Although Craigmillar are making the news recently, and the community ‘leaders’ who are detested by the community at large are quick to go public whenever a journalist puts a microphone in front of them, they seem to be running scared of the volunteers who actually make the community a erm… community.
Two of the committee members of Lismore Parents Action Group had a meeting with members of the ‘Craigmillar Cabal’ to discuss the £25,000 they were awarded by the Scottish Executive. Readers will remember Lismore Parents Action Group as the group of volunteers who took on the city council when they tried to close down Lismore School. Unfortunately the council came 2nd in the fight and the good ladies of Bingham and surrounding areas gave the council their first council vote defeat in 18 years. Lismore school is pround to be open for pupils.
Well, community council secretary, who has many hats to put on for journalists just didn’t like the fact that the ladies from Bingham wanted to put a meeting with him on the record and totally refused to make what happened at the meeting public. When the ladies asked to record the meeting for their members, as it was discussing what to do with the money that the Bingham community were awarded, he downright refused and said he would leave the meeting. IS THIS WHAT CRAIGMILLAR CALLS SOCIAL INCLUSION?
The community council secretary, was this time wearing his hat as boss of Craigmillar Capacity Building Project whose broad aims, according to their website are:
The Broad aims of the Capacity Building Project are to expand the knowledge and develop the skills of those involved in community development, while providing local people with the means, resources and support to enable them to play an active and inclusive part in the social, economic, political and cultural life of the Craigmillar community.
Well, not being able to speak at a meeting, with members of your community on the record, seems to be a strange way of achieving your aims Mr. Walker!
David Walker, who is know in the community as disgraced ex-councillor Paul Nolan’s henchman, refused to allow the recording machine to be used whist he was in the room although the representative from the Council’s Community Eduction department approved, as did the manager of the Craigmillar Partnership and the ladies from LPAG. He was outvoted 4-1 and didn’t give in. Isn’t that a little suspicious and wasn’t he outvoted?
I am sure this will not bode well for Mr. Walker’s hopes for becoming Craigmillar’s next councillor, as he keeps telling the community he will be soon, because Jack ‘Daniels’ O’Donnell is seemingly taking the big pay-off before the next council elections and will spend the rest of his life proping up the bar at the Scottie in Piershill or staggering around the Asda booze aisle.
The question that must be asked here is why is the city council and the scottish executive allowing this nightmare to happen to volunteers who give their time free to help the community. Walker et al are paid full-time salaries to help the community but all the seem to be doing is giving jobs to either their families or the people they are having affairs with on the side.
Chairman of the funding panel who awarded the money, the aforementioned former disgraced councillor Paul Nolan had better things to do with his time and was unable to attend. Nobody belives he was counting his millions, or do they? We are happy to hear from the disgraced ex-councillor to find out exactly what was so pressing that he couldn’t bother turning up for community volunteers when he keeps screaming to the press that he is so interested.
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