Letter-Farmers market issue, a municipal issue

June 6, 2012 Editor Opinion

 

Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to a recent letter you published from a Mr. Mason about the Iroquois Farmers Market vendor permits. 

In his letter he referenced our farm located in Ingleside and that people such as myself are taking all the permits from local area vendors.

First let me start off by saying that permits are available to all and any persons willing to operate at the local area farmers markets and are available at the township office at the beginning of every year. We purchased our permit back in March of this year, and it states directly on it that sales of any goods are to start no earlier than April 15 and end no later than December 31 of that same year that they are purchased. 

It does not state an exact date for the market to begin and we have chosen to begin our market days in June as that is when the produce will be ready for our customers. 

I am sorry if Mr. Mason did not purchase his permit at an earlier date to ensure he had the right papers in place to sell his wears. 

As for the fact that we are not local vendors I am very saddened by this comment. It is true that we no longer reside in South Dundas, but before purchasing our farm we were long time residents of South Dundas (we lived in Morrisburg and in Williamsburg) and my husband’s family still resides in Morrisburg. Our farm is located on the South Dundas/South Stormont border. 

It is people like Mr. Mason and his opinions that have made it so that new vendors would prefer to take their business to larger cities instead of staying close to home and offering their services or products to the local residents. 

I am happy that I will be bringing my Gluten Free Baked goods and organically grown produce to South Dundas as there is a need for these products in our community. 

I hope that comments such as those made by Mr. Mason do not scare off potential new vendors. And instead of them looking to the larger cities they will look to our local farmers markets to sell their products so that there will be many options available for those who come to the markets every week. 

We should be encouraging others to come to South Dundas to sell their products not frowning down on them or belittling them.  

As only five permits are issued every year, we should be looking at the township to increase these numbers and ask them to make available more permits for vendors so that we can bring forth more people willing to sell their products instead of turning them away just as the township did to Mr. Mason in the first place. 

His issue should be with them and not with me.

I thank you for taking the time to read what I have to say and in listening to my side of the story as I felt like I was being attacked by the words Mr. Mason had to say in regards to his very upsetting letter to you. I hope you will publish this letter so that others can read about the other side of being a new vendor and purchasing permits.

Sincerely,

Ann Marie Hollister

SHELDANNA FARM

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Perspectives with Rev. Duncan Perry

June 26, 2013 Editor Opinion

 

Life Happens

I was weeding my garden the other day when I began to think about life.

Now don’t get me wrong,  I’m not about to go into a long litany of wrongs or problems that are happening in my life. 

As a matter of fact life is good, really good actually. We are enjoying our retirement. I told someone a little while ago that if I had known it was going to be this good, I would have done it when  I was thirty.  Of course it wasn’t at all possible back then.  However, let’s get on with my thoughts.  

As I knelt there that day, I began to reflect on my life, as well as on the life of other people I have known. Really, it can be compared to the weather we have been experiencing lately.  It is great when the sun is shining and it’s warm.  Good for golfing, boating, gardening, etc. 

However it is not always sunshine.  Some days it rains and in most of our minds we would probably say TOO MUCH.

I also began to think of life as a person walking through a luscious green valley.  Do you know that there would not be a valley if there were not  mountains on either side.  While it is good and pleasant in the valley, if we are going to broaden our horizons, we need to climb the mountains every now and then.

 I think it was Tammy Wynette who sang the song “I never promised You a Rose Garden.”         

 But there was someone else who gave us these words long before she was born.  Let me refer to the original Author of these words.

Back in the Old Testament, the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 20, verses 1 thru 4.  God is speaking to the Children of Israel as they are about to enter the Promised Land and possess what God had promised their Fathers. 

As we read this passage, we will find some promises to us.  The first one, most of us would like to pass on.  It says, “there will be battles against those who would not want them to possess the land.”  That is true for us in this life as well.  

In John`s Gospel, chapter 16, verse 33, Jesus told His followers (that includes we who believe on Him today), “that in this world they would experience all kinds of opposition.”

 Back in Deuteronomy, God gave the Children of Israel three more promises.  The promise of His Presence, to go with them  The Promise of His Power, to fight their enemies for them, and the Promise of His purpose, to save them. 

As we look at John 16:33, we find likewise, the promise of Our Lord, “Do not be troubled when you face all kinds of opposition,” Jesus says, “for I have overcome the world.”

No one likes trouble in their life but the truth is, “life happens” and that includes trouble, opposition, sickness, etc.  

So what do we do.  Well here are our choices; we can try to fix the problem ourselves, or we can rely on the Promises of God.

Bye the way, I expect that about the time you are reading this, I’ll be pulling weeds again because LIFE HAPPENS.        

Rev. Duncan Perry,

 

[…]

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Opinion

Halloween is dress-up time

October 26, 2011 Editor Opinion

 

Halloween is just days away now and people have already begun decorating for the holiday, planning for parties, making or buying costumes and candy, and stockpiling the scariest of movies for the October 31st celebration. For those who read my editorial about how much I love Thanksgiving, well, Halloween is a very close second-runner-up for my favourite holiday.

Unfortunately, Halloween tends to get a bad rap from some, which leads me to ask, “Do you know the origin of Halloween?”

Halloween, the celebration not the name, originated from the pagan celebration of Samhain. It is a time to celebrate the end of harvest season. It is a time to take stock of the year that has passed. Sound slightly familiar? In my opinion, Samhain holds a little bit of Thanksgiving and a little bit of New Year’s Day themes. So, if this is how Halloween originated, why has it become the “day of the dead”?

Well, it is also believed that this is the one time of the year when the veil between the worlds, the dead and the living, is thinnest. It is also the day before All Hallow’s Eve, more commonly referred to now as All Saints Day on November 1st. (And in case you haven’t made the connection yet, it is believed that All Hallow’s Eve is where the term Halloween originated.)

Disregarding the history of masks and costumes being used to scare off evil spirits or demons, I believe that Halloween is another opportunity to give thanks. This time, we can thank those we love who have passed for being in our lives and for being who they were when they were here with us. It is a time to remember them.

It is also another opportunity to be thankful for what we have right now: family, friends, health and life itself.

So why do we dress up in scary costumes, collect candy or go to parties? Because it’s fun. Do you remember being a kid? Did you like dressing up? Well, we’re all still little kids inside and Halloween gives grown-ups (as well as children) permission to dress up and be silly.

So, on October 31st remember to be thankful for those you love, here in person or here in spirit, and celebrate by dressing up and having some fun. Take a page out of Mr. Dressup’s book and rifle through your Tickle Trunk for a fantastically original costume. 

[…]

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