Heads Out Of The Sand, People !

Ottawa Police currently have a spate of house-breakings on their hands, in the Glebe and the Civic Hospital area. Local media is reporting that as many as 25 homes in these neighborhoods have been hit in recent days. Thieves have taken money, jewellery and small electronic devices -- things readily tradeable for crystal meth, crack cocaine or whatever the perp's drug of choice might be.

Thanks to some nitwits who blithely told CTV Ottawa's John Hua that New Edinburgh was such a safe neighborhood that doors were not locked, residents in this area can expect a good dose of the same.

These comments were made to John Hua when he interviewed Stanley Avenue residents following the New Year's Day homicide which occurred on that street.

Obviously the numbskulls Mr. Hua spoke to were new to the 'Burgh when they issued their open invitation to every crack and meth-head in the city. Unlike other 'Burgh residents, the folk on Stanley Avenue appear to live pretty sheltered lives. Unlike their counterparts in other sections of the 'Burgh, they haven't experienced the joy of waking up in the morning to find their car has been broken into or the pleasure of coming home from work to find that someone has been in their house and some of their stuff is gone.

'Burghers who live closer to Beechwood Avenue are quite familiar with this type of criminal activity. Their streets have been invaded by crackheads who wander around trying car door handles. You can see them pursuing this activity in the parking lots at the local Second Cup, Metro and Loblaws.

They've been known to defecate in shrubs and hedges on private property. They spend time thieving in the Metro and Loblaws. They panhandle on Beechwood in front of the hardware store and they put the touch on motorists stopped at red lights at the corner of the Vanier Parkway and Beechwood. They've become so bold that they now try people's front doors in the hope that an unlocked door will give them easy access to a purse, a Blackberry, I-Pod or I-Pad.

The local drugstore now has big signs in its windows stating that oxycontin and other narcotics are only available through special order -- meaning there are none in the store. There's a reason for this. Drug stores are favorite targets of the addicted.

Drug abuse is endemic in Ottawa. No neighborhood is spared. The cops know it. Our elected representatives know it. The schools know it. The health care system knows it. Feeding the habit is behind the car break-ins, house break-ins and a lot of other criminal activity which goes unreported because the victims know there will be no justice for them.

Citizens have to protect themselves and it's a sad state of affairs when one must turn one's home into a fortress -- but that's today's reality. Maybe more cops walking the beat might make a difference. Perhaps Chief Vern White could show the flag by touring afflicted neighborhoods in that LAV purchased for the force by the taxpayers, or send in cops on those fancy computer-equipped motorcycles, also purchased by the taxpayers. Clearly something has to be done before ordinary folk turn into vigilantes.

Heads out of the sand, people ! No neighborhood is so safe that doors can remain unlocked or accessible basement and other windows can remain unbarred. Remember that Russell Williams gained access to his victim's homes through basement windows. And for those 'Burghers who believe they're living in one of the safest parts of town -- Citizen Ellie can recall several homicides occurring in that part of town in recent memory.

Free Rides For All ?

A group of University of Ottawa students is taking their student union to court for increasing fees by 5% in order to fund the mandatory U-Pass program.

For those of you who don't know, U-Pass provides cheap rides on OC Transpo for university students. The complainants say the pass isn't useful for those who live close to the university or who, for other reasons, don't ride the buses.

Wonder if property owners who don't use OC Transpo could have a tax reduction using the same argument. In Citizen Ellie's case, she'd have close to $1000 in her jeans if she wasn't subsidizing cheap bus fares for students and well-paid public sector employees. Maybe Citizen Ellie should start a campaign for free OC Transpo passes for senior citizens. Everyone else wants a free ride. Why shouldn't she ?

Regular posts on a weekly basis.

NIMBY -- But You Pay Our Costs

Citizen Ellie's been out of the loop for a couple of months -- rehabbing a new knee and managing some holiday events for the family.

That doesn't mean she's stopped paying attention to municipal affairs, and a couple of issues which recently cropped up have given her cause for concern.

A small item in the local press a couple of weeks ago caught her eye.

