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A place where Big Stone Lake (and surrounding) area citizens can discuss area news, events and matters of concern.
 
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 Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum.

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PostSubject: Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum.   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeWed Mar 18, 2009 11:26 pm

In another post it was stated that Community Development Coordinator Vicki Oakes called the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce to complain about the Big Stone Lake Area Forums and an "emergency" meeting was called and after Ms. Oakes provided "information" about this site the chamber voted to remove the link to the chamber website. See are they doing their jobs.

The Big Stone Lake Area Chamber did this without informing The Forums what had happened. Here is the time line. Ms. Vicki Oakes co-authored a new web policy for the City of Ortonville and excluded a public forum from being linked to the city website after the Big Stone Lake Area Forums had made a request to do so. Ms. Oakes then called the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and talked to Ms. Donnette Herberg who then called an "emergency" meeting for Monday February 2, 2009. At the meeting Ms. Oakes influence the chamber board to remove the Big Stone Lake Area Community Forums link to the Chambers website. They did this without informing the forums of their decision or even giving the forums a chance to defend themselves.

How can they allow someone to come in and make an accusation and not allow the person being accused to even know who was accusing them or giving them a chance to defend themselves. To this day they still have not identified what it was that caused them to pull the link. I thought this was America and a person has a chance to defend themselves. Evidently not according to the chamber.

Two hours after the decision Artie Arndt (the chamber board member who made the motion to remove the link) came onto the Big Stone Lake Area Community Forums and made an inflamatory post. See Watch our for Trolls. Over the next two days Mr. Arndt continued to make inflamatory and inappropriate posts. The chamber was aware that Mr. Arndt was making posts but did nothing to stop him.

A week after Mr. Arndt made the posts I asked Ms. Donette Herberg if she knew about them and she admitted that she did and then also admitted that the Chamber had removed the forums link. She stated that we needed to edit the posts in order to make them acceptable for the forums link to be on the chambers website. She was concerned that other businesses would be offended by some of the posts and that we should only have nice things on our website. That we should only say positive things about Ortonville to project a good image of the area.

I attended a chamber board meeting to determine what had happened and the president, Steve Roggenbuck, informed us that the boards decision still stands unless we present some new evidence. How can I present new evidence if I don't know what evidence was given to them in the first place. The meeting soon turned in to a shouting match as people all started talking at once. It was out of control.

I do not believe that the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce should dictate to any business how it should be run. Does the Chamber tell other business how they should run their stores? I find Ms. Herbergs and the chamber boards additude surprising considering that about a week later they posted a video on the Chamber site showing how much fun the chamber had at their recent annual meeting. It seems that they had a scavenger hunt and it was a three way tie so they had a sing-off. Members of the chamber stood up and sang drunken sailor songs. People appeared to be enjoying their adult beverages. Why the chamber would criticize the forums as not presenting a positive image to the public in the wake of their own actions is astonishing. That video had over 90 hits when I saw it. It would appear that someone at the chamber saw it as a positive and put it on their website for all to see how much "fun" the chamber had singing drunken sailor songs. :pirat:
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PostSubject: Indeed...   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeThu Mar 19, 2009 3:56 pm

I did see that video of the drunken sailor songs on the Chamber site... I was appalled to think that someone thought this could be a good representation of the city, especially the last little ditty that was sung....I hope no children viewed it, as it was very clearly inappropriate. Whoever runs that website should take a bow for that one... Embarassed
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PostSubject: Chamber/City   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeThu Mar 19, 2009 8:51 pm

Thank you Lady Hawk for your efforts. All I can ask is what happened to freedom to speak one's own mind?

What are they afraid of? You can go to any community and people will have good and bad things to say about their own community. That is just life.

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PostSubject: Re: Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum.   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeThu Mar 19, 2009 11:13 pm

Just out of curiosity, has this forum paid dues to the Chamber? If not, why all the hub bub about not having a link? I can't seem to find many non-member business that have links from the chamber website.
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PostSubject: The Chamber "emergency" meeting minutes   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeThu Mar 19, 2009 11:57 pm

The answer to your question gratus04 is "Yes, the Big Stone Lake Area Community Forums are paid members of the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce."

Below are the minutes of the "emergency" meeting.

Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. BSLAFChamberemergencymeetingminutes
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PostSubject: Re: Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum.   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 12:03 am

Below is the reply from the Big Stone Lake Area Community Forums to the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.

Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. BSLAFChamberpulledlinkArtie1

Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. BSLAFChamberpulledlinkArtie2

Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. BSLAFChamberpulledlinkArtie3
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PostSubject: Re: Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum.   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 12:05 am

Quote :
That video had over 90 hits when I saw it. It would appear that someone at the chamber saw it as a positive and put it on their website for all to see how much "fun" the chamber had singing drunken sailor songs.

Is this video still online?
If so could you please post the link to it?

I'm really interested in seeing it myself. Smile
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PostSubject: The video was pulled of the internet   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 12:19 am

I had put a link to the video on my portal and the Chamber pulled it off their website the next day. It wasn't even up on my site for 24 hours. You will have to email the chamber and ask them if you can see it. They have a link on our links page.
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PostSubject: Artie Arndts email to the City Council   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 12:24 am

The Big Stone Lake Area Forums sent a letter to the Ortonville City Council reporting the actions of City Administrator David Lang and Community Development Coordinator Vicki Oakes for their actions in making a new web policy after the Forums requested a link. Artie Arndt sent this email to the Ortonville City Council and in it he states specifically that the "Chamber will have nothing to do with these people."

Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. BSLAFCityArtieCanceremail0309-1


The following is my reply to the City Council:

In a recent email to the Ortonville City Council Mr. Artie Arndt made some statements
concerning the Big Stone Lake Area Community Forums and Mr. Ron Frauenshuh.
I would like to address those comments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARTIE SAID: "95% of the facts in Ron's letter are way out of line and a complete twist of words."
REPLY: I notice that Mr. Arndt does not address the 95% of the facts. he only made the statement that it was a twist of words and does not point out what was incorrect. Saying someone else is 95% incorrect is not the same as showing where they are incorrect. Therefore I can only conclude that Mr. Frauenshuh's statements still stand as correct.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARTIE SAID: "I could not stand the negative comments that he was making in regards to our city council and city staff so I chose to 'fight the battle' on his website to defend those of you that are busting your butts to make Ortonville a better place. I've been in your shoes."

REPLY: Since when did American's loose their right to criticize their government? If Mr. Frauenshuh did make any statements that were critical of the city then what is the problem as he is allowed freedom of speech. The city government is a public trust and it is the obligation of the citizens to watch over the actions of the city and to keep the public informed as to the actions of the city. There is nothing personal involved in this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARTIE SAID: "After he had posted a slam to the EDA, I called David Lang and asked him what the specifics were of the EDA accomplishments. David e-mailed me the annual report which I posted on their site."
REPLY: Again we have Mr. Arndt making a statement without verification. He has not produced the statement by Mr. Frauenshuh which he purports to be a "slam." You will have to ask Mr. Arndt to verify this purported "slam." I do not recall any such statement. If Mr. Arndt wanted to make a post stating the accomplishments of the EDA he was certainly able to do it.


Since Mr. Arndt has stated that he corresponded with Mr. Lang via e-mail I would also request that the City Council order Mr. Lang and Ms. Oakes to turn over all emails between them and Mr. Arndt or anyone else that they discussed the Big Stone Lake Area Community Forums with. It would be better to have the documentation to show what happened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARTIE SAID: "Ron obviously fealt (sic) stupid after bashing the EDA to see that they had raised over $500,000 in grants."


REPLY: I wonder how Mr. Arndt manages to get his head through the door with an ego like that. For Mr. Arndt to claim to know how Mr. Frauenshuh felt is ridiculous. If he has that type of clairvoyance perhaps he should invest in the lottery. The mere fact that Mr. Frauenshuh, or anyone else for that matter, did not post a reply to Mr. Arndt immediately did not mean that they "fealt (sic) stupid." It is a forum, and people have jobs and sometimes need time to think about something or take the time to be sure their facts are correct. I had made a post explaining that fact to Mr. Arndt and he came right back like a petulant child demanding a response to his post. I had the clear impression that Mr. Arndt doesn't listen very well.


Click the link below to view the posts:

http://www.bigstonelakeareaforums.com/city-and-government-f1/it-is-time-for-compromise-and-rational-discussions-with-lead-t518.htm#1207


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


ARTIE SAID: "David did not advise me to do anything in regards to the web, he simply gave me facts that I asked for.

