After two long years of holidays interrupted by COVID-19, like many of you, I am looking forward to a more normal sort of holiday season.

Christmas eve 2020, I was working with my team to put the finishing touches on our COVID-19 vaccine campaign plan that was set to begin shortly. It had been a whirlwind of a year. Not only because this would be my first Christmas as a father, but because the most significant pandemic of our generation was in full swing.

The community had come together to protect each other and science had been working tirelessly to deliver a safe new vaccine in record time thanks to incredible global collaboration.

The vaccines arriving cold and on time was my Christmas wish. And they did! The beginning of the vaccine campaign was a stressful time in public health, but as more vaccine arrived, it turned to excitement. Everyone would soon have their chance to have protection against the COVID-19 virus. And protection it has given us!

Fast forward to present day, in my new home of Peterborough, we estimated that as many as 291 lives in the Peterborough Public Health region may have been saved due to efforts from the community and from impressive vaccine coverage.

It is a lot to be proud of as a community and a country, but there are many lives lost to mourn. In the Peterborough Public Health region, we recently surpassed 100 deaths in 2022 and 130 since the beginning of the pandemic. We continue to see the impacts of the pandemic as lives are lost weekly.

This fall, as restrictions lifted and personal protective measures became relaxed, we saw the return of other respiratory viruses. This has been taking a toll on families and young children, but most of all on our health care system. Before the pandemic, flu season was a difficult time every year when the already limited health care capacity was stretched thin. But now, the health care system finds itself stretched thin, bare, and in crisis.

So, while this year will be more normal. For me, it will be a modified normal. I plan to invite in all of the merry and cheer, and none of the respiratory viruses!

Here are five of my tips to stay safe and still have all of the fun this holiday season:

1. Make sure you’re up to date on COVID-19 and influenza vaccines

If you haven’t received a COVID-19 vaccine or flu vaccine within the last six months, get a dose now.

Peterborough Public Health continues to administer COVID-19 vaccines at Peterborough Square and local pharmacies offer COVID-19 and flu vaccines.

2. Don’t be the one to bring a virus to the party

Stay home if you feel unwell. Any symptoms at all, but especially a fever and cough, mean that you should not be attending gatherings.

Consider a virtual video option for your party so people who are sick don’t feel left out.

3. Mask up

Wearing a mask, especially a tightly fitting KN95/N95 style mask, is the best protection in crowds or at social gatherings.

Choosing to mask up for even part of the gathering can reduce your risk and the risk to those around you.

If you feel social pressure not to mask up, then don’t. Social changes take time to become normalized in a society. For example, most of us could NEVER imagine drinking and driving but this was a common behaviour a few decades ago.

4. Air out the party

Gone are the days of Grandma’s stuffy, hot, highly attended holiday parties. Ventilation in indoor settings can decrease risk of viruses transmitting.

So crack windows or doors, get a cross breeze going, turn up your furnace fan, or use a HEPA filter in the party room to ensure the air you’re breathing will be safer for everyone.

Even better, try a new tradition of attending a snowy outdoor gathering or connect on a walk.

5. Check out what is happening in the community

Your risk of getting sick with a respiratory infection is higher if transmission is moderate to very high in the community.

Check out the Peterborough Public Health COVID-19 and Respiratory Virus Index at peterboroughpublichealth.ca/covid-19-risk-index/ for the latest risk assessment to inform your decisions.

I am personally very excited for a modified normal this year.

With holiday love and cheer,

Dr. Thomas Piggott
Peterborough Medical Office of Health

The Ontario government has provided a total of $88,306 in funding for three Peterborough-area organizations to keep seniors connected.

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith announced on Wednesday (December 22) that Hospice Peterborough is receiving $24,874, Activity Haven Senior Centre is receiving $24,255, and Curve Lake First Nation is receiving $14,177.

“These investments make a big difference in the lives of Ontario’s older adults here in Peterborough-Kawartha,” Smith says in a media release. “Staying connected close to home and safely taking part in local life lets our seniors keep active with friends, family and the community.”

The funding comes from the province’s Seniors Community Grant Program, which is intended to address social isolation and help older adults stay healthy, safe, and engaged in their communities.

The program provides grants from $1,000 to $25,000 to help community organizations provide opportunities for greater social inclusion, volunteerism, and community engagement for older adults, from the safety of their homes or other safe environments.

The senior population is the province’s fastest-growing demographic. By 2023, there will be three million Ontarians over the age of 65.

The Peterborough Police Service has welcomed six new officers to the service.

The six new recruits — constables Jeremy Avey, John Bangay, Christopher Cox, Blake Harris, Daniel Hicks, and Dominic Moukarzel — recently completed basic training at Ontario Police College.

The six men were officially sworn and received their badges on Monday (December 19) at Peterborough City Hall in front of family and friends.

“Congratulation to our new recruits,” said acting police chief Tim Farquharson. “The Peterborough Police Service welcomes you. We are excited to have you and look forward to you learning and being a part of the Peterborough community.” 

