You can help the Peterborough Humane Society win $20,000 by voting for their “Never Too Late” video, one of five finalists in the 2024 People’s Choice Wagsies Awards and the only Canadian entry.

You can vote at hillspet.com/wagsies-awards once per day until one minute before midnight on Thursday (September 26). The video that receives the most online votes will win up to $20,000, with second place winning $10,000.

Released for a holiday campaign last December, “Never Too Late” tells the story of an elderly gentleman bearing a gift for someone named Lucy.

With its full title “It’s never too late to fall in love again,” the video was created and donated by Peterborough-based creative agency Unmanned.

“We really wanted to encourage the community to either adopt or if they can’t adopt, donate, or if they can’t donate, help spread the message and awareness about these animals in need,” Unmanned co-founder and chief marketing officer Kyle Christie told kawarthaNOW last December.

In the minute-long ad, an elderly gentleman — played by Christie’s own grandfather — crafts what appears to be a leather belt in his workshop, before wrapping it as a gift and readying himself to meet someone named Lucy.

VIDEO: “It’s never too late to fall in love again”

After leaving his house carrying the gift, the man arrives at his destination and waves a greeting at a smiling woman who emerges from a building to meet him.

The ad’s big reveal is that the man has actually arrived at the Peterborough Animal Care Centre. The woman is a volunteer who brings the man a dog named Lucy he has adopted, and the man’s gift is a leather collar for Lucy.

The touching and heartfelt video is obviously resonating with those voting online for the Wagsies Awards. The only Canadian video among the five finalists, “Never Too Late” was leading the voting at the time this story was published.

However, a video called “Beware of Bullies” by Missouri’s APA Adoption Center was only a few hundred votes behind in the voting.

The other videos up for contention are “Scotty Adoption” by Pasado’s Safe Haven in Washington, “Cadbury Paws” by Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA in Virginia, and “A Lifesaving Haven” by Houston SPCA in Texas.

Presented by the Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and the Hill’s Food, Shelter & Love program, the Wagsies Animal Welfare Video Awards are described as “a celebration of the incredible work shelters do for pets and our communities.”

With files from Megan Gallant.

Over 900 trees and shrubs were planted in Peterborough by volunteers on Saturday (September 21) during two different projects.

Otonabee Conservation worked with 59 volunteers to plant 300 trees and shrubs along the shoreline of the Otonabee River at the Riverview Park and Zoo in an event supported by TD Tree Days, a program that contributes to the TD Ready Commitment target of helping plant one million trees by 2030. Participating in the program since 2021, Otonabee Conservation has has helped plant over 2,500 trees and shrubs locally.

The native species planted on Saturday included fragrant sumac, nannyberry, serviceberry, gray dogwood, and chokeberry. Not only do these species will support natural diversity and help to mitigate climate change, but they will provide shade and stabilize soils along the shoreline, supporting the efforts of the Riverview Park and Zoo to naturalize the shoreline of the Otonabee River.

Meanwhile, in Kiwanis Community Park, 60 volunteers helped plant 620 new trees to enhance the city’s urban forest canopy as part of Tree Canada’s Community Tree Grant program and the Trees 4 Peterborough initiative.

The Rotary Club of Peterborough, Peterborough GreenUP, Otonabee Conservation, the LCBO, RBC Dominion Securities, the Excelsior Group, Peterborough Homes, and Merrett Home Hardware all supported the project.

A diversity of native tree species were planted at the park to replace around 400 dead or dying ash trees that succumbed to the emerald ash borer. The dead or dying trees, along with understory vegetation that was predominantly invasive buckthorn, were removed in August.

In a surprising reversal of a vote at the previous week’s general committee meeting, Peterborough city council voted in favour of a heritage designation for a historic property at 1400 Monaghan Road known as The Martin House during the regular city council meeting on Monday night (September 23).

The heritage designation prevents 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.

In a report presented to general committee last Monday (September 16), 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.

Located on the northeast corner of Monaghan Road and Homewood Avenue, The Martin House was built between 1930 and 1931 for local businessman Herbert Samuel Martin — an innovator in the emerging industry of corrugated containers in the early 20th century — by Henry Thomas Hickey.

