Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the entire Kawarthas region for heavy rain on Monday (August 7) into Tuesday.

The special weather statement is in effect for Peterborough County, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, Haliburton County, and Hastings Highlands.

Scattered showers are expected on Sunday night and will become heavy at times overnight. Showers should diminish through Monday morning before another round of heavy rain, likely with thunderstorms, arrives Monday afternoon.

Moderate showers are then expected to continue into Tuesday before coming to an end Tuesday evening.

Total rainfall amounts of 20 to 40 mm are expected in southern Peterborough County, Kawartha Lakes, and western Northumberland County, with 30 to 50 mm expected in northern Peterborough County, Haliburton County, and Hastings Highlands, and 50 to 75 mm expected in eastern Northumberland County. However, higher amounts can not be ruled out.

Environment Canada may issue rainfall warnings if required.

Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads. Heavy rainfall in combination with other weather factors, such as hail, wind and lightning will make outdoor activities unsafe.

Cyclists and environmental educators Glen Caradus and Nick Ormond are once again in training to embark on a day-long ride this fall to raise awareness about climate change and funds for local climate change action.

On Saturday, September 30th, the duo will cycle 280 kilometres to highlight the amount of C02 that was in the atmosphere — 280 parts per million — when the planet had a stable climate prior to the industrial revolution. As of May 2023, that level has risen to a new record of 424 parts per million according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

All funds raised leading up to Caradus and Ormond’s ride — called Ride 4 The Grandchildren — will go towards For Our Grandchildren, a not-for-profit environmental organization that acts against climate change.

On the day of the event, Caradus and Ormond will gear up at the crack of dawn, to depart from Peterborough at 3 a.m. From there, the duo will ride through Haliburton, across to Coe Hill and and Stoney Lake, before heading back to the city to complete the ride at the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre at 3 p.m.

This year will be third in a row Caradus is completing the fundraiser, which previously raised money for other local environmental organizations and initiatives committed to climate action. The rides began when the experienced and passionate cyclist missed participating in marathons and races during the pandemic.

“I was thinking, ‘Well, with no races, wouldn’t it be fun to do something where I can raise some money and some awareness?’,” Caradus recalls. “In this case, about climate change.”

Through his work as a musician and puppeteer as one half of the Paddling Puppeteers alongside Phil Stephenson, Caradus already brings messages of natural appreciation and climate emergency to children, seniors, and everyone else while entertaining across the country. Through his cycling fundraisers, he’s also supporting local organizations that take action against climate change.

Two years ago, Caradus rode 350 kilometres, representing the dangerous atmospheric carbon levels that scientists had previously said would be a wake-up call to prevent catastrophic climate change — a number Caradus says we hit back in 1988. That ride also raised funds for climate-related programming offered by Peterborough GreenUP.

Last year, the magic number for the ride was 421 kilometres, representing the CO2 levels at the time of the ride (421 parts per million) — though Caradus points out we’ve gone up at least a couple parts per million in the year since. Ormond joined Caradus for that ride, which raised funds for climate education, tree planting, and biodiversity programs at Camp Kawartha and Rowan Tree Children’s School.

“If you look at the first 170 years of industrialization, we added 70 parts per million (of CO2),” Caradus explains. “Then, in the last 35 years, we’ve added another 70. So you can see how it soared exponentially. We just want to bring attention to that 280.”

At approximately 3 p.m., when the cyclists are expected to arrive at their destination at the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre, they will be met with a family-friendly celebration from the public. If he’s not too exhausted from the journey, Caradus will join his Paddling Puppeteer partner to put on a musical puppet show.

Before the end of the event, the cyclists will leave behind 280 potted trees, arranging them on the grounds to form the number 280. They will be free for the public to take and plant locally.

“We’ll just leave the trees there and then people can take them that day or just anytime through October,” Caradus says. “Because they draw in carbon dioxide, trees are a great way to add some beauty but also to fight climate change.”

Funds raised from the event will be used by For Our Grandchildren to support local action in Peterborough City and County. The ride is further backed by Captain Climate and sponsored by Runner’s Life.

Though the aim of the ride is to educate and raise awareness, Caradus explains that it’s important to make the event fun and celebratory, rather than negative.

“It’s important to acknowledge what we’re seeing, but it’s also important that we find ways that are celebratory and fun and positive,” Caradus says. “I don’t want to point fingers at anybody. We just go out and have some fun, bring the community together, plant trees, and raise some money for For Our Grandchildren. They’re a great organization, so we’re keeping it on the positive.”

For Our Grandchildren was founded in 2006 in Toronto by a group of grandparents who were deeply concerned that the world was taking inadequate action to prevent the worst effects of the changing climate, and that these changes would have serious negative consequences on their grandchildren. The group incorporated as a non-profit organization in 2010 and moved its head office to Peterborough in 2018. Originally formed to raise awareness of climate change, the organization now focuses on engaging people to take local climate change action.

Caradus and Ormond hope to raise $5,000 to support the work of the organization. To donate to Ride 4 The Grandchildren, visit forourgrandchildren.ca/event/ride-4-the-grandchildren/.

The Civic Holiday is called Peter Robinson Day in Peterborough, James Cockburn Day in Cobourg, Simcoe Day in Toronto, Colonel By Day in Ottawa, George Hamilton Day in Hamilton, Joseph Brant Day in Burlington, Founders’ Day in Brantford, McLaughlin Day in Oshawa, Alexander Mackenzie Day in Sarnia, John Galt Day in Guelph, and numerous other names in smaller municipalities. Whatever you call it, the holiday is always celebrated on the first Monday in August.

Since the Civic Holiday is not a statutory holiday in Ontario and is not listed in Ontario’s Employment Standards Act or Retail Business Holidays Act, most businesses are open on Monday, although many have reduced hours. Almost all grocery stores, malls, and big box stores are open on Monday. Selected liquor stores and beer stores are open. However, all government offices are closed and many government-operated services are unavailable.

For your convenience, we provide this list of holiday hours for 292 selected businesses, services, and organizations across the Kawarthas. This information comes from their websites and social media accounts, which may or may not be up to date, so please always call them first to confirm their hours (we’ve included phone numbers), especially where you “call to confirm” (which means the business did not indicate specific holiday hours) or if you are travelling any distance. If your business or organization is listed and the hours are incorrect, please let us know by using our content feedback form. We do not have the hours for restaurants in this list as there are far too many to include.

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Peterborough’s Carol Koeslag didn’t imagine herself becoming a fast-selling published writer at 92 years old — and she certainly didn’t imagine herself going viral on TikTok.

But she’s managed to do both within the last week, after beginning to stock her short story collection in the Modern Makers Market shop in Peterborough. When shop owner Chantel Coyle posted about Koeslag’s book Spice of Life: A Variety of Reflections on social media, she captured the hearts of readers not only in Peterborough, but — incredibly — across the globe.

For Koeslag, the book began as a series of stories the retired social worker had written several years ago. Though there’s not one theme linking the short stories, Koeslag has seemingly invented her own genre for the collection, which she calls “fictionalized realities.”

“One or two or three of them really did happen, and I wrote about that,” she explains, using the example of the “crazy” story about her husband using an air pistol to get the crows to stop cawing. “But (for) some of the other ones I had one or two points of reference, and from there I just imagined what the people were thinking and then I wrote that.”

She says it’s not “the great Canadian novel,” but rather a book you can pick up and put down, full of a handful of independent stories, some up to eight pages long while others are just a page or two.

She first began writing in the 1990s when she retired to Peterborough with her husband after raising her family of four children in Whitby. Though she explains that she was only writing them because it made her feel “happy,” after sharing them for feedback, several friends encouraged her to get them published. And so she did.

“It’s not something I ever planned to do in my life, but it’s working out to be a very happy addition to my life,” she says.

Since April, Koeslag — who now lives alone in her own home after the death of her husband eight years ago — has sold a few of her books through the Activity Haven spring fair and to some friends from her church.

But then one day last week, she stepped into Coyle’s store on the recommendation of a friend and everything changed for her book sales.

Coyle explains that it was a “special circumstance” getting to chat with Koeslag that afternoon, as usually she manages the behind-the-scenes administration of the shop and isn’t often on the floor.

“It was one of those things where I just felt like it was meant to be,” Coyle says. “It just seemed really courageous (for Koeslag) to just waltz on in and approach to see if I would sell her book.”

At first, Coyle only stocked about 15 of Koeslag’s books in the Modern Makers Market shop. After they sat for a few days, she decided to make a quick social media post about Koeslag and her book.

@modernmakersmarketshop Imagine being so cool in your 90s #confidence #modernmakersmarket #mmshop #author #selfpublished ? original sound – Modern Makers Shop

According to Coyle, things blew up from there. She then posted a TikTok video of her calling Koeslag to explain that her book had sold out in store and to ask if she would print more. That TikTok quickly went viral and is now almost at 250,000 views.

“Within like six to nine hours, I think we sold 135 copies,” explains Coyle, adding that the number is still growing as her video continues to circulate.

Now Coyle is waiting to get more of Koeslag’s books, with the expectation that the 200 available copies will be sold out very soon through pre-orders. The next printing will include an additional insert and one extra story compared to the first printing.

Coyle says she enjoys being able to help someone achieve their goals and think that’s part of the draw for why it has such a big reach on TikTok.

“(Viewers) also see just how special it is that at whatever age you’re at, you can just do what you want,” she explains, adding that it’s also inspiring to see people being supportive in their creative pursuits.

“When people talk about writing a book or following their creative dreams, there isn’t always a lot of support for that because it doesn’t make you a living or whatever it is. For some people, they don’t get a lot of encouragement to follow those kind of creative avenues in their lives and so I think that’s a relatable thing for people to see (through Carol).”

Based on the TikTok’s comment section, people are also largely drawn to Koeslag’s story because of its relatability, with many commenting that their own retired grandparents were finally sharing their own stories.

Coyle points out many of the pre-orders are coming in not only from across Canada, but from as far as the United States, Europe, and Australia.

The rapid success of her writing career comes as a shock to Koeslag, who admits she never imagined this for herself.

“It’s just rather unbelievable,” she says. “I just think this dream beyond dreams has gone beyond dreams.”

Koeslag says she never could have been able realize her dream without support from Dr. Elwood Jones, who helped get her work edited and published, as well as Coyle who brought attention to the collection — especially since you won’t find Koeslag doing her own TikToks anytime soon.

“My feeling is that it doesn’t matter how old you are, you have to try what you want to do,” Koeslag notes. “You might not do it, but you have got to try. I like to encourage people: don’t sell yourself short. Give yourself a chance and you’re worth something. Everybody is worth something.”

To snag a copy of Koeslag’s collection before it sells out again, visit modernmakersmarket.ca.

Both the City of Peterborough and the City of Kawartha Lakes are cleaning up following severe thunderstorms that swept across the region on Thursday (August 3), causing flooded roads in Peterborough and dumping large hail in Kawartha Lakes.

According to a media release from the City of Peterborough, the amount of rain that fell in a single location in Peterborough was what would be expected in a one-in-100-year storm. A monitoring station at Sherbrooke Street and Clonsilla Avenue recorded 66 millimetres of rain in an hour on Thursday evening.

While some streets and basements in some parts of the city were flooded, the city says much of the rainwater was diverted thanks to investments in storm water management infrastructure made over the past several years in response to the so-called “Great Flood” of Peterborough in July 2004 that saw more than 150 millimetres of rain fall in some parts of the city in a single hour.

Quite the storm. Reports of localized flooding throughout the City. Please stay clear of Lansdowne-Parkway intersection as there is substantial flooding – crews are responding. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/9Zn4nQ9CRb

— City of Peterborough (@CityPtbo) August 4, 2023

Also thanks to past upgrades, the city’s wastewater treatment plant was able to manage the greatly increased flow of water into its systems, protecting the Otonabee Rive as no system bypass was required.

While crews were dispatched throughout the city to assist with cleaning storm sewers and catch basins, the storm caused minimal damage to city roads, with mostly maintenance and cleanup required after the storm. There were 23 reports of road shoulder erosion and washouts, mostly in the city’s south and west ends.

The city says street sweeping to clean up following the storm will continue through the weekend, along with other cleanup and maintenance work in response to any new calls for serviceabout affected city infrastructure.

This is the scene on The Parkway at The Queensway in Peterborough. Avoid the area #ptbonews #ONstorm pic.twitter.com/JjGaGjEj5s

— Harrison Perkins (@HaPerkins) August 4, 2023

In the City of Kawarthas Lakes, public works staff have been working to clean up the debris from the aftermath of the storm according to a media release from the city.

While city staff worked through the night to clear and remove all hazardous trees that were safe to remove, there are a number of trees that require attention by either Hydro One or a qualified arborist.

Hydro One has been working throughout Lindsay to restore hydro to areas of the municipality that lost power due to the storm. Clean up of the downed trees will follow.

One Hell of a storm in Lindsay #ONStorm. Broken windshield, countless dents on the cars, and holes in the siding of my house the size of my fist. Will be calling the insurance in the morning ?? pic.twitter.com/Xy8uGUlAmZ

— Leigh (@Canadian_gurl14) August 4, 2023

As of noon on Friday (August 4), Wellington Street in Lindsay remains closed between Cambridge Street and William Street due to a downed tree over the power lines. That section of the road will remain closed until Hydro One removes the tree.

Residual clean-up efforts, including any necessary street sweeping and brush removal, will continue into early next week.

While there was nickel-size hail in some parts of the City of Peterborough, that hail that fell in Lindsay and other areas in Kawartha Lakes was considerably larger. People on social media posted photos of hail ranging in size from ping pong size to golf ball size and larger, with several people also posting photos of damaged cars and buildings.

Lindsay Ontario. Wife had this hail exploding on her car while trying to find her way out of town around downed trees and hydro poles that were snapped in half. The car is riddled and the town has a lot of damage. Pretty sure something touched down #ONStorm #hailstorm #kawarthas pic.twitter.com/0XEbrHM1Cu

— christian white (@rchristianwhite) August 4, 2023