Community Rallies Behind Young Peterborough Father With Cancer
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Peterborough Blogs
There's A Little Bit Of Fort McMurray In All Of Us
/When you see the images in Fort McMurray, Alberta, you see pure devastation. It's been called a catastrophe, an apocalypse, an inferno, a horror movie, a multi-headed monster, a worst kind of nightmare—whatever you want to call it, this massive wildfire looks like pure hell.
And you watch the images on TV and social media, and hear what people are saying who have lost everything, and hear their distraught fire chief and exhausted firefighters, and you can feel their pain. Everyone is safe so far thank god, but man the destruction you see is almost unfathomable. And you look at that community of Fort McMurray and then you look inward a little about the stuff you have—your own house, belongings, car, family, pets, community.
[photo above via @cbc]
Fort McMurray's population is pretty darn similar in size to Peterborough, and you see the impact this fire is going to have there on homes and businesses and schools and infrastructure and such. Ten thousand hectares have been burned, over 1,600 structures destroyed—and there is no sign the damn fire is abating.
The whole community has been evacuated, like around 80,000 people—and a state of emergency has been called. And you're just thinking, This is nuts. Absolute nuts. Unimaginable. It can't be happening. What can be done? How can we help? How do we fix things?
[photo above via @cbc]
Peterborough went through a devastating flood in 2004, and we remember first-hand what it's like to see a community go through so much destruction. The national spotlight was on us back then, and Canada got behind this city to help however it could.
But when you look at Fort McMurray, you're like, Holy Shit. You wonder about what the tens of thousands of people forced from their homes into work camps and temporary shelters will have to go back to. And you wonder, what the heck can you do? That's what a lot of people are talking about right now.
[photo above via @StormhunterTWN]
The Canadian Red Cross needs all the donations you can give, but you also just want to load up your truck or vehicle and drive to Alberta and help these people. Just hug them even. It's hard not to feel their pain. Their nightmare doesn't end tomorrow or the day after. They're living it in this moment.
The rebuilding will happen, sure, but right now all you can see and feel is the destruction. And your heart hurts for them.
—By Neil Morton
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May The 4th Be With Peterborough Downtown Farmers' Market
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Opening Day is fast approaching
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Peterborough Police Unveil Gender Neutral Bathrooms
/The Peterborough Police Service and its community partners are calling on the community to help create safe, inclusive and positive spaces.
Police themselves have taken leadership and a significant step in that direction by changing their single-stall bathrooms throughout the police station into gender-neutral washrooms.
“We know that people look to police services to set an example of what safety, inclusion and well-being looks like," says Peterborough Police Chief Murray Rodd. "This is one step in the right direction of what we can do to demonstrate our commitment to safe, welcoming and inclusive spaces."
Chief Murray Rodd pictured with Police community partners
“For some people this might just look like a 3x5 sign on the door," adds Chief Rodd. "For other people, when they see it they know they are being welcomed for who they are."
Rodd believes the Peterborough Police Service has a responsibility to every person in their jurisdiction to recognize that some are more vulnerable and at risk than others. "We look to our community partners to help ensure that our responses are appropriate and effective,” he says.
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Paul Rellinger On Relly On The Roof & This Amazing Community
/Relly On The Roof returns for a sixth year April 28th to 30th, again raising funds for Habitat For Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha under the Peterborough Cares fundraising umbrella.
At noon on Thursday, April 28th, Paul Rellinger (aka "Relly")—with the generous help of the Peterborough Fire Department—will be lifted onto the roof of The Brick (1200 Lansdowne St. W.). While Habitat For Humanity volunteers collect donations in the parking lot below, Relly will live atop The Brick until 5 p.m. on April 30th.
"Since I first took to the Brick roof in 2011, this event has reinforced something I was already well aware of—Peterborough residents always find a way to give something," Paul Rellinger tells PTBOCanada.
"We've raised thousands of dollars for Habitat For Humanity. Most of that has been in the form of loose change but it adds up in an awful hurry. Habitat For Humanity, through its partnerships, is able to make that money stretch to help fulfill its important mandate," Rellinger adds.
A highlight of the weekend will be a live music showcase outside The Brick on Saturday, April 30th starting at 1 p.m. Featured performers include Rick and Gailie Young, Jessie Morrissey and Adam Grills, Hilary Dumoulin, Missy Knott, Terry Guiel and Jan Schoute.
Dave Stanley, manager of The Brick, is volunteering his time and staff for Relly on the Roof. Also providing invaluable support is Sobeys, Canadian Tire, Boston Pizza, The Pizza Factory and Tim Hortons.
"I can't say enough about The Brick and its manager Dave Stanley," Rellinger tells PTBOCanada. "Also everyone at Habitat For Humanity and good friend Camille Parent, whose Peterborough Cares initiative gave birth to Relly On The Roof and remains its partner. It's going to be a great three days. I'm excited to get going."
We're excited to see the community get behind this again.
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PTBOCanada Profile: Peterborough Police 9-1-1 Communicator Christina Lake
/If there is one thing Christina Lake wants people to know when they call 9-1-1, it’s that a real person is on the other end of the line. A person that cares. A person who tries to empathize and understand. A person that really wants to help.
“We’re not faceless people,” says Lake. “I try to put myself in their shoes."
Christina Lake
Born and raised in Peterborough, Lake is the newest member of the Peterborough Police Service’s Communications team and has been a part-time 9-1-1 Communicator with the Service since June 2014.
Following her graduation from Durham College in the two-year 9-1-1 Emergency Call Taker Communications Program, Lake knew that she wanted to put her knowledge into use by working for a Police Service.
The training to become a 9-1-1 Communicator is nothing short of intensive and includes a placement period along with a five-month shadowing period once hired.
Lake recalls sitting in the 9-1-1 Centre during her training period and watching in awe as the veteran Communicators handled an emergency call. She describes one Communicator staying on the line talking to the person in crisis while another Communicator was already dispatching two officers to the location while a third Communicator was running background checks and gathering other information on the parties involved.
“It’s amazing what they do,” she says of her more experienced colleagues. “Watching everything, I thought: I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to do this. You have to be able to work with your team and take constructive criticism.”
Fast forward two years and while she is still learning every day, Lake is now a part of that finely-tuned machine run out of the Peterborough Police Station that handled 47,706 9-1-1 calls in 2015. Equal parts master-listener and talker—skills essential to her job—she has taken the meaning of multitasking to a whole new level.
Inside the 9-1-1 Centre at Peterborough Police
