Torbay Today

Big Thanks To Fundraiser Supporters

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:03:00 +0000

I would like to say thank you to those who came out to the card game in aid of Blair Tapper and his family last night. It was a tremendous turnout, I think there was 28 tables of 6 people and probably another 15 to 20 or so who didn't play cards. I would also like to thank all the people who didn't come to the card game but helped out in other ways with donations, buying tickets and everything else you have done.

Last night was a great example of how a community can rally together to help out a person in need. Lets us all pray that this next round of treatment sets Blair on the road to recovery and we can take some pride in the fact that we have come together to try and made that journey a little easier on Blair and his family.

PS: I am not sure who won all the prizes but I do know that Darryl Gosse won the Liquor Tree.

The New Budget Is Out And Tax Hikes Are Coming

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 16:55:00 +0000

I guess this answers my question as to whether there would be any public consultations regarding budget expenditures. I noticed that the budget is posted on the town website and tax hikes are coming.

In these times when people are not getting raises at work and jobs are being cut left right and center our council is increasing spending across the board. I guess this is why they don't hold public consultation process, so they can ram this stuff down our throats without so much as a whimper.

The budget document that the town puts on the website is a joke when it comes to actually showing people where our money is going. It is a pathetic 7 page document including cover pages and charts that is basically an overview. Typically this is what the town post on the site and I am hoping they post the entire budget document so we can see where all the money is going. Anyway here is a brief summary of how they are intending on increasing spending and taxes.

Public Works Department - 20% increase in spending
Planning and Development - 19% increase in spending
Economic Development - 33% increase in spending
Recreation - 22% increase in spending
Heritage and 2012 Commemorations - 57% increase in spending
Torbay Fire Department - 1.7% increase in spending
Administration - 2.5% increase in spending

Now with all these increases in spending they are going to smack us with a 0.75 increase in the mill rate. As if we are not paying enough all ready for the services we receive. Despite this something seems weird to me with the numbers. I am sure they all add up but I don't know how.

Our overall budget only went up $109,011.17
Despite that and the fact that we had a budget surplus last year that is getting applied to this year we are still looking for $390,104.38 extra revenues to have a balanced budget, that is where the tax increase comes in.

I don't mind paying taxes but don't jack up my taxes so that you can increase spending like drunken sailors. So basically there has not been a peep from one councilor about the fact that we have a big tax hike coming. Why is that? Someone over in that chamber must be uneasy about raising taxes while increasing spending.

Hopefully the entire budget document will be made available soon so we can pick through it and see exactly where all these increases are being spent. Are we increasing taxes on homeowners so that we can come up with money to throw big concerts and celebrate our town? Well I don't think that getting a big tax increase is something worth celebrating.

Basically for every 100,000 assessed value on your home you are going to be paying an extra $75 dollars in property taxes so judge for your self if you think this is a good idea or not.

Design Update

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:25:00 +0000

Made a few changes to the design of my blog. Any feedback you can give me would be nice. For that person who has nothing better to post than calling me a meat head don't bother LOL

Torbay Yearly Budget

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

I have been reading in the council minutes that the yearly budget meetings are under way and I was wondering what is going on with them. I have heard significant mention of the fact that the City of St John's has budget consultations under way and wondered if there was a similar thing in Torbay. I have also lived in other jurisdictions where they do exactly the same thing.

I sent an email to the Town Council and the Town CAO to ask just that question. I would imagine that it would be a good thing for residents to be involved in the budget process so that we can have a say in what our priorities are and where we think money should be spent.

Maybe some residents feel that we need to install sidewalks along certain roads in our community and that would be the place to put the argument forward. Other resident might not want to spend an outrageous amount of money to hire a band like Great Big Sea to play for our town celebrations next year.

It would occur to me that if very few people go to council meetings, and information only trickles out of the town with regards to what is going on, and then a budget consultation process would be the best way for Council to set priorities according to what the residents feel they should be right now.

