Jim Coyle Announces Bid For Mayor of Douro-Dummer

Longtime resident Jim Coyle officially launched his campaign for Mayor of Douro-Dummer at the Douro-Dummer Community Centre on Thursday.

Jim Coyle (left) receiving a full endorsement from current mayor and Peterborough County warden J. Murray Jones (right). Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Coyle joins Douro Ward Coun. Heather Watson in the race as current mayor J. Murray Jones has announced he will not seek re-election and retire from politics.

“My life is all about making a difference,” said Coyle. “I really believe with my leadership and helping through, we'll make a big difference in the lives here of Douro-Dummer.”

Jones was in attendance during the rally and gave his full endorsement of Doyle being the next mayor.

“I certainly support him, 100, 200, 300 per cent,” said Jones in his speech to the community centre. “He's the kind of guy we need moving forward.”

Doyle has owned and operated Coyle Packaging Group in Peterborough for 22 years and worked as a chartered accountant prior to the business.

He has been a member of the Rotary Club of Peterborough for 39 years, served on the Boards for the Peterborough Junior Lacrosse Club, the St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation and Peterborough Golf & Country Club, among others.

Coyle addressed road safety for everyone, affordable housing initiatives, building permit process and accessbiility, high-speed internet access, strengthening emergency response systems for major storms as well as health, fire and police as his top priorities.

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92nd Annual Douro Doings A Go After Two-Year Hiatus

The ‘Douro Doings’ will take place this year on Sept. 5, after having cancelled the regular event two years in a row due to COVID-19.

Douro Doings 2014. Photo by Annette Dunford.

What began in 1929 as the ‘Social’ has since become the ‘Douro Doings’ and see’s about 3,000 attendees over Labour Day weekend.

Fast Ball, Slow Pitch and Horseshoe tournaments will run all weekend at the Douro Ball Park, with the majority of events happening on Monday.

Monday’s events at the Ball Park:

The Car and Truck Show will run from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

10K Race will begin at 10 a.m.

Children’s games and entertainment will run all day

A snack bar will be on site all weekend.

Monday at St. Joseph Parish Hall:

Roast Beef Dinner will run from 3 - 6 p.m. with live entertainment. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children (6-12) children 5 and under eat for free. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

The Quilt Raffle will begin at 6 p.m. There are approximately 20 handmade quilts up for grabs. There are also secondary prizes available.

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Councillor Heather Watson Running for Douro-Dummer Mayor

Douro Ward Councillor Heather Watson has announced her intention to run for Mayor for the Township of Douro-Dummer in the upcoming Municipal announced on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of Heather Ward.

She announced her candidacy at the Warsaw Town Hall on Wednesday.

Watson has been a Douro Ward representative since 2018. She has served on boards such as the Kawartha Chamber of Commerce, Peterborough Agricultural Society, Community Futures Peterborough and the United Way Campaign Cabinet.

"Looking to new horizons, I will focus on Building on Tradition,” said Watson. “To grow, we will need to not only look to the future but look to the past. We need to build our community, continue to update our infrastructure and build new partnerships."

Watson claims that she heard from community engagement that there is a need to reconnect and rebuild the community and that inflation and the housing crisis are making it difficult for families. Additionally, municipal facilities need new investment and that the environment and climate change are top of mind for residents.

Watson is holding a Town Hall meeting on Sep. 19 to hear concerns from residents to shape future policy.

“The next several weeks are about you. I want to hear from you and take your guidance as we rebuild and reconnect the community,” she said.

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Peterborough Area Roller Derby Returns After Two-Year Hiatus

The skates are being strapped on again as Peterborough Area Roller Derby kicks off their season with their first roller derby match since March 2022 announced Monday night.

The PARD last match was a win against Durham Region Roller Derby’s DRRD’y Farmers in March 2020, just a week before the world closed down. File Photo.

Their family-friendly event, ‘Post Pandemic PARDy: Down with the Sickness’ is at the Douro Community Centre against the Ottawa Area Roller Derby.

