Good morning everyone! Its another wonderful day, let’s hope its a safe one and weekend too.

I miss the old Fridays where I’d log on to “opinion250” and read some doom and gloom cut and paste from charles, or there would be a long winded yet very readable gus post (or 6) to read through or there would be a semi literate rant from mattyc or People#1.

Now we get “Good morning everyone!” I want my curmudgeons! :)

Being as today is the City’s 100th birthday, and I have lived here for over half of it, I feel quite justified in taking advantage of the free opportunities today, and will wander down to Exploration Place and the Railway Museum and enjoy these venues, and maybe find a piece of free birthday cake while I’m at it. Thanks, City of PG! We do have something to celebrate, don’t we!!?!?!

Let me help axman….

Damn snow on my road
Damn pot-holes on my road
Damn Mayor wears funny glasses
Damn Premier didn’t buy me dinner
Damn Prime Minister didn’t come visit me
Damn sun is shining brightly
Phew….I’m out of complaints

Now that you’ve had a couple days to think about it axman, would you please provide us with some valid examples of low hanging fruit that the school district can cut to reduce their costs (& not impact learning environment)? Remember, you said there was plenty so you should be able to provide us with some pretty easily.

Would be good idea if they kept the Olympic plaza still up so they can have concerts there this weekend.. AND free bus rides for those who have no transportation..And a FREE BBQ somewhere.. ANd the Wilson Square open with vendors

Save on has free promo where you enter to win to win free groceries for a year.. Any other businesses wanna get in on the deal??? Maybe free movie deals at theatres..

Just some suggestions..

Any fireworks anywhere???

In 2011 the Harper government admitted 192,000 temporary foreign workers to Canada, under 4 year year non-renewable visas. April 1 all those visas expire. April 2 we have a huge illegal alien problem.

From an in depth article on Jason Kenney in The Walrus

the government is under pressure from its backers in the oil patch to continue supporting a scheme so contentious that even Kenney’s hardline advisers from the Fraser Institute find themselves joining with their left-wing critics to oppose it. Brandishing the example of Germany’s Gastarbeiter, or guest workers, they warn that without sufficient enforcement the government risks spawning a restive underground of illegal immigrants with no taxable incomes or rights. “It’s a terrible policy—madness,” says Bissett. “We’re repeating all of the mistakes the Germans made.”

Audrey Macklin predicts that the fallout could surface at a particularly awkward time for the Harper government. The first four-year temporary foreign worker permits expire soon, with no right of renewal, on April 1, 2015—just six months before the next federal election. “Do we really think that after working here for four years they’re going to pack up and go home the next day? ” she says. “Overnight, we’re going to find ourselves with a sizable increase in our population of so-called ‘illegals.’ 

I totally agree with putting a stop to all these city utilities and taxes that are going sky high yearly with less services

Shopping carts, why do people leave their shopping carts in the middle of the isle blocking both directions? I am amazed at the rudeness of some. I walk with a cane and can’t believe how many times I have to ask people to move their carts so I can pass. Most move with a quick apology but some out and out ignore me. I ask nicely with a please and a thank you yet some people just don’t care.

There are lots that hold open doors for me, offer help if I need it and these people rock. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. You could all definitely teach a few people how to respect a fellow human being.

A way to get rich quickly: A person in the US is suing a restaurant, claiming to have gotten burned while praying over a sizzling fajita skillet!

Thought for the day

It’s a fact that there are two types of Conservatives, rich ones and stupid ones. The stupid ones keep the wealthy rich and the rich ones keep the stupid ones stupid.

Posted on Friday, March 6, 2015 @ 7:55 AM by Fate

Now that you’ve had a couple days to think about it axman, would you please provide us with some valid examples of low hanging fruit that the school district can cut to reduce their costs (& not impact learning environment)? Remember, you said there was plenty so you should be able to provide us with some pretty easily.

———-

I already did but, since you’re unwilling to think “outside the box” there is really no point in discussing anything with you. If you’re just going to sit their with your blinders on (and your hand out!) looking straight ahead saying, “can’t do that. Can’t do that either, nope, nope, nope.” there is no point in engaging you.

Low hanging fruit.. Before Clark starts tossing around terms like that maybe she should clean up her own house of this fruit.. A good start is take away her credit card.. Half a million a year is a lot of frequent flyer points.. And about the cost of 8-10 jobs she is talking about. 6 million for the basi trial..one big honking fruit.. Alberta is hurting right now and the first thing the premier there did was cut all the politicians wages by %5.. Not a bad start don’t you think?

