Monday, September 28, 2015

PAY ADMISSION TO BAY BEACH?

Frankly, I'm tired of talking about Bay Beach, but we must, mainly because of how the whole Bay Beach Properties Issue has been mishandled from the time it was purchased from the George Rebstock back in 2001.

Since that time, for some possibly (fill-in-the-blank) reason, the property has been treated as a step-child in the Fort Erie Family. We quickly learned that the property was "required to bring a return on the investment" of $2.05 million. So, early in 2002, someone at town hall decided to sell off the north parking lots to fund an extension of the Friendship Trail. Soon, there was opposition and, eventually the idea was dropped. But, we knew that was not the end and, almost as soon as Doug Martin was elected, the other shoe dropped and we entered the Molinaro Era which was bad, very bad.

So, here we are again; back to 2001 with another "study" to decide the future of the Bay Beach Properties. And, once again, they're talking about selling off the north sections (parking lots.) Thanks so much, we really needed to hear that again, a decade or so later. Meanwhile, the beach itself is drawing more and more people, mainly because it is free and the nearby Sherkston Shores is closed to day trippers.

We are hearing stories of parking problems; garbage on the beach and crowded conditions. The paid parking lots at the Beach are a mere $5.00 for the day, while non-enforced parking nightmares make local residents angry. Busloads show up on nice weekend days, depositing people from far away. They go to the free beach and spend the day until the bus returns. At the end of the day, there are piles of garbage bags that sometimes sit for days before they are removed. Just past Point Abino, Pleasant Beach has been overrun with beach-goers as well. 

Something has to be done. But what? Earlier, I had offered that there is a report that over 7,000 people were at Bay Beach on one day this summer. Even if half that number were non residents and were charged $1.00 admission, that would bring $3,500. on a good day. I also opined that the parking lots should charge as much as the hospitals charge at their lots. Years ago, there was a resident card available for the beaches of Fort Erie. Don't know what ever happened to that initiative. 

So, have at it. What do you think? Tonight the Study will be presented to council. Watch for the hook in the sandwich. As I said earlier: Back to 2001.

(I'm going to transfer the remarks about this issue from the previous thread.)



Tuesday, September 15, 2015

SCOTT HERON CONVICTED!


UPDATE:

Yes, he was convicted. Sentencing will be in November. Hope he has to spend some quality time behind bars with hard-core criminals. 

Scott Heron's defence lawyer tried to accuse Geoff Purdy of arson during cross-examination of the convicted smuggler's testimony against Scott Heron, a one-time fellow Niagara Regional Police officer.

"Former Niagara Regional Police officer Jeff Purdie 

denied any involvement in starting a fire that destroyed 

business he once owned in St. Catharines." 

Tony Ricciuoto

That was on Tuesday of the trial. On Wednesday, the Crown brought forth evidence that Heron made unauthorized CPIC checks on himself and others while he was an NRP officer.

Today, Bernie Polino, a fellow cheese smuggler who was championed by former Ward 5 Councillor Martha Lockwood to push aside a long-time operator of the Bay Beach snack bar, and who later allowed Martha and her partner to run a tee shirt shop in the building, will testify for the Crown, probably part of a plea deal when he was arrested for smuggling. Bernie got away with numerous health and safety violations when he operated the snack bar and Martha Lockwood should have been charged with conflict of interest for her involvement in Bernie's business while making crucial votes on the status of the Bay Beach Properties. And so the saga continues ...


I've been waiting for this. For five years actually. Ever since Bernie Polino told me that he doesn't have to worry about problems with the health department regarding his snack bar at Bay Beach because, "I have friends in the police department." Well, one of those "friends" is currently on trial for smuggling cheese and chicken wings across the border while using his status as a cop to make it through customs unchecked. His name is Scott Heron and some might recall he was in a fatal accident on the QEW where his friend Andy Passero was killed. In early reports there was mention that neither occupant of the truck was wearing a seat belt and that speed was a likely factor in the crash. The other driver is currently serving time for his role in the accident. So Heron's name was familiar to me and when I was told that he was Bernie's partner in the snack bar, it all made sense. I just knew there was something fishy, or shall I say cheesy going on.

The whole house of cards came down when another NRP poster boy was nabbed at the border for smuggling steroids. The feds in Buffalo got a hold of Geoff Purdie and he dropped a dime on his fellow smugglers Bernie, Scott and Sgt. Casey Langelaan. Since then, Bernie has pled and paid a fine; Casey has resigned from the NRP and paid a fine; Purdie served a year at Club Fed in the States and is now singing like a canary at the courthouse in Welland, part of his plea deal on smuggling charges. He is no longer an NRP officer.

