The QHC way
And so it begins. Again. Quinte Health Care (QHC) has dug itself another financial hole. And whenever this happens (and, sadly, it happens often) Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital and Trenton Memorial are sacrificed. Limbs are amputated at PECMH and TMH to spare Belleville General Hospital. Eventually, of course, there will be nothing left to […]
A full year
An earthquake rocked the town of Los Andes, Chile on Sunday night. Buildings shook 80 kilometres to the south in San Bernardo. It was the tenth earthquake of at least a 4.2 magnitude to shake central Chile since my daughter, Grace, arrived for a year-long exchange in August. The place is riven with fault lines, […]
Hard truth #2
The issue is trust. It used to be about the appropriate size of council for Prince Edward County. But when nine councillors chose to defy the expressed will of the people and then ignore the recommendation of 23 citizens in the fall of 2013, they fractured the bond between ordinary residents and their elected representatives. […]
Hard truths
There is a new bridge in Demorestville. It is a handsome piece of infrastructure. Smooth, supportive and flat. Smooth, that is, until it rejoins County Road 14. I hadn’t noticed how badly the road between Demorestville and Crofton had deteriorated until I crossed over the smooth, flat surface of the Demorestville bridge. Some places provide […]
The good and bad
Council got younger on Monday night. Not a whole lot younger, mind you, but younger nonetheless. Lenny Epstein, Steven Graham and Steve Ferguson represent a different generation than many of their new colleagues around the council table. Epstein and Graham have young children growing up in Prince Edward County— a perspective that has been missing […]
Listen
I voted against reducing the size of council in 2010. Or more precisely I voted no to the question: Are you in favour of council commencing a public consultation process to review the size of council for the County of Prince Edward? The potential benefits, it seemed to me, didn’t outweigh the turmoil that would […]
Good old days
All-candidates meetings ought to be clarifying events—opportunities, rare as they are, to learn about how government works, how its services are delivered and ultimately, who might do the best job of governing the County. Sadly, some of these meetings are falling well short of this mark. Some folks attending the all-candidates meeting at the Rec […]
Proposal
About 100 chairs had been set out in tidy rows. An aisleway and microphone neatly dividing a right and left bank. Only about 60 chairs were needed. There are roughly 3,400 eligible voters in Picton. Maybe two per cent of those came out on Monday night to hear the candidates who wish to represent them […]
Distracted
It should not have come as a surprise. The fact the County has more roads, bridges and waterworks than it can afford to keep up, has been apparent for years. Thursday’s presentation by the director of finance was merely the tabulation of a sad-but longevident- truth. Yet council’s capacity for denial seems boundless—more powerful than […]
In mourning
It was terribly sad week in Wellington and far beyond. The village had no sooner said farewell to history keeper Reg Bishop when news came that Richard Karlo had passed away. And then Drew MacCandlish. Each of these individuals were immensely passionate about their community. Each worked diligently to preserve and protect it. Their passing […]