Pinnguaq is getting all “steamed” up about an upcoming summer street festival it is hosting in downtown Lindsay.

The not-for-profit educational organization is holding a celebration on August 29 to mark the opening of its new community hub, located at 12 Peel St. in Lindsay. The festival encompasses elements of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM).

“We are very hopeful and excited to show off a new capital project in downtown Lindsay,” Ryan Oliver, CEO and founder of Pinnguaq, told kawarthaNOW. “We are excited to share in the good vibes and showcase what this building can be not only for our organization but for the community as a whole.”

The public can expect to see food vendors, bouncy castles, and a variety of STEAM-based activities running throughout the afternoon.

“We will have live bands and lots to eat,” Oliver added. “The public will see a celebration and we’re hopeful they will join in.”

The event precedes “STEAM School,” a new program which Pinnguaq is offering in September to children in grades 4 through 6 who are specifically interested in STEAM subjects. Offered two days a week beginning September 10, the school encourages students to explore real-world challenges and apply critical thinking, as they delve into STEAM subjects.

The Level-Up Summer Street Festival runs from 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 29, and offers family-friendly fun, Pinnguaq said.

“Embracing a playful approach to learning, Pinnguaq is thrilled to invite the public to the festival, a celebration of (STEAM) education in the Kawartha Lakes and the opening of their new community hub in downtown Lindsay,” a media release noted.

Members of the public can tour the 3,500-square-foot makerspace, enjoy hands-on STEAM-powered programming for learners of all ages, and visit a tech exploration station. Attendees can also embrace play in a video game lounge or express their creativity in the chalk art zone.

“This street festival has something for people of all ages.”

Pinnguaq partnered with O’Neil and Carroll, a Downeyville/Lindsay-based contractor, and Home by Tim + Chris, a Fenelon Falls-based design firm, to make the hub a reality.

The makerspace will be home to after-school programming, drop-in programming on weekends and, of course, STEAM School next month.

In addition to the Lindsay makerspace, Pinnguaq operates a makerspace in Iqaluit, and supports a makerspace network from Curve Lake First Nation to a growing number across Nunavut, including Cambridge Bay, Pond Inlet, and Saniarjak.

“We’re so excited to be moving to downtown Lindsay and look forward to celebrating the launch of the new hub with this family-friendly, STEAM-powered festival, along with our friends, learner community, partners and local businesses,” Oliver noted.

Originally from Lindsay, Oliver worked for almost nine years for the territorial government in Nunavut, where he founded the not-for-profit Pinnguaq Association in Pangnirtung in 2012 to provide Nunavummiut youth access to technology through games.

Pinnguaq now works alongside rural, remote, Indigenous, and other communities, and strives to deliver programs for people of all ages to cultivate STEAM skills through innovative technology, art, and play. It offers “world-class” makerspaces, maker kits and activities, and works with educators to introduce children to a STEAM-based curriculum that brings learning to life.

For more information about Pinnguaq and its programming in Kawartha Lakes, visit www.pinnguaq.com or follow along on social media at @pinnguaq.

Peterborough city council will be meeting as general committee on Monday (August 26).

Following a closed session at 4:30 p.m., council will meet in chambers at 6 p.m. for an open session.

Below is a summary of what’s on the agenda for Monday’s meeting.

Report of Closed Session

Prior to the open session, councillors will meet behind closed doors.

While the topic of the closed session is not public, the agenda refers to legal advice related to the strong mayor powers that the Ontario government provided to municipalities beginning in 2022. The strong mayor powers give heads of council the power to set budgets, veto by-laws, and pass by-laws with just one-third of their council’s support if the by-laws deal with provincial priorities such as housing.

The agenda for the closed session also refers to negotiations related to a leasing opportunity.

Public Meetings under the Planning Act

Council will consider two zoning by-law amendments and a temporary use zoning by-law amendment.

The first zoning by-law involves amending the zoning of 427 and 431 Raymond Street to permit a single-detached residential dwelling to be built on each property. The two properties are adjacent to a residential property 435 Raymond Street, which has the same owner as the two properties, and are currently used for a private lawn and basketball court.

The second zoning by-law involves amending the zoning of 78 and 82 Lansdowne Street West to allow Habitat for Humanity Peterborough and Kawartha Region, which owns the properties, to develop a 41-unit five-storey apartment building. Located on the south side of Lansdowne east of Lock Street, the properties currently have a one-story single detached dwelling with a garage and a two-and-a-half story single detached dwelling, both of which would be demolished.

