A 32-year-old man is dead after a single-vehicle collision late Monday night (March 25) on County Road 36 between Lindsay and Dunsford.

At around 10:23 p.m., Kawartha Lakes Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and fire and emergency medical services responded to a report of the collision on County Road 36 just north of the intersection with Settlers Road.

The driver of the vehicle, a 32-year-old Dunsford man, was pronounced dead at the scene.

County Road 36 was closed in the area for several hours while police documented the scene.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has video/dash camera footage and has not spoken with police is asked to contact Kawartha Lakes OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Next month, one lucky winner will become thousands of dollars richer for supporting animal welfare in the Kawarthas region.

After less than two weeks of ticket sales, the Peterborough Humane Society has already collected more than $11,500 for its inaugural 50/50 draw.

“We saw this as a great opportunity to engage the community with something that’s fun,” says Kevin MacKenzie, fund development director at the Peterborough Humane Society. “Somebody’s going to walk away with a pretty big chunk of change, and at the same time, raise much-needed funding for the animals that are in need.”

Tickets are available until noon on Wednesday, April 17th at www.phs5050.ca. The draw will occur at 1 p.m., where the winner will be awarded with half of the collected funds. Ticket are priced at $2 for one, $5 for three, $10 for 10, or $25 for 25.

At the same time, the Peterborough Humane Society is also hosting Owen’s ‘Ruff’le, named in honour of Lakefield’s late Owen The Griff, a Brussels Griffon made famous on social media whose 17th birthday would have been on March 13, the same day ticket sales opened.

The draw presents the opportunity to win two Lollygagger lounge chairs valued at over $1,700 donated by Loll Designs and Stony Lake Furniture Co., where Owen was the shop dog before he passed away last June. Tickets for Owen’s ‘Ruff’le are priced at $20 for one, $50 for three, and $100 for 10.

“Someone will be very lucky to get two beautiful chairs to put out on their patio, on their deck at the cottage, or wherever else they want to enjoy them this summer,” says MacKenzie.

According to his parents Lisa Besseling and Marlon Hazlewood, Owen The Griff sounded like a chicken when he barked, looked like a tiny alpaca, enjoyed fruit snacks, and crossed flooring transitions with extreme caution. Though not adopted from the shelter himself, he was always a supporter and advocate for the work done at the Peterborough Humane Society.

“Owen The Griff and his family were a very big part of getting the Peterborough Animal Care Centre built, because he had such a strong following on Instagram and still does,” says MacKenzie. “They are big supporters and believers in what we do at the Peterborough Humane Society, so we’ve been so fortunate to have them here.”

MacKenzie notes that the more than $11,500 in the pot for the 50/50 draw does not include the more than $5,000 raised through Owen’s ‘Ruff’le so far. All the funds raised from both will support the work of the Peterborough Humane Society, from the spay-and-neuter clinic to cleaning and caring for the animals — including caring for their mental health.

“Sometimes we don’t know what’s happened to an animal when they come to our facility,” says MacKenzie. “If they haven’t been in the best environment, the animal care workers help them learn to trust people and trust other animals again. Our staff work so carefully with these animals to make sure that, mentally and physically, they are healthy enough for a second-chance life.”

“The animals are being walked, socialized, taken care of, vaccinated, micro-chipped, spayed and neutered,” he adds. “All of these services and all that care and love we give these animals is what you are paying for when you buy your lottery tickets.”

MacKenzie adds that the need for support is a “12-month, 365-day-a-year need” because, even though the new animal care centre is much larger than the previous location, the shelter is still full of animals looking for their forever homes — and it’s about to get even more full as spring marks kitten season.

“We’re about to get a lot of cats and kittens that will end up in our facility in the next couple of months, but we do have animals that are abandoned and surrendered to us each and every week,” he says. “The Kawarthas region is expanding. There are more and more homes being built, more and more people moving to the Kawarthas region, and with that demographic growing, so does the need in animal welfare.”

The funds raised from the 50/50 lottery and Owen’s ‘Ruff’le will also support the work being done outside of the animal care centre itself. One such service, which becomes more essential each day, is the partnership with local food banks which ensures local pet owners have the resources they need to keep their companion with them.

“Between the economy, high inflation, and employment challenges, there are a lot of factors that land people in tough choices to make, so it is a priority to keep people and pets together,” MacKenzie says.

