Right in the centre - Discerning right from wrong
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- Published on Thursday, July 25, 2024
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
I used to tell my kids, “Ask yourself if it’s right or wrong and if it’s wrong, don’t do it.” I still think it’s good advice but in the 40 years since I used spread that advice, there’s been a deluge of change about what is right or wrong.
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Right in the centre - It doesn't make sense
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- Published on Thursday, July 18, 2024
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
I have been accumulating a number of things in my mind that don’t make sense. I am sure you could add many more to the list
A recent report notes that B.C. produces more wood pellets than any other Canadian province, and production is “dominated” by a U.K.-based company Drax, which owns the world’s single-largest wood-burning facility. Drax also owns, or partially owns, eight of B.C’s 12 pellet mills and is responsible for 80 per cent of the province’s exports. Anther report noted that Drax gets paid a huge subsidy from the British government to burn these pellets to make steam to make electricity. Why? Because the government has decided that wood pellets are better than coal. Really? Britain produces coal so how can wood chips make more sense than coal when the trees have to be cut, the wood has to be chipped, then pelleted. The pellets have to be trucked to a railhead, shipped by rail to a seaport, shipped by sea to England, unloaded and then put into a huge furnace to make steam so an electrical generator can make electricity. Now please tell me why that makes sense?
Right in the Centre - Historical Foundations (repeat)
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- Published on Thursday, July 11, 2024
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
The following column is a re-run from July 2023. Whether it’s a review or new to you, I hope you enjoy the history and I welcome your comments.
When we look back through the archived pages of our newspapers, we get a bird’s eye view of how things were done over 100 years ago. Some things really stand out.
Perhaps the first thing that jumps off the pages is the lack of what would today we call “political correctness”. Opinions and humour back in the day were pretty much unbridled. There was no filter on the editors’ typewriters 100 or more years ago.They said whatever was on their minds and sometimes their comments very bluntly called out politicians and citizens alike.
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Right in the centre - Some uncomfortable truths
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- Published on Friday, July 5, 2024
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
Former US President Ronald Reagan said once, “The nine most feared words in the English language are, I’m here from the government and I’m here to help.”
How true that is. Generally speaking, when governments get involved, they screw things up. The modern day economy is littered with examples. While well intentioned, most government initiatives are inefficient, expensive and misguided. But as a wise friend of mine pointed out after reading this column, big businesses screw up badly too. Big tobacco companies as an example.
Right in the centre - 35 years in the making
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- Published on Thursday, June 27, 2024
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
Last week I wrote about the way we have developed our newspaper business model and how the Waddell family now has three papers. The Neepawa Banner & Press and now the Virden Empire Advance are owned by my wife Christine and myself with some input from our two sons, Mike and Rob. The Rivers Banner is owned by grandson Micah Waddell and as noted last week we manage it for him. I forgot to say last week that son Mike, and his wife Naomi, publish Brandon’s News-in-Minute.