I am not sad to see Bill gall gone, after he has done with the city works yard. Look what he did with the shelter at Fort George Park, the cemetery, the city parks. he could not mow the grass. now the grass is so high in some places. It seems like he was trying to shut down some of the little neighbourhood parks. just my opinion

Fate, here’s some of that low hanging fruit for you!
Why do 70 odd school districts need 70 odd distinct administration teams?
I’m sure things like Payroll, Human Resources, Purchasing, Accounting could be easily centralized with the savings shared among the participating school districts!

You gotta love how the CC and the Libs are sticking it to the water bottling industry under the new WSA.
Nestle, the largest bottled water producer in Canada will now have to pay $562.00 for the rights to bottle 265 million liters of water.
I wonder what Christy will do with all that extra revenue she is going to receive from the water bottling industry.
AS home owners on a municipal water system the new WSA will hit us with a buck or two a year.
Estimated cost to monitor the WSA is 8 million dollars a year.

More low hanging fruit… look at the management cost of all 7 health authorities in BC

Northern health, coastal health, fraser health, interior health, first nations health, island health, and of course.. the provincial health authority..

Huge waste of dollars that should be spent on actual healthcare..not salaries.

Posted on Friday, March 6, 2015 @ 8:47 AM by axman

I already did but, since you’re unwilling to think “outside the box” there is really no point in discussing anything with you. If you’re just going to sit their with your blinders on (and your hand out!) looking straight ahead saying, “can’t do that. Can’t do that either, nope, nope, nope.” there is no point in engaging you.
——-

So no, no valid examples of low hanging fruit that the local school board can take advantage of this year to reduce costs but not impact the learning environment, even though there are “plenty.”

Got it.

Keep up with the personal attacks, makes your argument much stronger.

Posted on Friday, March 6, 2015 @ 8:58 AM by NyteHawwk

Fate, here’s some of that low hanging fruit for you!
Why do 70 odd school districts need 70 odd distinct administration teams? I’m sure things like Payroll, Human Resources, Purchasing, Accounting could be easily centralized with the savings shared among the participating school districts!
—-
I agree, this is something they could be exploring. The health authorities have gone down this road on some items, to varying degrees of success. Ask anyone at NH how their centralized IT is working for them. :)

I don’t know that it could happen for this year’s budget but is definitely something they could be exploring.

Fate, I know exactly how its working… its NOT, my lady used to work for them in the IT dept.. was a horribly toxic environment… 1 manager for every 4 workers.. huge waste.

Last night I came disturbingly close to hitting a pedestrian. She was walking in the same direction as traffic, within the road (not at the edge), wearing all black and dark blue clothing, very difficult to see. When will people learn to wear clothes that make them visible and walk facing traffic?

Yes herbster the TFWs need to be sent home before their due date. We have enough people trying to get into this country legally. Think about it as Canadians we are not allowed to stay in the US for more than four to six months in a year unless we have a green card(visa).

Did anyone hear the story about the mattresses being thrown out after the games? Can anyone give me the real story on this? I worked on Sunday at the Coast Inn dismantling beds and loading the frames and mattresses into the c cans to be sent back to the rental company. But now I hear about beds being tossed out at the Travel Lodge. … Would love to know the real story.

Because I want axman and Fate to stop fighting. I need to find 29 million.

I have found the sd 57 budget on-line at the sd57 website and am in search of low hanging fruit. 75% of the budget is (instruction), mandated by contract both in staffing and pay levels, so can’t find any fruit there.

Administration – 4% if we fire half the administrators – we can save 2.5 million. Maybe just fire them all and save 5 million. 24 million to go.

Transportation and Housing – not sure who we are buying houses for, but it makes up 3.6%. I suggest we stop busing high school kids and they can thumb to school like we did in my day. so, I think we can get another 2.5 million there. Only 21.5 million to go.

Operations and management is all that’s left at 25.5 million. So, turn the thermostats down to 50 degrees and tell the kids to bundle up, and kids, pack out your trash, because no garbage cans in the school, and bring your own toilet paper.

No wait. I dug further, I found schedule 2B that tells what’s in instruction. We’re saved, it’s not all teachers. There’s things like support staff, and other professionals. I think we can get rid of half of them and bring back toilet paper.

