Someone in the Kawarthas Lakes area is Ontario’s newest multi-millionaire.
Kawarthas Lakes residents who play Lotto Max need to check their tickets for Tuesday’s draw (February 20).
OLG has issued a media release stating that a ticket for the $70 million jackpot was sold in the Kawartha Lakes area.
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“The winner will be revealed when they claim this life-changing windfall through the OLG Prize Centre,” states the release.
OLG reminds players that they can check their tickets from home on olg.ca, by using the OLG lottery app on their mobile device, signing up on the OLG website for winning number email alerts, or by calling 1-866-891-8946 (toll free).
The next Lotto Max jackpot is estimated at $18 million. The draw will be held on Friday (February 23).
A 20-year-old driver is facing charges after a single-vehicle collision that resulted while the driver and a passenger were attempting to have sex in the vehicle on Sunday night (February 18).
At around 9 p.m. on Sunday, Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and emergency crews responded to a report of a single-vehicle rollover on County Road 2 in Asphodel-Norwood Township.
Investigation revealed the driver and passenger were attempting sexual intercourse while the vehicle was in motion. The driver then stated they saw a deer in the roadway, causing the driver to steer off the road, crashing into a tree and then rolling over into a ditch.
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Due to the severity of the crash, Asphodel Fire & Rescue, Lindsay Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and ORNGE Air also responded to the scene. Both driver and passenger sustained injuries and were transported to a local hospital.
During a conversation with the driver, officers detected the odour of alcohol on the driver’s breath.
As a result of the investigation, the 20-year-old driver was arrested and charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and blood alcohol above zero. Under Ontario’s zero tolerance law, any driver age 21 and under and novice drivers of any age cannot have any alcohol in their system while driving a vehicle.
The accused driver is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Peterborough at a later date.
Ahead of the curve, Dope Automation has become a global leader in the cannabis processing industry as Canada paves the way for other countries moving forward with cannabis legalization. The Peterborough-based company distributes high-end, eco-conscious equipment for all types of clients from small retailers to large producers. (Photo: Dope Automation)
A Peterborough-based distribution company of automated cannabis processing equipment has blazed a trail for itself as a global leader in the industry.
And yet, despite being valued for insight across continents, Dope Automation says it maintains the same commitment and hands-on service to clients that it had as a start-up navigating the brand new industry.
“We’re always interested in growing partnerships,” says COO Jessica Jaeger. “We’re interested in treating everyone as a partner for the long-term development of the relationship.”
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Jaeger runs the growing company alongside business partner and CEO Derek Chandler. With backgrounds in food and pharma equipment distribution, Jaeger and Chandler founded Dope Automation in 2016, getting ahead of the curve when cannabis legalization was still on the horizon in Canada.
“There was a big hole within actual products that were working with cannabis and ones that were just thrown into the market,” explains Jaeger. “We were seeing that there was a big gap in how to use that equipment for cannabis.”
Fuelled by that missing puzzle piece, Jaeger had no map to follow as she conducted her own research, looking into equipment that would work specifically within cannabis spaces while fitting to Canada’s restrictions.
“Health Canada has very stringent rules on cannabis,” she says. “But because we were already familiar with those rules, we were able to navigate which products we thought would complement the Canadian market.”
Dope Automation COO Jessica Jaeger (second from left) founded the company in 2016 to get ahead in the cannabis industry prior to legalization in Canada. With her background in food and pharma equipment distribution, she and her business partner CEO Derek Chandler (second from right) saw a gap in manufacturing products that were specifically designed for cannabis processing. (Photo: Dope Automation)
Distributing commercial grade, eco-conscious, and cutting-edge equipment for pre-roll production, precision milling and trimming, depositing, packaging, and labelling, Dope Automation works with everything from mom-and-pop retailers interested in small-scale machinery to bigger companies looking for entire production lines.
“Anyone can come to us and say what they are looking to do now and what they are looking to do in the future,” Jaeger says. “We mix and match the equipment and tell them how to use it depending on their needs.”
As a trailblazer in the market, Jaeger notes the early months were a “real learning curve” having to rely on clients to take a chance by trying their products at a time when the industry was so new to everyone involved.
“Clients would understand it was a mutual relationship to figure it out together,” Jaeger says, adding that she would go into the facilities to learn to use the equipment herself. “We were willing to get in on the ground level and really understand what’s going on with the equipment.”
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With the goal of working in partnership with clients, Dope Automation offers an independent service department with technicians who come into the space for installation and fixes, separately from the equipment manufacturers.
