!!!

     EVEN IF WE HADN'T RECEIVED ONE….JUST ONE SNOWFLAKE SO FAR THIS WINTER, THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST WOULD HAVE UNDOUBTEDLY RECEIVED A COMPLAINT, ABOUT THE FACT, THERE HAD BEEN NO SNOWPLOW DOWN THEIR STREET. OR SANDER. IF WE HAD THE PERFECT OPERA HOUSE ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAM, TO FIT ALL  AGES AND INTERESTS, THERE WOULD STILL BE A DISGRUNTLED PATRON, WHO FELT IT INCUMBENT, TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THE COMFORT OF THE SEATS, THE STAIRS, ELEVATOR, OR INDOOR CLIMATE….TOO HOT, TOO COLD. MAYBE THE TEXTURE OF THE TOILET PAPER CAUSES A RASH. LET'S FACE IT, WE ALL LIKE TO COMPLAIN NOW AND AGAIN, AS IF THE STEAM KETTLE HAS BEEN SITTING FOR TOO LONG ON A HOT BURNER. IT'S A RELEASE OF SORTS. WE TEMPORARILY FEEL GOOD, BECAUSE WE JUST DISHED OUT A VERBAL SCOLDING; OR JUST TAKEN OUR SMOKING FINGERS OFF THE KEYBOARD, AFTER SENDING A NASTY EMAIL OR MESSAGE TO SOMEONE WE KNOW…..OR HAVE NEVER MET. HOW DARE THEY MESS WITH US! DO THEY KNOW WHO WE ARE? WE'RE IMPORTANT! OUR CONCERNS MATTER!  CONSIDERING THE NASTY CALL OR SCOLDING, MAY HAVE BEEN FOR THE BASIC INDISCRETION, OF A HARRIED GROCERY CLERK, PUTTING THE EGGS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BAG, WITH THE KITTY LITTER GOING-IN ON TOP. DAMN THEM! DON'T THEY KNOW ANY BETTER? WHY DOES A STORE HIRE SUCH IDIOTS? VERY FEW OF US STOP TO PONDER, JUST WHAT KIND OF DAY THESE CLERKS HAVE HAD TO THAT POINT. MAYBE SOMEONE IN THE FAMILY IS ILL, OR THEY'VE JUST BEEN DUMPED BY A GAL PAL. TRUE, MAYBE THEY HAVE NEVER BEEN TAUGHT PROPER GROCERY PACKING. BUT WE SHOULD REALLY GIVE THEM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. WOULD YOU REALLY LIKE TO SEE THEM LOSE THEIR JOB OVER A COMPROMISED CARTON OF EGGS?

     OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, I HAVE BEEN OPENLY CRITICAL OF THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST'S HANDLING OF MANY LOCAL ISSUES. I'VE TOLD THEM SO. AT TIMES, I HAVE BEEN UNRELENTING, TRYING TO CONVINCE OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS, THAT THEY NEEDED TO BE "OUT THERE" IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN…..TO VISIT WITH THEIR CONSTITUENTS, BEYOND WHAT THEY DID DURING THEIR ELECTION CAMPAIGNS. THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTION FOR KNOWING YOUR COMMUNITY. THAT IS, IF YOU WANT TO BE AN EXCEPTIONAL COUNCILLOR…..A ROLE MODEL FOR ALL OTHER COUNCILLORS TO FOLLOW. BY THIS I DON'T MEAN SHOWING UP FOR GRIP AND GRIN PHOTOGRAPHS, AND BELIEVING THIS TO BE OUTREACH. YOU SEE, THERE IS ONE WAY TO REDUCE CRITICISM. IT INVOLVES FACING THE CRITICS. SHOWING THAT, SHORT OF BEING HIT BY VEGETABLES, YOU'RE NOT AFRAID TO FIELD QUESTIONS FROM THE PUBLIC. NOT JUST IN PRIVATE. IN PUBLIC. WHERE FOBBING-OFF ON A QUESTION WILL BE SEEN BY A KEEN AUDIENCE, AS A WEAKNESS. NO ONE ON THIS PRESENT COUNCIL WANTS TO SHOW THIS, EVEN THOUGH MY HUNCH IS, THERE'S LOT OF FEAR WITHIN, THAT THE PUBLIC IS GOING TO POUNCE ON THEM. I'VE PROBABLY CONTRIBUTED TO THIS SITUATION, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TRYING TO INFORM THEM, PRETTY GENTLY I MIGHT ADD, THAT WORD ON THE STREET IS NOT FAVORABLE TO THIS ADMINISTRATION. BACK A FEW YEARS, I WAS RIDING THEM OFTEN, TO HOST A PUBLIC MEETING, AND ALLOW THE CONSTITUENTS TO ASK THE PRESSING QUESTIONS ON THEIR MINDS. NO RESTRICTIONS ON THE QUESTIONS. LET IT ALL HANG OUT. SO WHAT WAS TO LOSE, FOR COUNCILLORS, IF THEY'D DECIDED TO TAKE THIS ROUTE, TO ALLAY THE CONCERNS OF RESIDENTS?

