Section of trail will recognize Whitehead

July 8, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
Plans are in the works to rename part of the trail system running near Albion Hills Conservation Area in honour of Richard Whitehead.
Mr. Whitehead was a long-time member of Caledon council, sitting as Regional representatives for Wards 3 and 4 (Caledon East and former township of Albion) until last year. He also sat for many years on Toronto and Region Conservation Authority.
Mr. Whitehead died in April at 71.
The announcement of the renaming was made last Wednesday at the Canada Day celebrations at Albion Hills. TRCA and Town of Caledon staff will be working together to get the portion of the trail renamed.
“It’s a great way to honour his life and what he stood for,” Mr. Whitehead’s daughter Kate commented at the announcement. “He was a man who quite simply understood the immense value of being in nature. He understood all of it.”
“I think it’s really cool to recognize Richard for all the environmental work he did,” commented Mayor Allan Thompson.
Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson recalled that Mr. Whitehead was president of the local Liberal riding association while he was running as a Conservative.
“During elections, it was war,” he declared, but added that Mr. Whitehead was a good source of information on what was going on between elections. “I’m forever thankful for that. We need you Richard.”
“I think that Richard Whitehead was a great friend of Caledon and a great friend of TRCA,” Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia jones remarked.
Councillor Jennifer Innis, who sits on TRCA, said the trail will have connections near the Palgrave Rotary Pavilion, going around the Mill pond and connecting with the nearby estate subdivision and the Caledon Pan Am Equestrian Park. She added there have been numerous calls for these connections.
“What a fitting way to pay tribute to Richard,” she observed. “It got unanimous support at the (TRCA) board.”

The dedication of a trail in the memory of the late councillor Richard Whitehead was announced last Wednesday at Albion Hills Conservation Area. Members of the Whitehead family, including daughter Kate, wife Ruthe and grandchildren Oskar, Orla and Leo Hockmann, were joined by Albion Hills Supervisor Jay Clark, Dufferin-Caledon MP David Tilson, Councillor Jennifer Innis, Mayor Allan Thompson, Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones, Palgrave Rotarian Bernie Rochon and Doug Miller, senior manager for conservation and parks with TRCA.
Photo by Bill Rea