“We have a personal touch with our installation and are very hands-on to make sure you understand the equipment,” Jaeger says. “Clients might steer away from machines just because they’ve heard a service is not good, but we take that (issue) off the table. It’s doubling down on service, but also taking that out of the equation if that was holding a client back from purchase.”
After reaching a peak during the pandemic following the federal government’s legalization of cannabis in October 2018, the cannabis industry has taken a hit over the past couple years, with many retailers shutting down operations. While Jaeger can’t pinpoint one solid reason, she acknowledges the hesitancy of those who refuse to move to automation for the fear of replacing human jobs.
In response, she explains that the goal is always to make the production “more efficient to provide space to do other jobs.”
“We have seen a lot of these cannabis companies go under in the last few years and I think it’s partly because they needed to produce faster, and the technology or automation wasn’t there,” she says. “They just couldn’t navigate how to bring it in fast enough for what they needed. I wish they would have contacted us sooner.”
VIDEO: Flexpak 551 Max Preroll Machine – Dope Automation
Though Dope Automation is continuing to grow, having recently launched into the U.S. with a new office based in Miami, Florida, a large portion of their equipment is manufactured in Canada and they maintain a large customer base in this country, especially in Ontario.
While continuing to attend trade shows in Canada and the U.S., the company is also looking to dip more into the European market, picking up lines in the United Kingdom and recently working alongside Körber Technologies, a German developer of machinery in the tobacco and food industry.
As cannabis legalization starts to move forward in Europe, Dope Automation is getting more and more inquiries from similar companies across the globe.
“The funny thing is, Canada’s not known for being advanced in many areas — but for cannabis, Canada is where it’s at,” says Jaeger. “We’re legalized, so with cannabis we’re seen as being at the forefront of everything, especially with rules and regulations.”
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Despite Dope Automation’s growth and success, at the end of the day for Jaeger it’s still about the clients she gets to work with, and hearing stories from people of different “walks of life” continues to be her favourite parts of the job.
“One day, you meet people who just like to consume it, but then the next day, you’re meeting someone who had a child who had epilepsy and cannabis really (helped) them,” says Jaeger. “It’s really beautiful to hear everyone’s story and how they came into the industry. It’s all really fascinating.”
As Dope Automation continues launching in the U.S. and soon across Europe, Jaeger says she remains grateful for having been in the industry at its launch, giving Canada the reputation as being a leader.
“Change is always good. It’s good to be seeing all the evolution of it from the ground up. What else are you going to see happen like that from the ground up?”
Alderville First Nation Chief Taynar Simpson (second from left) with councillors (from left to right) Lisa McDonald, Dawn Marie Kelly, Nora Sawyer, and Jason Marsden. Alderville First Nation is governed by a Chief and four councillors who are elected every two years by ballot vote. (Photo: Alderville First Nation)
The chief of Alderville First Nation in Northumberland County says his main priority moving further into 2024 will be putting an end to the proposed federal bill, Bill C-53.
Taynar Simpson, Alderville First Nation’s chief, said this action is top of mind as he contemplates the months ahead for the Alderville First Nation community near Roseneath.
“For me, our top priority is to see the proposed federal Bill C-53 removed from parliamentary consideration,” Simpson told kawarthaNOW.
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“This is not an act respecting Indigenous rights. It will erode and potentially lead to the end of Indigenous territory and treaty rights in Canada. So for us, this is an existential threat to our very existence as Indigenous people,” Simpson said.
According to the federal government, the intent of Bill C-53 is to recognize certain Métis governments in Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, provide a framework for the implementation of treaties entered into by those Métis governments and the Government of Canada, and make consequential amendments to other acts.
In late 2023, Joanna Bernard — AFN’s interim national chief at the time — appeared before the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, calling on the Government of Canada to “immediately withdraw Bill C-53” and to establish a national consultation process with First Nations, an AFN media release noted.
“While the Government of Canada has stated that Bill C-53 will not adversely impact First Nations, it has failed to properly consult with First Nations and obtain the free, prior, and informed consent of First Nations rights holders in accordance with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” the media release stated.
“We need to develop a respectful First Nations-led process that ensures all impacts of this legislation are thoroughly considered,” said Bernard.
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When Chief Simpson considers priorities that are geographically closer to home, he has a few other objectives in mind when asked what he hopes to accomplish this year for and with the Alderville community.
