Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the southern Kawarthas region for significant rainfall Sunday morning (April 14).

The special weather statement is in effect for southern Peterborough County, southern Kawartha Lakes, and western Northumberland County.

Heavy rain with a few thunderstorms are expected Sunday morning.

Some areas may receive rainfall amounts near 30 mm within a few hours in the morning.

The ground may have a reduced ability to absorb this rainfall.

Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Localized flooding in low-lying areas is possible.

Housing construction projects in Northumberland County have received a boost as a result of a recent fundraiser.

Dinner was served on Sunday (April 7) at Habitat for Humanity Northumberland’s Restore in Cobourg. The Sunday dinner fundraiser netted $23,000 for Habitat for Humanity Northumberland.

Habitat for Humanity Northumberland transformed the ReStore into a spring courtyard for the occasion. The annual, sold-out affair raises money for Northumberland’s build projects.

“The last couple of years I attended the dinner as a guest,” said Cathy Borowec, CEO of Habitat Northumberland, in a media release. “This year, I had the pleasure of seeing the work that goes on behind the scenes and what makes this dinner so magical.”

“It’s truly a team effort to brings this event all together. Everyone in attendance, especially our volunteers and sponsors, were able to connect through a delicious meal, amid the furniture and all the donated goods that are normally on display for sale in our ReStore.”

The dinner’s 120 guests had cocktails and dinner featuring delights catered by Cobourg’s Prep Food Co. in collaboration with the Happy Bee Company. Thirty volunteers helped make the event run smoothly, along with students from Trinity College School who donated their time as servers.

Melissa Morrison, Habitat for Humanity Northumberland’s community and fund development coordinator, and Borowec recently shared their comments about the Sunday dinner initiative with kawarthaNOW.

The event was the brainchild of the organization’s former CEO, and Habitat for Humanity Northumberland hosted its first Sunday dinner event in 2019.

“We needed to raise money, but we wanted to do something different,” said Morrison. “The Sunday ReStore dinner is all about slowing down. It’s a time to share and connect with our amazing community through a delicious meal in a warm and inviting atmosphere.”

Since its inception, the event has raised a cumulative $55,000 towards build projects. This year’s funds were raised through ticket sales, sponsorship, and donations. Additional dollars were raised during the event through a silent auction, and a new game called “Open Doors for Habitat.”

A donation of $20 opened one of the 120 doors and revealed a prize valued from $5 to $125. Habitat for Humanity Northumberland also launched a “Sign a Hard Hat” campaign. After making a donation, donors signed a hard hat picture to display in the Cobourg ReStore front windows.

This campaign will run for the month of April, and hats will continue to be displayed in the windows during that time. Money raised from that initiative supports current build projects and all donations of $20 or more will qualify for a charitable tax receipt.

For more information or to make a donation, email mmorrison@habitatnorthumberland.ca or call 289-252-0999 ext. 29.

Founded in 1998, Habitat for Humanity Northumberland is a non-profit organization working towards a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Habitat for Humanity brings communities together to help families build strength, stability, and independence through affordable homeownership.

One of 47 local Habitats working in Canada, Habitat for Humanity Northumberland and its volunteers have assisted 65 families in obtaining affordable homeownership and 150 families maintain affordable homeownership.

Habitat for Humanity Canada is a member of Habitat for Humanity International, which was established in 1976 and has grown to become a leading global non-profit working in more than 70 countries.

Nish Tees, an Indigenous-led business in Peterborough-Nogojiwanong, is holding a fundraiser for the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2-Spirit People — also known as Red Dress Day.

For the day held annually on May 5, the screen printing and design company is selling a T-shirt with a design by Mia Ohki, a Métis-Japanese Canadian artist based in Alberta. On the front, the design features an image of women swimming in tears and, on the back, the words “no more stolen sisters” above a hand print symbolizing the missing and murdered Indigenous women who have been silenced.

Proceeds from T-shirt purchases will be donated towards the YWCA Peterborough Haliburton’s Crossroads Shelter for women and children recovering from gender-based violence and Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle, which provides counselling and healing services for Indigenous women and their families who are at risk of violence.

