One person is dead following a two-vehicle collision in Haliburton County on Monday afternoon (November 6).

Shortly after 2 p.m., Bancroft Detachment Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to the collision, which happened on Highway 118 near Dyno Road, west of Cardiff in the municipality of Highlands East.

The driver of one of the vehicles was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not released any other information about the victim.

Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the collision.

For the second year in a row, Peterborough’s Little Lake Cemetery is hosting a public sunrise service on Remembrance Day.

The service will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday (November 11) at the war memorial in the veterans’ section of Little Lake Cemetery (915 Haggart St., Peterborough).

“Approximately 70 people attended the service last year and we hope even more people are able to attend this year,” says Little Lake Cemetery Co. CEO James Belk in a media release. “We had many attendees voice their appreciation to us for putting on the service”.

The sunrise service will again be officiated by Regimental Chaplain Nancy Wilson of the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, and will include playing of “The Last Post” followed by two minutes of silence. Staff will be at the main gates of Little Lake Cemetery to direct attendees to the service.

Little Lake Cemetery and Highland Park Funeral Centre are also continuing to work with various area schools in association with the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation, which focuses on educating youth in Canada about Canadian veterans.

Local students will be placing Canadian flags at individual veteran’s graves in the days prior to Remembrance Day.

A 55-year-old Pontypool woman is facing multiple charges after being accused of defrauding a Peterborough business of almost $330,000 over the past decade.

In June 2022, the owners of the business contacted police after finding financial discrepancies related to their company’s financial statements and completing a full audit of their books back to 2011 when the accused woman began working for the business.

The audit determined that almost $330,000 had been stolen from the business through various means.

Officers with the Peterborough police’s fraud unit conducted an investigation and reviewed the information provided by the business.

As a result of the investigation, police arrested a 55-year-old Pontypool woman and charged her with fraud over $5,000, theft over $5,000, falsification of books and documents, mischief to data, unauthorized use of credit card data, and unauthorized use of computer.

The accused woman was held for bail and and appeared in court on Friday, November 3, at which time she was given a next court date of November 21.

During his vacation in Amelia, Florida, last fall, Bill Blair’s philanthropic spirit and love for cycling led him to join a 100-kilometre charity ride to raise funds for a local hospital’s cardiac care program. Little did he know this ride would take an unexpected and life-altering turn.

At first, everything was going as planned. Then, five kilometres from the finish line, Blair suddenly suffered a type of heart attack so severe it’s immediately life-threatening and often fatal. The main artery of his heart was nearly or fully blocked. He collapsed and fell from his bike.

Luckily, a fellow cyclist swiftly administered CPR on Blair, while coincidentally, a cardiologist named Dr. Brian Saluck was driving by and saw Blair fall from his bike. He quickly pulled over, took over CPR, and waited for paramedics.

Blair’s pulse had vanished, and his heart stopped. The paramedics used an automated external defibrillator to restart his heart. Recognizing the situation’s urgency, Dr. Saluck followed the ambulance to the hospital for which Blair was raising funds. There, he inserted a stent into Blair’s artery, clearing the blockage and saving his life.

In the latest episode of the PRHC Foundation’s Heart of Healthcare video series, Foundation President & CEO and series host, Lesley Heighway, sits down with Blair at the 100 Acre Brewing Co., a popular hotspot for cyclists.

They talk about that day that changed Blair’s life, the importance of having lifesaving care nearby, and the community’s role in bringing advanced care, including state-of-the-art cardiac technology, to Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

The heart attack was a complete shock to Blair, a 63-year-old retired accountant, who’s been active for the last 30 years and in good health. He spent decades participating in local races and had completed five Ironman triathlons.

He spent three days in the hospital following his procedure without remembering what happened. His recovery, he says, was remarkably swift. One week after surgery, he was walking and exercising, and within a few months, he was back on his bike.

The entire experience, he says, has added to his outlook on the importance of having access to lifesaving medical care where and when you need it most. Although Blair had his procedure in Florida, he says he finds comfort in knowing there is a new, donor-funded Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at PRHC.

Last year, the hospital and the PRHC Foundation announced the completion of a $3.55 million investment in the Health Centre’s two existing Cath Lab suites, made possible by community donations. In the first month that both suites were operational, there were 324 Cath Lab visits, including 279 angiograms and 117 cardiac stenting procedures — some performed while a heart attack was taking place. Throughout 2022-23 there were more than 2,800 cardiac procedures performed at PRHC.

