Seven Peterborough-area entrepreneurial businesses received a collective $35,000 in the spring 2022 intake of the provincially funded Starter Company Plus program offered by the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre. Pictured are Michelle Fenn, Kate Adams, Erin Burrell, Brigh Findlay-Shields, Jack Henry, Tavlyn Evans and Crystal Walker, and Andrew Fitzpatrick. Not pictured: Kendra Mancini and Sean Fitzpatrick.(Photo courtesy of Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development)
Seven Peterborough-area entrepreneurial businesses have each been awarded a $5,000 microgrant to support their small business in the spring intake of the Starter Company Plus program offered by the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre.
Funded by the Government of Ontario and administered by Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development, Starter Company Plus provides aspiring or experienced entrepreneurs in the City and County of Peterborough with five weeks of business training to help them launch a new business or expand an existing one.
Twelve small businesses participated in the fall intake of the program, with the following seven selected to each receive a $5,000 grant based on the overall strength of their business plan and business pitch.
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Jack Henry of OmniWorx Design in Peterborough
Kate Adams of Kate L. Toms Fit in Peterborough
Michelle Fenn and Kendra Mancini of Working Human in Peterborough
Tavlyn Evans and Crystal Walker of Sage Beauty in Peterborough
Brigh Findlay-Shields of Brisa Social in Millbrook
Sean Fitzpatrick and Andrew Fitzpatrick of Take Cover Books in Peterborough
Erin Burrell of EB Aquatics in Otonabee
According to Business Advisory Centre manager Madeleine Hurrell, the spring intake saw the highest number of applications so far for the program.
“We are incredibly proud of this program and the support it provides local small businesses,” Hurrell says in a media release. “The number of applications we received this round surpassed pre-Covid levels and was one of our most competitive intakes.”
Since its launch in 2017, the Starter Company Plus program offered by the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre has assisted over 230 local entrepreneurs and more than 186 small businesses, which have created more than 220 jobs in the local economy.
19-year-old Syrian refugee Rashid Sheikh Hassan's family shares a selfie on February 22, 2023. Rashid had last seen his family when he was 11 years old in 2014, when the family's home in Aleppo was bombed and they became separated. For almost nine years, Rashid feared they were dead and they feared he was dead. Now, a group of Peterborough residents calling themselves Azadi Peterborough are seeking to sponsor Rashid's family to come to Canada. (Photo courtesy of Dave McNab)
A 19-year-old Syrian refugee who has been separated from his family for eight years and only recently discovered they are still alive is planning to sponsor them to come to Canada, with the help of a group of Peterborough residents calling themselves Azadi Peterborough.
The group includes David McNab and Scarborough resident Matt Park, the two men who accidentally discovered the plight of Rashid Sheikh Hassan back in May 2021 when the young man, a Syrian Kurd living in Turkey under fear of deportation, posted on a Canadian Facebook group dedicated to birds that he wanted to come to Canada.
Rashid’s post was immediately met with racist, hateful, and anti-immigrant comments. Park defended Rashid, condemned the online attackers, and brought the post to the attention of McNab, a retired OPP officer and instructor at Trent University. McNab began corresponding with Rashid and teaching him English and, with the help of Park, McNab’s veterinarian wife Kristy Hiltz, nurse practitioner and veteran U.N. peacekeeper Lee-Anne Quinn, and social advocate Michael VanDerHerberg, raised funds to sponsor Rashid to come to Canada.
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Just over a year later, his sponsors greeted Rashid as he arrived in Canada at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. Rashid immediately embraced his new Canadian life — including trying poutine for the first time on the way to Peterborough. Since then, Rashid has attended high school, become fluent in English, and worked at The Whistle Stop Café in downtown Peterborough (which serves poutine of course).
After the devastating earthquakes this past February in Turkey and northern Syria, Rashid launched a campaign to raise funds for the Canadian International Medical Relief Organization (CIMRO). Hastings resident and former longtime Peterborough paramedic Mark Cameron, who is the president of CIMRO, was able to connect with two people working in the village where Rashid’s grandparents live.
During a brief call with his grandmother, Rashid was told his parents and his two sisters and brother were still alive. Shortly after that call, he saw and spoke to his family for the first time in eight years during a video call on WhatsApp.
