A 42-year-old Peterborough man has been arrested in connection with multiple bomb threats made online against several Boston-area locations, following a joint investigation of he Boston Police Department, the Boston division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and the Peterborough Police Service.

Beginning on September 9, 2022, a series of bomb threats were transmitted online to Boston Children’s Hospital. Over the next four days, several more bomb threats were transmitted and received at the Prudential Center, the Orpheum Theater, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Boston Public Library.

All of these threats shared similar details, and appeared to have originated in Canada based on the findings of Boston Police Department Investigators. On September 13, investigators with the Boston police made contact with authorities in Canada and shared their findings with members of the Peterborough Police Service.

As a result of the investigation, the suspect was ultimately identified as Joshua Kimble, 42, of Peterborough.

Peterborough police investigators then applied for and were granted an arrest warrant for the suspect, as well as a search warrant for his residence.

On September 26, police arrested Kimble, who is being held in custody while awaiting trial in Canada. He has been charged in Canada with 12 counts of public mischief, 12 counts of false information, and failing to comply with a probation order.

Last year, Northumberland County resident Michael Tarrington was working in his garage when he developed a tightness and pain in his chest. After his wife Lori called 9-1-1, paramedics arrived and confirmed Michael was having a heart attack.

En route to hospital, when Michael’s heart and breathing stopped, the crew began CPR and administered defibrillation. Michael’s heartbeat returned, and he was transferred to the hospital for further care.

Michael’s story was one of 10 stories of survival shared on Thursday (October 21) during Northumberland County’s seventh annual Survivor Night ceremony, which saw Northumberland first responders and survivors of cardiac arrest come together to honour emergency responders for their role in supporting the successful resuscitation of people who suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in 2021.

Lightning Bolt Awards were presented to 51 emergency responders, including Matt Rollwagen and Marcelle Read of Northumberland Paramedics, who saved Michael Tarrington’s life with the assistance of Central Ambulance Communications Centre dispatchers Christopher Roscoe and Shelley Harrison.

“Survivor Night is an opportunity to honour our outstanding emergency services personnel who play a critical role in the health and safety of our community,” said Northumberland County CAO Jennifer Moore. “The presentation of Lightning Bolt awards is in recognition of the life-saving care provided by recipients in highly stressful situations and of their exceptional commitment and selflessness in serving the public when we need them most.”

According to Northumberland Paramedics Chief Susan Brown, emergency services teams in Northumberland County respond to tens of thousands of calls for help each year.

“The stories shared tonight are inspiring examples of the care and compassion these professionals demonstrate every time they are called upon to respond to a life-saving emergency,” Chief Brown said.

Here’s where you can watch the municipal election results in Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Port Hope, and Cobourg after polls close at 8 p.m. on Monday (October 24).

For Peterborough, Cogeco YourTV will be covering election results live on Cable 700 and also livestreaming on YouTube. Unofficial election results will also be posted online on the City of Peterborough’s website at www.peterborough.ca as soon they become available.

For Kawartha Lakes, results will be announced in person at Victoria Park Armoury (210 Kent St. W., Lindsay). Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with a real-time audiovisual presentation showing the closing of the voting period taking place in council chambers at City Hall. Results, which are expected to be available between 9 and 9:30 p.m., will be displayed on screen in the Armoury. The results will also be published on the city’s website at www.kawarthalakes.ca.

In Port Hope, election results will be announced in-person at the Capitol Theatre at 20 Queen Street, instead of at Port Hope Town Hall as in previous years. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. After polls close, the city clerk and auditor will tally and verify the results. Results, which are expected to be available shortly after 8:30 p.m., will be projected on the stage screen and announced by the city clerk. Results will be posted simultaneously online at porthopevotes.ca.

In Cobourg, there is no in-person location to watch the results, but unofficial results will be posted online at www.cobourgvotes.ca.

kawarthaNOW will be publishing the final official results later on Monday night.

Peterborough-area residents and businesses with security cameras who want to partner with police to keep communities safe can now register their cameras with the CamSafe program.

The program is a volunteer CCTV and security video registry that lets Peterborough police know where cameras are located and who to contact to request video footage.

“It’s what we’re calling Community Watch 2.0,” says acting police chief Tim Farquharson in a media release. “We all have a part to play in keeping our community safe. This program requires community participation which helps provide a stronger defence against crime including theft, arson, vandalism, and fraud.”

Those living in the City of Peterborough, Village of Lakefield, and Township of Cavan-Monaghan who have CCTV, video cameras, and doorbell cams can volunteer to create a account with the secure CamSafe registry and upload information about the cameras they have.

Police can use the registry to find out where cameras may be located in a neighbourhood and then contact the owner to ask if they can send the video to an officer.

“If there is an incident an officer can then use the secure mapping feature to see where there are cameras and then reach out to the owner to ask if they have footage available,” says Paul Notman, IT manager with the Peterborough Police Service.

VIDEO: CamSafe Program – Peterborough Police Service

Describing it as being “much like a phonebook,” police emphasize CamSafe is only a registry of camera locations and information and does not provide police with access to cameras or to footage. The registry is secure and only police have access to the information in the registry. People can delete their camera information or accounts at any time.

“The more cameras listed on the registry means potentially more information available to officers as well as time saved in the legwork required to search out active and enabled sources of video footage,” Notman says.

CamSafe was originally launched by the Belleville Police Service in 2021 in partnership with Belleville companies Alarm Systems and Floating Point and has since expanded to include other communities.

For more information about CamSafe and to register, visit www.peterboroughpolice.com/camsafe.

For the fifth time in the past 17 months, the reopening of the Bobcaygeon Swing Bridge has been delayed.

Parks Canada advised in August the bridge rehabilitation project was scheduled to be completed this fall, but has now advised it will remain closed through the end of the 2022 calendar year.

“Mechanical components and hydraulic equipment manufactured for the bridge that were expected to arrive on site this fall have been delayed, moving back the completion date,” reads a media release from Parks Canada.

The project to rehabilitate the bridge, which began in October 2020, was originally scheduled to be completed in May 2021. Delays with the fabrication and delivery of hydraulic and mechanical components, and the discovery that some components of the bridge were in worse condition than originally anticipated, changed the expected completion date to summer 2021.

In July 2021, Parks Canada announced the bridge would not reopen that summer since key mechanical components involved in rotating the bridge needed to be refabricated as they did not meet safety and quality standards. The refabricated components were to be installed in October 2021 following the closing of the navigation season, with the bridge expected to reopen for vehicle use in December 2021.

In December 2021, Parks Canada announced a new consultant has been brought onto the project to review and finalize the design and the refabrication of required components for the bridge. After the review of the project, the contractor advised Parks Canada the reopening of the bridge needed to be delayed to spring 2022 due to issues mainly associated with the mechanical component refabrication.

In February 2022, Parks Canada announced the reopening of bridge had been delayed until fall 2022 as the refabrication of the mechanical components for the bridge had been slower than expected. Mechanical components and hydraulic equipment manufactured for the bridge were expected to arrive on site in September. In April, June, and August 2022, Parks Canada advised the bridge reopening continued be on track for fall 2022.

Work completed to date includes the disassembly and media blasting of the bridge steel structure, replacement and painting of the new steel structure, delivery and installation of various mechanical components, installation of the wooden decking on the pedestrian walkway, partial completion of the wooden decking on the vehicular travel path, trenching for new hydraulic and electrical lines, and concrete removals on the bridge abutments.

The remaining tasks include completing concrete works on the bridge abutments, installing the remaining mechanical components, the vehicular bridge deck, hydraulic and electrical components, and paving.

With the latest delay, Parks Canada did not provide an estimated reopening date.

Until the bridge reopens, the enhanced pedestrian access over the upper gates of Lock 32 and its access paths will remain in place.

“Parks Canada continues to work with the contractor, stressing the importance of completing the project,” reads the media release. “We appreciate your patience while we undertake these important investments into the infrastructure in Bobcaygeon.”

A short parody film made by Peterborough’s Matt Snell won the Best Canadian Film award at the Canadian International Comedy Film Festival in Winnipeg on October 8.

Written and directed by Snell, “Schnitzelback” also stars Snell as a man who has created a tribute polka band to celebrate his love of rock group Nickelback.

The 39-year-old Snell, who has a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and is a writer and content marketing specialist for Peterborough’s Birchbark Media, made the film in Peterborough in 2020 with help from a group of friends who call themselves Cathedral Hill Productions.

“In 2016, four of us were moved by the Halloween spirit to make a horror movie,” Snell says. “We did it on a lark — no one had much experience, and it was already October. We jokingly called ourselves Cathedral Hill Productions, after the (Peterborough) neighbourhood we lived in and because the pompous sound of it contrasted with the schlock we were making.”

That first short film, about a couple and their unusual relationship with a pumpkin, was called “Pumpkineater.” Other short films created by Cathedral Hill Productions include “Santa Sees Something” (2017), “Havesters” (2017), “Vote for Ferd” (2018), “LHP: Understanding Lower Half Possession” (2019), and “RaRa My Lifestyle” (2021).

All the films can be viewed at the Cathedral Hill Productions website at cathedralhillproductions.com.

As for “Schnitzelback”, Snell and his friends had to make adjustments to accommodate the restrictions of the pandemic.

“When COVID hit, I thought we’d have to suspend our series,” Snell says. “But that didn’t feel right, so we found a way to make a movie safely with the limitations. I think it turned out to be the funniest one we’ve done yet.”

Snell and his wife Rebecca Reeves flew to Winnipeg for the festival.

“It’s been a very quiet, anxious couple of years,” he says. “To be in a room full of people laughing along with us was exactly what we needed. I can’t wait to put out the next one out this Halloween.”

The Canadian International Comedy Film Festival award is not the first for Cathedral Hill Productions. “RaRa My Lifestyle”, a self-referential short about an amateur filmmaker who aspires to make the great Canadian horror film, was an Awards of Excellence winner at the 2021 Canada Shorts Film Festival.

Snell has also received a grant from the Electric City Culture Council in Peterborough, which he says will go towards a film to be released in 2023.

VIDEO: “Schnitzelback” – Cathedral Hill Productions