Lets face it some people cast their vote every four years in the municipal election then never give a second thought to how the town is run until the nest election. People need to get more involved and have a greater say in how we prioritize in our town and give council direction on how we want to proceed instead of council directing us.

Most times in our town by the time the general public find out what is going on the decisions have already been made. Council meeting minutes that are published to the town website are at least 2 weeks behind because they need to be approved at the next council meeting before being posted, as I understand it. From my experience they are usually around a month behind but I have to give them credit because when I first started reviewing the minutes on line they were several month behind so they have certainly improved in that area. For instance the most recent meeting minutes on the town website today are from Nov 14th, considering that there was a meeting on Nov 28th those minutes were approved at the Dec 12th meeting I see no reason why they haven't already been posted. In fact I think they should be posted the day after the meeting with a disclaimer that they are not the FINAL approved minutes but that is just me.

The other source of information that reports on council is the North East Avalon Times or the Portugal Cove Paper as I like to affectionately call it is only published monthly. This means that by the time you get that paper in your hand you are reading about events that have already taken place and possibly decided. Possibly the greatest source of information we have at our disposal is word of mouth. When someone hears about something going on in the town that they thing people should know about they should tell their friends and spread the word. For instance I get updates from the TETC about what is going on with the Gosse's Pond development. I have been meaning to write an update on that but have not been able to do so as of yet. Despite my falling behind on that issue they are still providing me and many other people with the pertinent information with regards to what is going on and to a lot of other people too.

This type of information sharing is what we need to do in our town to ensure we develop with the interest of the residents in mind. It is difficult for anyone especially council to know what our priorities are if we don't tell them.

Card Game Fundraiser For Blair Tapper

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:56:00 +0000

There is going to be a card game fundraiser for Blair Tapper on Wednesday, December 21, 2011. Blair is my brother in law and he has been battling cancer for the last year. He is self employed and the wear and tear and necessity to rest have seriously hindered his ability to work and earn a living. Blair just finished a complete round of chemotherapy and now he just found out he will need to have a second round of treatment.

There is a facebook event set up and it would be greatly appreciated if you would consider going or if you can't go a donation would be great.

At this time of year it really hurts to see a family have to go through something like this, especially when they are so young and have young children. Hopefully many people will answer the call to help.

The Card Game will be held at the Holy Trinity High School, Wednesday December 21, 2011

If you would like to get more information you can contact Bud Tapper at 437-5998 or 691-6328.
Donations will be greatly appreciated.

Santa Clause Parade A Great Time

noreply@blogger.com (Craig) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:23:00 +0000

I haven't had time to get this post done past the heading but I wanted to say that the parade was great and the kids loved it. If I have only one complaint it would be that there were no garbage containers to put the Tim Horton's cups in that were left over from the free hot chocolate.

This was even more evident when I looked into our town sign and saw all the garbage piling up in there. To make matters worse it was still piled up there when I drove by at 12:00 Sunday. Well at least the kids had a good time and that is what these events are all about after all.

Traffic Lights On Bauline Line Not Working This Morning

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:51:00 +0000

As I stopped at the red light this morning on the Bauline Line I was informed by John Martin who is still out there with his sign protesting that the lights were not changing. I made a call to report it and hopefully it is not something that will be a common occurrence.

Finally The By-Pass Road Is Opening Today

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:56:00 +0000

I was just talking to one of the people taking the coverings off the road signs and she confirmed that it is indeed opening today.

I wonder how long it will be open before the first accident?

I am betting that it will be before the end of the week.

New Community Center In The Works?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 15:24:00 +0000

I have been asking questions about this now for a couple of weeks and this is what I have found out combined with what I read in the Northeast Avalon Times today.

In 2009 the Town of Torbay adopted its recreation master plan. Since then the town has been moving forward with the implementation of that plan which includes a key component being a new Town Center. This town centre will house a new community center as well as a museum and public library and will be located on the parcel of land behind the current Town offices.

