The act of cutting down a fresh Christmas tree recently yielded a gift of more than $29,000 for the Cobourg hospital.

The Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) Foundation announced that the ninth annual family Christmas fundraiser at Spry Family Christmas Tree Farm in Cobourg was a success.

The event held in early December generated $29,677 for the foundation’s “Light up a Life” campaign. More than 144 trees were sold and 100 per cent of the proceeds were donated to the cause, the NHH Foundation noted.

“This magical holiday tradition isn’t just about finding the perfect tree; it’s also a heartwarming demonstration of the community coming together to make a difference,” said Megan Fluxgold, NHH Foundation’s community engagement and events specialist, in a media release.

“Every dollar spent on these magnificent trees contributes directly to the well-being of our hospital. It was a triple win — the perfect tree, the joy of giving, and the knowledge that our annual Light up a Life campaign is truly supported by our community.”

The event was hosted by Sharron Wharram-Spry and Brian Spry at their Christmas tree farm on Danforth Road West, with proceeds raised through tree sales and by sponsors.

Returning sponsors included Baker Tilly, Wharram Tree Service Ltd., Cameco, Tim Hortons (Toronto Road and Highway 28 locations in Port Hope), Canada Candy Company, and Craft Food House, with Ley Hall Wealth Management, Cobourg Nissan, and Just in Time Sanitation joining as new sponsors.

A visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, a complimentary chili lunch, hot chocolate, and coffee and treats around a bonfire were part of the day.

“NHH Foundation extends a heartfelt thank you to everyone who made this event possible — from the generous hosts, Sharron and Brian, to the many dedicated volunteers, returning and new attendees, and event sponsors,” states the media release.

“With the success of this year’s event, this annual tradition has now raised a spectacular sum of over $172,670 over its nine years in support of Light Up a Life.”

Proceeds from the 30th annual Light Up a Life campaign will support the purchase of an automatic tablet packager for the hospital’s pharmacy. The NHH Foundation said the device will “help streamline medication packaging and increase efficiency across all departments at NHH.”

First introduced in 1994, the Light Up a Life campaign has raised more than $3.7 million over the years. It has helped pay for various pieces of equipment such as surgical scopes, anaesthetic machines, hospital beds, and NHH’s MRI machine.

As Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day are all statutory holidays in Ontario, all government offices and services and liquor and beer stores are closed, except for a selected few liquor and beer stores that will be open on Boxing Day. Most retail businesses — included malls, big box stores, and grocery stores — are closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day but are open on Boxing Day. Many pharmacies remain open on both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

For your convenience, we provide this list of holiday hours for 288 selected businesses, services, and organizations across the Kawarthas. This information comes from their websites and social media accounts. Please always call them first to confirm their hours (we’ve included phone numbers), especially where you see “call” or “call to confirm” (which means the business did not indicate specific holiday hours) or if you are travelling any distance.

If your business or organization is listed and the hours are incorrect, please let us know by using our content feedback form. We do not have the hours for restaurants in this list as there are far too many to include.

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Beer & Liquor Stores

Drug Stores, Pharmacies & Health Services

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Environment Canada has issued a freezing rain warning for most of the greater Kawarthas region for Saturday (December 23).

The freezing rain warning is in effect for Peterborough County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.

A few hours of freezing rain are likely beginning early Saturday morning and ending by late afternoon.

Freezing rain is expected to be light, which should limit ice build-up to 2 mm at most.

For areas close to Lake Ontario, the threat of freezing rain will be less as temperatures are expected to be just above the freezing mark.

Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas. Slow down while driving in slippery conditions, particularly on untreated surfaces. Watch for taillights ahead and maintain a safe following distance.

Police have arrested and charged the owner of a Lindsay home that burned down early Sunday morning (December 17).

At around 2 a.m. last Sunday, Kawartha Lakes police and fire and rescue crews responded to a residential fire on Russell Street East in Lindsay. The fire destroyed the home and damaged a neighbouring home, displacing a single mother and her son.

Following an investigation by Kawartha Lakes police with the assistance of the Ontario Fire Marshall Office, on Friday (December 22) police arrested a 24-year-old woman who owns the home that burned down and charged her with conspiracy to commit an indictable offence (arson endangering life) and fraud over $5,000. The accused woman has been held for a bail hearing and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Lindsay on Friday.

Police are continuing their investigation into the fire.

The day after the fire, police had released a photo of a suspect taken by a camera within the home of a suspect pouring what appears to be gasoline onto the floor. Police have released additional photos of a person of interest purchasing a gasoline container from a local store, and are looking to identify and speak to the man.

If you are able to identify the man or have any information in relation to this incident, contact the Kawartha Lakes Police Service at 705-324-5252. If you prefer to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.khcrimestoppers.com.

‘Tis the season for holiday cheer but respiratory illness is also near, and circulating, at this time of year.

As a result, Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and area health care partners are encouraging residents, should they get sick, to consider treatment options in the community before turning to the hospital’s emergency department for care.

“With mounting seasonal pressures being felt at PRHC, we encourage our community members to assess the urgency of their condition and consider alternative options,” stated PRHC, Peterborough Family Health Team (PFHT), and Peterborough Public Health (PPH), in a joint news release.

