Just in time for the kids to head back to school, Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for the entire greater Kawarthas region over the next few days., with the hottest days expected to be Tuesday (September 5) and Wednesday.

The heat warning is in effect for Peterborough County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, Haliburton County, and Hastings County.

A hot and humid air mass is expected through at least mid-week. As the week progresses, daytime highs are expected to increase to near 31°C to 35°C, with humidex values near 40°C. The hottest days look to be Tuesday and Wednesday. Overnight lows for some areas will fall to just below alert criteria, mainly in rural areas.

According to Environment Canada, the humidex values and daytime highs will be very atypical of early September.

The passage of a cold front will bring an end to the heat later in the week, possibly Wednesday night or Thursday, but the timing of the front is still uncertain.

During a heat warning, the risks are greater for young children, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic illnesses and people working or exercising outdoors. Watch for the effects of heat illness: swelling, rash, cramps, fainting, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and the worsening of some health conditions.

Drink plenty of water even before you feel thirsty and stay in a cool place. Check on older family, friends and neighbours. Make sure they are cool and drinking water. Never leave people or pets inside a parked vehicle.

If you’ve driven by the new Canadian Canoe Museum currently under construction on Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, you may be wondering about the progress made during the summer. While the work completed on the exterior of the building may appear obvious, there’s also been a lot of activity you can’t see from the road.

Canoes and kayaks have been making their way to the new museum’s Exhibition Hall, during the final “Big Lift” operation, where a crane lifts the watercraft up to the second floor of the new building.

“Some of you may remember us moving watercraft out of the second floor of the current museum on Monaghan Road around this time last fall,” writes the museum’s executive director Carolyn Hyslop in an email update sent on Friday (September 1). “We’ve come a long way since then and it’s comforting to know that all the watercraft in the collection will soon be able to rest in their long-term home and have their stories shared with the world.”

Along with the “big lift,” racking has been installed in the new museum’s Collection Centre, preparing it to receive more than 500 canoes and kayaks that will enable 100 per cent of the collection to be displayed and cared for under one roof.

Interior framing and drywalling are taking place throughout the first floor of the new building, as well as continued work on the mechanical and electrical systems. The interior fireplace has been installed and work continues on the exterior fireplace.

The Grand Staircase, which leads from the first floor Atrium to the second floor’s Exhibition Hall, is being installed. Glass installation has begun on the west side of the new building, overlooking Little Lake, by the indoor and outdoor terrace off the café.

Outside the new museum, the Canoe House, located beside the Trans Canada Trail running through Beavermead Park and steps from Little Lake, has a completed steel roof.

Part of the museum’s waterfront campus, which will be called the Lang Lakefront Campus in recognition of a transformative gift of almost $1.8 million from former CFL player and businessman Stuart (Stu) Lang and his wife Kim, the Canoe House will host daily canoe and kayak rentals and will also be used as a programming and event space.

A new crosswalk with traffic signals has been installed on Ashburnham Drive, right across from the entrance to the new museum. Once active, it will help visitors safely cross Ashburnham Drive to get to the museum. Extensive exterior work also continues on the driveway and parking areas, along with landscape preparations.

At the end of July, the museum hosted Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Neil Lumsden and Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith for a tour of the new museum under construction.

As the new Canadian Canoe Museum moves closer to completion, the museum’s Move the Collection: The Final Portage journey has also progressed during the summer, with lead portagers Mike Judson and Neil Morton recently passing by the Quaker plant and across the Hunter Street Bridge — three-quarters of the way to the museum’s new home.

While the red Chestnut canoe Morton and Judson are carrying is fairly easy to transport, it is a symbol of the museum’s entire collection of more than 600 watercraft that will be housed in the new facility — some of which require a lot more preparation and care to move, including two canoes that weigh than 1,000 pounds each and one canoe that is over 16 metres long.

VIDEO: The Final Portage: Passing Quaker Oats and the Hunter Street Bridge

Canadians from across the country and beyond who want to support The Final Portage of The Canadian Canoe Museum’s collection to its new home can make a donation at canoemuseum.ca/final-portage.

Businesses interested in sponsorship opportunities for The Final Portage can email Megan McShane at megan.mcshane@canoemuseum.ca.

For more information about the new museum, visit canoemuseum.ca/new-museum.

kawarthaNOW is proud to be the official media sponsor of The Canadian Canoe Museum’s Move the Collection: The Final Portage Campaign.

Labour Day is a federal statutory holiday falling on the first Monday of September. Since Labour Day is a statutory holiday, all government offices and services and all liquor stores are closed, although a few beer stores are open in Peterborough, Lindsay, and Cobourg. Most major grocery stores are also open (except in Peterborough). Most malls are closed, although many big box stores are open (except in Peterborough). Most drug stores and pharmacies are also open.

The origins of Labour Day in Canada can be traced back to 1872, when the Toronto Printers’ Union went on strike for a nine-hour work day and 10,000 workers marched in a parade in support of the strikers. Outdated laws criminalising union activity were still on the books in Canada, and police arrested 24 strike leaders. Other labour leaders organized a demonstration in Ottawa to protest the arrests, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald to repeal the “barbarous” anti-union laws.

For your convenience, we provide this list of holiday hours for 296 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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A grenade that was found in a Selwyn Township home on Thursday (August 31) has been safely disposed of by members of the Canadian military.

Just before 8 p.m. on Thursday, Peterborough County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) received a call from a person who was cleaning out the home of their deceased father when they found what appeared to be a live grenade in a locked firearms safe.

They immediately stepped away from the safe and contacted the OPP.

OPP officers were dispatched to the home and ensured that no one attempted to handle the grenade.

The OPP explosive disposal unit was then contacted, who in turn consulted with the Department of National Defence. A bomb technician from the Canadian Forces base in Borden attended the home, safely removed the grenade, and took it away for disposal.

The OPP are reminding the public never to try to dispose found explosives themselves. Contact the OPP immediately, move to a safe location, and ensure that no one else gets close. OPP explosive disposal unit members are trained in the safe handling and disposal of explosives to ensure public safety.

Peterborough native Dr. Mike Cranfield, a renowned conservationist and wildlife veterinarian, has passed away after a brief illness. He was 71 years old.

Born and raised in Peterborough, Cranfield graduated from the University of Guelph and earned his doctorate of veterinary medicine from the Ontario Veterinary College in 1977, with a residency at the Toronto Zoo. He originally trained as a large animal veterinarian to treat farm animals like cows and horses.

After working as a veterinarian for Riverview Park and Zoo in Peterborough and a wild animal zoo in Japan, Cranfield moved to Baltimore in 1982 to become chief veterinarian of the Maryland Zoo, subsequently becoming the zoo’s director of animal health, research, and conservation who was responsible for the health and care of more than 1,500 animals at the zoo.

In 1998, while still working at the Maryland Zoo, Cranfield became director of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, a non-profit organization formed in 1986 at the request of Dian Fossey, famous for her study of wild mountain gorillas in Rwanda, with a mission to save the lives of critically endangered mountain gorillas living in Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as endangered eastern lowland gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In addition to his duties at the zoo, Cranfield began spending several months each year in Africa, where he worked with local trackers and guides to treat injured and sick gorillas in their wild habitat.

Under Cranfield’s leadership from 1998 to 2009, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project expanded to include its One Health programs for the mountain and Grauer’s gorillas living in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, orphaned gorillas, and for people and animals working in and living near gorilla habitat. He also started a program for African students to study veterinary science, with tuition paid by the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project.

Today, the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project operates as Gorilla Doctors, in partnership with The Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis. Under Cranfield’s leadership, it grew from a single American veterinarian to an organization with more than 80 per cent of its staff, including 13 veterinarians, from its African partner nations.

“Mike transformed and expanded the field of wildlife conservation medicine through his visionary approach,” reads a statement from Gorilla Doctors. “Mike was an instrumental mentor to countless students, veterinarians, and early career conservationists working in eastern gorilla habitat countries, fostering the capacity and talent of the future leaders of great ape medicine.”

“Mike contributed immeasurably to the recovery of mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda, and (the Democratic Republic of) Congo, one of the few conservation success stories on our planet.”

A documentary called Gorilla Doctors featuring Cranfield was broadcast on CBC’s The Nature of Things in 2014.

Cranfield received a number of conservation awards during his career, including the Michael D. Hankin Award for Conservation from the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore, the Dr. Emil P. Dolensek Award from the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians, and the Oscar W. Schalm Award from the University of California, Davis.

“Mike was a pioneer,” says Rob Hilsenroth, a longtime friend of Cranfield and executive director of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. “When he started working with the mountain gorilla program in Africa, he completely changed it from an (non-governmental organization) that provided veterinary care to sick and injured animals to the world-class conservation program that Gorilla Doctors is today.”

“He championed what we now call ‘one health’ long before it became popular among health care professionals and conservationists,” Hilsenroth adds. “And he mentored many students and veterinarians in the U.S. and in Africa along the way. The animal world is a better place because of Dr. Mike.”

Along with his work with Gorilla Doctors, Cranfield volunteered weekly to spay and neuter cats and dogs free of charge at local animal shelters.

“Mike was a legend,” says Baltimore veterinarian Kim Hammond. “He brought everyone around him energy rather than taking it.”

Cranfield died on Monday (August 28) from West Nile disease (see update below), which he is believed to have contracted when building his cabin in the woods of Ontario.

A gathering of remembrance will be held at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore from 5 to 8 p.m. on Saturday, October 14th.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Gorilla Doctors’ Mike Cranfield Memorial Fund (P.O Box 356, Davis, CA 95617) or at www.gorilladoctors.org/drmike/, the Maryland Zoo (1800 Mansion House Dr., Baltimore, MD 21217), or the Riverview Park and Zoo (1300 Water St., Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7G4).

UPDATE Oct 5 2023 – The Cranfield family has been advised that, after further testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Mike Cranfield was infested with the Powassan virus and not West Nile virus.

According to the CDC, Powassan virus is spread to people by the bite of an infected tick. Although still rare, the number of reported cases of people sick from Powassan virus has increased in recent years. Most cases in the United States occur in the northeast and Great Lakes regions from late spring through mid-fall when ticks are most active.

There are no vaccines to prevent or medicines to treat Powassan virus disease. Powassan virus causes death in about 10 per cent of severe cases, with half of those who survive severe disease having permanent or long-term neurological symptoms.

Eleven local arts and culture organizations in Kawartha Lakes are receiving a total of $117,924.02 in one-time municipal grants.

Earlier this year, Kawartha Lakes city council approved $120,000 in the 2023 budget for an Arts and Culture Resiliency Fund to help non-profit organizations cover fixed operating costs such as rent and utilities, as well as fixed staffing costs, that were incurred last year.

With applications open during June, the fund offered grants in three tiers: up to $2,500, up to $10,000, and up to $20,000. Thirteen applications were received and reviewed, with 11 organizations deemed eligible for the funding.

Four eligible organizations were approved for the maximum grant of $20,000: A. Sheila Boyd Foundation in Bobcaygeon, Globus Theatre in Bobcaygeon, The Academy Theatre Foundation in Lindsay, and The Grove Theatre in Fenelon Falls.

The other seven organizations receiving grants are:

• Kirkfield Historical Society Museum in Kirkfield ($16,824.56)
• Ottawa Huron Tract History Association in Bethany ($6,175.63)
• Maryboro Lodge – Fenelon Falls Museum in Fenelon Falls ($6,174.13)
• Kinmount Management Committee in Kinmount ($5,608.76)
• Fenelon Station Gallery in Fenelon Falls ($2,500)
• Kinmount Artisan Marketplace in Kinmount ($2,500)
• Manvers Historical Society in Bethany ($2,500)

An application from Kawartha Art Gallery was deemed ineligible as that organization was already receiving city funding separately through the 2023 budget, and an application from Pinnguaq was deemed ineligible for not being an arts and culture organization.

The Peterborough Petes have announced the second of three pre-season exhibition home games taking place at local community rinks.

At 7:05 p.m. on Friday, September 22nd at the Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre (88 Alma St., Norwood), the Petes will face off against the Kingston Frontenacs — the same team they will play at the 2023-24 season home opener on Thursday, September 28th.

The Norwood game will also feature raffles, Chuck-A-Puck, and appearances from Roger the Petes mascot. General admission tickets are $20 cash only, and are only available in person at the Asphodel-Norwood Community Centre and JJ Stewart Motors (2239 8th Line, Norwood) while supplies last.

Attendees can choose seating in the arena or seating in the LLBO-licensed Millennium Room, which will have a live stream of the game (attendees seated in the Millennium Room will not have access to arena seating).

The first of the three pre-season exhibition home games takes place on Labour Day (September 4) at the Jack Burger Sports Complex in Port Hope, where the Petes will take on the Oshawa Generals. Tickets are $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

The final pre-season exhibition home game will take place in Millbrook on Saturday, September 23rd, with details to be announced.