Fragile things
It’s about jobs. About the dignity of work. The feeling of satisfaction of something accomplished. Something made. Today. Yet, economies are complex organisms. More natural than man-made. We may plant seeds, but with no certainty of growth. Wrong place. Wrong time. We can nurture our economies and work to protect them. But we can also […]
Coming of age
Our municipality took a profound and determinative step toward adulthood this summer. There was no ceremony. No celebration. Indeed, one had to look closely to see that something had changed at all. The unassuming document was tucked away—the sixth item in a July council agenda. Yet its quiet arrival marks an important milestone in the […]
Unmute
If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself. – George Orwell, 1984 Who decides our story? Who shall speak for history? Which voices ought to be elevated? Which ones silenced? That we are even pausing to consider such questions, suggests we may have already ventured too far into Orwell’s […]
Motivated buyers
Oh to be a real estate agent in Prince Edward County. Business is good. Really good. Some are reporting more sales in the last couple of months than in all of 2019. According to Treat Hull, of the brokerage firm Treat Hull and Associates, sales this year are already outpacing last year by 18 per […]
Oblivion
There are three wee streets just beyond Wellington’s commercial core—West, Water and Narrow. (Each street name decidedly practical and descriptive rather than aspirational or commemorative.) Together with Main, they form a tidy residential block. They are quiet, small, unpretentious streets. As the village has developed and activity expanded, however, the pressure on these streets has […]
Measure
It is a test. A test of resolve. A test of determination. Of imagination. Our community has been assigned the task of raising $16.5 million toward the building of a new hospital in Picton. About the only thing that can stop a new hospital from rising in our community at this point is indifference. That […]
Take the money
If not compassion or understanding, perhaps creativity. It has been a rough few weeks in paradise. Glorious summer vacation weather combined with desperate urban folks seeking relief from COVID-19- imposed incarceration has propelled a great throng to our shores. Too many. More than we can manage. So we close the beaches. We close Little Bluff […]
Taking stock
It’s been a peculiar year. A pandemic has shaped nearly every interaction—personal, social, and commercial. We remain fearful. Uncertain what the future holds for our children. How long will our lives remain on pause? Will we slide into depression—in every sense of the word—if the prospect of a vaccine or treatment drifts further from view? […]
A different way
It was an illusion. The municipality does not have the means to provide boat launching access in Wellington. Period. It never had the land, the operational skills or the inclination to manage these two boat launches. At the end of this season, council must signal and then proceed to close both launches in the village. […]
Waste
There is a new garbage man in town. Waste Management trucks will disappear from County roads and streets next month, and shiny new trucks (or, perhaps, repainted old ones) will begin prowling our neighbourhoods. The best bit is that Shire Hall has elicited a sweet bid from upstart trash contractor Environmental 360 Solutions that could […]