The City of Peterborough’s Utility Services Department Engineering Division has launched a new online map on the city’s website showing construction projects.

The interactive map shows current construction projects across the city and includes details on the type of work being performed, anticipated completion dates, and contact information for each project.

The map also identifies new subdivisions currently under development.

The city has launched the map as a reference tool for residents, businesses, and visitors to get information about construction projects and to help them plan transportation routes.

The map is located on the city’s website at www.peterborough.ca/constructionmap.

Blackbird Infrastructure Group, the consortium responsible for building the Highway 407 extension to Highway 115, has relocated six turtles in the path of the construction to a new wetland home.

The company moved four painted turtles and two snapping turtles from Nash Pond — a man-made pond created several decades ago for recreational purposes at Nash Road and Hancock Road in Clarington — to the Harmony-Farewell Iroquois Beach Provincially Significant Wetland Complex.

Earlier this month, Blackburn began draining the 4.5-metre-deep pond to install a new culvert under Nash Road and to build a bridge over Nash Road and Nash Creek as part of the construction of Highway 407 East Phase 2. The draining of the pond had been reviewed and approved as part of the environmental assessment completed for the highway’s construction.

Blackburn monitored the draining of the pond daily to ensure lower water levels posed no threat to wildlife living in the pond. When water levels were less than a metre deep on July 27th, a four-person team of biologists was able to safely enter the pond to review and collect wildlife for relocation.

The team found the four painted turtles and two snapping turtles (one of which was 60 centimetres or two feet long) and moved them to a slow-moving creek in the nearby wetland. No endangered or threatened species of turtle were identified in the pond prior to draining and none were found by the team.

To conduct the rescue, Blackbird obtained a Wildlife Scientific Collectors’ Authorization from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. The company also consulted Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, and the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority in developing a work plan to drain the pond and move the wildlife.

Painted turtles are the most widespread native turtle of North America, and get their name from their distinctive black shells with red or orange markings on the sides. The snapping turtle is Canada’s largest freshwater turtle, easily recognizable by their size and their long tails, which have dinosaur-like triangular crests along their length.

Neither painted turtles or snapping turtles are endangered or threatened in Ontario, although the Province of Ontario has designated the snapping turtle as a species of “special concern” — meaning it may become threatened or endangered in the future.

Photos supplied by Blackbird Infrastructure Group

The Civic Holiday on Monday, August 1st, is called Peter Robinson Day in Peterborough, James Cockburn Day in Cobourg, Simcoe Day in Toronto, Colonel By Day in Ottawa, George Hamilton Day in Hamilton, Joseph Brant Day in Burlington, Founders’ Day in Brantford, McLaughlin Day in Oshawa, Alexander Mackenzie Day in Sarnia, John Galt Day in Guelph, and numerous other names in other municipalities. Whatever you call it, the holiday is always celebrated on the first Monday in August.

The Civic Holiday is not a statutory holiday in Ontario and is not listed in Ontario’s Employment Standards Act or Retail Business Holidays Act. So most businesses are open on Monday, although some may have reduced hours. Most grocery stores, malls, and big box stores are open on Monday, as are most liquor and beer stores. Provincial and municipal government offices and services are closed.

For your convenience, we provide this list of 247 selected businesses, services, and organizations from across the Kawarthas. While we make the information on this list as accurate as we can, you should always call first to confirm hours if you’re travelling any distance (we’ve included phone numbers). If your business or organization is listed and the hours are incorrect, please let us know by using our content feedback form.

Search by business name, location, or keyword:

Beer & Liquor Stores

Drug Stores, Pharmacies & Health Services

Government Services

Grocery Stores

Malls & Box Stores

Other Stores

Recreation & Leisure

Veterinary Clinics

Here the results of water quality testing at beaches in Peterborough, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, and Northumberland County.

As of the date of this story, the following 13 beaches in The Kawarthas have been posted as unsafe for swimming:

• Beavermead (2011 Ashburnham Dr., Peterborough)
• Roger’s Cove (131 Maria St., Peterborough)
• Lakefield (100 Hague Blvd, Lakefield)
• Norwood (12 Belmont St., Norwood)
• Blanchard’s Road Beach (Bexley Township Area)
• Coboconk Lions Park Beach (Bexley Township Area)
• Riverview Beach Park (Bobcaygeon Area)
• Omemee Beach (Emily/Omemee Area)
• Paudash Lake Beach (Highlands East Area)
• Minden Rotary Lagoon Beach (Minden Hills Area)
• Bewdley Beach (Port Hope/Cobourg Area)
• Port Hope Beach West (Port Hope/Cobourg Area)
• Wicklow Beach (Port Hope/Cobourg Area)

In the City of Peterborough, Peterborough Public Health Inspectors sample the beaches at Rogers Cove and Beavermead every business day, and public beaches in the County of Peterborough are sampled at least once a week (except for Chandos Beach, Quarry Bay Beach, and White’s Beach which are sampled at least once in June, July, and August).

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit provides weekly testing results for beaches in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, and Northumberland County. Testing is based on the most recent test results from the provincial lab in Peterborough for water samples taken from these beaches.

