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Read MoreUnited Way Of Peterborough Issues Urgent Call For Help To Community
/The United Way of Peterborough has issued an urgent call for help to the community, as they are way behind where they were last year at this time with fundraising.
A key indicator for the organization—which provides essential services for so many in the community—is the comparison to last year’s results to date. In 2014, at this same time, United Way campaign results totaled $1.34 million compared to this year’s results of $840,000—a difference of about half a million dollars.
Using historical data, campaign officials are projecting a significant shortfall by the end of campaign if donations remain in decline.
Indeed, the entire Campaign Team is working hard to reach their goal of $2.2 million but are not optimistic the goal will be reached when comparing year-to-date results.
“This situation is unprecedented, dire even, and we are redoubling our efforts and asking the community to redouble their efforts to ensure the needs identified as critical in our community can be addressed now and in the future,” says Jim Russell, CEO of United Way of Peterborough.
The United Way provides vital services in the community (see infographic below), and many are in jeopardy if they don't reach their goal.
You are encouraged to donate online or by calling 705.742.8839 to give by Visa or MasterCard. You can also visit the United Way office at 277 Stewart Street to make a donation in person.
Also, spread the word on your social media channels, workplaces, schools, everywhere.
Engage with us on social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Write to us at tips@ptbocanada.com.
Free New Year's Eve Transit Service In Peterborough!
/The City of Peterborough is pleased to be offering late night transit service on New Year’s Eve this year for free.
Service will be provided on all 12 regular routes, and buses will run free of charge between 7:20 p.m. December 31st, 2015 and 3:20 a.m. January 1, 2016, with the last run leaving the terminal at 2:40 am. Handi-van service will also run during the same hours, with 2 vans in service until 3:20 am.
The City of Peterborough invites residents to drink responsibly and to make their New Year’s Eve transportation plans ahead of time. The introduction of Free Transit Service on New Year’s Eve provides an additional transportation option for those who need a ride home so that we can all arrive alive.
Monagan Ward Councillor Don Vassiliadis, Chair of Transportation on City Council says, "Thanks to the work of the City, transit workers and the passion of Peterborough citizens, we are offering full service City Transit on New Year’s Eve. Having New Year's Eve bus service is something that I have been working on all year. What an easy way to get to your party and home safely within our great City of Peterborough. This New Year’s Eve, get on the bus!"
The estimated cost for the evening of service is $15,000 and funding for this new service is being sponsored by Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers, which has opened an office in Peterborough.
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10th Annual Cop Shop At Lansdowne Place Was Everything Amazing About This Community
/Lansdowne Place's 10th annual Cop Shop event—a beautiful partnership between Peterborough Police and LP—was another huge success on Wednesday (December 9th).
Chief Murray Rodd and officers greet the kids
Each year, select kids are picked up from their school in a limousine and taken to the mall, where they are met by Peterborough Police officers who become their personal shoppers for the day.
"We work with the school boards to identify kids that despite various challenges have risen above and excelled in school," Helen Edwards, Marketing Director with Lansdowne Place, tells PTBOCanada.
"These kids are brought in by limo, given a $200 Lansdowne Place gift card and then partnered with an officer who becomes their personal shopper for the day."
Lansdowne Place donates the gift card to each child, who might arrive with a list of gifts they wish to purchase, or work with their officer to decide what to shop for.
"Our tenants donate gifts or offer great discounts," Helen Edwards tells PTBOCanada. "Tim Hortons provides breakfast, all the officers are volunteering their time, Welsh Limo donates the transportation and we donate gift cards, a new winter coat for each child and Stockings for each child."
It was amazing to see all the police officers who volunteered to be part of this special day, and to the mall's retailers for donating gifts and discounts.
Says LP's Helen Edwards: "Quite simply, this event is our way of giving back to a community that has given us so much. It is our favourite day to come to work, not because of what we give the kids but because of how we continue to be inspired by these amazing kids year after year. They remind us what Christmas really is all about."
It was a day that the kids—and community—will never forget. Here's the group photo...
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A Peterborough Man Just Completed An Epic 21 Year Restoration On His 1971 SAAB 96 V4
/Through amazing perservance, dedication—and help from others—Peterborough's Matt Stimpson might just have undertaken one of the longest (and furthest) car restorations in history.
Matt's Saab story begins in 1989 as an 18-year-old in Abingdon, Oxfordshire in the UK, when his father, Allan, bought him a 1971 SAAB 96 V4 in Tyrol Green colour.
Matt Stimpson as a teenager with his new Saab in Abingdon, Oxfordshire
"It was my first car—my father was a Motor Trader and found it for me," Matt tells PTBOCanada. "I drove it through my college years in the UK before rust got the better of it (they did suffer badly from underside rust), so the SAAB finally came off the road in 1994."
Stimpson as a teen behind the wheel with his father, Allan
The car was stored away for a number of years there, and Matt started to slowly take it apart. He then began the arduous task of collecting hard-to-get parts to put it back together.
