Clouds of smoke on the morning of September 13, 2022 in Peterborough's west end. (Photo: Andrew MacDonald / Twitter)
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.
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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.
Workers at the urban park near the intersection of Charlotte and Aylmer streets in downtown Peterborough on September 13, 2022. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
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).
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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 UN Peacekeepers Monument (left), unveiled in July 2022, at the urban park near the intersection of Charlotte and Aylmer streets in downtown Peterborough. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
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.
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“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.
A conceptual rendering from 2016 of “The Commons” area in the urban park in winter. (Illustration: AECOM)
Jackson Creek Press presents 'I Know A Place / Poetry Is Queer / Shot In A Mirror', an evening of film, poetry, and photography, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21 during Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride Week 2022. (Photo/Poster: Jeffrey Macklin / Jackson Creek Press)
Three “distinctly queer voices” will be showcased in an evening of film, poetry, and photography on September 21 when Jackson Creek Press presents ‘I Know A Place / Poetry Is Queer / Shot In A Mirror’ at Dreams Café and Bistro in downtown Peterborough.
It’s one of many events taking place during Peterborough-Nogojiwanong Pride Week 2022, supporting and celebrating people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, which begins with the proclamation of Pride Week and the raising of the progressive pride flag at Peterborough City Hall at 12:15 p.m. on Friday, September 16th and continues until Sunday, September 25th.
The theme of this year’s Pride Week is “joy and resistance,” reflecting the origins of Pride in 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in New York City’s Greenwich Village. When police became violent, the local gay community fought back. A year after the uprising, the first gay pride marches took place in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco.
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‘I Know A Place / Poetry Is Queer / Shot In A Mirror’ takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21st at Dreams Café and Bistro (138 Hunter St. W., 705-742-2406).
“It’s going to be a full-up evening of film, poetry, photography and kind of a dialogue,” says organizer Jeffrey Macklin, a mixed media artist and graphic designer and the owner of Jackson Creek Press in Peterborough.
The evening begins promptly at 7 p.m. with a screening of the short film I Know A Place by Roy Mitchell, a podcaster, writer, educator, and filmmaker who now lives in Hybla, Ontario.
‘I Know A Place / Poetry Is Queer / Shot In A Mirror’ features a short film by Roy Mitchell, poetry by Kirby, and photography by Don Pyle. (Illustration: Jeffrey Macklin / Jackson Creek Press)
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The film tells the story of Robert Goddere, an Algoma-area man who was well known in what was then a fairly underground gay community in Sault Ste. Marie. Goddere was known for his love of hosting gatherings for the gay community and had a tendency to care for those in his community, so much so he jokingly referred to himself as “mother.”
Mitchell made the 30-minute film in the 1990s, when he was living in Toronto and was part of the city’s art scene. After Macklin saw the film 20 years later, he knew it deserved a wider audience.
“When I saw Roy’s film, it deeply resonated with me even though the story is based in Sault Ste. Marie,” says Macklin, who came out 10 years ago. “It really resonated with my Peterborough experience.”
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After Macklin secured a screening location for the film, he decided to find other work that would complement the film.
“I felt like there was an opportunity to make it a more rich evening,” he says.
Through community connections, Macklin reached out to Toronto-based poet Kirby and Don Pyle, a record producer, musician, composer, and photographer.
Filmmaker Roy Mitchell, photographer Don Pyle, and poet Kirby. (Supplied photos)
Kirby is the publisher of knife | fork | book at knifeforkbook.com and can be found on Instagram @poetryisqueer. They are known for their poetry celebrating moments of queer love in a largely heteronormative world. However, Kirby also works to raise the voices of fellow writers by running events, hosting workshops, and publishing chapbooks.
Their newest book, Poetry is Queer, is described as “a hybrid-genre memoir like no other” where “Kirby pays tribute to gay touchstones while embodying both their work and joy. ”
Pyle will join the event to show photos and read excerpts from his second book Shot in A Mirror, a collection of portraits of inspiring queers.
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Pyle’s first book, Trouble in the Camera Club, is a collection of photos and essays documenting the beginning of punk rock in Toronto. Pyle began his musical career in 1979 as the drummer in a punk band called Crash Kills Five. Pyle and two other members of the band would later form Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, a Juno-award winning band best known for the theme song from Canadian sketch comedy TV series The Kids in the Hall.
Both Pyle and Kirby’s latest books will be available for purchase at the September 21st event.
When reaching out to Kirby and Don, Macklin was struck by how small the queer art scene can be in Canada, and in southern Ontario more specifically. Not only do Kirby and Pyle know each other, but they also both know Mitchell.
Peterborough mixed media artist and graphic designer Jeffrey Macklin, owner of Jackson Creek Press, was motivated to organize ‘I Know A Place / Poetry Is Queer / Shot In A Mirror’ after seeing Roy Mitchell’s short film “I Know A Place.” (Photo: Jeffrey Macklin / Facebook)
The cost for ‘I Know A Place / Poetry Is Queer / Shot In A Mirror’ is a suggested $20 at the door, or pay what you can.
“I’m very cognizant of artists being paid because I’m an artist as well,” Macklin says. “That was a big factor in putting this event together as well — that we had enough money to reward them for their work.”
Macklin also obtained financial support for the event from local businesses kawarthaNOW, Lett Architects, Basterfield & Associates, Unicity, and Brant Basics as well as from Peterborough Pride.
Glenn Wright (middle) and Margaret Cunningham and Jennifer Lopinski of the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes with a $7,500 for A Place Called Home at the non-profit organization's recently completed emergency shelter at 64 Lindsay Street South. (Photo courtesy of Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes)
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.
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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.
Authorized by Health Canada on September 1, 2022, the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine targets both the original SARS-CoV-2 virus from 2019 and the Omicron (BA.1) variant. (Photo: Miguel Tremblay / CC BY-SA 4.0)
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.
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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.”
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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.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough's East City has been accepted for the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation's annual Adopt a School Program. From September 12 to October 2, every dollar raised in-store at Chapters Peterborough on Lansdowne Street or online will go to the school for new books for the school library. (Photo: Nicole Tripp)
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.
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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.
Students reading in the school library at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough’s East City. Studies show that 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. (Photo: Nicole Tripp)
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.
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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.
According to Nicole Tripp, the librarian at Immaculate Conception, most of the school library’s budget comes from book fair fundraisers, and there have been few new purchases for the library since 2019. (Photo: Nicole Tripp)
The nine motorized canoes carrying 50 members of the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group at Lock 31 in Buckhorn on on September 9, 2022, during the fourth day of their 13-day voyage from Parry Sound to Ottawa. Predeominantly First Nations peoples, the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group support both the national security and public safety operations of the Canadian Armed Forces in northern Ontario. (Photo: 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group / Facebook)
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.
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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.
Two of the nine motorized canoes of the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group heading down the Trent Canal in Peterborough on September 9, 2022, during the fourth day of a 13-day voyage from Parry Sound to Ottawa. (Photo: Mireille Delisle Oldham)
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.
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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.”
The route of the 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group’s voyage from Parry Sound to Ottawa. (Map: 3rd Canadian Rangers Patrol Group)
Leslie Menagh, founder of Madderhouse Textile Studio in downtown Peterborough, is the new interim director of non-profit artist-run centre Artspace. (Photo courtesy Leslie Menagh)
Leslie Menagh is the new interim director of Artspace, the non-profit artist-run centre in downtown Peterborough, effective Monday, September 19th.
The organization’s board of directors made the announcement on Friday (September 9). Artspace had been seeking an interim director since December 2020, when previous director John Lockyer left the position.
Menagh is best known as the founder of the social enterprise Madderhouse Textile Studios, a workshop and professional development space for textile and fibre artists which shifted into garment design and production during the pandemic.
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As well as being a social entrepreneur, Menagh is an arts administrator, artist, craftsperson, and curator. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from NSCAD University.
After being closed during August, Artspace’s gallery at 378 Aylmer Street is reopening this Saturday (September 10) from 12 to 4 p.m. with “Port Monteau,” a series of new video and sculpture works by Toronto based-artist Mikiki.
The work created for Port Manteau follows a self-led research trip, during which the artist returned home to Ktaqmkuk/Newfoundland to reconnect with family and land. The exhibition will grow over the next few months as Mikiki continues to work in the space.
At 6:30 p.m. next Wednesday (September 14), Artspace will host a one-hour public meeting and by-election of new board members. Everyone is welcome to attend, with members having a vote in the by-election. After the meeting, Artspace will host a walk-through of the gallery where you can meet board members and new staff and share thoughts about Artspace’s new Maker Space.
For more information about Artspace or to become a member, visit artspaceptbo.ca.
Mother-and-daughter team Lorraine and Emily Forbes have sold the Cow & Sow Eatery in Fenelon Falls to local business owners Sandy and Haley Pickering of On The Locks restaurant. (Photo: Cow & Sow Eatery / Facebook)
The Cow & Sow Eatery at 36 Colborne Street in Fenelon Falls will be under new ownership as of next Thursday (September 15).
Sandy and Haley Pickering, who own On The Locks restaurant at 26 Colborne Street, have purchased the business from mother-and-daughter team Lorraine and Emily Forbes.
“We are so excited and grateful for the Cow to continue on with local business owners and prominent members of the community,” announced Emily on The Cow & Sow’s Facebook page on Thursday (September 8).
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“Words cannot express how grateful my mum and I are to have had this opportunity to connect with such a wonderful community,” Emily wrote. “Fenelon Falls truly is more than a community, it is a family. We have had the pleasure of meeting and creating many long lasting friendships and will miss seeing you all regularly.”
The Forbes opened The Cow & Sow Eatery last October, after purchasing the restaurant in 2019 from former owner Dickon Robinson and completing extensive renovations.
The Cow & Sow was originally part of the Mansion House Hotel, built in the late 1800s, and has been home to a variety of businesses since then. Robinson opened the Cow & Sow in 1996.
Vern Bastable, director of GreenUP Ecology Park and landscape programs, at the park's Native Plant & Tree Nursery at 1899 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough. (Photo: GreenUP / Facebook)
Peterborough GreenUP is asking for support after Ecology Park, located at 1899 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, recently suffered its third break-in this season.
“We have lost a variety of tools, and a bunch of peace of mind went with them,” the non-profit environmental organization wrote on social media on Thursday (September 8).
Ecology Park is home to the Native Plant & Tree Nursery, which sells plants, trees, shrubs, compost, wood chips, and more.
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“If you are able to support us during this time, cash donations will be appreciated and used to further secure our facilities, and replace items such as garden carts and tools which are desperately needed on a daily basis to run our nursery,” GreenUP wrote.
You can also support GreenUP by shopping at the Native Plant & Tree Nursery, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays until October 7.
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