The Ontario government and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are reminding the public to exercise caution around black bears.

With this winter’s mild weather and lack of snow, there have been reports in some parts of the province of black bears coming out of hibernation early.

As there is little natural food available for black bears as this time of the year, they will search for other food sources including garbage and bird feed.

The government is recommending taking simple precautions to help prevent attracting bears to your home and neighbourhood.

• Store your garbage in waste containers with tight-fitting lids, and keep the garbage indoors (such as a garage or shed) if possible, waiting until pickup day to put the garbage out for collection.
• Remove bird feeders for the spring and summer and offer birds natural alternatives such as flowers, nesting boxes, and fresh water.
• Clean any food residue and grease from outdoor barbecue grills, including grease traps, after each use.
• Keep pet food indoors.
• Keep your dog on a leash, because unleashed dogs can lead bears back to owners and cause defensive bear attacks on people.

VIDEO: Be Bear Wise – Hibernation

If you encounter a black bear and it is not posing an immediate threat, you can report the bear sighting by calling the Ontario government’s toll-free Bear Wise line at 1-866-514-2327. Because of the unseasonably warm weather this year, the line is open early, from March 1 to November 30 and is available 24/7.

If you encounter a black bear and it is posing an immediate threat by showing threatening or aggressive behaviour, remain calm and call 911 or your local police department.

For more information about preventing bear encounters and what to do if you do encounter one, visit ontario.ca/bearwise

Six festivals in the greater Kawarthas region have made the list of Festivals and Events Ontario’s top 100 festivals and events in Ontario in 2023, with four making the list for the second year in a row.

Hike Haliburton Festival, Tweed & Company Theatre, Port Hope Arts Festival, Port Hope Candlelight Festival, Bancroft’s Rockhound Gemboree, and the Buckhorn Festival of the Arts were among those presented with the award at Festivals and Events Ontario’s annual awards gala on Wednesday (February 28) in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

The first four festivals also made the list last year.

Established in 2003, the Hike Haliburton Festival is Canada’s largest hiking festival. The main festival takes place in September, with a winter edition happening in February. Along with hikes throughout Haliburton Highlands, the festival integrates arts, culture, heritage, and foodie experiences to showcase the area.

Located in Hastings County, Tweed & Company Theatre owns and operates both the Marble Arts Centre and an outdoor stage in Tweed as well as the Village Playhouse in Bancroft. Since assuming operation of The Village Playhouse from Hospice North Hastings in 2022, Tweed & Company Theatre has greatly expanded the number of theatrical events and concerts presented at the venue.

The Port Hope Arts Festival is an annual festival taking place in downtown Port Hope during August, which is arts month in Port Hope. The Port Hope Candlelight Festival is an annual holiday festival taking place from late November to early January that include projections and light displays, outdoor vendor markets, music, wagon rides, and more.

The Rockhound Gemboree, Canada’s largest gem and mineral show, takes place in Bancroft over four days every August. The Buckhorn Festival of the Arts, originally founded as a wildlife art festival in 1979, has since grown into a world-class arts festival taking place at the Buckhorn Community Centre every August.

Police are investigating a home invasion that happened on Fife’s Bay Road in Selwyn Township early Thursday morning (February 29).

Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say three men wearing masks forcefully entered the home at around 5 a.m.

The men bound the lone occupant of the home and then searched various rooms and stole items.

After the men left the home with the stolen items, the victim was able to free themselves and contacted police. Minor injuries were reported.

Police are actively looking for information that may lead to the suspects in this case.

Anyone with any information about this incident is asked to call the Peterborough County OPP Crime Unit at 705-742-0401 or the non-emergency line at 1-888-310-1122. If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.stopcrimehere.ca.

If a merger of the two local health units is approved by the province, who will lead the new organization and serve its 300,000 residents will be determined in the future, a health board chair said.

The board chairs of Peterborough Public Health (PPH) and the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPRDHU), along with both medical officers of health (MOHs) for the two health units, discussed the leadership issue during a media conference on Wednesday (February 28) when they announced the decision to voluntary merge and form one health unit.

The proposed merger requires approval by the provincial government before any changes occur.

HKPRDHU board of health chair David Marshall said leadership of the combined and much larger unit, assuming the province supports the merger, is “a major consideration.”

“It offers us an opportunity to look at the structure and some health units have MOHs and CEOs and some have assistant MOHs,” Marshall said.

“As the unit grows here … there’s only the two doctors/physicians currently on the two organizations, so it offers the opportunity to look at what is the best leadership structure moving forward, given that the organization will basically double in size.”

“That’s going to be a major consideration in the next few months,” he noted, adding the same applies for the merger of the two boards of health into a single board of health for the new organization.

The two health units combined serve about 300,000 residents in the city and county of Peterborough and Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton and Northumberland counties. The health units are currently led by two physicians, with Dr. Natalie Bocking at the helm of HKPRDHU as its MOH and Dr. Thomas Piggott as PPH’s MOH.

The boards announced on February 28 they will go ahead and seek provincial approval and funding to support the merger. The application will aim to demonstrate how a proposed merger would benefit the communities served by the health units, while supporting outcomes and priorities identified for public health by the Ministry of Health.

