Missing 89-year-old Joseph McGee of Minden Hills Township was found dead on Wednesday (December 7), according to the Haliburton Highlands Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

Police had asked for the public’s help in locating McGee after he went missing on Saturday, when he was last seen driving his vehicle.

“Family members wish to express their heartfelt thanks to the community for their tireless efforts in the search for Joseph McGee,” states an OPP media release. “The OPP also wish to thank both the community and our media partners for their assistance in this matter.”

No further details were released by police.

Original story

The Haliburton Highlands Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is asking for the public’s help in locating a missing 89-year-old man from Minden Hills Township.

Joseph McGee was last seen driving a dark green Subaru Outback with Ontario plate BTSY 146 on Saturday (December 3) in the Minden area.

Police describe McGee as as a white male, 5′ 10″ and approximately 180 lbs. He is balding with short grey hair and beard, and has blue eyes.

He is possibly wearing black boots with no laces, blue jeans, a white sweatshirt with the word “cutty” on the chest with a blue-collared shirt underneath, a blue fleece jacket with a gold band across the chest, and an Ottawa Senators ball cap.

Police are concerned for his well-being, and are asking people to check their properties, especially rural and seasonal ones, for any sign of McGee or his vehicle.

Anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of McGee or his vehicle is asked to contact the Haliburton Highlands OPP detachment at 1-888-310-1122.

Sadleir House, the independent student-run community centre in downtown Peterborough, is raising funds to pay off the remaining $175,000 in its mortgage.

Located at 751 George Street North north of Parkhill Road, Sadleir House is owned and operated by P.R. Community & Student Association, a not-for-profit charitable organization.

As well as providing office space for local organizations including the Kawartha World Issues Centre, the Community Race Relations Committee of Peterborough, and Arthur Newspaper, Sadleir House regularly hosts concerts, films, poetry readings, and other events both for Trent University students and the general community.

“At Sadleir House we’re really trying to do something different,” says Sadleir House general manager Matt Jarvis in a video. “We’re trying to prove that, as a community, we can lift up a space. This is a giant Victorian mansion. We have three large event spaces, including a black box theatre and a 100-person concert venue with industry-standard sound.”

“Paying off the mortgage will free up $30,000 in annual funds for us to spend on renovations and heritage upgrades and programming — stuff that we can use to make our space more beautiful for everyone.”

Sadleir House was built in 1892 for local businessman and politician James Kendry, who sold it in 1902 to James R. Stratton, publisher of the Peterborough Examiner and a local politician, who built a coach house for his horses three years later.

VIDEO: Matt Jarvis talks about the Sadleir House mortgage

In 1963, the newly founded Trent University purchased the original house along with the coach house to serve as the main building for its Peter Robinson College, with architect Ron Thom designing a connection between the two buildings two years later.

Initially named Peter Robinson House, it was later renamed after the late Richard Sadleir, a friend of Trent University’s founding president Thomas H.B. Symons who helped found the university and was the first master of Peter Robinson College from 1963 until 1969.

In 1999, Trent University announced plans to close both Peter Robinson and Catharine Parr Traill Colleges, resulting in widespread student protest. Three years later, the colleges’ buildings — including Sadleir House — were sold to a property developer.

In 2003, the demand for increased space for students combined with outrage at the loss of Peter Robinson College prompted a group of students to form the Downtown Student Facility Trust, which put forward a referendum question to full-time undergraduate students at Trent University for establishing a $22 per student levy to purchase an existing building in downtown Peterborough for non-profit educational and cultural student facility to be shared with the community as a whole.

After a majority of students voted in favour of the referendum, the P.R. Community & Student Association was incorporated in 2004 and purchased Sadleir House for $650,000. In 2005, the City of Peterborough designated Sadleir House as a heritage building.

The not-for-profit organization primarily relies on the student levy along with donations to cover its operational expenses. It also rents out space in Sadleir House, with discounted rates for not-for-profit groups and for community use and no charge for Trent University student groups.

“Giant Victorian mansions are extremely expensive,” Jarvis says. “However, over the last 20 years we’ve been slowly and surely paying off the mortgage to the point that we only owe $175,000 — which is a lot of money.”

Jarvis is appealing for donations of any size from members of the community, alumni of Peter Robinson College, people involved in the alternative arts community in Peterborough, and more. You can donate to Sadleir House at www.sadleirhouse.ca/donate. All donations over $20 will receive a charitable tax receipt.

For more information about Sadleir House’s plans or to tour the premises, you can contact Jarvis at 705-742-3686 or at matt@sadleirhouse.ca.

