Cobourg News 2017 Year in Review

As the New Year approaches, Cobourg Media is proud to look back at 2017 and remember what impacts were had on our community. It’s not easy to reflect on a whole year from a few stories Cobourg Media led, but I wanted to highlight the Cobourg News our team reported on this past year.

Undoubtedly, 2017 was our most successful year in terms of telling local and international stories, expanding production operations and audience growth. Cobourg Media reported from 5 countries, produced over 200 news videos, and interviewed over 400 people.

This is Cobourg News 2017 Year in Review Top 10. We ordered this list in terms of the impact each story had on our viewers and news team, not by views or how big the story actually was. Be sure to share your top local news stories by interacting with us on social media.

10: William Academy Private School Takes over CDCI West

The old CDCI West building that has been a high school since 1901 will now be William Academy Cobourg Campus. This international school offers a wide range of classes from Grade 7 to grade 12 based on the Ontario Curriculum and AP programs. William Academy has 3 campuses located in North York, downtown Toronto and Cobourg. After its opening in September it quickly closed due to the lack of renovations. International and local students were relocated until further notice.

9: Chicken Runs Loose in Cobourg McDonalds

A real Chicken was found in the William St. McDonald’s male washroom in February. After this mystery Chicken broke news headlines,  Theresa Rickerby of Cobourg gave this wild animal a home. Northumberland Animal Services collected the Chicken shortly after a young customer alerted staff. Adding to this bizarre story, a local resident recounted his barn of Chickens a week prior and noted that he was missing one. A very close match to the description the resident picked up the chicken noting it was still not his.  The family still minus a chicken decided to give the alive McChicken  to the Rickerby family.

8: Prince Harry, Craig Kielburger and others inspires Youth at WE Day Toronto

The appearence of Prince Harry was a big surprise at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on September 28 to participate in a WE Day celebration. The Prince promoting the Invictus Games urged the crowd of thousands of young people to work together and help one another in order to build a brighter future.“We are stronger when we work together,” he said.

“We’re honoured to celebrate with young change-makers from Generation WE, who have earned their way to WE Day by taking action on local and global issues,” said Craig Kielburger, co-founder of WE.

7: Missing Boy at Cobourg Beach that Never went Missing

A reported missing boy aged 8 to 12, in the water was swimming and then disappeared said one witness in the water. With the apparent disappearance visitors got very concerned, lifeguards formed a land and water search. Hundreds could be seen chained together trying to search the water for the reported boy. After several hours everyone was told to exit the water and leave it to the Cobourg, Ontario Police and Canadian Coast Gaurd as several lookout boats and helicopter were despatched. The search was called off 3 hours after as no boy could be located with no active search warrant.

6. YMCA Honours Peace Medalists

This year those who were honour included: Graham Beer (Youth Peace Medal), St. Peter’s Anglican Church (Group Peace Medal), Sayed Sharifi (Adult Peace Medal), and Bill Patchett (Humanitarian Peace Medal). From November 18 – 25, during YMCA Peace Week, YMCA of Northumberland, together with YMCAs across Canada, celebrate the presence of peace in our communities and reflect on the peace-building work that happens all year both inside and outside the YMCA. 2017 marks the 30th Anniversary of the YMCA Peace Medal. 37 adult medals and 17 youth medals have been awarded locally to honour those who, without any special resources or standing, embody the values of peace in their actions.

5: Town of Cobourg Celebrates Canada 150

The Town of Cobourg celebrated in style for Cobourg 2017 and Canada 150. From the massive fireworks, world record attempt with Kevin Fast, Cobourg 2017 Time Capsule, Canada Day activities, Waterfront Festival and more there was a lot to get excited about this year.

4: Premier Kathleen Wynne Chats with Business Owners in Downtown Cobourg

Cobourg shoppers had quite the surprise during the annual Sidewalk Sale as Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne walked down King street to meet business owners and vendors. Wynne also enjoyed talking with residents, tourists, and shoppers who were taking in the festivities.

3: Cobourg Cougars Win the 2017 RBC Cup Title

The Cobourg Cougars, hosts of the 2017 RBC Cup, won this year’s National Junior A Champions title following a 3-2 overtime win over the Brooks Bandits. The Cougars opened up the scoring at 3:56 in the first period on a goal by Jamie Huber (Goderich, Ont.). Conner Jean (Oakland, Mich.) tied it up for the Bandits less than five minutes later, and the teams would stay at one goal apiece until a third-period goal by Bandits’ captain Nick Prkusic (Medicine Hat, Alta.) at 11:29 of the third. Ryan Casselman (Napanee, Ont.) forced the game into overtime, scoring with just one minute, seven seconds to go in regulation time; Nick Minerva (New Brunswick, N.J.) brought the building to its feet, netting the game-winner at 8:21 in overtime.

2: Shooting at Northumberland Hills Hospital

Cobourg’s biggest news story put our town on the map in 2017 for all the wrong reasons. Two 70 year olds were killed following a shooting inside Northumberland Hills hospital emergency room. After internal dispute between the elderly couple, the husband fired his gun at his wife, killing her instantly. The police then shot the husband leaving them both dead in the ER. “

Our staff and physicians are trained to deal with weapon-related situations,” Linda Davis, President and CEO of the hospital said in a statement.

1: A Special Cobourg Media Presentation from Vimy Ridge in France.

April 9, 2017 marked 100 years when Canada became a nation and all 4 divisions came together to fight the Great War at Vimy Ridge. Graham Beer captured and reported from France, England and Belgium extensively sharing impactful stories including the Commemorative Ceremony. Graham Beer also reported for CityNews Toronto interviewing Veterans and Canadians who made the trip. For more of Graham’s journey visit: www.cobourgmedia.ca/vimy100

Thank you for your ongoing support and viewership. This year we celebrated 5 years and we look forward to stronger more focused local journalism and video that we take pride in. Happy New Year and all the best in 2018.

Graham Beer is the Executive Producer for Cobourg Media.