Three Kawarthas residents have been appointed to the Order of Canada by Governor General of Canada Mary Simon.

Rosemary Burns Ganley and William Anthony Fox of Peterborough and Mark Joseph Cameron of Hastings are among 64 Canadians to be appointed as members of the Order of Canada, along with 16 officers, two honorary officers, and one companion.

“The Order of Canada recognizes individuals who have made positive and lasting impacts on communities here in Canada or who have brought honour to our country abroad,” said Governor General Mary Simon when announcing the appointments on Thursday (June 27). “Congratulations to the new appointees and thank you to the nominators who cast a spotlight on their achievement, purpose, and exceptional talent.”

Born and raised in Kirkland Lake, Rosemary Ganley is a lifelong feminist teacher, activist, and writer. She lived for six years in Jamaica and Tanzania, with the Canadian International Development Agency and, with her husband John, founded the development agency Jamaican Self Help in 1980.

She was co-editor of the independent newspaper Catholic New Times in Toronto from 2001 to 2006 and is a longtime columnist for the Peterborough Examiner. She has also been published in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and more.

Ganley was inducated into the Pathway of Fame in 2011, along with her husband (who passed away in 2013). In 2018, she received both the YMCA Peace Medal and a Peterborough-Kawartha Women’s Leadership Award, and was also invited by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to sit on the Gender Equality Advisory Council for the G7 meetings in Quebec,

She gave the Margaret Laurence Lecture at Trent University on feminist theologies in 2011 and, in June 2022, was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from the university.

A research fellow and adjunct professor at Trent University, William Fox is one of Canada’s foremost authorities on archaeology. The long-standing leader of the Ontario Archaeological Society has devoted his career to advancing knowledge of Canada’s archaeological past, and the society awarded him its J. Norman Emerson Silver Medal in 2010.

Now retired from public service, Fox worked for more than 20 years as a manager of government programs, beginning in 1986 with the Ontario Ministry of Culture, then in the 1990s with Parks Canada, first in Winnipeg, then Inuvik, then Ucluelet, and then in Peterborough. Most of his most important research contributions to Ontario archaeology was in a non-professional capacity, funding his own research out of his own pocket.

Fox was among the first archaeologists to advocate the participation of Indigenous communities in preserving their material heritage, thus broadening the understanding of Canadian history.

A former paramedic, Hastings resident Mark Cameron cofounded the Canadian International Medical Relief Organization (CIMRO) in 2011 with Syrian physician Khaled Almilaji and Toronto pediatrician Jay Dahman.

An internationally recognized non-governmental organization, CIMRO provides medical education and relief in disaster zones — including the magnitude 7.8 earthquake that devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria in February 2023.

Before cofounding CIMRO, Cameron spent more than three decades working as a paramedic with Peterborough Emergency Medical Services and in his hometown of Hastings as well as Hastings County. He is associate director of the Sunnybrook Advanced Life Support and Trauma Education program, which specializes in courses for cardiac, pediatric, and trauma life support.

In 2014, Cameron received the Governor General of Canada’s Medal of Bravery for direct line-of-duty action and the Meritorious Service Medal in 2017 for his work in Syria. A 1989 graduate of Humber College’s Primary Care Paramedic program, he also received a 2022 Premier’s Award.

Established in 1967, the Order of Canada is one of the country’s highest honours. It recognizes people across all sectors of society who have made extraordinary and sustained contributions to Canada. Appointments are made by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Order of Canada who review nominations.

There are three levels of the Order of Canada, with “member” recognizing distinguished service in or to a particular community, group, or field of activity, “officer” recognizing achievement and merit of a high degree, especially service to Canada or to humanity at large, and “companion” — the highest level — recognizing outstanding achievement and merit of the highest degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large.

Along with the other appointees, Ganley, Fox, and Cameron will be invited to an investiture ceremony at a yet-to-be-announced date to receive their insignia.

Peterborough’s business community has stepped up with a proposal that could potentially address the controversy surrounding the City of Peterborough’s plan to locate 16 pickleball courts in Bonnerworth Park.

Sarah Budd, president and CEO of the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce, emailed a proposal to city council on Thursday (June 27) that suggests the pickleball courts could be located at the site of the former Baskin-Robbins plant on Aylmer Street in downtown Peterborough.

The proposed site, located at the northwest corner of Aylmer and Simcoe streets, is owned by developer Don MacPherson and currently sits vacant.

kawarthaNOW reached out to MacPherson for comment on the proposal but he was unavailable.

In her 12-page proposal, which she supplied to kawarthaNOW, Budd notes the “property is available,” offering enough space for 16 pickleball courts, parking, and greenspace.

