As the new year approaches, it’s that time again when we begin to look back over everything that has happen this past year.
As part of that tradition, BradfordToday has compiled a list of five of the most-read articles for the 2023 calendar year.
This list is based on page views and focuses on local reporting that resonated with readers, by excluding police briefs, lottery winners and regional stories.
1) Large trucking company ‘can’t wait to make Bradford our home’ — Aug. 5
The BWG Office of Economic Development announced that Vaughan-based shipping and warehousing company Highlight Motor Group would be breaking ground Aug. 10, on a new 100-acre (40-hectare) facility just south of Line 6 on Sideroad 5.
With offices, a yard for tractor trailers, a large warehouse and a repair shop, the facility is planned to be the new headquarters for Highlight which has about 1,500 trailers and 760 trucks across seven locations in Canada and the United States.
Those facilities are expected to cost about $250 million to build and could bring as many as 2,000 jobs to the area, including for drivers, maintenance staff, sales people and other support staff.
Currently headquartered near the CN Rail yard in Concord, the company began looking for a new home due to a recent shift in development, which began posing logistical problems.
Looking to the north, the company found Bradford West Gwillimbury, with available land located along a major highway and in between two major hubs: Barrie and Toronto.
During the ground-breaking ceremony, local dignitaries praised Highlight and its president and chief executive officer, Kirk Kalinitchenko.
If construction goes well, the company is hoping to move in by summer of 2026.
2) ‘Side hustle’ turns into booming business for Bradford woman — Jan. 28
Bradford’s Jessica Carbonara transformed a side project into a booming businesses making floor and house beds for toddlers and young children.
Growing up watching her uncle and grandfather work as carpenters, she picked up on the skills to create a bed for her own daughter, and when family and friends saw it, they encouraged her to build more.
After about a year of building beds for “one-off” occasions, Carbonara decided to take things to the next level and advertised her services on Facebook, with her listing receiving more than 6,000 clicks within the first four days.
She builds all standard sizes up to king and can do even do custom sizes as well — all from real spruce pine wood, which is now being sourced from a sawmill in Hamilton to ensure “a high quality pure pine product.”
Knowing that nothing is more important to people than their children, Carbonara has spent “countless hours of shop time” trying to make her beds the best they can be, which has led to positive reviews.
“I have started to receive some referral orders which is the best thank you anyone can give me,” she said.
While the business is still a second job for Carbonara, she estimates she has built hundreds of beds so far and is hoping to build about 100 more in 2024.
“Working in a cold single garage building furniture was definitely not what I envisioned I would be doing at 30, but I am so thankful this happened and it is full steam ahead,” she said. “The community has been so receptive and welcoming and I am so appreciative for the support.”
Anyone interested in purchasing her work can call 647-448-9399, or visit Carbonara’s Facebook Marketplace profile.
3) Bradford West Gwillimbury to begin planning for population boom — March 10
With another 40,000 people proposed to call Bradford West Gwillimbury home by 2051, the town was working on an official plan update to plot that growth.
Committee of the whole recommended on March 7 and council approved on March 21, that staff move forward with requests for proposal for consultants to help with $585,000 worth of reviews to prepare for more residents and jobs in the municipality by 2051.
Alan Wiebe, manager of community planning, proposed a two-phased approach to completing the update, starting with an “intensification first” review, in the hope of requiring fewer than almost 450 hectares to meet the growth target.
Part of Phase 1 of the plan would include looking at the 800-metre area surrounding the GO Transit station on Dissette Street and establishing a minimum density of 150 residents and jobs per hectare.
Since then, the province revised the growth numbers, expecting Bradford to be home to almost 60,000 people by 2031 and close to 90,000 by 2051.
In response to a request on June 16 from then Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Steve Clark, committee of the whole recommended on Aug. 15 that council approve a new Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury Municipal Housing Pledge and staff’s recommended target of 3,440 new homes by 2031.
Council approved that pledge on Sept. 5, but not before Premier Doug Ford announced revised targets for building new homes in 21 municipalities, during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario’s annual general conference in London on Monday, Aug. 21.
For Bradford, that meant an increased target of 6,500 new homes by 2031, or about 813 new homes per year between now and then.
The mayor didn’t see that as a problem though, and the town provided the province with an updated pledge.
4) Carrot Fest draws 60,000 people to Bradford — Aug. 20
Bradford was bustling on Aug. 19 and 20 as an estimated 60,000 people came out to enjoy Carrot Fest and Paul Novosad was there to capture the action in photos.
Voted as one of the Top 100 Events in Ontario by Festival and Events Ontario for more than a decade, Carrot Fest returned to town this summer and visitors came back as well.
Carrot Fest takes place in the downtown and at the Bradford and District Memorial Community Centre. The festival featured a large market with hundreds of vendors, Aqua Dogs, professional wrestling events, a kids zone, live stage entertainment and more!
Carrot Fest is a celebration of the region’s agricultural heritage, especially the role of the carrot in the local economy, thanks to the black organic soils of the Holland Marsh, which make Bradford one of Canada’s biggest carrot-producing regions.
5) Long-time Bradford family honoured for decades of service — Feb. 9
Mayor James Leduc and members of council gathered to celebrate the Tomizza family, and present them with a special honour, naming a street after them.
The Tomizza family owns and operates Dominion Farm Produce and for the past 57 years has built a brand that is recognized in grocery stores near and far.
Along with its generous donations and partnerships with community groups and associations, Dominion Farms has provided regular donations of healthy and locally grown produce to the Daily Bread Food Bank since 2007.
In 2018, Dominion Farms received the Best in Class Awards' Harvest Hero Award for its commitment to ending hunger in Toronto.
Dominion Farms also recently won the agricultural award during the the Bradford Board of Trade’s annual Business Excellence Awards Gala at the Club at Bond Head Oct. 28.