Hickey was a prolific contractor who worked on more than 100 buildings in Peterborough, including the old Hunter Street Post office in 1906, the duplex at 5 Fleming Place in 1916, and the Hunter Street Bridge in 1920. He also worked on buildings in Toronto, Bethany, Curve Lake, Lindsay, and other locations.

“1400 Monaghan Road has cultural heritage value or interest as a unique example of a residence for an affluent owner executed in a blend of the Spanish Colonial and Georgian Revival styles in Peterborough,” reads the PACAC report. “The residence retains many of the original exterior features which define the Spanish and Georgian Revival styles as well as residential design reflecting social and technological changes following the First World War.”

“The residence integrates seamlessly into the Old West End, a neighbourhood which reflects the emerging ideals of interwar suburbanization. With its carefully conceived design, massing, and materiality 1400 Monaghan Road is a sympathetic and significant contributor to the overall character of the turn-of-the-century neighbourhood.”

When considering the heritage designation at the September 16 general committee meeting, councillors had discussed the current condition of the building, which was allowed to fall into disrepair by the previous owner and whose interior has been damaged by a water leak, as well as the developer’s concepts for redevelopment of the property.

The general committee vote to designate The Martin House as a heritage property lost 4-6, with councillors Joy Lachica, Alex Bierk, Keith Riel, and Gary Baldwin voting in favour and councillors Don Vassiliadis, Dave Haacke, Andrew Beamer, Kevin Duguay, Lesley Parnell, and mayor Jeff Leal voting against. Councillor Matt Crowley was absent from the meeting.

When considering the heritage designation at the September 23 city council meeting, councillors heard a delegation from John Cooper, principal of J & J Developments.

“The severe damage inside the building was a result of neglect by the previous owner after eight years of being vacant,” Cooper said with respect to the building’s condition. “Given the house was in such a state of disrepair, we developed a vision of revitalizing the site to meet the needs of this growing community.”

Cooper said his company hired Peterborough-based architectural firm Unity Design Studios (formerly Lett Architects Inc.) to “prepare early concepts for the site” and the company is in the “very early stages” of preparing to file a rezoning application to the city.

“While we deeply respect Peterborough’s rich history and the importance of preserving its heritage, this designation request would effectively kill our proposed development without providing us the opportunity to go through the public application process required by the Planning Act,” Cooper said. “Had the property been designated prior to our purchase, we most certainly would not have bought it.”

Councillor Lachica asked Cooper if he was aware the property was listed in the City of Peterborough’s heritage register. The heritage register is a list of properties identified as having cultural heritage value or interest that are designated or could be designated.

“We understood it was listed,” Cooper said.

“So you understood it could be designated before the end of the year, which has now been extended by the province to two years in order to have listed properties be designated?” asked Lachica. “You knew that when you purchased it, then?”

Lachica was referring to the province’s requirement under the More Homes Built Faster Act for municipalities to review their heritage registers by January 1, 2025, identifying properties on the registers that would be designated and removing other properties from the registers so they could be made available for potential development.

Cooper replied that, while his company was aware the property was listed on the heritage property, at no point did the city’s heritage staff inform them of their intention to designate the property.

Following Cooper’s delegation, Peterborough lawyer and former city councillor Ann Farquharson spoke in favour of the designation of The Martin House, pointing out that the developers purchased the property “for a bargain” — $1.1 million according to Farquharson — with the intent of tearing down the building so the lot could be developed.

“You don’t go and decide to tear down one of the most spectacular properties in the city to use it as a vacant lot,” said Farquharson, suggesting the building could be used for other options such as an art gallery, or the developer could rehabilitate the building or recoup their investment by selling to someone else who would restore the building.

“If they’ve spent more than than on architects and everything, well, that’s presumptuous — they shouldn’t have done that,” she said. “If they wanted to demolish, they should have come to council for a demolition permit. They would have had to give you 60 days’ notice (for a property listed in the heritage register) and you would have had to decide whether it was worthy of designation. They didn’t do that.”

