Peterborough Blogs
#PetesRising: Peterborough Petes Capture First OHL East Division Championship Since 2005-06
/The Peterborough Petes shut-out the Hamilton Bulldogs 4-0 in front of 3,817 fans at the Memorial Centre Thursday night (March 16th) to clinch first place overall in the OHL's Eastern Conference.
This is the first time since 2005-06 that the Petes have captured the OHL East Division championship.
The Petes—who have been one of the hottest teams in the OHL since the end of November—now hold home ice advantage through at least the first three rounds of the playoffs.
The 2017 playoff schedule will be released early next week, with possible first round opponents including Ottawa, Niagara, Sudbury and North Bay. Tickets are available now for playoff home games one and two.
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Peterborough-Based Chimp Treats Will Have Product Line In Whole Foods Stores Across Ontario
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Brooke Hammer
Peterborough-based company Chimp Treats has announced their Nicecream line of products will soon be available on the shelves of Whole Foods.
Whole Foods—known for their natural and organic food options—makes for a perfect match with the single ingredient fruit ice cream 22-year-old entrepreneur Brooke Hammer has created with Nicecream. Chimp Treats will also be introducing two brand new flavours to the mix, Mango Banana and Strawberry Banana.
As the founder of Chimp Treats, Hammer came up with the idea of taking a popular recipe she was making in her home (an ice cream made entirely from bananas) and bringing it to grocery store shelves everywhere.
As a varsity athlete and Trent University student, she put her company ideas to action and added entrepreneur to the list, developing the process to make it all possible. She launched Chimp Treats in June 2016. She currently operates her business full time in the Innovation Cluster’s downtown Cube, Peterborough’s innovation incubator.
Chimp Treat's products are currently on shelves in Toronto, Peterborough and the surrounding area including Sobeys, JoAnne's Place, Fiesta Farms and Foodland. Now, Chimp Treats is excited to expand its signature product to the Whole Foods organization, showing that eating healthy can also be a treat.
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Newcomers To Peterborough Community Try Curling For The First Time
/The Peterborough Curling Club generously donated its ice on Saturday (March 11th) for a Curling Day so newcomers could try their hand at this Canadian winter sport. About 40 newcomers participated in the event, which was a collaboration between the New Canadians Centre and Peterborough Curling Club.
About 10 volunteers from Peterborough Curling Club provided curling instructions and equipment for the new curling learners.
Photo via New Canadians Centre Facebook page
“The objective is to welcome newcomers to the community and introduce them to a very popular Canadian winter sport,” says Ken Featherstone of Peterborough Curling Club. “Newcomers can meet and socialize with other newcomers while learning a part of Canadian sports culture.”
Photo via New Canadians Centre Facebook page
Photo via New Canadians Centre Facebook page
“Some newcomers, especially if they do not speak English, can feel isolated,” says Anne Elliott, Community Coordinator at the New Canadians Centre. “The New Canadians Centre offers different opportunities and services to connect newcomers to the community and feel welcomed and at home. The curling day is ideal because it is Canadian, active and fun.”
Photo via New Canadians Centre Facebook page
Peterborough's Neat Connections & History With Its Sister City Ann Arbor, Michigan
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Our sister city Ann Arbor is about a six hour (575 km) drive from us and is located in Michigan. It has been our sister city since 1983.
“It lets people have an excuse for getting to know each other in ways they never would otherwise,” said former Ann Arbor Mayor Edward Pierce. We found this to be very true when we visited the city recently. When shop owners asked where we were from, we would say “Your sister city, Peterborough” with a slight grin. While most residents didn’t recall the link at first, it was certainly an ice-breaker which lead to further conversation.
Below is more of the backstory and the connections to Ann Arbor...
ARBOROUGH GAMES
The Arborough Games—a cute play on words combining Arbor and Peterborough—started in 1982 and was a biennial event that took turns being hosted between Ann Arbor and Peterborough. Sadly, the games ended after the year 2000 due to lack of volunteers and youth participation.
JUMPER MOVIE
The movie Jumper (starring Canadian actor, Hayden Christensen) was filmed primarily in Ann Arbor. Two back-to-back scenes at around the 3:50 minute mark of the movie were filmed in Peterborough, however.
A scene within the Peterborough Library at 345 Alymer Street North (also shown in the trailer above) shows the main character teleporting into the library, then opening a book to reveil an Ann Arbor Library book stamp (but we know better!).
Ann Arbor doesn’t have a water tower, and Peterborough was used as a stand-in. Our water tower (and view of Kenneth Avenue, filmed from Sherbrooke Street) with the "Ann Arbor" name digitally added to our water tower was briefly shown after the Library scene.
