As kawarthaNOW published over 1,300 stories in 2024, choosing the top 24 stories has been a challenge to say the least.
Perennial topics such as the economy, housing, and healthcare continued to dominate local headlines, with education and crime adding to the mix this year, although there were fewer local stories this year related to extreme weather and climate change, unlike the previous two years.
A highlight of 2024 included some controversial issues that came out of Peterborough city council, including a decision to redevelop an urban greenspace to include multiple pickleball courts and a proposal to cut city funding to arts and community organizations, both of which galvanized significant responses from the community.
The past year also had the usual mix of tragic stories, light-hearted stories, and good news stories — so many of the latter, in fact, that we simply can’t include them all.
We’ve chosen a selection of our 24 most-read, most-shared, and most interesting stories from the past 12 months, presented below in chronological order.
1. Peterborough Community Health Centre receives provincial funding
In February, the Ontario government announced it was investing $3 million in the newly established Peterborough Community Health Centre, which is expected to connect up to 11,375 people to primary care and will also serve as a hub for coordinating social services, home care, and working with health care and Indigenous partners in the community.
From its temporary location in Peterborough Square, the centre was aiming to begin seeing patients by the fall once a dedicated team of health care professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners, traditional healers, and allied health professionals, had been hired.
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2. Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation launches largest-ever fundraising campaign
Months after receiving a legacy donation of $2 million from Anne Keenleyside in February and shortly after receiving a $500,000 donation from long-time philanthropists Patricia and David Morton, the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) Foundation unveiled the largest fundraising campaign in the hospital’s history.
The $60-million Campaign for PRHC, which aims to address systemic challenges by reimagining healthcare at PRHC, had already raised $45.5 million thanks to previous donations. The focus of the public portion of the campaign is to raise funds for substantial investments at the hospital in the areas of cardiac care, cancer care, minimally invasive surgeries, interventional radiology, and mental health and addictions services, as well as a physician-driven “innovation accelerator.”
3. Lakefield couple wins $70 million lottery jackpot
In February, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) announced that the winning ticket for a $70 million Lotto Max jackpot had been sold in Kawartha Lakes.
Two months later, OLG revealed that a Lakefield couple — Doug and Enid Hannon — were the lucky winners. Enid had purchased the ticket at Kinmount Independent Grocer and Doug discovered it was a winning ticket. The couple, who have been married for 51 years, kept the win secret from their children and grandchildren for weeks until they could get legal advice.
While it was nowhere near the Hannon’s win, Peterborough artist Lisa Martini-Dunk also got lucky with Lotto Max later in the year, winning $500,000.
4. Peterborough city council approves changes to citizen advisory committees
In February, Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal brought forward a proposed by-law for a new portfolio chair system for city councillors, which included giving councillors the power to dissolve citizen advisory committees. Although some members of council and the community raised concerns about the new power, Mayor Leal called the concerns “malarkey” and council passed the by-law.
Eight months later, Mayor Leal brought forward a report that included a recommendation that city councillors no longer sit on citizen advisory committees and boards. Although the recommendation resulted in more concerns from the community and from members of the committees themselves, council approved the recommendation.
5. Two regional health units are merging into one
In February, the boards of health for Peterborough Public Health and Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit voted to merge the two health units to take advantage of promised provincial funding for public health agencies that decide to voluntarily merge by January 1, 2025.
The boards of health submitted a joint voluntary merger application to the Ontario government in the spring, which was subsequently approved and, in December, the boards voted to proceed with the voluntary merger, which takes effect on January 1, 2025. As part of the agreement to merge, the new health unit will receive over $10 million in provincial funding.
6. Visitors flock to Northumberland County to view total solar eclipse
For the first time since 1979, Ontario was in the path of a total solar eclipse on April 8 and southern Northumberland County was a prime viewing area, with Brighton, Colborne, Grafton, Cobourg, and Port Hope along the path of totality.
In anticipation of an influx of thousands of people to the area to view the eclipse, officials from Northumberland County and partners held a media briefing in March to prepare local residents and to share information on how to safely view the eclipse and later, a few days before the event, asked residents to make safety and emergency preparedness a priority.
On April 1, kawarthaNOW shared a story about how a Peterborough native was going to pilot a commercial jet with a bubble canopy to chase the moon’s shadow and give passengers an unobstructed view of the eclipse.
7. Food Not Bombs takes on Peterborough city hall
In March, after almost 19 years of serving free community meals in Confederation Square across from Peterborough City Hall, the grass-roots volunteer organization Food Not Bombs was suddenly told by the City of Peterborough that it now needed a permit to serve meals in the public park, because of a parks and facilities by-law passed in August 2019 to help prevent homeless tent encampments in city parks.
