March 21: 

Was it luck or skill that decided the winners of the recent Scotch doubles tournament at the Bear River Legion?  Walking away with the trophy were Squid Kennedy and Sean Andrews, while “Hoyt” Barry Frost and Steve Cole took the money and the turkeys.  Congratulations!

March 20:

Condolences to the family and friends of Robert Foster who passed away  recently in Massachusetts, surrounded by his family.  We will certainly miss his wonderful smile and positive attitude on life: and seeing him drive through town with the top down and the wind blowing through his hair.

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At the Bear River Board of Trade Annual General Meeting on March 19th, it was revealed that the Board of Trade will no longer run the Visitor Information Center, and is looking for ways to eliminate the burden of property” guardianship”, such as the waterfront park and the Green Lantern building.  Last year they went into debt by $5800, $3700 of which went to pay legal fees for Rick Jacques and unnecessary surveyors.

According to Rick Jacques, this year they will focus on raising money to get out of debt and rethink their reason for being.

Kelly Foxton has resigned as president, and there was no one to fill the position of secretary.  All members but one are either executive or directors.

The new president is Larry Knox.

Much more will be written about this in the upcoming weeks in thebearrivertides.com.

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THE BIG MOVE

Bear River Bargains and Books is moving!  But don’t worry, Paul Volenik is not going far: just across the street to the Rebekah building, taking over the space being vacated by the Bare Canvas Gallery, which is no more.  He hopes to be settled in and ready for treasure hunters in April.

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Home Again, Home Again

The good news is that Ginny and Emily Hurlock have returned safely from their travels in Costa Rica.  The bad news is that they didn’t get to visit the baby sloth rehabilitation center.  Oh well, maybe next year.

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Another First!

A huge congratulations to Teresa Dawson who has moved up to the rank of Second Lieutenant  at the Bear River Fire Department, making history as the first woman to do so!  Well done Teresa,  and keep up the great work.

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Settling In

Sharon Norton’s mother, Miriam Cuthill is settling in at her new home at the Annapolis Royal Senior’s Residence and is receiving visitors.  Sharon and Alf are regular visitors and enjoying the Newfoundland style music that is performed in the home regularly.

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How a Community Works

An amazing turnout for the benefit for Shayla Harris on Feb. 25,  brought in approximately $1900.00 to be used towards medical expenses for the upcoming baby. That’s the real Bear River that we know and love at work!

A big pat on the back for Donna Perkins who did the organizing of it all.

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They also dig a hole in the road leading to the sewage treatment plant and place a large stick in it.

The owner, on the advice of her lawyer and the RCMP,calls 911.

Several friends of the property owner find out about what is going on and show up to support her.

The Gang from the Board of Trade are informed that the RCMP have been called. They confer with the operator of the sewage plant who is visibly upset.

The RCMP arrive.  By then, Duff Wilson, chair of the waterfront committee has also arrived to join his comrades-in-arms.

When the police arrive, the gang swarms upon him trying to explain the situation and prevent him from hearing the property owner’s complaint.

They tell him that they are merely trying to get the hole in the road fixed.

The property owner gives the short version of the Board of Trade’s history of harassment and vandalism to the constable.  He looks at the hole.  He looks at the stake that is planted twenty feet away from the hole.  He looks at another stake planted thirty feet away from the hole .  He doesn’t understand why these stakes need to be there.  Neither does anyone else but those who planted them.

Here is what we all concluded.  The Thugs of the Bear River  Board of Trade, in their attempt to fix a pothole that is not their responsibility, marked off the area that is in dispute so that  their friend with the heavy equipment can run over it  on his way to the hole.  Why did they need heavy equipment to fill a pothole???The gang told the constable that pipes needed to be moved.  UNTRUE.

The constable had a little chat with Rick Jacques, Jon Welch and Duff Wilson and told them that they had to remove the stakes and leave the property alone until it is all settled legally.  He escorted Rick Jacques over to remove the stake, and admonished him for acting as a surveyor when he isn’t one.

The constable told the property owner that the gang had pledged to him to not disturb the property and the constable suggested that even if the fence got damaged in the course of things, they should help fix it.

It remains to be seen if Rick Jacques, Duff Wilson, Jon Welch  are decent enough to honor the pledge they made about not vandalizing the property.

Here are some FACTS:  The hole in the road is not the problem of the Board of Trade, now or ever.  It is the Municipality’s problem. This was clearly explained to us by the operator of the sewage plant.

There was no pipe needing to be moved.

The pothole was filled later in the day with gravel.  There was no need for any of the stake planting and rose clipping other than to harass the property owner and plot the vandalism of her garden.

At no time did the thug team make an effort to tell the property owner what was going on, even though they knew she was available.

They lied to the constable about the nature of the job.

Last week, Rick Jacques called the RCMP to complain that the Bear River Tides had taken pictures of Kelly Foxton’s decrepit property and he called it Harassment.  The RCMP were less than interested. Since the RCMP told him we were within our rights to practice free speech, we speculate that he has been stewing for revenge. If Rick Jacques and Jon Welch want to perform acts of “goodwill” in fixing things that don’t belong to them, perhaps they should have a work day up at Kelly Foxton’s. Or maybe they should spend some time putting away the $800 grape stomping machine they left sitting in the park.

Remember.  The person ultimately responsible for this is Kelly Foxton, president of the Board of Trade, who as we recently revealed, describes herself as “…loving Mother Earth and all her children”.  We don’t think that harassing a critic of the Board of Trade and making an effort to destroy a garden while neglecting one’s own shows much in the way of love practice.

The anonymous donor is going to have to reach deep into their pockets to pay for any law suit to determine ownership of the small piece of land and the Board of Trade’s right to destroy the garden. Wouldn’t the money be better spent of repairing all the dangerous conditions of the Green Lantern so they won’t have to tear down another historic building?

Remember what Rick Jacques himself wrote:   “It’s not about ego, it’s about Community!”

In the meantime, the Board of Trade is broke, recently they moved the contents of the Tourist Bureau into the Green lantern to save the 150.00 monthly rent.  Kelly Foxton, chair of the fund-raising committee has failed dismally in that role, with no new fund-raising activity and elimination of long standing fund-raising events.

Just another Day in Bear River Nova Scotia with Rick Jacques, Jon Welch, Duff Wilson, and Kelly Foxton.

So we will start with the President Kelly Foxton.

Kelly Foxton is a great example of how some people who move here are less than honest about their past, and count on the innocent naivety of the townspeople to swallow it whole.

Remember: we don’t give a hoot about Kelly’s personal life or if she dances naked on a new moon to worship the devas of devonshire. But when her personal profile is an understanding of what can happen in the destruction of a village, then it needs to be examined.  Kelly Foxton put herself forward as someone capable of being in charge of this village.  We have a right to know who she really is….and all the others who make up the directors.

Kelly Foxton arrived in our village from Ontario three years prior to taking the reign and reins of the Bear River Board of Trade. Before asserting herself as President, she had attended three meetings of the Board over a two year period.  One of her roles, the year prior to her presidency, was as the chair of the committee for the maintenance of the waterfront park. It was a task she started off with a bang and lots of IDEAS, but within a month had fizzled out and the grounds went to weeds.

Fortunately Ginny Hurlock and Teresa Henshaw, (who were both eliminated from the Board of Trade in the Foxton Gang takeover, ) organized a garden work day with the Clementsvale garden club and they did a fantastic job.

A little background information would be in order.  Kelly Foxton  and her sons moved from a place called Hastings in Ontario where she claimed she was  the Director of Arts and Culture for the Municipality of Center Hastings. That may be the case, but a title is nothing but words. When contacted about Kelly Foxton’s  performance in this role, the former Mayor of Hastings  was, shall we say, less than complimentary in his remarks.

