Here's A First Look Rendering Of What The Peterborough Public Library Interior Will Look Like

The Library is excited to share a first look of its interior (see photo and caption info below), created in collaboration with +VG Architects and Intercede Design Consultants. The rendering gives the community a much anticipated image of what the new space will look like.

The Peterborough Public Library has been operating temporarily out of the lower level of Peterborough Square while the Main Branch on Aylmer Street has been under major renovations since June 2016. Now that demolition is complete, the construction of the addition has begun.

One of the highlights of this project—the central staircase that leads down to the children’s area on the lower level. Accessible public seating wraps around the staircase, allowing patrons to use the library's computers on one side, or sit comfortably enjoying a beverage from the onsite café on the other. Visible at the far end of the image is the wall that once concealed the upper level of the library which has been partially removed to create an inviting entrance into a completely re-imagined space. This upper level will be home to the Library’s new teen zone, the café, a new mid-size program room and three smaller study/meeting rooms.

"The objective with the interior space was to accentuate the existing curving design of the original architecture while transforming it to an open, airy and bright active community hub," says Nicole Crabtree, Associate Partner at +VG Architects.

The integrity and shape of the building has stayed relatively the same, but everything else about this Peterborough landmark is being updated. From the new addition and glass entryway to the open concept design, the new library will be a flexible community space. There will be upgraded lighting, more windows and natural light, new floors, an updated HVAC system and a number of new amenities which will make the library a bright and inviting space for the community to explore.

The new library is slated to reopen late summer 2017.

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A Hastings Man Has Some Of The Best Dancing Christmas Lights You'll Ever See

Brian Dainard has one heck of a Christmas light display that he puts on each year in Hastings near Peterborough.  

His YouTube channel is full of awesome dancing Christmas displays.

Have a look at a small sampling below...

The singing bulbs are so bright i had to zoom in on just them to get the camera to focus on them.

Not a Christmas song but i still like it lol

another of my favourites

Check out more from over the years on his YouTube channel here.

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Canadian Canoe Museum Gets An Awesome New Van For Christmas Gift

Supporters have helped bring a wonderful early Christmas gift to the Canadian Canoe Museum—a new van for outreach, public programs and safe transfer of artifacts.

The Canadian Canoe Museum thanked community supporters for their contribution in helping raise funds for a new van—a much-needed piece of equipment for the museum’s public programs, outreach events and the safe, efficient transportation of its valued artifacts.

The museum first endeavoured to raise funds for the van by submitting the project to the Aviva Community Funding Competition. The museum experienced a huge amount of support from the community and museum stakeholders during the campaign, and was very competitive in the online voting round. Still, despite best efforts on all fronts, not enough online votes were earned to advance in the competition or receive the requested funding.
 
The momentum and support the museum generated from the Aviva campaign did not fizzle out. Advocates of the museum continued to persevere and raise funds through other means in order to secure this very important piece of equipment for the organization. Thanks to the champions of this fundraising campaign, by early December the museum had raised enough money for the purchase of the van.

The Canadian Canoe Museum sends thanks to all of the supporters and donors of this fundraising initiative including The Beaver Club Gala Committee, Les and Beverly Cassidy, Mercedes Benz Peterborough, Commercial Press & Design, and all of those who made donations at the Beaver Club Gala through the Paddles Up fundraising initiative.
 
“This is a game-changer for our on-water programs," says Stacey Arppe, the museum’s Volunteers and Public Programs Manager. "We can now transport our paddling camp participants and all of our canoes and gear with ease, and having this self-sufficient transportation means we can continue expanding our water-based programming”

This new equipment will make it possible for the museum’s award winning, on and off-water programming to become more accessible to schools, community groups and the general public.

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28-Year-Old Peterborough Man Charged After Sharing Explicit Photos Of Girlfriend On Social Media

A 28-year-old Peterborough man has been charged with distributing intimate images without consent after sharing and posting explicit photos of his girlfriend on social media without her consent.

