OCDSB trustees ensure that the silent majority remains silent

The Editor, Our family left the Manotick area a couple of years before the pandemic, but I still enjoy reading the Manotick Messenger (on issuu.com) to keep in touch with the community.

After reading the last issue of the Messenger, it’s the first time I have ever felt good about moving to the GTA.

What the hell is happening? Did the RVCA contaminate the water in some sort of social engineering experiment or something?

Let’s start with the topic of transgender washrooms in schools. Manotick resident

Nick Morabito stood up and raised his concerns about the comfort and safety of the silent majority. However, the school board trustees ensured that the silent majority must remain silent as they cut him off and accused him of hate speech.

This is 2023, not 1984. I’m referring to the book, not the year. As a matter of fact, I don’t think George Orwell or Aldous Huxley could have come up with a book that describes our school board. We read and studied books like Animal Farm, 1984 and Brave New World when we were in high school decades ago. Seeing the antics of the OCDSB, this is exactly why we studied those books and the meanings behind them. (Nice typo by the Messenger calling it the ODCSB on the front page lol.)

Do the trustees have nothing better to spend their time on? I hate to point out the obvious, but here it goes. Regardless of what you identify as, if you have a Johnson, use the bathroom with the urinal. If you don’t, use the one without the urinal. If you are that uncomfortable with those options, and it’s understandable and acceptable that some are, use the designated neutral bathroom. If someone is in there, wait your turn. I stand in line and wait 15 minutes to pee at Leafs games at the Air Canada Centre. Surely you can wait your turn at school.

But just when you think that nothing can be more ridiculous than the school board and its trustees, along comes Pickle Gate.

Ohhh myyy Goddd. The noise from pickleball in Manotick must be deafening. No wonder Hearing Freedom advertises in the Messenger. The noise from pickleball must be shattering tympanums all across the village.

I am so glad I moved to escape that horrific noise. Those poor people who live near the park must be like the Grinch listening to the Who’s on Christmas morning. (The noise! Noise! Noise! NOISE!)

Centennial Park is a place where we would go and enjoy recreational activities. There were always softball games, basketball games, and tennis going on in the summer. Maybe the softball league will switch to Nerf bats and balls. Maybe dribbling can be outlawed on the basketball courts and “Manotick house rules” would be shooting and passing only.

I will once again reach into the depths of common sense and try to represent the silent majority by asking the question that no one has the balls to ask. Did you really think that there would be no noise if you bought a home backing onto or across the street from the largest sports park in the area?

I can’t wait to see what the noise police will do in a month when someone actually dares to run their lawnmower to cut their grass. And can we do something about the birds? God forbid people use their boats.

Thank God the noise from the truck traffic will drown out all of those things.

Robert Leblanc Mississauga

Community association leaves Manotick residents out to dry in the ice storm

The Editor, Where was our community association last week after the ice storm and during the power outages? From what I can see, they did nothing for us except repost a few things on social media. Let’s face it, that doesn’t help if you don’t have power or cell data.

I heard of other communities that got together to help save food, or get water and meals for people or help with yard clean up or simple wellness checks.

Ours was silent? One of the guys on the board was busy tweeting about what was happening at Pinecrest Community Centre but had nothing to say about his own community. Who are these people on that board?

According to the website there should be an annual meeting soon. I hope residents will come out and ask these people some serious questions about what they are (or are not) doing for our community.

Lilian D, Manotick

by Phill Potter