     IN MY OPINION, THIS COUNCIL, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF SEVERAL MEMBERS, IS NOT BIG ON FACING HARD QUESTIONS IN A PUBLIC FORUM; ABOUT FOR EXAMPLE, THE GENERAL OPERATION OF COUNCIL. THEY INSIST ON ALMOST ALL INTERACTION WITH CONSTITUENTS, TO BE CONTROLLED AND ON THEIR TERMS ONLY. TRUTH IS, I'D RATHER SEE HOW THESE PEOPLE PERFORM WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE A SAFETY NET, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ONE….AND WE HAVE TO GET ABOUT OUR BUSINESS EACH DAY. IF COUNCIL HAD THOUGHT MY CRITICISM WAS VALID, AND THEY DECIDED TO OFFER AN OPEN FORUM, IN A LARGE VENUE…., BY THE SIMPLE ACT OF ORGANIZING SUCH AN EVENT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A ROUSING CHARGE INTO THE WARM EMBRACE OF DEMOCRACY. IT WOULD HAVE SHOWN A FEARLESS APPROACH……"WE'RE READY, WILLING AND ABLE TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS!" IT WOULD HAVE SHOWN CONSTITUENTS THAT THE PEOPLE THEY ELECTED, WERE WILLING TO TAKE IT ON THE CHIN, IF THEY WERE PROVEN WRONG. IT WOULD HAVE EASED HARD FEELINGS, AND ABATED MISTRUST, AND DEMONSTRATED A GENUINE INTEREST IN GETTING TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE "WORD ON THE STREET." I WASN'T ASKING ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. NOTHING EXCEPTIONAL. BUT WHAT IT DEMANDED, WAS THAT OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WOULD HAVE TO TAKE THE GOOD WITH THE BAD, AND REMAIN FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW. THE PUBLIC RELATIONS BENEFITS? HUGE! COUNCIL WOULD BE ABLE TO THROW IT OUT THERE, THAT THEY HAD MET WITH THE PUBLIC, IN AN OPEN FORUM, WHERE QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR WEREN'T SANITIZED, OR DISALLOWED BECAUSE OF CONTENT. NOTHING SILENCES A CRITIC LIKE, "I WAS THERE, WHERE WERE YOU?"

