‘Don’t betray our trust’
Dear Editor:
An open Letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford.
Please Mr. Ford, be a man and acknowledge not just your mistake but also a broken promise not to touch the Greenbelt. Land for affordable housing is available elsewhere and you know it. So does our sitting member in Queen’s Park, Ted Arnott.
As a true-blue voting longtime Tory, I would appreciate you not falling back on hackneyed “talking points” and accept some responsibility.
The late, great U.S. president Harry Truman had a sign on his office desk that said succinctly, “The buck stops here!”
Also those of us who donate to environmental causes and specifically The Bruce Trail and Nature Conservancy that purchase conservation properties are led to believe these will be protected in perpetuity.
Don’t betray our trust. It can’t be won back easily come election time.
Stan Litch,
Elora
‘No respect’
Dear Editor:
It’s Sunday night, approximately 8:40pm, of the Labour Day weekend. And, for the second night in a row, I sit here listening to fireworks.
People just don’t care or have no respect. Victoria Day and Canada Day are the only two legal weekends for fireworks in Wellington County (bylaw number 2002-47 if anyone cares to check).
Respect the fact that there are mentally challenged individuals and rescue pets who fear the noise.
Gord Smithson,
Fergus
Wants ATVs on trails
Dear Editor:
I am writing this letter on behalf of my wife Judy Machen, myself and many friends.
We are 70 years young and are enjoying a new pastime hobby of ATVing. We are having so much fun and meeting new friends.
This is the fastest growing sport in the country, and I must say we, after two years, have not had one bad or unsafe encounter on the trails, and safety seems to be the number one priority.
I want to congratulate the people and townships for opening up the rail trails to all taxpayers to use and thank you to the OPP for their part and being fair and helpful.
The amount of tourism dollars being brought into the townships is fantastic, and the jobs are countless – ATV sales, mechanics, parts, lodging, restaurants and lots of “Tims.”
I can only hope that my municipality, Guelph/Eramosa Township, and others will follow suit. Please Mayor Chris White, allow ATVs to ride on the trails.
Yes, there will be accidents and mistakes but that is with anything we do in life – cars, bikes, scooters, motorcycles, or any sport. We can’t live in a bubble at 70 years old.
These trails should be for everyone; we all paid for them.
So come on out, get the kids out of the basement, off the game console and into the fresh air.
I guess the fun-killers wont like my letter but that’s all I have to say for now. I am going riding with my wife and friends.
Jim Machen,
Guelph/Eramosa
*Editor’s note: Mayors generally do not have the authority to unilaterally make such decisions. Changes in policies/bylaws require the approval of council and, often, staff input.
Start assembly line
Dear Editor:
RE: Disturbing math, Aug. 24.
Oh yea, of little faith. How about an assembly line of pre-fabricated homes with maybe six basic styles to choose from?
Set up a manufacturing system like the one used to build the ocean freighters called Liberty ships in the United States starting in 1941. By 1945 they were producing three completed ships every two days. This would create jobs to no end and we have the raw materials to do it.
This would reduce our inflation because it is the printing money without creating new wealth that intensifies inflation. Canadians can do this if everyone is allowed to pitch in and benefit from it.
Michael Freiesleben,
Fordwich
‘Questionable’ focus
Dear Editor:
An open Letter to Ontario’s Minister of Education Stephen Lecce.
I am sorry, Mr. Lecce, but you are wrong: cursive writing will not be “helping young people to express more substantively, to think more critically, and ultimately, to express more authentically.”
Instead, it will be another barrier to students who are already disadvantaged in the education system. I was a child in the ‘70s who was constantly berated for my less-than-stellar writing as a left-handed student trying and failing to produce the right-handed slant that was required.
Imagine being a person with more serious learning problems such as dyslexia having to produce copperplate writing as a sign of learning achievement.
Despite my reprehensible writing, I managed to attain two post secondary degrees. I also learned enough to think that the one expert that the Toronto Star quoted admitting that “[t]here isn’t a lot of research specifically on cursive writing”, makes this new curriculum focus questionable.
Jane McFadden,
Fergus
‘Still thriving’
Dear Editor:
Riverfest Elora is a treasured province-wide music festival that supports many of our vital community initiatives.
It takes inspiration from our local “Save the Water” campaign and Indigenous wisdom on environmental issues, the “Addy Team” on health awareness and medical research and “Green Lanes” to advocate for safer and less motorized downtown areas, and the Elora Centre for the Arts on developing community through the arts.
Riverfest advocates for a healthier, more sustainable future in Centre Wellington.
Special thanks to the festival for all the inclusive and creative events held in the Koop Tent. When Marilyn Koop founded Riverfest, she was passionate about art, in all its forms, at accessible festivities and especially those free and open to everyone in public spaces.
In that regard, she would have been pleased to know that KIPP (Kitchen in the Park Project), located in Bissell Park, and the Elora Centre For the Arts, where the first Riverfest was held, are both still thriving.
Al Koop,
Elora
‘Always involved’
Dear Editor:
RE: ‘Clearly in error,’ Aug. 10.
I would like to thank Edward Vanover of Guelph for his rebuttal to my letter (Narrative silenced, Aug. 3).
Some of his remarks reflect his knowledge as one who taught the “long history” of the United States for more than three decades. I applaud his dedication and commitment to a very important subject. Knowledge can be acquired in various ways in and out of the classroom.
