Northumberland residents with two legs and four are invited to hike, bike, and bark to support hospice services in the county.

Ed’s House Northumberland Hospice Care Centre (Ed’s House) Foundation and Community Care Northumberland (CCN) are hosting their annual “Hike, Bike and Bark for Hospice” fundraiser for the Ed’s House Northumberland Hospice Care Centre Foundation.

The foundation’s purpose is to raise money to support the operation of CCN’s hospice service programs in the community, including the palliative care community team and volunteer hospice visiting program, which operate alongside the 24/7 end-of-life care provided at Ed’s House in Cobourg.

Registration is now open for this year’s event, which takes place on Sunday, September 29th at Victoria Park in Cobourg.

Joel Scott, director of donor relations and communications for CCN and Ed’s House, told kawarthaNOW about his hopes for the event and why it’s an especially important fundraiser this year.

“My hope for this event is that it becomes a community unto its own — an event that brings people together once a year to celebrate, remember, and raise funds for hospice services,” Scott said. “My hope is that more and more families, and community groups join us this year.”

“The day is a mix of fun community togetherness, in a beautiful setting in Victoria Park, with powerful stories, people sharing experiences, meeting new friends, and coming together to raise funds for Ed’s House and hospice care.”

Scott said last year’s event brought together more than 150 hikers.

“I want more people to experience that, and to learn about the amazing resource our community has in Ed’s House and hospice services,” he added.

“From our community team to residence care, to grief and bereavement support, the professionals that serve our clients and their loved ones at all stages of care deserve the loudspeaker we offer to share their work, and the difference they make in the lives of people we serve.”

Those who register can hike or bike and bring their dogs, choosing to complete either a two-kilometre, five-kilometre, or 10-kilometre route.

Registration is $30 per person and includes an official event T-shirt and race kit. Youth aged 13 to 18 can join the event for $15. Children under 12, as well as furry friends, can participate at no cost. Details on the race kit pick-up will be announced soon, the organization noted in a media release.

“We hope everyone will join us and help support the Ed’s House Northumberland Hospice Care Centre Foundation,” said CCN CEO Trish Baird in the release. “Your participation and support are vital in continuing our important work.”

This year’s endeavour is particularly significant, as Ed’s House recently completed its expansion from a six-suite residential hospice facility to a 10-suite facility, Scott noted.

“With this growth come new responsibilities and fundraising goals, making community support more important than ever,” Scott said. “Even with the funding growth from the Province of Ontario, we rely heavily on grants, donations, bequests, and the generous support of sponsors to continue offering these vital services at no cost to clients, their caregivers, and loved ones.”

“We raised $36,000 last year — the first year out of the pandemic. This year we’ve set a bold target of $50,000 plus.”

For more information and to register, donate, or provide sponsorship, visit www.hikebikebarkforhospice.ca.

It is unfortunate that litter and plastic surround us every day and that we have become a throw-away society. There is so much more we can do to keep nature and the environment clean.

Created to bring people together and get involved in reducing litter in our community, Clean Up Peterborough (CUP) launched as a new volunteer group in April with the motto “Let’s make the world a better place.”

Our focus is on developing strong partnerships and collaboration between volunteers, businesses, non-profit organizations and municipalities, so that we can all make a difference together.

In early June, CUP was one of 14 groups across Canada awarded a grant from the 2024 Unsmoke Canada Cleanups program. The grant, in its fifth year, is a partnership between The Great Outdoors Fund and Unsmoke Canada to support litter cleanup projects anywhere in Canada. We set a goal to complete five clean ups by the end of September.

During the first community clean up on July 14th, 18 incredible volunteers collected six bags of litter and recyclables, and found a whopping total of 5,185 cigarette butts in a 2.5 hour period across two city parks, trails, and nearby parking lots.

Cigarette filters and butts contain a type of plastic called cellulose acetate and are one of the most littered items on the planet.

