CFN

We have ten councilors currently.   There is no ward system in Cornwall so representation isn’t an issue although it probably should.

Recently we have had Beavergate and the Bilingual nurse protest.  Both issues councilors sat on their hands.

We have Councilor Thibault busy chopping up and planning the waterfront with some developers and a few stooges on the Waterfront Committee.

Here we have a video regarding the committee allegedly trying to force Stephen Alexander, one of the most competent managers in Cornwall off of the Waterfront committee.  Watch Mr. Menard spin  :)  Libel chill from a committee member, many questions, not a lot of answers .  Interesting video if you care about Cornwall’s waterfront.

We have councilor Carr with his Heart of the City initiative.    HOC does some good in Cornwall, but surely some of the bluster about conflict of interest has some merit?  Should Mr. Carr have to make a decision about whether he wants to run Heart of the City or be on Council when Cornwall has a policy that does not allow city workers to be on Council?

Councilor Grant is busy leading many of the committees, but from there it spins downward with most councilors participating on many committees, but not really having much of an impact in moving the city forward.

As a matter of fact council at the moment is starting to go partisan with Conservative members smelling blood in the water of long former Liberal MP Bob Kilger who is fighting off scandal after scandal while sitting as mayor and dealing with health issues.

Murmurs at city hall of a putsch to land Councilor David “Mellow Yellow” Murphy into the mayor’s seat have many following Cornwall politics cringing.

Voting at council has shown this year to be done by bloc or clique; especially during the issues surrounding the CAO Paul Fitzpatrick and the alleged wrongful termination of HR manager Robert Menagh.

So the question is why have ten councilors?   If the city is going to be run as it’s been run this term of council why have more than two or three?

Where are the issues that councilors should be leading?  With Councilor O’Shaughnessy quitting in disgust; the gang bang of councilor Rivette who has been very quiet since his complaint has stood up after sitting for a video interview with CFN;  councilors MacDonald, Dupelle, and even Queen Bernadette Clement have been all but silent on issues impacting the city, are having that many councilors just dead wood and a waste of tax dollars?

Add in refusals of council to allow citizens to present to council and it seems a very shady version of Democracy being practiced in Cornwall Ontario…

What do these councilors stand for?

What do you think Cornwallites?  You can post your comments below.

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

]]> http://cornwallfreenews.com/2012/05/does-cornwall-ontario-need-ten-city-councilors-waterfront-subterfuge-editorial-by-jamie-gilcig-may-22-2012/feed/ 4 http://cornwallfreenews.com/2012/05/letter-to-the-editor-gerry-flaherty-of-cornwall-ontario-on-waterfront-development-may-21-2012/ http://cornwallfreenews.com/2012/05/letter-to-the-editor-gerry-flaherty-of-cornwall-ontario-on-waterfront-development-may-21-2012/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 22:43:54 +0000 admin http://cornwallfreenews.com/?p=36791 Dear Sir,

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Any condo or commercial building on the parking lot east of Civic Complex/Aquatic Centre would ruin the view from the former Si Miller arena property, and lessen it’s market value.  The City is trying to sell this site today.

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The arena site rises up as it rolls northward to First St. E.  In the middle of the site, the view to the south is striking.

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It looks directly onto the parking lot in question with the river and treed Cornwall Island in the background.  In the foreground, the beige curling club is almost hidden by trees, and big trees stand in front of the Civic Complex.   To the east, lots of Legion Park green space is visible behind the French monument.  The slanted glass walls of the Aquatic Centre just sparkle in the sunshine,  and a large bed of bright yellow flowers enhances the United Way thermometer.

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Imagine the southern view from a spiffy 10-12 storey condo on the arena site! Residents on the east and west sides of this tower would have green space and river views too.

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The city’s pro-development waterfront committee is preparing for June public meetings regarding their plan, which is the second nutty thing they have done in two years.  At their first meeting, they halted a $30,000 redesign of the most easterly portion of Lamoureux Park located just east of the marina.

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The redesign to make the park’s fabulous river views more accessible by car has been in the planning for years.  To this end,  five mature trees from a downtown construction site were relocated here at city expense. Our old committee called this park Lookout Point or Pointe

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Maligne Lookout and felt it could become a tourist attraction with terrific views even on winter days.   (Pointe Maligne was the name for the Cornwall region from 1600 to 1825 and it appeared on river charts and tickets issued by Montreal shipping firms.)   Win or lose their parking lot project, you can be sure the current waterfront committee members who never saw a blade of grass they liked will want to chop those five trees down and build private condos at Lookout Point!

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Gerry Flaherty - Cornwall

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

CFN

“… 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, April29, 1938

In 2003, the American political scientist Laurence W. Britt published in the magazine Free Inquiry an article entitled “Fascism Anyone?” (Free Inquiry, Spring 2003-Volume 23, No. 2) After studying the political system of seven countries that have experienced periods of political dictatorship (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Spain under Franco, Portugal under Salazar, Greece under Papadopoulos, Chile under Pinochet and Indonesia under Suharto) the political scientist concluded that despite some differences, all these regimes have 14 common characteristics:  Powerful and continuing expression of nationalism, Disdain for the importance of human rights, Identification of enemies/scapegoats as unifying cause, Supremacy of the military/avid militarism, Rampant sexism, A controlled mass media, Obsession with national security, Religion and ruling elite tied together, Power of corporation protected, Power of labor suppressed or eliminated, Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts, Obsession with crime and punishment, Rampant cronyism and corruption and Fraudulent elections.

Let me add one more characteristic of totalitarian regimes to those identified by the author:  The contempt for democratic institutions which are nevertheless used for the establishment of the totalitarian regime.

What struck me the most after reading the article was the resemblance to the characteristics of Canadian politics since January 2006 and even more since May 2011, when the Conservative government became a majority government with less than 40% of the votes cast. It is not difficult to find concrete examples for each of the 15 characteristics mentioned. I will content myself in mentioning a few, leaving readers the opportunity to complete the list as they please:

Two times prorogation of Parliament to avoid votes of non-confidence and loss of power; changing the operating rules of the Committees of the House of Commons; overspending to exalt nationalism celebrating the War of 1812; budget cuts and the elimination of organisations dealing with human rights, identification of socialists, liberals, progressives and environmentalists as enemies of the nation and the national interest; reckless spending, in times of economic crisis, for military equipment and military interventions abroad; control of the mass media and access to information and retaliation against those who criticise the government; excessive laws justified by the need for national security; close relationships with leaders of various religions and their use for electoral purposes; anti-union legislation and the weakening of the legislation protecting workers; many legislative changes in favor of companies and corporations and against the common good and the environment; illegal elimination of the Wheat Board in favor of big landowners and big US grain companies; control of scientific information produced by government employees and the elimination of many scientific and cultural organisations; adoption of several laws relating to criminal offenses in a context where crime rates are down; legislation addressing judicial independence by requiring judges to award predetermined sentences; thousands of partisan nominations and corrupt behaviour by government officials (among others ministers Bev Oda, Peter MacKay, Tony Clement and Christian Paradis); concentration of decision-making in the hands of the  Prime Minister and Cabinet members to the detriment of the Members of Parliament; a unique lack of transparency in Canadian political history; fraudulent electoral behaviour (suppression of votes with illegal phone calls, illegal voting, financial opacity).

The majority of Canadians identify democracy as being the opportunity to vote freely and choose among candidates nominated by various parties, those who will represent and speak on their behalf for a period of time, usually four years.  The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms ensures a wide range of other rights which are taken for granted and considered immutable. We are convinced that those to whom we have delegated our power to decide are worthy and defend the common good and the general interest of our country. Unfortunately, the reality is very different and we risk having a rude awakening.  History is full of examples but we still think that this can only happen elsewhere, not in Canada.

