Following a “devastating” fire in the fall of 2023, Northumberland County’s Beyond the Blue Box operation is looking to raise $3 million to rebuild or construct a new facility.

The September 2023 fire at 14 Covert Street in Cobourg was obviously a blow to the not-for-profit community-based waste reduction and reuse centre.

However, community support and new partnerships have arisen from the aftermath for Beyond the Blue Box, as it moves along its new path forward, according to board chair Robb Howells.

“Our intention is to replace/rebuild our old store, and we’re currently waiting on engineering reports before we can proceed,” Howells told kawarthaNOW.

“Since our devastating fire overnight September 19/20, 2023, we’ve had many challenges. We initially had to close our doors and not accept donations for over a month while we figured ourselves out, but things were certainly busy in the background,” he said.

“We were very fortunate that no one was hurt in the fire, and that while our main store burned, our two other buildings, which are our warehousing spaces, were undamaged.”

Because those buildings were spared, Beyond the Blue Box is still able to accept donations at 12 Covert St. in Cobourg.

“This is the only place to physically donate items to us,” Howells noted.

The centre has been active behind the scenes since the fire.

On October 15 last year, Beyond the Blue Box participated in an antique/vintage sale at the Cobourg memorial arena, which was hosted as a fundraiser for the Canadian Fire Fighters Museum.

On November 12, the centre opened its first temporary store at 66 King St. E. in Cobourg, which served as the Christmas store.

On November 18, Beyond the Blue Box participated in, and was the beneficiary of, a fundraising concert called Beyond the Blues, which featured many local Northumberland County bands and musical talent.

On December 2, the centre opened its second temporary store at 41 King St. E. in Cobourg, a thrift boutique that sells clothing, footwear, jewellery, and some housewares. The store at 66 King St. E. sells books, media, toys, housewares, and some clothes.

Those who wish to contribute financially can either make a donation via the Beyond The Blue Box website at beyondthebluebox.com, or by dropping money in the collection boxes located in the Beyond the Blue Box stores.

“The community response and outpouring of support has been tremendous,” Howells said. “We are lucky indeed.”

“That being said, we have heard from other organizations and other communities offering support too. Some of these new connections might not have been made without the fire, and it’s always good to make new friends. We look forward to having a more efficient building, and continued operation providing a safe space for all community members.”

Beyond the Blue Box is one of Canada’s longest standing and most successful community-based waste reduction and reuse centres, its website states. For 30 years, it has been accepting donations of reusable items from the community and diverting them from Northumberland County landfill sites.

With the help of community volunteers, Beyond the Blue Box collects, sorts, and resells donated items for prices “that are just enough” to cover operating costs.

The organization also prides itself on providing employee opportunities for people who have developmental needs.

Beyond the Blue Box said its team is ready to receive donations seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 12 Covert St. The centre suggests the following reasons for community members to consider donating:

• Winter is a great time to purge unused items
• Donating diverts items from the landfill and gives them new life
• Donating to Beyond the Blue Box supports its work with community organizations, including, and not limited to, women’s shelters, the homeless, victims of fire, as well as people with developmental disabilities
• Donations are more important than ever while Beyond the Blue Box rebuilds for its future after the fire.

For more information about Beyond The Blue Box, visit beyondthebluebox.com.

Patricia Bromfield is the new chief of Peterborough County-City Paramedics, Peterborough County announced on Wednesday (February 7).

Bromfield will be taking over from Randy Mellow, the county’s senior director of emergency and shared services and deputy CAO, who announced in December he would be retiring as chief at the end of 2024 after almost four decades in emergency medical services.

Bromfield joined Peterborough County in the fall of 2022 as deputy chief of operations, having previously served as deputy chief of operations in the City of Kawartha Lakes. Prior to those roles, she served with Toronto Paramedic Services for almost 15 years, beginning as a paramedic and rising to acting deputy commander.