Later on in the meeting, councillors returned to the heritage designation item, with the discussion involving many of the same points made at the previous week’s general committee meeting.

Councillor Haacke reiterated his concern about the city designating a heritage property against the wishes of the owner, something councillor Parnell agreed with while also repeating her concerns about the unsafe condition of the interior of the house, although she admitted she has not seen the inside of the house.

Councillor Bierk reiterated his support for the heritage designation, noting that the designation does not preclude any development on the property.

“By us designating this site tonight, it doesn’t negate the developers from working with our staff to come back to the drawing — to come to the drawing board, not back — to come to the drawing board and work with our staff within some of the parameters that the designation will set,” he said. “I truly do believe there is a solution to be found here for everybody.”

“For us tonight, we’re looking at the importance of preserving sites — not this site but sites like this — and we can’t go back from it. Once that house is demolished, we can’t get it back.”

City council then voted 6-5 in favour of the heritage designation, with councillors Lachica, Bierk, Riel, Baldwin, Vassiliadis, and Crowley voting for the designation and councillors Haacke, Beamer, Duguay, Parnell, and mayor Leal voting against it.

The difference from the general committee vote is that councillor Vassiliadis changed his vote and councillor Crowley, who was absent from the general committee meeting, voted in favour of designation.

Environment Canada has issued a rainfall warning for Northumberland County and is forecasting heavy rain for the southern Kawarthas region for Tuesday night (September 24) into Wednesday.

In addition to the rainfall warning, a special weather statement is in effect for Peterborough County and Kawartha Lakes.

A moisture-laden system is expected to move into the region Tuesday afternoon bringing showers. The showers are expected to become more widespread and heavy at times in the evening, along with the risk for thunderstorms as a more unstable air mass moves in.

Showers will continue into Wednesday morning but are expected to become more isolated and ease off in intensity.

While there still remains a high degree of uncertainty on where the heaviest rain will occur, total local rainfall amounts near 50 mm are forecast for Northumberland County with 30 to 45 mm in Peterborough County and Kawartha Lakes.

Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Localized flooding in low-lying areas is possible.

The wheels on the bus are going ’round and ’round later in the evenings with expanded transit service hours in Lindsay.

Kawartha Lakes residents have spoken up about their desire for later bus service hours on weekdays and an earlier start Monday through Friday.

Those were the findings of a survey conducted in May that asked Lindsay Transit riders if they were satisfied with the hours that buses currently run on weekdays and weekends.

Lindsay Transit currently operates four conventional bus routes Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The survey found that 75 per cent of those polled said they’d welcome a change to Lindsay Transit’s current service hours. Almost 72 per cent of respondents asked for the hours to be extended until at least 10 p.m. on weekdays.

As a result, effective September 29, transit hours will be extended from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. from Monday to Saturday for both Lindsay Transit and the LIMO Specialized Transit services. All stops and departure times on the hour will remain the same, and Sunday service hours will not change.

“We’re excited to be able to extend the hours of service for our Lindsay Transit riders,” said Rodney Porter, fleet and transit services manager for Kawartha Lakes, in a media release. “The survey showed us that there was a community need to extend our hours later into the night on weekdays and we’re happy to be able to do that for our riders.”

Robert Horvat, Kawartha Lakes’ supervisor of transit services, told kawarthaNOW that the survey results reflected the municipality’s expectations.

“We didn’t find anything surprising with the survey results,” Horvat said. “If anything, they more or less validated our plans for the service hours extensions.”

Horvat said the survey also showed “a strong push to start our service earlier as well, but at this point we’re only able to offer the extended hours in the evenings.”

Since there was more interest in extending the hours later into the night than adding hours earlier in the morning, Kawartha Lakes determined that the extended hours at night would be more beneficial to its riders.

However, Horvat said the municipality will monitor ridership during the new extended evening hours for the next six to 12 months.

“If the demand isn’t there, then we’ll re-examine the service hours again and potentially shift towards an earlier start.”

