A Northumberland antiques dealer has donated a rare stetson-style police hat to the museum of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

On November 30, inspector Jeff Martin of the Northumberland OPP met with Roy Cobbing, owner of Ray Cobbing’s Antique and Collectibles in Morganston, about six kilometres south of Warkworth in Trent Hills, to accept the donation of the wide-brimmed hat.

Martin has become aware that a police-issued wide-brimmed hat was being sold online. He reached out to the seller to discuss the uniform piece and the risks associated with citizens having access to authentic police uniforms and equipment.

As a result, Cobbing agreed to donate the stetson hat to the OPP, where it will be displayed in the museum at the OPP General Headquarters in Orillia. According to the OPP, this particular version of the stetson hat is rare and few were issued to officers.

Stetsons, also called “pony hats”, were part of the OPP uniform when the force was created in 1909. Officers also wore peak caps and winter fur caps, depending on where they were stationed or their rank. The OPP museum already has one of the only original stetson hats from that era.

By the mid 1920s, the stetson hats were gradually replaced by peaked uniform caps, worn with brass cap badges in the shape of a maple leaf. In 1997, the OPP reintroduced the stetson hat for non-commissioned officers, mainly because of concern officers were being exposed to ultraviolet rays.

In 2009, the OPP reverted to the peak caps, as officers found the wide-brimmed hats made it difficult to get in and out of cruisers and expressed a desire to return to the previous look.

Four people have been injured, one seriously, in a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 7 west of Omemee on Monday morning (December 20).

The Kawartha Lakes OPP and emergency crews are on the scene of the collision, which happened at around 9 a.m. on Monday and involved three passenger vehicles and a commercial motor vehicle.

Three people have been transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and one person has been transported to a Toronto-area hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Highway 7 is closed while police document the scene. Detours are in place on Highway 7 at Mount Horeb Road and Heights Road.

The closure will remain in place for several hours for the police investigation.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision and has not yet spoken to investigators is asked to call City of Kawartha Lakes OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Peterborough police are seeking the public’s help in locating a missing 31-year-old man.

Derek Smith was last seen by his family on Friday, December 10th. He has connections to both Durham Region and Toronto.

Smith’s family and police are concerned for his safety.

Smith was last seen wearing a black and grey winter jacket, grey sweat pants, black gloves, a black toque, and black snow boots.

He is known to always wear personal protective equipment including latex gloves and face masks.

Anyone with information about Smith’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Peterborough Police Service at 705-876-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

When 62-year-old farmer Richard Tukendorf woke up in the middle of the night, doubled over in severe pain, he knew something was wrong. Then, after he went to the bathroom, he became really scared.

“There was blood in my urine — a lot of it,” he recalls. “Something serious was going on. I needed to go to the hospital right away.”

At the emergency department at his local hospital, Richard had a CT scan. His doctors told him they were concerned about something they saw on the scan.

“They thought it could be a tumour,” he says. “They immediately sent me to see a specialist at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.”

The urologist waiting for Richard at PRHC told him he didn’t think it was cancer, but wanted to take a closer look to find out what was going on. A scope revealed a ruptured blood vessel in Richard’s kidney was the source of his pain and bleeding.

While Richard was very relieved it wasn’t cancer, he now had a new fear. Would he need major surgery to fix the problem? Would doctors be able to save his kidney? How would he be able to run his farm if he was recovering from surgery?

Twenty years ago, Richard’s fear would have been realized. Surgeons would have had to remove some, or even all, of Richard’s kidney. He would have been in the hospital for days and laid up for weeks at home, unable to work.

So when Richard found out he was a candidate for an innovative form of treatment called interventional radiology thanks to advances in technology, he was relieved for a second time.

As PRHC expert Dr. Fady Abdelsayed explained to Richard, interventional radiology is a minimally invasive alternative to conventional surgery that uses real-time imaging to steer needles, guidewires, and catheters into tiny incisions in the skin or through blood vessels to perform a procedure.

“Dr. Abdelsayed used a high-tech x-ray to steer a tiny needle through my blood vessels into my kidney,” Richard says. “He then used a bit of glue to seal the ruptured blood vessel shut to stop the bleeding.”

Although Richard had a local anaesthetic where the tiny incision was made, he was awake during the entire procedure, which took about an hour.

“That’s all there was to it — not even one stitch,” he says. “The pain was gone instantly as if someone flipped a switch. It felt like a miracle. I’ve seen medical marvels in movies, but I never imagined I’d experience one.”

And because interventional radiology is a minimally invasive procedure, not even requiring stitches, Richard recovered quickly.

“I walked out of the hospital the next day to go home,” he says. “I was able to go back to my life and my work as a farmer. That was a huge relief. If I had needed major surgery, I would have been laid up for weeks, unable to do what needs doing on my farm.”

According to Dr. Abdelsayed, interventional radiology is the future of healthcare.

“It helps us innovate and push the boundaries of what we can do for patients,” Dr. Abdelsayed explains. “It often lets us quickly give a patient relief from pain or help get them a diagnosis sooner. Because it’s minimally invasive, patients have less pain, shorter hospital stays, and face fewer risks than with traditional surgery.”

