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Showing posts with label editorial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editorial. Show all posts
Friday, August 12, 2016
Scam Warning - Avoid Publishers Charging You Money!
City Writing Contest - Prize A Sales Pitch?
Mayor Andy Letham in conjunction with several businesses is heading up a City of Kawartha Lakes writing competition.We have been very reluctant to publicize this event.
Why?
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Omemee Reader Asks How Do We Fight Town Hall?
Omemee Residents Fuming Over Rural Closures!
Editorial : Suzanne Sholes B.A.B.Ed.
How You Can Fight City Hall
Facebook has been a hot bed of frustration over the past few weeks regarding the potential closure of rural services.Downeyville public library was closed in September 2016, and rural arenas appear to be on the chopping block.
Saturday, June 11, 2016
God Presents Omemee Pigeon eFlyer!
God Brings Omemee Pigeon eFlyer!
Editorial - Suzanne Sholer B.A.B.Ed.
New update being added re: flooding, no water to shower and gas disconnection notice.
Two months ago, I was suddenly diagnosed with uterine cancer and needed emergency surgery.
How would we keep a roof over our heads or food on the table when I could not work at my new job?
We reached out via an online fundraising campaign with a modest goal of $500 - $1 for each person for whom I had provided hours of free writing, advertising or Social Media work.
Often many people had said "Thanks, I "ll take you out for a coffee sometime."
So a virtual coffee was our goal.
$1 from each person for the years of writing I had done.
Through all my social media accounts, I have over 20,000 people who read my writing. If just 500 people each bought me a coffee, it would be a big help.
Not One Person Would Buy Us a Coffee
I would like to say the fundraiser was a great success.
However, other than a few people liking the posts and a couple sharing it, there was NO response.
Nada, zilch, nothing.
Two months later, we are back online.
How?
Through the grace of God.
First the bad news:
I fell and hit my head after surgery, so have had vertigo and "crickets" in my ears for months.
Even nodding my head has been a great challenge - walking even more difficult.
My daughter had to be hospitalized, so it is myself and her cat.
A PSW comes twice a week for 30 minutes to help me change and shower, and a physiotherapist just started coming once a week to try and help get rid of the vertigo and restore the muscles that had to be sliced to save my life.
I am thankfully covered by ODSP for Red Cross rides to the doctor. However, I have no way to do laundry, get mail, groceries or even prescriptions.
At the beginning of June, we were even going to lose our phone, which would mean no more PSW or physiotherapy.
GOD SAVES
In desperation I prayed,
"Lord, our phone is supplied by a church in exchange for Web work, If it is Your Will we have Internet so I can do the work for the church, and have this phone, I know You will supply the funds. If that is not Your Will, then I am going to trust that You have a better plan."
How would we keep a roof over our heads or food on the table when I could not work at my new job?
We reached out via an online fundraising campaign with a modest goal of $500 - $1 for each person for whom I had provided hours of free writing, advertising or Social Media work.
Often many people had said "Thanks, I "ll take you out for a coffee sometime."
So a virtual coffee was our goal.
$1 from each person for the years of writing I had done.
Through all my social media accounts, I have over 20,000 people who read my writing. If just 500 people each bought me a coffee, it would be a big help.
Not One Person Would Buy Us a Coffee
I would like to say the fundraiser was a great success.
However, other than a few people liking the posts and a couple sharing it, there was NO response.
Nada, zilch, nothing.
Two months later, we are back online.
How?
Through the grace of God.
First the bad news:
I fell and hit my head after surgery, so have had vertigo and "crickets" in my ears for months.
Even nodding my head has been a great challenge - walking even more difficult.
My daughter had to be hospitalized, so it is myself and her cat.
A PSW comes twice a week for 30 minutes to help me change and shower, and a physiotherapist just started coming once a week to try and help get rid of the vertigo and restore the muscles that had to be sliced to save my life.
I am thankfully covered by ODSP for Red Cross rides to the doctor. However, I have no way to do laundry, get mail, groceries or even prescriptions.
At the beginning of June, we were even going to lose our phone, which would mean no more PSW or physiotherapy.
GOD SAVES
In desperation I prayed,
"Lord, our phone is supplied by a church in exchange for Web work, If it is Your Will we have Internet so I can do the work for the church, and have this phone, I know You will supply the funds. If that is not Your Will, then I am going to trust that You have a better plan."