“I would like to congratulate Patricia Bromfield and welcome her to the role of paramedic chief,” Mellow says in a media release. “Patricia possesses a wealth of experience and knowledge having progressed through various frontline and leadership roles throughout her career. Her experience and passion for supportive leadership and innovation will be an asset to our team and community.”

According to the release, Mellow will provide mentorship and guidance to Bromfield throughout 2024 as she takes on her new role and responsibilities.

“I am honoured to be following in the footsteps of our decorated chief of paramedics Randy Mellow as he embarks on his retirement at the close of 2024,” Bromfield says. “I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to learn from an industry leader who has played a key role in advancing the paramedic profession.”

“I look forward to collaborating with Peterborough County’s robust leadership team and our partners in the coming years. It is a privilege for me to have the opportunity to work alongside some of Canada’s finest paramedics, leaders, and support staff.”

Ensuring the best possible care for future cancer patients, Anne Keenleyside’s legacy gift of $2 million to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is helping the hospital achieve her vision.

PRHC was able to purchase a second Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine and equip an operating room with the latest technology to allow for less-invasive procedures for patients.

Both of these investments funded by the late Keenleyside will assist in the hospital’s capacity to accommodate tremendous growth in cancer volumes, Lesley Heighway, PRHC Foundation president and CEO, told kawarthaNOW.

“She was a cancer patient herself and this special gift was made through her estate plans to ensure those who came after her had access to the best possible care,” Heighway said.

Keenleyside was a highly respected Trent University professor of bioarcheology who passed away in October 2022.

Heighway said the money is being invested in equipment and technology that support cancer care innovation, in accordance with her request.

“Anne was clear she wanted her gift to connect her passion for scientific innovation with her desire to help the patients who would come after her,” said Heighway in a media release.

“Her generosity has allowed the PRHC Foundation to fund a second MRI for PRHC’s diagnostic imaging department, as well as fully upgrading a general operating suite with state-of-the-art minimally invasive surgical tools — one of four undertaken by the foundation.”

“By directing her bequest to the MRI and our minimally invasive surgical suites, her gift is already helping our hospital increase capacity and image quality for diagnostic scans and giving our general surgeons access to brand new, leading-edge tools to perform cancer surgeries,” Heighway added.

On Monday (February 5), PRHC unveiled its atrium as the Anne Keenleyside & Family Atrium in honour of her “transformational” gift to the foundation.

Dr. Lynn Mikula, PRHC president and CEO, said the impact of Keenleyside’s legacy gift is already being felt.

“Thanks to Anne’s investment we’ve been able to increase our capacity, performing an additional 6,000 scans since the new unit became operational,” Mikula said in a media release.

“Not only is this helping us address diagnostic wait times, we’re also able to produce much higher quality images in less time, while providing a significantly improved patient experience.”

Mikula added that the investment in PRHC’s general operating suites is empowering the introduction of fluorescence-guided imaging, a process that involves the injection of contrast dyes or agents into a patient’s bloodstream prior to surgery, making their blood vessels, bile ducts and lymph nodes light up when combined with fluoroscopy.

“The impact of this new technology is significant,” said Mikula. “It’s already allowing our surgeons to operate with increased precision — an advancement that has tremendous implications for the treatment of bowel and other cancers.”

Heighway said the decision to name the atrium in recognition of Keenleyside’s generosity was made in consultation with the hospital and her family. It’s a decision that her partner, Pat Butler, said has pleased Keenleyside’s family and friends.

“Anne’s gift to the hospital reflects her generous and thoughtful nature,” Butler said.

“She was incredibly grateful for the expert and compassionate care she received at (PRHC) and wanted to do something after she was gone to help make things better for others like her. This bequest is a gift to both her community and the health care professionals who cared for her after her diagnosis over 10 years ago.”

PRHC is a regional hospital and serves patients from Peterborough, Northumberland, and Haliburton counties, along with those in the Kawartha Lakes in need of specialized care beyond what’s available at their community hospitals.