Kelly Foxton herself, told us that she moved to Bear River because the wife of the married man she had been involved with for many years, (and who, according to Simone Wilson,  fathered her children,)  found her presence in the community intolerable, and Stu, her lover, suggested she move some distance away.  Lucky Bear River.  Until early in 2011, Kelly insisted that the permanent residency of Stu in the village was imminent, and although he did visit a couple of times briefly, people soon stopped believing in her fantasy.

In late 2010 or early 2011, Kelly met a new man and shortly after became pregnant again at the age of 41.

What is wrong with all this….well except from it showing a disconnect from reality, here is what Kelly wrote for  a synopsis of herself in offering a course in Divine Metaphysics at the Annapolis Royal Wellness Center.

“On June 2007, Kelly and her family relocated to Bear River NS.  With the help of her husband, Traditional Grand Chief of the Mohawk Nation, she launched a healing art and gentle eco retreat program in the spring of 2008.  “

Okay, this infers that a) Stu moved here with her, and b) he was her husband.  Neither is true.

As for the healing art and eco retreat program….

Kelly Foxton moved to Nova Scotia and was able to convince EI that she should continue benefits for a year while she developed the program which she claimed would be a luxury experience for the participant, including catered gourmet meals and extravagantly furnished accommodations in her home.  Kelly launched her Spirit Getaway in 2008 with no applause from the masses, and the enterprise fizzled before it began.  Kelly Foxton’s  approach to building a business that greatly depends on promotion was to purchase a pricey cabinet for her art supplies, rather than put the money into building a really good website that would give someone a reason to sign up for the course.

Kelly Foxton is very vague and sketchy about her qualifications.  In her synopsis as mentioned above, her only qualifications are” an intensive 12 day course of study from an authorized teacher of Divine Science, which prepared her to enter into public practice as a Practitioner of Divine Metaphysics.”

Nowhere in her promotional material for the Spirit Getaways did she mention any specific training other than vaguely referring to having taught art workshops in Alberta.  In fact, her promotional materials such as they were, really told nothing about the program other than it existed and Kelly was the facilitator.

“Kelly has a background in philosophy and has worked in the field of life coach counselling  (sic) for fifteen years”

When Kelly Foxton first moved to Bear River and talked about her interest in philosophy, a get-together for some philosophical  discussions was suggested.  She quickly backed off and said that she wasn’t the philosopher in the family, that she left all that up to Stu. As for life coach counseling, well she does have two teenage boys.

We are having a hard time learning much about the Science of Divine Metaphysics.  While it was mentioned by Mary Baker Eddy, it was not a core part of her Christian Science development.  Kelly describes it as “a spiritually based, ancient system of healing” and claims that her intensive 12 day course of study “prepared her to enter into public practice as a Practitioner of Divine Metaphysics”.  The only information we can find on the world wide internet is flimsy and gives it a cult overtone.  Perhaps Kelly would be willing to enlighten us further.

Kelly Foxton goes on the say that this is a “full time healing practice”, and that she “devotes her life to the practice and creative expression of the Science of Divine Metaphysics while continuing to create art as a tribute to the beauty and wonder of the natural world, our Mother Earth and the many faces of Her children”.

It is hard to believe that a woman who describes herself in this manner would be so devoted to the idea of destroying someone else’s garden, or even behaving in such a totalitarian way as illustrated by her presidency of the B of T.  Wouldn’t someone who actually practiced these beliefs strive to develop a dialogue with people in order to resolve problems?  Again, a fine example of how, for Kelly Foxton, talk is cheap and follow through is, shall we say, flimsy.

Since Kelly Foxton’s  spirit getaway plan went bust, Kelly has had a few short-lived jobs.  Recently she had a casual job at the post office in Clementsport, which she assured us would result in her being the postmistress within the year. Another rich fantasy run amok.

Two years ago, Kelly Foxton opened a small shop on the main street that sold tourist knick-knacks, photos and art by her sons and herself. Her open hours were  erratic.  We understand that the business is closing, and she is considering moving it to her house on the outskirts of the village.

Basically, Kelly Foxton  does not do her homework when engaging in a plan.  When she and Simone Wilson held a meeting to organize the second year of the Bare Canvas co-op art gallery, they wasted everyone’s time by not being able to  provide essential  details like how much it would cost to participate and who would actually be there to run it. Needless to say, the co-op was a goner.

At the first meeting that Kelly Foxton attended of the Bear River Board of Trade, she requested that the B oT take action to have her neighbour clean up his property.  The Board of Trade has no authority to do this.  (Kelly Foxton bought the property knowing full well what the neighbor’s yard looked like. )

Here are recent photos (oct. 2011) of Kelly Foxton’s house and yard…

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Remember, this is a woman who wants to destroy a much admired garden, and is sensitive to the feelings of her neighbours.  Is this  “a tribute to the beauty and wonder of the natural world’? 

Now that Kelly Foxton is the President of the Board of Trade, maybe the Board can change the bylaws and force her to  clean up her yard.

All of these photos were taken from the road, so what  you see  is in plain sight.  What can’t be seen is the crumbling and unsafe condition of her verandah that is used as the entryway to her home.

Remember:  this is a woman who in her official role as President of the Bear River Board of Trade, referred to some members of the community as RIFF RAFF.

If someone puts themselves forward as a leader, they must be willing to undergo scrutiny.  The Kelly Foxton that we are told exists, doesn’t quite match up with the Kelly Foxton that we see to exist.

What we know to be true about Kelly Foxton proves her to be a phoney, a liar, a hypocrite and an incompetent.

The public has a right to know if people who purport to represent them are who they say they are.  Kelly Foxton is not.

The directors who go along with Kelly’s plans have the same info we do, but choose to ignore the reality version.

We will be looking at who and why in the upcoming blogs as we profile the rest of the gang.

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If the Bear River Board of Trade can’t take care of what they already have, why should they get more?  Talk is cheap. This is disgraceful.

Duff Wilson in his role as elder of the United Church was the chair of the Peace Garden Committee when the garden was being developed.  It is a classic textbook case of bad leadership and management, resulting in the current mess that the Peace Garden now is.  Duff Wilson is also the one who in  March of  2009 declared to the Bear River Board of Trade that he would be personally responsible for setting up a community events sign and that it would be in place before the end of May 2009.  We are still waiting.  With the track record of Duff Wilson, we are not confident that the waterfront will ever be anything more than it is now. And probably a whole lot less.

Just another day with Duff Wilson, in Bear River, Nova Scotia

The new green-space area next to Cherry Brook Grocery that was promised for the end of March hasn’t even been started.

The Canada Day celebrations obviously did not receive any government funding (did they miss the deadline?) and the event was cobbled together at the last minute, with the only fundraising component of a ham and potato salad dinner being canceled at the last minute.

Once again, the waterfront property is a shambles.

Since the actual bank account is kept top secret, we can only surmise that the cupboard is bare: no grants have come in and no fundraisers other than the perennial sale in May, have been held. Oh how useful the thousands of dollars for the property survey from that anonymous donor would be right now!

Kelly Foxton is the chair of the fundraising committee.

Also, Kelly Foxton is on the operations, public relations, and transportation committees.

And on top of all that, Kelly Foxton and Jon Welch have volunteered to put together a paper and website about local food and sustainable practices. Phew, we can’t wait to see it!

The problem is that there is a lot of talk at the Bear River Board of Trade, but not a whole lot being done.

Something’s got to give.  May we suggest a resignation from the presidency in order to let someone who is capable of fulfilling commitments to take over? Remember, it’s not about ego, it’s about community.

Maybe that way the Green Lantern will have the roof fixed and the ceiling won’t collapse and the lawns will get mowed properly and …well the list is endless.

Where is that anonymous donor when you really need him?

Just another day with Kelly Foxton, in Bear River, Nova Scotia

Last spring, Rick Jacques set about sprucing up the windmill for the coming tourism season.  Unfortunately at one point, after a couple of weeks work, he hit a soft spot in a beam next to the stairway, and commenced to tear out the drywall to check it out.

An emergency town meeting was called by the Board of Trade, where a slide presentation was made by Rick Jacques showing the same beam from several different angles, and the conclusion that the Windmill was completely rotten and would need to be destroyed immediately.

The consensus of the group present, and the motion made and passed, was that an engineer would be hired to do an examination and that there would be another meeting to discuss the findings.  It was moved and agreed that nothing would be done to the windmill until such time as decided by a further public discussion .

The very next day,( ignoring the motion that had been passed by the membership the evening before), Rick Jacques, Noreen Miller, Jon Welch and Erin Schopfer went into the Windmill and removed the windows, doors, plumbing fixtures and anything else of value that could be removed. When they finished, they left the Windmill completely derelict and open to any passerby that wandered past.  That night a group of village youth made it a playground.

The next day the village was in an uproar. People throughout the village  who rarely raise their voices, were calling around and urging someone to do something to save the windmill.  A meeting was organized for late in the afternoon at the site, to determine if the building could still be saved.  Three men who make their living’s as carpenters agreed that the building could definitely be saved and with not an enormous amount of effort.

Then Kelly Foxton, president of the Board of Trade, Rick Jacques, Noreen Miller,Erin Schopfer and Jon Welch showed up and heated discussions took place. It was at this point that Kelly Foxton stated publicly that it was not going to be the community that decides the fate of the Windmill, but the Bear River Board of Trade.

Shortly after the group left the premises, a group of Board of Trade directors arrived to secure the building.

the morning after the night before

side view

Before the vandalism, the windmill looked like this:

aaaah, memories!

As soon as Rick Jacques and friends finished with their display of contempt for the wishes of the Board of Trade membership, the deed was pretty much done.  An engineer came in, reported his findings at a public meeting and a few days later the demolition team arrived.

A petition had been circulated through the village in protest of the demolition and more than 500 residents signed it.  The Board of Trade obviously didn’t care.

Unfortunately the village wasn’t given all the facts to work with.  The building inspector when contacted by a local resident stated that the building could and should be saved.  No mention was made of that opinion by Rick Jacques.  At the second public meeting the engineer stated that only registered carpenters could be hired to restore the building,  This is not true.  Everything possible was done to put fear into the people who wanted to save the building, but it was evident from the beginning that the decision had been made by Rick Jacques early in May when he called for demolition quotes three weeks before the first public meeting.

Question:  What was the big rush:  why not leave the building standing and closed for a few months while exploring all options?

Question: The items removed from the windmill (doors, windows etc) were supposed to have been put up for sale but no mention is made in the Treasurer’s report of any income from these materials.  Where are they?

Rick Jacques states in the Treasurer’s report for 2010 that the  foundation of the Windmill is valued at 8,500 dollars.  Well, maybe, but only if the building that gets built, if one ever gets built, fits exactly on the foundation.

Question:  Does this mean that the B of T is planning on building another windmill?

Let’s face it, the Bear River Board of Trade threw out the Baby with the  bath water: there isn’t going to be another building on the waterfront and the destruction of the Windmill was a sad demolition of part of the village identity.

the last moments of the windmill. June 9, 2010

The old girl didn’t come down easily in spite of Rick Jacques’ dire warnings about how it was about to collapse….it took several pulls of the excavator to get her to topple.

The crowd did not cheer.

Just another day with Rick Jacques, Kelly Foxton, Flora Doehler, Jon Welch, Erin Schopfer, Jane Kingston, and Simone Wilson, in Bear River, Nova Scotia

At the time of the meeting, an appraisal of the Green Lantern Building had been done by Rick Jacques, who found the structure to be sorely in need of major repairs.  According to Rick Jacques, the rafters of the building were about to collapse any minute, causing the ceiling to come crashing down.  Rick Jacques had compiled a long list of other concerns, including a family of raccoons he claimed to be living in the basement.

After this meeting, the Board of Trade demanded that an building inspector and engineer be brought in to assess the structure and the repairs it would require.

Flash forward.  The Historical Society was taken over by a gang ofBear River Board of Trade toadies in August. (see historical society, a new beginning).  Tim Wilson, secretary of the Historical Society, announces to the media that the new team will replace rafters, install a climate control system, update displays, show films, and hold regular historically-themed events. (Oh yes, and produce a new, improved Tributary!)

Flash forward again.  In his financial report in March, Board of Trade treasurer, Rick Jacques presented the estimated value of the Green Lantern, as $19,900  (The realtor who was brought in to evaluate the premises quoted $13,000…is this yet another one of his lies?) The repairs made to the Green Lantern last year were listed as front and back deck repair and removal of debris.

No mention whatsoever was made of the imminent collapse of the ceiling or rafters. 

No building inspector or engineer was ever called in to assess the premises.

At the annual general meeting of the Bear River Historical Society in March 2011, there was no mention made of the concern of ceiling and rafter collapse, even though Rick Jacques was present.

Here is the miracle: if you wait long enough for your friends to take over, rafters apparently heal themselves.

After the meeting last May with the Historical Society, President Kelly Foxton expressed her rage to Joe Quercia for his  support of  the position of the Historical Society. Apparently in Kelly-land, no dissent of any kind is tolerated. (read Joe Quercia’s letter of resignation for details.)

The Board of Trade had no problem harassing the former Historical Society board, but appears mute when it comes to bringing up these nasty problems with the current gang of pals.  Maybe because so many of them are B of T directors and members.

Question: Could it possible be interpreted as another example of the personal vendetta conducted by the Bear River Board of Trade?

Question: Could it be that Rick Jacques was WRONG?

Unfortunately, the Bear River Board of Trade will have some repairing to do, even though the rafters are not in danger of collapse. All old buildings require a lot of effort, just like the Windmill did.  Does this infer that we can look forward to another historic building destroyed by the Bear River Board of Trade? Odds are that they won’t tell the village about it until after it has already happened.

Just another day with Rick Jacques and Kelly Foxton in Bear River, Nova Scotia.

The members of the Bear River  Board of Trade.

Better round up that flock and get them busy.

Last year a big deal was made about one director who was unwilling to chair a committee. (see the Rick Jacques page). There seem to be at least six directors without chairs: Rob Buckland Nicks, Pete Tomlin, Don Rice, Jane Kingston,Duff Wilson. Maybe one of them should roll up their sleeves and take on the fundraising chair.  Good luck!

One more Rick Jacques fantasy asset;

grist for the mill?

Okay, we all bemoan the cost of concrete but two circles of cement for $600.00.????  We’d like to meet the buyer.

A humorous note:  President Kelly Foxton actually thought these were real grist mill stones.  It took some convincing to get her to admit they were fakes.

Just another day with shepardess Kelly Foxton and her flock in Bear River, Nova Scotia

That’s the sound of the members of the Bear River Board of Trade when it comes to following the edicts of president Kelly Foxton and her toadies. They have learned what happens to people who disagree, and they don’t want the same treatment!

But what about the danger of gang mentality?

The current Board of Trade would provide an army of sociologist grad students decades worth of study.  Here is a prime example of how individuals who are not capable of behaving badly on their own can be motivated by hatred if given direction in a gang. Like Gang Rape. And then there’s a need to actually appear that you have friends, even if most of those people would have nothing to do with each other in different circumstances.

The Bear River Board of Trade knows that Rick Jacques is acting illegally by claiming to be a surveyor.  They know that they are acting illegally  by engaging him to do the “surveying”.

Here is an example of how accurate Rick Jacques’ surveying is:

When the owners of the property the  makeshift picnic area behind the Flight of Fancy complained about it being on their land without permission; Rick Jacques excused himself by saying he thought it was Legion property. Duh.  He had surveyed the property himself in the spring….how could he not know who it belongs to?  One more time….Rick Jacques is not a surveyor, and it is illegal to pose as a surveyor if you aren’t one.

Question:Which part of his behaviour is more reprehensible?

Rick Jacques vandalized and trespassed on property belonging to another business owner and all the members and directors of the B of T have to say about it is “go boy go!”

