By Stephen Vance, Editor
I have lived in Meaford for nearly a decade, and this community never ceases to amaze me with its wonderfully strange mix of character traits.
Mention Meaford outside of our borders, and it is likely you will hear about a community that always seems to be up in arms about something. Wind turbines, cell towers, waste incinerators, high taxes, higher taxes, amalgamation, de-amalgamation. Indeed, passionate debate is a standard occurrence in this town, a character trait that I have always defended because I strongly believe that a community with engaged residents is a better community.
While a predisposition toward screaming from the rooftops about one potential injustice or another might be Meaford’s most recognizable community character trait to those from further afield, residents in this community collectively have another admirable character trait that gets far less recognition, not just outside our borders, but within.
Meaford is a very giving community. And perhaps the fact that Meaford is a giving community is the reason that Meaford residents are also quick to give members of our council a piece of their mind.
Each time a new initiative in need of funding comes along, Meaford residents answer the call. We’ve seen it with many initiatives, but most recently, and perhaps most strikingly, the way that Meaford and its service clubs, business owners, and residents have stepped up to help fund the construction of a new medical centre has been impressive to say the least.
In little more than a year, the project, which carries a total cost of approximately $2.3 million, is just $270,000 away from reaching its fundraising goal.
Some of the $2 million raised thus far has come in large chunks from individuals, businesses, or government who typically have deeper pockets than the average Joe, and other contributions – as little as $10 – have been made by hundreds of Meaford residents, adding to the fund, and helping the board for the new Don Bumstead & Family Medical Centre to reach their goal.
When you have a small community like Meaford able to collect $2 million over the course of a year to support a new medical centre aimed at bringing new doctors to town, I would suggest that those community members have every right to question a waste incinerator or a cell tower near a high school. Every right – not just because those residents pay municipal taxes, or user fees for municipal services, but every right because Meaford residents pay their dues.
A small community that can quickly raise significant funds for a medical centre, a community that supports local amateur theatre, and leash-free dog parks, and rural community halls, and many other services and initiatives is a community invested in itself, and if you’ve got an investment to protect, you have every right to engage in the process, and if need be to voice dissatisfaction.
I am proud to live in a community that is as giving as Meaford. Meaford and its residents have made me a more giving person over the last decade. I am also proud to live in a community where its residents don’t suffer fools, they don’t take everything put before them at face value, and they have the intestinal fortitude to stand up and make their views known when necessary.
Those two character traits alone made me fall in love with Meaford, and it is those two character traits that if kept in the right balance, will protect this community for decades to come.
Politicians and municipal staffers might find themselves frustrated when an irritated group of residents is before them to share their views, or even to vent a little… but tough, they’ve earned the right.