Clean Up Peterborough appreciates the importance of being ambassadors within the community to educate the public about the effects of cigarette butt litter. The data we collect will be shared with various stakeholders so that positive changes can be made in the future.

Dan Brandsma of Silver Bean Café has been a great supporter of CUP. As the owner of two café locations that showcase the beauty of Little Lake, he understands the importance of promoting a clean environment.

“We work hard to care for our beautiful corner of Millennium Park by picking up litter left behind daily,” he says. “Unfortunately, the most common item we pick up are cigarette butts.”

CUP is now partnering with the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) to bring focus and awareness to the downtown, especially around educating the public that cigarette butts can be recycled.

All cigarette butts collected by Clean Up Peterborough this summer will be sent free of charge to be recycled by TerraCycle Canada.

“We are happy to support the cigarette butt cleaning initiative in downtown Peterborough,” says Peterborough DBIA executive director Nour Mazloum. “This event is a fantastic opportunity for our community to come together and make a tangible difference, fostering a cleaner and a healthier downtown for all.”

Everyone is invited to be part of the next Downtown Community Cigarette Butt Clean Up on Sunday, August 11th from 8 to 10:30 a.m., starting from Quaker Foods City Square. Gloves, pick-up pails, and litter pickers will be provided — bring your own upcycled container as well.

During the event, people can collect cigarette butts anywhere in the downtown area. There will be an entry draw and prizes available.

More details are available in the Clean Up Peterborough Facebook group.

At the end of the August 11th event, we will launch a contest called “Walk Your BUTTS Off.”

People out walking anywhere in the City of Peterborough can pick up cigarette butts they see along their travels and store them in upcycled ice cream tubs (courtesy of Silver Bean Café) until September 22nd, when we will host a collection, weighing, and counting celebration. During this event, prizes will be offered. Final details will be announced at our August 11th event and on Clean Up Peterborough’s social media pages.

In the future we plan to expand our focus beyond litter, in order to support amazing initiatives around recycling, sustainability, and building a circular economy within Peterborough. If you are interested in learning more about Clean Up Peterborough, please visit them on Facebook or Instagram.

Peterborough County will be opening an economic development and tourism office in Lakefield as it continues to prepare to assume responsibility for economic development and tourism in advance of the dissolution of Peterborough & The Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED) at the end of the year.

At county council’s regular meeting on Wednesday morning (August 7) — the first regular meeting since June 24 — councillors received an update from PKED and considered two staff reports about preparations for assuming the responsibilities that PKED previously provided on behalf of the county.

Earlier this year, both the city and county of Peterborough decided not to renew a multi-year tri-party agreement to fund PKED to provide economic development and tourism services on behalf of both municipalities. The county’s decision came after the city, which provides most of PKED’s core funding, decided to withdraw from the agreement.

In a report outlining the activities of the non-profit organization for the first two quarters of 2024, PKED board chair Burton Lee and president and CEO Rhonda Keenan noted two challenges for tourism and economic development as the city and county take these services in-house beginning January 1, 2025.

“Supporting (event organizers) that are interested in Peterborough and what level of support they will receive will continue to be a challenge until a new economic development plan is developed that determines whether this activity is desired, and if so, who will deliver on this work beyond 2024,” the report states.

“The uncertainty regarding the economic development program beyond 2024 and how the work will be transitioned has created a great challenge. Businesses want to understand how
they will be supported; there is little information to provide. Similarly, destination marketing and investment attraction marketing require long lead times for seasonal and out-of-region marketing. There should be a coordinated effort between the City, County and PKED to deliver a coordinated message and assure the entrepreneurial and business community that there is a plan to provide ongoing support.”

During Wednesday’s meeting, councillors were asked to approve a recommendation from county CAO Sheridan Graham that the county enter into an agreement with Selwyn Township on September 1 to lease office space in Lakefield for the purpose of establishing a county economic development and tourism and services hub.

The report from Graham states that the county’s economic development transition committee — which comprises three county councillors and representatives from all eight townships in the county — feels that a public-facing office in the county “is of utmost importance,” along with satellite offices in each township.

