Wednesday, January 21, 2009

The High Road…or the Forgotten Road?

Dear Southwest Ranches Friends and Neighbors:

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening and if I don't see you later…well then…Good Night!

I have received a lot of emails regarding the "Break the Chain" educational campaign over the past many months and I am almost embarrassed to say I missed a very obvious point with regard to this "hot button" issue here in our quaint little town. A resident pointed out what can be considered an accolade for the Humane Society of Broward County for taking the "High Road" so to speak, but within that resident's letter to me, I found what I believe to be the "Forgotten Road."

Indulge me here folks. Thank you…I knew you would!

I did a little research and found out that the Humane Society of Broward County (a non-profit organization that benefits the welfare of abandoned, surrendered, or rescued animals) footed the entire bill for the printing of thousands of posters (I believe the number was 10,000), thousands of brochures, power point presentations and basically everything that had to do with the "Break the Chain" educational campaign.

Follow me here folks, this is where it gets interesting.

Those posters and brochures picture a beautiful Doberman K-9 and a Broward Sheriff's Office Employee (Tony Vincent who is a resident of Southwest Ranches). In December of 2004 the Broward Sheriff's Office agreed to allow Mr. Vincent to represent the Broward Sheriff's Office and work in cooperation with the Humane Society of Broward County on the Educational campaign known as "Break the Chain."

The Humane Society spent a boatload of money on this campaign that educates the public about the cruelties of chaining dogs and our former disgraced ousted town councilman Don Maines had the campaign halted on June 26th 2008 by making false accusations against the BSO employee pictured in the posters and brochures.

You all remember good old Don Maines, the self proclaimed "protector of all animals and expert avid horseman."

Well, Don Maines convinced the Sheriff's Office that Tony Vincent was a "loose cannon" and he was threatening Don Maines and Don Maines was "ascared" of Tony Vincent because he was so volatile.

The day before the cease and desist order was put into place, the BSO employee, Mr. Vincent was giving a "Break the Chain" educational campaign presentation to about 130 underprivileged youth at the Davie Police Athletic League. Signing and handing out posters and brochures with a representative of the Humane Society of Broward County. All future educational campaign presentations from that day forth have been canceled.

The next day Tony Vincent was made to sign a cease and desist order and was permanently removed from the popular campaign, on the word of a disgraced, ousted former town councilman!

Many, many, many posters and brochures remain in storage on the shelves at the non-profit organization known as the Humane Society of Broward County. The Sheriff's office reneged on the agreement with the Humane Society and now those posters and brochures CANNOT be used…thanks to Don Maines.

How many dogs lives could have been saved with the money that was wasted due to Don Maines' unfounded accusations that led to the discontinuance of the partnership between BSO and the Humane Society? Did the Humane Society "take the high road" and absorb the financial loss that the BSO has caused them by reneging on their agreement or did the Humane Society just overlook the fact that BSO and Don Maines is responsible for the termination of the partnership and subsequent loss of these funds?

I don't know if anyone from the Humane Society of Broward County receives my emails but maybe someone should forward them a copy of this one just in case they took the "road forgotten."

My advise to the Humane Society of Broward County…Send BSO and Don Maines the bill!

That's all Folks!!!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Town hall meeting with Local Politicians!?

Dear Southwest Ranches Friends and Neighbors:

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening and if I don't see you later…well then…Good Night!

Not sure, why Southwest Ranches does not deserve its own meeting read on! This meeting is scheduled for a night one of our council members will be attending a town advisory board meeting that also will have several town members attending. Perhaps our town administrator could work with Ms Lerner to encourage maximum participation by our council and residents by scheduling this meeting at a more convenient date and time.

Regardless, the town hall meeting might be a good time to ask our elected officials where they stand on Davie Commons, how they can help SWR get some of the stimulus package resources maybe to build our elusive town hall or undeveloped parks, and where they stand on some of our town's many issues. This is a great opportunity for our newly elected council members to show us their mettle and earn their stripes in a larger public forum.