REPLY: Should one question Mr. Arndts veracity in the wake of his actions?


If Mr. David Lang or Ms. Vickie Oakes were not directing Mr. Arndt then how did he know that the city was going to cut ties to our website before we received the letter from Ms. Oakes stating that they would not put a link from the city website to ours? Ms. Oakes letter is dated two days after the City Council meeting. How would Mr Arndt know that the City was going to cut ties unless he had been informed by Ms. Oakes.


If Mr. Lang and Ms. Oakes were not working together then why was the web policy aimed at us? I went to the city and left a letter of request to link our website to the city's. Mr. Lang and Ms. Oakes write a new policy that excludes a public forum. Then Ms. Oakes, with feigned indifferent professionalism two days later, sends me a letter stating, "In reviewing www.bigstonelakeareaforums.com I find that your site functions as a public forum and therefore does not meet the criteria of the City's Website Policies" like she just pulled the policies out of the file and checked them out. She wrote them.


I think that Mr. Arndt misses what Mr. Frauenshuh was saying in his letter. Did Mr. Lang direct Mr. Artie Arndt to put this on his site in order to inform the public? According to Mr. Arndt that is what he did. In a message to me Mr. Arndt stated, "I was sent the copy from David Lang, city administrater (sic) for the purpose of informing the public." Was that action by Mr. Lang proper and within the scope of his duties?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARTIE SAID: "Furthermore, I find it embarrassing for an attorny (sic) to call that plaigerism.


REPLY; If the boot fits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARTIE SAID: "In regards to the city and chamber cutting ties with them, there had been much discussion leading up to the night of your resolution about how unappropriate (sic) the site was. The Chamber will have nothing to do with these people and is in full support of the city council."

REPLY: I spoke with Donnette Herberg of the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and she informed me that Artie Arndt does not speak for the chamber. She further stated to me that she and others had no idea what was being said on my website until they got the call from a citizen (Vickie Oakes) who came to an emergency chamber meeting on the Monday of your city council meeting. The Chamber met for an emergency meeting at noon where Vicki Oakes presented "information" about my website and from this supposed "information" the Chamber voted to have my link removed without even allowing me to defend myself or answer the accusations made by Vicki Oakes. If what Donnette says is true then the "much discussion" that Mr. Arndt is speaking about is Vicki Oakes going to the Chamber the day of the city council meeting and inciting them to reject my link prior to the city council voting on the "new" web policy that Vicki Oakes and David Lang wrote up that also rejected my request for a link.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ARTIE SAID: "As far as I am concerned Ron Fraunshue (sic) is a case of cancer for Ortonville and this town would be much better without him."

REPLY: I am stunned by this statement. The mere fact that Mr. Frauenshuh holds a different opinion from Mr. Arndt is no cause to make derogatory statements about him. Different opinions should be welcomed, they are a healthy part of society. I think that the City Council should send a clear statement to Mr. Arndt and let him know that you, as the Ortonville City Council, are not offended by a citizens right to speak and do not condone people being vilified because they have a different point of view.

I thank you for your time and consideration in reading this email.

Best regards,

Penny BayBridge
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PostSubject: The Ortonvillains Click Club   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 12:39 am

After I had sent the letter to the Chamber of Commerce Artie Arndt sent me an PM on the forums. Below is Arties message and my response.


Date: Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 8:25 AM

To the Ortonville City Council and the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce,

Recently Mr. Artie Arndt has made numerous claims on the website bigstonelakeareaforums.com and in emails as to the intentions and actions of the city council and chamber. This email is to apprise the council and chamber as to the ongoing issues. I am able to send this to all the emails of the members of the city council, however I am unaware of the email addresses of the chamber and request that the chamber office forward this email to all members. If Mr. Artie Arndt is not the spokesperson for the City Council or the Chamber of Commerce then it would be wise for the council and chamber to make a public declaration to that fact and identify who is the spokesperson for the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce. I am sending you Mr. Arndts message to me in it's entirety so that you may read it in context. I then follow with my replies.

