Port Hope Rotary Club Meeting April 13, 2026

Co-Chair Kevin Moore welcomed the attending Members and Guests.
Guests this evening;

Bob Gibson - Introduced Lyn Giles, our guest speaker from the Five Counties Children Centre
Serving the counties of Peterborough, Northumberland, Haliburton and the City of Kawartha Lakes. Since 1975.

Jim Millington introduced his wife Diane Milliington.
Kevin – introduced Susan Rafuse's husband Ted Rafuse.
Bruce Coleman present as per normal, however he had retained today was his special day, Happy Birthday Bruce.
Following the regular opening format procedures the decision of which table was first to the food fare for the evening.
General highlights of upcoming events;

Apr 20th - Capital Theatre hosting a BBQ welcome to their coming events. The Club will be manning the BBQs. SET UP TIME 2;00PM,
SERVING AT 4;00PM ENDING 7;00PM.

Apr 26th - Clean Up the Town
Note the BBQ’s will be set up on the 26th at the Town Rec Centre.
Volunteers assistance will be needed for this.
 

May 2nd - Epic Day of Service- Multi Rotary Clubs participating. Great way to meet other club members. Volunteering with the planting of new trees and creation of a pollinator garden at the Northumberland Land Trust property on Telephone Road near the radio station. Bob Wallace had sent out an email earlier describing the event. Should you wish to attend, Notify Bob.

JUN 20 TH – UPCOMING SURF N’TURF!

Join us for a mini-slo-pitch tournament to celebrate our summer production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown! And just like the Peanuts gang, this tourney is about fun more than skill. If baseball isn’t your thing, visit the Bark Park hosted by Northumberland Humane Society and treat your furry friend to a complimentary snack, nail trim and face paint before they put their paw into the Best Dog-In-Show Completion. While you are there, visit the BBQ & Brew station and enjoy something from the Bar or BBQ hosted by Rotary Club of Port Hope and Tim & Dean from Atelier on John.

Admission is Pay What You Can for spectators and dogs.

The Municipality of Port Hopes invites residents to celebrate Earth Week with a full day of community-focused environmental action at the Green Together Sustainability Expo and Community Clean-up on Sunday, April 26, at the Town Park Recreation Centre.

The Sustainability Expo is the second annual event hosted by the municipality's Environmental Advisory Committee, taking place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and bringing together environmental groups, students and community innovators to showcase practical ways residents can help protect and enhance the natural environment.

It's a free all-ages event that features a wide variety of local contributors, hands-on demonstrations, engaging workshops and a youth showcase of creative sustainability projects.

Councillor Claire Holloway Wadhwani (chair of the Environmental Advisory Committee) said the invitation is out to residents of Port Hope and beyond.

“Whether you're already leading green initiatives or just curious about how to make a difference, there's something here for you,” Holloway Wadhwani said in the announcement.

“This isn't just another event – it's a launching pad for real change. People will leave with practical skills they can use right away, connections to local initiatives they can join, and the inspiration to make their homes, businesses and neighbourhoods greener.

“That's what gets me excited about this Expo – learning from each other and taking real action together.”

As part of the day's activities, residents are encouraged to roll up their sleeves for the Community Clean-up that begins at 12:30 p.m. Volunteers will work together to pick up litter and refresh shared community spaces in an action-oriented complement to the learning and inspiration at the Expo.

Councillor Adam Pearson, who organized this activity, said it's a reminder that “when we come together, even small actions can create a meaningful impact. It's about neighbours supporting neighbours, taking pride in our shared spaces, and showing what community in action looks like.”

Following the clean-up, participants are invited to stay for a community barbecue at 2 p.m. to celebrate the collective effort and foster connections among volunteers, residents and partners.

Gloves and waste bags will be provided to all who register, which you can do at porthope.ca/green-together.

Bree introduced the guests Scott Cameron potential new member and Carrie-Ann Atkins and Jacquie Crandles from OPG.

Ron mentioned 

Julia has moved to a new host family in the north of Cobourg with Alina a member of the Rotary Club of Cobourg.

Ron also mentioned that Emma Treneney is looking for donations of support for her exchange semester in Norway next fall. Several club members have contributed to to help Emma, if you would like to donate get it to Ron by next t Friday 

John Davidson spoke with someone at the Port Hope Jazz festival who asked him to share the event pamphlets. They are looking for sponsorship and John suggested the club should consider 

donating to the event. 

