Saturday, April 20, 2024

Editorial

The Chilly Autumn Air Has Arrived, Time to Prepare For the Winter to Come

After an unseasonably warm start to autumn, frigid season-appropriate air moved in over the weekend, reminding us that summer is indeed over, and winter is on the way. The chilly temperatures over the Thanksgiving long weekend was cause for many of us to turn on our home heating for the first time since last winter came to an end. Cranking...

A Time to be Thankful

This year seems to have been flying by at a pace greater than the 60 seconds per minute that our watches display. As September came to an end, I glanced at a calendar and realized that another Thanksgiving long weekend is upon us, and while I'm not much for holidays or celebrations, Thanksgiving is my favourite of the holidays...

Rallies Against Schools Teaching Students About Gender & Sexual Diversity Met With Counter-Protests

Last week we saw rallies across the country expressing opposition to the teaching of gender and sexuality issues in public schools, and those rallies were met with counter-protests by those who are concerned about LGBTQ+ rights. Though such rallies are often limited to major urban centres, last week's rallies found their way to many cities and towns, big and...

The Track Property at Former High School Would be a Good Location For Some Affordable Housing

If you tuned into the live-stream of Monday's special meeting of council, you likely felt some anxiety while hearing the harsh realities of the affordable housing crisis, not just in this community, but far and wide. The problem is real, and it is getting worse. With the average resale price of a home in Grey County currently more than $700,000,...

Council Close to Adopting an Ambitious List of Strategic Priorities For This Term

Though they have deferred official adoption of their strategic priorities for this term until the full package of 16 top priorities can be adopted at once, a read-through of the 131-page report that contains the project charters for each of the identified priorities makes clear that this council has developed an ambitious plan for their four-year term. Fifteen priorities are...

It Has Been a Busy First Year For This New Term of Council

As summer gives way to autumn, Meaford's council is back to work after a shorter than traditional summer break, as they eye the completion of the first year of their term as council. Back in January, I wrote that the newly elected and inaugurated council had a busy year ahead; a busy year it has been, and it isn't over...

The Final Long Weekend of Summer is Upon Us

The Labour Day long weekend is upon us, and in Meaford that means a busy weekend ahead. With the 166th annual Meaford & St. Vincent Fall Fair taking place at the Fairgrounds, and the 17th annual Meaford International Film Festival being hosted at Meaford Hall, there will be no shortage of things to do in Meaford over the final...

Shocked by Brutal Beating of Restaurant Owner That Has Left Him on Life Support. Owen Sound Residents Raise Money to Help Family

On Thursday of last week, three men brutally assaulted an Owen Sound restaurant owner at his place of business before fleeing. Sharif Rahman, 44, owner of The Curry House, a popular Indian restaurant in downtown Owen Sound, had to be transported to a London hospital where he has been on life support since the attack. News reports have said that...

A New CAO Will Begin a New Chapter For This Municipality

It has been a while since a Meaford council has had to hire a new Chief Administrative Officer. Five years in fact, a good run in an era of ever-rotating CAOs in municipalities everywhere. But with Rob Armstrong's sudden departure last week after serving as CAO for the past five years, council is now on the hunt for a...

Summerfest Organizers Did it Again

The Summerfest organizers did it again. The mid-summer festival organized by three downtown businesswomen last year, returned for its second edition on Saturday of the Civic Holiday long weekend, and the large crowds who filled the downtown and waterfront area were a testament to the fact that Summerfest is already a much anticipated summer event in just its second...