Peterborough city council has endorsed a zoning by-law change that would allow a new mixed-used residential and commercial complex to be built on the site of Trentwinds International Centre at 264 Lansdowne Street East, east of Ashburnham Drive.

Meeting as general committee on Monday night (December 4), councillors endorsed an amendment to the zoning by-law that would rezone the property from commercial to residential, permitting Ellas Holdings Inc. to proceed with a site plan for an 11-storey and eight-storey residential apartment building complex on the north side of Lansdowne Street East just east of Ashburnham Drive.

The proposed mixed-use complex would contain 186 residential units along with up to 2,862 square metres of ground floor commercial space. The now-closed Trentwinds International Centre, which contained a motel and banquet centre, would be demolished for the new development.

The property at 264 Lansdowne Street East is surrounded by car dealerships to the west and northwest and vacant commercial lands to the north and east. For the vacant property at 292 Lansdowne Street East, immediately east of Trentwinds International Centre, an application is underway from another developer — Eastgate (Peterborough) Ltd. — for site plan approval for a one-storey five-unit commercial building that would include a drive-through restaurant.

A staff report from the city’s planning supports the proposed zoning by-law change, noting the proposal confirms with the city’s growth plan and official plan and the Ontario government’s 2020 provincial policy statement on land use planning.

“The proposal will assist the City in achieving its housing pledge to provide at least 4,700 units by 2031,” reads the staff report. “On that basis, staff respectfully recommends that the application be approved.”

Items endorsed by general committee will go to city council’s regular session on Monday (December 11) for consideration for approval. If council approves the recommendation, the proposal would require site plan approval before a building permit is issued.

PDF: Zoning By-law Amendment for 264 Lansdowne Street East, Report IPGPL23-00
Zoning By-law Amendment for 264 Lansdowne Street East, Report IPGPL23-00

A 30-year-old Peterborough man is facing multiple charges after his vehicle crashed into two police cruisers attempting to stop him on Sunday evening (December 3).

At around 6:20 p.m. on Sunday, police received a call about a vehicle being driven erratically, including into oncoming traffic, before it entered a parking lot just north of Water Street and University Heights Boulevard.

An officer located the suspect’s vehicle in the parking lot and was approaching it when the suspect’s vehicle collided with the officer’s cruiser and then continued driving. A second officer, whose cruiser had its lights and siren on, attempted to stop the vehicle on Water Street when it also collided with that officer’s cruiser.

The first officer was able to get their cruiser in front of the suspect’s vehicle again, when the driver stopped and fled on foot.

Both officers, who received minor injuries, were able to get out of their damaged cruisers — with one having to get out of the passenger side because of the damage — and chased the suspect before taking him into custody a short distance away. During the arrest, officers noticed the driver was showing signs of impairment.

Officers searched the suspect’s vehicle and seized 5.9 grams of cocaine, 5.8 grams of fentanyl, 70 oxycodone pills, an unspecified amount of Canadian currency, and drug paraphernalia.

As a result of the investigation, a 30-year-old Peterborough man was arrested and charged with operation while impaired (drugs), dangerous operation, flight from peace officer, possession property obtained by crime under $5,000, operation while prohibited under the criminal code, possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking (oxycodone), possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking (fentanyl), and possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine).

Officers discovered the driver was a suspended driver and he was also charged with driving while under suspension and his vehicle was impounded for 45 days.

The accused man is being held in custody and will appear in court on Monday (December 4).

Paving the future is a lot more about the educators than it is about the place you do it, and yet a new state-of-the-art facility sure wouldn’t hurt.

That’s why the Pinnguaq Association is excited to have reached a milestone on their long journey to transforming the former Lindsay Public Works building at 12 Peel Street into a world-class community hub and STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) education facility.

While the interior construction has been moving along since March, the external renovations began earlier this month with the removal of the ramp on the building’s west side, to be replaced with an accessible entrance on the north end.

The 13,500-square-foot three-storey building will support the not-for-profit organization’s mission of advancing STEAM skills in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities by providing more space to use and create with Pinnguaq’s innovative technology.

Providing education, mentorship, and entrepreneurship opportunity in digital literacy for all ages, Pinnguaq — the Inuktitut word for “play” is pronounced “ping-gwah” — has supported the opening of seven makerspaces in Ontario and Nunavut, including one in Curve Lake First Nation and the current Lindsay location at 87 Adelaide Street, which opened in October 2019.

“The day we opened it, we knew we were too big (for the space) but there just wasn’t any other option,” says Pinnguaq CEO and founder Ryan Oliver, adding that each location offers something unique. “Those spaces need to reflect the value and cultures of their communities, and that’s how they’re going to be most useful to them.”

While the current location has 650 square feet open to the public, the Peel Street location will be almost seven times bigger with 4,500 square feet of community space to welcome school groups, families, and community organizations.

The building will include three makerspaces purposefully built to support neuro-divergent learners, with a collapsible glass wall between two of the rooms for access to a larger space through merger when required.