The temporary use zoning by-law amendment involves a temporary use permit to allow Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH) to build 24 one-room sleeping cabins for up to three years at 385 Lansdowne Street East, the former location of the Peterborough Humane Society located on the south side of Lansdowne Street east of Ashburnham Drive and directly across from Willowcreek Plaza. The property is owned by Habitat for Humanity Peterborough and Kawartha Region, which has leased the property to PATH and intends to develop permanent housing on the site in the future.

Presentations

Council will receive a presentation from Dr. Thomas Piggott, Peterborough’s medical officer of health, about the results of a climate change and health vulnerability assessment completed by Peterborough Public Health in 2023 as mandated by the Ontario government. The presentation follows one the health unit gave to the Peterborough environmental advisory committee in April.

Council will also receive a presentation from John Wynsma, president and CEO of City of Peterborough Holdings Inc., on the corporation’s 2023 annual report. The Corporation of the City of Peterborough is the sole shareholder of City of Peterborough Holdings Inc., which is part of the Peterborough Utilities Group.

Reports

Council will consider a report with recommendations to establish a traffic technical working group to streamline various requests related to traffic and parking services. Mayor Jeff Leal requested city staff to consider re-establishing the working group that was in place from the 1990s until 2007 when it was dissolved.

Since the dissolution of the working group, traffic and parking requests have been managed individually on a first come, first served basis as staff resources permit.

“Many requests, such as all-way stop or no parking requests, require extensive data collection and investigation to provide a comprehensive response,” the report states. “Once the review is complete, each individual request and recommendation are presented to council for consideration which has led to extended response times given other work program priorities.”

The report adds that the implementation of the traffic technical working group “will streamline the existing process and provide a consistent approach to the various traffic and parking concerns that the city receives.” The group would meet monthly, and Peterborough residents would be able to submit requests or concerns through an application form that would be posted on the city’s website.

To support the working group as well as day-to-day traffic services supervision, a senior traffic services supervisor — a position approved in the city’s 2024 budget — would be hired and the working group would be fully established by the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025.

Items endorsed by general committee on August 26 will be considered by council for final approval the following Tuesday (September 3), when public delegations will be heard.

Council meetings are streamed live at www.peterborough.ca.

In what has been called an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis,” municipal leaders across Ontario are rallying the provincial and federal governments for more funding to better address homelessness and mental health issues.

Representing 230 municipalities and more than 2.6 million people across Ontario, the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC), Western Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (WOWC), and Eastern Ontario Mayors’ Caucus (EOMC) have announced they are lending their support to “Solve the Crisis” — a new campaign led by Ontario’s Big City Mayors, a caucus representing mayors of Ontario cities with populations of 100,000.

During a meeting at the start of the 125th annual conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) in Ottawa this week (Aug. 18 to 21), the three caucuses stated their collective support around the need for the Ontario and federal governments “to take immediate and targeted action” to help solve the crisis around homelessness and mental health, a media release noted.

“This is something we (the EOMC) have been pursuing, over the last year — the need for substantial investment by both the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada, to deal with this unprecedented humanitarian crisis that all municipalities are now facing,” said Jeff Leal, EOMC chair and mayor of the City of Peterborough, in the release.

During the AMO conference, Leal accepted an award from AMO recognizing the City of Peterborough’s innovative modular bridge housing community project that helped end a controversial tent encampment of people experiencing homelessness in downtown Peterborough.

The partners in the Solve the Crisis campaign say the homelessness and mental health crisis is occurring on streets throughout communities whether they are small or big, rural and urban.

VIDEO: “We need your help” – Ontario’s Big City Mayors

“Municipalities continue to step up, but do not have the tools, expertise or capacity to fully address the intersectional and complex issues around housing, homelessness, health care, and social services,” the release states.

They said they appreciate the actions that both governments have taken to date, including “Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness,” the creation of the “Homelessness Prevention Program,” and investing in youth wellness hubs. But it’s not enough, according to the municipalities.

“We need to do more to ‘Solve the Crisis’ together as government partners, and we need to act swiftly.”

Brian Ostrander, warden of Northumberland County, recently told kawarthaNOW the theme of underfunding in areas of social services and housing was a common thread throughout Northumberland County’s recently released 2023 annual report.

In recent years, regional governments like Northumberland have been asked to spend more money in areas traditionally funded by the province.

“We simply cannot keep providing services like social services and housing services using property taxes,” Ostrander said. “Property taxes only make sense for linear projects like roads and bridges — but even then, in small and rural communities we don’t have the base to adequately keep up with the networks that we have.”