Two days later, I called the bank to check on our financial situation and received a surprise.
Quickly, I called the gas company.
Quickly, I called the gas company.
"Did you make a mistake in the amount you withdrew from our account yesterday for equal billing?:
"No, the amount is correct.You were one of the 9% of our customers who had their equal billing reduced."
I was astounded.
The reduction in the equal billing for gas was the amount we needed for Internet!
So, this post has definitely been brought to you by God.
Internet for this post has been graciously provided by God.
My improving health has been provided by God.
The ultrasound tech and the OBGYN both say it was a miracle the uterine cancer was found so early - no chemo needed. Just semi-annual check ups.
The ultrasound tech and the OBGYN both say it was a miracle the uterine cancer was found so early - no chemo needed. Just semi-annual check ups.
The phone I typed this post on has been graciously provided by Cameron Community Church - so once again, by God.
HELP US PLEASE !
Could your business or organization use exposure on one of my blogs or social media platforms?
Do you perhaps need someone to send emails on your behalf?
Want advice on how to solve a social media problem, set up a LinkedIn profile, protect your privacy online? Leave a confidential comment below.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Kawartha Lakes Election 2014 - Electoral Map Divides Rural Voters![editorial]
Kawartha Lakes Election 2014 - Hodge Podge Electoral Map Divides Rural Voters
Monday, October 27, 2014 City of Kawartha Lakes Regular Municipal Election will be held. Who will be the best candidate to serve our rural area? Perhaps someone who will fix the electoral map.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Ground Hog vs Environment Canada- Better Weatherman?
Share YOUR Weather Prediction!
Editorial-SuzanneSholer
Whose winter prediction will be the most accurate- Wiarton Willy, Environment Canada, or yours?Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Omemee Pigeon – 2011 Year In Review!
Omemee Pigeon eFlyer The Little eZine That Grew!
Editorial by Suzanne Sholer
Omemee Pigeon eFlyer,will not be a year old until February, 5th, yet it has impacted many lives in our local community,distributing news through a wide variety of Social Media channels,and through active personal engagement with readers both local,and around the world.
What Omemee Pigeon Did This Past Year to Help Our Local Economy
We chatted with people from Holland on Twitter about visiting Youngtown Museum, Freedom Valley Horse Rescue gained donors, businesses were placed on Google maps, local farms were found through Twitter,Facebook, G+ Paper,li,StumbleUpon, Tumblr,and Circle of Moms, People learned about services they didn’t know locally existed. We established a back office for contributing writers,and a Free classifieds section to help people find local services and products,and to meet the needs of others that do not fall within our editorial policies. We were recognized by Google MapMaker North America for our contributions in mapping Canada.Most importantly,made wonderful friends from around the world, and gained a loyal readership,-a number of whom have started writing articles for Omemee Pigeon eFlyer.
Omemee Pigeon eFlyer Stats
Omemee Pigeon eFlyer has gone from an initial readership of 3 –me,myself and I; to over 700 unique visitors last month alone,over half of whom were return visitors,and a third of these visitors read Omemee Pigeon eFlyer over 25 times last month.-Most of our visitors arrive here via Google organic search,with an increasing number from Feedburner email subscriptions 91 and Facebook. Our top repeat visitors are from our local area with Peterborough and Lindsay ISPs reading about 4 pages per visit. One person from Middlebury read 16 pages on their last visit. Most local visitors spend about 10 to 13 minutes on our site Last month, a Calgary reader enjoyed our site so much, they spent over half–an–hour reading articles.
Top Newsmakers of 2011
According to today’s headlines in Lindsay This Week,they believe the top newsmaker of the year in City of Kawartha Lakes was Mayor Ric Magee. However,our readers say otherwise. Here are the Top 10 stories from 2011 according to reader popularity –sorry Mayor Magee,you didn’t make the list.
- Pigeon Lake Blue-Green Algae Alert Does Not Affect Omemee Area: Does This Alert Affect You? –We ran this article along with a map to show tourists and residents where the blue-green algae was located,after headlines in local papers seemed to indicate Omemee was affected. We hope this article made a difference to our local tourism in 2011.
