By the time we are ready for a New Year, it’s easy to forget what happened in the year just gone. This applies to personal events but also to what happened in Cobourg. Since this is a news site, I will review 21 news events that were significant in 2017. Links are provided to one or more articles on the subject but in some cases (e.g. the Waterfront study) there were more articles. To access them, use search or the links in the side panel under Related News Items. Updates to some events are provided where relevant and known.
- January 14 At 5:50am on Jan 14, a man walked into the Petro Canada Gas Station on Division Street, brandished a handgun and demanded cash. A suspect was arrested in July.
- January 23 Suzanne Séguin was selected from 11 candidates to replace Larry Sherwin. In my opinion, if just some of them run in the next election (in October 2018), we should have a good slate.
- February 1 A contract to study the Waterfront was awarded to a consultant. The big issues were the Trailer Park, the Marina and the low weighting given to public input on the most recent recommendations. First article
- February 22 Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell visited Cobourg
- March 1 Sobey announced plans to build a new Foodland. Plans are currently making their way through the planning department
- March 17 Fishing in Cobourg Creek causes local residents to complain about bad behaviour. Public Meeting
- March 25 Market and Smor came to Town and wanted to open a modern organic fresh produce store. So far Lucas Cleveland and Montana DesJardins have won the franchise for the beach canteen but no store has opened – no one will rent them a store at a price they feel is viable.
- April 29 The Final design for Victoria Square was released. But it was not started pending obtaining Federal or Provincial financing.
- May 3 Lake Ontario reached record high levels and made the Beach unusable for a period.
- May 27 A plan to build a residential hospice was announced. Fundraising starts
- June 6 HMCS Goose Bay visited Cobourg and was able to enter the Harbour.
- June 15 The organizers of the Shelter Valley Folk Festival announced that 2017 would see the last Festival. This was later confirmed
- June 27 CDCI West was sold and would become a Private School although no students have yet been observed at the School.
- July 11 Cobourg entered the National Communities in Bloom competition – and launched a companion garden competition. And then was awarded the top result of 5 blooms.
- August 20 Residents near 394 College Street objected to an application to convert a large Heritage house into 5 apartments. The final decision was to approve the application.
- September 19 The owner of the “Certo building” on the Kraft property applied for a demolition permit but ACO and others objected as it was considered a valuable heritage site. More. Council moved to stop demolition and the new owner says he’d be happy to restore the building.
- October 28 A patient in the Hospital Emergency area shot his spouse then himself.
- November 6 Residents on Kerr Street at the west end objected to the ban on street parking. More The final decision was to build laybys to accommodate limited visitor parking.
- November 27 Northumberland Today – the only daily newspaper in Cobourg – shut down with no warning.
- December 1 In May 2017, Council approved using building 13 in Northam Industrial Park to house a new “Venture 13” to nurture entrepreneurs plus the expanding Police Services business. Construction started in December. Progress
- December 22 The new owner of the old Kraft property announced details of his plans to create the largest indoor marijuana facility in the world.
Yes, well said. The reporting is very appreciated in our household,
Thank you John Draper for all your accurate and impartial reporting. You do a wonderful job of keeping us informed.
We are faithful readers of your blog which is well written and informative. We wish you a Happy New Year and continued success.