What was that thing about sometimes you can’t make this stuff up.
Sure is the case with the Excited States of America political landscape.
What a week it was … and it is just the start of what is going to be a mud-slinger of a presidential campaign.
The Donald comes within a whisker of rebranding his Make America Great Again to Make Heaven Greater and his supporters claim that it shows God is pulling for Trump. His VP contender talks about childless female politicians as “cat ladies” who live miserable lives.
Prez Joe, after saying he wasn’t stepping aside, stepped aside.Suddenly, it’s Kamala vs The Donald in the main event.
If it is good vs evil, sometimes it is hard to decide who is good and who is evil. Even the cable television – Fox, CNN, MSNBC – talking heads are throwing mud at each other.
Walter Cronkite, once America’s most trusted news person, must be rolling in his grave.
Talk about a rebound.
When McFibber McGuinty was Ontario preem, he promised that the Ontario Provincial Police would be the province’s highest paid, and make them the best paid he did.
But over the years, with McFibber gone, the force took a deep dive on the police pay-o-meter, sliding to a reported 32nd place.
Last week, it was announced that a new four-year agreement put the OPP back on top. At the end of the deal (December 2026), a first-class officer will earn $123,194 a year.
You can bet that municipal police unions across the province –Cornwall included – have taken note. Arbitrators could be busy in the game of catch-up.
In a strange twist, a judge in a July 1932 case involving the brutal assault of a 22-year-old Charlottenburg farm labourer turned the tables on the victim, after finding two of his attackers guilty and “slapping” each with a $25 fine. Even gave them time to pay.
The man was attacked by four masked men who stripped off his clothes and poured hot roofing tar over his head and chest, then covered him with feathers.
After consulting with the defence and Crown attorney behind closed doors, the judge returned to the court room and announced that he had been informed of “peculiar extenuating circumstances.”
“The less the public knows about them, the better,” said the judge.
The prosecutor agreed.
The judge admonished the hapless victim, telling him that in the private meeting he learned that there was some provocation for the assault.
ALSO IN 1932: Cornwall was on the move up when it came to industrial strength. Government stats showed that the city had become the 18th biggest industrial hub in the province with Cornwall industries producing goods valued at $16 million a year, second to Ottawa in Eastern Ontario. … When penny-pinching city council only coughed up $50 to send Fire Chief George Hunter to the Fire Chief’s Association convention in Halifax (by train), the volunteer fire department passed the hat and came up with the extra $50 needed for him to make the trip. … The annual Cornwall children’s community picnic at Stonehouse Point saw 3,500 local kids chow down 6,500 sandwiches, 250 pounds of biscuits, 200 gallons of milk, 1,500 bottles of pop, 250 pounds of peanuts and 35 gallons of ice cream. Kids were transported to the picnic site seven miles east of the city by cars and trucks. … A Cornwall man who operated a still in a Summerstown home he rented was given six months in the slammer after he said he could not pay the $200 fine. Court was told that the still produced 100.3 proof alcohol that was sold in Cornwall and area. … A man convicted of receiving stolen property – chickens stolen from two area farms – was handed a two-year term in Kingston Pen. A total of 106 hens were stolen.
THIS AND THAT: No Cornwall mayor ran a more disciplined council meeting than the late Bob Kilger. A lot of his tight grip on council meetings could be traced back to his experience as a National Hockey League official and service as a deputy Speaker in the House of Commons. I once asked him if it was hard to control members of the House during raucous debates. He gave me what I called the “Kilger Stare” and said, “Are you kidding. Ever done (referee) a game in Philly between the Flyers and Bruins!”
HERE AND THERE Nobody is indispensable. However, the once daily Standard-Freeholder will deal with a huge pair of shoes to fill come October when Todd Hambleton punches his retirement ticketafter 33 years in the biz. After graduating from Carleton’s J-school, he worked at the Glengarry News before moving to the S-F sports department. … Watched a politician on television the other night complaining that having thick skin shouldn’t be a requirement for the job. Harry Truman had this piece of advice for politicians, “If you want to be loved, get a faithful dog.”
TRIVIA Cornwall’s first parking meters (along Pitt and Second streets in the downtown core) went into operation on June 3 of a)1952, b)1939, c)1956, d)1946.
TRIVIA ANSWER In 1911, garage owner Ed Warned launched Cornwall’s first motorized taxi service. The town’s first taxi service was started by Thomas Murphy in 1873 using a horse and carriage.
QUOTED Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I am not sure about the universe. – Albert Einstein
ONE FINAL THING They called him “The Cannon” for good reason. Bruno Lamarche, who learned to pitch in the Our Citizens of Tomorrow (OCOT) program, dominated the mound in the Cornwall Junior Baseball League. He was one of the hardest baseball chuckers to come out of local sandlots. He threw lightning bolts. It was said that Bruno pitched as if he had to strike out every batter he faced. “A great guy and wonderful team-mate,” said Larry Keen Jr. Bruno passed away last week at age 83. He was inducted into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame in 2002.
