Back To The Future

After attending the candidate’s forum I now have a more impartial view on what strengths the various candidates offer this community. I am probably different than most in my thinking, as I have been trying to find that perfect blend of experience and qualities that can debate but still function. I am not a big fan of wholesale change or stacking the deck too far one way. There are the obvious popular choices that will get elected regardless of what I say and in reality I will be voting for some of them myself they are only human not without fault just like the rest of us. If we are only looking for candidates that have never made a mistake then we will surely be disappointed in less than four years. As far as the Mayors position I believe the popular choice will prevail. He is a safe choice and in time will work out well for the community. Always treats people with respect and is used to dealing with a good cross section of the public. Truthfully there were probably stronger candidates out there (experience wise) but they had no interest in putting their name forward. As far as the other options go I will never support any one who disrespects the citizens of the Crowsnest Pass either through their newsletter or on their blog. When they choose to make light of their behaviour or offer ridiculous explanations I find them even less appealing. You can be honest and speak your mind without personal attacks. So in knowing all this we must fine-tune and look amongst the rest of the candidates for the strengths that will be the foundation for a successful group to lead us. Unfortunately over the last few decades we have either petitioned against or voted out the several councils in an effort to find the perfect group that will not let us down. Throwing out the baby with the bath water. I think they call that the true definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. In saying this we may have to live with some of the incumbent councilors as they offer invaluable experience and do represent a segment of the taxpayer. Just as I don’t believe the majority of the candidates would support funding for the Albert Stella arena as they said they would at the forum they will reconsider their pledge when they have to balance a budget Also I don’t believe we will be returning to the past with the fire departments there will still be some form of restructuring. To borrow a quote from John F. Kennedy “ We would like to live as we once lived but history will not permit it”. There is concern about how certain people can work together when there should be concern about councilors working too well together. Being agreeable on all matters doesn’t make for a good council we just came through three years of that Some will say there was debate, well we never seen it until it was too late and the important decisions were not debated enough before the irreparable damage was done. For the record I have already gone on record and supported candidates Dean Ward and Emile Saindon on their blogsites as I personally view them as the strongest candidates in my humble opinion. If you pay attention and listen you see their strengths and faults you definitely know what you are getting. Dean is obviously more seasoned at this and I would say Emile is what you call honest to a fault. As far as my final choices go two of them are actually quite intangible much the same view points just a matter of throwing out the old for the new. Still debating about the Rebranding process and new revelations about how that came about That may be enough to sway my vote. When I start to completely lean the other way it puts too much power base in an organized group so we definitely have a dilemma here. I am not going to tell you how to vote but will ask you at this time to do some research and check our political history I have been doing that and found a fascinating article from the Tuesday October 26/2010 edition of the Crowsnest Pass Herald. The article features Gord Lundy entitled Retiring CAO recalls six years six years in the Pass. After reading it I felt he was fairly optimistic about our future. Where did we go wrong? Peter Rosner

Merry Christmas with an important message from George Carlin

Isn't it amazing that George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's - could write something so very eloquent...and so very appropriate.

A Message by George Ca...rlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways ,but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

If you don't share this with anyone....Who cares?

George Carlin

Congratulations to the ratepayers

By now most of you are aware that the petition that was being circulated by the CNP ratepayers  was successfull and a person will be appointed to look into matters here. This councils actions have caused a lot of divisevness in this community. By terminating the firemen who had turned in their pagers they managed to pit friend against friend and neighbor against neighbor. This should never had come about but is a direct result of their unwillingness to negotiate with the fire departments. They had showed this previously with the handling of the Thunder in the Valley group and dismantling of the volunteer boards. What they have managed to do is alienate the general public to the point that they have little support and for the most part will be toast in the next municpal elections. The fact that their will be some form of inquiry by municipal affairs here is irrelevant now for even the firemen and rescue personal that choose to stay on duty and not turn in their pagers have no respect or use for this group either. They had to make some tough personal decisions and that should never have been presented to them in the first place. Between council and administration they have managed to build a bureaucratic monster with a large appetite that is going to have to be fed from our wallets. I wonder who is going to have the courage to get involved to clean up this mess.