For more information on Lindsay Transit, including transit stop locations, departure times, fare prices, and where to buy tokens or passes, visit the Lindsay Transit page at the City of Kawartha Lakes website.

Northumberland County council has approved spending $40,000 in an effort to bring doctors to the county.

At its regular council meeting last Wednesday (September 18), council agreed to dedicate a one-time investment into the development of a county-wide physician recruitment marketing campaign and a recruitment pilot project.

Like other communities, Northumberland faces a shortage of doctors and is intending to use the money to bring practising doctors to the county.

Half of the funding, $20,000, will support marketing efforts, which include creating a promotional video and a related campaign. The remaining $20,000 will be used for a pilot project to review physician recruitment and expand recruitment efforts.

“It could include information and footage that could be used for a variety of county-wide needs … but also specifically earmarked for physician recruitment,” said Northumberland County Deputy Warden and Port Hope Mayor Olena Hankivsky during the meeting.

“It would be general footage around the county, the quality of life in the county, but also be specifically targeted to potential physicians, their families and their children about why this is a unique place to be,” she told her fellow county councillors. “Currently, we do not have this kind of material.”

“We know from all the best recruiters in Ontario and in the rest of the country that this is a precursor — it’s foundational to any recruitment strategy,” Hankivsky said, adding that, in addition to the video, accompanying social media material is necessary.

The $20,000 for the recruitment pilot project component to bring a physician or physicians to the county could also encompass setting aside some of those funds “to leverage other sectoral representation in creating packages that would make the county an attractive place for physicians to live and work and play,” Hankivsky said.

The county’s community health committee, which met earlier in September, ultimately presented the recommendation that council endorse the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland’s proposal for a county-wide physician recruitment plan, support action items for physician recruitment, and endorse a regionally representative governance model for physician recruitment.

According to recent reporting by the CBC, municipalities in Ontario are offering significant financial incentives in what amounts to a competition to attract family doctors.

For example, Peterborough is offering a $15,000 recruitment bonus for family physicians who establish new practices in the city, while Huntsville is offering physicians a $60,000 bonus for taking over an existing practice and $80,000 for setting up a new practice.

Trenton-based physician recruitment program Docs by the Bay is offering $100,000 to new doctors or medical residents who are interested in setting up a full-time family practice in the area.

The Peterborough County Hubs Program is expanding to offer new drop-in services at hub locations in Millbrook, Havelock, Apsley, and Norwood starting Tuesday (September 24).

The hubs program was first launched in April 2023 as a partnership between the city and county of Peterborough, townships in the county, Community Care Peterborough, and Agilec Employment Services, with the aim of improving access to social and health services for rural residents.

The program originally launched in eight communities across Peterborough County — Apsley, Douro, Keene, Havelock, Lakefield, Millbrook, Norwood, and Warsaw — and is now also available in Buckhorn.

The hubs provide free office and meeting space for agencies to deliver health and social services — including health care, mental health, addictions, employment, developmental services, housing, income supports, senior services, and more — and to conduct outreach with local residents. They offer services for local residents who would otherwise have to travel to the city of Peterborough, which is challenging for those who do not have easy access to transportation.

“By bringing these services closer to home, we are removing barriers for communities across the region and making sure that residents can get help with everything from health care to employment services,” said city councillor Alex Bierk, portfolio co-chair of community services, in a media release.

The new drop-in program is a collaboration between the social services departments of the city and county of Peterborough (administered by the city), Canopy Support Services, the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Branch, and Fleming CREW and Academic Upgrading.

Residents will be able to meet with agency staff in a private office to find out about programs and services they need. A staff person from one of the agencies will be available, on a rotating basis, at the following hubs when they are open:

• Millbrook Hub (Old Millbrook School, 1 Dufferin Street, 2nd Floor) – Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Havelock Hub (Community Care Office, 17 Smith Dr.) – Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Apsley Hub (Community Care Office, 126 Burleigh St.) – first and third Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Norwood Hub at Township Office (Asphodel-Norwood Township Office, 2357 County Road 45) – Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

“We place great value on inclusivity and ensuring everyone has access to the resources they require to live their best lives,” said Himanshu Shah, CEO of Canopy Support Services, which provides services for people with intellectual and development disabilities, autism, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

“We are thrilled to partner with the city on this collaborative county hubs pilot to provide equitable access to resources for our rural communities, and share the amazing work that is being done by social service agencies in the city and county of Peterborough.”

