Police are looking for a suspect believed to be responsible for four different robberies in Coboconk, Orillia, and Gravenhurst on Sunday and Monday (October 25 and 26).

In two of the incidents, the suspect approached people using an ATM, brandished a conducted energy weapon, and demanded cash. In the other two incidents, the suspect entered a convenience store with what appeared to be a firearm and demanded cash.

The first incident took place at around 8 a.m. on Sunday (October 25) inside a bank in Coboconk in the City of Kawartha Lakes. A person was using an ATM inside the bank when the suspect approached, brandished a conducted energy weapon, and demanded cash. The victim surrendered approximately $300 in Canadian currency to the suspect, who then fled the location on foot. Nobody was injured during the incident.

The suspect in that incident was described as male, around 40 years of age, around 5’6″ tall with black hair, and wearing a black jacket, black mask, and black toque.

The second incident took place at around 6:15 a.m. on Monday (October 26), when a person using a drive-thru ATM in Orillia was approached by the suspect, who brandished a conducted energy weapon and demanded cash. The victim immediately drove away, leaving the bank card in the ATM. The suspect made unsuccessful attempts to withdraw money.

The suspect in that incident was described as male, around 30 years of age, around 5’7″ in height, and wearing all-black clothing.

The third and fourth incidents took place around 6:30 p.m. on Monday (October 26) in Gravenhurst. In both cases, the suspect entered a convenience store with what appeared to be a firearm and demanded cash. No money was obtained by the suspect in either case. The suspect left in a white sedan.

The suspect in those two incidents was described as 5’7″ and wearing a reflective jacket and a black toque, black mask, and black gloves.

Police believe the suspect in all cases is the same man. In all four incidents, a newer white four-door sedan was observed in the immediate area, which police believe was operated by the suspect.

Police are looking for the public’s assistance to help identify the suspect in these incidents. Police believe there may be witnesses to these events who were driving or walking in the area at the time of the offences.

If anyone recognizes the suspect or has knowledge of these crimes, call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

You can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or submit your information online at www.crimestopperssdm.com. if you have any information on this crime or any other crime. Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display and you will remain anonymous. Being anonymous, you will not testify in court and your information may lead to a cash reward of up to $2,000.

The spike in new COVID-19 cases in Peterborough over the past week was related to the Thanksgiving weekend, according to Peterborough’s medical officer of health.

“We did see an increase in cases that were linked to the gatherings that occurred at Thanksgiving,” noted Dr. Rosana Salvaterra said during her weekly media briefing held Wednesday (October 28).

The health unit reported four new cases on October 21st, with another four on October 25th and two more on October 26th.

“Even with the greatest amount of care, not all risks can be avoided,” Dr. Salvaterra said. “People tried their best — they did reduce their socializing — but despite that we had some transmission occur.”

While there were 10 new cases reported in Peterborough over the past week, only six cases are currently active. However, Dr. Salveterra says there still may be more new cases to come as a result of the Thanksgiving weekend.

“I can’t rule out completely whether or not we’ll see any further cases that will link back to gatherings that took place that weekend.”

As for Halloween, Dr. Salvaterra says following simple public health guidelines will greatly reduce the risk of infection.

“Everyone on both sides of the treats should wear a mask,” she said, also urging people to not hold household Halloween parties.

In addition, Peterborough Public Health is strongly recommending the following:

• Screen for COVID-19 symptoms before trick-or-treating or handing out treats. Stay home if you are experiencing symptoms or feel ill.
• Only travel or trick-or-treat with those in your household. Maintain two metres’ distance from other groups. Avoid crowding in hallways and at doorways.
• Wash or sanitize your hands frequently. Clean your hands before eating any treats.
• Use tongs or another tool when handing out treats. Avoid leaving treats in a bowl for trick-or-treaters to grab.
• Avoid handing out or eating homemade or repackaged treats.

As for the other upcoming holidays where people traditionally gather, Dr. Salvaterra also had some recommendations.

For Remembrance Day, she noted there are a number of virtual events being planned and that is the safest way to honour veterans.

“Because of the vulnerability of our veterans, I’m recommending that there not be any socializing before or after any of the commemorative events,” she said. “I understand that the Legions in our area will be hosting some small private events for their members. I ask the public to respect these as closed gatherings, although they may be taking place in otherwise public spaces.”

Meanwhile, with Tuesday’s snowfall reminding us that the Christmas season is looming, Dr. Salvaterra advises that at this point we should “plan for it to be a different Christmas,” adding “Hopefully we’ll get this second wave under control and may have a little more freedom.”

As of Wednesday morning, the local catchment area of Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake and Hiawatha had seen a total of 147 positive cases reported with six cases currently active. The last confirmed case was reported this past Monday (October 26).

A total of 139 local cases have been resolved with two COVID-related deaths reported, both occurring early in the outbreak. There are currently no active outbreaks reported. Close to 34,000 area residents have been tested for a testing rate of 22.9 per cent.

