New year, Same as The Old One

Jeff Green | Jan 05, 2022

In order to gain some perspective, I took a look at the editorials we ran in the first two weeks of the year in 2021, and it is clear that some things have changed over the past year, but others haven't.

The first week's editorial published on January 8, 2021, talked about two stories that had broken over the first COVID Christmas.

One was about the Ontario Finance Minister Rod Phillips, who was forced to resign from cabinet after it was revealed he had taken a trip to a Caribbean island over the holidays, and lied about it to his constituents. The Premier was aware of the trip, but tossed Phillps from cabinet when the matter became public knowledge.

For those who were worried about what would become of Rod Phillips, the good news is that he has been magically rehabilitated politically, thanks to the passage of time, the bad news is that his return to cabinet is as the Minister of Long-Term Care, which could make the finance ministry look like a cakewalk.

The second story was about our own MPP, Randy Hillier, who tweeted about how his sons had been abused by police outside of a bar in Perth, when they were trying to keep the peace while aiding a friend of theirs who was exercising their right to go mask-less in a local bar. One of his sons was tasered during the incident. A phone video told a different story however. One of his son's, in a state of intoxication, attempted to start up a fist fight with an OPP officer, and was subsequently tasered.

Hillier is still tweeting, and is now the head of a new provincial party that is affiliated with the People's Party of Canada and will be contesting the election in June in our riding.

The only thing that has changed for Hillier is that instead of being a reverse Zorro, fighting mask mandates, Hillier spends much of his time now arguing against the efficacy of COVID vaccines, and fighting mask mandates as a kind of side business.

The second editorial showed how some things haven't changed. It had two parts to it as well. One was the annual request for public support for the Frontenac News, and the other was a request that readers make use of the services of local restaurants by ordering takeout. This was because restaurants had been suffering because in-person dining had been suspended for 9 months, at that time.

Well, we are still seeking support for the Frontenac News from our readers, which is not a surprise (see below).

But many of us thought that restaurant closures would not be coming again. In fact, as recently as a month ago, the Province of Ontario was indicating that the one remaining hurdle for restaurants, a requirement that all in-person diners provide proof of COVID vaccination, was slated to be lifted sometime this month.

We all know how that Greek letter, that many of us had never heard of until mid-November and will now remember for a very long time, has changed things.

The restaurant sector has been hit hard once again. Even before in-person dining was suspended for at least 3 weeks, starting on January 5, calls for stricter enforcement and capacity limits were brought in locally early in December. The rising wave of the easy to spread Omicron variant in our region emptied out restaurants in the pre-Christmas season.

The Creekside Grill in Battersea, for example, took matters into its own hands on December 10, in the midst of a COVID outbreak at Storrington Public school among other local cases. The owner, Kyle Gordon, switched over to take-out only, as of December 11, putting the situation rather elegantly on the restaurant Facebook Page.

“This is the worst we have seen it, in our region, very scary and real now. We have all lost any government support we had so we are all feeling a little extra financial stress. I have always been told that in life you are only given as much as you can handle. The difference, in this situation, is we are all in it. It’s hard to handle. So just remember some people handle these stresses better than others, so please be kind and thoughtful of others. Stay safe, remember what’s important, family, health, and the happiness will come back!”

Even though January is a slow month in the restaurant business, a return to a take-out only model is surely bringing the morale of restaurant owners and staff to a new all-time low.

And of course, families may be needing a break from cooking just about now as well, with virtual schooling and virtual working making an unwelcome return.

So, why not get some take-out this weekend. Give your favourite restaurant a call. They should be happy to hear from you, about now.

Now to our own pitch.

It costs about $30 a year to deliver a newspaper, 50 times a year, to each of the 12,000 mailboxes in Frontenac County and Addington Highlands. We cover those costs with advertising dollars, and starting a few years ago, we began asking readers who are well disposed towards us, and can afford it, to pay towards printing, mailing, production and editorial costs to deliver the paper, and the online version, each week.

We have always had a good response. Many readers have sent us $30, and many others have sent more to cover for others who cannot afford a voluntary subscription. In addition to this annual editorial appeal, we run a house ad every once in a while. Every time a cheque for $25 or $30, or $50 or $100 arrives, or we get a call with a credit card or an e transfer, it helps financially, of course, but it helps our morale as well.

For any of you who choose to support us this year, thank you in advance. And for those who read the paper weekly or on occasion, thank you as well. Reading the paper is itself a measure of support, and we urge all of our readers to patronise our advertisers, who help make our communities what they are