Despite being served with a formal trespass notice, Food Not Bombs continued to serve meals in the park and, after intense community opposition, Peterborough city council approved a by-law amendment in April that allowed Food Not Bombs to operate without a permit.
8. North Kawartha’s only grocery store reopens
More than three years after it was destroyed by fire, Sayers Foods in Apsley reopened in March.
The family-owned independent grocery store had been operating for more than 45 years when an electrical issue at the back of the store resulted in a fire on December 5, 2020, leaving up to 2,300 year-round residents and 12,000 seasonal residents in North Kawartha Township without a grocery store. Rebuilt from the ground up in the same location as the original building, the new Sayers Foods has increased square footage and an expansive deli.
However, some other communities in the Kawarthas were not so lucky in 2024 when it came to having their own grocery stores. The Foodland store in Little Britain in Kawartha Lakes closed permanently in March, and parent company Sobeys also announced it would not be reopening a Foodland in Colborne after that Northumberland County town lost its grocery store to fire in May 2023.
9. Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development dissolves after 25 years
In March, it became publicly known that the City of Peterborough would not be renewing its agreement with Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED), which had been providing economic development and tourism services for both the city and county of Peterborough over the past 25 years, and would instead be delivering the services in-house.
Since the city supplied the not-for-profit corporation with the majority of its core funding, Peterborough County also decided to withdraw from the tri-party agreement and, in June, PKED announced it would be dissolving at the end of 2024 to a lack of funding. A week later, Peterborough city council was presented with a proposal for a new economic development division within the city, which they unanimously approved, despite later second thoughts by some councillors.
During those discussions, the city’s CAO revealed that the provincially funded local Business Advisory Centre previously administered by PKED would be taken on by Community Futures Peterborough, and the new Business Advisory Centre was officially opened in September.
That was the same month that it was revealed that the City of Peterborough had hired only one of the 16 PKED employees who will lose their jobs in the new year, and that PKED was still “waiting” for city to initiate knowledge transfer from PKED with only three months left to go before the organization was set to dissolve.
Meanwhile, Peterborough County announced that the former post office in download Lakefield, which had reopened after a $1.6-million retrofit, would become the home of Peterborough County’s new economic development and tourism office in Lakefield, and would be shared with representatives from Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures Peterborough.
In September, a day after Sarah Budd announced she was resigning as president and CEO of Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce, Peterborough County revealed it had hired Budd along with former PKED president and CEO Rhonda Keenan to join Tracie Bertrand in leading regional economic growth and tourism for the county, which officially opened its new business information hub in downtown Lakefield in October.
10. City of Peterborough’s Bonnerworth Park redevelopment creates pickleball controversy
While the City of Peterborough’s proposal to locate 16 pickleball courts in Bonnerworth Park arose from a consultant’s report in 2023, it was only in March 2024 when neighbourhood residents saw the city’s proposed design for the $4.4 million redevelopment project for the urban park off Monaghan Road south of Parkhill Road.
In April, that proposal was approved by Peterborough City Council despite efforts led by councillor Joy Lachica for further discussion and growing community opposition to the potential traffic and noise that would result from 16 pickleball courts in the park as well as the loss of greenspace. That opposition led to the creation of the Save Bonnerworth Park citizens’ group (later Friends of Bonnerworth Park) that, later in the year, was unsuccessful in its attempt to stop the city’s redevelopment of the park.
In recognition of the ongoing Bonnerworth Park redevelopment and pickleball controversy throughout 2024, kawarthaNOW selected Friends of Bonnerworth Park as its Peterborough newsmaker of 2024. For more details, including links to kawarthaNOW’s coverage throughout the year, read Paul Rellinger’s story.
11. Fleming College announces elimination of 29 programs
In April, kawarthaNOW broke the news that Fleming College had suspended 29 programs effective for the fall, with most located at the college’s Frost campus in Lindsay. The announcement came less than a year after the college had suspended another 13 programs, including most of its culinary programs, due to declining enrolment and other factors.
According to Fleming College president Maureen Adamson, the college’s board of governors made the decision to cut the 29 programs — which included Conservation and Environmental Law Enforcement, Fish & Wildlife Technology, GIS Applications, and Heavy Equipment Techniques — largely due to revenue reductions due to the federal government’s cap on international students coming to Ontario and the elimination of educational private partnerships.
The college’s decision to cut the programs resulted in a backlash from union locals, local employers, students, and trade associations, with Kawartha Lakes city council passing a resolution encouraging the provincial and federal governments to support academic programming at the Frost campus.
