Letters_11-19
Back to HomeLetters - May 12, 2011Letters: May 12
Re: By-law Officer Suspects Chickens may be Pigs, Brad Mulville
Re: Ompah Library Closure, John Walters
County support in the north! Leo Ladoucer
Re: Basic cheque-book math, Helen Gomez
Re: By-law Officer Suspects Chickens may be Pigs(SF Council, Frontenac News, May 5/11)
How big does a lot size need to be for a chicken coop? I find it hard to believe South Frontenac Council has nothing better to do than to harass a taxpaying citizen over 14 chickens, a rooster and two ducks. With the price of food, gas, electricity and consumer goods sky-rocketing, the township should be promoting environmentally friendly and healthier foods, not condemning them. It surely costs Mr. Smith a lot less to walk to the back yard for a few eggs for breakfast, than it does for others to drive to a store and buy eggs that are weeks old.
Perhaps we should amend our old by-laws instead of wasting everyone’s time and money enforcing the ridiculous ones. Even the City of Kingston has amended its by-laws to allow residents to keep up to six backyard hens as a healthy, affordable, accessible and sustainable source of protein, and I bet there aren't many lots in Kingston that are 2.5 acres!
Brad Mulville
Re: Ompah Library Closure
It is with utter dismay that we learn of the closure of the Ompah public library – “Our library”. It is not so easy for seniors to travel distances, and Ompah is often as far as we would like to travel for our books. To travel to Plevna library is too long a way to go, yet it seems that soon we will have to travel to Sharbot Lake to borrow a book or two.
It was bad enough that you shortened our library opening hours in Ompah, from a measly six hours, to a miserly four hours. And now you are going to close us down.
Reading is one of the few pleasures that we, as seniors, can indulge our limited time in, and we deplore your stone-hearted determination to rob us of that pleasure.
We feel that you, as executives of the Kingston, Frontenac Public Library, have totally lost sight of the basic raison d’etre of a library, to ‘loan books’. You are now withdrawing that mandate, and thus causing sadness and loss to us, to seniors from other small library outposts, and Summer cottage users.
And all because one urbanite consultant from Mississauga, who has not a clue about rural issues, told you to.
SHAME ON YOU.
Sincerely, in exteme disappointment,
John Walters, chair; Golden Friendship Club
County support in the north!
With the new county council structure, those living in North Frontenac thought they might see some fairness and equitable sharing on the part of county politicians, the staff and richly-paid consultants at county. With decisions such as the closing of the Ompah Library, the fiasco of a five-star mansion as the Ompah ambulance base, refusal to support Pine Meadow Retirement Home and the dole of pennies in federal gas money, it is obvious that the powers that be at county continue to be focused on whatever pleases themselves as long as it is south of Highway 7.
This letter is advice to Jeff Green, editor of the Frontenac News, not to bother wasting the time to cover future county meetings. Simply publish the attached list of issues and the replies of the warden and councilors from the south. They have their list of “nopes” and answers ready to go:
Improved ambulance service – Nope, South’s got Sydenham now.
Improved library service – Nope, South’s got lots; now we’ve closed Ompah.
Support for Pine Meadow – Nope, South has Fairmont Home so you just have to help us pay for it.
Ompah Ambulance Base – Nope, South never wanted it.
Money for roads and bridges – Nope, South spends it on studies, planning and consultants.
Vision for Business and Tourism – Nope, South’s got your tax money & HST.
Social housing – Nope, the North can move into the city and get in line.
Fairness and equitable sharing with the North – Yep, we’ll follow the old adage “What should be yours will remain ours and what is ours is ours”.
Just listen to your constituents in the North – Nope, we’d rather just close you down.”
Knowing the continuing dedication, hard work and collaborative effort both Mayor Clayton and Councilor Inglis are putting into their work with the county on behalf of North Frontenac, it is a shame that this situation is still an ongoing and appalling reality.
Leo Ladouceur
Re: Basic cheque-book math
I’m in complete agreement with the writer (letter to the editor, April 28). Now, however, we will endure four long years of ruthless Conservative majority rule. The people of Canada have apparently spoken, and apparently agree with Harper that it’s okay to be in contempt of the Parliament of Canada; it’s okay for Harper to lie about the need for this election, piously proclaiming that it was unnecessary even when he had been defeated for BEING in Contempt of Parliament (a fact that he conveniently forgotten about), and, after all, he had long been burning for a majority. He continued during the election to distort the truth, to distort the truth about his opposition. He remained secretive and controlling. Apparently the people of Canada agree with these distortions of the truth. During his interview with Peter Mansbridge, he displayed his delusions of grandeur, his ironclad belief that no one but HE can run the country, his belief that if the GG had asked another party or other parties to try to run the country in the event of a minority, and loss of confidence in the House, he would not have agreed. Good grief! The GG should set this “rogue” down and teach him some constitutional law!
(Does that sound like Gadafi or Mubarack?)
Heaven help us all! Four years will seem like an eternity!
P.S. I voted for Jack! It will be Jack vs. the giant with the big nose in the beanstalk!
Helen Gomez