The City of Peterborough won’t be increasing the minimum amount of general liability insurance required for Peterborough businesses seeking a patio extension licence this year.

At the city council meeting on Monday night (February 5), councillors voted to maintain the $2 million minimum already in place for the 2024 patio season after hearing from a delegation representing the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA).

A city staff report on insurance and risk management that was presented to council at the January 29th general committee meeting had recommended increasing the minimum insurance coverage to $5 million for businesses participating in the downtown patio licence program. The report stated “industry standards dictate that commercial entities should carry a minimum of $5 million coverage, especially for locations serving alcohol.”

At the January 29th meeting, councillor Alex Bierk had expressed concerns about the impact of increasing the minimum insurance coverage on businesses that operate smaller patios and those that don’t serve alcohol.

“Right now you have a big bar that’s going to be paying as much as a coffee shop would be for a picnic table,” said Bierk, referring to a 2022 survey conducted by the DBIA that found 40 per cent of respondents would not participate in the patio program if the minimum coverage increased to $5 million.

Bierk has then put forward a motion that the recommendation be deferred until city staff could report back to council with comparative information on patio insurance requirements from other municipalities. Just prior to Monday’s city council meeting, council held a special general committee meeting to review the city staff report that included a chart of patio licence insurance requirements for several Ontario municipalities.

According to that report, some municipalities — including Belleville, Toronto, Newmarket, Barrie, Milton, and Windsor — all require $2 million general liability coverage, whereas others — including Port Hope, Niagara Falls, Grimsby, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Markam, Mississauga, and Stratford — all require $5 million coverage.

Some municipalities require different amounts of general liability insurance coverage depending on the nature of a business’s patio. Kitchener and Kincardine requires unlicensed patios to have a minimum of $2 million coverage and licensed patios to have $5 million. Oshawa requires small patios to have $2 million coverage and large patios to have $5 million coverage. Ottawa requires $5 million coverage — except for café seating patios that are one-table deep with each table having one or two chairs, where $2 million is the minimum.

The staff report supported the original recommendation of a minimum of $5 million in liability coverage that was presented to general committee on January 29th.

At Monday’s city council meeting following the special general committee meeting, councillor Bierk put forward a successful motion to suspend the rules of procedure so that an unregistered delegation representing the DBIA could speak to the insurance coverage issue.

DBIA board chair Sacha Lai-Svirk and DBIA vibrancy manager Hillary Flood, along with Laura Montague of Ashburnham Realty, addressed council.

“We have many small businesses in our downtown that would be left out of this program if coverage was raised,” Lai-Svirk said, before describing the benefits of the patio program to the economy and social fabric of downtown Peterborough. “With only six patios, possibly nine, able to meet the newly proposed $5 million liability coverage, it is the opinion of the DBIA that the present patio licensing requirement does not support a successful patio program.”

“From the DBIA’s 2022 survey results, an increase in insurance coverage will result in lower participation. I know the city was hoping the increase would encourage businesses to level up, but they financially cannot. And it’s not the businesses are being defiant, it’s because they simply cannot afford it.”

“It’s one more cost that is added onto other factors they are contending with — the rising cost of food, labour shortages, and the drastically changing consumer behaviour of dining out,” Lai-Svirk added. “It’s just too much to ask them to increase their insurance coverage, at least not this year. Realistically, it might take a few more years before restaurants can get a solid footing beneath them.”

She also pointed out that businesses participating in the patio program are already assuming the majority of the liability risk, saying “the city’s risk management team has taken great steps to ensure the city’s exposure to claims is already limited through binding indemnity agreement waivers and waivers of subrogation.”

Lai-Svirk said the DBIA supported keeping the minimum $2 million insurance coverage but would be open to a more “tiered” or “nuanced” approach similar to Kitchener’s.

For her part, Flood noted that increasing the minimum insurance coverage to $5 million could have a significant financial impact on a business’s premiums, depending on factors such as claim history, the age of the building, and the type of business.

