The Church of the Nodding Angel - #3 of 52

Thinking of Christmas

Just got back from church. I think I'll add go to church more to my list of 52 things to do when I'm 52. I've been a Christmas Catholic the last few years and tonight at church I was thinking perhaps I have been missing something in my life.

Christmas growing up always meant going to midnight mass. The church in Wheatley was decorated to the nines and the pews were filled with folks in their finery. Baby Jesus was in the manger surrounded by statues depicting the Christmas miracle. But off to the side on the first step of the altar was a table with an angel on it. My favourite Christmas story as told by my younger brother is about this angel.

Each Christmas we would be given a quarter to give to the angel. This was a special angel because when you dropped your coin in the slot between her hands, the head would nod back and forth as if it was thanking you for your donation. Kids would line up to give their coins to the angel and the angel would silently give thanks by nodding it's head. When we were kids 25 cents could buy you some cool candy at Fudd's mini-mart, so my brother, as he tells the story, was thinking ahead. Hmmm, he thought, I wonder what would happen if I kept the quarter and put in a penny instead. So before church he put a penny in his pocket. Sure enough after mass, all the kids lined up to wait their turn. He saw the angel nod in thanks as the other kids in line deposited their alms for the poor. My brother slipped his hand in his pocket, dropping the quarter in and taking out the penny with no one the wiser (so he thought). He walked up to the angel and put the copper in the slot and waited. In what seemed like an eternity, the head remained motionless and then the angels' porcelain eyes caught his and the angel shook her head side to side in disapproval.

He never says if he put the quarter in and it doesn't really matter. The angel no longer adorns the altar at the Blessed Sacrament church, rumour has it that it was tossed during renovations along with some of the other statues in an attempt to modernize the church. I am reminded of this story every time I see the Salvation Army kettle and I reach into my pocket and think for a moment about how much change I should give and then grab whatever is in my pocket and plunk in it the slot. I never know if the person with the kettle is really that angel in disguise. You just don't mess with Angels as my brother says.

Now being Christmas Eve, I'd like to wish everyone the best of the season. I have to perform another Christmas tradition, which is wrapping my wife's presents now that she has gone to bed.

Cheers
Mit.

P.S. As I refilled my coffee I noticed one of our fridge magnets had an angel on it. It says "Cherish angels wherever you may find them and you will find them everywhere" Sort of sums it up nicely!

Size Matters - #2 of 52

The Mrs. and I went to a house party Friday night. Met one of our local Dentists and we got to talking about toilets. Seems the subject is fascinating to folks other than myself. Proves that either I am not eccentric or that there are others other like me.

Anyways I thought Blog #2 would be dedicated to #2. (Say Ewww!)

Since part of my list of 52 things to do is to reduce my utility bills, the main floor toilet was a natural target. I bought a 17.5" height, 3.8 litre/flush, 1000g rated American Standard Toilet "made in Mexico". It replaced a 16 litre/flush American Standard Toilet  "Made in Stratford Ontario" toilet that I gleaned from the roadside last spring. That replaced another Canadian made toilet "Crane" that I think used about 45 gallons per flush but it came with the house.

For toilets size matters - The 17.5 inch height should be the new standard - Not sure why 14 inches is the standard but perhaps the folks in England were a lot shorter when it was invented. According to my Dentist friend, his brother-in-law with bad knees could not thank him enough for recommending the extra height. In the Lobzun families our porcelin thrones have reading materials beside them as a mandatory accessory.

After hooking everything up, I anticipated the first flush. I thought the toilet was broken as the speed at which it emptied was almost at outhouse levels. This is in part to the 3 inch hole beneath the flapper. I had to wait for some contents but I will admit as a regular go-er I was impressed once again. I never weighed what I consider to be a good poop but the 1000gm rating took it with no problem. Comments from the other users can be summed up as "I love it". Can you love a toilet? I look forward to our open house on the 18th to hear what my friends think.

If you are wondering about the picture, it is called a Whiz and Wash. Another simple environmentally friendlier idea whose time has come. In the operation of urinals, the greatest enemy of the drain is urine sitting in the P-Trap (Shape not contents). Since good hygiene practice is to wash your hands after you go, this combines 2 functions in one as the sink above the urinal, drains in to the urinal below. Sadly this is an artists conception right now but I can see it becoming commercial soon. This is actually better than the waterless urinals as there are no special fluid discs to replace. Imagine if all commercial buildings converted over to the Whiz and Wash!

Since I am on the topic of bathrooms, I'll share a couple more observations. One is the new Dyson (Vacuum guy) hand dryers that use a band of concentrated air flow to dry your hands. This actually works and the new 401 service centres have some of these. The other is public washroom doors, new designs don't have them. I wonder how much disease could be prevented if we just didn't have doors on public washrooms. Having no door is wheelchair accessible - kid friendly (Somedoors require superhuman strength to open) - no maintenance on automatic closers or paint/graffitti. It would be cheap to retrofit (Take door off hinges - put sign on wall). Another benefit is an open doorway adds a level of security to public places by not being sealed off from the main area. I am sure that there is some consultant right now advising government at $1,000/day on how to do this.

Water is very precious and although governments have taken up the fight against bottled water, we can do much more by changing the way we use water. As an added bonus for business and residents on metered systems - every litre you save on water use you save on sewage costs.

It's a small thing but it's how you use it that matters ;)

Cheers
Mit

52 Weeks being 52 (Edition #1)

I turned 52 on November 28th. According to a British Study, 52 is the average age that people turn grumpy. I got thinking about the number 52 and wondered if it is of some significance to me. 52 weeks in a year, I spent my formulative years growing up at 52 Hillcrest Drive in Wheatley Ontario, B52's the band have a song "Rock Lobster" (Lobster was one of my nick names), B52's in a bottle were on sale at the liquor store, etc., etc..

So I am making a list of 52 things to do when I am 52. It will take me a while and if anyone wishes to give me some ideas please comment or send me a message on FaceBook.

1: Put $52 a week in a Mad Money account. (Started)
2: Put an extra $52 a week towards paying off my line of credit. (Started)
3: Quit Smoking
4: Take a night course (*signing up for an online course - Introduction to DownTown Revitalization)
5: Write 52 Blogs
6: Start a newspaper column.
7: Write a book on Management Techniques and get it published (*I've been planning this likely since Harper started his Hockey Book)
8: Help the Ingersoll Times (Hmmm)
9: Help Fusion Youth Centre reduce their tax burden on Ingersoll ratepayers (*An Eco Challenge may be a way)
10: Become involved in the Downtown (*See #4)
11: Get new members for my Lodge
12: Finish my Attic (Well it will never be finished but stairs and walls would make me happy)
13: Save another $52/month on my utility bills. (*Half way there - Now to change my Electricty provider)
14: Start an income producing business (* Met a web developer through Kijiji - Buy Local)
15:  Add a water feature to my garden (Accumulating Parts)
16:  Buy an EBike
17: Have no credit card debt - Starting at 0 this week (*Still 0)
18: Add a solar feature to my house.
19: Attend at least 13 live theatre or other cultural events. (13 is one fourth of 52)
20: Watch 13 movies in the theatre
21: Visit 13 places I have never been before
22: Visit 13 friends I haven't seen in a while.
24: Have an adventure with my girls
25: Have a weekend away with my wife
26: Get a passport

That's a good start - Stay tuned. Just for shits and giggles I challenge you to start your own list - Pick a number and do it.

Cheers
Mit
Dec 24 update:
#27: Try 52 different beers - (*35 more to go)
#28: Go to church more.

January 1st 2011 update - (*)
#29: Purge (Starting with my inbox)
#30: Plant a Tree
#31: Plant an Herb Garden  >>> One that I know what is in it ;)
#32: Start a Bonsai
#33: A Canoe Trip on the Thames
#34: Attempt to learn a musical instrument
#35: Make a change with my change
#36: Make a YouTube video
#37: Visit another province
#38: Go camping in a tent

The Status Quo has to go.

4 more hours until the polls close. This election has been interesting in many ways ; From the number of folks that want to be part of council  to the number of issues that are out there to solve. I think the next council needs to have a lot of new faces on it. Actually across the province of Ontario I would like to see a new face of democracy to show Toronto and Ottawa that the world does not revolve around the senior government centres. People Power will prevail beyong today's vote and in to the 2011 Ontario provincial election and at the Federal Level - "Whenever that will be"

I'm thinking that the next 2 senior government elections will see many Independant MPP's and MP's sent to parliament. No more towing the party line and patronage spending.

