Breanna White of White Willow Loft, a vintage and farmhouse-inspired home decor store at 351 Kent Street West in Lindsay, was one of seven entrepreneurs in the spring 2022 cohort of the Starter Company Plus program in the City of Kawartha Lakes who received a $5,000 grant to grow her business. Applications for the program's fall cohort are open from September 15 to October 13, 2022. (Photo: White Willow Loft / Facebook)
Applications open on Thursday (September 15) for the fall cohort of the Starter Company Plus program in the City of Kawartha Lakes.
Offered by the Kawartha Lakes Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre with funding from the Ontario government, the program provides entrepreneurs with free access to training and business skills development as well as mentorship from local business leaders.
Participants also become eligible for a $5,000 grant to help launch or grow their early-stage business. The program is geared to start-ups that are either pre-revenue or have operated for less than three years.
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The deadline to submit an application is Thursday, October 13th. The following Thursday, approved applicants will begin the program, which includes four training days, three roundtable workshops with community experts, and one-on-one mentoring for six months.
Over the past 18 months, 33 Kawartha Lakes entrepreneurs have taken part in the program and continue to receive support from the Kawartha Lakes Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre as they work to grow their businesses.
Most recently this past spring, the following seven entrepreneurs and their businesses successfully completed the program and each received a $5,000 grant:
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Arron Maltais of Maltais Landscaping and Lawn Care in Norland
Lee Anna Thornbury of Organizing with Lee Anna in Lindsay
Breanna White of White Willow Loft in Lindsay
Erin Dunsford of Metio Creations in Lindsay
Lorrie Neskovski of The Lokal Hub and Eatery/The Lokal Market in Woodville
Charlie O’Neill of Charlie O Photography in Kawartha Lakes
Planting fruit trees and other edible infrastructure in local neighbourhood parks can invite biodiversity and people alike to visit. Until recently, the main feature at Dominion Park in Peterborough (pictured here) was a play structure. Now there are also apple trees, and soon there will also be an assortment of berry bushes that flora, fauna, and people will benefit from. (Photo: GreenUP)
Close your eyes, and envision yourself standing in a local park that has a vibrant orchard, bursting with abundance.
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s column is by Laura Keresztesi, Program Coordinator at GreenUP.
Smell the blossoms in the spring, and hear the bees buzzing around them. In the summer, witness children’s delight as they pop berries in their mouths, see their fingers stained with sweet juice, and notice the gentle conversation of two old friends who talk quietly as they pick from the same rows of plants.
In the fall, taste the sweet cider, and enjoy the company of neighbours as you share in the harvest. In the winter, hear the crunch of snow underfoot as a team of volunteer fruit tree caretakers come out to prune the fruit trees to prepare them, just in time, for spring to arrive again.
Open your eyes. This might not be the scene at your local park now, but it could be in the next few years.
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Momentum is building to grow our city’s edible infrastructure. Last spring, in partnership with Nourish and the City of Peterborough, 40 apple and pear trees were planted across the city. To continue towards a shared fruitful vision, this fall mini food forests will be planted in five Peterborough/Nogojiwanong neighbourhoods.
These mini food forests will consist of several fruit trees, berry bushes, and edible perennials. Here at GreenUP, we are excited to be working with a committed group of volunteers who will be planting and caring for young edible plants in these communal green spaces.
Would you like to feel more connected to the land and your food? Fruit trees and food forests can help connect individuals to each other and help communities better understand the source of their food, allowing for greater food sovereignty.
Volunteers strike a pose after planting apple trees next to the ever-growing edible fence line at Talwood Community Garden in Peterborough. A variety of edible plants have been sown along the line including apple, pear, elderberry, haskap, and rhubarb. (Photo: GreenUP)
We often think about fruit growing taking place in vast orchards outside of urban areas, but increasingly, people are coming back to the idea of growing fruit close to home — in backyards, along boulevards, and in parks and open spaces.
The Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough provided capacity for Peterborough neighbours to connect virtually throughout the pandemic around the topic of fruit through GreenUP’s neighbourhoods programs, increasing their understanding of how fruit can be built into city infrastructure. This project has truly grown!
“Over the duration of the pandemic, we have seen the interest in growing food expand substantially,” explains Jill Bishop, Community Food Cultivator with Nourish. “Community members are enthusiastic about feeding themselves and their communities.”
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“New and experienced gardeners alike have been asking frequently about integrating fruit production into their gardens and, as a community of growers, we have been dreaming about collectively planting fruitful food forests for years,” Bishop adds. “We are very excited about this project and the opportunity it presents to grow both fruit and our fruit-growing skills together as a community.”
Increasing edible infrastructure in cities brings a myriad of benefits to plants, animals, and people. Even before edible plants mature, they act as habitat and food sources for biodiversity within the seven different layers of the urban food forest canopy. Crucial pollinators are invited into the city space and contribute to the overall diversity of our urban landscape, creating ecosystem resiliency over time.
Contributing to a community food forest project is fun, engaging, and interesting. While volunteers tend to the growing plants, the green spaces are brightened with visitors who don’t normally use those areas, bringing the community closer together. People connect to nature and learn about where their food comes from. This increases health and wellbeing in communities over time.
