Every once in a while our toilet system gets clogged. Two heavy duty burrito eating twenty-five year olds in the house may be part of the problem. They claim that their late night consumption of copious amounts of Mexican food and the flush failure is purely coincidental. Nevertheless, when that old toilet backs up it’s a scary moment. You notice the water not going down and you try to flush again. Big Mistake!

Your heart beats faster as the murky water rises to the top of the rim of the toilet bowl. You have grabbed all the towels from the wash, waiting for the dreaded overflow. Afraid not to make a vibration that may cause a ripple over the rim, you tiptoe to the basement corner where the toilet plunger resides. It is a dirty job, no glory here, but the plunger has never failed to get shit done.

The first delicate push, then the second, a more forceful third, and then comes the glorious deep sound of water and paper and composted burritos exiting the toilet bowl down the drain. Another flush and the clean water of renewal swirls back into your life.

So it is with rumours. They clog the channels of intelligent discourse. They fill healthy  social communication with murky speculation, conspiracy theories, and downright mistruths that get repeated in a sociopathic game of broken telephone. Take for example the rumours swirling about Mayor Annette Groves.

Was she still living in Caledon? Had she moved into a home in Brampton? Was she living in Woodbridge or Kleinberg in York Region?

I didn’t know, so I decided to drop by the Mayor’s old house in Bolton to see if she was still there. Nobody was around, so I texted her to let her know I was trying to verify that the Mayor of Caledon was still living in Caledon. That was when the toilet began to back up.

The Mayor responded by telling me that she still had the same residence in Bolton for herself and family, and that I could share that with my readers. She added that I was not to come by her house again or she would call the police. Ouch! I texted back to confirm that I would not come by again.

At 10:30 that night, just after I had gone to sleep, my son responded to a doorbell ring. He came up to my bedroom to tell me that there were three police officers at the door. I smiled. Time to clear the drain. I went downstairs, and sure enough there were three fully loaded OPP officers standing at the door. It was a hot steamy night, so I invited them into the cooler foyer and said, “This is from the Mayor, right?”

Yes, indeed the Mayor, fearing for her life, had called the police. “Yes sir,” the officer replied, “May I see some ID, please. and this is being recorded.” “Oh good,” I replied, “because I want to tell you the full story.” I showed the officers my text, her threat to call the police, my return text saying that I would not visit her neighbourhood again, did not do so… “And yet, here you are,” I noted. The officer explained that Mayor Patrick Brown had been receiving death threats and they had to respond to calls of concern. The toilet was really  plugged.

I replied that I didn’t know anything about Patrick Brown’s troubles. “I was merely trying to verify if the Mayor still resided in Caledon. I don’t know how that could possibly be interpreted as a threat.” First stroke of the plunger. “Am I still being recorded?” The lead officer replied “Yes.” “Oh good, because I want to share the full background on why I needed to clarify her place of residence.”

In a moment of pure bliss, I then delivered my ten minute delegation on the “Swan Lake” issue that was blocked by the Mayor and Clerk and some members of Council on July 8, 2025. The protests were covered on the front page of the July 10, 2025 edition of the Caledon Citizen. My delegation is now available on an OPP video recording available through an FOI request. The plunger stroked down again.

When I finished, the younger officer on the scene told me that the Mayor didn’t want me to communicate with her any more via email, phone, or letter. I stepped closer to him and said, “That is not going to happen. I am a citizen of Caledon and a journalist. If I need to communicate with the Mayor of my town, I will.” The plunger cleared the drain and the sweet waters of renewal filled the foyer.

I thanked the officers for their diligence and professionalism, and we said goodnight. Shortly after that incident, I made a visit to the OPP offices on Innis Lake Road, where I left a compliment to the OPP for their officers’ professionalism that evening, and made a complaint that the Mayor abused her powers by calling in protection from our police over a request for her to verify her residence in Caledon. Remember the little boy who cried wolf? In the end he lost  his flock.

I can assure you Mayor Groves, no threat to your safety will come from me. Now, your tenure as Mayor, that is another matter. That could be up to your next decision on Swan Lake. As I see it.