Environment Canada has now issued a wind warning for southern Peterborough County, southern Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County for Saturday.

A north-to-south-oriented cold front will track east across southern Ontario, expected to reach the Kawarthas region by mid-to-late morning.

Westerly winds gusting to 90 km/h will continue throughout the afternoon in the wake of the cold front.

A special weather statement for strong winds also remains in effect for northern Peterborough County, northern Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, and Hastings County. South or southwest winds with gusts up to 60 km/h are expected ahead of the cold front, followed by west or northwest winds with gusts up to 80 km/h along and behind the front.

The strongest winds will only last an hour or so as the cold front passes. Winds are expected to ease from west to east in the evening.

The strong winds may damage roof shingles and windows and cause tree branches to break. The winds may also toss loose objects and damage soft shelters, tents, and awnings at outdoor events. Hydro One crews are prepared to respond to power outages that may be caused by damaging winds.

People may want to exercise caution while attending Santa Claus parades in the Kawarthas on Saturday. Parades take place in Bancroft at 2:30 p.m., Peterborough at 4:45 p.m., Cobourg at 6 p.m., and Pontypool at 6:30 p.m.

Santa will need to hold onto his hat while he’s parading in the greater Kawarthas region on Saturday (December 3), as Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for strong winds for all of southern Ontario.

A north-to-south-oriented cold front is expected to track east across southern Ontario on Saturday, reaching the Kawarthas region by late Saturday morning.

South or southwest winds with gusts up to 70 km/h are expected ahead of the cold front, followed by west or northwest winds with gusts up to 80 km/h along and behind the front. The strong winds will continue through Saturday afternoon.

Rain showers changing to snow flurries and rain showers are expected across the region until early afternoon, with a chance of flurries throughout the afternoon.

High winds may toss loose objects or cause tree branches to break. Damage to buildings, such as roof shingles and windows, as well as power outages may occur.

Santa Claus parades take place on Saturday in Bancroft at 2:30 p.m., Peterborough at 4:45 p.m., Cobourg at 6 p.m., and Pontypool at 6:30 p.m.

After a two-year absence because of the pandemic, Santa is returning to downtown Peterborough on Saturday (December 3) to take part in the 47th annual Kinsmen Santa Claus Parade.

The City of Peterborough has released information about road closures along the parade route, parking, transit detours, and more related to the parade, which begins at 4:45 p.m.

With increased vehicular and pedestrian traffic expected in the late afternoon, the city is also reminding everyone to leave extra time and use caution while travelling in the downtown area on Saturday.

Road closures

To allow for both staging and the parade procession, the following road closures will be in place starting at 4 p.m.:

• Antrim Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street
• Edinburgh Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street
• Dublin Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street
• London Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street
• McDonnel Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street
• Murray Street — Aylmer Street to Water Street
• George Street — Parkhill Road to Brock Street
• Prince Street — George Street to Park Street
• Aylmer Street — Lansdowne Street to Romaine Street

The parade will travel south on George Street starting at McDonnel Street and passing in front of City Hall at 4:45 p.m., ending and dispersing at Prince Street. A rolling road closure, supervised by Peterborough Police Services, will be in place along George Street during the parade.

Event volunteers will be available to remove barricades to allow for local access for residents and emergency vehicles along side streets. All road closures are expected to be over by 7:30 p.m.

Parking during the parade

No on-street parking is permitted on George Street between Brock Street and Prince Street starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 3. Parking staff will be on-site to help ensure cars are relocated. Any cars still parked on George Street at 3 p.m. will be towed to a nearby lot. 

People are encouraged to park in the King Street Parkade at 202 King St., the Simcoe Street parking garage at 190 Simcoe St. or municipal surface lots at the following locations: 

• Chambers Lot at 184 Hunter St.
• Reid Lot at 350 Reid St.
• Surface lot at 365 Aylmer St.
• Rehill Lot at 210 Wolfe St.
• Del Crary Lot at 100 George St. N.
• Downie Lot at 336 Downie St.

Parking in municipal lots and parking garages is free on weekends. Any parking fees that are voluntarily paid during the month of December will be donated to Kawartha Food Share.

Residents are reminded to follow all on-street parking regulations that may be in place in the downtown area, including calendar parking where applicable. Please ensure fire hydrants and driveways are not blocked.

Transit detours

Starting at 4 p.m., Peterborough Transit will have the following route detours in place for Route 2 Chemong, Route 4 Weller, Route 6 Sherbrooke, Community Bus 22 – Blue and Community Bus 23 – Red. For more details, or call Transit Customer Service at 705-745-0525.

