Community News

ROTARY FISHING PLATFORM OPENS AT HERITAGE PARK

PROJECT, BUILT ALONG KEMPENFELT BAY, WAS FIRST PONDERED MORE THAN A DECADE AGO

CHRIS SIMON chris.simon@simcoe.com

Construction, like fishing, is an exercise in patience.

Members of the Barrie, Barrie-Huronia and Kempenfelt Rotary clubs opened a long-awaited fishing platform on the Heritage Park shoreline June 16. The weather was hot and humid, but a slight breeze rippled through the water, and you could see kayakers, canoeists and sail boats in the distance on Lake Simcoe as about 40 people helped break in the structure.

The 24-foot by 40-foot fishing platform was the vision of Coos Uylenbroek and Barry Peacock more than a decade ago, and first officially proposed to the city in 2018. Fundraising for the project came from events like the Barrie Fall Fishing Festival, Kids Fishing Day and Retro Fun Run and Walk.

"This platform reminds me a lot of catching a big fish," fall festival co-chair Stuart Pound said. "You need a lot of patience. It was worth waiting for."

Thousands of people are expected to use this free public space each year. The clubs are also planning to construct an artificial reef to help draw fish near the platform.

Deputy mayor and Rotarian Barry Ward said, the rotary club has contributed, probably more than any other group, to the city's waterfront through work on Southshore

Community Centre, a clock at the foot of Bayfield Street and other initiatives. "Heritage Park is a great park, but the one flaw is the shorelines aren't very accessible," he said. "This project addresses that. People of all abilities can get to the shoreline (now). This is a wonderful thing (the clubs have) added to our city."

The structure is open in time for the first Kids Fishing Day to be held in three years. That event takes place at the park June 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"The Kempenfelt club became involved as a way of acknowledging our fishing day and the two individuals (Uylenbroek and

Peacock) who were the driving force behind our event ... where kids could come to the beautiful waterfront, fish and spend time with family, all at no cost," Kempenfelt club member George Dangerfield said, choking up while noting Uylenbroek died in 2019. "Over the years, thousands of children and their families have enjoyed the fishing, food and entertainment. Some fish were caught. A lot not. But the smiles when that four-inch perch was brought ashore made the whole event worthwhile."

For more on the fishing day, visit kempenfeltrotary.ca.

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2022-06-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-06-23T07:00:00.0000000Z

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