A 42-year-old Peterborough man is dead following a two-vehicle collision on Lakehurst Road in Trent Lakes southwest of Buckhorn early Friday afternoon (March 31).

At around 1 p.m., a pickup truck and a car collided on Lakehurst Road between Anchor Bay Road and Elim Lodge Road.

The driver of the car, a 42-year-old man from Peterborough, has been pronounced dead.

No other injuries were reported at the time of the time of the collision, according to police.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

Lakehurst Road will remain closed between Anchor Bay Road and Elim Lodge Road for several hours while Peterborough County OPP document the scene.

The cardiac centre at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) has been dedicated to philanthropist James “Jim” Neill, who donated $5 million to the PRHC Foundation in 2021 — the largest donation in the foundation’s history.

At a dedication event on Thursday (March 30) attended by Neill and his family and friends, signage was unveiled on the exterior northeast corner of the hospital proclaiming the ‘James B. Neill Cardiac Centre’.

When he made his historic gift to the PRHC Foundation in 2021, Neill said he was inspired after moving back to the Peterborough area and realizing how important it is to have cardiac care services close to home.

“Where I used to live in Toronto, there were four hospitals within a 15-minute drive of my home — all of which offered lifesaving emergency cardiac care,” Neill said in 2021. “As I understand it, it’s essential that we limit the time and distance our loved ones, friends, and neighbours need to travel to get to get the same standard of care. I want to be part of that process of providing very timely cardiac care close to home.”

As Thursday’s dedication event, Neill expressed his appreciation to the hospital and his hope that his donation will inspire others to support the hospital.

“To have my name on the side of the building, to see it associated with such an outstanding hospital and such exceptional and talented health care professionals, is a great honour,” Neill said. “It’s my hope that when patients, visitors, and staff look up and see it, they’ll be encouraged and inspired to support their hospital in whatever way they can, much as the donors who came before inspired me. Thank you for granting me the opportunity to be part of the great tradition of philanthropy that has been part of PRHC’s history since the beginning.”

PRHC Foundation president and CEO Lesley Heighway said Neill’s donation is already empowering the hospital to respond to the rapidly growing needs of the region through the enhancement and expansion of cardiac services.

“We’ve come together this afternoon to commemorate an act of visionary generosity so transformational, it’s not only improving the quality of care available at PRHC today, it’s actively shaping the future of cardiac care in our region,” Heighway said. “Together with our community of donors, Mr. Neill is saving and improving the lives of thousands upon thousands of present and future patients and for that, as well as the inspiration his donation will provide to so many, we’re incredibly grateful.”

Dr. Warren Ball, interventional cardiologist and head of the cardiology division at PRHC, said Neill and other donors are supporting lifesaving and minimally invasive cardiac diagnosis and stenting in the hospital’s two cardiac catheterization laboratory suites, where were replaced and upgraded using state-of-the art technology in December.

“Our new cath lab technology provides images of even greater diagnostic quality, while using less radiation — meaning it supports shorter procedures and is even safer for patients,” Dr. Ball said. “We’re able to treat more patients locally, helping to eliminate the time and stress of travelling to a bigger centre for cardiac services.”

PRHC president and CEO Dr. Peter McLaughlin said Neill’s $5 million donation will play a pivotal role in the delivery of cardiac care at PRHC for years to come, allowing the hospital to realize their vision for expanded cardiac services.

“Donor support is unlocking opportunities and ensuring the people, infrastructure, systems and programs are in place to usher in a new era of care in our region,” McLaughlin said. “Your generosity says our community believes in our vision and that you, and others like you, stand beside us. Thank you.”

The body of a 46-year-old man was discovered in the Otonabee River in Peterborough on Thursday morning (March 30).

Peterborough police were contacted at around 8:15 a.m. after the man’s body was discovered in the area of the CP Rail Bridge and pedestrian walkway.

The area was closed to pedestrian traffic for about an hour.

Police have released no other information about the man’s identity or the possible cause of his death.

The coroner is now investigating with the assistance of Peterborough police.

Peterborough’s Canadian Canoe Museum has announced plans for a community-oriented waterfront campus along the shore of Little Lake near the museum’s new location, thanks to a $1,775,000 gift from former CFL player and businessman Stuart “Stu” Lang and his wife Kim.

The new 65,000-square-foot museum, currently under construction at 2077 Ashburnham Drive, will include an adjacent 5.3-acre redeveloped waterfront campus featuring 1,200 feet of shoreline with docks, a boardwalk, and restored and naturalized spaces including a wetland.

