Cobourg police have released the name of a Town of Cobourg employee who was arrested on Saturday (September 11) and have provided details of the charges against him.

Michael Dale Orleck, 27, of Hamilton Township has been charged with sexual assault, mischief to property under $5,000, and criminal harassment.

Police arrested Orleck on Saturday but say they did not release his name at the time “to protect the integrity of the investigation and ensure the victim’s privacy,” according to a media release.

However, the investigation has revealed information suggesting there may be other victims, and police have released Orleck’s photo.

Police are encouraging anyone who feels they may have been a victim of a sexual assault, which includes any non-consensual contact of a sexual nature, to come forward and report the incident to police. There is no statute of limitations for sexual offences, and offenders can be prosecuted well after the date of the offence.

Police say Orleck worked at the Cobourg Community Centre but have not indicated his position there, or whether any of the allegations against him occurred while he was on the job. Police say he is prohibited from being at the arena until the conclusion of the court proceedings.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Detective Sergeant John Linney at 905-372-6821 ext. 2229 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at stopcrimehere.ca.

Orleck was released from custody with strict conditions and will be in court at an unspecified date in October.

New Canadians Centre in Peterborough will be supporting the resettlement of a group of 78 Afghan refugees, who will be arriving in Peterborough on Friday (September 17).

The Canadian government will be resettling around 20,000 Afghan refugees, many of whom helped Canadian soldiers and diplomats during the fight against the Taliban. The refugees include women leaders, human rights workers, and journalists who (along with their families) would be targeted by the Taliban now that it has once again seized control of Afghanistan.

In an email, New Canadians Centre’s executive director Andy Cragg says he expects many of the refugees will be staying in Peterborough for four to eight weeks but will want to live in the Toronto area permanently.

Almost 2,000 Afghan refugees have already arrived in Toronto, where many are expected to settle to be close to family and friends. COSTI, the main settlement agency in Toronto, is supporting their resettlement.

While the 78 Afghan refugees are in Peterborough, New Canadians Centre will provide them with temporary housing, help them meet their basic needs, deliver basic orientations to life in Canada, and help them find permanent accommodations.

“While we know this will be a big challenge, we are excited at the opportunity to contribute to the national effort to resettle Afghan refugees,” Cragg writes. “And we are confident that you and many other members of our community will be ready and willing to lend a hand.”

Once the Afghan refugees arrive in Peterborough on Friday, New Canadians Centre will be assessing their needs. The organization is requesting that people do not drop off donated items at its office as it does not have the capacity to process them; New Canadians Centre will issue a call for items once it has assessed the needs of the refugees.

If you want to help, New Canadians Centre suggests you:

• Create hand-made cards and drawings to welcome the refugees to Canada and drop them in the organization’s mailbox at 221 Romaine Street in Peterborough by Friday. New Canadians Centre will give the cards and drawings to the refugees when they arrive in Peterborough.
• Be a welcoming and inclusive community member. “Arriving in a new community having fled war and crisis can be extremely stressful,” Cragg writes. “Being friendly and welcoming to all goes a long way to making our newest residents feel good as they get to know their new community, make friends, and start over in a new country.”
• Volunteer to support resettlement programs. New Canadians Centre is currently assessing needs and processes for volunteers. Check the organization’s website at nccpeterborough.ca/get-involved/volunteer/ for updates.
• Provide affordable housing. If you are a landlord or property manager who can provide affordable and safe housing for refugees, email New Canadians Centre at ncc@nccpeterborough.ca.

Highway 7 in Havelock is closed after a fatal collision at the intersection with County Road 30 on Thursday morning (September 16).

According to the Peterborough OPP, at around 4:45 a.m. a passenger vehicle was stopped behind a commercial motor vehicle at the traffic lights when it was struck from behind by a tractor trailer

The driver of the passenger vehicle was prounced dead at the scene. Police will not release the identity of the victim until next of kin has been notified.

The collision ignited a fire within the commercial motor vehicle, which was carrying explosive materials.

Police initiated a shelter-in-place order for residents, which has since been lifted after the area was deemed to be safe by employees of the Canadian Transport Emergency Centre, operated by the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Directorate of Transport Canada.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. Highway 7 in Havelock will remain closed for several hours while police measure and document the scene. Detours are in place.

This story has been corrected and updated with details about the incident from an OPP media release.

As social psychologist Jonathan Haidt points out, “the human mind is a story processor, not a logic processor.” Today’s youth are and will be most impacted by how we do or do not take climate action in the coming years. We need to hear their stories and be moved to action by them, for them. This week we are sharing a story from Georgia MacKinnon, a recent Katimavik volunteer with GreenUP.

If you told me in January 2021 that come July 2021 I would be living in a house with 10 other Canadian youth, volunteering for GreenUP in Nogojiwanong/Peterborough, there is no way I would believe you. Yet here I am. This summer I packed up my belongings, left my home in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and joined my Katimavik cohort.

Katimavik is a nationwide program focusing on volunteerism and truth and reconciliation. Youth participants spend five months in several different host cities, taking on meaningful work with local organizations as well as committing to weekly truth and reconciliation learning and other community-building initiatives. I’m two months into this adventure and it has already been life changing.