12. Peterborough police link shooting incidents to illicit drug trade
Although police report that violent crime has decreased in the City of Peterborough since 2022, there were seven shooting incidents in 2024, many of which police say were linked to the illicit drug trade.
In April, a 32-year-old Peterborough man was shot dead at the Sunshine Homes housing complex at 572 Crystal Drive, which is owned and operated by the Peterborough Housing Corporation, with police arresting a 37-year-old Peterborough man for murder the following day.
In May, a 24-year-old Oshawa man suffered a gunshot wound after a housing unit takeover at 850 Fairbairn Street, a 36-unit townhouse operated by the Peterborough Housing Corporation. Police arrested a 22-year-old Niagara region man and two male teenagers from the GTA.
In September, a 17-year-old Scarborough male suffered multiple gunshot wounds after what police say was a drug-related shooting at 701 George Street North.
In November, police responded to a report of shots being fired at 850 Fairbairn Street, where multiple units of the townhomes were struck with bullets. Although no one was injured, police called the incident “disturbing” and related to “the drug sub-culture in the community.”
Throughout the fall, Peterborough police held a series of public meetings across the city, including in East City, to share crime statistics and to provide an update on enforcement initiatives. To the surprise of many people, police revealed that occurrences of violent crime in the city have dropped by one per cent since 2022, and that non-violent crime had dropped by more than seven per cent.
Despite those decreases, police responded to 10 per cent more calls in the first eight months of 2024 compared to the same period last year, although only 16.5 per cent of those calls were criminal in nature. However, police laid 33 per cent more criminal charges compared to the same period in 2023.
13. The new Canadian Canoe Museum opens
After two-and-a-half years of construction following a decade of planning challenges, the new Canadian Canoe Museum officially opened its doors in May with a celebration that featured dignitaries from all levels of government, including Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor Edith Dumont.
The 65,000-square-foot two-storey building is located on a five-acre property on the shores of Little Lake and was purpose-built to house the world’s largest collection of canoes, kayaks, and paddled watercraft, with exhibitions telling the story of the canoe and a lakefront campus offering on-water and outdoor education programming. The museum also features a second year-round location of the popular Silver Bean Cafe.
The opening of the world-class museum attracted national and international media attention, with National Geographic naming the Canadian Canoe Museum as one of the 20 best new cultural hot spots in the world for 2024 and hit boating lifestyle TV show Water Ways TV naming Peterborough and the Kawarthas as “destination of the year”, in part because of the new museum.
The late Professor Kirk Wipper, who donated his immense watercraft collection in 1994 to the organization that would become The Canadian Canoe Museum and open its original facility on Monaghan Road in 1997, was inducted into Peterborough’s 2024 Pathway of Fame.
14. Moose on the loose in Peterborough
In June, Peterborough residents were transfixed when a moose was spotted wandering around the west end of the city. The moose was eventually safely captured when conservation officers with the Ministry of Natural Resources tranquilized the animal, tagged it, and relocated it.
While it is rare for a moose to be seen as far south as Peterborough, early summer is when yearlings are rejected by their mothers and begin foraging on their own, which can lead them to unusual places.
kawarthaNOW publisher Jeannine Taylor had her own close encounter in June, when a young female moose wandered onto her family cottage property and stayed for four days, munching on leaves, lounging, and sleeping before eventually leaving of its own accord.
15. Lakefield’s Hamilton Bus Lines loses contract with Student Transportation Services
In July, Lakefield’s Hamilton Bus Lines lost its contract to operate 87 bus routes for Student Transportation Services of Central Ontario, which awarded a 10-year contract instead to Concord-based company named Wheelchair Accessible Transit (W.A.T.).
Under the new contract, W.A.T. acquired 30 routes from Hamilton Bus Lines, 55 from Student Transportation Services, 15 from Century Transportation, and one from First Student.
An online petition in support of around 100 affected Hamilton Bus Lines bus drivers drew a huge response, with upset drivers and their supporters criticizing STSCO’s bidding process as well as lamenting the awarding of a portion of its bus route contract to a company that is headquartered outside of the region.
The situation left W.A.T. in the position of having two months to hire 100 bus drivers to take over the affected routes by the fall. The company opened an office in Lakefield, held an information sessions, and offered incentives to bus drivers, including those who formerly drove for Hamilton Bus Lines.
16. Peterborough city council approves extended timeline for modular bridge housing community project
In August, the City of Peterborough received an award from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) for its modular bridge housing community project, which was established in 2023 as part of a homelessness services plan to help end a controversial tent encampment near the Wolfe Street shelter.