Nevertheless, since 2006, Canada has entered a period of profound political and social changes. These changes have been very gradual and they have been supported by an extraordinary propaganda machine that would be the envy of any totalitarian regime. Under the influence of this propaganda and overwhelmed by our daily problems (job security, consumption and debts) we are convinced that those to whom we have temporarily delegated our powers are defending our interests and those of our country. The reality is that since 2006 the opposition parties, each in turn and for partisan reasons, have been accomplices in these changes. Since the Conservative Party has had a majority in Parliament (with only 40% of the votes) the progressive forces, representing over 60% of the population, have continued their division and internal fights and thereby fostered the changes.

Under the Conservative government, Canada is formulating and implementing an all-new form of dictatorship, the democratic dictatorship.  The lack of leadership and unity of progressive forces makes even sadder the establishment of the new Canadian political regime.

For now, the only good news is that all the dictatorial regimes have eventually failed and democracy has triumphed over tyranny.

Corneliu Kirjan
Free-thinking Citizen
Cornwall, Ontario

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

CFN

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The reason I say this is that there is nothing more exciting to watch than citizens gathering and expressing a need to be heard, no matter what the issue. This collective power is known as the spirit of unity. Unity is the spiritual characteristic that is essential in order to create a better world.

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Is it possible that one of the reasons that citizens do not vote is that our political system is based on a divisive model and uses force to achieve its aims? Unification and divisiveness are opposing forces. If we want to create the Cornwall and S D and G that we envision we will have to consider how to organize in a unifying manner and use our power for the collective good. Beavergate was an excellent example of the use of the power of unity in order to protect an ecosystem.

For the past 25 years, or longer, the City of Cornwall has trapped beaver populations in Guindon Park. Five years ago one citizen, Wyatt Walsh, started complaining about this practice. This year the City hired a trapper who set several Conibears, or body gripping traps with the mission to kill a family beavers that had taken up residence in the park. The City succeeded in its mission.

Several weeks ago the issue hit the headlines of CFN and became a matter of interest to several people and one in particular took the lead in order to get a resolution to the problem. This woman’s name is Rebecca Sorrel. I met her on Facebook through the Cornwall, Ontario page and became her friend. I tracked the story and took a personal interest because of my love for animals in general and my concern for the human impacts on the environment in particular.

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We are re-engineering the area and it concerns me that there does not seem to be a comprehensive vision what we want to end up with. When our great-great- grandchildren are born. what will they be looking at in terms of their environment: concrete or green spaces?

Rebecca has such a vision which she shared with me  in a social setting. I got the distinct impression that I was speaking to a woman of great capacity who is shaping up to be a community leader on a mission. The virtue that stands out the most powerfully from Rebecca is her humility. She told me over and over again that she is a nobody! Isn’t that incredible? How many of us would introduce ourselves and tell the other person that we are a nobody?

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She then proceeded to tell me that the only reason she stood up for the beavers was that she wanted to be the mother her daughter Calysta thought she was. I thought that this motivation is a sign of an extraordinary individual because Rebecca knows that Calysta is already a very powerful woman. She does not look at her as a child. After all we are raising adults, not children.

Rebecca is using a powerful spiritual principle in her maternal role. She begins with the end in mind. She has a vision and so she works backwards to make sure that the vision is realized. As a result, when Calysta is an adult she will be telling the world that she did all these great things because she had a mother who showed her the way. That is such a wonderful affirmation of the power of love, dedication and truthfulness – so much more powerful than the opposing ideology which rules through force, aggression, oppression and other destructive means. We need to bring balance into this world.

Here’s a song dedicated to the citizens who support Beavergate from Tina Turner, a Canadian icon and woman of substance:

You can reach me at spiritmatters9@gmail.com

 Shirley Barr lives and works in Cornwall Ontario since May 2010 and is a member of the Baha’i community.

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

CFN

Actually what was shocking was that someone put that requirement in writing, but at least they can say they were being open and transparent.

It is unlikely that any government regardless of political stripe will appoint people to key positions if they know that they are opposed to that government’s policies. That is a recipe for political disaster and constant infighting and a dysfunctional working relationship. That helps no one including the taxpayer who foots the bill for the salaries and any legal costs that might arise.