The new officers come to the Peterborough Police Service from various fields including corrections, security, customer service management, and sales with post-secondary degrees in commerce, sports management, forensics, and police foundations. They also have volunteer experience with auxiliary units.

Police services board members Drew Merrett and Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal also welcomed the new constables to the community and thanked them for their commitment to community service.

The Peterborough Police Service provides policing services for the City of Peterborough, the Village of Lakefield, and the Township of Cavan-Monaghan. 

For workers or job seekers, it’s not always clear how they can move up from an entry-level position to a more rewarding one. As a result, they may miss an opportunity that could lead to a more successful and satisfying career.

That’s where a career ladder comes in. Like its namesake, a career ladder is a tool that can help workers reach the heights of their chosen profession by showing them the steps they need to take to move up the career ladder.

For workers and job seekers in the greater Kawarthas region, the Workforce Development Board (WDB) has made interactive career ladders available at wdb.ca/career-ladders/ for four sectors where local employers have jobs to fill: agriculture, construction, food service, and manufacturing.

The four career ladders show the types of progressive jobs available at each rung of the ladder, including examples of job titles, job descriptions and duties, hourly wages, and general skills needed. They also provide information about educational and training opportunities to help individuals get the skills they need to move up the ladder, as well as high-demand jobs available right now at local employers.

Jennifer Lamantia, CEO of Workforce Development Board, says “these career ladders can be utilized not only by job seekers or those seeking career advancement, but also by local employment services or career counselling, literacy and basic skills providers, and in educational institutions to help plan career pathways.”

WDB’s career ladders were born out of Pathways to Prosperity (P2P), a workforce development program announced last August that provides unemployed and underemployed people with training and work placement for high-demand jobs in food service, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture.

Administered by Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development (PKED) in partnership with WDB, Fleming College, City of Kawartha Lakes Economic Development, and Muskoka-Kawartha Employment Services, the program also provides support for employers in Peterborough and the Kawarthas and the City of Kawartha Lakes to train and retain skilled talent.

Eva Rees, the workforce development project manager overseeing the P2P program with PKED, explains the link between Pathways to Prosperity and career ladders.

“We were looking at how workers can be made aware of what opportunities exist once they start at an entry-level job in any one of those high-demand sectors,” Rees says. “The idea with this tool is to show how a worker can progress in a career with further experience, training, and education and how higher-level jobs can lead to more opportunities financially.”

For example, the food service career ladder at wdb.ca/career-ladders/food-service-career-ladder/ has seven rungs, beginning from apprenticeship and then progressing from entry-level positions such as food counter attendants and kitchen helpers, to cooks, to chefs, to restaurant and food service managers, to supervisors and, at the very top of the ladder, entrepreneur and business owner.

At each rung, the median hourly wage is highlighted. The number of current job postings for each rung is also listed, which can be browsed on WDB’s online Local Jobs Hub with a simple click.

“It’s an interactive tool that provides not just the rungs on the ladder, but information about job seekers can move along to advance throughout their career, one step at a time,” Rees adds.

In addition, the career ladders describe the education and training resources available in our local area for each rung.

The career ladders offer workers an easy-to-understand guide for making decisions about the next step in their profession.

“If you’re at the second step and you want to go to the third, by looking at that step and the details, you can see exactly what’s available currently within our region, what the jobs look like, what they’re called, what the requirements are, and the minimum qualifications needed,” Rees explains.

“You can really get a good visual of what you’re striving for. It shows in black and white what the opportunities are and what you need to do to progress.”

Rees adds career counsellors and coaches working with PKED through local employment service providers have access to the career ladders, and use them as “a very positive motivator” to encourage workers looking to get a foothold in any one of the four sectors.

She says there’s a benefit for employers as well.

“As part of our conversations when we’re meeting with employers to discuss the Pathways to Prosperity program, we share the career ladder that’s applicable to their sector,” Rees says. “Not only does that confirm that the ladder is accurate and expresses the right way of climbing through a career in that sector, but it also shows the employer how other employers in their sector are advertising the positions that are available. It’s helpful for them to have that understanding.”

Along with the interactive career ladders, a series of videos are being produced that profile employers in the agriculture, construction, food service, and manufacturing sectors.

“In those videos, we’re interviewing employees that have worked their way up through the career ladders,” says Rees. “It’s a conversational side of the communication that goes hand-in-hand with the ladders.”

VIDEO: Publican House Brewery – Local Business Profile

On a personal level, Rees says she has seen the success of career ladders for workers in the Pathways to Prosperity program.

“I’ve had the opportunity to meet with participants who have gone through the program and have found themselves in a new career, trying to really move themselves up to a potential that they only dreamed about just a year ago,” she says.

Rees says the career ladders provide workers with a “clear picture” of how they can progress to a higher-level position, even if they aren’t in an entry-level position.

“It really is aspirational. It encourages people that — if they have previous experience, some education, and some training — using this tool can identify what rung on the ladder they should start at. It isn’t necessarily about starting right at the bottom. It’s about starting at the right place for them and what they have in their background and experience. This can help everybody at any career point.”

