Stephen Vance, Editor
Five years ago I wrote an article entitled 'Bridge Blues on the Way'. Meaford's council of the day had received a staff report advising that nearly $20 million would need to be spent on bridges and culverts in the municipality over the next ten years. It was a report that was a wake up call for council...
Stephen Vance, Editor
I've always been a bit of a history buff, but not much of a war buff, and though a pacifist I might be, I think it important to recognize some of the battles of the past if only so we can avoid the horrors of war in the future.
History buff or not, if you're Canadian, you're sure...
Stephen Vance, Editor
In recent years rural municipalities in Ontario have been, well, let's just be blunt, they've been getting screwed by upper levels of government, particularly the province.
It's no secret, we've all seen it happening before our eyes. Rural schools are being closed, long-term care beds are in jeopardy, and as we are all very well aware in this...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Distracted driving is a topic that you will no doubt hear in the media with greater frequency in the coming weeks, months, and I suspect, years, and for good reason. Distracted driving kills. Distracted driving is this generation's impaired driving, and we have to stop.
Readers of this page are no strangers to my once (sometimes twice) every...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Less than two months ago Grey Bruce Health Services pledged to host public engagement sessions this spring in order to allow residents to share their views and concerns about options being considered by the GBHS board, in their effort to find substantial cost savings in hopes of avoiding, or at least minimizing, projected deficits. In the weeks...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Sometime later this month articles about Ontario's 'Sunshine List' will once again be splashed across news outlets as the data for last year is published. I'm often asked my thoughts on the Sunshine List: my primary thought is that I wish people didn't get so worked up about it, and my secondary thought is that the Sunshine...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Meaford is frequently referred to as 'Golden Town', a nifty nickname that I've been aware of since I moved here in 2005, and though I've often wondered where the name came from, I'd never given it too much thought until recently, when I thought it might be fun to write a story about the origins of the...
Stephen Vance, Editor
If Meaford's streets appear a little grittier than they have in the past as this week's warm temperatures have melted away all of that snow, well, they are. And while we might now lose points on aesthetics during spring melts in Meaford, it's a worthy trade-off for the more than $200,000 we're saving as a result of...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Our current council, along with the council that served before it, deserve much credit for committing to taking on as little new debt as possible while chipping away at Meaford's long-term debt, which had grown to roughly $10 million at the start of this decade, and actually following through. As of the end of 2016, Meaford's long-term...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Meaford councillor Shirley Keaveney rightfully questioned the $4 fare for Meaford's municipal transit bus at council this week, and I hope that once council receives a report from staff and they have time to reflect on the fare, they will opt to lower it.Meaford's Treasurer has said on more than one occasion that the $4 fare was...
