Stephen Vance, Editor
Meaford's newly elected council held its first meeting (the pomp and circumstance of the inaugural meeting held last week aside) on December 10, and they sent a message to staff, though if staff is confused by the message they might be forgiven.On the one hand, council was clear in their message to staff that a 5.6 percent...
Stephen Vance, Editor
There was plenty of optimism and many beaming smiles in the opera house at Meaford Hall on Monday as the new council was formally sworn into office. Which is how it should be, but now the party is over, and the real work begins.The inaugural meeting of council isn't your typical council meeting, of course, as no...
Stephen Vance, Editor
It's that time of year again. Downtown storefront windows will have been covered with red plastic during the week while shop owners and their staff create their displays for the annual BIA Downtown Christmas Window Unveiling event, which will once again be partnered with the Kinsmen Club of Meaford's annual Santa Claus Parade to create a night...
Stephen Vance, Editor
While the November 19 meeting of council was in many ways a typical council meeting, it was also special in that it was the final meeting of the current council term. The next meeting of council on December 3 at Meaford Hall will see the inauguration of the newly elected council.When the new council takes over, it...
Stephen Vance, Editor
This week The Meaford Independent celebrates its ninth birthday, and we enter our 10th year – how time flies!
When this paper was born in November of 2009, Stephen Harper was our prime minister, Dalton McGuinty was premier of Ontario, and Francis Richardson was mayor of Meaford. It's just nine years, but at times it almost seems an...
Stephen Vance, Editor
It's never easy (or common) for politicians to admit when they have messed up, but when they do, you have to respect it.
A little more than a month after having approved a new parks use bylaw, Meaford's council decided to revisit the language used which caused concern and anger among many residents.Public backlash was almost instantaneous after...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Back in April I wrote an editorial suggesting that we might want to reconsider our use of electronic voting for our municipal elections. The system failure with less than two hours before the close of the voting period on Monday resulted in an extension of the voting period by 24 hours, and will no doubt reignite discussion...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Monday, October 22 is municipal election day, and I have heard some folks express a desire to see Meaford elect the 'right council' for this municipality. While I agree with the sentiment, I would suggest that in a democracy like ours, whoever is elected on Monday will be the 'right council' for this municipality, as it will...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Hopefully all of our readers had a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend filled with turkey, laughter, and some pumpkin pie. For me, the Thanksgiving weekend was a good time to take my newspaper hat off, and review our slate of council candidates from a personal perspective.After reviewing the candidate profiles from our municipal election guide issue, and...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Residents who have expressed concern about language in the new parks use bylaw that closes Meaford's public parks through the winter months are right to be concerned, because words matter, and the way the bylaw reads, Meaford, the town that has been striving to be a year-round tourist destination, is closed for business during the winter where...
