Category: News 2021

Renaming Langevin Pier

John Draper

In September 2017, Meghan Sheffield and Nicole Beatty (as a citizen) plus Chief Jim Bob Marsden, then Chief of Alderville First Nation, made a delegation to Council to change the official name of the West headland from Langevin Pier to something that does not recall Langevin’s role as a “chief architect of Canada’s residential school system.” (Wally Keeler then suggested that the “pier” be renamed after Susanna Moodie).  The recent discovery of 215 graves has given a renewed impetus to renaming so at Monday’s regular Council meeting, Meghan Sheffield once again asked Council to look at renaming and once again asked that this be done in “partnership and consultation with the local indigenous community”.  After the original delegation, Council referred… Read complete articleRenaming Langevin Pier

Jeff Kawzenuk wins Liberal Nomination

John Draper

In April, Nicole Beatty and Jeff Kawzenuk entered a competition to be nominated as Liberal Candidate for the 2022 Provincial election.  If nominated, and if she won against MPP David Piccini, Nicole would then not be running for Council in the 2022 Municipal Elections.  However, Liberal Party members in the Riding (Northumberland Peterborough-South) voted for Jeff Kawzenuk with an announcement yesterday – June 5.  Jeff retired in July 2020 from a 35 year career as teacher and principal in several Northumberland High Schools.  Both Nicole and Jeff campaigned online (see links below) and it did not seem to impact Nicole’s Council work.  With the announcement of the vote result, Nicole offers congratulations to Jeff on her Facebook page.  She continues… Read complete articleJeff Kawzenuk wins Liberal Nomination

Early summer in Cobourg

John Draper

The forecast for Cobourg for today – Saturday June 5 – was a high of 29 although if you looked closer, it said “cooler by the Lake”.  With the forecasted warm weather, one would expect a whole lot of people wanting to come to the beach – except that it’s closed on weekends. But the temperature at the beach at around noon, was nowhere near 29 – more like 16.  A couple of blocks north on King Street it was probably 20.  The Beach is closed to keep large crowds from gathering and creating a virus spreading event.  So far, there are no large crowds.  Despite the closure, a number of young families did come anyway – one family told… Read complete articleEarly summer in Cobourg

Beach Now Open – Report on Second Day

John Draper

Victoria Beach opened on May 31 and on June 1, it could be called an early  summer day with bright sunshine and temperatures around 20 C.  When I visited at around 3:00 pm, there were about 50 people on the beach – nowhere near the 1200 capacity.  I could not spot any enforcement people but then none were needed.  As a result, there were no staff or Police at the entrance or exits. Presumably they would be there if there were crowds and when the Beach is closed.  I didn’t see anyone swimming and everyone was keeping separated.  But it was a good day to just relax and enjoy the beach.  Signage was good (see photos) – they warned of… Read complete articleBeach Now Open – Report on Second Day

Library MOU approved

John Draper

When budgets were being prepared in 2019 for the 2020 year, it was apparent that Library management was not clear on what the Town would pay for and what the Library should include in their budget. Things like heating systems, managing tenders and maintenance of the grounds and building were not clearly the responsibility of either the Library or the Town so budgeting was difficult. The Library is funded mostly by the Town (69%) but also by the Township of Hamilton (23%) and some small Provincial grants but the main building is in Cobourg and owned by the Town. In November 2019, the Library asked that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) be prepared that would spell out who was responsible for what. After… Read complete articleLibrary MOU approved

Rotary Wants to Promote Vaccinations

John Draper

Cobourg’s Rotary Club has been providing volunteers to the Vaccination Clinic at the Cobourg Community Centre but they are also keen on encouraging people to get their shots.  Their idea is that everyone who has had a shot should advertise this fact with a lawn sign and simultaneously thank the volunteers who have been helping.  They don’t spell it out but there are a number of covidiots people who don’t want to be vaccinated either because they don’t understand the benefit or have unfathomable reasons and perhaps the signs will be moral persuasion for them to get with the program.  Rotary says it more diplomatically:  that the signs will “create heightened awareness for the need to get vaccinated and foster… Read complete articleRotary Wants to Promote Vaccinations

Beach to be Closed on Weekends and Holidays

John Draper

At a special Emergency meeting tonight, Council voted six to one to allow Victoria beach to be open only on weekdays but with capacity limited to 1200. This is effective May 31.  Councillors Burchat and Beatty would have preferred it to be open all days and Councillor Darling wanted an opening delayed until June 14.  Councillor Chorley explained that the public survey indicated a partial opening was preferred and Health advice is to avoid crowds which are more likely on weekends.  The decision taken was essentially the second of three options proposed by staff.  Option one was to keep the Beach closed and Option three was to open it with no restrictions.  The Staff report (see links below) included the… Read complete articleBeach to be Closed on Weekends and Holidays

West Harbour Concerns Resolved

John Draper

In September 2019, Town staff presented a report to Council called an “Aquatic Safety Audit Report”.  It was conducted by the Lifesaving Society and it recommended a wide range of changes that were strongly criticized by West Harbour user groups. Jeremy Fowlie of the Dragon Boat and Canoe club said that implementing the recommendations would mean the club would need to shut down.  Critics said that it seemed that Staff wanted to limit usage so that the West Harbour could accommodate more boat slips.  Key recommendations were the need to provide a detailed schedule of activities, a powered safety boat should be mandated and a safety manual should be written.  The report was referred to the Parks and Recreation Committee… Read complete articleWest Harbour Concerns Resolved