Town With A Heart?

Subject: Town With A Heart? Fri Jun 19, 2009 12:22 pm

What happened to Ortonville, the town with a heart? Working here at the library I and my staff, here so much from our patrons about what is going on in this city and are very disheartened. We have so many visitors this time of year and to think they come to Ortonville because they like this area, only to pick up the local newspaper, turn on the radio, or go to one of the restaurants and here all this "stuff" that is going on. This is not good for our visitors whom Ortnoville depends on. When asked why they won't go to a council meeting and speak up, they state they are afraid of what will happen to them, someone in their family who might be connected to the city in some way, etc. How sad it is when personal goals come before what the citizens of Ortonville want. People please speak up, this is YOUR CITY, you are paying the taxes. City Council members--listen to your citizens. Let's get Ortonville back to the "Town With a Heart".

Subject: The Greatest Support. Sat Jun 20, 2009 6:57 pm

Fuzzy wrote:: When asked why they won't go to a council meeting and speak up, they state they are afraid of what will happen to them, someone in their family who might be connected to the city in some way, etc. How sad it is when personal goals come before what the citizens of Ortonville want. People please speak up, this is YOUR CITY, you are paying the taxes. City Council members--listen to your citizens. Let's get Ortonville back to the "Town With a Heart".

Unfortunately what they fear is true. I have heard of 5 or 7 people who have been raked over the coals by people of power within the city government. There are others who have left town because of being misused. The way this website is being treated is an example of the way that some people have been treated when they spoke up. (Or when they just happened to be in the way of progress.)

When this website expressed contrary opinions to the "establishment" it received censure by City Clerk David Lang and EDA Coordinator Vicki Oakes by writing a website policy that excluded it being linked to the city. Then, perhaps not being satisfied with just keeping this website from being linked to the city, Vicki Oakes rang up Donnette Herberg at the Chamber of Commerce and Donnette called an "emergency" meeting of the board and used "information" to have the chamber pull this website off from the chamber site. This was done without telling me what the charges were. Some people would call that sneaking behind your back. Where is the due process? Is this how people are treated in Ortonville by leadership when people voice an opinion different than they have?

After the Chamber board made the decision to pull the site they didn't even have the guts to tell me about it until over a week later when I came in to transact business. Donnette was willing to take my money for membership and take my money for the Sport and Leisure Show but she didn't tell me that my site had been pulled, and she wouldn't have if I hadn't brought it up. What do you call that when someone takes your money promising you a service and then doesn't give you the service?

Next begins a campaign to ruin the reputation of this site with gossip, "Oh! They are so negative...." By looking at how this site was treated you can get the idea of how people are treated individually by those who want to control. Some people have told me that it doesn't really matter and if you just go ahead and do the right thing the good people will know the truth but that it isn't worth it to try to fight them. I disagree. Cowardice is a poor salve. I understand their fear but should fear stop them?

There are soldiers who died to give us the freedom we have today. Right now we have Americans, even our own local soldiers, who are fighting in a foreign country to defend our freedom. Can we do any less than to stand up to injustice here at home so that they can have a free country to come back to? Who guards freedom on the home front while the soldiers are away fighting?

When I see injustice it makes me wonder, "Did soldiers die at Valley Forge, Gettysberg, The Atlantic Ocean ,France, Germany, Iwo Jima, The Pacific Ocean, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq so that people could be abused?" Did they die in vain? To me it is like spitting on their graves. Can we do less? As others have given their last full measure what can we give?

Do we worry about what people will think of us?
Our soldiers worry if people are thinking of killing them.

Do we worry about what our reputation will look like?
Our soldiers worry about what they will look like maimed.

Do we worry if our friends will say we are causing trouble?
Our soldiers worry if their friend is in trouble.

Do we worry about seeing our bank account diminish?
Our soldiers worry about seeing after an IED explodes.

Do we worry about losing our jobs?
Our soldiers worry about losing their lives.

Don't let their sacrifices be in vain. People often say they support the troops.
What are you doing to support the troops? Here is a truth to remember.

The greatest support you can give to our troops is to stand up and protect freedom here at home.

They are fighting for freedom over there. We can defend freedom here. Stand up and be counted.

Give them an America to come home to.

Member Number of posts : 6 Registration date : 2009-06-03

Well Put Lady Hawk, as usual. I have to say, I was really quite excited when I first moved here some years ago, everyone was welcoming, open, and friendly and it was a nice small town environment to live in. Then the venire started to peal away to reveal what was really there.

The only way to change it is for people to stand together, and not be bullied. Just like in that 'Bugs Life' Movie.

In the movie the few grasshoppers pushed and ordered the hundreds of ants around. In the end the ants finally realized they outnumbered the grasshoppers and got rid of them, and took control of there own.

Subject: Re: Town With A Heart? Sun Jun 28, 2009 6:08 pm

A lesson from Bugs Life, hmmmm... that actually reminds me of a bible verse: Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! - Proverbs 6:6

Bravo, and welcome to the forums eyeofthetiger. applause

Power Poster Number of posts : 721 Registration date : 2008-05-15

It really is not hard to tell that Ortonville has lost its image of compassion and willing to assist.

Numerous complaints continue to plague this city and most are directed towards the city administrator and the Mayor.

When the Mayor read Dan Oake's letter at a recent meeting it showed the inappropriateness and the one-sided nature of the Mayor. Dan Oakes was not a councilmen. What gave him the right to use the forum of a city council meeting to express his anger towards his opposition. This was the Mayor's mistake.

Then where was the mayor and the leadership or Ortonville when Artie Arndt attacked children and called this writer a cancer.

If you do not agree with this group they strong arm you and try to run you out of town. Where is the chamber? Should the Chamber sanction Mr. Arndt's vibrant tongue to run people out of town?

Frankly, there have been s small number of people in this community who have consistently attempted to "run me out of town". Perhaps it is this group we need to challenge and remove them from the leadership roles.

This is a town with a heart as long as you think like they do.

Member Number of posts : 6 Registration date : 2009-06-03

It is truly disheartening to find so many people running a town so set on their own selfish and greedy agendas. (Very apply named the 'Click Club' by Lady Hawk.)

What is worse, is the entire populations is tainted, and individual people are hurt either directly or indirectly, by the work of a few people.

People need to stop ignoring what happening in this town, stop trying to hide it and pass it over. Because people surrounding us SEE a problem.

Now true, these things have not always been easy to see, with the council working behind it's closed doors and 'shell gaming' money, meetings and documents.

But things are coming out, much of it through this website, we need to look deeper and work on fixing the problem!

The problem does not just lie within the city council, it lies within all of those who let officials take advantage of their elected government positions for any reason, be it fear, family connections, money, or whatever else.

I's time to start pushing, and making the city
council accountable for what they are doing. No one person can keep officials in line alone, that is the civic duty of the community.

And on top of that, when it comes to election time, we need to focus more on who we want VOTED IN, then on who we want out. That's what makes the biggest difference.