“It’s remarkable how many different things we can do,” he notes. “We can diagnose and treat cancer. We can collect fluid and drain blocked kidneys. We can shrink painful tumours, remove blood clots, and treat infections.”

But PRHC’s interventional radiology suites are now 13 years old. They’re too small to fit the latest state-of-the-art equipment — including CT scans, fluoroscopy, and ultrasound — used during interventional radiology procedures. They’re too small to accommodate the number of medical experts needed during the procedures. The suites need to be upgraded and expanded to meet the increasing need for interventional radiology.

“Dr. Abdelsayed and his colleagues perform 6,000 procedures every year, making PRHC one of Ontario’s busiest interventional radiology centres in the province outside of downtown Toronto,” says Lesley Heighway, PRHC Foundation President and CEO.

“Our facilities are in constant use and the need is only growing,” she says. “Because the government doesn’t fund equipment, our hospital is counting on your donations. Your support will help PRHC’s healthcare professionals provide patients like Richard with the very best care — close to home — with less risk, less pain, and a shorter hospital stay.”

“PRHC really needs your help to expand and upgrade their suites to fit the staff and all the advanced equipment they use to treat patients,” Richard adds. “You’ll be helping Dr. Abdelsayed and his team offer this world-class care to more folks like me for years to come.”

With the support of donors, PRHC will build a new step-down unit for rapid and high-demand procedures, add more recovery beds, and create more space for professionals like Dr. Abdelsayed to work.

For more information or to support this needed investment in the future of healthcare at our regional hospital, visit the PRHC Foundation’s website at prhcfoundation.ca or call 705-876-5000.

This story was created in partnership with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation.

Peterborough’s medical officer of health is urging area residents to reduce close contacts and reconsider social gatherings, with the health unit reporting a surge of 33 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday (December 18).

“This abrupt rise in cases is a clear indication that the omicron variant is circulating in our community,” says Dr. Thomas Piggott in a media release issued by Peterborough Public Health early Saturday evening. “I am strongly recommending that residents reduce their close contacts and reconsider holiday plans to keep themselves safe and reduce the high transmission we are seeing.”

There are now 78 active cases of COVID-19 in the Peterborough area. Provincially, 3,301 new COVID-19 cases were reported on Saturday, the largest single-day increase since May 6, following 3,124 new cases reported on Friday and 2,421 new cases reported on Thursday.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, the provincial government is imposing new public health restrictions, including a 50 per cent capacity limit on most indoor public settings (including all retail), a limit of 10 people per table at restaurants, and a limit of 10 people at indoor social gatherings and 25 people at outdoor social gatherings.

“Even with the new provincial capacity limits, we anticipate there will be a significant increase in cases in the coming days,” Dr. Piggott says. “We layer up to go outdoors in the winter to protect us from the cold and we need to layer up our prevention to protect us from COVID-19.”

Dr. Piggott is recommending five tips for preventing the spread of the virus during the holiday season:

• Check local and provincial public health guidance before going to any gathering.
• Get the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it is available to you. Three doses ensure the best protection. Reduce your risk by only gathering with others outside your household if they are also vaccinated.
• Stay home if you are feeling unwell and seek a COVID-19 PCR test to confirm a COVID-19 infection. If you have access to rapid antigen testing, use it to ensure you are negative before attending any gathering and consider reporting the result whether positive or negative to Peterborough Public Health.
• Gather outdoors if possible. If not, remember to open windows to allow for proper air flow in small spaces.
• If you gather with people from outside your household ensure the room is well ventilated by opening windows or doors (even a crack), and wear a tightly fitted medical mask or N95 respirator mask.

Effective Monday (December 20), Trent University is cancelling in-person exams at its Peterborough and Durham campuses. In-person exams scheduled for this weekend will go ahead.

“All students with scheduled in-person exams should check Blackboard or your Trent email for exam updates from your instructor,” reads a message from Trent president Leo Groarke on Friday night (December 17). “Scheduled online exams will continue.”

Many other Ontario universities, including the University of Toronto and York University, already cancelled in-person exams earlier this week due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Queen’s University in Kingston, which now has the highest rate of COVID-19 cases in Canada, announced last Sunday it was cancelling in-person exams.

In his message, Groarke says Trent campuses “continue to be safe places to be.”

“No COVID outbreaks have been declared at Trent. We continue to constantly monitor the situation, and thank everyone for following the COVID protocols that have kept us safe throughout the term. The decision to discontinue in-person exams starting Monday has been made out of an abundance of caution, in consultation with Public Health.”

Students writing in-person exams on December 18 and 19 must continue to wear a mask at all times, and must complete and pass Trent’s mandatory COVID-19 screening before coming to campus.

Groarke says Trent “is committed to an in-person winter term” and plans to open residences as scheduled on Saturday, January 8th, but will delay in-person classes by one week.

“In the interest of public health, the first week of classes, scheduled to begin Monday, January 10, will be delivered remotely and we will begin in-person classes on January 17,” Groarke says. “If circumstances require it, we will not hesitate to adapt our plans accordingly.”

