Selwyn Township council got a look at the draft Recreation Service Plan on Tuesday afternoon.
Representatives from Monteith Brown presented the draft Recreation Service Plan for the township outlining updates they have made from public input.
This service plan is still a draft and the public still has time to make comments and give input on what they would like to see the township focus on in terms of their recreation department. There will be a public meeting at council chambers on Monday Oct. 28 at 5 p.m.
This recreation service plan will help guide the Township’s recreation, parks and trail system from 2025 through the next 10 years to 2035.
Since the last update to the recreation service plan, which was done in 2012, Monteith Brown said that the township has made some very noticeable achievements including:
• Expansion of trail networks across Selwyn
• Lakefield-Smith Community Centre façade and accessibility improvements
• Conversion of the Sea Scout building to The River Den to include accessible washrooms
• A ball diamond, canoe/kayak launches and a skateboard park in Lakefield
• Disc golf course and fitness trail in Ennismore
• Pickleball, tennis, and basketball courts at REY Recreation Complex and Douglas Sports Complex
• Development of Woodland Acres Park
The overarching themes that plan tries to address include:
• Community pride & spirit
Lakefield Youth Unlimited hosted their annual fundraising dinner on Thursday evening at the Lakefield Legion. The dinner catered by Jesse’s Tap & Grill in Ennismore was booked to capacity. This is the organizations major fundraiser of the year and the money raised is directed towards programs for the area’s youth. Pictured above Chris Jones, the Satellite Director of Youth Unlimited in Lakefield presenting Cindy Windover with a bouquet of flowers to show appreciation for her volunteer efforts with the organization.
Ennismore’s downtown will be getting a bit of a face lift starting next spring.
Selwyn Township approved the tender submission by Drain Bros. Excavating to complete the community improvement work in Ennismore in addition John Shaw Rimmington was sole sourced to create all dry stack features. Rimmington has been the one to create most of the dry stone wall work in Ennismore to date.
The project has been in the works for many years now, according to a report to council, the Ennismore community improvement plan went to tender originally in August of 2023. However, given that all the bids were significantly over the cost estimate by 85 per cent, council directed staff to reduce the scope of work and reissue the tender.
The report stated that Staff reviewed the scope of work focusing on the need to maintain the features that would meet the goals of the CIP, namely landscaping features, decorative lighting, sidewalk to Earl Ave and main intersection improvements. The new tender retained these features and removed reconstructing Ennis Road (the Township’s section of Ennis Road from Tara to Earl), eliminating work on Tara Road adjacent to the Post office, as well as pre-qualifying the price for the dry stack wall features to reduce costs.
Staff recommended council approve the tender for Drain Bros Excavating at $715,970.50 and for John Shaw Rimmington, to do three dry stone walls estimated to be $17,000.
Local entrepreneurs from Ennismore have created and launched a new brand of ready to drink alcoholic beverages perfect for the Canadian atmosphere. Ainsley Gabbani and her husband Dario have started their own company producing Maple Light, the first maple syrup infused vodka soda on the market.
Gabbani said that the couple came up with the idea while helping her parents on their farm during last maple syrup season.
She said, “Dario came up with the idea last maple season. Basically, we’re in the Sugar Shack, and we we’re boiling down sap and the sap was just at the point where it was boiled down a bit. So, it was slightly sweeter and had more of the maple taste, but it wasn’t maple syrup yet. He ladled some out, tasted it and thought it was delicious and he was like, you know what? This is going to make such a good cocktail! So he ran into the house, got some vodka, some lemon juice and just shook it up and started experimenting.”
She said that was the first version of their Maple Light cocktail.
From there, they tweaked the recipe and had their friends and family taste it. They all loved it and so the couple decided to take a stab at being the first ones to make a maple infused alcoholic cocktail.
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.
