At the January council meeting, Lorrie Zinn said, “The garbage that Last Mountain Times has been reporting is incorrect, and she is providing for a negativity with the RM...As far as I’m concerned she’s been misrepresentation [sic] of our meetings”. Zinn has been the subject of several articles due to her behaviour in public meetings.
Zinn then asked CAO Rodney Audette about a phone call from a ratepayer. Audette said Cindy Fuchs raised concern that the Last Mountain Times’ reporting did not accurately reflect what was being discussed or the Council’s decisions. The Reeve added that Former Councillor Brent Smith had said the same thing in general to all Council members. Cindy Fuchs was in attendance at the October meeting of Council with her son Derek Fuchs. His offer to purchase an adjacent piece of Municipal Reserve (MR) land has been highly contentious with other ratepayers of Highwood Beach. Cindy Fuchs is also the sister of former Div. 4 Councillor Brent Smith. Zinn has been an advocate for the sale of the MR land to Derek Fuchs throughout the process.
Reeve Kirzinger asked Zinn if they should sue. Zinn proposed stopping the RM notices in the local newspaper and instead use the Davidson or Regina paper. Zinn said, “Yes the Regina paper is going to cost us a little bit but I’m done with this crap.”
Reeve Kirzinger replied, “The only reason she (LMT reporter) reports about us is because she has something to report about.” He continued, “Who reads the Southey town news when their biggest deal is a stray cat. Nobody. We cannot stop her from being in the gallery.”
Zinn responded, “That’s not what I’m saying. She can be there we just don’t have to help pay her cheque do we if we go to another newspaper.”
Reeve Kirzinger reminded the group that the Last Mountain Times is the most local paper to the RM, so the publication covers the meetings.
The Last Mountain Times (Est.1908) has an estimated distribution of 5000 print papers weekly*, free email subscriptions, and a free-to-read website.
Drawing Councillor Bob Bennet into the discussion, Zinn stated, “it was Bob who suggested it at the first of the meeting, but I don’t believe we had started the meeting yet. So it’s not only me thinking this.” Councillor Bennet was also a subject of the same two articles regarding poor conduct.
Reeve Kirzinger responded at length, “In all honesty I can think the same thing, but you have told me this is a thankless job. We will be scrutinized by the public and we will be thought of as terrible people now and after. Welcome to being a councillor. We cannot avoid some of that. We can be frustrated about it. If we need a place to vent, we do that amongst ourselves. But I have absolutely no doubt if we are operating here openly and transparently she will have very little to complain about. Yes, we are going to have to be careful that our speech is politically correct. We should be doing that anyway that’s nothing new. It’s part of our ethics, its part of our bylaws. Its proper procedure and we are expected to do that as public officials.”
Reeve Kirzinger acknowledged what Zinn said, agreeing it was an irritation but that it was part of his job. “I value everyone’s input in here. We do not have to agree on everything but I want bedrock honest truth. And if we don’t like what we are hearing, that’s ok. It’s ok. But we have to be honest and be representing everybody. The manner in which we say that... I’m responsible to make sure that’s done in an ethical way. With the rest of this stuff, it’s part of the job. It’s big business whether you guys think it’s big business or not it is. Hard decisions, hard choices.”
Since September, several municipal elected officials have had trouble adjusting to the media coverage. Last Mountain Times hired a Civic-interest reporter to cover matters important to the public interest, including RM and Town meetings. For a period of time prior to September, LMT wasn’t able to effectively cover many public meetings, so meeting notes and stories went unreported. Now that LMT can properly provide this public service, ratepayers and concerned citizens can ask questions, make informed choices, and hold those officials accountable for their conduct.
*Free papers are delivered to mailboxes of- Bethune, Buena Vista, Bulyea, Craven, Cymric, Earl Grey, Govan, Findlater/Holdfast, Lumsden, Nokomis, Raymore, Regina Beach, Semans, Silton, Southey, Strasbourg, Duval
Jennifer Argue, Civic Reporter, LMT - Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Note: These reports are abridged for content