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.
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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.
PRHC Foundation President & CEO and Heart of Healthcare series host, Lesley Heighway, talks with Bill Blair (left) about his health scare, the importance of having lifesaving care nearby, and the community's role in bringing state-of-the-art technology to Peterborough Regional Health Centre. Watch Heart of Healthcare episode 2 now. (Photo courtesy of the PRHC Foundation)
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.
Last fall, while cycling in Florida on vacation, former PRHC Foundation Board member and champion of fundraising in support of Peterborough Regional Health Centre Bill Blair suffered a sudden, life-threatening heart attack that gave him a new perspective on all his hospital fundraising efforts. Watch Heart of Healthcare episode 2 now. (Photo courtesy of the PRHC Foundation)
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.
In July, former PRHC Foundation Board Chair and current committee member Bill Blair and his wife, Tracy (left), toured PRHC’s new, donor-funded Cardiac Cath Lab with Dr. Warren Ball, PRHC interventional cardiologist. “I felt really good knowing if I have heart problems in the future, we’ve got a great Lab there,” says Bill. Watch Heart of Healthcare episode 2 now. (Photo courtesy of the PRHC Foundation)
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.
Heart of Healthcare is a video series showcasing the personal stories of some of the individuals helping to shape the future of patient care at PRHC. As episodes become available, they can be viewed at prhcfoundation.ca and on the PRHC Foundation’s social media and Vimeo channels. Watch Heart of Healthcare episode 2 now. (Photo courtesy of the PRHC Foundation)
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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 offering a Christmas Assistance Program to provide food and toys to family who are in need this holiday season. Appointments can be made to visit the Salvation Army Temple at 219 Simcoe between November 20 and December 15 for a grocery store gift card and a toy selection for children and youth. The Salvation Army is now accepting donations for the toy shop. (Photo courtesy of Salvation Army Peterborough)
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.
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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.
The Salvation Army Peterborough is encouraging individuals and organizations to host toy drives early this holiday season so their toy shop will be stocked with gifts for the Christmas Assistance Program. The program provides families in need with a grocery store gift card and, for those will children and youth, allows them to select gifts from the donated toys. Financial donations, such as this 2021 donation from CUPE Local 126, are also appreciated. (Photo courtesy of Salvation Army Peterborough)
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.
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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.”
The Salvation Army Peterborough has launched its ‘Hope for All Seasons’ fundraising campaign, which includes a mail-out fundraiser and the Christmas kettle program. The funds raised support the organization’s year-round programs, including the breakfast program and food bank. Volunteers are still needed to work the Christmas kettle program, which launches on November 16. (Photo courtesy of Salvation Army Peterborough)
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.
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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.”
The Salvation Army band will be performing at the Peterborough Memorial Centre during the annual Peterborough Petes ‘Teddy Bear Toss’ game on December 7, 2023, when fans are encouraged to bring new stuffed toys to the game and throw them on the ice when the Petes score their first goal. (Photo courtesy of Salvation Army Peterborough)
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.
Waubgeshig Rice is an author and journalist from Wasauksing First Nation near Parry Sound. As the grand finale for this year's "One Book, One Ptbo" event that features his 2018 post-apocalyptic thriller "Moon of the Crusted Snow", the Anishinaabe author will be at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough on November 15, 2023 where he will read from the book and its new sequel "Moon of the Turning Leaves". (Photo: Shilo Adamson)
The grand finale of the Peterborough Public Library’s “One Book, One Ptbo” initiative, featuring a visit and interview with author Waubgeshig Rice on Wednesday, November 15th, will now take place at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre instead of the library due to demand.
Rice is the author of the 2018 critically acclaimed bestseller Moon of the Crusted Snow, the inaugural selection of One Book, One Ptbo, an initiative the library launched earlier this year in an effort to build community through the shared experience of reading the same book.
That effort appears to have been very successful, with over 300 people now registered to attend the grand finale event — requiring the library to find a larger venue to host the event.
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Copies of Rice’s book — a post-apocalyptic thriller set in a small Anishinaabe community — have been available at the library since May for members of the community to borrow. The library also hosted a series of events and workshops over the fall related to the book.