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Best Friend: Remembering Matt Courneya Omemee Murder Victim - This tragedy will stay with many of us for years to come. We were honoured to give voice to the victim’s friends, while other media focussed on the perpetrators. An excellent article that must have been extremely difficult for the author to write. We were honoured to feature this piece. - Emily Provincial Park Omemee Limited Campsites Still Available – Emily Park was booked solid almost every weekend this past summer, reservations are being accepted for next May and June now. You can reach the reservations page easily through the link in this article.
- Missing Matt - Omemee Youth Life Cut Short! This was the original article we ran,prior to receiving the article from Matt’s best friend.We tried to offer a different perspective than the local papers in our reporting of the incident.
Bear Essentials Millbrook Invites You to Win a Green Toys™ Dump Truck! – We were pleased to run our first online contest this year This item brought entrants from as far as Victoria BC in addition to our local entrants. We are pleased to support local small businesses,by offering a variety of free and paid advertising options.- Like Omemee Pigeon? Vote! –We expanded our reach by entering the Circle of Moms Top 25 Canadian Mom bloggers contest, although we entered the contest rather late in the day,we were pleased to receive the support of so many readers. Since we entered the contest, our full feed appears on Circle of Moms.This article tells a bit of the story behind the creation of the Omemee Pigeon eFlyer.By the way,we could use some votes on our answer –hint hint
- Melancthon Mega Quarry Would Affect Ontario Water Supply: Environmental Assessment Demanded –The groundwater in the area is a source of drinking water for upwards of a million Ontarians. Toronto Star just revisited this story at the end of December. This is an issue that could affect the water supply in all Ontario,if this essential source is destroyed.
Win Your Christmas Tree! We were very pleased to assist several farms and small businesses in establishing a web presence this year. Potash Creek Farms reported their best year ever. One visitor to their farm told us they found out about Potash Creek Farms through a link we placed on G+ Watch for an iPhone MovieMaker tutorial to come from a visitor - Mount Horeb United Church Garden Party - Great Annual Ham and Salad Supper! We are pleased to help local charitable organizations and churches get their news out. Mount Horeb United Church is just one of the many venues we submitted to Google maps to help people find their way to events easier.
Hydro One Power Outage Affecting Over 1500 Omemee Area Homes We broke the news on this story,that was overlooked by Hydro One as being a major power outage for our area,because the outages in the rural area between Peterborough and Lindsay were not added together. Luck would have it.we were by the phone and received the call regarding our farm property.
Looking Forward Into 2012
This coming year,we are looking forward to establishing more regular features in Omemee Pigeon eFlyer,and starting to upload our videos of events in the area as well. We will soon be offering sessions via Skype on a regular basis to assist other individuals across Canada and around the World in setting up their own Social Media supported Free community eZines under the banner ‘Our News’ as an extension to our invitation only private press club. If you would like to set up a community eZine,and get an invitation to the ‘Our News’ press club, email http://scr.im/omemee with the subject line ‘Our News’ You will receive an invitation along with a short questionnaire about your vision for your community news eZine. We look forward to hearing from you.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Preparing Special Events Funding Proposals - Tips and Tools!
Kawartha Lakes Special Events Funding Proposals Need Help
Editorial-Suzanne Sholer
Businesses and Groups in Kawartha Lakes need to send in their Special Events Funding Proposals by October 31st. Need Help? Applying for Special Events funding need not be an onerous task. Chances are,if you have run a special event in the past,it may simply be a matter of plugging information into the form, and adding a few tweaks. Earlier this year,I posted an offer of assistance to write proposals for groups and businesses who might find themselves too busy to go through the funding proposal, now time is of the essence! Email me now,so we can get these funding applications in as soon as possible.
Funding Guideline Vocabulary Overwhelming? Solutions Proffered
When speaking with a number of individuals about applying for special events funding,we found there were two predominant responses: people were either:
- Totally lost in the legalese of the guidelines ,or
- Overwhelmed by the length of the document.
Free Special Events Funding Session This Week with M.Cunningham Tourism Development
During a phone interview with Margaret P. Cunningham,Tourism Development Officer,Economic Development ~ City of Kawartha Lakes, Ms. Cunningham advised focussing on the checklist of items,rather than the guidelines. Ms. Cunningham also offered to meet with interested parties on Tuesday morning,or Thursday afternoon or evening, of this coming week to do a quick run through of what is required in the application,and to answer questions.Please email http://scr.im/omemee with your 1st, 2nd & 3rd choices of day and time before Monday at 10 am, to take advantage of this free offer. Confirmation of the date,place,and time will be sent before end of business Monday.