Every year, thousands of patients from across the region rely on the Lab and PRHC’s cardiac care team for lifesaving, minimally invasive cardiac stenting and diagnosis. Since 2013, the hospital’s code STEMI program has allowed patients with suspected heart attack to be routed directly to PRHC for emergency cardiac stenting, bypassing community hospitals that are unable to perform this procedure and going straight to the PRHC Cath Lab.

Now, advancements in technology are allowing doctors to perform minimally invasive cardiac procedures more safely and effectively using tools that didn’t exist when PRHC opened fifteen years ago. Expanding the hospital’s cardiac services will also reduce the need for residents to travel out of town for specialized care.

The new suites support shorter procedure times, meaning more non-emergency patients can be treated locally, saving them the time, cost, and stress of travelling to a bigger city centre for cardiac services and reducing the risk of a serious, life-threatening cardiac emergency.

As a former Chair and decade-long member of the PRHC Foundation Board of Directors, Blair has played a key role in championing the need for community donations to invest in hospital equipment — which the government doesn’t fund.

“If we can raise more money and have procedures that people are going to Kingston or Toronto or other places for, that we can have right here in Peterborough, that’s really exciting,” Blair says.

Blair says that every dollar invested in the hospital will positively impact patient care, leading to better outcomes for patients, and ultimately, a better future for our region. Having leading-edge, donor-funded tools allows PRHC’s doctors, nurses and staff to do their jobs to the best of their abilities — providing expert, compassionate care to more patients, faster and more safely. It also helps PRHC attract top healthcare professionals to work at the Health Centre and sets a foundation on which future innovation and new services will be built.

In July, Dr. Warren Ball, interventional cardiologist and head of PRHC’s cardiology division, spoke with Blair, his wife, Tracy, and Heighway in the new Cardiac Cath Lab. Blair says he was impressed by the Lab’s new, cutting-edge equipment and technology.

“Dr. Ball, who gave me the tour, showed me a sample stent that was very similar to the size and one that I have in me, which was very interesting,” he says. “I felt really good knowing if I have heart problems in the future, we’ve got a great Lab there [at PRHC].”

The new suites bring high-tech imaging right to cardiologists’ fingertips.

“This allows us to work more quickly and efficiently at a time when every second counts,” explains Dr. Ball. They do so with increased patient safety since the new equipment uses less radiation to obtain images of even greater diagnostic quality.

“We’re immensely grateful to donors,” he says. “It’s because of donors that we can keep hearts close to home. And that’s created the foundation for the next steps of our cardiac program.”

Heart of Healthcare is a unique project that showcases the personal stories of some of the individuals who are helping to shape the future of PRHC and the population of 600,000 people from the city and county of Peterborough, Northumberland County, east Durham, the Haliburton Highlands, and the City of Kawartha Lakes who rely on it.

Blair’s experience is one of many that demonstrate the role that world-class care close to home — closer to wherever you are — plays in our lives.

VIDEO: Heart of Healthcare – Episode 2

Watch the full discussion between Bill Blair and Lesley Heighway above.

Upcoming episodes of Heart of Healthcare will be available at prhcfoundation.ca and through the Foundation’s social media and Vimeo channels.

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.

The Salvation Army Peterborough is helping families in need put food on the table and toys under the tree this holiday season through its Christmas Assistance Program.

Between November 20 and December 15, individuals and families can visit the Salvation Army Temple at 219 Simcoe Street by appointment only to receive a grocery store gift card for an amount dependent on their family size. Families will also have access to a toy shop set up in the gymnasium where they can choose toys and stocking stuffers for children and youth under 18.

Appointments can be booked beginning Monday (November 6) by by calling 705-742-4391. When coming to the appointment, families are required to bring identification for each family member, proof of their current address, and verification of income for everyone in the family.

The Salvation Army Peterborough has been facilitating the program for decades during the holiday season, but when they began distributing grocery store gift cards instead of food hampers during the pandemic, the non-profit organization found it to be a more flexible option.

“It allows them to adapt to their family’s needs,” explains JoAnne Leach, the Salvation Army’s Christmas support worker. “There are so many families with different dietary needs, cultures, and allergies.”

