‘Call to action’
Dear Editor:
Centre Wellington thrives on the dedication of its volunteers. Arts, culture, sports, heritage, service clubs, environmental initiatives and community events – countless activities that enrich our lives are powered by the behind-the-scenes work of volunteers.
It’s important to recognize that these events don’t just “happen.” They require months of planning, meetings, paperwork, logistics and communications, often managed by a small number of committed individuals.
In larger communities, this background work is often supported by paid staff, funded by municipalities with a broader tax base and perhaps a greater commitment to community driven activities.
Here in Centre Wellington, we rely heavily on volunteers not only to deliver events and programs, but also to organize them from the ground up. Since the pandemic, many organizations have seen a decline in people stepping forward to take on leadership roles or board responsibilities. This trend is putting increasing strain on those who remain.
We are at a turning point. If we want to continue to enjoy the vibrant community life we are known for, which draws visitors and supports our local economy, we need more people to step up.
This is a call to action. If you’ve enjoyed a community festival, a public art show, a heritage tour or a youth sports league, consider lending a hand. Get involved with a board or committee. Bring your ideas, your skills or simply your willingness to help.
Centre Wellington has always had a strong spirit of community. Let’s keep it alive and thriving together.
Susan Thorning and Mary-Anne Dalkowski,
Elora Fergus Arts Council
‘Communication issues’
Dear Editor:
On May 19, the holiday Monday a couple weeks ago, in walking the perimeter of our property, we saw through the trees that the stop sign was down.
It was in our ditch accompanied by a neighbour’s mailbox. At 11am I phoned the after-hours road emergency at the county. The person acknowledged my report.
We had to take one of our cars to Kitchener so we left. At 3pm or so when we returned home the stop sign was still down. I phoned again in utter disbelief and someone comes and sets the sign back in its hole. When the roads department opened on Tuesday, I phoned them. I told them the three reported stop signs have been anchored in concrete.
That’s not the case at the 6th Line and the townline. It’s loose. I walked down on June 2 and checked. If the person who pulled it out and threw it in the ditch, returns it will be an easy pull. Eventually it will fall over on its own.
I showed the town worker (we did introduce ourselves) a bunch of branches further up in the ditch. I’ve been seeking an answer way before the stop sign incident as to why branches were cut and left there. Are they a fire hazard – sparks from gravelled road whatever. I sent pics. Repeated communication from my end fell on deaf ears.
Does anyone else have these sorts of communication issues? On Tuesday I sat down for a coffee on our deck and counted 15 cars and pickups and two school buses motoring from different directions through that intersection.
I don’t want to hear the crash or scramble in response.
David Courtney,
Belwood
‘Cash grab’
Dear Editor:
Do school buses run 24/7? Obviously, no. A speed camera time zone of 8am to 6pm would cover school activity. The other 14 hours of speed camera operation is simply a cash grab under the guise of safety.
Drivers, in these speed zones, are spending more time watching their speedometers, to avoid a $100 ticket, than watching for safety concerns.
A time zone application would alleviate the cash grab on drivers.
Dave Haynes,
Fergus
Protect the trees
Dear Editor:
Mount Forest’s humorous seasonal weather report has sprung into action: almost winter, winter, still winter and … road construction.
Urgent protective attention must be aimed at a row of elegant leafy “citizens” lining the pathway to the Tim Hortons drive-thru. These quiet trees shield area houses from the dust, fumes, noise, and “visual” slander of the automotive stream inching through at the beginning and end of most days.
There is currently a contest to choose and honour the town’s largest and most beautiful tree. We do not slaughter the “contestants” the moment they begin to qualify for the event!
Today’s large trees do double duty. Beyond a beauty profound enough to inspire visual artists and poets, today’s trees are celebrated for their carbon-capture, their water retention and their ability to moderate climate effect and heat.
This is a corner filled with the “human factor” of young mothers pushing prams with babies at noon and evenings under the sidewalk shade of mature trees; teenagers with dogs on leashes getting their “constitutional” trot around the block at dawn and dusk.
Transports be-decked in lights glide by through the night and by 5am the coffee line-up begins for the work commute out of town.
Bronwen Stanley-Jones,
Mount Forest
Kudos on cartoons
Dear Editor:
I always enjoy the political cartoon in your great paper; the political wit is always spot on!
Joe Stutzman,
Guelph
People struggling
Dear Editor:
I am a student in Grade 7 at John Black Public School in Fergus and I would like to address inflation and shrinkflation.
I was trick-or-treating this past year. I literally had a bag of chips with four chips in it. This, I hear, is shrinkflation. The companies must think we don’t notice, but I do. Have you noticed that at stores the amount of product is going down and the prices are going up?
I think that the amount of inflation on everyday items keep going up and up every day. Inflation is one of the reasons that people can’t afford to buy their kids or just themselves meals in general.
Businesses that have set prices by contract can be affected if the prices are raised faster than they expected.
I’ve also been noticing things like ranch salad dressing bottles with less dressing and an increased price. I think that companies and stores need to realize the down side of all of this.
I was recently at an ice cream place in town and my friend and I bought three items and the price came to $21. This is quite unaffordable.
I noticed that Walmart has doubled in value over the past two years, so I don’t think they are struggling, but everyday people are.
Jane Brunkard,
Fergus
Thoughts on freedom
Dear Editor:
Just a few days ago Prime Minister Mark Carney, in an interview, stated that Canadians needed to “earn our freedom every day.” What? I think what he meant to say was that Canadians needed to exercise our freedoms every day.
Such as the freedom to question our leaders and government about transparency and accountability. We are free to question policy and mandates that have apparent flaws. We are free to remove political leaders and members by vote.
We are free to decide what to believe by gathering information by traditional and non-traditional news sources. We are free to tell the government they are not to dictate how we should speak, think or act.
