The YMCA branch in downtown Peterborough now has a new aquatics wheelchair thanks to a donation from the Rotary Club of Peterborough-Kawartha.

The YMCA of Central East Ontario has used the donation to purchase a specialized aquatics wheelchair for the swimming pools at its Balsillie Family Branch at 123 Aylmer Street South.

The wheelchair will allow YMCA members and guests who have mobility issues to enter the pools more easily.

“Our members who are users of a chair can have some comfort in ways of entering the pool,” says YMCA aquatics supervisor Shannon Hunter in a media release.

“This chair is great for adults and children. The old chair was not fit for use anymore and we are so thankful that people can still enter our lap pool and therapy pool.”

Members can need the aquatics wheelchair can ask the guard on duty to get it for them. If there is not a guard available, staff will direct the member to get it themselves.

A 34-year-old man is dead following a collision with a transport truck on Highway 7A west of Bethany Thursday morning (October 12).

At around 8:20 a.m. on Thursday, Kawartha Lakes Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and emergency services responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision between an eastbound car and a westbound transport truck on the highway.

The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have identified the victim as a 34-year-old Manvers Township man but have not released his name.

Highway 7A was closed between Porter Road and Highway 35 for several hours on Thursday morning while police documented the scene.

While the cause of the collision remains under investigation, the OPP have stated that “drivers, passengers, and other road users can significantly contribute to safe roads by avoiding risks and complying with all traffic laws.”

Anyone who may have witnessed or has video/dash camera footage of the collision and has not spoken with police is asked to contact the City of Kawartha Lakes OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

The Ontario government has invested an additional $2 million in Five Counties Children’s Centre, a charitable organization serving children with special needs in the counties of Haliburton, Northumberland, and Peterborough and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith and Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott were at the organization’s Peterborough location at 872 Dutton Road on Thursday (October 12) to announce the increase in funding, which is part of the Ontario government’s $330-million investment in pediatric health services for children and youth announced this summer.

“This long-term funding commitment demonstrates the Ontario government’s commitment to support the health and well-being of children and youth in our province, including right here at home,” MPP Smith says in a media release.

The additional funding means Five Counties will see its provincial funding increase by $2,024,625 per year, with $1,714,000 going towards community and school-based rehabilitation and $310,625 for preschool speech and language services.

“Five Counties is a pillar of our community that offers supports to so many children in a variety of ways,” says MPP Scott. “Our government is proud to continue to support the Centre’s commitment to improving the lives of those in our communities with their innovative treatment programs.”

According to Five Counties CEO Scott Pepin, the funding increase means the organization can serve more children, youth, and families and reduce wait times for children’s treatment services such as speech, occupational, and physio therapies, which can be as long as 18 to 24 months in some cases.

“We’re extremely grateful to the Ontario government for this additional investment in children’s treatment services,” Pepin says. “This is a huge win for our kids and families, as it will allow us to see and serve more families to help get them the treatment they need when they need it.”

The increase in funding will help Five Counties retain existing staff and recruit new staff, filling current vacancies and add more clinicians in areas of high-demand services.

“Investing in our staff means we can invest in important treatment services that benefit our kids and families,” Pepin adds. “The funding also allows us to be more competitive and an employer of choice, especially to fill hard-to-recruit therapy positions that are often in high demand and short supply.”

Along with other treatments services for children, Five Counties provides speech, physio, and occupational therapies through its locations in Peterborough, Lindsay, Cobourg, Campbellford, and Minden, as well as in area schools and other community settings. In the past year, Five Counties served more than 6,200 children and youth in the region, the highest number of annual clients the organization’s nearly 50-year history.

In 2022-23, the Ontario government provided over $9.5 million in funding for Five Counties Children’s Centre, with most of the organization’s remaining revenue coming from the City of Peterborough at almost $3 million, Northumberland County at almost $1.3 million, and fundraising and donations at almost $550,000. The additional $2 million in funding represents an increase of over 20 per cent in the organization’s 2022-23 provincial funding.