“We have a lot of exciting projects on the go right now,” Simpson said. “We will be opening a new elders’ residence this year. We are also in the planning stages of building a new administration office.”
Alderville’s current building is over a century old, and the community has outgrown the space, he noted.
“We also have several new housing projects on the go to meet the needs of our growing community. We are excited to be bringing back community events such as winter socials, the fishing derby, and our regatta which used to be an annual event.”
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kawarthaNOW asked the chief how Northumberland County as a government and the county’s residents can support Alderville’s objectives.
“The county has been receptive to our concerns,” Simpson said. “We feel that we can bring forward any issue for discussion. The local mayors have all reached out to Alderville to offer support wherever possible.”
“Individual residents can be strong allies of our nation,” he added. “We have seen a number of individuals step up to help our goals and strengthen our position. Everyone has their own set of skills and knowledge, and we welcome anyone who reaches out in a good way.”
When he envisions what would signify a successful year for him as chief, Simpson looks to the people of Alderville First Nations.
“To me, a successful year would be receiving the approval of our community on the new priorities and directions that leadership has undertaken,” he said. “I want to make sure that their priorities are my priorities. I also want to make sure that I have accomplished these endeavours to the very best of my ability.”
The 19-year-old driver of this tractor had his licence suspended for 90 days and is facing impaired driving charges after being pulled over by police on County Road 30 in Brighton on February 17, 2024. (Photo: Ontario Provincial Police)
A 19-year-old Warkworth man is facing impaired driving charges after police pulled over the tractor he was driving in Brighton on Saturday night (February 17).
At around 11:45 p.m. on Saturday, an officer with the Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) was on patrol on County Road 30 when he noticed a tractor was unable to stay in its lane.
The officer conducted a traffic stop, determined the male driver was impaired, and arrested and transported him to the OPP detachment for further testing.
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As a result of the investigation, a 19-year-old Warkworth man was charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs and operation of a motor vehicle while impaired with a blood alcohol concentration over 80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood.
The accused man also received an immediate 90-day administrative driver’s licence suspension, which happens when blood alcohol concentration is over 80 or if a driver refuses to give a breath sample or perform physical co-ordination tests when asked by police.
The accused man is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg at a future date.
The Peterborough Symphony Orchestra's principal flautist Jaye Marsh (bottom left) and principal oboist Tori Owen (bottom right) will be joined by clarinetist Scott Wight, horn player Jane McKay, and bassoonist Anne Olscher for a performance of the orchestra's woodwind quintet at Lakefield District Public School on February 25, 2024, hosted by the volunteer-run non-profit organization Children's Stage Lakefield. (Photo: Huw Morgan)
For their first community outreach venture since before the pandemic, the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s woodwind quintet is combining classic music with storytelling for an immersive program on Sunday, February 25th in Lakefield.
Hosted by Children’s Stage Lakefield, a volunteer-run non-profit organization created over 30 years ago when a small group of dedicated parents saw the need to expose their children to high-quality performing arts, “Stories and Music with the Peterborough Symphony Chamber Players” will be held at 2 p.m. in the gymnasium at Lakefield District Public School at 71 Bridge Street.
The event invites audience members of all ages to enjoy the sounds of the wind section of a classical symphony orchestra. Tickets are $15 (free for children two and under) and can be purchased at www.childrenstage.org/shop/.
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“It’s wonderful because it will let audience members hear a range of colours and give them a real flavour of what the orchestra sounds like, even if it’s on a miniature scale,” says Tori Owen, the orchestra’s principal oboist.
The woodwind quintet is a part of the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Players, comprised of members who give back to the community beyond performing at the orchestra’s regular concerts at Showplace Performance Centre. The Chamber Players support the non-profit orchestra’s mandate to create community connection and support arts and culture in Peterborough and region through education and outreach.
“In this day and age, orchestras have become more than something you can see on a Saturday night a few times here and there,” says Owen. “It’s important for people to see us doing other great things and to educate and give the gift of music to people in the community.”
Joining Owen for the program are other principal players from the orchestra, including flautist Jaye Marsh, clarinetist Scott Wight, and horn player Jane McKay, as well as former orchestra member Anne Olscher playing the bassoon.
