‘Not impressed’
Dear Editor:
RE: New UGDSB logo symbolizes inclusion, diversity: student, May 18.
Looks like the school board was not keeping in mind that printing letterhead, envelopes, newsletters, etc. will be triple the cost (invoiced to taxpayers) for the additional colours in their logo?
I priced it out with printers.
Not impressed.
Jackie DeVries,
Guelph-Eramosa
Greenbelt greed
Dear Editor:
The Greenbelt has never been more at risk than it is now!
Ford actually called the “so-called Greenbelt” a “scam.” He has again succeeded in reducing something precious to its investment value. Well, he and his friends can’t take their money with them.
But we can give our children and grandchildren what has been their heritage forever; the natural world, places where they can run after rabbits, catch pollywogs, be amazed by the magic of lightning bugs, and spend quality time with their feet in a cool running stream in the woods.
Instead, they will put their bare feet on concrete, dodge traffic, breathe polluted air and only read books about the natural world untainted by greed.
Experts have stated that there is enough land designated now, without the Greenbelt, to accommodate housing in our area until 2051!
So what is the motivation to turn fields of wildflowers into asphalt parking lots for big box stores and fast food places, their dumpsters full of garbage, not to mention the loss of good clean ground water?
Greed.
Gerry Walsh,
Erin
‘Outrageous’
Dear Editor:
RE: Province unilaterally extends urban boundaries in county, May 11.
Only five per cent of land in Ontario is prime farmland and 319 acres per day is disappearing from farming use. Yet this government says we need to increase food production by 30%. Then they wipe out decades of careful planning and push urban boundaries out into prime farmland.
None of this adds up. No consultation or local information like servicing or infrastructure capacity taken into account. Just do the impossible without development charges funding municipalities. Really?
Agricultural groups are incredulous, municipalities at a loss in many ways, Conservation Authorities disempowered, the Greenbelt Swiss-cheesed and called “the so-called Greenbelt” by our so-called premier and housing start numbers are actually going down.
Please bring back consultation tier to tier, good planning and common sense, and do the homework before declaring undemocratic, high-handed and outrageous pronouncements.
Donna McCaw,
Elora
Why add red tape?
Dear Editor:
RE: Puslinch awards contract for two park projects; community group advocates for one to be postponed, May 18.
Puslinch needs park upgrades, not more red tape to get them completed. The Concerned Citizens of Puslinch request that the Boreham Park replacement project be put on hold to complete a study to see if filling in the drainage ditches in the park was a bit of a shock to me.
The township has fought to obtain these grants, and they only have a short timeline to complete the projects or they will loose the grants. I feel the taxpayers should not be put on the hook to cover such a study or improvement, when this park has been operating since its inception with no injuries, complaints or problems since its inception.
Do I agree there are pathogens in the grass filled ditches, maybe there is. There are also pathogens in food we eat from our gardens as well. My children have played in the dirt, ditches, sand, and really enjoy this park.
I asked them if they knew that they could get sick from playing in the grass ditch they laughed at me and gave me a funny look. We should be thankful that the township has gone above and beyond to secure these grants for the parks upgrades.
Kimberley Dewbury,
Puslinch
‘Unappreciated’
Dear Editor:
RE: County councillors ponder potential expansion of Wellington Terrace, April 6.
This letter is in response to the excellent article regarding expanding Wellington Terrace.
If Wellington Terrace has a waiting list of 500, so does every other long-term care facility in Ontario. Yes, some folks are listed in several waiting lists but there are still 500 seniors on the waiting list at every home who need care and all are being cared for in their own home, apartment or condo unit by Ontario Home Care and their families. There are 38,000 eligible for long-term care in Ontario waiting for placement.
I often read in the media that we seniors want to stay in our own home rather than move to a long-term care facility. Do they really want to spend most of their last days alone with no interaction with people except for the odd caregiver or family that visits?
This is not for me. I am in a retirement home. It is costly to live here but I have activities and people to keep me occupied and help keep my mind and body in good shape. I have excellent meals, not just “tea and toast” so I keep healthy and enjoy life.
But the majority of seniors cannot afford to be there so they have no choice but to stay in their own home. People are social beings. All creatures are social (eg. bees, ants, rodents, bears, whales, etc.). Without each other and interacting together we deteriorate and lose interest in life. Those with dementia need stimulation, not isolation.
I am 85 years old with a few physical limitations (not life threatening) but no dementia and I expect to live probably another 20 years. My mother died in her sleep at 103. I had a great visit with her the evening before she died.
Hopefully, when and if I need long-term care, there will be a place available for me. After all, I have already paid my taxes for 60-plus years and will continue to pay them until the day I die. I feel our governments have an obligation to look after the elderly the best way possible instead of treating us as excess baggage.
Who paid taxes for 18 to 20 years while the younger generation was growing up? Their parents. Therefore, look out for us now, not 10 years from now when most of us will be dead and there will be new seniors who need care. We are feeling unappreciated.
Mary Patricia Young,
Elora
Basketball options
Dear Editor:
I am a student at John Black Public School and I live in Fergus, and I love playing basketball.
I think that they should have more areas to play basketball outside in Fergus and Elora. I think a good idea for a place is the Fergus sportsplex because it has lots of room, lots of parking and it is close to neighborhoods, so it makes it easy for kids or teenagers who cannot drive yet.
It would also be a much more fun trip for kids who have to go watch their siblings play some sort of sport like hockey or ringette. It is also a good way to get outside and do something when you’re bored.
To put in two high school courts it would cost at least $42,400 and I think that it would make a lot of kids really happy, including me.
Bailey Voisin,
Fergus
Gas gouging
Dear Editor:
Funny eh? The price of oil recently dropped more than $10 to about $70. Did we see any dip at the gas stations?
Bill Worden,
Drayton
Common sense
Dear Editor:
RE: Doesn’t like gambling, May 18.
What an excellent letter from Irma DeVries. Common sense is such a rare commodity these days; it was a real pleasure to come across so much of it in one succinct letter.
Yes, taking everything into account, gambling is a parasite. It’s a shame nobody in authority seems to have realized the blindingly obvious.
Come to think of it, all the letters to the editor in last week’s Advertiser were brilliant and had great things to say on their chosen topic. Is there a common-sense pandemic?
Roy Pegg,
Orton
Caring carriers
Dear Editor:
We would like to give accolades to the Klein family that delivers the weekly Advertiser to Stornoway Drive in Fergus.
They are so conscientious each week and make sure it is tucked into our mailbox in bad weather.
Thank you so much, we look forward to it each week.
June and Chuck Wallsten,
Fergus