‘Getting desperate’
Dear Editor:
As our township councillors get set to shoehorn more housing into Fergus and Elora, I wonder if they have stopped to consider this burning question: where will all the newcomers find doctors?
Right now, if you have no general practitioner (GP) for your day-to-day medical needs, the situation is dire and getting worse every day. Take my predicament. My GP quit three months ago and now I badly need to renew a prescription for medication he filled routinely for me for years (without it, within a few weeks, I face getting very sick).
Yet can I find anywhere to get this done? No.
My pharmacist blithely told me, “Oh, go to a walk in clinic.” But where – and how? The only clinic in this area (at Walmart) no long takes “walk-ins.” The only way you can get in there is to call at 4:30pm to make an appointment and pray that you don’t get a busy signal. But you always do. I know, I’ve tried it many times.
In desperation, I drove up to the clinic last night to try and make an appointment in person. But that’s not permitted. A harried-looking nurse came out from behind a locked door to admit a guy (who, lucky for him, had managed to reach them on the phone) and told me to just “keep trying.”
“Put your phone on speed dial. You may eventually get us. But we are seeing 100 patients a night – and we all work in doctors’ offices during the day,” she said.
So in other words, the possibility of getting my prescription filled there is grim. So I tried some new doctors’ offices in Arthur today and was told much the same thing. The sympathetic receptionist said “to try Guelph, Palmerston or Harriston. You may have better luck there.”
In the meantime, I am off my medication and getting desperate.
And the powers-that-be want to bring more people to live here? Are they crazy?
Sonia Day,
Fergus
Dog poop problem
Dear Editor:
Our ‘Diggin’ in the Dirt’ group from the Fergus and District Horticultural Society started work on our beautification in the gardens last week.
As part of our clean up we removed three piles of “dog dirt” down at the Riverwalk. Two of these piles were on the artificial turf behind our library! We encountered a lovely group of people from the Welland Photography Club in town as tourists for the day, snapping many wonderful sights around our town. I hope the piles of dog poop were not amongst those pictures.
Come on, Fergus people with dogs, we can do better. Please scoop the poop. We are there to garden not to pick up after your pet.
Lesley Mallett,
Fergus
‘Irreversible loss’
Dear Editor:
It was not necessarily shocking to read about the over 1,000 acres of farmland designated for more development for housing by the Province of Ontario.
I’d say it was more sad news. Changing news. Irreversible loss of valuable farmland.
Has anyone seen what has happened on the other side of Paris, Ontario? It was once a beautiful little town.
Liz Hughes,
Puslinch
Stop for school buses
Dear Editor:
I am a school bus driver. Sadly, I see a lot of poor drivers out there, going through stop signs, red lights and the flashing lights on the school bus!
When the amber lights are on you are to slow down and prepare to stop. My job is to transport students to school and home again safely. Please stop for the school bus.
Remember, your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, neighbour’s child or your best friend’s child may be on that bus!
Marion Parker,
Mount Forest
‘Pure love’
Dear Editor:
RE: One of a kind, May 11.
Thank you for your weekly editorials, as I normally enjoy the information that you share, and I did appreciate you writing about mothers last week.
My only issue that rubbed me wrong was when you said “Everyone, regardless of social status or geographic spot on the globe, came into this world through the sacrifice of a woman – their mother.”
While what you’ve written is true for the most part, as soon as I read it, I just knew I needed to write to let you know that for me, and I’m sure for the majority of mothers reading this, giving birth to my two children was absolutely no sacrifice at all on my part.
I consider the joy of becoming a mother 34 and 31 years ago, to have been the ultimate blessings of my life!
The joy and unconditional love my children, and husband, have given to me over the years is beyond compare, and there is no sacrifice involved there at all! Just pure love.
Joyce Freeman,
Erin
Doesn’t like gambling
Dear Editor:
If it is legal, it must be okay. The government sanctions it. It is for charity isn’t it? It brings in money for the town. It cannot hurt me. Or can it?
Gambling. It’s a bad bet. For individuals, communities, churches and government the whole gaming business is out to destroy.
Gambling is a moral blight on our land. It produces no new wealth for anyone local. People who gamble spend less on gas, food and clothing. It is an economic parasite. It leeches the already scarce economic resources available to help the poor. Crime and drug trafficking goes up.