Your kind attention to this matter is greatly appreciated,

Sincerely,
Penny BayBridge
Big Stone Lake Area Community Forums


MR. ARTIE ARNDT'S MESSAGE:

From: Guest

To: Lady Hawk
Posted: Yesterday at 12:29 pm
Subject: [Contact] CHAMBER

Penny I am very disappointed in your letter co-authored by Ron. I am not the spokesperson for the chamber, but I am the one you attacked therefore I felt I should let you know the appropriate place to handle your concerns. So you don't feel their is any secrets, here was my response to the chamber board in regards to your letter:

Big Stone Lake Area Chamber Board of Directors:
It am deeply apologetic that you would have to waste your time, thoughts or energy on this worthless matter. The site Big Stone Lake Area Forums was designed to publicly hurt and attack others. This has been going on for about a year. Many people have been affected by these attacks including Mayor Blair Johnson, John Cunningham, Nick Anderson, Bob Meyer, Craig Randleman, Steve Berkner, Mike Dorry, City Administrator David Lang, EDA secretary Vicki Oakes, the Ortonville Independent and the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, all individuals that have worked for thousands of hours to make our community a better place to live. Some of you have read the ridiculous, untruthful and uneducated comments that have been made by the BayBridges and Ron Franshue. They continuously throw negative comments and half stories out on their site in an effort to get people to respond. This has not worked for them as rarely is their ever a response. It was very clear by
the rules of their site that everyone was intitled to their opinion, good or bad. So after seeing several months of bad, I decided to bring some truth and positive comments about our community to the site. This was not received very well by the people that run the site. In fact, they banned me from the site. As you can see by the posts that they referenced me in, they are purely positive about the community and not so positive about their site and their efforts to hurt people. You should also know that for several years Ron Franshue and the BayBridges have been fighting with the city and even threatened litigation. I believe this was their motive to smear our public works in the mud. As I have stated to the BayBridges in my original letter, if they have a problem with my interaction on their site, they can take that up with me. I am not the spokesperson for the chamber and never acted in that manner. In fact, when they came to our meeting I had very
little to say. They referred to the meeting as shouting, and for any of you that were at that meeting, you witnessed that their in fact was no shouting, another untrue statement made by the BayBridges. I have indeed been talking to city officials, Vicki Oakes and David Lang about the site and the policy that would not allow there site. This was never a secret and most felt the site was very negative. I have also visited with several council members and chamber board members that feel it would be best if we just ignore the nonsense and not respond anymore to the letters. I agree with that. As I stated before, they have the right to attend Council and Chamber meetings and discuss their disappointment. I think they would rather play games behind the keyboard. I have no time for that. Again, sorry for you to have to waste your time on this.
Sincerely,

Artie Arndt
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PostSubject: Reply to Artie Arndt   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 12:40 am

REPLY BY: Penny BayBridge to Artie Arndt and the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.



ARTIE SAID: Penny I am very disappointed in your letter co-authored by Ron.

REPLY: What is it about men who think that a 53 year old woman is not capable of composing articulate intelligent prose without help from another man? Do you think Curt Horman helped Penny write her letter to the editor? Do you think women are not capable of writing without a "man" to show them how? Don't you know who you are talking to? It's me, the woman.

ARTIE: I am not the spokesperson for the chamber, but I am the one you attacked therefore I felt I should let you know the appropriate place to handle your concerns. So you don't feel their is any secrets, here was my response to the chamber board in regards to your letter:

REPLY: Is this Mr. Arndt"s new word for the year, "attack"? So anyone who has an opinion different than Mr. Arndt it is considered an "attack"? When I wrote the letter to the Chamber outlining the factual events that happened you call that an "attack"? I addressed the letter to the President of the Chamber Board. It was his responsibility to respond. If he chooses to designate you to convey the message that is his prerogative.

ARTIE: Big Stone Lake Area Chamber Board of Directors:
It am deeply apologetic that you would have to waste your time, thoughts or energy on this worthless matter.

REPLY: I am appalled that the concern of a member of the Chamber of Commerce is considered worthless by the board.

ARTIE: The site Big Stone Lake Area Forums was designed to publicly hurt and attack others.

REPLY: That is a lie. Were you there Mr. Arndt when a seventeen year old girl conceived of an idea where there would be a community calendar where people could all come to and see what is going on in the surrounding area? Were you there Mr. Arndt when that same seventeen year old girl dreamed of a place where the people in the community could come together and talk about things of interest and issues? This site was the dream of a young seventeen year old girl and it is a marvel to see someone so young who can spend many thousands of hours, and not be paid, to unselfishly give to others. In this day and age I think that a young person who does not spend her time in selfish vain amusements but works hard to give something to a community should not have her achievements maligned.