The city had constructed 50 modular homes at Wolfe Street, along with shared washroom facilities and a central service hub, using funding through the Ontario government’s homelessness prevention program.
In September, Peterborough city council considered a staff report that recommended keeping the modular housing community at its existing location, extending it beyond its original end date of November 30, 2025, installing up to 16 additional modular homes at a cost of up to $1.12 million, and investing an additional $75,000 to enhance security at the site.
City council eventually approved keeping the site at its current location beyond November 2025 and providing $75,000 in funding to enhance security at the site, but deferred a decision on expanding the site with additional modular homes.
17. Peterborough city council rejects temporary use zoning by-law amendment for PATH sleeping cabin community
In August, Peterborough city council considered an application for a temporary use zoning by-law amendment that would allow Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH) to build 24 one-room sleeping cabins at the former location of the Peterborough Humane Society on Lansdowne Street in the east end of the city.
Although PATH’s application had the support of city staff, council voted 8-2 against approving the temporary use zoning by-law amendment after hearing from 10 delegations that included neighbouring businesses and residents who objected to the location of the proposed sleeping cabin community.
The decision was reminiscent of an earlier council decision in December 2022 to reject a temporary use by-law amendment for PATH for a different location. At that time, city council had advised PATH to work with city staff to find another location.
In March 2023, PATH entered into a three-year lease agreement with Habitat for Humanity Peterborough and Kawartha Region for the purpose of providing transitional shelter support at the Lansdowne Street site, which Habitat had purchased with the intention of later developing multi-unit affordable residential housing. PATH then began the land use planning process that would eventually result in an application for a temporary use by-law for the site, which is currently zoned as commercial.
Following city council’s second rejection of its application for a temporary use zoning by-law amendment, PATH announced in October that it was fighting back against the decision and had filed an appeal with the Ontario Land Tribunal.
18. New fishing rules protect salmon on the Ganaraska River in Port Hope
In July, the Ontario government launched a survey on proposed new fishing rules on the lower Ganaraska River, including a move to create a new fish sanctuary for Chinook salmon and to prohibit fishing from the CN Bridge to Jocelyn Street during the peak of the salmon run from September 1 to October 14.
Every fall, Port Hope sees an influx of both anglers and spectators during the annual salmon run, when tens of thousands of migrating Chinook salmon return to the Ganaraska River on their way to upstream spawning habitat — making it one of the largest salmon runs in Ontario.
Over the past couple of years, a group of Port Hope residents led by Sean Carthew had become increasingly concerned about the lack of regulations around fishing in the Ganaraska River in Port Hope that results in regular issues in the fall during the annual salmon run. Not only do some anglers catch and slaughter the breeding salmon for their eggs, discarding the rest of the fish, but they leave trash and fishing hooks behind, prompting Port Hope residents to organize a clean-up every fall.
In the fall of 2023, Carthew — who organizes the annual “Run Salmon Run” event for non-anglers who wish to celebrate the annual salmon migration — launched an online petition to urge changes to protect the salmon. About a month after he launched his petition, there was some response, with Carthew meeting with local politicians who formed a group to look at the issue, and with the Ministry of Natural Resources reaching out to the Port Hope mayor.
At the end of August, the Ontario government announced the new fishing rules had been approved and would take effect on September 1.
19. Fire closes historic Doube’s Trestle Bridge between Peterborough and Omemee
In early September, a fire closed the historic Doube’s Trestle Bridge, a popular spot along the Kawartha Trans Canada Trail between Peterborough and Omemee. About 15 metres of the bridge’s decking were destroyed, and underlying structural beams were also damaged.
The fire came five years after the original wooden decking of the bridge, which was rotting, was replaced with composite lumber at a cost of $140,000. The project was funded by the National Trans Canada Trail office, private donations, Kawartha Trans Canada Trail Association supporters, and federal grants.
The Kawartha Trans Canada Trail Association secured an engineering firm to assess the fire damage to the bridge and determine the extent of the structural damage and repair requirements. The engineering assessment report has been sent to Infrastructure Ontario, the Crown agency responsible for public infrastructure and real estate for the Ontario government. While a contractor has estimated the repair costs at between $50,000 and $100,000, there has been no word yet on when repairs will be completed.
20. Peterborough city council designates The Martin House as a heritage property and then changes its mind
In September, Peterborough city council voted to provide a heritage designation to The Martin House, a historic property at 1400 Monaghan Road.
