Is Uber Coming To Peterborough?

There has been buzz in the community lately about the possiblilty of Uber coming to town.

Uber—which connects riders and drivers using their own vehicles through a smartphone app—has been expanding aggressively around the world (it is now available in 68 countries). That expansion includes here in Canada, where it is already available in cities like Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Calgary, Kingston and more.

@Uber is coming to @Ptbo_Canada i heard. Confirm?

— jeffrey macklin (@jacksoncreek) December 18, 2015

The service is not yet available in Peterborough, and when PTBOCanada asked Uber Support whether it will be coming here, they responded: "We're expanding quickly. So stay tuned for any changes! You can keep up to date with our cities on uber.com/cities."

Picture via Uber.com

What do you think of the possibility of the Uber service coming to Peterborough at some point? Tell us on our Facebook page.

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Meet A Miracle Peterborough Baby Named Michael

A Peterborough baby named Michael John was born November 30th at 24 weeks, weighing 1 pound 8 ounces. At three months premature, he was given a 20 percent chance of surviving. Through great medical attention and the Grace of God, young Michael is alive and fighting at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

Edy holding MIchael for the first time

Michael's parents Amanda Johnson and Edy Jones are living in Toronto (away from work) to be at Michael's bedside—and he is expected to be in hospital there for months until it is deemed safe for him to return home to Peterborough.

Michael was born weight just 1 pound, 8 ounces

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the couple with their expenses during this time. Give what you can here. Every dollar counts in large amounts.

Our prayers to baby Michael. Keep fighting.

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The President Of Kawartha Muslim Religious Association Wrote This Love Letter To Community

Kenzu Abdella, President of the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association, posted a beautiful note to the Peterborough community on Facebook. Read it below...

"Dear Donors,

I am writing this letter on behalf of the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association (KMRA) to thank you for the heartfelt support you provided to us through the crowdfunding campaign for the restoration of the Masjid Al Salaam after the fire that occurred on November 14th, 2015.

While the tragedy of this hate crime has shocked and saddened our Muslim community, we are highly encouraged by the outpouring of support that people like you have provided to us at a time of great need for our community.

Although the perpetrator(s) of this crime intended to create fear, division and hatred it in fact had the opposite effect. We believe strongly that something remarkable has come out of this tragedy in the form of overwhelming community solidarity in Peterborough. We also believe that the crowdfunding campaign has had a mobilizing effect that has extended beyond Peterborough and we are deeply thankful to you for that. We feel that we are in the midst of special people who care about promoting tolerance, neighbourliness, and who respect diversity.

I am writing you this letter to advise you that the KMRA’s insurance will cover most of the restoration that your donation was intended to cover. The KMRA is proposing that the surplus funds be utilized to create a fund at the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough – a charity that inspires giving to build a vital community for everyone. Through this newly created fund, initial grants will be made to two important charities that are addressing significant needs in greater Peterborough:

1. Five Counties Children’s Centre, which is dedicated to supporting and enriching the independence and general quality of life for children and youth with physical, developmental, and communication needs, and;

2. YWCA Crossroads Shelter which provides emergency shelter and support services for women and their children who are escaping abusive situations (a problem that cuts across all economic and social aspects of society).

We hope you will agree to join with KMRA in supporting the needs of women and children in our community as an ongoing and lasting expression of gratitude for the outpouring of support extended to us in a time of need. On the other hand, if you feel that your donation was specifically for reparation of damages to the Mosque and you would like your funds to be returned to you, please send an email to kmra.pe@gmail.com no later than December 22.

And rest assured that whichever option you choose, our gratitude for your support will remain the same.

Once again we would like to thank you for your immediate and heartfelt response to our crisis in this difficult time."

—Kenzu Abdella, President of the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association

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The Powerful Role Of Community Ambassadors

A recent Town Hall hosted by MP Maryam Monsef at the Evinrude Centre in Peterborough reinforced the vital role of civic engagement in community building, in politics and beyond.

