Les MacKinnon January 10, 1950 to May 11, 2015
Les passed away on Monday surrounded by his cherished partner Doris Fraser and his loving family.
Forever loved by his son Brock (Kate) and daughter Amber (Damien). Much loved by his father John and predeceased by his mother Elma. Loving grandfather to Dale and Beverley. Dear brother to Keith and Alana (Scott) Hawthorn. He will be forever remembered by Sharon (Howard) MacIntosh and Deirdre and Iris Fraser and will be sadly missed by his nieces Sarah, Kailey, Jessie and Cadence, nephew Silas and countless friends.
The family would like to thank Dr. Hildegard Huff and the team of nurses in Owen Sound who gave such attentive care to Les in his final days.
Les had a great impact on his community, especially with his interest in history. His contribution has been recognized in many ways, most recently by awards from the Owen Sound Emancipation Festival organization and the Grey County Historical Society award of the Heritage Certificate of Recognition for 2015. He was an active member of his local historical society and was instrumental in getting the Durham Road Black Pioneer Cemetery recognized.
Editor,
Owen Sound Hub:
Irony: Council agrees to stop praying before meetings, because that would be an exclusive practice, and refuses to even consider an amendment to the Flag Policy, which would make the City more inclusive.
I was extremely disappointed in the behaviour of most Owen Sound city councillors at the meeting of May 11. A request was made to consider the current Flag Flying policy of 2006, and add an amendment to allow any local community group to have their flag on the standard which is affixed by the front doors of City Hall, as long as that group is one that abides by and honours the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. By a vote of 4:3, it was decided that Council would not even agree to reconsider the outdated policy. In the light of recent anti-Semitic, racist, and homophobic events, one would think it's time for the City to take a more inclusionary stand. In addition, does Council not realize that the policy has already been breached at least twice, and for that reason alone, needs to be reconsidered? Thanks to Councillors Richard Thomas, Marion Koepke, and Peter Lemon. The rest of you: I expect better.Sincerely,
Joan Beecroft
Owen Sound,ON
By Cathy Hird
Creation is in a hurry. One day last week, the tulip buds had barely formed when I went in for lunch. After the meal, there were ten brilliant red flowers near the tool-shed with rose coloured ones beside the lilacs. An hour later, there were yellow and red ones by the house.
It wasn't just tulips. When I walked down the hill to weed part of the garden, I saw dandelion leaves. When I came back to the house, fourteen were in flower. Until that day the only colour came from the daffodils, bright yellow trumpets, a double white one, and some with pale rose trumpets and white petals. Suddenly, there was colour everywhere.
Owen Sound's first food swap will be held Sunday, May 24 at the Owen Sound Farmers' Market.
In essence, a food swap is a free community event where participants bring homemade, homegrown or foraged foods - things like rhubarb, jam, lettuce, granola, bread, or pickles- and swap their goods with other participants. Everyone is guaranteed to leave with a bounty of delicious foods to try and perhaps make new, like-minded foodie friends, too.
One of the organizers, Melissa Monk, explained her enthusiasm, “Food swaps have been gaining in popularity for a few years, spurred on by media like this New York Times article and have become a bit of a mainstay in the urban eat-local scene. The entire concept seemed like a great fit for our town.”
The first event is going to be held at the Owen Sound Farmers' Market on Sunday, May 24th from 1-3 PM.
More information is on the website or Facebook page and people can sign up for the event for free here.
by Anne Finlay-Stewart
Another long day for Council and City staff. From 1 to 4 they were meeting with the consultant to discuss the most recent draft of the city's Strategic Plan. After the mission and vision statements, the longest conversation was about the Financial Sustainability piece, including "diversifying revenue sources" and "reducing the city's footprint" which, according to former City Manager Ruth Coursey means decision making about the number and level of city-provided services. The other three "pillars" of the plan are Economic Prosperity, Environmental Integrity and Society and Culture.
Verbs got a lot of attention, mostly around how they might be interpreted by the public, and how success will be measured. Does "support" imply financial assistance? How will we measure progress in "encouraging ethnic/cultural groups"?
At 5:30 Council met in-camera to discuss six matters, including litigation, land disposition and personnel matters. In less than six months in office, this Council has surpassed the 45 matters discussed in-camera (behind closed doors) over the last ten months of the previous Council's last term. Yet another in-camera meeting will be held May 13.
Just for comparison, Meaford Council went in-camera only six times in 2014.
The regular meeting began, as advertised, without any prayer or silent reflection. A public meeting on this subject was the first order of business, and only one citizen spoke. A pastor and member of the area's Evangelical Ministerial Association, Harry Zantingh, told Council that he was disappointed by the decision to amend the procedural by-law, but that it would in no way interfere with the private and communal prayers offered regularly for the city's decision-makers.
CopyRight ©2015, ©2016, ©2017 of Hub Content
is held by content creators