Rick Jacques steals property belonging to the Historical Society and the B of T paints the executive of the HS as the villains for protesting.

Rick Jacques and Jon Welch deliver treated lumber to a party house for a bonfire after pledging that the lumber would be disposed of in a proper manner.  When two members of the Board of Trade protest about  this unethical behaviour, The President, Kelly Foxton, chastises them for not following procedure but says nothing about the problem of the actual incident.  Rick Jacques and Jon Welch lied to the board in a general meeting about there not being any treated lumber, but when photos were presented, they changed their story, and admitted there may have been some. (they didn’t even bother to look at the photos because they knew all along the lumber was treated)

Did the other members and executive protest about Rick Jacques‘ blatant lie?  No.  Rather, they singled out the two members who had the courage to bring the issue forward and eventually expelled them for causing problems.

In a recent court appearance for a peace Bond against Rick Jacques, the following members of the Bear River Board of Trade showed up to give support….

Kelly Foxton, President, Larry Knox, Vice President, Flora Doehler, Secretary, Simone Wilson, Tim Wilson, Don Rice, Erin Shopfler, Jon Welch, Duff Wilson, Sandy Burrell, Jenny Stewart, Amy Rubin Fleet, Carol Dibble, Pete Tomlin, Pat Woods, Rob Buckland Nicks, Jane Kingston.

The waves of hatred emanating from them as they dressed in their wolves’ clothing were thick enough to cut with a knife.

Here is the email that President Kelly Foxton sent the previous evening:

Of course, President Kelly Foxton was at the helm.

The tone of the meeting was one of complete smugness of their activities and the self congratulatory tone was thick. They laid claim to accomplishments that didn’t exist or were not the results of their efforts….like the fact that the County of Annapolis has finally taken it upon themselves to consider a transportation link to the village, and in doing, invited reps from the B of T to sit in on a meeting.

Question: Had the B of T at any time lobbied or pushed the County into taking action?  Not according to any of their minutes.

Another Lie:

It was announced that the waterfront committee had consulted with the  adjoining property owners of the  B of T waterfront property regarding the development of the waterfront.  Not so. Maybe Rob Buckland Nicks, director of the B o T, was consulted, although his property does not adjoin the B of T land. They claimed the Legion was consulted, but the person who was there representing the Legion pointed out quite vigorously that this was not the case. The only consultation the owners of Inn out of the Fog, (the largest adjoining landowner) had was the trespassing and vandalization of their property.

Question: So what adjoining property owners were actually consulted?

Yet Another lie:

Rick Jacques stated that he knew where the boundary lines are for the waterfront property because the B of T had a title search done. A title search does not prove the boundaries.  Only a REGISTERED practicing surveyor can determine boundary lines.

Question: Is the Board of Trade willing to spend the thousands of dollars required to hire a surveyor in order to further harass the adjoining property owners?

Smoke and Mirrors:

As part of the self congratulatory process, President Kelly Foxton spoke about how well the Bear River Board of Trade now gets along with the Bear River Historical Society.  The only time the B of T did not get along with the Historical Society was between May and August of 2010, when the Board of Trade took on a personal crusade against members of the Historical Society executive which continues to this day even though they resigned as a result of the harassment in August..  As noted in the post: Rewriting of History,  three quarters of those present at the Historical Society AGM (two days later) were directors or members of the Board of Trade. No wonder they get along so well.

*(also added to the Historical Society, a new direction)

Attendance at the meeting  by members of the community was abysmally nonexistent.

Financial Report

The Rick Jacques’ treasurer’s and financial report was the highlight of the evening and over the next few postings we will engage in examining the details of this document and pointing out the errors and omissions and question the legitimacy of documents he presented. Bear with us: there is so much to work with and so many “falsehoods” to expose. The directors and members not only did not question any part of the financial statement (which shows the B of T to be in great financial need), not only did they eat it all up, they swallowed it whole.  And it didn’t even seem to stick in their throats!

Stay tuned to find out how big their gullets are.

The main business of the meeting was not water, or the waterfront park or the waterfront project, of which no mention was made whatsoever.  No, the focus of the directors and members was how to proceed with the harassment of  business owners who are vocal critics of the organization.  Duff Wilson expressed concern that an illegitimate document hadn’t been served to these businesspeople and how that could best be resolved.  Duff Wilson was also adamant that a committee be formed to once again examine the sale of the mill property, furthering the harassment of that business owner.

One more time: The sale of the mill property was completely legitimate and legal. Nothing can or should be done to further flog the already dead horse. Why not just celebrate the fact that a business that benefits the community is now growing on what otherwise would have remained a wasted asset?

Question:  Could it possibly be a personal vendetta?

Nearing the end of the meeting, president Kelly Foxton declared that the Bear River  Board of Trade was in serious need of fundraising.  Were any fundraising ideas discussed or activated?  NO.  Was a chair of the fundraising committee finally appointed?  No. Looks like money isn’t really an object afterall.

The “new” Executive and Board of Directors is as follows:

KELLY FOXTON, PRESIDENT,    LARRY KNOX, VICE PRESIDENT,

FLORA DOEHLER, SECRETARY,       RICK JACQUES, TREASURER.

DIRECTORS:

NOREEN MILLER, DON RICE, PETE TOMLIN, ROB BUCKLAND NICKS, JANE KINGSTON, SIMONE WILSON, DUFF WILSON, JON WELCH.

As promised previously in this post, we will be examining the questionable documentation presented by the treasurer, Rick Jacques, and the assessed values assigned to the various items.  But here is one to whet your whistle;

That’s right! According to Rick Jacques, these tires (which most people would consider either an eyesore or a joke,) are worth 50 bucks.  So here is an idea. The Bear River Board of Trade, which desperately needs money, can gather up used tires and bits of rope for nothing and  sell them as swings for 25 bucks apiece. Since this is obviously an easy way to enhance the value of your property, they will be snapped up and a new waterfront walkway will be built in no time.  Or if you are in need of beefing up your own assets without spending a dime, just gather some old tires on your own and string them up….this will obviously enhance your property and its value substantially….the more old tires you have, the more you are worth!  And talk about saving the planet!  it could become a movement.

Just another day with Kelly Foxton, Rick Jacques, Flora Doehler, Jon Welch, Simone Wilson, Duff Wilson, Don Rice, Pete Tomlin, Jane Kingston, Larry Knox and Rob Buckland Nicks in Bear River, Nova Scotia

And guess what…people are angry, and who can blame them? In addition to the distribution of buttons, we also passed out copies of the meeting minutes so everyone can see for themselves the actual insult to the people of the community. (Everyone really liked the part about  sipping the earl grey tea.)

But the upside is that the Directors of the Bear River Board of Trade have exposed themselves to the residents of Bear River as the small people they really are.  Since they never apologize for any of their misdeeds, we don’t expect one this time.  Besides, we all know how sincere it wouldn’t be.

Aside from showing how small they are regarding Riff Raff, the Directors have also shown themselves to be incredibly stupid by putting their bigotry in the minutes and really obtuse by thinking that no one would be offended.

We wonder why none of the Bear River Board of Trade members wanted a Riff Raff button to wear.

And now we know:  Kelly Foxton, beloved president of the Board of Trade, has created a “Riff Raff Pride ” tee shirt.  Oh my!

First you insult a segment of the Bear River population, then, when you get called on it, you make an effort to capitalize on the situation. It takes the meaning of  “pathetic” to a whole new level.  Instead of apologizing for their rude and boorish behavior, the Bear River Board of Trade thinks they should be rewarded.

Is anyone out there  surprised?

Just another day with the upper crust in Bear River, Nova Scotia

Who do these people think they are?

Of course once they’ve read this posting, the riff raff remark will probably be removed, because it has already been shown that the Board of Trade is willing and ready to alter meeting minutes . (see: caught with their pants down)  However, we have taken the precaution of having several residents email us verification of the wording of the minutes and have saved the pdf file, so we can prove that we really aren’t making this stuff up.