Important note

The following test results may not reflect current water quality conditions. Water samples can take one to three days to process and heavy rainfall, high winds or wave activity, large numbers of waterfowl near a beach, or large numbers of swimmers can rapidly change water quality.

You should always check current conditions before deciding to use a beach. You should also monitor other factors that might suggest a beach is unsafe to use, such as floating debris, oil, discoloured water, bad odours, and excessive weed growth.

Also, you should confirm the most current test results by visiting the local health unit websites at Peterborough Public Health and Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit. As noted above, the beaches at Rogers Cove and Beavermead are tested every business day so the results listed below may not be current.

Peterborough City/County

Beavermead – UNSAFE

Belmont Lake – SAFE

Buckhorn – SAFE

Chandos – SAFE

Crowe’s Line – SAFE

Curve Lake Henrys Gumming – SAFE

Curve Lake Lance Wood Park – SAFE

Douro – SAFE

Ennismore – SAFE

Hiawatha – SAFE

Jones Beach – SAFE

Kasshabog Lake – SAFE

Lakefield – UNSAFE

Norwood – UNSAFE

Quarry Bay – SAFE

Roger’s Cove – UNSAFE

Sandy Beach – SAFE

Selwyn – SAFE

Squirrel Creek – SAFE

Warsaw Caves – SAFE

White’s Beach – SAFE

City of Kawartha Lakes

Bexley Township Area

Blanchard’s Road Beach – POSTED

Coboconk Lions Park Beach  – POSTED

Bobcaygeon Area

Beach Park – OPEN

Riverview Beach Park  – POSTED

Carden Township Area

Carden Township Beach – Unavailable

Foxe’s Beach – Unavailable

Dalton Township Area

Dalton Township Beach – Unavailable

Eldon Township Area

Centennial Park West  – OPEN

Emily/Omemee Area

Omemee Beach – POSTED

Fenelon Falls Area

Birch Point – OPEN

Bond Street – OPEN

Killarney Bay – OPEN

Sturgeon Point Beach – OPEN

Laxton Township Area

Elliott Falls Beach – Unavailable

Head Lake – OPEN

Norland Bathing Area – OPEN

Mariposa Township Area

Valentia Beach (aka Sandbar Beach) – OPEN

Somerville Township Area

Burnt River Beach – Somerville – OPEN

Burnt River Four Mile Lake  – OPEN

Verulam Township Area

Centennial Beach  – OPEN

Verulam Recreational Park – OPEN

Haliburton County

Algonquin Highlands Area

Dorset Parkette – OPEN

Elvin Johnson Park (aka Stanhope Beach) – OPEN

Dysart et al Area

Eagle Lake Beach – OPEN

Haliburton Lake South Bay – OPEN

Sand Point (aka Indian Point) – OPEN

Pine Lake Beach – OPEN

Sandy Cove Beach – OPEN

Silver Lake (aka Kashawigamog Lake) – Unavailable

Highlands East Area

Gooderham Beach – OPEN

Paudash Lake Beach – POSTED

Lake Wilbermere Beach – OPEN

Glamour Lake Beach – OPEN

Minden Hills Area

Bissett Beach – OPEN

Little Horseshoe Lake Beach – Unavailable

Minden Rotary Lagoon Beach – POSTED

Minden Rotary Main Beach – OPEN

Twelve Mile Lake Beach – OPEN

Northumberland County

Brighton Area

Cedardale – OPEN

Little Lake – OPEN

Campbellford Area

Crowe Bay Fun Park – OPEN

Hastings North – OPEN

Hastings South – OPEN

Seymour Conservation Area – OPEN

Port Hope/Cobourg Area

Bewdley Beach – POSTED

Harwood Beach – OPEN

Port Hope Beach East – OPEN

Port Hope Beach West – POSTED

Sandy Bay Park – OPEN

Victoria Beach (Cobourg) – OPEN

Wicklow Beach  – POSTED

Last year, we reported that Red Urban, an award-winning advertising agency in Toronto, had completed a commercial for carmaker Subaru filmed at two farms in the Kawarthas area: Harley Farms in Peterborough County and Shropshire Hills Farm in Northumberland County.

Called “Sheepdog Buddy”, the 60-second commercial featured an injured border collie who alerts his owner when a flock of sheep escapes through a fence. The farmer carries the sheepdog into a 2016 Subaru Forester and uses the SUV to herd the sheep — satisfying the injured border collie’s need to do his job.

Subaru has now released the next video in the series, called “Slowpoke”, to promote the 2017 Forester. Watch it below.

2017 Subaru Forester – Slowpoke | Subaru Canada

In this video, the border collie star of last year’s “Sheepdog Buddy” now has a litter of pups.

The sheepdog family is out in the fields when the dinner bell rings, and they all race together towards the farmhouse — except for one pup who has some trouble and gets left behind.

The farmer retrieves the straggler in a 2017 Forester and then overtakes the other dogs, so the underdog pup gets his dinner first.

For more information, and to watch the original “Sheepdog Buddy” commercial, read our story from last year.