The heavy equipment has been rolling for the last couple of weeks. We now have about 560 tonnes of screenings graded and packed on the trail. There will now be about 200 tonnes of topsoil delivered and graded to finish all of the grading for this project.

We are looking forward to the completion of the Thornton-Cookstown Trail upgrades in Thornton. There has been much preparation work done over the last two years.

Since the beginning of this project, there have been many individuals and businesses who have made contributions and pledges towards the project. Please note the following list:

Lafarge (Creemore) - committed to delivering the stone screenings for the trail surface at a greatly reduced price.

Clarkson Trees (Innisfil) - donated the use of  backhoe for a day to be used for clean up. They have also pledged the service of his tree moving truck and driver for a day to move trees.

Gerry Robinson (Cookstown) - donated many hours of service as a backhoe operator

Colin Partridge (Thornton) - donated his tree carving services to carve a "Tree Spirit" on the trail in Thornton. It can be seen from County Road 21 at the trail access point.

Phil Clark (Thornton) - donated his time and chainsaw to procure the large cedar trunk used for the Tree Spirit.

Don Smith (Egbert) - donated the cedar tree for the Tree Spirit

H.F.Smith Lumber (Cookstown) - donated two 4L cans of high quality finish to preserve the wooden Tree Spirit carving.

John Dolinar (Thornton) - provided a tractor and wagon and driver to transport the large cedar trunk.

Kevin Roberts of Kallen Homes (Thornton) - donated the printing and the postage of the announcement for a community meeting.

Mike Clairmont of Fairmeasure Products (Thornton) - donated his services as a surveyor and provided us with a survey of the Thornton trail for drainage purposes.

Giselher Weber (Thornton) - donated his time to do some additional surveying.

Wendy Loevenmark - donated her services as a Landscape Engineering Technician to complete the Grading Plan and consulting on trail designing ideas

Kyle Yakimovich provided many hours of assistance and consultation on the Grading Plan and with general construction ideas

Munro Concrete Products (Barrie) - donated two catch basins to be used for onsite drainage.

Anonymous (Toronto) - donated hundreds of flower bulbs for the trail.

John Goodfellow - pledged the use of his gravel truck and driver for a day.

Thornton Hydro Committee - has donated $9000.00 towards this project.

Many other people have offered their services to do many different tasks to contribute to this project.

It is very exciting to see so many people working together to make Thornton a better place. They are providing a quiet, safe place for people to walk, run, cycle, and cross country ski.

We are still looking for someone to work on fundraising and signage, and we always welcome new people to get involved with the project. There are numerous opportunities for people to contribute.

If you are interested in getting involved or if you would like more information, contact Alan Hewson 705-428-9922 alan@countryworkshop.ca

Submitted by Alan Hewson - Project Manager