Ever since I was a little girl the natural world has piqued my interest, whether I was stopping in every neighbour’s yard to sniff their flowers or gardening alongside my family. Upon arrival here in Peterborough, I was happy to discover a local non-profit with a focus on the environment on our list of possible volunteer placements.

I began my volunteer work with GreenUP by helping with their Girl’s Climate Leadership Program. Between bike rides and building planter boxes, it was inspiring to see future leaders being introduced to possibilities and hope for sustainable, inclusive ways of living on our planet.

After my time with the Girl’s Climate Leadership Program, I went on to work with Active School Travel Peterborough, specifically focusing on School Travel Planning. School Travel Planning is a community-based process that uses data to identify barriers to active modes of school travel (like walking, biking, wheeling, or busing) and develop school-specific action plans to address those barriers.

I worked on survey data analysis, mapping applications, communications, and promotions, and on developing tools for stakeholder engagement. I travelled to Lakefield by taking the new rural transit bus, The Link, which connects Curve Lake First Nation with the Township of Selwyn and the City of Peterborough. I attended the local farmers’ market to help promote the School Travel Planning project coming to the Township of Selwyn.

This experience has helped me refine my future plans. I came into Katimavik knowing that I would like to attend university for something involving social justice, science, and environmental action. During my time volunteering with GreenUP, I learned about the field of environmental engineering.

While helping out at the Girl’s Climate Leadership Program, I had the privilege of meeting Jen Feigin, a founding member of a sustainable building school called the Endeavour Centre. Her talk of engineers inventing new sustainable building materials sparked my interest in the field of environmental engineering.

My experience has helped me to recognize that youth like myself are able to get involved in climate action and make a difference. For example, when I was in elementary school, I joined a group of students and with the help of a teacher we founded our school’s composting system.

This composting program is still up and running, almost 10 years later. I am proud to think of how I helped reduce 10 years’ worth of methane emissions by diverting that food waste out of our city’s landfills and into composting. These actions may seem small at the time, but the impact matters.

Youth can take many steps towards climate action: finding active and alternative ways to travel to and from school and work, volunteering with local environmental non-profits, bringing a garbage bag and gloves on walks with family or friends to pick up trash along the way, or growing some vegetables at home to reduce food shipping impacts.

For youth like myself who are 18 and older, an important climate action can be registering to vote in the upcoming election and reminding others to do so as well. Climate justice and climate action are political.

Growing up during the climate crisis can leave one feeling defeated. Media coverage of our changing planet is overwhelming. Volunteering with GreenUP and participating in Katimavik have also taught me the importance of taking time to focus on yourself and debrief.

I would like to remind young people engaging in climate action to take time to rest and to have fun. My Katimavik house schedules multiple self-care blocks weekly and we’ve taken time to get outside and play sports or games together.

We must also celebrate the small wins that society and individuals are making towards a sustainable future. Taking the time to read about discoveries and victories that people across the earth, young and old, have made can be a pleasant thing to do on days when the media seems to be only negative.

The experiences I’ve had over the past few months have shown me that you are never too young to make a difference and that climate action is possible. We need every young person to do their best in the fight for our climate.

Overcome inaction and the fear of being imperfect. There are so many amazing people working hard in their communities and recognizing everyone’s efforts is a step in the right direction.

If more youth can experience the kind of education I’ve been privileged to have access to with Katimavik and GreenUP, we, as a global community, can be hopeful for a better future.

Less than a year after it was announced that an Opioid Response Hub would be established in Peterborough to better respond to the opioid crisis in the community, a newly launched fundraising campaign is underway to ensure that ambition is soon realized.

On Wednesday morning (September 15), the Four County Addiction Services Team (Fourcast) revealed details of the ‘Light The Way To $160K’ campaign that will bring in funds to renovate the hub located at 220 Simcoe Street (at Aylmer Street), the site of the former Greyhound bus terminal.

To date, a ‘soft’ campaign has seen almost $27,000 of that $160,000 goal already raised.

According to Fourcast executive director Donna Rogers, donations to the campaign can be made through the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough (CFGP) website at www.cfgp.ca/LightTheWay or by mailed cheque to the CFGP, 261 George Street North, Peterborough K9J 3G9. Cheques should be made out to Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough and include CTS Fund on the memo line.

Referencing “an incredible loss for so many families, friends, and colleagues,” Rogers spoke to the urgency of the renovations being done soon to enable the hub to open and begin providing a range of services and supports.

In making her case, she notes data compiled by Peterborough Public Health shows that 42 people died as a result of drug poisoning and overdose in 2020. To date this year, with more than three months remaining, there have been 36 deaths.

“220 Simcoe Street is the proposed future site for Peterborough’s Consumption Treatment Services [CTS] funding application,” affirmed Rogers.

“While we await approval to operate a CTS, we will transform this space to increase our ability to collaborate and co-ordinate services to respond to those in need in our community. The building will undergo renovations to create usable space for wrap-around addictions treatment and other services to support opioid users.”

