Category: News 2020

Cobourg Police Honour Slain RCMP Officer

John Draper

Last Sunday, 22 died during a murderous rampage by a gunman in Nova Scotia; one of them was RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson.  And today, which is the National Day of Mourning for those who have lost their lives as a result of work-related incidents, Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf asked their Pipes and Drums band to help them honour their fellow officer. The band was smaller than usual with 11 members – 6 pipers and 5 drummers – but did their usual great job.  They marched down King Street to the Police Station where a large number of Police gathered – a good representation.  Included in the group of about 30 were senior officers and the Police Board – including… Read complete articleCobourg Police Honour Slain RCMP Officer

Police Launch Online Reporting System

John Draper

On the 4th of March, Cobourg Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf had an open house where he answered citizens’ questions (see link below) and in response to a request for “e-reporting”, the Cobourg Police web site now has an Online Reporting Portal.  Intended for non-urgent minor crimes, it allows citizens to report crimes like bullying, damage to property, lost property, thefts from vehicles, theft of gas, theft under $5000 and traffic complaints – there’s more detail below.  If it’s an emergency, call 911; or if you witnessed who did the crime (you know who the “suspect” is), then call the Police directly at 905-372-6821.  Motor vehicle accidents are not included – they should continue to be reported to the Collision Reporting… Read complete articlePolice Launch Online Reporting System

Now we have a Dumping Problem

John Draper

The County’s Dumps (now called Community Recycling Centres or CRC’s) have been closed for a while and selfish residents have taken to dumping their garbage in Parks, streets and alleys. The good news is that effective next week, the CRCs will reopen although they will have restrictions.  The Town of Cobourg issued a notice yesterday reminding residents that “Northumberland County and Town of Cobourg Bylaw Enforcement Officers and the Cobourg Police Service will be fining anyone caught illegally dumping. Common areas for dumping will be monitored on a regular basis. Illegal dumpers can face a minimum fine of $105 or a maximum fine of $5,000.”  Downtown store owners complained during their recent meeting that there was a lot of illegal… Read complete articleNow we have a Dumping Problem

Council meeting – April 20

John Draper

Council are continuing to meet via video-conferencing using Zoom and even presentations are done that way.  Last night’s meeting kicked off with a 45 minute presentation from Oscar Poloni of KPMG.  He is the consultant hired to review Cobourg’s service delivery to see if it could be made more efficient.  He went through what he expected to achieve with a timeline of completion by September in time for the 2021 budget.  The only other significant agenda items were 1) to prepare an emergency policy for floods and 2) to allow the Farmer’s market to open despite Social Distancing policies.  Both of these were because Councillors had made “notices of motion” which add items to the Council’s agenda – the first… Read complete articleCouncil meeting – April 20

Is Cannabis Factory leaving Cobourg?

John Draper

In these days of factories shutting down, it’s hard to know if something is temporary or permanent – and it doesn’t help if contact people are unreachable or don’t have answers.  But we have two facts: 1) The operators of the Cannabis operation at 520 William street announced on March 23 that they are stopping production at their plant because of Covid-19 restrictions. Less noticed but more importantly, around the same time (the broker didn’t remember exactly when), 2) the entire plant was put up for sale for $19.9M.  If their plant is up for sale, then the idea that all their staff is “furloughed” is questionable.  How can they return to work if their building has been sold?  So… Read complete articleIs Cannabis Factory leaving Cobourg?

Update on Provincial Covid-19 Actions

John Draper

MPP David Piccini today provided a number of updates of actions by the Ford Government that impact Cobourg residents.  They include an upgrade to Emergency Child care, changes to the availability of campgrounds (like Cobourg’s Trailer Park), clarification on allowed construction projects, rules on camping on Crown land and fishing (important at Cobourg/Factory creek and the Ganaraska river), help in hiring farm workers and more. Below are more details on each of these plus links to the source and/or expanded information. Emergency Child Care A plan to provide free Child Care to front-line workers was setup a few weeks ago but the list of eligible workers has now been expanded.  See the full list of those eligible and make an… Read complete articleUpdate on Provincial Covid-19 Actions

Farmers Honour HealthCare Workers

John Draper

It’s easy to forget that Cobourg is in the middle of farming country but we cannot forget about the Covid-19 crisis.  Something must be working here (in Northumberland) because we have relatively few cases and no deaths.  But we know that the healthcare workers at the Hospital (NHH) are working hard and these two things came together on Saturday – local farmers paraded their tractors to honour healthcare workers.  At around 1:00 pm, a long line of tractors plus some other vehicles drove down Burnham, along De Palma  and in front of the Hospital, down Strathy, East along Elgin past the Golden Plough then back up Burnham.  It was organized by the Northumberland Federation of Agriculture (NFA) who represent over… Read complete articleFarmers Honour HealthCare Workers

A Base Camp at Trailer Park

John Draper

In a new press release today, the Town of Cobourg clarified the usage of the trailers at the Trailer park.  A better description of their usage would be a “relief base camp for first responders and frontline medical workers”.  They would be used by frontline workers who are in need of respite and/or self-isolation from possible exposure to COVID-19.  Shannon Murphy, Emergency Planner for the Town of Cobourg explains that “the prevalence of fatigue in frontline medical staff and first responders is a major issue.  The base camp will be focused on promoting self-care and rest, and for those who need to self-isolate due to potential exposure.” Although the trailers were provided by Owasco (see earlier Post), there are also… Read complete articleA Base Camp at Trailer Park