During the grand finale event, which runs from from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Rice will read from Moon of the Crusted Snow as well from the book’s new sequel Moon of the Turning Leaves. The sequel, which was released on October 10 and is already a #1 national bestseller, takes place 10 years after the events of the first book and follows a group of survivors on their epic journey to a forgotten ancestral homeland.
The grand finale event will also include a live interview with Rice by local journalist and self-described voracious reader Joelle Kovach. Books will be available for purchase thanks to Peterborough’s newest independent bookstore, Take Cover Books.
“Moon of the Crusted Snow” by Waubgeshig Rice, a 2018 post-apocalyptic thriller set in a small Anishinaabe community, was chosen earlier this year for the Peterborough Public Library’s inaugural “One Book, One Ptbo” event. The event aims to build community through a shared reading experience, and culminates with a public reading by the author in Peterborough on November 15, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough Public Library)
The Vine's kimchi-infused mac and cheese dish received the most online votes during the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area's annual Mac + Cheese Festival held at 20 downtown restaurants during October 2023. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
The Vine, a pescatarian, vegetarian, and vegan restaurant in downtown Peterborough, is on a roll.
After capturing the crown in Peterborough’s first-ever Caesar Fest in July, the Sherbrooke Street eatery has also won first place in this year’s annual Mac + Cheese Festival, which took place during the month of October at participating downtown restaurants. Over 1,000 votes were cast for Peterborough’s favourite mac and cheese dish.
Co-owned by Tyrone Flowers and Lauren Mortlock, The Vine served up a unique mac and cheese dish made with house-made cheese sauce infused with kimchi — a traditional Korean side dish made from salted and fermented vegetables with spices — and three different types of cheese, topped with toasted breadcrumbs and scallions.
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“There’s no right or wrong way to make a mac and cheese and I think that’s what makes this festival so special,” Flowers says in a media release. “The variety of flavour profiles you see in all the dishes are all unique and cater to different palettes. As a chef you can go traditional, or jazz it up and make it as crazy as you want. We’re so pumped to win and the thing is, mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food and that’s what we specialize in here, so we are really proud to be recognized for that, especially being a new business in the downtown.”
Second place was claimed by last year’s co-champion, The El (P), for its leek and pesto mac and cheese, with Crook and Coffer taking third place for its croustade macaronis ya fromage, which featured creamy pasta shells enveloped in a phyllo crust.
The annual festival, organized by the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA), featured 21 different mac and cheese dishes offered by 20 downtown eateries.
As the champion of this year’s festival, The Vine receives bragging rights for the year, along with a “cheesy” hand-crafted trophy and a sizable donation to Kawartha Food Share in their name.
The Vine co-owner Tyrone Flowers with a sample of his restaurant’s festival-winning kimchi-infused mac and cheese dish. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
This story has been updated with a quote from Tyrone Flowers.
Campbellford Memorial Hospital is located at 146 Oliver Road in Campbellford. (Photo Campbellford Memorial Hospital)
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.
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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.”
Christy Haldane with some of her work at Lakefield's English Potter & Co. She is one of four artisans at the shop, alongside Emerance Baker of Stoney Lake Textiles, Gail West of the English Potter, and Jim Riches of FriendLilySHOP. On November 4, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the English Potter is hosting a fall open house with giveaways, refreshments, and the opportunity to discuss commission pieces. (Photo courtesy of Christy Haldane)
Just as her artwork fuses together recycled glass and stone, Peterborough artist Christy Haldane believes art in itself can be a fusion of both admirable fine art and interactive, functional craftwork.
This Saturday (November 4), her glass-and-stone creations will be on display at the fall open house at Lakefield’s The English Potter & Co. There, Haldane will be joined by the other local artisans whose work is featured at the store, including Emerance Baker (Stoney Lake Textiles), Gail West (The English Potter), and Jim Riches (FriendLilySHOP).
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the open house will include refreshments, sewing, and pottery demonstrations, and the chance to win a gift basket. Though labelled a fall open house, it’s sure to feel more like a winter festivity, given the flutters of snow on the ground and the thoughts of custom Christmas gifts in the back of shoppers’ minds.
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“We’re hoping that people come out and talk to us about commission work and begin to think about getting unique gifts made in our own styles,” explains Haldane.
Though Haldane has been a part of The English Potter since May, she spreads herself across the Kawarthas, living in Peterborough and working from her studio space in Douro, which she shares with Garrett Gilbart (Burn Island).
