The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District (HKPR) Health Unit is warning area residents to be vigilant around bats and to ensure their pets are up-to-date on their rabies vaccination after a local family was exposed to a rabid bat.

An incident took place recently at the family’s home where a bat entered the dwelling. The bat was captured, sent for testing, and subsequently found to be positive for rabies — meaning family members and their pets were potentially exposed to rabies.

The health unit says the affected family members were provided post-exposure vaccine for rabies and are recovering well in the aftermath. The family-owned pets are getting follow-up with a veterinarian on possible rabies exposure for the animals.

“Contact with any wild animal, including bats, should be avoided if at all possible,” says Richard Ovcharovich, environmental health manager with the HKPR District Health Unit. “That message applies to people and pets. It’s never worth the risk, especially when rabies is involved.”

Rabies is a virus that affects the central nervous system of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The virus is transmitted when there is contact with the saliva of an infected animal through a bite, lick, or scratch. Once signs of rabies appear in any animal (including humans), the disease is almost always fatal. However, a series of vaccinations and treatment with rabies antibodies can prevent infection in humans in most cases, if administered soon after exposure.

The animals that most often transmit rabies in Ontario are bats, foxes, skunks, and raccoons. Although most animal bites are readily apparent, bites inflicted by bats can be harder to notice, especially if it involves an infant, child, or those with cognitive impairments.

When it comes to bats, the health unit offers these tips:

• If you suspect you may have been bitten or had contact with a bat, immediately report this to your family doctor and your local health unit.
• If you are bitten or scratched by a bat that is discovered in your home, leave the room, close the door, and contact a professional pest control company or wildlife removal company.
• Do not touch a bat with your bare hands. If there was no human contact (bite or scratch), open a window, and allow the bat to get out.
• If you have bats living on your property and want to remove them, contact a professional pest control company or wildlife removal company.
• If you discover a bat outdoors that is injured, acting strange, or dead, do not touch it.
• As bats can transmit the rabies virus to dogs and cats, ensure your pets are up-to-date on their rabies vaccinations.
• Bat-proof the home. If bats are found in the home, seek advice from an animal control or wildlife conservation authority. If doing it yourself, carefully examine your home for holes that might allow bats entry into your living quarters, then take steps to seal them. For instance, caulk any openings larger than a quarter-inch by a half-inch, ensure all doors to the outside close tightly, and use window screens, chimney caps, and draft-guards beneath doors to attics.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit is reporting its first lab-confirmed case of the monkeypox virus in its region.

Confirmed on Wednesday (July 27), the case involves a Northumberland County resident who is currently recovering and in isolation. The health unit has completed follow-up with the infected person and has contacted anyone else who may have had close contact with this case, including those who may require vaccination against the virus.

Peterborough Public Health announced the first confirmed case of monkeypox in the Peterborough region on June 22. Since then, another case in that region has been confirmed.

“The risk to the public is low,” says Dr. Natalie Bocking, medical officer of health with the HKPR District Health Unit, in a media release. “Monkeypox cases have been circulating in Ontario for a couple of months, including in our neighbouring health unit regions, so the finding of a local case is not a surprise.”

As of July 23, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported to the World Health Organization from 75 countries. A month before, there were 3,040 cases in 47 countries. As of July 26, there are 326 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Ontario, with more than three-quarters of these cases reported in Toronto.

Monkeypox is a viral disease previously mainly found in countries in central and west Africa. It can be spread from human to human through close and direct contact with infected bodily fluids or respiratory droplets. While monkeypox is in the same family as smallpox, it is less contagious and includes milder symptoms.

People usually develop symptoms five to 21 days after being exposed to the monkeypox virus. Symptoms can include a rash or blister in mouth and around genital areas, swollen lymph nodes, fever and chills, muscle aches, headaches, and exhaustion.

“While monkeypox is not easily spread between individuals, we do encourage people to be aware of the signs and symptoms of the virus and seek medical attention if symptoms start to present,” Dr. Bocking says. “Our experience with COVID-19, and the recent rise in monkeypox cases, highlight the risk that infectious diseases can emerge and quickly spread around the world. A strong system of public health response continues to be essential.”

Anyone who experiences symptoms of monkeypox should seek immediate medical attention. Monkeypox symptoms can be managed, and those infected typically recover within two to four weeks. A vaccine is also available for either pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis associated with confirmed cases.