Below are the locations of all nine hubs in Peterborough County.

• Apsley Hub (Community Care Office, 126 Burleigh St.)
• Havelock Hub (Community Care Office, 17 Smith Dr.)
• Lakefield Hub (Agilec Office, 14 Queen St.)
• Keene Hub (Otonabee-South Monaghan Township Office, 20 Third St.)
• Warsaw Hub (Douro-Dummer Township Office, 894 South St.)
• Douro Hub (Douro-Dummer Public Library, 435 Douro 4th Line)
• Norwood Hub at Township Office (Asphodel-Norwood Township Office, 2357 County Road 45)
• Millbrook Hub (Old Millbrook School, 1 Dufferin Street, 2nd Floor)
• Buckhorn Hub at the Buckhorn Regional Health Centre (8 William St., Buckhorn)

“I am pleased to know that from today, four of these hubs will have regular, scheduled, hours with local social service providers on a rotating basis,” said Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark.

“Local clients will now have the convenience to drop-in during office hours and not have to book an appointment. This pilot project brings social services access for our rural and small urban communities closer to parity with larger urban centres. I look forward to seeing the results of this project and future progress to support the needs of Peterborough County residents.”

Peterborough County Hub Locations

For more information about the Peterborough County Hubs Program, visit peterborough.ca/hubs, where agencies that wish to use the hubs can also find information on how to register.

Northumberland County residents can help build futures for those in need of affordable housing in the community and satisfy their sugar cravings at the same time.

Habitat for Humanity Northumberland is teaming up with Roda’s Kitchen in Cobourg for a Thanksgiving-related fundraiser.

The bakery is offering boxes of five cookies decorated with a harvest theme, which are now available for purchase through to early October.

Cathy Borowec, Habitat for Humanity Northumberland CEO, told kawarthaNOW the partnership with Roda’s Kitchen has become a sweet, annual initiative that supports Habitat for Humanity Northumberland’s local build programs.

The duo first teamed up in May 2021 for Mother’s Day-themed cookie boxes.

“In 2022, we switched it up to offer Thanksgiving cookies as we felt that holiday aligned well with the idea of gathering together in a home,” Borowec said.

The fundraiser is important for Habitat for Humanity Northumberland, even more so with the current shortage of affordable housing and the rising costs of construction materials.

“As we strive to meet the growing demand for affordable housing in our community, we look to find ways to raise funds to support our work. Sometimes our efforts are directed to large-scale community drives and sometimes to smaller events,” she noted.

As with all of its fundraising activities, the money from the cookie sales supports Habitat for Humanity Northumberland’s housing programs, namely home construction and home repairs.

“As we work to finish up our seven-unit net-zero townhome project in Baltimore, funds raised from these beautiful — and delicious — cookies will be directed there,” Borowec said.

Located at 4751 Highway 45, the Baltimore site encompasses affordable units intended to provide “hope for families.” Habitat for Humanity Northumberland acquired the land in the spring of 2022 and has since been working on development plans and construction for the unique site.

Not only is it the largest single development project for Habitat for Humanity Northumberland, it is also the first time the organization is pursuing a net-zero development. It’s a lofty undertaking, the CEO noted.

“The cost of building materials for a home has risen so much that we count on support from our community more than ever. This fundraiser has typically raised about $2,000 to $3,000, and we really like that it helps us to connect with our community in a different way,” Borowec added.

The boxes of harvest cookies are $20 each. Orders will be accepted until Friday, October 4 and ready for pick-up the following week, on Friday, October 11 and Saturday, October 12, in time for Thanksgiving.

Those interested in purchasing cookies can place their order and pay by cash at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Cobourg, which is located at 764 Division St. Boxes of cookies can also be ordered online at trellis.org/2024-thanksgiving-cookies.