“It’s not like a makerspace (in a larger city) with unsupervised access to 3D printers, T-shirt makers, et cetera,” says Oliver, noting that the same goes for all of the organization’s makerspaces. “It’s more about pairing that piece with the educational opportunities and mentorship opportunities to learn to use it in the best way that ultimately benefits the community.”

Outside of the makerspaces, the Pinnguaq team works with clients to develop apps, games, and websites through a model that brings youth into the makerspace to be involved in making their first game, design, song, or other experience. Offices for these teams, as well as a shared kitchen and studios for streaming, recording, and designing, will be located on the second and third floors of the new facility.

One of these programs is coming up in the existing Adelaide space, where youth will be able to hear from a Coboconk-based game developer who is soon launching a hockey-focused video game, and have the opportunity to test it.

“It’s going to do multiple things for us through that moment,” Oliver says. “It’s going to create a mentor for a group of kids that are going to have the chance to work on these products, and they will immediately be able to put themselves in the industry.”

Originally from Lindsay himself, Oliver worked for almost nine years for the territorial government in Nunavut, where he founded the not-for-profit Pinnguaq Association in Pangnirtung in 2012 to provide Nunavummiut youth access to technology through games.

One of Canada’s first Arctic startups, the organization has since expanded with the goal, according to Oliver, to “level the playing field” and ensure “opportunities that are going to shape the future — in work, expressions or arts, and the way we communicate — are available to people regardless of the community we come from.”

A student of the late Rob Mathers, who taught at I.E. Weldon Secondary School in Lindsay for 24 years, Oliver was introduced to a unique approach of using technology while attending the school during the late 1990s.

“His whole approach to teaching computers was that we’re just going to break stuff and figure it out together,” Oliver recalls. “I think that’s what technology can be and that’s what makes it exciting.”

The Pinnguaq CEO adds that, even back then, it was about using technology beyond as a means of consumerism, not teaching people how to buy products online but to provide courses that support people on their way to starting their own online storefronts.

“We’re not looking at this as what can technology do for the community, but more at what this community can do with this technology,” Oliver says. “What we are trying to do is help people turn from consumers with technology into creators with technology.”

The new Peel Street facility will also encourage youth to see a career path for themselves in STEAM through a Hall of Fame for those hailing from the region who have found success.

“If you go to the recreation centre in Lindsay, every year you see the sports stars of yesteryear who came from this area,” Oliver says. “It’s inspiring to hockey players, for example, to know there’s so many people that have made the NHL from this area — so we want to create the same thing (for) technology.”

The aim is also for the Hall of Fame to help youth envision that they don’t have to go to downtown Toronto or Silicon Valley to work in any sort of tech industry.

To share that local pride even more, Pinnguaq is working with Downeyville and Lindsay-based contractors O’Neil and Carroll and Fenelon Falls-based design firm Home by Tim + Chris to create the new facility.

“In the same way that we’re trying to build capacity in rural communities — so that the funding can stay there and the money we receive can stay there — it’s really important that when you’re building space in a community, you do so in a way that keeps the community involved,” says Oliver. “If we want this place to ultimately reflect our community and be comfortable for it, we need to make sure the community is the one designing it.”

As they work towards completing the new building, with the aim of opening in early April 2024 at the latest, Oliver suggests the best way to show community support is to hire the Pinnguaq team for services like app or website development.

“The youth in the makerspace, they’re going to get an education out of it and get to work with their first client and get to get their name on their first game,” says Oliver. “But our talented team of designers are going to make sure that the finished result is better than or as good as any agency can put together. Running that agency is really where we’re able to support the organization, while also contributing directly into the community.”

For more information on Pinnguaq Association, visit pinnguaq.com.

Ian and Michelle, City of Kawartha Lakes residents and parents to two young children, weren’t prepared for the heart-breaking news.

They were left speechless and in shock as doctors informed them that that their four-year-old daughter, Summer, had hepatoblastoma, a rare, “one in a million” form of liver cancer. Experts explained that Summer had a large tumour that was dangerously close to the major blood vessels in her liver.

All Ian and Michelle could do was focus on what mattered most: getting Summer better and keeping their family together during this incredibly difficult time. When doctors told them that Summer needed immediate cancer treatment in Toronto — a long distance from home — it added yet another layer of uncertainty and fear.

They found themselves in a wild juggling act of uprooting the family, arranging childcare for their son, asking for a leave from work, and handling growing travel costs — all while trying to save their love and strength to support Summer.

It’s difficult for Ian and Michelle to describe what it was like to watch their child go through a medical crisis. “It’s a heavy burden that no child, no family should bear,” says Ian.

“The trip to Toronto for her initial treatment wasn’t easy for our family,” explains Michelle. “We’d hit the road at 4:45 a.m. to beat the traffic, but waking our little one so early was tough. She often felt nauseous during the drive, so we kept sickness bags handy. Our son stayed with his grandma when we had to stay in Toronto. It was heartbreaking to be separated from him.”

It was a huge relief for the family when they were told Summer could continue her lifesaving treatment at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

“Getting her care closer to home made the challenges of her disease a little easier,” says Ian. “It was a glimmer of light in our darkest hour. We were even able to be together for Christmas last year.”