“This would be an office that would be staffed and could provide economic development, tourism and other services to our customers,” the report states. “It would be a hub and spoke model, from which our staff could further integrate these services into each Township. The Committee requested that each Township put forward a location that could be used as a satellite office for services in the Township offered by the County and other partners.”

The proposed location for the new county office is the former post office at 12 Queen Street in Lakefield, which was previously occupied by the Kawartha Chamber of Commerce and Tourism prior to its 2021 amalgamation with the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce to form the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce. The township completely renovated the space, which is fully accessible and provides public washroom facilities.

According to Graham’s report, both the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce and Community Futures Peterborough — which is assuming responsibility for the Business Advisory Centre (BAC), offered as part of the province’s Small Business Enterprise Centre (SBEC) program and previously delivered by PKED — have committed to partnering with the county and to use space in the building “to be an office and touch point for their County customers.”

“In addition, they are further committed to continued collaboration with the County and Committee and to coordinating the use of the Township spaces provided to provide services further out into the County in each Township,” the report states. “As well, it is anticipated that we will have staff cross train with Chamber and (Community Futures) staff so that we can align services, provide information and schedule customers accordingly.”

The cost of the county leasing the space from Selwyn Township, which would include the main floor and two upstairs offices, would be $2,400 per month, with the Chamber and Community Futures contributing $500 per month to the lease for a drop-down desk space shared by the two organizations.

“I can’t think of a better location to have our Peterborough County economic development and tourism department,” said deputy warden and Selwyn Township mayor Sherry Senis at the meeting, with Sewlyn Township deputy mayor Ron Black echoing her comments.

“I think one of the key issues here is county services being offered in the county, which is a great step forward, but also the partnerships that were also thought of and created with Community Futures, who has just received provincial funding for the Small Business Advisory Centre, so they’ll have staff there as well, and bringing the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber back to their Lakefield office, obviously in a smaller entity, but that created a lot of issues when they left,” Black said.

“So I’m very pleased that (county) staff were able to negotiate not only with our township, but also with Community Futures and the Peterborough and Kawarthas Chamber as well. And Selwyn staff will also be in the building. Our economic development people will be in the building as well.”

Peterborough County warden Bonnie Clark said “this is a great start,” adding that “there is more to come” and that she is “looking forward to this rolling out into the rest of the municipalities (in the county).”

Council voted to approve the recommendation.

Councillors also considered another staff report that would affect preparations to bring economic development and tourism in-house. Tracie Bertrand, the county’s general manager of tourism and communications, recommended that the county migrate its corporate website to a new platform before the end of the year.

“The current hosting platform for the County’s website, iCreate, will be discontinued in less than two years, necessitating a migration to a new platform,” the report states. “GHD (previously e-Solutions) has offered Peterborough County value pricing (20% discount) to migrate earlier to Govstack, a superior platform that offers more creative freedom and self-management capabilities.”

“Migrating now, rather than waiting is strategic due to the impending discontinuation of iCreate, and essential for the County’s planned transition of Economic Development and Tourism into the County’s digital infrastructure.”

According to the report, a content and information architecture review of the website was completed in May, including a search of municipal best practices of upper and lower tier municipalities who include economic development and tourism, and the website needs to be updated to include “a microsite dedicated to tourism.”

“Communications staff will need to develop the new tourism microsite and work with Economic Development staff to build out new pages in preparation for 2025,” the report states.

The cost to migrate to the new platform and develop a new tourism microsite will be $46,550 plus HST, according to the report.

While Douro-Dummer Township mayor Heather Watson supported the recommendation, she expressed concerns that e-Solutions Group — which created the iCreate platform before becoming GHD, creating the Govstack platform, and discontinuing the iCreate platform — was an example of a company practising planned obsolescence.

“It’s just dirty pool, what they’ve done,” Watson said. “They created a system, made it obsolete, and now we need to buy their new system in order to play in their sandbox and keep the work we’ve created. What are we doing in the future to mitigate that risk?”