To find out if you are eligible for the vaccine, visit the health unit’s website at www.hkpr.on.ca. If you fit the eligibility criteria for the vaccine, call the HKPR District Health Unit at 1-866-888-4577, ext. 1507 to check availability and to book an appointment.

A Port Hope couple is facing multiple charges after they allegedly duct-taped two children and left them unattended.

On June 30, police attended a residence in Port Hope to assist in a Children’s Aid Society (CAS) investigation regarding two children whose daycare provider contacted CAS with concerns about the children’s health and well-being.

The children, who were allegedly duct-taped and left unattended. were removed from the residence indefinitely and received appropriate medical care.

On Tuesday (July 26), following a full investigation, a 32-year-old man and 34-year-old woman were arrested.

Both were charged with two counts of forcible confinement, two counts of failure to provide the necessaries of life, and two charges of assault with a weapon.

Peterborough Public Health will be hosting its first monkeypox vaccine clinic on Friday (August 5). The clinic will provide eligible residents with a single dose of the Imvamune (also known as Imvanex) smallpox vaccine.

As there is a limited supply of Imvamune in Ontario, locations with confirmed cases can provide eligible residents with Imvamune as a pre-exposure prophylaxis — a medicine intended to prevent infection if a person is exposed to a disease. Of the 326 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Ontario as of July 25, two are located in the region served by Peterborough Public Health.

Eligible residents include trans or cisgender people 18 years and older who self-identify as belonging to the gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) community, have not received a COVID-19 vaccine within the past four weeks, and meet at least one of the following criteria:

• have received a diagnosis of bacterial STI (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis) in the past two months
• have had two or more sexual partners within the past 21 days or may be planning to, have attended venues for sexual contact within the past 21 days (e.g., bath houses, sex clubs) or may be planning to or who work or volunteer in these settings
• have had anonymous sex in the past 21 days (e.g., using hookup apps) or may be planning to
• engage in sex work or may be planning to, and their sexual contacts.

The monkeypox clinic will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on August 5 at Peterborough Public Health’s Sexual Health Clinic at 185 King Street in downtown Peterborough. Eligible residents can book an appointment by calling the Sexual Health Clinic at 705-748-2021 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Walk-ins will not be accepted.

The clinic is not intended for close contacts of a confirmed or probable case of monkeypox. Residents who think they might be a close contact are advised to immediately call their health care provider or Peterborough Public Health to report their status and receive guidance.

Residents who are immunocompromised, pregnant, or breastfeeding may be at higher risk for severe illness from a monkeypox infection. These residents should contact a public health nurse at 705-743-1000 ext. 131 for consideration of pre-exposure prophylaxis if they are at risk for contracting monkeypox.

The World Health Organization has declared the ongoing monkeypox outbreak as a public health emergency of international concern. As of July 23, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported to the World Health Organization from 75 countries. A month before, there were 3,040 cases in 47 countries.

A pedestrian has died after being struck by a vehicle in Fenelon Falls on Tuesday afternoon (July 26).

Just after 4:30 p.m., City of Kawartha Lakes OPP and emergency services responded to reports of a passenger vehicle striking a pedestrian on Colborne Street (County Road 121) at Francis Street in Fenelon Falls.

The victim was transported to hospital, where they were pronounced deceased.

On Friday (July 29), police identified the victim as 61-year-old Robert Geroux of Fenelon Falls.

Colborne Street was closed between Helen Street and Bond Street for several hours while police documented the scene.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the incident and has not yet spoken with investigators is asked to call City of Kawartha Lakes OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.khcrimestoppers.com.

Peterborough city council voted on Monday night (July 24) to keep the city’s 24-hour overflow shelter open until March 31, 2023 at a cost of $267,000 — despite hearing from a number of neighbourhood residents who raised safety and security concerns related to the shelter at 210 Wolfe Street in downtown Peterborough.

Prior to the pandemic, the city funded an overnight-only overflow shelter service operated by Brock Mission out of Murray Street Baptist Church. During the pandemic, the city explored options for locations for a 24-hour overflow shelter and, in October 2020, approved moving the overflow shelter to the city-owned building at 210 Wolfe Street. The 32-bed service was supported using provincial pandemic relief funding.

With the provincial funding set to run out at the end of the year, city staff recommended in a report to general committee the city fund the service over the winter months, from January 1st until March 31, 2023, given the continued high demand for the service. Otherwise, the overflow shelter would be closed in October 2022.

