By Emily Stonehouse As I sit and type this, I am sitting inside Minden’s new restaurant, Fork and Flour. The energy is good, the sun is shining, and it feels optimistic. I had just come…
Red, white, and grey
By Emily Stonehouse If Donald Trump is involved in something, in any capacity, you can be sure that it is not remotely reasonable and will be completely convoluted; rife with grey areas and questions and…
Loose change
By Emily Stonehouse It is estimated that the final price tag on this snap provincial election is $189 million. That amount is coming exclusively from taxpayers' pockets. We paid for this. We paid $189 million…
Showing up
By Emily Stonehouse One of my favourite things to do at those elementary school holiday concerts is to watch little faces scan the crowd. You can see them looking, looking, until they land on a…
A season
By Emily Stonehouse It’s not news. The need for younger individuals to sit in places of power. And in our community, those places of power look like municipal councils. They look like boards and service…
Working with the enemy?
From Shaman's Rock By Jim Poling Sr. We now have new reasons to distrust the politicians we elected to protect us and our democracy. A troubling report from our intelligence watchdogs says that some of…
The dangerous buffoon
From Shaman's Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Canadians have watched the U.S. happenings involving former president Donald Trump with an amused sense of entertainment. It’s been like looking over the fence and seeing neighbours struggle…
Bad books and good books
From Shaman's Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I thought it was just me complaining that more and more mediocre – or just plain bad - books are being published. A search of the Internet tells…
CT scanner cannot come soon enough
By Thomas Smith On Monday, my Dad woke up feeling off. There was a heaviness to his chest and something felt different to his breathing. He figured that his allergies were acting up, or perhaps…
Co-existing with Beaver
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Those critters with the sharp buck teeth and hard flat tails are back and making their presence known. Beaver numbers were reported down in parts of the province…
A walk in the woods
From Shaman's Rock By Jim Poling, Sr. It’s been a year since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the global COVID-19 emergency. Our world, however, still has far to go before celebrating…
A deer in the headlights
From Shaman's Rock By Jim Poling Sr. There are times when the political tribalism consuming us seems like a cancer that cannot be cured. Today, thankfully, is not one of them. I say this after…
Life without bugs
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. This won’t come as a surprise: After a mild winter and wet spring it’s going to be a banner year for bugs. Experts say the mild winter allowed…
Hints that fishing season is here
By Steve Galea If you live with an angler, you probably have a sense that the fishing season is drawing near. This is very likely fueled by the clues that you might see in and…
My foxy friend
From Shaman's Rock By Jim Poling Sr. I’m opposed to feeding wild animals. They get to like human food, depend on it and stop foraging for their natural foods. However, I have a confession to…
Carbon tax and tribalism
From Shaman's Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Our federal government is running out of lipstick to put on the pig it calls its carbon pricing policy. But as the famous proverb notes – when you…
Ins and outs of ice
From Shaman's Rock By Jim Poling Sr. Many of us got fooled with ice out predictions this year. The mild, almost non-existent winter, had many predicting ice off the lakes in March. There just wasn’t…
Decriminalize possession and use of substances
By Thomas Smith Everyone has their vices, one way or another. Some people drink soda all day every day and have not had a glass of water in years. Some people eat a bowl of…
Politics and evangelicals
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. What used to be a source of pride for me has become a source of shame. My father’s family had evangelical roots since coming to North America almost…
Libraries are lifesavers
By Thomas Smith Having fun isn’t hard, when you’ve got a library card. I love libraries. Ever since I was a kid, libraries have been a happy and welcoming space. Every time I enter, I…
A time for ad blockers
From Shaman’s Rock By Jim Poling Sr. It’s the curling bonspiel season and I’ve been watching a lot of the games on television. Exciting to watch, but too much time in front of the TV…