A new centre for children and youth with special needs in Cobourg has officially opened.

The location at 800 Division St. in Cobourg combines two older Five Counties Children’s Centre branches into a single new and central location. It has larger and more accessible treatment spaces, and provides a modern facility for children, youth, and families to access the care they need.

“Our new site is the realization of a dream,” says Adam White, Chair of the Five Counties Children’s Centre Board of Directors. “It’s wonderful to have this bright, open and fully accessible site that allows our children, youth and their families to more easily navigate the building. The improved space allows our staff to better provide the level of therapy and support families expect from Five Counties Children’s Centre.”

Five Counties helps children and youth who have physical disabilities, speech disorders and developmental co-ordination disorders. The organization offer a range of services, including social work, audiology, and therapeutic recreation and has additional branches Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, and Northumberland counties.

The Province of Ontario invested $450,000 to help Five Counties Children’s Centre build the new treatment space, and Michael Coteau, Minister of Children and Youth Services Michael Coteau, along with Lou Rinaldi, MPP for Northumberland – Quinte West, officially opened the centre today (August 28).

“Our government is working with communities to develop a more co-ordinated system to help children and youth with special needs receive timely, integrated services,” Minister Coteau said.

“With financial support for our partners at Five Counties Children’s Treatment Centre, we have demonstrated our ongoing commitment to provide these children with the help they need to participate fully at home, school and in the community.”

Ontario supports 21 Children’s Treatment Centres and helps more than 76,000 children and youth receive rehabilitation services such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech language therapy. In 2016-17, the province invested more than $500 million for programs and services for children and youth with special needs and their families.

McCloskey International, the Keene-based company that manufactures crushing and screening equipment for the aggregates and mining industries and more, has pledged $1 million for babies and children’s programs at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

Lesley Heighway, the President and CEO of the PRHC Foundation (which raises funds for the hospital), made the announcement on Friday (August 25) at the inaugural Greenbridge Celtic Folk Festival, hosted by musicians Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy and held over the weekend on the McCloskey family property.

“The thought of a baby or a child requiring hospital care is heartbreaking, especially when it means seeking specialized treatment outside our community,” said Patchal McCloskey, founder and president of McCloskey International. “Not only can the costs add up quickly, but the emotional toll of being separated from family support systems can be devastating.

“McCloskey International is committed to investing in innovative technologies that support care for PRHC’s most fragile patients and their families close to home, where and when they need it most.”

VIDEO: Lesley Heighway of PRHC Foundation announces the $1 million pledge

Heighway thanked both MacMaster and Leahy for allowing the PRHC Foundation to make the announcement, which received a standing ovation, at the music festival. She also explained why the McCloskey pledge is so important.

“Last year, 15,853 babies and children under 19 came from across our region to receive care at PRHC,” Heighway said. “We’re so grateful to McCloskey International for their support of key technological investments such as infant ventilators, triple pumps and vein viewers for PRHC’s Labour and Delivery program, Level 2B Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and pediatric inpatient and outpatient programs.

“Thanks to their generosity, fewer pediatric patients than ever will need to be transferred to a hospital specializing in children’s care. Instead they will be able to receive expert care right here at home for much, if not all, of their treatment.”

Heighway added that the $1 million pledge from McCloskey International will also have an impact on health care for generations to come, as it will support the PRHC Foundation’s efforts to encourage people to leave a legacy gift — a post-humous donation make through their will and estate.

“With their support of critical lifesaving equipment and investing in the foundation’s ability to raise funds for the future through our legacy giving program, McCloskey International is truly transforming care, both today and tomorrow,” Heighway said.

A Peterborough man has unexpectedly become a Facebook celebrity this summer as he has makes his way, on foot, to the shores of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Michael Sutherland is a father of two and former trucker who was injured on the job. After he developed diabetes, which has already claimed part of his foot, he decided to take a bucket-list journey to visit the East Coast.

Sutherland didn’t intend to walk to Halifax. When he left Peterborough at the end of June, he set out in his old RV but then his vehicle broke down a short time later.

Undeterred, he piled as many of his belongings as he could on a push cart and continued the long journey by foot. His diabetes affects his feet, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his dream.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” he tells CTV News in an interview.

As of the date of this story, Sutherland has arrived in Fredericton, New Brunswick. With the exception of a ride across Quebec, he has travelled the entire way on foot.

