‘Intellectually hollow’
Dear Editor:
RE: Community members clash over Pride banners in Minto, May 16.
Public spaces are never neutral. The ways we design, use and inhabit the spaces around us say much about our collective values. We act upon space continuously, and we endlessly define the spaces we move in and make for ourselves and our community. In turn, how we use space defines us, too.
Much has, can and will be said about the national, provincial, town and Legion flags that adorn many a flag pole. No credible opinion would hold that they are neutral. In the end – even from the outset – flags and other visual symbols give life to community history, represent (accepted) values, stand for collective goals and promote certain aspired and hoped-for futures.
They always stand for something.
With this in mind, it is discouraging to see that some writers to the editor and the many signatories to the petition to neutralize public spaces in Minto believe that this neutralization of public space is possible. The flags they would accept, those they would prohibit, and any they might outlaw in the future all represent the community in some way: its values, principles, history and future goals.
To call obviously, if not explicitly, for the removal of Pride flags, banners, crosswalks and other visual representations of equality, acceptance and inclusion in public spaces does speak volumes about the petition’s signatories and its supporters.
If only they were brave enough to publicly own their bigotry – to stand by their hatred and small-mindedness – rather than to feebly attempt to hide behind the shallow, intellectually hollow claim that this was somehow in the aim of “neutrality.”
Perhaps then we would approach something of an open and honest discussion about the meaning and use of public space.
Connor Maitland,
Centre Wellington
‘Word salad’
Dear Editor:
RE: Harm reduction the humane way to help people addicted to drugs and alcohol: panel, May 23.
I find it very difficult to see how changing words to fancy jargon will help anyone with an addiction to get off alcohol and drugs.
The article states that instead of “street drugs” people should use “unregulated drug supply” or say “change in their experience” instead of “relapse” and instead of “clean” or “sober” say they have been “practicing abstinence”.
Really? You’ve got to be kidding. It’s just word salad.
Also a panelist should not down the AA organization, which has done great work for many years. Not all alcoholics are humans that use alcohol to deal with trauma and pain.
What are panel members really doing to get people to stop using alcohol and drugs? Have you checked into or recommend the work of Partners in Hope or Teen Challenge Canada treatment centres or the Push for Change organization?
Eunice Bosomworth,
Ayton
‘T-ball home run’
Dear Editor:
RE: Swing and a miss, May 23.
I found Dave Adsett’s editorial last week a bit disconcerting.
In the past he has lamented how we have become polarized as a society and how populism brings out the worst in us, and yet, he played the “bike lane” card.
Such an easy home run out of the populist playbook to say, “I’m with the people” and it’s the elites who don’t listen who get the bike lanes.
Green Lanes gave out four bikes last week to people who live in downtown Fergus who do not drive. Those are the “people” I care about and they deserve some space and freedom to move about our community.
You got your T-ball home run, now do your research and come back to us with what is “smart transportation” and join the pros.
John Scott,
Elora
Wants bike lanes
Dear Editor:
I am a grade 7 in John Black Public School and I think that there should be bike lanes in Fergus.
My first reason is that it would make it more safe for kids. Considering that there are lots of kids and teenagers that bike to school, it would make it much safer to get there. Personally, as a student I bike to school and I always have to stop because people are walking down the sidewalk and it takes so much longer to get to school if I always have to stop.
My second reason is that if there are bike lanes more people would bike. If more people bike, less people drive. If less people drive you have less pollution from cars which would make the air cleaner.
My third reason is that having bike lanes makes the roads safer for bikers and reduces crashes. I hope that you agree with my reasons to get bike lanes in Fergus.
Julia Krnac,
Fergus
Norway’s way
Dear Editor:
RE: ‘Cruel’ punishment, May 23.
I worked one year is Oslo, Norway in the 1980s. One week, I noticed Oddvar was missing. My colleagues told me, with much giggling and nudge-nudge, wink-winking, that he was on “vacation”.
Eventually I learned this means that he had been jailed one week for drunk driving. The limit there was about half of the current Canadian limit.
For a first offence, Norwegians received a hefty fine, a license suspension and a mandatory week in jail. So, drunk driving was a very rare thing. Designated drivers would have zero alcohol rather than risk a run-in with the law.
Perhaps we should consider this approach?
Ken Lancaster,
Rockwood
‘Invaluable programs’
Dear Editor:
We had the good fortune of attending the May 18 performance of Annie by Theatre Norwell at Norwell District Secondary School in Palmerston.
Anyone attending this show (or any of the previous nights’ sold out shows) would by hard-pressed to distinguish this high school production from any of the myriad professional shows that we have access to in our region. As we joined the several hundred other audience members in a spontaneous standing ovation at the end of the show, several things became evident in our minds.