Those of you who follow such things will remember that the anti-development group, Friends of Lansdowne Park, is taking the city to court in an attempt to stop the park redevelopment project.

Those of you who follow such things will remember these thumbsucking NIMBY-ites appearing at numerous public hearings where they set about to demonize community builders such as Roger Greenberg, Jeff Hunt and John Ruddy -- men who've made huge contributions to the public good in this city (The Ottawa Hospital and the Heart Institute spring immediately to mind as just two beneficiaries of their philanthropy).

Guess what ? The Friends of Lansdowne Park, perhaps realizing that they've bitten off a larger legal bill than they can collectively chew, are asking the city to cover their court costs. This means that you, me and the countless thousands of Ottawans who support the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group's plan for the park would be on the hook for this courtroom time-waster if council agreed to this demand.

The Friends of Lansdowne Park obviously didn't pay any attention to the recent municipal election results. Some councillors who opposed the Lansdowne redevelopment plan read the tea leaves and decided to bow out gracefully and take their pensions. Others were unceremoniously turfed out by the electorate. Virtually all who voted against the project are no longer occupying seats at the council table.

Doesn't bode well for the Friends. Citizen Ellie believes the new council isn't going to spend taxpayers' money on frivolous legal actions -- and in Citizen Ellie's opinion, that's exactly what the Friends have in their court challenge.

Citizen Ellie was heartened this week to learn that OSEG had been granted intervenor status, which means that it will have a voice in the court proceedings.

And we're starting to hear that voice. OSEG has filed an affidavit responding to the Friends' suit, stating that the Friends' position is based on an "imperfect or incomplete understanding of the plan"; it "challenges not only the good faith of the city, but the good faith of OSEG"; the allegations are "careless and ill-founded, wholly disregarding the time and energy that OSEG has expended in its attempt, along with the City, to bring redevelopment to Lansdowne Park". The affidavit also states that "OSEG will bear the full cost of acquiring a CFL team and is also on the hook for any cost overruns accrued in the $129.5 million refurbishment of Frank Clair Stadium and the Civic Centre arena."

Citizen Ellie is not surprised that the Friends have an "imperfect or incomplete" understanding of the plan. After all, some of them hold unrealistic views regarding vehicle access in the Glebe -- would you believe barring cars completely ? The Friends don't want any changes at Lansdowne Park ! Period ! No argument !

Another group of NIMBY-ites is trying to stop development in Westboro -- on the Richmond Road site previously occupied by the Ursuline Convent. In this case, a combination of residential/commercial development is proposed -- development which meets current zoning regulations -- with plans which have been changed, changed and changed again in order to meet community concerns but to no avail. The Westboro thumbsuckers just don't want development. Period ! No argument !

So they are heading off to the Ontario Municipal Board where they are likely to get short shrift.

As yet we haven't been subject to a demand from this group that the taxpayers pick up the tab for their costs. But they surely won't be far behind their pals from the Glebe if they think their snouts will fit into the trough at city hall.

Citizen Ellie doesn't believe public dollars should be used to pay for actions brought by NIMBY-minded citizens. Taxpayers have already funded, and will continue to fund the city's costs as these two examples of foolishness continue.

Citizen Ellie has this advice for the Friends of Lansdowne: put your money where your mouth is ! Dredge it up from your own pockets or go out and fundraise. Property taxes are high enough without this sort of demand on the public purse !

Happy New Year ! Citizen Ellie hopes to resume regular weekly blogging in January.

Road To Recovery

Road To Recovery

On November 5, Citizen Ellie underwent total knee replacement surgery at the General Campus of the Ottawa Hospital.

Some 18 days later, as of this writing, Citizen Ellie is back home, walking unassisted and, having decided to upgrade her home computer system, is trying to learn the Apple MAC operating system. Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks ?

