Shelburne Free Press
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Export date: Thu Mar 28 10:21:16 2024 / +0000 GMT

Shelburne Police Service - save our other community heroes


We all are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are ‘social distancing' during this period of COVID-19, we give thanks to all those who protect us from this most horrific disease.

The Shelburne Police Services are at risk of being lost... Again.  

Please remember that our community is protected by our local police service. Safety and security are paramount to our community and our local police service provides the public with policing services that are aligned and integrated with other local public services. The provision of local policing is specific to the needs of our community and citizens.

We must not forget that the existence of the Shelburne Police Service is being challenged by the mayor and members of Town Council as they will be ‘seriously' considering the demise of our service for purely economic reasons.  

Town Council's decision to transition to the OPP is just around the corner and will take place after the OPP present their proposal possibly in June or July 2020. To confirm ‘key' date(s) please contact Denyse Morrissey, CAO, or Jennifer Willoughby, Clerk, at 519-925-2600. 

As a citizen you need to speak up again to let Town Council know how you feel about retaining the Shelburne Police Service.  Write, call, email or text them today!

Town Council has been very evasive, and in my opinion not very straightforward with the public. They have taken an approach which is hurtful to it's citizens when Town Council hasn't the respectful decency to put all the facts on the table. Town Council's inadequate communication skills will be evident at the next election in 2022.

An example of Council's political manner is that they have not questioned staff when they reported the costs for the retention of our police service.  

The CAO's report dated January 20, 2020 listed all costs in the first year. Why could the increase in supervision and staffing not be phased in over years as has been the past practice? The issues of increased supervision and the police facility are not new and were discussed with past Police Services Boards. These decisions are made by the Police Services Board in consultation with Town Council.

We must let our Town Council know how we value and support our Shelburne Police Service. Please express your support by email, text or phone calls.

Shelburne - this is your last chance before Town Council puts the nail in the coffin! 

Let's keep our ‘Community Heroes' here to serve and protect us.

Len Mikulich

Shelburne resident

Shameful attitudes

He crossed the ocean into Canada, likely at his own expense, and was sent straight to 14 days of isolation. He will not see his family, maybe for years. Being interviewed on our airway he said it is ok if that is the way to protect the Canadian people.

Folks like him are to most people just temporary foreign workers.

Another set of people crossed the ocean, apparently at the cost of taxpayers, returning to Canada from vacation, perhaps, and were sent to 14 days of isolation. They found it unreasonable and unbearable to be asked to spend time with their families in fine Canadian hotels with cable, flat screen TV, smart phones, room service and relaxation, for the protection of the Canadians. The good tax payers had to quickly send them kits containing games, fun and play things.

Isn't it just easy to uproot the destitute from their families to come serve the highly privileged, and very hard to please?

Is this how the history books on the shelves keep history in the present?

Some were always considered right for rough, hard and laborious drudgery while others are valued for being oh so delicate and fit for luxuries.

Gloria Ramnath

Shelburne resident

Let's start a conversation

I watched on television yesterday as the police chief of Minneapolis told the interviewer that the three police officers of his police department who stood around and did nothing to prevent the death of George Floyd, were all complicit in his murder - by their silence and inaction. This made me think about my own silence and inaction on racism too. 

As an older white man of privilege I realize I have been wrong in being silent all these years and I want to make up for that now. 

A young black woman in Toronto fell 24 floors to her death while in the presence of a number of police officers last week, who went to see her on a ‘wellness check'. Her name is Regis Korchinski-Paquet. 

The police are, perhaps, not the best trained in conversing with people who are going through mental health issues and their presence sometimes seems not to help. But how do we provide the necessary help for people in stress and in need in situations such as these? 

I am wondering if there are people out there who may wish to join me in a conversation on these issues in our own community? I say this because I have only lived in Dufferin County for the last 5 years, but I have noticed that the face of this mainly-white community has changed a lot in a very short period of time. I think there may be a need for ordinary people to come together to try and help prevent the type of problems we have seen in the news from happening here. 

So I wish to invite you to a conversation - from the many newcomers who now call this place home to the people who have called Dufferin County home for generation upon generation. Discussions will be respectful and inclusive. We are limited these days in how we are able to meet but many of us are now becoming quite familiar with Zoom! 

Please me know if you would like to be part of this conversation for change, by e-mailing me at jeff.thespian@gmail.com

I hope many of you will be in touch! 

Jeffrey Cottam, 

Mono resident

Post date: 2020-06-04 14:19:25
Post date GMT: 2020-06-04 18:19:25

Post modified date: 2020-06-04 14:19:29
Post modified date GMT: 2020-06-04 18:19:29

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