Melodie McCullough has grown to think of a Kurdish-Syrian family she helped settle in Peterborough as members of her own family.

The Almohamads — a mother, father, and four children — came to the city almost seven years ago. McCullough became acquainted with them as she was part of the family’s support group organized by the New Canadians Centre in Peterborough.

Upon learning that the Almohamads’ relatives living in Lebanon are in danger, McCullough and other members of the Peterborough Kurdish Refugee Support group are trying to bring them to Canada.

The Peterborough resident, along with fellow residents Mary and Terry Ward, have formed the group to privately sponsor the family through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

But they need help. The group is currently raising money and reaching out to the Peterborough community for donations.

“Before we can apply for sponsorship, we need to raise $32,000 which will show the Canadian government we will be able to support the family during the first year they are here,” McCullough noted.

She said it’s a priority to bring this specific family to Peterborough because of its current unsafe circumstances. Farhan Almohamad, who is the father of the Peterborough family, is worried for his sister, her husband, her 12-year-old son and 11-year-old twin boys, who are currently living as refugees in Lebanon.

“It’s important because they are in serious danger right now where they are living,” McCullough explained. “Before the Israel-Hamas war, there was concern about them being sent back to Syria, so they were hiding in a basement. The war and the bombing have upped the danger.”

Recently, one of the children was in a store near their home at the time a bomb went off in it. There were no injuries, just damage, but it was a “very frightening” experience for an 11-year-old child.

The group has made considerable headway in terms of donations but still needs to raise approximately $10,000.

“As soon as we raise the money, we can send in the government forms and start the sponsorship process, so our timeline is as soon as possible,” McCullough said.

She added the best thing that could happen as a result of the effort would be welcoming the family to the city.

“The absolute best thing would be to see this family land at Toronto Pearson Airport, to hold them close to us, and bring them home to Peterborough to start their new life.”

Their cousins — the Almohamads’ children — who are about the same age, are looking forward to introducing the boys to life in Canada, McCullough noted.

Meanwhile, the Almohamads have become part of McCullough’s own family.

“We spend many days together. We have watched their children grow into responsible, kind, and loving citizens of our city who excel at school, sports, and volunteer work,” she said.

“We have also welcomed two new children to their family. I love them all very much and consider the children to be my grandchildren. They have enriched our lives beyond measure.”

With Farhan Almohamad’s sister and her family living in southern Lebanon, bombs from Israel are falling close by in interaction with Hezbollah fighters — part of the escalation of the Israel-Hamas war.

“The family is sheltering as best they can,” McCullough said. “They do not have money to move further away.”

Adding to the risk, the Lebanese government has also begun deporting Syrians back to Syria. If the family is sent back, the father would very likely be tortured or killed, McCullough said.

On Sunday, January 28, the film Allihopa: The Dalkurd Story, about a group of Kurdish refugees in Sweden who defy all odds to climb the ranks of Sweden’s soccer leagues in hopes of becoming champions, is being shown at the ReFrame Film Festival at 12:30 p.m. at Showplace Performance Centre in Peterborough. McCullough’s group will have an information table in the foyer to accept donations in person.

For more information and to make a donation online, visit the GoFundMe campaign at gofundme.com/f/skn687-help-reunite-this-family.

Environment Canada has issued a freezing rain warning for much of the northern Kawarthas region for late overnight or early morning Friday (January 26) and ending in the afternoon.

The freezing rain warning is in effect for northern Peterborough County, southern Haliburton County, and Hastings Highlands

A special weather statement for possible freezing rain is in effect for northern Kawartha Lakes, southern Peterborough County, and eastern Northumberland County. A special weather statement for heavy rainfall is in effect for western Northumberland County

In the northern Kawarthas region, another significant episode of freezing rain is expected Friday, similar to the one experienced Wednesday and Wednesday night. Several hours of freezing rain are expected, with ice build-up of 5 to 10 mm. Some locations may see a changeover to rain Friday if temperatures rise above the freezing mark.

Surfaces such as highways, roads, walkways and parking lots may become icy and slippery. There may be a significant impact on rush hour traffic in urban areas. Ice build-up may cause tree branches to break. Utility outages may occur.

In much of the southern Kawarthas region, rain is expected to move into the area overnight on Friday. There is a threat of freezing rain, particularly inland from Lake Ontario, as temperatures will be very near the freezing mark. Any freezing rain should change to rain as temperatures rise above the freezing mark.

In western Northumberland County, 15 to 25 mm of rain is expected, with locally higher amounts possible. Localized flooding may occur in areas of poor drainage. The frozen ground will have a reduced ability to absorb this rainfall.

