the Pumphandle
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE, LOCAL FOCUS, from Morden, Manitoba.
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
Morden 55+ Activity Centre
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Bellowing!
Thursday, 10 May 2012
Morden - So You Want To Be A City ?
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Hear Yea! 2011
Overages on projects of 66% are not acceptable, in fact it is absolutely contemptible. How many other projects have gone array with this council? Did the BDO building have a cost overrun of 66%, Will Access Credit Union have a 66% overrun. How can this council be trusted any more?
The explanations given by the C.A.O. and Mr. Peter Klassen is as weak and feeble as they come. Mr. Klassen we do not amortize the errors of Council borrowings, until the time of the rapture.
It may be a Merry Christmas elsewhere, but not here in Stanley.
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Open letter to Morden Town Council
Since previous councils seen fit to pack up the old Morden Museum and gradually disperse it about.
The most recent issue the Arlington Hotel is most tragic.
The two parties involved, yourselves and Rudy Enns seems to be at logger heads over it’s future or it’s demise.
Does the Town Council not have the wherewithal or mechanisms to deal with this issue in a appropriate and open fashion, it seems not.
Surely, in the heat of accusations, a competent unbiased mediator could be sought to not only diffuse the issues, but work towards
Just as the residential development at Lake Minnewasta was put under community scrutiny so can the Grand Old Arlington.
One can more easy accept whatever the out come of the Arlington, as long as that due process has occurred.
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
"The Arlington Hotel"
It’s been a busy week around Lake Minnewasta.
The most recent collapse of a wall on the vacant historic Arlington Hotel brought a morning flurry of activity to the downtown, which has been dying from a lack of business activity in the past few years. The collapse of the wall brought about eerie morning activity to the usual empty main street. Coffee sales were brisk
this morning, as the fire and rescue department attired in their bright orange colors, enhanced the circus atmosphere to the otherwise desolate main street landscape.
The Arlington has had it’s share of fights throughout the years.
Usually it started with the bar room brawl inside and then moving on to the streets. But this time it’s different. It’s a fight which the Arlington itself is a direct participant and not just a facilitator, and the final outcome will decide if the Arlington lives or dies on the streets of Morden. It’s a fight to the death and the Arlington if it loses, it will become it’s own Arlington cemetery,
burying with it all the memories good and bad, from the earliest beginnings of town itself. Anyone for playing the song streets of El Paso?
Taking a walk in historic downtown Morden, visiting the past or seeing history unfold, are slogans that will become obsolete overnight with the loss of the Arlington. And even if it fell down is there anyone that would hear it? Morden’s loss of downtown business activity is comparable to the old saying, “if a tree falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? If a building is demolished and there’s no one who remembers it’s history, does it really matter?
Of course the individuals eager to have it removed, always pull out the public safety defense, their morals and values
for the safety of the citizenry, because of the office they hold, are higher than those of the citizenry who value our past. What background of history with the town do they hold? Were their grandfathers and great grandfathers part of the history of Morden or are they just transplants to the area after the fact? Coming up with the generic argument of public safety, sounds very caring and concerning, but so too would the premise that the building is an unsavory incubator for disease and rodent infestation.. As well the shear height of this 3 story monolithic eyesore shaded and curtailed the full potential of the trees the Town planted to line main street. There are always arguments, but in this instance you get only one chance to do the right thing. The 72 hour demolition deadline being issued scared me. It spoke to the fact that the decision makers, those we elect to
give us sobering thoughts and well thought out judgments, would indeed hasten to order demolition in what appeared to be a predetermined resolution.
You cannot recreate history. When it’s gone it’s gone and you can’t rebuild it or wish it back after the fact.
byline - Terry Titchkosky
Thursday, 21 July 2011
AS I SEE IT
Occasionally though I sometimes create a photo or cartoon that expresses my feelings at the time. Here are just a few of my creations that have been gathering dust in my computer, that I thought I would share.
Ah, I remember this lady! She was part of our Chautauqua celebrations. The banners were hung on the Highway with care, in hopes that our Town artists could celebrate the arts with some flare! Unfortunately I saw the banners in a somewhat different light. They appeared to me as the “pants” of a somewhat heavy woman, and thus the result was this attention grabbing welcoming pose. Perhaps they could have been used as an alternative advertisement for our “Farmers Market” produce after the Chautauqua celebrations ended! Fresh Veggie Eating Capital of Canada!
Then there those discussions regarding the viability for the construction of a museum to lodge the artifacts that are being discovered in our surrounding landscape. I wondered just how the two worlds that exist in our area would cope with the convergence of two beliefs.
As always, if you’re going to build something, just where is the best location?
Everyone seemed to have an opinion. The dig site location or the more visible corridor location. Ah, such a dilemma! Maybe it should be decided by the those who are directly involved. Maybe let the dinosaur decide by a “flip” of a coin.
Heads, Thornhill or Tails, the Corridor.
And then of course we’d require new signage on our highways, and the dilemma of where to put those Dinosaur Crossing signs.
I remember when I thought my internet service was extremely slow and wasn’t at all pleased when my internet service provider MTS did not respond quickly to my needs.In fact they refused to set an appointment time with me. They would only say they’d be out to my place sometime next week Friday.
As if I was to stay at home and wait for them to arrive at their leisure? That’s when I heard Telus, another supplier was competing for business and created this cartoon depicting the MTS buffalo being done in by the competition. I actually sent this to MTS
Then came our own Canadian Election which coincided with the Charlie Sheen antics. What was even more strange was that Charlie Sheen’s character on his show, had the name Charlie Harper……no I’m not kidding. Both he and Stephen Harper had one goal……WINNING and thus
But overall the best things in life tend to be free…like a coupon. I came across these being handed out by a friend of mine and I thought I would share one with all you who read the blog and might need a hug.