We were having our ball team wind-up back in September, 1988 when everything stopped so everyone could crowd around the TV set to watch Ben Johnson compete in the 100-m dash. The sense of excitement was overwhelming in the moments leading up to the big race, and the cheers explosive […]
Columnists
For years, municipal politicians have complained about being lackeys of the provincial government. Feelings of frustration among local politicians have some justification. Most services that impact you and me day-by-day are delivered by municipal governments. But provincial politicians decide on the programs and make the rules. It’s been a province-wide […]
“Who should get flu shots?” asked the interviewer. And the expert looked earnestly at the television camera to answer. “Well, to begin with, the elderly should get shots,” he said. “Anyone over the age of 65.” And that’s when I stopped listening. Now, I have nothing against flu shots. Without […]
Cliff McIntosh
This is a good news/bad news story. No matter where you live in Northwestern Ontario, the forest product industry is important to the local company (as the biggest earner of foreign exchange, it’s a big part of the national economy, too). A basic change has happened in the industry–recycling old […]
“Watermelons are like people. They’re all good but some are better than others.” He says that line almost every time I try to choose a watermelon at the farmers’ market. And Eli Bontrager should know a thing or two about watermelons–he’s been growing them for years. Every autumn Saturday, Bontrager’s […]
One can accept “The National” broadcasting from Ottawa to cover a federal election. One can accept it coming to us from the dark streets of Montreal during the height of the ice-storm aftermath. But Peter Mansbridge in Washington, D.C. to anchor the coverage of U.S. President Bill Clinton’s alleged misdeeds […]
Here in Northwestern Ontario, we have quite a few hawks, which fall into four different categories. The Accipiters are called “bird” hawks because a good part of their regular diet is made up of smaller birds. So these are the very few hawks which really give all of the others […]
It’s been almost a year now since I started My Book of Daily Gifts. To begin with, I found a handy reporter’s notebook in the stationery cupboard and requisitioned it. Four inches by eight inches in size, the pad is perfect for keeping on my desktop. I start every new […]
It’s minus-40 but the wind chill makes it feel even colder. Still, a group of students, bundled up as best they can, are out at 7:15 a.m. gamely trying to shovel snow away from the school entrances that had piled up from the blizzard the night before. It’s a losing […]
Linda Wiens
Here are two message toward your personal success in the New Year. The first comes from “Managing your Mind,” by Gillian Butler and Tony Hope, Soundview, 1995. “Don’t worry, be happy” may be a naive and foolish slogan. But to be needlessly concerned can be very stressful. How to decide? […]
It was more than a quarter of a century ago when Alvin Toffler confirmed our fears about the future in a best-selling book called “Future Shock.” Toffler didn’t create the future. He just outlined in detail for us what we were already beginning to sense. Change would be the name […]
Recently, Quetico Foundation reps made a presentation before the Boreal West Regional Round Table. Quetico Foundation has a 40-year history of concern for the well-being of Quetico Wilderness Park and over the years, this concern has extended to developing a working relationship with the communities most directly connected to the […]
