A Better Idea?

In a recent rant on this site I mentioned how the Catholic Church on Cooper Street had torn down an old house and replaced it with a parking lot,and had begun tearing down another house across from it, to do what I wasn’t sure. Well this week I found out what they plan to do. As I drove past the construction going on I noticed a sign that read WE HAD A BETTER IDEA FOR THIS SPACE,and I began thinking of what great idea they had for a space within the city. Could it be a community garden for their members to look after? Perhaps a little parkette dedicated to the members of the Church that have gone on to meet their maker? An enclosed play area for the smaller members of the church would always be nice. Any of these would be a great idea, but in the end they came up with their own idea and to me it is an EPIC FAIL. You can see for yourself.

LEARNING TO DRIVE

The one thing that almost everyone agrees on is the other guy can’t drive. We all have said it as we watch someone driving recklessly down Hespeler Road or as we watch someone weaving in and out of traffic and not signalling their intentions to turn left as they cruise past you, but rarely will we admit that we can drive badly as well. I know I am not a perfect driver and i occasionally make a mistake behind the wheel, but just the other day i asked myself a simple Question..how many mistakes have I not caught? 1 a day, maybe just 2, after all I have been driving for almost 40 years and have never had an accident so I must be doing something right, aren’t I? And then I started to think what would happen if I had to take my driving test again? Would I pass? I would like to think so but you never know now do you? And that brings me to something that has been on my mind for a little while now and that is something that many people will scream about but I feel it is time that the rules of driving be changed, no not the road rules but the rules in regard to our licenses, it is time that our Government take a serious look at the licencing of our Provinces drivers and make some serious changes to it. We need to make it mandatory that ALL drivers be retested every so often, let’s say every 5 years till the age of 65 and then perhaps every two years after that. I am not saying that you would lose your license if you fail a re-test straight up as we would need a safety zone in the program so minor problems in a persons driving could be pointed out and corrected, while those with major driving issues would be giving a time period to work on those said issues. Cost could be a problem and that is where the Insurance company’s come in to play as they should be required to pay a percentage of the costs of a program like this, and perhaps (I know it’s a daydream) they could work some magic and add some savings on to our Insurance renewals.Will it work? Not likely but I would hope that our elected Leaders would have the foresight to consider such an issue because we need something like this to get rid of some of the bad drivers on the road today, I just hope I am not one of them.

HELPING THE NEEDY

One issue that has been around for generations has been the need for affordable housing and in 2013 it is no different. Our churches are always talking about helping the needy and I am sure they do a very good job of it but here in Cambridge I feel that an opportunity to build affordable housing was lost. Beside the St Mary’s church on Cooper street was an old house that was torn down and instead of the church coming up with an affordable housing scenario they did what all business’s do..built a parking lot so their constituents would not have to walk far to get into the service’s to save their souls. The size of the lot would have easily held a small town house complex that could have helped some of their lower-income parishioners but for an unknown reason a parking lot was a better idea. And now across the road the old house that was the office of Dr. Chen has been torn down and it appears that in its place will be another parking lot. And again another chance to help the community may have been lost. I hope I am wrong but somehow I don’t think I am.

Wanted:New Blood

Cambridge is over a year away from the next Municipal Election but it is never too soon to start thinking about what we the electorate want. And in the coming months I would like to put my two cents worth in on numerous issues that could arise in Cambridge. But first I would like to start by looking at an issue that I have spent some time thinking about, and that is, Who is going to run? Are we going to get the same old retreads running ( Whetham, Barr, Craig,Keifer etc..) or are we going to get some new blood? Last election we had some young guns so to speak running and I hope to see people like Brian Santos,Visario Moustakas,Bill Kirby and Brett Hagey give it another go and take some of the old guard down. Also I do not want to see professional candidates that never seem to win but are always there running either, if Rick Cowsill or Karl Keiffer don't take a run at the Mayors chair then perhaps they should consider going after the Regional Council seats, there they could use their experience to good use and get rid of the two that are our so called representatives now. But most of all the City needs new ideas and new blood at city hall.

IT’S NOT THE ROUNDABOUT

A lot has been written and talked about the roundabout situation in Waterloo region and I have come to a conclusion about them. It’s the drivers that do not know how to handle them that is causing most of the problems, and Today was a shining example of why. This afternoon i was driving along Townline Road and came upon the roundabout that is there, in front of me was a car that was entering the roundabout and a car beside it as well. The three of us entered and the car in front of me swerved across the line forcing the car beside it to put on the brakes, the car then went back to the original side of the road and wound up swerving again across the line before leaving the roundabout down Can-Amera Parkway. There the driver slowed down allowing myself to pass and as I did I caught a glimpse of the driver and what was she doing? Putting on makeup, that’s what. If there had have been an accident all the anti-roundabout folks would have been on their high horses saying ‘see, the roundabouts are no good” but in most cases it’s the driver, not the roundabouts.

A Dear John letter to Tim Horton’s

Dear Timmies,it pains me to write this but I think we need to spend time away from each other. Your paying attention to those outside in the fancy cars while I wait patiently inside to feel you in my cold morning hands is wearing on me. And I am getting tired of all the Questions every time we are together, would I like a sandwich, a panini, would I care for an ice cream,dammit,no I just want you and it is getting harder and harder for me to be with you and let’s face it I am a simple guy, nothing fancy about me but it seems you want to be like your friend Starbuck, fancy and expensive. But it is not all bad news, after all we still will see each other on occasion, after all on my drives up into Northern Ontario it seems that all I see is you and perhaps we can get together occasionally there. So you enjoy your new friends and your rich ice cream and don’t worry about me, I will be alright,as a matter of fact I am currently seeing a few others and I am sure we will both get over each other. Forever Yours, jimm.