In the process, he has become a Facebook celebrity. Both inspired by Sutherland’s journey and concerned for his safety, Andrew Martin and friends set up a Facebook group called Where In The World Is Michael Sutherland Now?.

Over the summer, interest about Sutherland’s journey has exploded, and the Facebook group is fast approaching 10,000 members.

The Facebook group includes many photos by people who’ve met Sutherland after they spotted him on the road during his trek. With his long hair and moustache and bright orange safety vest, as he pushes his cart of belongings, he’s hard to miss.

People stop to speak with Sutherland and often take selfies with him, which they post in the Facebook group along with his current location.

But it’s not just about taking selfies with a man on an inspirational journey. People have helped Sutherland by buying or giving him food, coffee, drinks, a place to stay or have a shower, or money to help him pay for his medication and other necessities like new shoes.

They’ve even donated and installed new wheels for his cart.

And they share their stories about meeting Sutherland on the Facebook group. There’s also a Google Map of his journey.

“It’s not really about me anymore,” Sutherland says. “It’s all these stories and the people that talk to me. If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think I’d even be here. I think would have quit a long time ago.”

Despite the effects of diabetes on his feet, Sutherland walks each day for around 12 hours, covering up to 40 kilometres.

He has about 450 kilometres left to go before he reaches the Atlantic Ocean, into which he plans to dip at least a toe. Because of his health condition, supporters are making sure he has regular access to medical care.

He carries a banner, donated by a supporter, which is now covered with comments and signatures from the people he has met on his journey.

Sutherland is amazed by the outpouring of support he has received, both in person and online. Ironically, Sutherland doesn’t have access to Facebook, but he’s aware of the group.

Like some of us, he says he never knew what his purpose was in the world. Now that his original goal of getting to the East Coast has become something else entirely — both for him and for those who have met him — perhaps he has found it.

“I don’t know how this turned into such a big thing,” he says. “But I know it fills my heart and I know I have angels on my shoulders.”

General Electric has announced that it will end most manufacturing operations at its Peterborough plant by September 2018, due to an economic slowdown in orders from the oil and gas industry.

Officials informed workers at the company’s Park Street plant of the decision at a meeting on Friday morning (August 25).

General Electric’s first manufacturing plant in Canada was founded in Peterborough in 1892 by Thomas Edison. At its height in the 1960s, General Electric employed 6,000 people in Peterborough.

Almost 360 staff in the plant’s motors division will lose their jobs. Another 50 staff in the engineering division will not be affected.

The closure will take place over the next 12 months, and workers will be supported during that period with counselling, training, and retirement planning.

General Electric has not been investing in its Peterborough operations in recent year. In 2016, the company announced that it would be relocating an engine manufacturing plant from Waukesha, Wisconsin to Welland, Ontario instead of Peterborough. In January 2017, General Electric cut another 150 jobs in Peterborough.

Also on Friday morning, Peterborough Mayor Darryl Bennett released the following statement on the announcement:

My immediate concern is for the workers and the families in our community affected by this winding down of General Electric’s operations in Peterborough. It will be a difficult time for many residents who are connected with GE or who have historical ties to this company. This year marked the 125th anniversary of GE in Canada, starting here in Peterborough in 1892.

In the coming days, I will be requesting a meeting with both our MP and our MPP to discuss how our governments can assist with securing our community’s long-term economic foundation. Over the years, we have asked for assistance and approvals for employment land growth, the VIA Rail proposal for a new High Frequency Rail service through Peterborough, and local transportation network improvements needed to support growth. We need to continue to diversify our economy and to build the infrastructure that supports job creation.

The City of Peterborough has installed a new beach access mat at Beavermead Beach in Peterborough.

The mat provides a walkway across the sand, allowing easier access to the water at Little Lake for everyone but especially people who use wheelchairs and other mobility aids, as well as parents with strollers.

The beach, located at Beavermead Park (2011 Ashburnham Dr., Peterborough), is one of Peterborough’s two most popular beaches (the other being Rogers Cove).

A public ribbon cutting will take place on Friday, August 25th at 3 p.m. at Beavermead Beach.

The new accessible path to the #beach ??? at #Beavermead is great! Perfect for #Strollers too! Good job @CityPtbo! #accessibility #Ptbo pic.twitter.com/TdVYSd1jf5

— Mitch Champagne (@MitchChampagne) August 24, 2017