[Bcma-l] update 3 on the embattled Boundary Museum - Some other cases

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:10:34 -0700

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Burnaby Village Museum went through the difficult transition of
ownership/operation from governance by a society to governance by the
municipality.=20

=20

1.	In that case the municipality clearly owned the land and
buildings.=20

=20

2.	The staff had been unionized and made municipal employees a few
years beforehand. Only the Director was still an employee of the
society.=20

=20

3.	The City had a signed a "Management Agreement" with the society
for the society to operate the museum and this was allowed to lapse
before action was taken.

=20

4.	There was a dispute over the ownership of the artifacts and as
the Curator I had to do a study of the various donation forms and their
wording - specifically to determine to which organization the form
transferred ownership from the donor.  In Burnaby's case, the society
initially planned on claiming and removing all or part of the collection
but eventually they realized that even if they could legally do so, they
lacked the resources to store and display the 50,000 plus artifacts
(some weighing several tons including a railway engine, steam donkey and
tram) and they eventually gave up.=20

=20

There were hurt feelings of course but eventually the staff, by acting
in a professional and neutral manner, were later able to work with key
individuals from the society.=20

=20

The Burnaby Art Gallery went through a rougher transition later on and
that society actually set up and operated a gallery elsewhere for
awhile, but they could not sustain it.=20

=20

New Westminster went through this change in 1999. The former governing
group still has representation on the advisory Sub-Committee.=20

=20

Does it make sense to have a civic museum owned and operated by the
civic officials? That is for each community to decide. There are pros
and cons for either a society running it or the civic authority.=20

=20

Every transition of museum governance situation is probably unique.
Ideally both parties would negotiate and hopefully be agreeable to a
change of ownership/governance in a win-win situation.=20

=20

Difficult as it is, the employees should try to remain as neutral as
possible, as they would likely wish to continue to be employed -
regardless of who pays the wages.  The disagreeing parties are the
municipality and the society with the staff caught in the middle. If the
disagreeing parties cannot negotiate and talk, then the lawyers may have
to do so. I would hope that they would instead seek a mediator before
going the legal dispute in court route.

=20

One can presume that the municipality has its reasons for its drastic
actions. Setting aside hurt feelings, a key question to ask is, if the
society regains control of the facility, and the municipality remains
adversarial, could the society afford to operate the museum without any
municipal support, or indeed in a hostile situation?=20

=20

Colin MacGregor Stevens,

Manager,

New Westminster Museum and Archives,

302 Royal Avenue,

New Westminster, BC,=20

V3L 1H7

=20

Phone Office:    604-527-4639

Work Cellular : 604-830-6965

Fax:                  604-527-4641

E-mail: cstevens@newwestcity.ca=20

Web Site: www.newwestminster.ca=20

=20

-----Original Message-----
From: bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca
[mailto:bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca]=20
Sent: October 15, 2007 5:07 PM
To: BCMA Listserv
Subject: [Bcma-l] update 3 on the embattled boundary museum

=20

Hello all,

A short update - just the facts, hold the ranting.
In the 2nd week after the closing of the museum:

*         on Tuesday we approached the post office to see about
retrieving the mail from our P.O. Box without the key.Apparently the
society's president can do so - his name is on a card.

*         also on Tuesday there was a City council meeting where:

o        The topic of the museum never surfaced.

o        The board president, Rick, attended and at the end of council
had a short hall meeting with the mayor. They've set a date of next
Wednesday, Oct 17, to meet.

*         At that time the city expects to discuss only the transfer of
the artifacts from the society to the city's, as yet unborn,
organization and the issue of the staff. The museum would like to resume
negotiations and stop the current lockout situation ...

*         On Wednesday afternoon we staff were allowed in to the museum
to conduct office business.

o        The bucket's were emptied ... the ceiling's still leaking when
it rains ...

o        The contents of the till were deposited in the bank and various
issues dealing with mail and bills were dealt with.

o        The museum's laptop with the most up-to-date version of the
collection database was removed from the building. A backup copy exists
within the building.

o        also on Wednesday the local newspaper came out with an
editorial that keeps the issue on the front burner. And it's completely
against city hall.

*         On Thursday a board meeting was held. Not enough members for a
quorum. Staff attended. Highlights as follows:

o        The board has been passed the name of an out of town law firm
that they'll consult with.

o        I passed on an email from the grants coordinator of the other
major funder. Nothing unexpected there ... our grant for the coming year
is shelved. The grant we got for this year is begin reviewed to see if
we'll have to pay some back. Sigh ...

o        The cheques were signed. This included the paycheques for the
staff. Whew  ...

o        Three documents were brought along for viewing and discussion.

*         A letter to the city requesting regular access to the office
by the staff to conduct the business of the museum. This will be sent as
presented.

*         A paragraph by paragraph rebuttal to the city's original press
release.

*         A 'press release' of our own.

*         On Friday the board president reworked our press release.

o        Both it and the rebuttal were hand delivered to the press.

o        Both will also be made available on the museum's website in the
coming week.