Monday March 23 our own Jim Millington is featured in Murdoch Mysteries which plays at 8pm on CBC. 

Carrie Anne Atkins and Jacquie Crandles from OPG gave the club a presentation

The presentation started with an overview on Ontario's energy system and explanation of Ontario Power Generation and their company holdings.

The presentation focused on the Wesleyville new nuclear project. Its has been zoned for electrical production for 50s years.

They are proposing a 1300 acre nuclear power 10000 mega watt power station. 

OPG are currently completing an impact assessment. Its is estimated the project will contribute 6.8 billion to the local GDP. 

The community wide benefits include opportunities for co-located industries; direct and indirect spending by OPG employees, corporate charity giving and environmental causes.  OPG are working closely with willow beach field naturalists and Northumberland land trust. 

2026 the impact assessment was launched, people provided comments on the initial project assessment and now OPG are preparing responses to all of the issues raised during the 30 day comment period. 

In parallel with the impact statement, OPG will be working with the CNSC to prepare for the licence application.

It's a multi phased approach and OPG is currently in stage one. Phase is is expected i. 2027/2028

Reactor technologies are being examined to determine which would work best in the environment. A number of assessments are also being completes including hydrology and geology, land use, socio-economic, traffic and transportation and many more. 

Next steps are community engagement. An information sessions are being hosted in Port Hope (May 6) and Cobourg (may 8) and then virtual meetings May 20

Coffee with Paul is an event being hosted with the Chamber of Commerce later this spring. 

Paul Tait asked about how AI will be impacted with OPG. Jacquie responded that the planned increase in AI use and data centers will require a large volume of energy. 

Kevin asked if the early 2030s is the construction period how long will it take? Carrie Anne explained they could build one unit and bring it online while working on building the next unit. 

How are OPG working with students to attract more people to the trades? 

In Darlington they created a partnership across industry and would collaborate with other organizations. Currently working with Loyalist and other institutions to make sure they have the right programs offered to train people for the jobs. Cameco and CNL are also participating in the discussion.

Ken thanked the presenters and said he remembers the stack going up and it will be great to see it in use. Jacquie encouraged everyone to visit the education center on Toronto Road. 

Ken announced that Steve and Drina are becoming assistant district governors for the coming year. 

The President Committee worked on a nomination list for the board and the in coming presidents. Ken, Bruce and Bree will will be the presidents committee  for the coming year and are excited to lead the club. 

There have been people doing the same roles for years so we are shaking things up a bit. Riley will be treasurer, Ron will be secretary, Kathy Wallace Foundation.

Ken proposed the board with a motion, John Davidson seconded the motion.

With no objections the board was acclaimed.  The board size has been reduced to make meetings more efficient.

The four big fundraising events are Fall Fair, Christmas Market, Flavours of Port Hope and Surf & Turf. Members will be asked to lead and sign up to support these events. When the list comes out please sign up to help with a few. 

Upcoming dates: April 15 is the Port Hope connect event. Last year there Rotary Club sponsored the pizza 🍕 and handed it out to participants. 

Rotary is partnering with Municipality in an epic day of caring. Adam Pearson told us more about it, on  April 26 is a Environmental Cleanup day followed by a community-focused Barbecue. OPG are bringing their robot dog and Cameco are bringing their new fire trucks. CNL is also participating.

The sustainability expo is also taking place from 10-3 at the rec centre. Its called Green Together and the clean up starts at 12pm and finishes at 2pm with the Barbecue. Adam asked about Rotarians and KofC help manning the barbecue. Adam is coordinating the free hotdogs and asked the club to consider donating. 

The club will need to look at addressing the cost if the meetings. Still pay $20 at the door and then pay annually toward the hall rental fees. 

At the meeting on March 30 we will be doing a hands on activity to sew sanitary pads for young women in the Dominican Republic. Please accept or decline the meeting to ensure we have an accurate count for food. 

The Capitol Theatre asked the club to host a barbecue on April 20 at Wladyka Park. But the club has many previous commitments for April so unfortunately the club are over extended. And transporting the Barbecue is a challenge. 

Meeting closed at 730 with the singing of O'Canada led by John Davidson the Lisa Graham. 

Sew Girls Can Go To School