Within the community centre it is proposed that it will include a gym, multi-purpose rooms and a swimming pool. There will also be a reception area with visitor centre providing people with source of information related to the town and the general area. This will tie in with the fact that we are the gateway to the Killick Coast Touring route and highlight the East Coast Trail.

As indicated in a story in the Northeast Avalon Times there are also plans to have an outdoor skating rink in the winter. All I have to say to that is GOOD LUCK! I have some experience working on outdoor rinks both here in Torbay and in a more rink friendly environment in Ottawa. The amount of work involved in maintaining a rink like that is huge and volunteers are key. I don’t want to be paying Town employees to maintain an outdoor rink. I will gladly offer my services to help with that type of community project if it ever gets off the ground.

This past year the town conducted a feasibility study to examine the operating cost of this new facility. As part of that study there was a regional phone survey conducted to examine the catchment area in relation to swimming pools in the St John’s / Mount Pearl and the new Y on Ridge Road. Based on that study it has been determined that the pool is feasible on a regional approach. The reason for this is because the regulation with regards to population for a swimming pool is 10,000 people. Obviously Torbay doesn’t have a large enough population so a regional approach is mandatory in this endeavor.

The Torbay Council passed a motion on July 25, 2011 to proceed with the funding application and to seek letters of support from various interests. Before the submission of the application final approval must be given by council and that must have happened recently because a request has been sent to government for capital funding. Basically what that means in my view is that enough of the surrounding towns need to offer support for the project and I have no idea if that support has been requested. I do know that Mr. Parsons has not received a request for a letter of support and has no knowledge if the other towns have been contacted as confirmed by him this morning

As reported in the Times a request has been sent to Government for $16,000,000 under the 80/20 Multi-year Capital Works provincial program where by the town would pay 20% and the government the rest. I am not sure if the Town requested this money separately or as part of a larger infrastructure spending request. According to the MHA there is a proposal before government for a total of $25,000,000 in infrastructure spending with a wide range of projects included.

After speaking to the MHA for the district I got the impression that he is concerned that the town can’t seem to nail down its priorities. This is not the first time I have heard this opinion of Torbay Council and it seems to be a view that is widely held by many residents I speak to. They feel that council is all over the place with regards to what they want to accomplish and if you ask each councilor what the towns main priority is you would probably get several different answers. One might say a Town Centre, another will say sidewalks, and others may chime in on water and sewer. The advantage to having well defined priorities is that it would enable Mr. Parsons to work with council to have a more focused approach and a better chance to achieve common goals when requesting government funding. With this in mind however Councilor Tapper did state in the Times that is a priority, my question to that would be is this A priority or THE priority right now?

In the weeks ahead the Town of Torbay will be conducting their strategic planning sessions and hopefully coming up with a plan to move forward. This would be a great opportunity for the town to get it’s priorities straight and then deliver them to the people of the town. I look forward to hearing the results of those sessions and seeing the vision that council has for the future of our town, it certainly has every opportunity to be bright.

Torbay Pass-By Road Still Not Open

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:33:00 +0000

Yes I said Pass-By because that is what we have been doing to this road for the past few years. I was pretty confident that this road would have been opened this morning but I guess the fact that it has been raining prevented the contractor from putting the rest of the paint on it. God knows that all the dry weather we had so far in November wasn't enough time to pint a few lines.

One thing that I have noted though is how people are stopping or at least slowing at the red flashing lights on Bauline Line. I would say that it is a pretty smart move considering all the vehicles that have been using that road over the past few months.

I was pretty disappointed to learn that the remainder of Torbay Road won't be completed this year and we will all have to endure that washboard effect that Weirs has left us with. I was also surprised to hear that it will actually be Farrell's who will ultimately be finishing that portion of the road as well. One thing that we can say is that the pavement that Farrell's has done to this point seems to be well laid. Certainly a contrast from what the other contractor left us with between the by-pass road and the old airport road.