     SINCE THIS PRESENT TERM OF OFFICE BEGAN, THERE HAVE BEEN QUITE A FEW SIGNIFICANT ISSUES COUNCIL HAS HAD TO FACE. THE INVESTIGATION INTO THE RECREATION CENTRE SPENDING, FOR ONE THING, WAS A HELL OF A PLACE TO START. WE FOUND OUR MUNICIPALITY GETTING BASHED ABOUT QUITE AGGRESSIVELY FOR THAT FIRST EIGHT MONTHS, AND EVEN THOUGH THE ISSUE DISAPPEARED FROM OUR SCRUTINY, WE NEVER READ WHAT I WOULD HAVE CONSIDERED A MEANINGFUL FOLLOW-UP OR CLOSURE, FROM THE MEDIA OUTLET THAT GOT THE BALL ROLLING IN THE FIRST PLACE. I HAD SUGGESTED, THAT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA, FOR THE TOWN TO FOLLOW THIS MATTER UP, AND IF WE WERE TRULY IN THE CLEAR, AN APOLOGY TO OUR COMMUNITY WAS CERTAINLY WARRANTED. APOLOGIES ALL ROUND WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT. NATIONAL EXPOSURE FOR THIS DEBACLE WASN'T THE KIND OF TOURISM PROMOTION WE NEEDED. I DON'T FEEL GRAVENHURST CAME OUT OF THIS GOOD AT ALL, AND IT COST A LOT OF COIN TO DEFEND OURSELVES. APPARENTLY, I'M ONE OF ONLY A FEW, WHO REMEMBERS THIS STUFF…..AND THE DOUBLE BANK, BOLD HEADLINES.

     THEN THERE WERE THE FIRES AND ECONOMIC CHAGRIN OF THE MAIN STREET BUSINESSES, ROAD CONSTRUCTION, A CRAPPY ROOF ON OUR NEW TOWN HALL, RECREATION CENTRE EXPENSES THROUGH THE ROOF, AND WHAT DO WITH THE THE TERRENCE HAIGHT BENEVOLENCE, OF A MILLION DOLLARS, AND WELL, THIS ONE WORKED OUT WELL IN THE END. THERE WERE LOTS OF REASONS AND OCCASIONS, THAT SHOULD HAVE HERALDED COUNCIL'S WILLINGNESS TO MEET THE PUBLIC…..AND LET IT ALL HANG OUT. WE'RE A SMALL ONTARIO TOWN. WE CAN DROP OUR GUARD A LITTLE. WE'RE NEIGHBORS FOR GOSH SAKES. WE MEET EACH OTHER IN THE GROCERY STORES. IN LINE GETTING OUR SLICES OF PIZZA. GETTING GAS. SOMETIMES YOU GET THE IMPRESSION, WE'RE BEING RUN ON THE "CITY-FORMAT," WHERE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO MEET ALL CONSTITUENTS. THIS IS HARDLY THE CASE. AND JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PUBLIC MEETING, DOESN'T MEAN IT WILL BE AN EPISODE OF ULTIMATE FIGHTING. I'M NOT SUGGESTING IT WOULDN'T GET TURBULENT AND UNCOMFORTABLE FOR SOME, BUT AS I'VE OFFERED BEFORE, AS REASON TO HOLD THESE MEETINGS…, IS THAT IT GIVES ALL THE CRITICS THEIR MOMENT OF GLORY. "ULTIMATE VENTING!" AT THE SAME TIME, IT SHOWS THAT OUR LEADERSHIP IS STRONG AND COMMITTED, AND HAS VALID REASONS FOR DECISIONS THEY HAVE MADE……AND CAN DEFEND THEM VIGOROUSLY.