Here we go again

When i was replying to a subject on a local fellow bloggers site(John Prince) it was suggested to me that i should start my own site. Little did the ANON person realize i do infact have one which i have sort of abondend . I was getting very little input and really did not have the time for it. I know a lot of the viewers on both Crowsnest Pass Home and Telling it like it is will view me as very opionated because i always leave my name but they may not really know me. If you chose to view the topics that i have posted on this site it may give you a perspective of what i stand for. I have always kept a close ear to municipal politics and have written to local papers on matters that i feel are important to the community. However the last three years or so i have seem to be caught up in technology and social networking (like most people these days) and have not written to the papers for a long time. I know there is still a large segment of the local population that depends on the papers to be informed, fortunately there are a lot of like minded people doing just that. Once again the community is in turmoil as change is not palatable to the citizens. History repeats itself once again in the Crowsnest Pass.  I have written to municipal affairs to voice my concerns about what is happening here and have yet to recieve a reply. Now we wait for the results of another petition and for municipal affairs to render a decision. Since about the first year of this councils term i have compared them to the book by George Orwell ( Animal Farm) and our mayor as the lead character (Napoleon). The simularities continue to unfold. Remember this next time you vote-- Absolute power corrupts and power corrupts absolutely-- Lord Acton

                                                                                      A Very Concerned Citizen
                                                                                      Peter Rosner
                                                                                         
                                                                                                        

change change change

With the recent resignation of CAO Tully Clifford i felt it was time for another article. At the time he was recruited i felt that it was odd that we had to get a CAO all the way from California. However it refreshed my memory about a conversation i had with a previous CAO prior to his leaving. We came to know each other fairly well during his term and had a few "off the record conversations". Before leaving he explained that the mayor and council are too concerned about micro-managing and will not allow the people they hire to do their jobs. This opnion was reinforced after dealing with a couple of recreation direcors that " didnt work out". This did not surprise me given the amount of supervision we have gone through at the municipal office at that time. He also related to me that the word is out there and it will be very difficult for the municipality to attract the type of people they need to turn things around for this community. Through my involvement with minor soccer and the ski hill i have dealt with the previous mayor and various councils and i realize exactly what they were referring to. I just wonder is there any other community that has gone through as many CAO's , Rec Directors and Public works superintendants as this one has over the last ten years? I also wonder what the local media is going to do to put a positive spin on this . The Promoter seems fair in their reporting but we all know the position the Herald took prior to the last election and their count down for change. I would also like to hear what the group that approached municapal affairs to have the previous council removed is saying now.  So much for change.
change, change, change
change, change, change

If I were your brother
could I spill your blood on me
We, who share a mother
would we spite the sons
she sees?

Walls are crumbling
cities are burning
the presidents on tv
bombs are falling
the fire is rain
as walls close in on me

change, change, change
change, change, change

If Fate brought out a leader
would you kill him for your cause
Though he be your sole salvation
pull the trigger without pause


Faith is crumbling
cities are burning
the war's on cable tv
Hope is falling
the fire is rain as
walls come down on me

change, change, change
change, change, change

If there's one solution
there could be one for every man
who cries for constitution
finds belief inside of "can"

The clouds are lifting
The houses, the homes
The soaps are on tv
and me, asleep somewhere
in this country
basking in the dream

