After being named as the latest ‘Shame Award’ recipient by the Water Wells First group, Wallaceburg Coun. Jeff Wesley is calling the claims made by WWF “absurd” and is demanding an apology. Meanwhile, Kevin Jakubec, the spokesperson for the group, said in a media release he is not saying sorry to the Wallaceburg Councillor.
“I think what is really telling in all of this is that Water Wells First will continue to issue these ‘news releases’ but at no time has Mr. Jakubec or anybody from Water Wells First taken the time to call me, to talk to me, to invite me to a meeting before they throw this stuff out there,” Wesley told the Sydenham Current on Monday morning.
“The reason why they won’t do that is because they don’t want to hear what I have to say because it doesn’t fit with their narrative on what they are trying to do here.”
Jakubec said  Water Wells First presented Wesley with their second ‘Shame Award’ to draw “much needed awareness to the serious problem of the loss of groundwater quality” for rural Chatham-Kent families, who are dependent on this source of water for their water supply.
Jakubec said Water Wells First’s objective in using ‘Shame Awards’ is to prevent any additional families in North Chatham-Kent from losing their well water quality due to wind farm construction and operations, and to prevent “further damage to the 12,000-year-old aquifer under Chatham-Kent and to preserve this important natural resource for future generations.
“If one family’s water well is saved from using this tactic, then shaming a Councillor, a local politician well versed in receiving public criticism, then in Water Wells First’s opinion giving the award was well worth it,” Jakubec said.
Water Wells First’s objective is to “shame now before a serious environmental stigma” becomes a fixed and irreparable reality across a much larger portion of Chatham-Kent, Jakubec said.
“No one knows how to solve the problem of Kettle Point Black Shale particulates contamination of water wells in Chatham-Kent,” Jakubec said.
“CANWEA-Canadian Wind Energy Association, its developers and operators have not put forward any remediation plans nor have they even publicly acknowledged this problem. Mayor Hope and the Councillors of Chatham-Kent have not taken this problem seriously. Not a single finger has been lifted by any of our elected municipal politicians to investigate and come up with any solutions.
Jakubec added: “(Councillor) Wesley was one of the councillors who laughed at deputations being made by families with contaminated water at a council meeting. How can we trust a (Councillor) that laughs at his constituent’s plight?”
Wesley said this claim is simply not true.
“For anybody to say that they would be making a deputation to Council, that I would be laughing at them… that is so not me,” Wesley said.
“I am very disappointed in that. Anybody who knows me, knows that’s not me.”
Jakubec said Wesley was awarded a ‘Shame Award’ for misleading the public.
“A figurine of Pinocchio was given to remind Mr. Wesley of the story of Pinocchio,” he said.
“Mr. Wesley in a letter to the Sydenham Current on Saturday, February 25th, 2017 outright rejected the ‘Shame Award’ and asked for an apology and a withdrawal of the award. No apology will be given and the ‘Shame Award’ stands.”
Wesley said Jakubec and Water Wells First misread his letter, which ran in the Sydenham Current a few weeks ago.
“That is why I in turn ended up giving the shame award back to them,” Wesley said.
“What I said in my letter, what I was asking for is exactly what they want, yet I get criticized for doing that as oppose to doing nothing. So what they are saying to me is that I should have just done nothing and stayed out of it.
Wesley added: “The water well issue isn’t even in my Ward. I am out here trying to help people who I know because I see them in Wallaceburg. I am trying to help people I know who live outside of Wallaceburg and this is the way Water Wells First wants to treat people like myself trying to help, then you know what… they are going to find a lot of people aren’t going to do much of anything for them to help them because why would you. You end up getting stabbed in the back.”
Jakubec said the award was not given to Wesley as a personal attack.
“Water Wells First is a grassroots organization of water well owners in North Chatham-Kent,” Jakubec said.
“Water Wells First is a young organization and has only been in the public’s eye for eight months since the end of June, 2016. Mr. Wesley in his rebuttal in the Sydenham Current to receiving the ‘Shame Award’ presents his side of the story, his facts and tries to assure the public he has been ever vigilant and on top of this issue acting proactively.”
Jakubec said Wesley claims to have sent numerous emails to the group to keep them up to date.
“Mr. Wesley states ‘unfortunately Mr. Jakubec has never spoken with me nor asked me any questions even though I have continually reached out to him’,” Jakubec said.
“A search of the permanent email database that Water Wells First maintains since the beginning of Water Wells First website in August 2016 reveals this to be completely untrue. Only one email has ever been received by Water Wells First from (Councillor) Wesley. An email sent informing the spokesperson in January 2017 that Mr. Wesley was going to attend the second public meeting of the Otter Creek Wind Farm.”
Wesley forwarded a pair of e-mails to the media, which shows Jakubec’s name and email address as being on the receiving end of both emails.
Jakubec said Wesley is challenging him to reveal the truth to the members of Water Wells First and that somehow information is not being properly shared.
“Water Wells First will show the email logs at the next Water Wells First meeting proving (Councillor) Wesley is trying to mislead the public,” Jakubec said.
“Mr. Wesley will be contacted by Water Wells First to accept his Pinocchio figurine award once the meeting date for the next meeting is finalized and the many members of Water Wells First eagerly await (Councillor) Wesley’s arrival,” he said.
“Members of the public are always welcome, as all Water Wells First information meetings have been open to the public. But a word of caution must be given to the public wishing to attend this ‘Shame Award’ ceremony. You may want to bring your rubber boots as no doubt (Councillor) Wesley will try to pile it high.”
Wesley said the members of Water Wells First are being led down the wrong path.
“I will continue to do what I can to help out the water well users, but I will not deal with Mr. Jakubec and the leadership of Water Wells First going forward,” Wesley said.
“This is crazy. I have never had this before where you actually try to help somebody. They can sit there and say, ‘well you haven’t done this, you haven’t done that’ but I can tell you and I will tell anybody who wants to ask me, I can prove it. I have done more on this issue than any other member of council as far as research, attending meetings, talking with lawyers, talking with environmentalists, everything… bar none. If that is not good enough for them, then so be it, but it’s unfortunate because the membership of Water Wells First is being led down a path that is not going to work for them. That’s unfortunate.”
Wesley added: “I will not have anymore to do with the leadership of Water Wells First because as far as I am concerned, they have lost their way, they are forgetting what the important issue is and now all they are worried about is getting media coverage grandstanding at the expense of those people who are doing what they can to help them. It is very unfortunate.”
Wesley said he was going to seek legal advice on the issue.
“I have had enough,” he told the Sydenham Current.
“If they want to continue to attack people who are trying to support their cause, then they are simply going to go down the drain because this is not the way to do it.”
Following his interview with the Sydenham Current, Wesley said in an email sent to the local media that he has hired a lawyer and they have advised him to not comment any further on this issue.
Here is more of our coverage:
– Letter: Wesley responds to WWF ‘Shame Award’
– ‘Shame Award’ given to Wallaceburg councillor
– Letter: Water well monitoring program needed
– Water Wells First hands out ‘Shame Award’
– Photo credit: Aaron Hall
