Latest / North Shore News / May 13th, 2026

Transcript

May 13th, 2026 · North Shore News

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  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on
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  Amherst Island Radio. Each week we keep you updated
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  on newsworthy events, happenings and conversations
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  that we've had with people in the local community
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  and beyond. Construction of the new pump track
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  at Loyalist Park in Amherstview has begun. The
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  expected completion date is July 30th. Thanks
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  to a confidential donation of $500 ,000, the
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  construction of the pump track will not impact
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  the Township's budget. It will be developed at
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  no cost to Loyalist Township other than staff
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  time to oversee it. The entire project, including
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  the skate park, is estimated to cost approximately
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  $1 million and is being completed in two phases.
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  Phase one is the construction of the pump track,
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  including a skate bowl, while phase two will
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  include the completion of the remaining skate
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  park features, subject to securing additional
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  funding. Council heard a presentation in June
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  of 2025 from New Line Skateparks, an engineering
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  firm with expertise in skate park construction.
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  Now with approval, the company is beginning construction.
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  A public consultation process is currently taking
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  place on the Township's website. Vice President
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  and Director of Business Development with New
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  Line Skateparks, Trevor Morgan, spoke about the
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  benefits of the skateparks and pump tracks they
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  build and the one they're looking to build in
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  Loyalist Township. Very integrated, green space,
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  connections to pathways, colour, texture, art
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  installations that can be very exciting to...
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  Put a signature, I guess, of the community within
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  the architecture of the park, even through different
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  lighting schemes, if that's something that's
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  desired, and then accessibility. You're likely
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  to have folks from the adaptive community who
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  would like to ride this park. So yeah, every
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  park has its story, and we hope there's a story
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  to be told here for the Township. Morgan noted
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  the potential boost in tourism the facility could
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  bring. A network of these parks are being created
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  in communities across Canada and across Ontario,
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  and... There's a large population that will want
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  to experience each different unique park and
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  communities and they'll purposely travel around,
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  stop in these communities, visit, spend money
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  at local businesses, maybe even spend a night.
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  I know when I was 12 years old on the family
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  trip and I was avid skateboarder, I could be
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  very influential to spend an extra night in the
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  community if they had that one skate park. Morgan
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  spoke about the potential of events at the facility
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  as well. You're likely to have user groups and
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  community groups that will say, hey, we would
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  love to have some some level of organized events
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  there that could be lessons nights some community
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  -based contests and so forth and so we really
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  try to design a modern park with that in mind.
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  Councillor Paul Proderick spoke about neighboring
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  communities and their skate parks as well as
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  what a new one in Amherstview could do for the
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  community. I think the closest one to us is Napanee
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  and then you go to Picton's got a great site
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  but again it's it's probably 20 years old now
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  I think it becomes a hub. for gathering and it
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  fits into the master recreation plan also an
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  opportunity to add something to the community
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  and I think we haven't had a recreational facility
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  addition in well over I'm going to say 40 years
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  and again it's just through the the leadership
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  of a community member who wishes to help out
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  in times where we don't have a lot of money to
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  do a lot of things that we'd like to do. Councillor
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  Jake Ennis spoke about the donation and choice
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  of the donor. It's a very generous donation.
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  They're very appreciative for the donation and
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  I think the donor is chosen well. It's an amenity
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  that focuses on youth and one that I think will
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  be very well used. Deputy Mayor Nathan Townand
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  showed his appreciation towards the donor as
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  well as what the project will do for youth in
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  the area. It's incredibly generous and provides
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  an amazing opportunity for us and to appreciate
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  the particular kinds of youth that something
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  like this can engage based on the whole lifestyle
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  and culture that goes with it. Not one I claim
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  to understand. I think it's not just youth engagement
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  writ large in some sort of big, broad context.
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  This is something quite specific that I think
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  will cater to members in our community that otherwise
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  don't have a facility like this. I do go by the
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  one in Napanee quite regularly and it is a gathering
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  place. You see all sorts of demographics and
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  ages and different usage of it so I fully support
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  this. Mayor Jim Hagedorn spoke about the progress
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  in access to skateboarding facilities and shared
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  a story from his youth. I was in my teens on
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  probably a $10 skateboard trying to go down the
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  largest hill where I lived at the time called
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  Big Hill and with blind corners. It's come a
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  long way. When I was young, I've actually seen
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  some of the like may dock, they have a nice one
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  there. I remember when they were building the
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  first phase. And I was kind of like, what is
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  going on in there. And now to see it now, it's
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  been developed into the whole park is basically
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  devoted to this now. And it's packed all the
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  time. It is something that is what I believe
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  will be well used. And this is a Great opportunity,
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  I think, for Lilas Township to be able to provide
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  another amenity new to the community that will
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  be used, very well used, I believe, for an extended
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  period of time. For Amherst Island Radio and
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  the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans.
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  This is North Shore News. Loyalist Township will
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  defer discussions on a new ICE allocation policy
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  until staff come back with a more refined policy.
