Letters & Op-Ed, March 2 2022

The propaganda and inflammatory comments made in Rev. Michael Coren’s column were upsetting to say the least [Common Decency, “Once again the far right spins Christianity to suit,” Feb. 23, p.6]. I am vaccinated so am not anti-vaxx.

But it was disturbing to see the typical Liberal spin by Mr. Coren about the Conservative party and the truckers convoy. He has this idea that we are inundated with American-style politics as that gets people’s attention.

The Conservatives are still progressive, not far right, and are more like moderate Democrats if we are talking about America here. I am not sure why certain people have to defame the opposition to get support rather than write the truth and let people make an educated decision. This is why we have leaders with ethics violations, conflicts of interest, dishonest intentions and narcissistic tendencies in power.

We need accurate reporting and sensible government as our future hangs in the balance.

David Norton Welland

Very well said.

The far right live in an echo chamber.

Lorne Richardson Via Voice website

Congratulations on your awards for outstanding journalism. I think you and your team have worked very hard to keep the residents of Pelham informed on important issues and you need to keep up the good work.

I read with interest the editorial on Councillor Kore last evening, and it is clear that he has only his interests in mind. The Voice needs to be able to report all of the news surrounding council and members.

Councillor Kore lost his credibility during the onset of Covid-19 and has continued to hide behind his computer screen in his bedroom. The staff at the Town cringe when he rolls in and he is not well-liked.

I supported him completely during the last election including a sign on my lawn. Never again!

I’m sure that Sobeys corporate has had enough of his shenanigans and are growing weary of his behaviour

We can only hope the people of Pelham send him packing in the next election. It can’t come soon enough.

Scott Wallace Fonthill

Municipal elections unfortunately have a lower turnout than federal or provincial. There’s always the risk that the town gets governance no one wants (such as the previous regime). If a person doesn’t have the stamina to take criticism or an ability to tolerate watchful eyes, he/she should be tossed at the first opportunity. Oh yes, I don’t shop at the store, given the manager’s behaviour.

Barry B. Via Voice website

On a recent visit to Service Ontario in Fonthill, I had the misfortune of taking a tumble in the parking lot. But the most wonderful thing happened! Four women rushed out from behind their desks to help me. Also assisting was an off-duty police officer and the strongest young man, who picked me up and put me in a chair.

But really, I shouldn’t be surprised because the residents of Pelham help one another. I honestly believe it is in their DNA to help, not only seniors, but everyone.

It was my honour to serve as mayor of the Town of Pelham for several years. I was always proud of Pelham and its citizens and still am to this day! It is a great place to live and raise a family.

Many thanks again to my wonderful helpers!

Ralph Beamer Fonthill

Many folks in my area use Merritt Road to access Rice Road from Line Avenue. On Tuesday evening that route threatened to swallow a car whole! There were dozens of potholes cannily disguised as innocent puddles. After negotiating that trip I vowed to go around in the future. However, I promptly forgot that pledge and the very next day took the exact same route. To my amazement each and every hole had been patched over. Now that is great service. Lord knows we complain when things are bad, it is only right to cheer when things are done right.

Heather Muir Fonthill

The folks of Ontario should thank you for eliminating the license sticker fees; after all, we know better than government how to spend our money.

However, I was thinking about the billion bucks that’s about to disappear from tax revenue that’s been axed. I figured that would have to be replaced by raising other fees somewhere, by cutting monies to other areas like education and healthcare, by borrowing, or by all three.

I think you should go after the teachers and the nurses. Since it’s hard to cut their exorbitant salaries because of their “powerful” unions, simply cut their numbers instead. Why can’t teachers have 50 kids in a class? When I went to school there were at least that many in the class, and all eight grades had to be taught in the same room. That taught us resilience and fortitude. And we don’t need as many nurses in our hospitals either—families should be expected to come in and do some of the care for their sick loved ones. We didn’t run to the hospital for every cut or bruise; we sucked it up and we need to return to that kind of toughness of the good old days. Oh, and liberries—we don’t need liberries any more. We can get all the info we need from Google. Closing all the liberries in the province will balance some of the vehicle registration losses.

I’ll thank you at the ballot box in June, and you can expect a significant monetary donation towards your campaign.