Citizen Ellie needed a new knee because back in the 80's, she suffered a sports injury and had to have the lateral miniscus (cartilege) removed. Things went well for several years, but in 2001, pain in the affected joint was starting to get to her so she consulted an orthopaedic surgeon. At that time, the prosthesis for a partial knee replacement was available (the Oxford procedure)-- provided it was the interior side of the knee which was damaged, rather than the lateral side as was Citizen Ellie's situation. The orthopaedic specialist recommended that Citizen Ellie wear an "unloader" brace to prevent the knee from collapsing inwardly while buying time until the partial prosthesis for the lateral side of the knee became available.

Earlier this year, Citizen Ellie consulted her orthopaedic surgeon again. The Avon procedure was now available-- providing a partial replacement for the lateral portion of the knee joint. At that time, about 14 of these very specialized surgeries had been performed in Ottawa, and Citizen Ellie's orthopaedic surgeon had performed one of them.

This is great, Citizen Ellie thought. One day in hospital and back on the feet within no time at all !

But it was not to be. When the cartilege was removed from Citizen Ellie's knee in the 80s, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was removed as well. Without an ACL, a partial knee replacement was impossible. Back to the drawing board.

What to do ? Wearing the brace had allowed Citizen Ellie to function, but her world was getting smaller as she was finding it more and more difficult to keep up when walking nine holes of golf. Aerobics was too painful to continue. Walking around historic sites while traveling -- especially if an uphill climb was involved -- was no fun anymore. Standing for a three-hour shift in the auxiliary coffee shop at the Riverside pretty well wiped her out for the rest of the day.

After exploring all the options, she decided the time had come to have the knee replaced. It was not an easy decision. There are risks involved in any surgery. Would she come out of it worse off than she was before ? What about the pain ? Could she manage the stairs in her house, drive her car -- in other words, regain her independence.

The surgery went well. As a spinal, rather than a general anesthetic was involved, Citizen Ellie was wide awake in the OR to hear her surgeon tell her she had a nice new straight knee. During the course of the surgery, Citizen Ellie could also hear the sawing and hammering involved in the surgery -- all very interesting and to tell the truth, if the option had been offered to watch the procedure on closed circuit TV, she probably would have jumped at the chance.

Citizen Ellie's surgeon had booked her into the short-term rehabilitation unit at the General campus and this was a fantastic place to be for someone who had set the goal for herself of walking out of the hospital on a cane.

They make you work in short-term rehab, and it's painful -- no two ways about that. Citizen Ellie is one of those who can tolerate a high level of pain so she stopped taking pain medication two days after the surgery -- she's of the opinion that a clear head speeds the recovery process -- purely unscientific, but that's what she believes and it works for her.

Thanks to the physiotherapy program established in the short-term rehab unit, Citizen Ellie was able to meet her goal of walking out of the hospital on a cane nine days after the surgery.

She was told there might be a waiting period of as much as 10 to 15 days before getting a place in the rehab unit at the Riverside campus. Rehab in a hospital setting is covered under OHIP so there's a huge demand because many people who require physiotherapy following surgery do not have private insurance or otherwise cannot afford to go to a physiotherapy clinic. Citizen Ellie chose to get some private physiotherapy while waiting for an appointment at the Riverside because she did not want to lose the momentum gained in the short-term rehab unit. And it has paid off. She's walking without the cane, managing the stairs in her house, and can perform all the necessary functions of daily living.

Her recovery did not all happen by accident. Prior to the surgery, Citizen Ellie worked as hard as she could to be in good shape physically. She exercised faithfully -- following the routine prescribed at the pre-surgery joint-replacement class, went regularly to aquafit classes and took daily walks of at least 45 minutes' duration to build up muscle mass in the legs. Working with small weights to strengthen the upper body also became part of the routine.

If Citizen Ellie had advice for anyone contemplating joint replacement surgery, it would be this: get fit first. And lose some weight. Citizen Ellie wishes she'd been carrying ten fewer pounds because she probably would be doing even better.

We are lucky to have a world-class facility such as The Ottawa Hospital with its excellent staff of doctors, nurses and physiotherapists. The short-term rehab unit ? Couldn't ask for better ! And Citizen Ellie is lucky to have supportive family members and friends -- without whose help and encouragement the road to recovery would have been longer and tougher.

Regular posts on municipal affairs in Ottawa will resume next week.