VIDEO: Meeting Rashid at the Airport
Knowing of Rashid’s desire to be reunited with his family, his original sponsors have formed a new group called Azadi Peterborough (azadi is the Kurdish word for “freedom”). Other members of the group include Clayton Ibey and Brenda Wierdsma-Ibey (owner of The Avant-Garden Shop), retired paramedic Jim Vinn, Lainey Bates (one of Rashid’s high school teachers), pottery instructor Karina Bates, grocer Paul Halasz, and Trent University graduate student Simal Iftikhar. The group is being supported by the Unitarian Fellowship of Peterborough.
To apply to the Immigration Canada to sponsor Rashid’s family to come to Canada, Azadi Peterborough needs to raise $45,000 to cover the travel costs and the costs of family support for one year.
Rashid has himself already contributed $10,000 — all the money he has earned and all of his savings — and Azadi Peterborough members have contributed another $10,000, so the group is nearly halfway to its goal.
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“He is a hard-working, unselfish, and determined young man who has been contributing to his new community since he arrived,” McNab says in a media release. “It is now hoped that this community will help reunite this deserving young man with the family that he grew up believing were lost forever.”
Donations can also be dropped off at or mailed to The Avant-Garden Shop (165 Sherbrooke St, Peterborough, ON K9J 2N2) or dropped off at Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital at 1625 Sherbrooke Street in Peterborough.
Rashid’s story
On February 22, 2023, Rashid saw his parents and siblings for the first time in almost nine years after becoming separated from them after their family home was bombed in Syria in 2014. (Photos courtesy of Dave McNab)
In March 2014, when he was 11 years old, Rashid Sheikh Hassan’s family home in Aleppo, Syria was bombed. Along with his parents and his younger siblings (two sisters and a brother), Rashid made it out of the house safely but subsequently became separated from his family in the chaos that followed. He travelled 100 kilometres across a war zone to find his grandparents in a village north of Aleppo, hoping the rest of his family would follow. They never did.
It was two years before Rashid could return to Aleppo. He and his grandfather made the journey to seek any news of their family but found none, and were ordered out of the area at gunpoint by the military in control of the neighbourhood.
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Rashid worked and helped his grandparents until after he turned 16 in 2019, when he feared he would be conscripted into the Syrian military — a dangerous possibility, especially for a young Kurdish man. He fled Syria for Turkey in early 2020 and, after eight attempts, managed to get across the border. He made his way to Istanbul but, since refugees were no longer given protection or official refugee status, he was considered an illegal resident.
Rashid lived in Turkey for almost two years, supporting himself with meagre wages in a country where he was not entitled to education or health care. As a Kurd with no legal status in Turkey, he was at constant threat of being captured and deported back to Syria.
Hoping to come to Canada, Rashid went on Facebook and searched for a Canadian Facebook group. He found one and posted a desperate plea for guidance on how he could come to Canada to start a new and safer life. However, with little knowledge of English, he had inadvertently posted his request in a group intended for people posting photos of birds, where his post was met with hostile, anti-immigrant, and racist comments.
19-year-old Syrian refugee Rashid with Dave McNab, who was instrumental in reaching out to Rashid while he was living in Turkey, helping Rashid learn English, and in sponsoring him to come to Canada from Turkey, where he was living under fear of deportation after fleeing Syria in 2020. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
Matt Park, one of the group’s members, defended Rashid and brought his post to the attention of retired Peterborough County OPP officer Dave McNab, who began communicating directly with Rashid online. Over several months, McNab helped Rashid improve his English. McNab, along with his wife Kristy Hiltz, Matt Park, Lee-Anne Quinn, and Michael VanDenHerberg, raised funds to sponsor Rashid to come to Canada.
On June 23, 2022, Rashid arrived at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport where he was welcomed to his new home by his sponsors. He now works and attends school in Peterborough and speaks fluent English, his third language.
On February 22, 2023, Rashid had a video call with his grandparents, his parents and siblings, and other family. Until an hour before the call, they feared he was dead and he feared they were dead.
A thunderstorm passes over a lake in North Kawartha Township on July 5, 2021. (Photo: Jeannine Taylor / kawarthaNOW)
Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the entire Kawarthas region for Thursday afternoon (July 6).
The severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for all of Peterborough County, Kawarthas Lakes, Northumberland County, Haliburton County, and Hastings Highlands.
Conditions are favourable for the development of severe thunderstorms that may be capable of producing producing strong wind gusts, large hail, and heavy rain.
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Scattered thunderstorms are expected to develop early Thursday afternoon as a slow-moving cold front moves through southern Ontario. The severe thunderstorm threat will diminish Thursday evening.
Large hail can damage property and cause injury. Strong wind gusts can toss loose objects, damage weak buildings, break branches off trees, and overturn large vehicles. Intense lightning is likely with any thunderstorm that develops. Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.
Emergency Management Ontario recommends that you take cover immediately if threatening weather approaches.
Award-winning Canadian blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Matt Andersen and his eight-piece band The Big Bottle of Joy will perform a free-admission concert at Peterborough Musicfest in Del Crary Park on July 8, 2023. (Photo: GRAG Studio)
If you love what you do, it makes sense to do it a lot.
Peterborough Musicfest presents Matt Andersen & the Big Bottle of Joy
When: Saturday, July 8, 2023 at 8 p.m. Where: Del Crary Park (100 George St. N., Peterborough) How much: Free admission
Bring your own lawn chairs or blankets (lawn chairs are available to rent). VIP seating available for sponsors. No smoking, alcohol, or pets permitted. There’s no public parking at Del Crary Park, but there’s neighbourhood street parking nearby and ample parking in downtown Peterborough.
Since self-releasing his debut album One Size Never Fits in 2004, Matt Andersen has rarely sat idle, the past 20 years a whirlwind of international tour stops, recording sessions, and new projects.
While it would have been easy for the multi award-winning blues guitarist and singer-songwriter to put his feet up for an extended period, that wasn’t an option for the New Brunswick native.
So it is that on Saturday, July 8th, fresh from his previous night appearance at the Mariposa Folk Festival, Andersen will headline Peterborough Musicfest at Del Crary Park, fronting his new band The Big Bottle of Joy.
Admission to the 8 p.m. concert is free, due in part to the continued support of kawarthaNOW, this concert’s headline sponsor.
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Since that first album, Andersen has taken few extended breaks from writing and recording, with his latest album — also titled Matt Andersen And The Big Bottle of Joy — being his 16th offering. His prodigious output has brought his music more than 26 million YouTube streams and more than 23 million Spotify listens.
Music industry acclaim has been frequent and noteworthy. After winning two East Coast Music Association Awards in 2009, Andersen brought home top honours from the 2010 International Blues Challenge in Memphis — the first Canadian ever to do so.
In 2013 and again in 2016, he won a European Blues Award for Best Solo/Acoustic Act. In addition, multiple Maple Blues Awards have come his way, and he has a Juno Award nomination to his credit. He last performed in Peterborough in a solo show at Showplace Performance Centre in 2017.
VIDEO: “What’s on My Mind” – Matt Andersen & the Big Bottle of Joy
And if collaboration is the best from of flattery, Andersen has been paid due respect, having shared the stage with the likes of Buddy Guy, Greg Allman, and Serena Ryder to name but a few.
In an April 2022 interview with Sean Bennett of The Rockpit, Andersen reflected on the a-ha moment that set him on his musical journey.
“My grandfather was a huge influence on me,” he said. “Not musically so much, but his love of playing. He was always the last one to put down his fiddle when the rest would head for the snack table. He played lots of different functions around the community and never took a dime for it. But what I remember most is how other musicians, and those listening, got excited when he would sit down to play. You could hear them say ‘Now it’s going to get good.’ All ears were on him.”
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“I started off in band playing tuba and trumpet, but neither of those are all that good for a sing along,” Andersen recalled. “I grew up in a musical family. Music was always around. Playing guitar was a natural choice to be able to play along with everyone else.”
Andersen’s new music, which he’s touring extensively across North America this summer this year, has been described as “infused with raw blues-rock, rollicking Americana, thoughtful folk, and ecstatic gospel.” Clearly there’s a reason “joy” is in both the album’s and band’s name.
Andersen’s humility remains as big as his talent. In a release heralding the album’s release, he deflects any praise due him, lauding praise on his new band.