A Fairy Door at TeaHaus located at 204 N 4th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI
FAIRY DOORS
Fairy doors have been another connection between Peterborough and Ann Arbor with there being numerous tiny doors appearing in both cities.
Keep your eyes pealed around our city, you never know where you might find one!
-->> Share your connections with our sister city on our Facebook page post.
—Written and Photographed by Evan Holt
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Nassau Mills Lock 22 Concrete Repair Work Progressing Well
/Since October 2016, Parks Canada has been undertaking concrete repair work at Nassau Mills Lock 22 on the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site.
The lower approach walls and the pier were formed—and new concrete poured—at the end of February. After this work was complete, gravel and other material was then backfilled up against the repaired walls and new concrete was poured for the decking at the top of the lock walls.
With the repairs to the walls now complete, it is expected that the temporary cofferdams will be removed in the coming weeks. The project will then conclude with the restoration of the concrete stairs and the overall site. Some of the work to restore the site will continue into spring, as activities such as replanting, seeding and sodding are warm weather dependent.
Overall, the work has been progressing well and is on schedule to be completed in time for the 2017 navigation season beginning on the Victoria Day weekend. This year, you can celebrate with Parks Canada as they commemorate Canada's 150th anniversary by offering a free lockage permit to boaters along the Trent Severn and other waterways.
For up-to-date news on infrastructure work along the Trent-Severn Waterway, click here.
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You Can Now Order Your Free Lockage Permit For 2017 On Trent Severn Waterway
/Parks Canada has announced that boaters can now order their free lockage permits as part of Canada 150 celebrations, giving you an amazing chance to explore the Trent Severn Waterway and other waterways this year.
Photo via Parks Canada
The free lockage permit for boaters is valid for the entire navigation season in 2017 and provides passage through Parks Canada’s historic canals like the Trent Severn.
Launch your adventure as part of Canada's 150 celebrations by clicking here for more info on getting the free lockage permit.
[Related: 15 Neat Facts About Construction Of Peterborough Lift Locks; 10 Neat Facts About Little Lake]
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Citiots Improv Next Show Is March 24th At Gordon Best Theatre
/The Citiots Improv, who regularly play sold-out shows at the Gordon Best Theatre, are back March 24th, 2017 with special guests Adam Martignetti and Mike Moring from Jobless (Web Series).
The Citiots—read their fascinating backstory here—feature Danny Bronson, Luke Foster, Ray Henderson, Mike Judson, Paul Nabuurs, Andrew Root, and Daniel Smith.
Luke Foster and Ray Henderson from Citiots
Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and Showtime is 8 p.m. at Gordon Best Theatre (216 Hunter St. W.) on March 24th. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors.
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UPDATED: Major Winter Storm Possible, We Could See Up To 15 Centimetres Of Snow
/UPDATED Monday, March 13th: An update from Environment Canada
-> Total snowfall amounts of 10 to 15 cm are expected by Wednesday.
-> Snow will develop this evening or overnight and continue into Wednesday morning.
-> Northeast winds gusting to 50 km/h are also expected Tuesday resulting in localized blowing snow. Travel conditions Tuesday into Wednesday morning may be hazardous as a result of snow and blowing snow.
-> Snow will taper to scattered flurries Wednesday as the low pressure system moves east.
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ORIGINAL POST
Spring may be days away, but don't tell that to Mother Nature. A special weather statement has been issued, with 15 to 25 centimetres possible.
Snow is forecast to begin over Southwestern Ontario during the day Monday (March 13th), then spread over much of the remainder of Southern Ontario Monday night through Tuesday. Cold Arctic air already in place over the Great Lakes will result in a dry fluffier snow, resulting in localized blowing snow as winds strengthen during the storm.
Digging out from a snowfall back in the day in Peterborough
Environment Canada says this snowstorm has the potential to significantly affect travel due to accumulating snow and blowing snow, resulting in hazardous winter driving conditions.
Let's hope Jay Callaghan is right, and we won't get hit full-on...
Of course, whatever the case, we have better plows now then we had back in the day to clear those roads. Here's an old school snow sweeper (see more old plow pictures here)...
PVNC Sponsored An Extended Syrian Family 18 Months Ago: This Is Their Amazing Story
/Nisrin Aidak nestles on a couch with her three children as a beam of morning sunshine warms and brightens the living room in the old farmhouse the family now calls home.
Her family is safe. They joke, laugh and tell stories. It’s an idyllic morning. And for Nisrin, 38, it brings up many emotions.
Qussai, Mahfouz, Nisrin and Selina
“After what I suffered before, I feel this is like heaven for me,” she said. “You cannot understand what safety feels like if you didn’t lose it.”
