durhamregion.com This Week | Thursday, February 24, 2022 | 6 Over 90 years of Service to our Community We offer Modern Amenities Together with Timeless Values of Trust and Caring Service. 110 Dundas Street E.,Whitby • 905-668-3410 wctownfuneralchapel.com Over the course of the pandemic, Taylor has stopped driving. Even when pandemic restrictions change, Taylor would like to continue participating virtually. "I would continue to benefit with having virtual meetings ... Over time with my condition, I will become less mobile. In future, that could be a deciding factor if I was able to continue volunteering on different committees. I would still always want to give my time. Virtual becomes a staple for me," said Taylor. JENNIFER SIMS Jennifer Sims, a parent to two Durham District School Board students, didn't watch school board meetings pre-pandemic when they were in person -- but has now been watching online for about two years. "Being able to listen to the meetings from home is so convenient and makes the meetings accessible to everyone who has internet access," she says. "I enjoy learning how the process works and the reasons behind why decisions are made. There have been times that I have started watching a board meeting having strong feelings about an issue, and by the end of the meeting, I have a different opinion because I have have gained information and understanding." Sims encourages other parents and guardians to try watching meetings as the knowledge gained from the experience is "so valuable." ALICIA MCAULEY ASHFIELD Alicia McAuley Ashfield also didn't attend DDSB meetings before the pandemic, but started watching them online in summer 2020 in an effort to keep tabs on the board's plans for virtual learning. "The virtual format makes it very easy to watch and participate in meetings. I particularly appreciate that while the meetings are streamed live, the videos remain on the DDSB's YouTube page and can be viewed whenever it's most convenient, which is ideal if the meeting time conflicts with dinner or bedtimes for young kids," says McAuley Ashfield, who has two children attending school virtually though DDSB@Home. "Overall, I feel that watching these meetings has given me an opportunity to be more informed as a parent, and has allowed for a better understanding of the care and consideration that goes into the policies that directly impact my children and their education. I hope that the virtual format will continue to be an option even after the pandemic finally ends," she says. DYLAN REYNOLDS Dylan Reynolds is a DDSB student at Pine Ridge Secondary School who has become a regular fixture at the public question portion of DDSB meetings. He also didn't attend in- person meetings prior to the pandemic, because it's too difficult for him to get to the board office in Whitby for evening meetings. Reynolds first participated to ask questions about March break being pushed to April in 2021, and now he asks questions often. As a person with a disability, Reynolds says the virtual format makes meetings more accessible to him and he hopes there will still be a way to tune in online after the pandemic ends. EVA KYRIAKIDES Eva Kyriakides, chair of the DDSB's Special Education Advisory Committee, says there are pros and cons to the virtual meeting format. Online meetings are "excellent" from an accessibility standpoint, she says, making it easier for members of the public to watch and for committee members to participate even if they face an issue like child care falling through. "The flip side of the virtual format is that the flow of the meeting is not as smooth and, over time, participation in conversations is not as robust as it was in person," says Kyriakides, who is also chair of the SCC at Pickering High School. Ideally, she would like to see meetings return to in- person to allow for better conversations, while still maintaining a livestream that makes them more accessible to the public. ROBERT LINDSEY First, Robert Lindsey had to deal with the sudden and violent death of his twin brother, Richard. Then, his and Richard's loved ones faced their next challenge: the court process for the woman accused of impaired driving causing Richard's death. The crash occurred around 3 a.m. Nov. 19, 2018 in Ajax. Melanie St. Louis was southbound on Salem Road in Ajax when her SUV collided with a vehicle driven by Lindsey, an employee of a private security company, as it proceeded eastbound from the offramp at Highway 401. The court process began the next day, with a hearing that saw St. Louis released on bail. But as the case proceeded through the system, it was interrupted by the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying closures and restrictions. Finally, in January of 2021, St. Louis pleaded guilty during a hearing conducted online. When a sentencing hearing, also online, occurred in March of 2021, Robert Lindsey was among those who provided heartfelt victim impact statements about their loss. St. Louis was eventually sentenced to four and a half years in prison. Recalling the process, Robert said it was frustrating not to be able to attend court in person. He worried that nuances of the case and its effect on Richard's loved ones might be lost on a judge who sat in isolation, watching a computer screen, as it played out. "That was in my mind," he said. "I understand COVID is a huge issue, but it was hard on me. We just took it day by day." Ultimately, however, Robert was grateful for the efforts undertaken to see the case through to its conclusion. "I didn't want to live with it for the rest of my life," he said. "We're getting on with our lives, and we're starting to heal." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Over the last two years, we have documented how the pandemic has dramatically changed a variety of sectors in society. However, one area that has changed without much mention is local government. We wanted to find out how a more accessible government has impacted the lives of the average citizen. OUR CHANGED WORLD Continued from page 4 'THE FLIP SIDE OF THE VIRTUAL FORMAT IS THAT THE FLOW OF THE MEETING IS NOT AS SMOOTH': EVA KYRIAKIDES SCAN THE CODE to read more Our Changed World copy at durhamregion.com. BREAKING NEWS LEARN MORE AT DURHAMREGION.COM