Dawn Orr
Dawn Orr With a successful two terms under her belt as a Ward 4 councillor for the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, Dawn Orr of Sheguiandah says she has more she’d like to see accomplished. Last term she helped to put on a strategic session at the Centennial Museum of Sheguiandah, inviting the public to hear their thoughts on what would make Ward 4 and Sheguiandah a better place in which to live. As a result, the museum was designated as a ‘community hub,’ with events taking place there all year long, hosting fall and Christmas fairs, contests, arts and crafts and plenty of offerings in the summer and winter too. “And it’s working,” she smiles. “There is so much volunteering that is driving this, and of course our wonderful curator Heidi Ferguson.” Ms. Orr sits on the museum advisory committee, which she said is made up of an “awesome group of people who really, really care.” She is also part of the citizen liaison group for the landfill, sits as a member of the Manitoulin East Municipal Airport Commission and is a board member of Little Current Place. “We’ve seen so much happen here (Howland) like the new waterfront, parks in Howland and roads being done,” Ms. Orr said. “The town has maintained a budget at zero, but the cost of everything goes up,” she continued. “We’ve done our best to keep tax rates as low as we can while maintaining services.” “I would like to see so much more accomplished,” Ms. Orr shared. “I would like to see NEMI get its own Official Plan, our issues with the Manitoulin Planning Board sorted and make sure NEMI is part of helping to keep the Cup and Saucer viable. We need to be involved with that, it’s an incredible resource,” she added, thanking the people who make that land available for use as a destination hiking trail. Ms. Orr said she would like to see more emphasis put on maintenance of municipal assets in order to keep costs down in the long run. “Sheguiandah has so many wonderful resources that I would like to see developed,” she added, citing the examples of the waterfront, parks, hiking trails and the archaeological site. “We also have all these neat community halls that are an important part of the community and council needs to be there for support when they need it,” Ms. Orr continued. “They are so important for the community.” More affordable seniors’ housing in the municipality is something else Ms. Orr would like to see made a priority by the next council. “It’s something we need to keep encouraging—we’re an older population and we need to get more housing that they can actually afford.”