Doors open at 3:30 p.m. The low-contact bout begins at 4 p.m. followed by an open full-contact scrimmage at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door with free admission for kids under 12.

PARD is seeking skaters for the open scrimmage, volunteers, non-skating officials and vendors for the event and can visit their Facebook event page for more details.

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Generator Used To Alert Volunteer Firefighters Of Emergencies Stolen In Douro-Dummer

Some time between 8 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, the generator that powers the Douro-Dummer paging tower was stolen, according to the Township of Douro-Dummer.

Stock photo of stolen generator. Photo courtesy of the Township of Douro-Dummer.

Located just south of Warsaw on County Road 38, the paging tower is used by the fire department to boost the paging signal so that volunteer firefighters can be alerted to emergencies in the community.

According to the Township, the perpetrator would have had to cut the chains to the paging tower compound to gain access to the generator.

The generator that was stolen is a HONDA EU2200i, serial number EAMT1336663. At the time it was stolen it had labels affixed to it that read "PUMP 4".

Tips that might lead to the return of the generator can be reported to:

• Crime Stoppers at 705-745-9000 (your call can be anonymous)

• OPP Reporting Centre at 888-910-1122

• Douro-Dummer Fire Services personnel Jessyka McArthur or Fire Chief Pedersen

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Douro Reunites For Canada Day Celebrations After Two Year Hiatus

The Township of Douro-Dummer will host their annual Canada Day celebration, after a two year hiatus due to COVID-19, on July 1 at 2:30 p.m.

Douro Canada Day Parade 2017. Photo courtesy of Rita Maloney.

“After a two-year hiatus we are excited to bring the community back together again to celebrate as a community,” said Julie Chatten, one of the organizers of this year’s event. “We are eager to reconnect with our friends and neighbours.”

The theme for this years celebration is ‘Re-United’.

“Re-United, means so much,” said Councillor Heather Watson, also on the organizing committee. “With so many issues dividing us as a nation and as a community in recent years, Canada Day is a reminder of what it means to be Canadian.”

The parade route begins on the Douro Fourth Line Road at County Road 4 and will head south ending in the Hamlet of Douro at County Road 8. Entries of walkers and floats are asked to assemble at 2:00 p.m. at County Road 4 and Douro Fourth Line Road.

Parade entries are welcome and can take any form but are requested to register.

Information about the parade will be available at Facebook.com/DouroCanadaDayParade and on the Township website.

For additional information, please contact Councillor Heather Watson 705-930-8037, Alyssa Heffernan 705-931-5977 or Julie Chatten 705-559-5296.

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Spirits Still High As Douro Dummer Falls Short Of Kraft Hockeyville Title

Though the Township of Douro Dummer did not claim the title of Kraft Hockeyville, spirits are still high in the hockey community.

After a Canada-wide vote, Sydney Nova Scotia has been named Kraft Hockeyville 2022.

Though they did not win the grand prize of $250, 000 they will still receive $25,000 towards renovations.

Celebrations continued at the Douro Community Centre, even after the news broke.

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Douro Elementary School Fundraising For An Accessible Playground

St Joseph Elementary School in Douro is hosting a garage sale and bottle drive to fundraise for an accessible playground, at the Douro Community Centre on Saturday.

The current play structure at St Joseph.

St Joseph Catholic Elementary School was home to about 235 to 240 students in 2020.

“The school is the only school in the small and close knit community of Douro,” said Nicole Sullivan, a parent at St Josephs. “The school has welcomed all students with a focus on being inclusive and accessible.”

St Joseph’s also hosts a before and after school program facilitated by Compass Early Learning Centre, a not for profit organization.

With students of varying abilities, the current play structure is simply inaccessible to some, says Sullivan.

Staff and students at St Joseph hope to replace the inaccessible, and partly broken, play structure for both students at the school and community members to be able to enjoy.

