Chipping away at transparency
The Wellington Times turns 20 next month. It also marks seven years since my wife Kathleen and I have owned and operated this newspaper in this wonderful community. One of the most rewarding and truly unexpected aspects of being part of such a public enterprise is the encouragement we get daily and weekly from you, […]
A good story
A long, long dreary winter is at last beginning to recede from the County. Those of us left behind to tend the place in these darker months, prefer, I think, a short sharp burst of winter—snow for Christmas, breath-sucking cold in January. Acouple of times sliding down Macaulay Mountain earning a face full of snow, […]
Losing their way
Why is it, that the older a government gets the more it is likely to get balled up in its own cleverness? Why do governments growing long in the tooth abandon their own principles and values for the sake of political expediency? And so easily? We are seeing evidence of this sickness at both senior […]
Managing risk
Can anyone have predicted the popularity of the walking/ running track at the Wellington and District Community Centre? Since the facility opened last December there has scarcely been an hour when the building was open and the track wasn’t in use. In fact it is rare to wander into the arena and not spot someone, […]
Well served
It is a good start. Council had been clear. It wanted to spend no more taxpayers’ money in 2011 than it did last year. So when the first draft landed on their desks with nearly a 10 per cent increase—ostensibly to maintain services and infrastructure at current levels—the direction was simple: go back and try […]
A new story
Over the past few weeks council, reporters and others have listened as municipal staff, fire, police, ambulance and nursing home administrators have made their pitch for more funding. Most, if not all, present very good stories. Rich, authentic, compelling stories. They tell stories of efficiency, of safety, of improved asset utilization—if only they had more […]
Why not?
The Lakeshore running track at CML Snider is the only facility of its kind in Prince Edward County. It’s more than 30 years old and it is beginning to disintegrate—crumbling at the edges and potholes forming in the running lanes. Thousands of County kids and athletes from the region use the facility several times each […]
A principled man
The County has lost a thoughtful and caring man. Lyle McBurney passed away last week after a short illness. Lyle was likely many things in his life but he was best known to me as a defender of principle, and eager to contribute to his adopted community. He was one of the original founders of […]
Heroes stand up
Win or lose, Ian Hanna and Dr. Robert McMurtry are heroes. They deserve our thanks and enduring appreciation for standing up to the McGuinty government this week. Neither of these men was looking for a fight—especially not one with an entity as powerful as a provincial government. Both had reached a point in their lives, […]
Our business
You are at home one day and you peer out your front window. Across the street a grown man is striking a boy repeatedly. You don’t know who they are. You’ve never seen either of them before. They are strangers, but clearly the smaller, weaker one is taking a severe beating from the larger, stronger […]