This is the second year Nish Tees owner James Hodgson has decided to host the fundraiser, with last year’s event raising more than $1,100 for the Lovesick Lake Native Women’s Association.

“It’s necessary because I’m in a position to do it, and T-shirts are a really great way to generate awareness on important topics,” says Hodgson. “It’s really a great way for people to show support or create conversation and tie it to a fundraiser.”

First commemorated in 2010, Red Dress Day is meant to honour and bring awareness to the thousands of women, girls, and two-spirit people who have been subjected to disproportionate violence in Canada.

VIDEO: The REDress Project

It was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black’s REDress Project installation, wherein she hung empty red dresses in representation of missing and murdered Indigenous women. The first installation was in March 2011 at the University of Winnipeg and, since then, the installation has been exhibited across the country as well as at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., and is now a permanent exhibit at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Though hanging red dresses in public spaces has become symbolic of a rising awareness for the national crisis, Hodgson is unsure of whether Red Dress Day has generated much change in the past 14 years.

“There’s definitely more awareness, but we’ve got to break through that envelope of awareness and get into more of an action-based, policy-making type of change,” he says. “This is what’s supposed to be happening.”

Hodgson points to the 231 individual ‘Calls for Justice’ from 2019’s Reclaiming Power and Place, the 1,000-page final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which are directed at governments, institutions, social service providers, industries, and all Canadians. According to an analysis from CBC News, as of June 2023, only two of the Calls for Justice have been completed and more than half haven’t even been started.

“I’d really like to see some sort of identifiable and tangible things shift in our community and it’s a really difficult thing to address, because we’re not talking about an individual mindset — we’re talking about a communal mindset,” Hodgson says. “Even if you’re passionately against something, and you’re really into the cause of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, it’s not going to change anything unless we get a mass transition.”

An October 2023 report by Statistics Canada based on data between 2009 and 2021 showed that the rate of homicide against First Nations, Metis, and Inuit women and girls was six times higher than the rate of their non-Indigenous counterparts. Police were also less likely to lay or recommend a charge of first-degree murder (the most serious type of homicide offence) when the victim was Indigenous (27 per cent) compared to those who were not (54 per cent).

On a personal level, Hodgson points to a decision by Manitoba’s previous Progressive Conservative government not to fund the search of landfills north of Winnipeg to try recovering the remains of two Indigenous women — Morgan Harris and Marcedes Myran — who were the victims of a serial killer.

“The current colonial systems that are in place are saying that Indigenous women don’t count — that they’re garbage — and that’s infuriating to say the least,” he says. “We’ve got to do something better than that. We’ve got to show that everyone in the community has value.”

As a survivor of the Sixties Scoop — where child welfare authorities took Indigenous children from their families and communities for placement in foster homes, from which they would be adopted by white families — with his family ascending from Whitesand First Nation, Hodgson knows how imperative it is that “everyone be heard and have their problems known” so the treatment doesn’t get worse.

“I spent a lot of my life not knowing about any of these issues even though I was fully immersed in the Sixties Scoop — I didn’t know it at the time,” he says. “As an adult I’ve tried to make strides to reconnect with my home community and my birth family but a lot of them have crossed over so it’s not something I can actively pursue now.”

Hodgson also notes that many of the atrocities that we discuss when it comes to Indigenous history are not nearly as far back as we like to believe they are. While in some areas it might look like the country is making strides in the right direction, in other ways we are no closer to reconciliation.

“If you’re Indigenous, you know someone that went to residential school, either someone that survived or someone that died there,” he says, noting that the last of the residential schools in Canada closed as recently as 1996. “It’s mind-boggling that that stuff happened in the same year I went to Trent (University) to take native studies to connect in a very non-Indigenous way to some sort of Indigenous community.”

While Hodgson notes that current initiatives like the push by Leah Gazan, NDP Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre, for the Red Dress Alert (an Indigenous-led, 24/7 alert system thatwould operate similar to the Amber Alert by notifying the public when Indigenous women go missing) is a step in the right direction, Hodgson “doesn’t know how much of a difference it will make” if the wider public perception doesn’t change.

