Latest / North Shore News / May 5th, 2026

Transcript

May 5th, 2026 · North Shore News

• 0:07
  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. Loyalist Township will defer discussions
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  on a new ICE allocation policy until staff come
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  back with a more refined policy. Staff's report
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  noted they did a comprehensive review of the
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  existing ICE allocation practices to ensure transparent
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  and efficient access to Arena ICE for all user
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  groups and to improve clarity and consistency
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  of the policy. As part of the review, staff conducted
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  a community survey and received over 50 responses.
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  Feedback mainly surrounded programming, ICE allocation,
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  and maintenance. Staff considered historical
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  ice use, local user groups, and the changing
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  needs based on population trends. President of
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  the Loyalist Skating Club, Jennifer O 'Neill,
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  explains why the policy matters. For my family,
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  the rink has never just been a facility. It is
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  where I myself learned to skate, where my parents
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  watched me from the boards. Our neighbors met
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  year after year in the stands. Now I go to the
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  same place and watch my own children learning
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  to skate and obtaining their goals. The rink
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  is not simply a place that we go to practice,
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  it's a community space, and it connects generations
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  of loyalist families. And this is why the policy
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  matters. I do believe that the Township has the
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  best of intentions, however, intent does not
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  replace policy clarity, and once approved, the
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  policy, not intent, will guide outcomes. Board
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  member with the Loyalist Township Minor Hockey
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  Association, Erin Armitage, speaks about the
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  policy and why it's important for the association
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  and the skating club. Together, our two organizations
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  represent Loyalist Township's two primary youth
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  ice users. We support the goal of fair, transparent,
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  and consistent ice allocation process. A formal
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  policy and defined prime youth hours are positive
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  steps that we support. However, the current proposal
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  raises significant concerns that should be addressed
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  before approval. O 'Neill noted her main concern.
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  There are several areas where clarity is still
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  lacking, but I want to be very clear. The single
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  most important unresolved issue for me is the
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  definition and application of a community sport
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  organization or CSO. Although the CSO definition
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  wording has not changed from the previous policy,
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  How it is being used has changed significantly.
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  Under the new ice allocation policy, CSO status
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  along with standard of play directly determines
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  priority access on prime time allocation. As
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  written, the policy allows CSOs to be either
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  loyalist based or regional without a clear hierarchy,
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  which creates a real risk. In a limited high
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  demand ice environment, This ambiguity could
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  allow regional organizations to compete directly
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  with loyalist -based community organizations
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  for prime youth hours, even though loyalist organizations
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  are rooted here in the community and serve the
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  community directly. Good intentions have been
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  stated, but policy must do the protecting. Armitage
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  speaks about priority among different user groups.
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  We feel that a few of our concerns have not yet
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  been addressed. First, transparency. The report
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  references five impacted users but does not identify
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  them. There 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 argument about ice
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  time and so on. So I can appreciate the staff
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  efforts on this. And again, I'm the one I think
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  that asked for this review. And I think it still
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  needs to be tightened up. Once a policy is in
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  place, it's in place. And this goes back to all
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  my time in minor hockey. It's hard to find out
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  who's got what ice when. And that seems, I don't
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  understand that, but I'll leave it at that. I've
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  got lots of questions, but I think this isn't
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  the time and place to be fair to staff and move
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  ahead. Counselors Mike Booterich and Jake Ennis
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  agreed that the policy needs more work. There's
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  a lot of things to be discussed, but I think
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  we could just move forward and wait for a refined
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  policy to come back. I do think this is, even
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  this conversation and the feedback is a positive
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  step forward. But I agree, I think some further
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  consultation is necessary, and I look forward
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  to that. The revised policy will be brought back
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  to Council in the spring prior to ICE allocations
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  for the 2026 -2027 season. For Amherst Island
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  Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm
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  Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. Loyalist
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  Township Council pre -approved $900 ,000 in the
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  2027 capital budget for the purchase of a new
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  tanker for the Amherstview Fire Station. They