One would hope that any individual who is appointed to a board or commission or any other Order-in-Council appointment would be the best qualified person and not just a party hack. It is beneficial for a board to include a mixture of backgrounds and opinions and the government and the taxpayer are best served when boards are staffed by qualified individuals who provide honest advice to a minister. Today, some of those appointees may very well have ties to the Conservatives.

When I read that some Liberals were shocked at Moore’s requirements I couldn’t help but think back to the thousands of appointments they made from 1993-2006. It was roughly 2700 positions that came up for renewal each year and as an opposition researcher for the PC Party, I would go through them, especially if one of the appointees got into trouble and ended up in the media. To aid me I had a huge document that had been compiled by a previous researcher and it showed the many different connections that many of the appointees had to the Liberal Party. Today’s Liberal complaints seem to be more of the pot calling the kettle black.

Whenever questions about an appointee arose in the House, the standard Liberal answer (you can substitute Conservative here too) was that these were the best qualified people for the job.  In fact in many cases that might have been true, both then and now.

For all the whining from the NDP over the appointment process, does anyone think for a moment that they would do things differently? Thomas Mulcair has been a cabinet minister in Quebec; he understands the process and the type of working relationship a minister needs with key members of commissions and boards etc. If Mulcair was Prime Minister today do the NDP critics or NDP backbenchers honestly think that he would be appointing people to key government positions if he knew that they were opposed to the very NDP policies Mulcair was promoting?

Unfortunately in 2006, an opportunity was lost to clean up the appointment process when Prime Minister Harper suggested Gwyn Morgan take over as head of the process. Instead of using that opportunity to vet and question an appointee in a rational manner (as MPs have done with the appointment of judges) the meeting was a circus.

It was a partisan side show of the worse type and it pretty well sealed the fate of that process. How could any Prime Minister ask another appointee to endure the same fate? Who would accept to be an appointee knowing what they would be subjected too? An excellent opportunity was lost to clean up our appointment process.

Opposition parties love to criticize and seek out that 10 second TV clip or earn that one sentence in the written press. But they need to remember that when they obtain power some of their comments will come back to bite them.

Should the NDP ever come to power, it will be interesting to see how quickly they establish a Parliamentary Appointments Office and how clean and nonpartisan their suggested appointees will be. Somehow I don’t think they will be any different from the Liberals or the Conservatives.

Keith Beardsley is a senior strategist for True North Public Affairs in Ottawa, as well as a blogger and political analyst. He can often be found running or cycling on his favorite bike trails.

CFN

Plant the Right Tree in the Right Place.  When planting new trees, make sure to match the species of tree you choose to the light, soil and space conditions of your yard.  Be sure to “look up” so you don’t plant under hydro wires and always call before you dig!  Trees provide us with the benefit of shade, cover, oxygen, beauty and sometimes food.  Consider planting a tree that will put food on your table and provide sustenance for our local wildlife.

Water Regularly.  Both newly planted and mature trees need regular watering.  Each week, feel the soil near the base of your tree.  If dry, give it a long, slow soak.  A good time to do this is first thing in the morning.

Mulch Regularly.  Mulch (woodchips, leaves, compost) retains moisture, provides nutrients, prevents soil compaction, and creates a protective space around your tree.  Spread mulch three inches deep around the base of your tree, ensuring the mulch does not touch the trunk of the tree as this causes decay.

Prevent Damage.  Avoid digging near trees or compacting soil which can cause root damage.  Insure you do not damage the bark at the base of the tree with your weed whacker.  Ninety per cent of a tree’s roots are located in the top two feet of soil and can extend up to three times the width of the canopy. Use organic alternatives to fertilizers and pesticides.  Remove stakes anchoring your newly planted trees after one year.

Prune Properly.  Educate yourself on proper tree pruning.  Your local plant nursery is a great source of information.  Hire a certified arborist and investigate their reputation by speaking with previous clients.

