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...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Some guys like fishing, others like watching sports, but me, I'm a news junkie. I watch and read news both local and international with the enthusiasm that many reserve for the Saturday night hockey game. But the events of the past few months have exhausted me and frazzled my brain, and I think I might need to...
Stephen Vance, Editor
In the world of municipal politics, optics can be everything. That's why it was somewhat surprising that, before approving the five new library board members at council's Monday meeting, Mayor Barb Clumpus read a prepared statement carrying the title 'A Value Statement regarding Library Services for all residents of the Municipality of Meaford'.Surprising not due to the...
Stephen Vance, Editor
If you're a winter hater like me, the term 'January thaw' always sounds so appealing; an oasis in the middle of the winter desert. Until it begins, and then you remember that a January thaw also includes chilly damp air, cold rain, and thawing snow that freezes overnight making roads and sidewalks slippery the next morning.
We've had...
Stephen Vance, Editor
One thing we can say with certainty about Meaford residents is that they are passionate, and will fight for their community when necessary. We've seen evidence of this recently with the circulation of a petition aimed at voicing concern that Meaford's hospital could lose its operating room. The passion of Meaford's residents is one of many things...