“Society as a whole views Indigenous women as less than human, so it doesn’t necessarily matter if they go missing and, if they do go missing, (the perpetrators) can get away with it,” he says. “There has to be some sort of response from law enforcement, from justice, from all these colonial forces. They need to be changing their opinions and attitudes towards it before there’s going to be any real change. That’s why it’s still happening.”

Since he believes it takes a lot more than raising awareness, Hodgson assures the donations from the Red Dress Day T-shirts are going to organizations that make actionable change in the community and towards the crisis such as the YWCA Crossroads Shelter and Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle.

“The funds that are received are going to be used directly to benefit the people that use the services,” Hodgson says, adding that these organizations are making the significant differences in the community. “There are people that are moving and shaking and trying to make positive changes at a really basic level and that is a fantastic thing, but everything is easier with a little bit of money, so we definitely try to spread some.”

And hopefully, he notes, by supporting these organizations and doing what he can, even larger change might be forthcoming.

“It’s really hard to make change in the community and have it be impactful, but I’m trying to do what I can and what I’m comfortable doing is T-shirts,” Hodgson says. “I’m trying to start those conversations with people and get the topic out there and discussing these things more because that’s how you start changing opinions.”

To buy a $25 T-shirt from Nish Tees while supporting the community, visit nishtees.ca/red-shirt-day-mmiwg2s.

From an individual planting black-eyed Susans to a child care centre using swamp milkweed and golden rod in its garden, Kawartha Lakes is recognizing residents’ efforts to save the bees.

Beekeeper Christine Szabados and Kawartha Lakes councillor Pat Warren, both on the Kawartha Lakes environmental advisory committee (KLEAC), presented community members with the 2023 Bee a Hero Awards at the Kawartha Lakes committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday (April 9).

The awards recognize residents who create pollinator-friendly gardens.

Kawartha Lakes is the seventh municipality in Canada to be officially recognized as a Bee City by Bee City Canada. The municipality supports healthy pollinator populations and ongoing efforts to preserve and create pollinator habitat.

One of Bee City Kawartha Lakes’ ongoing initiatives is the “pollinator pathway.” KLEAC encourages community members to get involved by creating a pollinator garden. Residents can register their gardens to be part of the “pollinator pathway” map.

For the annual Bee a Hero contest, participants are asked to submit before and after pictures of their pollinator-friendly garden for consideration.

These are the 2023 award recipients:

Astrid Hood

Hood created her pollinator garden by seeding a wildflower mix and planting native perennials like black-eyed Susans.

BGC Kawarthas / Kids in Motion Child Care

BGC Kawarthas / Kids in Motion Child Care created a garden that has swamp milkweed, golden rod, obedient plant, yarrow, wild strawberry, pearly everlasting, blazing star, purple coneflower, elderberry, cranberry bush, and sunflowers.

Donna Bisschop

Bisschop grows coneflower, bergamot and black-eyed Susans for bees and hummingbirds, as well as basil, asters, clover, currants, lupines oregano, and sage.

Harold Lenters

Lenters’ gardens have coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, phlox, catmint, butterfly bushes, milkweed and others. He also allows the shoreline to naturalize.

Leah MacLaren

MacLaren’s wildflower garden has black-eyed Susans, purple coneflower, bachelor’s button, sweet Williams, and beebalms.

Lesley Armstrong-Braun

Armstrong-Braun’s garden caters to monarchs, bees and hummingbirds with milkweed, black-eyed Susans, and coneflowers.

Lisa Hart

Hart’s memorial garden has impatiens, snap dragons, and gladiolus bulbs.

Natasha Lazaroff

Lazaroff planted phlox, coneflower, yarrow, hyssop, sea holly, fleabane, marigolds, dahlias, snapdragons, mugworts, lilac, shasta daisy, pennyroyal, foxglove, Queen Anne’s lace, black-eyed Susans, ammi dara, roses, astilbe, globe thisle, poppy, zinnia, joe pye weed, milkweed, sweet pea, tickseed, alpine strawberry, beebalm, mint, sunflower, herbs and native grasses.

The full presentation with each award recipient’s before-and-after photos is available on the City of Kawartha Lakes website.