We just need to vote different. A simple act - Pays great dividends.

Cheers all!

Tim Lobzun (Mit)

One more day!

Monday night at 8pm the polls close and the counting begins. I have had an extraordinary busy week. Started a new job last Thursday, and finishing up on the closing of the Embro Hall building sale. Today I am installing a new to us stove. Leaves needed raking, girls need rides and other life things that happen when I made other plans. And of course Halloween is just around the corner. I've been too busy to think about the election this week other than getting my ballot in the box. Working steady days has also required me to share the computer with the homework needs of my daughters so pardon me for not blogging this week.  

It is really hard to answer the question "Do you think you have won?" I believe that regardless of the votes, I have won by just rising to the challenge and the experience and of course the folks I have met. Things I would have done different, include putting my name in the ring earlier. I think I would have liked to do a YouTube video and maybe posted a powerpoint slide show. Overall I am happy with the campaign and delighted that 20 folks have sought out to be a voice on council. Yes, I want to win and to be Mayor and represent Ingersoll on County Council. Yes I need your vote on Monday if you have not voted. 50% of residents did not vote in 2006 and hopefully more do this year but the last I checked we will be lucky to get the 50% that did to repeat the exercise of their democratic rights.

This election did set a tone for the next 4 years. Council will do well to keep folks in the loop beyond the minimal legislative requirements. We already see a change in the posting of the quarterly financials and the ERTH newsletter on the town website. Fusion presented their financials for the last 5 years and is making an effort to reduce the costs to the Ingersoll Taxpayers through social enterprises and I have pledged to help them if they wish. More people are watching what council does now and have found their voice.

For me though Monday night will be another decision night. If I win, there is so much to do. If I do not win, there will be even more. I have put my career on hold for several months awaiting Monday's decision. It has not been easy, from more than a financial aspect. Having a bigger paycheque does afford you more freedom to choose what you want to do with your money. I have learned that there were a lot of things I use to buy that I no longer miss but I miss the evenings out with friends at dinner and social events. We really need to look at how we spend our money and try to keep as much as possible out of the hands of government and large monopolies. We have been hit miscellaneous fees and charges that are promoted to us as only $5 a month or are hidden in our shrinking paycheques. Only consumers can help our economy locally and I want to contribute more. Will I start a side business? Will I go in to a career in Human Resources to match my recent training? Will I go back to being a manager of a business again? I await the decision of voters on Monday.

I do know one thing though, is that if I am not the next Mayor of Ingersoll, I am not going to stop pushing my platform of protecting our wallets. I am not going to sit idly by, hoping that the next generation will fix what us Baby Boomers have wreaked havoc on. We really need to start now fixing government and relying on our community instead of Toronto or Ottawa to decide what is best for us. But for now, I wait.

Cheers

Tim Lobzun

Get out and Vote Monday please!

The Wisdom of the Aged.

Two of my favourite things are the young and the old. Perhaps it is because I am betwixt the two and I miss being one and worry about becoming the other. 

I attended Thursdays Fusion Youth Centre Mega-Celebration and unfortunately I missed the kickoff meeting for the Master Aging Plan, Oxford County is studying at the Elm Hurst that was held at the same time.

I never really thought we needed a plan to age. It is a natural process. When you quit aging you are dead. However I will be interested to see what becomes of it. Old folks have some interesting stories to share.   

I was reading Roy Davies obit in the paper and was thinking about our last conversation. I was helping my daughter with her paper route and Roy was out on his front lawn pounding in stakes in the heat of the day. I asked him where his dandelions were in his lush front lawn. And then the conversation started.

Roy told me that he was born in the house Paul now lives in. Roy built his next home in it's backyard. Roy told me about how most of the subdivision was farm land when he was a kid and the ponds he swam and skated on. Roy remembered the pens of pigs on Wonham Street waiting to go to the slaughter house that was in the flats by the river. He even told me that Melita street use to be a lovers lane. I wonder now what other stories he would have told if my own impatient child was not standing at the road tapping her foot as if to say, Let's get going Dad! I have a life you know! Roy's obit likely only told a part of his life.

In Odd Fellows I have met many elders and listened to their stories. They live on in my memories and the memories of others I suppose.

Bob Carr- Once told me of soldiers in preparation for WWI marching through Ingersoll from Stratford to pitch camp in Victoria Park. He noticed that the soldiers had bindings on their legs from their knees to their boots. He wasn't sure why. Bob told me of the parking battles in Ingersoll when he was on council. Bob loved to drive and bought a Cadillac when he was 80 because he always wanted one. Trips with Bob were always interesting and not just because of his driving skills. He had a story for virtually every old home in Ingersoll and the county. Told me of a boarding house at the corner of Harris and King that was run by a lady pharmacist in the 30's. Seemed her boarders were all young women and the cars in the parking lot were local businessmen and a few politicians of the day. I'll leave it at that. Bob taught me a few things about business, and told me about a certain local young troublemaker that became a millionaire because someone in authority gave him a chance. Old and Young can partner together.

Max Barker - My cantankerous old friend would spit and sputter about anything and everything. But if you needed a stair built in a 150 year old building all you had to do was hold one end of the tape measure and 2 weeks later help to install it. Max could make something out of nothing and nothing was wasted. I learned a lot about saving money from Max.

Gren Douglas - Gren worked for Bell Canada managing building projects of all sizes and in all places - The Bell building in London wasone of his jobs. After the Fire in 1991, Gren was made our building chair. He deputized me as he made sure I was aware on the Whys and the How's of the project. Gren would always say - You never know when you might have to takeover. Gren was battling cancer at the time. Gren was as tactical at fighting his cancer as he was running the project and fighting another battle with the insurance company and to a certain degree Town Council of the days. Gren taught me that you never really lose a battle if you fought with persistence and integrity.

Morley Huntley - This small quiet man taught me how to listen. Morley worked at Morrow I think and he cleaned our Lodge Hall, I don't know what his hobbies were - I think he was satisfied just having a lovely wife. He was Vice Grand when I joined and I got to be his right supporter. Morley was very hard of hearing, so I would have to really listen to what was going on in Lodge and relay it to him. We made a good team.

Every one of these men were retired (from work) when I met them. But they seemed to live purposeful lives. Maybe that is what the Master Aging plan should be "What can be done to add purpose to the life of the newly retired." In the Shawshank Redemption" movie, the character Andy Dufresne said "Get busy living, or get busy dying". That quote would be a good starting point.

Cheers
Tim Lobzun

P.S. - Don't forget to vote - Ballots can be brought to the Town Hall during regular hours up until the polls close on Monday the 25th - 30% of ballots are in now - We need lots more.

Help Wanted - Revolutionaries!

I was looking for a pic on Google of a Help Wanted sign and found this one. Today's blog was going to be about my educational experience from taking Operation Sharings - Mayorial 5 Day Food Bank Challenge as part of their "Do the Math" promotion. I think I'll do that and a bit more.

I got a headline in the local paper "Lobzun didn't find the diet a challenge" . http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2797927
I can't say I was misquoted - Here is my press release.

 

5 days on a Food Bank Diet.

 

Other than no longer liking Tuna Casserole, the diet itself was not that much of a challenge for me. I will follow through and request to our MPP that the monthly Ontario Works benefit be increased. I still believe that it is more important for the public to know what Mayorial candidates platform on the poor and working poor is. To me this is more than a public relation exercise, rather a public education opportunity.

 

Due to page space the following was not in the paper. I understand. 

 

What I've learned. Ontario Works is a misnomer. Many of the draconian measures brought in by Mike Harris are still in the system. There are more good examples of folks that have used the system than bad examples of system abuse.  It is more important what or how you donate rather than, how much. Clawbacks to benefits for folks that work to supplement their income should be looked at. Subsidized housing favours builders and contractors. Front line workers in the system need more help in making the system work, not more administrative tasks to prove that it does. We can afford to do more at the County Level if we look for savings rather than more taxes. Poor Folks don't need pity - They need a hand up not a hand out. Folks want to help more but don't know how. The working poor have no support system. There are no advantages to being on Ontario Works other than a temporary thing. Being poor in a rural area is expensive. Oxford County council needs to add this as an agenda item.

 

According to my last phone call my quote might have been misinterpreted.