The accused, a 28-year-old man, and the victim, a woman in her 20’s, are involved in an on-again-off-again domestic relationship. On the night of December 19th, the accused and victim became involved in a verbal dispute at a Peterborough residence. Following the dispute, the accused compiled a collage of intimate photos of the victim and, without her consent, distributed the photos to others via text messages and posted the collage on social media.

Shortly after midnight on December 20th, police attended a Peterborough home where as a result of the investigation the accused was arrested and charged with distribute intimate image without consent.

The accused was held in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday (December 20th). The name of the accused will not be released in order to protect the identity of the victim in this domestic-based incident.

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Two Suspects Hiding In A Snowbank Greeted By Peterborough Police K9 Wolfe

Canadian winters are no obstacle for Peterborough K9 Wolfe. Over the weekend, Wolfe was instrumental in several arrests made by Peterborough Police. First Wolfe helped the K9 unit catch two guys who were hiding in a snowbank following a stolen vehicle, break and enter incident at the Peterborough Medical Clinic. Later, he did a vehicle search where he located a large amount of drugs.

Constable Tim Fish with Wolfe (Peterborough Police supplied photo)

This speaks to the importance of the police K9 unit—which was first formed in 1997—in helping nab the bad guys. These police service dogs are extremely hardworking, intelligent animals who help the police in all sorts of situations and put themselves out there in order to protect their human partners. In 2015, the Canine Unit participated in a total of 1,385 calls for service, of which 107 were specific canine calls.

Wolfe, who helps on many calls, is a German Shepherd—a breed chosen for their physical ability, strength and intelligence. A strong temperament is very important as these dogs are expected to perform in stressful situations. Wolfe was imported from Kentucky, and was purchased by the Knights of Columbus and donated to the service. His expertise includes narcotic detection, tracking, agility, article search, building search, open search, chase and apprehension and handler protection.

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Habitat For Humanity Peterborough Hands Keys To Two Families Just In Time For Christmas

Habitat for Humanity Peterborough just made Christmas extra special for two families, handing them the keys to their new houses.

The Nyarota and Young families received the keys to their Habitat homes on Saturday (December 17th) at a Dedication Ceremony. Both families are joyful to move into their homes before Christmas.

The Nyarota family...

The Nyarota family: Sarah, Taku and Lexi

The Young family....

The Young family rocking the plaid: Nicole with daughters Serenity and Savannah

The ceremony included an opportunity to thank the many donors, partners and dedicated volunteers whose generosity helped make homeownership a reality for these families.

Great job by the Habitat team...

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The Invisible Bully: Peterborough Boy Pens Powerful Letter About Living With A Concussion

The PVNCCDSB shared a powerful letter on their Facebook page (see in its entirety below) from Grade 6 St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School student Jack Crawford. The 11-year-old, who plays hockey for the Minor Peewee AA Petes, wrote about what it's like to live with a concussion—"I had my own invisible bully in my brain but I couldn’t stand up to it," he eloquently says.

His mother Amelia tells PTBOCanada seeing her child suffering through this was devastating: "A concussion is a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), and 'traumatic' would be how I would describe this experience as a parent. To see your child suffer physically, socially and emotionally is devastating. I would tell Jack over and over again that 'God always has a way of making something good come from difficult.' Now that Jack has had a chance to tell his story, he truly feels like good has come from his struggle, which is amazing."

Jack Crawford

Here is the letter Jack wrote...

I am very lucky kid. I have a great family, I have lots of good friends, I play on a great hockey team, and school is fun. I am grateful for all of these things, but something happened to me that has changed how I felt about everything.

About one year ago, while I was outside playing, I ran straight into a pole. It sounds funny, it probably even looked funny, but it was a big deal and it changed my life. I suffered from a pretty bad concussion, and I had no idea what impact it would have on me. I thought a concussion was just a big headache, but it was so much more than that.

For about a week after my concussion, I had to miss school and after-school activities. I slept for days. I couldn’t stand to be near a light, see a screen, read or do anything that I had to focus on. I slowly started to feel okay but I was very frustrated when I started to feel a bit better and I couldn’t do anything. No TV, no reading, no screens. All I was allowed to do was go outside and walk.

