Southwold Township history comes alive again this spring with a collection of one-act plays and original songs presented at the Keystone Complex in Shedden.
Entitled Snapshots, the production focuses on the Second World War and the RCAF Bombing and Gunnery School near Fingal.
Written by Len Cuthbert, one of the plays mirrors the philosophy of long-time area resident Lorne Spicer, one of the founders of the Rosy Rhubarb Festival, a member of the Elgin Stewardship Council and the St. Thomas Field Naturalists.
He believed life is the train, not the station which is the title of one of the productions, notes Cuthbert.
Category Archives: road works
St. Thomas area growth triggers major realignment of roads and highways
Preliminary design work is now underway on a massive infrastructure project between St. Thomas and Talbotville.
The undertaking involves three stages: the twinning of Hwy. 3 through St. Thomas to Ron McNeil Line; a new Hwy. 3 alignment that will bypass Talbotville; and the widening of Hwy. 4 from the new Talbotville bypass north to Clinton Line.
No doubt, in part, this is to accommodate traffic into and out of the Volkswagen EV battery plant scheduled to open in 2027 although it is not feasible that this will be fully completed by then.
The Ministry of Transportation has not indicated a tentative completion date at this time.
They have not made anyone available who will go on the record to speak about the work.
On two occasions when approached about further information, they forwarded details of the Hwy. 3 widening near Essex.
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Preventing the community from ever getting into this homelessness bottleneck again
In November of last year, Danielle Neilson reminded city council that the solution to homelessness is housing and housing with supports.
Neilson is the city’s Homelessness Prevention and Housing Programs Coordinator and at that meeting of council, she presented a thorough overview of the homeless situation in St. Thomas, including an analysis of unsheltered homelessness.
She observed, “. . . this is not only the result of increased demands on our emergency shelter beds, some of my firsthand experiences with people living unsheltered in St. Thomas revealed other factors as well.
“Such as needing lower barrier supports that are matched more appropriately to someone’s mental health or addiction challenges that may result in unpredictable behaviours.
“Having personal belongings or accumulating personal belongings at a rate that exceeds the shelter’s ability to store them.
“Having a complete desire to live unsheltered, even when housing options are available.
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St. Thomas municipal council asked to renew its commitment to addressing discrimination in the community
Members of council will receive a report for Monday’s (Feb. 7) meeting that unpacks the experiences of discrimination in St. Thomas and Elgin county.
It contains the results of a survey undertaken by the St.Thomas-Elgin Local Immigration Partnership (STELIP) and we spotlighted last week a pair of online presentations to be held this coming Tuesday highlighting the results of that survey.
Delving into the report should prove uncomfortable at times for our elected representatives on two broad fronts.
First, and foremost, the report points out “Discrimination is happening in locations that are managed by the City of St. Thomas and this reality needs to be addressed.”
Secondly, the report states the obvious, “With no immigrants, visible minorities, nor Indigenous People represented on the City of St. Thomas Council, this report can help all of us better understand how these groups are experiencing life in our community.”
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In today’s toxic world of politics, MPP Jeff Yurek remained true to his values and beliefs
The news release Friday (Jan. 7) afternoon seemed to come out of nowhere and caught many by surprise.
MPP Jeff Yurek announced he would not seek re-election in the June provincial vote and he would resign from his seat at the end of February.
He opened the release with this observation.
“When I entered politics over ten years ago, I made three promises to myself: represent the people of Elgin-Middlesex-London to my fullest ability, remain authentic and true to my values and beliefs, and recognize when it is the right time to step down.”
The reason for Yurek’s decision to pack in provincial politics perhaps lies in the second promise noted above.
Values and beliefs are important to Yurek and, pandemic aside, his insistence on remaining true to those core truths surely put him in a philosophical conflict with Premier Doug Ford and his values and beliefs.
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Province’s COVID-19 compensation tardiness leads to cashflow concerns for Southwestern Public Health
Like the situation faced by numerous individuals and families over the last two years, Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) this week let it be known it has “significant cashflow concerns.”
Of course, that would be related to COVID-19 expenditures and “the delay in reimbursement by the Ministry of Health.”
The situation is outlined in a letter to city council for Monday’s (Oct. 18) meeting and signed by board chairman Larry Martin and CEO Cynthia St. John.
How many times have you heard Premier Doug Ford and Christine Elliott pay tribute to the province’s health units for the yeoman work undertaken during the pandemic?
Work that includes a vaccination program executed remarkably.
So how about thanking these health units by coughing up the money promised to them in the early going of the pandemic.
The tardiness has reached such a critical stage, SWPH has had to dip into cash on hand from the 2019 year-end surplus and increase its line of credit to the maximum of three million dollars from $800,000.
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Stop skating around the issue: Is it time to open up Lake Margaret for recreational activities?
My, how words can come back around to bite you.
A couple of weeks ago, we wrote about Lake Margaret attracting skaters of all ages for an afternoon of gliding across the frozen water.
A scene right out of a Tim Hortons’ tribute to life in Canada.
Which led to queries from several readers as to summertime use of the lake for fishing and canoeing.
As the signs lakeside warn and reiterated two weeks ago by Ross Tucker, Director of Parks, Recreation and Property Management, a big negatory to those warm-weather activities.
The decision to prohibit fishing in Lake Margaret was a recommendation of the 2010 Lake Margaret Environmental Plan.
It came up for discussion back in April of 2017 when Coun. Steve Wookey proclaimed, “In my world, there should be fishing and canoeing.” Continue reading
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A reprieve for now, but prepare for pencil sharpening next year on city budget
Is it a case of listening to the people or backpedalling in the face of stiff opposition?
The agenda package for Monday’s (June 3) city council meeting includes a letter from Premier Doug Ford with regard to cost-sharing with municipalities for land ambulance, public health and childcare services.
The proposed cuts to joint funding were to come into effect this year even though municipalities have already set their 2019 budgets and tax rates.
The funding changes are a move by the Ford government to address the province’s $15 billion annual deficit and $347 billion long-term debt.
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Women’s Breakfast for Everyone takeaway: ‘The shared capacity for change in this room is large’
His guest speaker engagement March 7 in St. Thomas was far from a routine outing.
In fact, his appearance Thursday morning at the St. Thomas Seniors Centre, proved a humbling experience for Globe and Mail columnist and award-winning author Andre Picard.
For the first time in the 14-year history of the Women’s Breakfast for Everyone, the 200 or so in attendance – including many high school students – would digest the thoughts and opinions of a man at the Violence Against Women, Services Elgin County fundraiser.
His appearance was equally compelling in the fact, as the first male speaker, he addressed the issue of sexual and domestic violence inflicted upon women by men.
And, as so often is the case, if anything goes wrong, it is the woman who shoulders the burden of blame. Continue reading
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