Environment Canada has expanded a special weather statement for a “multi-day snowfall event” Wednesday (February 1) through Friday for the entire Kawarthas region.

The special weather statement is now in effect for all of Peterborough County, all of Kawarthas Lakes, Northumberland County, Haliburton County, and Hastings County.

Freezing rain, freezing drizzle mixed with snow, or rain showers on Tuesday night will transition to snow by Wednesday morning.

In some areas, there is a risk of freezing rain during the transition from rain to snow. Regions in the vicinity of Georgian Bay may see rain mixed with snow on Tuesday night instead of freezing rain.

Snow will continue until Friday, when it will taper off, with total accumulations of 10 to 20 cm by Friday. There may be reduced visibility due to snow and local blowing snow.

There is still some uncertainty regarding the track of the low pressure system and therefore the total snowfall amounts.

This story has been updated with the latest forecast from Environment Canada.

Thanks to Kawartha Land Trust and Kawartha Conservation, two more of Ontario’s threatened wetlands — located on Nogies Creek and Balsam Lake — have been permanently protected in the Kawarthas region.

While some may look at a wetland and only see a marsh or a swamp with little value, wetlands actually play a critical ecological role. They are among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, providing a home for a wide range of plants and animals, including species at risk.

They are also important for people. Wetlands filter and purify water, replenish groundwater, and enhance the resilience of the landscape to many of the impacts of climate change that threaten the health of our communities, including flooding, erosion, and drought. What’s more, they help mitigate climate change by storing carbon.

Because of their value to the natural infrastructure, wetlands contribute an estimated $14 billion in economic benefits for Ontarians each year.

Despite their ecological and economic value, less than 30 per cent of the original wetlands in southern Ontario remain, largely because they have been converted for other uses or have been drained for development and agriculture.

In late 2021, Kawartha Conservation — the conservation authority responsible for the 2,563-square-kilometre Kawarthas watershed — donated two wetland properties on Nogies Creek and on Balsam Lake to Kawartha Land Trust, a non-government charitable organization working to protect land in the Kawarthas. Both of the wetlands contain significant ecological features and provide potential natural wildlife corridors to provincially protected areas.

VIDEO: Nogies Creek and Balsam Lake

“This project has been a great example of collaboration between conservation organizations,” says John Kintare, Kawartha Land Trust’s executive director.

“Wetlands are so important for drought prevention, flood protection, water quality improvement and, most importantly, are immensely valuable to climate resilience. Unfortunately, the properties didn’t fit the mandate of Kawartha Conservation, so they were donated to Kawartha Land Trust to ensure their permanent protection.”

The project was made possible by the Government of Canada through the Natural Heritage Conservation Program, part of Canada’s Nature Fund. The Government of Canada’s Natural Heritage Conservation Program (NHCP) is a unique public-private partnership to support new protected and conserved areas by securing private lands and private interests in lands. The program is managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Federal funds invested in the program are matched with contributions raised by NCC and its partners, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and the country’s land trust community.

The Nogies Creek Property

Nogies Creek flows from Crystal Lake east of Kinmount into the north end of Pigeon Lake near Bobcaygeon. The 40.5-hectare (100-acre) Nogies Lake property is located six kilometres north of the mouth of Nogies Creek and is only accessible by water.

The Nogies Creek property was identified as ecologically significant land as part of Kawartha Land Trust’s Kawarthas Naturally Connected Preferred Scenario project in 2016. The project determined that 29 per cent of the natural landscape in the Kawarthas needs protection, but only 13 per cent is protected.

The property on Nogies Creek includes significant ecological features and is a potential wildlife corridor between Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park and Queen Elizabeth Wildlands Provincial Park. It is directly adjacent to Crown land and to the Nogies Creek Fish Sanctuary maintained by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry.

The property contains several types of ecosystems including mixed dry forest, mixed fresh and moist forests, and wetlands. The land includes dry mixed forests dominated by oak, maple, and hemlock species in the south, fresh mixed forests dominated by maple, birch, ash, and cedar in the central portion, and finally mixed treed and open wetlands in the north.

The ecosystems on the property are varied and in good health. With its mixed habitat types, both permanent and migratory species use the property, including species at risk and species of interest. Wildlife observed on the property include the eastern wood-pewee, moose, black bears, and white-tailed deer.

