Serial killers
It was just before 10 a.m. this past Saturday morning when the work crew arrived with chainsaws and cranes to this quiet rural spot along Lake Erie, an hour south of Hamilton. They had come to remove a tree. The tree was in the path of a proposed roadway meant to give a large American […]
Unbounded conceit
I must admit to being shocked upon learning the decision to approve the industrial wind factory at Ostrander Point. I expected Ontario bureaucrats would shuffle this thorny file to the bottom of the pile and eventually right off the table. Too many groups were arrayed against it—environmentalists, health advocates, property owners and the municipal government. […]
Home in the County
My good friend John is having a tough go of it lately. His blood is letting him down—stealing his strength and energy. His wife’s health is fragile too. Their tidy bungalow is becoming too much for them to manage on their own. They tried to make do for a while with some help from friends, […]
Wasted water
Check your water meter regularly. That was the message that leaked out of Shire Hall last week. It is not likely the average homeowner on municipal water could spill as much as the Lavers did at their cottage resort over the summer, without some evidence of malfunction. But a running toilet, a leaky faucet or […]
Confusing lessons
Imust admit I still don’t get it. I don’t understand the logic of Ontario’s teacher’s job actions, or their version of history. Since I wrote about the elimination of school events at my daughter’s school, including track meets, clubs and other activities, I’ve had plenty of folks try to explain it to me. Some rather […]
Misdirection
MPAC statements have begun to arrive in County mailboxes. Overall, these seemingly arbitrary measures of home and property values appear to be rousing somewhat less anxiety among ratepayers this time around. MPAC remains a broken and flawed system, particularly for rural communities such as Prince Edward County; nevertheless, the arrival of the assessment notice appears […]
Sharing experiences
Can there be a more caring, giving and generous place than Prince Edward County? Each week we could fill our pages with the images and stories of ordinary and extraordinary folks—working, sharing and helping to make their community a better place. In this job I am fortunate to see a great deal of this selfless […]
Daylight
They are surely the most vulnerable people who exist in a community like Prince Edward County. Traumatized, and perhaps already abused, children are taken from their homes, their families—their whole world—and put in another home with strangers. To be safe. They are young. Damaged. Often neglected. They’ve seen very little stability in their lives—now they […]
Entirely inadequate
Where are the answers? Despite occasional protestations that it is committed to transparency and accountability, the Children’s Aid Society of Prince Edward remains steadfastly silent about how and why it put nine and 10-yearold children in the home of a man it had reason to believe was a sexual predator. Now the local CAS says […]
Assembly line medicine
There is one patient. Ageless. Without gender. The patient lives within a few kilometres of a large modern and complex hospital. Before the stretcher bearing this individual is pushed through the swinging door—his or her medical path has already been determined. The outcome has been predicted. Costs calculated. Everyone knows their role. They understand what […]