In addition to Fourcast, other frontline health-focused agencies involved in the hub’s day-to-day operation are PARN – Your Community AIDS Resource Network, Peterborough 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (NPLC), the Mobile Support Overdose Resource Team (MSORT), Peterborough Drug Strategy (PDS), and Peterborough County-City Paramedics.

Speaking to the hub’s location, which has drawn concern from some downtown property owners, Rogers reiterated it is “the perfect site.”

“But obviously a former bus terminal is not optimally configured to be a hub for substance users to access treatment services and health supports,” she added. “Our campaign will provide us with the resources to make this space usable for wrap-around community services and addiction treatment on site.”

“We will renovate the space in such a way that it will be optimally configured for opening a CTS as soon as our provincial application for funding is approved. Until that time, the entire space will be used for services and supports for those seeking help for addictions.”

Also on hand for the fundraising campaign announcement were NPLC executive director Suzanne Galloway and MSORT program manager Kerri Kightley.

Galloway said her group’s involvement stems from a clear understanding that “addiction is a health issue.”

“We know that people who use drugs often face judgment and other barriers to seeking health care,” she said. “The Opioid Response Hub we’re creating here will provide walk-in access for on-site care including wound care, getting sterile drug using equipment, returning equipment they have used, mental health supports and addictions treatment.

“Key here is staff will build trusted relationships with service users and connect them to resources in the community,” Galloway added. “We will also host services on site.”

Meanwhile, Kightley said MSORT has acted as a link between those who have overdosed and the available support services.

“What our team is able to do is walk alongside someone as they begin to figure out those first few steps of making change — those first few steps of connecting to more health and social services supports,” Kightley said, noting her agency’s services aren’t restricted to Peterborough city but extend into the county.

“The importance of having a team like this partnered with other health and social services supports as part of an Opioid Response Hub is that we’re able to fill in the gaps between what’s existing in Peterborough and programs that need to be further developed,” Kightley added.

Following the formal announcement of the fundraising campaign, Rogers took members of the media on a tour of the vacant space, pointing out where certain services will be located in the building once the renovations are complete.

According to the floor plan, space has been set aside for assessment and treatment, consultation, withdrawal management, and the distribution of harm reduction supplies.

The campaign, noted Rogers, has a secondary goal of raising awareness around the issue of the opioid crisis as well as the responses that are available.

“This is a good day … we have felt very confident since receiving our federal exemption status in May, which was a huge hurdle,” said Rogers. “It took us three years to get a federal exemption that would allow us to be able to operate a CTS. That was the first step.”

“The next step is the funding for the CTS. While the CTS tends to be a lot of what people will focus on, what we’re really excited about is — regardless of when the CTS funding is approved — we have space where we can do a lot of work that will be part and parcel of what will be adjacent to the CTS once that is open. This is really good news.”

“For people who are often stigmatized when they reach out for health care and other help, having a space where we are more optimally configured to respond to their needs means they don’t need to go to five different places. They don’t need to go through six sets of barriers in order to accomplish a single task. We believe the experience of stigma will be greatly reduced.”

Rogers is confident the fundraising goal will be met, noting the response to ‘soft’ campaign is encouraging.

“We saw people come forward with donations and we barely asked for those,” she said. “We know that people have been impacted and affected, and we know that people want some solutions. We believe having a space that we can provide better responses is a really important part of that.”

A survey conducted by the Peterborough Drug Strategy in November 2019 bears that out, showing 74 per cent of more than 1,600 people surveyed agree a CTS site will benefit the community. Survey participants ranked the reduction of injuries and deaths from drug overdose and poisonings, the prevention of blood-borne infections, and fewer publicly discarded needles and drug litter as key benefits of providing a CTS.

A separate survey of injection drug users showed 91 per cent would access a CTS site in downtown Peterborough if it were available.

An Omemee woman is going to shave her head in support of brain tumour research.

Britney Krzeminsk launched a fundraiser earlier this month in support of the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada after someone she loves was diagnosed with a brain tumour in June.

“Through their journey it has become clear to me how important continued research into treatment of brain tumours is,” Britney writes on CanadaHelps. “We have come a long way, but there is still work to be done in getting anyone diagnosed with a brain tumour life-saving treatment and care.”

As an added incentive to donors, Britney offered to cut lengths off her 28-inch mane of hair if she met her fundraising goals.

If she reached her $1,500 goal, she promised to shave her head completely — and she’s already raised over $2,000 with a month left to go.

Britney is a registered veterinary technician at Omemee Veterinary Hospital, and has also worked for the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre, helping to care for and rehabilitate injured native Ontario turtles.

Omemee Veterinary Hospital is also supporting Britney’s cause, by donating proceeds from its $10 cash ‘fear free’ nail trims in September to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.

If you’d like to support Britney’s fundraiser, which ends on October 16, you can donate at canadahelps.org/en/pages/britneys-head-shave-fundraiser/.

Britney will be donating her cut hair to Chai Lifeline Canada, a non-profit organization based in Toronto that makes wigs for those who have lost their hair due to illness.