Stephen Vance, Editor
It was a crushing week for community newspapers in Ontario after two large corporations – Postmedia and TorStar swapped dozens of papers in their portfolios only to shut them down virtually immediately. Some have suggested that we at The Independent must be thrilled that our local competition, the Meaford Express, is one of the victims of the...
Stephen Vance, Editor
One thing that has been made perfectly clear to me since moving to this fine community a dozen years ago is that there's a small but vocal segment of the community that is prone to losing their minds if the municipality hires a staff member. I've always thought it a bit strange, given that this town is...
Stephen Vance, Editor
It is often said that we must learn from history in order to avoid making the same mistakes in the future, and there's a lot of truth to that logic. Here in Canada Remembrance Day is one tool that is used to help us collectively remember wars of the past, the fallen soldiers, and the sacrifices that...
Stephen Vance, Editor
It shouldn't have been a surprise, but it was.
The very first update report to council for the recently approved plan to relocate Meaford's library to the former Foodland location at the corner of Sykes and Trowbridge Streets included a number that caused concern for some members of council - $5.5 million.One of the recommendations included in the...
Stephen Vance, Editor
There's been lots of trash talk around town in recent weeks. I've heard it in the coffee shop, I've heard it on the street, I've seen it with my own eyes, and on Sunday a number of Meaford residents took to Facebook to post comments and photos of a growing problem – overflowing municipal trash bins.Let's face...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Meaford's low crime statistics combined with recent complaints from residents about a lack of police presence on our streets had councillors asking the Grey County OPP Detachment Commander if the municipality is being adequately policed.Inspector Martin Murray made his quarterly update presentation to council at their October 16 meeting, and the data contained in his report brought...
Stephen Vance, Editor
It was supposed to have been completed before the big Scarecrow Invasion and Apple Harvest Craft Show weekend, but after delays and setbacks this week work crews are still working on the rehabilitation of structure 030, more commonly known as Bakeshop Bridge, and they likely won't wrap up until the end of this month. As you might...
Stephen Vance, Editor
When the rain and wind started early last Friday afternoon my first thought was 'here we go again, it's going to be another chilly and damp Scarecrow Invasion'. While I wasn't looking forward to standing out in the cold and rain to take photos of the parade as I'd done several times before, it wouldn't be the...
Stephen Vance, Editor
When you write and publish for public consumption opinions on local issues, you do so knowing that you'll never have the agreement of all, and from time to time you will annoy many. So I write the following knowing that my view on the library location issue is contrary to the apparent will of the residents of...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Like any small town, it's always interesting to discover how people ended up here. In the dozen years I've lived in Meaford, “what brought you to Meaford?” or, “how did you end up here?” have been common questions posed to me when meeting people for the first time, and I tend to ask similar questions myself. One...