     DURING MY TERM AS EDITOR, OF THE HERALD-GAZETTE, I SPENT MUCH OF MY TIME ON THE PHONE, OR IN THE FRONT OFFICE, GETTING YELLED AT BY A HOST OF UNHAPPY CAMPERS. AS THE MANAGER POINTED OUT TO ME, THIS IS WHY I WAS GETTING PAID THE BIG BUCKS. WELL, NO I WASN'T, BUT I ACCEPTED IT AS PART OF MY JOB ANYWAY. IF THEY WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT THE WAY WE HANDLED A STORY, OR THAT WE HAD ERRORS IN OUR COVERAGE, OR EVEN IN A PHOTOGRAPH WE USED, I STOOD THERE AND FELT THEIR HOT BREATH ON MY BROW. I CAN TELL YOU HONESTLY, OVER NINETY PERCENT OF THOSE COMPLAINTS WERE PROVEN FALSE, WITHOUT ANY FOUNDATION, AND IT WAS WITH A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PLEASURE, THAT I WAS ABLE TO CORRECT THEIR OWN FAULTY IMPRESSIONS; SUCH THAT I'D GET AN APOLOGY ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN. THE REASON OUR AVERAGES WERE HIGH, IS THAT WE DIDN'T WANT COMPLAINTS, AND LAW SUITS, IN THE FIRST PLACE, SO WE DIDN'T LET ERROR-FILLED COPY GET INTO THE PAPER. WE HATED OURSELVES WHEN IT DID HAPPEN. IN MY TEN YEARS WITH THE PUBLICATION, WE NEVER ISSUED A FRONT PAGE APOLOGY, FOR ANYTHING THE NEWS DEPARTMENT WROTE. WE ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT PUBLIC PERCEPTION, BECAUSE OUR JOBS DEPENDED ON IT. IF THESE READERS HAD BEEN ABLE TO PROVE THAT WE SCREWED UP, AND IT CAUSED HARM TO THE SUBJECT, AS A DIRECT RESULT, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN FIRED….AND SUED. SO IT'S NOT LIKE I HAD ANY DOUBT, HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO BE BANG-ON WITH OUR REPORTING AND EDITORIALS, AND ABUNDANTLY PATIENT WITH OUR OBJECTORS. THERE WAS ONE INCIDENT, WHEN A YOUNG MAN, WHO WAS OBJECTING TO THE WAY WE HAD REPORTED ON HIS BROTHER'S DEATH, IN A CAR ACCIDENT, WAS READY TO CLEAN MY CLOCK. IN THIS CASE, I WAS DEFENDING OUR STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER, WHO WAS THE MIRROR OF DISCRETION. THE GENTLEMAN HAD A VALID POINT ABOUT OUR COVERAGE, AND OF THE THREE STAFF PEOPLE IN THE FOYER, AT THAT MOMENT, THERE WAS NO MINIMIZING, ON ANY OF OUR PARTS, THE TERRIBLE PAIN HE WAS EXPERIENCING. BUT I WATCHED HIS HANDS, BECAUSE AS A LONG TIME HOCKEYIST, I EXPECTED A FIST TO COME MY WAY AT ANY MOMENT. LET ME POINT OUT AS WELL, THAT TWO OF THE THREE STAFFERS WITH ME, FELT THE KID HAD EVERY RIGHT TO PUNCH ME IN THE JAW. THEY HADN'T APPROVED OF US USING THE PHOTO EITHER. WHILE THEY WEREN'T WILLING TO ALLOW THE FOYER TO BE TURNED INTO A BOXING RING, THEY WEREN'T PARTICULARLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE NEWSPAPER AT THAT MOMENT. BUT IT WAS THEIR OPINION, AND IT'S WHAT I HAD TO LIVE WITH. THE CHAP EVENTUALLY COOLED DOWN ON HIS OWN, AND WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF FRIENDS, HE WAS LED OUT OF THE OFFICE MUCH QUIETER, THAN HE HAD ARRIVED SCREAMING AT ME.

     THERE ARE THOSE COUNCILLORS, WHO PROBABLY FEEL, THAT I COULDN'T WALK A MILE IN THEIR SHOES. IF IT INVOLVES TAKING CRITICISM, THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO WALK A MILE IN MY SHOES EITHER. I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN PLENTY OF ORGANIZATIONS, AND PRESIDENT OF A BOARD OF DIRECTORS, WHO CRITIQUED EVEN THE WAY I MADE COFFEE FOR THE MEETINGS. I HAVE HELPED SAVE TWO MUSEUMS IN THIS REGION, AND LAUNCH A HALL OF FAME (WITH OVERWHELMING OPPOSITION) AND THAT INVOLVED TAKING ON LOCAL COUNCILS, BOTH IN BRACEBRIDGE AND MUSKOKA LAKES. YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE THE NAMES I WAS CALLED. SEEING AS THERE WAS NO PLACE TO RUN, AND THE JOB STILL HAD TO GET DONE, I FINISHED UP THE WORK OF THE DAY, TOOK MY LUMPS, AND FELT A LITTLE VICTORIOUS AT THE END. I STILL FEEL GOOD ABOUT THOSE ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND MOSTLY, BECAUSE I RAN THE GAUNTLET MYSELF….AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT. SO WHEN IT APPEARS, EVEN TO READERS, THAT I'M BEING UNUSUALLY VICIOUS, OR TOSSING OUT SUGGESTIONS THAT ARE UNFOUNDED, IT'S ABOUT AS RUN OF THE MILL,  AS YOU CAN GET HONESTLY, WITHOUT BEING DIMINISHED DOWN TO DUST IN THE WIND…..THAT MAY ONLY CAUSE MINOR EYE IRRITATION. BUT THE REALITY IS, COUNCIL STOPPED SEEING MY SUGGESTIONS AS EVEN MODERATELY INTERESTING, A LONG TIME AGO; SO MOST OF THESE BLOGS ONLY GO TO THE CONSTITUENT-READERS…..WHO SEEM TO CONCUR ABOUT COUNCIL BEING A LITTLE SHY OF OPEN PUBLIC FORUMS. IF THE COUNCIL, BELIEVED ALL ALONG, THAT THEY WERE FOLLOWING PERFECT PROTOCOL, IN THEIR GOVERNANCE ACTIVITIES, THEN WHY IN THE WORLD WOULDN'T THEY WANT TO BE UP FRONT ABOUT IT…..WITH THE WHOLE TOWN AS AN AUDIENCE? METHINKS THEY'D RATHER NOT, JUST IN CASE!  JUST IN CASE WHAT? WELL, IN CASE THERE'S A QUESTION THEY CAN'T ANSWER, AND THEY DON'T WANT TO BE EMBARRASSED? OR FEEL THREATENED BY A MOD OF DISSIDENTS. NOW READERS…..WHEN HAVE YOU SEEN A MOB OF DISSIDENTS IN GRAVENHURST? I DON'T THINK THERE'S MUCH FEAR OF THIS HAPPENING, EVEN IN THE MOST HEATED OF FORUMS. WE'RE A PRETTY CIVIL CONSTITUENCY, TRUTH BE KNOWN. AND POLITE. THE PERCEPTION REMAINS, THAT COUNCIL HAS NO WILL OF EXPOSING ITS MEMBERS TO THIS KIND OF PUBLIC SCRUTINY, WHERE THERE MIGHT BE HURT FEELINGS. SO YES, THIS IS MY CRITICISM OF GRAVENHURST COUNCIL.

     GRAVENHURST HAS BEEN AT A CROSSROADS FOR QUITE SOME TIME. I THINK IT WILL BE THERE WELL INTO THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION. WE HAVE MEMBERS OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY COMPLAINING TO THE PRESS ABOUT THE BUSINESS SHORTFALLS, AND INCONSISTENT HOURS OF OPERATION, AND WE HAVE BUSINESSES THAT ARE DOING SO WELL…….IT SHOULD GIVE US ALL REASON TO SMILE ABOUT FUTURE PROSPECTS. YET THERE IS THAT STRANGE HOLDING PATTERN, AND DISTANCING BETWEEN THE INVESTORS IN THIS TOWN, AND THE OPERATIONS AT TOWN HALL. THAT IS THE "WORD" ON THE STREET. THIS COUNCIL IS DISTANT. COOL. DISCONNECTED WITH RESIDENTS. I'M NOT INVENTING THIS…..I'M MERELY THE MESSENGER. THE REAL QUESTION IS, WHETHER COUNCILLORS WANT TO FINISH OF THIS YEAR THE SAME AS THEY BEGAN, OR THEY WANT TO GO OUT WITH A FLOURISH? IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE THAT…..ALTHOUGH MOST OF US WOULD PROBABLY FEEL IT WAS ONLY A RE-ELECTION PLOY. I GUESS THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LEAVE THE FLOURISH TO THE LAST MINUTE.

