Columnists

Musical chairs

Posted: February 25, 2021 at 9:31 am   /   Columnists

What has been described as possibly the last affordable housing project for quite some time in Prince Edward County was not approved at last Wednesday’s planning meeting. The events that unfolded have caused many questions to start circulating. What truly is affordable housing? How dense is too dense? Is this the type of community we […]

2 Comments read more

Councillor Harper’s Saturdays

Posted: February 25, 2021 at 9:28 am   /   Columnists

Wellington Ward Councillor Mike Harper had the summer from hell last year. He spent his Saturdays interceding in fights between those trying to turn their boat trailers around by the Belleville Street boat ramp, and the owners of the adjacent properties who didn’t want interlopers in their private parking spaces. And when he wasn’t doing […]

No Comments read more

Backseat driving

Posted: February 25, 2021 at 9:26 am   /   Columnists

The week of February 21st! Time flies, as you know, when we’re having fun. Are we having fun, yet? I sure hope so. I think I have decided we all need a real break. Yeah, I know we’ve had a break from each other for a year now. I mean a break from the break […]

No Comments read more

Out of the lockdown and into…?

Posted: February 18, 2021 at 9:34 am   /   Columnists

So what did you do last Wednesday? Did you go hog wild in celebration of the fact that our area—the Hastings and Prince Edward public health unit—was tied with the Renfrew unit and the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington unit in the race to be first out of the lockdown gate? Did you go […]

No Comments read more

Chit Chats and other Consumables

Posted: February 18, 2021 at 9:32 am   /   Columnists

It’s half past February and Valentine’s Day, as I write this column. LOML and I have barely picked up the last of the errant tinkel, a.k.a. tinsel, and we’re still working on Christmas chocolates and candy canes. This morning, Valentine’s Day, we have added a little pile of heart-shaped sugar cookies, a bag of dark […]

No Comments read more

My four legged mentor

Posted: February 11, 2021 at 9:40 am   /   Columnists

By Conrad Beaubien I know with certainty that I’m holding the reins of another era. My treks with Thunder offer a takeaway every time. I know he knows; the unfazed deepness in his ever-kind eyes, a twitch with his tall ears is but one of the indicators I have come to understand. It’s a donkey […]

No Comments read more

The top 37

Posted: February 11, 2021 at 9:29 am   /   Columnists

There is something about the money paid to athletes that fascinates us. Why are they paid so much? Shouldn’t they be playing for the love of their sport? Playing is fun, and fun should be free. Besides, our parents say that if their sports heroes played for next to nothing, so too should their children’s. […]

No Comments read more

Family Day

Posted: February 11, 2021 at 9:28 am   /   Columnists

It’s February, Family Day is just around the corner and even if we haven’t got family, we’ve got family. We’re more generous about our definition of family, thank goodness. When I was a kid, attending a Catholic School in Toronto, there was never any doubt about what a family was. According to our teachers, a […]

No Comments read more

The Irrelevance of Mr. O’Toole

Posted: February 3, 2021 at 10:44 am   /   Columnists

Erin O’Toole has got off to a slow start. On the evening he was elected Conservative leader, problems with the balloting system pushed the broadcast of his leadership acceptance speech into the wee hours of the morning, well past everyone’s bedtime. On top of that, he assumed the Conservative leadership in August, 2020—just before the […]

No Comments read more

Prognosticating and other Shenanigans

Posted: February 3, 2021 at 10:42 am   /   Columnists

Groundhog Day! As much as I like all of the seasons, Groundhog Day is the promise of change. When this article hits the Times box it’ll be the day after. I don’t remember the second day of February ever being such a big deal when I was a kid, or even when I was a […]

No Comments read more