There's a new effort to try and get a solution to the future of the Dionne Quint's home on Seymour.
A petition has been created called, "Save the Dionne Home - birthplace of the Quints!". As of noon Tuesday it had 159 signatures.
The future of the home has been murky after the Chamber of Commerce moved their office from the location to downtown. The Chamber had been operating the home as a tourist attraction, owning many of the artifacts while the city owned the home and the land.
See: What to do with the Quints museum?
An earlier effort by a pair of private citizens, Roch Legros and Russell Robinson of North Bay, to move the home to its original location in Corbeil failed earlier this year.
The two presently own the former Dionne Farmstead property in Corbeil.
See: Dionne quints home to return to its roots?
The originator of the petition, Jeff Fournier says on the webpage, "The Dionne homestead and related artifacts are an important historical and cultural asset belonging to the City of North Bay and its citizens and is a huge part of the city's heritage.
"The purpose of this petition is to appeal to the North Bay Mayor and City Council to preserve the homestead and to keep it in North Bay. We appeal to the Mayor and Council to begin the process of ensuring that the Dionne homestead and its associated artifacts are designated a heritage property under the Ontario Heritage Act."
Fournier says an appropriate property to re-locate the Dionne homestead should be found within the City of North Bay, preferably at the North Bay Waterfront and in close proximity to the Discovery North Bay Museum.
"The City should operate the homestead as a museum in order to promote an understanding and respect for the property and for the Dionne Quintuplets, along with their historical and cultural significance to the City of North Bay, to the Province of Ontario and indeed, to the whole of Canada.
"The City of North Bay should assume all operating and maintenance costs of the Dionne home. A suitable lessor may assume the operation and maintenance of the home, provided it remains within the City of North Bay and provided that its value as a heritage property and museum is recognized and respected," continues Fournier.
