Or at least another chapter in a story that affected my deeply. Cowboy boots represent victim at double-murder preliminary hearingThe pre-trial of Albert Ouimet has concluded and the courts have found there is enough evidence to try him on two counts of murder. He is accused of murdering Melody Burtis and her 8-year-old son Harley Baxter-Burtis. There is a publication ban on evidence in the trial but the Sault Star's Linda Richardson has done a beautiful job of setting the scene and capturing the mood of the courtroom.
Meanwhile, the workers at St. Marys Paper Ltd. have voted to reject the company's offer and the mill will close by my dad's birthday at the beginning of June.
Let me just reach over to my crystal ball here to see what is in store for the dummies who voted overwhelmingly to put themselves out of a job...
Okay, it's becoming clear. I see 38 weeks of daytime TV at 45% of what they will make up until they are out of work followed by a rewarding career in call-centre-hell. Oh yes, voting yourself out of a job is very smart fellas.
I look at it like a fishing trip. Here I am in my canoe with the nice fish I caught and I have about an hour left on the lake. This little fishy has signed up to support my lazy ass for seven years but this guy comes up in the HMS National Union. What I keep forgetting is that he has a whole freezer full of fish at home but none of them are live enough to bite my hook. He tells me that I have an okay fish but could do better with his help. So what do I do? Come back to fish again tomorrow - ha, no way! Not me. Being the bright little candle that I am, I throw the half-dead fishy back in the lake and drop my hook in the water. The HMS National Union motors away while the guy at the wheel laughs and tells me I'm on my own. Yup, score one for those shining examples of wisdom at St. Marys Paper.
Tony Martin and David Orazietti tell me not to give up hope. They say we should hold on a little longer because something will happen. Meanwhile, the bank is inventorying the machines and supplies at the mill and will start to sell off what ever they can as soon as they can. Customers have already found other suppliers and suppliers have found other buyers. Can we turn back? Not likely.
What I really wonder is how the CEP figures it will sell a paper mill that doesn't belong to it? Are they going to wait till the Bank of America rips out its paper machines then sell an empty 100 year old building with no customers and no suppliers? That's going to yield a thriving business with plenty of jobs to go around all right.
Let's all cheer for the workers of St. Marys Paper. They stood up for themselves and didn't take any crap from that guy who was ready to run a mill at a loss for up to seven years so they could keep working and making paper. Those guys have guts. Not a lot of brains, but they have real spirit. I wonder how many pairs of shoes they can buy for their kids with that spirit.
Right then, off to play more RYL. Nothing quite as satisfying as a good stiff drink and several rounds of mindless virtual violence!
Anonymous, at
Wed May 23, 09:59:00 p.m.