At the July 11th general committee meeting, councillor Dean Pappas moved that the report be received for information only — which would mean the overflow shelter would close in October — and members voted 6-5 in favour of Pappas’s motion, with Mayor Diane Therrien later stating she had mistakenly cast her vote in favour of the motion.

Prior to the item coming up for discussion at Monday night’s council meeting, councillors heard from several delegations both in support and opposed to the overflow shelter. Some area residents and business owners raised concerns about drug dealers and users around the shelter location, littering and garbage, people using the sidewalks as urinals, and safety and security concerns.

“Our neighbourhood has gone to the dogs,” said Susan Trotter. “This type of shelter does not belong in a family neighbourhood.”

“It’s simply in the wrong location,” said Mike Melnik, owner of Impact Communications on Dalhousie Street, who was also speaking on behalf of Peter Blodgett of Darling Insurance at Aylmer and Dalhousie. “What a terrible place the shelter is located. It’s 30 seconds from The Beer Store, 60-second walk to the cannabis store; the LCBO is two minutes away.”

“It’s simply situated in a very dangerous spot to the residents of the shelter,” Melnik added, referring to shelter clients with addiction issues and also mentioning stabbings and shootings in the neighbourhood.

Some of the delegations were in support of the overflow shelter, including Claire Belding, justice services case manager from the Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough.

“The City of Peterborough has one of the highest rental rates in all of Ontario compared with the lowest rental vacancy available in all of our province,” Belding said. “If the city makes this decision to not extend the overflow shelter’s funding, then they are further putting those who are already societally oppressed at a greater risk for further criminalization.”

Later in the evening, when the item came up for discussion, Councillor Keith Riel — who is chair of the city’s social services and housing committees — moved to restore the original motion to fund the overflow shelter.

“We had some interesting delegations tonight, and certainly all of us are mindful of anywhere we put a shelter, there’s going to be people that are unhappy,” Riel said. “Without passing this tonight, this overflow shelter will close in October.”

Riel said that the overflow shelter has a 90 per cent occupancy rate, and that closing it would reduce the number of shelter beds in Peterborough from 99 to 74.

Choosing to close the shelter, Riel said, would result in “a steady diet of marginally and the homeless pushing carts, living in stairwells, sleeping outside, tenting, and god forbid that we lose somebody to the elements.”

In response to the concerns raised by residents, Riel committed to hold meetings with city staff to “find sort of solution to the problem.”

“I don’t think if I lived in that area I would like some of the things that are going on, and I think we just have to do a better job,” he noted. “Having said that, I cannot in good conscience allow this centre to close.”

Councillor Kemi Akapo spoke in favour of Riel’s motion.

“Closing the shelter now will not result in the problem going away,” she said. “In fact, it will just I think make it more evident. It’s not going to magically solve the problem.”

“I live near that location so I see what the residents are talking about,” Akapo added. “Pretty much there’s no day that goes by that I’m not either woken up or hear arguments or yelling that happens in the street, so I’m well aware of what goes on there. If we had another location, certainly I think we would consider moving it there, but we picked the Wolfe Street location for a number of reasons. One, it is city owned so we are able to operate it and to make changes to it. We did put out calls for other people to open up locations and nobody stepped up to the plate, so we had to use the resources that we had.”

Councillors Kim Zippel and Stephen Wright also spoke in favour of Riel’s motion.

“Closing this shelter on the cusp of winter is unacceptable,” Zippel said. “There is no doubt there are challenges, but as our commissioner of community services has explained, the intent of this critical extension is to allow time for the new council to come up to speed, better understand the need for an overflow shelter, to give time for staff to present various options — in terms of hours of operation, location, type of operation, various funding models — for council to consider in the 2023 budget or as a separate report.”

“I believe this is a problem that, with good community consultation (and) solid focus, we can find some workable solution to addressing not only the concerns of the residents in that community, but also finding solutions for the unhoused population in our city,” Wright said.

Councillor Henry Clarke spoke against Riel’s motion.

“I am not willing to extend funding for this shelter,” Clarke said. “I’m willing to spend the money, but not at the shelter. The thing is, shelters in many ways represent a failure. We’ve not been able to house the people or take care of them. Part of the reason is because we’re spending so much on the shelters that we’ve not got a lot left, without cutting a lot of other things, to move ahead with true solutions. Getting a person a safe, decent affordable home allows them to deal with so many of the issues, whether that’s alcoholism, addiction, employment, lack of schooling.”

