Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Editorial

After Four Long Years, We Might Know the Future for Contentious Pumped Storage Proposal Later This Month

It has been four years since the pumped storage plant proposal was first announced, four long, exhausting years. TC Energy's proposal to build a hydroelectric pumped storage plant on the grounds of the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre in Meaford was immediately met with significant and vocal opposition within days of us learning of it in the late summer of...

Meaford’s Halloween Haunted Candy Route Map Was an Unexpected & Positive Product of the Pandemic

In just a few days, doorbells will ring and costumed children will be collecting candy, some in grocery bags, others in plastic Jack O'Lanterns, while some will take an old school approach by using a pillow case. We all remember our Halloween experiences from our own childhoods; it was a time for make-believe, a time for dressing up as our...

Council is Seeking Input on Short-Term Rentals – Get Involved!

Short-term rentals have been a hot topic over the past year, so hot that back in June council made it their top priority. They gave direction to municipal staff to lay the groundwork that would allow council to approve a licensing bylaw by the end of this year, an aggressive timeline, but one that council feels can be met. Council...

The Chilly Autumn Air Has Arrived, Time to Prepare For the Winter to Come

After an unseasonably warm start to autumn, frigid season-appropriate air moved in over the weekend, reminding us that summer is indeed over, and winter is on the way. The chilly temperatures over the Thanksgiving long weekend was cause for many of us to turn on our home heating for the first time since last winter came to an end. Cranking...

A Time to be Thankful

This year seems to have been flying by at a pace greater than the 60 seconds per minute that our watches display. As September came to an end, I glanced at a calendar and realized that another Thanksgiving long weekend is upon us, and while I'm not much for holidays or celebrations, Thanksgiving is my favourite of the holidays...

Rallies Against Schools Teaching Students About Gender & Sexual Diversity Met With Counter-Protests

Last week we saw rallies across the country expressing opposition to the teaching of gender and sexuality issues in public schools, and those rallies were met with counter-protests by those who are concerned about LGBTQ+ rights. Though such rallies are often limited to major urban centres, last week's rallies found their way to many cities and towns, big and...

The Track Property at Former High School Would be a Good Location For Some Affordable Housing

If you tuned into the live-stream of Monday's special meeting of council, you likely felt some anxiety while hearing the harsh realities of the affordable housing crisis, not just in this community, but far and wide. The problem is real, and it is getting worse. With the average resale price of a home in Grey County currently more than $700,000,...

Council Close to Adopting an Ambitious List of Strategic Priorities For This Term

Though they have deferred official adoption of their strategic priorities for this term until the full package of 16 top priorities can be adopted at once, a read-through of the 131-page report that contains the project charters for each of the identified priorities makes clear that this council has developed an ambitious plan for their four-year term. Fifteen priorities are...

It Has Been a Busy First Year For This New Term of Council

As summer gives way to autumn, Meaford's council is back to work after a shorter than traditional summer break, as they eye the completion of the first year of their term as council. Back in January, I wrote that the newly elected and inaugurated council had a busy year ahead; a busy year it has been, and it isn't over...

The Final Long Weekend of Summer is Upon Us

The Labour Day long weekend is upon us, and in Meaford that means a busy weekend ahead. With the 166th annual Meaford & St. Vincent Fall Fair taking place at the Fairgrounds, and the 17th annual Meaford International Film Festival being hosted at Meaford Hall, there will be no shortage of things to do in Meaford over the final...