What is the true cost of gambling? Gamblers bet their life away. Suicides increase. Families are betrayed. Gambling is abusive because it deprives the family of what it needs financially and emotionally, and children suffer neglect. The gambler plays the dice, but his family pays the price.
The deck is stacked against the gambler. The odds of your number coming up in a six number game are an astronomical one in 10 million. In Super Seven, guessing seven numbers in a row, the odds are 1 in 100 million. These odds are astronomical!
One popular excuse for gambling is it is free money for charity or for the town. Let’s look locally at the Centre Wellington. The Advertiser reported on April 27 that in 2022-23 the township received $3,022,252 for hosting the casino in Elora. Wow, what a windfall?
The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation returns 5% to the town. Did you hear what I said? Five per cent. That means they took out of the community a sum of more than $50 million.
For every $100 dollars you spend at the slots, the township gets back $5. Think about it. Would you pay McDonald’s $100 for a $5 meal? Could you spend your hard-earned money on something else? Every dollar spent in our community goes around eight times and enriches others in our community, enabling businesses to stay open and hire our students and young adults.
It is morally wrong for the government to feed people’s bad habits and prey on their addiction.
What a poor investment! It’s a bad bet.
Irma DeVries,
Minto
*Editor’s note: Under their agreements with OLG, municipalities receive: 5.25% on the first $65 million of slot revenue, 3% on the next $135 million, 2.5% on the next $300 million, and 0.5% on revenue above $500 million. One hundred per cent of OLG profits go back to the province ($57 billion since 1975).
Timely lesson
Dear Editor:
When I was two years old, I ran into the path of a riding lawn mower and lost my right leg below the knee. It all happened so fast: one moment I was playing outside, and the next I was too close to the mower.
Having grown up as part of The War Amps Child Amputee (CHAMP) Program, I am now committed to spreading the Association’s “Play safe” message.
With lawn cutting season upon us, I want everyone to know that kids should not ride, operate or play near lawn mowers.
Though I’ve learned to accept and appreciate who I am today, I want to use my experience to help prevent others from going through what I did. Please make sure children are always at a safe distance from lawn mowers.
And don’t underestimate the importance of safety when operating any machinery. I urge you to take the necessary precautions to protect yourself and those around you.
If you would like to learn more about how to play safely and hear stories from other young amputees like me who have lost limbs in accidents, visit waramps.ca/playsafe.
Jarod Murray,
Vanessa, Ontario
‘Save our planet’
Dear Editor:
I am a student at John Black Public School. I would like to inform the public about a very important topic: global warming.
Global warming is something we should all be concerned about. Sooner or later, global warming will start to really impact animals and human lifestyles. Different habitats will be destroyed and wildlife will suffer from extinction. That will start to affect our ecosystem.
There are certain animals who have adapted in cold climates. With global warming happening, it is causing these cold climates to heat up and start melting away. That is also what is causing extinction of that species and more for different causes.
Continuing to use gas cars means more greenhouse gasses are released into the atmosphere, potentially causing irreversible damage if we don’t take action to fight global warming soon.
There are simple things you guys could do to start fighting global warming today. You could use electric cars, stop emitting more greenhouse gasses into the air such as using fossil fuels for energy to power up homes, buildings, etc.
Use renewable energy that doesn’t cause more greenhouse gasses.
There are plenty of renewable energies that you could use. The ones most commonly used are hydro energy, wind energy, solar energy, and geothermal energy. All these simple things that you can do will help us all fight climate change. Let’s all be a better community and save our planet.
A little goes a long way.
Hennah Kowalchyk,
Fergus
For mom (belated)
Dear Editor:
For mom on Mother’s Day – entitled When You and I Are Old.
When you are old
I’ll brush your hair
And sing you songs
To show I care.
I’ll bring posies tied
In ribbons bright.
Sprinkle petals on
Your bed at night.
When I am old
You’ll be the breeze
That brings the scent
Of spring to me.
You’ll be the soft voice
In my ear
Saying: “Be not afraid.
I wait for you here.”
For for today
Let’s sit awhile.
We’ll sip out tea
And share a smile.
We’ll watch the kids
All in a whirl
And together know
It’s a wonderful world.
Joy Lippai,
Arthur