Photo: Bonnechere Park, Harrison Haines
The Current: free and flowing
The Madawaska Valley Current is your online source for bold, bracing and balanced local coverage of community growth, current affairs and cultural matters. The Current is published here in the Valley by residents Roger and Danielle Paul through their company MadValley Media. We are grateful to a team of contributors and sponsors who, like us, are committed to enhancing life in this community.
If your business recognizes The Current’s unique attributes, you can help us with your advertising support. Our goal is to cover costs so that we can continue to keep The Current free and free flowing both online and via our monthly limited distribution print version. You’ll notice that clicking on an ad in The Current often links to more information about that event, organization or company.
Call or email to see how you and your business can get involved. We look forward to working with you.
About MadValley Media
Roger is publisher of The Madawaska Valley Current. He practiced law in both Ontario and the UK before his retirement in 2010 when he and Danielle moved into the Valley house they had built. His connection to the area dates back to the early 1970s when Danielle introduced him to its many attractions, not least being the lure of a frequently used bolthole from the hectic pace of Toronto where they lived at the time. Roger was formerly a board member of St. Francis Memorial Hospital and of the Renfrew County Legal Clinic.
Danielle is The Current’s Editor. Her Valley roots go back to childhood. She grew up hearing stories of the Valley from her father, Leo Bonnah, and his uncle, Fr. Bill Dwyer, parish priest in Madawaska. After retiring in 1968, Leo served on the St. Francis Memorial Hospital board and was heavily involved in the birth of Valley Manor. Danielle was formerly president of the Renfrew County Museums Network and a board member of her lake association (CTLG). After graduating from OCAD, she worked mostly in marketing, including as culture and tourism coordinator at the Railway Station 2013-16.
Contributors
Prior to returning to Barry’s Bay where he grew up, Roger enjoyed a 35-year career in leadership and executive roles with technology and software companies. His support of government agencies and municipalities throughout North America and abroad gave him a deep understanding of successful attributes for effective leaders in this space. As a Founder and President of 100 Men Who Care and Board Member with Durham Hospice and Advisor Board member with one of IBM’S Think tanks Roger has always looked for ways to give back to his community.
Elser Lee (Faith) Archer’s governmental experience both
at the provincial and municipal level — the latter as a councillor — coupled with her professional expertise as a social worker and mediator, will provide our readers with valuable commentary and insight. As a community volunteer, Archer has played a leading role in the Communities in Bloom success in recent years and stepped up to ensure the Barry’s Bay Triathlon continued. She wears many hats including as an Employment Consultant for Links to Health and is an advocate for youth and people of all abilities.
James di Fiore is a freelance journalist focusing on politics and media. James lives in Killaloe with his wife and two children. He has done occasional interviews for chcr.org in Killaloe. Since 2017 James has worked as an Assistant Librarian at the Madawaska Valley Public Library in Barry’s Bay. James is a regular on podcasts for Blackball Media and deanblundell.com Click HERE to check out the videos of his latest podcasts.
Descended from railroaders and hotel keepers, Mark Woermke has deep roots in the Madawaska Valley. Now retired from his career as a high school teacher in Ottawa, Mark lives in the Madawaska Valley gardening, writing and enjoying its cultural wealth and natural beauty.
What you can do
Please provide your feedback to get The Current flowing effectively. We welcome contributions and story ideas from the whole community. (Email to madvalleycurrent@gmail.com) Bookmark www.madvalleycurrent.com and follow us on social media. Friends and family without internet can enjoy limited distribution of a print version of The Current available free at local outlets.
Commenting on articles
We invite you to comment on articles published by The Current. You can use the “Leave a Reply” form for that purpose. Please note that your full (genuine) name and email is required. We reserve the right to decline to publish comments without this or if the content is offensive. Reader comments about an article posted on The Current’s Facebook page may also appear on The Current’s website at our discretion.
Letters to the editor
We welcome letters to the editor. Some quick guidelines:
Please send letters to the editor via email lettersmadvalleycurrent@gmail.com or The Madawaska Valley Current, PO Box 1097, Barry’s Bay, ON K0J 1B0. Please include your first and last name, address and phone number for verification (these will not appear in print; your name and municipality will). Please provide the title and date if you refer to an article in the Current. If you are responding to an online article in The Current, please note that you can comment in the “Reply” box following the article. We monitor all comments to ensure these guidelines are followed.
Please note that due to volume, we cannot respond to individual letters. Keep your letter short. While longer letters are sometimes published, we prefer letters of under 200 words – even a sentence or two. Keep it civil, even if you are writing to disagree with someone. We cannot run every letter we receive and will edit for length, clarity and style.
We look forward to hearing your voice.
Code of Ethics
We at The Current confirm that we subscribe to journalistic ethics as recommended by The Canadian Association of Journalists. This means we follow the principles of accuracy, fairness, independence, transparency, promises to sources, diversity and accountability. We also follow the section regarding special issues relating to digital media. Click HERE to read the CAJ Ethics Guidelines.
The Current is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. If you have a complaint about news stories, opinion columns or photos see NNC information at mediacouncil.ca or call 1-844-877-1163.
Legal Stuff
Opinions and information published in The Current, in whatever form, do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Current.
All the writing, artwork, and photographs published in The Current are the copyright of the author or artist or The Current in the case where no author is specified.
Permitted Use
You may display, download or print the information on the site for your own internal and non-commercial purposes provided that you observe all copyright and other propriety notices contained on such information. You may not, however, use, display, distribute, modify or transmit any information including any text, images, audio or video for commercial or public purposes without the express prior written permission of its owner. You must not transfer the information to any other person unless you give them notice of, and they agree to accept, these same obligations.
The Current is published by MadValley Media, P.O. Box 1097, Barry’s Bay ON K0J 1B0