It seems hard to find 29 million of low hanging fruit, when it equals 20.4% of your budgeted expenditures and the largest line item is salaries of 102 million per schedule B, most of which is governed by union contracts.

$14,000 to sit on the school board – why would anyone want the job.

Now, back to work so I can send more tax money to Ottawa to fuel F18’s to fight ISIS.

Good morning to all my friends in George and others. It’s a balmy15c in Abby this morning with some promise of sunshine

I see where Ben shot himself in the foot yesterday with the editorial, “The New Age of Entitlement”. What surprised me was the amount of support for the homeless. We had the usual PC guys that feel the homeless are just a big burden and are changing our society and if I may quote Pal, “our country is going to hell in a hand basket”

I think what he really meant was that the PC’s are changing Canada as never before. There is bill C50 and our parliament appears to be run , “in camera”.

I notice that herbster is giving us some serious consideration to ponder this morning. He makes some really valid points on where our current government is going today.

Well the winter games are over and I hope that Prince George will see some real benefits from this great event.
Cheers

Posted on Friday, March 6, 2015 @ 10:53 AM by ski51

Because I want axman and Fate to stop fighting. I need to find 29 million.

———–

Here’s another outside the box solution.

Present your solution (change the tone so that it’s not so sarcastic) and point out that it’s just not possible without the government granting some more powers to the districts.

Like I said the other day, downsize the sheer amount of administration and get rid of the real estate. For starters, they don’t need that fancy building on Ferry.

Who’s paying for the maintenance on all the shuttered schools? If it’s the district someone needs to explain why.

ski51@Re the housing budget. Perhaps SD57 has some teacherages, e.g. at McLeod Lake?

Ski51, you must be confused, that $29,000,000 number did not apply to SD57 alone.
Read the budget the $29M applies to all 60 School districts combined so if devided equally among all 60 that equates to a $483,333 reduction in 2015. the budget also specified a reduction of $54M for 2016 which equates to $900K per school district.
The total reduction over 2 years is less than $1.5M. Probably not that difficult spread over 2 years if school districts are serious about looking for ways to be more efficient with OUR TAX DOLLARS!

Axman, I wasn’t being sarcastic. Attempting to be humorous. Fact is, without the detailed budget documents, it’s practically impossible for any of us to find low hanging fruit. And school trustees – who are essentially part-time administrators with lives and full time jobs, would never have the time to go through all of the detail. Unless I’m missing something huge, 29 million equals 20% of the total budget. With salaries of all the unionized staff untouchable, and staffing levels for teachers untouchable, 29 million just isn’t possible without serious program and service cuts. Low hanging fruit – generally refers to – going to Whistler for a brain storming session with other administrators, bringing in motivational speakers to rally the troops – the kind of stuff, that if it didn’t happen, the school’s would chug along just as always. There is likely this type of low hanging fruit, just not 29 million worth – if there is 29 million worth, in this school district alone, then someone should not only be fired, but jail should be considered, because it makes Mike Duffy look like a Saint to waste that much money.

But hey we need funds for all the private schools in our province and our bible belt is full of them.
Cheers

Ski51,

Once again read the actual BUDGET DOCUMENT !!

This is all I found. There’s an amended budget but the link goes nowhere – at least for me it does. What’s the link for the document you’re using, and is it materially different than my main point that it’s hard to find 20% of your budget as low hanging fruit, and is your cap lock stuck.

http://www.sd57.bc.ca/Programs/Reports/Documents/FinancialReports/2014-15%20Budget.pdf

Asked a guy in front of TD bank if he missed noticing the Handicapped sign, “Just chose to ignore it”

jb45, without wishing to offend the truly mentally handicapped, perhaps this individual is mentally handicapped! His handicap isn’t readily visible, unlike many physical handicaps, haha!

Seems like sheer laziness is now considered a handicap!

axman, I miss being able to crank up Mattyc or Peeps, haha!

Handi cap could be heart related and that is why they have the placard . I have a placard and many times I seem to be the only one with a visible handicap. There are other reasons that are not visible and the placards are not easy to get.

A lot people on the blog thinks that the health care, and school district should get provincially centralized. That would be a disaster for us in the north and interior. The people in the lower mainland will not give us what we want and need in the north. That is why the administration is done in the area it works in. To better relate to the people.

Would we have a New Duchess Park School or a Cancer Clinic in PRINCE GEORGE if the administration was done centrally. Not a chance in hell.

