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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-09-15, Page 5THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2011. PAGE 5. Do you read the obituaries in the newspaper every day? I do – and not just to see who I’ve outlived by 24 hours. I read them because…well, because you just never know. Obituaries are inherently fascinating infonuggets when you think about it. An obituary is a soul’s farewell note to everybody and everything he or she has ever known. It’s accompanied usually by a photo of the deceased – a photo which the deceased probably didn’t choose and wouldn’t have approved of. You’d think it would be a cultural tradition to spend a great deal of time and thought composing one’s personal obituary, but in fact very few of us ever write our own. We’re too busy or we’re uncomfortable with the morbidity of the idea – or perhaps we secretly believe that we’ll never die. When we do shove off, the job of penning that farewell note falls to a mate, or next of kin. Or worse of all, to some anonymous cub reporter whose duties include the Joe job of spinning a few coherent lines about the stiff under the sheet in the morgue. Still, newspaper obituaries can be utterly charming in their artlessness. Often they’re trite; occasionally they’re sublime and every once in a while they can evoke a distinct thrumming pang in the cardiac region of the thoracic cavity. Which brings us to Buncy Johl. Odd name, that. East Indian, I’m guessing, since the newspaper tells me his second name is Singh. The photo that accompanied his obituary in the newspaper last week shows a pleasant-looking, middle-aged man, balding, with an easy smile, wearing what looks like a track suit. And right under the photo, about four and a half inches of ten-point agate type summing up Buncy’s 50 years on the planet. About an inch and a half into it you learn that Buncy was, among other things, a musician. He played in the BC rock band Soul Addiction. I’m guessing that he and the boys spent more than a little time entertaining at the Strathcona Hotel because the obit salutes the hotel owner and “the Strathcona family” for special thanks. I’m also guessing that Buncy’s final number was not an easy listening tune because his death notice especially praises the staff at the Intensive Care Unit at Royal Jubilee Hospital. What struck me was the way the obituary unconsciously reflects the giant cultural tossed salad that is Canada. It mentions Buncy’s parents, aunts and uncles, most with Asian names like Gurmit and Ajit and Joginder – but also a sister Rita, nieces Erin and Robyn and brother-in-law Wayne – names that could have come straight from a three-storey mansion in Forest Hill or a clapboard farmhouse near Primrose, Alberta. If Buncy’s forebears hadn’t immigrated to Canada a couple of generations ago, his smiling face would probably never have appeared in a Canadian newspaper and you and I would almost certainly never have heard of him. But his forebears did come here. And became Canadians. And cross-pollinated with the rest of us mongrels. And gave us Buncy. He touched a lot of people, this Buncy Singh Johl. In fact, the obituary says “There was no one who crossed Buncy’s path and was not touched by his magnetic personality, unwitting smile and loving, compassionate and forgivable nature.” And that includes Brad, the hospital parking attendant who is thanked in the obituary for his loving support. Curious, how much you can infer from simple newspaper death notices. They’d never qualify as ‘light’ reading, even when the subject is a warm and lovely guy like Buncy. But they can be illuminating. Even, on very rare occasions, funny. When a newspaper to which Rudyard Kipling subscribed mistakenly published an announcement of the writer’s death, Kipling (who was also born in India) dashed off a note to the editor. It said: “I just read that I am dead. Don’t forget to delete me from your list of subscribers.” Buncy would have loved that. Arthur Black Other Views Bon Voyage, Buncy Singh Johl Before he became a sideshow and star of The Hangover, Mike Tyson was the most ferocious boxer I had ever seen. He was also the man who spoke some of the truest words ever spoken in sports. “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” It’s so true. In every sport, business or life experience everyone has a plan until someone or something starts working on its plan and punches you in the mouth. Then the plan changes out of necessity. At a loss for words, Goderich Mayor Deb Shewfelt stood up and said “it’s been an interesting two weeks” before sitting right back down at the Sept. 7 meeting of Huron County Council. On Aug. 21 several Huron County communities, predominantly Goderich and Benmiller, got punched in the mouth and now the game has changed and they have to adjust. There are basic reasons politicians run for office. They want to make a difference, they want to leave their community better off than how they found it and they want to put their mark on a place they love. There are typical jobs that come with being a municipal representative, like balancing an annual budget, deciding which roads to pave and which structures to build and making your community an attractive one for potential new residents. However, there are always curveballs. Who would have thought that when Shewfelt took office once again last fall that he would be looking at rebuilding his town after one of the greatest natural disasters this area has ever seen? It’s just one of those things that comes with the job. Sure there are emergency-readiness plans, but a plan and training can only go so far when disaster strikes. The same can be said for councillors throughout North Huron and Huron East. Little did they know years ago that a simple letter buried in their council meeting agendas from the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) would lead to the closure of nearly every school in both municipalities. That first letter regarding potential school closures was just as unassuming as that lazy Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago. Yet now, here we are facing worlds that might never be the same. Earlier