How did this happen?
Correction: Two young girls made allegations of abuse against their foster parent in 2005, not two boys. They were horrific crimes. Children. Sexually abused. Over many years. By people, we entrusted to care for them. In our community. Sadly, we may never know the full extent of these crimes or the toll exacted upon […]
Dambusting
It is a pretty drive into downtown from the Vancouver airport. Crossing the Arthur Laing bridge over the Fraser River, you catch a glimpse of dozens of tanker ships gathering in the shelter of Burrard Inlet. Then you dip back onto city streets through the cherrytree- lined streets of Shaughnessy and Granville. The sweet fragrance […]
Crossing
For the first decade or so, it seemed just another expensive blunder by the newly amalgamated municipality. In 1997 it had acquired a 46-kilometre-long rope of liability stretched across the landscape from Carrying Place to Picton. Despite paying $100,000 for the former railway line, Shire Hall had no more money and little ambition for its […]
Larger than life
He was a formidable character. Ready to pounce at the whiff of an insult. Just as quick with a kind word or gesture of thoughtfulness. Keith MacDonald passed away on the weekend, leaving behind stories and memories much bigger than one man. A competitor all his life, Keith’s success in hockey was earned mainly in […]
Judgement
The Wellington Times was thrust awkwardly into the culture wars last week, not from its reporting or commentary, but by way of an advertisement presented in its pages. Some have perceived the message of the notice as promoting hate toward an identifiable group. This newspaper believes that while the ad’s content is offensive and misguided, […]
Neighbours
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A stranger pulls a tanker truck up to the Belleville plant at the bottom of Sidney Street. They fill their massive container, paying $2.42 for each cubic metre of water they take. The water may be destined to lubricate Donald Trump’s personal water slide at Mar-a-Lago. It […]
Decks and beaches
A mixed bag this week. Those who prefer their commentary favour the sunny and hopeful will be encouraged to stop reading at the end of the first bit. SUNNY BIT The County’s Development Services Department will present a proposal this week for a top-to-bottom update to its menu of fees. Everything from subdivision applications to […]
Clear-eyed
To view the Draft Official Plan. click here. It is a good plan. Not a great one—but good enough. The County’s Official Plan rewrite celebrates its tenth birthday this year. An awkward age—no longer precocious, but neither has this ten-year-old cultivated the guile or confidence to navigate the world with surefootedness. The 2021 draft OP—while […]
Unliveable
First, an apology. I questioned Councillor Phil St-Jean’s motivations on the affordable housing file over the last two issues. While I remain puzzled by his methods and priorities, I was wrong to interpret them as insincere. He demonstrated his conviction by speaking and voting (in a losing cause) to support a much-needed townhouse project on […]
Revival
About 200 folks fanned out across the County on Saturday to pick up other people’s trash. Under blue skies and embraced by warmer-than-usual springtime temperatures, an army of volunteers mustered to prowl the ditches of the countryside roadways and lanes. They were hunting for coffee cups, paper bags, pop cans and the like thoughtlessly discarded […]