Trust, Faith And Hope For The Future Are Gone And It’s Going To Get Worse

Righteous indignation has infected Wingham, after Brook Vodden’s letter to the Editor. Vodden’s letter suggests that the new super school that was going to be built in Wingham, is on hold indefinitely. If Vodden is correct, this is just one more nail in Wingham’s casket.

Many were hoping that the new super school was going to help save Wingham, and start us down the road of prosperity and sustainable growth. The new super school was going to draw people to Wingham, and be the impetus for a large residential development. Now it seems this super school has turned into a big minus for Wingham, instead of the big plus we anticipated. Now schools might be closed and children bussed to various locations, even though the super school may not come to fruition.

This is just one of the recent events that will devastate Wingham.

Wescast

Romours have been flying around town that Wescast will be laying off people in Wingham, and shifting that work to one of their other facilities. Losing 60-80 jobs in Wingham will have a huge impact on a town of our size.

Walmart

Zellers in Listowel will be converted into a Walmart in the near future. This will draw even more people away from our down town core, as Winghamites search for deals to make their tight budgets go further. High prices and price fixing, have already gotten people in the habit of shopping out of town.

Taxes

Even though we are the highest taxed town in Ontario, and the survey results clearly state that virtually everyone believes taxes are an issue, Council still has not taken pro-active steps to lower taxes. High taxes have resulted in lower property values, as families and businesses choose to invest their life savings elsewhere, once they find about the taxes in Wingham. Virtually all candidates in the last election promised to get our taxes under control, a feat they clearly have not attempted yet.

Lack of Leadership and Foresight

North Huron has suffered from decades of poor leadership and ineffective councils. We can’t even get along with our Morris-Turnberry neighbours, which is a result of a complete void of leadership from our current Reeve/Mayor. This indifference by council has resulted in NH having virtually no industrial/commercial land available, forcing industry to set up shop in Palmerston and Listowel. This is a problem that will take years to remedy, if they start to act immediately.

No Accountability

As many of you know, Deputy Reeve Riach still has not publicly apologized to Bill Knott for the dirty tactics he used to try and silence Mr. Knott. Riach did apologize to council for his behaviour, and admitted to his atrocity, but is still not man enough to apologize to the victim of his abuse of power. Not only did Riach get away with his abuse, council agreed to abandon the Code Of Conduct, so none of them will be subjected to discipline in the future.

Transparency

The 2012 budget was passed without public review. The budget was presented to the public and council at 5:30, and approved at the 7:00 meeting immediately afterwards. The public did not have a chance to review the budget so they could ask informed questions. The public only had 90 minutes to read and digest almost 60 pages of accounting data before it was passed by council. Many feel that council rubber stamped the budget, since the entire council only had one question regarding the entire budget.

The super school was the light at the end of the tunnel, it now seems it has been extinguished.

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