Roses and Thorns: Of weddings, jobs and journalism
ROSE: To Niagara Health staff and newlyweds Chelsea and Jordan Harper, for the first-ever wedding held at Douglas Memorial Hospital in Fort Erie this week. Chelsea’s mother Kim Barkley has an inoperable tumour and has been staying at the hospital. The young couple wanted their wedding to include Kim, and the hospital and its staff, led by Jackie Junkin and Cathy Case, leaped forward to assist. The emotionally moving ceremony Tuesday was a display of love and hope, particularly for the mom who said; “My trial of life we have to get through – I want to have no regrets. I totally believe in miracles.”
THORN: To Niagara Region, for apparently overtaxing its residents. The Region ended its 2017 budget year with a $17-million surplus, adding to its bloated reserve funds which already held $276 million. The Region also has $118 million in deferred revenue available. While having a healthy set of reserve funds is a laudable and important goal for any municipality, Niagara Region appears flush with cash. We share Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton’s concern that the Region may taking too much cash from its residents, and with more money expected from the new development charges bylaw, this glut of money is only likely to grow.
ROSE and THORN: We have a mixed reaction to the latest Niagara employment numbers, sharing the opinion voiced by Mario De Devitiis, the CEO of the Niagara Workforce planning board. February’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 5.2 per cent, down from 5.9 per cent in January and 6.7 per cent in December. This is good news, but we shouldn’t get too excited. Beneath that number we find the area lost still 1,500 jobs between January and February, a concerning number even though it is lower than the 2017 job losses of 4,100 over the same period. Niagara may not be bleeding as profusely as it was a year ago, but it is still bleeding. We look forward to seeing the board’s annual workforce report in April.
THORN: To Niagara residents who continue to use cellphones and practise other forms of distracted driving. In a story this week, Niagara Regional Police Staff Sgt. Romolo DeEgidio told us that things appear to be improving but far too many people are still involved in collisions where distracted driving played a role. In 2016, 20 per cent of collisions investigated by the NRP were caused by distracted driving, he said. The NRP investigates as many as 8,000 collisions per year. So far this year distracted driving has been the cause behind some 10 per cent of the 1,500 MVCs investigated by the NRP. That’s still 150 collisions already this year which involved distracted driving. Despite increased penalties, many people are still not getting the message – put the phones down when you’re behind the wheel for both your own safety and the safety of others.
ROSE: To the local reporters from the Niagara daily newspapers who are nominated for 64th annual Ontario Newspaper Awards, which are being presented on April 28. For the second year in a row, St. Catharines Standard journalists Grant LaFleche and Bill Sawchuk are nominated for an ONA for their coverage of Niagara politics. Standard photographer Bob Tymczyszyn is nominated for sports and photographer Julie Jocsak was given the nod for spot news. Niagara Falls Review reporter John Law, is nominated for arts and entertainment. Sawchuk is also up for a sports writing award. This impressive list of nominations shows again the high quality if journalism being produced by the Niagara daily newspapers.
My trial of life we have to get through — I want to have no regrets. I totally believe in miracles. KIM BARKLEY