“Council should appreciate that the official plan, land-use zoning and bylaws were developed by experts and are not an arbitrary set of rules that they can change on a whim,” writes Wayne Murray.

“As a fourth-generation resident of this town, I find it disturbing to see all the changes that are happening,” writes Hope Bradley.

“The corral has been breached, guardrails ignored, and the rustlers are making off with prize stock. And no amount of sunny press releases negate that evidence,” writes Terry Mactaggart.

“I ask the Niagara Region why it feels spending $4 to $10 million on a roundabout in St. Davids is more important … than using that money to repair its water infrastructure,” writes Bob Wheatley.

“I can’t understand why our town is ignoring this population while they own the old hospital property which would be ideal,” writes Karen Gansel.

Dušanka Alimpić, the heart and soul of family-owned bakery Fritters on the Lake, died on Nov. 16, leaving behind her husband Zoran and her family. “She will be missed beyond words but remembered with immense gratitude and affection,” writes friend Stewart Istvan.

“It is neither right nor moral to spend scarce financial resources simply to make a point; it is irresponsible,” writes Jonathan Household.

“In February, I sat through three days of hearing before the tribunal on the 723 King St. project. Council had received many submissions objecting to the project but most of the objections were not raised before the tribunal,” writes Endre Mécs.

“This community must do better.  There is nothing in your life so important that you should endanger the lives of others,” writes Betty Knight.

“The weather was good and we hope we did the veterans proud,” writes Al Howse, president of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 124.

“After discussions with the Bereavement Authority of Ontario and with the support of town staff, we have developed an agreeable plan of action as an alternative to raising the headstones,” writes George Webber.

“The council has told the region it does not want this roundabout, yet you continue to go against them and a significant number of the town’s residents,” writes Kip Voege.

“Town council and staff: I strongly urge you to immediately accelerate the process of determining the future of this important town-owned site,” writes Cindy Grant.

Trisha Romance’s decision to support the NOTL Public Library, “reflects a deep understanding of legacy — the belief that what we nurture today helps build the future we all share,” writes Katie Desharnais.

“We have legal mechanisms to address differing views and even when those mechanisms fail an individual, it shouldn’t be assumed that a decision is careless or circumventing,” writes Mark Smith.

“It’s obvious to me that the majority of our councillors do not care about the well-being of NOTL citizens. More and more, tourists are their primary, secondary and tertiary goals,” writes Linda Sauro.

“Why are culture, history and tourism being used to trump NOTL residents’ need for meaningful health care and seniors’ facilities?” writes Gee Rende.

“The only possible way of a return to democracy by this council, as seen by this writer, would be for Mr. Niven to now decline the position offered, even though he has accepted, in the face of obvious public outrage,” writes Derek Collins.

“If NOTL doesn’t defend itself and developers are allowed to do whatever they want, what is the cost to the community in terms of quality of life and property values?” writes Stewart Hall.

“We applaud library board and staff members who uphold the principles of neutrality, viewpoint diversity, free speech and intellectual freedom,” writes FAIR in Libraries.

“The dam has now broken. We can either submit to going under or insist that changes be made to this behaviour,” writes Terry Mactaggart.

“As a member of an election team that spent long hours, walking endless miles, at no small cost, to reach out to the NOTL electorate only to have the practice tossed away as irrelevant … I find (that) infuriating and disheartening to say the least,” writes Carol Williams.

“The lord mayor just missed a golden opportunity to change the tone and build trust,” writes Paul Kirkconnell, following up his Aug. 8 letter about the municipality’s response to the July protest held outside NOTL town hall.

“By not following the precedent established by previous councils … (council) has, in my view, turned away from democracy and fairness. And, it has yet to justify or explain the rationale for its decision,” writes Terry Davis.

“Why was this done in-camera? What criteria did council use to select Andrew Niven? Where is the transparency? Why does council seem to not listen to voters opinions?” writes Sandra Hardy.