“If you have a family doctor or nurse practitioner, they should be contacted first with non-urgent health concerns. Your health care provider may offer same-day appointments. PFHT-affiliated physicians also offer extended-hours clinics to serve patients with non-urgent health concerns.”

More information about the extended-hours clinics is available on the PFHT website at www.peterboroughfht.com/extended-hours-service.

For residents who don’t have a primary care provider, the health care trio points to alternatives, including regular and after-hours services offered by PFHT and other primary care providers, virtual care clinics, PRHC’s pediatric urgent care clinic, walk-in clinics, and Health 811.

More information about these options, along with tips on how to determine what type of care is appropriate, is available on the PRHC website at www.prhc.on.ca.

Meanwhile, PRHC’s emergency department is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for people who need emergency care.

When it comes to influenza and COVID-19, the health care providers remind residents that flu and COVID-19 vaccines are available for anyone over the age of six months old. PRHC itself does not offer these vaccines.

Community members can find more information about locations for COVID-19 and flu vaccines on the Peterborough Public Health website at www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca or connect with their local pharmacy for details.

The health care providers ask residents to check out the health unit’s COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Virus Risk Index “for guidance on staying safe during holiday gatherings.”

Updated every Wednesday, the index consolidates available local data for COVID-19 transmission, influenza, and influenza-like illnesses. As of December 20, the COVID-19 risk factor is considered high while the risk level for other respiratory viruses is ranked as moderate.

Health care providers ask residents to consider borrowing a CO2 monitor from the library to monitor indoor air quality to prevent the spread of respiratory infections.

“This holiday season, please stay home if you are ill to prevent spreading infections to friends and loved ones.”

Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU) is also reminding residents in its catchment area “to be vigilant and stay up-to-date with vaccinations.”

The colder months bring increased spread of respiratory illnesses, including influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), HKPRDHU stated in a news release.

“The holiday season is typically when we see higher rates of respiratory illnesses, including influenza, COVID-19, and RSV,” said Dr. Natalie Bocking, HKPRDHU’s CEO and medical officer of health.

“It’s important that we continue to protect one another by using the public health precautions we are all familiar with. In doing so, we are providing our best defence against getting sick, reducing the spread of illness, and we are ensuring that critical health care services are there for those who need them most.”

COVID-19 and flu shots are accessible through participating pharmacies, primary care teams, and HKPRDHU.

The health unit said residents can book appointments by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900 from Monday to Friday (excluding holidays) between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. or they can book appointments online at ontario.ca/book-vaccine.

Following a walk and interpretive talk about Peterborough’s Ashburnham Memorial Park this fall, local elementary school students put their impressions on canvas to capture the varied vistas and flora and fauna of the urban forest in Peterborough.

The experience has culminated in a art exhibit at the Peterborough Museum & Archives running now through to December 30.

Called “Open Your Eyes,” the project was spearheaded by the Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group (AMSG), a local volunteer-driven organization dedicated to conserving, improving, and appreciating Ashburnham Memorial Park, better known to locals as Armour Hill.

Among other activities, the organization leads clean-ups of the park every spring and fall.

This past fall, the group partnered with Kaawaatte East City Public School — which is located within Ashburnham Memorial Park — to offer outdoor art education for students so they could learn more about the natural habitat of the park.

Volunteers with the group took 25 Grade 7 and 8 students from the school on the hike and interpretive talk about the park. Local artist and instructor Laurel Paluck then guided the students on site afterwards through art activities and the techniques of painting outdoors.

Jane Wild, AMSG volunteer, hopes Open Your Eyes proves to be educational for the general public as it was for the students.

“Everyone loves the Armour toboggan hill, but the park offers so much more,” Wild said. “It’s an important urban forest with diverse flora and fauna, hiking trails, beautiful vistas, and an opportunity to bird watch and sky gaze. The AMSG aims to conserve, improve and foster appreciation of Peterborough’s natural resource.”

“Open Your Eyes is a project to encourage reflection on the importance of Ashburnham Memorial Park. It’s heartening to take the students outside, to react to the bounty of nature at our doorstep, to absorb the sensations of wind, light, and grasses at your feet, and to practise sketching and painting without the distractions of the classroom,” Wild explained.

“Through this project, we hope everyone comes away with an appreciation for the importance of both nature and of art,” Wild noted.

The students’ artworks are on display in the lower level of Peterborough Museum & Archives at 300 Hunter Street East until December 30. The museum is open 9 a.m. to noon on December 22, closed December 23 through 26, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from December 27 through 29, and open from Noon to 5 p.m. on December 30.

Those interested in learning more about the Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group can visit the group’s website at ashburnhamstewardship.com.

Suspected human remains have been found in an Ennismore home that was destroyed by fire early Tuesday morning (December 19).

At around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a call about a fire at a home on Deerfield Crescent.

When officers arrived at the home, it was already fully engulfed in flames and firefighters with the Selwyn Fire Department were battling the fire.

Investigators from the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office were called in to investigate the source of the fire.

The following day, Ontario Fire Marshal investigators located what they believe to be human remains within the collapsed structure. The remains have been sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences to assist with identification.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.