While there is some evidence of human activities on the property, including ATV trails, deer feeding stations, and garbage, on the property, the threats to the ecosystem from these types of activities are limited because the property is beside Crown land.

The Balsam Lake Property

Balsam Lake is the highest point along the Trent-Severn Waterway, with water flowing from Balsam Lake westward into the Trent-Severn system and eastward into Cameron Lake. With the communities of Coboconk on the north and Rosedale on the east, the lake receives water from the Canadian Shield via the Gull River and from smaller streams surrounding the lake.

This 29-hectare (72-acre) Balsam Lake property sits entirely within a provincially significant wetland on the south bay of Balsam Lake, and includes 450 metres of natural shoreline along the lake. Bordering Elm Tree Road to the west and Balsam Lake to the east, the property is located around nine kilometres southwest of Kirkfield and 12 kilometres west of Fenelon Falls.

Close to other properties protected by Kawartha Land Trust, including the Fell Wetland, Jones Woodlot, and Cation Wildlife Preserve properties, the Balsam Lake property comprises a patchwork of shallow slow-moving watercourses and temporary water bodies weaving through three different types of wetland ecosystems. The most distinguishable ecosystem is a cattail marsh that abuts Balsam Lake and slowly transitions into treed swamp ecosystems that are found on the rest of the property.

Extensive surveys have established that the property is in good overall health, and provides excellent habitat for rare and at-risk species. It is home to many native species, including the eastern wood peewee, common snapping turtles, and black ash tees.

Because it serves as a winter deer yard, the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, Natural Resources, and Forestry has identified the property as significant wildlife habitat.

For more information about Kawartha Land Trust and the properties it protects, to donate to the non-profit organization, or for volunteer opportunities, visit kawarthalandtrust.org. You can also follow Kawartha Land Trust on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

This story was created in partnership with Kawartha Land Trust.

Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) has announced Samantha (Sam) Rockbrune as the Peterborough organization’s new executive director, following a competitive hiring process.

She replaces Julie Cosgrove, who announced her retirement in November 2021. Cosgrove joined KWIC in 2003 at a part-time program coordinator, a role that transitioned into executive director in 2013.

Rockbrune, who began in the role on Monday (January 31), holds a BA Honours Law from Carleton University, with a minor in women and gender studies. She is also a graduate of York University with an MA in socio-legal studies. The co-founder and director of Students for Consent Culture Canada, she specializes in anti-sexual violence connecting global systems to local experiences.

Rockbrune was most recently the community programs director for Art With A Heart Inc. a Whitby-based charitable organization focused on building community through art using an expressive arts lens.

“Ms. Rockbrune brings several years experience working in the not-for-profit sector and higher education, and with a passion for community building and social justice”, says Carmela Valles, KWIC board chair, in a media release. “We are very confident in her ability to lead KWIC through this important transition and beyond.”

A charitable organization that connects global issues to local initiatives, KWIC helps to change how people understand the world and fosters equitable and sustainable communities through community education, youth and school programs, and by providing umbrella support for small and emerging projects.

KWIC currently supports the TRACKS Youth Program, Youth Leadership in Sustainability (YLS), Trent Oxfam and Sustainable Trent, and The Cost of Freedom documentary film project with Tamarack Productions (currently screening at the 2022 ReFrame Film Festival).

For more information about KWIC, visit kwic.info.

Kawartha Lakes police are investigating a shooting incident in Lindsay that took place Sunday night (January 30).

At 9:59 p.m. on Sunday, Kawartha Lakes police responded to a report of a disturbance at a residence on Lindsay Street North, with a second caller reporting a shooting. When police arrived at the residence, they found a gunshot victim who was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

After reviewing video surveillance, police identified a number of suspects involved in the incident and have recovered the vehicle used to transport suspects away from the location.

Police believe the individuals involved in the incident are known to each other and say there is no threat to public safety.

The City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service Criminal Investigation Branch has taken over the investigation. A search warrant was conducted, with the assistance of the Forensic Identification Unit. Video surveillance footage and physical evidence has been seized from the scene.

Police are asking area residents who have security cameras to review footage and contact them with any information that could assist with the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Kawartha Lakes police at 705-324-5252. If you prefer to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit www.khcrimestoppers.com.