First and foremost, was the clear commitment of time and effort put in by both the students and teaching staff. It seems so prevalent these days to hear criticism of teenagers regarding their laziness and their frivolous reliance on cell phones, video games, etc., but clearly the 25 to 30 students involved in this show had spent hours of their personal time completely focused on doing their best in whatever their role was in this production.
Similarly, it is not uncommon to hear public criticism of teachers, often regarding their “cushy” jobs, but it is rarer to hear the well-deserved praise for teachers such as the dozen or so directly involved in this production, who have put in hours of personal time, throughout the year, helping these students attain the excellence they have.
Second, it is quite discouraging to continue to see that in our publicly-funded education system, programs in the arts are often the first to be cut when financial burdens require cost saving measures. We seem to have no qualms about spending millions of dollars in Ontario’s public system, planning, implementing and analyzing standardized tests in the naive belief that these tests and their results are the key to a well-balanced and comprehensive education system.
The educational and social values developed through a theatrical production such as this are enormous. Memorization, public speaking, logistics training, strategic planning, technical training, public relations skills are just a few of the skills learned in an endeavour like this.
Equally important are the social skills such as team-building, commitment, conflict resolution, adaptability, inclusion, and many more that students are being exposed to and learning to practise.
And surely, when these students stand on their stage at the end of their shows to repeated standing ovations, the positive impact on their self-esteem cannot be under-estimated. For many young people an experience such as this can not only be a lifelong memory, but also a life-changing experience.
Kudos to all those people who are working tirelessly to keep these invaluable programs alive in our public education system.
Grant and Debi Browning,
Elora
Loves chess
Dear Editor:
I am a student at John Black Public School. Recently there has been an incredible surge in a classical, but sometimes forgotten game. That game would be chess.
Chess.com, one of the largest chess platforms in the world, went from 25 million members in 2018 to 100 million in 2022 – that would make it quadruple in just a four-year time period. It is still standing strong with hundreds of thousands people online daily.
But where did this start? Well, it was a combination of things like the release of the hit show The Queen’s Gambit in 2020 and being a huge success followed by the pog champs – an event with popular streamers being paired with top chess players with the task to improve and compete against each other at the end if a two-week period.
But where am I going with this? Well I think we should invest in a chess teacher for the Fergus Chess Club and, in the near future, maybe even a tournament to get everyone involved and enjoying the classical game of chess, using their critical thinking, focusing on the game, rather than being on their phones.
And who knows? Maybe older, long-term players will want to get back into the game and try to challenge the up and coming talent of Fergus.
So what do you say? Lets come together as a community and shine the light on the game of chess.
Sawyer Nind,
Fergus
‘Let’s do it again’
Dear Editor:
We can and must do better. Subsidize 407 tolls for trucks now. It will save billions for the people which can be used to build real affordable housing in the urban areas which is desperately needed. Also it will fix our health care crisis now!
The 413 is estimated to take over a decade to build and create a huge environmental disaster at the same time. We have 16,900km of roads in Ontario. We don’t need any more roads; upgrade the roads we already have.
The 407 is the obvious answer. It’s running at less than 50% capacity when at the same moment in time the 401 is above capacity. I see this scenario all the time. I’m one of the few A/Z drivers with a transponder that has driven on both roads (401 & 407) countless times.
Highway 407 tolls are among the most expensive in the world, that’s the main reason it’s running well below capacity. Profit margins in the trucking industry are very tight; most trucking outfits can’t afford the expensive tolls on the 407.
The PCs have to subsidize 407 truck tolls now! Imagine the 401 in four or five years. If Doug Ford is really for the people he could subsidize the 407 for trucks right now with a stroke of a pen; why does he refuse?
Doug Ford can solve congestion problems right now for people but he wants us to wait for the 413 that won’t even solve the congestion problems even if it’s built.
The estimated $10-billion, 52km 413 won’t do a thing for congestion, it will just create new congestion where there is none!
So why won’t Doug Ford do this for the people? Well it’s obvious he’s for a few very well-connected sprawl folks.
We the people stopped the Greenbelt scandal. We made Doug do the right thing Let’s do it again. The right thing for the people!
Terry Brooker,
Orangeville
Bad bags?
Dear Editor:
Am I experiencing a serious case of bad luck or is there a problem with the yellow Centre Wellington garbage bags?
For the last eight months or so, several of these yellow bags rip apart at the seam on the side. I’m not referring to bags that are overfilled or too heavy. They just fall apart.
I just opened a new package of bags tonight and the first bag I pulled out was already ripped at the seam, even before I used it. The rip didn’t go all the way from the top of the bag to the bottom, but was long enough to make the bag unusable. This is the third package of bags I’ve bought that has defective bags.
Maybe my memory is playing a trick on me, but I seem to remember the yellow bags being solid with no seam on the side, just a seam at the bottom. Did the township (or whoever buys the bags) change the bags they buy?
The yellow bags I use are the large ones.
Anthony Martins,
Elora