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Inspiring
These words are long overdue. I suggest that for many, Prince Edward County would be unrecognizable were it not for the generosity and kindness of Lanny and Catharine Huff. There is scarcely a corner, a cultural activity or community gathering place that has not benefited from their grace. Their thoughtfulness. Their good-heartedness.
The newly invigorated Festival Players theatre company concluded its hugely popular summer season on Sunday with an achingly powerful performance of Mary’s Wedding. Did you know Lanny and Catharine Huff have sponsored each and every season of this theatre for the past 11 years?
The Prince Edward County Jazz Festival recently finished another exhilarating week of incredible music and performance. Its seventeenth. Lanny and Catharine Huff have been core supporters from the beginning.
Last week, a bit more prosaically, a new pylon sign was erected at the entrance to the Prince Edward Community Centre and fairgrounds. The attractive new high-tech beacon provides information and marketing for these community venues. Lanny and Catharine Huff were the largest financial contributors to this new structure.
That’s just what they’ve helped build in our community over just the past few weeks. Consider the lifetime of beneficence Lanny and Catharine have graced this community. Their community.
Their generosity extends far beyond grand projects. When the gazebo in Wellington park was felled by windstorm a few winters ago, Lanny and Catharine gave generously to the rebuilding effort. They gave to the Wellington arena and to the Ruth Abernethy sculpture of Sir John A. Macdonald, a magnificent addition to the centre of Picton. They give generously to Camp Trillium and to the local foodbanks. The Regent Theatre. And on and on.
Wherever there are volunteers working to make the community better, you can bet confidently they are getting support from the Huff family. Quietly. Without fuss. Without grand gesture.
Many will have heard their names, associated them with the winery and inn, but perhaps failed to connect them to some of the great and small things that help define this community.
Both Lanny and Catharine were born and raised in the County. In 2001, they purchased land once cultivated by his ancestors to grow grapes. There they built an impressive vineyard, winery and inn. A magnificent 3.5-acre sculpture garden graces the enchanting rural destination.
Local roots don’t fully explain the depth and breadth of their kindness. Rather there seems a quiet determination to use their good fortune and success to work with others to make their community a bit better every day. Not with words or remonstration, but with generosity.
Lanny and Catharine Huff have made the County I know a wonderful, joyous and hopeful place. For that I say, thank you.
Brave
It was an important test. A wind developer had cautioned the County to get out of its way. If Shire Hall didn’t grant it the permits it needed, the developer threatened to seek a legal remedy. And costs. It was a significant threat. Big developer. Small municipality. Big typically wins these kinds of fights.
But council defied the developer at a special meeting last week. Now it waits for a September 7 deadline, by which time the developer has demanded the municipality’s compliance.
The developer, wpd Canada, saw its original ambitions for 27 turbines trimmed back to nine by an Environmental Review Tribunal last year due to threats to endangered species in the South Marysburgh project area. While some thought the project may have died with this verdict, the province recently agreed to amend its original power purchase contract enabling the developer to proceed with the smaller project.
wpd Canada has had a track record of bulling its way through process and community concerns—clearing swaths of land in the project area well before the ERT had reached its finding about the impact of industrialization of this fragile natural habitat for birds, bats and animals.
Now it’s facing off against the municipality. At issue is a road use agreement and other permits contingent upon the project meeting certain criteria set by the County.
The developer argues the municipality has little jurisdiction in this project, that the County must work in good faith with wpd Canada. Otherwise they can simply sidestep the municipality as acting unreasonably. Indeed, the way the province’s safeguards and protections have been so ravaged by the Green Energy Act, all the developer has to do is simply wait out the County. Then it will go back to provincial authorities and say they tried and proceed as they planned all along.
Council might have buckled with this looming threat. After all the deck is stacked against it. The province is likely to support the developer—or risk its own litigation. It has already paid $28 million in damages to an American developer that was planning to erect a 300 MW industrial wind turbine project in the shallow waters off Wolfe Island before the province imposed a moratorium on offshore wind development in 2011.
The County might have rolled over. They instead took a stand against the powerful developer. Ultimately it may prove to be a pointless gesture, but symbols are important.
We need to see our local government fighting for our community. For nature. For decency. Good on them.
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