An online petition calling for more regulations around fishing in the Ganaraska River in Port Hope has surpassed its initial goal of 10,000 signatures within a week. The petition, which was launched on October 3, is now aiming for 15,000 signatures.

Organized by well-known Port Hope resident Sean Carthew, the petition on change.org is calling for fishing to be “shut down” between the Corbett’s Dam and the CN bridge (Robertson Street Bridge). The petition comes in response to the growing number of anglers who visit the region to catch large numbers of salmon during the annual salmon run.

Every fall, salmon and trout leave the cold waters of Lake Ontario and begin a journey upstream through rivers, creeks, and streams to reach their spawning grounds. The most common salmon species in Ontario are chinook and coho salmon.

“The amount of fish being taken or discarded for roe has turned into nothing short of a tragedy,” reads the petition, which later adds, “We cannot let this continue. The fishing and lack of respect for the river has gotten out of hand.”

The call for change comes following the October 1st community river clean-up, organized by Port Hope councillor Adam Pearson through his business Queenies Bake Shop. Running for over a decade, the clean-up is done each year after trout and salmon fishing season comes to an end on September 30. This year, around 70 people came out for the clean-up — the most ever.

“I was flabbergasted at the amount of garbage,” says Carthew, noting that he and his girlfriend alone picked up upwards of 40 to 50 fishing hooks and collected two bags full of fishing lot. “Times that by the 70 people out there and we’re looking at 2,500 to 3,000 hooks in a little area. It’s not safe. It’s disgusting.”

An angler himself, Carthew has been fishing from the river his whole life and in the past few years has noticed an increasing number of people “not respecting the river” by overfishing, netting, and snagging.

He attributes the increase to people coming from out of town who are drawn to the low water level, high volume of salmon, and lack of trees along the river — especially during the salmon run when as many as 20,000 fish are swimming upstream.

“It’s so easy to fish down there,” Carthew explains. “It’s almost too accessible. The fish are too vulnerable, and people are taking advantage of it.”

The petition points out that it’s not just the fish that are impacted by the fishing — Port Hope’s tourism is dwindling because many residents and visitors who want to watch the salmon run or fish themselves don’t want to see the “butchery.”

“It’s probably quite upsetting if a child who wants to go fishing sees someone with coolers full of salmon, or decapitated salmon, along the river,” notes Carthew. “If there was no fishing in that section, people coming to watch the salmon (run) would be epic.”

If blocking the river from fishing completely is not a viable solution, Carthew has other recommendations, including moving the dates of fishing season so it closes before the salmon run, only permitting fly fishing, or only permitting single barbless hooks to take away the snagging. He also suggests more policing, although he recognizes the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is short-staffed.

Some of the petition’s supporters suggest the ministry work with First Nations.

“Fish are relatives, not resources,” writes one petition supporter. “If the City (of Port Hope) or the Province is considering change, then I’d suggest working with First Nations in the territory. This can be so much more than just protecting stocked salmon. Help turn the City’s Land Acknowledgement into action.”

Carthew notes that, if the municipality were to shut down the section of the river during the salmon run, it could alternatively be used as a sanctuary or educational opportunity, similar to the Run Salmon Run Festival he has organized on September 10.

During that event, more than 200 people dressed in pink crowded the streets for Party in Pink, followed by an afternoon festival of crafts, food, live performance, activities and educational booths from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

“It’s a beautiful positive day around the salmon run and that’s why I created that festival, because it was just negativity in town,” Carthew explains. “A lot of people aren’t fishing, they’re just doing illegal things down there, so we needed to have a positive thing in town.”

Carthew’s petition saw immediate support, with local signers leaving comments to point out the other impacts of the fishing on the community like the smells of the “irresponsible discarding of fish,” the “impact on wildlife,” and the inability to access the river due to crowds of anglers.

Other supporters, many of whom are anglers themselves, suggest they can’t even call the practice fishing due to its unethical and disrespectful nature.

“It’s absolutely disgusting, the way these so-called anglers are fishing,” writes one petition supporter. “It’s not sporting to stand in a shallow pool of water with hundreds of salmon dying while they try and spawn.”