Describing the proposal as a win-win-win-win, she listed the following points in favour of the location:

• A much-needed investment in our downtown. Improving the core is pivotal to any successful economic development strategy.
• Pickleball players will get their 16 courts and there will be the potential to dome it over the winter months for year-round play.
• Our downtown businesses need help bringing more people downtown. Tourists and pickleball players will be welcome by neighbouring businesses.
• This would be an extension of the Simcoe and Bethune park that has basketball courts and a small park. There would be room to add a much-needed washrooms and a clubhouse as well.

Further, the proposal suggests “if the entire property was redeveloped with private-public partnerships, an apartment building, like the one at 681 Monaghan (Road), could be built on the rest of the property, potentially with new retail space on the main floor.”

Budd elaborated on the proposal, telling kawarthaNOW, “We are looking outside the box with this proposal.”

“Often, governments spend on individual projects with specific objectives for just that project,” she said. “We want to think bigger. How many boxes can we check with one project that help meet our wider objectives as a community?”

“In this instance, we have the recreational goals of the pickleball courts, but let’s use that spending to also help revitalize our downtown, enhance underutilized properties, provide economic opportunities for local businesses, and create recreational opportunities where they are lacking.”

The proposed site was home to Baskin-Robbins’ plant until it closed in October 2012, with the building demolished in 2020. MacPherson planned to build three apartment buildings with ground-floor commercial space and sought rezoning approval. He applied to the city in 2019 but never heard back.

Although MacPherson decided he wasn’t interested in building apartments when the Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site was created across the street at 220 Simcoe, he still wanted the site rezoned from industrial to commercial-residential to accommodate any future plans.

The property was rezoned in summer 2023 after MacPherson Realty and Monkman Realty went to the Ontario Land Tribunal when the city wouldn’t issue a decision. The hold-up was apparently due to Otonabee Conservation’s work on floodplain planning. It eventually concluded the site could be safely developed without causing flooding.

PDF: Chamber Pickleball Proposal
Chamber Pickleball Proposal

City councillor Alex Bierk, a vocal opponent of the plan to see 16 pickleball courts, an expanded skate park, and a bike pump track developed at Bonnerworth Park, told kawarthaNOW the proposal “looks amazing.”

“My concern is that the proposal is exactly what Councillor (Joy) Lachica wanted to do with her motion — have staff go back to the drawing board and look at alternate locations that were viable,” Bierk said. “That motion was lost. To me, it feels like we’ve already tried to have that conversation, even very mildly, at council without any progress on evaluating other sites.”

That said, Bierk says the proposed location “seems like a great spot,” particularly in terms of its proximity to the basketball courts.

Councillor Lachica first tabled a motion at city council’s April 2nd general committee meeting to delay the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment plan for further consideration and consultation, in response to concerns expressed by neighbouring residents about the impact of noise from the proposed pickleball courts and the loss of greenspace, as well as a lack of consultation on the part of the city.

The motion lost in an 8-3 vote, with only councillors Lachica, Bierk, and Keith Riel voting in favour of delaying the project. The motion was defeated a second time, by the same 8-3 vote, when it came before the regular city council meeting on April 8th — clearing the way for the project to proceed in the hands of city staff with no further council oversight.

Then, at council’s May 13th general committee meeting, Lachica attempted to introduce a new motion that proposed council be granted final approval authority over the redevelopment’s site plan and associated reports. That motion was not tabled for discussion or a vote after councillor and committee chair Andrew Beamer ruled it out of order and six of the 11 committee members supported his ruling.

kawarthaNOW reached out to councillor Lachica for comment on the Chamber’s proposal, but she couldn’t be reached.

Watch kawarthaNOW for updates to this developing story.

The Rotary Club of Peterborough has followed through on its commitment to donate $100,000 to Camp Kawartha in Douro-Dummer.

During the club’s meeting on Monday (June 24), outgoing president Betty Halman-Plumley presented a final cheque for $25,000 to Camp Kawartha’s executive director Jacob Rodenburg.

The $100,000 pledge was made in 2021 as part of the Rotary Club of Peterborough’s centennial celebration project. The money specifically supported the construction of the new Camp Kawartha Health Centre, an eco-friendly straw bale building. Rodenburg told the club the goal was to create a building that was healthy inside and out.

“The centre not only serves the health needs of Camp Kawartha kids, it also demonstrates what’s possible in regenerative green building,” Rodenburg said in a media release.

