Discontent
My hometown used to make things. Paper. Textiles. Chemicals. It was home to innovators. In 1884 Thomas Edison came to Cornwall, Ontario with bold ideas of electric illumination, and predictions of efficiency that his invention would bring to manufacturers and factory owners. From a steam-driven generator he strung lights throughout the weaving sheds of Canadian […]
Consider this
From this chair it is easy to write prescriptions for the ills I see around me—that is, to scan the horizon, to spot problems or inequities and offer solutions or point to better ways of doing things elsewhere. Easy, because editors and commentators don’t implement the solutions we recommend. Easy, because we are not answerable […]
Good eating
In Peru, cooking and the culinary arts are a knowledge industry—and a growing one. Seven of the best 15 restaurants in Latin America are in Lima. It is not an accident. The Peruvian capital has encouraged and nurtured the emergence of food and cuisine to help diversify an economy that has been reliant upon fluctuating […]
Who will protect Ontario’s heritage?
Our heritage tells us who we are, where we have come from and what we have accomplished. This is how the government of Ontario describes the places, documents and artifacts that tell our story—the story of our province. These are its words. But what happens when our government no longer believes these words? These ideas? […]
Wrong to assume
The Prince Edward County Field Naturalists are wrong. Ontario Nature. Nature Canada. Both wrong. Dr. Robert McMurtry is wrong. The South Shore Conservancy is wrong. So too is the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory. Alvar, bird, butterfly, turtle and bat experts are all wrong. The municipality of Prince Edward is wrong. As are the majority […]
Faded brand
Across television screens and on movie screens during the Olympics, viewers have been presented with glorious images of wineries, orchards, beaches, shops and farm markets—most easily recognized as County scenes. Meanwhile the narrator describes a paradise with thousands of kilometres of beautiful shoreline. “You can have the life you’ve always wanted,” warmly intones the voiceover. […]
Bad choices
It has been a hard, cold winter. But few have been harder hit this season than those families who heat their homes with propane. In the last six months, the price of this heating fuel has more than doubled. Folks with monthly fill-up bills of $350 and $400, are now paying $900 and $1,000 or […]
Roads
Roads. The County has 1,052 kilometres of them. Most (870 kilometres) are paved in one form or another. They cross hundreds of bridges and culverts. The estimated cost to replace the County road system including its bridges, is more than a half a billion dollars. The good news is that they all don’t need to […]
Last defence
The channel that separates Amherst Island from Prince Edward County is scarcely two kilometres wide. The island itself is tiny—just 20 kilometres long and seven kilometres across at its widest point. It is likely that in some ancient past Prince Edward County and Amherst Island were connected. Now these communities share a common threat—a threat […]
Informed judgment
About 35 folks filed into the Tall Poppy Café last Thursday evening to consider their role in local government. It’s not as though there weren’t other things to do— the Pirates were fighting for their playoff lives in Picton. And pies were fetching $100 at the spring supper hosted by the Hillier Women’s Institute. The […]