Lakefield is making headlines across the world for a tiny island located in the Otonabee River. The island is named Prince Andrew Island and sits just south of its sister island, Gordonstoun Island.
These two small islands, which can be seen from Water Street, have caused some major waves recently. The controversy comes after the former Prince Andrew lost his royal titles over his ties with convicted sex-offender Jeffery Epstein.
During the November 11 meeting of Selwyn Township Council, Mayor Sherry Senis made a notice of motion looking for council support to consider renaming the islands.
She said, “I’m sure you’ve seen in the media and some counselors have received emails about the fact we have an island named Prince Andrew Island. It’s situated on the Otonabee River in Selwyn. We also have an island named Gordonstoun Island named after the Scottish boarding school attended by the former Prince Andrew King Charles III and Prince Philip.”
The former prince does have ties to the area as he attended the Lakefield College School for about six months in his youth. He was also the honourary chair and trustee of the Lakefield College School Foundation but his term expired in 2019 and he is no longer associated with the school.
Grade 3 students, Gwen Maloney and Henry Gair from St. Joseph’s Catholic Elementary School in Douro lay a wreath during the Douro Dummer Remembrance Day ceremony in Warsaw on Nov. 11.
North Kawartha will be looking at the possibility of including an option for non-eligible sources of recycling at their landfill sites in the 2026 budget.
During the Nov. 4 council meeting a report was presented by Gary Geraldi, director of parks and recreation / waste management, suggesting the township consider installing two different eight-yard bins at each of their transfer stations. This suggestion was made so that blue box recycling from what is now classified as non-eligible sources would continue to have a place to drop off recycling material within the township.
Non-eligible sources for
recycling are classified as Industrial, Commercial or Institutional sources (IC&I). This means that businesses within these classifications, including the municipal office, libraries, non-profits, and local businesses, will not be eligible for curb side recycling collection or be allowed to recycle their materials as residents do within the transfer station. The IC&I sources would need to make special arrangements with a recycling provider to collect and dispose of their recycling products. This is because IC&I sources are classified as “producers” under the provincially legislated producer responsibility model for recycling that comes into effect January 1, 2026.
Continue ReadingSelwyn Township is urging the province to exempt non-profits such as food banks from the producer responsibility non-eligible source list for recycling.
In January 2026, the province will be moving to a producer responsibility model for recycling. This means that those who produce recyclable material will have to pay for collection and depositing of the materials themselves rather than having the townships or county collect it at the curbside.
Within that list of non-eligible sources/businesses include food banks, churches, and other charities and non-profit organizations.
This means that these sources will have to pay a contractor hundreds of dollars in the new year to collect their recyclable materials and dispose of them at a designated non-eligible source site. They will not be able to use local landfills or the current curbside collection methods that they use now.
This short documentary is a portrait of a tiny town, Lakefield, Ontario, and its independent weekly, the Herald. Across North America, newspapers are dying, but in Lakefield, Terry McQuitty, the town paper’s publisher, carries on a rich, 150-year-old tradition. Set to the pace of small-town life, Unheralded is a testament to the vital role newspapers can still play, and the close bond between reporter and reader.