This story has been updated with the latest forecast from Environment Canada.

Just two months shy of its launch date, a nationwide, three-digit suicide crisis helpline service is being used by those living in the 705 area code.

And the number of people dialing 9-8-8 locally is on the rise, according to the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR).

In November 2023, the CMHA welcomed the creation of the free, confidential 9-8-8 National Suicide Crisis Helpline, which is accessible 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Anyone in Canada can call or text 9-8-8 if they are thinking about suicide or are worried about someone who is suicidal.

The call is answered by responders who are as close to home as possible, CMHA noted. Ten CMHAs, six of which are in Ontario, are part of a network of roughly 40 partners answering the national crisis line. CMHA HKPR is one of those partners.

Tracy Graham, director of programs and services at CMHA HKPR, said CMHA HKPR received 504 calls as a 9-8-8 network service provider from November 30, 2023 – the go-live date – through to December 31, 2023.

Of those calls, 84 per cent were from people who reside within the 705 area code, she noted.

“The volume of calls to 9-8-8 locally continues to increase,” Graham told kawarthaNOW. “CMHA HKPR will be onboarding text capacity to increase the range of 9-8-8 services at a local level and regional level.”

Every day in Canada, an average of 12 people die by suicide, the CMHA noted. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 34.

“Research shows that suicides are preventable, and that telephone crisis services, and online counselling can help save lives,” the CMHA states on its website.

“We see people in our communities struggling every day,” stated Margaret Eaton, CMHA National CEO, in a media release.

“The 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline is an important step towards addressing Canada’s mental health crisis and creating a country where mental health is a universal human right.”

The CMHA said 9-8-8 provides:

• A number that is easy to remember in a crisis
• Bilingual support, available 24/7/365 by phone and text
• Quick access to support from trained responders
• High quality, evidence-based, equitable suicide prevention and crisis support for everyone in Canada.

9-8-8 is a national helpline, but individuals calling from a local area code in Peterborough, Haliburton, Northumberland, or Kawartha Lakes will be routed to local call takers at the CMHA HKPR call centre in downtown Peterborough.

Residents can visit 988.ca to learn more about the crisis helpline.

UPDATE February 20, 2024 – INSPIRE has informed kawarthaNOW the International Women’s Day event scheduled for March 8, 2024 is no longer taking place, providing the following statement:

“Due to circumstances beyond our control, Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project’s International Women’s Day Event is postponed. Refunds will be processed no later than March 31, 2024.”

From inspiring speakers to knowledgeable workshop leaders and crafty artisan vendors, the second annual International Women’s Day event hosted by INSPIRE: The Women’s Portrait Project will be nothing short of a celebration of all the powerful, successful, and empowered women that live right here in the Kawarthas.

With limited space for each of the workshops, space is filling up fast for the not-to-be-missed event taking place at the Peterborough Waterfront Holiday Inn on Friday, March 8th. Early bird tickets are currently on sale for $80 until February 18. Groups can also purchase a package of four tickets for $240 ($80 savings) or eight tickets for $480 ($160 savings). Those looking to give back can purchase a “pay it forward” for a local agency to provide to community members facing financial barriers.

Peterborough performer, filmmaker, and writer Megan Murphy will be returning as the emcee for the day, welcoming guests at 9 a.m. before a smudging and blessing ceremony kicks off the fun-filled day of connection and learning.

The opening will be followed by a talk from the morning speaker, Dr. Dawn Memee Lavell-Harvard, Ph.D, whose talk is titled “Investing in Indigenous Women and Girls: Inviting everyone to the table.”

A proud member of Wiikwemkoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Dr. Lavell-Harvard was the first Indigenous Trudeau Scholar and works to advance the rights of Indigenous women and their families. She currently serves on the Board of the Canadian Women’s Foundation, the National Indigenous Women’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem, Roots of Empathy, Mothers Matter Centres, and the local Community Health Centre. After doing advocacy work for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry, she becaame the director at the First Peoples House of Learning at Trent University.

After Dr. Lavell-Harvard’s talk, participants will break out into their choice of three concurrent morning workshops, led by Atheana Brown, Meg Nimigon, and Heather Howe. A brief break, lunch, and 15 minutes of yoga and deep breathing exercises hosted by Healthy Living Coach Stephanie Bolton will follow.

In the afternoon, participants will join one of another three workshops led by one of Nicole Cooke, Hermoine Revision, or Jessica Erickson, followed by another afternoon coffee break.

Sami Jo Small will then take to the stage as the event’s keynote speaker. As the former goalie for the Canadian Women’s National Hockey Team, Small is a five-time world champion and three-time Olympian, who played on two gold-medal-winning teams. A graduate of Stanford University with a degree in mechanical engineering, she co-founded the now-defunct Canadian Women’s Hockey League in 2007, considered the top women’s hockey league in North America during its 12 seasons. She was also general manager of the league’s Toronto Furies.

For three decades, she has drawn on her personal experience leading teams as an athlete and in management roles to help businesses and organizations create effective teams. She is a sports analyst who has worked for TSN and Sportsnet, and provided colour commentary and play-by-play for both the men’s and women’s hockey tournament at the Beijing Olympics. In 2020, she published her memoir The Role I Played, a behind-the-scenes look into one of the most successful teams in sports history, describing her experience as a rookie at the first-ever women’s Olympic hockey tournament in Nagano in 1998 through to Canada’s third straight Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010.

After Small’s keynote, community songleader Mila Redwood will close the International Women’s Day event by guiding guests to sing a simple harmony song by ear in the oral tradition of call-and-response.

Throughout the day’s breaks and free time, guests will have the chance to browse the market of up to 25 local makers and artisans.

“It creates this incredible sense of community support with like-minded individuals that empower, inspire, and support one another,” INSPIRE Board member Jessica Swift tells kawarthaNOW.

With purchase of a ticket to the International Women’s Day event, participants receive $10 worth of “CF dollars” through event sponsor Community Futures Peterborough. These tokens can be used towards purchasing products at the vendor market, which the vendor can then return at the end of the day to get a paid balance through the organization’s sponsorship. This process is done so that even participants facing financial barriers have the opportunity to support the small businesses at the event.

“Markets help local makers get their name and product out there,” says Meghan Garant, a vendor at last year’s event. “Social media platforms and online shops like Etsy aren’t always friendly to the little guys. And local makers’ markets help us by getting our name and product out there, and with less hassle like with shipping costs.”

Garant, who owns Moon Jangled Jewelry, is one of many who will be returning to the event’s vendor market again this year.

“I wanted to return this year as a vendor because I loved the sense of community I felt last year,” she says. “I love chatting with customers and makers alike, and talking about jewellery and gemstones with those who are also appreciative of pretty, handmade things. I love getting to see what others are making, as well, as most often it’s truly unique. I’m excited to see who this year will be there.”

As INSPIRE is still securing vendors for the market, those interested can reach out to inspireartisanmarket@gmail.com.

Below is a list of morning and afternoon workshops at INSPIRE’s International Women’s Day event. When purchasing tickets online, guests can register for one morning workshop and one afternoon workshop. Spots are limited, so buyers are encouraged to register now to avoid missing out on first-choice workshops. For more information and registration, visit www.inspirethewomensportraitproject.com/workshops.

Morning Workshops

“Women and Diet Culture” with Atheana Brown

Atheana Brown will lead a workshop on the oppressive practice of diet culture. As a non-diet, body-inclusive, fat-positive, and trauma-informed registered dietitian and certified intuitive eating counsellor, Brown helps clients move away from chronic dieting, eating disorders, poor body image struggles and binge eating.

In this workshop, Brown will encourage you to think about your understanding of health, healthy eating, and your relationship with food by looking at how diet culture has played a part. The workshop will look at how diet culture is exclusive and unattainable, anti-fat bias, impacts on health, and how to move away from behaviours, thoughts, and ideas which fuel inequity.

The workshop does not talk about food in regards to what we “should” eat, but rather looks at disordered eating behaviours and thought patterns, while looking for ways to move away from the oppressive practice.

“Re-ignite your Self-Confidence” with Meg Nimigon (SOLD OUT)

Team Synergy Coach Meg Nimigon works with remote and hybrid teams to help them build team culture. Nimigon’s workshops and coaching draws on her unique background to move teams away from feeling disconnected in the new world of work to feeling connected and empowered.

Though she regularly works in teams, at this workshop she’ll be instead helping women better their relationships with themselves. Together, you will explore the difference between self-confidence and confidence and how, in understanding the difference, you can take action towards your goals while taking care of yourself along the way.

You will leave this workshop with a new outlook on how to reach your goals.

“Wen-Do Women’s Self Defence” with Heather Howe

The final workshop option in the morning is led by Heather Howe, a Wen-Do women’s self-defence instructor and registered social worker who specializes in working with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault and abuse.

Wen-Do is Canada’s oldest women’s self-defence organization. Designed for women by women, the Wen-Do program provides accessible, easy-to-learn, easy-to-remember verbal and physical self-defence strategies for women and girls 10 and older (trans inclusive).

