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Friday, September 25, 2009
Who is Responsible for Farmers Market
If you believe the recent Letters to the Editor there seems to some confusion about who is responsible for the success of the Aurora Farmers Market.
Sher St Kitts, wrote a letter suggesting that Mayor Phyllis Morris and Councillor Granger were responsible for all that is good at the Farmers Market. It seems the only things she didn't credit them with was sunshine and warm weather.
A number of citizens rightly pointed out that the Market was around long before either were involved and that if any Councillor was to be credited with the success, it should be Councillor Kean who was the driving force behind starting the market.
However, former Councillor Kean got it right when he shared the credit with those who are most deserving -- the volunteers and the vendors. Without them there would be no market regardless of any Council involvement.
And of course, the most important people of all? The many people who visit the market to chat, purchase products and just enjoy the opportunity to be part of an event that reminds us all what a community is about.
So maybe folks should be less concerned about giving their political friends credit -- and we should all celebrate the sense of community that activities like a Farmers Market represents -- regardless of what politician you support.
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Sher St Kitts, wrote a letter suggesting that Mayor Phyllis Morris and Councillor Granger were responsible for all that is good at the Farmers Market. It seems the only things she didn't credit them with was sunshine and warm weather.
A number of citizens rightly pointed out that the Market was around long before either were involved and that if any Councillor was to be credited with the success, it should be Councillor Kean who was the driving force behind starting the market.
However, former Councillor Kean got it right when he shared the credit with those who are most deserving -- the volunteers and the vendors. Without them there would be no market regardless of any Council involvement.
And of course, the most important people of all? The many people who visit the market to chat, purchase products and just enjoy the opportunity to be part of an event that reminds us all what a community is about.
So maybe folks should be less concerned about giving their political friends credit -- and we should all celebrate the sense of community that activities like a Farmers Market represents -- regardless of what politician you support.
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Another Community Based Ad?
The Auroran published what looks like another community ad this past week (w/o Sept 22). On page 4 the following ran.
We are unsure if it was an ad or a creative Letter to the Editor -- but in any case it was just one of a number of people in the community who are expressing their disappointment with the actions of our Council.
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Reader wonders about election ...
Remember, remember come next November,
The Council we got, continually fought,
Professional staff left to Aurora's regret ...
Who can possibly save us,
from tax money spent
On lawsuits still pending
With seemingly no ending.
Judy Salmon
Aurora
We are unsure if it was an ad or a creative Letter to the Editor -- but in any case it was just one of a number of people in the community who are expressing their disappointment with the actions of our Council.
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Ads More Informative Than Articles
Recently the ads seem to be more interesting than the articles -- and sometimes more telling about what is really happening in our town.
While our local media seems to be taking a "wait and see" attitude that doesn't offend the current slate of politicians, the mainstream media has been more critical.
Then the Coalition for a Better Aurora placed the first of 2 ads that condemned the actions of Council.
Now on Page 15 of The Banner on Sept 22, we see an ad from The Banner that apologizes for running the ad titled "Statement from the Town of Aurora".
It goes on to say "The Ad contained allegations of inappropriate conduct by Councillor Buck relating to her weblog. The Ad did not set out Councillor Buck's position in response to the allegations. Councillor Buck denies the allegations made against her in the Ad and denies that she has acted inappropriately."
Then it formally apologizes with "The Banner regrets any harm that may have been caused by the publication of the Ad."
It would seem to be a logical conclusion that this ad was run in response to the lawsuit filed by Councillor Buck. It is interesting that a sophisticated media publication, with all their lawyers who defend freedom of speech etc, were so quick to see the error of their behaviour.
Even with the rights of Freedom of Speech and integrity of news stories that newspapers rightly champion and fight for, they have written an apology because (we hypothesize) they recognized that allegations without proof are inappropriate.
Council, in their rush to condemn should also have known better. If the news media see that the ad should not have been run, what will the result be for the Town when they have used suspect procedural manipulation to maintain the ad on our Town website simply to prove that they can.
Councillor MacEachern has again demonstrated her feelings towards Councillor Buck have caused her to lose sight of why she was elected. And the rest of the gang have just gone along.
The Banner has accepted responsibility for their inappropriate behaviour. When will Council?
Now we, the taxpayers, have to sit back and watch this Council continue to waste our resources.
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While our local media seems to be taking a "wait and see" attitude that doesn't offend the current slate of politicians, the mainstream media has been more critical.
Then the Coalition for a Better Aurora placed the first of 2 ads that condemned the actions of Council.
Now on Page 15 of The Banner on Sept 22, we see an ad from The Banner that apologizes for running the ad titled "Statement from the Town of Aurora".
