Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for rainfall in the most southern areas of the greater Kawarthas region on Monday (July 18).

Rainfall amounts of 25 to 50 mm of rain are possible on Monday in Northumberland County and southern Hastings County.

Localized ponding of water in low-lying areas is also possible.

Further north in the greater Kawarthas region, including in southern Peterborough County and southern Kawartha Lakes, 15 to 25 mm of rain are possible.

There is also a risk of thunderstorms in these areas.

Rain is expected to dissipate by early Monday evening.

After almost 13 months of being closed, the Simcoe Parking Garage in downtown Peterborough will reopen at 6 a.m. on Monday (July 18).

As part of the rehabilitation work on the garage, the City of Peterborough has installed a new automated parking control system, expected to be operational on August 2. Parking at the 190 Simcoe Street structure will be free for all customers between July 18 and August 2.

The new automated parking control system includes gates controlling entry and exit from the garage. Customers will receive their ticket upon entry and need to have the ticket validated before exiting the parking garage. Validated tickets inserted into the machine at the exit will raise the gate arm for the vehicle to leave the parking garage.

Customers have a number of options to pay for parking and get their ticket validated.

They can pay by debit or credit card at the machine at the exit by inserting their ticket at the exit gate. They can also pay before proceeding to the exit gate by using payment machines located in the parking garage (there is a 15-minute period after validating a ticket to allow customers to return to their vehicles and proceed to the exit gate). New signs are being installed to guide customers to pay stations, which are fully accessible.

Customers paying by cash can insert their ticket at the new pay station located on the lower level by the elevators and the walkway to the transit platform (the pay station also accepts payment by debit or credit). There is also a new pay station on Level 2A, near the rear stairwell, that accepts only debit or credit for paying for parking and validating parking tickets prior to exit.

Customers can also pay for their parking using their HotSpot account. HotSpot readers are provided on all pay stations for customers to activate the gates using their phones.

Monthly pass holders will be issued a new proximity card or be able to obtain an RFID tag to install on their windshields, which will automatically open the gates upon entry and exit from the garage, as long as their monthly permit is active and is renewed prior to the start of the next month.

A deposit will be required for the new proximity cards or RFID tags, which will be refunded when the customer no longer requires a monthly parking pass. Parking staff will be reaching out to current monthly pass holders to arrange for issuing the new cards or customers can call the Parking Division at 705-742-7777 extension 2802 to purchase a monthly parking pass.

After the period of free parking between July 18 and August 2, parking rates remain unchanged and the first hour of parking is free of charge.

Work began in June 2021 for an extensive rehabilitation of the Simcoe Parking Garage and the culvert that supports Jackson Creek under the garage.

Work on the garage included replacing the waterproofing system on all levels, repairing deteriorated concrete, painting the entire garage, replacing asphalt on the ground level to the east of the parking structure, replacing damaged parking railings, and completing contrast painting of the stairwells for improved accessibility.

The Simcoe Parking Garage was built in 1974 and last went through a major rehabilitation program between 2002 and 2005. A structural review in 2013 identified the need for repairs, and the first phase of this was completed in 2016. An updated structural review in 2017 confirmed the second phase of repair work to replace the waterproofing system and repair deteriorated concrete.

The project was deferred to 2021 to allow the project to be coordinated with work on the Jackson Creek culvert under the parking garage to realize cost savings and minimize disruptions to the parking garage.

Work on the garage and culvert was completed by Brook Restoration Ltd. at a cost of $4.5 million.

The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) has announced the Ganaraska Forest will remain closed until September 30, due to damage sustained from the May 21, 2022 derecho storm.

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. May’s derecho storm was the largest natural disaster to affect the Ganaraska Forest since it was established in 1947.

According to the GRCA, the storm resulted in more than 600 acres (250 hectares) of tree blowdown, affecting main trail access points and systems within the West Forest next to Boundary Road and Porter Road, as well as the Central Forest trailhead located at the Ganaraska Forest Centre.

There are also isolated blowdown locations scattered throughout the West and Central forests affecting various trail systems, which are popular destinations for ATV and dirt bike riders.

“The GRCA knows how much the Ganaraska Forest means to the local community and recreational users that come from across Ontario and out of province,” says Linda Laliberte, GRCA’s chief administrative officer and secretary-treasurer, in a media release.

“The GRCA is committed to reopening recreational trails in the Ganaraska Forest to recreational use. Everyone’s continued cooperation, understanding, and patience is appreciated.”

