Dear Editor,
Re: LCA in Danger of Having to Cut Services and Events
Andrew bemoans the fact that there are not enough volunteers to carry out the functions of the LCA.
There is never any consideration given to the point that people are just not interested enough or have no interest at all in being part of what can be considered socialized recreation. Obviously Andrew feels differently but Langdon is not just about what Andrew feels.
He states that people are not willing “to support local” and given that Tim Hortons, an international chain, flourishes at the expense of the Botsford Deli which was locally owned I am sure that he is correct. In saying this though I am quite sure that Andrew was one of those who patronized Tim Hortons’ early entry into Langdon.
Andrew notes that there seems to be the attitude that someone else will take care of it – I am sure he is correct in saying that but this is an attitude which prevails in Canada as our governmental institutions become more and more involved in our lives whether we want them to or not. Some people however wish to do their own “thing” so to speak and are not in the least bit interested in involving themselves in what they may see as a coerced enterprise.
Interestingly though, some of those outsiders do what they perceive as community enhancements. They pick up rubbish, keep their yards and houses tidy and generally make Langdon a pleasant environment without being involved in interaction with others.
For some reason though they are frowned upon, as an example it was suggested to me by my local councillor that if I wish to help make Langdon a more pleasant place that maybe I should involve myself in a local social activity; I explained that if everybody made their own environment tidy and clean and cleaned up after themselves our community would be all the better for it.
Or perhaps if Tim Hortons had not even come here we would not have the proliferation of their garbage all around the town.
Regardless, my contention is that maybe, just maybe the majority of those who live in Langdon do not wish to be organized and regulated on top of all the other organization and regulation – maybe that is why most of us moved here, so that we could get along with our lives without organized interference.
The LCA fails every few years for the exact same reasons which Andrew notes – so let us accept that and let it fail permanently.
Additionally but somewhat associated with Andrew’s article is the news item by our councillor Rolly Ashdown.
Rolly states that insofar as costs are concerned Langdon does not cover its share of the RVC administration costs. I would beg to differ there, as ultimately if we are 10% of RVC population, one way or another we pay 10% of RVC administration costs.
Further Rolly notes that we in Langdon receive about 1.5% of the county budget and he thinks that is a good deal. I am not quite sure how if we input 10% of the county budget and receive 1.5% in return that is a good deal. Sounds like Quebec and equalization payments to me.
In addition to that is the fact that Langdon, receives and treats human waste from as far away as Cross Iron Mills and with commercial construction being carried out in that area I am sure we can expect more of someone else’s waste; also, Rolly refuses to rule out Langdon being forced to accept waste from the Lakes of Muirfield development in Wheatland County, a travesty if ever there was one.
What is sometimes passed over is the fact that the residents of Langdon pay their share of both provincial and federal taxes and those senior governments return funds to RVC. RVC then uses those funds to finance county responsibilities.
We in Langdon to not get any more from RVC than we deserve and I would suggest considerably less in that we contribute to Chestermere, Airdrie and Cochran recreational facilities with the Chestermere funding being way more that our use warrants.
Finally, if Andrew and others feel that we in Langdon should have more recreational facilities he should lobby RVC for a dilution of the funding given to Chestermere and the balance given back to Langdon for its own facilities.
Yours faithfully,
Phillip Grimison,
Langdon