Each winner received a 2023 Bee a Hero certificate and a $50 gift card for either Grow Wild, a native plant nursery in Omemee, or Green Side Up, a native plant nursery also in Omemee.

Kawartha Lakes reminds residents wishing to enter next year’s contest to take a “before” picture this spring that shows the preparation of their pollinator-friendly garden, and stay tuned for 2024 contest dates by subscribing for news updates on the Kawartha Lakes website.

Bee City Kawartha Lakes’ recognition from Bee City Canada is a reflection of its commitment to promote healthy pollinator populations and actively preserve and create pollinator habitats, the group noted.

Being a Bee City encourages community engagement and “underscores our support for fostering healthy ecosystems and sustainable food sources,” Bee City Kawartha Lakes noted.

To learn more about the Bee City program, visit the Bee City Canada website at beecitycanada.org.

Bee City Canada’s mission is to recognize and support municipalities, Indigenous communities, campuses, schools, and other organizations that are taking action to protect and promote pollinators.

Honouring those who helped raise $1.4 million for the United Way Peterborough & District’s 2023 campaign, the organization held a community celebration on Thursday (April 11) at The Venue in downtown Peterborough.

“Our success isn’t just measured in dollars, but in the lives touched and futures transformed,” said United Way CEO Jim Russell in a media release. “With $1.4 million raised, surpassing last year by eight per cent, we prove that when a community unites, the impact knows no bounds.”

With in-kind sponsorship from The Venue and photographer Andrew Macdonald, Thursday’s event included the presentation of the 2023 Community Campaign Spirit Awards to 23 donors, workplaces, and volunteers — including to kawarthaNOW writer Paul Rellinger for his volunteer work organizing the fourth Peterborough Performs benefit concert on March 7, which raised more than $30,000 for the United Way’s partner agencies supporting people in the community who are experiencing homelessness.

The United Way’s director of philanthropy Anne Ondercin led the presentation of the Spirit Awards.

“In our community, every contribution to the United Way campaign, whether it’s a donation or volunteer effort, is invaluable for funding essential social programs and initiatives,” Ondercin said.

“The Spirit Awards celebrate those who went above and beyond in 2023, highlighting their dedication and inspiring us all with their commitment to making a difference.”

Ondercin also thanked departing campaign chair Jim Hendry for his significant efforts and dedication

“It has been a privilege to act as United Way Peterborough & District’s 2023 Campaign Chair, and I extend heartfelt thanks to our community for their unwavering support,” Hendry said. “Together, we are creating a foundation of hope, compassion, and empowerment.”

Below are the winners of the United Way’s 2023 Community Campaign Spirit Awards.

Spirit Of The Community

• Cogeco
• IG Wealth Management
• Royal Bank of Canada
• Dr. Stephan Ragaz

Outstanding Workplace Campaign Award (Large)

• GM Financial
• Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic School Board
• Trent University

Outstanding Workplace Campaign Award (Small)

• Irwin, Sargent & Lowes
• Lucky Strike Bait Works
• Enterprise Holdings

Champions Of Change Award

• GM Financial – Tim Parmiter and Kirsten Valencia
• Trent University – MK Millard and Alison Sholl
• Peterborough Performs – Paul Rellinger

Inspiring Local Love Award

• Andritz Hydro
• Ontario Public Service
• Costco Peterborough

Labour Community Partnership Award

• Peterborough & District Labour Council

Outstanding Partner Agency

• Community Living Trent Highlands
• Elizabeth Fry Society
• Peterborough Child and Family Centres

With big-ticket needs such as a new emergency department and intensive care unit, the Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) Foundation is approaching the community for support to serve the growing patient population in the Kawartha Lakes.

The RMH Foundation is launching its spring appeal, with high hopes of raising money towards equipment and projects currently needed most at the Kawartha Lakes hospital.

“The RMH Foundation raises funds for the highest priority needs at Ross Memorial that are not covered by government funding,” Kim Coulter, communications specialist for the RMH Foundation, told kawarthaNOW.

“The magnitude of the projects underway at Ross Memorial require the RMH Foundation to raise funds before, during, and after coming online,” Coulter said. “Replacing critical technology such as the MRI and CT scanner and implementing the clinical information system (CIS), require multi-year planning and fundraising approaches.”

