Stephen Vance, Editor
We may be a young nation by worldly standards, but compared to our neighbours to the south, Canada is pretty mature when it comes to social issues, and the proposed doctor-assisted dying bill announced last week is yet another example.
Yes, the bill is the result of a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a ban on assisted...
Stephen Vance, Editor
After a long, cold, then warm, snowy, then not, winter, the first hints of true Spring weather appear to be just around the corner. The snow that accumulated over the past few months is nearly gone, revealing lawns and sidewalks – and of course, more trash than any of us would like to see.For some reason we...
Stephen Vance, Editor
This weekend Meaford's businesses, organizations, and community-minded residents will be showcased at the annual Community Awards hosted by the Meaford Chamber of Commerce. The event will also feature the awarding of the Rotary Club's annual Citizen of the Year (and new this year, the Jr. Citizen of the Year).Generally I'm not a very big fan of awards...
Stephen Vance, Editor
On Tuesday of this week the sentence for a drunk driver who got behind the wheel of his vehicle - killing a grandfather and his three grandchildren - was handed down: ten years. Ten years for ripping the lives away from four of his fellow citizens, and seriously injuring the grandmother and great-grandmother of those three children....
Stephen Vance, Editor
The expansion of the Community Improvement Plan (CIP) incentive program makes a lot of sense. The first years of the program provided grants for businesses in the CIP area to make improvements to their street-facing façades, and it proved to be popular, resulting in real and obvious improvements to several buildings in the downtown core.We've all driven...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Being a politics junkie has its downside – especially in presidential election years south of the border. I get sucked in. I log on to The Young Turks (TYT) website to follow every Republican and Democratic debate and town hall. I jump between the TYT website and the MSNBC website and CBS and so on, on primary...
Stephen Vance, Editor
With the massive study into the services delivered by the municipality set to begin in less than two months, residents might want to brace themselves for a reality check.
Many residents have been calling for such a review for years, in large part based on the belief that the municipality is over-staffed, causing Meaford ratepayers to be over-taxed.In...
Stephen Vance, Editor
One of the most common criticisms I hear about our members of municipal council is also the most inaccurate criticism I hear – that our councillors make too much money, and they should take a pay cut before ever raising taxes.
“Council should slash their pay before increasing taxes,” is a commonly held belief, particularly around budget time....
Stephen Vance, Editor
The end of February is fast approaching, and while it has been a strange winter that has cycled through warm and cold spells, major snow storms and bright sunny days, the planned experimentation with the delivery or Meaford's winter road maintenance service seems to have worked well.
No major accidents that have been attributed to poorly maintained roads...
Stephen Vance, Editor
Several species in the animal kingdom cope with winter by going into hibernation, and no doubt many of us human types wish we could hibernate through the cold, snowy winter months as well.
While some of us might prefer the opportunity to tuck ourselves in at the beginning of January and not return until the snow begins to...
