Oingo Boingo! Bobolink Birds Bothered- Concerns-Carleton Place Citizens #2

The Bobolink bird, long a familiar sight in southern Ontario farm fields, is disappearing. Conservationists and others are joining forces to find practical ways to reverse the decline, beginning with an Ontario Recovery Strategy Series in 2013.

Did you know the Bobolink bird nesting areas are in the open grasses of our Carleton Place park by the river? Some bird enthusiasts are concerned and emailed me as to why the town seems to mow the park so early because it interferes with the Bobolink’s nesting period. I was told that Councillor Doug Black did ask the town to delay their mowing until nesting season was over. Apparently, according to some, it seemed to fall on deaf ears.  Is there a reason why the grass must be cut by any specific date?

Recovery of species at risk is the process by which the decline of an endangered, threatened, or extirpated species is arrested or reversed, and threats are removed or reduced to improve the likelihood of a species’ persistence in the wild. The Province ensures the preparation of recovery strategies to meet its commitments to recover species at risk under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk in Canada.

Another area where the bobolink migrate is to the grassy fields of Couch Hill Connecticut. Every spring, endangered songbirds, including the spectacular Bobolink, migrate over 6,000 miles from the pampas of Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil.  In early May, the male Bobolinks arrive and start their territorial aerial displays, using fluttery wingbeats and warbling songs. Several males will often engage in display flights at the same time.

Because of their small and declining statewide populations and their diminishing nesting habitats, Bobolinks have been listed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as a “Species of Special Concern” under the Connecticut Endangered Species Act.

As such, Audubon Connecticut, the state office of the National Audubon Society, has recognized Couch Hill as an Important Bird Area (IBA).

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a recognized bird area in Carleton Place as we are lucky that the Bobolinks nest here? They are already here and the town can provide a safe and inviting habitat for this increasingly rare bird.

Another tourist attraction lost? Another demise waiting to happen?

 

Carleton Place resident asks council to reconsider Roy Brown Park use

Tim Horton’s ‘Racist’ Steak Sandwich Display

 

I didn’t think people on The Rock could get offended by anything– but they have. A Corner Brook, Nlfd. Tim Hortons has come under fire for a new Western themed promotion for a steak sandwich. 

John Michelin, originally from Sheshatshiu, had a beef with the new promotion when he saw pictures of it on social media this week. Michelin said he noticed photos on Twitter of a display at a Corner Brook Tim Horton’s that depicted a series of cowboys pointing their guns at a group of Indians. He was upset and furious about the display, describing it as racist. 

Racist?

Personally, I think the word ‘racist’ is being used too liberally these days. It should not be used as a blanket description of everyone who is not ‘politically correct’. Maybe I am wrong, but shouldn’t it be reserved for true racists?

After the complaint the manager was quick to take the display down. Now, the person complaining wants more. Michelin wants the store’s manager to issue a public apology on social media. What’s next? Asking the manager to repeat the alphabet backwards? 

This issue should have been closed when the store manager took down the alleged offending display. How many times do we have to say “we are sorry” before the message finally sinks in? It is a part of history. There are many things humanity has done– ignorant, horrible things that are now ‘politically incorrect’ with the delusion that historical wrongs can be forgotten or erased. History is history, it may be painful and difficult but you cannot change it. Political correctness will not replace historical facts. Cowboys and Indians are a stereotype, and hopefully one that we are over now. Give it a rest.

There is absolutely no way on Earth to make everyone happy. There is always going to be someone offended by something. There are a lot more important things going on these days, like what just happened in Paris and in other cities. Be offended by how many U.S. stores Tim Horton’s closed this week and employees now out of a job.  Be offended that what should be a Canadian company is now owned by a company in Brazil and Juan Valdez is serving us Brazilian coffee now. This should be the focus, not an advertisement for a sandwich.

Personally, I’m offended at how easily people are offended now. Why don’t we all agree that the world is just one big offensive world and move on.

NB—this was an op-ed– and I did ask in my blog am i wrong?- AND I never asked why ” native people should really not be offended by blatantly racist and historically inaccurate and insulting stuff” because I believe insulting people is wrong. I am JUST tired of people questioning every minute detail of life and that is what it was about….I always open my blogs to opinions and respect them .. Thank you

 

Buy Linda Secaspina’s Books— Flashbacks of Little Miss Flash Cadilac– Tilting the Kilt-Vintage Whispers of Carleton Place and 4 others on Amazon or Amazon Canada or Wisteria at 62 Bridge Street in Carleton Place

To the Vandal That Tore Down my SLOW DOWN Sign

Thank you so much for vandalizing the Slow Down sign in front of my home. I obviously have no way of knowing who tore it down, and if it wasn’t for my neighbour Kim coming home from work at the hospital, it wouldn’t be standing up anymore. Since 53 Colours put it in professionally, us womenfolk had a heck of a time getting it back in. Her husband has volunteered to put it back in tonight. Okay, let’s be honest- she volunteered him.

I am sure some of you say it’s okay. Everything is okay. But it is not okay. Like a band-aid that does nothing but cover the wound, the words, “It’s okay” don’t magically make it right. Just like cars speeding up and down our streets and a pet getting badly hurt this week–it’s not okay.

We all understand that who ever did this was in the wrong, but I feel the need to personally tell that person a few things. The fact you do not care about your town and the people who live here is exactly what you conveyed with your bad decision.

The next time you think about vandalizing that sign- think about how fast someone is driving through our neighbourhood streets. Think about families and fathers and mothers, and children and sons, and daughters and friends and random acquaintances that would be devastated by the loss of one of their own if someone got hit.

Maybe you made one bad choice in the middle of a lifetime of great choices pulling that sign out today. But, I hope no one in your family has to experience the unthinkable, the unmentionable, that a pet or sister or brother in your family gets hit by a speeding car in Carleton Place.

So, to the vandal that destroyed my sign: no, it’s not okay. Of course my sign won’t make cars slow down on the streets of Carleton Place–but it might go a small way to get people to think.

Let’s get those signs up!

Is There a Lightning Bolt En Route to Kentucky?

MOREHEAD, Ky. — A county clerk in Kentucky who objects to same-sex marriage on religious grounds denied licenses to gay couples on Tuesday, saying she was acting “under God’s authority,” just hours after the Supreme Court refused to support her position.—New York Times

Does county clerk Kim Davis’s 3(?) divorces makes her 3 times more qualified to pass judgement on other people? Okay, I apologize, I am not going to be judgmental like she is. Davis is an elected official and in Kentucky she has to be removed by vote or legislative order. In the meantime, the courts can toss her in jail for contempt, and the county be sued.

If you don’t like a Supreme Court decision, resign you position and move on. That is right she does have. I believe that people should not be forced to go against their beliefs. But, I also believe that employees need to do their job when asked. If she can’t do her job, move her somewhere else. Just like everyone she has a job to do period.

A sincere WTH moment.