Couple MacGyvers Homemade Curling Rink & Rocks On Pond Near Kinmount

Taras Pater and his wife Bonny Anderson had friends up to their property on Wasyl Pond near Kinmount, and were looking for a fun outdoor activity to keep them busy.

Since their visitors didn't have skates, Taras and Bonny suggested constructing a curling rink on their pond, and set to improvising both a rink and curling rocks in the most Canadian of ways.

Photo courtesy Taras Pater

Taras tells PTBOCanada how they built it:

"We shovelled off the snow and the ice looked pretty rough underneath. So we proceeded to cut a hole in the ice and poured buckets of water over the surface to smooth it out. As it was very cold out, the water froze fairly quickly.

The next trick was making curling 'rocks'. I cut some 4" slabs of pine and screwed in some old kitchen cabinet door pulls that I inherited from a reno to make the handles. When we first tried tossing them, they were way too light and did not glide well at all."

Photo courtesy Taras Pater

Photo courtesy Taras Pater

Bonny can up with a tweak that made all the difference and allowed the rocks to switchin' to glide, Taras tells PTBOCanada.

"My wife, Bonny, came up with the brilliant idea of dipping the bottoms of the rocks in the hole we cut. The water froze up quickly and after about a dozen or so dips and freezings of each stone, we had a good inch of ice on the bottoms of each rock."

"Not only did the stones get considerably heavier, but they also got a great amount of glide as well," adds Taras, who doesn't curl himself but whose mother-in-law Maxine is an avid curler in Lindsay. "We considered painting a house as well but opted for a wood stump as a target instead."

Photo courtesy Taras Pater

Here is a close-up of the rocks that Taras MacGyvered from 4" slabs of pine and old kitchen cabinet door pulls...

Photo courtesy Taras Pater

Oh, and one more neat timbit, er, tidbit from Taras about where the rink was constructed:

"I had the privilege of naming the pond, Wasyl, after my deceased father, as almost all of the pond lies on our property and I noticed it was unnamed on Google maps."
 

Bonny and Taras

Yep, his Dad would be proud. And maybe now, this pond will sweep its way onto Google maps.

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PTBOCanada.com Hits 50,000 Social Media Fans

PTBOCanada.com have reached our biggest milestone yet to finish the year, reaching 50,000 social media fans combined between our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram channels.

Thanks to all those following us on our channels, and for reading and sharing our content. We wish you all the best in 2018!

"Like" us on Facebook -> facebook.com/ptbocanada/

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Sneak Peek: Inside New Lakefield District Public School

Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board has put together a great teaser video taking people inside the new Lakefield District Public School.

The video shows the hard work taking place in preparation for the school opening on January 8th.

Watch it below...

This short video provides a sneak peek preview of the new Lakefield District Public School and shows some of the hard work taking place in preparation for the school opening.

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How The Team At Riverview Park & Zoo Is Working To Save An Injured Reindeer's Eye

Aurora the Reindeer came to the Riverview Park & Zoo in the fall of 2013 when she was just 6 months old. She has been a fixture at the zoo since then, delighting kids and parents alike.

But Aurora, now 4 and a half years old, has suffered a serious eye injury—the zoo suspects she was injured by one of the other reindeer's antlers, as they can be a little feisty with each other at times. 

The zoo team works to save Aurora's eye

"When we noticed her injury, we corralled her into one of the holding buildings in the exhibit where she was sedated by one of our consulting veterinarians," Zoo manager and curator Jim Moloney tells PTBOCanada. "We then moved her to the Animal Health Centre here at the Zoo."

The injury was severe when they began treatment, Moloney tells PTBOCanada:

"Her eye had been somewhat dislodged and was protruding significantly from her eye socket. Consulting Veterinarians Dr. Sallaway and Dr. Cranfield were able to carefully return it to its normal position. They also flushed the eye and have taken precautions to keep it in place as well as to prevent infection."

Now it's a bit of a waiting game to see if Aurora's eye will heal properly, and whether she will regain her vision.

"There is a chance that there will be some permanent damage to her vision, but it is difficult to tell at this point," says Moloney. "We will have a better idea once she has had a chance to heal."

At this time, Aurora remains in the Animal Heath Centre—probably until next week—and has been having daily examinations/treatment by the Animal Care Team.