Weston/ Southwest Ranches
Town Hall Meeting


Thursday, January 29, 2009
7:00 PM
Weston City Hall
Commission Chambers
17200 Royal Palm Boulevard


State Representative Martin David Kiar and State Senator Nan Rich invite you to a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the goals and priorities of the upcoming 2009 Legislative Session. Among the topics to be discussed will be windstorm insurance, the budget, property taxes, and any other issues important to the citizens of South Florida. Please join your elected officials for an evening of open dialogue and information.

The meeting is open to everyone.

For more information, please call 954-346-2813.


Beth M. Lerner
District Aide
Representative Martin David Kiar, District 97

954-346-2813
Fax 954-346-2815

That's all Folks!!!





Wanch Waggler

Friday, January 9, 2009

They're called elections!

Dear Southwest Ranches Friends and Neighbors:

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening and if I don't see you later…well then…Good Night!

A fairly quick Town Hall meeting 1/8/09 revealed a civil and logical Town Council actually listening to the residents of the Town…refreshing.

A few items of interest. Alyn Kaye will "oversee" so to speak, and advise the town on such things that he is most conversant with, for no actual income, therefore saving the Town scads of money. I tip my Gnome hat to Mr. Kaye for his obvious love of his town and his unselfish contribution to it. He has taken on this commitment without the intention of using his affiliation with our town for personal or professional gain, directly or indirectly. However, of course, this Gnome will keep watching Mr. Kaye to make sure he is true to his commitment and avoids any conflicts of interest obvious or otherwise and acts with irreproachable ethical behavior.

The issue of Golf Carts tooling around in and around Southwest Ranches will have to sit on the back burner for a while and I again tip my Gnome hat to the council for their cautious approach to this nightmare waiting to happen.

Anti-tethering still cannot get the support of Councilman Aster Knight; however, it would appear that the Town would work on an ordinance nonetheless. I tip my Gnome hat to the council for moving forward and asking the right questions about this important issue.

In public comments, all of the Town of Southwest Ranches resident's who spoke about an anti-tethering law supported creating an ordinance for our town, but some maniac from Hialeah crawled out from under a rock and started spouting the same words the ousted disgraced former councilman (who vehemently opposed and anti-tethering law, which I still believe contributed to his "removal" from the Town Council) spoke last year. Those words like PETA, terrorists, and activists, dangerous and for the most part touted the fact that animal sacrifices saved his pathetic life due to medical research. This fellow was scary to watch before he spoke. Before public comments, he paced the council chambers for an hour like a tethered dog in the hot sun, circling a dry water bowl. He muttered comments to himself and made remarks to other citizens with a sense of familiarity as if he was a well-known, life-long, close friend.

When his turn came up, he started with an unintelligible comment to all in earshot indicating some self-placating way he could be found via Google. He wasn't clear but there may have been some reference to a recent jailbreak and his name mentioned in the news as an escapee. He may have said it was a facility for the criminally insane. He referred to his name and Google many times in his ramblings. Your Gnome Google him by name and could not find any hits, even when paired with keywords like Hialeah, animal rights, anti-animal rights, even Chewpacabra and Elvis, but nothing. The most disquieting and worrisome concerns about this nut job were his theatrical tactics of using shock and awe! The citizens in attendance were remarkably silent for this whacko's tirade of non sequiturs (Al – that is an inference that does not follow from the premises; specifically: a fallacy resulting from a simple conversion of a universal affirmative proposition or from the transposition of a condition and its consequent or a statement (as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said.) while he kept turning to audience and aggressively scolding a non-existent heckler. As he concluded his "remarks", the pensive audience clapped apprehensively only to have this supporter of some unknown anti-tethering position shout "drop dead" as he left for his return trip to Hialeah. Fortunately, there was a uniformed officer in the room bearing a firearm.

I believe that he tried to convey a message to the Council that if they pass an anti-tethering ordinance, all biomedical research will stop, Orwell's Animal Farm will come true by Sunday, and dogs that spend their lives at the end of a six-foot length of chin will be fine.

Quick question for the Town Council and Sergeant at Arms. Can any non-resident yahoo get up at our Town Council meetings and speak during public comment time? Well this is still America, free speech and all that. I guess we have to let the non-violent nuts in too. Then, my follow-up question is "when is an appropriate time to TAZE these crazy bastards?"

