Bancroft this Week

Help stop the spread of invasive species

At a recent shoot at Bancroft Ridge Golf Club co-owner John Puffer and Bancroft Mayor Paul Jenkins included me in a conversation about how Bancroft and its surrounding area are the heart of "unspoiled cottage country."

Bancroft celebrates Indigenous Day

A crowd of 40 people congregated in Millennium Park June 21 for Bancroft’s first ever Indigenous Day celebration. It was co-hosted by members of the Algonquin First Nation and the Town of Bancroft.

Silver Beach developer starts next big project in Bancroft

A veteran team of development professionals is building a new community in Bancroft’s backyard.

Heritage Revival Thrift Shop opens

A new CARE North Hastings shop is getting on board with the community’s thrifty shopping trend and helping quench its appetite for unique finds, steals and deals.

Locals clinch top spots in McDougall Family Fund

Two deserving community-oriented organizations will be supported by the McDougall Family Fund.

Scouts join turtle movement

Bancroft’s scouts and beavers are joining in to help the turtles.

Mumps case identified in area counties

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health announced it had confirmed the case mid-May. Project manager for public health Bill Sherlock couldn’t reveal more on where the case was for patient confidentiality, but said area residents should be aware of mumps symptoms.

Alice’s Pantry celebrates grand opening at new address

“What I like to say is our family grew bigger so we had to buy a bigger house,” said Alice Martin, owner of Alice’s Pantry, at the store’s grand opening of its new location May 24.

Policing services: municipalities still handcuffed

Let’s start with what has happened on policing costs for small rural municipalities in the past 10 years serviced by the OPP. The increases have been massive and in Hastings Highlands and Bancroft (both with about 4,000 permanent residents). We are now being charged about $2.2 million per year...and our neighbours are in similar boats. It’s a huge download of costs, but more importantly, municipalities have virtually no ability to influence the service, unlike the way it used to be some years ago. So it’s funding accountability but with no responsibility for the service, performance, staffing, compensation, operating budget, etc.

Know your enemy

That’s right, with the warm weather come all those little things that carve out your flesh to feed their young. We’ve all had a few good chunks taken out of us by this year — just waiting for the point in the season where you’re more bug saliva/venom than blood and they give up on you altogether.