The rising number of homeless encampments and the human toll of the opioid crisis are a symptom of “deeper system failures that hurt Ontario’s overall social and economic prosperity,” the release stated.

The WOWC, EOMC, and EOWC said they intend to send a letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford “to further underscore the need” for a social and economic prosperity review.

“We need a municipal fiscal relationship that supports the foundations of a strong economy, sustainable communities and quality of life that reflects modern day and front-line realities.”

EOWC chair and Renfrew County warden Peter Emon said, “in communities of all sizes, not just big cities, people are unhoused, suffering and dying.”

“We need to help them and municipalities do not have the financial tools and resources to do it alone. It is time to take action to Solve the Crisis together with municipalities, the Ontario government, the federal government, and community partners at the table.”

The caucuses invite organizations and Ontario residents to join the call and support the Solve the Crisis campaign by visiting solvethecrisis.ca.

It’s in the bag.

The Township of Alnwick-Haldimand and the Municipality of Port Hope are both winners in Northumberland County’s 2024 “Mayors’ Keep the County Clean Challenge.”

Keep the County Clean is an annual week-long litter clean-up initiative, which was hosted as part of Northumberland’s Earth Week celebrations in April. The county invited residents to join their local municipal representatives to clean up litter and illegal dumping in their communities.

The Township of Alnwick-Haldimand came out on top for the “highest proportional representation of volunteers,” with 6.2 per cent of its population participating in this year’s challenge. Alnwick-Haldimand was followed closely by the Town of Cobourg as the first runner-up in this category.

Meanwhile, the Municipality of Port Hope earned the title of “hardest-working volunteers” by collecting an average of 9.4 kilograms of waste per volunteer. The Township of Cramahe was the first runner-up in this category.

“Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Keep the County Clean Challenge and thank you to the many volunteers from across Northumberland who supported their municipality in the challenge and helped to keep our community clean,” said Northumberland County Warden Brian Ostrander in a media release.

“Your hard work and dedication reflect the strong community spirit we have here in Northumberland and exemplifies how we can work together to make a significant positive impact on the environment and our community’s well-being.”

From April 22 to 27, more than 3,124 residents from Northumberland County collected 11,427 kilograms of litter from shared spaces like roadsides, parks, and nature trails throughout the community — marking the highest volunteer turnout for this annual challenge within its 14-year history, the county noted. The Mayors’ Keep the County Clean Challenge grows in terms of impact with each annual instalment.

In recognition of Earth Day, which was on April 22, Northumberland County held a variety of activities throughout the week, in addition to the mayors’ challenge, which was the main event.

All the efforts targeted building awareness around the importance of preserving and safeguarding the county’s natural resources for future generations.

“This friendly competition between our fellow Northumberland communities has the net benefit of working together to beautify Northumberland,” Ostrander earlier told kawarthaNOW.

He said the annual competition promotes both civic pride and making a positive difference for the environment.

For information about Northumberland County’s environmental goals and initiatives, and to track the county’s progress in achieving related key performance metrics, visit Northumberland County’s performance dashboard at northumberland.ca/dashboard.

The City of Peterborough is one of three Ontario municipalities that have received the 2024 Peter J. Marshall Award from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), with Peterborough receiving the award for its modular bridge housing community project.

The award was presented to Peterborough mayor Jeff Leal on Tuesday (August 20) during the AMO’s annual conference in Ottawa.

In May 2023, Peterborough city council approved the modular bridge housing community project as part of a homelessness services plan to help end a controversial tent encampment near the Wolfe Street shelter.

By fall 2023, the city had constructed 50 modular homes, shared washroom facilities, and a central service hub using funding through the Ontario government’s homelessness prevention program.

According to the city, within the project’s first six months of operation, four people acquired jobs, one person moved into permanent housing, and there was a 90 per cent reduction in emergency service calls compared to when the site operated as an encampment.

Staff have also reported significant improvements in the mental and physical health of the residents.

“This award is a testament to our city’s commitment to addressing homelessness with compassion, creativity, and a focus on practical solutions,” said Mayor Leal in a media release.

“As a council, we knew we had to move beyond the natural tendency to stop when faced with an overwhelmingly complex challenge like homelessness. We knew we had to pick a lane. We learned from the experiences of others and our professional staff delivered this project with urgency and expertise.”

Along with city staff, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith was at the AMO conference to celebrate the award.