“We’re pleased that the community’s new MRI and CT scanner and IV pumps are already helping the Ross team provide the best care possible,” she added.

In addition, the new CIS has been implemented in phases in co-ordination with six other hospitals in the region, Coulter noted.

Meanwhile, efforts are currently underway to expand and modernize the emergency department and intensive care unit. RMH is now proceeding through the Ministry of Health’s capital planning process.

“All of these projects are integral to the hospital and to patients throughout Kawartha Lakes,” Coulter said. “We’re so pleased that our community recognizes the importance of advanced hospital care as our population grows and we hope everyone will play a role in patient care by making a donation to help meet these transformative hospital needs.”

RMH patient Erik Ellis thought a pulled muscle was responsible for his painful limp. He never expected that he had osteoarthritis and needed a total hip replacement.

“My diagnosis had me worrying if I would ever get back to my normal pace and all of the activities that keep me young,” said Ellis in a media release. “Fortunately, we live in a community with advanced hospital services. In fact, Ross Memorial was the first hospital in Ontario to use the new hip replacement implant technology that got me back up and moving.”

As a result of his positive experiences from the pre-operative appointments to the check-ups during his recovery, he and his wife Denise are sharing their story in the RMH’s spring appeal letter that will soon be mailed throughout Kawartha Lakes.

“The Ross has always been there when we needed it,” said Ellis. “With our local population set to double in the next decade, we must ensure the Ross is equipped with the tools and
facilities it needs to provide the best care and services.”

Erin Coons, RMH Foundation CEO, said many people are involved in a patient’s care, including donors.

“As the hospital needs to grow services and spaces, and implement advancements in medical science, we count on our generous community to help fund equipment, technology and capital projects,” Coons said. “It takes all of us to keep our hometown hospital providing first-rate care.”

The RMH Foundation asks residents to keep an eye out for the letter and consider making a donation.

At its first meeting of 2024, 100 Women Peterborough has chosen YWCA Peterborough Haliburton to receive a donation of over $10,000 that will support the non-profit organization’s programs and services for women and children recovering from gender-based violence.

The collective philanthropy group met on Monday (April 8) at The Venue in downtown Peterborough.

At each of its quarterly meetings, 100 Women Peterborough hears presentations from three non-profit organizations randomly drawn from a larger list of organizations nominated by the group’s members. Each member commits to donating $100, and the organization receiving the most votes from members receives the collective donations.

The three organizations that presented to 100 Women Peterborough at Monday’s meeting were YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, Kawartha Montessori Bursary Program, and Rotary Environmental Champions, with the YWCA chosen by majority vote to receive member donations.

“On behalf of all the women and children we serve at YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, I’d like to extend our utmost gratitude to 100 Women Peterborough for selecting us as the beneficiary for their first event of the year,” said Tina Thornton, the YWCA’s director of philanthropy, in a media release.

“It was truly an honour to share our mission with some of our community’s most dynamic women, and we are so proud to be part of a city and region that clearly demonstrates its caring and commitment toward helping people in need.”

According to Thornton, the donation from 100 Women Peterborough will support the YWCA’s core programs and services which help thousands of women and children each year as they deal with the impacts of gender-based violence and abuse through what the YWCA calls the “journey of care.”

Last year, that support included over 6,000 nights spent at Crossroads Shelter, almost 1,300 client contacts for the court support program, around 350 clients in the outreach support program, and more than 3,000 support and crisis calls by phone and text.

Key services include the START (Support Team for Abuse Response Today) program, which gives women access to over a dozen community support agencies through a centralized meeting, the women’s well-bring counselling and peer support program, and providing basic necessities and food for women and children staying in the organization’s safe spaces.

“It’s incredibly moving to witness the collective effort of women in our community rallying together to support the vital cause of the YWCA,” said Rosalea Terry, a founding member of 100 Women Peterborough. “Our membership’s unified support is not only powerful but also a testament to the strength of our community’s solidarity.”

