It’s only been open for a little over two years, but Kaawaate East City Public School in Peterborough is already facing overcrowding, with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board proposing moving some of the students to another school as of next September. The school board also has a proposal to manage expected overcrowding at both Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School.

“We continue to experience significant growth across our schools in the City and County of Peterborough,” reads a message to affected families. “While we are pleased that our schools continue to be a destination of choice for families, our growth within schools has been uneven. This has led to critical overcrowding in some schools and extra space in others.”

While the school board will begin “a broad review of secondary and elementary school boundaries and family of school groupings in the new year to identify long-term strategies to manage this growth,” the board says it needs “to manage immediate enrolment pressures” at the affected schools.

The school board is forecasting that Kaawaate East City Public School, located at 250 Hunter Street East beside the former King George Public School it replaced, will have 847 students next year, and it only has capacity for 675 students. The original capacity was based on the Ontario Ministry of Education’s funding model for new schools when it was built.

Although a fourth portable classroom was placed at the school to accommodate increased enrolment this year, the school board says there is no more room for portables and all special-purpose rooms in the school, other than the library, have already been converted to regular classroom spaces. While there is space in the now-closed King George and Armour Heights Public School buildings, the school board says those buildings aren’t an option.

“The King George and Armour Heights Public School buildings have been empty for several years and would require significant investment to bring them to necessary standards for students,” reads a school board document.

Located in the same building at 1885 Sherbrooke Street West, Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School are both forecast to be over capacity next year.

Crestwood Intermediate School (Grades 7 and 8) is forecast to have 320 students next September with capacity for 184, while Crestwood Secondary School (Grades 9 to 12) would be at 101 per cent capacity with 769 expected students.

The school board says the costs of installing two portable classrooms at the site to address capacity issues would cost around $540,000 because of required electrical upgrades.

As a short-term measure to address the capacity issues at Kaawaate East City Public School, which are expected to continue over the next 10 years, the school board is recommending the school’s Grade 7 and 8 French immersion students attend Adam Scott Intermediate School effective next September.

For Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School, the school board is recommending that Grade 7 students from Kawartha Heights Public School and Grade 7 students from Westmount Public School in the English stream would attend James Strath Public School for Grades 7 and 8 effective next September.

Grade 7 students currently attending Crestwood Intermediate would remain at the school and then attend Crestwood Secondary School.

For the proposed changes affecting Kaawaate East City Public School, the school board held a public meeting at the school last Thursday (November 23). For proposed changes affecting Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School, the school board is holding public meetings at Westmount Public School at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 30th and at Kawartha Heights Public School at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, December 4th.

After gathering community feedback, a summary report and recommendation for Kaawaate East City Public School will be presented to school board trustees at their meeting on Tuesday, January 23rd, with a summary report and recommendation for Crestwood Secondary School and Crestwood Intermediate School to be presented to school board trustees at their meeting on Tuesday, February 27th.

More information about the proposed changes is available at the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board website at www.kprschools.ca.

Police closed the tunnel under the Peterborough Lift Lock for over an hour on Sunday afternoon (November 26) while they negotiated with the suspect in a domestic assault.

At around 4:10 p.m. on Sunday, police received calls about an assault at a residence in the Hunter Street and Armour Road area.

After arriving, officers learned that a verbal argument between the male suspect and a woman had escalated, and the woman had been pushed, dragged by her hair, kicked, and punched. The man fled the residence when a neighbour came to help the victim, who was taken to Peterborough Regional Health Centre for treatment.

After police learned the man was going to the top of the Peterborough Lift Lock, they closed the tunnel under the Peterborough Lift Lock and Ashburnham Drive between Old Norwood Road and Maniece Avenue.

Through negotiation, police convinced the man to move to a place of safety, where he was taken into custody. He was taken to Peterborough Regional Health Centre for assessment and released back into police custody.

As a result of the investigation, a 26-year-old Peterborough man was arrested and charged with spousal assault. The accused man is being held in custody and will appear in court on Monday (November 27).