If you want to see this cretin's circus act, watch Comcast Monday night, he may provide more laughs that Al Avello night last month.

Speaking of Al, he also graced the Council with his presence and wisdom. He was on hand to assure the Council that there were ways to insure the Town would not be held liable for golf cart incidents as the town attorney politely squirmed in his chair.

A final tip of my Gnome hat to Rae White. In one month, she has better organized the Education Committee than Al Avello did in the year he was at the helm. She spent her five minutes at the podium providing detailed information and excellent analysis about our educational situation. All Al ever did was plead for help on causes that were not though through and situation that moist in the room would not support. It amazing what the competent people of this town can do when motivated. It also fantastic to see what the Council can do by seeking out the right people, as Ms White Sets the example, to serve on it advisory boards.

Finally, the president of Sunshine Ranches HOA addressed the issue of the Town Clerk setting Town Hall policy and disposing of Sunshine Ranches Waggler. Her inappropriate action was mentioned in one of my earlier missives. Much of our town probably does not know that our Town Clerk has very strong personal ties with the family of our disgraced former town administrator John Canada. Many say she is still loyal to Canada. The scuttlebutt says that she continues to take her orders from Canada and she provides a conduit of information back to Canada and his close personal associate, our former Mayor. In espionage terms, she could be considered a spy for the enemy or at best a mole. Perhaps someone informed the Gnome why she remains on the interested.

In any case, after the SRHOA president made his appeal and another vocal SRHOA officer made a passionate appeal to the council, our Town Clerk called both residents outside for a side bar conference. Both followed her with puzzled looks and open minds. They returned shaking their heads with a look of disappointment. Time will tell on our Clerk, history has a long memory and I believe her history will be foreshortened because of her ongoing relationship with Canada and his associates. Lets hope she recognizes that if her relationship with Canada does prove inappropriate her credibility as a town administrator will be destroyed, she would be unemployable in the state of Florida in an official capacity and only career opportunity may be chief groundskeeper for Ronnie's Swamp!

Finally the Parks Board. Yes, it will be increased in number from 9 to 11, however, of the two new appointees; none of them is Lil Sayre. Therefore, this too gets a tip of my Gnome hat. I applaud that the Mayor recognized the fact that many Sunshine Ranches residents had a huge problem with Lil Sayre's name being considered as an appointee to the parks board. Many Sunshine Ranches resident signed a petition to keep Lil Sayre off the parks board due to her previous track record within the community of Sunshine Ranches. Unfortunately, Leslie Thiele has not had the decency to step away from the Comp Plan Board that she has disrupted with her shenanigans. She still has time, since the Board has not yet met, to do the right thing as Lil Sayre apparently has seen fit to do in her own right or through pressure and coercion by her neighbors.

The Mayor said he was "disgusted" that the petitioners would have the audacity to single someone out like that and that there was no place for that kind of thing here in the Town of Southwest Ranches. If I may comment here (and you all know I would), Mr. Mayor, I don't know what community you live in, but I do know it can't be Sunshine Ranches because Ms. Sayre wreaked so much havoc on that community that those residents who signed those petitions had every right to do so. Those residents watched 40K of the Sunshine Ranches Homeowners Association bank account get flushed away when Lil ran the show. Those residents were sued at the hand of Lil Sayre costing the Sunshine Ranches Homeowners Association 10K plus when Lil ran the show. Those residents were not permitted to write articles (censorship at its best) in their own monthly newsletter when Lil ran the show. Those residents have every right to say they don't want Lil Sayre involved in the decision making process for our town. Mr. Mayor, I'm sad that you are disgusted that the resident's of the community of Sunshine Ranches have no problem making their voices heard; but insofar as your comment that keeping someone out of a position within this town just because they are not liked has no place in this town, I beg to differ. This town does do that…they're called elections!





That's All Folks!!!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Last Laugh

Dear Southwest Ranches Friends and Neighbors:

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening and if I don't see you later…well then…Good Night!

I'm going to try to write this entry without using the "real names" of the subjects because it would appear that this makes a difference to some of you. Trust me, no one is rushing to the defense of the disgraced ousted town of SWR former councilman, they are just sick and…well, just sick of seeing his name in print! So if you've paid attention over the last few years and know how much I like to make TV and movie character references to some of our town lovelies, then you should have NO PROBLEM figuring out of whom I speak in the copy that follows.

The former disgraced SWR town councilman who got his butt kicked out of office because of his erratic behavior against town residents has vowed to have the "last laugh," so I was told. Being the curious and inquisitive Gnome that I am I started to become the cat that will continue to squash the mouse in this inane game of Cat and Mouse that the ousted disgraced former councilman keeps trying to play.

The ousted disgraced former councilman announced, in a very public place, that he will "have the last laugh." I did a little homework, called some friends in Tallahassee, found the police report that documented his "pseudo threat" and figured it out in all of about 5 minutes.

The ousted disgraced former councilman is trying to have the non-profit status of the Sunshine Ranches Homeowners Association revoked because the Sunshine Ranches Homeowners Association "endorsed" his opponent during the election. How sad is this? This man and his buddy Cruella have contacted several people to see if they can "have the last laugh" and screw the SRHA by having their non-profit status revoked. I'm dying if I'm lying. This is a very disturbed individual.

So I ask, is it a coincidence that the town recently announced that the Sunshine Ranches Waggler (that's the community of Sunshine Ranches' homeowners' monthly publication) couldn't be available there and was yanked from the town hall periodical slots? Could this pathetic attempt by the ousted disgraced former councilman be any more transparent?

Well, Bevis, do your homework. Ask your "attorney" and Cruella if they are absolutely sure that the FSS 501 (non-profit / tax exempt) is the statute that is used by the Sunshine Ranches Homeowners Association. Go ahead, ask them…I'll wait.

Now go and pay your Federal Election Commission fine in Tallahassee in February after you have your hearing (which one of the residents in Sunshine Ranches has been invited to because he was the complainant), and don't forget to fess up to the Miami Herald political advertisement that ran without the benefit of a political disclaimer (October 2008). I have it on good authority that Tallahassee has asked the complainant to furnish that ad because "butthead your financial advisor" screwed that up as well.

Ousted disgraced former councilman, please stop spending so much time and energy in Sunshine Ranches, they don't want you either!

Ousted disgraced former councilman, your mix is thin and you have no rebar in your form; your allies are dropping a dime on you because you are pathetic. Go celebrate on 6/12/2009 your milestone and return those scruples that if you had any, were obviously stolen from someone else!

That's all Folks!!!
Wanch Waggler

Monday, January 5, 2009

Ranch Waggler Banned from Town Hall

Dear Southwest Ranches Friends and Neighbors:

Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening and if I don't see you later…well then…Good Night!

People, people, people…if you don't want me to make you famous then just behave! What were you thinking Susan Owens?

On Monday, December 29th, 2008 our Town Clerk Susan Owens decided that the Sunshine Ranches Waggler (that's the Sunshine Ranches monthly newsletter) was not worthy to occupy a place in one of the Town Hall informational slots. As soon as the extra copies were delivered to town hall so that town residents other than Sunshine Ranches residents can enjoy reading the Sunshine Ranches paper, they were thrown into a trashcan…by Ms. Owens.

In my opinion, this was just a message sent to the residents of the community of Sunshine Ranches by someone whose loyalties lie with those folks who are being "retired" by the people who care enough about honesty and integrity.

Was this the "last laugh" that Don Maines recently (12/24/08) and angrily told a resident he would have? Is this a directive from your father-in-law? What gives you the right to choose what "We the People" can or cannot read?

Did you think this one through Ms. Owens? You claim that your former boss, Chris Russo, said that this is the way it was going to be. You said that he said that it is your responsibility to keep the Town Hall Lobby tidy, so all of a sudden you took it upon yourself to choose ONLY the Sunshine Ranches Waggler to "unclutter" the periodicals that are available at Town Hall. How do you think the advertisers who pay for space in the Sunshine Ranches Waggler will feel when they read this? You made the decision to throw their money into the garbage, but allowed the Trail Riders newsletter and the Davie and the Ranches Express Magazine and of course the Town of Southwest Ranches Southwest Rancher among many other newsletters and publications to remain on the shelves.

This is unacceptable Ms. Owens. Please resign.

That's all Folks!