By Emily Stonehouse The dynamic between staff and council has long been a relationship I find interesting. At a lengthy county council meeting last week, for nearly an hour, councillors stayed at odds over the…
Lens
By Emily Stonehouse At the first official flag raising in Dysart by Pride in the Highlands, I brought my kids. I was thrilled to be there. A first in the community, and a clear-cut action…
The greater good
By Emily Stonehouse The other day, I inched my way towards a line of red brake lights around the high school. I wasn’t sure why we had stopped, and my initial response was irritation. Summer…
Sorry
By Emily Stonehouse We’ve all made jokes about it. The fact that we as Canadians have ‘sorry’ built into our daily repertoire, right up there with toonie and double-double. We say it when we bump…
Questions
By Emily Stonehouse We don’t know everything. Yes, perhaps a startling realization. I wrote a few weeks ago about how there is always more to every story, about how there is power in seeking more…
It’s here
By Emily Stonehouse If there’s one thing that stops us in our tracks, it’s the weather. We can be looking forward to the next event, next show, next memory to be made, but suddenly, all…
Oh Canada
By Emily Stonehouse If you were to explain Canada Day to someone who had never heard of the holiday before, how would you start? Would you lead with the fact that it’s the day we…
Mud
By Emily Stonehouse As we watch the smoke drift into our backyards with wildfires ravaging the country, they passed Bill 5. A contentious topic, which will make immediate changes to the Endangered Species Act, the…
Changes
By Emily Stonehouse The other day, I was invited to sit in on a presentation to the Rotary Club by historian Steve Hill on the past stories of newspapers across the county. And while this…
Rural murals
By Emily Stonehouse Mural, mural, on the wall. Who is the fairest town of them all? I recently spent a weekend in Huntsville, and I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised by the effort…
Downtown draw
By Emily Stonehouse It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The May long weekend. We’re here. We made it. We’ve battled a particularly long winter, a highly damaging ice storm, and narrowly avoided a…
The ‘A’ word
By Emily Stonehouse It’s a dreaded term for many. Councillors and township staff shudder at the thought. The almighty ‘A’ word. The one that shall not be named. But for the sake of this editorial,…
River
By Emily Stonehouse In Minden, the Gull River weaves and winds throughout our downtown core. It’s what’s right in front of us. It’s what we see all the time. It tells us the seasons, the…
Photo ops
By Emily Stonehouse Whenever I see a photo posted on social media of a local politician, many are quick to quip “photo op!” A shortened term for “photo opportunity”; it is often seen as a…
Human
By Emily Stonehouse Sometimes it all feels too much. That weight of the world. Anger settles on the chests of the everyday person. We feel every taut and pull of conflict, so deeply in our…
Cut Connections
By Emily Stonehouse There are few feelings greater than the euphoria of your hydro being restored. It’s been a rough few days. For quite literally everyone in the county. Nearly everyone in the province. It…
Blankets
By Emily Stonehouse Many small pieces, all coming together to make something bigger. I was inspired by Minden’s Mary Trepanier this week. She and her group of dedicated volunteers have diligently worked for the past…
Open/Shut
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…