The first significant snowfall of the season is expected to hit much of the greater Kawarthas region on Monday night (November 27) into Tuesday.

Environment Canada has issued snow squall warnings for northern Kawarthas Lakes, northern Peterborough County, and Haliburton County, with snow squall watches in effect for southern Kawarthas Lakes and southern Peterborough County.

Lake effect flurries and snow squalls are expected to develop off Georgian Bay as the day progresses. Snow squalls are forecast to begin later Monday afternoon and intensify in the evening before shifting south of the region overnight or early Tuesday morning. Of particular concern is the potential development of a very intense band of lake effect snow with snowfall rates of 5 to 10 cm per hour.

Northern Kawarthas Lakes is expected to receive the brunt of this weather in the greater Kawarthas region with local accumulations of 20 to 35 cm. Isolated higher amounts are possible, and an intense band of lake effect snow may affect this area with of 5 to 10 cm per hour.

In northern Peterborough County and Haliburton County, total accumulations of 10 to 20 cm are expected. In southern Kawartha Lakes and southern Peterborough County, total accumulations of 10 to 15 cm are expected.

Strong westerly winds followed by northwesterly winds will accompany these snow squalls, resulting in significantly reduced visibility at times in heavy snow and blowing snow. Consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve, as travel may be hazardous due to sudden changes in the weather. Visibility will be suddenly reduced to near zero at times in heavy snow and blowing snow. In some area, road closures are possible.

The Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Ontario Health Team has launched a new online platform to help residents of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County find local health and well-being services.

When residents visit the website at www.klhoht.ca/find-services, they can enter their home address and find nearby available services. For some services, residents can self-refer or book an appointment directly through the platform.

As well as focusing on programs and services for older adults, mental health and addictions services, and child and youth services, the online platform also provides a means supporting referrals between local service providers to residents have access to all available supports and services.

Along with the new online platform, residents can also call 705-934-1439 if they have any questions about accessing health services.

“The launch of this platform continues the Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Ontario Health Team’s work towards increasing navigation support and our goal for our communities is to ensure that everyone has access to supportive community resources,” says the team’s executive director Stephanie MacLaren in a media release. “The new service navigation platform provides better access to those points of care and furthers a ‘no wrong door’ approach in accessing supports and services.”

The online platform uses technology created by Caredove, an Orillia-based company launched in 2012, that is used by more than 800 organizations across Canada, including Ontario health teams, to give the public a way to search for services and send self-referrals.

The Baptiste Lake Dam north of Bancroft is one of six aging dams across Ontario the provincial government will be rehabilitating at a cost of $22 million.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, which is responsible for the operation and maintenance of 310 dams across the province including the Baptiste Lake Dam, made the announcement on Friday (November 24).

Also known as the High Falls dam, the Baptiste Lake Dam is located at the outlet of the York River northwest of the hamlet of Birds Creek and controls the level of the lake. It was built in 1967, replacing a concrete dam built in 1932, which itself replaced a wooden dam built in 1866 by a logging company. Both earlier dams were replaced because of flooding issues.

The other five dams that are scheduled for rehabilitation are Agimak Lake Dam in the Township of Ignace, Manitou River Dam on Manitoulin Island, Kashegaba Lake Dam in the Municipality of Whitestone, Lyndhurst Dam in the Village of Lyndhurst, and Magnetawan Lake Dams in the Village of Magnetawan. The ministry says rehabilitation of the six dams will extend the useful service life of each dam for up to 100 years.

“The reconstruction of these six dams has been identified in the ministry’s long-term infrastructure plan as critical priorities to support public safety and the environment,” reads a media release from the ministry.

While no information was provided about when the rehabilitation work would begin on the six dams, members of the Baptiste Lake Association recently met with ministry representatives to discuss concerns about the condition of the current dam, and were told repairs were planned in 2024 subject to available funding.

I scream, you scream, we all scream … to fill the truck!

On Friday, December 15th, when Central Smith Creamery loads up their delivery truck, it won’t be with the premium ice cream for which the Selwyn-based company is known. Instead, they’ll be filling it with donated non-perishable food items collected by local businesses and organizations for Kawartha Food Share.

