The winter of 2011 was marked by absurd events, brought to a close by Janusz Palikot’s arrival with a surprisingly rational program for his party. In spring, Bolesławiec residents were most preoccupied with the fact that some people had been swimming at the still-closed “Orka” water park. And they wondered who it could have been. In summer, we enjoyed the City Days and the Ceramics Festival, while a bizarre break-in at Carrefour took us by surprise.
In autumn, our candidates tried, with varying degrees of determination, to get into the Sejm and Senate, and perhaps out of desperation took part in a debate attended by a handful of people, mostly their friends. In winter, meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice decided to move our court to Zgorzelec. Below is a complete, tongue-in-cheek summary of 2011.
January
January 2011 brought two surprising events. At the end of the previous year, the mayor took a ride in a modern garbage truck without the required authorization and reported himself to the police so that he could be fined. However, police officers in Bolesławiec decided that driving heavy specialist equipment without qualifications was not an offense and that the official had created no real danger. "Mayor’s garbage-truck ride legal" – 7 thousand views.
The collapse of Bolesławiecki Klub Sportowy, on the other hand, seemed real. It turned out that our city was home to what was perhaps the only sports club of its kind whose president earned 0 zlotys. When reports on BKS activities were approved in the new year and it was discovered that the other board members’ positions were similarly “profitable,” none of them agreed to stand for re-election. "BKS is falling apart" – 5 thousand views.
February
Perhaps trying to support BKS, an official hen began laying golden flyers in February. The proceeds did not go to the pitch, however, but to the companies of two well-known photographers. Over two years, Grzegorz Matoryn’s company earned 130,000 zlotys from advertising materials, while “Moniatowicz Foto Studio” took in 88,000 zlotys in 2010 from just two contracts.
City and club representatives debated for a long time how to support the athletes. All the city had to do was commission both companies to photograph BKS club members, while the president could collect royalties for posing for the photographs. "The hen laying golden flyers" – 5 thousand views.
The list of February absurdities also included kitchens for which customers paid deposits, only to see neither furniture nor the owner, who filled them with apologies and explanations instead of countertops and kitchen fronts. "Bolesławiec’s ghost kitchens" – 5 thousand views.
March
In March, Janusz Palikot arrived in Bolesławiec – a person who professionally hunts down absurdities. The politician brought a net bag of potatoes to the meeting. The potatoes symbolized vote-buying by a Civic Platform presidential candidate in Wałbrzych. Palikot accused politicians of playing blind man’s bluff with citizens."Anti-party – Palikot in Bolesławiec" – 8.6 thousand views.
Here, the municipal authorities and Spectrum Galerie had been playing blind man’s bluff with each other for a long time (the investor bought a municipal plot at Łokietka, Zgorzelecka and Górne Młyny streets). The company demanded a change to the agreement that would allow it to build a facility permitted by the plan. The mayor refused. The matter was made more intriguing by the fact that the plan had always allowed more, but when the plot was sold, the city inserted restrictions into the agreement and sold it to two Bolesławiec businessmen for 4.1 million zlotys. The councilors then changed the zoning plan, and the businessmen resold the site to Spectrum Galerie several times more expensively.
In March, the city lost its case against the investor. Blind Lady Justice sided with the businessmen who had bought the plot from the city somewhat in the dark. "The city lost its case against Spectrum Galerie" – 5.7 thousand views.
April
After an exhausting trial, it would be useful to take a holiday. But how can one take a holiday when one has been on one continuously for more than a dozen years? In April, we informed Bolesławiec residents that the mayor and the county head had been on unpaid leave for years. The mayor was still an employee of I Liceum Ogólnokształcące in Bolesławiec, while county head Cezary Przybylski was still employed by the Primary School in Raciborowice. Polish law permits this, the same law that allowed the mayor to drive a garbage truck without consequences. "Long holidays for the local leaders" – 5.8 thousand views.
After news like that, one is less surprised by the desperate man who spent several hours on the Millennium Cross. A police negotiator was called. Fortunately, the man came back down to earth. He had personal problems; no one mentioned the local leaders’ holidays to him. In our poll, Bolesławiec residents said it would be better to secure the Millennium Cross before anyone climbed it. "Desperate man spent several hours on the Millennium Cross" – 13 thousand views
May
And it was a voice of reason. In May, other desperate people waiting impatiently for the Bolesławiec water park to open might have started climbing the cross when it turned out that someone was already swimming in the closed pool. At the beginning of May, a reader named Adam wrote to us: “People are bathing with the lights off, and the facility is still closed.” A reader named Mysia suspected that “our local leaders are also already swimming in our pool, sacrificing themselves with their entire families to check whether everything works properly.” Pool president Robert Tomczyk declared that he had not allowed anyone to swim, but if someone had swum anyway, what could he do? He could not keep watch over everything! "Who is swimming in the closed pool?" – 29 thousand views.
The director of the Municipal Social Welfare Center also had problems supervising employees and a tender. The mayor decided to dismiss Małgorzata Dłużyk. The director then followed his example and went on leave. She was the only one to choose sick leave. "Roman will dismiss the MOPS director" – 35 thousand views.
As if there had not been enough heated events, Jan Pospieszalski came to the city. The Smolensk avenger was invited to Bolesławiec by Forum Samorządowe Ziemi Bolesławieckiej, whose president is Piotr Roman. If we were as suspicious as Janek P. and used his methods of uncovering the truth, we might conclude that inviting the former TVP star to Bolesławiec tells us a great deal about who was swimming at the still-closed Orka. "There is no freedom without… Pospieszalski" – 14 thousand views.