Qussai, 18, is tall, handsome and fluent in English. He helps recall his family’s story before slipping away to prepare for a math test at St. Peter CSS—his new high school.
Six-year-old Mahfouz, wearing thick-rimmed glasses, leaps off the couch to grab a book from his room before settling beside his grandmother Houda in a donated rocking chair. Later that morning, Mahfouz will visit his new school—St. Teresa CES—and meet his classmates.
Six-year-old Mahfouz gets a warm welcome from his new classroom at St. Teresa Catholic Elementary School in Peterborough.
Selina, a shy three-year-old, stays close to Nisrin at all times.
In September 2015, Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington (PVNC) Catholic District School Board partnered with Sister Ruth Hennessy and Casa Maria Refugee Homes to sponsor the extended Aidak family. Students and staff across the board brought in small donations. Each dollar added up, each dollar helped bring Nisrin and her children to the safety of this living room.
“When I came here, and I saw this house, and I met Sister Ruth, and all these people had helped prepare this for us… these people, this humanity,” Nisrin explains, wiping tears from her eyes. “If I spend all my life saying thank you, it won’t be enough.”
Nisrin’s brother Ammar and his two children—Mohamad and Hour—were the first to arrive in Peterborough in October 2016 (see video below). The two children attend Immaculate Conception CES.
Houda, the 67-year-old matriarch, joined Ammar in Peterborough’s East City several weeks later. “From the fire, to the safety,” Houda says, describing her journey to Canada.
Houda
Nisrin, who was an educational assistant in Syria, and her husband Safi, a tradesman, arrived with their children in Toronto on February 27th, 2017, five years after fleeing their hometown of Aleppo. They are now living in a home in Peterborough.
“The problems started at the beginning of the war. The first bomb in Aleppo, it went off beside Qussai’s school,” Nisrin says. “After that, I was so scared. After that, the bombs started to come more and more and more.”
A gifted student whose grades put him at the top of his class, Qussai was forced to leave school in Grade 7.
“As a kid, I only had two things, my studies and my extracurricular activities and both of them were in my school," he says. "School was technically all I had and that was taken away from me."
The family fled to Jordan in 2012. There, they at least had running water, electricity and security. But life in Jordan was tough. The government prohibited Syrian refugees from working and the family, like many other refugees, faced discrimination.
“In Jordan, it was another kind of miserable life,” Nisrin says.
Nisrin gave birth to Selina and homeschooled Mahfouz.
Without work, the family sold off its possessions and relied on help from family and friends to send money and food. Nisrin said the family pinched every penny to ensure Qussai could remain in school.
“For Qussai, no way was I going to interrupt his school," she says. "I do my best so that every dollar I had I put it for Qussai’s school."
As tough as it was in Jordan, Nisrin watched with horror as her mother Houda, brother Ammar and sister Lilas lived through the civil war in Aleppo. Bombings became a daily part of life and family members routinely hid under beds and staircases. A bomb once dropped right through the roof of Ammar’s bedroom mere minutes after he had left his room to fetch water with his mother.
Lilas and her children eventually made it to Jordan too and then moved to Toronto after Casa Maria sponsored her family in 2015. Ammar eventually brought his children to Beirut, Lebanon while awaiting their trip to Canada.
After three years of precarious living in Jordan, a family friend secured a visa allowing Nisrin and her family to move to Saudi Arabia, where the cost of living was cheaper and the government allowed Syrians to work.
In September 2015, PVNC agreed to sponsor the extended Aidak family. Lilas, her husband Amjad, and her children Karam and Zeina toured PVNC schools to share their story. More than $30,000 was fundraised board-wide.
Lilas Aidak, along with her her husband Amjad and children Karam and Zeina, visit St. Anne Catholic Elementary School in September 2015, telling her family's story and helping to launch a fundraising campaign to sponsor her siblings and bring them to Canada.
“I watched the pictures of Lilas and my niece and nephew meeting in the schools—I saw the videos and I was following you and I prayed,” says Nisrin, recalling how she followed the fundraising efforts closely from Saudi Arabia.
“These people in Canada, they don’t know us. They hadn’t met us. They haven’t seen our situation first hand, but still they were willing to help us,” Qussai adds. “That feeling is indescribable.”
Quassi
It took more than a year to secure a flight, but finally, on February 27th, 2017, Nisrin and her family arrived at Pearson Airport, greeted by Lilas, Ammar, Houda and her nieces and nephews—all of whom are now living safely in Canada.
“Seeing them right there in front of me and welcoming us into Canada, it was extremely overwhelming—I was in shock,” says Qussai, whose dream is to obtain an undergraduate and attend orthodontic school.
Nisrin and Selina share a laugh in the living room of their new home in Peterborough.
