For nearly a decade I've heard many discussions and debates focused on how to turn Meaford into a year-round tourist destination. Most of those discussions end in frustration, but as we've seen proven by Mother Nature over the past week, if you build it, they will come.
While Meaford has become a popular summer and autumn destination for Ontario day-trippers,...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Thursday, March 8 is International Women's Day, a time to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women and to also raise awareness of the challenges that still remain in achieving true gender equality. As is highlighted in an article in this week's paper, in Meaford there's much to celebrate.
A little over a month ago I saw a...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Trash – it's been in the news a lot lately. Overflowing garbage cans in our parks, plastic pop bottles washing up on our shores, fast food packaging littering our trails. Trash is everywhere, and while we can shrug our shoulders and blame others, as was pointed out by the organizers of a new community cleanup event during...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Horrifying and heartbreaking. Those were my immediate thoughts after the first news reports about yet another mass shooting in America, this time at a school in Parkland, Florida. A 19 year-old equipped with an assault rifle, smoke bombs, and a gas mask marched into his former school, and when he was done 17 innocent lives had been...
Stephen Vance, Editor
October 22 is municipal election day, and without doubt there are folks in this municipality who are considering running for a seat at Meaford's council table, but before making any decision there's lots to consider.
Municipal politicians are a special breed that combines a passion for local issues and governance with a thick skin and a bravery (insanity?)...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Many Meaford parents are rightly concerned about the future of school music programs after attending a public meeting during which the initial plans for Meaford's new combined elementary and high school were unveiled.
The plans put before the public included just one music room to be shared by the elementary and high school students. The music room included...
Stephen Vance, Editor
In the wake of the news late last week that Meaford CAO Denyse Morrissey had tendered her resignation, a few readers got in touch to remind me of an editorial I wrote in August of 2015 in which I suggested that the CAO was entering the three to five year window when we could very well expect...
Stephen Vance, Editor
When I was a kid we were often warned by parents and teachers in the winter months not to be digging tunnels into snowbanks lest they collapse and trap us inside. It was a warning that most of us took seriously, and some 40 years later we really don't hear of very many instances where children have...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Meaford's Rotary Club raised an important issue when they attended the mandatory public meeting on Monday night focused on the 2018 municipal budget – the rising cost for community groups to use facilities and services in Meaford Hall.The issue is a tough one. For several years, ratepayers have pressured council to get a better handle on costs,...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Have you enjoyed driving around this municipality over the past week or so? I didn't think so, neither have I – our roads have been a mess, navigating side streets has been an exercise in frustration, and the municipality should be embarrassed.As a rule I tend to not get overly worked up about things like this. In...