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  will also use nearly $85 ,000 from the 2026 capital
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  budget for the down payment. Council had already
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  approved the purchase of a new tanker for the
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  Amherst Island Fire Station in the 2026 capital
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  budget and were informed the tanker in Amherstview
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  has reached the end of its useful life. With
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  fire apparatus costs continuing to rise each
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  year, staff noted that delaying the purchase
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  would see an increase of at least $125 ,000 for
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  2027. Fire chief Kent Readman spoke about the
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  importance of getting pre -approval. There'll
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  be no cost incurred this year, no additional
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  cost incurred this year by the Township. This
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  will be all on the 2027 capital budget, so it
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  will save 100. 25 ,000 plus in next year's budget
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  if we can do it this spring, as opposed to waiting
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  eight months. There's some significant price
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  increases coming down the pipe here, and we're
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  just trying to get ahead of it. Councilor Mike
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  Bodereck noted the importance of trying to save
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  money. I just appreciate that the chief's trying
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  to get ahead of this and save us a little money,
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  so it's always appreciated with how tight times
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  are these days. Councillor Paul Proderick showed
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  his support for the pre -approval. A hundred
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  thousand is a good savings and given the experiences
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  of the last few months. The value of our emergency
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  services cannot be measured in dollars and move
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  ahead with this as soon as possible. The emergency
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  services department looks to order the same tanker
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  that was ordered for Amherst Island and remain
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  consistent with their fleet for the next 20 to
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  25 years. The two old tankers will be sold and
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  are expected to generate nearly $75 ,000. This
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  will be applied to the fleet reserve for future
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  apparatus purchases. For Amherst Island Radio
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  and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted
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  Evans. This is North Shore News. Loyalist Township
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  has four community town hall meetings coming
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  up for the spring season. On Wednesday, May 6th
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  at 6 .30 p .m., a meeting will take place in
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  Bath at the Bath Fire Hall located at 241 Church
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  Street. On Thursday, May 14th at 6 .30 p .m.,
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  a meeting will take place in Wilton at the Wilton
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  Hall at 251 Simmons Road. On Thursday, May 21st
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  at 6 .30 p .m., a meeting will take place in
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  Odessa at the Odessa Municipal Office at 263
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  Main Street. On Wednesday, May 27th at 6 .30
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  p .m., a meeting will take place on Amherst Island
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  at the Amherst Island Fire Hall at 955 Stella
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  40 -foot Road. The meetings will provide updates
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  on municipal programs and projects. There will
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  be opportunities to share ideas, ask questions,
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  and engage on projects that are currently open
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  for community consultation. For more information,
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  visit Loyalist .ca. For Amherst Island Radio
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  and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted
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  Evans. This is North Shore News. The Amherst
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  Island Recreation Association had a successful
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  2025 according to their recent presentation.
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  Members of the association shared a review of
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  their last year of operations at Loyalist Township
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  Council's latest meeting. Chair of the association,
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  Chelsea McDonald, spoke about the makeup of the
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  association and their last year of operations.
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  We have a board of directors for a not -for -profit.
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  There are nine directors on our board with three
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  executives. We have 10 volunteers and we have
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  program leaders and helpers. This year we were
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  able to have two paid instructors provide programs
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  for us and we were able to provide 13 programs
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  in total with a variety of participants ranging
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  from four to 19 participants per program. In
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  the past we've done a variety of sports -related
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  programs. We find that Zumba is a really big,
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  popular one with everyone on the island, especially
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  young moms and kids come out to enjoy that. program
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  and this year we were able to find another yoga
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  instructor that was able that is actually a community
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  member so someone local that's able to come out
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  and provide yoga to the community and that was
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  another big accomplishment for us because it
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  was a really good program. Volleyball has always
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  been really popular with the young adults as
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  well as some older adults and we find that in
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  the spring we get a higher volume with university
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  students coming back to play. In the fall, we
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  actually changed it to 13 plus because we had
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  some eager young students that wanted to join
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  as well. McDonald spoke about new programming
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  in the last year. The newest thing we were able
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  to provide for youth this year was electronics.