This workshop includes discussions that challenge the myths that blame women for experiencing violence. Instead, women are encouraged to consider the techniques that work best for them while learning hits, kicks, blocks, and wrist/arm grab releases. All techniques are designed to be accessible to women of all fitness and ability levels.

Afternoon Workshops

“Streamline and Simplify Your Space” with Nicole Cooke (SOLD OUT)

Nicole Cooke is an Ennismore-based serial entrepreneur with over 30 years of working with companies, volunteer organizations, and individuals to streamline how they function day-to-day.

Cooke is also the founder of Organized by Design, a professional organizing service for residential and commercial clients.

Topics discussed in this workshop include the psychology of clutter, organizing the home beyond baskets and bins, taking back control of your kitchen, how to love your closet again, making “drop zones” work for you, winning the battle against paperwork, relocating without the stress, and more.

“I’m not creative but I have to be: how creativity makes you, Peterborough and the world sparkle” with Hermoine Rivision

Using her vast background in community work, teaching, counselling, theology, and theatre, Hermoine Rivision is a storyteller and officiant.

She is active with The Peterborough Storytellers and a member of Storytellers of Canada, leads workshops, and is a non-denominational minister.

This workshop is designed to help you find your creative spark-the one that makes you unique. It will be all about discovering what suits you and what makes you creative. Discussion will include the fear of creativity and playing with techniques that help you find that sparkle.

“Women and Cyber Security” with Jessica Erickson

An account manager at MicroAge, Jessica Erickson has over 10 years of technical sales experience in business IT solutions. She works collaboratively with clients and partners to build solutions and recommendations that are unique and accessible.

While working one-on-one with businesses, Erickson partners with groups and associations for awareness and educational speaking engagements to make tech talk easy to understand.

This workshop will help you understand the cyber threat landscape, while covering some critical basics of cyber security and digital safety to get you started on your journey of cyber resilience.

Transit users in the City of Peterborough will start paying more, effective next Thursday (February 1).

The increase in Peterborough Transit fares was part of the city’s 2024 budget approved by city council on December 11. The transit fare increase, which is expected to generate $100,000 in revenue, was one of several measures to reduce the 2024 property tax rate increase.

The increase affects cash fares, the 10-ride pass, 30-day passes, semi-annual and annual passes for seniors, and TransCab fares.

Effective February 1, the cash fare will increase from $2.75 to $3. The cost of 30-day passes will increase by $6 for adults and students (to $72 and $66) and by $5 for seniors (to $50). A 10-ride pass will increase by $2 to $27. For seniors, a semi-annual pass will increase by $15 to $165, with the annual pass increasing by $25 to $275. The TransCab fare will increase from $3.50 to $3.75.

The cost for a single day pass for two adults will remain at $10, and children 12 years and under can continue to ride for free.

The last time the city increased Peterborough Transit fares was three years ago.

Almost a year after breaking ground on its new $10-million net zero carbon fire station, the City of Peterborough is getting a financial boost from the federal government and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for its construction.

The city will be receiving a total of $9.3 million in loans and grants through the Green Municipal Fund for the new fire station under construction at 100 Marina Boulevard at the former location of Northcrest Arena. The new facility will replace the existing Fire Station 2 on Carnegie Avenue, which was built in 1967.

The announcement of the investment — which includes $8,173,910 in loans and $1,226,080 in grants — was made at the new fire station site on Wednesday (January 24) by Whitby MP Ryan Turnbull, parliamentary secretary to the minister of innovation, science and industry, on behalf of federal energy and natural resources minister Jonathan Wilkinson, and by Federation of Canadian Municipalities president Scott Pearce.

“Municipalities influence half of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions with public buildings as large contributors,” Pearce said in a media release. “That’s why it is so important that they lead on and participate in local initiatives to lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

The Green Municipal Fund, which is administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities with funding from the Government of Canada, helps municipal governments switch to sustainable practices faster and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing grants, loans, funding, resources, and training.

Peterborough’s new fire station will be the city’s first building designed, built, and certified as a zero carbon building for both performance and design categories. The green design is expected to save the city an estimated $24,270 per year in operational costs.

Designed by Unity Design Studio (formerly Lett Architects Inc.), the new facility is being built following the Canada Green Building Council’s zero carbon building standard.

The new fire station will include automated control systems, ground source heat pumps, solar panels on the rooftop, a heat-recovery system, and water-saving features. It is also being constructed using mass timber instead of concrete, steel or aluminum to achieve a lower carbon footprint.

“This key investment in the City of Peterborough fire services will enhance community safety by reducing emergency response times, while also protecting our environment by producing zero emissions,” said Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal. “Thank you to the federal government for investing in sustainable community infrastructure in Peterborough.”