Since its formation in 2018, 100 Women Peterborough has collectively donated over $190,000 to 23 local organizations: YWCA Peterborough Haliburton, Vinnies Peterborough, Hospice Peterborough, Peterborough Youth Unlimited, One Roof Warming Room, New Canadians Centre, Cameron House, Five Counties Children’s Centre, Casa De Angelae, Lakefield Animal Welfare Society, Community Care Peterborough, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Community Counselling and Resource Centre, Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services, Heads Up for Inclusion, Kawartha Youth Orchestra, Peterborough GreenUP, Bridges Peterborough, YMCA Strong Communities, Homeward Bound Peterborough, Good Neighbours Care Centre and Food Bank, PARN – Your Community AIDS Resource Network, and Camp Kawartha.

100 Women Peterborough is part of a growing collective philanthropy movement that began in the United States in November 2006, when Karen Dunigan of Michigan formed the “100 Women Who Care” group. After their first meeting, those women raised over $10,000 for the purchase of 300 new baby cribs for a local organization. The movement has grown over the past 18 years to include groups of men, women, youth, and children around the world, with hundreds of chapters in Canada alone.

For more information about 100 Women Peterborough, visit www.100womenptbo.ca.

The Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group (AMSG) is inviting community members to lend a hand for the upcoming spring clean-up of “an iconic location” in Peterborough’s East City community.

AMSG is hosting a rain-or-shine event on Saturday, April 13 at Ashburnham Memorial Park — better known as “Armour Hill” to locals. The event is slated to get underway at 10 a.m. and the agenda includes a celebration and clean-up of the park, located at 300 Hunter Street East.

The Armour Hill event is important for the Peterborough community, says Jenn McCallum, co-founder of the AMSG.

“Armour Hill is an iconic location in Peterborough, with beautiful views over the city,” McCallum told kawarthaNOW.

It is the tallest drumlin within the Peterborough drumlin field and features a war memorial to commemorate World War 1 veterans.

“Cleaning up the hill is important to show the park some love, because unfortunately, illegal garbage dumping is an ingrained and regular activity that happens within the park,” McCallum said. “Cleaning up this space shows stewardship and care for the park, both for its human and animal visitors,”

The AMSG hosts two park clean-ups annually, one in April and one in November.

McCallum is hopeful for a great turnout for Saturday’s clean-up. Typically, 50 to 60 people participate in the clean-up endeavours. All are welcome to attend, including children and pets.

“We’d love to have a great turnout for the event and at our future ones, and for everyone to enjoy their time in the park.”

When asked what would be the best possible outcome, McCallum looked ahead.

“In the future and for the long term, we would love to see the parking lot at the top of Armour Hill changed to be a people-friendly space,” she said. “Currently, as a large paved parking lot with no delineated parking spaces, it is a car-centric culture, where people come to enjoy the views and leave the garbage behind.”

“We would love to see this space become a beautiful space that people come to enjoy, to picnic and see the views, while respecting the space and properly disposing of their garbage.”

The regular cleanups, which the AMSG has been hosting since November 2021, help keep the 14-acre urban forest safe and clean.

This year’s events focus on community engagement, which will inform the development of a conceptual drawing of the top of Armour Hill as “an active transportation and community space, rather than a drab, garbage-littered parking lot.”

Those who wish to participate in the April event are asked to gather at the Heritage Pavilion, located at the top of Armour Hill, near the Peterborough Museum & Archives. Volunteers should bring a mug and a water bottle, work gloves if desired, and dress in weather-appropriate clothes. Snacks, hot beverages, and clear garbage bags will be provided.

If arriving after the land acknowledgement and orientation, volunteers should check in with one of the organizers, who will be manning a table on the hill. ASMG said keeping track of numbers helps the group receive funding.

Because it is the highest point in Peterborough, Armour Hill is a popular destination during the summer — largely because of the commanding views — and during the winter for tobogganing.

Previous fall and spring clean-up events collected a total of 36 bags of garbage, four bags of recyclables, and several large items including tires and wheels, signposts, doors, and mirrors. More than two-and-a-half pounds of cigarette butts have been removed from the park by Donna Reid’s Butt 1 community initiative for charity.

For more information about Ashburnham Memorial Stewardship Group, including how to get involved, visit ashburnhamstewardship.com.