Looks like Carol's job could be up for grabs.

NAPE Presidential Battle Heating Up
February 22, 2007

The battle for the top job at NAPE will soon be heating up. Carol Furlong currently holds the president's seat at the province's largest union. Furlong is being challenged by Chris Henley, who told VOCM Back Talk with Bill Rowe the nomination process will begin next week. Hhenley says Monday is the call for nominations, mail-in ballots will be delivered March 26th, and returned by April 26th, and the winner will be announced April 30th.

What will it mean to the hundreds if not thousands of Home Support workers in NL who are still not represented by NAPE? I remember getting a call during the last few days of the last great NAPE presidential battle asking me to vote for LEO ! Leo's the guy to vote for. The caller went on telling me if Carol Furlong got in we would never see the Home Support workers unionized. Carol Furlong did not want us unionized. In my case, the caller was right. So far we have not been unionized, nor have we been informed of any progress. Maybe Carol and Chris can comment here on my blog informing home support workers such as myself their intentions. You both are getting emails with my blog link today. Looking forward to hearing from you both.

Safety First, Service Always

Safety First, Service Always says the motto of our Canadian Coast Guard. I don't know the level of service all the employees put out but apparently the top executives perform very well. The Coast Guard gave 43 of its 44 top executives performance bonuses worth a total of $296,232. I wonder who the unlucky one was? It must be great in a line of work to know your being evaluated and based upon your performance, rewarded. I certainly wish we all had that option in our line of work. I wonder how much a home support worker in NL would receive in bonuses if that was the case? how would you place a monetary value on the performance of some of us? How much would we receive for a slap in the face from a client who has a mental disability? How much for a head butt that knocks you to the floor? How much for the worker who is accused of stealing by a senior with Alzheimer’s disease. How much for waiting year after year hoping each new provincial budget will give you a bit of hope in the form of a pay raise or a benefit such as a sick day? In March the provincial budget will once again be released and the home support workers will see how they are evaluated. Hopefully it won't be another slap in the face,we have received enough to last us a lifetime. This coming October we'll get to evaluate our employees and we might not be handing out bonuses.

Wood smoke gently rises gently from the wood stoves in my community this morning. From our lighthouse you can view the ice flowing through the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Peaceful little scene, great place to live! In about a month or so we'll get our Stars on Ice show when the seals appear. I wonder who will come this year? Lady Heather and Sir Paul will not be attending and send their regrets. We can always count on Capt. Paul and and a few of his ALF friends. Maybe Sneaky Crosland and her kids might appear for a fun and dance musical. Hopefully we won't be disappointed and let down.

The Premier has given us all a Valentines gift today. Looks like we won't get the shaft and foot the bill for for John Hickey's lawsuit against Roger Grimes. This may be even a bigger gift then what we expected. The way things have been going in NL the pass few years we might of gotten double shafted during the whole experience.


On another note it looks like a few Bloggers could really get screwed today or crucified by Easter.

Hickey Goes It Alone
February 14, 2007

Premier Danny Williams says taxpayers will not be footing the bill for John Hickey's lawsuit against Roger Grimes. Williams told VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms even though the Internal Economies Commission is willing to pay Hickey's legal bills, the Transportation Minister has decided to go it alone. The Premier says a line has to be drawn where public comments defame a person's character. Meantime, Roger Grimes remains adamant, saying there will be no apology. He says in fact, the Premier owes him an apology for using words on VOCM Open Line that color the situation.

Opposition Leader Gerry Reid, meantime, says it's unacceptable that the premier is threatening lawsuits, trying to intimidate the general public. Reid is also looking at trying to get the policy changed, that allows MHA's to hire lawyers for such matters. He's willing to go to the IEC to say enough is enough.

The report by Chief Justice Derek Green on MHA Constituency Allowances and other matters is in the final stages, but there's still no date given for its release. Last month, Green said he notified the premier that there would be delay and that he expected to have the report finished around mid-February, but his office says it won't be submitted this week. The chief justice has been examining MHA compensation, allowances, and pensions as well as financial management and controls in the House of Assembly.

R I P
Anna Nicole Smith
1967 - 2007

That's all i have to say about her.

James P. Banfield,Ocularist specializes in the fabricating and fitting of custom-made ocular prosthetics commonly known as artificial eyes. The one he's holding in the photo was custom made for me over a two day period in St. Johns,NL. I'll be wearing the prosthetic for at least six years if i care for it properly.
Artificial eyes have been made for thousands of years with some made of glass or gold. later they were replaced by plastic or silicone spheres. Lack of movement was a major obstacle to restoring a natural appearance, which made the adjustment to wearing an artificial eye much more difficult. Today with a skilled surgeon and an Ocularist such as James Banfield things have changed. Most people will not actually know the eye is artificial because it moves and the color matches perfectly. Todays artificial eyes can be left in the eye socket for many months and only has to be removed when the person visits the Ocularist for regular cleaning. The Ocularist gave me great advice over the two day fabricating and dispelled myths that i heard on the topic over the years. Thank you James Banfield!!!