ARTIE: This has been going on for about a year. Many people have been affected by these attacks including Mayor Blair Johnson, John Cunningham, Nick Anderson, Bob Meyer, Craig Randleman, Steve Berkner, Mike Dorry, City Administrator David Lang, EDA secretary Vicki Oakes, the Ortonville Independent and the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce,...

REPLY: That is quite a list of people. Don't they have a voice? Can't they speak? They are certainly capable of speaking up for themselves. Shall we also talk about the people affected by the actions and opinions of the City Council, Mr. Lang, Ms. Oakes, the Ortonville Independent, and the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce? Shall we also talk about David Meyer, Norwood BayBridge, Char Grossman, Vicki Grimli, Marilyn Jurgens, Sue Kulbeik, Ron Frauenshuh, Big Stone City, Greg Thomas, Curt Horman (and all the officers of the police department who have lived for the past few years with an axe over their head) the children who don't have an indoor ice skating rink, the people who will not be able to swim in the evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays if the City Council votes that way, and how many others who never had a voice?

ARTIE: ...all individuals that have worked for thousands of hours to make our community a better place to live.

REPLY: They have also all been paid for it out of the city coffers. A better place to live for whom? Only for people who think like you? When someone thinks differently than you, take for instance Mr. Frauenshuh, you say that they are a cancer and the town would be better off without them.

Just because some Ortonvillains have an agenda does not mean that everyone else has to agree with them. To think that any group of people, say for instance the Ortonville Click Club, should decide what is best for everyone and then anyone who does not agree is ostracized, condemned, and ridiculed in order to create their idea of a perfect society is not appropriate. It reminds me of the Borg. The Borg were a fictional group of people who were part machine. They would conquer other peoples who had different cultures and different way of life and "assimilate" them. The victims would have their brains plugged into a collective so that all thoughts would be one and all actions would be to attain the goal which was to assimilate more peoples and have a society with no individual thoughts. Everything would be for the good of the group and there was no individualism. The Borg called it a "collective" and the people were called "drones".

ARTIE: Some of you have read the ridiculous, untruthful and uneducated comments that have been made by the BayBridges and Ron Franshue. They continuously throw negative comments and half stories out on their site...

REPLY: You are then admitting that not all board members have read the comments on the website and are basing their decisions on your influence and the influence of Ms. Vicki Oakes. Who are you referring to by the term "BayBridges"? You are talking to me. Any comment that you claim was untruthful or otherwise could have been replied to. As you didn't reply and only make generalizations it shows that the statements were in fact not incorrect. I find your statement that comments were "uneducated" curious in the wake of a man who has trouble spelling and using proper grammar.

ARTIE: ...in an effort to get people to respond. This has not worked for them as rarely is their ever a response.

REPLY: Things are written to be read, there is no requirement that people respond.

ARTIE: It was very clear by the rules of their site that everyone was intitled to their opinion, good or bad. So after seeing several months of bad, I decided to bring some truth and positive comments about our community to the site.

REPLY: Mr. Arndt was as welcome to come onto the site and state his opinion as well as anyone else. A community is made up of diverse opinions and all can share them. So why is every opinion to you either "good or bad"? Why can't there just be different opinions? Is every opinion that doesn't agree with yours "bad"?

ARTIE: This was not received very well by the people that run the site. In fact, they banned me from the site.

REPLY: Again another example of Mr. Arndt making claims about other peoples feelings. It is not proper for anyone to make claims about another persons feelings without knowing all the facts. Mr. Arndt was banned for trolling, plagiarism, and attacking the website. If he had behaved respectfully and civilly he would still be a member. Mr. Arndt's character is there for all to view.

ARTIE: As you can see by the posts that they referenced me in, they are purely positive about the community and not so positive about their site and their efforts to hurt people.

REPLY: As you can see by your posts you boasted of your connection with the Ortonville City Council and the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber making statements attributed to them and then deny you are their spokesman.

ARTIE: You should also know that for several years Ron Franshue and the BayBridges have been fighting with the city and even threatened litigation.