 

It's not easy living on less. In the last 18 months we as a family have done that. When my last employer saw a 90% drop in sales almost overnight they did what I would have did and laid me off. It's just business. I went to College on the Second Career program and got my first formal College Education. Finding similar work to what I had done proved to be a challenge and then I decided that if I really wanted to change things, I should either run for Public Office or start a revolution. So I have put my career on hold for now, finding work in places where many folks in my age group now go. Temporary agencies are both a blessing and a curse at times. I understand the need for them and it seems to me that governments have created an environment where full time employees are an expense or at least a risk rather than an asset to a business. But that is a blog for another day.

 

Our family of 5 likely lives on less than $25/wk each for food. We shop carefully, have a farmer friend for local beef and with 3 picky daughters, I get lots of leftovers. I like to cook and bake so we don't eat a lot of packaged meals. But I really don't help out the local economy as much as I use to. We rarely eat out and shopping is for a purpose not an event like it use to be. We are not alone and it shows up in the reduced receipts in cash registers and tip jars.

 

Me, I consider myself successful in non-monetary terms anyways. I have family and friends that are worth more to me than any physical reward I could imagine. Even met some great folks on FaceBook from across the planet that I will probably never meet in person but they are in my cache of friends as much as the ones I can hug. I get 24 hours each day the same as Warren Buffet does. I don't want one minute more. Perhaps I have an odd outlook on life. Maybe that's why I am an Odd Fellow. 

 

Me, I'd like to turn the clock back to the 70's, which coincidentally were very prosperous for us Baby Boomers. Governments were more a way to help out collectively, rather than punish individually. We had fewer regulations and rules but kept enough of our paycheques to be able to enjoy things more. We had high interest rates but housing costs were lower. Even when oil went up, we found ways to use less. Most of our utility bills were for what we actually used, not for the privilege of being served by a public/private Mega-Corp. The middle class volunteered a lot more, working parents had the neighbour down the street look after their kids or a single earner could support a family. Grandma likely had a boarder to help make ends meet and the boarder was a companion and appreciated the help to save for their own new life.

 

I think we need a revolution. We need to tell the government to get out of our lives. We need to have more in our wallets so we can choose where to spend it rather than a multi-layered administrative bureaucracy. We need housing that is affordable - not builder subsidized affordable housing. We need rules that favour landlords more than deadbeat tenants. We need a quick and fair justice system rather than longer sentences and more prisons. We need government to quit buying our votes and start serving us. We need folks in the political system that do not like the political system and will work to dismantle it from with in. We need folks to exercise their democratic rights at the ballot box and use their freedom of speech to rail against big government. We need a revolution. The alternatives are Apathy or Anarchy. I need your help. Vote for Tim Lobzun as Your Mayor of Ingersoll. We have to start somewhere.

 

Cheers

Tim Lobzun

 

You can't always get what you want!

But if you try sometimes you just might find. You get what you need!

This Rolling Stones song was released on their Let It Bleed album. I find it very appropriate given the red ink that our Federal and Provincial governments are bleeding right now. Although it doesn't show up on Ingersoll's books because it is listed as debt, we as a town are about to enter in to some big time Red Ink. CAMI has a dispute with what they have paid in property taxes and the total bill is $9 million that must come from Ingersoll, Oxford County and the TVDSB budgets next year. Ingersoll is also embroiled in several legal matters from the land that was expropriated for the Solar Farm/Industrial park, no less than 3 developers and a certain Fast Food restaurant. Our Rec and Culture department now consumes 24% of our budget and they have an even bigger wish list going forward. Our current council is saying that we should re-elect them as everything is peachy and as residents we have it much better than 4 years ago. New candidates are promising things without saying where the funding is coming from. Some say we should not expand our borders, nobody seems to even notice that Oxford County is raising our sewage and water rates. How are we going to pay for the promises? Communication is not the only thing we need! We need a plan! Watch your wallet folks, after Oct 25th the new council will have 4 years before you can do anything again.

What can we cut? We can trim some of the golf tournaments the town pays for perhaps. Cut back on travel. Next year there will be next to zero funding for infrastructure so we won't have to borrow our third of the bill. Maybe we can save money again if we have a mild winter. There really are not that many cuts that can be done without service reductions and major job losses.

What can we sell? Our share of ERTH is worth $10 million apparently but putting it on the stock market would cause us to lose complete control of our service costs. Of course with their debt load we'd be lucky to break even perhaps.  If folks remember the RSI fiasco when we privatized Parks and Rec they will agree that did not work out so well. I'd love to get the Town out of the land business but we have councillors wanting to buy more industrial land. Selling parks for $138,000 and giving land away to Conestoga are not big money makers.

Where are we going to get the money to pay for the new councils wish lists?

I have a plan that has worked to turn around failing businesses and to improve businesses that were just doing OK. It involves getting all the stakeholders involved, from residents to the folks that clean our streets. It involves looking for savings and looking for new revenue opportunities. Imagine how much we could save by not hiring consultants at the town or county level and had staff investigate new plans. Imagine if we handled our recycling internally. Imagine if Public Works had a super bag tag system where for $10 to $20 you could set stuff out to the road and the town would pick it up - 52 weeks of the year. Imagine if instead of relying on our county planner for individual changes, we opened the process up once a year to property owners and rezoned properties in advance that suit the neighbourhood. Imagine if Fusion became self-funding.

So many things can be done to protect your wallet and many folks are running on a platform of how long they have been on council or how many generations their family has lived in Ingersoll. We have many serious issues on the horizon and nobody wants to talk about them. Communication is important? What are the candidates going to do about the storm clouds forming over our wallets?

For too long folks have relied on popularity to place their votes. Look at the candidates platforms. The Solar Farm is not going to save us alone. I have a platform. I have experience in cutting costs and increasing revenue. You can get what you NEED! Vote Tim Lobzun for your Next Mayor of Ingersoll.

Thanks
Tim Lobzun

The 100 mile Thanksgiving project!

The picture to the right is from the link below. I am not a rampant tree hugger but I do subscribe to this email newsletter.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/happy_160944_ki.php

We need government to go on a 100 mile diet too! Or even more local! We need as consumers to have conversations with our local merchants on what they need to stock on their shelves that we drive out town to purchase. We need as investors to put our investments in local firms, where we can watch it. We need to instill a culture in our administrators that there are talented folks and efficient manufacturers locally that can do as good of a job or better in meeting the budget demands of their departments. We need our local utility ERTH to return value for our investment by servicing accounts efficiently and stop eyeing the goal of being a global leader. It ain't working from my soap box.

I did a stint at a local manufacturer most folks don't even know exists in Oxford County. HINO trucks. They are one of the best selling trucks in Europe and making inroads in the USA market.  They make a range of medium duty truck platforms that serve as Fire Trucks, garbage packers, utility and delivery vehicles. I do not believe they have sold even one to an Oxford County municipality even though they are built right beside the 401 in Woodstock. I'm sure that we could get a deal buying direct from the factory.

We have a local waste management company, a local box company that has it's own recycled paper mills, a long time plastics manufacturer and a company that specializes in bird feed and compost, all in Ingersoll. Imagine is we could leverage their expertise and handle Oxford Countys' blue box and maybe Green Bin/composting services in Ingersoll. Imagine the jobs and vacant industrial space that could be filled.

We have a plethora of web designers and consultants in Oxford County. Imagine if they were allowed access to Fusion's state of the Art facilities to reduce their costs of business. Fusion might even get a website up and running after 5 years. Imagine companies paying Fusion to design training materials, commercials and videos. Imagine the life skills our youth could achieve. Imagine Fusion making a profit to invest in more programming.

But it's not all about High Tech. Take our recent property numbering bylaw. Imagine if Fusion could make a few designs of house numbers and sell them to local folks so their properties could comply. If Fusion bought locally that would help out merchants and if they offered installation more non-tax dollars could be found for programming. They could branch out to mail boxes too. (Trust me - there are a lot of pretty sad mail boxes in town).

Conferences, committees, golf tournaments and other road trips are not a big part of our budget but they add up in time spent away by our officials and volunteers and I have never witnessed a report on the value received. There is a company in Tillsonburg that facilitate webinars - Imagine a quarterly AMO conference held on the Internet in. I participated in webinars with Mr Flaherty, the president of RBC, business leaders and safety organizations all from my desk chair. Sending a committee to PEI to represent Ingersoll seems a little excessive to me as part of a tourism promotion, especially when we do not even have a gateway sign at the 401 for the 250,000 vehicles that pass by each week.

