Life is never short of surprises, and I’m always surprised at how some people react to simple questions.
Like last week’s column on the proposed transit system for Cochrane.
Never once in that column did I say I was against local transit.
All I did was ask questions.
Questions that I hear all over town and questions I think most taxpayers believe deserve honest answers.
Despite the efforts of some to suggest otherwise, questions do not reflect negatively on town personnel.
We have some incredibly talented people working for the Town of Cochrane and we should make every effort to keep them.
They are not the problem, and many of them share the same frustrations as taxpayers.
So, I raised a few questions last week and stuff hit Twitter.
I’m not going into detail this week, but phrases like ‘yellow journalism’ and ‘heavy dose of vitriol” are there for all to see.
Well, for all to see next week, I’ll run the tweets and reactions for all to see.
As you may have already noticed, Judy Stewart doesn’t have a column in this week’s edition of the mighty Cochrane Eagle.
She submitted one, but I killed it.
Not because I disagree with what she said, but because she used a format for a verbal attack.
Which doesn’t bother me much because the attack was on me, but where I have a problem is we donate space to Judy and her cohorts to spread the word on Cochrane sustainability.
What I write has nothing to do with Cochrane sustainability.
Judy’s attack on me also has nothing to do with Cochrane sustainability, so her column is dead.
Which is unfortunate, because Cochrane sustainability could use a ton of positive press rather than being a soapbox for personal opinion.
You’ll be able to read that entire column next week along with all the tweets.
And it’s all good.
It really doesn’t matter if we all agree on everything.
What matters is we base our discussions on facts, and the simple problem with the whole transit issue is we don’t have enough facts.
And I think it’s a fair question to ask why we don’t.
So where do we go from here?
I would like to think onward and upward, but there’s work to be done.
Like how about the local guy who wants to improve the frontage of an existing building half a block off main street.
The building is already there. Nothing is changing.
He went to the town office and was told he’d have to wait five months.
Not five months to build it. Not five months to start construction.
But five months before he’d get a building permit.
Which raises another question.
Why?