“The modular home program at Wolfe Street is a great example of a municipality thinking outside of the box to properly use the homelessness prevention program to reduce homelessness in Peterborough’s vulnerable community,” MPP Smith said.

Along with the City of Peterborough, the Regional Municipality of York also received the Peter J. Marshall Award its automated transit facility inspection program, as did the Town of Midland for its project to use artificial intelligence for enhanced risk assessments for water and wasterwater infrastructure.

Named after one of the province’s youngest and most innovative municipal finance commissioners, the Peter J. Marshall Award recognizes municipal governments demonstrating excellence in the use of innovative approaches to improve capital or operating efficiency and to generate effectiveness through alternative service delivery initiatives and partnerships.

Municipal governments submit nominations for the award, which are then reviewed by a selection committee. Awards for up to three municipal projects are selected each year, with the recipients announced during the AMO annual conference.

It was 30 years ago, on August 24, 1994, that Sheila Burns made an extra special friend who would completely change the trajectory of her life.

Even though PrimRose the donkey — the namesake of PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary, which Burns owns and operates at 1296 Bowmanton Road in Roseneath — passed away in February 2021 in her 47th year, Burns continues to celebrate her birthday every August. This year, she will be celebrating PrimRose’s 50th birthday in a way the sweet-loving donkey would have appreciated.

“She loved cake and cookies,” Burns recalls. “She could eat cake right off your fork.”

Cake and sweets galore will be available at PrimRose’s birthday celebrations taking place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday (August 25), with admission by donation. Come with your singing voices as the afternoon will include singing “Happy Birthday” to Raspberry, who took over as the sanctuary’s ambassador after PrimRose passed away.

The day will also include lemonade, iced tea, and cupcakes for the two-legged party guests, while the donkeys will have an extra special cake made by a PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary volunteer.

“It’ll have 47 slivered carrots standing upright like candles and it’s vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, and low-calorie,” says Burns, adding that she taste-tested it once. “It tastes like a granola bar without the sugar.”

PrimRose — who liked to fashionably wear her halter at an angle and wore pearls and tiaras — was not only the sanctuary’s namesake but the donkey who started it all. She was the first donkey Burns ever adopted, back when PrimRose was just 20 years old and Burns was still living in Georgetown.

Before adopting PrimRose and her daughter Jilly, Burns had never so much as even pet a donkey, let alone cared for one, but she instantly fell in love, adopted more, moved to Roseneath to open the sanctuary, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today, the registered charity is home to roughly 80 donkeys, mules (the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse), and hinnies (the offspring of a female donkey and a male horse), as well as a sheep, a goat, a pot-bellied big, and 12 cats. The sanctuary is open Thursdays and Sundays from 1 to 3 p.m., where the volunteers will walk you through and tell you all about the animals and the farm.

One-hour personal tours are also available for $20 at 11 a.m. both days, as well as the new Traditional English Tea where guests an dine on tea, scones, cookies, and finger sandwiches while on the farm surrounded by the animals.

“They can walk around the farm, intermingling with the donkeys, stopping, chatting, and hugging, while also learning from our wonderful volunteers,” says Burns, adding that it’s “really fun.”

If, while on the tour, you fall in love with one of the donkeys, you can choose to sponsor them for a full year for $700, which covers annual costs for hoof care, food, vaccinations, and other vet care.

“If you sponsor a donkey, you can come at any time — as long as you give me notice — and groom the donkey and talk to them and I’ll send you pictures,” Burns says. “It’s basically your donkey for a year.”

Others who want to interact more regularly with the donkeys can sign up as a volunteer. With school back in session soon, PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary offers the chance for high school students to get their required volunteer hours with regularly scheduled work.

Volunteers can come every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for work ranging from cleaning out stalls, filling up water, hay, and straw, and doing other chores, with some grooming in the afternoon “to take (your) cares away and bond” with the animals.

“The students come in here the first day and they’re a little apprehensive, but after the third or fourth time they’re out there talking to the donkeys, hugging them, walking them around,” Burns says, adding with a laugh that volunteers need to be careful of some of the donkeys who like to knock over wheelbarrows that are full of manure.

“I’ve had some volunteers who’ve stayed on for a couple of years doing volunteer work,” she notes.

Burns admits she likes seeing the way the donkeys grow on the volunteers and how the more they interact with each other — like herself when she first adopted PrimRose all those years ago — the more they break the “frustrating” stigma around donkeys.