Other commenters, however, argue that removing access to this region of the river will just result in the same problems existing in other areas. Carthew disagrees.

“It’s so easy here in town,” he points out. “If they’re going to a river that’s not as easy — with the high river banks, it’s tough walking — I don’t think they’ll go. People are just really taking advantage of the situation here and I don’t know if we stopped that, it would spill over into other rivers.”

While Carthew explains the petition will be used to help Port Hope council come up with a solution, he suggests it could also be used by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority.

It’s clear the concerns are already being heard, as the future of the river during the salmon run was brought up at the latest Port Hope council meeting held on October 3. While no solutions have been discussed yet, there was recognition of the need for change.

“I’ve done some preliminary outreach to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, but it’s clear that the status quo is not going to be tenable for the future,” said Port Hope Mayor Olena Hankivsky at the meeting. “We are working on a plan for the future, and we do not want to see a repetition of what happened this year.”

Police have arrested the Fenelon Township man wanted for the murder of a 79-year-old woman found dead in Fenelon Falls last week.

At around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday (October 11), officers with the Kawartha Lakes Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) located and arrested 48-year-old Stephen Whiteway outside a residence in Lindsay. He has been charged with second degree murder.

On October 2, officers were called to a residence on Kanata Trail near Cameron Lake just north of Fenelon Falls after the body of the 79-year-old woman had been found. At the time, the death was considered suspicious and a post-mortem was conducted to determine the woman’s cause of death.

Police, who had issued a warrant for Whiteway’s arrest on Tuesday after deeming the woman’s death a homicide, have identified the victim as Marilyn Whiteway. They have not confirmed whether the accused man is the victim’s son.

The Kawartha Lakes OPP Crime Unit is continuing its investigation under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, with assistance from members of the OPP Central Region Crime Unit, Kawartha Lakes OPP Community Street Crime Unit, OPP Forensic Identification Services, and OPP Regional Support Team,, and in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.

Anyone with information that might assist the investigation is asked to call Kawartha Lakes OPP at 1-888-310-1122. If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit a tip online at www.khcrimestoppers.com. You may be eligible for a reward from Crime Stoppers of up to $2,000.

Three levels of government have announced over $64 million in funding to support three projects to build and repair affordable homes in Peterborough.

The announcement took place on Wednesday (October 11) during an official ground-breaking ceremony at 681 Monaghan Road, where the City of Peterborough is building a new six-storey building that will include 53 units, including 37 one-bedroom units, 11 two-bedroom units, and five three-bedroom units, along with amenity space and utilities on the ground floor.

Peter Fragiskatos, parliamentary secretary to federal housing, infrastructure, and communities minister Sean Fraser, made the announcement on behalf of the minister during the ground-breaking event, which was also attended by Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith on behalf of Ontario municipal affairs and housing minister Paul Calandra, Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal, and Peterborough city councillor Keith Riel, chair of the city’s housing and homelessness portfolios.

Expected to be completed in summer 2024, the 681 Monaghan Road project will provide housing for vulnerable populations in Peterborough, including Black Canadians, people with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and homeless people or those at risk of homelessness.

“With this announcement, we are supporting the needs of Indigenous peoples, seniors, people with disabilities, Black Canadians, women and their children and other vulnerable communities across Peterborough,” Fragiskatos says in a media release. “This funding will make it possible for thousands of families and individuals to access new homes, taking a crucial step towards addressing the need for affordable housing in these communities.”

The 681 Monaghan Road project received $18.9 million in federal funding through the third round of the Rapid Housing Initiative, $40,000 in SEED funding from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), $854,810 through the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, and over $4 million from the City of Peterborough.

“The City of Peterborough has a housing crisis,” said Mayor Leal. “We have a vacancy rate of 1.1 per cent, lowest in Ontario today, and our average rent ranks 10th highest in Canada. This announcement is a significant first step in addressing the housing pressures our residents are facing. I want to thank the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario for their support, and our local MP Michelle Ferreri and MPP Dave Smith for their tremendous advocacy for this project. By working together, we will keep building a better tomorrow.”

