The Ministry of Tranport will not have to adhere to Cramahe's noise bylaw when completing work on the 401 shoulders within Cramahe Township. Cramahe Township Council agreed on May 21 to allow the pavers to work in the evening and overnight hours when there is less traffic on the road.

The noise bylaw prohibits constructon work between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m..

Northumberland United Way has announced the Chairs for its 2013 campaign. Beth Brook and Gerald Blackstock will replace the outgoing Peter Dounoukos and Marke Holmes.

Who they are -

Beth Brook and Gerald Blackstock along with their two boys, Kai and Torin, are a committed and busy family who care deeply about the community in which they live.  Port Hope residents, proud parents, heavy community involvement, busy careers.  

Beth’s volunteer work includes the Northumberland Hills Hospital Board, the Group Commissioner and Cub Leader for Scouts, International Director of Rotary Club of Northumberland Sunrise, volunteer with Hospice, and a former board member of the United Way of Northumberland.   

Gerald’s volunteer work includes being a long-time Big Brother (he first started with his Little Brother Tim thirteen years ago), School Council Chair at Ganaraska Trail Public School and Warden at St John’s Church, Port Hope.   

Beth, originally from Winnipeg, is an MBA from the Rotman School of Business. She has worked for RBC for over 30 years and is a mortgage specialist in Northumberland.  

Gerald, originally from Toronto, is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a discretionary portfolio manager and investment advisor with RBC Dominion Securities in Northumberland.  Previously he had twenty years of Bay Street experience.

Most importantly Beth and Gerald are proud parents of two fun and very busy boys aged nine and five.  They are so glad to have found such a good family-oriented community.

Northumberland United Way President Paul Allen stated, “We are very happy to have Beth and Gerald at the helm of our 2013 campaign. They are committed community leaders who are also very focussed on family and we feel that this will be a good fit for what United Way is all about. ”

Gerald stated, “Both Beth and I are excited to be chairing the upcoming United Way campaign. We both feel strongly about contributing to our community.” Beth added, “Being Campaign Chairs will give us a great chance to work closely with employers and member agencies. We think it will be a positive experience for our whole family to be involved and we can’t wait for the fun to begin.”

Today, Beth and Gerald began their term as Campaign Chairs at Community Living West  Northumberland where a unique Day of Caring project was being started. The Day of Caring started 

small 16 years ago and today employees and management from 11 local businesses  in Cobourg and 

Port Hope work together with community members to volunteer their time and skills at over 40 

different projects at not-for-profits and clients’ homes in the area. The Day of Caring partners today 

are Cameco Corporation, CpK Interior Products, SABIC, Esco, Signode, Spectrum Brands Inc., Lakefront Utilities, Arclin Surfaces, YMCA Northumberland, Behan Construction, Stalwood Homes, Home Building Centre and the Lions Club of Cobourg.

This year, Behan Construction and Stalwood Homes have teamed up to excavate, prepare and construct an accessible walkway and gazebo for the clients of Community Living, many of whom have mobility issues.  These two companies have donated their time, skills and materials to the project.

“Announcing our Campaign Chairs in coordination with the start of our Day of Caring project provides 

Beth and Gerald with an opportunity to see first-hand how United Way works with the community 

to provide a wide variety of supports.  This annual event has been a tremendous gift back to the 

community and this year will aid a record number of organizations and their clients.   We can’t thank our partners enough for their continued support for the Day of Caring and the United Way.”  

Changing lives and impacting the community is what United Way is all about.  Change starts here.

For more information, please contact:

Lynda Kay, CEO

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (905) 372-6955

For 36 years Colborne Rotary has been hosting 17-year-old students from around the world for one-year visits.  Thirty-five years ago the service club sent its first local student, Elizabeth Wood, abroad to Denmark. Since then a stream of students has come and gone, all of them enriched by their experiences living with families in foreign cultures.

But where are they now? We’ve joined Rotary in a search for our missing persons. Some may be found on Facebook. Others may live in the area. As we find them, we hope to link their current location/status to their name on the Rotary list of students. Then our readers can dip into the list occasionally and see who has been “found”.

Perhaps someone can confirm that Thais Bdine, the Brazilian student from 2004-5 is still studying in the Sorbonne. And last we heard, Elizabeth Wood was teaching at McGill University in Montreal.

Now it’s your turn.

Click on THE LIST and scan through the names. Do you know where any of them is now? Are they students or out in the work force? Help us build this little piece of local history.