She also pointed out that businesses that were unable to pay back their Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan in full “will lose $20,000.”

Implemented by the federal government during the pandemic, CEBA offered interest-free loans with a repayment deadline of January 2024. Businesses that paid the loan back in full by the deadline were forgiven up to $20,000 of the loan. Those unable to pay back the loan in full by January would not receive any loan forgiveness and would begin to pay five per cent interest on any remaining balance.

“When we talk about what is a nominal $630 increase (in insurance premiums) means to small business, it is deeply significant,” Flood said. “Restaurants Canada is quoted as saying there is no harder time for restaurateur in Canada than 2024. One in five CEBA loan recipients are likely to close.”

In response to a question from councillor Kevin Duguay, Flood said that 14 or 15 patio licence holders in last year’s program would not be able to participate in this year’s program if the insurance threshold was increased to $5 million, adding that doesn’t include businesses in East City or new businesses that have opened since last summer.

Councillor Bierk said he was concerned about basing the amount of insurance coverage only on whether a business serves alcohol or not.

“I’m more worried about the grey area, like the La Haciendas (Mexican restaurant) that do serve alcohol but they’re not a big bar that’s open late. Those are the people that I would be worried about getting caught in the middle (by) having to get the $5 million if we did adopt the tiered approach tonight.”

Flood suggested the $5 million requirement could be based on 30 per cent or more “liquor exposure” (liquor as a proportion of total sales).

Later in the meeting, Bierk proposed that the $5 million requirement should only apply to businesses with 30 per cent or more liquor exposure, with $2 million for all others.

In response to a question from councillor Lesley Parnell, city staff were unsure how they could verify what qualifies as 30 per cent liquor exposure, but could distinguish between licensed and non-licensed patios.

Councillor Don Vassiliadis, who previously owned a restaurant, said it would be “almost impossible” for city staff to verify the percentage of alcohol served at a business as they would have to review the sales of each business and “that’s not gonna happen.”

Bierk put forward a motion that would leave the existing $2 million requirement in place for the 2024 patio season, to allow city staff time to develop a “more nuanced” approach for the following year and to report back to council before the next patio season.

While councillor Joy Lachica supported Bierk’s motion, both councillors Duguay and Riel supported increasing the requirement to $5 million for any business that serves alcohol on a patio on city property, with Riel noting he was representing the interests of the city and its taxpayers.

In response to a question from councillor Duguay, city staff recommended revising the wording of councillor Bierk’s motion to change “downtown Peterborough” to “central area” to accommodate businesses that do not belong to the DBIA but have patios, such as those in East City.

The revised motion was carried 7-4, with councillors Riel, Dave Haacke, Duguay, and Parnell voting against it.

The original version of this story identified Hillary Flood as communications manager for the DBIA. She is the DBIA’s vibrancy manager.

Canadian Blood Services is asking post-secondary students to “swab up” and “save a life.”

Representatives from Canadian Blood Services are visiting campuses of Ontario colleges and universities to recruit stem cell registrants.

Members of “Canada’s Lifeline” team will be at Trent University on Monday, February 12th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the main lobby of the Trent Athletic Centre.

“Canada’s Lifeline is coming to select colleges and universities to help you join the stem cell registry and save lives,” Canadian Blood Services noted in a media release.

“Students have the power to change the life of a patient by attending swabbing events across Ontario campuses from February 5 to 16.”

Canadian Blood Services is asking students between the ages of 17 and 35 to participate by having their cheeks swabbed. Between February 5 and 16, students can register to become a stem cell donor and potentially be a match for one of the nearly 1,000 Canadian patients waiting for a life-saving stem cell transplant, Canadian Blood Services noted.

Stem cell transplants can treat more than 80 diseases and disorders, according to Canadian Blood Services.

