Law and order
Bring on the short-term accommodation (STA) regulations. It was a brilliant weekend in Prince Edward County. Mostly sunny and warm. Visitors descended upon paradise by the thousands (despite another Toronto newspaper story seeking to blow the lid off of the simmering challenges in Ontario’s rising rural economic star). The cafés and restaurants were humming. Wineries, […]
A fit proposal
The Wellington Dukes, along with its new women’s team, are presenting village residents and the municipality with a gift. A much-needed facility here in Wellington. All that is needed is for Council to get onboard. On Thursday, Randy Uens, VP of Hockey Operations for the Wellington Dukes is presenting a proposal to equip and operate […]
Empire strikes back
The County’s Fire Department put up a spirited defence of its big spending ways in recent weeks. In doing so, it managed to persuade a majority of council to get onside with its request for $1 million dollars for a new tanker truck and breathing gear. Our fire department learned in this process that it […]
Protector
Peter Tinsley passed away on Sunday. Peacefully. With his family by his side. Peter was a decent man who made a career fighting for fundamental values of fairness, equality and justice. That is until the Canadian government became fearful and impatient about its role in the dark parts of the world and sidelined him. Afghanistan. […]
It’s about debt
Moody’s downgraded Ontario’s credit rating late last week. It was a small tick downward, Aa2 to Aa3. But an important signal. One it seems many in our increasingly tribal politics are bound to read incorrectly. Moody’s is a credit rating agency that evaluates the underlying strength of an organization’s finances to evaluate its ability to […]
Embers
Firefighters are treasured members of our community. Forces such as ours in Prince Edward County operate mostly with volunteers, often pulled from their homes in the darkest of night in some of the worst conditions imaginable. They are called upon to assist folks in terrible circumstances, at their most vulnerable. This is especially true in […]
Springtime is for axes
Early spring is a tough time for CAOs in Prince Edward County. It was late March in 2015 that council convened a special meeting to draw out the long knives for then-Chief Administrative Officer Merlin Dewing. By then, they had heard enough grumbling from residents and employees and their proxies. Council bristled at being told […]
Questions
It was the wrong question. Put to the wrong person. The answer was, unsurprisingly, unsatisfactory. A committee of council was set last week to approve the purchase of four brand new snowplowing trucks when Bill Roberts, the councillor from Sophiasburgh, asked the Acting Director of Operations, Pat Heffernan, if the trucks were needed. It was, […]
Worth another look
It didn’t work. The sole purpose of minimum distance separation rules (MDS) was to reduce conflict between agriculture operations and new homes and businesses nearby. It failed entirely. In fact, it made matters worse. MDS has been one of the most reliable irritants in Prince Edward County land use planning. It has destroyed heritage, blocked […]
Now
Now is the time to start shaping next year’s budget. Now is when the goals and ambitions of municipal spending ought to be defined. Targets set. Not in four crushing days before Christmas with a ticking clock imposing an arbitrary deadline on this important business. It may be tempting for council to slip quietly into […]