The new Peterborough Animal Care Centre is now officially open to the public.

On Thursday (March 2), the Peterborough Humane Society announced the doors at its new home at 1999 Technology Drive are open for adoptions, donations, licensing, and more. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Saturday.

The non-profit organization moved into the new building in January, closing the doors of its previous 65-year-old facility at 385 Lansdowne Street East and moving around 100 animals into the new facility.

The new 24,000-square-foot animal care centre houses the Peterborough Humane Society’s shelter and adoption and education centre, the Ontario SPCA’s provincial dog rehabilitation centre, and a regional high-volume spay and neuter clinic to provide affordable spay and neuter services and prevent pet overpopulation. The regional spay and neuter clinic opened on February 7, by appointment only.

Designed by Peterborough-based Lett Architects with construction led by Peak Construction, the new facility — which is four times the size of the Lansdowne Street East building — also includes an aqua therapy pool and underwater treadmill for dog rehabilitation, a family living room to help dogs acclimatize to living in a home environment, and both indoor and outdoor off-leash areas.

While the original cost of the facility was just over $10 million, additional build expenses have increased the cost by another $3 million. The Peterborough Humane Society has raised $9 million of the total cost. Online donations can be made at www.ourpetproject.ca/donate/.

The Peterborough Humane Society is also hiring new staff. Current positions being recruited include a manager of donor relations as well as a registered veterinary technician for the shelter. To apply, visit peterboroughhumanesociety.ca.

VIDEO: “The Big Move” – Peterborough Humane Society

Police blocked off several streets in Lakefield on Thursday (March 2) following an industrial accident at SGS Canada Inc.

On Thursday morning, emergency services were called to the area in response to a concerning smell. One person was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Police advised the public they had blocked off the area of Concession Street and County Road 33 and Water Street and Oxford Street, with access confined to emergency services. The roads were reopened mid-afternoon.

Later on Thursday, Selwyn Township issued a media release advising an industrial accident had occurred at SGS Canada Inc.’s Lakefield site, which provides analytical, mineralogical, and environmental services as well as metallurgical testing and analytical services to the mining industry.

The township said SGS hazardous materials technicians were on-site to manage the response to the incident.

“Residents are assured that this industrial accident is confined to the SGS property,” the media release reads. “All appropriate regulatory agencies have been notified. SGS is in regular communication with the township.”

Photographers across the Kawartha region captured stunning photos of the northern lights (aurora borealis) earlier this week, and the phenomenon may be visible again over the weekend.

The spectacular display of dancing waves of coloured light is caused by the solar wind — highly energetic charged particles emitted by the Sun’s corona — that collides with the Earth’s magnetic field at 72 million kilometres per hour. The magnetic field acts as a shield, deflecting most of the particles towards the poles, where they interact with molecules in the upper atmosphere and cause it to fluoresce.

Most of the time, the aurora appears as a green ethereal glow and is only visible at higher latitudes closer to the poles. While auroras can be seen in the northern greater Kawarthas region, several significant solar events in late February made them visible even further south.

These events produced a stronger solar wind that essentially dragged the Earth’s magnetic field further away from the poles, making the northern lights visible further south and filling the sky with reds and purples as the solar wind reacted with nitrogen in the upper atmosphere.

One of these events occurred on February 24, when there was a coronal mass ejection associated with an M3.7 class solar flare from an area of the Sun known as sunspot region AR3234.

A coronal mass ejection is an explosive expulsion of billions of tons of plasma from the Sun’s corona that carries an embedded magnetic field. They are often associated with solar flares, whose strength is rated by class, with the smallest ones A-class (near background levels) followed by B, C, M and X. Each letter represents a 10-fold increase in energy output. M class flares can cause brief radio blackouts that affect Earth’s polar regions and minor radiation storms, and X class flares can trigger planet-wide radio blackouts and long-lasting radiation storms.

If a coronal mass ejection is directed towards Earth, it can reach our planet in as little as 15 to 18 hours (slower ones can take several days to arrive). The February 24th one reached Earth on February 27th and produced a display of northern lights across Alaska, Canada, northern Europe, and even the northernmost U.S. states.

On February 28, sunspot region AR3234 produced another coronal mass ejection associated with an M8.6 solar flare — which is only a few percentage points below an X class flare. The M8.6 flare emitted a burst of X-rays that ionized the top of Earth’s atmosphere, causing a shortwave radio blackout over North America and producing auroras as far south as the U.S. state of Colorado.

Although sunspot region AR3234 is about to be rotated off the Earth-facing side of the Sun, the slow-moving coronal mass ejection from February 28 may give Earth a glancing blow on Saturday (March 4) and produce more auroras.

If the coronal mass ejection does hit Earth on Saturday, photographers in the Kawarthas region may have another chance to capture the northern lights. Environment Canada’s current forecast is calling for cloudy periods with a chance of flurries on Saturday night, and clear skies on Sunday night.

Although a smartphone camera can capture the lights, a DSLR camera will give you the best results. Morgan Spence of BBC Scotland has a few tips for photographing the northern lights:

• Switch your camera to manual mode to give you full control of the settings
• Mount your camera on a tripod
• Set your shutter speed between one second and 15 seconds (i the aurora is shimmering quickly, lower the shutter speed)
• Set the aperture (f-stop) as wide as possible — f/2.8 or lower — to ensure plenty of light is hitting the camera’s sensor
• Try varying the ISO between 800 and 3,200, depending on the conditions
• Switch from autofocus to manual focus and set it to “infinity” (look for the “8” symbol)

Most residents surveyed in the City of Kawartha Lakes support short term rentals, but almost 75 per cent think they should be regulated and licensed, with the number one complaint being loud noise and music.

These were some of the results of a recently completed survey the municipality shared with around 125 residents during a drop-in public information session on Tuesday (February 28).

Hosted by the Kawartha Lakes Municipal By-law Enforcement and Licensing Office, the session was held at city hall in Lindsay so residents could see the survey results, read the city’s new draft regulatory by-law, and ask questions.

Short-term rentals are rentals that are 30 days or less and include renting a private room in a home, an entire home, a seasonal property like a cottage, or any other space. They do not include established accommodations such as bed and breakfasts, hotels, trailer parks, or campgrounds. There are around 600 to 800 active short term rental listings in the City of Kawartha Lakes.

While most respondents to the short term rental survey supported short term rentals, recognizing their value to tourism, almost three-quarters of respondents think they need to be regulated. Along with complaints about loud noise and music, other top complaints were overcrowding on properties, inappropriate behaviour (including foul language), lack of enjoyment of neighbouring properties, and trespassing on neighbouring properties.

The municipality’s draft by-law proposes a yearly license (and license fees) for short term rentals, along with maximum occupancy requirements, insurance requirements, annual inspections, a demerit point system, fines, and more.

PDF: City of Kawartha Lakes Short Term Rentals Survey Report
City of Kawartha Lakes Short Term Rentals Survey Report

Another short term rentals public information session will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. on Monday, March 6th at Coboconk Service Centre (9 Grandy Rd., Coboconk). Residents can view information boards on the results of the short term rental survey, highlights of the new draft by-law, and learn about next steps in the process. Municipal law enforcement and licensing staff will be on hand to answer questions.

In April, a draft report will be presented to city council with the final draft licensing by-law and alternative options to proceeding with the by-law. If the city adopts the licensing by-law, a process will begin in May to roll out the by-law.

For the full survey results, draft by-law, display boards, and presentation shown at the public information sessions, visit short term rentals project page at jumpinkawarthalakes.ca/short term-rentals.