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  Staff's report noted they did a comprehensive
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  review of the existing ICE allocation practices
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  to ensure transparent and efficient access to
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  Arena ICE for all user groups and to improve
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  clarity and consistency of the policy. As part
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  of the review, staff conducted a community survey
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  and received over 50 responses. Feedback mainly
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  surrounded programming, ICE allocation and maintenance.
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  Staff considered historical ice use, local user
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  groups, and the changing needs based on population
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  trends. President of the Loyalist Skating Club,
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  Jennifer O 'Neill, explains why the policy matters.
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  For my family, the rink has never just been a
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  facility. It is where I myself learned to skate,
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  where my parents watched me from the boards.
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  Our neighbors met year after year in the stands.
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  Now, I go to the same place and watch my own
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  children learning to skate and obtaining their
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  goals. The rink is not simply a place that we
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  go to practice, it's a community space, and it
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  connects generations of loyalist families. And
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  this is why the policy matters. I do believe
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  that the Township has the best of intentions,
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  however, intent does not replace policy clarity,
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  and once approved, the policy, not intent, will
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  guide outcomes. Board member with the Loyalist
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  Township Minor Hockey Association, Erin Armitage,
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  speaks about the policy and why it's important
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  for the association and the skating club. Together,
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  our two organizations represent Loyalist Township's
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  two primary youth ice users. We support the goal
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  of fair, transparent, and consistent ice allocation
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  process. A formal policy and defined prime youth
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  hours are positive steps that we support. However,
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  the current proposal raises significant concerns
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  that should be addressed before approval. O 'Neill
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  noted her main concern. There are several areas
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  where clarity is still lacking, but I want to
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  be very clear. The single most important unresolved
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  issue for me is the definition and application
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  of a community sport organization or CSO. Although
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  the CSO definition wording has not changed from
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  the previous policy, How it is being used has
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  changed significantly. Under the new ice allocation
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  policy, CSO status along with standard of play
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  directly determines priority access on prime
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  time allocation. As written, the policy allows
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  CSOs to be either loyalist -based or regional
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  without a clear hierarchy, which creates a real
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  risk. In a limited high -demand ice environment,
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  This ambiguity could allow regional organizations
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  to compete directly with loyalist -based community
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  organizations for prime youth hours, even though
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  loyalist organizations are rooted here in the
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  community and serve the community directly. Good
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  intentions have been stated, but policy must
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  do the protecting. Armitage speaks about priority
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  among different user groups. We feel that a few
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  of our concerns have not yet been addressed.
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  First, transparency. The report references five
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  impacted users, but does not identify them. There
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  are only two community service organizations
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  that are based out of Loyalist Township. Loyalist
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  Township Minor Hockey and Loyalist Skating Club.
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  In their response to our concerns, staff still
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  have not identified who the other three organizations
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  are. Our concern is that regional user groups
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  will be given equal priority in prime youth ICE
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  allocation decisions. And if that's the case,
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  we want to know what the data is to show participation
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  numbers by Loyalist Township residents in those
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  organizations. We also feel that staff should
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  share which municipalities were consulted and
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  how their communities are comparable to Loyalist
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  Township. For example, comparing an ice allocation
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  policy to Kingston would be inappropriate, whereas
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  comparisons with small municipalities with a
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  single ice pad would be more meaningful. O 'Neill
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  says locals should have the priority. Facilities
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  funded by Loyalist residents should first and
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  foremost serve Loyalist children, families and
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  community organizations. This matters because
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  Loyalist -based organizations give back directly
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  to the community, not just financially, but socially.
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  For those of us who have grown up here and are
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  raising our children here, the rink represents
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  community, continuity, and belonging, and I ask
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  council to protect that. Armitage notes community
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  work that the two organizations have done. We
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  want to emphasize that Loyalist Township Minor
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  Hockey and Loyalist Skating Club are deeply rooted
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  organizations in the community. Our players support
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  local initiatives like food drives, the Lions
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  Club holiday, toy drive, and the hamper program.
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  We host games and tournaments that bring hundreds
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  of people to Loyalist Township every year, and
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  we consistently support local businesses with
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  our events, our meetings, and our team activities.
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  With Loyalist Figure Skating, we feel that we're
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  in a unique position of offering truly local
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  youth programming that benefits our community
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  in many meaningful ways. At its core, the policy
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  has to ensure that our two local organizations
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  serving hundreds of loyalist township families
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  have reliable access to prime ice and the ability
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  to grow with our community need. Councillor Paul
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  Proderick explains the importance of getting
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  the policy right. First time I ever came to council
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  was around 1978 as part of a number of youth
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  who were... basically the same the same argument
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  about ice time and so on. So I can appreciate
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  the staff efforts on this and again I'm the one
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  I think that asked for this review and I think
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  it still needs to be tightened up you know once
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  a policy is in place it's in place and this goes
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  back to all my time in minor hockey it it's hard
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  to find out who's got what ice when and that
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  seems I don't understand that but I'll leave
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  it at that I've got lots of questions but I think
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  this isn't the time and place to be fair to staff
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  and move ahead. Councillors Mike Buderich and
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  Jake Ennis agreed that the policy needs more
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  work. There's a lot of things to be discussed,
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  but I think we could just move forward and wait
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  for a refined policy to come back. I do think
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  this is, even this conversation and the feedback
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  is a positive step forward. But I agree, I think
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  some further consultation is necessary and I
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  look forward to that. The revised policy will
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  be brought back to council in the spring prior
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  to ice allocations for the 2026 -2027 season.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
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  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
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  News. Loyalist Township Council pre -approved
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  $900 ,000 in the 2027 capital budget for the
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  purchase of a new tanker for the Amherstview
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  Fire Station. They will also use nearly $85 ,000
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  from the 2026 capital budget for the down payment.