• Route 2 Chemong – Southbound from Terminal: Simcoe to Aylmer Street to Romaine Street to Park Street to Lansdowne Street to Lock Street. Northbound from Lansdowne at Borden: Regular route to Lansdowne Street to Park Street to Romaine Street to Aylmer Street to Simcoe Street
• Route 4 Weller – During the rolling road closure #4 westbound will follow regular route to terminal only. The eastbound bus will travel to the bus stop at Simcoe at Water streets. Customers will be directed to catch the bus at the Simcoe and Water bus stop.
• Route 6 Sherbrooke – Southbound from Trent (4 to 7:30 p.m.): regular route to Parkhill Road, right on Parkhill to Reid Street, left on Reid Street, left on Simcoe Street. Northbound from Terminal (during rolling road closure): Simcoe to Aylmer Street, Aylmer to McDonnel Street, left on McDonnel to Reid Street, right onto Parkhill Road where regular route resumes.
• Community Bus 22 – Blue – Southbound on George Street to Parkhill Road, right on Parkhill to Reid Street, left from Reid to McDonnel Street, travels right on Aylmer Street and continues on Aylmer Street to Charlotte Street where regular route resumes.
• Community Bus 23 – Red – Until the rolling road closure begins: Eastbound on McDonnel Street to Aylmer Street, right on Aylmer to Simcoe Street and continues on regular route. During the rolling road closure Eastbound on McDonnel Street to Aylmer Street, right on Aylmer to Romaine Street to Park Street, where regular route resumes.

Peterborough Petes game at the Peterborough Memorial Centre

There is a Peterborough Petes game at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Saturday evening starting at 7:05 p.m.

With the Santa Claus parade affecting traffic in the area, people attending the game are encouraged to plan for extra travel time when getting to the game. Paid parking at the Memorial Centre opens at 4 p.m. and the arena doors open at 6 p.m.

A group of young hockey players has demonstrated the holiday spirit is alive and well by making Christmas a little more magical for a few local families in need.

The under-13 team of the Central Ontario Wolves AAA hockey program, which includes kids from the City of Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough, Trent Hills, and Scugog and Peterborough, donated their own money so they could purchase gifts for a family of three (two parents and a teenage boy), as well as another teenage boy and a teenage girl.

With the help of their coaches and mom, the players raised almost $1,350.

The players met with their coaches on Giving Tuesday (November 29) to decide what to purchase for each person and to shop for the items.

“The boys did an excellent job on picking out the items,” says Courtney Bribeau, ice scheduler with the Central Ontario Wolves. “They learned the joy of helping others, and that the true spirit of Christmas is all about giving, not receiving.”

“We are so proud of this group of boys and so grateful that the Wolves are able to spread some Christmas cheer and support those who need it the most.”

Back in mid-January, when anti-vax protesters concluded that it was somehow a good idea to accost Peterborough’s medical officer of health at his East City home, they would have been wise to do their homework.

The man who answered their door knock on the evening of January 19th wasn’t going to be easily intimidated, if at all. With his having worked in war zones as a field doctor with Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), this intrusion was child’s play — a nuisance, yes, but nothing that came close to shaking his resolve.

Just seven weeks earlier, on December 1st, 2021, Dr. Thomas Piggott started his new job at Peterborough Public Health, his arrival coinciding with the emergence of the life-threatening COVD-19 Omicron variant.

While serving as medical officer of health for Labrador-Grenfell Health last year, Dr. Piggott had heard that Dr. Rosana Salvaterra was retiring after 13 years as Peterborough’s top public health official. A subsequent phone chat with her, according to Dr. Piggott, “planted a seed that started to grow.”

He interviewed for the position and, on August 12th, Peterborough’s board of health announced that Dr. Piggott had the job.

“It was a little sooner than my family had anticipated leaving Labrador, but we had a pretty difficult time there during the pandemic being so far from family (in Ontario),” recalls Dr. Piggott. “It really made us think about being closer to family, which is something we deeply value. This was in the back of our minds when the opportunity came up.”

“I had heard about Peterborough Public Health, having worked in Ontario before we moved to Labrador,” Dr. Piggott adds. “I knew it was an organization that was deeply respected in the province, especially for its leadership on things like health equity, fairness, and the social determinants of health.”

His first day on the job, says Dr. Piggott, presented the “giddy excitement of a new opportunity in a new place.” However, he adds, “That was quickly eclipsed by omicron, which worried us significantly. What might have been a more slow start meant I had to hit the ground running.”