Imagine if we had on staff talent that could repair things, instead of outsourcing them. Public employees are not always more expensive. It is the value we receive for the pay cheque they get that has to be managed. It is no different than a business. The most profitable companies I have worked for had unionized folks with good pay rates and benefits.

Years ago, Ingersoll had a group known as the Big 8. It was 8 service and fraternal organizations that would pool their human capital to better achieve community goals. Sponsoring a fundraising event is expensive. Insurance costs can be a big part of the expenses. The Big 8 could form an association to sponsor events and save on insurance costs or have the town sponsor it on their insurance rider. More money to programs. Imagine a local lottery (Break Open Tickets) where the profits stayed local as well as the prizes, rather than filtering through the Ontario Lottery empire. Imagine if more folks joined these organizations so that the time commitment would be less and the impact greater.

Imagine if Ingersoll could capitalize on it's location and the hundreds of trucks that leave CAMI every day empty for far flung locales. Local manufacturers could team with local logistics firms and make an impact not only on their bottom line but also the environment. Chasing Green Energy manufacturers is what every body else is doing. Food manufacturers are not the prize for employment (Ingersoll's water and high electricity costs are not conducive to their business plan) Logistics, Waste/Recycling and bigger than a bread box products are where we should be focusing. $100 a barrel oil is coming back and China will lose it's cheap labour edge. We have over a million consumers in a hundred mile radius and millions more within an 8 hour drive.

Imagine poaching small manufacturers from the expensive real estate of the GTA. Economic Development folks like new shiny things as part of their code of operation. I like jobs and tax revenue and better utilization of empty land and buildings.

Imagine if Ingersoll could create a New Urbanism style subdivision on our Northern Border. Smaller affordable homes with grey water systems and gardens and a common use picnic shelter with a meeting room and kitchen attached. A community within a community that would attract folks looking to dump their over sized and over priced homes.  A shared tax load and development charges could save our services and our wallets from the coming economic storms. Imagine only half the proposed 900 acres of farmland being used for development and 40 small 10 acre specialty farms being created. Seasonal jobs, local produce, herbs, specialty crops, something for the semi-retired to do to supplement their income are all possible to show Zorra it is not just a land grab.

We as a town and as citizens can no longer look to Toronto or Ottawa for solutions. The $16 million in Stimulus spending carried almost $5 million in costs to the town, which we had to borrow. I really question the value to ratepayers of even our 1/3 of the overall costs. Drive down to where McKeand street use to cross the railroad tracks and see where $44,000 of Ingersoll residents money was spent and I'll add at the inconvenience to the many folks that use to walk down to the flats. PM Harper has already warned Mayor Holbrough directly that Ingersoll can not expect to be blessed in 2011 with similar funding.

We need to take a breath in 2011. We need to look around at what we already have and utilize it better. We need to rail against more restrictions to commercial and residential property owners and employers from senior governments. We need to take back control of our wallets. We need this municipal election to be a message to senior governments that we the people are not happy. We need a Mayor and a council that will treat every taxpayer dollar as if it was their own. We need to vote for our wallets. I will do that if I am elected your Mayor 

Thank You

Tim Lobzun 

Back to ERTH - Hello! Anybody listening?

It's our ERTH!

The link below is the Volume 1, Edition 1, ERTH Corporation Shareholder Newsletter available on the Town of Ingersoll website "Oct 12th Council Meeting Agenda" . I think that this election has touched a nerve amongst our current council as "Communication" seems to be high on the agenda. The most interesting statement in the newsletter is that "we would ask that its (this newsletter) distribution remain relatively limited"

http://www.ingersoll.ca/Council_Meetings/Agendas/2010%20AGENDAS/2010%20COUNCIL/11%20OCT%202010/ERTH.pdf 

I don't know about most folks, but I think when you produce a newsletter, first off the purpose is to communicate which means to "all" interested parties. (we as residents of Ingersoll are the largest shareholder) and stating that distribution be limited either means there is something to hide or arrogance as in "we the little folks won't understand so why bother them? ".

Having said that, kudos to the Town of Ingersoll for posting it on the web and to ERTH for producing it.

Erie Thames Powerlines services more than 14,500 customers in an area that stretches from Tavistock to Port Stanley. Areas that we currently service are the municipalities of Aylmer, Port Stanley, Belmont, Ingersoll, Thamesford, Otterville, Norwich, Burgessville, Beachville, Embro and Tavistock. Each of these customers pays almost $60 a year more in service charges than Tillsonburg residents do. That is over $800,000 a year that comes from our disposable income. Over 1/4 of a million dollars from Ingersoll residents alone. Big numbers but what does $5 a month mean to the average family? Times are tough, we all have to cut back remember? Our provincial government even has a website called Strong Medicine for Ontario.  http://strongmedicine.forontario.ca/ This is why we have the HST apparently. Seems to me though that residents are the only ones cutting back. ERTH corporation in their newsletter shows they had  1/2 million dollars in expenses over budget in the reported quarter. Their expectations are that powerlines will have a good third quarter. (That's you and me and the factories that can pay up to an extra $1,000 a month over comparable rates in Tillsonburg). I am not a financial expert but from a customer standpoint, me paying more every month is not the way I want my suppliers to make a profit. From a shareholder aspect I think that Mr. Petits' organization needs to go on a diet too and we need to hold our director representative Mayor Holbrough accountable for letting ERTH get out of control. 

Speaking of Mayor Holbrough, he corrected his statement to me about the returns ERTH has given us in it's 10 year existence. It was not $10 million as he stated at the All Candidates night (Showing on Rogers Cable 13 regularly over the next week) - That is what its value shows on the town books. I have also been told that the reason ERTH lost money last year was due to the strike. Hmmm! Remember how council shied away from being involved in the strike? Remember the full page ad that said the 50 employees had 29 managers? Remember the 3 new executive positions created? Did your bill in the fall double because the managers running the show missed sending out August's bill? Is the reason the Solar Farm opportunity is looked at with a jaundiced eye by voters because of our record with ERTH corporation? So many questions that need answers and we are told to trust the folks currently in charge. 

To me I think we need not only some answers but some evidence that things are changing for the better. We need to see the faces of ERTH and CRU at council and on Rogers TV to explain to us why our traffic lights are still disfunctional and why some of our streetlights shine 24 hours a day while others have a mind of their own as to when they shine. We need ERTH to tell us upfront why we pay a premium for the services they provide. We need ERTH to look at their mission statement again and create an entity where our former "HomeTown Utility" focuses on returning value to residents not becoming a global entity. ERTH has all the potential to show other utilities how it should be done, they just need to refocus on value for service, not what I view as a stock promotion for a public share offering. I think we need a change at the director level also and that is why I would like your support to be your Mayor of Ingersoll. We do not need another RSI fiasco or lose control of a Public asset like the 407. We need change.

Cheers

Tim Lobzun    

    

Food Bank Mayors Challenge and Challenges of running for Mayor

I waited until midnight last night to indulge in Roast Beef - Cheese - A Salad and pita bread. It was all leftovers that I have stared at for the last few days.  What a horrible diet choice we were given. Choice is a key word as I had an opportunity to cheat if I wished and I took the food list given and had more choice over my diet than 5 of my co-challenge takers. If that Food Bank Ration is all you have in your house and no coin in your wallet, you don't have the choice to even cheat. I could feel my body change in reaction to the cardboard box diet. Headaches, lack of energy, and systems that usually go regularly deciding not to. I feel much better today and all systems are a go.

I have sent my summary to Operation Sharing so I won't scoop them in their media release but I did learn lots this week. I think that calling Welfare Ontario Works is a big misnomer. I think the system is more about preserving the system than it is about helping folks get off the system. I was saddened by the lack of representation by the administrators of Oxford's Ontario Work's program at the kick off event. Sending 2 print outs of stats with the County Warden doesn't cut it with me, but I am just a citizen. I've learned also that for many folks struggling as the working poor, being on Welfare is seen as being a failure and they have a dogged determination to not go on it. They get no support for their efforts though except perhaps the overburdened Food Banks. I think that should change.

The Challenges of running for Mayor

It is a lot harder running on a platform than popularity.
The advantage is always to the incumbant who still has access to feeding the media.
If you state facts they are disputed, If you state existing things that you disagree with you are perceived as being negative, If you don't throw dirt you are not agressive enough, If you do throw dirt you are unsavoury.
Running on a budget because you have a budget conscious platform requires creativity.
Attending photo opportunities is difficult when you have a job too.
Seeing your friends list on FaceBook mined for support.

