Township consolidation II

Open Discussion - for our Readers, Islanders, and Web Site Visitors alike. Discussion regarding any and all aspects of Beaver Island are welcome here. Also a place for general Beaver Island conversation and discussion.

Moderator: Gillespie

Ron Wojan
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:36 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Ron Wojan »

I have been reading and participating on this forum for a couple of weeks now and have made a few observations that I would like to share with the people who post and the people who read the posts. First of all I want to apologize for starting two new threads. I was having trouble getting acquainted with the Forum and I mistakenly thought I should enter. â??New subject â?? when I should have been posting a â??replyâ?￾ and staying on the main thread. I was almost immediately accused of trying to dissenimate or spread the information . A tactic to affect the outcome. So what Am I? A Russian communist trying to affect the outcome of a coming election? I assure you nothing like that ever crossed my mind. And basically accused of living in the past, as well. I assure you that is also not the case. So I was insulted and felt the need to answer that post. If you donâ??t respond then you give credence to that post and the people following the Forum wonder if thatâ??s true.
My feelings were hurt and like most people the natural reaction is to bite back. Not good. So Ladies and gentlemen, there in lies the problem with this format. Had I been sitting across a table from that person, I would have had a tendency to be more reserved in my response , but more importantly I would have had an immediate chance to explain what happened and that he or she misunderstood my intention and that i was simply a mistake. On the internet, the responses are delayed and it gives license for people to say whatever they like. The idea that I would â??piss in my cheeriosâ?￾ is not something that I should have to read on this Forum. Also, it gives the big egos and talking heads a format to hear themselves speak in order to convince everyone else how smart they are. I have found that in any group,condo association, or township, there are people like that. They think they are smarter than everyone else but truly they are not. Some people on the format take a higher road. Thank you Pam for your informative post on the recreation plan an your level headed approach to this controversial issue. â??Letâ??s hear from the township officials offering an in-depth review of budgets an how we might streamline functions and services within the framework of two townships. Perhaps they can state why consolidation is unnecessaryâ?￾. Also I respect and agree with her concerns that it is a lot more work to go to so many meetings. But most systems of government do business in two houses and unfortunately I think it is a necessary evil. There are many other other good voices trying to make sense of this all. Only to be poked at by the nasty ones. Then add people hiding behind false names and you have a recipe for disaster. Especially to our reputation as being a decent community to come to, build homes and enjoy the Island.
I have been working diligently since 1965 to try and make Beaver Island what it is today. Almost all of the people , I have built for, have become good friends. Wonderful people. When people talk about Nepotism on the internet, it hurts to the core and except for a few rare occasions, is not true. I came back to the Island in 1975 and before my feet hit the ground , I was on three boards. I never asked or wanted to be on any of the boards I served on. At that time you usually did not serve on a board unless you were here year round for obvious reasons. Communication was not what it is today. The generation before us did not, for the most part, believe in Zoning, closing the City dump, extending the airport, transfer station, larger health center, bigger boat, to mention a few. It fell on our shoulders to show them great respect for saving our community in the 1960â??s and at the same time convince them that we needed Zoning, and that we couldnâ??t keep throwing our batteries in a hole in the ground less than two miles from town. We served more to our own detriment than personal gain . I personally had to resign during my 2nd term as St. James township supervisor. Dr. Neucomb told me to get out becuse I was burning from both ends and the middle. Ed Wojan lost two years of his life putting a stock offering together to buy back our boats from a forced merger. They were about to sell our boats off Island for a profit. That really hurt Edâ??s business. Itâ??s very difficult for people running their own business to do township business. At the time we had no choice. Do it or the county or State,or someone else will do it for you. I would be much better off financially today had I not had to leave my jobs so many times to take care of township business. So, please donâ??t accuse us of Nepotism. Itâ??s not fair and really looks bad in the eyes of people that might want to come to Beaver Island. Every community has itâ??s share of problems but letâ??s not put up a poster to that effect at the boat dock in Charlevoix. For these reasons I will not continue to post on this forum and will encourage everyone I know and all the people that I have built for to not give it any credibility. With the exception of going on to deny any falsehoods leveled against this community. Our beloved community that weâ??ve fought so hard for. We canâ??t let a few people ruin it. Also, Iâ??m encouraging all of the people who are against consolidation to quit wasting their time and efforts on this Forum and letâ??s take the fight directly to the voters. Personally, I think the way this was handled, itâ??s much to do about nothing. Under these circumstance, it will fail in Peaine Township and thatâ??s the end of it. Had we had time to come up with enough reasons to consolidate, and did everything we could to assure the people of Peaine that this could be made to work for them and that they could still be properly represented, then it might have worked. We have more commen interests than not. Iâ??m a St. James boy at heart. I grew up in St? James, was supervisor in St. James, etc. I currently reside in Peaine. There are good reasons for both consolidation and good reasons for not doing it. But to stuff this down the throats of the good citizens of Peaine is not the right thing to do. It will be considered nothing more than a â??takingâ?￾. Perhaps one day we will consolidate. But it will be done in a whole different manner.
Ronald L. Wojan
meadefamily
Posts: 280
Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:35 pm

Post by meadefamily »

Ron,

I want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to write your post. You bring up many good observations about the forum and the cycle it lends itself. It certainly is easy to get caught up in the fight and forget the cause. I have been guilty of that myself.

I have always respected you and the work you do on the island. Blessings to you and your family.

Kathe Meade
Ron Wojan
Posts: 50
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 1:36 pm
Location: Beaver Island
Contact:

Post by Ron Wojan »

Kathy, Thank you for your kind words. You did the best you could with the no names. Time to get out. Theyâ??re having too much fun at our expense. Not worth our time. Iâ??m certainly not going to move to Canada if this consolidation occurs but itâ??s very unlikely that that will happen. Weâ??ve been through a lot in the last 50 years or so. Weâ??ll survive this too. Thank you for your concern and your efforts.
Ronald L. Wojan
Post Reply