I am certainly not optimistic that Bauline Line will be paved this year either and that is especially disappointing to me as this is a road I use every day. The stretch of pavement between the Kinsmen Centre and Buckley's Hill is nothing less that brutal. After the coming winter I suspect that it will only get worse and before long the potholes will reveal themselves.

You know it is nice to see all the infrastructure money getting spent in our area by the provincial government but I just wish that someone would hold these contractors to account for the delays and time overruns. Why must the people be the only ones to suffer for what appears to be foot dragging by the various contractors involved in building that road.

Update on Jack Byrne Arena

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:33:00 +0000

I was speaking to the Chair of the Board of Directors, Brad Power, who also happens to be a Councilor in Logy Bay Middle Cove Outer Cove (LBMCOC). I have to say I was delighted to get the opportunity to speak to him and discuss the Jack Byrne Arena and one issue in particular was the snow clearing contract I had alluded to in an earlier post.

First and foremost Mr. Power was very forthcoming and answered all the questions I had and provided me with information above and beyond what I was looking for. He seems to be a very nice fellow and I look forward to speaking with him in the future.

I guess the first thing that needs to be mentioned is that the arena operates independently of all the towns that own the facility. It operates under the guidance of an arms length board of directors that consists of 10 members, 5 of which are Councilors, two from Torbay and one from each of the other towns. The other 5 members are citizen representatives and break down the same way as the towns in way of numbers. The manager of the arena is responsible for the day to day operations.

Even thought the arena is owned by a group of four towns; Flatrock, LBMCOC, Pouch Cove and Torbay it does not receive public funding to operate on a yearly basis unless they happen to find themselves in an operating deficit. With this in mind it also has to be mentioned that they are not required by law to seek tenders for purchasing and other contracts like snow clearing. This does not mean that they don't issue these types of tenders it just means that they really don't have to if they don't want to.

However because it is a community owned enterprise and the board wants to be open and transparent about everything, they do engage in the public tendering process. In fact the contract for snow clearing has gone to tender in previous years. The arena does offer the winning contractor the opportunity to extend the contract for an additional year at the same price if they choose to do it and that is what is happening this year. Here are some recent numbers to demonstrate how the contract has been handled since 2008.

These are the snow clearing contract prices for the last number of years

2008 - $7190 per month (Contract awarded through tender)

2009 - $7190 per month (Contract was extended for this year because the previous year was only three months as they had just opened so they rolled it in)

2010 - $5800 per month (Contract awarded through tender)

2011 - $4666 per month (Contract awarded through tender because an extension was declined by the contractor from the previous year)

2012 - $4666 per month (Contractor and Arena agreed to extend contract for an additional year)

2013 - Will go to tender again.

Mr. Power commented on how the price of everything seems to be going up and it is reflected in the range of bids they get each time they put the contract to tender. However as the numbers indicate they have managed to lower the actual cost of the snow clearing contract each year. The fact they offer the option to extend the contract for an additional year in my opinion offers a certain amount of cost certainty for a two year period, provided the contractor and the arena agree to extend it. As well I would think that the contractor would be conscience of the fact that if they provide an acceptable level of service that the contract could be theirs for an additional year. This practice seems like a win-win situation for all parties.

I have been told there are some exciting opportunities on the horizon for Jack Byrne Arena. One of which is the Arenas desire to obtain funding from various levels of government to purchase a new floor to put over the ice. This would enable the arena to host a wider range of activities and generate greater revenues, all of which is good for the future of the arena and the stake holders that own it….that is you and me.

I am sure that our MHA Mr. Kevin Parsons will be called upon to try and obtain the necessary funding for this improvement to take place on our behalf. So don’t be afraid to get your emails going to let him know that we would really like this money to improve our arena.

I am going to try and speak to Mr. Power again in the future to try and keep current on the happenings at Jack Byrne Arena.