I went back to school a couple weeks later, and I thought because I felt good enough to go back to school that I was totally better. I didn’t realize concussions lasted a long time. The sound of the bell bothered me and I couldn’t go out on the schoolyard because it felt like there was too much going on. My relationships with my friends seemed strange and I was really sensitive about everything. I felt like people were making me sad a lot easier than before. I was acting funny and I never thought before I spoke.

When people joked around with me I thought they were being serious and took it personally. I wasn’t myself. I tried to be cool but I was just being bold and weird. I was angry at myself for not being ‘me.’ Whenever I woke up in the morning I told myself, ‘This is a new day and I can be myself again.’ But, I would come home from school or hockey crying all the time. It seemed to me that everyone I was around didn’t like me. It was like I had my own invisible bully in my brain but I couldn’t stand up to it.

My parents did lots of things to try to help me feel better, but nothing seemed to be helping me. I was still getting good grades in school, but I could feel I didn’t have the same ability. I was missing important details because I was getting so distracted. I had trouble focusing, something changed with my concentration. Even when I was on the ice (which is my favourite place to be), I wasn’t able to pay attention. I would always be upset with myself because of that. I knew I was missing little key notes in drills, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I would cry every night after hockey because when my coaches tried to give me advice I felt like they were disappointed with me, because I was frustrated. They were really just trying to help me like they always do.

Nobody ever knew I was so upset all the time (except for my family) because I wouldn’t break down in front of anyone else. All of this happened because a bump to my head! I think it would be easier to have a cast because then everyone would see that I had something wrong with me. But I looked fine so people just thought I was being weird.

I am feeling better now. I had massages, I went to a chiropractor, my doctor, and did different vision exercises to help my brain speed. My parents make sure I eat better (because I wanted sugar all the time) and I always get lots of sleep now. So, I don’t know what made me get better, but I am glad I feel more like myself again.

I still get tired really easily, my attention still isn’t where it was before, and I know I am not the same as I was before, but that’s okay. I just want other kids to know that one concussion changed my life. I want other kids to know that even if you are feeling well enough to play sports again doesn’t mean your ability to learn and emotions are all back to normal.

I am lucky that I feel way better now. —by Jack Crawford

Jack's mom Amelia reiterates to parents the importance of taking a concussion seriously:

"My plea to other parents would be to not underestimate the devastating short and long-term effects of concussion. Your son/daughter might be upset about missing sports or activities, but our job is not to please our children—it's to protect them. Please listen to coaches, doctors, educators and, most importantly, your child, if a concussion is suspected."

PVNC has great concussion resources available here.

**Please share this post with others that you think would be interested in learning what it's like to experience this.

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There Is Free New Year’s Eve Transit Again This Year In Peterborough

For the second year in a row, City of Peterborough & Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers have announced FREE New Year’s Eve Bus and Handi-Van Service. About 3,000 riders used the free service last New Year's and the City anticipates usage will be even higher this year.
 
Service will be provided on all 12 regular routes and buses will run free of charge between 7:20 p.m. on December 31st and 3:20 a.m. on January 1st. The last bus will leave Peterborough’s downtown Simcoe Street terminal at 2:40 a.m. 

Don Vassiliadis, Chair of Transportation for City of Peterborough, riding a bus on New Year's Eve last year

Handi-Van service will also run during the same hours, with two vans in service. Handi-Van customer service staff will accept trip request bookings from eligible clients until 12:20 a.m. and service will continue until 3:20 a.m. Handi-van bookings are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Handi-van riders wishing to travel during peak times are encouraged to reserve their trips in advance.    

Photo of transit users using the service last New Year's

The City of Peterborough and Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers encourage residents to drink responsibly and to make their New Year’s Eve transportation plans ahead of time.

The continuation of the free New Year’s Eve Transit Service provides an additional transportation option, encouraging everyone to enjoy a safe and prosperous transition into 2017. 
 
Route maps are available here.

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