Who would have that kind of imagination?

Let’s examine the term riff raff.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as: “rabble, disreputable or undesirable persons”.  So, the Directors of the  Bear River Board of Trade, an organization that claims to represent the village of Bear River, Nova Scotia, sit down in a council meeting and collectively refer to some residents of the village as riff raff and discuss how to keep them out of the public park. (while munching on sticky chocolate cupcakes and sipping earl grey tea as it is also noted in the minutes.)  And in the minutes following this meeting, at no time was there any mention of any member of the Bear River Board of Trade finding offense at the description of members of the community as riff raff. Therefore we can draw the conclusions that the Directors of the Bear River Board of Trade are elitist bigots and that the members of the Bear River Board of Trade are sheep.

Who do the Directors mean by the riff raff?  We have already seen that anyone who disagrees with their agenda is persona non grata, and will be harassed and slandered, even vandalized.  Now we see that their contempt spreads far wider. Perhaps by the term riff raff, they mean people who don’t dress as well as they do, or speak with such big words, or just are not capable of being artists. Maybe they refer to people who are actually from Bear River, instead of moving here from  some big city in another province. Or are they the bored youth that Tim Wilson spoke so eloquently about in his latest Tributary editorial as needing a place to go?

The important thing is that the Bear River Board of Trade Directors need to make it clear about whom they refer to as riff raff, so that we can help them in their effort to eliminate them from the public places of Bear River.

Defining the Riff Raff:

Let’s examine the behavior of Bear River Board of Trade directors whose track record of disreputable conduct has been chronicled in these postings. Yes, the same directors who publicly pass judgment on their fellow man.    Let’s review this record based on the CODE OF CONDUCT drafted by the supreme leader and President, Kelly Foxton. Remember, the criteria for the Code of Conduct is moral, legal, prudent, and responsible.

(see CODE of CONDUCT post for full details.)

Since February of 2010, the Directors of the  Bear River Board of Trade:

Announced that the business would be conducted by the Directors and not the membership as it has been done for the past 100 plus years.

____moral,  ____legal, _____prudent_____responsible, __x___none of the above

Knowingly burnt treated lumber removed from the waterfront boardwalk, and then publicly lied about it to cover up their wrongful behavior.

___moral   ____legal   ___prudent _____responsible

__x__ none of the above.

Bullied individual directors in general meetings because they have disagreed with the “leadership”.

____moral,  __x__ legal,__ prudent,  __responsible

Written and mass-mailed harassing emails against other directors .

____moral,  __x__legal ___prudent ,_____responsible

Refused to discuss problems with members of the B of T in person in a rational way in order to reach resolution.

___moral, __x_legal, ___prudent, ____responsible

Paid the president, Kelly Foxton, for items that had not been approved for reimbursement by the membership.

___moral, ____legal, ____prudent, _____responsible,

_x__none of the above

Spread slander about other directors of the organization who disagreed with them, including anonymous comments on the official web site.

___moral,  ___Legal, ____prudent, ______responsible__x__none of the above

Destroyed the windmill without a motion or vote by members of the Board of Trade, and without any input from the Community.

____moral,  _____legal,  ____prudent, ____responsible__x_none of the above

Ignored motions that had been passed in the previous year by the membership in order to promote their own agenda.

_____moral,  _____legal, ____responsible,____ prudent, __x___none of the above

Recruited a non- qualified (illegal) surveyor to survey the properties of the organization, and trespass on private property.

____moral, ____legal, ____prudent, ____responsible, _X__none of the above

Stole property from another  organization, lied about it and then vilified the complainants.

____moral, _____ legal, ___prudent____responsible, _x__none of the above

Gave their word to other organizations and then broke it.

___moral, ____legal, ___prudent, _____responsible__x__none of the above.

Expelled members who disagreed with the wrongful actions pf the Board, by using trumped up charges and hearsay. There is no provision in the bylaws to remove a member.

____moral,  ____legal, ____prudent, ____responsible,__x__none of the above

Locked the Historical Society’s  summer student in the museum  so that he had to kick down the door to get out, and then changed the  locks with absolutely no authority to do so.

____moral,  _____legal, ______prudent, ______responsible, ____x___none of the above

Planned to use private lands for trail development, lied about the ownership of the lands, and when proven to be wrong, lied about the plans.

____moral, ____legal, ____prudent____responsible_X___none of the above

Allowed the waterfront park to fall into a state of extreme ugliness during the height of the tourist season.

___moral, _x__legal, _____prudent,_____responsible

Changed the approved minutes of meetings to cover-up mistakes and lies

____moral, ____legal, _____prudent. ____responsible, _x__none of the above

Sold liquor without a license.

____moral, ____legal, _____prudent, _____responsible, _x___none of the above.

Paid directors of the B of T for “water usage” for the farmer’s market

____moral, _x__legal, _____prudent____responsible

Well, you get the picture.  Stay tuned for more transgressions by the Directors and members of the Board of Trade.  In the meantime, we think with the evidence presented, they can definitely be referred to as disreputable and undesirable persons….or in their terminology, “riff raff”.

Let’s look at it from another direction:  are the Directors using the term riff raff for  those who are unemployed?  on social assistance? sell drugs? steal things? vandalize?   Couldn’t be that, since those descriptions apply to some of the Directors themselves.  Which leads us back to the determination that it is elitist bigotry…what hypocrites

Perhaps the solution to keeping riff raff out of the public spaces in Bear River would be to have everyone in town take an oath of allegiance to the Code of Conduct of the Board of Trade so we can all be the upstanding citizens that the Directors who sit in judgment of the unwashed masses claim to be.  Riff Raff indeed…..shame on them!

Until the Board of Trade is able to work out the problems with identifying and “reducing” the riff raff, we have a solution.

Yes, a very limited number of Bear River Riff Raff Buttons are now available, so that you too can identify yourself as RIFF RAFF.  Or if you aren’t RIFF RAFF, you just take a permanent marker and cross that diagonal line through it.  Although it’s a lot more fun to be RIFF RAFF!   Want a button before they are all gone?  Call 467-0219 to claim yours today! or email us here  at thebearrivertides@gmail.com

The cost for this very desirable and soon to be collector’s item?  Just one dollar. Let’s make sure we all have our id badges just like the Nazi’s had their star of Davids’ for the Jews….so those offended  by Riff Raff can readily identify us and shoo us out of public view when the tourists arrive.

Never a dull moment under the leadership of Kelly Foxton!

Just another day with the cogniscenti in Bear River, Nova Scotia

Here it is, as presented by Kelly Foxton earlier this year….

The Bear River Board of Trade Council Member Agreement

I, __________________understand that as a Council member of the Bear River Board of Trade, I have a legal and moral responsibility to be sure that the Board of Trade does the best work possible when working towards its goals.  I believe in the  purpose and mission of the Bear River Board of Trade and I will act in a prudent and responsible way as its Director.

As part of my responsibilities as a Council Member:

1/ I will explain the work and mission of The BR B of T in the community.  I will support the B of T and speak positively about it.

2/ I will endeavor to attend at least 75% of the Council meetings, general meetings, committee meetings and special events.

3/I will make a personal contribution to the B of T by contributing my time.

4/I will be active in the work of the B of T.

5/I will act in the best interests of the B of T and I will excuse myself from discussions and votes where I have a conflict of interest.

6/I will stay informed about what is going on in the B of T.  I will ask questions and request information.  I will participate in council meetings.  I will participate in making decisions and I will be responsible for those decisions.

7/ I will work in good faith with any staff and other council members as equal partners in working towards our goals.

The B.R. B of T will be responsible to me in several ways:

1/I will be given regular financial reports and other updates of the B of T activities so I can make careful and wise decisions.

2/I will have opportunities to discuss with the B of T president and Committee chairs of the Board’s programs, goals, activities and other work.  I can ask for these opportunities as well.

3/The B of T will help me do my job by keeping me informed about important issues and opportunities for professional development as a Board member.

