Letters & Op-Ed, April 20 2022

I really enjoyed the home show this year. There were lots of vendors to get some great advice on home improvements.

One in particular we decided to have come to our house and give us a free quote. Like some of you, our gutters get clogged, leak in some corners and have seen better days. One company was at the show and had what looked like an answer to our problem.

They came to the house and measured and took a lot of pictures. We then had a sit-down history lesson of the company and how this will change our life! The first quote was $11,375— but wait we can add some discounts. After a lot of scratching on a secret paper, not allowed to look, the new price was now $8,225. Now for the phone call to the head office on speaker. How about $5,000? What a deal!

They were visibly mad that we did not go for the scam. That’s right, scam. We looked up the company online and discovered product failures, bad installs and unhappy customers. Just for example, if I replaced all the gutters we have with new parts from Home Depot, the material is $1,000, then add labour cost to get installed. I hope that our home show vendors are not scamming our seniors or those uninformed of reasonable house upgrade costs. Also, sorry for the American term, but no one seems to know what an eavestrough is!

Neil Gallaway Fonthill

I am part of a concerned citizen group from Fonthill that would like to lend support to the business owners in Ridgeville who are trying to get additional parking spaces for their customers. As we watched the April 4th council meeting and heard the consultant’s parking report and the projections for future growth in Pelham, we could not help but be disheartened and worried that this growth will not be managed in a competent manner, as this has been the case in the recent past. One only has to look as far as the East Fonthill development to see how the lack of planning and expertise has resulted in the loss of our small, rural town.

A famous urban planner claims, “To erode small town culture is to erode the culture of the nation.” He goes on to state that such places are vital threads in a country’s fabric. Did the developers and their consultants protect, or make the most of, our local assets? We think not, and for us as Pelham citizens it is our duty to ensure that the jewel that is the Renaissance of Ridgeville is preserved as it stands as a testament to what the Town of Pelham once was. This is a place where one can take their grandchildren to show them how it “used to be” and to provide them with a snapshot of small town community and history.

How is it that some small cities and towns are prospering, while many others are suffering from the loss of identity and even abandonment? Why are some communities able to maintain their historic character and quality of life in the face of a rapidly changing world, while others have lost the very features that once gave them distinction and appeal? How can communities, both big and small, grow without losing their heart and soul? We are afraid that the town of Pelham is losing its soul and we are prepared to go to great lengths to ensure that this does not happen in Ridgeville as it did in the Village of Fonthill.

Many communities have found ways to retain their small-town values, historic character, scenic beauty and sense of community, yet sustain a prosperous economy, such as in the case of Niagara-on-the-Lake. And they’ve done it without accepting the kind of cookie-cutter development that has turned many communities into places that their residents no longer recognize. All development is not created equal. Some development projects will make a community a better place to live, work and visit while others will not.

I wish to make a plea to our Town Council to act (it is an election year) and vote to provide additional parking for the community that wishes to preserve these vital threads of Pelham’s fabric.

Rose Galway Fonthill

In last week’s Voice I read about a defendant in a high profile sexual assault case leaving the courtroom in St. Catharines for a lunch break and not returning.

Could this be construed as contempt of court? Whenever he deigns to have the time to return, I hope the judge will make it clear that it’s not up to him to decide when he is to face the judicial system.

David Fowler Wainfleet

In a perfect Canada, where government budgets are balanced, no massive personal household debt, yes we can institute plans for daycare, dental and pharmacare.

But they shouldn’t be universal, when many Canadian families already have reasonable health plans, but the ones that don’t we should help, and there are many very wealthy families in Canada that shouldn’t benefit from $10-a-day daycare.

There are many seniors living on very meagre basic government pensions who require more extensive and expensive dental procedures than basic dental care for children—and seniors pay taxes, children don’t.

Jagmeet Singh sold us down the river to get the childcare dental benefit at the expense of our national defense, supporting our NATO partners, and virtually turned his back on the horrific situation in Ukraine.

Mr. Singh never protested about losing thousands of jobs under NAFTA, especially in Niagara that were good paying union jobs where the NDP received cash to support the NDP Party from union member dues.

These private sector union jobs provided the healthcare benefits that Mr. Singh now wants taxpayer government programs to provide.

In the last re-negotiations of NAFTA, two years ago, he never protested Mexico’s participation, where Mexican worker wages remained stagnant under the first NAFTA agreement, where Mexico’s political system has rigged elections and much of the country is afflicted by drug cartels.

Interest rates should have risen years ago by any government of the day, which has now exposed millions of Canadians and any branch of government to massive debt, regardless of what any politician tells us.

People like Mr. Singh who care little about public or government debt, will promote any taxpayer-funded program for votes, and personally he scares the hell out of me if he has any aspirations of becoming our Prime Minister, but there is no more room at the top, as we already have a left wing socialist in that position.

