Come on, people. It’s a paper bag. Fight your way out of it
Sir: We’ve been watching for the barrage of expected complaints regarding the mandatory use of paper bags for leaf pick-up starting July 1.
It amazes us how quickly some residents are compelled to defend their lack of imagination. They should try to think of ways to be part of the solution and not add to the problem.
Dealing with wet paper bags of the biodegradable kind is difficult enough. Do we have to accommodate the human variety as well?
For instance: Place leaves that are already wet in a composter, or start one. Don’t set the bags out too early. In the case of storms (it takes a lot of rain to break down paper bags) use a small tarp.
Leaf pick-up is just a few weeks at a time during the entire year. Is it really that tough to employ the intelligence we were miraculously endowed with to work around a few negative issues so that our relatives, children and heirs will be able to enjoy a healthy environment?
Or, we can simply whine our lives away without a care or concern, and leave a smouldering wave of pollution for those living in our wake.
Rhonda Kjeldsen
Richard England
Sarnia
Sarnia Sting rebuild will continue next season
Sir: The Sarnia Sting picked up a much-needed goaltender out of North Bay in the first round of the recent OHL priority draft.
The coaches and scouts say Ben Gaudreau can step right in, so that’s a good start.
The Sting will look to replace at least six 19-year-olds next season, which means at least five rookies are ready to take a spot in the lineup.
Next season be year two of the rebuild, and the goal should be to get back to 40 wins. Sting president Bill Abercrombie and the staff are in a tough market, so we need to cheer them on, Sarnia.
Enjoy the summer, and see you all in four months.
Cam Ross
Sarnia
That column on wrestling was poetry in motion
Sir: I always watch for the arrival of the Sarnia Journal. It is a treat, and the (April 4) column by Bob Boulton caught my eye. Normally, like his wife, I would be "singularly unimpressed" by wrestling. But this time the simultaneous presence of the sport and that literary branch was irresistible!
Thank you Mr. Boulton for putting down - with humour - memories of "back in the day." I enjoyed it.
And many thanks to the team at "our" Journal.
Claudette Deshaies
Sarnia
We need to speak out against growing xenophobia, white supremacy
Sir: I am writing this letter on behalf of the Unitarian Fellowship of Sarnia and Port Huron to express our shock and grief with the attacks on two Muslim mosques in New Zealand.
Some of us attended the vigil on March 29 and were heartened to see a good turnout. When we see the rise of extreme white supremacy and violence, we should be clear that this hate, Islamophobia and xenophobia is about people of colour who are immigrating to Canada, New Zealand and other countries previously colonized by white Europeans on Indigenous lands.
Countries that receive immigrants and refugees today have a colonial past that structured institutional racism and white supremacy to benefit white Europeans. The rise of economic inequality and insecurity leads to blaming immigrants who are more vulnerable when they try to find a more secure and peaceful life.
The more extreme forms of white supremacy are escalating and becoming more mainstream, particularly with social media platforms. Media and politicians fan the flames of hate to divide people and distract us from understanding the structures of power and those who benefit the most from inequality.
We need to be more educated on institutionalized racism and structures of white supremacy. We need to develop a critical analysis of how these attacks happen and speak up about it.
In Fellowship,
Annette Verhagen
President, Unitarian Fellowship of Sarnia and Port Huron