4/ If I have questions, the President, other Council members and any staff members will respond in a direct and straightforward way so that I can carry out my fiscal, legal and moral responsibilities to the B of T.

5/Council members and staff will work in good faith with one another so we can achieve the goals of the BR B of T  .

Question: Since president Kelly Foxton has chosen to no longer uphold  bylaw 17 regarding formal complaints of which she was once so  fond, who will make the decisions regarding moral and legal responsibilities? Will it be trial by water or fire?

Question: How can the current directors who have shown they have no ability to uphold moral and legal responsibilities be capable of making decisions regarding the behaviour of others?

We all look forward to seeing the Code of Conduct for the membership as drafted by Don Rice and Pete Tomlin.  Maybe the next task will be to work out a secret handshake or appropriate salute to the leader!

Just another day with Kelly Foxton and toadies in Bear River, Nova Scotia

THIS IS TURNING INTO QUITE THE SPECTATOR SPORT.

QUESTION; Was the lawyer for Rick Jacques hired by Rick Jacques or by the Board of Trade.  If it is the B of T, it is certainly nice to know that they have that kind of extra money in the bank and can afford to pay legal fees for one of its executive.

Keep in mind that it is not the B of T that is the defendant but Rick Jacques personally.

The Board of Trade continues to assert that they have rights to some of the property of Z. Onysko, but have no proof of this allegation.  See the Rick Jacques page for background information about this matter.

Updates will be forthcoming as the case proceeds.  For more information check out the Rick Jacques page or the post: More Bullying and Thuggery.

Just another day with Rick Jacques and his fan club in Bear River, Nova Scotia

Rick is hoping to work on the Cherry Brook Trail in early November. Carol suggests involving CARP.

Since the minutes were sent in November, they were obviously approved in the October general meeting.  However, recently the September General Meeting Minutes were posted on the B of T website with this entry:

Rick is hoping to work on the Cherry Brook trail in early November. (Firehall to Sissiboo Rd) Carol suggests involving CARP.

Since the first set of minutes caused great concern to the property owners of the originally developed trail, and Rick Jacques‘ adamant claim that those lands were public property (see the Rick Jacques page) it is interesting to see how the Bear River Board of Trade is willing to falsify minutes in order to backpedal on their position. Rick Jacques made no pretense of not intending to develop the original trail, that is until it was shown to be the bad decision that it originally was.

Question: Why is it so hard for the members of the Bear River B of T to actually admit that they may have been wrong about something instead of having to try to cover it up?

WOULD ADMISSION TO ALL OF THEIR ERRORS JUST TAKE UP TOO MUCH TIME?

This executive of the Board of Trade has demonstrated that they are willing to go to any lengths to avoid responsibility: from the destruction of the windmill to the illegal expulsion of members, to the falsification of meeting minutes. There seems to be no effort for truth or transparency. The amazing thing is that the directors and members are so willing to go along with it all.

The BR Board of Trade executive: Kelly Foxton, Pesident, Erin Schopfer, secretary (at the time these minutes were  taken and changed), Rick Jacques, Treasurer, Larry Knox, vice-president.

Website postings by Flora Doehler and Erin Schopfer

“What a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”

Sir Walter Scott

Just another day with corruption in Bear River, Nova Scotia

We have several concerns about this:

First, Kelly Foxton is not the Treasurer, Rick Jacques is the Treasurer and he was present at the meeting. The Treasurer is supposed to be the person who presents the Treasurer’s report, not the President

Second, as per a motion passed by the membership in 2009, that there shall be a treasurers report provided at every general meeting. The treasurer’s report is supposed to include the following information: Accounts receivable of the past month, Accounts Payable of the past month, and current cash assets in the bank.

Simply stating that “all bills are being paid for in a timely manner” does not qualify as a treasurer’s report, especially when presented by the President when the Treasurer is in fact present at the meeting.

Third, this leaves the BOT open to valid criticism that they are hiding something, especially since they seem reluctant to disclose what it is they are spending money for and how much money is in the bank.

Finally, we need to wonder what the various NGO, municipal, provincial, and federal agencies will think about all of this when the BOT goes to them seeking financial assistance.

Sooner or later somebody besides The Bear River Tides is going to ask the BOT these hard questions, and we’ll make sure that those questions are asked.

Just another day of subterfuge in Bear River, Nova Scotia

It seems that Jon Welch, a director of the Board of Trade, believes that organization  to have a deed proving their ownership of lands belonging to Z.Onysko.  Since those lands were migrated to the name of Z. Onysko as recently as 2006, the reality is that any other deed that the Board of Trade may claim to have is a useless piece of paper.

According to Bob Benson, former president of the Board of Trade, from 2004 to 2010, at no time did the Board of Trade own that property.

Question: If the Board of Trade owns that property, when did they acquire it?

Question: If the Board of Trade owns that property, why have they not legally made claim of the property by informing Z. Onysko that it does not belong to her.

Question: If the Board of Trade thinks they own the property, is it based on Rick Jacques illegal surveying.?

Question:  Who was the lawyer who migrated the property to the Board of Trade and when was he/she consulted?

Question: Has anyone on the Board of Trade, including Kelly Foxton, president, actually questioned the legitimacy of Rick Jacques’ claim of the B of T’s property ownership?

Question: If the B of T owns that land, why was it not included in the financial statement of assets that Rick Jacques prepared in July of 2010.  That financial statement does lay claim to other properties that the Board of Trade sold in the past, but there is no mention of the property belonging to Z. Onysko.

Funny how that got overlooked.

THE STUPIDITY OF THE PEOPLE RUNNING THE BOARD OF TRADE SEEMS TO HAVE NO LIMIT.

The Directors and Executive of the Board of Trade have been served notice that the following persons will be served with trespassing notices should they enter upon the lands of Z. Onysko, which includes the parking area in front of the waterfront park. This follows sections 3 and 4 of the protection of property act, of the Province of Nova Scotia, and offenders are liable for fines up to $500.00 for each incident.

Kelly Foxton, president, Rick Jacques, treasurer, Sandy Burrell, acting secretary, Larry Knox, vice president and directors: Flora Doehler, Jane Kingston, Don Rice, Noreen Miller, Peter Tomlin, Simone Wilson, Rob Buckland-Nicks, Jon Welch, Erin Schopfer, Duff Wilson.

Remember: according to the regulations of the N.S. surveyors Association, anyone posing as a surveyor is acting illegally, and any organization supporting the actions of the fake surveyor is also acting illegally.  (see posting:  no boundaries, also the Rick Jacques page)

Sometime between the evening of Dec. 13 (the day of the court appearance) and the early afternoon of Dec. 15, further acts of vandalism occurred on the property of the plaintiff, Z.Onysko.  A survey stake was also driven into the property with the words, “prop. BoT” and the bushes around the stake were cut down.

Question: Is it a mere coincidence that further vandalism took place immediately  following the  Rick Jacques court date, and that a survey stake for the Bear River Board of Trade was found at the scene? Are there other phony surveyors running amok in the village?

A  $1000.00 reward is being offered to anyone with any information regarding this incident, that can be used in the conviction of the guilty party. email thebearrivertides@gmail.com

Just another day with Rick Jacques in Bear River, Nova Scotia

In the minutes of the September general meeting of the Bear River Board of Trade,(the one with Kelly Foxton assuring that the bills will be paid as they arrive substituting for a  proper treasurer’s report) Rick Jacques boasted that he would begin work on the Cherry Brook Trail in November.

Was there discussion?  Did anyone ask him why he thought he had the right to work on the Cherry Brook Trail?  It certainly wasn’t reflected in the minutes that this is the case.

When the property owners found out that Rick Jacques was planning on developing a trail through their private lands, one went to him for an explanation.  He told the owner that the land did not belong to them, that because Katimavik had put a trail in that area in the 80′s, the land was now public land.

Gee, not only is Rick Jacques a surveyor, but now he’s a legal expert.