The Urban Forest Stewardship Network (www.ufsn.ca) is an online resource for organizations, community groups and individuals working on urban forest initiatives across Ontario. It is a platform for sharing experiences and resources. Anyone interested in trees and urban forest issues is welcome to join!

The steering committee of the UFSN includes: LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests), Neighbourwoods on the Grand, Peterborough Green-Up and ReForest London. The UFSN is supported by Ontario Power Generation’s Biodiversity Program ( www.opgbiodiversity.ca) which is aimed at getting Ontarians involved in protecting and conserving biodiversity.

Plant some hope for tomorrow…plant a tree or two this spring.

Your commentary is encouraged and always welcome below or to earthmatters@cornwallfreenews.com

You recently issued a public letter denouncing bilingualism and the Provincial Liberal and Federal Conservative governments.

Is that letter from you as a citizen or as an elected official?  For the record.

Your vote on bilingualism is a matter of public record within South Stormont.

In the same way that you decry the use of taxpayer’s money to support Canadian Citizens and the Canadian Charter I am opposed to you using taxpayers money to lobby against Canada.

Either resign as Deputy Mayor or stop using taxpayer money in your personal crusade against bilingualism.

James Borer - South Stormont

(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)

CFN

There’s a hitch though.  I’m stopped.

I’m told that I can’t separate my role as activist or journalist.

I offer to not use my camera, ME2, and just sit in and participate but I’m told that OPG will walk if I’m present.

What a lot of people forget when working in groups is to check their ego.   I saw the look in Rebecca Sorrell’s eyes and without any fuss or muss step down.   I end up waiting nearly two hours for the meeting to end.

It gives me time to make some calls and work on some notes for the follow up to Beavergate.  It’s been inspiring to work together as a team.  It’s been inspiring to combat stubbornness and ignorance without being overly emotional about it.

Since my first story April 25th a lot of neat things have happened.  Yes, it’s important to save the beavers in Guindon Park, but this is also a metaphor about getting elected officials and those that work on behalf of the public to listen to we the public.    It’s about the process and holding people accountable.   It doesn’t always have to be an us or them fight.

Cornwall Politicians have failed big time when it comes to listening and responding to the public in a meaningful way.   There’s been a mean spiritedness in how Beavergate has been handled.

As positive these first few strands of light are, and the meeting did show some huge strands of light, the bottom line is that the only reason this meeting took place is because of internal and external public pressures.

Yesterday the Standard Free Holder came out with a story on Beavergate.   It was written by Cheryl Brink.   I’m not sure which journalism school she went to, but the Free Holder last I looked was a Broadsheet newspaper.   I personally practice Gonzo Journalism.

WIKI:

Gonzo journalismis a style of journalism that is written without claims of objectivity, often including the reporter as part of the story via a first-person narrative. The word “gonzo” is believed to be first used in 1970 to describe an article by Hunter S. Thompson, who later popularized the style. The term has since been applied to other subjective artistic endeavors.

Gonzo journalism tends to favor style over fact to achieve accuracy—if accuracy is in fact meant to be achieved at all—and often uses personal experiences and emotions to provide context for the topic or event being covered. It disregards the “polished”, edited product favored by newspaper media and strives for a more gritty, personable approach—the personality of a piece is just as important as the event the piece is on. Use of quotations, sarcasm,humor, exaggeration, and profanity is common.

Among the forefathers of the new journalism movement, Thompson said in the February 15th, 1973 issue of Rolling Stone, “If I’d written the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people—including me—would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.”^[

That being said it’s very very important to have facts in a story and even to occasionally fact check.

Ms Brink wrote in her blog:

A group of a dozen or more protesters hit up city hall this week, despite not making it onto the evening’s agenda. The Save the Beaver petitioners brought signs and homemade t-shirts, hoping to make a plea for the end to trapping of the country’s national animal in Guindon Park. When they realized they wouldn’t be invited to speak, they left in a rather noisy fashion. “I’ll see you next council, Mr. Kilger,” said Rebecca Sorrell, the unofficial leader of the group, and the petition’s author.

