RE: ‘Easy way out of life,’ May 9.

I find many of the views expressed in this letter from Elisha Holwerda as unfair and unfounded and my goal is to offer a more positive and reasoned approach.

The so-called neglect of the elderly can be countered by the reality that in numbers relative to the overall population, they comprise a significant glut. More seniors and fewer younger people to tend to them poses a major problem.��

Also, many are roaming farther afield in search of employment, making physical distance another barrier. It doesn’t mean lack of concern, they are simply responding to changing societal demands.’

Not everything can be couched in moral terms; this is more emblematic of the, “If all one has is a hammer, then everything resembles a nail,” bias than it is rational thinking. Since morality and judgment reverberate here, allow me to add my observations.��

When I was much younger and the church pews full, many people struggled mightily and their lives were circumscribed. Now, as attendance and overall attendance is undeniably dwindling, they are unshackled and have more of a voice.��

The greater participation of women has enhanced and enriched our lives and they no longer have to remain in marriages where their physical safety, emotional growth and self-fulfillment is compromised.��

Racial minorities, gay, lesbian and trans people, First Nations, sufferers of mental and emotional illness – and many more I could name – are better off now than before. And, in terms of the disabled, how many of the churches back then or any public building, had ramps and automatic doors to allow those in wheelchairs easier access?

Most disturbing was the author’s attack on euthanasia (I would place the word “compassionate” before it). How hurtful for someone whose deceased family member or friend has accessed this legal option, in heart wrenching fashion and in the face of unrelenting agony, to see in print that they are “quitters” or that they have taken the “easy way out of life.” How unkind!��

I would suggest that Holwerda climb carefully down from the scaffold of sanctimony; it is very shaky and unstable up there.

Allan Berry,
Fergus

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RE: Council considers break for Rocks, May 2.

As a former member of the Elora Rocks I feel compelled to comment on their recent request to Centre Wellington 91���Ѽ to forgive a debt from 2010.

I do understand some 91���Ѽ members’ concerns that approval of the team’s request sets a precedent for other users of municipal facilities.

I am, however, concerned that several members of 91���Ѽ may not fully understand the significance and importance of the team to Elora.

The Elora Rocks have represented Elora in Senior Hockey from as far back as the First World War. During the span of well over a hundred years the team has won numerous championships, provided local youth with a place to play competitive hockey and given hundreds of thousands of residents an affordable night of entertaining hockey.

The team has proudly represented Elora in many communities across the province. When they speak of Elora, they think of the beautiful town, the Gorge and the Elora Rocks.

This is not a privately run for-profit organization. It is not owned by anybody. It is a community organization run by volunteers providing an identity and sense of pride.

The team does not make a profit.�� It relies on local sponsors, ticket sales and fundraising to make ends meet.�� But it provides so much more to the local community.

I urge 91���Ѽ to work with the team to reach a mutually agreeable outcome. Elora can’t afford to lose this priceless piece of local history!

Bill Rowe,
Guelph

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RE: Horrible options, May 9.

Your editorial in last week’s Advertiser was one of the most meandering and confusing editorials I have ever read – and I read it a number of times.��

First you trash Trudeau and the Liberals and then Poilievre and the Conservatives. Your reference to opponents of Trudeau and “their rudimentary grasp of politics” was as offensive as the “vulgar slogans” that you refer to.��

The bottom line is that Trudeau and Poilievre are both wealthy career politicians with little real world experience (Trudeau’s limited teaching experience does not qualify him to be PM). Trudeau and his left wing prop, Jagmeet Singh and the NDP, are spending the country in to overwhelming debt and destroying our economy just to extend their tenures as long as they can.

As an editor you need to give an opinion, not a mundane “it’s not looking good for Canadians.”

Craig Sullivan,
Fergus

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RE: Neighbours: noise of Galt 91���Ѽmen’s Club now ‘unbearable’ as club has swelled in size, operations, May 9.

Rather than petition their local 91���Ѽ to ban something, residents of Gore Road and neighbours of�� the Galt 91���Ѽman’s Club should petition the federal government to allow use of suppressors, commonly known as silencers.

For some unknown reason, this safety device is prohibited in Canada under the Criminal Code (“a device or contrivance designed or intended to muffle or stop the sound or report of a firearm”).

Dushan Divjak,
Elora

The post Silent on silencers appeared first on Wellington Advertiser.

I’m a student from John Black Public School in Fergus. I’m writing about a problem that has arisen in our society. Ontario is considering funding $30 million dollars to schools in order to buy vape detectors. But the vape detectors have a few problems.��

Vaping is an addiction, correct? Well do you really think if we spend millions of dollars on detectors it will stop students from vaping?��

Is there a possibility detectors stop students from vaping in bathrooms and schools? Maybe. But that will just move them to another area. Instead of vaping inside they will move to quiet places around the building, skipping class to go to some random field, or any other place they can think of.��

Vaping is definitely a problem in our society, but I don’t think that these detectors are the solution. Instead why doesn’t the money go to people in poverty? In Guelph, the number of people living unhoused along roads and streets is becoming higher and higher. Why don’t we put some of the money towards that? Or what about putting more money into garbage removal from the lakes and rivers?��

Vapes might be terrible for people but having a few detectors won’t make a huge difference in their addictions. There are many better ways to spend $30 million.��

We should find a way to try and change these habits that students have, but these expensive devices aren’t the answer.��

Norah Pinkney,
Fergus

The post Detectors not solution appeared first on Wellington Advertiser.