Background:  In 1984, the Katimavik group at that time did work very hard in putting in a lovely walking trail along the cherry brook where the old road to Digby once ran.  The Bear River Board of Trade who sponsored the group went to all the property owners and had them sign a release for use of the property, but those releases were never registered or land transferred in anyway.  It was a consent form only.  Shortly after the trail was finished and the group left town, the trail was destroyed by vandals and atv’s.

Flash forward to the present.  All of the properties that the trail once ran through, now belong to different people.  None of these people have signed consent forms and when they purchased the properties, there was no “right of way” to the public where the trail was once built.

Question:So where does Rick Jacques get the idea that the property is public land?

Question: How many lies does Rick Jacques have to tell before his buddies on the Bear River Board of Trade wise up to him?  Are they really that dumb?

Fortunately, the landowners have gotten together to act in coalition in preventing the Bear River Board of Trade to develop their land.

Just another day with Rick Jacques in Bear River, Nova Scotia

Here is what they had to celebrate:
(Under the stellar leadership of president Kelly Foxton)

Completely dropping the ball on the transportation grant, and failure of the transportation committee to even meet to discuss one of the issues identified as very important to Bear River .

The illegal burning of treated lumber from the boardwalk demolition.

Printing slanderous remarks about members on the official B of T website comment section.

The resignation of two executive members and four directors in less than 4 months.

The destruction of the windmill, without a motion or vote, in any director’s meeting or general meeting of members.

The theft of an object belonging to the Bear River Historical Society.

The illegal expulsion of two members based on hearsay and slander and with no opportunity for the members to respond.

Using private property without the owner’s permission.

Selling wine at a public event without a license and alienating  a local wine producer.

Not producing the promised Bear River brochure.

Not producing the promised Bear River calender that they had so many people in town take time to contribute to.

Supporting illegal land surveying and property damage by Rick Jacques, and in the process, acting illegally according to the N.S. Land Surveyor’s act section 22.

Spreading slanderous rumours about the criticising members of the community.

Ignoring motions passed by members in the past, in order to further the agenda of individuals serving as committee chairs.

Not producing the treasurer’s report in meetings as required by a vote of membership in 2009. Members are told that the bills are being paid and that seems to satisfy them.

Allowing the waterfront park to turn into a “disaster” area for the entire month of July and part of August.

Phew….there’s more, but you get the point.  Remember, it’s not about ego, it’s about the community!

Just another day with Kelly Foxton and friends in Bear River, N.S.

On October 29, Rick Jacques once again dressed up in his surveyor outfit  and with his son, trespassed on private property without first meeting with the property owner, placing stakes and spray painting with orange paint.  When asked to leave, they refused; Rick Jacques’ son then turned to the property owner and claimed “this isn’t your f**king property”.

Subsequent to their departure, the property owner pulled up the stakes, two of which were marked “BOT property line”.

Following up on this incident of trespass, the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors wrote to the landowner: “Mr. Jacques is not a member of the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors so does not hold a license to carry out boundary surveying on Canada Lands.”

The landowner also wrote to the Association of Nova Scotia Land Surveyors (ANSLS), who stated: “By your comments it would appear that Mr. Jacques is in violation of Nova Scotia legislation.”

The legislation referred to is the Nova Scotia Land Surveyors Act.

The representative of the  ANSLA further stated:  ”The Nova Scotia Land Surveyors Act established the Association of Nova Scotia Land Surveyors as a self-governing entity with the main object being the protection of the public.  Section 22 of the Act deals with offenses and any non-member practicing land surveying as defined by the Act would be in violation of section 22.”

Section 22 of the Nova Scotia Land Surveyors Act reads as follows:

(1) Every person, other than a member of the Association, who (article c) engages in the practice of professional land surveying, is guilty of an offense.

(3) Subject to subsection (9) of Section 18, where a partnership, association of persons or corporation that has no subsisting certificate of authorization (c) advertises, holds itself out or conducts itself in any way or in such manner as to lead to the belief that it is entitled to practice professional land surveying, every member of the partnership, every member of the association of persons, or the corporation and every director thereof is guilty of an offense.

Long story made short: Rick Jacques passed himself off as a Land surveyor at the behest of the BOT who fully supported his actions of land surveying in the Spring of 2010, and by default, while he was laying out BOT property line markers on an adjacent landowner’s property. And so according to Section 22 both Rick Jacques and the BOT are guilty of an offense.

On Nov. 11, when questioned by the RCMP, Rick Jacques admitted that he was conducting a boundary survey and that he was not a qualified surveyor.

Question: If the Bear River Board of Trade allows Rick Jacques to represent them as a “surveyor” are they complicit in the act of fraud that Rick Jacques is performing?

Question: Is Rick Jacques conducting these “illegal” surveys under the direction and auspices of the Bear River Board of Trade?  Or is he merely acting as a rogue maverick.

Question: What does it say about the Leadership of the Bear River Board of Trade under president Kelly Foxton, when members of the executive are allowed to conduct illegal activities in the name of the Bear RiverBoard of Trade, but members who have the nerve to criticize the activities of the Board of Trade are illegally expelled?

Question: If the boundary markings were 99 % complete in the spring, what was Rick Jacques doing surveying again in late October?  Was it coincidental that it happened the day after this blog identified Rick Jacques as the tug of war organizer?

It appears that Rick Jacques’ behaviour knows no boundaries, and neither does the “leadership” of the Bear River Board of Trade.

This post is quite important as a background for Rick Jacques information that will be revealed this coming week.

And you thought Halloween was scary!

- Original Message —–
From: Rick Jacques
To: Kelly Foxton ; 8888@tartannet.ns.ca
Cc: Flora Doehler ; Erin Schopfer ; Jon Welch ; Bob Benson ; teresa henshaw ; Simone Wilson ; Jen and Joe Quercia ; Ginny Hurlock
Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 5:33 PM
Subject: Re: Concerns

I don’t know if I qualify for a section 17 or not!
I believe I may be ready for a section 8 (M.A.S.H. reference for you younger folks)

The board of trade meeting I was at was slightly different, and did not involve prides of lions running down young gazelles in a bloodbath, might have been the discovery channel you were watching

Let this e-mail serve as my formal written request under section 17 to examine the perceived problems surrounding The President asking Teresa to assist the Board of Trade of which she is a director.

1    Should the President be allowed to ask Teresa to assist the board of trade with the day to day runnings of the organization, the same as she might ask other individuals at the same meeting where she is asking other individuals or under section 17 as noted by ZOE does the President first have to have a written submission made to the board, through the secretary that calls for the board of directors to thoroughly examine the pros and cons of such a request, does the board have to examine whether or not there are special circumstances that would place someone above being asked to assist and what if any past performance criteria would by its very nature preclude someone from being a willing participant in the duties they were elected to complete.

2    Does the calling of a timeout preclude work from being done, does play cease,  who can call a timeout and how many of them are there per game.

3    When a person is declaring a sabbatical, do they need to legitimize it, I believe not, simply take a sabbatical, whether earned or not, the conflicting interest to be examined is as stated, can we all take one and when do we tell folks that is our plan?

4    Consider the common sabbatical taken by university professors, do they apply for the job at the university, walk into class each day, say I am not teaching any students today, I am on a sabbatical, would that actually work or would you be on the short list for a more permanent vacation?

5    Elected officials take sabbaticals, can you run for office, get elected then sit in the house of commons and openly say I am not doing my job or talking to my constituents, I am on a sabbatical?

6    Teresa asked the question I attend the meetings, isn’t that enough? we should examine this question, we should also speak clearly to our policy on what is owed to past members for their services rendered. My personal thinking seems to be in direct conflict to some statements made at the meeting, I do not think the board of trade owes its directors anything except respect and thanks for their work, if your question is what does the board of trade owe me? you are on the wrong side of the table, the board of trade owes its members and the community it serves, not the other way around. If anyone feels they are giving till it hurts, their personal life or marriage are suffering, their kids are receiving less quality time or they are in danger of burning out, STOP  you are no good if you are burnt out!

