Judges arrive for Communities in Bloom Contest in North Bay
Judges are in town and checking out areas of North Bay for the Communities in Bloom contest, a city beautifying contest North Bay entered in February.
“We’re looking at everything from cultural to environmental stewardship, parks and rec, horticultural, we’re looking for the entire ball of wax basically,” said Communities in Bloom lead judge Matt Robertson.
The judges have gone to the waterfront, Lee Park, downtown and to local businesses in the city. They’re also heading out to many other locations on Wednesday.
“We’ve been touring all over the community, got to visit some of the post-secondary institutions and see the initiatives happening there,” said another judge, Cody Cacciotti.
“We’ve gone for a helicopter ride. Just the greenery, the canopy, is great here.”
Clean Green Beautiful North Bay has led the way when it comes to getting the city prepared for judgment. It’s been a vision of the group’s since 2019.
“We’re really pleased,” said group chair Harriet Madigan.
“The community is virtually litter-free, people have mowed their lawn, businesses have put out arrangements, so we’re very proud to show off our community.”
“You don’t have to do big things,” she added.
“You just have to do one thing and then collectively the community comes together and adds up to the value of one the power of many.”
Madigan told CTV News that North Bay can win the contest.
“Oh I am certain we can,” she said.
“I am absolutely certain we are going to do very well. We’re going to end up with an evaluation to tell us benchmarks where we are now, and then how we can do better.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For first time in more than 10 years, child dies of measles in Ontario
A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.
NEW Pack the macaroni necklace: Lessons on evacuations from a woman who fled one of Canada's worst wildfires
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
'Ugly produce': One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
Vatican revamps norms to evaluate visions of Mary as it adapts to Internet age and combats hoaxers
The Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, insisting on having the final say in whether the events are worthy of popular devotion.
Wildfires are dampening against cool, rainy weather, but there's plenty left to contain
An opportune system of cool, wet weather Friday is dampening the spread of wildfires across Western Canada, but there's still plenty of work for responders and residents alike.
5 secrets to moving better and preventing avoidable injury
Countless people seek emergency care for back pain, muscle strains and similar injuries resulting from “moving wrong” during mundane, everyday tasks such as bending over to tie shoes, lifting objects or doing household chores.
Zach Bryan and girlfriend Brianna Chickenfry are 'happy and alive' after 'traumatizing' car accident
Zach Bryan and his girlfriend Brianna LaPaglia were involved in a scary car accident earlier this week, according to LaPaglia, who recalled the experience in a candid video posted to her TikTok page earlier this week.
Trudeau calls New Brunswick's Conservative government a 'disgrace' on women's rights
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau assailed New Brunswick's premier and other conservative leaders on Thursday, calling out the provincial government's position on abortion, LGBTQ youth and climate change.