Our prayers to Aurora.

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McLean Berry Farm Shocked After Receiving Notice It Might Be Kicked Out Of Saturday Farmers Market After 27 Years

Buckhorn's McLean Berry Farm has been a staple at the Saturday Farmers Market in Peterborough since 1991—the year Jane and Sam McLean bought the farm, and started attending the market—but their existence at the market is now under threat after receiving notice they might be evicted. 

Indeed, they are one of seven local growers (the others are Circle Organic, Otonabee Apiary, Ashburnham Farms Gaelic Garlic, Finest Gourmet Fudge, Chef Marshal and Necessitea Elixir) who may be expelled from the market after allegations of disruptive behaviour that has hurt the market's reputation.

Photo courtesy McLean Berry Farm

In a heartfelt Facebook post that begins "Our farm is under attack....and we need your help" that is getting hundreds of shares, McLean's writes they are "shocked", "confused" and "hurt" by the possibility of being terminated from the market at a January 8th Farmers Market meeting that will determine their fate.

Here is an excerpt from the Facebook post...

"Just before Christmas we were sent a letter from The Peterborough Saturday Farmers’ Market (The Peterborough District Farmers Market Association Board) telling us (and the six other vendors) that a meeting and vote will be held on January 8th to terminate all seven of our memberships and our abilities to sell at the Peterborough Saturday Farmers’ Market.

We are so proud to farm, and proud to be a part of this community and have the amazing local support that we do have. It fills us with joy to hear that people love our farm, what we grow and that they they’re able to access fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers markets. We are so grateful for all of the community support over the years, because it means that our family farm has been able to grow and that the next generation can come in and continue this legacy; however losing the ability to sell at this market is undermining our success as a local farm, and it’s undermining the success of local agriculture throughout our entire community.

We don’t understand why our livelihood as a local farm who has been selling at the market for the last 27 years is suddenly in jeopardy. We don’t understand why speaking up and asking for openness, transparency, fairness and honesty has turned into wanting to remove us from the market."

You can read the Facebook post in its entirety below...

Erin McLean, who wrote the Facebook post on behalf of the family farm, tells PTBOCanada that the response to her Facebook post has "been generally phenomenal, if not a bit overwhelming."

"We have so many messages of kindness and support—I've been in tears more than a few times reading the amazing things people are writing about our farm and their love of us and local farms at farmers markets and why these markets need to continue to support local farms."

Photo courtesy McLean Berry Farm

"We've also had a lot of questions, a lot of which we'd like to answers to as well and have been responding to customers who are asking questions as best we can," McLean tells PTBOCanada.

"All that we've been asking for is openness, honesty, transparency and fairness for all market vendors and speaking up for farmers who have been similiarly targetted or removed in the past. We don't think that is too much to ask of a farmers market board."

A petition #NoPinkSlips on Change.org has been started that people are being encouraged to sign that already has generated more than 4,000 signatures [UPDATE, December 29th: the petition has now reached more than 8,000 signatures]. The petition is meant to protect the rights of local farmers, and will be presented to Peterborough Saturday Market Board and City of Peterborough.

As things stand now, McLean Berry Farm and the other six vendors will learn of their future at the market at the January 8th board meeting.

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A Frostbite Alert Has Been Issued For Remainder Of Week

It's going to be extremely cold out for the rest of this week. Indeed, Peterborough Public Health has issued the second Frostbite Alert of the season because of forecasted nightly wind chill values of -27 or lower from December 26th to 29th.

Extreme cold events are a potentially significant health risk and can have a severe impact on the health of vulnerable populations including infants, the elderly, people with circulatory problems, and the marginally housed.

Local social service agencies rely on Peterborough Public Health frostbite alerts to determine if services should be extended or enhanced.

In order to protect the health of people in Peterborough County and City and Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations, Peterborough Public Health advises local residents to take the following precautions:

-> Check face and extremities frequently for signs of frostbite. Exposed skin can freeze in as little as 10 to 30 minutes.
-> Consider re-scheduling outdoor recreational activities, especially during the evening. There is a serious risk of hypothermia and frostbite if outdoors for long periods.
-> Use caution when shoveling snow, especially for those that have heart, respiratory (breathing) problems or other medical conditions. Snow shoveling is strenuous and can cause an onset of heart or respiratory problems.
-> Check on the elderly or people with disabilities living alone.