There, she crafts her one-of-a-kind sculptural installations, functional pieces like vases and bookends, and custom “Memory Stones” curated from a stone provided by a client. Her work can be found in galleries and shops across Ontario, including in Toronto, Ottawa, Port Dover, Prince Edward County, Port Perry, and beyond.
Artist Christy Haldane in her studio in Douro, which she shares with Garrett Gilbart of Burn Island. Haldane fuses recycled glass with building materials and resources including concrete, stone, and steel, to create functional and sculptural pieces including vases, pendants, book ends, and her custom “memory stones.” (Photo courtesy of Christy Haldane)
Haldane was studying furniture design at Sheridan College when she says she got “sucked in” to hot glass (glass blowing) as a medium, which eventually led her to experiment with the kiln that she uses now.
“It’s an old medium, but not in the artistic sense,” Haldane says. “It was interesting to me to get into using a material that’s not commonly used in fine arts and being able to straddle the craft world and the art world.”
With this background in craft and design, Haldane was taught to make “useful” items, but was drawn to the capacity the medium had for both sculptural and functional pieces, and in the different ways to “approach” the material. Fortunately, throughout her career, she’s noticed a growing interest in glass work and more acceptance of craft as art.
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“I find craft as a medium, since I’ve been in school, has become more accepted in the mainstream art gallery,” Haldane notes. “I think people want to be able to feel, touch, and experience it. And I think with the craft mediums, people can relate to them and understand it.”
In 2000, when Haldane went to study at the Canberra Art School in Australia, she began to think less about the distinction between art and craft and more about bridging the gap between functional items and contemporary art that is more centred around concept.
“It was always this question you have to answer,” she says. “Whereas I went to Australia and I felt like they were telling me, ‘Who cares? Let’s just make’.”
Artist Christy Haldane combines craft with fine art to create sculpture with function through her creations which fuse recycled window glass with found material. (Photo courtesy of Christy Haldane)
With this freedom, it was during her time in Australia she become more experimental in approaching glass work, intentionally thinking about using recycled glass and ways to repurpose found material. She continues to use repurposed window glass in her work today.
“Once you’ve started using those recycled materials and glass materials, it’s really hard to go back,” she explains. “I don’t want to produce any more plastic — even concrete is really bad for the environment — so I’m trying to just make my practice as sustainable as I can.”
Like the evolution of craft as art, conversations around environmentally conscious practices have also become more commonplace throughout the course of Haldane’s career, and now many friends and neighbours will give her their discarded glass and bottles to repurpose.
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“Window glass can’t be recycled like other glass, so that’s why I really gravitate to it,” Haldane points out, adding that glass production is another massive industry and it would take a lot of energy to extract what she would need out of the earth.
Committed to purposeful purchasing, Haldane feels it important to do what she can to repurpose what already is being discarded in the world and thinks that’s a key piece to think about when purchasing from an artisan.
“That’s the nice thing about craft — you’re working with the local artist or artisan and there’s thought put into it,” the artist explains. “You talk to them, you get to tell them your story, and they produce something that fits in, and it becomes a heirloom or a story in itself. I think we really need to start thinking about the want and the need of our lives more — and you need art.”
Artist Christie Haldane’s “memory stones” fuse glass and stone like her other work, except in this case the customer supplies a stone that is representative of a time, place, or memory that’s important to them. The stone and glass can be turned into pendants, sculptures, or keepsakes. (Photo courtesy of Christy Haldane)
As a maker, Haldane has believed in the power of a small item made with purpose since she was young and growing up on Lake Erie. She collected all the little materials that she could find, like shattered glass, fossils, and stones.
This continues to gave an impact on her work today, as she says a lot of her work is about “memories and recollection,” especially when it comes to her custom Memory Stones.
“I liked that idea of having objects that actually have significance through your life,” she notes. “It’s all about incorporating the rocks to have memory of a place, of a moment.”
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Currently, Haldane is experimenting with fusing recycled bottled glass, adding more colour to her structures.
Along with being present at the fall open house at The English Potter on Saturday, Haldane and her artwork can be found during Ladies Night Out in Lakefield being held over six Tuesday and Thursday evenings in November (as of the date of this story, all evenings are sold out except for November 28 and 30).
