2024 – A look back: Order of Canada; new MPP and police chief; children’s treatment center

While 2024 saw its fair share of controversies in Chatham-Kent, there was also plenty of good news.

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Here’s a look back at some of the positive stories from across the municipality this past year.

Local historians receive national recognition

In early January, local historians Bryan and Shannon Prince, were appointed to the Order of Canada for 2023.

The North Buxton couple, known for their efforts to promote Black Canadian history, admitted to being humbled by this recognition.

The order is one of Canada’s top honors, recognizing people across all sectors for their “extraordinary and sustained contributions” to the nation.

Shannon, who retired in December 2023 as curator of Buxton National Historic Site and Museum after 25 years, said she was “completely shocked” and cried when she and her husband heard the news.

“We received an email from the secretary’s office to the Governor General,” she said.

“My first thought was that someone we know has been nominated and they gave us as a reference,” Shannon said. “She wanted to set up a phone call and that’s when she told us.”

Shannon, an academic with contributions to the field of Underground Railroad research, has worked with York University, University of Toronto, Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Millersville University, and other historical organizations around the world.

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Bryan is an author and researcher in the areas of slavery, abolition and the Underground Railroad.

Mary Ann Shadd stamp unveiled at Chatham ceremony

The community’s rich Black history brought more national recognition to Chatham-Kent on Jan. 23 when Canada Post unveiled a new stamp featuring abolitionist, educator, newspaper publisher and lawyer Mary Ann Shadd.

Sharing the honor with her father Abraham Doras Shadd, featured on Canada Post’s first Black History Month stamp issued in 2009, officials said this is the first time in Canadian postal history a father and daughter, outside the Royal Family, have each appeared on a stamp .

Mary Ann Shadd launched The Provincial Freeman newspaper in 1853 in Windsor, becoming the first Black woman in North America to publish and edit a newspaper. Known as an anti-slavery newspaper that advocated for the advancement of and equality of Black people, Shadd moved the operations to Toronto, then Chatham, before it closed in 1860.

Shadd is the great-grant aunt of Chatham resident Brenda Edmonds Travis, who said having Shadd featured on a stamp “means so much pride for our family.

“We have always been on the forefront of making a difference in the community,” she said.

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Michelle Robbins, another Shadd descendant and curator of the Buxton National Historic Site and Museum, said, “It’s just a remarkable experience for (Mary Ann Shadd) to be on a stamp.

“She created such an amazing legacy for so many of us that we want to continue that,” Robbins said.

Couple praised for care, respect after discovery of Indigenous remains

A local couple found themselves in an unexpected situation when a geothermal project at their home backing on the Thames River west of Chatham unearthed Indigenous remains in January.

Soon after, Angelo and Rosella Ligori’s backyard was an archeological site, when the remains of six Indigenous people – four adults and two children – dating back about 200 years, were discovered.

The couple went through the steps to ensure the remains were handled with respect, which earned them praise from the Caldwell First Nation and the provincial government.

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Former Caldwell Nation chief Mary Duckworth applauded the couple when she went to the burial site at their home in July.

“I think it was a very lovely experience to meet Angelo because he was so open, so honest,” she said. “What I gleaned from it more than anything, he wanted to do the right thing and he wanted to build relationships.”

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In October, a marker was placed on the Ligoris property to preserve the area where the Indigenous remains were found.

The diligence and respect for Indigenous customs shown by the Ligori family “reflect a deep moral obligation to honor those who came before us,” said Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault while attending the ceremony to place the marker.

Angelo Ligori expressed their gratitude to the provincial agencies that helped them through the process, including with some financial assistance.

“It’s been a journey.”

Pinsonneault wins Lambton-Kent Middlesex byelection

Thamesville resident and former Chatham-Kent councilor Steve Pinsonneault made the leap to provincial politics by cruising to victory in a byelection held in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex on May 2.

He retained the seat for the Progressive Conservatives left vacant after former labor minister Monte McNaughton resigned from politics in the fall of 2023.

“I’m overwhelmed. I’m not going to lie to you,” Pinsonneault, 61, said following his victory.

Pinsonneault, a Thamesville small businessperson, jumped to an early lead in the first wave of results and never looked back, finishing with 15,649 votes.

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He won about 57 percent of the vote. Liberal candidate Cathy Burghardt-Jesson had about 23 per cent and New Democrat Kathryn Shailer received 11 per cent.

Crediting his campaign team and having knocked on more than 14,000 doors in the riding the size of Prince Edward Island, Pinsonneault said, “I definitely put the work into it, but you can’t do something like this without a great team in place. ”

Changing of guard at Chatham-Kent Police Service

Kirk Earley pledged to lead by example by putting service above self and noted he expected the commitment from others when he officially took over as the new Chatham-Kent Police Service chief on June 19.

Earley, who served as deputy chief, received his new badge from retired chief Gary Conn and his sister, Ontario Province Police Chief Superintendent Dana Earley.

The new chief said service above self is more than just a motto.

“It will be our way of life. We are public servants entrusted with a sacred duty of caring for each other and our community and we do this with honor and integrity, compassion and courage,” he said. “Safety is our primary responsibility. Every decision we make, every action we take must be guided by a commitment to ensure the safety of our members and our community.”

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Province delivers $58.9 million to build new treatment center

It was a great day for families on July 29 during a government ceremony to officially announce the Ontario has committed $58.9 million to fund the construction of a new Children’s Treatment Center of Chatham-Kent.

Construction is well underway for the new 5,388-square-meter (58,000-square-foot) treatment center that is expected to be up and running at the McNaughton Avenue West location in Chatham by the spring of 2026.

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The new larger site will have significant positive impact for the more than 700 children on the wait list to receive local services.

“This is an emotional day for me, it kind of feels surreal,” said Donna Litwin-Makey, treatment center executive director during the ceremony.

She was thinking of all the “amazing families” which have come through the center during the years. She said they taught the organization about how to do things right at the center.

The $59 million in funding was announced by Minister of Children, Community and Social Services Michael Parsa.

“I am some proud to be a member of the government that’s investing in these critical programs and services that families rely on,” Parsa said.

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