The woodwind quintet of the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Players features (left to right, top and bottom) oboist Tory Owen, flautist Jaye Marsh, horn player Jane McKay, and bassoonist Anne Olscher, along with clarinetist Scott Wight (not pictured). The quintet will perform at Lakefield District Public School on February 25, 2024, hosted by the volunteer-run non-profit organization Children’s Stage Lakefield. (kawarthaNOW collage of supplied photos)
To inspire young musicians in the audience, opening the program will be Lakefield District Public School’s own concert band led by music director Lisa Quackenbush, who is also the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra’s second chair clarinetist.
“It lets young audience members see themselves as a musician in the future, just a few years ahead of where they are now,” says Owen. “It’s a really nice thing for people to see representation in this day and age and it’s great to show the rainbow of possibilities for kids to see, experience, and dream about.”
Quackenbush will then stay on stage — or perhaps, as Owen points out, “intimately” on the floor of the gymnasium with the audience — to narrate the program throughout the afternoon.
Karen Locklin will also join as guest composer with her evocative new work “The Imperial Blue Butterfly.” About a friendship between a caterpillar and an ant, the children’s story was written by Locklin’s brother Allan Dennis Lee, and each insect is characterized by a woodwind instrument.
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“You can hear some reflections of the activities in the story,” says Owen, giving the example of using her oboe to craft the buzzing sound of a wasp. “It’s an interesting and fun challenge to convey and hear the sounds of the insects through the music.”
Other works to be shared include “Mary’s Little Lamb,” which features scripts inviting audience participation, and “The Story of the Woodwind Quintet,” which is an educational piece.
“Each instrument again plays a character as narration to introduce kids to what the instruments actually are, and what they do and sound like,” says Owen, noting that even adults often have questions about orchestra instruments. “(Children are) getting these really fine distinctions and getting up close to see what we’re talking about and what makes them different — even adults can find out new things.”
Children’s Stage Lakefield is a volunteer-run non-profit organization created over 30 years ago when a small group of dedicated parents saw the need to expose their children to high-quality performing arts. The organization hosts regular performances for local families with tickets at a low cost. (Photo: Children’s Stage Lakefield)
While the educational piece makes the program welcoming for all audience members, Owen is particularly excited for the doors it will open for aspiring young musicians.
“I remember when I was going to things like school field trips and seeing actual artists perform a play with music and it transformed my whole world view,” she says. “It’s not just a recording or soundtrack. This music comes from actual people, and showing that to young people could help them become a musician because they see it happening as something people do.”
For more information about Children’s Stage Lakefield and for tickets, visit www.childrenstage.org.
This story has been updated to correct a misspelling of Anne Olscher’s name.
Lindsay Wilson (left) and Paden Gilhooley in a scene from Ed Schroeter's "Tide of Hope", the inaugural history drama production of Trent Valley Archives Theatre. A prequel to the immigration story of Peter Robinson, the play will be performed at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough for school groups on May 15, 2024 with public performances on May 15 and 16. (Photo: Suzanne Schroeter)
Trent Valley Archives Theatre is seeking volunteer actors to perform in its inaugural production Tide of Hope, coming this May to Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.
The theatre company — an historical theatre initiative of Trent Valley Archives — will be holding auditions on Thursday, February 29th in the lecture hall at Trent University’s Sadleir House (751 George Street North, just north of Parkhill), with the first session at 6:15 p.m. and the second session at 7:15 p.m.
Written by Ed Schroeter and directed by Gerry McBride, Tide of Hope is a 70-minute historical play that follows two Irish families who are struggling with English oppression and the violence of Irish nationalists while they grapple with the difficult decision of whether to accept an offer to emigrate to Canada from Peter Robinson, the 19th-century politician in Upper Canada who administered the passage and settlement of more than 2,000 poor Irish Catholics in what is now eastern Ontario.
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Set in 1825 in the Blackwater district of Ireland at the height of the agrarian rebellion against excessive land rents and church tithes, Tide of Hope tells the story of David Nagle, an Irish land agent and rent collector forced to flee to Upper Canada when Irish rebels branded him a traitor.
The play is a kickoff to celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Peter Robinson settlers to what would become Peterborough County.
“Some people think history is kind of dry but, at its heart, it’s the stories of people who have come before us dealing with many of the same issues we are grappling with today,” says McBride. “Seeing those struggles brought to life on stage can be a powerful experience indeed.”
Gerry McBride directs a script reading of “Tide of Hope,” Trent Valley Archives Theatre’s inaugural production. Auditions for volunteer actors will be held on February 29, 2024 at Trent University’s Sadleir House. (Photo: Suzanne Schroeter)
The February 29th casting call is for a total of nine roles, including five male roles (20 years of age and older), two female roles (20 to 40 years of age), and two other male or female roles for actors of any age. While no prepared pieces are required to audition, actors should be prepared to read excerpts from the play’s script.