To browse and purchase Haldane’s sculptures, visit www.christyhaldane.com and, to stay up to date on events and fairs, follow her on Facebook.
Christy Haldane is one of four artisans whose work is featured out of Lakefield’s English Potter & Co., alongside Emerance Baker of Stoney Lake Textiles, Gail West of the English Potter, and Jim Riches of FriendLilySHOP. On November 4, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the English Potter is hosting a fall open house with giveaways, refreshments, and the opportunity to discuss commission pieces. (Photos courtesy of Christy Haldane)
The original version of this story has been updated with a correction about the dates for Ladies Night Out in Lakefield.
Peterborough musician Emily Burgess released her third studio album "Arrow" on October 26, 2023. Recorded by James McKenty, mastered by Andy Pryde, and produced by The Weber Brothers, "Arrow" represents Burgess' progression as a songwriter beyond the blues with a mix of roots, rock, and pop genres.
In early January, presented with the rare occurrence of some uninterrupted free time, Emily Burgess made the most of the opportunity.
Over the course of 10 days of “just me in an apartment with my guitar,” Burgess got busy, putting the finishing touches on a few songs that, up to that point, were but riffs in her head in need of lyrics.
“I was like ‘I can’t get to my guitar and write a song — there’s just so much going on’,” recalls the Peterborough guitarist and singer-songwriter of where she was at immediately before her “writing burst.”
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“Things kept coming to me and, for some reason, seemed easier,” Burgess adds. “You want to take advantage because that doesn’t always happen.”
Such was the genesis of Arrow, Burgess’ third studio album released in late October.
The 10-track disc, mixed by Peterborough’s James McKenty at In Record Time Studio and mastered by Andy Pryde, follows her 2017 debut album Are We In Love? and 2019’s follow-up Never Ending Fling recorded with her trio The Emburys, comprised of herself Marcus Browne (drums) and Dawson McManus (bass).
VIDEO: “Trickin’ My Heart” – Emily Burgess
“You come up with a song and you make a little demo,” says Burgess. “The urge to send that to someone (to give a listen) is so strong. That person for me is Ryan (Weber). As soon as I’ve got something, I send it to him and ask ‘What do you think?’ Having that affirmation is good. You’re like ‘Alright, I’ve got something here’.”
Recorded in the spring, Arrow saw Burgess surround herself with musician friends she’s not only very comfortable with but who are also at the top of their game. Ryan and Sam Weber (who also produced the album), Benj Rowland, and Browne and McManus joined her in the studio, gifting their talent to the finished product. Also huge, says Burgess, was McKenty’s guidance.
“It’s so great when you’ve got someone who, you know, says ‘Let’s try this. Oh no, let’s move the mic. OK, let’s try adding that’ to get the right sound, the right feel,” assesses Burgess. “We went in ahead of time to sort of explain the vibe we were going for. James is also an incredible musician, so he gets it. He mixed it so beautifully.”
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“One thing I really wanted on this (record) was a more mature-sounding voice,” Burgess points out. “Whether or not I achieved that, that’s for everyone else to say, but really layering my vocal with lots of harmonies and just having a more mature sound than the previous two (albums), that was a really important thing to me. Your voice is your voice — you can only change it so much, but there are ways to get closer to what you want.”
It helped, says Burgess, that she played some of the new songs live before heading into the studio.
“Playing week after week, fours hours at a time, gives you a lot of opportunity to try stuff out. I felt I had a really good sense of (the songs) going into the studio.”
Her previous studio experience, says Burgess, also paid a huge dividend.
“After recording the first two albums, I was like ‘Oh, I should have done that different.’ On this one, it was ‘OK, I’m going to try my very best to get to a point where I’m not looking back and be like oh, I wish this and I wish that.’ I really tried to be overly critical of each detail, trying to be as objective as possible. I definitely see it as a step up from my first two albums.”
Peterborough musician Emily Burgess will host a release party for her latest album “Arrow” on January 27, 2024 at the Gordon Best Theatre in downtown Peterborough. Joining her on stage will be Ryan and Sam Weber, Marcus Browne, and Dawson McManus, with Melissa Payne opening. (Photo courtesy of Emily Burgess)
McKenty couldn’t agree more.
“When I first recorded Emily, she was kind of new to being the front singer,” he says. “With each album, she’s become more confident in that role. She’s also fine-tuned her songwriting. When she comes into the studio now, she has a lot of the parts already worked out.”
