Well is dry
Dear Editor:
The well has gone dry.
It’s time Centre Wellington council puts a freeze on grants and purchases of new vehicles. It’s time the BIAs, cycle, festival and art groups put on their big boy pants, be creative and raise their own money instead of coming to the taxpayers for money.
I don’t see a pickup truck chasing a fire truck every time it goes out. With proper maintenance, these trucks could last another couple of years until times improve.
And everybody in the roads department does not need a new red truck.
The taxpayers are struggling to put food on the table and pay taxes. Some have no jobs. Wake up, council; times are tough.
Don’t look at it (like one councillor does) through rose coloured glasses as prudent spending.
Jay Alexander,
Fergus
Location, location
Dear Editor:
Has the cooperation between the Town of Erin and the developer Solmar, allowed for the recent destruction of the natural beauty of the property located at the northwest corner of Wellington Road 52 and 10th line?
This property, previously known as the Miller farmstead, has had trees and vegetation needlessly ripped out by their roots, including the clear cutting of at least two hedgerows. This is just the beginning of a very costly endeavour for the taxpayers in choosing this site to construct a sewage treatment plant. A plant with a view?
A simple elevation reading at the town’s lowest point, at 9th and Wellington Road 124, and the location of the proposed sewage plant up on the hill is a rise of some 50 feet. Indeed an engineering pumping challenge!
Will our sewage treatment plant be the only plant in Ontario that is asked to pump up the poop? The waste generated by the projected 14,000 folks from Erin and Hillsburgh some 7km away, will need to be pumped at least 50 feet upwards?
Then let’s add the more than $1 million needed to pump once more our treated effluent along Wellington Road 52 to Winston Churchill! All of which will empty into one of the last remaining clean rivers in the headwater region adjacent to the GTA.
The residents and taxpayers of the town need to ask: is this the best the engineers and town can come up with? After spending well over $2 million dollars and some 10-plus years of various reports and studies?
The taxpayers of Erin, and constituents of town council should be reminded that in 2020, the Town of Erin was named the most secretive municipality in the country by four journalism organizations.
Will our town next be voted the only community to have built a sewage plant on top of a hill? Location, location, location; good real estate agents know this all too well.
Ed Delaporte,
Erin
Already smells bad
Dear Editor:
RE: Engineering marvel, Jan. 7.
I have been a resident of Erin for over 40 years and I must say that I was not surprised by the letter from Ken Cowling.
I recently retired from my contracting business and understand Mr. Cowling’s concerns. I remember a meeting at the community centre over a year ago when I suggested that the cost overruns would be astronomical and just who would foot the bill for these overruns?
At that time, Mayor Allan Alls said that the cost overruns would be paid for by the taxpayers. That’s you and I, folks. I also remember asking about the absurd amount that was suggested by the engineering firm for hook-up fees. Again I was told that my numbers were wrong. When trying to ask other questions I was ignored by the host, Mr. Alls.
He likes to boast about transparency and cooperation from the town, yet I fail to see it. Perhaps it is so transparent the we cannot see it. Alls boasts about the majority of the people being in favour of the waste water facility, yet the only ones that I can see are the town council and the developers.
This is a wastewater treatment facility and I expect it to smell when it is running – I just did not think it would smell this bad before it is built.
Paul Tomkinson,
Erin
Medication plan
Dear Editor:
I need you and your friends employers to call your MPP and tell them how the OHIP+ excludes those that collect Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD) benefit.
Why should a person 24 or under get free STD medication or medical marijuana for free when people on CPPD benefit have to pay for their diabetic glaucoma blood pressure and all other medications?
I went to the drugstore today to pick up my meds. The cost is $169 and change. I told them to keep them because they are not in my budget, while 24 and under get all their meds for free no matter of income or parents income.
My doctor told me his kids get free meds. Is that right? Nobody I have spoken to will stick their necks out to support this cause. I have a lot to lose by me sticking my neck, my health out. This year I have had enough. Please send emails and call. Use my name.