To register for a session, email director Gerry McBride at gerrymcb57@gmail.com, who you can also email to schedule another time if you are not available on February 29 but would still like to audition.
Rehearsals for Tide of Hope will be held on Monday and Wednesday evenings throughout April and early May, when there will also be an evening dress rehearsal performance for residents at one of The Gardens of Peterborough Retirement Residences, which is a platinum sponsor for the play along with kawarthaNOW.
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Geared to both students in Grades 6 to 12 and the general public, Tide of Hope will be performed for school groups on Wednesday, May 15th at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Market Hall. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions of the cast and crew after each performance, and teachers will be able to arrange for in-school workshops after the performance dates.
Teachers can book classes by emailing trentvalleyarchivestheatre@gmail.com, with admission costing $250 for a class of 25 students or more (including free admission for the teacher and up to four volunteer chaperones). More information, including educational resources, is available at sites.google.com/view/tvatheatre/.
A public performance of Tide of Hope, which also serves as a fundraiser for Trent Valley Archives, takes place at the Market Hall at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 16th. Tickets for the public performance are $36 for assigned cabaret table seating or $26 for regular assigned seating and are available online at markethall.org.
An excerpt from The Waterford Mirror in Ireland from May 9, 1825 referring to four of the ships that transported Irish emigrants to Upper Canada as part of an experimental assisted emigration scheme run by Canadian politician Peter Robinson. It’s estimated there could be hundreds of thousands of Canadians today who are descended from the original Peter Robinson settlers. (Photo: Newspapers.com)
A retired elementary school teacher who taught at Highland Heights Public School in Peterborough, director McBride also has a diverse theatrical background and has seen first-hand the impact theatre can have, especially on young people.
“Over the years I’ve seen lots of live theatre productions with students,” he recalls. “When the lights go down, it’s thrilling to see how quickly they become gripped with what’s happening on stage. Being able to present at a venue as great as Market Hall is the cherry on top of the sundae.”
Tide of Hope was written by award-winning playwright Ed Schroeter, a retired Millbrook elementary teacher who is also a Trent Valley Archives volunteer. As well as serving as artistic producer of Arbor Theatre, Schroeter was a driving force behind the Peterborough Museum & Archives’ Heritage Pavilion Stage series in 2001, transforming it into a school tour company from 2003 to 2005.
Greg and Mary Conchelos — who today are producing Tide of Hope — took over the Heritage Pavilion Stage series from 2005 to 2011, producing school tours and environmental theatre, while Schroeter continued to write scripts for them.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a platinum sponsor for Tides of Hope.
Ava Richardson and Kiyotami (Zenryu) Owatari moved from Japan to Peterborough County to launch their market garden farm Hello Farm in Havelock in 2021. The married couple used Japanese farming techniques to improve the soil quality, resulting in growth in overall crop yields by their second year of production. (Photo: Hello Farm)
An innovative approach to improving soil quality by two Peterborough County farmers has not gone unnoticed in the farming community.
Hello Farm, which has a market garden location north of Havelock, is this year’s recipient of the Peterborough Agricultural Innovation Award.
Created by the Peterborough Agricultural Roundtable and co-sponsored by Sunderland Co-op, the award recognizes Ava Richardson and Kiyotami (Zenryu) Owatari of Hello Farm for their “visionary approach to improving soil fertility” using Japanese farming techniques.
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This is the second year of the Peterborough Agricultural Innovation Awards, which are designed to showcase and acknowledge innovation in farming.
“Farmers are innovating all the time,” Pat Learmonth, a member of the Peterborough Agricultural Roundtable, told kawarthaNOW.
“They are always looking for ways to do things more efficiently — saving time or saving money by reducing input costs or improving soil health which improves yields and resilience in unpredictable weather.”
Those efforts should be highlighted and appreciated, Learmonth said.
“We felt it was important to recognize innovation in agriculture because it results in the sharing of ideas more widely, so more farmers can consider adopting new ideas. Ingenuity should be rewarded, as new ideas are always needed to move agriculture forward.”