You can email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  

Cramahe Now reader Don Perry wonders if anyone else in the west end of Colborne noticed a strong smell last Saturday. He was sitting on the deck with family and felt he had to go inside to avoid it. With all the concern expressed these days about the dangers of contact with insecticides and herbicides, it has left Don thinking. He's smelled the odour before and reported it to the township bylaw officer.

Cramahe Township is rapidly taking advantage of the renewed relationship with the new owners of the Big Apple. Already an agreement has been made to move the information kiosk from its location on Big Apple Dr., south of the 401, to a place of prominence at the Big Apple.

Now the township will have a 45-inch-wide floor display in the foyer of the Big Apple restaurant. The display will hold rack cards for area businesses and events, and have a banner across the top. Cramahe Council voted on May 21 to pay about $1,000 for the rack which is manufactured in Thunder Bay. Mayor Marc Coombs looked into sourcing the rack and found the Thunder Bay model was the only one of its kind made in Canada. It will take about four weeks for delivery of the fully assembled rack.

Councillor Pat Westrope expressed her concern about placing information in other municipalities. In the discussion which followed it was agreed that the township may be able to use the rack as a bargaining chip with other municipalities. Cramahe would be allowed to place its advertising info in the racks of neighbouring municipalities in Northumberland County in return for letting them place their info at the Big Apple.

In the short term, Mayor Marc Coombs will manage the rack to keep out unwanted pamphlets. Cramahe businesses will be encouraged to create rack cards and put their rack cards in the display.

The Province of Ontario, Parasport Ontario and Sport Alliance of Ontario have awarded the 2014 Parasport Games to Northumberland County. The games are the pinnacle of achievement for provincial level athletes with a disability who are preparing for national and international  competition. 

“These games represent a great achievement for the county and our bid team”, said Dan Borowec Director of Economic Development and Tourism for Northumberland County.” The Parasport games are a wonderful opportunity to engage our communities in this high level competition and also raise the profile on disability issues.”

“Sport Alliance Ontario certainly values its host community partnerships and understands the large 

commitment it takes to host a Games event.  We are thrilled to have Northumberland County hosting the 2014 Ontario ParaSport Games and know they will deliver a successful event” Holly Abraham, Chair of Sport Alliance Ontario.

Eric Cartlidge, Executive Director at ParaSport Ontario said “ParaSport Ontario is excited to work with Northumberland County to host the Ontario ParaSport Games. The sport venues are fantastic and the community support is amazing. ParaSport Ontario is very excited for the 2014 Ontario ParaSport Games to be happening in Northumberland County”.

The 2014 ParaSport Games will be a great opportunity to showcase the speed, strength and skill of our talented athletes alongside the beauty and hospitality that is synonymous with Northumberland County,” said Michael Chan, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.  “The energy, enthusiasm and excitement of the community will help make the 2014 ParaSport Games a fantastic event for residents and visitors alike who come together to cheer on their favourite athletes and home-grown heroes.”

“I am thrilled that Northumberland County has been chosen to host the 2014 Ontario Parasport Games. As the first rural constituency to do so, and one which brings together multiple communities and constituencies, I believe that the 2014 experience will raise the bar. We have a caring community with strong volunteerism and we now have the opportunity to share this warmth with the athletes who have demonstrated achievement despite challenges.” said Mayor of Trent Hills and Warden of Northumberland County Hector Macmillan.

This is one of the few occasions when the games have been held outside of major cities. “By holding the games in a smaller region, we believe our event will shine an even brighter light on Parasports for our communities in Northumberland and across Ontario”, stated Warden Macmillan.

Game venues are located in several areas of the region including Cobourg, Brighton, Cramahe Township and Port Hope. In Cramahe, athletes will use the Keeler grounds. Cramahe's Director of Operations, Dan O'Brien is handling thansportation for the games.

 
The Ontario Parasport games are scheduled for May 30-June 1, 2014.

The Ontario ParaSport Games promote public awareness of the Paralympic movement, sport and showcase Ontario's best athletes. The Ontario ParaSport Games provide host communities with an opportunity to make their community’s barrier free and leave a legacy for persons with a disability in the community.

The Games are an annual event held every May in the selected host community. Over 425  participants, including athletes, coaches/managers, support staff and officials take part in 3 days of competition amongst 7 to 10 sports, including track and field, swimming, and wheelchair basketball.

For 2014, Northumberland County intends to bring some demonstration sports into the games  activities as a means of developing increased visibility for these events.

The Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport supports the Ontario ParaSport Games and  provides the host community with partnership funding

For Further information please contact Dan Borowec at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  
or phone 905.372.0144.