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  Council had already approved the purchase of
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  a new tanker for the Amherst Island Fire Station
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  in the 2026 capital budget and were informed
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  the tanker in Amherstview has reached the end
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  of its useful life. With fire apparatus costs
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  continuing to rise each year, staff noted that
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  delaying the purchase would see an increase of
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  at least $125 ,000 for 2027. Fire Chief Kent
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  Reedman spoke about the importance of getting
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  pre -approval. There'll be no cost incurred this
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  year, no additional cost incurred this year by
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  the Township. This will be all on the 2027 capital
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  budget, so it will save $125 ,000 plus in next
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  year's budget if we can do it. This spring, as
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  opposed to waiting eight months, it's there's
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  some significant price increases coming down
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  the pipe here. And George is trying to get ahead
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  of it. Councillor Mike Buderich noted the importance
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  of trying to save money. Just appreciate that
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  the chief's trying to get ahead of this and save
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  us a little money. So it's always appreciated
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  with how tight times are these days. Councillor
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  Paul Prodrick showed his support for the pre
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  -approval. A hundred thousand is a good savings.
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  And given the experiences of the last few months,
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  The value of our emergency services cannot be
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  measured in dollars and move ahead with this
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  as soon as possible. The emergency services department
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  looks to order the same tanker that was ordered
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  for Amherst Island and remain consistent with
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  their fleet for the next 20 to 25 years. The
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  two old tankers will be sold and are expected
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  to generate nearly $75 ,000. This will be applied
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  to the fleet reserve for future apparatus purchases.
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  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 14:14
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
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  News. Loyalist Township has three community town
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  hall meetings coming up for the spring season.
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  On Thursday, May 14th at 6 .30 p .m., a meeting
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  will take place in Wilton at the Wilton Hall
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  at 251 Simmons Road. On Thursday, May 21st at
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  6 .30 p .m., a meeting will take place in Odessa
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  at the Odessa Municipal Office at 263 Main Street.
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  On Wednesday, May 27th at 6 .30 p .m., a meeting
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  will take place on Amherst Island at the Amherst
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  Island Fire Hall at 955 Stella 40 -foot Road.
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  The meetings will provide updates on municipal
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  programs and projects. There will be opportunities
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  to share ideas, ask questions, and engage on
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  projects that are currently open for community
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  consultation. For more information, visit Loyalist
• 15:05
  .ca. For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 15:09
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 15:12
  News. The Bath Museum and Visitor Center are
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  welcoming the community back this spring for
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  another season of Culture Talks, a speaker series
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  celebrating history, heritage and storytelling.
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  Hosted at the museum, the series brings together
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  local historians, musicians and researchers who
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  share unique perspectives on the region's history.
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  Held on the third Monday of the month from 6
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  to 7 p .m., culture talks offer an opportunity
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  to explore fascinating cultural topics in an
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  intimate setting. Tickets are $5 per person,
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  and seating is limited. May 25th, singer -songwriter
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  David Archibald brings the maritime history of
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  the Great Lakes to life through original music
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  from his acclaimed collection, Spirit of the
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  Inland Sea. Through storytelling and songs, audiences
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  will hear tales of shipwrecks, heroic voyages,
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  legendary figures, and the lonely lives of lighthouse
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  keepers. Archibald's work has been featured in
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  parks across Ontario and frequently aired on
• 16:09
  CBC Radio. June 22, local historian Lloyd Tarian
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  will deliver an illustrated talk examining the
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  opening years of the War of 1812. Tarian explores
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  the Alliance's personalities and decisions that
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  shaped the conflict's early course. His presentation
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  provides insight into how British, Canadian militia,
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  and First Nations forces defended Upper Canada
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  during a pivotal period. Culture Talks take place
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  at the Bath Museum, located at 434 Main Street
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  in Bath. Tickets for each talk can be purchased
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  online. For more information about Culture Talks
• 16:38
  and other upcoming programs, visit Loyalist .ca.
• 16:41
  For Amherst Island Radio and the Local Journalism
• 16:44
  Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore
• 16:48
  News. This has been North Shore News and Interviews.
• 16:54
  If you have an idea for a story or want to create
• 16:57
  stories for the show, consider joining our volunteer
• 17:00
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