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All fun and games: Apsley residents can support Community Care Peterborough by taking part in June 7 gaming night

Community Care Peterborough (CCP) invites residents to take part in a gaming night on June 7, 2025 at the North Kawartha Community Centre in Apsley to raise money for CCP supports and services provided by the Apsley office. (Photo: CPP)

Residents and cottagers in North Kawartha Township can enjoy a night of gaming while helping raise funds for Apsley-area seniors and other residents who receive support from Community Care Peterborough (CCP).

CCP’s Apsley office is hosting its fourth annual gaming on Saturday (June 7) at the North Kawartha Community Centre at 340 McFadden Road in Apsley. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the games begin at 7 p.m.

According to a media release, the “community favourite” fundraiser encompasses friendly competition and plenty of community spirit, featuring classic games including Blackjack, Crown and Anchor, and Money Wheel, along with prizes, a 50/50 draw, appetizers catered by The Grape and Wedge, and a cash bar bar operated by the Apsley Lions Club.

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“Gaming night is a tremendous opportunity for us to bring the Apsley community together, strengthen connections, and raise awareness about the support CCP makes available to our local residents,” Katie Bryck, CCP’s community development co-ordinator in Apsley, shared with kawarthaNOW. “It’s a fun night with real impact, and a great way to celebrate community spirit.”

Chris LeBlanc, CCP’s director of donor and public relations, noted last year’s event, “with the help of a generous anonymous matching donor,” raised $14,132 in support of local programs.

“This year, we’re hoping to surpass that total and reach $15,000,” LeBlanc said.

“While fundraising is certainly a big part of the evening, the event is also about more than dollars raised. It’s a chance to bring our community together — to reconnect local and seasonal residents, and to build awareness about the programs and services we offer in the Apsley area.”

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Tickets are $20 per person for admission and an appetizer and are available at CCP’s Apsley office at 126 Burleigh Street (inside the thrift store) and at Kemp’s Garage at 111 Burleigh Street. There are a limited number of tickets available and CCP encourages people to purchase them early to help organizers prepare food quantities.

At the event, attendees can purchase play money ($100 for $20) for use at the tables and wheel games and, when they are finished playing, can exchange their winnings or unused play money for tickets to enter into prize draws of their choice. No real money is paid out from playing the games or by exchanging play money. All prize draws will be held towards the end of the evening.

Proceeds from the event support the subsidy program at CCP’s Apsley location. The program helps provide residents with accessible transportation through the “Caremobile,” supports volunteer rides to medical appointments, and also facilitates regular food bank deliveries.

“While this year’s event is still building buzz, past gaming nights have welcomed 100 to 125 guests, raising vital funds and awareness for local services,” noted the release.

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“We’re proud to host a night that’s both a great time and a great cause,” Bryck told kawarthaNOW. “It connects year-round and seasonal residents, while shining a light on the programs that keep people in our community supported and independent.”

This year, North Kawartha Township mayor Carolyn Amyotte and council members will once again serve as volunteer dealers, and attendees are invited to test their luck and “beat the mayor” at the Blackjack table.

The event has drawn steady support from the community, including local volunteers and long-time champions Debbie and Clark Breuls, who helped launch gaming night in 2022, CCP noted.

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Clark Breuls, of RE/MAX, was the sole table sponsor in the inaugural year and continues to support the event alongside Rockers Landscaping and Ball Real Estate in 2025.

An anonymous donor has pledged to match all funds raised at the event, a tradition which began in 2023.

For more information and sponsorship opportunities, call Bryck at 705-656-4589 or email kbryck@commcareptbo.org.

11,000 homes and businesses in Northumberland County to have access to reliable high-speed internet by the end of year

Representatives of the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, the private sector, and more gathered in Cobourg on May 22, 2025 to announce that construction is underway on a 1,125-kilometre fibre optic network that aims to offer reliable high-speed internet to 11,000 unserved or underserved homes and businesses in Northumberland County by the end of 2025. (Photo: Northumberland County)

By year’s end, 11,000 homes and businesses in rural Northumberland County will have access to reliable high-speed internet.

Northumberland County Warden Brian Ostrander shared his thoughts about the timeline of a “transformative” new broadband network following the county’s recent announcement that construction of the network is underway. The broadband project has been discussed for a few years now but there will be tangible outcomes soon, the warden said.

“We expect this broadband rollout, which will connect 11,000 homes and businesses, will be completed by the end of this year,” Ostrander told kawarthaNOW.

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Axle Telecom — part of a family of Canadian-owned telecommunications companies owned by Windsor Private Capital’s WPC Infrastructure Fund that also includes EH!tel Networks, Bruce Telecom, and GBTel — is constructing the network.

“As the fibre is installed each neighbourhood will be contacted by Axle Telecom to find out if they want to sign up for fibre-to-the-home connections,” Ostrander said. “When the installers are in a community, the county will be sure to communicate broadly so that residents are aware of the rollout and opportunity to connect.”

Historically, Northumberland’s varied landscape has been noted as making access to reliable high-speed internet a challenge. That is now changing, according to the county.

With final agreements in place between Northumberland County, the federal and provincial governments, and private sector partner Windsor Private Capital, construction has begun on the project anticipated to “close the digital divide in our community, ensuring every municipality, along with Alderville First Nation, has the connectivity needed for work, education, health care, and more,” a media release noted.

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According to the county, crews are steadily installing fibre optic lines and completing the first property connections. Construction will continue throughout 2025, expanding across the county in stages, with the goal of bringing broadband to homes, farms, and businesses across the region.

The project addresses a significant infrastructure gap, with approximately one-third of Northumberland households currently either unserved or underserved by high-speed internet.

Originally announced in 2022 with a $26.6 million investment from the province and an $18.4 million from the federal government through the Universal Broadband Fund, the provincial contribution has since increased to $45.8 million, bringing the combined federal and provincial contribution to $64.2 million.

“This project will be a game-changer for people in Northumberland County,” said Buckley Belanger, federal secretary of state for rural development, in a statement. “Reliable high-speed internet means safer communities and better access to health care, education, and emergency services.”

Northumberland County has also committed $700,000 towards the initiative.

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As part of the project, 1,125 kilometres of fibre optic cable will be installed throughout Northumberland County. Fibre installation is taking place primarily within the existing municipal road allowances, using underground techniques where possible and aerial installation only when necessary. Methods such as directional drilling and plowing are being used to reduce impacts on the environment and existing infrastructure. All disturbed areas will be restored once construction is complete, the release noted.

As Ostrander said, once construction progresses over the coming year, Axle Telecom will contact homeowners and businesses to seek consent for a voluntary, no-cost fibre connection from the roadside network directly to each property.

The first phase of construction is underway in the municipalities of Port Hope and Trent Hills. As each area is completed and network testing is finalized, residents and businesses who are connected to the network will be able to subscribe to service plans offered by Axle Telecom.

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According to Axle Telecom’s website, three options will be available: 150 megabits-per-second upload and download for $64.95 per month, 500 megabits-per-second upload and download for $74.95 per month, and one gigabit-per-second upload and download for $99.95 per month. All packages include unlimited data.

“This partnership represents years of planning and collaboration to bring high-speed internet to every corner of Northumberland,” Ostrander said. “We are now moving quickly into the construction phase, ensuring that no community is left behind.”

For more information about the project, visit northumberland.ca/broadband. To learn more about internet connection plan options, residents and businesses can contact Axle Telecom at 1-844-702-2848 or visit axletelecom.ca.

Port Hope blogger encourages slowing down with a ‘typewriter social’ at Furby House Books

Port Hope's Furby House Books will be transported back in time on June 22, 2025 during a typewriter social led by Barb Brittain-Marshall. The snail-mail enthusiast will be bringing some of the typewriters in her large collection for participants to experiment with, or to write poems, letters, and songs. The drop-in event will run from 12 to 2 p.m. in celebration of International Typewriter Day on June 23. (Photo courtesy of Barb Brittain-Marshall)

On Sunday, June 22, Port Hope’s Furby House Books will be immersed in the familiar soundtrack of taps, clicks, and dings as the independent bookstore is transported back in time to the age before spellcheck and delete keys.

As an early celebration for International Typewriter Day on June 23, Port Hope blogger Barb Brittain-Marshall will be hosting a drop-in typewriter social where the vintage machines will be set up and available for use.

“It’s a beautiful, magical little indie bookstore and you can come in and give a typewriter a try,” says Brittain-Marshall. “Maybe you’ll write a poem, maybe it’s a song, or maybe you just want to tap on them and have the experience while you browse the books.”

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Brittain-Marshall is accustomed to using some of her more than 20 collected typewriters in public — which she says is a “guaranteed conversation starter” — and uses them to lead bridal showers, birthday parties, museum open houses, team building workshops, and other private events.

“It’s an immersive experience on a typewriter which so many of us — and a few generations — have never had,” she says.

Her passion for the machines began with a love of letter writing and stationery — spelled with an “e,” she points out (the incorrect spelling is a pet peeve of hers).

“I grew up a hoarder who loved papers, envelope, pencils, and pens, and I wrote a lot of letters and postcards as a kid,” she says. “I grew up with that all through adulthood. I grew up in the era — and I’m actually really grateful for it — where iPhones didn’t exist so, for example, when I was dating my husband, we actually wrote letters.”

Having grown up with a love for stationery and snail mail, Barb Brittain-Marshall began the Rite While U Can blog in 2013 while being homesick upon a move to Alberta. The blog has led to many opportunities, including a newfound interest in typewriters. She now runs typewriter socials and private events like bridal showers and birthday parties, where she brings her typewriters and provide letter-writing prompts. (Photo courtesy of Barb Brittain-Marshall)
Having grown up with a love for stationery and snail mail, Barb Brittain-Marshall began the Rite While U Can blog in 2013 while being homesick upon a move to Alberta. The blog has led to many opportunities, including a newfound interest in typewriters. She now runs typewriter socials and private events like bridal showers and birthday parties, where she brings her typewriters and provide letter-writing prompts. (Photo courtesy of Barb Brittain-Marshall)

But it was when she and her family moved to Calgary that letter writing became “a lifeline” as it allowed her to stay in touch with her family and friends back home. In 2013, she used the experience to launch a blog called Rite While U Can, where she continues to document her love for all things snail mail.

“I’ve always been a snail mail girl and what was more meaningful than ever in my life was receiving letters from my family and friends back in Ontario,” she recalls. “I was homesick, and just to go to my mailbox and open it up and there is an envelope with my mom’s handwriting on it, it helps to bring that person closer even though they’re far away.”

While she admits that since moving to Port Hope last year, she hasn’t been maintaining the blog as diligently, more than a decade of running it led her to “many unexpected, surprising, marvellous events.”

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That includes launching MakeItMerry, a non-profit organization that called on the public to write and deliver Christmas cards to unhoused individuals in Calgary for five years. In its first year, the project exceeded the goal of distributing 500 cards, with cards coming from as far as the U.S. and Europe.

“The primary thing it showed me was how meaningful it is for someone to receive a handwritten card,” she says. “We would deliver them to people in the shelters and their hearts were warmed. Sometimes there were tears, sometimes people wanted more than one, sometimes people would keep them and pull it out the next year. It showed them that people cared about them. Even in their current situation, somebody thought to send them a Merry Christmas and it was very, very powerful and meaningful. The whole thing was magical.”

During this time, Brittain-Marshall was gifted a typewriter which she “fell in love with” and led her to host letter-writing socials where she invited those who were as “intrigued and charmed” by typewriters as she was, to enjoy some coffee or a glass of wine while they wrote letters on the typewriters. It led to various work, including leading children’s programs at the library.

For Barb Brittain-Marshall, a resident of Port Hope who leads typewriter socials and private events, alongside the sounds of the machines, her favourite thing about typewriters is seeing how it makes other people slow down and take their time. When she began hosting typewriter events while living in Calgary, she was surprised to have so many young professionals participating and learned it was because they felt their lives were becoming too digitized. (Photo courtesy of Barb Brittain-Marshall)
For Barb Brittain-Marshall, a resident of Port Hope who leads typewriter socials and private events, alongside the sounds of the machines, her favourite thing about typewriters is seeing how it makes other people slow down and take their time. When she began hosting typewriter events while living in Calgary, she was surprised to have so many young professionals participating and learned it was because they felt their lives were becoming too digitized. (Photo courtesy of Barb Brittain-Marshall)

“It’s hugely fun and I absolutely loved it because two things are happening: I’m introducing kids to not only these vintage machines, but I’m introducing them to letter writing and snail mail,” Brittain-Marshall says. “I think, particularly, cursive is important, but also how to address the envelope, and what are stamps. These might sound basic, but they are questions I get all the time.”

“I just love blowing their minds because it does exactly that — blows their mind,” she continues. “They can’t get over how they have to push so hard on the key to make an imprint, and they can’t comprehend there’s no spellcheck and no delete key.”

This fascination is not limited to children. Though Brittain-Marshall anticipated the social events would be full of older nostalgic adults, she was surprised to find it was young professionals who came out to the event — including the first she held at Furby House Books last year. These participants often explain their lives are “too digital,” and she has seen the interest in typewriters continuing to rise as AI has developed.

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“Typewriters slow you down and we do not like, and are not used, to going slow,” Brittain-Marshall says. “We use AI because it’s faster … but the typewriter is the exact opposite. The typewriter actually slows you down physically. If you’re going too fast, you will jam the key. It will stop you in your tracks.”

Brittain-Marshall says that while some people might be resistant at first because of this slowness, which is her favourite part along with the “magical sounds,” once they get accustomed to it and learn to slow down, they “become very charmed.”

“The beauty of the typewriter is it will force you to slow down,” she says. “We might say to ourselves, ‘I’m going to go slow this weekend’ but, if you sit in front of a typewriter, you are absolutely timestamped. You have to be much more thoughtful.”

Barb Brittain-Marshall hosts typewriter gatherings for bridal showers, birthday parties, and other private events where she will bring some of her collection of typewriters for participants to use and provide them with letter-writing prompts. (Photo courtesy of Barb Brittain-Marshall)
Barb Brittain-Marshall hosts typewriter gatherings for bridal showers, birthday parties, and other private events where she will bring some of her collection of typewriters for participants to use and provide them with letter-writing prompts. (Photo courtesy of Barb Brittain-Marshall)

Slowing down will be exactly the goal when she brings the typewriters to Furby House Books on June 22 and encourages people to write some snail mail. She encourages creativity through the process, telling people to write letters to a long-lost teacher, the stranger who makes them coffee every morning, or the spouse who lives with them.

“Some people will come back and say, ‘I got a letter back from this person I wrote’ and it becomes a pen-pal thing,” she says. “Beautiful stories come from it.”

For more information on the typewriter social, visit www.ritewhileucan.com or follow Brittain-Marshall on Instagram.

Fleming College studying the impact of ‘bee hotels’ on native bee species in Kawartha Lakes

Fleming College students are assisting a research project that is evaluating whether "bee hotels," which are human-constructed structures that offer nesting spaces for solitary native bee species, have a net-positive impact on native bees. Three bee hotel designs are being tested in public parks, community food gardens, and pollinator gardens across the City of Kawartha Lakes. (Photo: Fleming College)

Student researchers will be busy bees this summer as they embark on a new project to study “bee hotels” installed by Fleming College in the City of Kawartha Lakes, as part of an initiative to understand how to better protect native pollinators.

Launched in partnership with Pollinator Partnership Canada and the City of Kawartha Lakes Environmental Advisory Committee, the project explores whether these artificial habitats have a net-positive impact on native bees.

Three designs of bee hotels — cavities in human-made wood and tube structures used for nesting — are being tested across several site types, including public parks, community food gardens, and pollinator gardens.

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Fleming College professor Erin McGauley, who is leading the project, stated in a media release that while bee hotels are often viewed as a feel-good environmental initiative, the research team is taking a closer look to better understand their true impact — specifically, whether they help or harm native bees.

“The best possible outcome of this project is meaningful impact, both in what we learn and how that knowledge is applied,” Fleming College shared with kawarthaNOW in a statement.

“We hope the research will lead to evidence-based practices that truly support native pollinators, while also empowering our students to see the real-world value of their work. It’s an opportunity to contribute to environmental solutions that extend beyond Fleming College.”

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Bee hotels have been installed in the pollinator gardens at Fleming’s Frost campus over the past three years. The structures offer nesting spaces for solitary native bees which play a vital role in pollinating gardens, crops, and fruit trees.

Most of Canada’s 800 native bee species are solitary, meaning they work to build a nest, gather food, and care for their offspring independently of other bees. Because solitary bees are not defending a hive, they tend to be less aggressive.

However, many solitary bee species are under threat — including the bumble bee. Five bumble bee species are listed as species at risk in Ontario, including the American bumble bee, the yellow-banded bumble bee, the gypsy cuckoo bumble bee, the rusty-patched bumble bee, and the Suckley’s cuckoo bumble bee — with the first two listed as special concern and the last three listed as endangered.

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For the Fleming College project, student researchers will evaluate the use and occupancy of the bee hotels and characterize the sites based on their floral resources.

They will also monitor for common predators and parasites like ants, spiders, pollen mites, and chalkbrood.

“Few studies have empirically assessed the risks and benefits of bee hotels, especially in urban settings,” the release noted.

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Fleming students have and will continue to play a central role in the work, as student research assistants helped build the bee hotels and will be monitoring them moving forward.

Students also developed field protocols and will identify bees using apps such as iNaturalist. A technologist will provide support over the summer, and students from several academic courses will contribute to or learn from the project throughout the year, the college noted.

Fleming will share research findings with project partners and the wider public through a final report, infographics and outreach events, including Pollinator Week in June and Peterborough’s Monarch Butterly Festival in September. Residents are encouraged to keep an eye out for the bee hotels at Frost campus and in other local green spaces.

Monthly Saturday sidewalk sales coming to downtown Peterborough this summer

Peterborough musician VanCamp (Calvin Bakelaar) provides a soundtrack for shoppers during a summer sidewalk sale in downtown Peterborough, with the street closed to motor vehicle traffic. The Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) will be hosting Second Saturday Sidewalk Sales on June 14, July 12, August 9, and September 13, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)

Downtown Peterborough is going to become a pedestrian-friendly marketplace every second Saturday of the month this summer.

The Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) has announced that Second Saturday Sidewalk Sales will take place on June 14, July 12, August 9, and September 13.

On those dates, two blocks of George Street — from Brock Street in the north to Simcoe Street in the south — will be closed to motor vehicles.

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Along with shopping opportunities and special promotions at downtown businesses, the events will also feature pop-up street vendors and community activities.

“This event series is about more than just shopping,” says Peterborough DBIA executive director Nour Mazloum in a media release. “It’s about creating energy, increasing foot traffic, and reminding people of everything our downtown has to offer.”

According to the DBIA, the goal of the Second Saturday Sidewalk Sales is to attract both residents and tourists to the downtown core and “help reinforce downtown Peterborough as a dynamic destination for commerce and community connection.”

Staff at George Street cafe Cork and Bean offer beverages and treats to shoppers during a summer sidewalk sale in downtown Peterborough. The Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) will be hosting Second Saturday Sidewalk Sales on June 14, July 12, August 9, and September 13, 2025. During the events, George Street will be closed to motor vehicles from Brock Street to Simcoe Street. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)
Staff at George Street cafe Cork and Bean offer beverages and treats to shoppers during a summer sidewalk sale in downtown Peterborough. The Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) will be hosting Second Saturday Sidewalk Sales on June 14, July 12, August 9, and September 13, 2025. During the events, George Street will be closed to motor vehicles from Brock Street to Simcoe Street. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough DBIA)

“Each Second Saturday is an opportunity to drive real economic activity for our small businesses while offering locals and visitors a reason to explore the core,” Mazloum adds.

Iceman Video Games on George Street is one of the downtown businesses looking forward to the Second Saturday Sidewalk Sales.

“These sidewalk sales are such a blast,” says store manager Holly Butler. “The energy on George Street is amazing, and we always meet so many new people who are just discovering our shop.”

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Butler says Iceman Video Games will be offering games, manga, and “some sweet deals.”

Businesses interested in participating with a pop-up on the closed section of George Street can email the DBIA’s operations coordinator Connor English at connor@ptbodbia.ca to secure their space and learn more about marketing opportunities.

For updates and special promotions, follow The Boro on Instagram and Facebook. Visit theboro.ca to explore the downtown Peterborough business directory and see more upcoming events.

City of Kawartha Lakes to honour local champions of inclusion and announce new youth award

The late Kathryn Peeters pictured in June 2023 holding her Barbara McArthur Award of Distinction from the City of Kawartha Lakes, along with city councillor Charlie McDonald, kawartha Lakes Accessibility Advisory Committee chair Diane Engelstad, Kawartha Lakes Inclusion, Equity, Diversity and Accessibility (IDEA) Partner Christine Briggs, and Mayor Doug Elmslie. A new Youth Accessibility Award, to be presented at the Accessibility Awareness Recognition Awards in 2026, will be named after Peeters. (Photo: City of Kawartha Lakes)

The City of Kawartha Lakes will shine a spotlight on its local champions of inclusion on Tuesday (June 3), and introduce a new award named after a local disability advocate that recognizes youth who remove barriers and advance accessibility in the Kawartha Lakes.

During National AccessAbility Week in Canada from May 25 to May 31, the city has joined other municipalities in the greater Kawarthas region to acknowledge the contributions of people with disabilities and to promote efforts to create a barrier-free inclusive society.

For Kawartha Lakes, National AccessAbility Week is also a chance to highlight efforts made by allies, organizations, and communities to foster accessibility and inclusion, including by hosting its annual Accessibility Awareness Recognition Awards.

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At its June 3 committee of the whole meeting, the city will celebrate individuals, groups, businesses, and municipal staff who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to removing barriers and advancing accessibility within the community.

And, for the first time in the 17-year history of the annual awards initiative, Kawartha Lakes will introduce a new Youth Accessibility Award. On May 20, council approved the creation of the new award to honour young people who demonstrate leadership and innovation in promoting accessibility and inclusion.

“National AccessAbility Week is a powerful reminder of the progress we’ve made, and the work still ahead, to create communities where everyone belongs,” said Christine Briggs, People Partner for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity at Accessibility Kawartha Lakes, in a media release. “With the introduction of the Youth Accessibility Award, we’re not only celebrating today’s changemakers, but also investing in a future where inclusion is second nature.”

The inaugural award, which will be handed out in 2026, will be named after the late Kathryn Peeters of Omemee, who raised awareness about pediatric brain tumours and visual impairments for 25 years by speaking at events and to community groups.

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By her fifth birthday, Peeters had six brain tumours and, as a result of surgery to remove the tumours, became legally blind and had a seizure disorder and cognitive impairment. In 2021, she suffered a severe fall in her home that meant she had to begin using a wheelchair.

Herself a recipient of the Barbara McArthur Award of Distinction at the 2023 Accessibility Awareness Recognition Awards, Peeters passed away on April 26, 2024 at the age of 31.

“Young leaders like Kathryn Peeters show us what’s possible when passion meets purpose,” Briggs said.

By introducing the dedicated Youth Accessibility Award, the city said it hopes to “amplify the voices of young leaders and lay the foundation for a future generation that prioritizes inclusion. Recognizing youth who demonstrate leadership in accessibility and inclusion not only celebrates their efforts but also instills lifelong values that contribute to a more accessible and equitable community as they grow into adulthood.”

To meet the 2025 award winners, community members can tune into the committee of the whole meeting, which will be streamed live on the city’s YouTube channel, starting at 11:30 a.m. on June 3.

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Meanwhile, in Northumberland County, the Town of Cobourg, in partnership with the Cobourg Accessibility Advisory Committee, is inviting residents to celebrate National AccessAbility Week.

Throughout the week, the Town of Cobourg said it will be sharing insights and information to engage with the community to help improve thinking and understanding of accessibility. Additionally, the Town of Cobourg, in partnership with the Accessibility Advisory Committee is calling for community input about the municipal “Multi-Year Accessibility Plan.”

The town’s 2020 to 2025 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan outlines how the municipality will remove and prevent accessibility barriers. Cobourg is currently working towards updating the plan and is seeking insights from the community “to support the continuous effort to remove barriers, creating a fair and welcoming community for everyone,” according to a media release.

“The Town of Cobourg is committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities in a timely and proactive manner and will use reasonable efforts to provide equitable access to municipal programs, goods, services and facilities in a way that respects a person’s dignity and independence.”

In the coming months, the Accessibility Advisory Committee will be working with staff to update the plan. Cobourg is encouraging residents and groups who have recommendations for the updated plan to present a delegation or share correspondence for the committee’s consideration.

“Staff will be issuing a community engagement program to educate residents on the current plan, actions taken in the last four years to improve accessibility and key priorities as identified by the committee for 2025 and beyond,” the release noted. “Residents will then be invited to provide their feedback and recommendations to help make Cobourg a barrier-free community.”

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Also in Northumberland, the county and the Northumberland Accessibility Advisory Committee (NAAC) are marking National AccessAbility Week with the theme of “Challenge Your Perspective: Rethinking Accessibility.”

The county said the theme encourages everyone to reflect on how disability is perceived and to consider the impact of both visible and invisible barriers. It is a call to examine assumptions, promote understanding, and support the full participation of people with disabilities.

“Our hope is that National AccessAbility Week encourages people to pause and reflect on how accessibility is something that benefits everyone, not just those with disabilities,” Lisa Ainsworth, the county’s director of corporate services, told kawarthaNOW.

The county’s accessibility advisory committee provides advice, recommendations, and support to county council and departments on accessibility planning and policy. Its members include county residents with disabilities and representatives from community organizations dedicated to removing barriers.

To mark National AccessAbility Week, the committee launched a social media campaign to encourage people to consider small steps they can take to increase the equity, inclusivity and accessibility of the community.

“The goal is to encourage conversations that continue beyond this week, and to see more people taking simple, tangible actions that help make our community more inclusive in everyday ways,” Ainsworth said.

‘Intensification has been directed by the city’ developer says as backlash to proposed 17-storey East City development grows

A rendering of TVM Group's proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building at 90 Hunter Street East beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough's East City, which includes a four-storey parking garage. If approved by the city, the building would be the tallest in Peterborough, although a 30-storey apartment building is being proposed by another developer on the other side of the Hunter Street bridge behind the Peterborough County building. (Graphic: RAW Design Inc.)

When Desmond and Maria Vandenberg bought their East City century home in 2020, the Mark Street property checked a lot of boxes for the couple.

Not only was “the home we’re going to retire to” within “walking distance of every kind of shop we’d want to go to,” but unimpeded backyard garden sunshine was abundant. As a bonus, beyond their rear property line, an urban rarity in the form of greenspace offered a pretty backdrop.

So it was when the couple got wind of a 10-storey residential-commercial development proposed for 90 Hunter Street East, a site adjacent to the nearby Mark Street United Church, they attended a June 2024 information session hosted by the developer, Toronto-based TVM Group, to learn more and gauge the impacts, if any, the development would have on their property.

“We went with open minds,” recalls Desmond, admitting to being “surprised” when he saw the development plans and renderings.

Asked at that time for comment by kawarthaNOW, Desmond held back, now recalling “We wanted to stop, reflect, and make sure that we were being reasonable in any sort of response we had to it.”

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Close to a year later, with the 10-storey 156-unit building now proposed as a 17-storey 205-unit one, he has plenty to say — and is saying it to anyone that will listen.

He’s not alone. A growing number of residents, most of them living in East City, are crying foul and making their voices heard on social media.

A website at 90hunter.com, co-created and maintained by East City resident Courtney Claessens, provides a comprehensive overview of the new proposal while an online petition, signed at last count by close to 250 people, is demanding the following of Peterborough planning staff and, by extension, city councillors.

  • Rejection of the 17-storey proposal as incongruous with Peterborough’s Official Plan and Urban Design Guidelines.
  • Reduction of the overall height to a maximum of 10 storeys, or include community benefits such as affordable housing units and public green space for any height granted over 10 storeys.
  • A return to the original 45-degree angular plane recommendation from adjacent residential properties, or include adequate setbacks, landscape buffering and transitions to neighbouring properties.
  • Provision of an updated comprehensive traffic study now that Armour Road is no longer under construction.
  • Holding of a transparent public consultation before approval of any revised proposal.

“We’re not against development,” stresses Desmond, speaking for himself and his wife. “East City should be available to other people as well, and high density is probably the way to go for Peterborough to meet its housing goals.”

“However, we maintain there’s an appropriate level of height. The tallest building in East City is about six stories, so a six-storey building fronting Hunter Street would be among the highest buildings. I think I could support that, where it tiers down (in storeys) as it goes into residential areas.”

As proposed now, the TVM development would be the tallest building in Peterborough, its 57-metre (187-foot) height eclipsing Charlotte Towers on the southwest corner of Charlotte and Aylmer streets in downtown Peterborough which, at 14 storeys, has long held that distinction.

There is, however, an application still before the city for a 30-storey apartment building, proposed by Clear Global Capital Limited in 2022, for a site behind the county courthouse.

Desmond Vandenberg, whose Mark Street home is located just north of Mark Street United Church, is one of the East City residents who are concerned with a proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building that would be located adjacent to the church. Desmond says that the proposed parking garage for the development will overlook his property and dominate the skyline almost to the height of the tree. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)
Desmond Vandenberg, whose Mark Street home is located just north of Mark Street United Church, is one of the East City residents who are concerned with a proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building that would be located adjacent to the church. Desmond says that the proposed parking garage for the development will overlook his property and dominate the skyline almost to the height of the tree. (Photo: Paul Rellinger / kawarthaNOW)

While Desmond has concerns over the height of the proposed TVM building, as well as with related issues such as blocked sunlight and increased side street traffic, his main bone of contention is the development’s four-storey parking garage planned for the greenspace behind his property and just two metres from his property line.

“We would be surrounded on two sides by a four-storey parking wall; a concrete wall that is only feet from our property line, and actually less than a metre from one of our neighbour’s property line. That doesn’t leave any space to plant trees to kind of mitigate that look of concrete.”

After speaking with kawarthaNOW on Wednesday (May 28), Desmond met with TVM CEO Amit Sofer the following day to discuss the development. According to Desmond, Sofer provided some updates on revisions to the plan that have not yet been made public, including that the parking garage is now five metres, instead of two, from his property line.

“I appreciate that Amit took the time to meet with some of the residents bordering the development and the concessions being made,” Desmond says. “That said, as I communicated to Amit, I am still not comfortable with the overall scale of the building at 17 stories.”

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For his part, Sofer says all residents’ concerns, whether expressed now or at last year’s open house for the 10-storey proposal, are “legitimate.”

“One of things being overlooked is the tower component of the building replaces a significant reduction in the podium component,” he says.

“The tower is more slender. It’s taller, yes, but there is a smaller shadow. I don’t know if the shadowing is really that much of an issue. I appreciate that people don’t want to see a change in East City, but I am in the business of apartments. We’re well aware of the desperate need for apartments throughout the city.”

“We built a beautiful condominium building (East City Condos at Armour Road and Hunter Street East). A number of units in that building have been rented, and rented fairly quickly, including four we intend to transfer (to Mark Street United Church as part of the agreement for the property acquired for the new development). The demand for rental accommodation is insatiable right now. We’re simply trying to follow the guidance, direction and comments put forward by the federal, provincial and municipal governments. Our proposal is in keeping with all of those.”

Asked what the rental cost of the units will be, Sofer cites a range of $1,650 to $2,700 monthly.

A rendering of TVM Group's proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building at 90 Hunter Street East beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough's East City, which includes a four-storey parking garage. (Graphic: RAW Design Inc.)
A rendering of TVM Group’s proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building at 90 Hunter Street East beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough’s East City, which includes a four-storey parking garage. (Graphic: RAW Design Inc.)

Sofer adds he’s well aware of the concerns being expressed. To his credit, he has made himself accessible to answer questions, including visiting the Vandenbergs at their home to hear them out and obtain a firsthand look at their concerns. The couple has earlier hosted visits by a number of city councillors.

“Everybody wants it (housing), but no one wants it near,” says Sofer, noting “That’s the paradox of my job.”

“Anytime we’ve done a rezoning application, we get that pushback. No one likes any change. We had a load of resistance when we rezoned a school (property) on Reid Street into 48 fully accessible affordable apartments. It’s a resounding success. There are beautiful stories that have come out of that building. None of the concerns (expressed) have been realized.”

“When we re-did the hospital (formerly St. Joseph’s), there was immense pushback against putting residential in that area. It has contributed greatly to East City. I believe this building will also contribute in a very significant way. It will be the nicest building in the City of Peterborough.”

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Sofer’s assurance, however, promises to do little to win over detractors.

East City resident Susan Dunkley, in a letter sent to the media, has as much of a problem with the process as she does with its footprint.

“Last year’s town hall felt like a check-boxing exercise,” she writes.

“Residents showed up in good faith with serious, well-reasoned concerns — about traffic, school overcrowding, infrastructure strain, and the real risk of losing the character of our tight-knit neighbourhood. Yet none of those concerns have been meaningfully addressed. No follow-up. No solutions. Just a new, even taller tower. It’s hard not to feel like our voices don’t matter.”

Noting East City “has already taken on its fair share of growth” resulting in, among other things, “streets already congested,” she adds, “We all understand the need for housing. But it has to be done right — with intention, with respect for the existing community, and in places that can actually support it. This proposal fails on every front.”

Massing views of TVM Group's proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building at 90 Hunter Street East beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough's East City, which includes a four-storey parking garage. (Graphic: RAW Design Inc.)
Massing views of TVM Group’s proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building at 90 Hunter Street East beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough’s East City, which includes a four-storey parking garage. (Graphic: RAW Design Inc.)

As for Courtney Claessens, whose Cricket Place property will also face the development’s rear four-storey parking garage to the east, she echoes those concerns.

She says while she was aware of the original 10-story building proposal before buying her home last November, the desire to live in a “walkable neighbourhood” overrode any heightened concerns with that proposal.

That said, the revised 17-storey building plan now has her paying very close attention.

She too has concerns over the lack of community consultation on the new plan, local traffic impacts, and higher carbon emissions resulting from a taller building, adding “the 17-storey proposal is dominating, not enhancing.”

However, there’s also her opinion — shared by others — that TVM is rushing to gain city approval for its revised project before planned new guidelines around developers’ provision of services and amenities are adopted, potentially as early as spring 2026.

“If the community permit planning by-law is adopted, council can request the provision of services — stuff like affordable units, greenspace, daycare — for any building over 10 storeys,” she says.

“This is one of the largest developments being proposed right now in Peterborough, so it’s kind of precedent-setting. It’s a good thing to pay attention to how new developments are respecting policies in the official plan, and the urban design guidelines … really wanting to grow Peterborough in a way that serves its current and future residents.”

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Sofer, however, wholly refutes the rush-to-approval accusation to avoid any possible new rules around what’s required of developers. He says that supposition is one example of many false assumptions being aired via social media.

“Anything we say, we get a comment back on,” he says, adding “We’ll never make certain individuals happy — we will never made everyone happy. I know and regret that, but it’s the reality of life. It happens at my dinner table too.”

“We’ve been in Peterborough for 25 years. We’re not a merchant builder. We don’t build and sell. We build and own. Other than our condominiums, we own everything we’ve built.”

“I’m very confident that we’ve put together a proposal that meets the needs of the community at large, not five or 10 people. I believe we have something that’s going to benefit the city as a whole immensely.”

Renderings of TVM Group's proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building at 90 Hunter Street East beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough's East City, looking east along Hunter Street (top two photos) and west along Hunter Street (bottom left photo), with a rendering looking southwest from Mark Street of the proposed addition to Mark Street United Church, which is part of the deal between the church's board and TVM Group for the sale of the church property where the development would be built. (Graphics: RAW Design Inc.)
Renderings of TVM Group’s proposed 17-storey residential-commercial building at 90 Hunter Street East beside Mark Street United Church in Peterborough’s East City, looking east along Hunter Street (top two photos) and west along Hunter Street (bottom left photo), with a rendering looking southwest from Mark Street of the proposed addition to Mark Street United Church, which is part of the deal between the church’s board and TVM Group for the sale of the church property where the development would be built. (Graphics: RAW Design Inc.)

Noting that the City of Peterborough is putting great effort into having more housing built, from that of the affordable variety through to single families, Sofer says TVM is responding to an expressed need.

As an example of that direction, he points to the city’s recent removal of exclusionary zoning. Now, he says, any R1-zoned property is entitled to have four residential units.

With the change, Sofer says TVM will be bringing the first four-unit application for the redevelopment of a single-family home, which has been taken down. The plan, he says, is to build four modular homes

“There’s an effort everywhere to intensify, and it’s not just in East City,” he says. “To the west (of TVM’s proposed Hunter Street East building), there’s even larger (development) proposals coming. Intensification has been directed by the city, and we’re simply responding to that.”

The city is currently reviewing the application from TVM Mark Street Inc. for a zoning by-law amendment for the proposed 17-storey building development.

A public meeting under the Planning Act on the proposed zoning by-law amendment will be held at an upcoming meeting of city council’s general committee, when members of the public will be able to make delegations.

Watch kawarthaNOW for more details of that meeting as they become known.

nightlifeNOW – May 29 to June 4

In support of their self-titled debut double album, "glitter folk" trio LeVolume (wife-and-husband team Jenny Whiteley and Joe Wright with Julian Brown) are performing at the Gordon Best Theatre in downtown Peterborough on Saturday night. (Photo via levolume.com)

Every Thursday, kawarthaNOW publishes live music events at pubs and restaurants in Peterborough and the greater Kawarthas region based on information that musicians provide directly or that venues post on their websites or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, May 29 to Wednesday, June 4.

If you’re a musician or venue owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, 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).

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100 Acre Brewing Co.

390 Ashburnham Dr., Peterborough
705-243-2444

Thursday, May 29

5-8pm - Rob Moir (no cover)

Friday, May 30

5-8pm - Irish Millie and Brennen Sloan (no cover)

Coming Soon

Thursday, June 5
5-8pm - Midlife Crisis (no cover)

Arthur's Pub

930 Burnham St., Cobourg
(905) 372-2105

Thursday, May 29

8-10:30pm - Open mic w/ Bruce Longman

Friday, May 30

8-11pm - Davey Boy

Saturday, May 31

8-11pm - Andy Earle

Monday, June 2

7:30-9:30pm - Local talent night ft local musician TBA

Black Horse Pub

452 George St. N., Peterborough
(705) 742-0633

Thursday, May 29

7-10pm - Jazz & Blues Night ft. Carling Stephen & Rob Phillips

Friday, May 30

5-8pm - Michael Constantini; 9pm - Night Howlers

Saturday, May 31

5-8pm - dennis O'Toole & Old Soul; 9pm - Four Lanes Wide

Sunday, June 1

4-7pm - Tex Mudslide

Monday, June 2

7-10pm - Crash & Burn w/ Rick & Gailie

Tuesday, June 3

6-10pm - Open mic w/ Johann Burkhardt

Wednesday, June 4

6-9pm - Dave Tough and The Scholars

Coming Soon

Friday, June 6
5-8pm - Ky Anto; 9pm - Vortexans

Saturday, June 7
5-8pm - Emily Burgess; 9pm - Jane Archer and Blues to the Bone

Sunday, June 8
4-7pm - Bluegrass Menagerie

Boshkung Social - Boshkung Brewing Co.

20 Water St., Minden
705-809-0512

Thursday, May 29

6pm - Tom Lambert

Sunday, June 1

2pm - Woody Woodburn

Boston Pizza Lindsay

435 Kent St. W., Lindsay
705-328-0008

Thursday, May 29

8-11pm - Karaoke

Friday, May 30

8-11pm - Ian Clement

Burleigh Falls Inn

4791 Highway 28, Burleigh Falls
(705) 654-3441

Friday, May 30

5-8pm - Jake Dudas (no cover)

Cat & The Fiddle Cobourg

38 Covert St., Cobourg
(905) 377-9029

Friday, May 30

9pm-1am - Karaoke w/ Cait Sheppard

Saturday, May 31

8pm - Live music TBA

Wednesday, June 4

7-10pm - Open jam w/ Will Parker

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Coach & Horses Pub

16 York St. S., Lindsay
(705) 328-0006

Thursday, May 29

6-9pm - Open jam w/ Jesse Robinson; 9pm-1am - Karaoke w/ DJ Ross

Friday, May 30

7-11pm - U Jimmy

Saturday, May 31

1-5pm - Ian Clement; 10pm-2am - Karaoke w/ DJ Ross

Crook & Coffer

231 Hunter St. W., Peterborough
705-876-0505

Thursday, May 29

7-9:30pm - Jimmy Breslin

Friday, May 30

8:30pm - Karaoke w/ Stoeten

Saturday, May 31

2:30-4:30pm - Sean Hully; 7:30-10:30pm - Homestead Elite

Dominion Hotel

113 Main St., Minden
(705) 286-6954

Sunday, June 1

3-6pm - Live music TBA (no cover)

Tuesday, June 3

5pm - Gord Kidd

Coming Soon

Friday, June 6
7:30pm - Open mic

Faculty Bar (formerly Bar 379)

379 Water St., Peterborough
705-742-0777

Friday, May 30

6:30-9pm - Blues & Soul Fridays ft J Boom

Coming Soon

Sunday, June 29
8:30-11:30pm - Single Mothers w/ Pkew Pkew Pkew, Heartless Romantics ($20 in advance at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1329183516679)

Ganaraska Brewing Company

33 Mill St., Port Hope
905-885-9029

Friday, May 30

7pm - Karaoke Night

Saturday, May 31

7-9pm - Colin Ronald

Sunday, June 1

2-5pm - Open mic w/ Clint Cameron

Wednesday, June 4

6:30pm - Live music TBA

Ganaraska Hotel

30 Ontario St., Port Hope
(905) 885-9254

Saturday, May 31

2-6pm - Brave & Crazy

Gordon Best Theatre

216 Hunter St. W., Peterborough
(705) 876-8884

Saturday, May 31

7:30pm - LeVolume (Jenny Whiteley, Joey Wright, Julian Brown) ($30 in advance at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1274816754229)

VIDEO: "The Smoke, The Fire" - LeVolume

VIDEO: "Superslide" - LeVolume

Coming Soon

Saturday, June 7
8pm - Radiohead tribute band Idioteque performs "The Bends" ($20 early bird or $25 general admission in advance at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/1301654807569)

Graz Restobar

38 Bolton St., Bobcaygeon
705-738-6343

Friday, May 30

7:30-9:30pm - Keith Audy

Saturday, May 31

7:30-9:30pm - Sean Jamieson

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Honkey Tonk Angel Bar (Golden Wheel)

6725 Highway 7, Peterborough
(705) 749-6838

Friday, May 30

8pm - Gunslingers ($20)

Jethro's Bar + Stage

137 Hunter St. W., Peterborough
705-931-0617

Thursday, May 29

8-10pm - Jeanne Truax & Friends; 10pm-12am - The Union (final show until September)

Friday, May 30

6-8pm - The Good Intentions; 8-10pm - Andrew Queen & Not Dead Yet; 10pm-12am - The Russlin' Bears

Saturday, May 31

8-10pm - Little Fire

Sunday, June 1

3-6pm - Blues jam

Wednesday, June 4

9pm - The Space Heaters

The John at Sadleir House

751 George St. N., Peterborough
705-742-3686

Friday, May 30

7:30pm - Labyrinth Ontario ft Araz Salek, Canan Sezgin-Geylan, Yahya Geylan ($20, $10 students in advance at https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/52861/)

Saturday, May 31

7:30pm - Bal Folk Dance w/ Boing Boing Zoom Zoom ($30 patron of the arts, $25 general admission, $20 arts worker, $15 student in advance at https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/52468/)

Coming Soon

Saturday, June 14
8pm - The Burning Hell w/ Charlie Glasspool & Intimidators ($20 in advance at https://www.ticketscene.ca/events/51158/)

Kawartha Country Wines

2452 County Road 36,, Buckhorn
705-657-9916

Sunday, June 1

1-4pm - Tami J. Wilde (no cover)

Kelly's Homelike Inn

205 3rd Street, Cobourg
905-372-3234

Friday, May 30

7-10pm - Rocky & Jay

Saturday, May 31

4-8pm - The Radials

The Locker at The Falls

9 Lindsay St., Fenelon Falls
705-887-6211

Sunday, June 1

1-4pm - Diane Williamson

Mainstreet Bar & Grill

1939 Lakehurst Road, Buckhorn
(705) 657-9094

Friday, May 30

7:30pm - Karaoke w/ DJ Ross

McGillicafey's Pub & Eatery

13 Bridge St.. N., Hastings
(705) 696-3600

Sunday, June 1

2-5pm - Steph Morris

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McThirsty's Pint

166 Charlotte St., Peterborough
(705) 743-2220

Friday, May 30

9pm-1am - Jordan Thomas

Saturday, May 31

9pm-1am - Ryan Scott

Sunday, June 1

8pm - Karaoke and open mic

Tuesday, June 3

8pm - Joanna & Danny Bronson

Wednesday, June 4

8pm - Kevin Foster

Muddy's Pit BBQ

3247 County Rd. 2, Keene
(705) 295-1255

Sunday, June 1

3-6pm - Ball and Chain

Olympia Restaurant

106 Kent St. W., Lindsay
705-328-1444

Saturday, May 31

5-8:30pm - Live music TBA

Pappas Billiards

407 George St. N., Peterborough
(705) 772-9010

Saturday, May 31

7-10pm - Jake Dudas

Pattie House Smokin' Barbecue

6675 Highway 35, Coboconk
(705) 454-8100

Friday, May 30

7pm - No Name

Pig's Ear Tavern

144 Brock St., Peterborough
(705) 745-7255

Friday, May 30

9pm - Tapes in Motion, Katie Mal, Night Danger (no cover)

Saturday, May 31

8pm - Father Dave and The Garage Cult ($5)

Tuesday, June 3

6-9pm - McDonnel Street Gospel Quartet (no cover)

Wednesday, June 4

9pm - Karaoinke

Puck' N Pint Sports Pub

871 Chemong Rd., Peterborough
(705) 741-1078

Friday, May 30

7-11pm - Bob Butcher

Saturday, May 31

8pm - High Waters Band

Riverside Grill & Gazebo at Holiday Inn

150 George St, Peterborough
705-740-6564

Sunday, June 1

1-5pm - Recovery Mode (no cover)

Rolling Grape Vineyard

260 County Rd 2, Bailieboro
705-991-5876

Thursday, May 29

5:30-8:30pm - Michael Haas

Sunday, June 1

2-5pm - Deanna Earle

Royal Crown Pub & Grill

4 King St. E., Colborne
905-355-1900

Saturday, May 31

8pm - Melodi Ryan (no cover)

Tap & Tonic Pub & Bistro - Campbellford

18-22 Bridge St. W., Campbellford
(705) 947-2333

Thursday, May 29

7-10pm - Bobby Cameron

Tap & Tonic Pub & Bistro - Marmora

16 Forsyth St., Marmora
613-666-9767

Thursday, May 29

7pm - Nighthawk

The Thirsty Goose

63 Walton St., Port Hope

Friday, May 30

8pm-12am - Cale Crowe

Saturday, May 31

8pm-12am - Jeff Biggar

The Venue

286 George Street North, Peterborough
(705) 876-0008

Coming Soon

Friday, June 13
8pm - Definite Leppard ($25 in advance at https://www.showpass.com/defleppard/)

Cobourg police and Northumberland Hills Hospital expand mobile mental health crisis support

Cobourg police constable Josalyn Hilts and Northumberland Hills Hospital social worker Morgan Emerson of the Mental Health Engagement and Response Team (M-HEART), which has been expanded with increased after-hours support for residents experiencing mental health issues or substance use concerns. (Photo: Cobourg Police Service)

Experiencing a mental health crisis isn’t confined to a certain time of the day, and the Cobourg Police Service (CPS) and Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH) are striving to ensure no one “falls through the cracks” by increasing after-hours support for Cobourg and other Northumberland County residents in need.

On Wednesday (May 28), CPS and NHH announced the expansion of the Mental Health Engagement and Response Team (M-HEART) program into the afternoons and evenings.

The M-HEART program is an initiative that’s comprised of one officer from CPS and one mental health clinician from NHH’s community mental health services. Together, they engage directly with people experiencing mental health issues or substance use concerns.

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The expansion is possible as a result of funding the program received through the Ontario government’s Mobile Crisis Response Team Enhancement Grant, which has allocated more than $4.5 million to 40 police services and Ontario Provincial Police detachments across Ontario to strengthen their mobile crisis response teams.

With the number of mental health calls to the Cobourg Police Service continuing to climb, the provincial funding will support deployment of a second M-HEART team for afternoon and evening coverage.

“The goal of expanding the M-HEART program is to provide continuous and timely mental health support to individuals in crisis, particularly during times when services are less accessible,” Lisa Munday, manager of communications and strategic planning for CPS, shared with kawarthaNOW on behalf of the police service.

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“Police response to mental health calls continues to increase. In 2024, officers responded to 559 mental health calls for service and conducted 1,468 wellness checks,” Munday said. “This expansion aims to reduce the strain on emergency services, prevent the escalation of mental health crises, and ensure that individuals receive support promptly and proactively.”

Since its inception in 2017, the M-HEART partnership has provided urgent mobile support to individuals and families in Northumberland County who are experiencing a mental health crisis. The expansion addresses the growing community needs and ensures a M-HEART team will be available to help people when it’s needed most, a media release stated.

“As health care providers, it’s critical for us to continue finding innovative ways to make care accessible for everyone, not only in our community, but surrounding catchment areas,” said NHH president and CEO Susan Walsh in a statement. “The expansion of M-HEART services will help us break down barriers to care and deliver support to those in need during a crisis situation.”

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M-HEART has already been a critical service in Cobourg and surrounding communities, noted Kate Zimmerman, NHH vice-present of integrated care and chief nursing executive.

“By expanding this service, we are making mental health care more accessible and ensuring residents receive the support they need in their time of crisis,” Zimmerman said.

The M-HEART program is designed to improve police interactions by “fostering an integrated and proactive approach to mental health crises.” The approach focuses on engagement, risk reduction, and connecting people with services right when they need the support.

The partners said the mobile outreach provides immediate intervention, helping to avoid escalation or involvement with the justice system. In addition, M-HEART works closely with partner organizations to provide comprehensive assessment, intervention, and referrals.

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“M-HEART is a unique and essential service that strengthens the mental health support network in Northumberland,” said CPS Chief Paul VandeGraaf. “This expansion is a direct response to the increasing demand for mental health services, and it ensures that no one in our community falls through the cracks.”

The expansion will help better address community wellness and safety priorities, offering immediate support to individuals in crisis and mitigating barriers such as transportation and system navigation, according to the release.

In addition, the partnership “reaffirms the commitment of CPS and NHH to enhancing the mental health and safety of residents, helping reduce crisis situations, and improving overall community well-being.”

Integrity commissioner finds Peterborough mayor contravened city council’s code of conduct

Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal chairing a city council meeting in 2023. (kawarthaNOW screenshot of City of Peterborough video)

Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal has contravened city council’s code of conduct by intimidating one city councillor and bullying another with respect to the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment, but did not contravene the code of conduct by influencing general committee’s decision on the redevelopment for private advantage.

Those are the findings in a 55-page inquiry report from the City of Peterborough’s integrity commissioner Guy Giorno. The report, dated May 26, will be considered by city council at its general committee meeting on Monday (June 2).

Giorno, who is one of the city’s two integrity commissioners and is responsible for investigating complaints, concluded that Mayor Jeff Leal contravened council’s code of conduct in his interactions with councillors Alex Bierk and Joy Lachica in connection to the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment, but that the mayor’s decision-making on the development did not involve a “private advantage” for him or for his wife.

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Giorno completed a joint inquiry in response to complaints received under section 31 of council’s code of conduct by-law 19-028, which states “A person who believes that a Member has contravened any provision of this Code of Conduct may give to the Integrity Commissioner the person’s complaint which must be in writing and must set out the particulars of the alleged contravention.”

According to Giorno’s report, 13 Peterborough residents filed separate but related complaints about Mayor Leal for making a threat against councillor Alex Bierk during council’s general committee meeting on April 2, 2024 on the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment, and/or by participating in decision-making on the Bonnerworth Park Redevelopment when he was not impartial.

The collective complaints were filed by Diane Therrien-Hale, Zachary Hatton, Laurie Breese, Jill Staveley, Sarah Byer, Martha Jansenberger, James Anderson, Allison Potts, Ryan Perks, Rob Hailman, Courtney Seddon, John Gerelus, and Robert Gibson.

Some of the complaints involved comments directed to councillor Bierk by Mayor Leal during council’s general committee meeting on April 2, 2024 on the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment, when the mayor was reported to have said “You’re going to regret you ever said that” and “I’ll carve you like a Thanksgiving turkey” after Bierk mentioned the mayor’s wife by name during the meeting.

Eight of the 13 complaints were filed in the days following the April 2 meeting, and another five complaints were filed after the mayor made a public apology for the comments at the city council meeting on April 8.

In addition to those complaints, Giorno investigated a separate complaint filed by councillor Joy Lachica, who alleged Mayor Leal bullied and intimidated her out of the public’s view following the April 2 general committee meeting.

While Giorno separately processed and investigated both the collective complaints and Lachica’s complaint, he submitted a joint report to council as the complaints share common background.

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In his report, Giorno concludes that Mayor Leal did not contravene section 29 of the council code of conduct, which states that no member of council may “use her or his office or position to influence or attempt to influence the decision of any other person, for the Member’s private advantage or that of the Member’s parent, child, spouse, staff member, friend or associate, business or otherwise.”

“Even under a broad interpretation of private advantage, one not limited to pecuniary matters, I find that the Mayor was not acting for the private advantage of himself or his wife,” Giorno states in the report.

“The Mayor’s occasional volunteer service to the PPA (Peterborough Pickleball Association) did not give rise to a financial or non-financial interest in the PPA or a financial or a non-financial benefit from the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment. Simply put, decision making on Bonnerworth did not involve his private advantage.”

“Decision making on Bonnerworth also did not involve a private advantage (for) the Mayor’s wife. She would be affected no differently than any other resident, and the PPA would be affected no differently than any other community group. The new pickleball courts would be accessible to the entire community, regardless of membership or lack of membership in the PPA. If the PPA ever booked exclusive use of a particular court, then it would do so on the same basis as anyone else, and it would pay.”

Giorno adds that the argument that the mayor should not have participated in a decision about the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment because he or his wife plays pickleball “is as flawed as an argument that swimmers cannot participate in decisions on pools and hockey players cannot vote on ice pads.”

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However, Giorno concludes that Mayor Leal’s threats against councillor Bierk were intimidation and contravene section 10 of the council code of conduct, which states that each member of council has “the duty and responsibility to treat members of the public, each other Member and staff appropriately and without abuse, bullying or intimidation.”

As the code of conduct doesn’t define intimidation, Giorno used the dictionary definition to make his ruling. While acknowledging that the mayor’s “carve you up like a turkey” comment was “a figurative expression that was not meant or reasonably interpreted as a threat of violence or physical harm,” he added that “intimidation is not confined to physical threats.”

“The ‘regret’ and ‘turkey’ comments, taken together, were reasonably understood to threaten consequences for having angered the Mayor by mentioning the Mayor’s wife,” Giorno writes. “Certainly, Councillor Bierk took the comments that way, and he was intimidated.”

According to Giorno, in Mayor Leal’s response to Giorno’s draft report, the mayor stated his belief that councillor Bierk was not intimidated by the comments.

“In a physical sense, that observation is correct, but intimidation is not necessarily physical,” Giorno writes. “I appreciate that the Mayor did not then, and does not now, feel that his conduct was intimidating, but the evidence indicates that it was.”

Giorno acknowledges the Mayor Leal “felt great stress” during the meeting that contributed to his “overreaction” to councillor Bierk’s comments, “but (Bierk) did not invite, nor was he deserving of, being (intimidated) and threatened,” noting that Bierk had already been called to order during the meeting by chair Andrew Beamer for mentioning the mayor’s wife by name as being against protocol.

“I note that the first threat was made after Councillor Bierk had already apologized three times,” Giorno adds, with reference to Bierk’s reaction after being called to order by the chair.

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As for councillor Lachica’s allegation, Giorno concludes she was bullied by Mayor Leal.

Although the code of conduct also does not provide a definition of either intimidation or bullying, Giorno states “In my view, bullying better describes what occurred,” referring to a definition approved by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2012 that has been used in subsequent court cases and refers to “behaviour that is intended to cause, or should be known to cause, fear,
intimidation, humiliation, distress or other forms of harm to another person’s body, feelings, self-esteem, reputation or property.”

Following the April 2 general committee meeting — when Lachica had put forth a motion to defer the Bonnerworth Park redevelopment plan for discussion of alternative solutions for pickleball courts — Mayor Leal “exchanged words” with Lachica in an internal corridor leading to the parking lot, with the incident observed by witnesses including city CAO Jasbir Raina and councillors Bierk and Gary Baldwin.

According to the report, the mayor believed Lachica was responsible for the presence of people in the gallery during the general committee meeting, including a person who disrupted the meeting.

“Mayor Leal began yelling at her about the individual who had earlier been removed from the meeting, claiming that Councillor Lachica should have stopped the individual and that she was responsible because the person was a Town Ward constituent,” Giorno writes. “Councillor Lachica says the Mayor kept yelling at her, even after she explained that maintaining decorum was the responsibility of the Chair.”

“Councillor Lachica says that Mayor’s conduct continued during a closed session on April 8. She told Councillors what had occurred in the corridor on April 2, that she had had ‘enough’ of the Mayor’s condescension and shouting, and that she should not have been directed to take responsibility for decorum in the gallery.”

“I find that Mayor Leal’s angry, raised-voice confrontation with Councillor Lachica following the General Committee (meeting) constituted bullying according to this definition. What happened should have been known to cause fear, humiliation and distress to Councillor Lachica. The confrontation should have been expected to leave the Councillor shaken and upset. In fact, the Mayor’s confrontation had these effects.”

“The incident in the corridor occurred in the context of a power imbalance that is a hallmark of bullying. The Mayor is more powerful than a Councillor. In a strictly legal sense, this has been the case since October 31, 2023, when Ontario Regulation 331/23 added Peterborough to the list of municipalities subject to ‘strong mayor powers.’ The Mayor’s powers include the direct appointment of the chairs and vice-chairs of committees.”

“Compounding the corridor incident was the Mayor’s upholding of the same position six days later. If the Mayor was unaware of the impact of the April 2 incident on Councillor Lachica, then she made him aware on April 8. By doubling down on his earlier comments, he reinforced the bullying.”

According to the report, Lachica waited 25 days before filing a complaint “because she feared reprisal,” and that she has told the commissioner “the anger and bullying continue.”

“She cites recent examples that she says constitute disrespect, sidelining, and withholding information necessary to her job,” Giorno notes.

kawarthaNOW reached out to councillor Lachica for comment on the integrity commissioner’s report, and she provided a brief email statement.

“There was not a satisfactory resolve to complaint 24-02-CC, this it has come forward,” she writes. “I am appreciative of IC Gioro’s Joint Report. The content and outcome speaks for itself.”

PDF: Joint Inquiry Report – May 26, 2025
Joint Inquiry Report - May 26, 2025

As for recommendations to city council in response to his report, the integrity commission notes it is the role of council to determine a penalty, if any, for a member of council who contravenes the code of conduct.

“In the event of a contravention, the Council may choose to do nothing, or it may impose one of two penalties (but not both): reprimand, or pay suspension (up to 90 days),” Giorno writes. “In addition to imposing a penalty, the Council may also adopt one or more remedial measures.”

Non-punitive and remedial action can include requesting an apology.

Giorno suggests one remedial measure might be to ask John Ewart, his fellow integrity commission assigned to advice-giving and educational functions, “to provide focused training related to harassment, abuse, bullying and intimidation and other issues arising from this report.”

He also suggests that council could consider amending the code of conduct to add a definition of bullying and to reconcile the code of conduct with the procedure by-law “by formally distinguishing what meeting conduct is the responsibility of a Chair and what meeting conduct is the responsibility of the Integrity Commissioner.”

Giorno notes that the code of conduct uses at least seven different terms related to conflict of interest, including “private advantage,” “private interest,” “private gain or benefit,” “future advantage,” “personal benefit,” “personal or private gain or benefit,” and “personal financial gain.”

“The adjectives private and personal appear to be used sometimes interchangeably and sometimes to mean different concepts. Inconsistent use of different terms with similar meanings can result in ambiguity and potential gaps. I suggest that the Code use fewer terms consistently and more precisely.”

After the integrity commissioner’s report was released to the public on Thursday (May 29), Mayor Leal issued a public statement.

“I acknowledge that the Integrity Commissioner has completed his report, and I will accept Council’s decision on this matter,” the mayor said. “I appreciate that his report fully exonerates me of the most egregious and false conflict-of-interest allegations that my family and I have been subjected to over the last year.”

“I acknowledge his findings related to my interactions with Councillors Bierk and Lachica on the nights of April 2 and April 8, 2024. My comments were made in the heat of the moment, during the most hostile meeting environments I have experienced in all my years of public service. I regret my comments, and I apologized to both Councillors last year.”

Mayor Leal added that he will recuse himself during the general committee meeting when councillors discuss the integrity commissioner’s report, “and will accept their recommendations.”

“I have been working in partnership with all members of Peterborough City Council, and will continue to do so for the benefit of our community.”

 

This story has been updated with a statement from Mayor Jeff Leal in response to the release of the integrity commissioner’s report, along with revised comment from councillor Joy Lachica.

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