The joys of running for Mayor

4 and a half hours walking a few blocks downtown talking to merchants
One hour conversations with random folks on the sidewalk that recognize you from your flyer.
2 and half hour conversations with an anonymous phone caller who is undecided but full of opinions
Having friends and family volunteer to help
My anonymous emailer - VIP1
Being thanked for not knocking on their door and the front porch conversations handing out flyers.
Having an assumption turning out to be untrue.
FaceBook - Blogs  - Conversations - seeing the gardens and meeting the dogs
Sticking to your ideals, platform and morals and learning things.
Thinking every night that it might not work - Thinking every morning that you think it will.

Just random thoughts today - Beautiful sunshine and a Honey Do list to work on.

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving

Tim Lobzun - Remember to vote

Day 5 - FoodBank Challenge - Thinking of Artie Hyatt

Day 4 ended pretty good. I finished up the last of the leftover spaghetti, had a few crackers and my pancake mix bars and a nap (no energy this week)  before I went to Lodge last night in Embro - I am a member of Woodstock Lodge #269 of the Independant Order of Odd Fellows. I was telling the members of my experience in this weeks Operation Sharing Challenge and the Lodge voted to donate to the Salvation Army in Woodstock and Ingersoll ($250 each).

When I went to bed for some reason I thought of Artie Hyatt. Artie was one of the "poor" kids when I was growing up in Wheatley in the 60's. His family lived in a shack on Gypsy Hill (seriously). They drove around town in a tractor and wagon and Artie was always in the wagon. It was to him perhaps like being in a parade and folks would wave to him and Artie would smile and wave back. Artie would always yell out my name if he saw me because I was one of the few kids that would play with him at school. Artie was not dirty even though he was poor and I don't recall his clothes being rags although he wore the same things a lot. He had a ruddy complexion, a beaming smile and a squeaky voice. Funny how I can picture him from 45 years ago. Back in the 60's there was no food banks, only churches to help. Welfare from what I am told consisted of going to the municipal clerk and asking directly for money. Most times you would be given some task - WorkFare sort of. I was 7 or 8 years old so I was oblivious to how our social system worked. Artie and his Mom and Dad never bothered anyone (Although I wish I could say the favour was returned by some of the older kids in town). I remember sometimes seeing the tractor and wagon in front of Gordon's grocery store and the 3 of them going through the trash cans in the back or the boxes of  less than prime vegetables (They likely ate better than I did this week). Artie's dad, Nelson did odd jobs and he would always walk eyes towards the sidewalk, Artie's Mom however would walk with a "so what" attitude and from what I recall would engage in a "conversation" with anyone who looked at her with pity.
I would stop by their shack on my walks to the provincial park if Artie was out playing in the junk strewn lawn. I never took up the offer for lunch in the shack although I must say I was curious. Even though we were not by any means rich there was an invisible social barrier that had penetrated even my young psyche.

I visit Artie from time to time. I would like to tell you he is a world class surgeon but he is in the same cemetary as my Dad in Wheatley. Artie has a simple grave marker in the pauper's corner of the cemetary. One night during tomato season Artie was on the back of the unlit wagon and was struck from behind by a vehicle and killed. His mother was hurt too, if I recall correctly, but although she lived, part of her died that night too. I didn't go to the funeral, young kids just didn't do those things but I remember seeing his coffin in the mill at the lumberyard my Dad managed. That's what they did back then. A simple pine box cut to size.

I don't know what this has to do with Operation Sharing's Mayorial Food Bank Challenge. I recall a friend telling me of a study that said "You are what you were when you were 8 years old". Maybe this incident helped to frame my outlook on life and how I measure success. Maybe I rail against waste and government nannying because Artie showed me you can be happy with less. Maybe that is why I have tried in my managerial career to help single moms better their career. Maybe Artie taught me that a friend is the greatest treasure you can find on this earth. Perhaps I just think too much. Like Rudy on Survivor says "I don't know"

I'll be sending my media paragraph on my experience this week to the folks at Operation Sharing later today. Did the Mayorial candidates and media help to change things? "I Don't Know". I know that I changed and that is good enough for me.

Cheers
Tim Lobzun

         

Operation Sharing's Mayor's challenge Day 4 - Better Choices!

I had the luxury of being able to shop for my food bank basket. I was careful in my purchases and only spent $21.24 by shopping at the dollar store - I will have food leftover which I will donate back. Marion Wearn also bought the list at the grocery store and found that $25 does not stretch enough to do the complete list. She spent over $30 and donated several items that she figured would have been left on the shelf if she stuck to her budget. Jim, David, Ted and Paul all paid $25 for their food basket at the food bank.
I should mention also that Bruce Urquhart of the Sentinel is also taking up the challenge and posts his thoughts daily in the paper.

The 5 folks that got their food bank box had day old buns - a couple pack of cookies and soup and mac and cheese and some other tinned goods. Clearly they did not receive nearly what the full list contained.

I have followed Jim Benders FaceBook posts and I am a fan of his newspaper/blog. It is clear from his posts that the quality of the food is not what I have in my box. Interesting comments from his fan base too.

One of my big learning experiences is that folks that donate to food banks can help by making better choices of what they donate. I will never donate a box of Tuna Casserole Helper again. If folks think ingredients for a meal rather than a meal in a box, the food gets stretched farther. For $4 last night we had Spaghetti with sauce, canned green beans and a side of baked beans. It fed 4 people and I have leftovers for my lunch. First good meal I have had since Monday. I bought pancake mix instead of a Cake Mix for $1 (no eggs available) - I took 2 cups of pancake mix, a cup of sugar and enough margarine to make a batter and baked a sort of shortbread snack bar. I had a can of peaches and used my StarFrit chopper and made jam for my PB sandwiches by adding a little sugar and pancake mix.  I am not a fan of Mac and Cheese dinners - I have to add ketchup or salsa to it. When one of my friends was going to school, she use to load up her pockets with Taco Bell sauce packets for her Mac and Cheese. I'll bet that many of the folks that use the food bank have creative recipes to make a little something so much more.

So here is the deal. Next time there is a food bank drive - go to the local dollar store and buy ingredients instead of a highly processed, vitamin deficient, cardboard box meal. Instead of reaching to the back of the cupboard for that tin of Apple Juice that has been there long past it's due date, grab a new bottle of salad dressing or that unopened soya sauce. Soups of any kind - tins or pouches can be stretched in to a meal and can make a dinner special. Pancake mix, sugar, tetra pak milk or juice are all things that we don't usually think about donating. Think of your donation as sharing, not charity. If your garden is over abundant, call the Sally Ann or the Food Bank and see if they can use some fresh produce. I'm not sure about potatoes but if you are in the habit of throwing out half the bag by the time you get around to it, maybe the Food Bank will take half the bag off your hands when you purchase it. Food is a terrible thing to waste.

Something else I have missed this week is my snacks - Now it may be healthier for kids to have homemade goods but it may not be cool at school. If you have the urge to splurge put some school snack packs in the collection box. For some kids that might be the only breakfast or snack they get and it helps them fit in.
I think self-esteem trumps nutrition when a child is developing but then I am not a highly paid and educated social scientist. I'm just a parent.

For my final 25 cents - please participate in the Food For Friends at the participating grocery stores. I think the foodcard system has some obvious advantages given the difference in the food choices I have versus the 5 that got their goods from the shelves of the Food Bank. We can trust the folks that receive a food card to use it wisely and supplement their meagre income to put food on the table. Do the Math! Where else can you make a positive social initiative for a quarter.

Cheers
Tim Lobzun

Day 3 - Operation Sharing's Mayor's Food Bank Challenge

Yesterday I lived on my Tuna Casserole from my simulated food bank box. The milk the recipe called for was 25% of my weeks ration. My vitamin content from the box was 0. This is not what someone eats to be healthy. I had a headache last night which only is clearing up now - I rarely get headaches so I attribute it to the preservatives. Me, I am more prone to give headaches to others - Ask our local council - they will agree.

Living on a budget is nothing new for me. In my last decade I have had many opportunities to have to do it. Actually in my management career I rarely get a budget because when I show up the company usually doesn't have any money anyways. Being frugal is ingrained in my psyche which is why I am excited about all the possibilities that being Mayor of Ingersoll can bring to help out your wallets.

