The future of the Elgin County Railway Museum: ‘Looking outside of what the building currently is, what could it be’

It was an evening not for decision-making but for sharing information.
A public information meeting to update the community on the current state of the Elgin County Railway Museum building and an exciting look at what the future could hold.
A well-attended session on Thursday at the CASO station to present an overview of the current condition of the building, with a discussion of the challenges and opportunities for the structure.
The takeaway was quite stark. The museum will be closed to the public for an extended period of time to allow the roof to be removed, along with the walls, to determine the structural integrity and undertake remedial action.
And then put all the pieces back together again.
Friday morning, we spoke with Scott Sleightholm, President of Railworks Coalition, to compare notes on what transpired the previous evening.

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‘You have to put your constituency first, always’ and that in a nutshell explains the lack of endorsement from former MP Karen Vecchio

If you’ve known Karen Vecchio for even the shortest time she served as MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London (EML), you would have sensed that community comes first.
She was elected by members of the community to serve all members of the community.
EML PC MPP Rob Flack summed it up best at Vecchio’s retirement party last month.
One of the attributes that Flack most admires in Vecchio is that she is ecumenical.
“Not in the religious sense, but in terms of working across party lines, working across issues throughout this community that maybe have no partisan or political colours.

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CECI grad got in there and gave it a try . . . now she’s captain of the ship

city_scope_logo-cmykIt would be nothing short of a prodigious understatement to say Kathryn Whittaker has an office with a view. Likewise, her current stature is an epic voyage distant from a summer job hostessing aboard a tour boat in Toronto harbour.
On March 10 of 2018, the former St. Thomas resident was promoted to captain of the Sea Cloud II, a magnificent 94-passenger tall ship built in Spain in 2000 and operated by Sea Cloud Cruises of Germany.
The firm notes she is the first female Canadian captain of a passenger cruise ship and the first female captain for Sea Cloud.
Whittaker just completed a trip from the Caribbean back to Spain on April 18 and we caught up with her Friday (April 20) at her Ottawa home.
Recounting her career path from the foot of Bay Street in Toronto to life spent on open waters should commence with tales of her early years in a sea-faring family.
However, nothing could be further from the truth. Continue reading