Consider This Northumberland

With fall fast approaching, the days grow cooler and nights even colder. For those living unsheltered across Northumberland County, things will become tougher. In this interview, a Brighton councillor is trying to get his municipality to prepare. Jeff Wheeldon wants the town to collaborate with the county to improve services to unsheltered people in his area. Wheeldon says Brighton's efforts remin...

More than 30 years ago, David Sheffield attended a potluck dinner at Green Wood Towers in Port Hope. The meal changed his life. He went on to create the Green Wood Coalition, a non-profit aimed at helping those who lived on the margins in the community. Slowly, it would gain attention. There would be challenges but also successes. In this interview, Sheffield will explain why he stepped down, the...

At a recent committee meeting of Cobourg council, Mayor Lucas Cleveland said Cobourg’s efforts to deal with the encampment on King Street were only dealing with the symptoms, but not the sickness. The sickness the mayor was referring to was Northumberland County’s efforts to address the situation. The county is responsible for housing and homelessness. Cobourg is not. This limits what the town cou...

Nearly 30,000 Chinook Salmon migrate through the lower Ganaraska River in Port Hope to spawn upstream. It is one of the largest in Ontario. This magnificent display of nature attracts tourists and anglers from far and wide. However, the stretch from Corbett’s Dam to the mouth of the river is a hotbed of controversy. The shallow waters and pools expose fish to unscrupulous people who illegally snag...

International Overdose Awareness Day was last week. A tragic death caused by a drug overdose took place in Alderville recently. It was a reminder that no community is immune. First Nations people are seven times more likely to die of a drug overdose as compared to non-First Nations people, according to a recent study done by the Chiefs of Ontario. It is an organization representing 133 First Natio...

After a year of hard work and numerous challenges, the walk-in clinic in Port Hope re-opened with a soft launch earlier this month. As everyone slowly finds their sea legs, the clinic hopes to serve a growing population in Northumberland without doctors. In this early stage, the hours are irregular. People need to check the county’s website or call to find the days and times it is open. In this in...

Marsha Smoke is a quiet, humble individual who lives in Alderville. When you meet her, she is soft-spoken, listens intently, and chooses her words with great care. Marsha Smoke is also the new Southeast Regional Chief for the Anishinabek Nation. Northumberland is part of the area she serves. Smoke is a longtime advocate of Indigenous rights dating back decades. She takes on the pressing issues fac...

The harvest is in full swing. It is the time of year when we enjoy the bounty farmers provide annually. But at what cost? Three-quarters of farmers in Canada suffer from moderate to high stress. One in four contemplate suicide, according to a study done in 2021 by Guelph University. In this interview, we learn more about mental health in the agriculture sector. Northumberland County started a prog...

Amid the pandemic in 2021, a group of farmers realized the toll it was taking on mental health. Besides the usual pressures of Mother Nature and fluctuating commodity prices, farmers faced increased isolation and a host of other challenges. Paul Burnham, Bruce Buttars, and the late Sid Atkinson came on this show to talk about the situation. As part of the conversation, it turned to mental health....

Young people stood inside Staples in Cobourg this week, showing off their talents. They are part of the Youth Entrepreneurship  Showcase, which displays the various businesses they ran over the summer. In this interview, you will learn about two programs the Business and Entrepreneurship Centre Northumberland runs for young people. The first is the Summer Company, which gives micro-grants to high...

Several municipalities in Northumberland have implemented policies regarding public behaviour towards staff and politicians. A growing number of incidents has spawned this response, as some residents are becoming increasingly rude and belligerent. Meanwhile, members of the public argue they are frustrated by a lack of transparency and consultation. In this interview, the issue of public decorum is...

In the midst of a summer heat wave, it seems like a good time to take a break. This week on Consider This Northumberland, you will hear a favourite story. This story is about the Salsa kids. A group of 19 business students from Cobourg Collegiate Institute got some fantastic hands-on experience last semester. The class planned, developed, produced, and marketed their own retail-ready salsa. It was...

