Columns

Friends, Several years back our communities were gripped by a homicide, an incomprehensible loss of a young life, in an otherwise quiet and peaceful rural town. On the day the verdict was read, media outlets were outside the courthouse, snapping photos and relaying the most recent facts to all who

It’s everyone’s favourite time of year in municipal politics – budget time.

Back in 2013, a photo was snapped of 29-year-old Stewart proudly carrying completed nomination papers into Ontario Liberal Party headquarters. I was wearing one of my favourite shirts – a simple black shirt with shiny letters that read ‘Shameless Idealist.’ It was a gift from Jess that captured my s

For most hockey fans, flipping on the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships is as much a holiday tradition as flipping on the lights for the Christmas tree. There’s nothing quite like gathering around the television with family on Boxing Day, cocktail in hand, and watching Canada kick the crap out

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to have my column for the Advance Times ready at least one week early.

As a person, I try to live my life without regrets.

Christmas looked a little different this year for me. I traded in the snow-covered fields of southwestern Ontario, the holiday lights on my quiet street and the hustle and bustle of last-minute Christmas shopping for the sandy beaches of paradise, also known as Mazatlán, Mexico.

What is that word in the headline? Did he sneeze when he started writing this column? No, dear reader, I didn’t sneeze. The word is ‘tchotchke,’ a term my wife’s family uses for trinkets or knick-knacks. My wife’s grandpa, affectionately known by all in the family as ‘Papa,’ has a collection of tch

Friends, About this time last year, my keys went missing from my office. It was a hectic day at The Village, as the community was getting set to close down for the holidays. But for people in crisis or struggling, those painfully human aspects of life, holiday shutdowns can make for dark days.

It has been quite a year for both me and my caregiver – Leah, my wife.

Yes, there’s an Iron Maiden song for that. In this case it is 1986’s “Stranger in a Strange Land,” loosely based on the 1980s rediscovery and excavation/autopsy of the first three men to die on Sir John Franklin’s infamous and doomed Arctic expedition that set out from England in 1845 to find the No

The story of Jesus’ coming into the world is one that’s known by many people. The Gospel writer, Luke, gives us many details about that event in Luke Chapters 1 and 2. I would encourage you to read those chapters so that you can see God’s amazing hand at work in time and history.

Set the stuff down. “Maybe there’s nothing wrong with you at all. Maybe you’re human, trying so hard to carry a load that’s too heavy for any human to carry.”

I have been receiving some nice compliments recently regarding my stories in the Wingham Advance Times and the Listowel Banner.