Kawartha Pure Special Events Funding Workshop -December
In addition,to Ms. Cunningham's generous offer of assistance, Bill Walker, PUREkawartha, is offering a five hour workshop in mid December,where participants will plan and write two separate sponsorship proposals :one not-for-profit fundraiser. and one an annual community event. The cost for the five hour workshop would be $20 per person. Interested parties should contact Bill as soon as possible,at purekawartha (at )gmail DOT com so he can confirm a central Lindsay location and date on Friday, November 4th.
Special Events Funding Useful Resources
- Special Events Funding Application Form 2012 (pdf)
- Special Events Funding Application Guidelines (pdf)
- Business tools, strategies, reports and resources for the tourism industry This tourism Ontario page includes Guidelines for helping you get statistics from both gated,and ungated events,as well as a wealth of other helpful resources
- Statistics - Regional Tourism Profile, 2009 RTO8: Kawartha and Northumberland
- Rural Potential Sponsorship Partners - Local Accommodations
- Rural Potential Sponsorship Partners - Local Restaurants
- Rural Potential Sponsorship Partners - Local Farms
- Sponsorship Partners -Example Fresh Water Summit (from Bill Walker)
- Sponsorship Partners -Example Exclusive Partner (from Bill Walker)
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
HKLB Votes! Who Gets Your Vote?
Vote Vote Vote!
Editorial: Suzanne Sholer B.A. B.Ed. Omemee Pigeon Editor
Polls pronounce two-way Liberal-Conservative tie splash across paper headlines,and phones are ringing across Canada with volunteers asking,'May I ask if....can expect your support on election day?' My answer? 'No! Definitely not!' Let me explain:
HKLB Votes:All Running Deserve Respect and Admiration
Free advertising space has been offered during each election to all parties,whoThursday, September 29, 2011
Want Event Funding? Submit Your Ideas Now!
Special Events Funding Deadline October 31st!
Editorial: Suzanne Sholer Omemee Pigeon eFlyer editor B.A. B.Ed.Special Events Economic Development Partnership Fund offers local events funding provided events meet the following criteria:
- Events must specifically target event attendance from outside the boundaries of Kawartha Lakes
- Events must anticipate having a significant economic impact to the host community
- Events must stimulate overnight stays
- Events must stimulate incremental spending across all business sectors
Monday, May 2, 2011
Omemee Pigeon Flyer Asks “Why Vote?”
“
Why should people of Omemee and area vote for your party?” Read the responses
Editorial:
Haliburton –Kawartha Lakes-Brock Conservative Stronghold or ?
Omemee and area residents live in a riding that is typified as “safe Conservative seat.” by Project Democracy, In their site about strategic voting they say to vote however you like, it won’t make any difference. Is there any wonder that there is voter apathy?
People have voted Conservative here for years. Is there any reason to believe this year will be different? Perhaps.
This election started as no other election in the history of Canada, or the commonwealth. This election started because the ruling party-the Conservatives were held in contempt of parliament. Being held in contempt of Parliament is not the same as a non-confidence vote, no matter how loudly Mr. Harper chooses to shout it from the rooftops, or lay the blame on the other parties for this election. The Conservative Government was found in contempt for wrong doing against the people of Canada, and to blame that on the other parties is tantamount to a thief blaming the arresting officers for his being caught.
I was very surprised to see the Conservatives keep Harper on as Leader in in light of the scandal, which has gone from muck to mire through the campaign. Frankly, if the Conservatives had replaced Harper with a different Leader, and sloughed off all blame onto Harper as being the ring leader in G8 Gate, I might have blindly continued to vote Conservative myself, giving them yet another chance-forgiving soul that I am, after all Barry Devolin has seemed to be a pretty good guy, keeping his nose clean, doing for our riding, etc. etc. Barry Devolin was also the only candidate to answer our question. However, the multiple dictatorial actions taken by Harper over his past terms in office make me wonder what hold this leader has over his party members to allow him to continue on in this vein.
So which party might be the one to bring this long-time Conservative stronghold crashing down?
