Long-time Islander, realtor, developer (he prefers community builder) and philanthropist Wolfgang Duntz has added another job title to his list - blogger. Duntz started Thoughts on Bowen earlier this month and it promises to be an interesting read.
"I will not die before I tell people what I think, especially about all the people who are egotists and have hidden agendas and who probably are not as honest as they pretend to be," the 70-year-old told the Undercurrent.
Duntz says he is not adept at computers and had his business partner Larry Adams get www.thoughtsaboutbowen.ca up and running. But the content is all his and he says, as he get nears his retirement, he sees no reason he shouldn't tell people "the truth about Bowen" and the events which have shaped the island.
Duntz said the biggest issue propelling him to create his blog was the "absolute disaster" that occurred when council did not take Don Ho and Edwin Lee's offer to build Bowen a neighbourhood at Cape Roger Curtis and donate a large park to the Island. He says that decision is irreversible and Bowen will feel the fallout for many years to come.
"Instead of a wonderful community they now have the most boring place you can imagine," he said of the 59 10-acre lots which the community has ended up with. "There will be no people. They could have had people and hundreds of acres of park and now what do they have? A peopleless non-park."
He questions the actions of the now-dissolved Cape Roger Curtis Trust Society, and many councillors, and others, and says the Island is "ruled by a core group of people who fear change." But Duntz believes most Islanders are intelligent and if they hear the truth will form a movement to fight back at those who are "completely delusional."
"There is a mental blockage here on Bowen," he said. "That's why I started a blog. I will challenge them and challenge them until eventually some of their lights will turn on.""
Thus far he's enjoying the blog and has left space for people to respond, as some have. He's also taken out ad space in this paper to offer up clips of what he's posted and says that he will be regularly adding new material, revealing more as he goes along. This week, he is writing about the national park issue.
"I am vulnerable and I can't afford to have too many people get mad at me," he said. "But if I would not be able to vent my frustrations in one way or the other I would get sick."
