Councillor calls it quits O’Shaughnessy handing in his resignation
TO THE POINT News in brief from Cornwall and the surrounding area
By Greg Kielec
gest that the home computer has a virus. The culprit obtains the victim’s credit card information for payment and has ac- cess to all information on the victim’s computer. Shortly after the fraud is com- pleted the victim’s computer is reported to malfunction. Police are also warning residents of a re- cent letter which has been distributed ad- vising that the home owner is the winner of an overseas lottery. This have been deemed a scam. Fraud complaints can be directed to Cornwall police at 613-933- 5000, ext 2758, or at www.cornwall police.com or by calling the Anti-fraud Bu- reau of Canada at 1-888-495-8501, www.anti-fraudbusters.ca. Special Olympic mall toll Local law enforcement agencies will be teaming up to host a voluntary mall toll on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Brookdale Centre in support of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. Local law enforcement personnel will be positioned at each exit of the Brookdale Centre asking for motorists to pay a vol- untary toll when leaving the parking lot. The money raised from this event will be used to support Special Olympic athletes who will be taking part in five-pin bowl- ing event being held in Cornwall on June 1 for the 2012 Spring games. Lodge plans celebrations The Glen Stor Dun Lodge is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and a series of events will be held throughout the year to mark this special occasion. Events at the Montreal Road facility in- clude: A kick-off celebration involving residents, family members, volunteers and employees on April 11th; a volunteer recognition event on April 25; a commem- orative ceremony and wine and cheese so- cial in mid-June; an art competition featuring the work of residents, families, employees, volunteers and members of Focus Art; a centennial reunion barbecue on Aug. 18 for present and past employ- ees; and a celebratory dedication in the Lodge Chapel on Oct. 25.
Lightning in Montreal Cornwall’s unbeaten junior welter- weight phenom Tony “The Lightning” Luis returns to the ring Saturday against Hungarian veteran Ferenec Szabo at the Claude-Robillard Center in Montreal. Luis, the current WBC Continental Americas Junior Welterweight champion, is a perfect 13-0 as a professional with five wins by knockout. Luis defeated Alejan- dro Barrera in one round to capture the WBC Continental title in October 2011. Tommy Douglas dinner The Stormont-Dundas-South Glen- garry Provincial NDP riding association will hold this year’s Tommy Douglas fundraiser dinner on April 27 at the Cornwall Golf and Country Club, County Rd. 2 beginning at 6 p.m. Peter Tabuns, MPP for Toronto-Dan- forth and the Ontario NDP education and energy critic, will be the guest speaker at the Tommy Douglas dinner. Tickets for the Tommy Douglas dinner are available by calling Brian Lynch at 613-933-8353 . Dive in for championship Don’t hold your breath, but the Un- derwater Hockey Canadian National Championships are being held in Corn- wall from May 25-27. More than 100 athletes from up to 13 teams from across the country are ex- pected to participate in this high-level competition, which is organized by the Canadian Underwater Games Associa- tion, in association with the Cornwall Un- derwater Hockey Club. Players of all ages will be in attendance as the National Championships are open to all players: juniors, men, women, and masters. The championships will be held at the Nav Centre, with additional games being held at the Cornwall Aquatic Centre. Police warn of scams The Cornwall Community Police Serv- ice is warning resident of a computer re- pair scam. It is reported that the culprit contact the victim by telephone and sug-
Cornwall city council will have one less member when it meets at city hall on Monday evening. Councillor Leslie O’Shaughnessy, who wrestled with quitting council over the Christmas holidays last year, has decided to tender his resignation. “In politics you must maintain objectivity. I am at the point right now where my thoughts are solely subjective and therefore probably not in the best interest of the people of Cornwall,” he said. The veteran municipal politician revealed his decision and some of the reasons behind it in an exclusive interview with The Journal on Sunday. Simply put, O’Shaughnessy said he has been “overwhelmed by issues of council” which “progressively got worse over time” to the detriment of his family and business clients beginning in December 2010. “It’s not the work load, it’s the issues that never seem to find a resolve and things that have happened to me in the last year or so and they are all issues of council,” O’Shaughnessy said somberly. “If your thoughts are dominated by what’s happened yesterday or today, it becomes very hard to look to the future.” O’Shaughnessy’s resignation caps a tumul- tuous five months publicly at city hall. It has been the centre of two high profile cases – a precedent setting whistleblower case and an Ontario human rights decision late last year – both involving city employees. And Councillor Andre Rivette called in a closed meeting investigator earlier this year after he claimed he was “blindsided” during an in camera session for an interview he con- ducted with the media in which he revealed the city has spent $1.4 million in settlements and legal fees over the past year. Since July 2011, the city has replaced Donna Derouchie, the administrator of Glen Stor Dun Lodge at the time of the abuse incident, has fired its human resources manager Robert Menagh and most recently has learned that its CAO Paul Fitzpatrick has gone on sick leave. And this is only what has been revealed publicly. There also have been numerous hours spent behind closed doors in what are called “in camera” sessions about which council members are forbidden to speak. In the end, it all proved to be too much for O’Shaughnessy. He would not go into detail about what specific issues have been burdening him and other councillors, but said he may reveal
more information in the next few months. “At this point in time, my resignation that is forthcoming is in my best interest and based on the fact of the things that are weighing on me -- issues of confidence -- I cannot see myself (continuing).” “I’ve neglected things in my personal life because my thoughts have been over- whelmed. And my concentration has not been focused on the things that should be important in everybody’s life.” O’Shaughnessy tried lessening his work load at city hall by pulling back from extra committee work like council’s budget steer- ing committee which held a number of meet- ings – many of them hours in length – during the day over the past few months, “but things did not get better.” He does not believe his decision to resign over frustration with what has happened at city hall is unprecedented. “It’s rare. I agree it’s rare. But I don’t agree it’s unheard of.” He fully understands the gravity of his res- ignation and how it may be viewed by vot- ers. “I apologize to them for not being able or willing to fulfill that commitment that I made to them and I do take that very seri- ously.” But regardless of his resignation, “at 8:30 on Monday morning the city will open for busi- ness, they will close at 4:30 and re-open the next day,” he said matter-of-factly. “You have to remember that one voice out of 11 is simply that and that voice will be re- placed.” Photo by Greg Kielec Councillor Leslie O’Shaughnessy smiles for the camera during a council meeting last week to approve the city budget. He was in a more sombre mood Sunday when told The Journal he is quitting council.
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