Bertrand replied that this was a “valid concern,” but noted that iCreate is “not overly friendly” for doing anything creative and she has been assured that Govstack is a more flexible platform.

“We can do more on the backend with Govstack than we could ever do with iCreate,” she said. “I’m hoping we don’t have to redevelop the corporate website again, but there’s always the option of looking into that future because things change … we’ll be keeping an eye on what is existing with GHD and what might be out there in the public to look into in the future.”

“It would be the intention when we go to a full new website that we would look at all the options too, not just staying with one provider,” Graham added, noting the migration to Govstack “is to get us through that transition” until the county is ready to make a decision in the future about both its website platform and content management system.

Council voted to approve the recommendation.

An area health unit is asking residents to take precautions as it has a confirmed a case of West Nile Virus (WNV) in mosquito traps set in Brighton.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU) announced Tuesday (August 6) that a mosquito pool in the east Northumberland County municipality has tested positive for the virus.

The health unit said this marks the first positive case in the region for the season. The mosquito was collected from one of the traps set by health officials on August 1.

HKPRDHU traps and tests mosquitoes on a weekly basis throughout the HKPR district area during the summer and early fall months to monitor for WNV activity. While no mosquitoes tested positive for WNV in the district area last year, there were confirmed human cases in Ontario.

“As we enter the peak season for West Nile Virus, it’s crucial for everyone to take preventive measures seriously,” said Anne Marie Holt, director of health protection with the HKPRDHU, in a media release.

“Protecting yourself from mosquito bites and eliminating standing water around your home are simple yet effective ways to reduce the risk of infection. Negative mosquito pools don’t guarantee that WNV is not present in the community; it only means we didn’t catch a positive mosquito pool. Therefore, it is important for the community to stay vigilant.”

WNV is a viral infection primarily transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes. Although the majority of WNV cases do not show any symptoms, some infected individuals may experience mild flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, and body aches. Others may develop severe neuro-invasive disease, which disproportionately affects older adults, the release noted.

To prevent WNV, HKPRDHU advises residents to “cover up and clean up”.

Prevent mosquito bites by covering up when outdoors between dusk and dawn, and use insect repellent containing DEET or icaridin. Tidy up at home by removing thick brush, cutting down high vegetation, and removing sources of standing water that can collect in places such as old tires and wheelbarrows. Clean eavestroughs to reduce mosquito habitats.

Also, prevent mosquitoes from coming indoors by ensuring window screens are tight fitting and in good repair.

The infection is primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes, particularly the Culex species.

While not all mosquitoes carry WNV, “it is important to stay informed and take precautions during the peak mosquito season, typically from late spring to early fall,” HKPRDHU notes on its website.

According to the Government of Canada, the first human case of WNV infection in the country was reported in Ontario in 2002. The government currently has data related to the number of human cases of WNV reported between 2002 and 2022.

There were in 47 (preliminary) cases reported in 2022.

Surveillance detects only a portion of the WNV cases in Canada, the government noted. The true number of WNV infections in Canada is likely greater.

Two people are dead and four are seriously injured after a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 28 south of Bancroft on Tuesday afternoon (August 6).

At around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Bancroft Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and emergency services responded to a collision involving a commercial vehicle, two passenger vehicles, and two motorcycles on Highway 28 south of Otter Lake Road at Kawartha Dairy.

Although police have not confirmed any details about the collision, kawarthaNOW has learned that two southbound motorcycles were turning left off the highway into Kawartha Dairy when a southbound truck travelling at speed hit a passenger vehicle stopped behind them. The collision forced the passenger vehicle to strike the two motorcycles, while the truck went on to hit a second passenger vehicle travelling northbound.

Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, two people were airlifted to a trauma hospital with life-threatening injuries, and another two people transported to hospital in Bancroft with life-threatening injuries. Police have not released any details about the victims.

kawarthaNOW has also learned that one of the four people transported to hospital has since succumbed to their injuries, although this information has not been confirmed by police.