“We will try to support the community as best we can and when, unfortunately, all of those other resources have been exhausted and someone has surrendered the pet, we are here to take really good care of that animal and find them they’re next home and, hopefully, it’s a forever home.”

For those who are unable to purchase a ticket for the 50/50 lottery or Owen’s ‘Ruff’le, MacKenzie encourages that a share on social media, telling friends and co-workers, or printing off the flyers, could go a long way in supporting the Peterborough Humane Society while making one lucky winner just a little bit richer.

“We have more than 20 days left and, if we’re already at $11,000, imagine how big that could be by the time we do the draw on April 17,” says MacKenzie. “And the more people that know about it, that number is going to keep growing and growing and this could end up becoming life-changing money for someone.”

The winner will be drawn at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17th, with ticket purchases for both the lottery and raffle closing at noon.

Visit www.phs5050.ca for more information and to purchase tickets.

Peterborough police are investigating after a cat was shot with an arrow south of Millbrook on Sunday (March 24).

At around 4:30 p.m., a Cavan-Monaghan Township resident contacted police to report their cat had been shot with an arrow.

After officers arrived at the home in the Deyell Line and County Road 10 area, they learned the cat has been found injured on a driveway.

Officers were told the cat was then taken to a vet, where it had to be euthanized due to its injuries.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 ext. 555.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.

Charges of manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death have been dropped against three Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers who were involved in a tragic shooting in Kawartha Lakes in November 2020 that killed 18-month-old Jameson Shapiro at the scene and, later, the life of his father.

The Barrie-based OPP Association, which represents 6,200 uniformed and around 3,600 civilian members of the OPP, announced on Monday (March 25) that all charges had been dropped against constables Nathan Vanderheyden, Kenneth Pengelly, and Grayson Cappus during a court appearance.

“It is a correct and just decision made today that the charges against our members have been withdrawn,” stated OPP Association president John Cerasuolo in a media release. “We have stated from the outset that our members acted courageously and professionally during an extremely dangerous situation. We were confident that as the case proceeded through justice system that the evidence would vindicate the officers.”

On November 26, 2020, the OPP responded to a report of a domestic dispute near Bobcaygeon involving a firearm, and that a 33-year-old man had abducted his infant son. When they attempted to stop the man’s pick-up truck on Pigeon Lake Road east of Lindsay, it collided with another vehicle and seriously injured an OPP officer.

Police confronted the driver and three officers fired shots at the pick-up truck, injuring the man. The body of the infant was later found in the pick-up truck, along with a handgun. The boy’s father succumbed to his injuries almost one week later.

After an initial investigation and months of public speculation, Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) confirmed in February 2021 the infant had died as a result of being shot by police. At that time, SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon wrote in an email that the three officers involved in the shooting had “not as yet availed themselves of an opportunity to be interviewed.”

In August 2021, the SIU announced the investigation was “in a hold pattern” awaiting the results of specialized forensic testing of some of the ballistic evidence by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the U.S. In November 2021, the SIU announced it was reviewing the FBI’s forensic report and was continuing “to actively investigate this tragic case.” Over the following nine months, the SIU provided no further public updates on the investigation.

In August 2023, almost two years after the shooting, the SIU announced there were “reasonable grounds” to believe the three OPP officers “committed criminal offences” and each of the officers was charged with manslaughter and criminal negligence causing death.

A preliminary hearing examining the evidence in the case began in the Ontario Court of Justice in Oshawa in December 2023 and continued in January, with a publication ban on evidence presented at the hearing. The OPP Association provided no details of what happened at Monday’s hearing.

“It is important for the public to understand that if police are charged with an offence, they have the presumption of innocence, and in this case it has been determined that on the totality of the evidence there was no reasonable prospect of conviction,” Cerasuolo said. “Our officers were doing their job according to their training.”

Cerasuolo acknowledged the impact of the 2020 shooting incident on the lives of the family and on the police officers and civilian members of the OPP.

“The circumstances of this incident involving the death of an innocent child are tragic for all involved,” he says. “We offer our sympathies to the child’s family. It is our duty to serve and protect and we take that duty very seriously. Unfortunately, as police officers protect public safety in highly volatile and fast-moving dangerous situations, unexpected outcomes may result.”