The Peterborough Agricultural Roundtable presented its second annual Peterborough Agricultural Innovation Award on February 15, 2024 to Ava Richardson and Kiyotami (Zenryu) Owatari of Hello Farm in Havelock. Pictured at Sunderland Co-op are, left to right, Peterborough County warden and roundtable member Bonnie Clark, Havelock Belmont Methuen Township mayor Jim Martin, award winners Owatari and Richardson, Garth Stoner of co-sponsor Sunderland Co-op, and roundtable member Elmer Buchanan. (Photo: Peterborough County)
It also means that people who have farmed for a lifetime might be recognized alongside a farmer who is new to farming — or in the case of this year’s winner, an experienced farmer who is a new Canadian.
Richardson and Owatari received the award on Thursday (February 15) at Sunderland Co-op at 2182 Keene Road, where they were presented with $500 and a plaque.
Richardson farmed in the region before moving to Japan, where she met Owatari, and farmed there for eight years before the married couple moved to Peterborough County in July 2021. Now, as a new Canadian, Owatari is bringing techniques used in Japan to the pair’s market garden.
After leasing 1.5 acres of land in Havelock that had lain fallow for over 25 years, Richardson and Owatari faced challenges preparing the soil — which was very rocky with pockets or gravel, sand, and heavy clay — for growing their organic heirloom vegetables.
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To prepare the land and improve soil fertility, moisture retention, and tilth, the pair has been applying biochar and bran to their soils. Biochar is charcoal produced from plant matter and stored in the soil to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Owatari brought to Canada a biochar chimney from Japan, where he used rice husk to create biochar. In Canada, he has successfully substituted spelt husk for rice husk. In addition to biochar, he adds raw, bacteria-rich wheat bran to the soil in place of rice bran.
By its second year of production, Hello Farm had witnessed growth in its overall crop yields as a result of the increase in soil fertility and presence of beneficial bacteria.
The full text of Hello Farm’s award nomination can be found on the Peterborough Agricultural Roundtable website at ptboagnews.com.
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“Congratulations to Ava and Zenryu for your visionary approach to improving soil fertility on your farm, and for winning the prestigious innovation award,” said Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark in a media release. “Your dedication to pushing the boundaries of agricultural excellence is deserving of recognition and celebration. Thank you for choosing to contribute and lead in the agricultural community of Peterborough County.”
The Peterborough Agricultural Roundtable is supported by a range of local agricultural organizations. The group envisions all farmers working together to create a vibrant future for farming in Peterborough county, city and in Hiawatha First Nation and Curve Lake First Nation. Membership is open to any farmer or owner of farmland.
The Peterborough Agricultural Roundtable runs the annual Peterborough Farm Showcase Tour for local decision-makers and publishes the Peterborough Ag News e-newsletter, which covers topics of importance to the local farm community. To learn more about the Peterborough Agricultural Roundtable and agriculture in Peterborough, visit ptboagnews.com.
For more information about Hello Farm, visit hellofarm.ca.
Ontario chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore (bottom left) attended the February 15, 2024 virtual meeting of the board of health for the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit, along with two of his staff: public health division executive lead Elizabeth Walker (top right) and accountability and liaison branch director Brent Feeney (bottom right) to answer questions from board members about a possible merger with Peterborough Health Unit. (kawarthaNOW screenshot of YouTube video)
The merger of health units in Ontario is not a provincial cost-saving exercise that will result in the loss of front-line jobs, reductions in public health services, or additional costs for municipalities.
That was the word from provincial health officials at a meeting on Thursday (February 15) of the board of health for the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit, which is considering a merger with the neighbouring Peterborough Public Health.
Ontario chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore attended the virtual meeting along with two of his staff — public health division executive lead Elizabeth Walker and accountability and liaison branch director Brent Feeney — to answer questions from board members.
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“The merger is a means by which we can enhance your funding, cover costs, and help smaller health units build competencies and capacities that maybe they haven’t had,” Dr. Moore said. “Realistically, this is the only means by which we can help you fiscally.”
While Dr. Moore said he couldn’t reveal the total amount of funding to support health unit mergers, “the amalgamation pool of funding that has been given to us is significant to cover costs.”
The boards of health for the HKPR District Health Unit and Peterborough Public Health announced last November they were moving ahead with a process to explore the impacts of a voluntary merger in the communities they serve.
Peterborough Public Health serves the city and county of Peterborough as well as Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations, and the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit serves the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
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In 2019, the two health units first explored opportunities for shared service delivery after the Ontario government announced a budget that included plans to slash the number of public health units in the province from 35 to 10 and cut public health funding by $200 million.