Peter Voss Welland

The images of the Russian attack on Ukraine are almost too graphic to describe. Many of the media depictions are so gruesome that these are prefaced with a warning that they could be too disturbing for many viewers. Presumably, those who value human life, are disturbed by violence, and abhor wanton destruction should mute the telecast and turn their eyes from the screen. In other words, one should temporarily suspend their humanity by shutting their eyes and ears to the news.

One of the fears associated with this constant barrage of such ferociousness is that one could become too accustomed to such misdeeds, diminish their abhorrence and lessen their caring for their fellows on this earth.

Imagine, if you will, for your own and your children’s safety being ousted from your home, virtually with only the clothes on your back, separated from your spouse and put on a train to an unknown destination. Remaining at home, your spouse will be given a lethal weapon with which he is totally unfamiliar and told to defend the country. How far can such unreasonableness be stretched and senselessness become the norm?

Many of the comparisons to earlier wars reaffirm the statistics about deaths, destruction, and absolute mayhem perpetrated on millions of people. And likely, some of the havoc will be under-reported and go unnoticed by fellow humans who have the good fortune to live far enough away.

It is absolutely astonishing that the responsibility for all of this abomination can be attributed to one, perhaps deranged man, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia. It is stupefying that this one autocrat can murder so many innocents, destroy so much land, threaten world peace and, so far, get away with such malfeasance. Regardless of whatever reasons he gives to support this unwarranted attack on a neighbouring country, the majority of people from around the world agree that there can be no justification.

It is not only the innocent citizens who will be permanently scared by this unwarranted incursion but the many who carry out the face-to-face battles—the armed forces. We know from past wars that many of these warriors will be burdened for life by injuries and illnesses such as PTSD. Civilized and mentally healthy people are generally not capable of overcoming the residual effects of killing innocent people and especially the defenseless elderly and children.

I admit that I, and many with whom I affiliate, are deeply saddened and disturbed by this senseless war and the prospect that it could worsen. All who live in freedom should think of and offer assistance to those suffering the consequences of this terrible war in Ukraine. It is our collective hope they will soon find peace in their home country or elsewhere in this world where they choose to live.

You would do well to support the organization of your choice that is committed to offering assistance to those harmed by this Russian atrocity. ◆

Okay, Okay, I know it hasn’t been exactly spring weather for a few (several) days. We were however spared the spring blizzard that the west had to endure this past week! It would be downright demoralizing to go back to having 40-50 cm of snow to slog through.

Thankfully there was no cold white stuff on the ground on Saturday, although it was somewhat chilly for the Town-sponsored Easter Egg Hunt. This greatly anticipated and enjoyed event took place at the Centennial Park in Fenwick. Children of all ages took part in the hunt. I am happy to report that although he was in attendance, Councillor Olson resisted the urge to join in the hunt, choosing instead to cheer on the young chocolate hunters. The Fabulous Fenwick Lions served up their usual array of hot dogs, cold drinks and hot chocolate. When all was said and done, all participants and the young at heart had a great time and went home with enough chocolate to stay hyper for several days.

While at the park I was reminded by the sight of the soon-to-be-completed splash pad of many other projects which will be underway soon. The tennis courts will be dug up, re-leveled and resurfaced, and new pickle ball courts will be constructed in the vicinity of diamond two. The midway for the Lions’ May Carnival will be set-up on diamond one. Centennial Park will be a-rockin’ come summer!

My good friend Bill Heska had a letter in last week’s paper about the out-let from the storm water management pond located at the corner of Hwy. 20 and Rice Road. Although most of the letter was factually correct, Bill was mistaken on the amount of money that the Town has spent to date on this project. Whereas Bill stated that the Town has spent $200,000 so far on this project, the correct statement would be that the Town has authorized the expenditure of up to $70,000 for an engineering study to be undertaken to come up with a solution to solve the severe erosion that is happening at the outlet on the north side of Hwy. 20. Once this study is completed, securing financing will be the next step. Trout Unlimited Canada, in conjunction with the NPCA, will be undertaking the search for a qualified engineering firm and will have news for the community within a week or two.

On the Covid front, it should be noted that while provincial numbers indicate that new cases may have plateaued at 100,000 per day, there are five patients currently in Niagara ICUs.

I will close with a sports story that is so much more than a mere story.

On April 15, 1947, Jackie Robinson took his place at first base. He was playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, a Major League baseball team in Brooklyn, New York. The first black player to play in that league, he won Rookie of the Year that season but his greatest accomplishment of that day came because of his first step. Doors were opened for athletes of colour to follow in his steps. As the Chinese proverb states, “The longest journey starts with the first step.” Mr. Robinson’s first step 75 years ago in Major League baseball continues not only in sports but in every area of society.

Now those are some footsteps to fill! ◆