Hopefully that paving will be finished this week

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 18:05:00 +0000

Well the traffic was brutal this evening and judging from how much they actually got paved we are going to be in for a long couple of days before it is finished. I just say look on the bright side, it is some short term pain for long term gain. We have been complaining about our roads here for a few years and now that they are getting fixed we are still complaining that they are taking too long. It won't be long before we are complaining that another section of road sucks HINT: Bauline Line, which I thought was supposed to get paved as well.

I would suggest that if you can avoid Torbay Road the next couple of days do it, otherwise, just sit back and relax and hopefully it will all be over soon enough.

Big Thank You To Town Staff

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:26:00 +0000

I went to the council meeting last night and at the end of the meeting I had a chance to discuss the fact that there is a serious need for some pole lights on Bauline Line roughly between my house and Max's Auto. They said they would look at it and at 9:42am this morning I received and email from the town CAO Dawn Chaplin informing me that a request had been submitted to NL Power to have a pole light installed roughly around 445 Bauline Line.

This is good for a couple of reasons, first of all we need the pole light but second of all the only light in our area is on the pole in front of my neighbours and they have been paying the bill for that for several years. This should allow them to get rid of that light now if they want to and save that money.

I know many people say they have trouble dealing with the town and they can never get anything done. This is certainly one example of where a simple request was made and the town took swift action to rectify the situation. I want to thank them for a job well done. Hopefully NL Power will work with as much urgency that the staff at the town did.

Torbay 2012 Celebrations

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:48:00 +0000

I guess the big year is approaching and the town has big plans for next years celebration. I took a lot of abuse over the fact I complained that the town was proposing to spend $200,000 to bring Great Big Sea here for a concert. So I figured I would try and find some more information about it so I contacted Councilor Roche because she is on the Special Committee for the 2012 Celebrations.

I asked her some very straight forward questions that she hopefully can answer because I couldn't imagine anyone pursuing such an event on this scale without first answering these questions.

1) How many people do you think are going to attend?

2) How much will tickets cost?

3) Where are we going to hold the concert?

4) What is the potential shortfall for the town if we don’t sell enough tickets?

5) Do we have an exit strategy if not enough tickets are sold to cover the cost?

Hopefully more to come when I get some answers and I am sure I will get them eventually.

Is the snow clearing contract at Jack Byrne Arena being tendered?

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:33:00 +0000

Update!!

I am going to be getting more information on this sometime this week and hopefully clear it up. There may be a misunderstanding and I have to follow up on it.

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I have been told by a contractor in Torbay who called out to Jack Byrne Arena to ask when the tender for snow clearing would be coming out and was told there would be no tender and they are giving the contract to the guy who had it last year.

The obvious problem here is that they are spending our tax dollars to pay for a service without even allowing other people to put a bid on it. Maybe we can get a better price if we allowed some competition in the bidding process.

The other part about this that is even more bothersome is the possibility that preferential treatment could be given to a particular company. I am not sure who is responsible for awarding the contract but it seems to me that all the towns involved in the operation of that arena have a stake in how they spend our money.

I have sent an email to the Mayor asking him if this awarding of a snow clearing contract without a tender is in fact what is happening. I would like to hear what he has to say before I pass judgement on the issue as there may be extenuating circumstances that need to be explained.

Hopefully there will be more to come on this.

4132

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:52:00 +0000

That is how many votes Kevin Parsons got last night in the election. That vote total was the highest of any candidate in the province. Congratulations Kevin on a tremendous showing and you certainly got a result worthy of all the hard work you and your campaign team put in.

2623, that is the number of votes that Geoff Gallant garnered and I would like to also congratulate Geoff on a great campaign. The vote totals that were tallied in our district of Cape St. Francis demonstrated that when good candidates work hard and connect with the people they will get out and vote.

Good job both of you and good luck Kevin.