Albert Copeman,
Wellington North
‘Fun police’ at it again
Dear Editor:
RE: No ATVS on local roads, Dec. 31.
After reading Ms. Eybel’s letter and because of the spare time the holidays and COVID-19 gave me, I decided to have a look at public health’s report, The Epidemiology of All-Terrain Vehicle and Snowmobile Related Injuries in Ontario. With a title like that I should have known better and just watched Netflix.
This study was conducted over a two-year period, 2014 and 2015 for all of Ontario. The study shows that approximately 94% of accidents that require a trip to the hospital happen other than on a highway.
In Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, which is a large area, those numbers are much lower. It should also be mentioned that almost 90% of these people that had to visit the hospital were male (more evidence to why women tend to live longer than men).
Risky behaviour is mentioned: driving at night, use of alcohol, having multiple passengers, driving too fast, and my personal favourite, using an ATV for recreation. Call in the fun cops; they have taken away indoor fun, like bowling and haircuts, they might as well deprive us of outdoor fun as well.
Maybe the writer does not realize that ATVs using a roadway would be regulated by the Highway Traffic Act as well as the Off-Road Vehicles Act and possibly a local bylaw. There are some regulations that cover ATV use on private property, but enforcement must be next to impossible.
After spending my off time reading this 56-page report, I feel that the Minto Safe Communities Committee should go after the Ontario government to penalize parents that allow underage children to drive or ride on an ATV or let them ride without a helmet and possibly teach the males in the house to stop saying, “Watch this.”
Stone Kolly,
Harriston
‘Lending a hand’
Dear Editor:
I do not know the owners or anyone that works for Larry Hudson, the Chev, Buick, GMC dealer in Listowel, but what a good group of folks they must be.
I noticed and inquired with the Advertiser about the series of large two-page spreads they ran at the end of 2020 (and continue to run in the Advertiser’s sister publication, The North Wellington Community News). In it they sponsored (a nice way of saying paid for) space for 12 local businesses to advertise themselves in a fairly large ad in full colour. The local businesses that took part when you reviewed them would be all I suspect greatly affected by the pandemic.
Having a larger business step up and assist those other challenged businesses in their community is really commendable. It drives home two points: that we are truly in this together and that private enterprise and not a total reliance on the government can assist us in these times as well.
If Larry Hudson Chev, Buick, GMC feels this way about assisting and helping their community I would think that they would be great to deal with if you are going to be in the market for a vehicle in 2021.
There have been all kinds of local examples of people and businesses lending a hand and this is a great sample of that spirit. Thanks.
Jeff Duncan,
Wellington County councillor, Erin
Rebranding questions
Dear Editor:
RE: Centre Wellington minor lacrosse to drop Mohawks moniker, logo, Jan. 7.
This article drew my attention. I wanted to know what had brought about this change. Apparently, the Mohawk name and logo “may no longer accurately reflect the honourable intention it originally had.”
Okay, so I was looking for information in the article to explain what is honourable and what is not concerning that issue. Unfortunately, there was none.
When the professional player Lyle Thompson was mentioned, I did some investigating on who he is and how he was connected. Online I learned numerous issues were brought up by Thompson and he expressed his thoughts and concerns. There is also an eight minute Instagram from Mr. Thompson that is worth watching.
Here is a small paragraph from one magazine article: “ We just want to share our gift with the world and that’s lacrosse. We don’t own the game of lacrosse, just like yoga was gifted the Indians. I never say that this is our game, because I don’t feel like I own it. My job is only to honour it and pass it on and hope that other people can continue to honour it.”
It appears that Mr. Thompson takes lacrosse as a game first, then a sport. A game that is tied deeply to native culture. After reading the article and watching the video, I wonder if it would be of a greater benefit to keep the name and use the “significant cost to replace jerseys for over 400 players” as well as legal costs to rebrand, and approach Native communities to first establish the game of lacrosse, if not already there, or better support the game that exists, and work with the communities to see how it may be possible to keep the Mohawk name and honour both the people and the game.