VIDEO: “Let It Slide” – Matt Andersen & the Big Bottle of Joy
“Somebody told me a long time ago that when you put band together, you need to make yourself the weakest musician,” Andersen said. “So that’s what I’ve always done. They’re all absolutely monstrous at what they do.”
Andersen elaborated on that in an earlier March 2022 sit down with The Bluegrass Situation.
“I’ve always surrounded myself with musicians that I have to work to keep up with; musicians that inspire and challenge me. It’s a comfort to be on a stage and know that the only person I need to worry about making a mistake is myself.”
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Andersen has clearly made few mistakes, bringing a lifetime of music to every note he plays. Now he makes no secret of his happiness over being able to resume a full band performance schedule after two years’ worth of pandemic-induced solo gigs.
“All these musicians and singers are people that I’ve known for a long time and that I’ve always wanted to work with … we’re all good friends,” he told The Montrealer this past April.
“We have a great vibe backstage and (that) carries into our respective shows on stage,” Andersen said — something the Peterborough Musicfest audience is sure to experience when Andersen and his eight-piece band take to the stage at Del Crary Park on Saturday night.
VIDEO: “Aurora” – Matt Andersen & the Big Bottle of Joy
Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 15 free-admission concerts during its 36th season, each staged on Wednesday and Saturday nights until August 19th, and supported by more than 100 sponsors, kawarthaNOW among them.
Overseen by general manager Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission remains “to provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”
For more information on this concert or the entire 2023 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or phone the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a headline sponsor of Peterborough Musicfest’s 2023 season.
A 65-year-old Oshawa man drowned in Rice Lake on Wednesday afternoon (July 5).
At around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Northumberland OPP responded to a call that a man was in distress in the water off the south shore of Rice Lake north of Harwood.
Police, fire services, and paramedics were dispatched to the scene.
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According to police, a man was calling for help from the water. Members of the public tried to rescue the man, but he went underwater and never resurfaced.
After emergency services arrived on the scene, they located the 65-year-old Oshawa man in the water and pronounced him dead on the scene.
The office of Ontario’s chief coroner is assisting with the police investigation into the drowning. Police say no foul play is suspected.
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The OPP is reminding the public of proactive steps to reduce provincial drowning deaths:
always swim with a buddy
know your limits and swimming abilities
let someone know when and where you’re going for a swim
test the waters with your feet, don’t dive right in
don’t swim while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
A greenwash march in Glasgow Bristol in the U.K. in November 2021. The term 'greenwashing' was coined in the 1980s in an essay by environmentalist Jay Westerveld, who criticized the hotel industry's "save your towel" movement that was marketed as a way for guests to help hotels conserve water while it was actually a way for hotels to reduce laundry labour expenses and made a minimal difference in water usage. (Photo: Bristol Airport Greenwashbusters via Wikipedia)
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s column is by Lili Paradi, Communications Manager, GreenUP.
Plastic-Free July is a month-long global movement that activates millions of people to be part of the solution to plastic pollution. GreenUP is shining a light on ‘greenwashing’ with this article, to raise awareness of the power of market research so that consumers like you and I can reduce our plastic waste and make better purchasing decisions.
Greenwashing is no joke, and yet it’s an old joke! The term is thought to have come from the 1980s and transformed the way customers chose their products. Over time, this term began to be known by the public as an understanding of the environmental impact a business or its products communicates to its customers.
Greenwashed businesses or products are, to most of us, those lacking accountability for their own environmental impact. By choosing to communicate their impact using appealing marketing strategies, businesses can mislead customers into thinking their products have a lower environmental footprint.
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If there is anything that customers can do as they move towards making better purchasing decisions, it’s to keep a close eye on greenwashing. If a product sounds too good to be true, it may be.
Greenwashing can come in many forms:
Symbolism. When products use symbolism on their packaging — like green leaves on dish soap or a recycling symbol on laundry detergent — it can distract from a product’s actual impact, how much pollution is created in its production, packaging and distribution, or what ingredients it contains. There is power in imagery.
A product’s trade-offs can be hidden. While the intent of purchasing reusable bags at a grocery store can be a valuable switch from using plastic bags, does the same apply if you purchase one every time or if you consider what the reusable bags are made of?
Lack of proof or certification. A lack of proof or certification allows marketing strategies to fall through the cracks and appeal to the customer who may not have time to do market research. The term ‘eco-friendly’, as an example, can be used as a false certification.
Selective disclosure. Selective disclosure is a form of greenwashing where companies may shine a light on some good practices, while shying away from other practices that may negatively impact the environment. Think of a business replacing their single-use plastic straws with drinking caps that use more plastic.
Abby at the GreenUP Store & Resource Centre displays a product from Plantish, a business that aims to stay transparent about how much waste is diverted from its zero-waste product chains. While the sponges are made from 100 per cent wood pulp and come in compostable packaging, they are not local to Peterborough as they are produced in Richmond, British Columbia. (Photo: Lili Paradi / GreenUP))
It is both up to consumers like you and me, as well as people who handle communications and purchasing for businesses, to work together to address greenwashing and to identify and influence what sustainable products can be found in the community.
Eileen Kimmett is GreenUP’s Store & Resource Centre Coordinator. She oversees sourcing products that are environmentally and socially responsible. For Kimmett, the success of the GreenUP Store as a trusted resource can be attributed to the two-way relationship between customers and the store.
“We often learn of great and trusted products from our customers,” says Kimmett. “One told us of an Ontario-based laundry soap company that takes back and reuses their bulk containers. When we hear about a new product line like that, one that can reduce plastic waste and emissions due to transportation, we are quick to jump and make that product available to our customers.”
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Kimmett recommends that any individual looking into new household products do research into local stores that are transparent about their products, the ingredients’ list, and how they reduce environmental impact.
“Before I stock any product at the GreenUP Store & Resource Centre, I think to myself, ‘How does this play a role in creating an environmentally healthy community?’,” Kimmett explains. “I also conduct extensive research into a business’s accreditations, packaging, reviews and ratings, and even seek out a contact before committing to the product.”
While it is the responsibility of stores like GreenUP to do the good work to research their products, it may not be within the capacity of others to do the same. Mindful shopping can help customers find products that are clear about their impact.
Oneka is a Quebec-based business that is B-Corp certified, meaning that it upholds high standards of accountability and transparency when talking about the environmental and social impact of its products. Here you can see the different symbols used to describe different aspects of their product. Which to you speaks ‘greenwashing’ and which to you describes a trusted product? (Photo: Lili Paradi / GreenUP))
And, as Lydia Noyes from EcoWatch says in A Guide to GreenWashing and How to Spot It, “Not all companies practice greenwashing maliciously. Often, it’s as much a misunderstanding on the marketers’ end as it is for customers.”
In fact, in a 2016 study from Cornell University, it was found that businesses often feel pressure to report their environmental impact, leading them to hastily communicate their practices without disclosing accurate information.
Customers are responsible for understanding their purchasing power, but it can take time.
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Here’s a challenge to help identify greenwashing tactics: next time you are grocery shopping, pick up one item and look at the product label in great detail.
Does it have symbolism? Certifications? Does it make great claims for some benefits, and not others?
By thinking carefully about what you buy, you will gain confidence that your purchases are more green and less greenwashed.
The different types of corporate greenwashing. Sometimes, greenwashing is misguided. A 2016 study from Cornell University found businesses often feel pressure to report their environmental impact, leading them to hastily communicate their practices without disclosing accurate information. (Graphic: Green Business Bureau)
Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks David Piccini (second yellow hard hat from right) joined a number of local dignitaries for a groundbreaking ceremony on July 5, 2023 at the site of the new Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough. Siblings Mary and Gerry Young have donated their family's 100-acre property off Television Road for the new centre, which is scheduled to open in July 2024. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
To have pre-existed dinosaurs and still be around some 220 million years after first walking the earth, the turtle’s survival skills should not be an issue. Still, all eight of Ontario’s turtle species are increasingly at risk, with loss of habitat, poaching, and roadway mortality just some of the factors at play.
Combine that with the fact that turtles remain a major biodiversity component of the ecosystems they inhabit and the message is clear: turtles’ well-being and good health deserves our attention.
Since opening in 2002, the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre on Chemong Road has seen and treated thousands of injured turtles, the majority struck by vehicles. In many cases, the eggs of female turtles that subsequently died have been extracted and hatched, ensuring the species’ continuance.
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With a mission to conserve and protect Ontario turtles, the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC), which oversees the trauma centre, has been hard pressed to serve its shelled patients. Over the last 10 years, injured turtle admissions have increased six-fold, with close to 2,000 turtles admitted last year alone, resulting as well in close to 8,000 eggs to incubate and hatchlings to house.
Enter Mary and Gerry Young.
The siblings, wanting to preserve their family’s 100-acre farm property off Television Road north of Parkhill Road, have donated it for the development of the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre’s new home. Projected to open about this time next year, the 10,000-square-foot facility will house a new state-of-the-art turtle hospital, including an ICU, a designated hatching area, and a turtle education centre.
VIDEO: Conceptual Design of the future home of the OTCC
On Wednesday (July 5), the Youngs were on hand as turtle health advocates and dignitaries, including Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini — Ontario’s Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks — lauded their gift before breaking ground for the new centre’s construction.
In her remarks, Mary explained that their motivation for donating the land was, and remains, anchored in their desire to see the property preserved as a natural wetland that provides the habitat for wildlife, including turtles, to populate and thrive. As the location of the new centre, that is ensured for future generations to enjoy.
“We want the property to continue to look about the way it does now and we want it to continue to provide habitat for wildlife,” she said, adding the new centre’s development “fits in with this vision.”
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Mary added she has been tremendously impressed with the dedication to turtle rehabilitation and conservation shown by veterinarian Dr. Sue Carstairs, the executive and medical director of the OTCC.
“I first met Sue about five or six years ago. I was amazed at her energy. At that time, she was the sole veterinarian and every summer she would treat anywhere from 1,000 to 1,200 turtles alone. That’s a lot of work.”
For his part, Gerry said the hope is the property, that was bought by his father Clinton Young in 1928, will remain a natural oasis in a sea of urban sprawl for years to come.
Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks David Piccini was joined by Patricia Kovel, representing the Alan and Patricia Kovel Foundation, on July 5, 2023 as he toured the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre’s crammed facility at the site of the new centre that will open in July 2024. The Kovel Foundation is one of several major contributors to the $3 million campaign for the construction of the new centre off Television Road. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
“I’m thinking 50 or 75 or 100 years from now. The city is going to evolve around this (but it) could be a natural habitat for people. Curtis Creek comes down through here. This is going to be a good lifestyle place for wildlife.”
For his part, Minister Piccini spoke to the collective effort that any conservation effort relies upon. He also reflected on his first exposure to the OTCC’s work — a visit to the centre prompted and encouraged by Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, who was also present at the groundbreaking event.
“I remember seeing turtles on the ground and up high in every nook and cranny there were turtles,” he recalled. “Everywhere I go since then I see the (I Brake For Turtles) stickers on cars and people stopping (for injured turtles). If you (OTCC) are the pebble, the ripple has spread across Ontario. This is a big day. We’re turning the tide for at-risk turtles.”
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Since 2018, the Ontario government, as part of its Species At Risk Stewardship Program, has already provided just more than $914,000 in support of the OTCC. The province is investing nearly $500,000 in new funding to help mitigate threats to at-risk turtles through rehabilitation, education, field studies, research, and data sharing.
“This forever home has been a dream that is finally coming to reality,” said MPP Smith. “I cannot express how much great work the centre does, from rehabilitating injured turtles to the recovery and fertilization of turtle eggs from those turtles that sadly don’t make it. We are extremely fortunate have a world leader in conservation right here in our backyard.”
Douro-Dummer Mayor Heather Watson was also on hand and echoed Minister Piccini’s praise for Dr. Carstairs and her staff as well as volunteer contributors.
“The five-year effort to get here today reminds me of the turtle success mantra — slow and steady wins the race,” said Mayor Watson. “Because of the contributions of champions like Mary and Gerry Young, and the many other contributors and philanthropists, this project is able to move forward.”
A turtle patient at the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre’s existing crammed facility, located at the site of the new centre that will open in July 2024. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 5, 2023 for the 10,000-square-foot facility that will house a new state-of-the-art turtle hospital, including an ICU, a designated hatching area, and a turtle education centre. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
“The centre will be able to continue to do the work that it does so well in a facility that’s specifically built for this purpose,” Mayor Watson added. “Generations of turtles will continue long past any of us being here, thanks to the work of the centre.”
Noting this day “has been six years in the making,” Dr. Carstairs praised “the pillars” of the $3 million capital campaign for their contributions — a list that includes a number of family-established foundations.
She later noted that the capital campaign has brought in about $2.5 million to date and naming opportunities remain available. To learn more or to make a donation, visit www.ontarioturtle.ca/donation-options.
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Of note, care for injured turtles extends well beyond the centre’s doors. For example, the Turtle Taxi program has more than 600 volunteers across Ontario who pick up injured turtles and transport them to partnering veterinary first responders, clinics, and then to the OTCC.
The same volunteers also transport healed turtles back to their home habitat. Also helping out is a pilot who flies injured turtles from northern Ontario to Peterborough.
At the site of the new centre, the OTCC is currently caring for 1,000 turtles in two cramped buildings converted for that purpose. That’s in addition to the 2,000 turtles being cared for at the Chemong Road location. It’s projected the new centre will double that capacity.
Preparation for the construction of the new Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre hospital and education centre is well underway on donated farm property off Television Road in Peterborough. Over the last 10 years, injured turtle admissions have increased six-fold, with close to 2,000 turtles admitted last year alone, resulting as well in close to 8,000 eggs to incubate and hatchlings to house. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
Peterborough's Warsaw Road Swing Bridge is located on Parkhill Road East between Armour Road and Television Road. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
For the second time in two weeks, the Warsaw Road Swing Bridge in Peterborough will be temporarily closed during the day on Thursday (July 6).
The bridge, located on Parkhill Road East between Armour Road and Television Road, will be closed from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. The bridge was also closed for the day last Thursday (June 29).
The “additional one-day closure … is required to complete seasonal maintenance purposes,” according to a media release from Parks Canada.
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Traffic control measures and detour signage will be in place.
Parks Canada encourages members of the public to use alternate bridge crossings at Maria Street or Lansdowne Street.
Other alternate routes between Armour Road and Television Road to the south include the McFarlane Street bridge and the Peterborough Lift Lock at Hunter Street East and Ashburnham Drive.
The summer festival of music at Westben in Campbellford continues on July 7 to 9, 2023 with performances by (left to right, top and bottom) Brian Finley, Morgan Toney, Sacha, and The Fretless. (kawarthaNOW collage of photos via Westben)
The summer festival of music is underway at Westben in Northumberland County.
The not-for-profit arts organization in Campbellford kicked off its summer season on July 2 with a concert by Grammy award-nominated soprano Measha Brueggergosman-Lee. The season continues from July 7 to 9 with a weekend of Liszt, fiddle, and country music performed by Brian Finley, Morgan Toney, Sacha, and The Fretless.
At 2 p.m. on Friday (July 7) in The Barn, acclaimed pianist Brian Finley will present an afternoon of favourite piano music by the 19th-century Hungarian composer Franz Liszt.
Finley, who is also Westben’s co-founder and its artistic and managing director, will perform Un sospiro, Consolation No. 3, Second Hungarian Rhapsodie, and more.
VIDEO: Brian Finley performs “Mount Carmel” from his album Preludes To Canada
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At 7 p.m. on Friday, Mi’kmaq fiddler and singer Morgan Toney will perform a concert on Willow Hill, bringing together the fiery fiddling of Cape Breton Island with the old songs of the Mi’kmaq people.
Toney, who began his musical career as a drummer, began learning the fiddle in the late 2010s. He released his debut album First Flight in 2021, receiving a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Indigenous Songwriter of the Year at the 17th Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2022 and taking home the East Coast Music Awards for Indigenous Artist of the Year and Inspirational Performance of the Year in 2022.
VIDEO: Morgan Toney performs with Keith Mullins
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At 7 p.m. on Saturday (July 8), country music singer-songwriter Sacha makes her Westben debut with an intimate concert on Willow Hill.
Born and raised in Warkworth in Northumberland County, Sacha grew up in a household of musicians and was introduced to a wide range of music, but was especially taken with her mother’s Patsy Cline records. Inspired by the success of Taylor Swift, Sacha’s musical success began after she entered and won a singing competition called “Canada’s Next Country Music Star” in 2016. She released her debut EP The Best Thing, featuring her hit “Standards,” in 2020, was been named as a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country 2021 class, and earning her first platinum single with “What The Truck,” her musical collaboration with he Reklaww.
VIDEO: “Confident” by Sacha featuring Tyler Shaw
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Westben caps off the weekend at 2 p.m. on Sunday (July 9) with a concert in The Barn featuring the Juno award-winning string quartet The Fretless.
The supergroup of celebrated solo artists — Trent Freeman, Karrnnel Sawitsky, and Ben Plotnick on fiddle/viola and Eric Wright on cello — have come together to expand the idea of what a string music quartet can be by transforming fiddle tunes and folk melodies into intricate and beautiful high-energy arrangements.
Their debut album Waterbound in 2012 earned them Instrumental Album of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards and Instrumental Group of the Year and Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, with their 2014 self-titled follow-up album taking home Ensemble of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards and 2016’s Bird’s Nest winning them the 2017 Juno Award for Instrumental Album of the Year.
VIDEO: “My Moon My Man” by The Fretless featuring Madeleine Roger
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Tickets for Brian Finley are $55 for adults, $53 for seniors, $30 for adults under 30, and $5 for youth under 18.
Tickets for each of the other three concerts are $45 for adults, $43 for seniors, $30 for adults under 30, and $5 for youth under 18.
You can get tickets online at tickets.westben.ca, by calling Westben at 705-653-5508 (toll-free at 1-877-883-5777), by emailing westben@westben.ca, or in person at The West Schoolhouse (6788 County Road 30, Campbellford) from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday to Friday.
Here’s the full line-up for Westben’s 2023 season along with dates and ticket prices (which do not include tax and fees):
Brian Finley – Friday, July 7 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Morgan Toney – Friday, July 7 at 7 p.m. – Willow Hill – Tickets $45 adults, $43 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Sacha – Saturday, July 8 at 7 p.m. – Willow Hill – Tickets $45 adults, $43 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
The Fretless – Sunday, July 9 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $45 adults, $43 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Sounds of Silence – Thursday, July 13 at 7 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $35 adults, $33 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Ben Heppner with the Elmer Iseler Singers – Friday, July 14 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Mozart in the Meadow – Saturday, July 15 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Del Barber – Saturday, July 15 at 8 p.m. – The Campfire – Tickets $50 adults, $48 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Dan Hill – Sunday, July 16 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Natural Balance – Thursday, July 20 at 7 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $45 adults, $43 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Emilie-Claire Barlow – Friday, July 21 at 7 p.m. – Willow Hill – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Janina Fialkowska – Saturday, July 22 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Ben Caplan – Saturday, July 22 at 8 p.m. – The Campfire – Tickets $50 adults, $48 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Chantal Kreviazuk – Sunday, July 23 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Les Mis in Concert – Thursday, July 25 to Wednesday, August 3 at 2 p.m., with 7 p.m. performance on Friday, July 28 – The Barn – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Lennie Gallant – Friday, Aug. 4 at 7 p.m. – Willow Hill – Tickets $55 adults, $53 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
Jill Barber – Saturday, Aug 5 at 7 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
The Music of Joni Mitchell & More – Sunday, Aug 6 at 2 p.m. – The Barn – Tickets $65 adults, $63 seniors, $30 under 30, $5 youth under 18
A 58-year-old man and a 27-year-old man are dead following two separate motorcycle collisions in Peterborough in the early morning hours of Tuesday and Wednesday (July 4 and 5).
Just before 4 a.m. on Tuesday, police responded to a single motorcycle collision on The Parkway between Lansdowne Street and The Kingsway.
The driver, a 58-year-old Blackstock man, was injured in the collision and was taken to Peterborough Regional Health Centre before being airlifted to a trauma hospital. He has since succumbed to his injuries.
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At 3:50 a.m. on Wednesday, police responded to a single motorcycle collision in the area of Clonsilla Avenue and Ford Street. The driver, a 27-year-old man, was thrown from the motorcycle and succumbed to his injuries.
Police, who are investigating both incidents, have not released the names of the victims.
Anyone with information, dash cam or home security video in the area is asked to contact the Peterborough Police Service Traffic Unit at 705-876-1122 ext. 289 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at stopcrimehere.ca.
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