Economic change in rural Ontario

September 14, 2017

A recent provincewide study indicated that one in ten workers makes minimum wage and one-quarter of the work force earns less than $15 per hour. This January, minimum wage will climb from $11.40 to $14, with another $1 increase in January 2019.

Changing our ideas about teaching and learning

The province recently announced that it will be consulting with students, parents, teachers and other partners to manage a “comprehensive overhaul of school curriculum and student assessment tools.” I’m really curious to see where the initiative leads.

Maddening talent in Maynooth

Many people chose to venture to the Arlinghton in Maynooth for the first night of their long weekend. For a toonie donation to the food bank they could have a front row seat to Maynooth’s Got Talent.

SARA wasn’t created just to annoy industrialists

All one needs to do is take a short drive around the Bancroft area they will see quickly how important the forestry industry is to this community. Many of the buildings are clad in wood siding and every single one of them was constructed of wood framing of some sort.

Canadian Blood Services called, you should donate

“Hi Sarah, it’s Phil calling with Canadian Blood Services,” came a smooth, almost southern but more Canadian accent. “Sarah, we’re calling because with the upcoming long weekend we do have an increased need for donors. We’re going to be at the Bancroft Pentecostal Tabernacle on Monday, Sept. 4. We were wondering if you could help out with a donation that day?”

Assessing the risk of doing nothing

What grabbed my attention while reading over the agenda the night before was a so-called “emergency motion” put forward by the Ontario Forest Industries Association (OFIA).

Keep your dogs away from mushrooms

Apsley Veterinary Services is warning that all this rain has created the perfect conditions for mushroom growth — that could mean bad news for your pet. The clinic announced it recently had a dog battling liver failure because it was poisoned after eating a mushroom.

A special time to be in Bancroft

For many reasons, August has always been one of my favourite months to enjoy the Bancroft area. The long, often hot and sunny days give us warmer waters for better swimming, a deep green forest freshening our air, and billions of blooming wildflowers filling the bellies of the bees and painting the landscape with a rainbow of colors. In August, the black flies are replaced with butterflies and dragonflies, bird populations spike as a seasonal variety of species take up temporary residence in the area on their slow route south and of course the blueberries and raspberries are ripe for the picking.

Buzz, smack

Hands up in you detest mosquitoes. Good snacks for the bats but no fun when they make you the snack — especially when the West Nile Virus has been identified in pools of mosquitoes in Belleville area, Haliburton and Peterborough. Here’s what you need to know.

How we got to Station Street

The Long Woods Purchase was completed on Nov. 20, 1822 when the chiefs of the Chippewa (many of whom preferred the designation Ojibwa) and the Mississauga peoples agreed to sell a tract of land for an annuity of 600 pounds in currency. This included much of the land north of Dungannon.

Bancroft this Week

Commentary