REPLY: I cannot speak for Mr. Frauenshuh you will have to take that up with him. Who are you referring to by saying "BayBridges"? No one in my family has ever "threatened" litigation. There is a suit between Mr. Norwood BayBridge and the City of Ortonville over a whistle blowing statute. No litigation was threatened, it was made without a threat because of an injustice.

ARTIE: I believe this was their motive to smear our public works in the mud.

REPLY: Herein lies a foundational difference between you and myself. Is it beyond your capabilities to understand that for some people to do the honorable thing is important? There are those people who, even though they are being mistreated, can still function without some underlying reason. It is highly unfair to take a person who is standing up to an injustice and second guess every thing they do as having an improper motive. With that kind of attitude and your reasoning a person could never do anything for fear of people second guessing their motives.

Is it beyond you Mr. Arndt to encounter a person who can be unjustly treated and still find them not harboring any feelings of animosity? Is it beyond you Mr. Arndt that a person could forgive their tormentors and still participate in society and have an opinion of current events without harboring any untoward feelings?

The difference between you and me Mr. Arndt is that I accept that you may have a different opinion than me. All that has happened here is that a window has been opened and now the public has been able to see inside the collective. If it appears the the collective is mired in mud then that is the impression that they give. I didn't put them there.

As far as motive is concerned character matters. Those people who know me know that I am not a mean, vicious, or vindictive person. I do not spend time gossiping about people. Your character Mr. Arndt speaks for itself. Using your logic one could also question your motive Mr. Arndt, after all you were on the City Council when the issues of Mr. Meyer, Mr. BayBridge, and Mrs. Grossman came up. Do you have anything to hide?




The purpose and the motive of The Forums is to inform the public about community events and matters of concern in all areas including the government. Was it vindictive or responsible reporting when The Forums reported last fall that the City Council had taken $30,000 out of the sewer fund and put it in the golf course and then a few months later, when there was a sewer back up, there was no money in the sewer fund to fix it?

ARTIE: As I have stated to the BayBridges in my original letter, if they have a problem with my interaction on their site, they can take that up with me. I am not the spokesperson for the chamber and never acted in that manner. In fact, when they came to our meeting I had very little to say.

REPLY: Again, with the "BayBridges". Who are you talking about? So far the only person who has denied that you are the spokesperson is you. Until the Big Stone Lake Area Chamber of Commerce makes a public declaration to the contrary and designates a spokesperson you are it.

ARTIE: They referred to the meeting as shouting, and for any of you that were at that meeting, you witnessed that their in fact was no shouting, another untrue statement made by the BayBridges.

REPLY: Bravely spoken by the Bort Collective.

ARTIE: I have indeed been talking to city officials, Vicki Oakes and David Lang about the site and the policy that would not allow there site. This was never a secret and most felt the site was very negative.

REPLY: Everyone please take note that if Mr. Artie Arndt knows about it then it is not a secret.

ARTIE: I have also visited with several council members and chamber board members that feel it would be best if we just ignore the nonsense and not respond anymore to the letters. I agree with that. As I stated before, they have the right to attend Council and Chamber meetings and discuss their disappointment. I think they would rather play games behind the keyboard. I have no time for that. Again, sorry for you to have to waste your time on this. Sincerely, Artie Arndt

REPLY: How intolerant of you to say that my concern is a waste of time like a persons concern is some piece of trash. Not responding is the standard modus operandi for the Click Club. Say nothing and hope or wait for it to go away. It reminds me of an ostrich that sticks it's head in the ground.

Thank you Mr. Spokesperson for inviting me to attend the City Council meetings. It is not appropriate for public officials to not respond to public inquiries. Even so your statement is revealing because that has been the way that things have often been handled up till now by the Click Club. Ortonvillians would rather play games in private, bring them into a meeting out of the public eye. If anyone had a concern they were either shouted down, ostracized, or ignored and then the Bort Collective can all testify in unison that it never happened. This will not happen here. It is a public issue and will be addressed in the public view.