Funding was also announced for a project to repair 945 affordable housing units owned and operated by the Peterborough Housing Corporation at various locations in Peterborough, with over 30 per cent of the units allocated to women and children. At least 20 per cent of the units will be accessible and the repairs will result in at least a 25 per cent reduction in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The repairs of the units are expected to be completed by December 2025.

The Government of Canada is contributing almost $3.5 million to the project through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund, with the Peterborough Housing Corporation and the City of Peterborough contributing over $8 million.

“The funding announcement by CMHC and the Government of Ontario will allow the City of Peterborough and our housing provider Peterborough Housing Corporation to move forward on meeting and supplying much-needed housing,” Councillor Riel said.

The third project, a six-storey building located at 555 Bonaccord Street and known as Hunt Terraces, opened its doors to residents in April 2023. Hunt Terraces has 85 units in total, including one and two-bedroom units for people experiencing homelessness.

The Hunt Terraces project received $19.8 million in federal funding through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund and $50,000 in SEED funding, with $1.4 million from the City of Peterborough, over $2.4 million through the Canada – Ontario Community Housing Initiative, over $1 million through the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, $3.2 million from the Peterborough Housing Corporation, and over $1 million in municipal investments. The Ontario government is also providing an additional $177,958 through the Homelessness Prevention Program.

“Our government made a commitment to the people of Ontario to get the full spectrum of housing built and that includes accessible and affordable housing,” said MPP Smith. “Today’s announcement ensures that people in our community have access to affordable housing that provides a safe and supportive environment.”

The 2023 Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival has raised $290,025.18 for cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC), surpassing their goal for the second year in a row.

Volunteers from the festival’s organizing committee and the Survivors Abreast Dragon Boat Team presented the donation to PRHC Foundation representatives on Wednesday (October 11) at the T-wharf on Little Lake, the site of the annual festival.

This year’s fundraising goal was $205,000.18 — an amount that reflects the estimated two out of five Canadians who will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime and the one in eight women will develop breast cancer. That goal was surpassed the day before race day on June 10, and this year’s total exceeds last year’s donation of $202,268.41 by almost $90,000.

“When it gets really busy and there is still so much work to do, I often reflect on why we do this year after year,” says Michelle Thornton, the festival’s chair and a member of the Survivors Abreast Dragon Boat Team, in a media release. “It’s because we make a difference. We make a real difference in someone’s life. We might not even know that someone, but that doesn’t matter. Because of us, someone won’t have to travel to receive their treatments, or someone will be diagnosed early and a life will be saved.”

Since the festival was first launched in June 2001 as Liberty Mutual’s “Day on the Water”, becoming Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival the following year, it has raised more than $4.2 million for breast cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment in the Peterborough region.

“The number of patients from Peterborough and the surrounding area who rely on PRHC for cancer screening, diagnosis, and treatment continues to climb,” says PRHC Foundation president and CEO Lesley Heighway, adding that the 2023 donation by the festival will allow the regional hospital to invest in new state-of-the-art technology to serve more cancer patients, support earlier cancer diagnosis, and provide safer and more effective treatments.

Sponsors cover the cost of hosting the event so that 100 per cent of the money raised can be donated to the PRHC Foundation, in particular Kawartha Credit Union, which has been the festival’s presenting sponsor every year since 2001.

“At Kawartha Credit Union, care for others is one of our core values and we are passionate about contributing to the well-being of the communities we serve,” says Kawartha Credit Union president and CEO Norah McCarthy. “Being the platinum sponsor of Peterborough’s Dragon Boat Festival allows us to provide financial support while also participating in a fun event that unites Peterborough and our surrounding areas in a common goal to improve local health care resources.”

Planning for next year’s festival, which will take place on June 8, will begin soon. Anyone wishing to volunteer their time and skills can email Thornton at michellethornton.365@gmail.com.

“As with most successful events, our festival thrives because of a community-driven spirit and like-minded people,” Thornton says. “The support from the community is phenomenal and I can’t adequately express my gratitude or how proud I am of our planning committee and the effort they put in to making the event what it is.”