Geoff Coleman, Author at Lindsay Advocate

Fenelon Falls Tennis Club a pandemic-friendly sports option

Published on April 21, 2021 in Community by Geoff Coleman

With a new rink, a curling club, nearby golf courses, a popular multi-use trail and every kind of aquatic-based recreation known to humans at their doorstep, Fenelon Falls residents have many ways to spend their leisure time. That might explain why, through no fault of its own, the Fenelon Falls Tennis Club flies under the recreational radar.

Ham Keillor-Faulkner says when he tells locals he is president of the club they are often surprised — as in surprised there is a tennis club in town. Keillor-Faulkner says with their newly resurfaced courts, and a reasonable membership price, the club offers excellent value for anyone looking for COVID-compliant exercise.

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Fenelon stores try to hang on as construction to go past mid-June

Published on March 28, 2021 in Business/Community/Municipal by Geoff Coleman

Downtown Fenelon Falls can anticipate traffic interruptions right to the beginning of summer as the village accepts short-term pain for long term gain.

The major construction project on Colborne Street will go beyond the original deadline of the Victoria Day long weekend in May. The sewer improvement, traffic calming, and beautification project was originally scheduled to suspend operations then and resume after Labour Day.

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Bobcaygeon gets shortlisted for potential NHL pre-season game, new money for arena

Published on February 4, 2021 in Community by Geoff Coleman

Bobcaygeon has found another cause to rally behind. From annual events like the Craft Beer and Food Festival and the Fall Fair, to more impromptu ones like organizing huge screens downtown to broadcast the final concert by the Tragically Hip, Bobcaygeon residents are no strangers to pulling together and making things happen.

The latest initiative is an entry into the Kraft Hockeyville contest that sees towns across Canada vie for the honour of hosting an NHL pre-season game and winning $250,000 in arena improvements. Bobcaygeon has been shortlisted to be among 20 submissions to go on to the next level.

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Happy Trails: Local snowmobiling club is a community effort

Published on January 6, 2021 in Community by Geoff Coleman

The local snowmobile trails have long been a popular destination for sledders, as they’re affectionately called. With nearly 200 kilometres of crisp trails to enjoy, it’s easy to see why.

In the early 2000s ridership on Kawartha Lakes Snowmobile Club (KLSC) trails climbed to the point where volunteers were stretched thin from trying to maintain them. Maintenance involves keeping trails clear of windfalls and repairing grooming equipment.

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Controversial bill to change conservation authorities in pro-development move by province

Published on December 6, 2020 in Environment by Geoff Coleman

Conservation Ontario has asked its members, environmental groups, and citizens to petition for changes to the Conservative government’s new developer-friendly bill — but a motion from Mayor Andy Letham led to a 6-3 vote not to pursue the matter.

Under the new bill, known as Bill 229: Protect, Support and Recover from COVID-19 Act, members will be required to act in the best interests of their municipalities, not the best interests of the watershed. Further, every member of the authority board would need to be an elected municipal councillor, eliminating appointed citizen representatives.

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‘A Downeyville Dozen’: 12 local men in pin-up calendar for church fundraiser

Published on November 19, 2020 in Community by Geoff Coleman

Mary Connell of St. Luke’s Catholic Church in Downeyville has made sure people in the area have one less excuse for missing appointments next year, while at the same time raising money for the next phase of improvements to the Downeyville Hall.

And, all it took was 12 good men.

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Will small town pride trump Amazon convenience?

Published on November 17, 2020 in Business by Geoff Coleman

With the peak of a second COVID-19 wave coinciding with the holiday gift-giving season, saying the small business owner faces some challenges is something of an understatement.

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Tending the rural economy

Published on October 18, 2020 in Business by Geoff Coleman

Although the bigger communities in Kawartha Lakes — Bobcaygeon, Fenelon Falls and Lindsay — are often seen as the focus of the local economy, globalization means that they are unlikely ever to return to the days of large-scale manufacturing facilities such as Fleetwood or Viskase.

Economic development now means nurturing smaller operations, many of them located outside our population centres. That in turn means thinking differently about how to support these rural businesses.

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Big Brothers Big Sisters presents four bands in event at Lindsay fairgrounds

Published on August 27, 2020 in Community by Geoff Coleman

Raising money for charitable organizations is a tough job in the best of times. During a pandemic when finances are tight, it takes on a new level of difficulty for an organization like Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kawartha Lakes–Haliburton which does not receive any government funding at all.

Fortunately, creativity is never in short supply amongst groups that rely on donations for their survival, and Janice Balfour, executive director of that organization recently announced a unique fund-raising event.

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Young recording artist doesn’t let Muscular Dystrophy slow his musical journey

Published on August 25, 2020 in Community/The Arts by Geoff Coleman

When local recording artist, Caleb Frazier, describes music as a social media, it at first feels like he is minimizing the art form. After all, Instagram and Snapchat may be present at almost every human experience from weddings and funerals to wars and halftime shows, but they are documenting these experiences, not fuelling them.

The 19-year-old Virginia native has lived in Cameron the last three years. (His mother married a Canadian and moved north of the 49th parallel.)

Frazier points out that music remains a means of entertaining, teaching, and protesting, but it has been democratized.

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