Skip to content

My Nikkel's Worth

You know how there's sometimes this niggling bit in the back of your mind, bothering you and making you think you've forgotten about something you should be paying attention to? For husbands and fathers, this can often be true of things we were meant
GN201110110509959AR.jpg


You know how there's sometimes this niggling bit in the back of your mind, bothering you and making you think you've forgotten about something you should be paying attention to?

For husbands and fathers, this can often be true of things we were meant to be doing around the house or for the wife or a daughter ("Daddy/Honey, do you love me?" starts the question, with downturned lip for good effect )

I find this to be true at times in relation to the various levels of government; sometimes it's in relation to an issue that's been raised before but which is now residing on a back burner of sorts, still sort of on a simmer but not really enough to be noticeable or drawing attention to itself.

I was recently at a Rotary meeting where a question was posed of the mayor, namely, now that the city's major facility renos are done or nearly done on the city rinks and Leisure Centre, what has become of two of this city's "orphans", the Soo Line Historical Museum and the Signal Hill Arts Centre?

The mayor replied the city will complete the upgrade work on the chimney stack at the museum, a relic of the days when the building housed the city's power plant; in relation to the arts centre, her answer I found rather curious, namely that the city was spending some $3 million on the new community-use space at the Comp. This is the performing arts centre/ theatre/ gym/ convention centre space which will be a major part of the renovations and new construction going on at the Comp over next couple or three years.

I find this curious for the simple reason the Triple-C space at the Comp really has nothing to do with the Signal Hill Arts Centre or the building it's housed in - unless of course this was a subliminal message stating indicating this is where they intend to move the many wonderful arts programs and events from Signal Hill to this space, even though it is a performing arts space and has nothing whatsoever to do with the visual arts (like painting and pottery) that is showcased at Signal Hill.

This city has a highly-evolved community of the arts in all their forms. We have performers, we have painters and photographers, writers and poets, dancers and musicians, and the list goes on; I submit that the new space will certainly serve the performing arts community well - just as Signal Hill currently serves the visual arts community.

Signal Hill has many uses and tenants, and many groups that enjoy being housed there; let it not be said this was an orphan that died of neglect.