     THERE IS A GENERAL FEELING AMONG THE MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN OUR COMMUNITY, THAT CRITICISM IS NASTY BUSINESS. I'VE FOUND THIS OUT IN PERSON, DURING MANY CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS. THEY DON'T MIND BEING CRITICAL, BUT THEY DON'T WANT ANY ONE ELSE TO BE. IN ALL THIS TIME, I HAVE FOUND THAT OUR RESISTANCE TO CRITICISM, IS HURTING US DEARLY, BECAUSE WE DISMISS IT AS HATE MONGERING AND RIDICULOUS ACCUSATIONS. I DON'T USE TWITTER AS A MEDIA VEHICLE. BUT OUR FAMILY, AS PART OF THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, READ EVERYTHING WE CAN, ABOUT OUR TOWN….GOOD AND BAD. WE KNOW THAT A LOT OF LOCALLY INSPIRED PROPAGANDA GETS OUT THERE, BUT IN BETWEEN, THERE ARE COMMENTS BEING MADE ABOUT OUR TOWN, THAT WE REALLY SHOULD TAKE SERIOUSLY……BECAUSE IT'S NOT ALL HATEFUL FOR THE SAKE OF BEING HATEFUL. MANY OF THESE COMMENTS ARE COMING FROM OUR VISITORS….WHO WE COUNT ON FOR A HUGE PART OF OUR INCOME. AS WE FULLY APPRECIATE, JUST HOW RELIANT WE ARE ON TOURISM DOLLARS, YOU'D THINK WE WOULD WANT TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. SOME ARE RUDE AND OBVIOUSLY UNFOUNDED…..AND CAN BE PROVEN SO. OTHERS, THAT CRITIQUE OUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY, OR PUBLIC SERVICES, OFTEN HAVE MERIT. THE THOUGHT THAT ONE OF OUR CUSTOMERS WOULD WRITE ABOUT THE POOR TREATMENT THEY RECEIVED IN OUR SHOP, WOULD BE DEEPLY DISTRESSING. WHILE YOU CAN'T STOP PEOPLE FROM DISLIKING YOUR BUSINESS, BASED ON THEIR EXPECTATIONS, YOU CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO THINK THEY'RE GOING TO HATE YOU SO MUCH, THAT THEY WARN OTHER PEOPLE FROM VISITING. SO WHETHER WE LIKE CRITICISM OR NOT, WE HAVE TO TAKE IT ALL SERIOUSLY. OR ELSE! AND BY THE WAY, I READ A TWITTER ENTRY IN THE SUMMER, THAT REFERRED TO A LOCAL RESTAURANT IN THE MOST UNFLATTERING TERMS, AND WITH THE ACCOMPANYING PHOTOGRAPH, WE KNEW EXACTLY WHERE THE WRITER HAD BEEN. IN A WAY, TWITTER IS GOING TO SHAPE US UP HERE, WHETHER WE WANT IT OR NOT. THE ESSENCE OF THE MESSAGE WAS "DON'T EAT IN THIS RESTAURANT." IT COULD JUST AS EASILY HAVE BEEN, "DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS ANTIQUE SHOP!" THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF.