Election Day is Today, Please Go Vote

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 10:07:00 +0000

I won't say that I don't care who you vote for because I have my preference, however I would say that you should go out and vote. Over the past number of elections right across this country voter turn out has been getting lower and lower and people have become disengaged and cynical about politics.

We are lucky here in NL that we have an economy that is humming along pretty good and candidates that are worthy of our votes especially the PC candidate Kevin Parsons. We need to get out and cast our ballot or else we are letting someone else decide for us.

Good luck to all the candidates in this election.

Happy Thanksgiving Torbay

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and I hope you enjoy the holiday. I think of all the things we have to give thanks for over the past year and the list goes on and on. Here is a few things I am thankful for today.

1) My Wife - She has been with me now for over 20 years and keeps me inline when I need it.

2) My Kids - They are pretty much the world to me and along with my wife the reason I get up in the morning and do what I need to do to give them what they need.

3) My Extended Family - Where would we be without our families? They are always there to lend a hand or provide advice or just listen.

4) Good Friends - There is something about good friends that can't be found anywhere else in your life.

5) My Community - I give thanks that I live in a town that is safe and where kids can play and grow up without the constant fear of violence or crime around every corner. It is not perfect but the people living here make it as close as it can be.

6) The Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs. One team that I love and another that I love to hate. They are my Yin and Yang, they are complimentary opposites that keep life in balance and an escape from the rigors of everyday life.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and take a minute today to think about what you are thankful for.

Nice to see the town taking my ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 02:23:00 +0000

I was driving up the road the other day and noticed this little trailer parked on the side of Torbay Road and it was telling me the speed limit and also my speed. I said to myself, I wonder where I was that before? Then I realized that over a year ago on August 18, 2010 I posted on my blog that this very thing was something that the town should consider and they did and I am very happy. These things work because they are not that common around here and they do catch your attention.

I don't care where they got the idea but I am glad they have it and are trying to do something to curb speeding along that school zone. Good job council and staff.

We have Curb Side Recycling Finally!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:58:00 +0000

It took a long time and I have been talking about recycling on this page for a good while now. Finally on Tuesday I was able to put it out on the curb. I missed the first week but didn't miss this week. I put out 8 bags of recycling that may have otherwise went into the garbage, reduced my bags of garbage going to the landfill by several bags.

I am still curious to find out exactly how this program is going to work. I heard the mayor speak about the large tipping fees the town pays at the dump each year for our regular garbage, something in the neighbourhood of $40,000 I think. Anyway I saw that the tender was awarded to DBI Garbage Removal Ltd..

RESOLVED THAT the Town of Torbay award tender number 2011006 for curbside recycling for the period of September 12, 2011 to December 31, 2012 to the low bidder,DBI Garbage Removal Ltd.. The cost per household is $2.69 with a monthly cost of $7801.00. Total cost of the reminder of the 2011 fiscal year is $23,403.00.

So does that mean that the total cost for the year is going to be $93,612? Plus the $23,403 for the remainder of this year? That is how it reads to me.

That is a pretty large expenditure but I think it is the right thing to do for the community. I wonder who gets the money for the recycled products? How does that work? Does the town recoup any money from the materials that we send to the recycling company?

I would be interested to know because our tipping fees are likely not going to drop a whole lot and we are adding almost another $100,000 to our waste disposal budget so instead of having $40,000 we will have $140,000.

If anyone has any other information that they would like to share on this please be my guest.

Just Found Out We Have a Liberal Candidate

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:28:00 +0000

I guess the Liberals are pulling out all the stops and making sure they have a name on the ballot for the election. The candidate that they have running is Joy Buckle and if that name sounds familiar it is because she is the same person that stepped up to run against David Brazil in a by-election last November in Conception Bay East-Bell Island. I guess that is part of her job as a Liberal staffer to run around and run in seats where the Liberals have no one else interested. I say this much for her, she is a dedicated party loyalist.

I guess they did the same thing in Mount Pearl North. A man named Phillip Mullins who sent a tweet this morning expressing interest in running in the seat.