This will mark the third year the family-owned business has organized the “Fill the Truck” campaign. After running a food drive during the first pandemic holiday season to support the community through a difficult time, in 2021 the team at Central Smith decided to do something even larger.

“The great thing about this whole campaign is it was driven by staff,” says Central Smith vice president and co-owner Jenn Scates. “It started in a meeting where somebody suggested it would be cool if we could fill the truck, and (Fill the Truck) was born. We had a great committee of people that started reaching out to a lot of our partners.”

Participating businesses and organizations will launch their own independent food drives over the coming weeks to collect items for Fill the Truck. Then, on December 15, Central Smith “elves” will visit each location and collect the donated items, with the ultimate goal to fill at least one truck.

“What’s been great to see this year is that businesses are reaching out to us instead of us reaching out to them,” says Shannon Meagher, Central Smith’s inventory control coordinator. “People are getting to know what it is that we do every year.”

Meagher adds that it’s not just local businesses taking part, but organizations, churches, and schools. While some have participated each year since the inaugural campaign, the list has continued to grow, with more than 35 organizations already signed up to be involved this year. There is still opportunity for other groups to participate by contacting Central Smith before Friday, December 1st.

You can donate non-perishable food items at participating businesses and organizations, which include:

You can also drop off donations at the bins outside of Central Smith Creamery (and “buy a four-litre tub of ice cream at the same time,” jokes Scates).

At the end of last year’s collection day, Central Smith had dropped off 14,500 pounds of non-perishable food items — a full truckload — to Kawartha Food Share, as well as $10,000 in monetary donations.

“Since COVID, everyone knows that the community needs more assistance year after year, and that need continues to grow,” says Meagher. “This is a really great way for businesses to make a big impact.”

Central Smith will provide participating businesses with promotional material, including printed flyers and social media posts, as well as a list of high-demand non-perishable food items identified by Kawartha Food Share.

On pick-up day, the Central Smith truck will travel two separate routes, with one going through Lakefield and another visiting Peterborough locations. A map of the routes with participating locations will be released ahead of the collection date

Beyond the food collection itself, Scates acknowledges how rewarding it is to see the community coming together in support of a good cause and finding their own ways to get staff and clients involved. For example, Dentistry on Sherbrooke in Peterborough is encouraging clients to donate by welcoming them with a lobby display that includes a truck resembling the Central Smith truck.

“They’re having fun with it,” says Scates. “It’s been a real community builder for us, and we’ve gotten to know some new friends.”

Scates adds that while food donations are always appreciated at Kawartha Food Share, which distributes food to 37 food banks and cupboards in Peterborough County, monetary donations are just as highly valued and can often go a long way — for every $1 donated, Kawartha Food Share can purchase up to $3 worth of food.

“(Kawartha Food Share) has better buying power than you and I do,” says Scates. “We actually encourage a lot of our participants to give money because we know they can stretch it a little further than we can.”

Central Smith’s planning manager Katie Watt explains that, when dropping off the donations last year, the team was given a tour of the Kawartha Food Share to get a better sense and appreciation for what the organization does on a daily and weekly basis.

“We found out a lot more about the reach that they have and the amount of need that they’re fulfilling,” she says. “That’s only grown more and more this year with food insecurity on the rise. We can get the food to them, but they’re certainly the pros in distributing it amongst the community to the people that really need it.”

Given the increase in food insecurity and community need, Scates hopes Central Smith can exceed last year’s goal.

“We’re thrilled to be able to help host it again as a company and I’m so proud of all our staff for the initiative,” Scates says. “Last year we filled one truck fully, so if we can fill a truck-and-a-half or two trucks this year that would be amazing.”

Businesses and organizations interested in being a part of the Fill the Truck campaign can email shannon@centralsmith.ca or jenn@centralsmith.ca before December 1.

For more information about Central Smith Creamery, visit www.centralsmith.ca. For more information about Kawartha Food Share, visit www.kawarthafoodshare.com.