Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
Firefighters asking for too much
I thought our firefighters were community-oriented people. Well, they have just lost my respect. They are asking our city for about a $12,000 a year raise, plus well over a 30 per cent raise in benefits when people are starving in Brandon. They forget some people hardly make much more than that. Nothing but greed!
Two per cent will do
Well, here we go again with our greedy firefighters. A 17 per cent raise for them, combined with a 30 per cent increase in benefits, when the rest of the city employees received a two percent raise — sounds like a bunch of greedy, spoiled children. And a 34 per cent raise for their dispatchers? Come, come, you're overpaid as it is. Two per cent is more than enough.
If it is good enough for the rest
I see our firefighters are looking for a 17 per cent raise. Our city is having trouble, meeting city expenses as it is. Why should they receive more than the two per cent the rest of the city got?
And so it starts again
There has been a lot of negative media between the City of Brandon and the firefighters/paramedics of Brandon this last year or so. It seemed that perhaps some meeting in the middle was starting to take place, as the negative media had stopped. I think it’s really unfortunate that the mayor potentially set back any progress made with her recent media release. Funny how she is so closed lipped when the public is questioning her on potential wrongdoings, yet so willing to speak when she stands to benefit.
Weekend Magazine a good read
Regarding the Weekend Magazine of Oct. 27. First, congratulations to Bruce Bumstead on his excellent two-part story and photography on Grey Owl’s Cabins. It was enjoyed very much. Second, thank you to Amy Bonchuk for her perspective on the XL beef tragedy. She is right on and her recipes are good, too. Keep up the good work.
Witches welcome at my house
Re: Oct. 26 Letter to the Editor, “Witch Costumes Only Serve To Promote Negative Stereotypes.” All your letter does is make me and my family want to dress up as witches for Halloween, aside from the part where I’m not sure how a male should dress up as a witch. All being based merely on the fact that witches are not real. By 1700, many countries had banned witchcraft from their law books and people were instead accused of fraud. The last countries to take witchcraft out of the law books were Poland and Switzerland (1780s). So to this I call you a phony and recommend you get with the times. No, we are not “ignorant bigots” but normal members of society. I tried very hard to seriously consider your views but ended thinking a little too objectively on the matter. So I will apologize now to you and your “witch kin” in your cult (club) if my daughter’s pointy black hat offends you. Also deepest apologies to any Centaurs out there as my other child may be going as a horse this year and we surely don’t mean to offend you. P.S. Kids dressed up as witches will get extra candy at my place!
Can’t live on that wage alone
The article regarding substitute teachers neglected to mention one very important factor. Substitute teachers in the Brandon School Division are paid one of the lowest wages in the province of Manitoba. Many young people are unable to live on the lower pay scale. As a result, only people who already have a income tend to apply. This factor needs to be considered before the situation will improve.
Services are costly
I see the firefighters/EMS want another huge raise. All the money in the world will not take away the stress of the job, so stop taking taxpayers’ money! I heard someone was suggesting that because of call volume, the EMS is a big money maker for the city so therefore they should get paid more. I have a suggestion — crunch the numbers and find out total expenses of this service. Take away the cost of vehicles, the maintenance, the purchase and the gas to run them, take away the wages and benefits of all the employees, take away the cost of the new fire hall and the cost of keeping them both open 365 days a year and then see what kind of money is left! Still think that there will be a vault of cash left? These services cost a ton of money to implement!
French losing ground
All of the wasted tax dollars on French single-track and French immersion in the Brandon School Division — and the evidence from Stats Canada that French is losing ground in our country. Perhaps the BSD could start looking forward instead of backward in its planning.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition October 30, 2012
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Firefighters asking for too much
I thought our firefighters were community-oriented people. Well, they have just lost my respect. They are asking our city for about a $12,000 a year raise, plus well over a 30 per cent raise in benefits when people are starving in Brandon. They forget some people hardly make much more than that. Nothing but greed!
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Firefighters asking for too much
I thought our firefighters were community-oriented people. Well, they have just lost my respect. They are asking our city for about a $12,000 a year raise, plus well over a 30 per cent raise in benefits when people are starving in Brandon. They forget some people hardly make much more than that. Nothing but greed!
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