What began as a one-off more than nine years ago has evolved into an annual national fundraiser for the Alzheimer Society … and a whole lot of fun for Steve McNeil. Since his inaugural marathon skate on Christmas Eve 2012 at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square, the Etobicoke resident has laced on his blades across Canada for his 1926 Skate initiative.

Now he’s in the midst of a 10-city Ontario tour that will bring him to Peterborough on Saturday, February 12th to raise funds for the Alzheimer Society of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland and Haliburton.

In the shadow of the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent-Severn Canal, McNeil will skate for 19 hours and 26 minutes — starting at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday morning and ending that evening at 7:26 p.m.

Why 19 hours and 26 minutes? That’s seems to be a pretty random time target. Well, there’s a method to McNeil’s skating madness and it has everything to do with honouring the memory of his mother Eunice, who lived with Alzheimer’s disease for more than 20 years.

“There was a point where I realized my mom isn’t going to be around much longer — she was in a fetal position and bedridden and everything else,” says McNeil, noting his inaugural skate was undertaken as “a personal tribute to my hockey mom who, without a driver’s licence, got all five of her boys to their hockey games and practices.”

After his mother passed away in February 2013, McNeil committed to organizing an event that would raise funds for, and awareness of, the Alzheimer Society’s resources and support programs. As she was born in 1926, he set 19 hours and 26 minutes as his skate time.

“Shortly after mom passed, friends at Canada Post and family knew what I did at Nathan Phillips Square and said I should do that as a fundraiser,” recalls McNeil, who’s a mail carrier as well as a recreational hockey referee.

“I didn’t know anything about fundraising. I walked into the Alzheimer Society national office in Toronto and said ‘I want to raise money for you guys.’ The lady looked at me like I was from another planet. It took me awhile to convince them that I was legitimate.”

Since that initial contact, McNeil has skated across the country, including a 2018-19 tour of all seven Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) cities.

A larger-than-life character both on and off the ice, the 60 year old has garnered a lot of media attention and, for many of his skates, has been joined by NHL players, past and present. To date, he estimates he’s brought in well over $100,000 for the society’s chapters in the communities in which he skates.

“When we heard that it was our time to share in the experience, we were really excited,” says Andrea Cant, executive director of the Alzheimer Society of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland and Haliburton.

“Peterborough is a hockey town and we enjoy the ability to skate on the canal, so it’s a great opportunity for Steve to come and gather with the community, the best we can in these circumstances, and just get outside and support our society.”

Donations of at least $19.26 in support of the Alzheimer Society are being sought and can be made at www.1926skate.com/donate (scroll down the page to the button for the Alzheimer Society of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland and Haliburton). You can also donate directly to the society.

Cant emphasizes that, while any money raised is a huge help, the heightened awareness of the society’s work that 1926 Skate brings is equally important.

“Events such as this really do remind people that we’re here,” she says. “They let people know what kind of services we offer, whether it be counselling, education, support groups, or social and recreation programs. We have a basket of services. These sorts of events really bring awareness to the fact that we’re here and we’re here to help and you don’t have go through this (Alzheimer’s) alone.”

While McNeil’s in good shape — a byproduct of his lugging the mail on his route as well as years of refereeing recreational hockey, as well as being a roller skater of some renown back in the day — he admits each year is a little harder physically. Making this marathon skating a tougher go this time around is the fact that opportunities to referee hockey over the past two years have been few due to COVID restrictions.

“But really the skating part is easy,” he says, noting that teaching an old dog new tricks — specifically, promoting his cause on social media — has been a tougher hill to climb. “I’ve had to learn how to use Twitter and Facebook. It’s been so much more difficult for me to deal with all the social media stuff than the skating has ever been.”

As you’d expect, McNeil has faced a number of challenges over the course of his skate events. On January 15 in Kingston, he did his thing as the temperature hovered around -34°C.

In addition, he’s made a number of interesting acquaintances, including one that thrilled him to no end and took his lifelong love of the Australian rock band AC/DC to a whole other level.