Cerasuolo is encouraging anyone affected by the situation “to reach out and lean on those closest to them as well as seek professional mental health assistance,” noting that the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge offers mental health supports to residents of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, the city and county of Peterborough, and Northumberland. Confidential support services are available to all OPP members, families, retirees, and auxiliaries through the OPP’s Healthy Workplace Team.

Port Hope is gearing up for its largest tradition of the year, where water lovers and creatives come from all over to float down the Ganaraska River — or try to, anyway.

But at this year’s ‘Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny’ event on Saturday, April 13th, things are running a little differently with the cancellation of a crowd favourite: the Crazy Craft race.

While the canoe, kayak, and paddleboard race will launch as usual from the Canton bridge, due to last summer’s closure of the Sylvan Glen Bridge for a $2.3-million replacement, the organizing committee decided there was no suitable alternative launch location for the Crazy Craft race, where participants travel down the Ganaraska River on handmade wacky rafts.

In its place, the 42nd annual event will see a new experience for this year only called “Floaty Your Fanny,” where participants will launch inflatable floaties from Optimist Park for a shorter run down the rapids section. Whether the boat is a giant unicorn, air mattress, or inflatable raft, so long it’s a soft-sided vessel “requiring air to keep its dimensions,” it can be entered in the event.

“We had the choice to either cancel it or find something else to try, and we decided that we would try something new to keep the tradition going and see if we could still have some fun,” says committee co-chair Barry Adamson, who notes the new inflatables category provides an accessible way for people to take part without having to design their own vessel.

“It’s a fun way for people that have it on their bucket list to participate and makes it just a little easier,” he says. “They just have to buy something and they can try it out — hopefully getting some calm waters to go over the great rapids.”

Though it’s a family-fun day that draws boisterous crowds, the Float Your Fanny tradition began as a commemorative event to rally the community in resilience following a natural disaster more than four decades ago.

On March 21, 1980, the town was hit with a torrential downpour that, combined with the still-frozen ground and blocked storm drains and sewers, resulted in the Ganaraska River overflowing its banks and flooding 66 acres of downtown Port Hope to depths up to 1.5 metres. With the water’s velocity, every bridge was washed out, as well as part of Walton Street downtown, damaging buildings and reportedly causing the drowning of a child.

Beginning the following year, the town has gathered annually for the event which ultimately evolved into what it is today: an attraction with a 16-kilometre canoe, kayak, and paddleboard race, a 10-kilometre Crazy Craft race (except for 2024), awards and prizes, the “Fannyville” outdoor event village full of entertainment and activities, and fun events throughout the town. For Port Hope locals and those nearby, it’s become a beloved tradition.

“We love everything about it,” says long-time participant Brigetta Balling, who is already looking forward to racing in a canoe with her husband while her young children cheer her on.

The Newtonville resident has been competing since she was a teenager, having first participated about 20 years ago after her father read about the event in the newspaper while living in Leskard. For her first one, she and her friend decorated their kayaks to look like bunnies for Easter.

“I remember it snowed on our first day, but I did it and since that time, I’ve loved it,” she says. “Even though it was different back then — we didn’t have the crowds we do now, we didn’t have the cheering — we loved it.”

Aside from the hiatus during the pandemic, as well as when she was pregnant, Balling has continued to join the event year after year, doing everything from the double and solo kayak races, to canoeing with her children and creating boats for the Crazy Craft.

“The crowds are mostly there for the entertainment from the Crazy Craft, so I hope we still get a good crowd,” Balling says, admitting she’ll disappointed not to see some of the rafts she has come to recognize for the past 20 years.

“I know that a lot of people are going to be missing it because maybe they don’t have the right boats to do (the other races), which is why they get creative and do the Crazy Craft. I’ll be missing that part — how unique people make their crafts.”

Though she didn’t know about it, when informed about the new inflatable category, Balling was immediately excited.

“I think that’s great that they’re trying to fill a space that was going to turn people away,” she says. “I think that’s wonderful and so creative. I’m happy to hear that.”

Even without the Crazy Craft race, the committee is still encouraging people to get creative with their floaties as there will still be the usual awards and prizes. Participants are welcome to attach multiple floaties together using flexible materials, and there’s no limit to how many people can be on the floaties — so long as they stay afloat, of course.