“You see these cartoon donkeys with their ears and teeth out and they’re dumb and stubborn or hard to get along with, but they’re so completely opposite,” she says. “They can be so gentle and kind, and they’re very stoic and loyal and will protect you against anything.”

Burns adds that one of the reasons she welcomes people in to meet the animals is the “emotional cure” she knows they offer.

“If you just hug them, they’ll give you that cure back,” she says. “Is there something bothering you? Just go out and talk to a donkey and you’ll feel so much better, instantly. I’ve heard that people have bad pain and they’ve gone out to talk to a donkey and they walk away with no pain. They’re magical.”

Visit www.primrosedonkeysanctuary.com for more information on PrimRose Donkey Sanctuary, including how to donate and sponsor a donkey.

You can also follow the sanctuary on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) to keep up to date on future events including World Animal Day celebrations on Sunday, September 22nd and Christmas carolling on Sunday, December 8th.

Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre (KSAC) is planning to “Take Back the Night” in downtown Peterborough this fall with the intent to “shatter the silence” around sexual violence.

The Peterborough/Nogojiwanong organization hosts its 46th annual Take Back the Night event on Thursday, September 19 in the Peterborough Square courtyard at the corner of Water and Charlotte streets.

In addition to a rally and march, there will be live music performances, a poetry reading, and speeches.

The event is tentatively planned to run from 3 to 9 p.m. It will start with tabling from local organizations and vendors and then move into programming before the march. KSAC asks community members to stay tuned to its social media channels, including the Facebook event page, for more details and a schedule for the event.

Jocelyn Enright, KSAC’s communications, community engagement and fundraising co-ordinator, shared with kawarthaNOW her hopes for this year’s event.

“I think the greatest thing would be for us to reach as many people as possible, both to spread awareness about what supports are available in Nogojiwanong for survivors, but also to make people aware of how prevalent sexual violence still is in society and encourage them to advocate for more support for sexual assault centres,” Enright said.

“We know the statistics are staggering with one in three women, one in two transgender and gender-diverse folks, and one in six men experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime. What I really hope, is this event does speak to the most privileged members of society — that even if you’ve never experienced sexual violence, it is 100 per cent a fact that someone you know and are close to has experienced it.”

Many sexual assault centres haven’t seen core funding increases since the 1990s, Enright noted, including KSAC.

“KSAC is incredibly underfunded — we can usually only see 25 per cent of survivors on our waitlist for services at a time. We hope this event speaks to those who hold more power and privilege who can make a huge difference by donating to our centre, or advocating for our needs on bigger stages than we can.”

When asked about the significance of the event being held for so many decades, Enright said, “the fact that we’ve held this event for so long speaks to the power of community here in Nogojiwanong, and highlights how important it is to have events and platforms for people to share their stories and be reminded they are not alone.

“We’re so mindful that these are incredibly difficult topics to discuss, and we want first and foremost this event to make survivors feel heard, seen, and as safe as possible in the space we’ve set up. People look forward to this event happening every year and it’s something all of us at KSAC treasure.”

Enright said the event offers a poignant reminder of the reason behind KSAC’s work in the community.

“Every survivor has a story, and whether that’s a story they’ve shared or one that they’ve kept for themselves, we want to honour and hold space for everyone.”

She said KSAC operates around the framework of “survivors’ first” and that’s also the message it hopes to share through events like Take Back The Night.

“Forty-six years is a long time, but we still have a long way to go. While sexual violence continues to happen to the most marginalized folks in our communities, we’ll continue the fight advocating for change.”

KSAC aims to offer healing, safety, and support to those affected by sexual violence and harm and strives to end sexual violence through prevention education within the communities it serves in Peterborough, Northumberland and Haliburton counties, and in the Kawartha Lakes.

The organization offers a crisis support line, which is a confidential service available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including weekends and holidays. The toll-tree phone number is 1-866-298-7778. KSAC also offers support through counselling, groups and workshops for survivors who are aged 16 and older.

For more information about KSAC services and to learn more about its advocacy efforts and prevention education, visit kawarthasexualassaultcentre.com.

The oldest worldwide movement to stand against sexual violence, “Take Back the Night” began in the 1970s with a tribunal council meeting in Belgium attended by over 2,000 women representing more than 40 countries.

Early activists protested the lack of safety for women, including when walking down the street alone at night. One of the first “Take Back the Night” events was held in 1972, when a group of women at the University of Southern Florida donned witches’ brooms and black capes and marched through campus to demand resources and safety for women.

For more information, visit takebackthenight.org.