From the editor…
Hello and welcome back to the Blackfly Gazette and “Thank You” to all of you that have supported and complemented Steph and I on our premier edition. Here’s #2 we hope you enjoy it as much as the first.
“Jonny” here attempting to write my first editorial ever! I haven’t a clue as to what I am doing so I’ll just pretend I’m at the Irving drinking coffee at the coffee stand.
The first thing I’d like to do is commend all who offered for municipal office and those who voted on the May 14 Elections. Congratulations to our new Mayor Terry Ritchie and Councillors; Rick Beaulieu, Mike Grant, Tommy Dixon, Dean McAllister and Shawn Durepos on their win. This is going to be a very difficult time to start a new council with all the devastation caused by the recent flooding. There are many challenges from infrastructure loss to the displacement of people and jobs, but there are also opportunities to be found in any situation it will just take some time. I am hopeful that the new council can work together with the citizens to rebuild and grow this village into its former glory. Let us all work together and we will prevail and have a beautiful little village we can all be proud to call home again.
The second thing I’d like to speak about is there seems to be a little confusion as to the effects of flooding by those unaffected. I would like to give a little perception to the situation. On March 23rd many people were caught off guard and had most everything we owned destroyed by the rising water of the St. John River. We now are faced with the challenges of rebuilding our properties and our lives without any insurance coverage or assurances that it will not happen again. I commend the EMO for their quick response to this event and I realize that they offer only Disaster Relief and are not an insurance company but they appear to be slow moving and offering less than reasonable assistance. I know of some compensation claims that have been offered to home owners in the amount of 35 to 40 percent of the assessed damages and this would not include content loss. They expect people to repair and replace as much as possible and to try to get back a normal standard of living with pennies on the dollar, I don’t see how this is possible. There also seems to be a denial clause for business and rental properties if they don’t fall within the gross revenue caps. If you don’t make enough or make to much gross sales you do not qualify. WHY??? An example if you happen to own a second income property and rent it out for $600 a month plus utilities you would not qualify because your gross revenue is only $7200 a year but if you rented the same property for $850 a month utilities included you would qualify because your gross revenues would be over the $10,000 a year cap. Does this make sense to you??? I don’t get it, some one has to pay the utilities.
To put this in perspective on March 23rd had we had 150 or so separate house fires things would be a lot different today as there would have been insurance. People who lost most everything would have coverage and assistance almost immediately. Sure the insurance companies would try to wriggle there way to giving a little as possible or to see if there was a way to deny a claim but let’s face it we would be in a whole different place today. Everything would be covered, we would be rebuilding and not wondering if we were doing so in vain as the Flooding Issue of the St. John River would not be factor.
I am still waiting to see what EMO is going to offer me as a little “hope this helps” cheque but I am also wondering what to do with it. I love my house, this village and the St. John River. I just have no faith in the management of the river system and do not want to rebuild my house to have it destroyed again next year or the year after. The St. John River will flood again and NOW is time for the Provincial and Federal Governments to step up and let us know what they plan to do for flood proofing and/or relocation for the homes and businesses affected. I know many affected like myself would like to rebuild but are wondering the same thing how and why.
There are people that have asked me numerous times, are you back in your home? You only had 2 feet of water! Does it not just dry out? There are people that have no clue as to what we are going through. Well I am back in my home somewhat, but the entire main floor of my house is stripped completely out. I have no real source of heating, thankfully the weather is warming up and I still have no idea how or when I will ever get my home returned to is former glory. So the next time someone rants about the people of Perth-Andover being unreasonable because they choose to live in a Flood Plain please let them read this.
Finally today I’d like to end on a lighter note. There will be a Larlee Creek Hullabaloo again this year. From August 17th to 19th, 2012 the Hullabaloo will celebrate its fifth instalment of the amazing “little festival that could” on the festival grounds next to R.E. Baird memorial park. Please check their website Larlee Creek Music or follow them on facebook for all things pertaining to the festival; music line up, accommodations and of course ticket information. Volunteers are at the heart of any festival. The Larlee Creek Hullabaloo is looking for energetic individuals who are willing to volunteer their time to make their event a success. If you are interested in volunteering at Hullabaloo V, 2012, please sign up on their website under the Volunteer Application.
Cheers and Happy Reading,
Jonny