The demand for rental housing in Northumberland is apparent, as vacancy rates are barely one percent. So, it may be good news when a proposal to build four three-storey buildings in Colborne goes before the Social Services Committee next week. A proposal to build 60 affordable apartments at 123 King Street East will be brought before politicians for consideration. This is in addition to the 39 uni...

If you go into many retail outlets or any place that provides customer service, you will see signs warning people about rude behaviour. It appears some people forget their manners. At a recent Cramahe Township council meeting, staff and politicians grappled with bad behaviour. It is one of a host of municipalities struggling to set boundaries for interactions between the community and the people w...

Earlier this week, images of the flooding in Toronto filled the news. A torrential rainstorm overwhelmed the sewer system, causing massive power outages, closing major roads, and costing millions to the city, businesses, and homeowners. It is also a vivid example of stormwater management, which is the ability of municipal infrastructure to remove water when it rains or snow melts. Cobourg is embro...

Business is down on the main street in Port Hope. Few people will argue this point, as Walton Street is undergoing a $6.5 million upgrade. The road is torn up. There is lots of heavy equipment and fencing. However, a new initiative is underway to draw people back. It is called Be Walton. In this interview, Port Hope Councillor Todd Attridge will discuss this program. He is a politician on the Heri...

About a year ago, Northumberland County created a Workforce Housing program. The idea was to build affordable housing to attract people to work in Northumberland. In a perfect world, these people would fill gaps in the local workforce and have an affordable home to move to. The creation of affordable housing is critical in the face of a major housing crisis within the county and across the country...

Recently, a progress report regarding the new homeless shelter at 310 Division Street was provided to Northumberland County Council. At its June meeting, the council also received an update on its affordable housing and homeless strategy. Rebecca Carman, associate director of housing and homelessness for Northumberland County, will bring us up to speed on what is happening. The building permits fo...

Parents looking for childcare received big news recently. The county announced the creation of an additional 181 daycare spaces, which is significant given that more than 3,000 families are on waitlists. The new spaces will be in Port Hope, Warkworth, and the Northumberland Centre for Individual Studies in Cobourg. Yet Lesley Patterson, manager of the Early Year services program, said this is a st...

This interview is about a group of 19 business students from Cobourg Collegiate Institute. They were in Molly Klintworth’s Grade 12 class. Together, with some help, they planned, developed, produced, and marketed their very own retail-ready salsa. Over three months, they worked with the Business and Entrepreneurship Centre Northumberland and the Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre in Colborne. These...

For more than two decades, Northumberland Hills Hospital has handed out scholarships to budding health professionals from the county. The prize is a $1,500 cheque. It may not seem like a lot. But when you are a student, every penny counts. Earlier this month, Hospital Board Chair Beth Selby presented the scholarships to two students: Anne Mead and Ella Watson. Anne Mead just completed Trent Univer...

Cobourg police Chief Paul VandeGraaf discusses the increased focus on the Dynamic Patrol and the Downtown Community Action Plan. He will look at the impact of these initiatives, what they mean to public safety and law enforcement, and the cost to taxpayers. He will address the concerns related to the increasing size of homeless encampment and the recent spike in drug-related arrests and weapons ch...

So many people are struggling. Food bank use is up. We are reminded daily about the lack of affordable housing and homelessness. Drugs and the opioid crisis are serious concerns. While many organizations and institutions struggle with these problems, one agency tries to help them all. The Northumberland United Way raises money yearly to support many community groups and run its own programs. In th...

Port Hope Council is spearheading an effort to create a walk-in clinic. It announced the plans last fall. The clinic was supposed to open before the end of 2023, but several challenges arose. It is still not open, but officials say the goal is sometime in July. Mayor Olena Hankivsky is a key figure in the walk-in clinic's development. She will provide an update on the project. She will shine a lig...

For most of us, the pandemic is a memory. People have moved on. For the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, the pandemic continued to influence services and programs in 2023 up until today. In this interview with Dr. Natalie Bocking, the chief medical officer of health, she will explain what has happened in the past year. It is all included in the health unit's annual report. Sh...