Spending as much time at PRHC as they did, Ian and Michelle saw the incredible amount of equipment that’s required to provide cancer care — and patient care of all kinds — under one roof.

“What we didn’t know then was how much of it was funded by donors,” Michelle says.

Since government funding covers only part of the hospital’s costs and doesn’t fund new equipment, PRHC relies on community donations to fund the technology needed to save lives. Everything from diagnostic imaging tools like CT scanners and MRI machines, to the equipment found in the Cardiac Cath Lab, operating rooms, and the Emergency Department — even the special chair Summer sat in while receiving her chemotherapy.

What surprised Ian and Michelle even more, was how many people rely on PRHC for those critical services. The hospital serves a population of 600,000 people, across the city and county of Peterborough, Northumberland County, east Durham, the Haliburton Highlands, Lindsay, and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

“We’ll never be able to express how truly thankful we are for donors’ past support of PRHC — they helped the experts save her life,” Michelle says. Those wonderful healthcare providers are another reason the family is grateful for Summer’s care being delivered at PRHC.

“They treated us like extended family,” Ian says.

Today, Summer is happy and healthy, in remission, and doing all the things a five-year-old should be doing: dancing, gymnastics, and making her wish list for Santa. Ian and Michelle take each day as it comes, cherishing every moment with their family and being mindful of how precious their time together is.

Getting expert, compassionate care close to home had such an impact on Summer’s family, that they want to ensure it remains a possibility for others from across the region.

“We decided to become donors,” says Ian. “We wanted to do something to help. To say thank you for the extraordinary care Summer received, while making things more bearable for other families like ours.”

That’s why, at this time of year especially, Foundation ambassadors like Ian and Michelle are asking others to reflect on the importance of family and community and decide to help more patients get the care they need, where and when they need it most — right here — by donating to the PRHC Foundation.

Donors can spread additional good cheer this holiday season by including a special tribute message to honour a PRHC doctor, nurse, staff member or a whole team along with their donation. The notes of thanks and best wishes will be forwarded to the hardworking healthcare workers recognized. They’ll also be shared more widely with the hospital, patient and donor community through social media, email, and a display in the hospital cafeteria.

You can make a tribute donation and send a message online or by phone at 705-876-5000.

This branded editorial was supplied by the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.

Environment Canada has issued multiple weather warnings for much of the greater Kawarthas region beginning Sunday morning (December 3) into Monday.

Freezing rain warnings are in effect for Peterborough and Kawarthas Lakes, with 2 to 3 mm of ice build-up possible Sunday morning into early evening.

Freezing rain is expected to begin Sunday morning and may be mixed with snow or ice pellets at times. Freezing rain may briefly change to rain in some areas in the afternoon, but a quick transition to snow is expected by the evening as temperatures cool once again.

A snowfall warning is in effect for Hastings Highlands, with peak snowfall rates of 2 to 3 cm per hour possible Sunday night and expected snowfall accumulation of 15 to 20 cm by Monday morning. A winter weather travel advisory is in effect for Haliburton County, with expected snowfall accumulation of 10 to 15 cm by Monday morning.

Snow, which will begin late Sunday morning or early afternoon, may become mixed with ice pellets or transition to freezing rain in the afternoon in some areas. The snow is expected to become heavy in the evening and then continue overnight before tapering to flurries Monday morning.

Motorists should expect hazardous winter driving conditions and adjust travel plans accordingly. Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become difficult to navigate due to accumulating snow.

Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. If visibility is reduced while driving, turn on your lights and maintain a safe following distance.

In response to community safety concerns, Cobourg police have installed two closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in the town’s east end.

One of the cameras is installed at the intersection of Brook Road North and King Street East and the other is installed on Meredith Avenue off Brook Road North.

The two cameras are part of the Cobourg Police Service’s CCTV network that already consists of 28 operational cameras, with plans to almost double the number of cameras in operation next year.

On November 11, police officers canvassed neighbourhoods in the east end of Cobourg to hear directly from residents after seeing concerns raised online about community safety and crime that didn’t align with incident reports to police.

Officers spoke with 90 residents from the neighbourhoods of Cottesmore Avenue, Meredith Avenue, Thomas Street, Jane Street, Brook Road North, Rolling Street, and King Street East (between Cottesmore Avenue and Brook Road North).

The top three community concerns identified by residents included feeling unsafe while walking in the neighbourhood, people trespassing on property, and property being stolen from backyards and porches.

The top two responses from residents when asked what they would like to see done to address concerns were increased police presence through foot patrols, especially at night, and implementation of CCTV cameras in and around neighbourhoods.

The Cobourg Police Service’s CCTV network is funded through the Ontario government’s CCTV grant program, a three-year $6-million program announced in 2020 for police services across the province.

Cobourg police say the expansion of their CCTV network, which is scheduled for completion by the end of next summer, will further expedite the identification of suspects involved in incidents, facilitate evidence collection, and bolster court prosecutions.

As their CCTV project progresses, Cobourg police will also be launching a community-wide camera registry, where residents and companies can volunteer to register their own cameras with police so that, in the event of an incident, police can rapidly request footage from those participating in the program.