The heritage designation prevented the current owner of the property, GTA-based J & J Developments, from tearing down the building or making modifications that would destroy heritage features of the building. The company had purchased the property in late 2023 with the intention of demolishing the building and redeveloping the property’s large lot for a six-storey residential housing complex.
The city’s Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (PACAC) had recommended the building be designated under the Ontario Heritage Act as being a property of cultural heritage value or interest to the City of Peterborough.
However, following council’s decision, J & J Developments hired Toronto-based law firm Overland LLP to file a notice of objection to council’s decision, as permitted under the Ontario Heritage Act. The objection included a report from Toronto-based ERA Architects Inc. that disagreed with the report from PACAC, stating that the building had no heritage value.
In light of the notice of objection, in late November council reconsidered its decision to provide The Martin House with a heritage designation, with much of the discussion focused on the state of the building and the developer’s plans to build needed housing. In the end, council voted 6-5 to withdraw the heritage designation, which means the developer can proceed with its plans to demolish The Martin House and build a six-storey residential housing complex on the property.
21. Peterborough Humane Society video win secures $20,000 for animals in need
In September, a fundraising video for the Peterborough Humane Society created and donated by Peterborough-based creative agency Unmanned was entered into the 2024 People’s Choice Wagsies Awards, presented by the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and the Hill’s Food, Shelter & Love program.
The video, entitled “Never Too Late”, was one of five finalists for the awards and the only Canadian entry. Released for a holiday campaign in December 2023, the heartwarming video tells the story of an elderly gentleman crafting a gift for someone named Lucy, who turns out to be a dog he is adopting from the Peterborough Humane Society.
In November, the Peterborough Humane Society announced on social media that it had won both the “Best Public Service Announcement Award” and the “People’s Choice Award”, with the latter award including $20,000 for animals in need. The awards were presented at the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement’s annual conference in New Orleans.
22. Peterborough filmmaker’s documentary on The Monarch Ultra premieres
In October, Peterborough filmmaker Rodney Fuentes debuted his documentary The Monarch Ultra — five years in the making — to an appreciative crowd at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre.
Weaving in the story of the monarch butterfly and interviews with pollinator advocates across North America, the documentary takes a behind-the-scenes look as a group of long-distance runners followed the 4,300-kilometre migratory path of the monarch butterfly from Peterborough to Mexico during the inaugural Monarch Ultra relay run in fall 2019.
Along with Fuentes, the other members of The Monarch Ultra team — Carlotta James, Clay Williams, and Guenther Schubert — were present at the screening to answer questions from the audience about the film, the relay run, and the monarch butterfly.
For those who missed the premiere, the film will be presented again at the Market Hall at 10 a.m. on Friday, January 24th as one of the films screening during the 2025 ReFrame Film Festival.
23. Autistic Havelock teen found safe after going missing for 17 days
On October 13, 18-year-old Logan went missing from his Havelock home. Although Logan, who has high-functioning autism and some other mental health issues, had gone missing before, it was only for a day or two and he was found close by.
His family grew increasingly concerned after two weeks went by and he had still not been found. His mother set up a Facebook group, which grew to over 11,000 members, where people posted possible sightings, organized searches, and more.
It was 17 days later when police finally found Logan safe and sound in an abandoned building in Havelock, which was one of his regular “hideouts” and had previously been searched several times.
24. Peterborough city council considers 25% funding cut to community organizations
In November, Peterborough city council considered a proposed 25 per cent across-the-board cut in city funding to 75 arts and social services organizations. The proposed cuts prompted a large rally outside of city hall, as well as presentations from 17 of the affected organizations to city council describing the impact of the cuts.
A week later, council decided against proceeding with the funding cuts but then, hours later in the same meeting, they voted to defund the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) in 2025, affecting programs and activities including the Bierk Art Bursary Program for graduating high school students, the Peterborough Arts Awards and Mayor’s Luncheon for the Arts, Artsweek, the Poet Laureate program, the Grants for Individual Artists program, and professional development workshops.
City council also decided to support some other funding cuts, including saving $120,000 through a staffing reorganization at the Peterborough Public Library that would see two staff positions eliminated and other staff paid less, saving $100,000 by not maintaining the Trent Canal rink for 2024-25 (although some Peterborough residents are still skating on the canal), and saving $40,000 by eliminating lifeguards at one of the city’s two beaches.
On the other side of the ledger, councillors decided against reneging on a $150,000 per year settlement agreement with the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) and voted to increase funding for homelessness programs and to provide Showplace Performance Centre with a $500,000 interest-free loan, among other things.
Council also decided to defer approval of the 2025 draft budget until February to give city staff additional time to come up with additional possible funding reductions that councillors will review at a meeting on January 20.