“She’s an amazing and competent player in the world of blues. A lot of blues music artists improvise stuff in the studio — it’s like a jam session — but that’s not the case with Emily. Every guitar part is worked out as well as what the vocal should be. She comes in fully formed. She’s ready to go.”
Of note, adds McKenty, is Burgess’ transformation from her early iteration as a blues player to a multi-genre artist, represented on Arrow by “a variety of music styles.”
“What makes this album cohesive is Emily — her voice and her guitar playing. It was really fun to record because there was room for some sonic experimentation. We really got into that. How do we make each song it’s own unique thing but still hold together as an album?”
Now more distant from the blues musician label that was furthered by her 2018 Maple Blues Award win in the New Artist/Group of the Year category, Burgess acknowledges a continued affinity for the genre but admits to be more open-minded to other styles of music. For that she credits the Sam and Ryan Weber of The Weber Brothers Band, who she’s joined for countless gigs going back to 2014.
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“Joining the Weber Brothers, things really opened up for me,” Burgess says. “I got exposed to a lot of different types of music and ways to play, and I get to be on stage with Sam — like the best guitar player ever. I’m picking up a lot off from them. Ryan is the reason I started to sing. Their influence I can’t put into words.”
What hasn’t changed is how grateful Burgess is to be able to do what she intended to do early on. Born and raised in Mississauga, she says pursuing a path in music “was a very conscious decision.”
“There was always music in the house. My dad played albums all the time — the supreme music appreciator. My mom played the piano, hymns and stuff. My oldest brother Andrew played guitar. There was music all around me.”
“After I switched to guitar from piano when I was 14, I had the plan for what I was going to do before I could even play. I had an understanding from taking piano that practising made you better. I didn’t practise enough on the piano, so I understood why I wasn’t as good as I should be. With the guitar, I practised many hours each day right from the get-go. You see where you want to be, and you try to get there.”
Emily Burgess performing with Ryan Weber of The Weber Brothers at the Hootenanny on Hunter Street in downtown Peterborough in August 2015. (Photo: Linda McIlwain / kawarthaNOW)
Guitar in hand, Burgess completed her formal music education in the jazz program at Humber College. What followed was time with the Etobicoke-based 24th Street Wailers, her talent featured on the band’s 2015 Juno Award-nominated album Wicked.
Also a member of that band was Jonathan “Jonny” Wong, who passed away from leukemia in October 2021. The supremely gifted saxophonist positively touched the lives of all he met and befriended, Burgess among them.
“After Jonny died, I was devastated,” recalls Burgess. “I went straight to my guitar. It wasn’t like ‘I’ve got to take this and turn it into this’ but I went straight into writing something about it. I think a lot of songwriters would say that’s the way you process things. That’s the way you work through it. You feel really fortunate to be able to do that.”
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In Peterborough now for some 10 years — performing solo, with The Webers Brother Band and, on occasion, fronting her own trio — Burgess says she’s “more open than ever to finding inspiration.”
“I know it’s cliché to say, but we’ve got something really special in Peterborough,” she says. “(Juno Award nominee) Rick Fines lives two minutes away from me. He’s a legend. I don’t go to it as much as I would like to, but there’s the weekly Jethro’s blues ham — young players getting up there and killing it.”
“I have felt so much love, so much support, from this community. I feel like I’m from here. I really do.”
AUDIO: “Arrow” – Emily Burgess
And so Burgess’ journey continues. Where it will lead, who can say with certainty, but McKenty passes on a truth he has come to realize.
“Emily will continue to grow because she’s so dedicated to her craft. When you work as hard as she does, well, it’s inevitable that you’re going to get better and better.”
The local CD release party for Arrow will be held Saturday, January 27th at Erben at 379 George Street North in downtown Peterborough, with Melissa Payne opening and Burgess’ album collaborators — Ryan and Sam Weber, Marcus Browne, and Dawson McManus — joining her onstage. Tickets cost $20 and are available now at erbenptbo.com/event-details/erben-presents-emily-burgess-album-release-with-melissa-payne.
This story has been updated with a change of venue for Emily Burgess’ January 27th CD release party, which now takes place at Erben instead of the Gordon Best Theatre.
A detail of an artwork by Maria Calista, one of the voice actors in "Windblood," a new audio drama for kids written and produced by Michelle Strutzenberger. The six-episode fantasy mystery adventure story will be available on podcast streaming services including Audible and Spotify beginning November 3, 2023, with a new episode released very two months. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Strutzenberger)
A team of Peterborough voice actors are making their debut with the release of the brand-new kids’ audio drama Windblood, with the first episode to be released on Friday (November 3).
A family-friendly fantasy mystery adventure story for middle grade children aged eight to 12, Windblood follows 12-year-old Jalia Windwood who is distraught when her father doesn’t return home from a business trip. She decides to say goodbye to her mother and brother to live on the lakeshore in a hut she built out of logs until her father returns.
But, when the Firebloods begin wreaking havoc on Oiratno, Jalia learns she has a blood type that allows her to enter a beautiful place called Shamayim, which can help her save her father and her people. As Jalia continues on her quest and is constantly prevented from reaching Shamayim, she begins to question if there’s even more going on than she sees.
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“It’s really adventurous with some mystery mixed in for kids to listen while having exposure to some great solid values like kindness and love,” says the drama’s producer and writer Michelle Strutzenberger. “My hope is that listeners will feel a little bit of tension, without being too afraid, and enjoy the story.”
An instructor at Fleming College, Strutzenberger is no stranger to telling stories. She spent 15 years working as a journalist and has authored several books including the middle grade title The Secret Talent of Pineapple River.
Strutzenberger chose, however, to release Windblood as an audio experience because she thought a podcast would reach more young people by removing the need to rely on parents and teachers to purchase the story.
AUDIO: “Windblood” trailer
“This is a way for the story to be quite accessible to youngsters,” she explains, adding that her own 14-year-old daughter started listening to audio dramas a few years ago. “She just loved them, and she could quickly find them and just start listening.”
Each 20-minute episode of the six-episode series will be released every two months over the course of a year, and will be available on Spotify, Audible, and iHeart as well as the Windblood website at www.windblood.ca.
Joining Strutzenberger is a team of Peterborough-based voice actors making their debuts, including artist and voice actor Maria Calista, editor and voice actor Micah S., and voice actor Megan Joy in the role of Jalia.
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Another key contributor to the story was Strutzenberger’s late twin sister, Maria Janette Teigrob.
“She invented this whole fantastical world before she died when she was 21 years old and so, over the years, I thought I’d love to figure out a way to do something with that,” Strutzenberger explains, adding her sister was a big fan of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit author JRR Tolkien.
“I thought it was very well done and interesting and she had come up with some really creative creatures and landmarks.”
Michelle Strutzenberger is the writer and producer of “Windblood,” a new fantasy mystery adventure podcast for kids. A former journalist and current professor at Fleming College, she has previously published several books for young people. She has dedicated “Windblood” to her late twin sister Maria Janette Teigrob, who invented the fantasy world in which the story is based. (Photo courtesy of Michelle Strutzenberger)
Though her sister never finished writing the story, which was inspired by “great worlds” like Narnia and Middle Earth, the world she began to create ultimately became Shamayim, the heavenly world Jalia enters to help save her people.
“That was the inspiration for me to look at how I could weave what she had done into my own story,” Strutzenberger notes. “It’s completely my own story, but it’s inspired by what she had imagined.”
Listeners can sign up for the show’s e-publication, Windblood Scrolls, at www.windblood.ca to stay up to date on the latest episode releases, get behind-the-scenes content of the show’s production, and have access to contests and giveaways.
Guelph-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nick Zubeck will perform at Jethro's Bar + Stage in downtown Peterborough on Saturday night. (Photo: Adam Machan)
Every Thursday, we publish live music events at pubs and restaurants in Peterborough and the greater Kawarthas region based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, November 2 to Wednesday, November 8.
If you’re a pub or restaurant owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our nightlifeNOW editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com. For concerts and live music events at other venues, check out our Concerts & Live Music page.
With the exception of karaoke, we only list events with performing musicians. Venues may also host other events during the week (e.g., dancing, DJs, comedy shows).
kawarthaNOW.com offers two enews options to help readers stay in the know. Our VIP enews is delivered weekly every Wednesday morning and includes exclusive giveaways, and our news digest is delivered daily every morning. You can subscribe to one or both.
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