Predictions for Cobourg – 2019

With a new council, we can expect that there will be new stuff happening in Cobourg in 2019 – but much of it is predictable based on what’s happened in 2018 and what people have said.  John Henderson, our new Mayor, can be expected on Tuesday at the Levee to talk about his plans for more transparency and better communication but what else will the new Council bring?  Deputy Mayor Suzanne Séguin will no doubt shake up the budgeting process since she will be responsible for Finance; Emily Chorley will be concerned about Council’s “procedures” (she made a presentation on this in 2018 – see links below);  I would expect Nicole Beatty to have a focus on events and Brian… Read complete articlePredictions for Cobourg – 2019

Cobourg will have a Collision Reporting Centre

Starting in mid-January, anyone who has a minor accident in Cobourg will be required to report it within 24 hours to a new Collision Reporting Centre set up at the Cobourg Police Station.  Special Constables will man the centre, take photos of the damage, apply the “Damage Reported to Police” sticker, assist with contacting family and/or insurance company and assist with completing a report.  Vehicles will be required to park on the East side of Hibernia next to the police station (see photo below).  Cobourg Police see this as a way to improve efficiency since police will now only “investigate collisions at the scene that involve injuries, suspected criminal activities, severe damage (vehicle is not drivable or requires a tow… Read complete articleCobourg will have a Collision Reporting Centre

Review of 2018 News

It’s getting to the time of year to have high hopes for the New Year but 2018 was eventful for the world and for Cobourg.  It’s easy to forget what happened during the year – we had two elections so we now have a new Provincial Government and a new council; we had the major cultural event “Armistice 18”; the east pier was shut down; rezoning for a new school in New Amherst was approved despite protests;  people made clear that they were not happy with the closure of the daily local newspaper; and there were many more events that made news. I have listed 23 highlights with a link to a post about it. Some events had several posts… Read complete articleReview of 2018 News

Christmas in 2018

My thanks to everyone who has expressed appreciation for my work at this news source – it does help to keep me going.  Most of you are subscribers to my emails – that list is now about 960 – and some of you have heard about this service from the Northumberland Hub.  A group of journalists led by John Miller and Rob Washburn are trying to educate people in Northumberland about all the sites (like this one) who provide news. (More at Northumberland Hub – link below). A lot has happened locally in 2018 and there will be more interesting stuff happening in 2019 but in between we have Christmas which is a season where everyone (hopefully) chills out and stops worrying… Read complete articleChristmas in 2018

County Distributes Funding for Child Care

Northumberland County yesterday announced that they will be distributing funding from the Province to parents who use licensed child care.  If you used licensed centre-based or home-based child care for a child aged 4 and under, in the period between January 1 and October 31, 2018, you will get up to $4,000 in a refund.  The money is being distributed through the child care operators and refunds have already started.  The money is going only to those who used licensed child care operators so seems to recognize that these may be more expensive.  A statement by Northumberland County’s Community & Social Services Director Lisa Horne says: “This benefit will support families at a time of increasing financial need.  Northumberland County… Read complete articleCounty Distributes Funding for Child Care

Public Meeting on Retail Cannabis in Cobourg

The new Cobourg Council held their first public meeting Monday evening in the Concert hall at Victoria Hall.  The unusual location was chosen to accommodate the expected crowd but only about 50 showed up.  The meeting was to engage with the public on whether Cobourg should opt-in and allow retail Cannabis stores in Cobourg although it seems that initially only 25 will be licensed in all of Ontario.  The meeting was chaired by Deputy Mayor Suzanne Séguin and started with speakers giving information on the issue and its impact.  Town Clerk Brent Larmer gave background information (as provided in an earlier post), Ashley Purdy talked about the engagement with the public, Deputy Police Chief Paul Vandegraaf gave the Police perspective… Read complete articlePublic Meeting on Retail Cannabis in Cobourg

Province Funds Four Extra NHH Beds for Flu Season

At the Northumberland Hills Hospital this morning, M.P.P. David Piccini announced that the Province will be providing $242,000 in “surge funding” to provide four extra beds to help eliminate hallway treatment during the flu season (that’s likely until the Spring).  David said that “one patient treated in a hallway is one patient too many” and “this move will reduce the strain on the health care system in advance of the upcoming flu season.”  In introducing David, NHH CEO Linda Davis said that just this morning, there were 11 people in the Emergency Department waiting for an inpatient bed.  The total bed count of the Hospital will increase (albeit temporarily) from 108 to 112. Also announced was additional Province wide funding… Read complete articleProvince Funds Four Extra NHH Beds for Flu Season

More Info on Cannabis Retail Sales in Cobourg

Town Staff have made a big effort to provide a significant amount of information to help citizens and Council decide on the upcoming possible licensing of retail stores in Cobourg.  As well as an online survey, and written submissions, there will be three meetings where citizens can give Council their views: a public meeting on the subject on December 17, the first meeting  of the Committee of the Whole for the new council on January 7 and the first regular Council meeting on January 14.  The public has been informed of this with social media, a special web page, a mass mailing, posters and newspaper advertising.  Although there will be an indication of what citizens and councillors think at the… Read complete articleMore Info on Cannabis Retail Sales in Cobourg

House prices stay level – sort of

With interest rates rising, there has been a lot of talk that homes would be less affordable so prices would go down – but that has not happened, at least not yet.  Instead they are fairly steady in both Toronto and Cobourg.  In my last report in September, average house prices in August were around $480K and now they are nearer $430k although still higher than mid-year 2017.  But prices vary tremendously depending on location and other features.  The backlog (or to put it in realtor terms “inventory”) is larger which probably means some houses are not selling because they are overpriced – if a house is taking too long to sell, it seems to me that few people want… Read complete articleHouse prices stay level – sort of

Ted Amsden Completes Term as Poet Laureate

Cobourg appointed Eric Winter as its first Poet Laureate on July 21, 1997; Jill Battson followed and most recently, Ted Amsden has held the post since 2011.  He was re-appointed to the position at the start of the previous term of council and this ends with his last poem to be read at the Mayor’s Levee on January 1, 2019.  In tribute to Ted, a number of organizations have added videos to their facebook pages of Ted reading one of his poems.  But several of his poems are online on You-Tube – links to them are given below and one has been selected for this post. Poets are quite active in Cobourg – there is an active poetry group who… Read complete articleTed Amsden Completes Term as Poet Laureate