Posted on Friday, March 6, 2015 @ 10:56 AM by Retired 02
I see where Ben shot himself in the foot yesterday with the editorial, “The New Age of Entitlement”. What surprised me was the amount of support for the homeless. We had the usual PC guys that feel the homeless are just a big burden and are changing our society and if I may quote Pal, “our country is going to hell in a hand basket”
……………………….
You forgot to mention how well coming the homeless are in your precious holy than thou bible thumping Abby, remember when you people threw chicken manure all over the homeless people camp grounds to force them out, next time don’t be so quick to spew your spittle about.

I am not to sure about that He spoke.. if you have dealt with northern health at all you would realize they have no clue when it comes to relating to people.. I have had to deal with them a few times in recent months and one hand has no clue what the other does. Having to wait over 30 minutes just to have a fax sent from one building to the next so I could pay a bill was a joke.. Dealing with them over my mothers care in a old folks home is like beating your head against the wall… there is no way it could be worse.

The cancer clinic and duchess park were done to look good for elections.. had nothing to do with northern health or our school district.

Two many handicapped cards are being used illegally. A lot of times the pass is for another family member that is not in the vehical when the parking spot is taken.

oops Too

Who ever applies for the placard gets a wallet card to go with it.. you must have this on you at all times so you can produce it as proof that the placard is being used legally. I dont leave home without mine.

I do agree with you oldman1, there are people who do abuse the placard.

Saw a green CWG jacket on a fairly inebriated guy yesterday. He was singing and seemed pretty happy. The Games spirit lives on!

We had a good health care system with each hospital having a health board that was elected (no pay, but a honour to serve)at that time PG had one of the best heart treatment programs. But the prov. government used the pro-life and pro-choice debate to take over all the health boards & run the health care from Victoria. What did we get – nothing – we lost our heart treatment program to St. Paul as it would serve more people in the Vancouver region and all the small hospitals in BC were either shut down or stripped of medical programs. Plus we got a bloated very expensive top heavy administration. Then they went to regional boards, but instead of getting rid of some of the staff in Victoria they just added more expensive top heavy administrations to the point that the majority of the money for our medical system is for administration.

Has anyone else noticed that our leader’s eyes seem beadier than usual?

WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING IN MCBRIDE THESE DAYS. THE PUBLIC WORKS SUPERVISOR GETS FIRED BY THE MAYOR OVER THE PHONE BECAUSE HE WAS TALKING TO A UNION ORGANIZATION ABOUT HAVING VILLAGE STAFF JOIN THIS PARTICULAR UNION ORGANIZATION.
THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OFFICER RESIGNS AFTER 21 YEARS, THE ECONCOMIC DEVELOPMENT OFFICER RESIGNS HIS POSITION, A VILLAGE COUNCILLOR RESIGNS HIS POSITION. ALL THIS HAPPENING IN THE FIRST THREE MONTHS OF THE NEW COUNCIL. MAKES YOU WONDER WHAT THIS NEW MAYOR IS DOING TO IMPROVE THE BETTERMENT OF THE MCBRIDE COMMUNITY. SEEMS LIKE IT ALL GOING SIDEWAYS AND FALLING OFF THE RAILS.

Listened to CBC today and am totally shocked at the garbage our mayor and side kick of the time Heather Oland mentioned that PG is the fastest growing city in BC. HUH?

In 1981 PG population 67,559, Last year in 2014 population 71,273. So in close to 33 years the increase is 3,714. Far from being the fastest growing city……

I can be positive most of the time but when I hear crap like this coming out it’s just wrong.

Maybe they meant a particular subgroup of the population is the fastest growing?

@guesswhat

“Listened to CBC today and am totally shocked at the garbage our mayor and side kick of the time Heather Oland mentioned that PG is the fastest growing city in BC. HUH?”

That is not what Hall said. He said there was a point in time when PG was the fastest growing city.

He is not that naive… and had he said what you suggested, the host would clearly have called him on it.

@ just my opinion

“That is not what Hall said. He said there was a point in time when PG was the fastest growing city.”

So now the fastest growing city was over 34 years ago?

Three other people I know thought they heard the same thing …….so……I will be looking at the CBC site to see if I can find the program and listen to it again. Unless you have some insight “just my opinion.” ;)

As for naive – depends on the Synonyms for naive. The host would have called him on that – and how do you know that?

CBC does not have the broadcast in regards to Hall and Oland that I can find. The only one from today in regards to city hall is is when Krause was on.