Lessons to be learned.......

S0 the new council members are attending a boot camp of sorts this week, learning the ways of city hall in preparation for taking office on December 1.
Citizen Ellie fervently hopes they're all learning how to say "NO" and working hard at the exercises required to stiffen the backbone. Rideau-Rockcliffe Councillor-elect, Peter Clark, was excused from these sessions. The former mayor of Cumberland and regional chair had plenty of practice running a tight fiscal ship in his previous incarnations.
The ability to say "No" along with a stiff backbone are prerequisites in dealing with the myriad of special interest groups which come out of the woodwork during the budget process, demanding property taxpayers fork over more and more of their hard-earned money to support these special interest groups' pet projects -- projects for which these special interest groups appear to be unwilling to go out and fundraise. After all, it's easier to pick the taxpayers' pockets than to do the necessary work required by a fundraising campaign. The failed concert hall is a case in point. It should also be remembered that some of these "special interest groups" are nothing more than a front for the protection of CUPE jobs and should be treated as such.
Citizen Ellie has always believed that if a group or organization wants something, they should finance it themselves through their own organized fundraising efforts. Start a foundation, obtain a registered charity number, promote the project, convince people to pledge funds -- if the public thinks it's worthwhile, they'll support it. Look at the success of The Ottawa Hospital Foundation's "20 in 20" campaign -- $20 million raised in 20 months for the cancer centre at the General Campus. Look at the Cornerstone Foundation's project to provide housing for 42 disadvantaged women, 20 of whom will be senior women. Construction is underway now on the Booth Street building. The public has demonstrated their support for these endeavors by opening their collective pocketbooks. The public didn't feel the same way about the proposed concert hall. And the public probably wouldn't feel the same way about many of the special interest projects they've been forced to support with their tax dollars.
The newbies joining council's ranks on December 1 should remember they were not elected because of their good looks. They won their wards because Ottawans were fed up to the eyeballs with tax-hiking lefties who thought it was their job to blab on about tanning parlors, signs in farmers' fields, cow statue on roof of a shop selling cheese and other dairy products, transfats in restaurant food etc. etc. Ottawans were fed up to the eyeballs with councillors who worked hard to demonize developers; councillors who worked hard establishing roadblocks to progress; councillors who wanted to be "nannys", interfering in and controlling every aspect of citizens' lives; and councillors who didn't recognize the importance of economic development and job creation.
Economic development and job creation should be at the top of the new council's list of priorities -- especially since unemployment figures in Ottawa are catching up with the national average. New industry, providing good-paying jobs, must be brought into the city -- to offset the job losses which will come as the public sector (federal, provincial and municipal) downsizes.
"No new money" should be the watchword and zero-based budgetting must become the norm. The Ottawa Taxpayer Advocacy Group (OTAG) is once again calling for a financial summit and is demanding the city's auditor-general take a long, hard look at salaries and benefits paid to the city's non-union/management staff. Citizen Ellie is always shocked when the "sunshine list" is published in the spring of each year. Too many are earning above six figures. She was reminded of that again this week when the discharge of the sewer manager was announced. The person who couldn't figure out how to keep raw sewage from flowing into the Ottawa River was being paid in excess of $100,000. What's up with that ?
The auditor-general ought to have a look at the city's use of consultants. We're paying big bucks to city staff so why should we require consultants unless there are exceptional circumstances ? If consultants are being brought in because city staff can't or won't do the job, then maybe city staff should be eliminated. We'd at least save on the gold-plated benefit/pension packages.
The auditor-general also ought to take a look at staffing at the cop shop ? Are well-paid sworn officers performing work which could just as easily be performed by civilian employees at a lower rate, freeing up sworn officers to get out on the streets where they should be -- a solid review of staffing would provide answers.
What do Ottawa ratepayers want ? They want a council which will slash the bureaucracy, collect the garbage, ensure the streets are plowed in the winter and the sidewalks are safe for pedestrians, get traffic moving, and promote economic development -- in other words, a council which will look after the meat and potatoes issues as set out in the Ontario Municipal Act -- and forget the esoteric !