“Post-secondary students have the power to change a patient’s life, because people ages 17 to 35 make the best life-saving stem cell donors. When a patient undergoes a stem cell transplant, it’s often their last hope for survival, and the use of stem cells from younger donors typically leads to better patient outcomes.”

Patients who need a stem cell transplant are more likely to find a matching donor among those who share their ethnic ancestry. Students who come from an ethnically diverse or mixed-race background could be the match a patient has been waiting for, Canadian Blood Services said.

Campuses participating in Ontario, in addition to Trent University, include:

• Queen’s University in Kingston
• University of Ottawa in Ottawa
• Carleton University in Ottawa
• University of Toronto in Toronto
• Toronto Police College in Etobicoke
• York University in Toronto
• Sheridan College in Oakville
• Ontario Tech University in Oshawa
• Centennial College in Scarborough
• University of Waterloo in Waterloo
• Lambton College in Sarnia
• Western University in London
• McMaster University in Hamilton
• Georgian College in Barrie
• Brock University in St. Catharines

Interested students who are unable to attend one of the events can still register online. Find out more about the campaign at blood.ca/swabatschool.

For more information or to join the registry, visit blood.ca/stemcells or call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283).

Canadian Blood Services is a not-for-profit charitable organization. Regulated by Health Canada as a biologics manufacturer and primarily funded by the provincial and territorial ministries of health, Canadian Blood Services operates with a national scope, infrastructure and governance. In the domain of blood, plasma and stem cells, Canadian Blood Services provide services for patients on behalf of all provincial and territorial governments except Quebec.

The national transplant registry for interprovincial organ sharing and related programs reaches into all provinces and territories.

If you’ve recently walked or driven past the new Canadian Canoe Museum under construction at 2077 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, you may have wondered about the streaks of rust on the grey steel siding surrounding the building.

It’s not a defect with the steel siding — the rusting is intentional. According to a recent progress email from the museum, the steel siding that encompasses the building’s exterior is designed to rust with exposure to the weather.

Known as Corten or weathering steel, the high-strength low-alloy steel will form a stable surface with a rust-like patina finish over time. This finish guards against future corrosion and prevents the need to paint the steel in the future.

For an idea of what the museum’s final exterior finish will look like, you can visit Ashburnham Ale House on Hunter Street East in East City, which was clad in Corten steel siding when it was built in 2013. Today, now fully weathered, it has a deep dark rustic colour and texture.

As for the new museum, along with the Corten steel siding, installation of windows and the roof are now all completed. Around the museum’s exterior, trees have been planted, pavement is being poured in several areas, and light posts are being installed. Grading for the constructed wetland basin has also now been completed.

At the back of the building facing Little Lake, boulders from the current museum have been brought to the site and repurposed for the museum’s Campfire Circle, and the Canoe House is being prepared for the move-in of on-the-water equipment including canoes and kayaks.

Inside the new building, drywall for the Atrium is being finished and painted, and wood ceiling and wall treatment are being installed as well as light fixtures. Work is also well underway on the Gathering Room — which will host events, educational experiences, and other functions — as well as on the Upper Terrace, which connects the space to the outdoors.

The first canoes, kayaks, and other exhibition materials have been hung in the Exhibition Hall, and 300 watercraft have been moved into the Collection Hall, with around 200 still to be moved in.

Work also continues for the Living Traditions Centre, which will house the Artisan Studio, Canoe-Building Studio, and Millshop. A glass garage overhead door has been installed that will connect creators, artisans, and builders to the outdoors while they are practising or learning a skill.

Several other areas of the new museum are also beginning to take shape as well, including a library, archive and research Room, a kitchen adjacent to the Gathering Room, washrooms, and a staff area.

The museum’s construction team includes Unity Design Studio (formerly Lett Architects), Chandos Construction, DG Biddle and Associates, Engage Engineering, Kelson Mechanical, Lancer Electric, and LEA Group.

Along with private donations, the museum is being funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the Weston Family Foundation, the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, and the Province of Ontario.