That he did, bringing himself up to speed quickly on key local public health issues and priorities with the help of input from the board of health and the senior public health leadership team. While the continued response to the pandemic was priority number one, another challenge caught Dr. Piggott’s full attention: the stress on public health staff.

“They had been working non-stop for nearly two years at that point — they were tired,” he recalls, referring to public health staff’s organization and coordination of vaccination clinics, the fielding of countless phone and email inquiries, and the communication of numerous directives and key messages.

“Also there had been events, including people coming into our building and some charges laid in conjunction with that. Staff was quite scared. I knew I was going to have to help lead the team in a way that supported and protected them; that valued them and recognized just how much they had sacrificed to help our community.”

So it was that Dr. Piggott’s mandated public health protection of the residents of Peterborough city and county and Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations also took in the well-being of those toiling at public health’s King Street office in downtown Peterborough.

He says the January protests at the home he shares with his wife and two young daughters “really impacted some of our staff. They became fearful.”

With two people charged with criminal harassment and intimidation of a health official in the aftermath and the matter still before the courts, Dr. Piggott won’t say much about incident, other than noting he has experienced “far more significant and concerning safety threats.”

What he will comment on is the huge outpouring of public support that followed.

Conceived and organized by a small group of residents, kawarthaNOW publisher Jeannine Taylor among them, a Facebook group — Nogojiwanong Peterborough Stands With Dr. Piggott — brought forth countless messages of support while quickly swelling to some 1,500 members.

If the relative newcomer to Peterborough didn’t know how much the vast majority valued his efforts — and those of his staff — to keep them safe, he now had full evidence.

“It was really heartwarming,” says Dr. Piggott. “I shared a lot of those messages with staff. Even though they were initially directed at me, the whole staff could see and benefit from the positive messaging. I’m not somebody who likes taking positive feedback. I’d rather focus on what can I do better and how we can do more.”

Now, as COVID continues to hang on — the latest numbers show 340 active cases in the region with two more deaths recorded last week — and influenza and RSV cases continuing to rise, Dr. Piggott expresses the same message he has since day one: take the steps necessary to keep yourself and those around you safe.

“What I think is important and what I’m really emphasizing at this point of the pandemic, is there are big societal changes we can make to continue to live with this pandemic and prepare for others in the future,” he says.

“It’s not just things like masking. It’s not just things like getting vaccinated. There’s ventilation in buildings. If you have poor ventilation, the transmission of infectious diseases can be worse. We need building codes. We need individual organizations to take leadership and say ‘We’re going to develop better ventilation and ensure that the air is cleaner and safer.'”

“We say ‘Stay home when sick’ — that’s easier said then done in practice,” Dr. Piggott notes. “If it’s between a paycheque to put food on the table and staying home to protect work colleagues, people are going to make the decision that puts their colleagues at risk. We have to improve access to adequate paid sick leave.”

“It weighs very heavily on me that we’re still seeing a lot of transmission and we’re still seeing death from COVID. It’s not over. It’s not done. Vaccines have been a game changer and have helped protect most of us, but that’s not the silver bullet. We need multiple layers — multiple measures — to really do the best that we can in saving lives.”

Dr. Piggott says while public health guidance sometimes finds itself at odds with government decisions and directives, he fully understands how things work.

“Politicians are the ones who put policies and laws into place. When they make those decisions, I think medical expertise is an important factor but it’s not the only factor. They have to weigh values and preferences of the people that elected them and that they serve. They have to weight economic considerations. I’m always mindful that my perspective is one that is grounded in medical expertise and public health evidence, but it’s a little bit more complicated when it comes to their decisions.”

If there’s a silver lining to COVID, Dr. Piggott says it can be found in the partnerships formed as part of the collaborative response to the pandemic.

“It’s not just me. It’s not even just public health. We worked with partners: family physicians, family health teams and the primary care community, the hospital, our municipalities, community organizations, and the media. I never looked at it like I’m in this work alone. The pandemic brought us together but we need to work hard to learn from what we learned and take that next step so that we can ensure we do better the next time.”

In the meantime, one year since arriving at Peterborough Public Health, Dr. Piggott is more convinced than ever that applying for position was the right move, both professionally and for his family.

“It has more than lived up to my expectations,” he says. “It has been a pretty interesting year. I hope that future years are little bit less dramatic. I’m so grateful for the incredible team I have here that works tirelessly to try to improve the health of our region. I have so much respect for them.”

As for his life outside of work in Peterborough, Dr. Piggott also has only positive things to say.

“The region is wonderful,” he says. “I’ve had the chance to do lots of hiking, canoeing, and cross-country skiing. My family is really happy and we look forward to many, many more years here.”