Cushman park renaming saddens resident

I was feeling very sad Canada Day knowing the city is going ahead with stripping the historical name from Cushman Street Park. I have many emails with one of our council members who keeps insisting the park has no connection with Cushman Road, or the Cushman family. My own family fought with the Cushman family in the War of 1812 which makes this very heart-breaking.

A large section of Cushman Road remains under this park.

The parking lot for this park is on an old section of Cushman Road and Carleton Street. It’s too bad the old Cushman Road street sign had been removed many years ago.

The most people that use this park use the sidewalk on Cushman Road through the park to the playground. This all seems to me a very large connection to Cushman Road and the Cushman Family.

Robert Macpherson

St. Catharines

Seek donors’ input before moving Millennium Clock

RE: WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO THE MILLENNIUM CLOCK?, JUNE 25, AND NIAGARA LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, JUNE 27

Along with hundreds of other Niagara Falls residents, I donated to have the Millennium Clock erected at the present location. I agree with other comments that the clock should remain at the present location. It costs nothing for it to remain and the city should ask for input from the donors if they would like it moved.

The city should spend our tax dollars on more important things like road repairs. Joe Kozina

Niagara Falls

Destructively busy week for Ontario’s new premier

The first week as Ontario premier for Doug Ford has been a busy one. He has scrapped the province’s cap-and-trade program designed to lower carbon emissions; halted an expanded mandate for the Special Investigations Unit which oversees police; stopped a price cap on resale tickets allowing scalpers to buy up and hold concert tickets for ransom; delayed changes to the Smoke Free Ontario Act; and finally, fired Ontario’s chief scientist whose job it was to have a voice for science at the top level of government.

In fact, none of the new cabinet ministers have the words “science” or “research” in their titles.

None of these issues were mentioned in his election campaign, but since he’s for the “little guy,” we can rest easy and wait for the “buck a beer” to arrive.

David Fowler

Wainfleet

Oosterhoff should support sex-ed in schools

RE: SAM OOSTERHOFF NAMED PARLIAMENTARY ASSISTANT TO EDUCATION MINISTER, JULY 2

Congratulations to Sam Oosterhoeff on his new position as parliamentary assistant for the Minister of Education.

I hope he will listen to people who oppose his platform of removing sex education in schools. It’s wonderful that he has come from a family and community who stand by their values of not abusing children; there are many in Ontario who do not.

We have had generations of silence on the topic of sex and we are only now hearing the voices of adults who have been haunted by childhood abuse. We know that many of the perpetrators of these crimes have been people close to the victim — family members, neighbours, coaches, teachers and even the clergy.

If a child in a situation of abuse finds it difficult to talk to his or her family, perhaps knowing someone in a school or the community who is open to the topic will give that child a door to help. Children are the most vulnerable members of our society. By giving children and teens the vocabulary and the right to talk about sex, perhaps we can prevent even a few of them from a lifetime of struggling with poor mental health.

Maureen Chudyk

St. Catharines