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Ouch ! That hurts !

Citizen Ellie won't be posting on a regular basis for the next couple of weeks. She's undergoing knee surgery tomorrow (Friday) and will be out of commission for a while -- at least until she's released from hospital and rehab and is back home where, while she's away, oldest grandson will install her new iMac computer. Citizen Ellie is pretty much of a doofus when it comes to hi-tech, so it's great to have access to the younger generation -- they who understand which USB port is for the printer and which USB port is for the wireless router. In the meantime, she'll continue to keep her eye on city hall in anticipation of the December 1 changeover.

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Post-election Random Thoughts

We really need to see them in action before we can determine how far Ottawa's new council swings to the right. We have a new mayor who's been there before and 10 new councillors -- some replacing tired oldies who saw the light and decided to retire rather than go down to defeat, others defeating tired oldies who needed to be booted out.

Ottawans were clearly fed up with the chardonnay socialist elitists who thought they knew what was best for the rest of us. It's unlikely the new, young, forward-thinking councillors will continue the "nannyism" which so characterized council since amalgamation some 10 years ago. New blood brings new ideas and new attitudes toward issues such as development. What a refreshing thought ! But what will the SUN's Susan Sherring do now that she doesn't have Mayor Larry to kick around ? And her best bud, Rideau-Vanier 's Georges Bedard got himself whupped by a 25-year-old ! Quel dommage ! Councillor Diane Holmes woke up on Tuesday to find herself in a lonely position indeed. Most of the lefties are gone -- Doucet, Cullen, Legendre, Feltmate, Bedard. Maybe newbie David Chernushenko will step up -- but he looks like a one-trick pony with opposition to the Lansdowne redevelopment plan his main priority.

Judging from what's already been written about the newcomers, taxes, transit, moving Lansdowne forward and economic development are their priorities. With the exception of Peter Clark, new councillor in Rideau -Rockcliffe (where "elect me because I'm a Francophone" is a slogan which no longer resonates with voters), the newbies by and large are a lot younger than those they replaced. Some of them are political activists, having previously worked with mayor-elect Jim Watson. The aforementioned Mr. Clark is a former mayor of Cumberland and former Regional Chair. He brings a wealth of knowledge to council; he probably understands the budgetting process better than anyone sitting around the council table; and he has a reputation for carefully husbanding taxpayers' dollars.

The budget will be the first order of business facing the new council following the December 1 swearing-in. Hopefully this group will put an end to the farce of so-called "public consultations" at which residential property owners ' legitimate concerns about escalating taxes were given short shrift by councillors who favored presentations from well-rehearsed CUPE minions and their special interest compatriots.

We will all have to exercise a little patience as the new council settles in. Yes, there's a learning curve, but it shouldn't take this group long to get past that. What they need to remember is that they were elected to bring some order to the chaos that's been city council since amalgamation. People are tired of the infighting, the inability to make decisions and stick to them, and the tax and spend mentality which permeated city hall. While Citizen Ellie is not a big Jim Watson fan, she's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt -- he certainly knows how to schmooze and if he can use this talent to forge a council where concensus rather than confrontation characterizes debate and decision-making, he'll have done a good job. He and the new council have four years to show ratepayers what they're made of.

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Where Have I Been ?

In August, Citizen Ellie took off on a road trip to Prince Edward Island which included stops in Quebec City and Fredericton, NB.

The highlight of the Quebec City stop was attending the Tattoo which is part of Quebec's Military Band Festival -- a highlight of their summer tourist season.

Sitting in the Pepsi Colisee, watching 800 bandsmen and women march in and then play "O Canada" brought a tear to the eye. Those of us who've experienced the national anthem boo birds at "The Bob" in Gatineau or at the Bell Centre in Montreal had reason to be concerned. There were many tourists from other parts of Canada, the U-S, Europe etc. in the audience and it surely would be an embarrassment if our national anthem was bood. But the people of Quebec City have more class than the smart asses across the Ottawa River who think booing the national anthem gives them some sort of status. Quebec City folk attending the Tattoo (and there were many in the audience) rose and sang "O Canada" with gusto in French.