It's tough out there for a lot more people than the 1619 folks on Ontario Works in Oxford county. There are likely 16,000 Oxford County residents that are the working poor. Another 16,000 that are on fixed income meaning Old Age pension and disability pensions. Add a few that don't even show up on the stats and likely 1/3 of Oxford Countys' residents are just getting by. Then there are likely 50% that have curtailed their spending to compensate for the nibbles at their wallets from increases in tuition, utilities, hidden taxes, gas prices and curtailed working hours. This shows up in smaller receipts at restaurants, fewer folks at charity events and  reduced traffic at boutique shops etc. I don't have a Magic wand or a glossy brochure full of hopes and promises to fix this issue. Nope - I deal in black and white. We can't afford to keep the current process and we surely can't afford spending more money. We need a culture shift. Government is the problem not the answer. It's more than a soap box statement and we can help others without draining our own limited resources.

I put the picture of work boots up to illustrate a barrier to employment for some. A good pair of work boots with the CSA green tag is a requirement of most factories. Some folks do not have the extra $100 laying around to get a pair, however, many working folks have an annual shoe allowance at work. Now imagine if folks used their shoe allowance and either donated their gently used pair or donated a new pair to the local Good Will or the Salvation Army. One pair of work boots used to get one person off Ontario Works saves likely $10,000 a year in direct benefit and administrative costs from the public purse and triples a person on social assistances' income even at a minimum wage job.

Whoa! - Pay off is much better than the builder subsidized Affordable Housing programs. Imagine the impact a union could have doing a work boot drive! One simple act saving our tax dollars and giving a hand up not a hand out!

Which brings me to my next point. Who do you donate gently used clothing and goods to? I get the calls from the Diabetes and others asking to donate clothes to them and they will even pick them up. This is the new source of income for charities. They pay a private firm to pick them up. They pay a private firm to call you. They then take the clothes to a private company - either ValueVillage or Talize and get paid by the pound. Some of those drop boxes at the local grocery stores are also private firms that donate a portion of their profits back to charities. The US family that owns Value Village is in the top 300 of the richest families in the USA. They provide a valuable service and have a great business model and I love shopping there. The volumes they turn over gives millions of dollars to charities so I do not begrudge their wealth. However - If you want to maximize the money your donation of goods is worth locally, drop your resellable goods in a Salvation Army or Good Will box or depot. 100% of the money stays with their organization when they sell that shirt you don't need anymore. 

Here is the Math portion - One bag of gently used clothes likely nets the Value Village selected charity about $20 - After they pay the private operators, take out their own administrative portion maybe $5 is left for programs and research.

However - donating that same bag to the Good Will, Salvation Army, Bibles for Missions, or St Vincent De Paul it will create around $100 that can go to programing and direct jobs. The Toronto Star did a series on this last year if you want another source. Setting that same bag as trash out to the curb will cost you $1.50 so you can free up some closet space, support a local charity and if you happen to shop at one of these places, you save the HST on top of the savings of buying gently used. Win - Win - Win!

Be selective about what you donate though. Glassware - malfunctioning or worn out appliances, some furniture especially upholstered items require the charity to pay to have them dumped. They are unsaleable especially if left out in the rain. Cribs, Mattresses - many baby items have regulations that prevent resale so you may want to call first. They may know of a person in need that will gladly take them.

I was telling Paul Holbrough and Ted Comiskey about my $2,000 coffee maker at the Food Bank challenge event. That is what we use to spend in a year at Tim Hortons. After several years of faithful use my under the counter coffee maker gave up this year. I was going to college on a Second Career program (I now have a Human Resource certificate with honours, my first college education at 51)  so I thought I'd go to Goodwill in Woodstock on my way home from Conestoga. Low and behold for $4.99 and no taxes, I got a newer version in excellent condition that fit right in my old brackets. Good Will got $5 and I saved probably $30. Another win,win.

Today's economy is not the dirty 30's {yet} -but it will never return to the hey days of the late 70's and 80's when a person fresh out of high school could walk in to any factory and get a good job and benefits and a pension. I think in the future we will be more like after WW2 - smaller houses, government support not hand outs, more reliance on service clubs and volunteers and neighbours. More goods inkind transactions rather than cheques and more charity events that return a value to the benefactors. I think it will be a good thing if we can get there. Our youth will be the first generation in a hundred years that do not have it better off than their parents. The sandwich generation (30's to 50's) will not see the benefits promised when Baby Boomers and their parents kick the bucket. We live way too long for the savings we have accumulated and we are an expensive lot to look after when we are old. We are spending your inheritance.  For the 20 somethings, don't kick us to the curb yet. Baby Boomers created this mess and have experiences and a duty that can help fix it. Besides you may need a place to move back to after college.

I apologize for the length of this post - If I had more time I'd make it shorter. Remember that this election is crucial to bring people power back to government. Vote for your Wallet and Please Vote!

Tim Lobzun

Day 2 - FoodBank Challenge

As I was packing my lunch last night for work I thought Peanut Butter sandwich - Then I realize no jam for me. Luckily I love peanut butter and could use margarine. I normally pack a bottled water but again off limits so I found a recently emptied Gatorade bottle that missed the blue box and filled it with tap water. This morning I have been to the fridge twice before I catch myself that it too is off limits - I tried my Soya Milk (Only $1.25 litre - It was cheaper than real milk) It tastes horrible warm - I'll reserve judgement on it for now.

Interesting article about the challenge in today's Sentinel - I was likely one of the first to respond to the email from The Mayor of Woodstock's office to accept the challenge - I did not have to be coaxed in to joining because I think what the reality of the 1600 folks on assistance and the likely 16,000 folks in Oxford County that are just trying to survive is lost on the general public and the politicos that run this county. They don't need pity any more than they need poverty.  I looked at it as an opportunity to have the folks vying for an office to explain their platform on the poor and working poor, to the public in this once every 4 year chance for the public to impact how the county is run. Only Mayors and 2 Woodstock councillors get to sit at the table at the county level. Who voters put in those chairs affects 1/3 of their property tax bill and sewer and water bills. Nothing was mentioned about Marion Wearn finding out that you can't buy the list of goods we were given for $25 at a grocery store. I got mine at the dollar store. Marion and I had a conversation about how tough it is in her rural area to get cheap food - no grocery stores are at hand, you have to drive to Woodstock to shop - Sort of hard to drive when you can't afford food. No food banks out there either.

I'm going to try and have fun with my food basket - maybe I can come up with a recipe for pancake mix cookies - The internet is not much help. It's not even Day 2 on my challenge and I have already learned things - hopefully we can educate the public and the politicos on how tough it is out there and redirect some of the current spending to where it is needed most. Jim Bender and I both commented on the way to pay for it but obviously with no county representative from Ontario Works no dollar value could be attached to it. The province will have to be convinced before we could even give more money as a County if we found it! It's just another one of those rules from Toronto.

Our social safety net is not a hammock by any stretch but lately it seems to have developed a few holes and folks are falling through. It is to be a hand up - not a hand out and I think the good folks at Operation Sharing would love to go out of business some day from lack of customers.

Cheers
Tim Lobzun

P.S. - My next blog will be about how folks can make a bigger impact on the welfare of the local unemployed and underemployed without costing them a dime. They can even save the HST on some purchases.

Day 1 of Operation Sharing's Mayor's Challenge

I have a full fridge - leftovers from a great roast beef dinner yesterday and my simulated food bank box beside my desk. I am so lucky. I am going to miss fresh fruit and meat buthave no doubts on my ability to survive only 5 days on mostly carbs and creativity. Others less fortunate did not eat so well yesterday and have a longer horizon to return to an adequate diet than my 5 days. As I put my $1.50 garbage bag tag on this morning I realized that for someone on social assistance that is the equivelant on 3 boxes of no-name mac and cheese. How many meals would that be? Add a bus ticket to get food and one to get back and you can see why the unfortunate are so visible at times. I have never met a person on social assistance that was proud to be on it. It is a struggle to survive. We hold up the abusers of the system as the poster child for what is wrong with the system but do not look for the ones trying to work within the system and have fallen through the cracks and we do not celebrate those who have made it out.

We need a big rethink - I'll be thinking a lot this week.

Cheers
Tim Lobzun - Ingersoll

Operation Sharing - Mayor's Challenge

As part of Operation Sharing's Put Food in the Budget campaign - they challenged all Mayors and mayorial candidates in Oxford County to try and live for 5 days on what a single person would receive from a Food Bank. Their goal is to petition the provincial government to add $100 a month to the supplement folks on social assistance get.

