Tethered
Luc Mayfield is a remarkable young man. His sister, Sophia is pretty special too. She has a form of cerebral palsy that that has severely limited her development. As Kathleen Sabyan reports on page 3, Luc is an active, competitive and ambitious 11-year-old. Sophia, 7, is restricted by her condition to cheering on her older […]
Hijacked
Jobs. The word didn’t come up. County council met for more than an hour and 40 minutes last week to discuss plans by a Hillier winery seeking permission to expand its commercial operations to enable it to host special events. (See story here). But at no time, in that 100 minutes, did the notion of jobs […]
Creative minds
There was a time when it was easier to create and build a business in PrinceEdwardCounty. A time when, even as many on council did not yet understand the value being created by the young and ambitious in their midst (and some actively worked against it), these folks felt supported and appreciated. Shire Hall’s economic […]
Tangled
Do you feel safer? Are you better protected than you were a decade ago? In 2004, policing services cost local taxpayers $3 million. This year, Prince Edward County ratepayers will spend more than $4.1 million for these same services—more than a third higher than 2004. Do you feel 37 per cent safer? If not, why […]
Seasons
The forecast predicts warmer weather this week. Might woolen hats and down-filled jackets at last be put away? Will the tree buds please unfurl their long-dormant canopy? Has this long. cold winter finally eased its bitter grip? There would, I think, be some poetic alignment if the past weekend proved to be the demarcation between […]
Obligations
I waited in a dull meeting room of a smallish capital trading firm on Bay Street. Despite its relatively modest stature, the firm had survived several market crashes, a depression, many recessions and countless corrections. In between they had managed to eke out a respectable return for their clients and had avoided being swallowed by […]
Infinite possibilities
It’s about the speed. At a high level, the exhibition of skill and athleticism that hockey presents is thrilling beyond the capacity of most sport—indeed most of life’s pursuits. Then, short, sharp bursts of violence tighten the focus—deepen the intensity. It separates those who want to play the game from those who want to win. […]
Big decisions
Ten people sat around the table for nearly two years working toward a plan they could recommend. All but two were firefighters—plus a municipal councillor and the County’s administrator responsible for the fire service. A representative of the Ontario’s Fire Marshall’s office listened, but did not vote. Nine of the ten committee members recommended that […]
Self-inflicted injury
In 2007, 155 homes were new homes built in Prince Edward County. Three large residential builders were developing plans to build more than 1,000 new homes around Wellington. Last year just 85 were built—that was up from the previous year, when just 69 new homes were started. In 2007, new construction was valued at $63 […]
Endorsement
If elected on Thursday, Kathleen Wynne has promised to spend a billion dollars to build road and other transportation infrastructure into the Ring of Fire—a mineral rich region situated in the James Bay lowlands, 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. Wynne has also promised high-speed railways linking Toronto to Kitchener-Waterloo and London. Windsor was feeling […]