"So [apparently] there is a liberal candidate opening in my riding. I just sent an email seeing if they'd consider me. Wow. lol."

By the afternoon he was officially the candidate. WOW is right. That is how easy it is to become a Liberal candidate in this election. Just send off an email and voila your name is on the ballot. Really how much checking out of this guy could they have done? He could have been a nut job who was just out for a few kicks and they are just going to put him on the ballot?

Obviously the guy couldn't have been very serious considering he withdrew from the seat during the debate, or maybe he watched the Leader he was supposed to be running for and couldn't get away from him fast enough LOL.

I wonder will our freshly deposited Liberal candidate will do the same thing?

Found Another Video, This One For Recruiting Business

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:03:00 +0000

I have been trying to find the minutes on the Torbay website, which is horrible to navigate by the way, and came across this video as well. I wonder when they will start airing on CBC and NTV?

Found this Great Video on Town Website

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:50:00 +0000

I found this video about Torbay on the town website and I think it is actually quite good. It shows a lot of the features that make our town beautiful and a great place to live. Seems to be very well done and I wonder what the plans are for that video. How is it going to be used to promote the town? Must have cost a good dollar to get that made and it seems fitting that we would use it to advertise and promote the town. I wonder if it is something that was done in anticipation of the big anniversary coming up.

Anyway, take a look and see what you think.

Just Finished Watching The Leaders Debate

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 02:23:00 +0000

Had to record it and watch it late as I was gone to Karate with my son but it was somewhat informative. The first thing I learned is that it is no wonder that we don't have a Liberal candidate running in our district. The leader of the Liberals was by far the worst of the leaders on that debate.

He must think we are all a bunch of idiots when he says he is going to maintain the service of the Coast Guard office here. The Premier rightly pointed out when she asked him how he was going to direct and control Federal Government ships. Of course he had no answer because he is just trying to play up to the sentiments of the people in rural Newfoundland. He must think they are a bunch of idiots too if they will believe any of the stuff coming out of his mouth. I kind of feel sorry for the Liberal voters in our area that they have no candidate. If they did, how could they ever support Kevin Aylward. Yvonne Jones was twice the leader he is, at least she seemed to know what she was talking about.

Lorraine Michael was her usual well spoken self and displayed her passion for the issues that are close to her heart. She is an advocate for increased social programs and that plays well among her constituents, but she is short on details on how she could ever pay for what she wants to do. I guess that is the advantage of knowing you will not form government is that you can pretty much promise the world, with no fear of ever having to implement it. The Liberals are actually in the same boat.

I liked what the Premier had to say and the direction that the Progressive Conservatives have been leading our province in the last 8 years and it bodes well for the next 4. They have proven to be responsible when it comes to the public purse even though spending has increased a lot they have managed at the same time to run surpluses and pay down our debt.

We have seen a lot of government investment in our area over the last number of years, and despite the fact that we have been inconvenienced by the construction that has been going on, I think it is just short term pain for long term gain. We have a new school, a commitment for another school in our area, a new bypass road which has it's benefits and disadvantages as we all know and a pile of other road work getting done every day.

I can't help but thank Kevin Parsons for all his hard work the past few years. Now that he has his feet wet and gained valuable experience about the workings of government I am sure he is up to the challenge to advocate on our behalf even more. I am looking forward to election day and sending him back to the House of Assembly to serve as our MHA for another 4 years.

Town of Torbay Proclaims World Breastfeeding Week

noreply@blogger.com (Craig Scott) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:37:00 +0000

I got this story from VOCM and thought it was interesting

The town of Torbay boasts the highest rate of new mothers who breastfeed in the province, and has been the first to officially proclaim next week, World Breastfeeding Week. 81 per cent of new mothers in Torbay breastfeed their babies. A number of moms and their babies, as well as representatives of Eastern Health, were on hand for the proclamation signing Tuesday at Torbay Town Hall.