Summer Is Ending Soon

That's probably the biggest story out there right now. We are only a few more days until summer officially ends and Autumn begins. What will we face in weather conditions until we hit our next spring?

I have to admit that I have not really enjoyed the summer this year. Sure, we have had some very warm days but not a lot compared with other years. How often have we had a very hot day and then a very cool day immediately thereafter. I also remember a projection that we may have a very cold and snowy few months over the winter time and that is not something that makes me very happy either.

Oh well, at least it appears that were going to have a rather nice few days over the next little while so maybe we can enjoy some late summer days.

Of course, there is a lot for me to write about the border file given what has happened over the last week or so but I don't intend to do it yet. I just thought I would let the game play itself a little bit more before I give you my comments. I have to admit that I just don't want to write very much about the border file anymore because what I expect will happen should not be a surprise to very many people. The reality of it all is now, as far as I am concerned, that the Governments in both Canada and United States have tried so long and so hard to force the Moroun Family to sell out. They have failed miserably in accomplishing their objective. They have been forced finally to allow the Family to build its new bridge. I will go into more details about it shortly in another posting.

In the meantime, here are some comments of mine dealing with other matters that are taking place these days.

OUR BIG STORM

Well, it happened again. Another huge rain storm this year that caused terrible damage to this part of Ontario and where my family lives as well.

Even though there was a lot of rain that fell again in Tecumseh, we were fortunate that only a bit of water entered our Condo basement this year unlike what happened the year before. Last year, several inches of rain made it to the basement but our damage was not catastrophic. We were able to fix it up relatively quickly and at a relatively small amount of money. That money was covered by our insurance policy. With a couple of other huge storms present near the US this year,  I was concerned that a huge amount of rain might hit our area again as well. Accordingly, I decided to fix up our basement so that, if we were faced with another big storm, the likelihood of any damage here would be minimized.

As I am sure you know, dear reader, there is a local Government policy in place that will pay out some money to help one make changes. Regretfully, the sum is not huge, a maximum of $800, but it does help reduce the ultimate costs depending what has to be done. Without going into a lot of detail, I was able very quickly to comply with the Government rules about how to get a project undertaken, to select a contractor to do the work at a relatively good price, to comply with the rules about everything that should be carried out and then have the Government approve what has to be done. That work was carried out this week so that if some massive storm hits our area we should be alright in my residence in the future.  I hope so anyway.

Look at how big the damage is:

"Worst storm in Windsor history caused $175 million damage to city homes

Mayor Drew Dilkens revealed the staggering number Tuesday night during a meeting for Ward 1 residents at the South Windsor Recreation Complex. Dilkens stressed the damage estimate is only for private homes and does not include city infrastructure.

He added that at last count Tuesday afternoon, flooding had been reported in 6,116 Windsor homes." (Trevor Wilhelm, Windsor Star, September 12, 2017) 

That works out to about $29,000 worth of damage per home. That amount of money is just unbelievable. However, this was also disclosed by the Mayor Windsor:

"He also addressed another concern that not enough is being spent on the sewer systems, by pointing out the city has put $500 million into sewers since 2001. That includes $273 million between 2009 and 2016"

That works out to about $31 million a year. I will let you decide, dear reader, whether that investment was worth anything to minimize house damage considering what happened over the last couple of years.  Just think about how the local Governments spent tax money in other very big projects rather than in more sewer system projects.

The concern that everyone should have is what our future weather conditions will be like and what will be done to minimize any damage that could be caused by any heavy rains. It seems to me that this should be a major issue in the next election and that only those people who deal with the situation in a way that makes sense should be elected.

WHAT HAPPENED

There was a story that I saw in the Windsor Star about J.P. Wiser’s launching "its own brand centre at the Hiram Walker and Sons distillery." In that story, I saw this remark respecting what Windsor's Mayor had done in the past:

"Mayor Drew Dilkens could not be reached to ask what had become of talks with the company to try to keep the Canadian Club Brand Centre open. Dilkens went to Chicago in February to try to convince the company to keep the centre in Windsor." (Sharon Hill, Windsor Star, September 11, 2017) 

Interestingly, back in February I saw this which was started up by a private organization, Tango Creative.:

"There’s still hope,” Gordon Orr, CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island, said Sunday. “I think anything like this campaign is welcome indeed.”

Last Friday, a Facebook page was set up under the title Save the Canadian Club Brand Centre. Members of the public are being invited to share stories about the 125-year-old structure and spread the hashtag #savethebrandcentre.

“There are very few places that embody the heritage, history and spirit of our region quite like the Canadian Club Brand Centre,” states a post on the page.

“If you’ve ever visited this remarkable museum, you can appreciate its importance as a local destination which needs to be accessible to the public." (Dalson Chen, Windsor Star, February 12, 2017) 

The last article published on their Facebook page was on May 11.

Back in February as well, the Mayor had a meeting dealing with the subject and said this:

"The fate of the Canadian Club Brand Centre remains in limbo, though Mayor Drew Dilkens feels hopeful after meeting with company executives in Chicago on Monday that keeping the historic building open to the public is at least still a possibility.

“I was pleased with the outcome of the meeting,” Dilkens said by phone. “It was a very fruitful discussion. The door was not closed.” (Craig Pearson, Windsor Star,  February 13, 2017) 

MP Brian Masse also attended and said this:

"It was a good start,” he said, noting that further meetings will be planned soon. “There seems to be a good upfront approach to seeing if something can be done."

Wouldn't it be wonderful to know what has happened since that time thanks to the efforts of these politicians and how it ties into the J.P. Wiser’s actions. It would be nice to know if anything has been done!