“In 2014, a week before I was to skate at Nathan Phillips Square, I heard that (AC/DC co-founder and rhythm guitarist) Malcolm Young was diagnosed with dementia,” recalls McNeil, noting his infatuation with the band dates back to 1978 when he saw them in concert at Massey Hall. “I decided to cue up my AC/DC library and went out and skated exclusively to the band’s music. I just hit shuffle and have been skating to their music ever since.”

In 2019, two years after Young passed way from the disease at the age of 64, McNeil was skating in Calgary when a man standing at the side of the rink asked him if he could do a video chat with the man’s father.

“I said ‘Sure, how long has your dad had Alzheimer’s?’ He said ‘My dad doesn’t have Alzheimer’s. He was the drummer for AC/DC.’ So he hands me his phone and there’s his dad, Chris Slade, playing drums for Mannfred Mann at a Vegas show.”

A few days later, Malcolm Young’s younger brother — AC/DC co-founder and lead guitarist Angus Young — donated $19,260 to the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, asking the society to distribute the funds to dementia music programs across Canada.

As McNeil skates exclusively to AC/DC’s music, his trademark “Thunderstick” (named after the AC/DC hit “Thunderstruck”) is rarely out of his hands.

“Thunderstick is something I’ve had for 25 years now,” he says. “It’s done every skate with me. It’s what I classify as my stride stick. When I’m by myself and the weather is really extreme, that stick is the difference between making it and not making it. I do a lot of air guitar (on it). I just kind of get lost in my music.”

“I can’t empathize enough how much I have when I do this,” McNeil adds. “It’s off the charts for me how much fun I have.”

That said, McNeil will scale back in 2023.

“I’m going to one city each year on National Skate Day in January, which is Alzheimer’s Month,” he says. “I have to be realistic. I’m really lucky I can do what I do to begin with. I don’t take it for granted. I don’t train. I eat chicken wings and pizza and burgers.”

Meanwhile, in the coldest weather, on the darkest of nights when he’s doing his thing in solitude, well, McNeil is never really alone — “My mother is with me the entire time.”

That said, Andrea Cant pledges McNeil will have plenty of company during his Peterborough skate.

“Our staff team as well as our volunteers and board directors are planning to be there at some point during his 19 hours and 26 minutes,” she says.

“One of our donor relations associates plans to be there at midnight when he starts. Those of us with less skating ability will be on the sidelines to support him and let him know how appreciative we are of the event, and also be there if someone has questions about what we do and the supports available.”

“Skating is definitely not one of my strong suits,” she laughs. “I’ll put my skates on and hope for the best. I can handle the cold — it’s the ice. Maybe I’ll wear my curling shoes instead.”

The Alzheimer Society of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland and Haliburton, based at 18-360 George Street North in Peterborough, is dedicated to improving the quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and advancing the search for the cause and cure.

For more information about its support services, phone 705-748-5131 or visit the website at alzheimer.ca/pklnh/, where you can also make a donation.

For more information about McNeil and 1926 Skate, visit www.1926skate.com.

This story has been created in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland and Haliburton.

Ontario’s police watchdog is investigating after a fatal collision in Peterborough on Friday night (January 28) in which two men died.

According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), at around 9:36 p.m. on Friday, a Peterborough police officer was driving east on Lansdowne Street en route to a call. While en route, the officer saw the driver of another vehicle go through a red light at Park Street.

The officer turned around and activated their emergency lights to pursue the vehicle travelling westbound on Lansdowne. After losing sight of the vehicle, the officer discontinued the pursuit and resumed travel to the initial call.

Later, the driver of the vehicle that fled was involved in a collision with another vehicle at Lansdowne Street and Webber Avenue. A witness reported seeing a vehicle on its roof with car parts strewn over a large area.

The two male occupants of the fleeing vehicle, aged 38 and 41 years old, were found dead at the scene. Two women in the vehicle that was struck by the fleeing vehicle were taken to hospital and diagnosed with no injuries.

Lansdowne Street between The Parkway and Clonsilla Avenue was closed for several hours following the collision for a police investigation.

The SIU has assigned four investigators and two forensic investigators to the case, with one subject official currently designated, and is urging anyone who may have information about this investigation, including video or photos, to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529 or online at siu.on.ca/en/appeals.php.

The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency, independent of the police, that conducts criminal investigations into circumstances involving police and civilians that have resulted in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault.