Angels and saints
Dear Editor:
Heaven is that mystical place where angels wear wings and saints mind the gates.
But we don’t have go to heaven to find angels, for they toil endlessly in our hospitals and nursing homes along with doctors and staff which are priceless. They are not graced with wings, for if they were, wouldn’t be nice to fly away home and be isolated with their loved ones. That would seem like heaven.
Oh no, they have to push on risking there own health and sanity.
In order for a saint to be sanctioned they must perform three miracles. I guess they will have to raise the standards because our angels are performing countless miracles every day.
When the day comes and we are again free of this pandemic, will our angels be once again become unsung? I pray not.
Harold Roberson,
Clifford
Thankful students
Dear Editor:
This is a letter to all essential workers.
We are writing you this letter to show our appreciation. All of you have made sacrifices and our class wanted to take some time to thank you for your efforts. While all Canadians are making adjustments to self-isolation, there are those that continue to work and keep our economy running and our communities safe and healthy. To these people we say thank you.
Thank you to all the doctors, nurses, support workers and other health care professionals for leaving your homes to help the people while putting your health at risk. To those researchers, thank you for working hard to find a vaccine for this virus. Thank you all first responders for helping us when needed and risking your life for us. Your tireless work is saving lives and is vital in this fight against COVID-19.
Thank you to all farmers and food processors for making the food that we eat, start to finish.
Thank you to those that supply fertilizer to farmers to make their crops grow. Thank you to all the retail workers for taking safety precautions in your stores, and for reminding us to practice physical distancing. For letting us still shop in your stores and for disinfecting your carts and shelves after every use.
Thank you to all the truck drivers for delivering food, masks, hand sanitizer and other supplies, so we can stay safe and at home, with food in our bellies and clothes on our backs. Thanks for all the mechanics who fix trucks so we can keep materials, services and our economy running.
Thank you to all those in the telecommunications industry keeping us connected. To those that are in the postal/courier services, pharmacists, and those in the service industry, thank you.
Thank you to all of the utility workers. You help keep the water flowing, you keep us warm and help keep the lights on. Thank you to the community, provincial and federal leaders that have demonstrated leadership and have kept us calm and have guided us through this time.
To those that have had to take time from their jobs, or alter their schedules in order to stay home, we thank you!
Mr. Cox’s Grade 6 Class,
Arthur Public School
Act of kindness
Dear Editor:
On my walk recently in Elora, I witnessed an OPP officer pushing a senior in a handicap scooter.
I assumed that the senior had lost his power to his scooter. The officer came along Colborne Street, left his police car, with his lights flashing, and pushed the scooter 1km to the corner of Colborne and Gerrie Street.
During these COVID-19 times, these acts of kindness bring back your faith in human beings and are something we should all try to do.
Steven Irvine,
Elora
A ‘gasping goof’
Dear Editor:
The Canadian government at the highest levels knew in January that COVID-19 was a dire threat to Canadians, yet they down played the spread and danger of the virus well into February, far too late.
It has come to light that a medical cell in the Canadian military intelligence warned the Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance and Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan of the serious threat the out-of-control virus was in early January.
Why didn’t our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau close the borders immediately? Probably because he was too busy trying to appease the evil Chinese communist religious-minority-killer President Xi. Or too busy trying to stay in power with a minority government. Or too busy looking in the mirror to see if his beard looked good. Or too busy looking at his twitter feed to see how many silly women were complimenting it.
It seems all the other members of parliament think they can do nothing to protect Canadians. There was no roaring outcry from them! Bunch of mice ruled by a gasping goof!
Jane Vandervliet,
Erin
‘Blatant cash grab’
Dear Editor:
RE: More trips, more risk, April 9.
I’m writing a follow-up to the letter regarding the recent change to pharmacy prescriptions.
I too was shocked to hear that our local pharmacy was reducing our three-month prescriptions to one month. I called our pharmacy to inquire about the change and I was told that it was a measure to prevent customers from hoarding.
I then asked if there would be a dispensing fee for the other two months. I was told “yes”. In addition to the extra health risks associated with two more unnecessary trips to pick up our prescriptions, the pharmacy is charging their customers three times what was normally one time. This is nothing more than a blatant cash grab mostly directed at the senior population.
For those non-senior customers who are currently employed with a company that has a health care plan, those customers are already restricted by their group insurance provider as to how often they can renew their prescriptions. They can’t possibly hoard; their plan won’t let them.
For a senior on a fixed income, like myself, those additional fees represent the difference between a couple extra cans of soup and a loaf of bread each month. It’s not much but I’ll miss them.
Brian Cameron,
Salem
Wants better internet
Dear Editor:
How many people in the Guelph-Eramosa area are frustrated about internet service?
We are in a state where everyone is working from home and high speed internet is a necessity. However, there are residents in the area that are paying hundreds of dollars for high speed internet.
Believe me, I have tried every company out there and their response is always the same: you need to build a 100-foot tower. In an era where technology is a must, I am wondering how much longer we need to wait for this?
Roberta Casagrande,
Guelph
COVID-19 poem
Dear Editor:
We all thought Corona was a Mexican beer,
Who knew it would become such a fear!
My nails are a mess, my hair’s long and gray;
The unibrow’s happening but what can I say?
Hoarding! T-paper, flour and bread,
Some made a buck, got “wiped” out instead.
You can’t see your kids or grandchildren too,
Keeping parents safe is the best thing to do.
Email, Facetime, Skype or just call
It’s easy, just try it, and be safe one and all!
No Jay, Raps or beloved Maple Leafs,
Tim and Sid have no reports nor beefs!
The stars of our country donated a lot;
Health care workers and food banks got some of the pot.
Trudeau and Ford stepped up to the plate,
This was no time to be so sedate.
So all Canadians, stay apart but together;
One day in the future, we’ll see better weather!
Linda McFadden,
Elora
Deny Nestlé permit
Dear Editor:
According to Colin Baker from the township of Centre Wellington, water use is up 5% despite so many businesses being closed. He warns of water use restrictions and water conservation measures coming.
Meanwhile, the decision about whether Nestlé Waters can get a permit to take water approaches. Not all permits to take water involve water leaving the watershed. In many cases, the water is used and returned to the river or the groundwater.
The exception is a permit to extract water for water bottling. The village of Elora uses about 1.6 million litres per day and that is the amount Nestlé seeks to pump, truck away, bottle and then ship out of the area.
Water leaving a watershed is a definition of a threat to drinking water.
Pumping in the best area to site new municipal wells so badly needed would interfere with these new wells. Water is too precious to have it shipped away for bottling.
Contact your MPP or Minister Jeff Yurek to stress the importance of keeping groundwater safe by not granting a permit to take water that removes this precious water from Centre Wellington.
Donna McCaw,
Elora
Ford out of his element
Dear Editor:
RE: Exemplary leadership, April 16.
If one defines the word “exemplary”, it is hard to understand its use to describe the actions of the current Premier of Ontario.
I do believe that Doug Ford is doing the best that he can under these unprecedented circumstances, however he is clearly out of his element as a leader. Watching his pressers leaves me with the impression that he is fearful and uncertain of what he should be doing. He has the “deer in the headlights” look all of the time.
He recently described the COVID-19 situation in Ontario’s long-term care facilities as a “wildfire.” But he is mostly responsible for laying the kindling and playing with matches.
His government has been recklessly cutting funding for many programs and services across many ministries; programs originally designed to maintain a proper standard of care for all Ontarians. This is most clearly evident now in the health ministry.
Ford’s government halted the inspection process at the very care facilities that he now describes as burning out of control.
A CBC investigation into comprehensive resident quality inspections (CRQI) showed most Ontario Long-term care homes received CRQIs in 2015, ‘16, ‘17. Only about half did in 2018, and only nine out of the 626 facilities in 2019.
Is that what exemplary leadership looks like?
As for our federal government, I have found their response to this crisis to be more akin to exemplary when compared to many other governments around the world. They’re not perfect, but they’re doing a good job. They have showed great flexibility and have striven to ensure that Canadians are being supported.
Even Doug Ford has acknowledged them with praise. He thanked the prime minister for stepping up for Ontario, and called Chrystia Freeland a “rockstar.” Even Ford thinks “this lot” in Ottawa is doing a good job.
Danny Schreiner,
East Garafraxa
Letter of thanks
Dear Editor:
Being two senior seniors living in Guelph and trying to shop for groceries as infrequently as possible, we were devastated to discover after the last trip that my wife’s handbag was missing.
Most women will appreciate how serious this is since virtually all important documentation is contained therein. The thought of trying to get all these cards, etc. replaced was daunting.
Then came the call to tell us that the bag had been handed in to the Imperial Road Zehrs, the last place we shopped.
We are extremely grateful to whoever was responsible for keeping the bag and contents (which were undisturbed) safe. To those people, thank you very much.
Vic Johnson,
Guelph
Wants prisoners freed
Dear Editor:
As chair of the Canadian Right and Freedoms Centre, I have written to Bill Blair, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Anne Kelly, Commissioner of the Correctional Service of Canada, and Jennifer Oades, Chairperson, Parole Board of Canada, urging them to facilitate and implement the release of prisoners who are deemed to be unlikely to jeopardize public safety and/or to be near their release date.
Although some may need assistance to self-isolate outside prison, this is less costly than incarceration. The release of these prisoners will address two concerns: 1) those released will be at lower risk for contracting COVID-19 than in crowded prisons, and 2) prisoners and prison staff remaining in prisons will be at lower risk if there is more space with less chance of contagion.
Correctional Service Canada reports that 170 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 at federal correctional institutions, out of 510 people tested. The Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener has nine confirmed cases now.
Ralph C. Martin,
Professor (retired),
University of Guelph
Right decision
Dear Editor:
RE: Kids won’t be going back to school on April 6, March 26.
It is truly a good feeling to know that the government of Ontario is taking measures to ensure the safety of kids in the province. I am a Grade 8 student, and I think that moving the school return date of April 6 was the right choice, and also the only realistic one.
In times like these, safety should always be the first priority. We need only to take a look at other countries to see what can happen if we do not do everything possible to stop COVID-19 from spreading further.
I was also interested to hear of the “Learn at home” learning portal. I think it is extremely important that the government is doing something to continue the education of students. Although we are in a pandemic, and currently in a state of emergency, we must continue to learn in which ever way possible.
Lets all stay safe, practice social distancing, and try to keep a positive outlook during these tough times.
Hannah Graumann,
Guelph-Eramosa
Give if you can
Dear Editor:
Data show that mental health issues can escalate quickly. Adding isolation and on-the-job stress can create critical incidents leading to self-harm and suicidal ideation.
Having access to expert therapists through same-day call-in services gives people hope and an action plan going forward.
As executive director of a charitable family service agency and essential mental health service provider, I can tell you that our therapists are helping as many people as they can. Yet there is more we could be doing with the help of the community.
The need for mental health support is only going to increase and providing early intervention same-day call-in services and virtual brief therapy is costly. The community is counting on its fortunate residents who are not health care workers or citizens with mental illness suffering in isolation to give – now.
Giving Tuesday, a global fundraising event and show of unity, has taken steps to address this need. #GivingTuesdayNow will take place on May 5 to address the overwhelming financial emergency response needed during the pandemic.
We have seen the impact mental health struggles have already had our communities of Guelph-Wellington. Many have found hope in an otherwise challenging time with the help of therapy. We can be the difference again for our frontline workers and those who are facing incredibly tough times alone.
Give hope. Give healing. Give what you can. Give now (givingtuesday.ca/donation-search).
Joanne Young Evans,
Executive director, Family Counselling and Support Services