While GRCA staff continue to clear affected areas along the 600 kilometres of trails in the forest, many trails remain impassable with hazards along the sides of trails including overhead hangers. The GRCA says it cannot open certain trail sections while others remain closed because of various recovery operations taking place throughout the forest.

Additional high-wind events have also occurred since the storm, causing more downed trees on trails already cleared. Because of the unstable environment in the forest, high-wind events are causing more trees to fall than is normal.

While the East Forest was not as severely affected by the storm, it will remain closed as the East Forest does not have the capacity or the parking areas to accommodate the pressures of recreational use. Tree Top Trekking Ganaraska, whose courses are in a small area on the southern edge of the forest, continues to operate as does the Ganaraska Forest Centre, which is operating by appointment only.

Another reason for the ongoing forest closure are multiple logging operations in the West and Central Forests that began mid-July and will continue into the fall.

Along with regular annual harvest operations, salvage harvest operations of storm-damaged trees will be taking place along trails. As is normal practice, trails within and near logging operations are closed or restricted for recreational use.

Recovery efforts are being managed by the GRCA’s five full-time staff and four summer contract staff, assisted by staff from the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, and Northumberland County Forest.

Because most of the trail-clearing work is dangerous and complicated, the GRCA is currently not seeking volunteers from the public to assist with the recovery.

“Many of the downed tree situations include very dangerous spring poles, cracked, and/or unusually compressed trees,” explains GRCA forest recreation technician Ed Van Osch. “GRCA staff and contractors are highly trained professionals with many years of experience and are equipped to deal with hazardous forestry situations.”

The GRCA says it will consider volunteer opportunities as recovery efforts continue.

Due to the forest closure, the GRCA will extend Ganaraska Forest memberships purchased between June 1, 2021 and May 21, 2022 for an additional 12 months from the original membership expiry date.

Those with cross country ski memberships that expired during the closure (between May 21, 2022 and the reopening date) will receive a six-month hiking membership.

For updates on recovery efforts, visit the GRCA on Facebook at facebook.com/GanaraskaFC.

While it’s strongly recommended that those aged 60 and up — and those medically at risk for COVID-19 — receive a fourth vaccine dose as soon as they’re eligible, the second booster shot recommendation for those aged 18 to 59 isn’t as cut and dry.

That’s the word from Peterborough’s medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott who, on Thursday (July 14), convened a Peterborough Public Health media briefing — the first since April 6 — on the same day when eligibility for second booster doses expanded to all adults in Ontario.

While the COVID-19 risk index for the Peterborough region is currently at moderate and local wastewater surveillance — a very accurate barometer of the virus’s presence in the community — isn’t showing a dramatic increase, Dr. Piggott suggested this may change.

“We had a small bump over the last couple of weeks that has plateaued, but we are anticipating this will increasing in the next couple of weeks,” he explained.

While the current situation is steady for now, Dr. Piggott, like his colleagues across the province, is looking ahead to late summer and fall as an expected seventh pandemic wave, fed by the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant, takes firmer hold.

With that in mind, Dr. Piggott focused his comments on vaccine doses and, in particular, who should get their booster shot and when. As Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore pointed out on Wednesday, five million eligible Ontarians have yet to receive their first booster dose.

“Unfortunately, our coverage for third doses is not where we’d like it to be,” said Dr. Piggott, noting that, while 81 per cent of the region’s eligible population have received two doses, just 54 per cent have received the first booster shot — a gap of 27 per cent “we hope to close. Almost a third (of those eligible) are lagging behind and don’t have full protection.”

VIDEO: “Deciding to get a 4th dose if you are young and healthy — Dr. Thomas Piggott”

Turning his attention to fourth dose eligibility, Dr. Piggott noted it provides “important protection” for those aged 60 and up, First Nations residents, and immunocompromised individuals. As such, he explained, it’s strongly recommended that those in these groups — who have already been eligible for a fourth dose since April — get their fourth dose five months after they received their third dose.

However, the fourth dose recommendation for healthy people aged 18 to 59 “is more discretionary or conditional,” according to Dr. Piggott.

“If you had a recent infection, the recommendation is to wait three months before your next dose — your immune system will a have a better and more robust response to the vaccine,” said Dr. Piggott.

“A key consideration that people are asking about is ‘If I get a fourth dose now, how long will that add protection for me?’ We don’t have a lot of evidence on this, but the evidence we do have says the benefits against prevention of infection with a fourth dose is probably only for two to three months’ time. It’s a short-lived transient protection.”

