Planning for the replacement of Gilchrist Park Bridge on County Road 6 in Douro Dummer is well underway at the County of Peterborough. On Tuesday Oct. 27, the County hosted a meeting for local businesses who may be impacted by the bridge closure and replacement work being done next year to inform them of the schedule and hear how the County can help support them during this time.
Earlier this year, County Council approved a full closure and primary detour with Gilchrist Bay Road as local emergency access. The estimated cost of this project would be $3,024,000 with a schedule of 100 days.
County Council heard in May of this year that the Gilchrist Park Bridge on County Road 6 is at the end of its life cycle. It would be too costly for the county to continue doing Band-Aid repairs on the structure, so a full replacement is necessary for the bridge. To do this, a full closure of the bridge is necessary.
Approximately 75m upstream of Gilchrist Park Bridge, the Old Canal Bridge carries Gilchrist Bay Road across the river that connects Gilchrist Bay to White Lake. The Old Canal Bridge is a single lane bridge that currently carries a load posting which limits its ability to be used as a detour for emergency fire services. However, the Old Canal Bridge was scheduled for replacement in 2027. The county has moved that timeline up to this fall, meaning they will replace the Old Canal Bridge ahead of the Gilchrist Park Bridge with a new modular bridge that would have full highway loading capabilities.
A free public skate was hosted on Oct. 31 to celebrate the re-opening of the Douro Community Centre. Pictured above is incoming Dummer Ward Councillor Nadine Ellis Maffie with her kids Piper and Bentley along with family friend Kinsley Peters.
After many months of construction, the Douro Community Centre officially welcomed back residents on Saturday October 31, 2026.
In July of 2025, MPP Dave Smith announced provincial funding to help support the large investment of replacing the arena floor at the Douro Community Centre.
The Douro Arena was built in 1981, and had not had any major renovations since its construction.
The township of Douro Dummer recognized the need to upgrade the facility
to extent its useful life and ensure the ommunitycontinued to have a reliable and up-to-date community centre and arena that functioned for all who use it.
This meant a major renovation project centered around installing a new floor and ice surface within the arena.
The township applied for funding from the provincial government through Ontario’s Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure (CSRI) Fund and were able to secure $1M to go towards this project,. The total price tag was estimated at about $1.9M.
A newly-elected first-time council member asked the current Trent Lakes Council members to defer a decision about raising building fees at a public meeting to discuss the proposal.
Councillor-elect Laurie Riley made a presentation to council during the public meeting portion of the session.
She will become a member of council when the incoming members are sworn in on November 16th, 2026 at 7 pm.
Director of Building and Planning/ Chief Building Official Eric Guay made a presentation about the fees to council in October.
In Ontario municipalities are required to hold public meetings to change building permit fees. The public meetings are held to ensure transparency and allow the public to provide feedback before changes are enacted.
This public meeting on this issue was held during this week’s regular council session. This was the last meeting of the current council term.
Riley said she felt compelled to address council and said she was disturbed that it looks like these changes are being rushed through rather than delayed until Trent Lakes has an Economic Development Strategy.
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.