June
In June, Bolesławiec residents enjoyed the City Days. As every year, the organizers competed to offer interesting events, invited stars (“Budka Suflera,” “Boban i Marko Marković Orchestra” and “Maleo Reggae Rockers”) and organized various workshops, while residents, as every year, decided that it had been bad and boring… Jan Pospieszalski would probably have smelled a very mysterious, suspicious and difficult-to-solve conspiracy here. "Bolesławiec Days 2011 program" – 12 thousand views.
In June, we also said goodbye to Wiesław Ogrodnik, who ceased to be deputy mayor of Bolesławiec and once again took the chair of president of the Heating Energy Plant. Apparently, his mission in this position is to warm relations in Bolesławiec. The new-old head of ZEC wants to achieve this with hot water in the pipes of Bolesławiec homes. "Wiesław Ogrodnik is no longer deputy mayor of Bolesławiec" – 9 thousand views
July
In July, mysterious thieves entered the Carrefour supermarket through other pipes. They robbed stores in the shopping arcade. They had a polished and detailed plan. But it is not known why they fled, leaving behind backpacks containing the loot. Perhaps they were preschoolers who wanted to help their parents and contribute to rising preschool fees. "Carrefour was robbed by the Olsen Gang" – 16 thousand views.
The atmosphere of a cool July was heated by rising preschool fees. Some councilors deciding on preschool charges also behaved like … children. At the first session, councilors from the Civic Platform club announced that they would vote against increases that would place too much of a burden on families. At the second, when it was time to vote, they did not show up at all. "Preschools will become more expensive" – 10 thousand views.
August
The summer month was dominated by two events: the Ceramics Festival, celebrated with great fanfare and pomp, and the exiled Blues nad Bobrem festival, successfully held for the second year in Kliczków on the Kwisa.
Bolesławiec’s Ceramics Festival was rated very highly, while everyone who could not be bothered to travel to Kliczków to attend the event took aim at BnB. "Poles from around the world will watch the Ceramics Festival" – 9 thousand views.
September
Once everyone had enjoyed themselves (so that the satisfied would not outnumber the dissatisfied), the city treasurer informed the councilors that by the end of the year Bolesławiec’s debt could increase by another 10 million zlotys. One reason for this was said to be the crisis in the real-estate market. "Bolesławiec’s debt may increase by as much as 10 million zlotys" – 8 thousand views.
A serious crisis also affected Bolesławiec politicians running for the Sejm. They lacked… voters. The debate with parliamentary candidates was attended mainly by party colleagues. One participant unaffiliated with the candidates asked directly whether the candidates’ popularity was as poor as attendance at the failed debate."A failed debate" – 7 thousand views.
October
The crisis voter proved to be a prophet. None of the Bolesławiec candidates was elected to the Sejm. In the election, Bolesławiec residents once again showed that they are loyal husbands of Donald. The parliamentary election results in the city proved that we are loyal to Civic Platform and will always return to the party "Bolesławiec will have no MP" – 13 thousand views.
For a moment forgetting politics and the crisis, graduates of I Liceum Ogólnokształcące came to a reunion. The school was celebrating its 65th anniversary. "I Liceum Ogólnokształcące celebrated its 65th anniversary" – 17 thousand views.
November
November passed under the sign of asphalt and railways. Before winter, PKP took away several connections to eastern and southern Poland. Perhaps it was a conspiracy by German entrepreneurs to point the city toward more lucrative development directions. "New PKP timetable – city loses connection with Przemyśl" – 2.7 thousand views.
Piotr Roman considered the possible takeover by the city of summer and winter maintenance of county roads. But he began to hesitate when he saw them. Then he asked many rhetorical questions: How much money would the county office have to give us for us to feel safe? Who will pay compensation for damage to a car that drives into a pothole on Staroszkolna? Where the recently renovated section ends, a Swiss cheese begins. Who will pay for cleaning the drains? Who will compensate a citizen who slips because of uneven tiles installed 30–40 years ago? "Roman fears responsibility for sins that are not his" – 2 thousand views.
The mayor was also concerned about the young people standing in mud on the square between Łokietka and Zgorzelecka streets (aptly enough, the same site that Spectrum Galerie could develop, but the mayor stood in its way). Piotr Roman decided that passengers would be better off 50 meters away, where there was a station with shelters and bays—only it was empty because private carriers were not allowed to enter. "Dispute over the station: why are people standing in the mud?" – 10 thousand views.
December
December surprised us with a decision by the Ministry of Justice, which wanted the Bolesławiec court to become an outlying branch of the court in Zgorzelec. The City Council unanimously opposed these dishonorable plans. The council’s voice, however, had no bearing on the ministry’s decision. "Bolesławiec without a District Court?" – 5 thousand views.
Piotr Roman decided to make a sacrifice to save Bolesławiec’s Lady Justice. This sacrifice was supposed to involve joining Civic Platform in order to keep the court in the city. Given Piotr Roman’s frequent changes of party colors, perhaps it was not such a joke after all?
It should nevertheless be emphasized that the local leader’s sacrifice was selfless in the fight for an institution he himself does not need. After all, following his unauthorized garbage-truck ride, he did not wait for the court or police: he judged himself and donated the amount of the possible fine (500 zlotys) to WOŚP...
Grażyna Hanaf