Mergers of public health units require provincial legislative change and will not be definitive until the government approves the merger and commits to funding the initiative.

Both PPH and HKPRDHU will continue to operate independently during the provincial review period.

“A new name has not been selected,” Dr. Bocking said. “That will be part of the planning process and done collaboratively across both health units.”

The HKPRDHU and PPH boards of health will submit a joint voluntary merger application to the Ontario government by April 2.

In August 2023, the Ministry of Health announced plans aimed at strengthening the public health sector by offering one-time funding, resources and supports to local public health agencies that decide to voluntarily merge by January 1, 2025.

YWCA Peterborough Haliburton’s annual Empty Bowls event last Friday (February 23) has raised almost $20,000 to help address food insecurity in the Peterborough area.

Almost 200 guests attended the 20th annual event at The Venue in downtown Peterborough, which returned as an in-person seated lunch for the first time since the pandemic. Ticket holders received a handcrafted ceramic or wooden bowl and enjoyed food supplied by 15 local restaurants.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will support the Nourish Food Program operated by the YWCA, which provides fresh food at affordable costs to families experiencing hunger.

“This year, more than ever, I’m encouraged and humbled by the number of people who support Empty Bowls with their generosity,” says YWCA executive director Kim Dolan in a media release. “The time devoted to making this event a success holds true this year more than ever.”

YWCA’s Nourish Food program offers monthly food boxes, community gardening, and a weekly market at Curve Lake First Nation, bringing high quality produce from local farms to the community at affordable prices. With the support of the community, around 260 food boxes are distributed each month to individuals and families around the Peterborough area.

Including funds from this year’s event, supporters of Empty Bowls have helped raise more than $210,000 over the past 20 years for the Nourish Food program.

“Twenty years is a remarkable milestone, especially given the challenges in recent years,” Dolan note. “It is a testament to the dedication of our community members who fired up their kilns, sharpened their chisels, showed up, donated, sponsored, volunteered, and continued the legacy of Empty Bowls in Peterborough.”

This year’s event was supported by members of the Kawartha Potters Guild and Kawartha Woodturners Guild, along with presenting sponsor Cornerstone Family Dentistry, location sponsor The Venue, and media sponsor kawarthaNOW.

Participating restaurants include Ashburnham Ale House, the Black Horse Pub, By The Bridge, Fresh Dreams, Hanoi House, Hard Winter Bakery, La Hacienda, La Mesita, NAKA Japanese, Naked Chocolate, Revelstoke, Sam’s Place, St Veronus, The Pin, and The Venue.

By purchasing brightly decorated cookies, residents can help ensure seniors and people with disabilities in Northumberland County have hot meals on their tables.

On Friday (March 1), Community Care Northumberland (CCN) is launching an Easter cookie fundraiser to support its Meals on Wheels program.

The fundraiser is an important one for CCN, says Leiann Peart, director of client services at CCN.

“Every dollar raised through the Easter cookie fundraising event goes toward providing nutritious and affordable meals to seniors living alone, adults with disabilities who are unable to shop for groceries or cook for themselves, and those being discharged from hospitals with limited or no help available during their recovery,” Peart told kawarthaNOW.

“Every single purchase will make a difference to the lives of those that benefit from this program,” she said. “Ideally, we would love to raise $7,000 to assist us in providing this valuable service to those who benefit from this program.”

The fundraiser ties into National Nutrition Month, which is the month of March, and March for Meals, an annual campaign to increase awareness and community engagement around the significance of the Meals on Wheels program.

Community members can purchase a box or more of cookies. Each $20 box contains five individually wrapped, decorated Easter cookies from Roda’s Kitchen in Cobourg, with $8 from each box sold directly supporting the Meals on Wheels program.

As mentioned by Peart, the initiative provides essential frozen and hot meal deliveries to clients throughout Northumberland County.

CCN delivers approximately 3,000 meals a month to residents in Northumberland.

In addition to the cookie fundraiser, local mayors, volunteers, and other community members will join CCN for the 27th anniversary of March for Meals and demonstrate their support as “community champions” by delivering meals to clients.

“The cookie fundraiser and March for Meals initiative are essential components in meeting the nutritional requirements of our clients and community, simultaneously amplifying awareness about this invaluable program,” said Trish Baird, CCN CEO, in a media release. “We express our gratitude to everyone for their unwavering support.”

Cookie orders can be placed between March 1 and 18 on the Community Care Northumberland website at commcare.ca.

Those who purchase cookies can pick them up on March 27 and 28 from local CCN offices in Brighton, Campbellford and Cobourg.

CCN’s Meals on Wheels program provides healthy and affordable meal options, the organization noted. Northumberland clients can choose hot meals, which are prepared locally and delivered several times per week at noon, and/or can choose to receive frozen meals, which are easy to prepare and cater to several diets.

Meals are delivered by CCN volunteers or staff members directly to the client’s door. In 2022-23, CCN’s Meals on Wheels program delivered 40,421 meals to 636 clients in the county.