On Saturday the community will host a garage sale, bottle drive and bake sale at the Douro Community Centre from 7 a.m. - 1 p.m. with all proceeds being put towards the new structure.

Also happening in Douro on Saturday is a Plant and Book Sale to support programs of the Douro Library held inside the Douro Arena May 6 from 12 - 4 p.m. and May 7 from 8 a.m. -12 p.m.

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Douro-Dummer A Top Four Contender In Bid For Canada-Wide Kraft Hockeyville Competition

The Township of Douro-Dummer has been named a top four contender for Kraft Hockeyville, announced during hockey Night in Canada on Saturday.

“When you see Douro-Dummer on the Sportsnet screen as part of Hockey Night in Canada, that’s a big deal,” said Kerri Riel, Douro Minor Hockey Association (DMHA) Secretary.

The Douro Community Centre is one of four community centers around Canada that are now competing to be named Kraft Hockeyville.

The winning community centre will receive $250,000 in renovations and the opportunity to host a pre-season NHL game in their community.

Online voting opens on May 6.

“If we were to be named winners, that $250,000 would be an amazing start,” said Riel. “This entire process has already been so amazing. It’s started some great conversations with our township, who has been incredibly supportive. It’s helped everyone see the need and reconnected our community in a way that was lost over the pandemic.”

If chosen, Riel says the money would go towards making an inclusive space for not only any member of the DMHA, but any member of the community.

“It’s providing the opportunity to present that building as not just a place for hockey but for a place to host weddings, special days and even other sports. We are working on making a place that can meet the growth of the community - not just hockey.”

Riel encourages those that wish to support the community to follow the Douro Minor Hockey Association on Facebook and Instagram to keep updated and be reminded on voting day.

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Douro Community Centre In The Running For Kraft Hockeyville Arena Renovation

The Douro Community Centre has thrown it’s hat in the ring for the Kraft Hockeyville competition in hopes to win a $250,000 arena upgrade and an NHL game hosted in the community.

Three Douro teams won the OMHA Finals in 2016. Photo courtesy of Kerri Riel.

“Knowing the limited resources that we may have because of COVID, we’re hoping to add to our operational budget and we’ll be able to see some renos,” said Kerri Riel, Douro Minor Hockey Association (DMHA) Secretary.

The cooling plant at the community centre located in Warsaw failed, which means the entire Douro Dukes Hockey Association, 19 teams, is operating out of one arena and four dressing rooms.

She notes that the alternative dressing rooms that are often used for girls playing on mostly boys teams, are in closets.

“It’s not adequate. Right now we’re just not able to provide equitable and inclusive spaces for everyone, and we need to for all Douro Dukes.”

“We have very competitive teams,” she said. “For the last five years we have sent teams to the All Ontario Finals. You look back to 2016 - three of our teams won the OMHA Finals. That was a big deal, almost unprecedented in Ontario.”

Riel says the DMHA hopes that players will want to play in Douro, rather than go play in communities that have more modern arenas.

“We’re the Dukes and we’re proud to be. It was a big deal to be a Duke. Everybody around us has had these updates to their arenas and we just haven’t been able to manage that yet.”

The Kraft Hockeyville competition begins with the ‘Nominate and Rally’ phase, where community members take actions like sharing on social media and submitting photos’ on the Hockeyville site to earn points.

The winning community centre will receive $250,000 in renovations and the opportunity to host a pre-season NHL game in their community.

“We have a long, deep history and a love for hockey,” said Riel. “The opportunity to offer to the whole community a Pre-Season NHL game? That would be the icing on the cake. We could offer thanks for the dedication and support from our volunteers and community.”

The Nominate and Rally phase will end on April 3, after which arena’s will be judged by a panel. The top four will be announced on April 23 and voting will open. One winner will be announced on May 7.

Riel invites anyone with a memory from The Douro Community Centre to add a story, photo or video to the Hockeyville nomination page. Likes and shares on social media will also help the community centre to proceed to the next round.

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