To also provide flexibility for gifting, the gym will be set up like a toy shop where people can choose the toys they want to give to their children.

Donations of new, unwrapped toys can be dropped off at the Simcoe Street location from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, or at a donation bin that will located outside Lansdowne Place near Old Navy in the coming weeks.

“If people or businesses want to do a toy drive, we urge them to do it as soon as they can — hold them in November or early December — so that we can get the toys on site and have them available,” notes Leach.

She adds that although the Salvation Army usually has a limited supply of toys from the previous year, the toys tend to get scarce after the first few weeks of running the program.

During the 2022 Christmas Assistance Program, 5,593 people were given food support through the grocery store gift cards, including 2,627 children and youth, with 2,483 children and youth received gifts through the toy donations.

Leach suggests this year might be even more dire as the Salvation Army has seen an influx in the number of families supported annually, especially through the breakfast program and food bank.

“These major programs directly impact our community when it comes to those who are in need,” says Leach, acknowledging rising grocery and housing costs as a factor. “There are so many people who struggle to just meet the daily needs of their families and themselves.”

Leach says the organization used to see 30 to 40 people per day using the breakfast program, which runs five days per week, and now gets upwards of 80 to 100 people visiting every morning.

Similarly, for its food bank, the Salvation Army has seen new users increase 74 per cent compared to the same time period last year, often with more than a dozen new families accessing the food bank in a given day. With the organization’s grant money running out in 2022, the Salvation Army has had to cut its food bank budget and, as a result, is now operating the food bank for three days per week instead of four.

“The need is certainly there, but these programs are funded through the donations we get at Christmastime from our mail-out fundraiser and through the Christmas kettles,” Leach points out.

The Salvation Army launched its ‘Hope for All Seasons’ fundraising campaign last week, with a goal of raising $540,000 through the mail-out fundraiser and $110,000 at Christmas kettles across the city.

Other fundraisers during the season will add a bit of fun, including the annual Teddy Bear Toss taking place at the Peterborough Petes game on Thursday, December 7th, when they will face off against the Brantford Bulldogs at the Peterborough Memorial Centre. Spectators are encouraged to bring new stuffed toys to the game, and when the Petes score their first goal, everyone throws the items on the ice to be collected and added to the toy shop for the Christmas Assistance Program.

“It’s a huge thing and it’s a lot of fun,” says Leach, adding that the Salvation Army band will be in attendance, playing in areas around the arena prior to the game. “We get to see all the teddy bears as they’re coming in, which is really neat to see the support.”

With the Christmas kettles starting in the community on November 16, the Salvation Army is always searching for volunteers, as about 25 to 30 individuals will be needed per day throughout December. Leach suggests groups and businesses can gather to volunteer their time for a day to make it a community effort. Additional volunteers are also needed for the Christmas Assistance Program.

“All of our community and family services provide help to the community, and we can’t do all of that without our volunteers and those who donate,” says Leach. “We have so many faithful donors that we appreciate so greatly but anything people can do to help out the community and make this a real community effort — that’s what we’re hoping and praying for.”

To make an appointment for the Christmas Assistance Program, contact Leach at 705-742-4391. To donate toys or make a financial donation, visit The Salvation Army at 219 Simcoe Street from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.

A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at Campbellford Memorial Hospital’s inpatient unit and visitation restrictions are in effect.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit declared the outbreak on Friday afternoon (November 3) following two confirmed cases of hospital transmission, according to a media release from the hospital.

As a result of the outbreak, visitation to the inpatient unit has been restricted, with patients only permitted to have one visitor at a time. Virtual visitation is available and encouraged. Family members can call Caitlyn Payne at 705-653-1140 ext. 2212 to arrange a virtual visit.

The hospital’s services, including the emergency department, remain unaffected. However, the hospital is reminding patients and visitors they must wear a mask at all times within the hospital, and is asking all visitors to self-screen for any respiratory illness symptoms prior to visiting the hospital.

As the situation evolves, the hospital may implement further restrictions.

“Campbellford Memorial Hospital would like to remind the community that COVID-19 cases are increasing throughout the region,” reads the media release. “Following best practices such as physical distancing, wearing a mask in indoor public settings, staying home when you’re feeling unwell and keeping up to date with you COVID-19 vaccinations is essential in slowing the spread within high risk settings like hospitals and long term care homes.”