"Ebay was great for getting all sorts of parts," Matt tells PTBOCanada. "Ironically, the hub caps came from a Canadian whilst the car was still in the UK." Other parts came from all over the world—Sweden, Holland, Germany, Hungary, UK, and the US.
The beautiful restored car pictured with the garage Matt built to house it
When Matt emigrated to Canada in 2005, he looked into how to get the car here. The Saab ended up being shipped in the rolling shell in the same container as their personal effects.
"The house we bought here in Peterborough on Weller St. didn’t have a garage so I had to build a 'new home' for it, so I could finish off the restoration," says Matt. "The house also needed a fair amount of work, so the Saab had to take a back seat whilst we knocked the house apart."
"The steering wheel was a 'barn find', Matt tells PTBOCanada, "a Les Leston Stirling Moss, extremely rare find. Someone offered me $1,000 for it a few years ago!"
But despite the life stages adulthood brings—marriage, work, home, kids, etc.—Matt stuck with it over the years and slowly but surely the Saab began the transformation into its original self. A re-birth, if you will.
Matt tells PTBOCanada: "Every nut and bolt has come off this car—the body stripped down to bare metal and everything has been powder-coated, painted or replated."
The beautiful restored engine
Help came from all over in Peterborough to realize Matt's dream of restoring his childhood car.
"CCS Industrials and Part Source have been great at finding some of the more obscure nuts and bolts for it," Matt tells PTBOCanada. "Jack’s Autobody on Erskine St. painted the panels and did a fantastic job on the colour match. A friend who is an expert in historic rallying helped get the engine (a German Ford V4) fired back into life—after sitting for two decades."
The Saab's Headliner was remade by the very talented Leslie Menagh and the seat foam—Saabs are known for their super comfy seats—came from Restwell. "They were very helpful in getting the correct density foam so the seats feel 'original'," Matt says.
Matt just recently ran his restored Saab (an extremely rare find in Canada these days) for the first time on the road after 21 years—"it was a quick run around the block to make sure everything works," he says.
Nonetheless, it was a great ride. A historic ride. With his son. Everything has come full circle. And next up? Well, he's going to retire it to the garage for winter before getting it back on the road in the Spring—and becoming a regular at Bridgenorth Cruise Night.
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Help Find Missing Woman Catherine Davies
/[UPDATE: Missing Person Catherine Davies was located on December 10th safe and sound.]
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The Peterborough Police Service is asking for the public’s assistance in locating missing person, 65-year-old Catherine Davies.
Davies was last seen in Peterborough the afternoon of November 28th, 2015. She is described as Caucasian, approximately 5’2”, 160lbs with chocolate coloured hair and speaks English, French and Russian.
Anyone with any information related to this case is asked to call the Peterborough Police Service at 705-876-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
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The Amazing Story Of A PRHC Balloon That Landed On A Front Lawn In Dolgeville, New York
/A balloon at PRHC intended to let the Peterborough community know about the hospital's new 24-hour patient visiting policy has had amazing, unintended consequences.
See, the balloon somehow became dislodged at the hospital, and travelled (it took about a week) all the way to Dolgeville, New York—a small town at the base of the Adirondack Mountains. It landed on the lawn of a woman named Julie Ruggiero, a teaching assistant at Dolgeville Central School.
Once Ruggiero retrieved the balloon, she began researching the hospital online, and was amazed to see how far it had travelled. She was also amazed at the kindness of the Peterborough community.
When looking up the hospital online, she happened upon Dr. Peter McLaughlin’s recent CEO blog post praising Peterborough's response following the fire at the Peterborough mosque. She used this information as an opportunity not only to reach out to the hospital and the Peterborough community, but also as a beautiful teaching moment for her students.
Here is an excerpt of an email she sent to PRHC on December 1st. It is, quite simply, amazing:
“We are so sorry for what has happened there to your mosque, but find it amazing the fundraising effort of your community to raise so much money toward the rebuilding of the mosque! Please let everyone know that your message has traveled internationally and we have implemented it in our curriculum here at school. The 6th and 7th grade social studies teachers have shown the balloon to our children and videos of the terrible acts put upon your community. We have taught them that the community together can do so many things for each other and that there are more acts of kindness than bad! Thank you for your message and we stand with you in your acts of kindness in this world as more need to be recognized!!”
So... Peterborough's hope and kindness travelled hundreds of kilometers—by balloon.
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UPDATE: A Peterborough Woman Desperately Needs Her Mobile Phone Back
/UPDATE (December 3rd): After a tip came into our PTBOCanada Facebook page, the phone has been found at Galaxy Cinemas. Thanks to the community for your help!
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Priscilla Topsy lost her BlackBerry at Galaxy Cinemas in Peterborough Tuesday night (December 1st) while on a movie date with her husband Tom, and they are desperately trying to retrieve it. Her son Hoban was stillborn earlier this year, and the phone has memories of him stored on it that Priscilla wants back.
Supplied photo of Priscilla with her BlackBerry