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Personally, I don’t think they’re going to get too far. Trapping for the purpose of population control has been going for more than two decades with very little controversy; the beavers are still around but the roads haven’t flooded. The city has little motivation to make changes … plus a couple of traps were stolen from the park this year, which I’m sure will do the opposite of helping this group’s cause.

As this video of part of the protesters entering council shows there are well over a dozen.  Why lower the number? Why leave out the facts?  Why leave out how Beavergate started?   Why slur the group by suggesting that somehow they were behind traps being allegedly stolen from Guindon park?

A quick telephone call to the police would have given Ms Brink the police report filed April 26, 2012 numbered CW12005380 in which the Trapper, Mr. Quinn, complained of one trap, valued at $33 being stolen from near its location near the Forest Washrooms.

Why would there be a trap near the washrooms next to the RC track where kids play?

When I started Beavergate after hearing about the plight of Guindon Park from Mr. Wyatt Walsh my first home work was talking to experts; scientists, biologists, and gaining the facts of this situation.   Could not Ms. Brink.   Ms Sorrell and her group didn’t start until after the 26th.  Why slur them, even loosely in her story?    As well I spoke to Mr. Pat Quinn the trapper who said four traps were stolen and that complained that we media were a big part of the problem and hung up on me.

My request for a 90 day moratorium was met by the trap being moved to the beaver lodge – clearly showing a lack of good faith or willingness to dialog.

Was it because Council and the CAO have a hard on for CFN?  I don’t know.  I do know it was unnecessary.

After the meeting I again; for the third time emailed Mayor Kilger, the CAO, Council and management requesting an immediate 90 day moratorium of trapping in Guindon Park.

I hope this time it’s met with the reality that we as a city have a huge opportunity.     Lesley Fox of  The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals has clearly offered to send at their cost a team to deal with the issues of Beaver Control in Guindon Park.

Not only will this ultimately save the city dollars.  It will help Guindon Park become an even better attraction.  They also will be training city staff at no cost and some volunteers who are excited about the opportunity as this service, which is evolving very quickly can be costly and is a growing area of jobs as there’s an acute shortage of people that can provide these services.

So as you can clearly see this is a huge opportunity for we citizens of Cornwall Ontario.  It’s truly a win win situation for all involved if they embrace it.

OPG left the meeting first last night.   Since that first phone call to me where they basically lied they’ve been a dark shadow on this process.   I hope Ms Haliday’s employers in Toronto realize that there are always options to better the environment and respect your neighbors.

As for Ms. Brink’s comment above:

Trapping for the purpose of population control has been going for more than two decades with very little controversy

It’s our job in the media to help bring issues to light.  If we in the media don’t bring concerns to our pages how ever will an issue become controversial enough to bring pressure on our elected officials to respond?

And to end this piece is a video we shot with Rebecca Sorrell, her wonderful dog Ridley who hopes to play safely in the future in Guindon Park and Mr. Wyatt Walsh who expertly reputed OPG’s Engineers report to kick off the meeting.

Ms Sorrell is not going to let her tootsie off of the gas pedal.   Her petition continues online and in stores like Island Ink Jet (3rd street and Pitt across from the Royal Bank) and she still hopes to present to council with her supporters at the next meeting.

You can post your comments below.

UPDATE 9:17 AM

We just received word from Mr. Stephen Alexander, General Manager Planning, Parks, and Recreation Services from Cornwall Ontario

There was an e mail last night asking for consideration of a 90 day moratorium on traps in the park. 

 In fact,  following the meeting,  staff determined , and put into action  steps to remove the only trap that was remaining in the park while we are considering if any other approaches can achieve the objectives of protecting the park infrastructure etc.  for park users. 

To my understanding,  from information this morning,   by the time you get this e mail it may have in fact been removed,  together with the signs. 

I personally want to thank Mr. Alexander for this amazing gesture and step forward by the City Management of  Cornwall Ontario!

