Keep your eyes on the road

The Doors, Roadhouse Blues, lyrics read: “Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel.” Who knew that Jim Morrison would be helping us to save $490? Considering the way the song lyrics devolve from there, Morrison wouldn’t be the best spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation (even if he were alive), but regardless, even if you aren’t …

Show firefighters loyalty

Recently, the scrapping of the firefighter hiring list was reported, but that may only be the tip of the iceberg. I’m more concerned that retirements aren’t being replaced. Brian Kelly reported that recruit list was nixed by Sault Ste. Marie’s new fire chief, Mike Figliola. This prompted a negative reaction from former fire chief Marcel Provenzano . Columnist Doug Millroy …

Candidates, please read

Dear candidates: There is already so much that I want to thank you for in regards to the upcoming election. Please do call me during dinner. I have nothing better to do than to listen to your prerecorded message. We always have family dinners, so what’s wrong with you interrupting one of them. Your message is important, more important than …

Cooking Shows Nourish Family with Education, Entertainment

While I don’t like to endorse a lot of screen time, there are moments when television can give me the extra 20 minutes I need to complete the task at hand or to make dinner. Most recently, I combined two birds and found something the children and I enjoy watching, and at the same time it gave me an idea …

What’s so bad about austerity?

There’s a lot of talk about Greece lately, and not as a tourist destination. Greece is broke and may be removed from the European Union. Experts are conflicted on what the effect will be on world markets. While I worry somewhat about my global investments, I worry more about the state of us as a people. Alexis Tsipras, now prime …

Tax cramped women’s pocket books

This Canada Day, women across the nation have one more reason to celebrate: GST will no longer be charged on feminine hygiene products. Was the day chosen because it is a holiday that is all about red and white? Or perhaps because it is about celebrating Canada’s independence and now women are freed from a tax that shouldn’t have been …

You have to love convocations

Convocation is one of my favourite celebrations. Seeing graduates in their black robes, adorned by the multi-coloured hoods based on their discipline of study evokes pride, emotion, and tradition. There is something grand about the ceremony, and yet I found myself with gown envy. Sitting as part of the platform party, as several of my former students crossed the stage, …

Geocaching a modern day treasure hunt

In my last column, I wrote about the importance of getting outside for mental and physical health reasons. I received many comments in agreement with the sentiment (though one allergy sufferer disagreed with me wholeheartedly). This week I thought I’d let you in on our family’s little outdoor secret: the joys of geocaching. Imagine an activity that wraps up exercise, …

Go outside and have fun

Ever wonder how you can improve your life? More and more the solution seems to point to one very easy and obvious solution”¦ get outdoors more. Yes, mother was right. Her answer to every problem was: “Go play outside.” Even though she probably just wanted my sister and I to take our bickering away from her, in retrospect, there was …

Hiawatha Highlands Column was Public Service

On March 25, I wrote an article about the owl attacks up on the Hiawatha Highlands trails. Two people had been seen in the Sault Area Hospital Emergency Room for wounds received after being winged by an owl. I had suggested that this was a public safety issue and that something more should have been done by the hospital and …