It goes on to say "The Ad contained allegations of inappropriate conduct by Councillor Buck relating to her weblog. The Ad did not set out Councillor Buck's position in response to the allegations. Councillor Buck denies the allegations made against her in the Ad and denies that she has acted inappropriately."
Then it formally apologizes with "The Banner regrets any harm that may have been caused by the publication of the Ad."
It would seem to be a logical conclusion that this ad was run in response to the lawsuit filed by Councillor Buck. It is interesting that a sophisticated media publication, with all their lawyers who defend freedom of speech etc, were so quick to see the error of their behaviour.
Even with the rights of Freedom of Speech and integrity of news stories that newspapers rightly champion and fight for, they have written an apology because (we hypothesize) they recognized that allegations without proof are inappropriate.
Council, in their rush to condemn should also have known better. If the news media see that the ad should not have been run, what will the result be for the Town when they have used suspect procedural manipulation to maintain the ad on our Town website simply to prove that they can.
Councillor MacEachern has again demonstrated her feelings towards Councillor Buck have caused her to lose sight of why she was elected. And the rest of the gang have just gone along.
The Banner has accepted responsibility for their inappropriate behaviour. When will Council?
Now we, the taxpayers, have to sit back and watch this Council continue to waste our resources.
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Thursday, September 24, 2009
Volunteering: Is Respect Earned or Expected?
Thanks to one of our contributors for this very thoughtful post.
Recently there has been some attention drawn to the role volunteers have in Aurora. I’ve been a volunteer in our community for about 15 years so I thought I’d share my perspective.
People recognize us for what we are. There aren’t a lot of interviews for getting a volunteer job in Aurora. We start at the bottom and work our way up. We get the response someone else feels we deserve, whether it is criticism or congratulations. Sometimes we get criticism and congratulations for the same thing, depending on how we affected different people.
Some of the criticism seems unpleasant but it has two very important side effects. First we stop taking ourselves so seriously. Second, we look at what we did and how we did it and decide if that is a good way to go in the future or if we should re-evaluate and change our ways. It’s much like having a job, but without a pay cheque. At least we don’t have to worry about the change in salary if we realise we need a change of career.
The congratulations are lovely and thankfully received with the realization that they should be shared with others, both volunteers and paid staff.
One thing volunteering has taught me is that I can’t do anything on my own. I can volunteer because my family supports my efforts, both in time and finances. I can volunteer because I have earned the trust of people. I can volunteer because people are willing to tell me what they need. If I want to make a change, I have to do it within the community.
As a volunteer, I have to work with other people who see the same problem, but may have different ways of getting to the goal of fixing it. We ask each other questions, and take the time to try to understand why each question was asked. When people start fighting about how to get to the desired end product, they are not serving anyone anymore.
Should volunteers have to stand up and ask for respect? Sure, but they have to earn it. They have to act like professionals, even if they aren’t paid that way.
For the record, my current volunteer activities in the Aurora community are: Convenor of Tyke House League for the AMHA, Co-chair of the School Supporters Association at Lester B. Pearson Public School, and Chair of the Aurora Public Library.
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Recently there has been some attention drawn to the role volunteers have in Aurora. I’ve been a volunteer in our community for about 15 years so I thought I’d share my perspective.
People recognize us for what we are. There aren’t a lot of interviews for getting a volunteer job in Aurora. We start at the bottom and work our way up. We get the response someone else feels we deserve, whether it is criticism or congratulations. Sometimes we get criticism and congratulations for the same thing, depending on how we affected different people.
Some of the criticism seems unpleasant but it has two very important side effects. First we stop taking ourselves so seriously. Second, we look at what we did and how we did it and decide if that is a good way to go in the future or if we should re-evaluate and change our ways. It’s much like having a job, but without a pay cheque. At least we don’t have to worry about the change in salary if we realise we need a change of career.
The congratulations are lovely and thankfully received with the realization that they should be shared with others, both volunteers and paid staff.
One thing volunteering has taught me is that I can’t do anything on my own. I can volunteer because my family supports my efforts, both in time and finances. I can volunteer because I have earned the trust of people. I can volunteer because people are willing to tell me what they need. If I want to make a change, I have to do it within the community.
As a volunteer, I have to work with other people who see the same problem, but may have different ways of getting to the goal of fixing it. We ask each other questions, and take the time to try to understand why each question was asked. When people start fighting about how to get to the desired end product, they are not serving anyone anymore.
Should volunteers have to stand up and ask for respect? Sure, but they have to earn it. They have to act like professionals, even if they aren’t paid that way.
For the record, my current volunteer activities in the Aurora community are: Convenor of Tyke House League for the AMHA, Co-chair of the School Supporters Association at Lester B. Pearson Public School, and Chair of the Aurora Public Library.
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