> CCWN/Beamsville Lions ready for food drive next week/Pg 5 > Lincoln considers new museum advisory committee Pg 5 > Bright Run for cancer research Sat. Pg 9 > Grimsby Author Series goes virtual Pg 13 Thursday, September 10, 2020 Vol. 9 Issue 20
www.wn3.ca 100% Niagara owned & operated.
Proudly serving Grimsby, Lincoln, West Lincoln & Winona
Circ: 26,529
Mask bylaw raising anger, confusion By Tristan Marks NewsNow Some may have heard of issues, others may have seen a confrontation first-hand, but incidents and tension regarding mandatory mask use in enclosed public-access spaces seems to be on the rise. “Many business operators have called or emailed me in the last 10 days looking for clarification of the Niagara Region’s mask bylaw,” said Mike Williscraft, president of Grimsby Downtown Improvement Area (DIA) Board. “The issue is not the merits of the bylaw but enforcement, which the Region has put on the shoulders of each individual business. Residents have also called after seeing a customer ream out an employee who does nothing more than remind that customer a mask is mandatory.” A key point of the issue is the exemption which the Region included for those with a health exemption, or age. In an email to Niagara Region medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji, Williscraft explained how the implementation of the bylaw is impacting businesses day-to-day. “There are stores not allowing patrons in with no mask, no exceptions. It causes great harm and stress for them to do this, but with staff being left as the front-line enforcement, they have had to ban all, as staff have refused to serve people, and other customers who were wearing masks have dropped items in-hand and left stores when they see another customer with no mask,” noted Williscraft. “The question remains, are business owners entitled by the bylaw to bar anyone from entering their premises? It does not seem so from reading the bylaw. The bylaw appears to sidestep taking that responsibility and hand it to business owners and their staff.” Hirji said the interpretation of the bylaw is not a health department concern. “I appreciate the challenge. These are legal questions concerning interpretation of the bylaw, not See MASKS, Page 3
Good neighbour Debbie De Vries visits the gravestone of Samuel Bush, 1799-1881 and his wife Ann, 1799-1871, natives of Sussex, England, at the Caistor Baptist Church Cemetery where personal histories of church members are largely buried with them. McDonald - Photo
Vagaries of time and vandalism Caistor Baptist Church to be torn down By Joanne McDonald NewsNow It’s been some time since an Alleluia rang out from the sanctuary of the Caistor Baptist Church. A once integral part of the community since it was built in 1864, the church was officially closed and transferred to the Township of West Lincoln in 2014, is
structurally unsafe, and slated to be torn down this year. It’s one of about 9,000 churches in Canada that will be lost in the next decade, roughly a third of all faith-owned buildings to be shuttered, sold off or demolished. But thanks to Debbie De Vries, residents of West Lincoln, a Town-
ship bustling with new growth and development, can be reminded of the life force that once flowed through the iconic little country church. “I don’t want it to die a sad quiet death, but if it has to be so, then let it be with dignity,” said De Vries, shocked and heartbroken over vandalism that desecrated
the building interior this summer. Researching the church history, she wants to see the mess cleaned up out of respect and some of the religious items put into hands where they will be valued and preserved. De Vries had the biggest shock in late May See CHURCH, Page 6