On the weekend I scanned the Gazette Editorial and uploaded it to the
website.
More customization was done to the new parts of the website and they are
up and available to the visitors now. These are tools that allow us to
provide blogs and forums that may help us get through this.

A point of clarification:

The original 'official' museum website is actually a couple of pages
hanging off the city's website. It can be found at
http://www.city.grandforks.bc.ca/museum/

The new website (still under construction) was purchased and set up by
the staff in early august. You can find it at
http://boundarymuseum.com/.
The blog and forum part are at
http://boundarymuseum.com/communityserver/

Note: Since the museum has yet to reimburse me for it, it is technically
my property and I guess I'm responsible (legally) for it ... so please -
no incendiary or libelous comments posted please ;)
I'm not trying to remove discussion of this topic from this list to the
forums on the site ... it's just that many people in this community have
no access to the Listserv so this is my alternative way to get the word
out to them.

That's all for now ...  my neck's starting to get cold ...

--=20
Les Johnson
Technician
The Boundary Museum
Grand Forks, BC
http://www.boundarymuseum.com

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<div class=3DSection1>

Burnaby Village</f=
ont> Museum</fo=
nt> went through the difficult transition of =
ownership/operation from governance
by a society to governance by the municipality.

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<ol start=3D1 type=3D1>
 <li class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'color:navy'><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy =
face=3DArial><span
     style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>In that case the =
municipality clearly
     owned the land and buildings. </span></font></li>
</ol>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<ol start=3D2 type=3D1>
 <li class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'color:navy'><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy =
face=3DArial><span
     style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>The staff had been =
unionized
     and made municipal employees a few years beforehand. Only the =
</span></font><font
      size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Director</span></font><font
     size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> was still
     an employee of the society. </span></font></li>
</ol>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<ol start=3D3 type=3D1>
 <li class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'color:navy'><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy =
face=3DArial><span
     style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>The City had a signed =
a &#8220;Management
     Agreement&#8221; with the society for the society to operate the =
museum
     and this was allowed to lapse before action was =
taken.</span></font></li>
</ol>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<ol start=3D4 type=3D1>
 <li class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'color:navy'><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy =
face=3DArial><span
     style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>There was a dispute =
over the
     ownership of the artifacts and as the Curator I had to do a study =
of the
     various donation forms and their wording &#8211; specifically to =
determine
     to which organization the form transferred ownership from the =
donor. &nbsp;In
     </span></font><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
       font-family:Arial'>Burnaby</span></font><font size=3D2 =
face=3DArial><span
     style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>&#8217;s case, the =
society initially
     planned on claiming and removing all or part of the collection but
     eventually they realized that even if they could legally do so, =
they lacked
     the resources to store and display the 50,000 plus artifacts (some =
weighing
     several tons including a railway engine, steam donkey and tram) and =
they
     eventually gave up. </span></font></li>
</ol>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

There were hurt feelings of course =
but
eventually the staff, by acting in a professional and neutral manner, =
were later
able to work with key individuals from the society.

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

The Burnaby</f=
ont> Art=
 Gallery</f=
ont> went through a rougher transition later on and that society
actually set up and operated a gallery elsewhere for awhile, but they =
could not
sustain it.

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

New =
Westminster went through this change in 1999. The former governing =
group still
has representation on the advisory Sub-Committee.

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

Does it make sense to have a civic =
museum owned
and operated by the civic officials? That is for each community to =
decide.
There are pros and cons for either a society running it or the civic =
authority.

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

Every transition of museum =
governance situation
is probably unique. Ideally both parties would negotiate and hopefully =
be
agreeable to a change of ownership/governance in a win-win situation. =

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

Difficult as it is, the employees =
should
try to remain as neutral as possible, as they would likely wish to =
continue to be
employed &#8211; regardless of who pays the wages. &nbsp;The disagreeing
parties are the municipality and the society with the staff caught in =
the
middle. If the disagreeing parties cannot negotiate and talk, then the =
lawyers
may have to do so. I would hope that they would instead seek a mediator =
before
going the legal dispute in court route.

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

One can presume that the =
municipality has
its reasons for its drastic actions. Setting aside hurt feelings, a key
question to ask is, if the society regains control of the facility, and =
the
municipality remains adversarial, could the society afford to operate =
the
museum without any municipal support, or indeed in a hostile situation? =

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<div>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Colin MacGregor =
Stevens,</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Manager,</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>New Westminster Museum and =
Archives,</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>302 Royal =
Avenue,</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>New Westminster, BC, =
</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>V3L 1H7</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Phone Office:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
604-527-4639</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Work Cellular : =
604-830-6965</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Fax:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&=
nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
604-527-4641</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>E-mail: <a
href=3D"mailto:cstevens@newwestcity.ca">cstevens@newwestcity.ca</a> =
</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoAutoSig><font size=3D3 color=3Dnavy face=3D"Times New =
Roman"><span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Web Site: <a
href=3D"http://www.newwestminster.ca">www.newwestminster.ca</a></span></f=
ont><font
size=3D2 color=3Dnavy><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'> =
</span></font></p>

