Sunday, January 24, 2021

Editorial

Snitching and Shaming Have Been an Unfortunate Side Effect of the Pandemic

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Lock-downs, stay at home orders, physical distancing, and mask wearing have all made for a frustrating and stressful past 10 months, but what I have found even more irritating is that we have clearly developed into a snitch culture and many have turned to public shaming on social media...
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We Have All Had Enough, Is the End in Sight?

EditorialStephen Vance, Editor -
If my own circle of friends and acquaintances is any indication, no matter how dedicated we've been to following distancing and mask protocols, no matter how faithfully we have shuttered ourselves within our homes unless we absolutely need to venture out, we have all had enough of this pandemic and everything that has come with it. For the past ten...
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Sorry 2021, But I am Looking Forward to 2022

EditorialStephen Vance, Editor -
Welcome to 2021 – it doesn't feel any different does it? I suspect that 2021 won't feel any different from 2020 for a while yet. I hope that all of our readers had as fantastic a holiday season as our current circumstances would allow. With Ontario residents encouraged to only gather with those within their own household for Christmas celebrations...
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2020 Has Been a Heck of a Year – But It’s Almost Over

EditorialStephen Vance, Editor -
Like most new years, 2020 kicked off with a certain amount of optimism and enthusiasm, but all these months later, most of us can't wait for 2020 to be over. At this time last year, as we readied ourselves for the holiday season, for many in the community the number one issue of concern was the proposed pumped storage facility...
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Will a COVID Christmas be Safe? It’s up to All of Us

EditorialStephen Vance, Editor -
Last weekend the Municipality of Meaford kicked off the traditional festive season in a less than traditional fashion thanks to the continued precautions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of seeing hundreds of residents bundled up to protect against the cold, lining Sykes Street shoulder to shoulder to watch the Santa Claus parade work its way through the downtown core,...
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Popular this week

Editorial

Snitching and Shaming Have Been an Unfortunate Side Effect of the Pandemic

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Lock-downs, stay at home orders, physical distancing, and mask wearing have all made for a frustrating and stressful past 10 months, but what I...
Read more
Community News

Meaford Fire Department Welcomes New Chief

Staff -
The Municipality of Meaford has announced Courtney Allen as the new Chief of the Meaford Fire Department. Allen comes to Meaford from the City of...
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Community News

OPP Enforcement Under The Stay-At-Home Order

OPP Media Release -
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is requesting that Ontarians voluntarily comply with the new Stay-at-Home Order to limit mobility outside their homes, except for...
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Editorial

Does the Municipality of Meaford Employ Too Many?

Stephen Vance, Editor -
With every municipal budget season I am sure to hear from folks about the number of staff employed by this municipality. During this year's budget season I have heard from more and more residents who are convinced that Meaford's staff is bloated and could be slashed – some say in half. Several have asked for my take on the...
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Editorial

We’ve Moved From Green to Yellow, Can We Get Back to Green?

Stephen Vance, Editor -
A little over a month ago I wrote about how well the Grey-Bruce region has fared during this COVID-19 pandemic when compared to the rest of the province. How things have changed in just a few short weeks. In mid-October I wrote that, while Ontario had seen roughly 60,000 of its residents test positive for the virus, as of Monday,...
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Editorial

Cuts to Capital Budgets a Double-Edged Sword For Council

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Last week I shared some of my thoughts on Council's first day of budget deliberations for 2021, which focused on the operating budgets. This week we will take a look at day two of those deliberations which reviewed the 2021 draft capital budgets where Council did find some areas to cut, as they attempt to reduce the 8.7 percent...
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Editorial

Some Random Thoughts on Council’s First Day of Budget Deliberations

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Stephen Vance, Editor Meaford's Council certainly has a challenge ahead of it. With a bare-bones draft budget featuring no frills or enhancements calling for an 8.7 percent increase in 2021, well above what most members of Council would prefer, there is much work to be done to find savings in the budget in order to reduce the required rate increase...
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Editorial

COVID-19 Has Ripped the Heart & Soul From Our Daily Lives

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Stephen Vance, Editor As I sat at the back of the opera house at Meaford Hall prior to Monday's council meeting, the theatre was all but silent with just a few municipal staffers quietly preparing for the start of the meeting. During this quiet moment I found myself reflecting on the year we have all been experiencing.My thoughts began with...
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Editorial

Confidence in the Vote is Everything

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Stephen Vance, Editor A decade ago I was fully supportive of what I saw as a natural progression to online voting. At the time I wrote that I thought online voting would be fast, easy, and might even increase voter participation. In fact, I penned an editorial in June of 2013 entitled 'Electronic Voting is Right Direction For Meaford', but...
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Editorial

Draft Budget Calls For 8.7% Increase in 2021, Is it Time to Get Real About Bag Tags?

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Stephen Vance, Editor Municipal budget season is now in full swing with the tabling of the draft budgets for 2021 at Council's October 19 meeting. After several years of relatively low annual rate increases, the proposed 8.7 percent increase for 2021 will no doubt be a shock for many, including members of Council, although Council does have some (limited) options.Given...
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Editorial

The Pandemic Has Been All Consuming, So it Can be Easy to Forget That We Are Faring Well in Grey Bruce

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Stephen Vance, Editor For the past seven months our daily lives have all but been consumed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It has impacted our economy, it has restricted our movements, it has resulted in the cancellation of most everything we deem to be fun, and it has limited our contact with others. With all of the frustration and uncertainty we...
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Editorial

In Spite of the Virus, We Have Much For Which to be Thankful

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Stephen Vance, Editor 2020 has been a year like no other we have experienced. The COVID-19 pandemic that has consumed our daily lives has been unsettling and uncertain, and the events of this year have seen a global heath issue paralyze nations and destroy economies. Happy Thanksgiving.Given the realities that this year has brought us it might be easy to...
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Editorial

COVID-19 Cases Are Spiking, Now is Not the Time to Let Down Our Guard

Stephen Vance, Editor -
Stephen Vance, Editor With COVID-19 cases spiking across the province, it would appear that the long predicted second wave is now upon us. Here in Meaford, where we have seen very few cases since the start of the pandemic, we saw the number of confirmed cases jump from seven to eleven in less than a week.While it took six months...
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