For a significant portion of the Town Hall, those in attendance—about 100 were expected, but over 250 showed up—were broken into pods by the facilitator Jocasta Boone to meet other members of the community and share their ideas on what Peterborough and "community" means to them.

It became quickly apparent the event far transcended "politics". It was about ideas around city and community building.

Town hall breaking into pods to discuss what brought them here today. #ptbotownhall pic.twitter.com/YmiXfJD0jh

— PTBO_CANADA (@Ptbo_Canada) December 12, 2015

A recurring theme in the pods—and they were full of buzz and chatter and debate—was how passionate people are about Peterborough, and how much this city has going for it, from its amenities to its organizations and institutions and businesses, to its giving people.

Of course, there were many areas of improvement suggested—more jobs, better social programs, more accountability, retention of our youth from leaving for bigger cities, etc.—but ideas were given for how to fix things, not just what's broken.

Great conversations at the town hall meeting @MaryamMonsef pic.twitter.com/mNwY1hKs44

— Hannah Routly (@RoutlyH) December 12, 2015

At its core, the engaged citizens there at the Town Hall—a wide demographic ranging from teens to millennials to adults to seniors—are community ambassadors. A local version, if you will, of global citizens. People who care passionately about their city, and believe we have something special here.

Beyond the Town Hall, the power of community ambassadors—those who talk up their city far and wide in positive ways—is not to be understated in building and uplifting community. It is seen every day in our community. It could be a teacher, a cafe owner, a social media influencer, a fireman, a police officer, a CEO, a city councillor, a university or college student, a nurse, a high school student, an entrepreneur, a hockey player, a senior, an artist, whoever.

The sense in the room at that Town Hall is that collectively—as a whole—we are are building something special in Peterborough. That the power of collaboration and giving and offering solutions—further fuelled and accelerated by the sharing on social media platforms—makes this a moment when the city is on the verge of greatness.
 

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Manon Rheaume Speaking In Peterborough January 6th

Manon Rheaume—the first (and only) female to play pro hockey—will be speaking to the WBN in Peterborough January 6th at the Holiday Inn.

As a member of Team Canada, Manon helped lead her team to a Silver Medal in the 1998 Nagano Games. She backstopped Team Canada to Gold Medals at the 1992 and 1994 World Hockey Championships.

Give the Gift of Inspiration to a Young Woman in your Family to see @ManonRheaume https://t.co/Ep2IirXw8d RSVP SOON! pic.twitter.com/LrPaWZt1wn

— WBN Ptbo (@wbnptbo) December 15, 2015

Rheaume signed a contract to play goalie for the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1992, and no woman has signed a professional hockey contract in North America since.

Rheaume's incredible and inspiring story of overcoming all odds to sign a pro contract is not to be missed. Register here.

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New Bandwagon With Melissa Payne & James McKenty Filmed In Camper Van At Folk Festival

Bandwagon's latest episode features Melissa Payne and James McKenty performing "Shake Me" in a Volkswagen bus at the Peterborough Folk Festival earlier this year.

"Melissa and James have both been featured before by us—James with the Spades, and Mel with Express & Co.—but this is something new and neat," Bandwagon producer Ryan Lalonde tells PTBOCanada.

Also, music personality Ken Elrick was kind enough to let them borrow his famous Patch Bus for the shoot.

Watch the episode below (and catch up with past episodes of Bandwagon here)...

Episode 2 of Season 5 features Melissa Payne and James McKenty performing "Shake Me" in a Volkswagen bus at the Peterborough Folk Festival http://melissapaynemusic.com https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/melissa-payne/id557112444 http://twitter.com/MelissaPayneM Shot by Ryan Lalonde & Michael Hurcomb Edited by: http://www.michaelhurcomb.com Produced by: Ryan Lalonde http://www.twitter.com/rylalonde Michael Hurcomb http://www.twitter.com/michaelhurcomb Recorded at the 2015 Peterborough Folk Festival A Mexican Cheesus Production http://www.twitter.com/MexicanCheesus

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