Dr. Piggott noted with the expected development and rollout of the next generation vaccine, a bivalent one providing protection against multiple variants, that may change.

“Generally, a longer gap between doses gives a better immune protection overall but, at the same time, we are headed into a seventh wave,” he said. “It (getting a fourth shot if you’re 18 to 59 years old) is not a simple, clear decision. This is the first time during the pandemic where I’m not able to say I strongly recommend this.”

“It’s not that it’s unsafe. Rather (the benefits that different people get) may not be as significant as we’ve seen before. As a result, it’s a more nuanced conversation and decision that individuals should be thinking about as they try to make decision whether to get a fourth dose now or wait.”

Asked if not being able to provide clearer direction for those 18 to 59 considering a fourth shot is somewhat frustrating, Dr. Piggott said not at all.

“There genuinely is the need for people to consider their personal circumstances and make the best decisions that they can,’ he said. “This is a little bit different than other points in the pandemic, but not all that different than other things we do in public health.”

“For example, we often tell people to quit smoking. People may or may not listen to that advice. That doesn’t mean I bang my head against the wall — it means I continue to communicate the evidence. The reality is there’s some uncertainty here (around the benefits of fourth doses for those aged 18 to 59). It’s my job to be honest about that.”

With the current active case count in the region at 200, the prognosis is that number will rise as the seventh wave takes hold.

“Risk (of infection) is increasing,” noted Dr. Piggott. “Exposure risk is an important individual consideration. Some people are frontline workers. Other people may be travelling in airplanes or in poorly ventilated areas more often, so their risk going into a seventh wave may be higher.”

“Some people may be around those who are elderly, not yet vaccinated, immunoompromised, or medically at risk of severe COVID-19,” he added. “Those people may want added protection (from a fourth dose), even if that added protection is smaller (than previous doses).”

Part of the complexity in advising people whether or not to get a second booster dose now, according to Dr. Piggott, is uncertainty about the potential severity of the seventh wave and how the situation will look in the fall.

“What were trying to do is ensure the public has the information and protections it needs in place and that, if things do change, and the context worsens and is more severe, we’re prepared to respond,” he said. “I’m quite confident we’ll continue to meet needs, and continue to protect the public’s health.”

Those who wish to get a first or second booster dose can book an appointment 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 individuals can also book an appointment directly through public health units that use their own booking systems, through Indigenous-led vaccination clinics, and through participating pharmacies.

Peterborough resident Jill Artibello won $1 million in the June 7th Lotto Max draw.

The retiree says she has been playing the lottery since Lotto Max launched.

“I always play Quick Pick and this is my first big win,” she said at the OLG Prize Centre in Toronto where she claimed her winnings, a Maxmillions prize.

An avid sewer and crafter, Artibello said she checked her tickets at home when she discovered she won big.

“I kept looking and double checking the numbers online,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe it. I told my sister and she said, ‘Stop — you’re lying!’.”

Artibello plans to share her win with family.

“I will share with my sister, nieces, and nephews and my good friend,” she says. “I will also enjoy a more comfortable retirement and do some work around the house. I’m so happy. I never dreamed I would win.”

Artibello bought her winning ticket at the Shoppers Drug Mart on Charlotte Street at Aylmer in downtown Peterborough.

Meeting an online buyer or seller in the Haliburton area? How about doing it in a police parking lot?

That’s the idea behind Project Safe Trade, a program from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) that creates “community safe zones” at an OPP detachment parking lot to facilitate property transactions arranged on the internet.

Online classified and auction sites are often used as tools to sell stolen property to unknowing victims, and they can also present a safety threat. Only five per cent of internet or telephone scams and frauds are reported, largely due to shame or embarrassment on the part of the victim.

The parking spots, which are identified by signs, provide a public space for people meeting strangers to complete an online sales transaction. The hope is that internet fraud will be reduced by moving online transactions away from secluded parking lots, personal residences, or other areas and bringing them to a public place associated with the police.

Residents of the Haliburton area are invited to use the two designated parking spaces at the Haliburton OPP detachment’s parking lot at 12598 Highway 35 in Minden, which are available at all times with no appointment necessary. However, the OPP does not monitor the spots, mediate transactions, or check serial numbers of items being exchanged.

The OPP also recommends bringing a trusted friend or family member as a witness during the meeting, to keep transactions to daylight hours, and to not erase emails, texts, or voicemails between you and the seller or buyer.

Project Safe Trade was also launched at the Kawartha Lakes OPP detachment in Lindsay in 2019 and at the Bancroft OPP detachment in 2021.