Highway 28 between Monck Road and Highway 118 was closed for around 10 hours while police documented the scene. Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the collision.

Editor’s note: although kawarthaNOW has received several photos of the scene of the collision, we have chosen not to publish them.

If you’re looking for work in Peterborough & the Kawarthas, you might not be aware of a flourishing industry that offers ample opportunities for a rewarding career: aerospace. The Peterborough region, including the airport, is home to a robust aerospace and defence supply chain.

Since launching the airport development program in 2010, the Peterborough Airport has seen the number of jobs double from 251 to more than 500, and GDP grow even more, from $40 million to $90 million. And that’s just the beginning, as the aerospace sector in Peterborough & the Kawarthas is headed for even greater growth over the next several years.

“Peterborough is set to become Eastern Ontario’s leading airport,” says Trent Gervais, President and CEO of The Loomex Group. “We’ve got Highway 407 providing easy access to Toronto, and the Peterborough Airport has a 7,000-foot runway that can accommodate Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 operations, with lots of room to grow.”

The Loomex Group, whose head office is one of 22 businesses operating out of the Peterborough Airport, is a stellar example of the growth of the aerospace sector in Peterborough & the Kawarthas.

Launching with just five employees in 2008, the company now sits at about 100 employees across four companies working in diverse services including aerospace and defence, infrastructure and asset management, emergency management, and education and compliance. In May 2020, The Loomex Group acquired ACF Associates Inc. and moved the defence company’s head office to the Peterborough Airport.

Parent company Loomex works with airports, all levels of government, and Indigenous communities across Canada and into the United States. But, according to Gervais, Peterborough remains “home.”

“We invested in Peterborough Airport and built a 22,000-square-foot headquarters,” says Gervais. “We had expansion plans and wanted to cement our commitment to Peterborough and invest in the airport because we believe in it. That was our thinking at the expansion, and we still believe that with all that’s going on, we’re in the right place to lead from.”

With The Loomex Group offering so many services to clients across the country, there is opportunity to explore a wide range of job opportunities, including at the company’s Peterborough Airport headquarters.

“I always say that, whatever you want to do, there’s a career in aviation — whether you want to be a painter, or electrician, or work in sales, marketing, management, strategy, or tactics,” says Gervais. “Whatever you want to do, there’s a big demand. Aviation is big in Canada and it’s growing by the millions every year.”

Gervais notes that a benefit to The Loomex Group being a medium-sized company is employees know exactly who they are working with, while still having opportunities for movement and advancement within the company.

“We try to promote within, and we really believe in that projection of asking what you want to do and helping you get there,” Gervais explains, referring to the concept of a career ladder — a tool that helps workers understand the path from an entry-level position in their chosen profession to progressively more senior positions.

“You can go with a company that’s got two or three thousand employees and you’re just a number,” Gervais says. “Whereas here, people matter and are our biggest investments.”

In addition to its operations out of the Peterborough Airport, Loomex operates northern airports for communities including the City of Dryden and the Municipality of Greenstone in Ontario.

Airports in northern locations are often part of critical operations including wildland fire fighting, medivacs, and search and rescue, and provide connectivity for businesses in those communities. The company also operates an aerodrome for a mine north of Timmins, providing operations and airport management and managing flights to carry workers to and from the mine.

With so many opportunities both at its Peterborough Airport headquarters and through remote work in rural communities, The Loomex Group offers aviation students the opportunities for student placements and hires recent graduates from post-secondary schools with studies in aviation management. The company also supports hiring those who aren’t necessarily experienced in aviation but have experience in the skilled trades.

Facilitating employment opportunities in the fast-growing aviation industry is also a goal of the Peterborough Airport itself, which is owned by the City of Peterborough and looked upon as an economic driver and tool for job creation.

Already a hub for aerospace education and research, the Peterborough Airport and airport tenants work in partnership with the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board to offer the Aviation and Aerospace Specialist High Skills Major program. Through an eight-week paid summer placement, high school students gain valuable on-site experience working with businesses located at the airport, introducing them to and preparing them for a future in aviation.