In Fredericton, we visited the Beaverbrook Gallery and saw "the Turner and the Freud" -- the two paintings which are at the core of the dispute between Lord Beaverbrook's heirs and the gallery.

Prince Edward Island is Citizen Ellie's paradise. When Ottawa becomes too pricey due to ever-increasing property taxes, that's where she'll go. Housing prices on the island are still reasonable and property taxes are still affordable.

Citizen Ellie returned to Ottawa mid-September. The municipal election campaigning was in full swing and she made a conscious decision to remain impartial and not post or endorse any candidate/s until it was all over.

Now she's back at the old stand, watching and waiting to see what develops. There will be some interruptions in The Pitchfork's upcoming schedule as she has to take some time out for knee replacement surgery.

New posts weekly.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere A Sign.........

There's shock and dismay rampant today among Toronto's chardonnay socialists, self-appointed elites and other members of the city's chattering classes. En masse, they're reaching for the Valium, maybe even the Prozac, if something stronger is required.
The cause of all this anguish ? A new poll on Monday, August 23 (yesterday) indicated that Councillor Rob Ford is ahead in the mayoralty race by 10 points over his closest rival, George Smitherman.
The two couldn't be more different. Professional politician Smitherman, formerly of the Dalton McGuinty cabinet (Minister of Health, among other things) is smooth, urbane, well-educated, well-spoken, a sharp dresser. Everything one could want in the mayor of Canada's largest city. Everything one could want if one was a chardonnay socialist, a self-appointed elite, a member of the chattering classes or an editorial writer/columnist with the Toronto Star.
Mr. Ford, on the other hand, isn't an attractive-looking man. In fact, he's stocky and somewhat porcine in appearance. Not a sharp dresser. Frequently puts his foot in his mouth. In fact, he's a bit of a bumpkin, but a bumpkin who has pulled himself up by his bootstraps, built his own business and has become extremely sucessful at it. He's a man who, while rough around the edges, knows what it means to meet a payroll. As a councillor, he didn't treat taxpayers' money as though it was his own personal inheritance. While Mr. Smitherman is the darling of the downtown set, Mr. Ford's power lies in the suburbs -- he speaks for families who are paying more and more in taxes and getting less and less in return. And there are more of them.........
According to this latest poll, Torontonians are willing to forgive and forget about the Florida episode in Mr. Ford's past which resulted in a DUI charge. They don't seem to care about how he might present himself on the larger world stage. They don't seem to object to him speaking his mind -- as he did the other day when he said Toronto didn't need any more immigrants. And they're definitely not being swayed by the daily anti-Ford slant in the Star's mayoralty campaign coverage.
So what's going on ? The Toronto mayoralty race, plus the way Canadians are responding to other recent events indicates a sea change in thought and attitude is coming, if not already here.
Canadians are not opening their wallets to contribute to Pakistan's flood relief. According to recent polls, the majority of Canadians believe the latest bunch of Tamil queue-jumpers should be immediately sent back to from whence they came. This is not the generous, big-hearted Canada of yesteryear. This is the new Canada, where taxpayers are tired of being played for fools by politicians at all levels. This is the new Canada where citizens find themselves being impoverished by punitive levels of taxation, only to see their hard-earned dollars squandered through government waste and useless programs which don't benefit them and which frequently don't work. And finally, they've had enough !
There's a feeling that George Smitherman's difficulties in the Toronto mayoralty race stem from the fact he served in Dalton "The Deceiver" McGuinty's cabinet. McGuinty is not exactly Mr. Popularity in the province right now -- people hate the HST and the "eco fee" fiasco speaks for itself. If a provincial election was held tomorrow, McGuinty would have a hard time -- the most recent poll shows his party neck and neck with the PCs, but worse, it shows Ontarians are starting to like PC leader Tim Hudak -- finding him more "trustworthy" and " less likely to have a hidden agenda" than McGuinty.
What does this mean in Ottawa where we too have a mayoralty race which includes a former McGuinty cabinet minister in the person of Jim Watson. Could Watson "wear" McGuinty's shortcomings ?