David Fowler Wainfleet

It is getting more and more difficult for the media to report good news. The same scarcity of pleasant topics occurs when people gather for coffee or meet acquaintances in informal social gatherings. There are so many disconcerting events happening both domestically and internationally that these misfortunes frequently overwhelm any prospect for spreading joy or entertainment just for the fun of it.

However, in spite of all that discouragement I am extremely fortunate, as a parent, to have discovered a method to temporarily dismiss such feelings and experience a delightedness that overtakes the discomfiture of worldly concerns. Having recently celebrated Family Day has prompted this writing of that prescription.

It may be seen by some as braggadocio on my part but I hope to avoid such accusations among those who care to read this column through. To the best of my ability it is my intention to share the joys and feelings of elation even if such emotions can be fleeting.

It is my distinct honour and pleasure with my wife to be parents, grandparents and more recently great-grandparents. We had three children, have three grandchildren and three great-grandkids. Surely many readers will recall becoming a parent and, at the time, the measure of joy was nearly limitless.

Certainly, there are some concerns while raising children but I would venture that they provided many more periods of pure joy. If you intentionally take some time to reflect on some of those joyous occasions then the joy in your heart presumably displaces some of your worldly concerns. One should take the time to initiate such moments on a regular basis and change a wrinkly frown to a happy face.

While entertaining the joys of parenthood can definitely obliterate the weight of more worldly concerns, becoming a grandparent is ever more therapeutic in creating great joy and maybe even some shameless pride. To our good fortune our grandchildren continually keep in touch with their grandparents and so we regularly celebrate our pride and joy. Their parents, our children, raised them to value family and they learned that lesson well. Grandma and Grandpa are very grateful for the joys they bring and how such joys help to relieve some of our worldly concerns.

Now for the icing on the cake. We have three great- grandchildren who have added so much joy and wonderment to our lives and their grandparents. Thankfully, the technology that exists provides us with regular virtual visits in addition to the joys of face-to-face encounters. We are so happy to be a part of their lives and the joys they bring us are priceless. The smiles on our faces are much and beyond mere grins with every encounter. Factually, it takes more energy to frown than to smile.

And so, there you have it. The joys of parenting, the delights of being a grandparent and the near delirium of being a great- grandparent is my personal prescription to being temporarily relieved from disparagement about world events. ◆

As the Covid pandemic continues to morph into an endemic, the vast majority of humans worldwide are seeing virus protocols reduced by their governments, and in some countries totally eliminated. Our own government was set to follow suit with the elimination of our various passports this Monday, March 1. I have visited many of our restaurants this past week and all of the owners are looking forward to not having to check everyone’s status at the door.

It is great to see the vaccination rate among Pelham residents edging close to the 90 percent mark, with 87 percent of us having had two doses. In the 70 and older group almost 100 percent have also had their booster.

There is no word yet on when our government will reduce our indoor mask protocols, although south of the border the Center for Disease Control has stated that most Americans can take off their masks. This recommendation was based on new metrics that took into account Covid hospitalizations, hospital capacity and the number of new Covid cases. Some 70 percent of Americans live within areas that have these favourable numbers. This recommendation not only applies to public areas but also to all schools within these areas. As of last Friday, 49 states had announced plans to end their indoor mask mandates.

As a Regional Councillor, I continue to receive email on a daily basis from parents pleading for Dr. Hirji to please end his mandatory mask policy for junior and senior kindergarten pupils. Dr. Hirji has received the same request from Ontario’s top doctor, Dr. Kieran Moore.

Last Friday, Councillor Wayne Olson and I, on behalf of the rest of council and Town staff, raised the Ukrainian fag at Town Hall. This action was also taken by the vast majority of municipalities within the region to show our Ukrainian community members that we stand with them during this horrific time in their history.

To finish on a lighter note, a user of the Steve Bauer trail sent a note to Town Hall, pointing out a spelling mistake on a trail sign. The Town has no record of purchasing or installing these signs. “Trail” was spelled “trial.” Perhaps whoever designed the sign had just walked the complete length of the trail and indeed did find it to be somewhat of a trial….

Well, it could have happened that way! ◆