Research through GreenUP’s “Planting for Our Fruiture” paper suggests that food forests are meant to mimic natural ecosystems, a designed community of mutually beneficial plants and animals intended to produce food. (Edited Diagram: Graham Burnett)
We are thrilled to have the opportunity to grow more edible infrastructure in our city, but it requires tender love and care. Food forests are interactive spaces. Trees and shrubs respond well to watering, feeding, pruning, and picking. While caring for fruit is less intensive than maintaining a vegetable garden, it still requires attention. As the saying goes, “Many hands make light work.”
Would you like to help water, spread mulch, and prune? Would you like to check on the trees, organize picking parties, and help make sure signage looks clear and welcoming? Would you like to learn about fruit tree care and help share that knowledge with others?
We invite folks to get involved in fruit tree care through our Growing Edible Infrastructure project.
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Throughout September we will have opportunities for volunteers to join us for some skill-sharing sessions, including hands-on opportunities to help plant edible infrastructure after diving into fruit tree teachings from knowledgeable volunteers.
Through GreenUP’s neighbourhood programs, we’ve learned a lot about the need for supporting more diverse use of shared space. For all these reasons and more, we are thrilled to be working on this Growing Edible Infrastructure Project as proud partners of the Arbor Day Foundation. The project is made possible by partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and TD Bank.
The Ganaraksa Forest has been closed since the May 21, 2022 derecho storm, described as the largest natural disaster to ever impact the forest. Since the storm, there have beeen multiple logging operations, including salvage harvest operations of storm-damaged trees, along with trail-clearing recovery work. (Photo: Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority)
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).
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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.
The May 21, 2022 derecho storm resulted in more than 600 acres of tree blowdown in the Ganaraska Forest, affecting main trail access points and systems mainly in the west and central areas of the forest. (Photo: Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority)
“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.
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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.
Montreal's next-generation choreographers Zack Martel and Santiago Rivera Laugerud perform in Fall For Dance North's "In Blue Rooms," part of the Toronto dance festival's Heirloom second season Public Energy Performing Arts is partnering with Fall For Dance North to bring a perforamnce of the world-premiere work to the Peterborough Square courtyard, featuring four dancers and jugglers performing to live music by a trio of musicians, on September 25, 2022. (Photo: Bruce Zinger)
Next Sunday afternoon (September 25), the courtyard at Peterborough Square will see a magical performance of dance, juggling, and live music with the world premiere of “In Blue Rooms.”
In partnership with Public Energy Performing Arts, Toronto’s premier international dance festival Fall For Dance North is returning to Peterborough to present the second season of the festival’s acclaimed Heirloom outdoor performance series.
In its inaugural season of Heirloom last September, Fall For Dance North brought Toronto’s Lua Shayenne Dance Company and American solo artists Caleb Teicher and Nic Gareiss to Millennium Park in Peterborough and Isabel Morris Park in Lakefield.
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This year, “In Blue Rooms” will feature four dancers and jugglers fusing dance, juggling, contemporary circus, and object manipulation to live music performed by a trio of musicians from Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music.
“What was born out of creative necessity in 2021, due to indoor gathering restrictions dictated by the global pandemic, grew into an inspirational and acclaimed outdoor performance series that we are all incredibly proud to be a part of,” says Fall for Dance North artistic director Ilter Ibrahimof.
“We are overjoyed to return with a new highly imaginative, full-length performance that promises to delight the senses in a beautiful new outdoor space in downtown Peterborough.”
VIDEO: Heirloom 2022 Teaser – Fall for Dance North Festival
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Whimsically choreographed by Montreal’s next-generation artists Zack Martel and Santiago Rivera Laugerud, dancer/acrobat Daniel Stefek, dancer Clémence Dinard, and jugglers Basile Pucek and Philippe Dupuis will tell a story of separation and the journey of coming together, while cellist Daniel Hamin Go, accordionist Michael Bridge, and clarinetist Brad Cherwin accompany the movements with a performance of original new arrangements of familiar compositions.
“Public Energy Performing Arts is delighted to welcome Fall for Dance North back to the Peterborough/Nogojiwanong area with its stunning, all-ages Heirloom performance series,” says Public Energy’s executive director Bill Kimball.
“We are honoured to partner with Fall for Dance North to bring world-class dance and live music — with a lighthearted and playful twist for 2022 — to Peterborough audiences once again.”
Cellist Daniel Hamin Go, accordionist Michael Bridge, and clarinetist Brad Cherwin (not pictured) of Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music will accompany the movements of four dancers and jugglers with a performance of original new arrangements of familiar compositions. (Photo: Bruce Zinger)
The hour-long outdoor performance takes place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 25th in the courtyard at Peterborough Square at the corner of Charlotte and Water streets. There will be a question-and-answer session with the artists immediately following the performance.
In the case of inclement weather, the performance will move indoors to the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre.
General admission tickets are sold on a sliding pay-what-you-can scale, with a suggested amount of $15 per person. You can purchase tickets online at Ticketmaster. You can also reserve tickets by email or phone (no credit card required) by contacting Public Energy at admin@publicenergy.ca or 705-745-1788.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a long-time media sponsor of Public Energy Performing Arts.
Penny Barton Dyke (middle), Shantal Ingram (left), and Emily Beall (right) at the Edwin Binney's Community Garden Farm Stand at 50 Mary Street West in Lindsay. Barton Dyke is retiring as executive director of United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes after more than 17 years in the position. Ingram and Beall are the organization's new co-executive directors. (Photo courtesy of United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes).
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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