Category: News 2020

Vigil to Remember Overdose Losses

John Draper

On Sunday afternoon in front of Victoria Hall,  Greenwood Coalition held a “community-led vigil for loved ones lost to overdose”. They called it “They Were Here”.  Led by David Sheffield, a steady stream of people spoke of their experiences – there was a lot of emotion and passion.  When I was there around 2:20 pm, there were about 35 people; some spoke and others were simply supportive.  Attendees were invited to “create and hang a flag of hope to commemorate a loved one who has died”. (See photos below).  Apart from talking about their personal experiences, some also spoke of the misunderstanding that the public seems to have.  Councillor Adam Bureau initiated Council’s actions on the opioid crisis and he… Read complete articleVigil to Remember Overdose Losses

Review of Fire Department Efficiencies

John Draper

In 2015, all seven municipalities in Northumberland consolidated their dispatching and contracted with Peterborough Fire Services to provide dispatching of all calls for Fire Department services.  This raised the subject of whether there are other efficiencies to be found although the obvious idea of a single department is unlikely since several Towns are primarily Volunteer operated.  But the Province has now provided $95K in funding to look into “service delivery efficiencies” and the County and Municipalities will now be doing this review.  A steering committee led by Hamilton Township has issued an RFP for a consultant to see what can be done.  All municipalities are represented, including Mike Vilneff, Cobourg’s Fire Chief.  The intent is to create efficiencies and reduce… Read complete articleReview of Fire Department Efficiencies

Coffee with the Police Chief

John Draper

On February 19 Police Chief Paul VandeGraaf issued an invitation to have coffee with him at the Dutch Oven on Wednesday evening, March 4.  Then on February 20, he issued a statement that “Members of the Cobourg Police Service including Officers, Auxiliary Officers, Special Constables and Volunteers will be present throughout the Downtown core on foot for extra visibility.” (See link below). The Dutch Oven event turned out to be mostly a public Q & A session where Paul (he prefers to be called Paul) explained his view of what’s happening in our Town.  His focus was on Downtown (King, Covert, Albert) and the area near Transition House but other concerns were also addressed.  The session was scheduled for 5… Read complete articleCoffee with the Police Chief

Second Year for Cobourg Sport’s Hall of Fame

John Draper

The second eight inductees of the Cobourg and District Sport’s Hall of Fame were announced on Sunday, March 1st  to an audience of about 80 people. The ceremony was held in the Grand Hall of the Cobourg Community Centre CC with MC Joel Scott introducing the board and other speakers; Joel then read out short bios of all the honoured athletes (see below). The display cases were also doubled and as well there were some new exhibits in the existing cases. Other speakers included board president Ross Quigley, Mayor John Henderson and Alderville First Nations Chief Dave Mowat. There are now 19 different sports recognized and 98 organizations represented.  About 1000 memorabilia are available with just some of them housed… Read complete articleSecond Year for Cobourg Sport’s Hall of Fame

Staff Reports on Natural Waterfront Park

John Draper

Last November, Richard Pope (with Margaret Bain) of the Willow Beach Field Naturalists made presentations to four Advisory committees, to Council and to the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) suggesting that a Natural Park should be declared that encompassed the West Harbour, the West Beach, the West Headland and the Ecology Garden.  His idea was referred to Town staff for a report and Dean Hustwick will present that to the Council’s next Committee of the Whole meeting on March 9. In the meantime the GRCA has reported and “do not support the proposal in its current form.”  The short version of Dean’s report would be that the idea is mostly already covered by existing master plans so establishing a new… Read complete articleStaff Reports on Natural Waterfront Park

Living Wage Certification

John Draper

At the Cobourg Council meeting on December 2, 2019 Kristina Nairn of the Haliburton, Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPR) asked that Council consider being certified as a “living Wage Employer” – that would mean that Cobourg and its contractors would have $17.95/hour as their minimum wage. Councillor Nicole Beatty moved a motion (that passed) that staff report back on the feasibility and impact on the Town with the report due March 9, 2020. So at the Committee of the Whole meeting on March 9, Interim Human Resources Manager, Colleen McBride will provide that report.  It turns out that there are three levels of certification and the Town already meets the middle level, called the LEADER Level.  To get… Read complete articleLiving Wage Certification

New Management at Beach Canteen Planned

John Draper

Over the last two years, the Victoria Park Beach Canteen has been operated by the owners of Market and Smor, the downtown boutique greengrocer, but for 2020, a new operator is being sought. As well as the canteen operation, there were four weekends in 2018 and two in 2019 when the nearby “courtyard” was used for licensed events with entertainment.  The Town deemed them a success and has seemingly prompted a suggestion that the new Canteen operator might also offer a licensed service (presumably beer and wine and in the Courtyard). The RFP issued by the Town on 21 February says that they “will consider alcohol as part of this RFP. The Town of Cobourg is open to all ideas for providing… Read complete articleNew Management at Beach Canteen Planned

Work to Start on Restoring Certo Building

John Draper

On the property of FV Pharma, a subsidiary of FSD Pharma which owns the Cannabis plant at the old Kraft property, there is a derelict building once used to do research on the pectin product branded Certo.  In 2017 it was in really bad shape with an engineering estimate of approx. $500K to restore it so the company asked for a demolition permit.  But after a public outcry (see links below) the permit was denied and the company said they would restore the building and convert it to an on-site dispensary with a completion date of 6-8 weeks or around January 2019.  The announcement was made by Thomas Fairfull but since that time, he is no longer the CEO and… Read complete articleWork to Start on Restoring Certo Building