Some things are happening in this town which indicate penny-pinching is on the rise. People are apparently spending less money at the Ex. Child and Youth Friendly Ottawa has only raised a third of what's required to meet the demands for back-to-school supplies from "needy" Ottawa families. Wallets are not being opened and it will be interesting to see how the United Way campaign fares this year when folks are scrambling to pay increased hydo fees , the HST, higher bus fares etc. while facing the prospect of wage freezes and possible job loss if a federal or provincial employee.
The attack on Mr. Ford's candidacy in the Toronto mayoral race by the chardonnay socialists, self-appointed elitists, chattering classes and their propaganda arm, The Toronto Star, is reminiscent of what happened here four years ago when Larry O'Brien entered the mayoral race. But in Ottawa, it didn't stop with whispers and media attacks. Mayor Larry was sandbagged with trumped -up criminal charges and subjected to that farce of an influence-peddling trial which resulted in his walking away free and clear.
Citizen Ellie is betting that Ottawans, like Torontonians, might prefer their less-than-smooth, self-made, up-by-the-bootstraps sucessful businessman who may be a bit of a bumpkin but who also knows what it is to meet a payroll and has been bloodied in his first term as mayor -- rather than a very smooth professional politician who is now trotting out the very borough idea which he pooh-poohed in his last incarnation as mayor. Whispers ! Whispers ! Citizen Ellie keeps hearing these rumors that the mayor's chair isn't really the seat he wants -- he's only come back to position himself for the Liberal nomination in some Ottawa riding in the next federal election. Parliament Hill beckons.......

Update

The little toe-rag young offender who broke into and vandalized Citizen Ellie's Cottage at Lac McFee, Quebec, last November, making off with her collection of NASCAR flags (among other things), has been arrested and charged by the MRC des Collines Police. Now waiting to hear when and if there will be an appearance before a judge so Citizen Ellie can make a victim impact statement. Meanwhile kudos to Ontario Court Justice Jack Nadelle who last week upheld the minimum mandatory sentence for armed robbery when sentencing a perpetrator who had two dozen charges related to a string of late-night armed grocery store robberies. Judge Nadelle wasn't buying the excuse that the accused was an otherwise exemplary citizen who had been brainwashed by an older man whom he met while the two were students at Algonquin College. Judge Nadelle also wasn't buying the argument that the mandatory miniumum sentence (in this case eight years with some time off for time already served in jail) constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

New posts usually on Sundays.Citizen Ellie will be on hiatus for the next couple of weeks enjoying some R & R until September 12. But with the magic of new wireless technology and a new laptop she may feel moved to send some thoughts out over the ether.

Zero Tolerance for NASCAR Flag Thief !

Spent last weekend at NASCAR races at Watkins Glen, New York. Citizen Ellie is a big fan of motor racing, tracing her fandom back to the 1950s when short-track stock car events were featured every Wednesday night at Lansdowne Park during the summer months.
It was heartening to see Canadian boys do so well at the Glen this year -- Jacques Villeneuve and Ron Fellows placed in the top 10 in Saturday's Nationwide race, with A. J. Fitzpatrick placing 11th. In the prestigious Sprint Cup race on Sunday, Ron Fellows unfortunately blew his engine, but Patrick Carpentier placed in the top 25. The upcoming NASCAR weekend in Montreal should be a doozy -- unfortunately Citizen Ellie will not be attending this year. Prince Edward Island beckons.
But we digress. We camp in the infield at Watkins Glen -- have been doing it for 14 years now. Same campsite every year -- and we've made some very good American friends -- people who've been camping along side us for the same number of years.
There was something missing at our campsite this year. Our NASCAR and driver flags. Most everyone who camps in the infield has a flagpole and they run up more than one flag -- their favorite driver/s, NASCAR event flags etc. Citizen Ellie didn't have any flags this year. Her NASCAR event and drivers' flags were stolen by the piece of human garbage who broke into her Lac McFee, Quebec cottage last November. He and his companion also had a good time smashing the glass door on Citizen Ellie's kitchen range and discharging the fire extinguishers inside the cottage. And somebody's mom got a brand new boxed set of Henkel knives for Christmas.
This little creep wasn't the smartest. He and his companion helped themselves to some adult beverages and left the glasses they'd used on our dining table. Guess they figured we'd be so busy cleaning up the mess they left behind that we'd just toss the glasses in the sink and wash them. No way ! When Number One son visted the property later in the month and discovered the break-in, he carefully bagged the glasses in Ziplock as he waited for the MRC des Collines police. The CSI series on TV has been a great educator in regard to how one should preserve evidence, and we have a personal philosophy that no crime should go unreported.