It's No longer Mayberry

For those of us over 50 we remember when Cambridge was smaller and of course separate community's but time has a way of changing things and like all good things the Times has not always been good to us. And as you look around you realize that We indeed no longer the Mayberry ( for those unsure of the term,Google it) of the area but are a fast growing Cosmopolitan City that no longer resembles what I remember it to be, and I would like to point out just a few of those things. We have all noticed that the traffic is bad in the City, but there is another traffic that some may not of noticed and that is in the air, planes and helicopters to be exact. With the Breslau Airport,or should I say Region Of Waterloo International Airport getting busier and busier the sky's over Cambridge are also seeing a huge increase in traffic. The other night I counted 32 planes either coming in for a landing or taking off in just a 30 minute span and that was just from my backyard, and some of them are getting noisier than ever. I can not remember a time as a youngster seeing more that a few planes over Hespeler. Another thing that I have noticed, and this has more to do with my aging process than anything, but I now know many of the names that are buried in our Cemetery's and that is just a little disheartening. As the city has grown, we seem to have gotten a little meaner and while this has a lot to do with the rise of the Internet, all you have to do is check out a few local sites and read just how cruel people in this City can be to each other. Have you checked out the City By-Laws? There are way more than I could ever imagine and I guess as we grow we need more governance in our daily lives, but I have to wonder what would happen today if My Dad and his buddies fired shotguns into the air on New Years eve as they used to back in the day? I think there would be a by-law against that I am sure. But what started me writing this was an incident that occurred last week. I work close to where I live and I walk most days too and from work. Now I live in the older section of Hespeler and on my walk home decided to take a trip through a newer section of the town. I was 3/4 of the way home when a police cruiser pulled up and asked me if I live in the area, I let him know that I did not and explained what i was doing, showed him my I.D and he was satisfied but explained that they had a call from a concerned citizen that a stranger was walking THEIR streets and looked suspicious( got me on that one). I will admit it was after 1 am but really? You can't walk on their streets if you don't live there? The irony of it is that I was walking on a street named after my Uncle who died during the Second World War, so I guess we are really not in Mayberry anymore Folks. ( Even though I do tend to look like Otis when I don't shave for a few day's(again Google it).

The Season Of Giving.

Christmas, there I said it, you can get your Political Correctness police to kiss my mistletoe as I intend to say it to everyone I meet. Now, I understand other religions and faiths and actually appreciate what they bring to the table at this time of the year and in fact would love to see their traditions somehow incorporated into the season but under no circumstances am I going to stop saying Merry Christmas until I am 6 feet under and pushing up the daisy’s. Okay that takes care of the first issue that I have with Christmas and now let’s move on to the real meat and potatoes of this column, the Company Christmas Party’s.

I am going to put this out right now, I hate Company Christmas party’s, actually I totally despise them as they are a total waste of time and money in this day and age. Christmas is for kids and those that truly have faith in the reason for the Holiday in the first place and should be celebrated as such, but not as a reason to get drunk,spread gossip and spend money on others that we can barely survive 8 hours a day with. The purpose of Christmas is to celebrate the Birth of Christ and spend time with family and friends and should not be about what can I get the boss this year. Don’t you think that the Boss has enough already? And does Shirley in accounting really need a $15 gift card to Starbucks? Let’s be real here folks, this time of the year we should be thinking of those who are more needy than we are, those Children that may not get Christmas as we know it, those that are struggling to make ends meet and could use a donation of a Turkey or Ham. Fred the computer guy can do without a new Sun-catcher in the shape of Bill Gates but a donation of $20 dollars in his name to a children’s charity would go a long way towards a little piece of mind for all.  Is it too much to ask that instead of a Secret Santa you can all get together and make a donation to the Tony Roberts Turkey Drive? It will help someone less fortunate and allow you to truly experience the Joy of Christmas.

LOCATION,LOCATION,LOCATION.

To start I need to point out that I support a Casino in Cambridge, but not in the area that the Government wants to put it. Do we need a casino in Cambridge? It depends on your point of view I suppose, yes it would bring in jobs and in the right location would help the City’s economy, but to place it out near Toyota would most likely help Kitchener more then it would Cambridge, because what is closer to that area? Hwy 8 and Hwy 401 that is what, and after pushing the buttons on the slot machines for a few hours people would head to the restaurants on hwy 8 or hit the 401 to go home leaving Cambridge virtually untouched. So the key component for me in this equation comes down to location,location,location and that should be in the City not on the outskirts. And where would that location be? How about on Pinebush Road at the old Canadian Tire Building, a location that is just off the 401, near many Hotels and an area that has vacant land that could be used for more parking(free at that). The possibility’s for that location are endless, they could combine a Weekend Package that includes The Casino, a Hotel Room and a show at Drayton Theatre, and with plenty of Restaurants in the area, throw in a meal as well. Could you get that out near Toyota? Well, maybe, but everything close would technically be in Kitchener and Cambridge would see little if any auxiliary income from the venture and is that not what this is all about? Politicians are elected to do what is right for their community’s and we need all of our Councillors on the same page putting pressure on the Provincial Government to change their boundary’s. Oh, and We also need Rob leone to spearhead this thing because Rob, we are gambling on you pulling your weight on this.