It must be a tough existence looking around corners for bogeymen and grounds on which to be offended.
Regrettably, the culture of outrage is alive and well, sponsored in good measure by social media, where the more scandalous the note, the more shares it gets. It is a phenomenon we have spent time observing this past year, trying hard to understand. Answers to why anyone would willingly subject themselves to that degree of angst are not easily found. Perhaps some people just like to be miserable, watching every action with a glass half-empty attitude.
There are bright spots if people care to notice. Heading into Easter weekend, there is a chance for a break and some outdoor activities. According to current weather reports the sun should be beating down and drowning out the cold chill of winter few have had a chance to escape this year.
Kids will search for Easter eggs and bellies will be full at least one day, for most.
Christians will celebrate one of their most important times of the year – that of Jesus Christ rising from the dead.
Nature lovers will have plenty to admire as mats of leaves and old growth recede to make way for spring. Hope does spring eternal.
Despite the pandemic and whatever COVID-related news happens to emerge in the next few days, take the chance this weekend to get true with yourself again.
Goodness surrounds us – be open to it and enjoy every minute.
No conflict here
Last year there were great worries on the 5th line of old West Gary – and cries from elsewhere.
There, in the middle of nowhere, sat a decrepit road structure in need of replacement. It was time for the old bridge to join the 21st century and meet the needs of current traffic volume as well as the weight capacities modern farm equipment demands.
Members of Heritage Centre Wellington differed in their opinion. It wasn’t the first time and surely will not be the last where the desires of historical purists conflict with realists. Councils of the current day, charged with making sound financial choices, know that rarely do rehabilitated bridges make financial sense, but going through the exercise of dotting I’s and crossing T’s remains the process for progress. Council is honour bound to perform that duty.
Having dispensed ultimately with those formalities, an additional idea was floated that councillor Steve VanLeeuwen (deputy mayor at that time) had a conflict of interest due to his place of business being within a quick jog of the bridge needing replaced.
As Centre Wellington council seems wont to do, the integrity commissioner was beckoned at considerable cost to investigate this matter. While it is entirely possible for an accomplished wordsmith or an overly ambitious politician to raise the spectre of conflict, VanLeeuwen’s situation was very much a case of interest in common. As most anyone could see, he, like any resident in Centre Wellington, had a common interest in seeing a bridge replaced.
Efforts like this to sully a councillor’s character may generate political theatre and warm the hearts of those loathe to get along. For average people trying to raise their families and pay the bills, this is just another example of spending that needs to end.
It’s a waste of time, a waste of effort and a waste of money.