In due course, the MRC police reported back to Citizen Ellie. Lo and behold, fingerprints on one of the glasses belonged to someone already "in the system". So Citizen Ellie now knows the identity of this 17-year-old threat to society. She also knows he lives in Lochaber, just north of Thurso. What she doesn't know is when or even if this individual will be brought to justice. Citizen Ellie wants to give a victim impact statement at the trial. She would like to tell the judge about how this incident caused her so much grief and upset that she no longer felt safe at the property which she had enjoyed for 32 years so she subsequently sold it and left Quebec.
Citizen Ellie would also like to know what happened to her NASCAR flags. There wouldn't be much cash value if the perp tried to sell them. But there was a huge amount of sentimental value attached to them and Citizen Ellie probably shouldn't have left them stored in her cottage but she never thought someone would be so low as to steal them. A TV set or VCR -- yeah, you expect they'll be lifted if you have a break -in. That's why all the other stuff in the cottage was permanently engraved with the identifyer "Stolen from Racegirl 3".
There were 12 in all, collected over a number of years -- representing NASCAR events at Watkins Glen and Daytona, Dodge Motor Sports, and drivers Robby Gordon, Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Kyle Petty and Michael Waltrip. Citizen Ellie would fly different ones on the flagpole at her cottage during the summer months.
Citizen Ellie is not as forgiving as the Ottawa woman whose Greenboro home was one of four broken into and destroyed by teenaged vandals in April. A good day's work by this pair of turds. Their spree included cruelty to animals (roasting one family's pet gecko in a microwave, covering another family's small dog in paint), defecation, smashing furniture and appliances, slashing upholstery and mattresses and throwing paint all over walls and posessions. The crown wants jail sentences of up to two years for the one who was before the courts last week. His lawyer thinks he should get away with the usual knuckle-rapping, probation, 150 hours of community service and the extreme punishment of having to write an essay about the value of property. That should make for great reading. This poor kid (note sarcasm here) has already spent 118 days in jail. Not long enough in Citizen Ellie's opinion -- especially since he's been "in the system" since he was 13. His previous record includes breaking into a school, wearing a disguise with intent, assault and posession of a weapon.
There are young evildoers among us, no doubt about it. But we're not allowed to know who they. They're protected by the cloak of anonymity provided by that wonderful piece of legislation, the 2002 Youth Criminal Justice Act, better known as the Young Offenders' Act.
Bet you didn't know that under the terms of this act, police are discouraged from laying charges against young offenders. If they can avoid it, they are to keep those under 18 from acquiring a police record.
This piece of legislation also prohibits media outlets in Canada from publishing the names of young offenders. This is crap. Maybe the name shouldn't be published if its a first offense. But if it's the second or third ........ in Citizen Ellie's opinion, the public has the right to know.
Citizen Ellie wonders if the publication ban extends to personal blogs such as The Pitchfork ?
It doesn't extend to media outlets in the USA so what's to stop Citizen Ellie from submitting a story about her stolen NASCAR flags, naming the perpetrator and providing other information about him, to a U-S publication such as NASCAR Scene which is widely read by NASCAR fans in Canada and the U-S. If she doesn't get justice through the courts, she may have to take this step.
We now have zero tolerance for young drunk drivers in many Canadian provinces. Citizen Ellie thinks there should be zero tolerance for young criminals too. Too many of them are getting away with too much and receiving far too little in the way of punishment.

New posts usually on Sundays