I am not one of “many Canadians who bash the U.S. knowing little about them”. For decades I was quite the opposite. I thought our neighbour to the south wasn’t interested in being “policeman to the world” and had no desire to take on the burden of leadership among nations. I now believe I was wrong. The U.S. has nearly always been involved in the affairs of other countries – militarily, financially, politically and commercially, and not always by “invitation”.
Today, more than ever, her actions have been open to examination and criticism thanks to excellent, brave award-winning investigative reporters and some rare news media. Citizens want to know more about the government who speaks on their behalf, and the “moral fibre” of their leaders. There is always more to learn.
It is not possible to be disconnected from the United States. Joe Biden and Justin Trudeau speak the same language, whether it is over Ukraine and NATO’s increasing military presence in the world, or the likelihood of another Cold War, this time with China. We are now firmly and irrevocably tied to the U.S.’ global ambitions.
Peace in Ukraine depends on Russia, of course, but also on the United States. Two global powers whose citizens have no desire for war but whose voices have been silenced. One, as a citizen, wonders why?
Janet Calderwood,
Rockwood
Helpful strangers
Dear Editor:
On Aug. 19, while walking at Royal City Park in Guelph, I fell.
Two ladies who were former teachers who were walking with children stopped to help me. They bandaged me up, stating that they were used to that as they bandaged many students in the past.
One lady even offered to go and get my car for me. She said she would leave her wallet and her children with me as collateral (LOL).
I did not get the names of these two ladies but would like to extend my heartfelt thanks for the assistance they gave me. It is really nice to be living in an area where people still take the time to help others.
Joseph Perlock,
Cambridge
Thankful for help
Dear Editor:
We thank the person who found our wallet on the trail from the Gartshore Street parking lot in Fergus to the Shand Dam.
The next morning it was in our mailbox at our home.
This happened on a Monday afternoon and by Tuesday morning the wallet was here. Thank you so much! God’s blessings.
Luitsen and Annie de Witt,
Centre Wellington
‘Amazing people’
Dear Editor:
Centre Wellington really does have some amazing people.
Thanks to the man and his son who put the spare tire on the car in the dark with a flashlight at 2 am.
We had waited four hours for a tow truck that was going to come in “15 minutes”.
I’m very grateful for the help we received.
Penny Winkler,
Centre Wellington
‘No accountability’
Dear Editor:
RE: Health care shortages create ‘dire’ situation: Anderson, Aug. 17.
No business operates and survives when beholden by suppliers without attention to cost and product quality, and when it pays top officials exorbitant amounts and spends other people’s money.
Hospitals do all this; no accountability to any singular person or entity like an employee with an owner who oversees spending; perhaps an ivory towered bureaucrat with no skin in the game.
The “endless” flow of funds is dwindling. As councillor Jean Anderson states, local funds may be required. Either way, it’s our money – federal/provincial/local.
On the flip side, those accessing the health care system do so with no direct cost. Genuine emergencies aside, massive abuse occurs as well as patients without providers. Our health care system doesn’t run as a business, but a “free for all.”
If we could go to the grocery store, fill our carts at no cost, how much waste and overspending would occur? That’s essentially how our health care system operates.
I’m not promoting a user-pay system, but I do wonder if the government gave every person $5,000 per year to use towards their basic care (emergencies covered) and keep any remainder, what would that do?
It wouldn’t be “out of pocket” but it would give a sense of responsibility and knowledge of cost.
Bonnie Hollinger,
Minto
‘Corporate citizenship’
Dear Editor:
On Feb. 13 a good friend of mine was seriously injured when a softball-sized rock flew through the windshield of his vehicle and struck him in the face.
My friend suffered numerous facial fractures and a severely damaged eye. These injuries have required (and still requires) that he makes numerous trips to Hamilton for specialized surgeries and treatment.
However, that is not what this letter to the editor is about. I am writing to publicly thank the management and staff of the Peavey Mart in Guelph. My friend and I live in different cities and meet in Guelph before I drive him to and from Hamilton for his medical appointments. Peavey Mart has been gracious enough to allow us to park a vehicle in their lot as frequently as necessary.
The kindness and compassion of the staff at Peavey Mart most certainly demonstrates a significant level of corporate citizenship that everyone in Guelph and the surrounding communities are fortunate to be the recipients of.
R. Marshall Gavin,
Kitchener
‘AI and hard work’?
Dear Editor:
Shame on all the Ontarians who have been criticizing Premier Doug Ford and the Greenbelt travesty . Nothing, absolutely nothing, underhanded transpired!
The developers who scooped up the lands truly deserve the $8 billion future profit .
Consider all the time these entrepreneurs spent in computer labs studying AI (artificial intelligence).
No doubt their diligence, endless hours and perseverance finally paid off and allowed them to perceive the re-zoning and sale of this land.
An excellent example of AI and hard work!
Jim McClure,
Crieff
Timely poetry
Dear Editor:
Our Mother Earth Dies
Your heart beats,
Earth, our mother,
Yet its pulse slows,
Do only I hear it, no other?
Your breath,
Once a wind so sweet,
Now toxic and cancerous,
You face defeat.
Your blood,
Once waters of life,
Thickens and congeals now,
With poisons it is rife.
Your body,
Mountains, deserts and plains,
Withers now,
‘Neath devastation and hard rains.
My eyes weep at what they behold,
For to your bosom I must return,
Yet what will be left of you then?
The lesson none did learn.
Barb Baszczynski,
East Garafraxa