“We have all the categories of awards if somebody wants to come in with a theme and a whole bunch of people all do the same thing,” he says, adding that he expects many will likely race amongst themselves. “We’ll help start them up and say ‘go’, and then they can decide at the end who wins. We expect it’s going to happen because there’s a lot of spirit (among) racers out there that are going to try this new event.”

For those looking to get involved, Canadian brand Float-Eh is giving 20 per cent discounts on floaty purchases for participants and will be providing the event prizes. Follow Float Your Fanny on Facebook for more information.

Despite not having the Crazy Craft race, all other traditions will be in place for the afternoon, including the fun-filled Fannyville at Cavan Street and Barrett Street Bridge from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. where spectators can watch the races while enjoying live music, listening to commentators, and browsing the vendors. Also open are the Adventure Zone and the Kids Zone, where kids can still make their own crazy craft out of popsicle sticks and styrofoam as well as participate in other activities.

“We’re planning Fannyville to be just the same as it was, or bigger and better,” says Adamson.

Other events around town will carry on in tradition, including the Float Ur Funny Comedy “Game Show” Festival, running every Friday from April 5 to 26 at the Ganaraska Hotel. Local bars and restaurants will also be serving up special deals and discounts throughout the Float Your Fanny weekend.

While the Sylvan Glen Bridge is expected to be open again next year so the Crazy Craft race can return, the committee is not opposed to continuing the new inflatable experience — but not at the expense of the beloved Crazy Craft race.

“If it was well-received, we could (do it again),” Adamson says. “It will take more manpower to manage, but we could fit it in if it was well-received — but we’re not trying to take away from the Crazy Craft.”

For the full Float Your Fanny Down the Ganny schedule, visit www.floatyourfanny.ca.

One donor can help more than 80 people get back to life, according to the provincial agency responsible for organ and tissue donation and transplant.

In Ontario, about 1,400 people on average are waiting for a life-saving organ, while thousands more need a transformative tissue donation.

The Northumberland Personalized Assessment and Change Education (PACE) Speakers’ Series will tackle the issues surrounding organ and tissue donations during an upcoming web-based conversation.

The second PACE presentation of 2024 is called the “Why, What and How of Organ and Tissue Donation” and occurs at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28. Registration is now open.

The event features guest speakers Tiffany Lue and Rebecca Massecar, who are registered nurses and hospital development specialists with the Trillium Gift of Life Network (TGLN), which is responsible for delivering and coordinating organ and tissue donation and transplantation services across the province. Previously a registered charitable organization, in 2020 TGLN became part of Ontario Health, an agency created by provincial government to connect and coordinate the province’s health care system.

“Tiffany and Rebecca’s virtual discussion will explore important questions about tissue and organ donation, including ‘why is organ and tissue important?’, ‘who can donate tissues or organs?’, ‘what are the common misconceptions about organ and tissue donation?’, and ‘if someone decides they want to be an organ and tissue donor, what is the next step?,'” a media release noted.

Lue has dedicated the last 12 years of her career to the field of organ donation and transplants. Starting her nursing career at Toronto General Hospital, Lue was responsible for taking care of organ transplant recipients pre-and post-operatively. Spending time with the some of the sickest patients in Canada “was a humbling and inspiring experience, as she learned about their transplant journeys,” noted the release.

Her passion for innovation in donation and transplant led Lue to receive a Master of Nursing and continue her career with Ontario Health (TGLN). Since 2018, she has supported donation education and policy-making with the aim to improve donation processes throughout Ontario. In her current role, Lue supports patients and families as they generously give the gift of life through organ and tissue donation.

Masseca, in her role as a registered nurse, gained clinical experience at the bedside in a medical and palliative unit, while expanding her knowledge about the process of organ and tissue donation. Her passion for leadership and education led her to complete a Master of Science in nursing degree in 2020.

In 2021, Masseca transitioned into her role at Ontario Health (TGLN), where she supports several hospitals in southwestern Ontario and their donation programs. Her favourite aspects of this role include working with hospitals as they support organ and tissue donors while providing education to health care teams and the public about donation.

In addition to their presentation, as is standard within the PACE talk format, questions from the audience will also be addressed. These questions may be submitted in advance by emailing mbhargava@imcare.ca prior to March 28, or if time permits, they may be posed live during the event itself.