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  We had an island resident who reached out and
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  wanted to teach robotics to the kids. So they
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  had done a little bit in the classroom at school,
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  but she really wanted to provide a camp. So we
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  worked with her and were able to provide a four
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  -day camp in August for kids to learn about robotics.
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  They made some really neat Christmas decorations
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  that lit up and robots that moved. and it was
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  so successful she opted to start an actual club
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  starting in September where the kids go twice
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  a month and they learn how to do coding and make
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  more robots. McDonald noted one of her favorite
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  programs. All Ages Sports Night is honestly one
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  of my favorites because it's The kids come out
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  to play and we do a variety of different sports
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  from soccer to volleyball to pickleball to basketball
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  and the absolute favorite is dodgeball and every
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  week they ask if we can play dodgeball. McDonald
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  spoke about programming throughout the winter
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  and spring. Winter Walking Club is something
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  that we provide to the community in the winter
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  months. So from December to April where the community
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  has a safe space to walk and to socialize. One
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  of my other favorites is youth art. So each spring,
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  this is the third year we've doing it. We're
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  able to provide a youth workshop for art with
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  using local island volunteers to provide these
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  classes. Last year we did watercolor and pencil
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  drawing and animation. Treasurer for the association
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  Mike Walhaut spoke about their finances for the
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  year. We're running at a small deficit. We do
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  fundraising and we kind of do it as needed, so
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  we're making up the difference that way. This
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  was our first year as well, so we had to get
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  through the accountant and all the not -for -profit
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  filing processes that are costly, and we're going
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  to look at ways that we can save money and perhaps
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  access some grants as well. Councillor Lorna
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  Willis shared her experience with the programming
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  on Amherst Island. The programming that we get
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  to enjoy on the island right now is very special
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  and I was at one of the children's art programs
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  the other day and it's kind of fun to see all
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  the kids getting together in the school after
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  school voluntarily. For Amherst Island Radio
• 14:05
  and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted
• 14:08
  Evans. This is North Shore News. The Bath Museum
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  and Visitor Center are welcoming the community
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  back this spring for another season of Culture
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  Talks, a speaker series celebrating history,
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  heritage, and storytelling. Hosted at the museum,
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  the series brings together local historians,
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  musicians, and researchers who share unique perspectives
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  on the region's history. Held on the third Monday
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  of the month from 6 to 7 p .m., Culture Talks
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  offer an opportunity to explore fascinating cultural
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  topics in an intimate setting. Tickets are $5
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  per person and seating is limited. May 25th,
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  singer -songwriter David Archibald brings the
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  maritime history of the Great Lakes to life through
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  original music from his acclaimed collection,
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  Spirit of the Inland Sea. Through storytelling
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  and songs, audiences will hear tales of shipwrecks,
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  heroic voyages, legendary figures, and the lonely
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  lives of lighthouse keepers. Archibald's work
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  has been featured in parks across Ontario and
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  frequently aired on CBC Radio. June 22nd, local
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  historian Lloyd Tarion will deliver an illustrated
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  talk examining the opening years of the War of
• 15:14
  1812. Tarian explores the Alliance's personalities
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  and decisions that shaped the conflict's early
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  course. His presentation provides insight into
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  how British, Canadian militia and First Nations
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  forces defended Upper Canada during a pivotal
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  period. Culture Talks take place at the Bath
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  Museum, located at 434 Main Street in Bath. Tickets
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  for each talk can be purchased online. For more
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  information about Culture Talks and other upcoming
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  programs, visit Loyalist .ca. For Amherst Island
• 15:41
  Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm
• 15:43
  Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. This has
• 15:49
  been North Shore News and Interviews. If you
• 15:52
  have an idea for a story, or want to create stories
• 15:55
  for the show, consider joining our volunteer
• 15:58
  team. Contact Amherst Island Radio for more details.