FTLComm - Tisdale - July 28, 2000

Few good things come about without some conflict, it is sort of inevitable that when people work together toward major projects that will affect the future considerably, there will be some differences of opinion. Tisdale's growing senior citizen population continues to concentrate in the core of the small town. If you haven't been to Tisdale it might surprise you to discover just how small the town is. Though it houses more than two thousand people it is less than a mile North and South and just over half a mile East and West. Three streets East of main street and six streets West and that is about that. This concentration of people into a relatively small area has seen the seniors congregating themselves within a few blocks of the core of the town and the proposed site for the Golden Age Centre was near the Northern extremity of the town when it was first announced last winter. Since then, the town has prepared the property for the new building's construction and the organisation set up to fund raise for the project has successfully put together the $200,000 needed to complete construciton. On July 18 a meeting of the group resulted in some radical changes to the project. The president of the organisation resigned as he had committed himself to having established the deal with the town for the property opposite Wicks and could not see the project being moved. But he was overruled by the membership and the new project is to go ahead on the North East corner of the TUCs field. With the more spacious surroundings the building will be modified and expanded a modest ten feet or so. The town and Tisdale School Division have come to terms over the ownership of the property and the title is in the process of being transferred. It is unfortunate that this controversy came about as the original organisers of the project put so much time effort and energy into making the project a reality and must feel like their success has been usurped by the majority who want it located closer to the town's core. The two block area that was the Field and site of the TUCs school was once Tisdale's garbage dump and there has been some speculation as to what might lie buried under that turf. One truly unsettling aspect of this move is that with the development of this Centre in this location the group are talking about having the rest of the two block area developed into a senior Citizens "compound" a walled in ghetto with security gates and the sort of thing we have heard about in California and other suburban areas. I personally am more then disturbed at that prospect as Tisdale, a place where almost any cars that are ever stolen are taken because they have their keys left in them, is virtually crime free. What sort of glue are these folks on that would make them feel threatened to the point they feel they need the added security of living in a walled in community. Like the president of the organisation who resigned, I too will not be a part of such a community and if such a project starts to take shape, our house is for sale and we are moving to another town. I could not live and work in a town where a segiment of the society feels the need to cut itself off from everyone else. Clearly, such people should and will be left alone. Sincerely Timothy W. Shire