“We are incredibly grateful and fortunate for the passion, vision, and generosity of the Langs,” says the museum’s executive director Carolyn Hyslop. “Stu has taken great pride in helping craft an active waterfront that can complement the museum, with many of the ideas for the lakefront campus coming from Stu himself. This gift, confirmed in the fall of 2022, has grown to the transformative gift it is today because of the Langs’ commitment to excellence and elevating The Canadian Canoe Museum to a national level.”

A new offering that was unavailable at the museum’s former land-locked Monaghan Road location, the lakefront campus allows the museum to offer visitors a fully integrated experience, from learning about the canoe to stepping out of the museum and, within a minute’s walk, enjoy paddling around Little Lake.

The redeveloped waterfront will include an accessible all-season boardwalk connecting the museum to the Little Lake shoreline and to the Trans Canada Trail, which runs through the property between Roger’s Cove to Beavermead Park.

The lakefront campus will provide museum visitors with opportunities to get out on the water with a walk-in canoe launch, two seasonal canoe docks, and an adaptive canoe and kayak launch station. The docks and the nearby Canoe House will allow the museum to host voyageur canoe tours, adult and youth paddling programs, certification courses, regattas, and canoe and kayak rentals for the public.

“The lakefront campus will make our museum come alive,” Hyslop says. “Participants in a paddle carving or canoe restoration workshop will experience the excitement of testing their freshly honed skills on the water. Schoolchildren and campers will get their hands dirty while exploring the biodiversity of the wetland or learning to build a campfire.”

“Seating and signage throughout the site will encourage visitors and trail users to take in the expansive views of Little Lake before or after visiting the galleries. And the docks, canoe racks, and a connection to the Trans Canada Trail will encourage community connectivity and active, accessible transportation.”

The Langs’ donation will also support a gathering circle outside the museum’s main entrance that will welcome visitors arriving by car, bus, bicycle, or on foot. Inspired by Canadian canoe routes and the water’s impact on the landscape, the gathering circle will feature natural elements that emphasize the relationship between land and water.

With a water infiltration garden, wood slat benches, and a small amphitheatre surrounded by large granite boulders and white pine trees., the gathering circle will offer museum visitors as well as public trail users a space for reflection and education.

“We are so grateful to Stu and Kim Lang for their transformational donation that has led to the creation of the lakefront campus and gathering circle,” Hyslop says. “The Canadian Canoe Museum and the community will feel the impact of this donation for years to come.”

Highly respected members of the Guelph community with a lengthy record of philanthropic giving, the Langs have donated millions of dollars to numerous causes related to athletics, academics, and animal welfare. They donated over $70 million to Queen’s University and the University of Guelph, supporting both student athletes and the general student populations.

The University of Guelph’s S. Lang School of Business and Economics was named after Stu’s father following a $21-million gift, the largest ever in the school’s history. The Langs have also contributed to the Ontario Veterinary College, the Guelph Humane Society, and Guelph General Hospital, and also established the Angel Gabriel Foundation, a registered charity.

Prior to joining CCL Industries, the family business where he worked for 25 years before becoming a director of the company, Stu had a successful eight-year professional football career with the Edmonton Elks in the Canadian Football League, with his team winning five Grey Cups.

Both Stu and Kim have a passion for camping and canoe tripping, having attended the Taylor Statten Camps in Algonquin Park. At these camps, they both developed a life-long enthusiasm and interest in canoeing, the outdoors, and educating youth about Canadian history.

“The Canadian Canoe Museum’s world-class collection deserves an outstanding home,” Stu says. “A fully realized lakefront campus and gathering circle are essential. They will showcase the canoe’s incredible history and cultural significance and connect people to the land and water in a way that only hands-on experiences can.”

“The new museum will be a place where people can come together, learn by doing, and be inspired by the stories and traditions of the canoe. It’s an investment in our past, present, and future, and we are proud to be a part of it.”

The $40 million cost of the new museum is being funded by donors across the country, including significant donors such as the Langs and the Weston Family Foundation, as well as by all levels of government.

The federal government through the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the City of Peterborough, Peterborough County, and the Ontario government have also contributed funding for the new Canadian Canoe Museum.

The new museum’s originally scheduled opening date of early summer has been delayed due to labour and supply shortages. The new museum is now expected to open in late summer or early fall.

For more information about the new museum or to sign-up for updates, visit the museum’s website at www.canoemuseum.ca.