Transition House moves out of School

John Draper

When the Covid-19 crisis hit, Transition House, Northumberland’s shelter for the homeless (but located in Cobourg), wanted a place where there could be social distancing for staff and clients and their “house” could not do that. Simultaneously, the High School (Cobourg Collegiate Institute – CCI) closed for classes. So with the cooperation of the School Board and with help from MPP David Piccini, the school became an interim “Transition House”.  For details see link below. But with schools re-opening in September, this arrangement was not sustainable.  With the house empty, changes were able to be made to the House to make it suitable in a Covid-19 world, albeit with a limited capacity.  Transition House Executive Director Anne Newman has now… Read complete articleTransition House moves out of School

Cobourg Police busy despite Covid-19

John Draper

You have to wonder about the intelligence of criminals – if you look at crime statistics, many don’t keep probation or other promises so they end up back in jail, they repeatedly offend so get known to Police and some don’t show for Court appearances. Why do they push their luck?  And why does the virus not seem to keep them inactive? Below is a summary of crimes reported by the Cobourg Police over the last 10 days or so – if you look at them together, you start to see a few things: Many offenders are repeat as shown by their failure to comply with probation requirements. Police seem to be good at noticing them on their patrols, there… Read complete articleCobourg Police busy despite Covid-19

County Operations – July 12

John Draper

The County provides a number of key services to residents in Northumberland but like everyone, they are subject to limitations imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic.  In the past few days, they have made a couple of announcements and changes: 1) They are asking for input on their 2021 budget and 2) masks are now required in all County Buildings.  They also keep their Covid-19 status page updated so that it’s clear what is available and what is not.  The page lists County facilities and whether they are closed or not.  Unlike the Town of Cobourg who has closed all their buildings, the County’s main administration building at 555 Courthouse Road is open to the public although there are restrictions in… Read complete articleCounty Operations – July 12

Premier Ford Announces more NHH funding

John Draper

On Thursday morning, Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott joined MPP David Piccini to announce new funding for Northumberland Hills Hospital.  As well as incremental funding to help with the Covid-19 crisis, they also said that increases announced last year would be annualized providing a much needed stability in funding. Premier Ford said that “Previous governments have ignored rural hospitals – but we are not ignoring them”.   Ford also described MPP Piccini as being very persistent in asking for funding in his Riding  – and it has paid off.  Northumberland Hills Hospital CEO Linda Davis said that the Hospital was “grateful to the Government for listening.”  As you can see from the photos below, the announcement was outside… Read complete articlePremier Ford Announces more NHH funding

Masks to be Mandatory in Commercial Establishments

John Draper

The HKPR District Health Unit has issued an order effective July 13, that all “Operator(s) of an enclosed Public Space will have a policy to ensure that no member of the public is permitted to enter or remain in the public areas of the enclosed public space unless they are wearing a mask in a manner that covers their nose, mouth and chin.”  Affected establishments include stores, malls/plazas, restaurants, personal service settings,  gas stations, indoor farmers’ markets –  any areas open to the public.  Outdoor patios are excepted.  Enforcement will be primarily aimed at the “operators” with the intent being to educate individuals.  Medical Officer for Health Dr. Lynn Noseworthy said: “Wearing a mask is about protecting other people, and… Read complete articleMasks to be Mandatory in Commercial Establishments

Fern Blodgett Sunde

John Draper

On July 23 2018, Leona Woods made a presentation to Cobourg Council about a proposed statue of Fern Blodgett Sunde.  Her project has been successful and on Monday there was a groundbreaking ceremony.  Fern Blodgett was the first Canadian female wireless radio operator and the first to serve at sea. She served on the Norwegian merchant ship the Mosdale because the Canadian and British navies did not hire women radio operators. Fern made 78 successful crossings of the Atlantic before the war ended. Although she did not live all her life in Cobourg, she spent 20 formative years here – from infancy onwards. For years, she watched the ships from the shore of Lake Ontario at Cobourg, dreaming of becoming… Read complete articleFern Blodgett Sunde

Few Visitors find Cobourg’s West Beach

John Draper

Saturday was hot and a great beach day but with Victoria Park Beach closed, where can beach people go?  On the July 1st holiday, many went to Port Hope; others went to Wicklow beach.  Reports from those beaches say that few followed social distancing rules so now Port Hope’s beaches are closed on weekends.  Given these reports, at about 3:00 pm on Saturday I checked out Cobourg’s West Beach.  It was not crowded and those that were there, were following the rules – see the Video below.  I didn’t ask people where they were from but I recognized one local couple.  There were no Police or ByLaw officers – but what ByLaws would they be enforcing?  There were dogs –… Read complete articleFew Visitors find Cobourg’s West Beach

Development of CIP for Affordable Housing Continues

John Draper

Despite the pandemic and the difficulty of getting public input, the Town of Cobourg is continuing with a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) to assist with providing affordable housing.  Initiated in the Fall of 2019 and originally scheduled for completion in May 2020, draft recommendations were submitted to the Planning and Development Advisory committee on June 16. It’s about process and not the budget to be allocated. Once in place, it will permit the Town to spend money assisting developers with grants and loans for development charges, application fees and/or property tax reductions. This is despite that fact that the County is primarily responsible for the provision of affordable housing. No timetable has been set for completion of the study by the consultant but… Read complete articleDevelopment of CIP for Affordable Housing Continues