Sincerely,
Penny BayBridge
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Lady Hawk
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PostSubject: The Forums not attending the S& L show   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 1:01 am

Originally the Big Stone Lake Area Forums had planned on attending the Sport and Leisure Show at the Ortonville School tomorrow, Saturday the 21st of August. It was difficult to know what was going on be cause Donnette was telling me the chamber supported The Forums but then you read another message from Artie. I find it hard to believe that a group of people would sever the link to our site and still claim to be supportive. No one but Artie ever came on the site to post. Their actions speak louder than their words. I wondered if they would put my booth out of site in the mens bathroom or something and really didn't feel welcome.

Not being sure of the support of the Chamber I pulled The Big Stone Lake Area Community Forums out of the S&L Show. We had been looking forward to the S&L Show because we had so enjoyed the two shows we did in Milbank. The Milbank Chamber was VERY kind to us and even said they would put a link to our site even though we weren't members of the Chamber.

Even though we will not have a booth at the S&L show in Ortonville I do plan on going to the show. I hope to see you all there and will be happy to say "howdy" with anyone who cares to visit.

See you at the Sport & Leisure Show! Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Smiley45
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PostSubject: Re: Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum.   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 1:09 am

Quote :
Even though we will not have a booth at the S&L show in Ortonville I do plan on going to the show.

You going Saturday or Sunday?
What are the hours of the show?
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Lady Hawk
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PostSubject: Re: Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum.   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 1:21 am

I will be walking around there on Saturday for sure after 1:00 p.m. and on Sunday morning. I am not sure of how early the S&L Show opens or closes.

Chef Computerwhiz will be there with the Big Stone Lake Area Royalty. The Royalty is having a fundraiser to fix up the float for the parade season and Computerwhiz made brownies. Be sure and stop in and buy something.
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PostSubject: Great Job in obtaining the facts   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeFri Mar 20, 2009 11:43 am

For many years I have observed the same nasty minority threaten, shout down and attack citizens with a different idea. Recently I have been threatened by this group and name called a cancer by a man who believes women cannot write their own opinions, is aggressive with law enforcement and has his own jaded past.

The more appalling part is that Mr. Lang and the Chamber of Commerce would sanction this same person as their spokesman. Or maybe they do think alike. In a recent meeting Mr. Lang suggested that the city conduct a pay equity study.

Mayor, may I boldly state that I would advise against such a study until Mr. Lang leaves as a city employee. He was grossly overpaid and is given more latitude than any of the female employees and Ms. Grossman did the entire job of the city clerk and was paid substantially less than Mr. Lang. He is still overpaid and given what the city attorney refers to as accounting privileges on certain trips. It is time that you start listening to the majority because the whole town is talking about these privileges that the mayor is supporting. It is time to listen and correct “the contract”.

The bottom line is that Mr. Arndt, the Oake’s and Mr. Lang are not the only city employees and this group degrades and chastises the real employees of the city, The police department who risk their lives, the street departments workers who start at 4:00 a.m. to clean the streets and the city clerk’s office employees, who cover the fact that his office looks like a paper company with piles and piles of paper and his inability to have consistent work hours.

Now to the “Click Club.”

One of the purposes of a real Chamber of Commerce is to promote all legitimate businesses. The fact that this group fails to understand their role in business demonstrates that either they are a “Click Club” under the guidance of Mr. Arndt. Or they are another political club attempting to protect their existence. Given the large sums of money received by the city, I think they are a mix. In conversations with members of this “Click Club”, they referenced the decisions as “collective”. I think that means that if anyone disagrees they are out of the club.

This means that if you agree with Mr. Arndt, who believes that women’s roles are best seen and not heard, that respect for others is not important and if you do not agree with my strong arm tactics “get out”? As for me, this sounds more like a "pirates den" than a Chamber of Commerce. Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. 391524


Last edited by mouthpiece on Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:58 am; edited 2 times in total
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PostSubject: assimilated   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitimeSat Mar 21, 2009 10:31 pm

It should be noted that not all of the Chamber board members voted to sever the Big Stone Lake Area Forums link to their website. How many board members do not approve of the actions of some Ortonvillians who attended the "emergency" meeting is unknown. Some of the board members are new to the community and I applaud their efforts to make a difference in the area.

People should always strive to be honest and honorable in their dealings and not to let their desire to be accepted and approved by a group of people to cloud their thinking.
One should be careful to not to be assimiliated by the Bort Collective. Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Smiley10
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PostSubject: Re: Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum.   Yo ho ho, the Chamber, and a bottle of rum. Icon_minitime

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