Camp Kawartha is located on the shores of Clear Lake in Douro-Dummer. The health centre is a 1,200-square-foot structure that was designed to have net-zero energy costs, zero toxins, zero fossil fuel use and zero waste output — all adding up to a zero-carbon footprint. The health centre has a fully equipped clinic with first aid supplies, over-the-counter medications, as well as patient assessment tools — including a blood pressure cuff, a thermometer, stethoscopes, an oxygen saturation probe, and more. The camp nurse or paramedic lives in the health centre throughout the summer. There are three wellness rooms for campers who need rest or require a quiet space to decompress.

The centre supports the health care needs of campers and day visitors and also serves as a “teaching building,” enhancing the environmental education programming offered annually to some 16,000 campers, students, and adults.

The Rotary Club has a long history of supporting Camp Kawartha, which was founded by Rotary more than a century ago.

“Rotary has always been involved with programming to develop the youth of today to be the leaders of tomorrow and that is what Camp Kawartha programming is all about,” said Rotarian Jim Coyle, a past president.

Also during the recent meeting, Halman-Plumley handed over the chains of office to incoming president Ken Seim.

The term-end celebration also included awarding the “Breakfast Cup” to one of the five Prince of Wales Breakfast Club volunteer groups. Every morning last week, each group prepared a special breakfast for the young breakfast club patrons. The meals were judged by a panel of school staff and students with points for presentation, nutrition, and taste. The “Thursday Team” took home the trophy for their deluxe breakfast buffet that consisted of homemade macaroni and cheese, devilled eggs, heart-shaped watermelon pops and more.

Meanwhile, two Peterborough residents were voted as Rotarians of The Year during the June 24 meeting. Former radio personality and current real estate agent Catherine Hanarahan and Grady’s Feet Essentials owner Tony Grady “have made significant contributions to the success of our club,” the Rotary Club of Peterborough noted in a social media post.

Hanarahan and Grady are both on the board of directors and are dedicated volunteers with bingo and the Prince of Wales Breakfast Club program.

Hanarahan chaired the Rotary Spelling Bee committee, which organized the popular media vs Rotarians spelling bee and the televised spelling bee finals for students. She was also actively involved with the Carl Oake Rotary Swim and, in her role as communications chair, used her media skills to spread the word about Rotary.

Grady took on the roles of both treasurer, ensuring the books were balanced and streamlining coordination with Rotary’s foundation and fundraising committees, and sergeant at arms, finding a new venue for Rotary meetings and ensuring the meetings ran smoothly including the food.

The Rotary Club of Peterborough was established in 1921 and currently has just more than 70 members.

Throughout its history, the club has supported many local and international activities and events, from its early sponsorship of Five Counties Children’s Centre, The Rotary Spelling Bee, and The Prince of Wales Breakfast Club programs, to worldwide efforts in polio eradication, clean water, world peace, and literacy.

The Rotary Club of Peterborough, which usually meets for lunch two Mondays per month, is one of more than 46,000 clubs, with 1.4 million members around the world. The club celebrated its 100th anniversary on April 1, 2021.

– with files from Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW

If you see workers taking down some trees at Bonnerworth Park, the City of Peterborough wants you to know the work is not part of the controversial Bonnerworth Park redevelopment.

The city issued a media release on Thursday (June 27) explaining that three trees that are either dead or dying will be removed along the perimeter of Bonnerworth Park at Monaghan Road and McDonnel Street, with the work expected to be completed on Thursday.

“The tree removals are necessary for safety reasons as it is likely that the whole tree or tree parts will fail as the trees deteriorate,” states the release. “The trees pose a significant risk of harm to the public and/or personal property in the vicinity.”

According to the release, the removal of the trees is part of the city’s urban forest management program, which each year sees the city removes trees that have reached the end of their safe life expectancy.

The city says it is also planting around 1,000 new trees in the community as part of its various initiatives to maintain the urban forest canopy, including tree plantings to respond to the loss of tree canopy from the May 2022 derecho storm and the loss of ash trees due to the emerald ash borer.

Approved by city council in April, the $4.4-million Bonneworth Park redevelopment includes the construction of 16 pickleball courts, an expanded skate park, a bike pump track, and an 80-vehicle parking lot.

The first phase of the plan would see construction begin this fall on the pickleball court complex, including any landscaping and sound attenuation.

A group of residents neighbouring Bonneworth Park are protesting the redevelopment plan, with their primary objections the noise impact that the 16 pickleball courts will have on their quality of life, the loss of their neighbourhood greenspace, and what they claim was a flawed process in terms of how the plan has been developed and communicated.

“The tree removals at Bonnerworth Park are not related to the upcoming changes to the park,” the city’s release states.