By Jenn Watt Preparations for the arrival of the new coronavirus in this community intensified exponentially last week following the World Health Organization’s declaration on Wednesday that the virus’s spread qualified as a global pandemic.…
Little bits of good
By Lynda Shadbolt It seems that everywhere I go in the county these days I run into another young interesting and interested person who has come back from college university or travelling to live in…
Community immunity
By Sue Tiffin An uptick of cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Canada is being reported with each daily update by the Public Health Agency of Canada and though the public health risk…
Three cheers for the Repair Café
To the Editor What a fantastic community resource SIRCH is. On the weekend I attended the Repair Café in Minden with my ‘50s all-chrome Marvelizer blender having finally fed it something it could not chew…
Reducing social isolation
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Learning lessons
By Jenn Watt “We are not asked for our ideas and input on what could be done” “Organization seemed to be hiding behind insurance coverage” “Overwhelmed trying to meet the needs of 30 people undergoing…
Winter of our discontent
Published Feb. 25 2020 To the Editor Do you remember when Canada was a friendly kind compassionate country respected in the world that way? When people said “Sorry” when they bumped into you or “How…
Youth homelessness
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Forest school grows roots
By Sue Tiffin Forest School an outdoor education delivery model is frequently traced back to Denmark in the 1950s as a formal model since the early 1990s and in Canada since the early 2000s with…
Traffic count must include summer season
Published Feb. 11 2020 To the Editor I am writing to express concern of the municipality’s traffic assessment to guide council in future decisions. It is noted in the story “Dysart budget includes 3.65% tax…
Yell peace!
By Lynda Shadbolt In yoga and meditation we often talk about working with the two dimensions of our being “the form and the formless.” Eckhart Tolle talks about this at length in his teachings. “The…
Our EditorialOur Editorial
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From a Kolomeyka to Lemon Bucket Orkestra
By Lynda Shadbolt Published Jan. 28 2020 Sometimes in life you do things just so you can be around certain people. Perhaps they inspire you or are fun or have great energy and you just…
Snowmobiling safety
By Jenn Watt Published Jan. 28 2019 We watched the news last week as rescue workers spent days searching for the bodies of six snowmobilers who went through the ice in Quebec’s Lac-Saint-Jean region. The…
For peat’s sake (and for the rest of…
Published Jan. 28 2020 To the Editor Paul Heaven’s talk on preserving wetlands (reported in The Echo Jan. 21) had a message for everyone who wants to help reduce the severity of spring flooding. Protecting…
How branch closures could affect communities
Published Jan. 28 2020 To the Editor I just read about the possibility of library closures in the County as recommended by KPMG. Notwithstanding the fact that not all branches might offer public use of…
Teachers defending world-class education system
Published Jan. 28 2020 To the Editor My electricity bill has risen by a whopping 55 per cent as of Nov. 1 2019. Premier Doug Ford made a big deal of accusing the former Liberal…
The true cost of outrageous cuts
Published Jan. 28 2020 To the Editor Enough is enough! I am furious that the Ford government is continuing to blame the members of the educational community for the current political strife. According to a…
Addressing violence in schools
Our elementary schools have a problem with violence. It’s a problem in Ontario a problem in our region and a problem in our local schools. And while it doesn’t affect all classrooms all students or…
Column: Joyful effort
By Lynda Shadbolt Published Jan. 14 2019 Jim and I were on our way home from Kingston on the weekend and as we drove north on Highway 62 he spotted a barred owl sitting in…
Editorial: Greening burials
By Jenn Watt Published Jan. 14 2019 Those buried at Willow’s Rest Green Burial Area in Niagara Falls have their names recognized on a central memorial a stone mined from a local quarry. Embalming is…