I am sure it is not a simple issue to resolve, but if nothing else changes but rebranding, what good does that really do? The article and video give some good insight to the challenges and problems that currently exist and highlight some possible solutions. When a game is no longer any fun, is it called a sport? My two cents worth.
Michael Thorp,
Mount Forest
‘Not measuring up’
Dear Editor:
An open letter to Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott.
I am writing to ask you to please do whatever you can to try to restore day programs for people with disabilities.
I know that you are busy with the pandemic and that the centres cannot open until it is over, but at this very busy and stressful time, Community Living Guelph Wellington has decided to fold this operation. This leaves no place for these people to go during the day and their parents or relatives no options, even though they have jobs to do, which enable them to look after their families and pay for the centre.
This centre had ensured that their sons, daughters, sisters and brothers have a life of their own where they can relate to friends, play games, listen to music, learn skills and even go out for a coffee, a movie, or a hike on the trails with a skilled caretaker.
With no one to supervise them and ensure that they are engaged, what are they to do at home all by themselves? Someone once said that the measure of a civilized society is in how it cares for its most vulnerable people. Closing care centres for people with disabilities and privatizing long-term care centres proves that we as a society are not measuring up.
Christy Doraty,
Fergus
‘No responsibility’
Dear Editor:
RE: Protestors from Toronto stand with Arthur gym defying lockdown rules, Jan. 7.
I read with interest your article about the gym in Arthur that has refused to close despite the province’s order to do so. I do not condemn his decision to violate the order, nor do I condemn the decision of individuals to protest.
I do however question why they choose to not participate in local, provincial and federal attempts to control and lessen the threat of the coronavirus. Perhaps they would rather we follow the American experience. Here is what we would face using their efforts: recent data shows Canadian deaths at 45.7/100,000 whereas American deaths are 112.7/100,000.
If we were to have followed the American experience of “First Amendment rights to self determination to health care” our death numbers would not be 16,753 but 41,212 people (numbers at the time of data collection). Is this what Mitchell Hewison is trying to achieve? If so, he demonstrates absolutely no responsibility to the community he has chosen to conduct business in.
A closing thought: he questions why Costco is allowed to remain open while he has to close. Costco sells groceries; essential foods like bread, milk, meat, fruits and vegetables. If we cannot buy food for survival, why would we need a gym?
Bob Houston,
Moorefield
‘Dangerous’ dog
Dear Editor:
On Jan. 9, a beautiful Saturday, I took my dogs to the Fergus dog park. As I was finishing up and headed to the parking lot, I could hear a couple on their way in telling someone ahead of me to “Look out, he’s a jumper!” This known jumper then ran over to greet my dogs.
As I leaned down to fix my dog’s leash, this dog jumped up and smashed me in the mouth. The couple did apologize and asked if I was okay. I said I thought I would have a fat lip but was otherwise unharmed. By the time I got to the car my lip was bleeding freely and I could see in the mirror that I had a hole through my lip where my tooth went through it. The lip was starting to swell, and there was a dark hematoma below it from the impact. I left my dogs and went back to speak to the couple.
I told them that while I understand it is an off-leash park, this particular behavior is not safe. They said the dog is only six months old and they are working on it. As far as I’m concerned that is no excuse.
No dog is perfect and all of them are excited at the park. However, this is a behavior known to these people and they need to keep the other people who encounter the animal safe until this habit is under control. There are several seniors who frequent this park and as the paths get icy from use, this dog could just as easily have knocked someone off balance enough to sustain a serious injury from a fall.
Everyone should be able to safely enjoy the dog park. If you know your dog has dangerous or in some cases, aggressive tendencies, please don’t come unless you are willing to take the steps to make sure no patron is at risk.
Sherri Moyer,
Fergus