A new statistic being reported by Peterborough Public Health relates to the number of close contacts being monitored, which as of Wednesday stood at 81.

According to Dr. Salvaterra, a close contact is defined as an individual who has had close contact with a positive case and, as a result, are considered to be at higher risk for infection during the positive case’s incubation period.

“Public health nurses keep in touch with them during that 14-day period to make sure they are self isolating and are checking daily for symptoms,” she said.

As for pandemic fatigue, Dr. Salvaterra is not unsympathetic but warns against “letting our guard down.”

“This has been a long haul,” she acknowledged.

“It’s important to talk to someone, to be able to vent your frustration. There’s a great deal of stress in the community. People are feeling down and depressed. It’s important to find someone you can trust, that you can share your emotions or experiences with. We need to engage in constructive thinking, looking at the opportunities rather than focusing on the restrictions.”

Also participating in Wednesday’s media briefing were Peterborough board of health chair and Selwyn mayor Andy Mitchell, and Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien.

In a major setback for the Canadian Canoe Museum, the planned new museum is no longer going to be located beside the Peterborough Lift Lock due to the presence of a cancer-causing chemical at the planned site for the facility.

The museum announced on Wednesday (October 28) that it has has terminated its lease agreement with Parks Canada for the land located alongside the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway at 353 Hunter Street East.

In May, an independent investigation by the museum determined the site, owned by Parks Canada, contains the chemical compound trichloroethylene (TCE), along with a variety of other chemicals.

A clear non-flammable liquid with a sweet smell, TCE was commonly used as an industrial solvent in the past. It is classified as a human carcinogen and a non-carcinogenic health hazard. Groundwater and drinking water contamination from industrial discharge of trichloroethylene is a major concern for human health and has resulted in numerous public health incidents and lawsuits in the U.S.

The museum states that this discovery, “together with the costs associated with clearing the contamination, the resulting unavoidable project delays, and inevitable rising costs have rendered the site no longer viable for the new museum build.”

Carolyn Hyslop, the museum’s executive director, states in a media release the museum and Parks Canada reached an “amicable dissolution” of the lease agreement “at no additional punitive cost to the museum.”

The museum is now looking at alternative sites in Peterborough where the new museum can be located, and will conduct feasibility studies and environmental assessments before selecting a new site.

“We are in the process of identifying and selecting a new site for what will be a revised museum design that will complement the waterfront site selection,” Hyslop says. “The museum remains dedicated to building a home that will permit us to share 100 per cent of our collection in a facility that meets conservation standards, to creating a new suite of exhibitions, and to increasing opportunities for in-person, digital and on-water programming.”

With the Peterborough Lift Lock site no longer an option, the original architectural designs for the new facility — which were designed around the Lift Lock site — are now obsolete.

“We had a beautiful, award-winning design that was perfectly suited for the Lift Lock location that is regretfully utterly non-transferable to another location,” Hyslop says. “Recognizing the deep attachment and disappointment shared by all involved in the face of current circumstances, the museum looks forward to announcing the selection of a new site in Peterborough that will help us advance this important project by the end of the year.”

Despite this major setback, the museum states “the project is expected to be shovel-ready by the end of 2021.”

The ground water at 353 Hunter Street East, owned by Parks Canada, is believed to have been contaminated by chemicals seeping from an adjacent property. Two factories were located in the area.

Westclox (formerly The Western Clock Company) operated a clock-making factory on Hunter Street, on the hill overlooking the Trent Canal, from 1922 until the early 1980s. The building, which has since been converted into condos and offices, is now called Time Square and is operated by the Skyline Group of Companies. It is unknown whether industrial solvents were used in the manufacture and assembly of clocks.

Fisher Gauge operated a metal die-casting plant at 194 Sophia Street near the Trent Canal. The company, which later became FisherCast Global, was acquired by DynaCast in 2008 and currently operates a factory on Neal Drive. Industrial solvents such as TCE are used for both cleaning and finishing metals.

Peterborough police are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing person, 35-year-old Ryan Kelly of Peterborough.

Kelly was last seen leaving his residence at 2 p.m. on Monday (October 26) and has not been in contact with his family since.

He is described as a Caucasian male, 5’8″ and 150 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair balding in the front, and a goatee. He has an eye brow ring and an earring.

Kelly was last seen wearing a green and orange coat and work boots with a grey helmet and possibly riding a CCM bicycle with a motor on it.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Peterborough Police Service at 705-876-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.stopcrimehere.ca.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit is warning people who use drugs there may be potentially dangerous opioids in the community, following reports by Kawartha Lakes police of five overdose incidents in the last six days.

The overdoses are thought to be the result of a contaminated or poisoned drug supply or inconsistent or increased potency, causing more severe overdose reactions.