Sometimes, there is justice for criminals. In this case, justice is being meted out to those who are supposed to catch criminals, not behave like them. Heron will probably be given a light sentence. I hope I'm wrong and the judge throws the book at him. But these guys are Teflon® coated because they are also protecting others, some in very high places. Scott has already tried to use his accident injuries as an excuse for his wayward ways. Just as a point of reference, Purdy made it to the Sunshine List before he was arrested. He was making around $120,000. per year. It is said that the cheese smugglers avoided close to $300,000. in taxes on the products they smuggled into Canada. Just let that settle in. This was a large scale operation and these guys are probably still working some angle to make money now that they're out of their Sunshine List salaries. 

For me, it was personal. I ran the snack bar across the street from Bernie's and we were constantly under threat by the health department, which never seemed to care that Bernie was operating his business in the sand using coolers, a garden hose and unsecured propane tanks. We knew that the health department was being sicced on us by Bernie and his "friends" but we could do nothing except watch as the very uncomfortable inspector looked and looked for anything to cite us with. She refused to go across the street to see Bernie's mess but found that a hole in the screen door was a violation. She came on the hottest day of the summer, when we were extremely busy and demanded that we throw out fresh food because our refrigerators were not cold enough. She had no right to do that; food was safe and fine but she was under orders to make us look bad. She later apologized saying that our kitchen was very, very clean. (That apology came after her third trip to inspect. We even purchased a new refrigerator to please her and she didn't even look at it.)

So, I am hoping that Scott Heron sweats a lot. I hope he faces financial ruin for what he's done because, what he's been formally charged with is nothing in comparison to what he's accused of in the complaints against him from long before his arrest.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

FACEBOOK SHOULD BE RENAMED TO HATEBOOK

I know that a lot of people don't have a profile on Facebook and that is perhaps, a good thing. What started out a a sharing website has evolved into an unrepentant hate site. It seems especially true here in Fort Erie. If one were to type in "Fort Erie" into the search bar in Facebook, a page called "Fort Erie Hi-Lites" will probably pop up. It is a so-called page that has devolved into a nasty opportunity for bullies to rule one small place on the internet. I sometimes visit because my name comes up from time to time by one of the chief bullies. He thrives on calling attention to my blog. That amuses me because he is potentially driving more traffic my way. One or two others agree with him, calling me an "idiot" etc., thus making me so upset that I shrug my shoulders and laugh at their idiocy. But they move on quickly and start fights with each other over nothing. Their are only a handful of them but they take over the page and soon, everyone else loses interest. Not much positive news and opinion dwells on the Hi-Lites page these days.

So, I move on, checking up, out of curiosity (damn, I shouldn't have done that!) on the teen mom I once wrote about here. Well, she has moved on and has hooked up with at least two or three guys since I last checked on her. Well, she's pregnant again and has already broken up with her baby daddy (not to be confused with her first baby daddy, long ago out of the picture.) Their break-up has been preserved on Facebook, along with numerous selfies and trash talk. Baby daddy thinks he's a gangster, "straight outta Compton, beatin' up those bitches and such." Such a wonderful future ahead for a member of the next generation, one that is coming from a generation who can barely function without an iPhone. Hell with school or getting an education; we'll just suck off the system and bring up our kids with multiple Uncle Daddies. I just can't understand that women today have such low expectations that they feel that having a baby out of wedlock is a good thing. Fine for rich women, but not a good thing for the not-so-rich. The taxpayers are on the hook to support this choice when there are so many other choices available to women: easily available birth control comes to mind.

I do have a favourite that I watch and listen to: Advice From My Mom. She's from Manitoba and she's profane, bitchy and very funny. Please be warned that the language she uses us definitely not for those who are easily offended and certainly not for children.

I just went to my Facebook page and saw pictures of my first and best childhood friend and her sister with their grandchildren. They now live in another state but Facebook has allowed me to see that they are wonderful still. It's so good to see them. This is what Facebook is very good for. I just wish that everyone understood and appreciated that.

To the haters and Facebook trolls: hate on; it will come back to you tenfold.

To others who want to enjoy Facebook: try to stay positive and don't let your curiosity allow you to visit pages trolled by losers.

Friday, September 4, 2015

END OF SUMMER PARADE

PARADE

Saturday, September 5, 2015

1:00 P.M.

Starts at Crystal Chandelier, goes up Ridgeway Road to Rebstock, turns left and over to Bay Beach and back through Queen's Circle to Victoria and down Ridgeway Road to the Crystal Chandelier.

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