Liberals? Laura Redman was the only candidate to leave evidence of visiting our paper. and we thank her for signing our Twitter widget. Unfortunately,Victoria County residents, may tar her with the brush of the actions of another Liberal who broke the written amalgamation promises to Omemee and area.,People do tend to have long memories.The Conservatives began their campaign with attack ads against Ignatief, but have recently shifted to the NDP holding them as a dreaded spectre.
NDP? Could be, The Conservatives seem to think so, having now turned their aim on Jack Layton. The NDP are showing in local polls as second to the Conservative Party.While Lyn Edwards. may be a very good candidate,the NDP is not without blemish in the broken promises department. surprisingly, Area teachers may remember a huge loan forgiven to the NDP’s who then turned on the teachers’ association with the fervour of a rabid dog after being elected, Surprisingly,CAW, a past NDP supporter is backing the Green Party this campaign, which may swing votes from the NDP.
Greens? The Green Party has not had the opportunity to mislead voters yet. Their Leader, Elizabeth May, an Order of Canada recipient, has a reputation of being a fighter on behalf of preserving our natural resources and health, as does our local candidate,,Susanne Lauten. Despite not being in government, these ladies , have done some phenomenal work on our behalf already.On the other hands,the Green Party has many new , and some may think radical, ideas; such as legalizing marijuana and taxing it to the hilt. Looking at the history of the end of alcohol prohibition , does make this seem to be a sensible solution,.However, there are many of us who have been raised on the stricture that marijuana is a gateway drug.
So who will be the MP for our area in the morning? Whether you win, or lose the election: Barry, Lyn, Laura, and Susanne you all have all won my admiration,and thanks for standing up for what you believe in, and doing your best to make our riding a place people can be proud to live in. How many of us would be willing to take the same risk, and stand before the scrutiny of the public eye in order to make a difference?
Now for the responses to our question:
We did receive some feedback from each party in response to our question,.
The question was:
Why should the people living in Omemee and area vote for your party?
These are the responses we received:
Barry Devolin CPC followed us on Twitter and asked us to follow him, although we already were following. Barry’s Campaign Manager, Jamie Schmale, quickly got in touch with us, and kindly sent a copy of Barry’s information that had been posted in the newspapers, then also forwarded a specific response from Barry Devolin.
Laura Redman LPC Followed us not only on Twitter, but was the only Candidate to register as a visitor on our Twitter gadget. Laura also chatted through private messaging on Twitter about the challenges of covering such a huge geographic area as ours.
Susanne Lauten GPC Followed us on Twitter and “Liked “our Facebook Page. Susanne also posted a comment on our Facebook Page.
Both Laura and Susanne were mentioned as having attended the Green Side Up Tree planting in Omemee, as well.
Lyn Edwards NDP Not having received any response from Lyn Edwards, I popped a copy of the note into her message box on Facebook with the question”Did you see this?” Response-“Yes”.
Conclusions:
We wanted to be fair to all candidates by posting their responses all on the same day,so waited too long to post the one response we did get. In the future, we will post answers as soon as we receive them.Final Answer? Jamie Schmale should run for office!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock Politicians Offered Free Advertising
Editorial
Open letter being sent to all political party Candidates running for Federal election 2011 in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock Riding:To Whom This May Concern:
Omemee Pigeon eFlyer invites you to publish articles of interest to the voters of Omemee and Area. The Omemee Pigeon eFlyer is the online eZine about Omemee and the surrounding Area. In a very short time we have gained a klout score of 48 and have close to 400 followers in receipt of our headlines on Twitter.
We hope to be helpful in increasing your communications with voters in our riding by both giving you a platform, and some social media assistance.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Omemee Factory: Possible Uses
Old Regal Stationary Building Potential Employment Opportunity ?
Editorial-Suzanne SholerRegal Stationary was the main employer in Omemee for many years, but since they closed up shop in Omemee, the building has not realized its full potential as a place of employment. What ideas do you have that could help increase the number of jobs in Omemee using this huge space. Please don’ t suggest a business type we already have in the village, as that is self defeating, and just causes another business to close.
In St. Thomas Ontario, they have seized the bull by the proverbial horns and have announced the following competition, which i came across while reading a discussion on the Dragon’s Den Facebook page. Here’s what they’re doing in St. Thomas:
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