“I would far rather that we close the Wolfe Street location, that would certainly help that neighbourhood, ensure that we are making maximum use of our other properties, and really give our staff additional resources to be able to get those people who are going to be displaced, housed,” he added. “That’s what I would far prefer to see, and that’s why I can’t support extending the funding.”

“I’ll tell you another thing: we start funding this, when it’s really a provincial thing that they’re just going to download on us by washing their hands and walking away, we’ll be on the hook for this forever and we’ll have to keep paying and paying. And again, we won’t have the resources to get a permanent solution and really make a difference for people.”

Councillor Dean Pappas reiterated his earlier position against funding the shelter.

“We punch way over our weight on shelters,” Pappas said, referring to larger urban centres that have a similar number of shelter beds as Peterborough. “It’s not a lack of caring by our community. It is not wanting to institutional poverty or enable addition. (There have been) 302 ambulance calls to this site. Roughly 20 ODs due to opioids, 13 ODs due to other drugs and alcohol, 36 acts of violence that required medical attention — all in the first six months — to the clients.”

“And that’s not even the impact on the residents. I too would spend the money on housing people. I would like to see transitional housing go into Wolfe Street, I would like to see detox into Wolfe Street — even affordable housing go into Wolfe Street in the parking lot, which is a real solution.”

Councillor Lesley Parnell also spoke against Riel’s motion.

“A temporary overflow shelter is not sustainable, and it’s not good for either the residents who live in homes near it or people who need this accommodation — there are other shelters they can go to,” she said, before referring to another option to increase housing in the city.

“The official plan that we have in place right now does allow for a secondary suite in most areas of the city,” Parnell said. “If you’re in a position where you can add a secondary suite, whether it be inside your house or if you want put a tiny home in your own backyard, then you just need to get a building permit and do it. You do not need a rezoning, so it’s really streamlined like that. And if the province does approve our new official plan, then you can have up to two auxiliary units within your property. You could have something in your basement, you can have an auxiliary unit outside.”

“If you really love tiny homes, then maybe put one in your own backyard. Those are options that available to our residents, and that does help create additional housing — hopefully affordable housing — within our existing infrastructure.”

Before putting Riel’s motion to a vote, Mayor Diane Therrien spoke in favour of the motion.

“I appreciate the concerns of the residents in the area, and I understand that this site was intended to be temporary,” she said. “The housing crisis and the addictions crisis, as we know, has been exacerbated by COVID. We forget about this a lot: there have been a lot of people who have been able to get successfully housed through the shelter system and there’s a lot of great work that has been done on that, but the number of people requiring services continues to increase and this is happening across Ontario.”

“This is going to get worse when our provincial government removes the rent cap next year and with the ongoing freeze of social assistance rates. The overflow shelter is by no means perfect. It’s not a long-term solution. We do need housing; we’re working on that — the city is working on affordable housing and all these other fronts where we’re able. And again, we need money from senior levels of government to push those forward. But tonight I will not be supporting closing the overflow shelter.”

Riel’s motion passed 6-5, with Therrien and councillors Riel, Akapo, Wright, Zippel, and Gary Baldwin voting in favour and councillors Clarke, Pappas, Parnell, Andrew Beamer, and Don Vassiliadis voting against it.

Northumberland County is launching a new pilot shuttle bus service in September that will connect communities in the county with each other and, for the first time, with the GO Transit network.

Called Commuter Connect, the regional service will operate from Trent Hills to Brighton to Port Hope, with stops in between, and will connect with GO Transit in Oshawa.

Originally announced in April, Commuter Connect is a partnership between Northumberland County, Metrolinx (the Ontario government agency responsible for GO Transit), and transportation logistics software company Hop In Technologies.

The county is asking residents to participate in a short survey to help guide decisions about the service’s proposed transportation routes.

“We are launching Commuter Connect to increase flexibility and choice for Northumberland residents in their local commute,” says County Warden Bob Crate in a media release. “We are asking residents to share where and when they need this service so we can build the most effective network.”

The survey is available until Wednesday, August 17th online at commuterconnect.ca.

Paper copies of the survey can be picked up at the Port Hope and District Chamber of Commerce (58 Queen St., Port Hope), the Northumberland Central Chamber of Commerce (278 George St., Cobourg), the Brighton-Cramahe Chamber of Commerce (78 Main St., Brighton), and the Trent Hills Chamber of Commerce (51 Grand Rd., Campbellford).

After the service launches, ridership data will be collected and analyzed over a 12-month period to help further define local need and interest, and the opportunity for increased transit options for local commutes within the county and to GO Transit in Oshawa.