For more information about WDB’s career ladders, visit wdb.ca/career-ladders/. For more information about Pathways to Prosperity, visit investptbo.ca/jobmatch/.

This Employment Ontario program is funded in part by the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario.

This branded editorial was created in partnership with Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development and the Workforce Development Board. If your business or organization is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.

The Bobcaygeon Legion has donated $5,000 to the Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation to support the hospital’s new clinical information system.

Members of the Royal Canadian Legion Bobcaygeon Branch 239 have supported the hospital for the past 30 years, according to a media release from the foundation.

Their donations have helped fund modernization projects in the Dr. Gargi Bhatia Family Birthing Centre, the construction of the dialysis unit, and critical acquisitions in the operating suites, laboratory, intensive care unit and diagnostic Imaging.

The latest donation will support the hospital’s clinical information system, part of a digital transformation that connects bedside medical equipment and life-saving technology to patients’ medical records and makes them accessible to care providers and patients wherever they are.

“This exceptional gift from the Bobcaygeon Legion Branch 239 to the Our Best To You holiday appeal is just the latest gesture of generosity in their long history of community support,” says Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation CEO Erin Coons.

“Service organizations including the Royal Canadian Legion continue to have a profound impact on the Ross. We’re grateful for their interest in ongoing efforts to modernize and enhance patient care in their community.”

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for all of southern Ontario, including the greater Kawarthas region, for a “significant” winter storm expected later this week and into the holiday weekend.

Precipitation may begin as rain or snow late Thursday (December 22) before possibly transitioning to rain in many areas early Friday.

Temperatures are expected to plummet on Friday, leading to a potential flash freeze for locations that received rainfall. Rapidly falling temperatures will be accompanied by strong to potentially damaging winds, along with snow that may be heavy at times.

Environment Canada says temperatures on Friday night into the weekend will likely be the coldest of the season to date.

Blizzard conditions are possible late Friday into the weekend for areas downwind of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. For locations east of the Great Lakes, a “multi-day lake effect snow event” is expected into the weekend in the wake of the system.

“While there is high confidence in a high impact winter storm, the details regarding wind speeds, precipitation types, and amounts remain highly uncertain at this time,” Environment Canada states. “Please monitor your local forecast and the latest alerts for your area.”

Environment Canada is suggesting people consider altering travel plans through the holiday weekend as conditions may become dangerous.

Extensive utility outages are also possible.

Police rescued a Peterborough man in his 70s on Sunday night (December 18) after he became lost while walking his dogs in a remote wooded area of Cavan.

After Peterborough police were made aware of the situation at around 6:15 p.m. on Sunday, several officers — including police constable Bob Cowie and police service dog Isaac — began searching for the man.

Around two hours later, the officers found the man and his dogs. The man was uninjured.

Police then used a remotely piloted aircraft system to help the group navigate safely out of the bush.

“With policing a rural area such as Cavan-Monaghan, tools such as our K9 unit and remotely piloted aircraft system are invaluable to help find people who have become lost or are missing,” says acting police chief Tim Farquharson.

“We are pleased this situation turned out positively.”

VIDEO: Missing man rescue (December 18, 2022)

Actor Ryan Reynolds has sent a video of encouragement to Rowghan Hart, the 14-year-old girl who remains in hospital after surviving a horrific head-on collision near Peterborough in November that killed her parents and brother.

Rowghan’s cousin Tanya Hart posted an update on Friday (December 16) on a GoFundMe campaign, in which she described that Rowghan has endured five major surgeries in just over three weeks.

“Rowghan is so strong and hasn’t complained once,” Tanya wrote. “She has smiled and made jokes, continuing to amaze the doctors, nurses and everyone that surrounds her. Thank you also to Ryan Reynolds, who sent Rowghan a video of encouragement yesterday. It brought a smile to her face.”

In an update last week, Tanya explained the hospital’s orthopaedic surgeon had told Rowghan “the most unimaginable news regarding her future.”

“We sat by her side as she processed her new reality that she may never walk again,” Tanya wrote. “I can honestly say that is was the hardest thing I have ever experienced in my life.”

On the afternoon of Tuesday, November 22nd, Rowghan was travelling in an SUV with her father 46-year-old Jonathan MacDonnell, mother 52-year-old Stephanie Hart, and brother 18-year-old Riddick Hart — who called themselves the “MacHart” family — on Highway 7 just east of Peterborough when their vehicle collided head-on with a pickup truck driven by 42-year-old Jason Schmidt of Hastings. Rowghan, the sole survivor, was airlifted to SickKids Hospital in Toronto in critical condition.

A funeral service for Rowghan’s parents and brother has not yet been arranged, according to Tanya, so the family can focus entirely on Rowghan’s recovery as well as her grandparents.

“We are sorry that we have to delay the services for Stefphanie, Jon and Riddick into the new year,” Tanya wrote. “However, it is so important that Rowghan be healthy and stable enough to be in attendance, in order to continue to process and grieve her beloved family.”

The GoFundme campaign organized by Tanya has so far raised more than $87,000 to support the MacHart family. A second GoFundMe campaign created by relative Kathryn Wilson has raised almost $9,000.