On Monday afternoon I settled into my place at the media table in Meaford's council chamber ready for the beginning of yet another municipal budget season.
Though the agenda package was more than 400 pages in length, the focus for everyone in the council chamber was item 8(a), the tabling of the draft budgets for 2023.
The draft budgets presented to...
I was recently told about a local woman who had thankfully been saved from a scam that would have cost her thousands of dollars. What saved this woman from being fleeced of some $8,000 was a caring community which recognized warning signs and stepped in before it was too late.
The woman had been contacted by a stranger, and had...
The first meeting of the year for Meaford's council was held on Monday, January 16, and in a world with little certainty, we can say with confidence that our council has a busy year ahead.
Elected three months ago, our new council features a mix of experience and new energy, with two of the seven members having been elected to...
As I often do to begin a new year, I have found myself mulling many of the major issues facing us as we enter 2023.
I'm not talking about local issues, that ultimately are minor no matter how much they might agitate us, I am talking about the bigger issues facing folks near and far. Issues like affordable housing, living...
On Sunday we welcomed in a new year, and from what I heard from friends, and read on social media, not many were sad to say goodbye to 2022, and high hopes for 2023 abound.
Over the holidays I spent some time mulling the year that had passed. The year of 2022 was highly anticipated for many, as we were...
It has been a long year, and after this week's newspaper hits newsstands, the Meaford Independent team is taking its annual break.
For a small rural community newspaper, opportunities to take a break are few, so for the past decade the Meaford Independent team has taken advantage of the late December holiday season to shut down for two weeks to...
Our newly elected council spent Monday afternoon in training. Once a new council is elected there is much to learn, particularly for the newly elected, but experienced members of council also benefit from the early term training sessions.
Monday's training for councillors included the standard and important review of Ontario's Municipal Act, the roles and responsibilities of councillors, along with...
The month of December is upon us. Though we in Canada make much of the Christmas season, this month of December is a festive time for people of many beliefs, and even for those who don't adhere to any religion at all.
For those celebrating holidays over the coming weeks, there can be pressure to host the perfect family gathering,...
As with every council inauguration I have attended over the past 30 years, there was no shortage of optimism to be found in the Meaford Hall Opera House on Monday as Meaford's newly elected council was sworn into office.
Every new council that I have witnessed has begun their term with a confidence, and a genuinely positive outlook on what...
On Monday of this week, the United Way of Bruce Grey issued a media release in which they offered a calculation and an explanation of what a living wage in our area is, and what it should be.
In short, if you are a single person working full time, earning less than $40,000 per year, you are not earning a...
