Happy Birthday Jesus!

This is a clip from a Christmas episode of "Community", titled "Regional holiday Music".

The cast does this episode as a parody of "Glee!". I especially like the line from the song "Happy Birthday Jesus!", which talks of how Public Schools teach children not to pray.
 

Choir:
There's a magic in the air around us
We all have the sudden urge to bake
It feels like a very special birthday
but whose name should be written on the cake?

We asked our public school to give the answer
but they could only teach us not to pray.
The Constitution says the state can't tell us:
Was anyone important born today?

Shirley: Jesus Christ!
Choir: Jesus Christ!
Shirley: Jesus Christ is Lord!
Choir: Jesus Christ!

Shirley: Happy birthday, Jesus
Choir: Happy birthday
Shirley: Cut the cake, cut the cake now
Cut the cake, my Lord

Merry Christmas, from Joe
 

Misleading Pricing

Went to Briwood this morning, and was pleased to see that they have local blueberries for sale.

According to the sign, a picture for which I have attached, the price is $2.99 a pint.

After I was rang through the till with all of my other purchase, and I was on my way out of the store, I saw on my receipt that I was charged $3.49 for the blueberries. I asked why this was. Well, apparently the blueberries are $3.49 a pint. The price was hidden below the stand of Certo products. I asked for my money back, and returned the blueberries. I brought this to the attention of Brian, who said the sign placement was an accident.

Well, it most likely was an accident, but the sign placement was very misleading.

At the store where I work, if an item is priced lower on the shelf than what is rang through the till, we give the customer the product at the price on the sign. We then change the price on the sign to the correct amount.

Briwood continues to be the best place in St. Thomas to purchase quality local produce, and also hard-to-find European products. While this incident was frustrating, their overall service and excellent fresh produce make Briwood one of the best places to shop in St. Thomas.

One way to reduce the cost of St. Thomas Police Services

With fuel prices continuing to rise, St. Thomas Police services should be doing their part to help.

St. Thomas Police Officers should spend part of their time patrolling city streets on foot. Having officers walk such streets as Edward, Balaclava, Centre, Elm and Wellington, to name just a few, on a daily basis, would allow the community to see that Police are out and about, and would allow the Police to better know the community, and the community to better know the Police.

I know of several people who would like to talk with Police about incidents that are occurring on their street, but are unable or unwilling to do so, after being told by the Police that the Police are “too busy”.

With the continuing increase in fuel and maintenance of Police vehicles, having some Police officers patrolling on foot would reduce the amount of fuel consumed by Police cars, and reduce the maintenance necessary on these vehicles. This would allow the Police to become “greener” from an environmental standpoint.

While many Police vehicles are out and about on city streets, many Police vehicles sit idling in plaza or business parking lots for an extended amount of time.

I realize that in some situations this is necessary, for example, at the intersection of Woodworth and Edward, where Police often sit in wait for people who ignore the stop signs at this dangerous intersection.

In other instances, Police will sit in their vehicles in other lots from between 30 minutes to 60 minutes, with their vehicle idling. During these times, fuel is consumed, costing the taxpayers of the City of St. Thomas.

I feel that these suggestions would better both the St. Thomas Police Services, and the St. Thomas community, allowing for better co-operation, understanding, and cost savings.

Mayor Heather Jackson-Chapman has her eyes open

The St. Thomas Times-Journal titled their article “Police Headquarters Project Remains in Limbo.”

For those who think that the taxpayers of St. Thomas have $19 Million dollars burning a whole in their pockets, let me bring you up to speed.

Many of the taxpayers of St. Thomas, who have not lost their jobs, have not seen their wages increase. In many instances, these taxpayers have had to take a decrease in their pay.

They are having a difficult enough time making ends meet. How can you expect them to pay more property taxes for a new Police Services Building, when they do not have the money?

In the article, Mayor Heather Jackson-Chapman is quoted as saying “A lot has changed in the five years since we went down the path....Maybe that's what we need to do is get some cost estimates on some of the other stuff that could happen on that site,"

As the Mayor says, the Ontario Court of Justice is planning to move out in 2014.

What is to become of the current building that houses Police Services and the Ontario Court of Justice? Will it become another vacant building, up for sale, along with so many other empty buildings in St. Thomas?

If it was a perfect world, a new Police Services Building should be constructed. Until we have a perfect world, we are going to have to make due with what we have.

If it is going to cost more than $25 million dollars to renovate the present building for Police Services, then yes, build a new Police Services Building. A new building will no doubt go over budget anyways, probably near the $25 million dollar mark.

City Council and Police Services have a money tree growing in their collective back yard. That money tree is called the taxpayer. Due to abuse by those in Municipal Government who have been forcing it to bear fruit prematurely, that money tree is dying.

Mayor Heather Jackson-Chapman has her eyes open, thank goodness, and realizes this, and wants to make sure that the taxpayer pays what they can afford, not what they can’t afford.

The rest of them do not necessarily have their eyes closed, but are blinded to the economic reality of our situation.

Joe Caverly

Start the cost-cutting with MPP's

To my understanding, the base salary of an MPP in Ontario is $116,000, more if they are in cabinet or on a committee.

Presently, MPP’s receive 10% of their salary each year which goes into a locked-in retirement account (LIRA).

So, with a base salary of $116,000, which is paid for with taxpayer money, an additional $11,600 of taxpayer money goes into a LIRA for the MPP.

I was not able to put aside $11,600, or anywhere near 10%, of my after-tax income into a retirement plan this year. Of the people that I know, they were not able to do this either.

I was reading the Drummond Report, but did not see the elimination of the LIRA for MPP’s as one of the cost-cutting measures.

It would seem that anything involving the financial security of MPP’s is not considered being worthy of elimination.

The first thing the Government of Ontario needs to start reducing is their own wages and benefits.

Please take a moment to forward this message onto others, your MPP, and especially the Premier of Ontario.

You can contact Jeff Yurek, the MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London at http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_detail.do?locale=en&ID=7174

You can contact the Premier of Ontario at https://correspondence.premier.gov.on.ca/en/feedback/default.aspx

Joe Caverly

St. Thomas Police Services ‘Adequacy Standards’

On page 3 of the St. Thomas Police Service - Needs Assessment & Concept Plan Project Status Report, it says;

“Staffing growth is anticipated to be substantially higher than the population growth – an ongoing increase in the police-to-population ratio is consistent with national and international trends over the past few decades. Many factors have contributed to this, including the ‘Adequacy Standards’ included in the Police Services Act.”

Who has created these ‘Adequacy Standards’ included in the Police Services Act, in which the number of staff in Police Services increases the police-to-population ratio?

Well, according to (http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/police_serv/about/about.html) it is the Ontario Government.

Perhaps St. Thomas should consider downsizing the staff in its Police Services, so that the present building will continue to be adequate for Police Services needs. This will minimize the cost to the taxpayer, helping to alleviate the tax burden from those in our community who have to make due with what they have, as the result of job losses and little or no wage increases.

St. Thomas Police Services should get a lottery license

Just as the St. Thomas Elgin-General Hospital has a foundation to raise money to help our hospital (http://www.granddraw.ca), so too should the St. Thomas Police Services, to help cover the $19 million cost of a new building for themselves. That way, those who can give more may do so, helping to alleviate the tax burden from those in our community who have to make due with what they have, as the result of job losses and little or no wage increases.