The government put those plans on hold when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020 and, in August last year, announced it was reversing course on the planned reductions, instead offering funding, resources, and supports to health units that voluntarily merged and reinvested any savings from the merger into programs and services.
To explore the feasibility of a merger, the two health units hired Sense and Nous, a Toronto-based consultancy that specializes in the process of amalgamations and mergers.
“The Sense and Nous team has worked with many public health units in a variety of projects,” reads the Sense and Nous website. “A comprehensive feasibility analysis of the health units, including IT, marketing, and governance, can result in a compelling business case for a potential amalgamation, if supported by the analysis. ”
Sense and Nous presented its final report to the health units in early February during in-camera sessions at the respective board of health meetings. The sessions were not open to the public as the report includes legal and human resources considerations.
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As part of the process of considering the report, the board of health for the HKPR District Health Unit invited provincial health officials to its February 15 meeting. The board of health for Peterborough Public Health has also invited the officials to attend its next meeting on February 21.
“With respect to mergers, this is not intended to result in a loss of front-line jobs,” said Feeney during the February 15 meeting. “This is not a provincial savings exercise as it was in 2019 so, if there are savings made at the local level, the local health unit can keep those savings and reinvest in enhancing public health services. We don’t expect any reduction in local presence. This is about building capacity across the health units, utilizing savings to advance services, and not see an impact to municipalities in terms of costing.”
Nine health units in Ontario have expressed an interest in merging. The health units have until April 2 to provide the provincial health ministry with proposals for mergers, as part of a business plan with a three-year budget. The ministry will announce decisions about mergers in August and approved health units will merge as of January 1, 2025.
“This funding will require minister approval, and then we will have to do some regulation changes as well,” Feeney said. “So approval of those business cases will occur as soon as possible, and that will include a three-year funding commitment for the merger.”
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Board member and Port Hope mayor Olena Hankivsky expressed concerns with the merger timeline, given the health units would only have four months to complete a merger after approval.
“We understand that mergers like this will take a while to work through, so that January date is really to initiate and lock in the process,” Walker said. “There will be some time following that, where a lot of the actions will actually unfold and the work starts to begin.”
“The minister (of health) and others in government are very interested in this process and want to see it succeed,” Dr. Moore added. “If you’re saying the timelines aren’t quick enough for approval, we will relay that information back to them.”
Board member and Kawartha Lakes city councillor Tracy Richardson questioned the benefits of the health units merging, pointing out “we’ve got great leadership structures in place.”
Moore said mergers will allow health units to find efficiencies, such as union negotiations, cybersecurity, and informatics data and analytics.
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“You have two very terrific leaders,” Walker added, referring to medical officers of health Dr. Natalie Bocking and Dr. Thomas Piggott. “We’re also looking at opportunities to deepen our public health leadership across the province. So where we have opportunities to not just have (a medical officer of health) in place in an agency, but also an associate (medical officer of health) and physician consultants, so there’s a successor pathway for our public health leadership.”
Another question raised by the board was how mergers would be financed, especially if health units have upfront costs.
“We are asking for a three-year budget,” Feeney said. “We would approve three year, multi-year funding and then do adjustments as we go through the years. It would not be based on a process like we did throughout COVID, which was more of a COVID extraordinary cost reimbursement process.”
“We know that health units are going to need advanced funding approvals in order to move forward with the work. We’ve got a three-year funding commitment here, which in my time is the first of its kind, so we’re going to be able to approve multi-year funding on this, which I think is so important to ensure success of the merger.”
Moore added that a merged health unit could also apply for additional one-time funding, as health units have done in the past.
Harcourt-born author Deloris Packard used her 30 years of experience working in the hospitality industry as inspiration for her Cedar Grove Resort trilogy, which is about three sisters running an inherited resort in cottage country. Her own love for the industry began when she began working at the Elephant Lake Lodge in the Haliburton Highlands when she was a young teen. (Photo courtesy of Deloris Packard)
They say that art imitates life, and that couldn’t be truer for Stirling-based author Deloris Packard, who used both her hometown of Harcourt in Haliburton County and her career in the hospitality industry as inspiration for her independently published novel trilogy.
Packard is currently working on the audiobook editions of The Cedar Grove Resort trilogy, which follows three sisters as they navigate running an resort they inherited when their mother passed away. Though the books — which can be read as stand-alone novels — were published between 2021 and 2022, the stories stem from decades of Packard working in the hospitality industry.