“There is so much need for future aviators and employees in this sector,” says Kyle Bruce, the Manager of Airport Administration at the Peterborough Airport. “It’s a critical link to meet the needs and help the industry grow by providing that exposure to students while they’re young, and inspiring young aviators to explore different jobs and opportunities that are out there.”

Gervais agrees, and notes that the presence of Seneca College, Trent University, and Fleming College also gives The Loomex Group access to post-secondary students who may be interested in an aerospace career.

“I’m a big supporter of our local colleges and universities, and we know education is important,” he says. “Having access to those institutions has been a big benefit to being based here in Peterborough when trying to attract aerospace and defence businesses to the airport.”

For Gervais, many students who have come out of the Aviation and Aerospace Specialist High Skills Major program, or a co-op placement at one of the nearby post-secondary schools, have continued to build on their experience to move into more senior roles with The Loomex Group.

“We have some really great success stories from the program,” he says, sharing that one of the first graduates went to study aviation management after high school and was subsequently hired by The Loomex Group. “He started building his positions through us to the point where he became an airport manager at one of our sites.”

With parent company Loomex offering so many services and operating across different regions, The Loomex Group’s employees also have ample opportunities to move to different jobs or locations.

“They can go anywhere within our group of companies,” Gervais notes. “They may start in remote areas to get experience and then transfer somewhere else. You don’t have to stay in the Loomex lane, and the diversity of projects is different every day.”

No matter where an employee may be on their career ladder, Gervais assures one thing: all employees are paid above the living wage of the community in which they are based.

“Nobody should have to work below that living wage, so we pay fairly well above that and it’s one of our commitments to our staff,” says Gervais, noting that it’s part of showing appreciation for all staff. “The tagline for our staff is ‘We’re one team, one mission’ so everybody matters. It doesn’t matter whether we’re sweeping floors or you’re in my office, we’re all the same, and everybody matters.”

As for those considering a career in the aviation industry, Gervais says there’s nothing like it.

“Whether it’s building or repairing an aircraft and seeing it fly out, or being a nurse on a medevac, or just seeing them take off and land — how rewarding is that?” says Gervais. “The opportunities here are just limitless.”

For more information about The Loomex Group, visit loomex.ca.

Explore employment opportunities at the Peterborough Airport at peterborough.ca/en/doing-business/airport-services.aspx.

This branded editorial is one of a series created in partnership with Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.

Four teenagers are facing charges in connection with an assault in Peterborough’s East City on Thursday, July 25 that police had classified as a hate crime.

Shortly after midnight on July 25, a man was walking home in the Hunter Street East and Mark Street area just after midnight when he passed a group of four young men, one of whom spat at him.

According to the original media release about the incident issued by Peterborough police, when the man confronted the group, one of the young men man knocked his turban off his head and stomped on it. When a passer-by tried to intervene, both he and the initial victim were struck in the head with pop cans.

According to a police media release issued on Tuesday (August 6), a scuffle resulted after the man confronted the group during which the victim was punched, kicked, and had items thrown at him, with the victim’s turban “dislodged” during the scuffle.

As a result of an investigation, police arrested four male teenagers — a 14 year old from Ennismore, a 15 year old from Omemee, and a 14 year old and 15 year old from Peterborough — and charged each with assault with a weapon and assault. All four accused teens were released on an undertaking and are scheduled to appear in court on September 9.

Although police originally classified the assault as a hate crime, after consulting with the local crown attorney’s office they only laid assault charges against the teens. There are several hate-motivated crimes under the criminal code that require the Attorney General’s consent before charges are laid: advocating genocide, public incitement of hatred, wilful promotion of hatred, and wilful promotion of antisemitism.

In the original release, police stated they also believed the group of young people was connected to the theft of soft drinks reported at a nearby convenience store, but no charges were laid against the four teens in connection to that incident.