this year longtime Brussels representative and former Huron East Mayor Joe Seili vacated his council seat. He said he couldn’t take the lack of control he and his fellow councillors had. Whether it was the AMDSB, the Provincial Government or local protest groups, Seili said the job was no longer what he had signed up to do. However, it’s in disaster time that a councillor’s love for community and his willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty shines through; when a community is truly threatened. It’s when extra hours are put in by the dozens and a personal life ceases to exist, but they do it anyway. NFL linebacker Ray Lewis once said that the millions of dollars he makes playing football for a living were for his preparation, not his performance on game day. “You pay me for the work I put in Monday to Saturday,” he said, “Sunday you get for free.” With our municipal representatives, it’s meetings that run past midnight and months- long budget processes and administration committee sessions that we pay for. When we really need them and the community is in trouble, we get what they have to offer for free. Best laid plans The idea for a “Tip of the Hat, Wag of the Finger,” or “Thumbs up, Thumps down” section in the newspaper has crossed my mind several times, and I think it’s a wonderful idea, in theory. The problem comes when we wag a finger at someone, they take offense, and we end up on the wrong end of legal activity. However, in this column, I’m running entirely off what other people have said, so, if you want to start the legal nightmares, leave us out. This week I’m going to shine a spotlight on two different factions on opposite sides of the same argument, and wag a stern finger at a related party. First, to North Huron Township Council: Congratulations councillors on turning the other cheek and deciding to support a facility in Central Huron despite Central Huron’s council decision to not do the same. Some time ago, Central Huron representatives decided that they wouldn’t support facilities outside their borders. This meant that the arena in Blyth, now known as the Blyth Community Centre, would see no funds come from Central Huron, despite 30 per cent of its user base coming from Central Huron’s Hullett Ward. This decision is going to come back to haunt the taxpayers of Central Huron indefinitely in my opinion. For as long as I’ve been covering North Huron council, out-of-township user fees have been a hot topic because of two major (or at least two hotly debated) points; the recreation facilities in the municipality and cemeteries. North Huron, when presented with the information that Central Huron and ACW had supported the Auburn playground group, decided that their taxpayers in the village of Auburn were worth spending $2,000 to help get the new equipment up, painting the equipment that is being kept and recognizing all the contributors. Now, the second spotlight needs to be shone on Blyth Ward councillor Brock Vodden. Vodden stood his ground during North Huron’s debate about whether to support Auburn. He stated that North Huron’s reluctance to donate (up until that meeting) had come about as a matter of historical significance. He explained that, since Central Huron had decided not to play nice “in the sandbox,” North Huron had decided to not put any funds in the community hall in Auburn since it is actually in Central Huron. This decision then carried over to the playground equipment which is on adjacent properties. While council was sympathetic, according to Vodden, he didn’t feel comfortable supporting a facility in Central Huron as North Huron refused to do the same. Now, to wag my finger. To the Central Huron Council of the day that decided not to support a centre your residents were using, you threw the first rock in a fight between glass houses. Be sure to see the “of the day” part there. I certainly don’t want to attribute the decisions of past councils to current council members. The decision to not support a community centre your residents use, regardless of municipal boundaries, was as reckless as letting a bull loose in the China shop, and as shortsighted as Mr. Magoo. I’m sure I could come up with a few more analogies or comparisons, but the basic statement here is the decision was a silly one to make. In a world where rural municipalities have to rely on neighbours for important services, including, but not limited to, water and sewage services, emergency services coverage, recreational centres, and a plethora of other services, it does not bode well for a municipality to have isolated itself in such a way. Also, in a world where taxes are jumping by leaps and bounds due to past-due inspections and Municipal Property Assessment Corportaion (MPAC) decisions, supporting something that residents actually use (A great number if 30 per cent is accurate) is not a place to cut costs. Those cuts will just come back on those ratepayers. Whether they end up paying user fees for using a centre outside their area, or pay the fees associated with playing outside their play area, even if it’s just a photocopying cost for the application and the cost of driving from literally two blocks from the Blyth Community Centre to Central Huron’s new community centre, is a burden that ratepayers shouldn’t have to shoulder. Another tip off the hat goes to both Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh Township Council and Volvo. Both groups donated substantial amounts of money to the Goderich and Area Relief Fund to help those affected by the Aug. 21 tornado get back on their feet. ACW did so when they were rolled into the relief fund-accessible area due to damage caused in their municipality. Volvo, on the other hand, had little to no ties to Goderich anymore, from what I’m aware. The corporation, which had closed a major manufacturing plant in Goderich in the recent past, opened their coffers to help the community that had created world-class graders for them since they bought the Champion Road Graders plant some years ago. Shawn Loughlin Shawn’s Sense Denny Scott Denny’s Den Tipping my hat with a waving finger Let no man pull you low enough to hate him. – Martin Luther King Jr. Final Thought