“I have a good set of background knowledge and knew it would make a good story,” Packard tells kawarthaNOW. “I’ve always had the book in the back of my head.”
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The novels about the three Delanie sisters introduce readers to the behind-the-scenes operation of a popular resort in Muskoka’s cottage country.
“When you go into a restaurant, you don’t know what’s going on in the kitchen,” she says. “I wanted to write the whole story from the backside of the resort, so readers are invited into the kitchen and back tables and see what really happens in a resort in the downtime and on a day-to-day basis.”
Packard’s first job as a young teen was at the former Elephant Lake Lodge in Harcourt (where Camp Eden Woods now offers an overnight camp), located just down the road from the hobby farm where she grew up as the youngest of eight children. Packard has fond memories of riding her bicycle back and forth to the resort over the six years she worked there.
Author Deloris Packard’s career in the hospital industry began with her first job at the former Elephant Lake Lodge in Harcourt, pictured in a postcard from 1960. Located close to the hobby farm where she grew as the youngest of eight children, Packard was drawn to the family-run feel of the business. (Photo: Camp Eden Woods / Facebook)
“That’s where I fell in love with the resort business and I spent 30 years working in that industry after,” she recalls. “I liked the family aspect of the resort as opposed to just a hotel. When you’re in a resort, everybody becomes a close-knit family because you work together all the time.”
Though she would later work in the Northwest Territories and Alberta, and even open her own restaurant (The Corner Café in Wilberforce), it was these early memories of working at the lodge, as well as at the Wigamog Inn and locally owned restaurants in Haliburton, that made her want to work in the hospitality industry.
“My dad told me people are always going to want to have other people serve them food,” she says. “I’m good at personal service, so it was just a natural fit for me.”
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While studying hotel, resort, and restaurant Management at Canadore College in North Bay, Packard had the first spark of an idea to turn her career into a story.
“When you’re in school, you have to buy all these textbooks, but they’re so dry,” she says. “I always thought there has to be an easier, more user-friendly version of this.”
Packard says an award-winning movie encouraged her to find a more approachable way to teach people about the industry.
“I watched The Titanic and it really inspired me because I would never watch a documentary about a ship,” she explains. “But when they put a story on top of it, I did watch and, in the meantime, I learned a little bit about the Titanic.”
Deloris Packard is a Harcourt-born author of four independently published books, including the popular Cedar Grove Resort trilogy and a non-fiction book about grief. Working at Haliburton resorts and lodges while she was young inspired her to pursue a career in hospitality, including owning her own restaurant in Wilberforce for a brief period, before moving to Stirling where she now writes her books. (Photo courtesy of Deloris Packard)
Though she put the idea for the book on the back burner, the pandemic lockdowns finally gave Packard the chance to put pen to paper and create the first book in the series, The Inheritance of the Cedar Grove Resort.
Not to be confused with the real Cedar Grove Lodge in Huntsville, Packard’s Cedar Grove Resort is an homage to her upbringing in Harcourt, where her mailing address was attached to Highland Grove.
Though Packard is now living in Stirling in Hastings County, she maintains her connection to Harcourt and the Haliburton Highlands, which she still considers to be her home. She started an author’s group at her local library and has toured the region to promote her books, appearing at community events like the New To You Community Yard Sales in Haliburton and Bancroft’s Art and Craft Guild.
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Packard’s latest book is a non-fiction collection of stories titled Anticipatory Grief and published in 2023. Discouraged by the lack of resources available while she was caring for her mother, who died of cancer five years ago, Packard interviewed several locals who shared stories about their own complex experience dealing with grief in anticipation of losing a loved one.
“The people I interviewed all had the same issues — they were just so heartbroken, but at the same time, had to be strong,” she says. “People that have read it now tell me that it helped them a lot, because it touches on all ends of life.”
One dollar from each book sale of Anticipatory Grief goes to Hospice Quinte in Belleville, where Packard is now a volunteer.
“It’s such a worthwhile cause,” she says. “You can just sit there and be a daughter again rather than a caregiver.”
VIDEO: The Cedar Grove Resort trilogy
Taking time away from novel writing while The Cedar Grove Resort trilogy is being turned into audiobooks, Packard is always thinking about her next story. Though she acknowledges that the trilogy was always meant to be exactly that, she as an idea of what she would do if she did return to those stories.
“They really have fallen for the characters,” she says of the trilogy’s readers. “They really want to go on more adventures with them.”
For more information about Deloris Packard, including where to purchase her books, visit delorispackard.com.
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