“We are very concerned about these recent overdose incidents and are encouraging everyone to be extra vigilant and aware,” says Catherine MacDonald, the health unit’s substances and harm reduction coordinator. “This alert is being issued because there are potentially toxic substances present in the community that are putting people’s health at risk.”

Signs of an overdose include very large or very small pupils, slow or no breathing, cold and clammy skin, blue or purple fingernails or lips, and snoring or gurgling sounds. Often in drug overdoses, it is also difficult to wake up the person.

The health unit is reminding anyone who uses drugs (or know someone who does) to follow these safety tips: test a small amount of drug before you use, never use alone, ensure that 9-1-1 can be contacted in the event of an overdose, avoid mixing your drugs, and keep a naloxone kit on hand.

Naloxone is an emergency medicine that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose until the victim can get to hospital for treatment. Many local police and emergency responders already carry naloxone.

Free kits are also available to people who use opioids, as well as their family and friends, at participating pharmacies in Kawartha Lakes. To find exact locations for free naloxone kits, visit the Ontario government website at ontario.ca/page/where-get-free-naloxone-kit.

Peterborough ultra runners Carlotta James and Tim Haines are running 50 kilometres on Sunday (November 1) to help protect monarch butterflies in Mexico.

Last week, the wife-and-husband team launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise awareness and funds for the protection of the Cerro Pelón Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary, located in Macheros, Mexico.

The butterfly sanctuary was the destination of last year’s Monarch Ultra Relay, an epic 4,300-kilometre and 47-day run from Canada to Mexico that followed the migratory path of the monarch butterfly.

James co-founded the Monarch Ultra Relay in 2018, along with Peterborough filmmaker Rodney Fuentes, Elmira’s Clay Williams, and Toronto’s Galen Brown, to raise awareness of the plight of the threatened pollinator.

“When the Monarch Ultra team and I first visited the Cerro Pelón Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Macheros, Mexico in 2018, it was a dream come true for us,” James says. “After hiking over 3,000 meters to reach the monarch colonies in the Cerro Pelón mountains, I felt like I’d entered a secret kingdom.”

“Millions of monarch butterflies filled the skies, the trees and the forest floors, and seemed to be in constant activity,” James adds. “Surrounded by glimmers of orange and black wings reminded me of the strength and resilience of these incredible creatures in their ability to migrate thousands of miles.”

The Cerro Pelón Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary is a major ecotourism destination in Mexico. While economic desperation has always driven some local people to cut down trees in the sanctuary, now that the sanctuary is closed to visitors because of the pandemic, the situation is even worse with hundreds of locals who depend on ecotourism now out of work.

The butterfly sanctuary is preserved by Butterflies and Their People (butterfliesandtheirpeople.org), a non-profit organization based in Macheros that hires other locals to work as “forest guardians” to patrol and protect the sanctuary from illegal logging.

With their 50-kilometre ultra run, James and Haines are raising funds for Butterflies and Their People so the organization can continue to employ the sanctuary’s forest guardians, whose annual salary is around $4,000 to $5,000. While the couple have already met their initial goal of $3,000, additional funds will allow Butterflies and Their People to do more.

“It’s heartening to see so much enthusiasm and energy in northern North America for monarch monitoring and conservation,” says Ellen Sharp, founder of Butterflies and Their People. “But if this passion does not spill over into effective protection of the overwintering grounds in Mexico, all these efforts will be for naught.”

James and Haines picked November 1st as the day of their ultra run as it’s a significant day in Mexico, part of the country’s Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival to honour the lives of the deceased. It’s also when migrating monarchs arrive at butterfly sanctuaries in Mexico.

“Peterborough and Macheros are inextricably linked,” James says. “Our two communities are connected because of the monarch migration. Monarch butterflies that are born in Peterborough in the late summer or early fall are the same ones who migrate to Mexico.”

James and Haines will run 50 kilometres along The Great Trail (formerly the Trans Canada Trail), beginning at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning at 100 Water Street in downtown Peterborough (the Depave garden site). They will run east towards Hastings, turning around at Cameron Line to head back to Peterborough.

Other local runners will also join them for different legs, and all runners will be physically distanced. Aid stations will be set up every 10 kilometres along the run and staffed by volunteers. The run will end at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

To support James and Haines, you can make a donation at www.gofundme.com/f/50km-popup-fundraiser-for-monarch-sanctuary.

VIDEO: Support monarch conservation – Butterflies and Their People

As for the second Monarch Ultra Relay Run in the fall of 2021, James says organizers have had to adjust their original plans due to the unpredictability of the pandemic.

Instead of running the same 4,300 kilometres journey from Peterborough to Macheros, participants will instead run around 2,100 kilometres in Ontario, along the Great Trail and Waterfront Trail.

However, like the original Monarch Ultra Relay Run, organizers will meet with students, teachers, mayors, councillors, nonprofits, and conservation organizations every day of the three-week relay run to raise awareness of the monarch butterfly’s plight.