With Ontario reporting 3,124 new cases on Friday (December 17), the provincial government has announced additional public health restrictions designed to reduce the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.

The new restrictions, which take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday (December 19), include a 50 per cent capacity limit in most indoor public settings, a limit of 10 people per table at restaurants, and a limit of 10 people at indoor social gatherings and 25 people at outdoor social gatherings.

“Sitting back playing defence is not an option,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a media conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto late Friday afternoon. “We need to meet this variant head on. We need to do everything we can to push it back. Over the coming days and weeks, daily COVID cases will continue to accelerate with omicron being the most transmissible variant we’ve seen yet.”

“But while our intensive care units remain stable, we expect the number of admissions to grow as more people catch COVID, particularly the unvaccinated,” Ford said. “The experts have been very clear: nothing will stop the spread of omicron — it’s just too transmissible.”

“What we can do, and what we’re doing, is slowing it as much as possible to allow more time for shots to get into arms. In order to give our vaccine blitz the time it needs, in order to protect our hospitals from being overwhelmed, we need to implement further public health measures.”

“The decision to limit people’s ability to gather, especially during holidays, is an extremely, extremely difficult one to make,” Ford added. “And I know these measures will have an impact on businesses during the important season. That’s why Ontario joins Quebec’s call for the federal government to expand supports for businesses and workers, and we’re prepared to do our part as well.”

Addressing parents, Ford said no decision has been made on whether to close schools in the new year.

“We’re simply not in the position to say,” he said. “The situation is evolving too quickly to know where we’ll be in early January,” adding the goal is to do “whatever is necessary” to protect students and staff.

The new 50 per cent capacity limit — which is in addition to the previously announced 50 per cent capacity limit on indoor areas of venues with a usual capacity of 1,000 or more — applies to the following indoor public settings:

• Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments and strip clubs.
• Personal care services.
• Personal physical fitness trainers.
• Retailers, including grocery stores and pharmacies.
• Shopping malls.
• Non-spectator areas of facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities (e.g. gyms).
• Indoor recreational amenities.
• Indoor clubhouses at outdoor recreational amenities.
• Tour and guide services.
• Photography studios and services
• Marinas and boating clubs.

The capacity limit does not apply to any portion of a business or place that is being used for a wedding, a funeral or a religious service, rite, or ceremony.

Businesses or facilities will also need to post a sign stating the capacity limits permitted in the establishment.

In addition to the 50 per cent capacity limit, the government is also applying the following additional public health restrictions:

• The number of patrons permitted to sit at a table will be limited to 10 people and patrons will be required to remain seated in restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments, meeting and event spaces and strip clubs.
• Bars and restaurants, meeting and event spaces and strip clubs will be required to close by 11 p.m. Take out and delivery will be permitted beyond 11 p.m.
• Dancing will not be allowed except for workers or performers.
• Food and/or drink services will be prohibited at sporting events, concert venues, theatres and cinemas, casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments, and horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues.
• The sale of alcohol will be restricted after 10 p.m. and consumption of alcohol in businesses or settings after 11 p.m.

To mitigate COVID-19 transmission that can occur at informal social gatherings, the government is also reducing social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.

For health care workers, the personal protective equipment requirements outlined in Directive 5 have been updated with interim guidance to require N95s for health care workers providing direct care to (or interacting with) a suspected, probable, or confirmed case of COVID-19.

Environment Canada has issued a winter weather travel advisory for the southern Kawarthas region for Saturday (December 18).

The weather advisory is in effect for southern Peterborough County, southern Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.

Snow is forecast to begin early Saturday morning over southwestern Ontario. The snow will then spread quickly eastward into the Toronto area and portions of eastern Ontario through the day.

Total snowfall accumulations of 5 to 10 cm can be expected by the time the snow tapers off from west to east Saturday evening.

Accumulating snow on untreated roadways will impact travel and motorists are advised to exercise caution.

Motorists should expect hazardous winter driving conditions and adjust travel plans accordingly. Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions. Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas.

Peterborough Public Health is advising patrons of the American Eagle store in Lansdowne Place Mall in Peterborough of a potential exposure to the omicron variant of COVID-19 that occurred at the store from Friday, December 10th to Saturday, December 11th, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on both days.

The health unit is asking anyone who visited this store during these times to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days from the date of exposure. Peterborough Public Health has already identified all high-risk contacts and will provide them with further instructions.

COVID-19 symptoms include fever or chills, cough or difficulty breathing (shortness of breath), muscle aches, joint paint and tiredness, sore throat or difficulty swallowing, headache, runny nose or stuffy (congested nose), a new loss of taste or smell, or gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea).

If any symptoms develop, the health unit advises to get a PCR test immediately and isolate until you have received your results.

PCR testing is available at the PRHC COVID-19 Assessment Centre (visit www.prhc.on.ca for booking details) and some pharmacies.

Visit covid-19.ontario.ca/assessment-centre-locations for a list of all testing locations.