The first Chatham-Kent councillor to receive a "shame" award from Water Wells First (WWF) says he's prepared to give it right back to the group's spokesperson, Kevin Jakubec.
Councillor Jeff Wesley says no one from WWF contacted him to seek clarification about comments he made earlier this month before the group accused him of misleading the public and signaled its intention to give him a small Pinocchio figurine at a later date.
"If [Jakubec] would have taken the time to call me or email me to seek clarification, he would understand that what I'm doing is exactly what they have called for," says Wesley. "There is not a councillor on Chatham-Kent council who has done more and been more involved in trying to find answers to the water well issues... it's not even in my ward, but I have taken it upon myself to do what I can to help them."
In a release, officials with Water Wells First also claim that, "Only one email has ever been received by Water Wells First from Counsellor [sic] Wesley. An email sent informing the spokesperson in January 2017 that Mr. Wesley was going to attend the second public meeting of the OtterCreek Windfarm."
Wesley disputes that claim and has supplied BlackburnNews.com with two separate emails that he says were forwarded to Jakubec.
The first email -- dated January 30, 2017 -- was directed to members of Chatham-Kent Council, municipal CAO Don Shropshire, and the municipality's Chief Legal Officer John Norton. That email outlines several concerns Wesley has with the Otter Creek Wind Project "after reading the Hydrogeological Assessment for this project" and a timestamp shows that a copy was forwarded to "Kevin Jakubec", just over an hour after it was originally sent out.
The second email -- dated February 6, 2017 -- was addressed to "info@ottercreekwindfarm.ca" and shares a number of concerns that Wesley has about the proposed Otter Creek Wind Farm Project. Again, a time stamp shows a copy was forwarded to "Kevin Jakubec" -- this time within a minute of the original email being sent out.
"I think [Jakubec] has lost his way and is forgetting what is the really important issue here," says Wesley. "There are people who have problems with their water wells and we need to find out what the cause is and look at viable solutions -- I'm going to continue to work on behalf of them."
He's also taking issue with how Jakubec is representing the group to the public.
"[Jakubec] has undertaken a path where he is going out and bullying people," says Wesley. "That really doesn't set us up for much of a role model with our kids and our youth, because bullying is not something that should be present in our day-to-day events and I think they have made a huge mistake."
Wesley says he will certainly be attending the group's next meeting in March and is ultimately looking for an apology and a retraction of the "shame" award.
"I'm looking forward to it because [Jakubec] has some questions that he will have to answer as well," says Wesley. "I will go there and make sure his membership has complete information on what role I have played and what I have done to try to help them out."