I thought it would be better if Operation Sharing just asked the candidates for their platform rather than hosting a media event. Apparently they are pinning their hopes on this being a learning experience for decision makers rather than a publicity stunt. I also asked after seeing the list of food we have to eat if we can take the $25 and buy other stuff, so we can teach folks on social assistance how to eat better. Buddy from Operation Sharing says - people that go to the food bank don't get to choose what is in their hamper. Ooops! I learned something.

So off I went to buy the things on my list. Since I was suppose to learn something I comparison shopped - Something that a person at the Food Bank does do but other folks struggling to get by have to do. I have a vehicle so I have the luxury of choice

This is the list of items
2 NoName Mac and Cheese dinners - (I don't even like the Brand Name one)
1 Spaghetti or other Pasta
1 Spaghetti sauce - (My daughters could eat this list every day so far)
2 Tins of Tuna/Salmon/Ham/Turkey/Chicken
1 Cake Mix
3 small Canned soups
1 H'burger Helper box or Side K'cks
2 canned vegs or 1 fruit and 1 veg (Small)
1 Chick peas/beans/lentils
3 individual soup mix dry pack noodles (Generic Mr Noodles) -
4 individual pack Oatmeal or 1 box dry cereal
1 Loaf of Bread
3 Individual Drink Boxes
1 Small Peanut Butter
1 quart Milk (Can you buy quarts still?)
2 Brown beans
1 Box Crackers.
There is also a list of items Pick 5)  you can get from your pantry - No Eggs and we can have coffee or tea

I like to shop in town but we had to go to Woodstock to get a winter blanket for the pool so I thought I'd check out W*Mart and see what I could buy with my $25 budget. (They might not like what I found and I can't afford to get sued so you guess who THEY are) - Seems you can't buy 3 drink boxes there or 4 packs of Oatmeal. I don't think folks on a budget can always buy the bigger packs even if the unit quantity is cheaper. Total bill would have been $35 - adjusting for package size a $32 equivelant. Everything stayed on the shelf.

I like the Dollar Store in the same mall. Got everything but Milk and I had to substitute Pancake Mix for Cake Mix because I don't get to use the required eggs for the cake mix. Total bill minus Milk was $19.99
Yeah! I have enough left over for Milk and a 649 without Encore ;)

Back home in Ingersoll I went to Dollarama and looked at what I would have spent. I bought Soy Milk for $1.25 (That way my kids won't drink my milk) - Total bill for 5 days of food $21.24 - I can even get an Encore on my 649.

If I had shopped at Dollarama my bill would have only been $19 - Darn - Cheaper to shop in town. My purchases would have included more Canadian Made goods at Dollarama.

I thought I'd check out our downtown grocery store ( Many folks on Social Assistance can only buy food local to their residence - Having a grocery store downtown is a luxury many downtowns do not have - especially in big cities) Total bill with dairy milk adjusted for package sizes would have been $24.50

I don't do groceries - It's not that I don't like shopping, my wife thinks I am too expensive to bring along. I like new things and she buys the groceries so what I throw in the cart when she is not looking adds to her tab. She comes from a family of 14 kids so she has economy built in. We eat good though. Ingersoll has many options and she studies the weekly flyers like she is cramming for an exam. We get half a beef from a local farmer and with a grocery store and Dollarama a block away we are never stuck for a meal.

I am looking at 3 bags of food and thinking I might have to donate a few things to the Food Bank after my 5 days. I know already what I'll miss - Potato chips - Fruit - lunch meat - Meat in general and cheese!.  Glad coffee is allowed from my pantry. I use to spend atleast $5 a day on Timmy's and folks on social assistance have to eat on $5/day. Hmmm - Learning a different perspective perhaps.

I'll survive - I've gone 3 days before on just coffee doing crisis management in one business turnaround. Will this exercise help?- Maybe it will increase awareness amongst the luckier folks on how lucky they are.
Will an extra $100 a month change things for folks on social assistance? I doubt it.

I think throwing more money at these folks is not the answer but only a quick fix. We need to try and get some of these folks off the dole. If we could reduce the number of folks receiving social assistance by 20% we can give the rest the extra $100 without raising taxes. If we could give these folks some job skill training and experience they can get a hand up instead of a hand out. If folks that have their employer pay for their work boots once a year donated their old ones to Good Will or Salvation army we get feet in those boots that help to get the person on their feet also.

Every municipality has a list of things they would like to get done but no time to do it. We have people paid to stay at home that would love to help and maybe a letter of reference could help them get a real job. In a country as rich as Canada - I think we should make a concerted effort to eliminate the need for Food Banks - We have to think differently - realize that our wallets are getting thin so we can't donate as much as we'd like and that folks on Social Assistance can help enhance our services and get back on their feet. We'll see - Watch this blog for daily updates starting Monday on the Challenge.

Cheers
Mit

Communication - Say what?

In every business I have been involved with over the years, folks say that there is not enough communication. I find that strange in today's multi-media world. Email, Post-it notes, meetings, newsletters, cell phones, blackberry's, ERP and MRP dashboard systems. We are the most connected generation at work and in our personal lives. So why do we still complain and wish we had more communication? At Ingersoll's all-candidates meeting last night many candidates said communication was the main part of their platform to offer to voters.

It's not the communication we need to improve but rather the information that needs to be considered in my experience.
The Captain of the Titanic announced "Abandon Ship - Women and children first" and yet the first life boats were sparsely filled. Perhaps if he would have said - "Many of us are going to die tonight - get your loved ones off the ship now" there would have been more survivors. People need to know the importance of the information given and it must relate to them somehow.

When I do a business turn-around I tell folks "Look we are in deep DooDoo". They likely already knew but hearing it from management confirms it. Knowing you are in trouble means nothing though. It requires a plan, action and most importantly a culture shift. The CEO of 1-800-JUNK has a mantra - SHARE EVERYTHING. Everybody knows what is needed to make a buck and thousands of decisions are made everyday that the CEO is oblivious too because he knows his folks know what to do. It's a self managing style that I really believe in and have had much success with.

In politics it seems politicians think we can't handle the truth! We get information that is hidden in spreadsheets and complicated statements and most folks don't get past the summary or the glossy brochure.
Take the Town of Ingersoll's financial statements. In a subsection paragraph it talks of a large industrial ratepayer that has a property tax dispute from 2001 to 2008 that totals $9 million spread out at 3 taxation levels. Gee I wonder which taxpayer that is. It is within the right of CAMI to not pay any more taxes than it has to. They are no different than us. Council, especially our Mayor do not want to talk about it. For Ingersoll it means a cheque being issued forthwith for about $3 million and the same at the county level and the School Board. $3 million is about 30% of our property tax income. We just borrowed up to $5 million for our share of the Federal Stimulus funding. It's all public information but in an election year no politician wants to talk about bad news.

I believe folks can handle the truth, even if it hurts. Telling folks the truth when they are in trouble also, brings all hands on deck. It's not the quantity of the information that is important, but rather the pertinence and consequences of inaction that are most needed to share. And communication needs to be tailored to the intended audience. Then you have to use the information to go forward or you end up on a sinking ship and too few life boats to save everyone.

In maritime lingo there are 2 words that describe debris found in the water "Flotsam and Jetsom". Flotsam is debris that was not purposely thrown overboard (ship wreck) but Jetsom is non-essential debris that was tossed overboard to keep the ship afloat. This describes in my opinion what we have to look forward to in the coming years. We may have to jettison some non-essential things, but the important thing is to keep the ship afloat. Communicating abandon ship is not an option, we can not fail, it is too important for the next generation that we can no longer pass off our mistakes. We can't be fooled by spending promises that won't be kept. In this election vote for your wallet. Vote Tim Lobzun for your Mayor of Ingersoll.

Whose fault is it?

I have been around long enough to know that stuff happens! I've been in blame-storming meetings and visited angry customers. It is so much easier to blame and complain rather than do something. During some Quality Improvement training for managers, the instructor asked if something went wrong who do we think is most responsible? Of course we provided a list of the usual suspects but he said in an organization 80% of problems are caused by management. Of course we disputed the ratio and he said he was being kind and it was likely higher. Then he explained!

Management hires and fires, trains, buys supplies and equipment, sets policy, markets goods, sets up the organizational structure and determines the culture.
That has stuck with me for many years and I have used it successfully to get everyone on board when changes are required.

When called upon to help restructure a business, I focus on management issues first. When folks on the front line see a manager working harder to make things better they jump on board and start rowing. When confronted with a stupid procedure, we change the procedure to make the process better. When information like the cost of business is shared with the front line folks they can offer improvement ideas.