It is quite easy to locate information of our freedoms in the Constitution and Charter of Rights. We are free to tell Mr. Carney he is to serve the people of Canada, not the other way around. We are free to tell the prime minister that he has to earn our respect every day.
Alas our freedoms can be taken away by an invading foreign country or our own government that thinks it can dictate laws and policies on its own.
Since Canada is still a free country and that freedom was won many years ago, Mr. Carney could do well to stop talking at the people and instead listen to the people, we have some great ideas about how we should live and do business with each other and abroad.
Michael Thorp,
Mount Forest
Pedestrian problems
Dear Editor:
I’m a student at John Black Public School and I believe that the speeding in Belwood is out of control.
There are kids who have to cross the Belwood bridge to get to their bus stop and I believe this problem needs to be addressed.
The kids aren’t even allowed to cross the road without an adult. That’s how scary this problem is. One of the other dangers, beside the speeding cars, is the visibility of cars coming down the hill near the post office. You also have the poor lighting in the early morning or late night, making it harder to see the people crossing.
Maybe adding more lights is the easy solution.
I know because I was walking back from my friends house and I was terrified of getting hit. There is no sidewalk to walk on; you walk on the road or people’s lawns.
And don’t forget the main part of this being a speeding issue.
This is the biggest issue of them all. I know Belwood is not as big or has the same amount of people as Fergus, but we still matter as much as Fergus does. I’m not saying speed cameras, but some sidewalks, better lighting and some stop signs or warning signs for kids crossing would be helpful.
This might not be the biggest problem but it’s the one I’m most concerned about. It would mean the world if this gets addressed.
Ryden McClennan,
Fergus
More outside time
Dear Editor:
I am a Grade 7 student from John Black and I think we should be outside more often.
We are always getting taught in health class to be outside more and being at school is a lot of our day. Plus recess isn’t long enough, so I think we should just have more of our classes and class time outside in the warmer months.
For gym it is nice that we go outside often, and I think our gym teacher has done well at that. Especially at the end of the day when we have been mostly inside all day we should get at least half of a period to be outside.
Again, if health class teaches the benefits of being outside – vitamin D, more energy, better sleep, less stress and improved mood –then we should hold class outdoors. That is why I think we should be outside more during school.
Brighten Thornton,
Fergus
Shot put complaint
Dear Editor:
I’m a student from John Black Public school and I’m here to persuade you about why I think girls should be able to upgrade to an eight-pound shot put ball instead of staying at the six-pound ball.
My first reason is that some girls can become very offended when told you can’t upgrade to the eight-pound ball and have to stay at the six-pound ball.
I think it’s unfair that we can’t upgrade. Not all girls have the same strength, so we should at least have the option to upgrade. I feel like girls are held back from upgrading to heavier objects a lot of the time.
My second reason is that the eight-pound ball is only two pounds heavier; it’s not that much more than the six, so I believe that they should allow females to upgrade.
My third reason is that maybe teachers should have the option to see how strong their female students are by other tests like push ups, sit ups or a plank. After the fitness test the teacher can make the right choice.
If you disagree and you’re not a teacher, please keep those thoughts to yourself. If you’re a teacher, please consider this as an option. You don’t have to but I would appreciate it if you could consider allowing this – even if you’re only going to test the idea.
Lilly Maggs,
Fergus
Ideas for schools
Dear Editor:
I am a 12-year-old student from John Black Public School and I’m going to share with you what I think schools need more of.
One idea is more time outside because being outside reduces stress and anxiety. Another thing is having a longer weekend. Even if we have a three-day weekend it improves our mental health and wellbeing, and it also gives us enough time to rest and recharge.
My last idea is less homework. I think we need less homework because it encourages creativity when students get less homework. Also, when students get more free time they get to explore new hobbies and develop new skills.
I hope you like my ideas.
Zoe Fox,
Fergus
‘Modern monarchy’
Dear Editor:
King Charles and Queen Camilla have garnered a ton of respect and goodwill for visiting Canada in a tacit show of support for their Commonwealth. But the Royal couple have long championed causes near to their hearts.
Charles banned foie gras at all royal residences and events, showing his recognition that foie gras is a product of despicable cruelty; ducks and geese are force-fed until their livers become huge and diseased.
He refused a royal patronage to the National Flying Club and the Royal Pigeon Racing Association, which has drawn attention to a deadly pastime that costs innumerable birds their lives.
A committed environmentalist, the king has called on people to reduce their consumption of meat and dairy to help tackle the climate catastrophe.
Following in the footsteps of her mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, who announced in 2019 that no new items in her closets would contain fur, Queen Camilla doesn’t obtain animal fur for her wardrobe.
The king and queen have proven they recognize that a modern monarchy must reflect modern sentiments.
Jennifer O’Connor,
PETA Foundation,
Markham
Treat computers better
Dear Editor:
I am a student in Grade 8, and I am here to tell you about the use of Chromebooks in school today. I think Chromebooks should be treated better here’s why.
Firstly, my school (John Black Public School) has an insanely low budget. We don’t even have enough money for paper and pencils.
I don’t know if there’s much going around the Upper Grand District School Board, but I know people are messing with Chromebooks in my school.
People in my school are changing the keys around on Chromebooks, that’s the most they are doing in my school. But multiple computers have been broken randomly and have gone missing.
Secondly, people mess around with Chromebooks all the time now because there is a TikTok trend where people stick led pencils and other foreign objects in Chromebooks. It usually ends with sparks or the computer exploding and catching on fire.
If this continues schools will have no Chromebooks to use for people that are just trying to work.
Overall, computers are a really important asset of schools and without computers it would make it 10 times harder to do school work.
Those are my reasons why I think computers should be treated better.
Austin Nelissen,
Fergus