By Stephen Vance, Editor
While inconvenient, this week's brief interruption in water service due to a break in a water main junction fitting served to remind us all of two things – one good, and one not so good.
First, what was clearly demonstrated this week is that the Municipality of Meaford and its staff can respond admirably in the face...
By Stephen Vance, Staff
We've been hearing a lot about bees in recent weeks, and while it can be easy to dismiss stories about collapsing bee colonies as yet another agricultural problem that somebody else will find a solution for, it is important to understand how crucial bees are to our agricultural sector, and the ramifications should the mass die-off...
By Stephen Vance, Editor
Lost in the discussion of a request at the June 24 meeting of council for municipal staff to prepare a report outlining the logistics involved in including a question on next year's municipal election ballot regarding the topics of municipal restructuring and the introduction of a ward system, was what is quite possibly the best suggestion...
By Stephen Vance, Staff
It is no secret that for all levels of government, voter turnout has been on the decline in recent years. In the last municipal election, which was held in October of 2010, voter participation in Meaford reached the lowest level since the 2001 amalgamation, with just 50 percent of eligible voters casting a ballot.Not that previous...
By Stephen Vance, Editor
When we first launched the website for The Meaford Independent in November of 2009, the goal was simple – establish a locally owned, locally operated, locally driven news outlet for both residents of Meaford and those who visit the area from beyond our borders.
In the three and a half years since, The Independent has worked to...
By Stephen Vance, Editor
At their most recent meeting on August 13, Meaford councillors considered a number of potential projects that could be eligible for a new round of grant funding from the Community Infrastructure Investment Fund.
Presented with a list of seven projects prepared by municipal staff, council quickly zeroed in on two possibilities – a renovation of the balcony...
By Stephen Vance, Editor
A letter to the editor submitted to The Independent this week once again has people talking about how the Municipality of Meaford is branding itself.
In his letter, Meaford resident Jim Hepple shared an interaction he had with visitors from the United States about Meaford's use of America's iconic Statue of Liberty in the form of a...
By Stephen Vance, Editor
I've often thought that there are many jobs that would be fun and interesting to have, though CAO of a municipality certainly isn't one of them. In fact, I would rather dig ditches, or clean sewers before taking on the top job in any municipality.
The life of a Chief Administrative Officer within a municipal corporation can't...
By Stephen Vance, Editor
There isn't enough for the kids to do in Meaford.
It is a sentiment I have heard expressed often in the years since I moved to this fine community, and it is one that I have never really understood.
Recently though I have come to realize that perhaps it isn't that there is a lack of activities for...
By Stephen Vance, Editor
Any time a government employee is charged with a crime, there is a justified cause for concern among the citizens who paid for and were served by that employee.
The recent arrest of Meaford's Director of Community Services, Catherine Purcell, on charges of fraud while employed by the Township of King where she worked for 11 years...
