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Wednesday, October 20, 2010 Orono Weekly Times - 5 Emedis looking for compensation beyond the grave Kris and Walter Emedi believe they are out $18,294 due to a mistake made by the municipality, and they are seeking compensation. The Emedi family, purchased three plots in the Bowmanville cemetray, for the price of $2,200 in 2002, when mother Emedi died at the age of 85. The other two plots were inteneded for their father and their sister. In the spring of 2007, when their sister, Nevenka went to tend to her mother's grave, she noticed freshly dug earth on the plot next their mother's grave, the plot inteded for for their father. The family learned that the municpality had resold their father's plot and had buried another body in it, without a marker. Father Emedi died on June 17, 2008, at the age of 95, and the boys claim it was the stress of the mixed up cemetary plots that killed their father. Clarington's Deputy Clerk; Anne Greentree, told the Orono Times in August of 2008, that the plot mix-up was a result of, "an internal cummunication error with the municpality." This week, municpal clerk; Patti Barrie said she could not comment on the Emedi situation, as she belived the matter was to be before the courts. On August 9, 2009, the Emedi family disintered their mother's body from the Bowmanville Cemetrary, and had it moved to a cemetary in Oshawa. While the municipality did offer the family other plots in the Bowmanville cemetary, the family felt they couldn't trust the municipality anymore. The municipality paid the disinterment cost. Included in the $18,294 the Emedi's belive is owed to them by the municpality is the $7,855 they paid for three cemetary plots in Oshawa, $4,000 in lost time and $1,100 in gas expense, while the brothers looked for a different cemetary to bury their family members in. They did not Having opened a business in Clarington I know whereof I speak, having been sucked dry on this tax grab treadmill. Even my own landlord had to have property rezoned to commercial that had been a commercial property for over 50 years! After paying out in excess of $40,000 to obtain the zoning, my neighbour had to cede land to the city to gain the FINAL approval. Small business in Clarington is being smothered by petty bureaucrats who have tax quotas to fill to justify their jobs. include a dollar value for all the loss, damages and stress they have suffered as a result of what they call "The crime done to our family." According to one brother, the municipality's insurance company offered them a settlement of $7,500, which they declined to accept. "They (the municipality) did whatever they wanted with our cemetary plots," said Kris Emedi, and now they think they can pay us whatever they want." They had hoped to meet with Mayor Jim Abernethy when he opened his election campaign office in Bowmanville last month, but they claim the Mayor refuses to meet with them. Abernethy told the Times that the Durham Region Insurance pool offered the Emedi's a settlement in March 2009, and again in May 2009. The Emedi's did not respond to the offers sent them, and the the file was closed as of October 13, 2009, according to the Mayor. And where is city council in all of this? Obviously nowhere. The current batch on council seems to be paralyzed in its ability to handle its employees. Should there be by-laws against certain forms of signage, encroachments etc? Yes. But when these pseudo laws interfere with the ability of an individual to feed his family the law must be struck down! What is happening to Mr. Knapp is not the first incident of its kind in Clarington. There are over 500 small businesses in photo supplied On 10/10/10, people all over the world joined together to do projects that cut carbon and celebrate climate solutions. Kendal area kids; back row, left to right: Eric Foster, Craig Foster, Sierra Tavener, Ellie Abernethy, and Sidney Gerbasi. Front row: Brenna Tavener, Kira Abernethy, Preston Gerbasi, pitched in at the Kendal Ponds Garbage Clean Up and Brunch day on Sunday October 10th. The Emedi's are no strangers to controversy. In 2000 they were evicted from their home on 420 acres of property on Townline Road, north of Mosport, in Manvers Township. this municipality from dog sitters to construction companies. But they have no strength, no way to force the city to get its hands out of their pockets or their businesses. United into a single federation with access to fully paid legal representation and a determined lobby wing, small business would have that strength. The family claimed TRT Sand and Gravel were able to purchase their property out from underneath them, because their bank had misplaced one of their mortage payments. This missive is a call to all small business owners in this community to come together and put a stop to the UNdemocratic policies of this community as wielded by the bureaucrats downtown Randall E. St-Denis Chairman Ontario Federation Of Small Businesses BY-LAW Continued from pg 2 excuse I have heard several times from other business owners who have agreements with the city which the by-law or planning department claim never existed. Let's call this for what it is: a TAX GRAB. File for a variance $500, file for a sign, $150. Oh, and I forgot the Site Plan fees, another bit of extortion. The nightmare goes on.