Much of the phrase “health and safety” is made in the workplace but we think it is time homes and families adopt a clearer view of what it means to be safe and healthy. Families are immensely impacted when safety takes a backseat to fun.
While there will always be exceptional circumstances where the strong and vital fall victim to a pure accident, families need to take stock of how to avoid needless tragedies.
For a number of reasons, including a personal brush with near-drowning, the senseless deaths that occur in waterways sends a chill down our spine. Murky ponds and lakes which dip off quickly can be trouble for seasoned swimmers let alone those who have zero skill in the water. Even backyard pools claim far too many lives with excited kids and inattentive parents.
Safety has to be a priority and, as anyone who has been present on an accident scene knows, it only ever takes a moment of distraction for tragedy to strike.
Along with families, we would argue emergency service providers, whether fire, ambulance, police or health care providers, are equally impacted. In recent weeks, drownings, accidents and fires have tested their mettle and people often forget that despite their professional training, many are parents or aunts and uncles themselves. Taking risks and forcing their deployment is pretty selfish in our books.
We hope readers will consider making time this week to educate themselves and their kids on the perils of too much fun without regard for safety.
Young people do not need to be scared, but they need to be wary of limitations many of us have when it comes to water sports and recreation. Keep each other safe.
Less than two inches
A chance visit with a neighbouring farm family over the weekend netted the statistic that less than two inches of rain has fallen since May.
They have a rain gauge and monitor the results most years. 2022 will go down as the driest in recent memory. Even their huge pond, drawn upon to irrigate fancier crops, is showing signs of torment this summer with very little precipitation to help top up this reservoir.
Most farmers have similar tales, noting that pods and cobs seem to be slow in filling out, if at all. Even sweet corn that most years would be about our height in August is waist high in spots. Field corn on light land is under great stress.
Let’s hope we see some moisture soon and avoid a poor harvest.
Bone dry and at risk
This past week, the county had numerous fire calls.
Homes, barns and businesses were razed and firefighters were put to the test. In some circumstances neighbouring departments joined in the battle to bring the blaze under control or keep other buildings from harm.
It is not easy to imagine donning heavy protective gear in this sweltering weather let alone facing the heat that comes from a roaring blaze. But the men and women of local fire departments did it in an effort to save lives and protect property. They will most assuredly do it again when duty calls.
It is difficult to quantify the loss and hardships that touch the families involved. These tragedies also reach out into the community, affecting friends, family, fellow farmers and, in the case of the Old Marina Restaurant in Puslinch, extended community that considered staff and that business a part of life at the lake.
We share the wish of others that these families find strength in the days and weeks ahead as they rebuild their lives after these devastating events.