Since 2018, the Northumberland PACE partners — Northumberland Hills Hospital, the Northumberland Family Health Team, the Community Health Centres of Northumberland, internal medicine specialists IMCare, the Ontario Health Team of Northumberland, and local patients and caregivers — have been hosting free public education sessions on a broad range of health and wellness topics and have consistently drawn large groups of community members with a variety of questions and perspectives.

PACE talk topics are developed in a variety of ways. All of the subjects are typically tied to the areas of health and wellness. Lasting 60 minutes, each PACE session consists of a 30-minute talk, the 20-minute question-and-answer period with the guest speaker(s), and a short moderator summary.

Advance registration is required, and space is limited to the first 300 registered attendees. This event is hosted through Zoom, and attendees are asked to log in to the event five minutes prior to the start time. Register for ‘Why, What and How of Organ and Tissue Donation’ at www.pacetalks.com.

According to the Government of Canada, less than 25 per cent of people living in Canada are registered donors, yet more are needed.

“As our population ages, the need for organ and tissue donations keeps increasing,” the government’s website noted.

“There are more than 2,200 solid organ transplants each year. Despite improvements in the number of organ donations since 2012, the number of people in need of a transplant has also increased. On average, 250 people on the waiting list die while waiting for an organ each year.”

For more information about donating organs and tissues in Ontario, visit the Trillium Gift of Life Network’s Be A Donor website at beadonor.ca.

It has been a long 40 months. For Apsley’s Jeff Sayers, the past three and a half years have, at times, felt more like a decade. But there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

After a fire in December 2020 destroyed his family’s business, the only grocery store in North Kawartha Township, Sayers Foods is unveiling its brand-new store at 132 Burleigh Street in Apsley — rebuilt at the same location as the original store — with a “soft opening” on Monday (March 25).

kawarthaNOW briefly caught up with Jeff, Sayers Foods’ co-owner, about how he was feeling prior to the soft opening.

“It’s definitely a big relief, but the relief is not to be confused with the end of the journey,” Jeff said.

“It’s a relief to be past the hurdles that we’ve overcome to be able to open, but there’s months of work left to finish the store to 100 per cent completion, including getting all of the services online that we have planned.”

Sayers Foods is a full-service independent grocery store that has served North Kawartha township residents and visitors for more than 45 years. The township has around 2,300 year-round residents and around 12,000 seasonal residents.

Since 1976, the Sayers family and their supermarket have been part of the fabric of Apsley — first as Sayers General Store before becoming an IGA, a Foodland, and then, in 2017, Sayers Independent Food Town.

That changed in the early morning hours of December 5, 2020, when an electrical fire at the back of the store swept through the building, leaving local residents without a grocery store.

Jeff co-owns and manages the store with his siblings Barb and Rick. His parents are semi-retired, but they will have an office in the new building.

The soft opening is slated for 9 a.m. on Monday at the new store, which will then be open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Jeff said he hopes to hold a big grand opening in late spring, with participation expected from the store’s suppliers and the store’s online ordering system up-and-running.

The past 40 months have encompassed numerous processes that needed to be followed — insurance paperwork, consultants, an appraisal, and some construction material delays — but walking away from the grocery store business wasn’t an option, Jeff said.

“This is our way of life,” he earlier told kawarthaNOW. “The community definitely needs a grocery store.”

In addition to the supermarket essentials, the new Sayers Foods — which has increased square footage in the store portion — will have an expansive deli, which will encompass ready-to-go meals and a pick-up window.

There will also be a café with seasonal outdoor seating and Wi-Fi and power outlets.

Jeff said he expects to have between 30 and 50 employees when the store is open and running at full capacity.

“Not everything will be ready but we’re so excited to reach this milestone and bring fresh food back into proper supply in our community,” Sayers Foods announced on its Facebook page last Monday night, adding that remaining challenges include rewiring the hot deli cases and getting approval for a secondary entrance that leads directly to the deli cafe and bakery.

“The grand opening will be sometime in the spring,” the post reads. “We’ll celebrate then when everything is 100 per cent complete. For now, we’re just focused on getting this store open nearly 40 months after the fire.”

The Facebook post about the store’s long-awaited opening has generated more than 790 reactions, 210 shares, and 140 comments.