</div>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 color=3Dnavy face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DTahoma><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:windowtext'>-----Origi=
nal
Message-----<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>From:</span></b> =
bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca
[mailto:bcma-l-admin@museumsassn.bc.ca] <br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> October 15, 2007 =
5:07 PM<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> BCMA Listserv<br>
<b><span style=3D'font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [Bcma-l] update =
3 on the
embattled boundary museum</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
color=3Dblack
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D3 =
color=3Dblack
face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt'>Hello all,<br>
<br>
A short update - just the facts, hold the ranting.<br>
In the 2nd week after the closing of the museum:</span></font></p>

&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
on Tuesday we approached the post office to =
see
about retrieving the mail from our P.O. Box without the key.Apparently =
the
society's president can do so - his name is on a card.

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DSymbol><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>&middot;<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>also on Tuesday there was a City council =
meeting
where:</p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>The topic of the museum never surfaced.</p>

o&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The board president, Rick, attended and at =
the end
of council had a short hall meeting with the mayor. They've set a date =
of next
Wednesday, Oct 17, to meet.

&sect;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
At that time the city expects to discuss =
only the
transfer of the artifacts from the society to the city's, as yet unborn,
organization and the issue of the staff. The museum would like to resume
negotiations and stop the current lockout situation ...

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DSymbol><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>&middot;<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>On Wednesday afternoon we staff were allowed =
in to
the museum to conduct office business.</p>

o&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The bucket's were emptied ... the ceiling's =
still
leaking when it rains ...

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>The contents of the till were deposited in =
the bank
and various issues dealing with mail and bills were dealt with.</p>

o&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The museum's laptop with the most up-to-date
version of the collection database was removed from the building. A =
backup copy
exists within the building.

o&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
also on Wednesday the local newspaper came =
out with
an editorial that keeps the issue on the front burner. And it's =
completely
against city hall.

&middot;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
On Thursday a board meeting was held. Not =
enough
members for a quorum. Staff attended. Highlights as follows:

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>The board has been passed the name of an out =
of
town law firm that they'll consult with.</p>

o&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
I passed on an email from the grants =
coordinator of
the other major funder. Nothing unexpected there ... our grant for the =
coming
year is shelved. The grant we got for this year is begin reviewed to see =
if
we'll have to pay some back. Sigh ...

o&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
The cheques were signed. This included the
paycheques for the staff. Whew&nbsp; ...

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>Three documents were brought along for =
viewing and
discussion.</p>

&sect;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
A letter to the city requesting regular =
access to
the office by the staff to conduct the business of the museum. This will =
be
sent as presented.

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:2.0in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DWingdings><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings'>&sect;<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>A paragraph by paragraph rebuttal to the =
city's
original press release.</p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:2.0in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DWingdings><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Wingdings'>&sect;<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>A 'press release' of our own.</p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.0in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DSymbol><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Symbol'>&middot;<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>On Friday the board president reworked our =
press
release.</p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>Both it and the rebuttal were hand delivered =
to the
press.</p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal =
style=3D'margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New"'>o<font
size=3D1 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span style=3D'font:7.0pt "Times New =
Roman"'>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</span></font></span></font>Both will also be made available on the =
museum's
website in the coming week.</p>

On the weekend =
I scanned
the Gazette Editorial and uploaded it to the website. 
More customization was done to the new parts of the website and they are =
up and
available to the visitors now. These are tools that allow us to provide =
blogs
and forums that may help us get through this. 
 
A point of clarification: 
 
The original 'official' museum website is actually a couple of pages =
hanging
off the city's website. It can be found at <a
href=3D"http://www.city.grandforks.bc.ca/museum/">http://www.city.grandfo=
rks.bc.ca/museum/</a> 
 
The new website (still under construction) was purchased and set up by =
the
staff in early august. You can find it at <a =
href=3D"http://boundarymuseum.com/">http://boundarymuseum.com/</a>. 
The blog and forum part are at <a
href=3D"http://boundarymuseum.com/communityserver/">http://boundarymuseum=
.com/communityserver/</a> 
 
Note: Since the museum has yet to reimburse me for it, it is technically =
my
property and I guess I'm responsible (legally) for it ... so please - no =
incendiary
or libelous comments posted please ;) 
I'm not trying to remove discussion of this topic from this list to the =
forums
on the site ... it's just that many people in this community have no =
access to
the Listserv so this is my alternative way to get the word out to =
them. 
 
That's all for now ...&nbsp; my neck's starting to get cold ...

<pre style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3D"Courier New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>-- </span></font></pre><pre =
style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>Les Johnson</span></font></pre><pre
style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier =
New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>Technician</span></font></pre><pre =
style=3D'margin-left:
.5in'><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier New"><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>The Boundary Museum</span></font></pre><pre
style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier =
New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>Grand Forks, BC</span></font></pre><pre
style=3D'margin-left:.5in'><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3D"Courier =
New"><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'><a =
href=3D"http://www.boundarymuseum.com">http://www.boundarymuseum.com</a><=
/span></font></pre></div>

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