change, change, change
I'm basking in the dream

USW local 7884 has a tentative agreement

 Over the last few months the  USW Local 9346 bargaining committee has recieved a lot of critisism for their timing on calling the strike at the Sparwood mine. Many of the critics felt that they should have timed it to better line up with the collective bargaining at Elkford. Before i go further on this i will explain that the bargaining committee works independant from the executive committee. The bargaining committee has two members from the executive ( the local president and grievance chairman) plus four others elected from the membership at large. They will formulate a bargaining strategy and gather information from the membership to start the bargaining process for a new collective agreement. The executive committee basically runs the local and deals with the company in administrating the contract. The two committees may meet and seek direction during the negotiation process but it is the bargaining committee that will reach a tentative agreement with the company. After that the executive has the same right as the rest of the members and that is to voice their opinion and vote on the offer. Our collective agreement expired October 31/2010 and the Elkford agreement expires on May 1/2011. From our previous negotiation process in 2005/2006 I can tell you that each local will do what it takes to get a contract for their own members. The locals do work together throughout the terms of their individual contracts but cannot make deals that would affect their own bargaining position. Their obligation is to their membership only during negotiations, that is the proper thing to do. As a matter of fact on April 29/2006 the Elkford Local 7884 actually reached a tentative collective agreement before theirs had expired the last time the two locals lined up their bargaining process. That left Sparwood local 9346 hanging in the wind. We eventually settled without a strike because the bargaining committee felt they lost their bargaining power. The company offer was recomended to the members and was narrowly accepted. The members were very bitter over this--- flash forward five years.  When our strike was called on January 30/2011 it was felt under the circumstances it was the best time to do it. The expression was used that it was a train that was not going to be stopped. Many of our members were still upset over the previous settlement in 2006. The mood was there and some members were pushing for the strike before Christmas. Our strike started after the negotiating committee turned down the companies offer on January 30/11. We were given another offer that was recomended to the membership on March 14/11 it was turned down 56.9% by a ballot vote. Again on April 2/11 we voted on another recomended offer this time it was accepted by 59% of  the membership. Both votes were close and split the workers, exactly what the process was intended to do as viewed by the company. The Elkford Local had already started negotiating in March and reached a tentative deal  April 28/11 just before their contract expires on May1/2011. They surpassed our deal without going on strike. Had we still been out on strike the offer to the Elkford Local would have been even better than what they got now. Our issues still linger and will lead to another strike in 2015. The company likes to refer to these issues as slight variations of their collective agreements. Lets see bussing from your community and a pension plan are only  slight variations. See you in 2015.     "Any fool can criticize, condem and complain and most fools do" ---- Benjamen Franklin

How we got here

The history of the Crowsnest Pass has always been directly tied to the mining indusrtry as we all well know. The health of these mining companies has had the most effect on our local economy and in recession years that can be devastating. The early 1990`s were no different and because of bankruptcy issues the local giant Westar was shutdown at two of its operations across the border, A third mining operation Byron Creek was experiencing severe layoffs and the job opportunities in the area were minimal. Housing prices plummeted and laid off workers were either letting them go or selling them cheaply. One residence in my neighborhood sold for somewhere in the low 20.000 dollar range. At that time I was laid off as well but managed to get work elsewhere and hang on to things. Over the next decade things gradually improved and production at the mines went up the same scenario our parents had gone through. Then the developers came to town and with it all the hype. Now this same residence i refered to earlier is listed and sells for around $86,000 which i thought was worth about $50,000. The new owners are esstatic and told me how glad they were to get in before the housing prices go up. This is when it hit me Peter it doesn`t matter what you think its what the rest of the world is willing to do. Watching them push dirt around at the River Run development and advertise for a 200 boat marina at Trouts Landing looked ridiculios to me but people were buying into it. By now one counciller and a former counciller were actively promting the Bridgecreek developments and the mayor would soon join in. Another remarkable thing happens the demand for housing in Alberta magically goes up and housing prices soar provincewide, the same residence is now listed in the $160,000 range. Now i am thinking Peter you really missed the boat this time you are so headstrong in your beliefs you do not see what others are willing to do.  Unfortunately time and reality has put things back into perspective and i am actually looking like i made some good decisions here sure i could have taken some risk ( nothing ventured nothing gained) but i did not see those as opportunities to make money. What is unfortunate is that people with long standing ties to this community and realized what was unfoalding would continue to be part of the deception of what was happening there. Thats the way i see it ---Peter Rosner