Temperatures are expected to rise above Frostbite Alert criteria during the late evening of Friday, December 29th.

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Lots More Snow Expected On Christmas Eve Making This A Winter *Winter* Wonderland

Environment Canada has issued a special advisory for Christmas Eve for the area, with snowfall of at least 5 to 10 cm expected for Peterborough and the Kawarthas.

Throwback image of snow in Peterborough courtesy Trent Valley Archives

Snow will begin late Sunday afternoon, with the bulk of the white stuff falling on Christmas Eve. General snowfall amounts of up to 10 cm are expected by the time the system passes through on Christmas morning.

Throwback image of snow in Peterborough courtesy Trent Valley Archives

Environment Canada says there will be challenging travelling conditions at times for those visiting family and friends during this holiday time.

So enjoy the Winter Wonderland but be safe.

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After Damage From Fire Natas Café Re-Opens Just In Time For Christmas

Just five weeks after damage from a fire and flooding, Natas Café has re-opened its doors in downtown Peterborough.

Photo courtesy DBIA

Nice to see you open again @NatasCafe! ☕️ pic.twitter.com/q8gKglE1zv

— PTBO_CANADA (@Ptbo_Canada) December 22, 2017

The popular George Street café re-opened Friday morning (December 22nd) as excited patrons returned for their favourite coffee, espresso and sandwiches.

Owner Steve Francis (Photo courtesy DBIA)

Photo courtesy DBIA

Neighbouring business Simple, which also sustained significant damage during the fire on November 17th, is still undergoing renovations but has opened a temporary location at the entrance to Peteborough Square.

Photo courtesy DBIA

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Police Confirm Deadly Carfentanil Is Now In Peterborough, Issue Warning To Public

The Peterborough Police Service has issued a warning after receiving confirmation that a substance seized during a recent traffic stop was carfentanil—a drug that is *10,000 times* more potent than morphine.
 
On October 24th at approximately 10:30 p.m., officers conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Parkhill Road West and Monaghan Road. As a result of the traffic stop, marijuana was located inside the vehicle along with a dark powdered substance.
 
That unknown substance was submitted to Health Canada for testing. Results received from Health Canada on the evening of December 20th have confirmed that the substance was carfentanil—marking the first confirmed carfentanil seizure in the City of Peterborough.

Examples of the small amount of drugs that can potentially be fatal.

To give you an idea of how potent this drug is, carfentanil is commonly used by veterinarians as a tranquilizer for larger animals such as elephants. The amount of carfentanil seized during the October traffic stop was .7 grams.
 
“Exposure to a very small amount of this drug, about the size of a grain of salt or 20 micrograms, could be fatal though inhalation and ingestion," says Peterborough Police Deputy Chief Tim Farquharson. "There is also concern due to the fact that it can be absorbed through the skin."

The substance next to the image of the coin is carfentanil. 

“We are warning recreational drug users that this potentially fatal drug is now in our City," adds Deputy Chief Farquharson. "Fentanyl is an additive or cutting agent in virtually all street drugs. The potential for carfentanil to also be present in common street drugs is very much a real threat."
 
“We are not surprised that this drug is now in our community given the opiod crisis sweeping across Canada and is a reminder that every community is susceptible. Police services are working collaboratively and with a multi-disciplinary approach to deal with the many challenges that the opiod crisis is presenting.”

The Peterborough Police Service has notified its partners of the results, including Peterborough Public Health and the Peterborough Drug Strategy.

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City of Peterborough Announces Free Tim Hortons Holiday Skating

The City of Peterborough has announced Free Tim Hortons Holiday Skating at the Evinrude Arena over the holiday season.
 
Free public skating will be available from 3:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. on the following dates:
 
• Tuesday, December 26, 2017
• Wednesday, December 27, 2017
• Monday, January 1, 2018
• Tuesday, January 2, 2018
• Thursday, January 4, 2018

All participants are asked to follow the Skaters Code of Conduct available online here.
 
The City of Peterborough thanks the local Tim Horton Restaurant Owners for making this opportunity possible.

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