7    After examining such words as owed to me, I suggest we take a look at the sense of entitlement, perceived elevation of status and the entire concept of declaring that you may sit on the board after stating on the public record that you will not be doing anything mandated by the people that elected you, that is right elected you, let’s take a real close look at whether the criteria for election is a popularity contest, charm or good looks, because I am quite sure I was not elected on any of these, I was elected to get a job done. (ed. note: Rick was not elected; he was appointed as were all the directors as there were not enough candidates for an election)

8    Lets examine arrogance, the type of arrogance that makes one think that they are irreplaceable on a board of trade, that if I leave the world will not be as good of a place and maybe even the abstract concept that if I leave maybe more folks will come because I am not all that, Shame. Follow this one up by taking a close look at why one believes they know the many and varied reasons why people don’t serve on our board and why they have left, make sure you never include yourself in a list of possible explanations.

9    The meeting in question had at least five occasions where specific people were asked if they would assist, it also had several occasions where folks said both yes and no, the president did not single out Teresa or elevate the situation, Teresa set herself above the pack on this one by declaring her entitlement based on her past performance. She is 100% entitled to do that, but don’t scream foul when it isn’t well received by the general public! Anyone wishing to act as Teresa’s agent in charge of brokering her public image should have counseled her first on the possible ramifications of basing her role within the community solely on her past performance. The statement made that Teresa was singled out based on the President’s perception of her participation is absurd, Teresa laid out, clearly defined and reaffirmed several times her level of involvement, she will attend meetings only.

10    I for one will fight tooth and nail for Teresa’s right to not participate in the work of the board of trade, and her right to declare it at a public meeting, I will also insist that the perception of her past performance is not a board of trade matter. The matter at hand is more of one about if you categorically refuse to assist, should you then vacate the position so that a bi-election of a director can take place, or is it acceptable to believe that as stated by Zoe we may not be able to replace her or that her mere presence may be more valuable than a newly elected replacement working director who may have not earned the entitlement to the position.

11    If the board wishes to deal out a list of required apologies, I think that the apology from Teresa for not declaring to the general membership that she would not be participating in the work of the board because of her entitlement prior to her being elected constitutes deception and false pretence and therefore should probably be paramount, or certainly cancel out the apology solicited by her agent in regards to being called on to clarify the circumstances regarding the level and extent of the  entitlement  by the President when it was declared by Teresa. I believe that the President should have been more sensitive to Teresa’s reception of this questioning and how the general membership might deal with the shock of Teresa’s declaration of special status, and thus should have solicited a solution to the problem at a meeting of the directors first.

I submit these circumstances for consideration by the Board Of Trade Directors as listed in section 17 of the bylaws and look forward to Teresa’s letter of resignation as the first step,  followed by a motion from the board to accept that resignation.

I wish to join Teresa in acknowledging her past work and wish all the best in her future endeavors with the many other deserving community groups she serves so diligently. I also wish to make it clear that after her sabbatical, she should feel free to run for a position on the board of trade at its next AGM and that her experience and past commitment will be welcomed.

Respectfully Submitted

Rick Jacques
Director
Bear River Board of Trade

PHEW! Of course this is totally contrary to his original email regarding right to criticism, etc etc etc. (see Rick Jacques page)

Just another day with Kelly Foxton and Rick Jacques in Bear River, Nova Scotia

There are about a million questions for Rick Jacques, who is the chair of the waterfront and greenspace committee,   and the Board of Trade directors.  It appears they are trying to keep these secret; the email from Rick Jacques to Noreen Miller, another director of the B of T   said:

“Please have a look at these plans, do not share with anyone at this time “

Noreen Miller forwarded the email with the warning:

“I will talk to you about these later, let’s just keep them amoungst (sic) ourselves at this point “

The plans came from an architectural company named Blackwater Architects. There are no Blackwater Architects listed in Canada, but 2 in the USA.  Rick has labeled them as belonging to the Waterfront and Green Space Committee.

Question: Did the Board of Trade hire this company or did Rick Jacques come by the plans in some other way? Is this an example of Kelly Foxton‘s declaration that committee chairs are completely in charge and should not be interfered with?

Question: Is this the direction that the community agreed upon at the public meeting in July, or is just another of Rick Jacques’s ego gratifications?

Question:  Where is the money coming from for a project of this magnitude, and how will the Board of Trade raise their share of 20 percent?

Question: Who will be responsible for the upkeep and running of the complex?  This is the same Board of Trade who can’t even keep the trash emptied and the garden weeded, or keep the waterfront park lights on.  Can this be considered sustainable on any level?

The Most Important Question of all:  where is the water for this to come from?

This is obviously another example of the Board of Trade not thinking things through before moving ahead.

 Once we had a really lovely windmill.

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Just Another day with Rick Jacques and the brilliant Board of Trade in Bear River, Nova Scotia,

Examples:

Kelly Foxton determined by her own interpretation that the directors could run the business of the Board of Trade without the general membership.  (see abuse of leadership) This is completely contrary to the way the Board of Trade has been run in the past, which allowed for full discussion by all members of the organization.

Kelly Foxton made motions while acting as president.

Kelly Foxton bullied a member of the directors who she didn’t like in the April general meeting for not participating enough, while ignoring the lack of participation from directors who are her pals.

Kelly Foxton broadcast a private email of concern sent to her by a member, rather than try to deal with it in a personal way, thereby escalating a situation that eventually became toxic.

Kelly Foxton stood in front of a group of people on May 19, and declared that it was the Board of Trade that was going to decide the fate of the windmill, not the community.

Kelly Foxton allowed the windmill to be destroyed without even a vote by the directors and not with the approval of the general membership.

Kelly Foxton insisted the adherence to bylaw 17 which allows for a member to make a complaint against another member or director, which is then dealt with by the directors.  In the case of members who were critical against her, she allowed the illegal expulsion of two members who were critical of the Board of Trade, on trumped up and unproven charges, without giving them any chance to defend themselves.  There is no provision in the bylaws of the Board of Trade to expel members, and it is against the Society’s act of Nova Scotia.

In the June meeting Kelly Foxton reiterated that the directors had the authority to run the organization without the member’s approval and stated that all questions from the members be submitted in writing prior to the meeting.

Kelly Foxton promised that the Historical Society who are tenants of the Board of Trade  would be notified before Board of Trade members entered the premises.  This promise was not honored.

Kelly Foxton did nothing to determine the truth regarding Rick Jacques’ removal of the Historical Society property in June and made no effort to liaise with the Historical Society to resolve the issue.

Kelly Foxton chose to allow the chairs of the website committee to ignore motions made by the membership in order to make changes that had not been approved by the membership.

Kelly Foxton kept her Vice President, Joe Quercia out of the loop of Board of Trade decisions and activities until he had no choice but to resign. By June, two of the executive and 4 of the directors had resigned citing failure to be able to work with the leadership of Kelly Foxton . A stunning statistic.

Kelly Foxton did nothing to try to dispel rumours and slander  made by directors of the Board of Trade against other members.

Kelly Foxton did not oversee the work of the committees, resulting in the complete failure of the transportation committee,  the wretched conditions of the waterfront park during July, and the failure to actually produce the promised Bear River brochure.

A fascinating approach to leadership.  And there’s still more to come!

Thank you Kelly for this remarkable case study in incompetence.

Just another year with Kelly Foxton in Bear River Nova Scotia

Kelly works in a wide variety of styles and media including highly realistic pencil portraits, pen and ink illustrations, whimsical watercolours, and loosely executed landscape impressionism in oil and pastel. 

You can view Kelly’s work at   kellyfoxtonartist.vpweb.com

Her studio is located in the Oakdene Centre, Bear River
Tele.: (902) 467-0466
Email: kfoxton@yahoo.com
Website: kellyfoxtonartist.vpweb.com