In a multi-layered government system like here in Ingersoll, many times when you bring up a concern to local council, you are told it's the County of Oxford's responsibility or it's the Ontario governments rules etc. Statements like that only pass the problem on and add to residents frustrations. If a government body thinks a problem is worthy of a look, too often they throw money at it or pass laws without proper costing. Rarely do they investigate the Root Cause of a problem before acting or consider who else is affected by the law.
Doing something is not the same as doing the right thing.
Doing nothing does not make the problem go away.

Although a Mayor has only one vote, they do have more options to affect change than a regular councillor. Mayors have the chair to allow them to decide tie votes. Mayors have an automatic seat at the AMO to help drive change provincially. Mayors have more time to help staff, to ask questions and to work through issues. In Ingersoll only the Mayor sits at County council or can be Warden or Deputy Warden.

Being Mayor is more than having a reserved parking spot or showing up for photo shoots.
Being Mayor is more than receiving the chain of office and the title of "Your Worship".
Being Mayor is about taking responsibility for the organizations actions.
The difference I have found in Mayor's is some are "The Mayor" and some are "Your Mayor"!
I see the difference, do you?

Cheers
Hoping to be Your Mayor of Ingersoll

Tim Lobzun

P.S. - Please join my page on FaceBook - Tim Lobzun For Mayor of Ingersoll

Do your house numbers measure up?

http://www.urbandale.org/humanresources.cfm?IWantToID=88 - Here is a link to a Town website I just found  - The city of Urbandale has a well advertised page on the importance of house numbers - If the Town of Ingersoll's bylaw had said 4" numbers were OK like Urbandales likely 60% of houses in Ingersoll would be in compliance rather than the 80% that face a $5,000 fine come October 1st. Hmmm? 

Bylaw is available on the Town of Ingersoll Website - 5" for residents - 8" for Commercial - Many property owners must get approval from the Town building official especially those with Commercial properties - Call the town office for more information @ 519-485-0120

http://www.ingersoll.ca/pdf/Bylaws//4510_09.pdf   This is the bylaw - On an interesting note I see the town has added the actual fines for non-compliance - It's only $100 for each infraction. Maybe I touched a nerve somewhere. And they say council doesn't listen ;)

Waste - The new frontier!

Mark Twain said "Buy Land - They are not making it anymore!"
Mr McGuire in the movie the Graduate said to Benjamin  "One Word - Plastic!"
We have heard promises from governments that the jobs will be in Technology or the latest "Green Jobs"

One area of the economy that has been a part of our economy from before Mark Twain's time is WASTE. This is an area ripe for not only jobs but can be good for our environment and commerce.

According to Waste and Recyling news one of the Toy's R Us hottest toys is Toy Story 3's landfill set - See link.
Toy's R Us Hot Toy - Toy Story 3 Landfill set

Ingersoll already has some well known recyclers - Atlantic Packaging and AllTreat Farms to name two
We have a local Waste Management firm, and are part owners of the County of Oxford's Landfill site.
I think we can do more. I remember when newsprint was collected by the local Scouts before the Blue Box and there are many organizations that collect pop cans to fund projects and programs. Even the Town of Ingersoll through it's brush depot recycles brush etc. in to mulch and it is available for free.

As Mayor I will investigate ways to leverage the existing talent and resources in Ingersoll and at the County of Oxford level to not only help create jobs and local commerce but to reduce the tax burden on rate payers and assist industrial operations in recycling better. (People may be shocked to know that many factories have to landfill or pay to dispose of valuable resources because there is no coordinated plan to collect what they set aside for recycling.)

I have been an avid recycler for most of my life. From the tree forts of my youth to my garden in front of 65 King Street West, I always see the possibility in reusing items. My garden (named by a neighbour as a collage) has several Innukshuks, a wall made out of foam blocks that were saved from going to the landfill and various things that are a favourite of the kids that walk by and play I-Spy with their Mom. It has a ground cloth from obsolete automotive packaging and is covered with mulch from Ingersoll's Brush Depot. Other than the odd item from Dollarama or Liquidation World it is all stuff that was destined to be buried in a dirt laden tomb called The Salford Landfill. It is something from nothing and I'll admit it gets mixed reviews but I am wearing the detractors down.

Imagine for a moment that Ingersoll became known for not only it's recycling efforts with local partners but for the place to go for Architectural Salvage, Antiques, Creative uses of salvaged materials by artists, a Modern Salvation Army or Value Village along the 401, Youth Groups learning hands on techniques and providing unique items for our own Home Accent stores and beyond to fund programs. Imagine recycling facilities that use empty factories to provide jobs and maybe a hand up for some under-employed folks rather than a hand out and help to reduce landfill costs for local employers. Imagine a new subdivision that instead of sending grey water down the drain recycles it for keeping lawns green or is filtered through a man made bog that attracts wild life (They are already out there). This is something we can get excited about!

In regards to our current Blue Box system and our Waste Collection, I think there is a problem when in 4 years residents see their cost of bag tags increase by 150%. It is a small nibble at our wallet perhaps but putting all our waste collection in the hands of a large corporation to do all of Oxford county shuts out the smaller or mid-sized operator and actually decreases competition which usually means increased costs of service. As Mayor I think we need to look at our entire waste collection in Ingersoll and at the County. There is a movement amongst land starved centres to actually recycle their landfills and what we threw out 20 years ago is now a valuable commodity and after sorting extends the life of the landfill and reduces risk to the environment. It also saves money!

 To me, finding revenue from sources other than direct taxation or fees is a good thing. To me creating an opportunity for local operators to make a buck is a good thing also. To me, finding jobs for folks that do not have the opportunity to upgrade their education is an honourable goal.
For 2010 - Buy in to waste - they are still making more!

Cheers
Tim Lobzun "Mit"

Vote for your Wallet!

Vote Tim Lobzun for Mayor of Ingersoll!

This year - Vote for your Wallet - Vote Tim Lobzun for Mayor

Ingersoll residents to ERTH corporation. WTF?

This video link is a little long but it sort of defines my way of managing. Managing with a big budget is easy - You just buy talent and expensive things and of course advertise it well. Smaller budgets requires creative solutions. Some would say Common sense solutions. First let me define Common Sense as I see it. Each person has their own common sense - it is a culmination of all the experience and training they have received up until that moment. If as a manager, you have experience with big budgets - you will think it is common sense to spend big on solutions. If you are a single mom with a small budget you will think that finding time with your kids is more important than going to Canada's Wonderland. If you are book-smart manager you will likely think that flooding the memo board with policies and procedures is how to manage your work force. If you are a people-smart manager you will likely spend a lot of time with your people ensuring things are done right.

In the video it talks about how effective a flashing sign is that tells you to slow down versus speed cameras that will send you a ticket, and the flashing sign is a lot cheaper. Changing behaviour is a lot cheaper than punishing behaviour.

A local example is our fancy stop lights. $60,000 worth and counting. We first got the old edition that kept folks awake at night and were confusing to pedestrians. CRU (Which we are the major shareholder in) never attended a council meeting to explain, staff said wait till the next generation is installed and we are getting signs. When the newer version went up, pedestrians are even more confused but residents notice the lower volume - unfortunately pedestrians do not know if they hear real birds or a stop light? No CRU but staff says there is an issue with the software and CRU is working on it and we are going to get signs.

Today - residents have adapted to the noise, pedestrians just ignore the walk/don't walk light and we still have no signs or just jaywalk. I have watched one of our local White Cane residents walk diagonally across the intersection by the townhall. I have helped him across the street. I have watched a Dad teaching his child to watch for the little man light to know that it is safe to cross, wait through an entire traffic light cycle - not knowing that he has to now push a button to get it to work. We have no signs - We have no CRU explanation - Small stuff yes - but if I was on council or managed CRU - I would be sweating bullets that a resident meets a car mid-intersection.

I think this inaction is wrong and dangerous. There is no requirement by law that we have these lights (Yet) but rumour is we are ordering more. I think we should not be experimenting with residents lives, demand the old lights and our money back.

I think that ERTH needs to concentrate on serving their customers efficiently rather than becoming some Global Entity. I think voters need to take notice of the leakage from their wallets and vote for their own wallet. As Mayor I will find the way to protect your money.


http://www.ted.com/talks/rory_sutherland_sweat_the_small_stuff.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-06-15&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email