CFN

It is amazing how things grow and change over spring days.  The fragrance and subtle beauty of apple blossoms are an absolute delight to the senses.  New visitors such as the Bluebird, Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the honey bee visiting our dandelion dressed lawn lift the spirit. With spring moving forward in full throttle we are preparing are yard and beds for the upcoming season of planting, growth and harvest.

We have had a compost bin, 4’ x 4’ x 4’ for several years.  It is has acquired a lean over time however it is still standing and useful.  We have decided to add a second compartment next to it so that we can start a second pile once the first if full.  This was done simply by attaching three pallets.  Attaching one to the first bin and then the rest to each other with ties.  It’s not very pretty at the moment as noted below however it will look better over the season when the wild daisies (which grow about 5 to 6 feet tall) and the sunflowers grow around the side and back perimeters of the bins during the summer.  A move to help us compost more of our yard and household organic matter.

In my jaunts in the fields beyond the compost bins, debris is often found that has been blown out of garbage and recycling bins. I make it a point to pick up this foreign matter and recycle or garbage as needed. On one such walk a sponge noodle was found. You know the floatation noodles that kids or adults use in swimming pools? I decided to repurpose this into a peonies support.  Several branches that were trimmed from our bushes and trees were sharpened at one end for easy insertion into the noodle and then into the ground around the peonies plant.  Once the branches were secured into the ground, the noodle was pushed to a height which will support the flowers and plant as it continues to grow and bloom.  This will keep the heavy blooms off of the ground which we guess will allow us to enjoy the blooms a little longer and make it easier to groom the ground around it.  Now we are not suggesting that noodles be purchased for this purpose, our hope is to inspire you to think about how some of the things that normally end up in your garbage or recycle bin can be repurposed in and around your home.

I came across an article on a social media site that talked about growing celery by planting the cut-off end piece in the ground.  Supposedly this would grow new celery.  Sounds incredible, doesn’t it?  So I embarked on a little experiment.  Because it is still cool to think about planting things in the garden I decided put a couple of these ‘end celery pieces’ in water so that it would have a chance to grow some roots before planting outdoors.  A couple of weeks in a south facing window sill in a bit of water have produced the following results.

Both ends have grown roots and new growth has begun in the middle of the ends.  This experiment will be planted outdoors this week-end. A report on the progress of this trial will be shared in the coming weeks; so exciting.

We would love to hear about what is happening in your backyard.  Your commentary is encouraged and always welcome.

CFN

She is the first dental assistant to have mercury poisoning recognized as an occupational illness.  She is also the first dental assistant to receive compensation for mercury poisoning in Norway, as a result of a lawsuit that began 20 years ago.

The precedent setting case has raised alarm bells and dental assistants in Sweden and Denmark are now speaking out, disclosing their mercury caused illnesses and demanding compensation.

Meanwhile, here in Canada and the United States our medical and dental professionals are in denial. Health Canadarefuses to make a ruling to declare that mercury in dental fillings are extremely toxic and unsafe.  Can you believe that once the amalgam is removed from old fillings, there are strict protocols for its removal in hazardous waste containers, but millions of people are walking around with a mouth full of the stuff? Amalgam fillings contain at least 50% mercury!

Research shows that the mercury does indeed mix with saliva all of the time in your mouth. Mercury can cross the blood-brain barrier, which means that the unborn are at risk while in the womb if the mother has mercury in her system.

Some dentists and other professionals in the U.S. have spoken out against the dangers. Dr. Boyd Haley, Dr. Andrew Cutler and Dr. Mark Breiner have identified about 40 symptoms of mercury poisoning, including conditions like extreme fatigue and a weakened immunity.

On a personal note, I have had 12 ‘silver’ amalgam fillings removed by a holistic, mercury free dentist in Ottawa and I’m feeling a whole lot better.(realitycheck.typepad.com)

Next time you or your children go to your dentist for a filling, consider asking for a white composite filling and avoid the extreme hazards of amalgam fillings. Don’t wait for your doctor or your dentist to inform you that amalgam fillings are dangerous. It’s not going to happen.

The more people who become aware of this information, the harder it will be for Health Canada to keep the lid on the truth.

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