     ONE EVENING, SUZANNE AND I WERE WALKING UP TO A LOCAL GROCERY STORE, FOR OUR DAILY SUPPLIES. WHEN WE ENCOUNTERED AN ANGRY GENTLEMAN OUT FRONT, YELLING AT THE TOP OF HIS VOICE, ABOUT HOW CRAPPY IT WAS TO LIVE IN GRAVENHURST. HE USED MORE AGGRESSIVE WORDING WHICH I WON'T SHARE. OVER AND OVER, THIS MAN LET IT RIP, ABOUT HOW THIS WAS THE BIGGEST A__HOLE ON THE PLANET. I WAS MAD. I WON'T LET ANYONE GET AWAY WITH BASHING MY HOMETOWN LIKE THAT…..WITH RECKLESS ABANDON. SUZANNE GRABBED MY ARM, WHILE INFORMING ME, IT WAS JUST THIS CHAP'S WAY OF GETTING A BURDEN OFF HIS CHEST……JUST A LITTLE MORE AGGRESSIVELY THAN I DID IN THESE BLOGS. SO I STOPPED TO LISTEN TO HIS RANTS, AND AS HE EXPLAINED TO ANOTHER SHOPPER, HE HAD BEEN HAVING A HORRIBLE DAY TO THAT POINT…..AND HE WAS BLAMING ALL HIS MISFORTUNE ON GRAVENHURST……AS IF IT COULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. SO AS I'M ALLOWED MY FORUM TO CRITIQUE THE TOWN, SO THEN WAS THIS YOUNG MAN GIVEN HIS SOAPBOX, ALTHOUGH I DON'T THINK THE STORE MANAGER WAS IMPRESSED. BY THE WAY, I HAVE SPENT TIME IN SPEAKER'S CORNER OF LONDON'S HYDE PARK, SO I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO CLIMB ONTO A SOAP BOX, FOR A LITTLE VENTING OF OPINION.

     THIS SHOULD BE A SHARING PLACE. A TOWN THAT WELCOMES COUNTERPOINT. WE SHOULD ALL FEEL THAT LOCAL GOVERNANCE IS AN EXTENSION OF OUR BEST LAID PLANS. WE WANT TO FEEL A PART OF THE PROCESS, AND TO THINK THAT OUR INPUT IS HELPFUL. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT FOR AWHILE, IT'S WHAT WOULD MAKE THE WHOLE COUNTRY A BETTER-RUN DEMOCRACY, IF CONSTITUENTS ACTUALLY FELT AS INVESTORS (AS THEY SHOULD) IN ITS PROSPERITY. WE DON'T. WE FEEL VICTIMS OF OUR FORMER TRUST. TIME AND AGAIN, WITH ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT, WE FEEL LET DOWN. AND THEN WE GET THE ACCOUNTING FIGURES. WE SHUDDER. THEN LOOK AT OUR HOUSEHOLD BUDGET, AND GET FRUSTRATED THAT THEY CAN'T RUN GOVERNMENT, THE WAY WE HAVE TO MANAGE OUR FINANCES. SO IS IT ANY WONDER WE'RE DISGRUNTLED?

     I DON'T DISLIKE OUR COUNCILLORS AS CITIZENS. I DON'T KNOW MOST OF THEM EVEN FROM CASUAL CONTACT. THEY DON'T COME INTO OUR STORE AND I DON'T GO INTO TOWN HALL. BUT WHEN A CITIZEN BECOMES AN ELECTED MEMBER OF GOVERNMENT, THE RELATIONSHIP CHANGES. IT'S THE WAY IT WORKS. BUT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO MEAN DYSFUNCTION, AT ANY EXPENSE OF CIVILITY. GOD DIDN'T PUT US ON EARTH TO AGREE WITH ONE ANOTHER. SO CRITICISM ASIDE, THIS IS OUR MUNICIPALITY. WE ARE THE STAKEHOLDERS. I'D LIKE TO THINK THAT ONE DAY, WE CAN TRUST EACH OTHER ENOUGH, TO HAVE PUBLIC MEETINGS TO AIR CONCERNS, EVERY SIX MONTHS; AND HAVE EVERYONE SHAKE HANDS AT THE CONCLUSION. THINK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES. WHAT'S THE INVESTMENT? LET'S START WITH TRUSTING EACH OTHER! WE COULD MAKE IT A NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION….OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT!