Still dealing with the impact of the May 21 derecho storm, the Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) has announced a restricted reopening of the Ganaraska Forest as of Friday, September 30th.

Trail access will be limited to users with current and extended memberships, with designated trails open for all recreational uses until motorized access ends for the season on November 30. However, in certain areas of the East Forest, only non-motorized use will be permitted.

A map of designated trails will be available before September 30, according to a media release issued by the GRCA on Wednesday (September 14).

The Ganaraska Forest is southern Ontario’s largest forest at 11,000 acres (4,452 hectares), straddling Northumberland and Peterborough counties, Kawartha Lakes, and Durham Region.

The forest has been closed since the May 21 storm, described as the largest natural disaster to ever impact the forest. The storm resulted in over 250 hectares (600 acres) of tree blowdown throughout the forest and significant trail impact from downed trees and hazard trees.

The decision to limit the reopening of the forest to members only was made because of ongoing safety concerns and continued salvage and harvesting operations, according to the GRCA.

“Trail usage continues to be impacted by a higher than normal volume of logging operations (annual harvest and storm salvage),” the GRCA says, adding that harvesting and storm salvage are important restoration tools to reduce the risk of fire and introduction of pests.

“Progress has been made but, out of an abundance of caution, the GRCA feels limiting trail users to members only will allow ongoing efforts to safely continue, while also providing some access to Ganaraska Forest members.”

In recognition of the impact on Ganaraska Forest members, the GRCA is extending memberships.

Memberships purchased between June 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022 (except for cross country ski memberships) will receive an automatic one-year extension. Country ski memberships expiring during the closure (between May 21, 2022 and the reopening date) will receive a six-month hiking membership.

Trail recovery will continue after September 30, and additional trails will be opened for use once they are deemed safe by GRCA staff.

After more than 17 years in the position, Penny Barton Dyke is retiring as executive director of the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes.

“It has been a privilege and honour to work with incredible community leaders, donors, volunteers and staff over the years,” Barton Dyke says in a media release. “I am looking forward to taking some time off and looking at new adventures.”

During her tenure, Barton Dyke led the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes through some significant achievements.

From 2005 to 2008, the organization participated in Community Matters, a collaboration of 16 small United Ways in rural Ontario that led to a transformation of the organization’s approach to community engagement and development work.

“Essentially, it was a call to action to help lead cutting-edge projects and find new ways of working with partners,” says Barton Dyke, adding that the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes “assisted with the development of the poverty reduction strategy for Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes.”

Another achievement was the establishment of Edwin Binney’s Community Garden in Lindsay, a partnership with Crayola Canada, Fleming College, and the Otto and Marie Pick Foundation. Since it was developed into a fully operational community garden in 2019, the operation has produced thousands of pounds of produce for 11 local food banks and 10 charitable organizations in the City of Kawartha Lakes. This year, the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lake launched a farm stand, offering variable pricing for shoppers depending on their budget.

The announcement of Barton Dyke’s retirement was made at the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes annual general meeting last Thursday (September 8).

“I don’t feel the city will every truly appreciate the positive impact you have had on us all,” said Duncan Gallacher, outgoing president of the organization’s board, during his remarks at the meeting.

With Barton Dyke’s retirement, the board has appointed Emily Beall and Shantal Ingram as co-executive directors. Beall is currently the organization’s projects and communications coordinator who also oversees Edwin Binney’s Community Garden and Ingram is currently the organization’s community investment coordinator and and has led six campaigns.

A 71-year-old Peterborough man is facing an arson charge after a house fire in Peterborough on Tuesday morning (September 13).

At around 6:30 a.m on Tuesday, Peterborough police and fire services responded to a fire on Woodglade Boulevard in the city’s west end.

Police closed the area of Woodglade Boulevard between Sherbrooke Street and Lynnhaven Road during the fire and, after an initial investigation, charged a 71-year-old Peterborough man with one count of arson – damage to own property.

The accused man was held in custody for a court appearance on Tuesday.

Peterborough police and fire services, along with the Ontario Fire Marshall, are continuing to investigate the fire. Police say residents can expect a police presence in the area for a few days.

Police are also asking the Good Samaritan who was seen trying to extinguish the fire to contact Detective Constable Mike Stephens at 705-876-1122 x303.

Big fire in west end of Peterborough @PtboExaminer @kawarthaNOW pic.twitter.com/OIlkDBylvy

— Andrew MacDonald (@andrewmacdo) September 13, 2022

Peterborough city council has endorsed selling the naming rights to the new urban park on Charlotte Street to PepsiCo Canada, which would name the park the Quaker Foods Urban Park.

In exchange for the naming rights, the city would receive $240,000 over 15 years, along with inflationary increases on annual payments.

Councillors voted to endorse the item without discussion during the general committee meeting on Monday (September 12).

The urban park, located near the intersection of Charlotte and Aylmer streets in downtown Peterborough, was first conceived in the city’s May 2009 Central Area Master Plan with an initial design concept created in 2013.

Consultation, planning, and design work on the project began in 2016, with demolition work at the site beginning in late 2017 followed by construction in early 2021.

The park will include a refrigerated outdoor skating rink, a stage for musical and performance events, green space, washrooms and change rooms, and space for the Wednesday Downtown Farmers’ Market that was originally held in the former Louis Street parking lot. The park is also the location of the UN Peacekeepers Monument, which was unveiled in July.

The original $6.5-million price tag of the project has increased to more than $7.4 million due to additional costs. Construction was originally scheduled to be completed in July, but work is continuing. The city has not announced a new completion date.

In a September 12th staff report to council, the city’s chief administrative officer Sandra Clancy says sponsorship as a potential revenue-generating opportunity was a consideration throughout the planning and development of the park, and that PepsiCo Canada ULC, through its local Quaker brand presence, was identified “as a strong strategic fit for the sponsorship opportunity.”

PepsiCo, which produces Quaker-branded products including oatmeal at its Hunter Street plant, has been celebrating 120 years of production in Peterborough.

“PepsiCo is a long-standing local employer with a historic presence in Peterborough,” Clancy writes. “Its Quaker Oats brand uses ‘wholesome goodness’ as part of its identity. Associating a major local employer that is involved in the production of food with a community gathering space contemplated for use for a regular farmers’ market is an ideal fit between the City space and the sponsor.”

As well as naming rights for the urban park, as part of the sponsorship agreement PepsiCo would be allowed to use the park “for events to engage with the community and/or its workforce,” which Clancy writes are expected to be around six days per year.

General committee’s endorsement of the sponsorship agreement will be considered for final approval at the regular city council meeting on September 26.

The Wright Family Fund, a family legacy fund administered by the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes, has donated $7,500 to A Place Called Home in Lindsay.

A Place Called Home supports homeless men, women, and families with children in the City of Kawartha Lakes and County of Haliburton. This past summer, the charitable non-profit organization completed construction on a new emergency shelter at 64 Lindsay Street South.

The donation from the Wright Family Fund will support the shelter and it services as well as A Place Called Home’s outreach program, which provides assistance to past shelter clients as well as those in the community at risk of homelessness.

On September 1, Glen Wright attended the presentation of the $7,500 cheque to A Place Called Home at its new emergency shelter.

“The importance of giving back to your home community is something Glen Wright learned from his parent,” reads a media release from the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes. “Glen’s father grew up in Janetville eventually settling in Bethany after the war, where he became the barber and volunteer firefighter, and his mother taught at a two-room school. A family cottage was built on Four Mile Lake near Burnt River in the 1950s. Reconnecting to the fond memories of life at the cottage, Glen bought his own family cottage on the same lake 30 years later.”

Since it was established, the Wright Family Fund has supported initiatives to improve the communities of Kawarthas Lakes, including The Grove Theatre in Fenelon Falls, the Summit Wellness Centre in Coboconk, and the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes Opportunities Fund.

For more information about the Community Foundation and its philanthropy, visit www.kawarthafoundation.ca.

The Ontario government has announced all adults 18 years and older will be eligible for booster doses of the new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine beginning Monday, September 26th, with bivalent boosters available immediately for those in the most vulnerable populations.

On September 1, Health Canada authorized the use of an adapted version of the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine for adults 18 years of age and older. Known as a “bivalent” vaccine because it targets both the original SARS-CoV-2 virus from 2019 and the Omicron (BA.1) variant, this is the first bivalent COVID-19 vaccine authorized in Canada. It has also been found to generate a good immune response against the more recent Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants.

As of 8 a.m. on Monday (September 12), bivalent COVID-19 booster appointments are available for adults 18 years and older in the most vulnerable populations, including those 70 and older, residents of long-term care homes and retirement homes (as well as Elder Care Lodges and people living in other congregate settings that provide assisted-living and health services), Indigenous people (First Nation, Inuit, and Métis) and their non-Indigenous household members, pregnant women, and health care workers. The booster is also available for moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals aged 12 and over.

The provincial government says new booster dose appointments for existing COVID-19 vaccines will be paused until September 26 “to prioritize distribution to these populations.” However, all previously booked booster appointments between September 12 to 25 will be honoured and, if available, the bivalent vaccine will be offered.

“The bivalent COVID-19 booster is a safe and effective way for people to better protect themselves against the most recently circulating COVID-19 variants in Ontario,” said Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore in a media release. “As vaccine protection decreases over time, I encourage all Ontarians aged five and over to receive the booster dose they are eligible for.”

Although appointments for booster doses of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine will only be available to all Ontario adults as of September 26, anyone 18 and older can now book appointments “to allow for convenient planning and preparation,” although the government adds the availability of appointments for the bivalent vaccine “is based on shipment schedules and supply from the federal government.”

People can receive the bivalent booster at the recommended interval of at least six months from their previous dose, regardless of how many boosters they have already received.

Appointments can be booked online through the COVID-19 vaccination portal at covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900.

Eligible people can also book an appointment directly through public health units that use their own booking systems, Indigenous-led vaccination clinics, participating health care providers, and participating pharmacies. Pregnant women and health care workers booking from September 12 to 25 must call the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre or book booster dose appointments through participating pharmacies.

For the next three weeks, Chapters Peterborough will be raising funds to support the library at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough’s East City.

From September 12 to October 2, every dollar raised in the store at 873 Lansdowne Street or online will go directly to Immaculate Conception’s school library to purchase new books.

The campaign is part of the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation’s annual Adopt a School Program, designed to raise both funds and awareness about the importance of school libraries. During the campaign, Indigo-owned stores across Canada “adopt” a local or remote high-needs elementary school to support them through in-store fundraising.

According to the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, government funding for Canadian school libraries and librarians has been declining since the 1990s. To offset decline funding, schools and parents have resorted to fundraising efforts.

Parents have also purchased more books for their children to read at home. However, families with fewer resources rely on school libraries to help their children succeed in school, and the libraries offer access to printed, audio, and electronic resources for students who might not otherwise have such access.

Studies also show that students in schools with well-staffed, stocked, and funded libraries score from 10 to 25 per cent higher on standardized tests than students in schools with poorly resourced libraries.

Nicole “Nikki” Tripp, the Learning Commons Specialist (a.k.a. librarian) at Immaculate Conception, applied to the Adopt a School Program earlier this year and the school was accepted.

“With the majority of our library budget coming from book fair fundraisers, new purchases for our library have been slim since 2019,” Tripp explains.

As well as donating to Immaculate Conception’s library in-store at Chapters Peterborough, you can also donate online.

Depending on the amount raised in-store and online, Immaculate Conception will receive funds either in the form of an Indigo e-gift card or an Indigo corporate account for the school. Indigo will also provide a 30 per cent discount on the list price on books purchased by the school using the funds, giving the school the opportunity to stretch the funds even further.

“With this funding, our goal is to increase the number of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) non-fiction books that we have for all grade levels and update fiction series with the newest additions that students are waiting for — specifically, graphic novels,” Tripp says.

For more information about the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, visit www.indigoloveofreading.org.

If you noticed nine large motorized canoes filled with 50 men and woman in red outfits heading down the Trent-Severn Waterway from Bobcaygeon to Peterborough on Friday (September 9), you were seeing the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group on a historic voyage from Parry Sound to Ottawa.

Many people in southern Ontario are unfamiliar with the Canadian Rangers, a sub-component of the Canadian Army Reserve which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

Established in 1947, the Canadian Rangers — predominantly First Nations peoples living and serving in their communities — work in remote, isolated, and coastal regions of Canada. There are five Canadian Ranger Patrol Groups across Canada, with the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group covering remote coastal and inland regions of northern Ontario.

The 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group comprises 27 individual patrols covering an area of northern Ontario almost as large as the combined size of France and Germany. The area is home to more than 50,000 people living in 49 First Nation communities, many of which have no year-round road access.

“A lot of where we operate in northern Ontario is only accessible by water, so it makes a lot of sense,” says Major Charles Ohlke, referring to the voyage to Ottawa, which is also a training exercise during which the Rangers will be instructed on safe watercraft operation and first aid.

The motto of the Canadian Rangers is “Vigilans,” meaning “The Watchers,” which reflects their role to support both the national security and public safety operations of the Canadian Armed Forces. The 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group is Canada’s military presence in northern Ontario.

So far in 2022, members of the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group have participated in 10 ground search-and-rescue missions and have rescued 13 people, including two stranded truckers on an ice road, an injured Attawapiskat First Nation snowmobiler, and two young hunters who were stranded about 100 kilometres away from their communities after their all-terrain vehicles broke down.

The 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group expedition left Parry Sound on September 5, traversing Georgian Bay to enter the Trent-Severn Waterway at Port Severn.

They travelled through Buckhorn, Peterborough, and Rice Lake on Friday, which was day four of their voyage.

On Saturday, they will be travelling from Rice Lake to Healey Falls, and then to Campbellford and Frankford on Sunday. After arriving in Trenton on day seven, they will traverse Lake Ontario to Kingston and then head north through the Rideau Canal to Ottawa, finishing their 13-day journey in Ottawa on September 17.

“This exercise not only serves as an event to recognize our 75 years of service to Canada,” says Lieutenant-Colonel Shane McArthur, commanding officer of the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group.

“It’s also an opportunity for Canadians to interact with Canadian Rangers and learn about what we do within Ontario and the Canadian Armed Forces.”