Fish Monitoring Happening On Gifford Causeway

The County of Peterborough in partnership with Curve Lake First Nation will be monitoring the status of the walleye in Chemong Lake for the next five years.

This Spring, County consultants along with Curve Lake First Nation community members will be collecting information on walleye that inhabit and spawn in nearshore areas of Chemong Lake along the Causeway and Eastern Shoreline.

As part of this study, water quality, egg collection and night monitoring will occur during the month of April. Water quality will be captured using data logging equipment placed on the lakebed. The sampling procedures they use are not harmful to the fish.

Picture of Gifford Causeway courtesy Peterborough County

It is very important the equipment is not disturbed, according to a County release. Signs will be placed at both ends of the Gifford Causeway notifying the public about the fish monitoring in progress. 

During the evening while they are performing the monitoring, people may see monitors traveling by boat and counting the number of walleye observed using spotlight style lighting equipment. Generally, workers could be onsite between 6 p.m. and 4 a.m., so don’t be startled if you spot them.

As they move forward with this monitoring, information updates will be shared with the public and also posted to their webpage on the James A. Gifford Causeway.

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Check Out These Renderings Of The New Brock Mission

Brock Mission is a homeless shelter in Peterborough for men that includes sleeping, dining and program areas. A new modern facility is being built on the existing property on Murray Street where the old building was housed, that is slated to open late 2020.

Lett Architects is designing it and has released renderings of the project. Lett says the three-storey building has been designed around a courtyard with access to natural daylight into every room and corridor. The building will accommodate 32 shelter beds and 15 independent living units, of which 25 percent are fully accessible. The building also includes a dining hall which will provide three meals a day all year.

This is a rendering of the main entrance…

Main entrance of Brock Misson, rendering courtesy Lett Architects

The Lett Architects team is providing the most inclusive, home-like and durable building with a high level of energy performance, exceeding the 2015 National Energy Code by 28 percent. Critical to the success of the project has been the ability to meet tight budgets and schedules as the Brock Mission has been without a true home to call their own for some time.

This is a view of the Dining Hall…

View of Brock Misson dining hall, rendering courtesy Lett Architects

Watch this video to learn more about the project….

The new Brock Mission shelter is slated to open its doors in November 2020.

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Sure Sign Of Spring (And Lawn Work): Green Waste Collection Starts April 2nd

The City of Peterborough green waste collection begins on Tuesday, April 2nd. Leaf and yard waste may go out to the curb every week for collection on your regular collection day.

There are no quantity limits for curbside green waste collection. Green waste must be in paper yard waste bags, bushel baskets or a garbage bin labeled with the City “Green Waste” stickers. These stickers are free and available at City Hall, GreenUP and local Home Hardware stores (Merritt on Lansdowne Street and Kingan on Simcoe Street).

Weekly green waste collection (plastic bags are not accepted) will continue through until the last week of November.

For more details, call the City Waste Management Division at 742-7777, ext. 1657.

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Fleming College Welcomes Autism Reality Experience To Sutherland Campus

Fleming College’s Developmental Services Worker (DSW) program and Child and Youth Care (CYC) program is welcoming the Autism Reality Experience to Sutherland Campus from March 11th to 14th. 

The Autism Reality Experience is designed to provide a virtual experience of living with autism. It is an immersive experience that gives participants greater insight into what it can feel like to struggle with processing sensory information and help participants see the world from an autistic person’s perspective.  

(Left to right): Child and Youth Care program coordinator Heather Sago; Developmental Services Worker program coordinator Ann Hines; and Professor, Simulation & Interprofessional Education Lead Wendy Morgan.

“At Fleming, we are committed to providing experiential learning opportunities for our students and exposing them to simulation-based learning throughout the course of their programs,” says Carol Kelsey, Dean, School of Health and Wellness, and Justice and Community Development.

“Hosting the Autism Reality Experience will give our students valuable hands-on learning, as well as provide important knowledge with our college community about autism, and a better understanding of the sensory processing difficulties faced by people on the autism spectrum,” adds Kelsey.

The initiative is connected to college’s investment in the newly renovated A-Wing learning labs. These modern learning spaces replicate a broad range of environments, from ambulances to hospitals, courtrooms to jail cells, and pharmacies to home settings. When coupled with cutting edge simulation technology, this means their students can apply what they learn in settings that feel like the real world, but are safe and engaging for everyone involved.

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Help Valerie Beat Leukemia

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Keene’s Valerie Davidson, who has begun her fight against cancer after a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia.

Val is known to many people in the community. She works at Hi Ho Silver in downtown Peterborough, where she also creates amazing jewelry. Hi Ho Silver shared the news about Val on their Facebook page…

Val has been told by the doctors at Kingston General Hospital that she needs to be prepared to be in Kingston for at least a month, and be off work and receiving treatment for about a year.

Val (and her family) needs to be focused on her recovery, and this GoFundMe page will help alleviate some of the financial stresses by helping with the extra expenses that the family will incur during this battle.  

Please
give what you can—the goal of the campaign is $20,000—and spread the word on your social media channels.

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The Peterborough Police Are Hosting First “Women in Policing Symposium”

The Peterborough Police Service is pleased to announce it is hosting its first ever symposium for women interested in a career in policing.

Taking place March 23rd, the event will invite women to participate in a number of activities meant to expose them to elements of the profession in an informal manner, increase their confidence in their suitability and capability to become an officer, and prepare them to be successful in a recruiting process.

Photograph courtesy Peterborough Police

In order to provide a quality experience for attendees, the Committee will invite 40 applicants to attend the event. The agenda includes:

-> Resume review
-> Mock interview
-> PREP (physical readiness evaluation for police) test exposure and practice
-> Use of force exposure and practice
-> Scenario work in partnership with an officer
-> Networking lunch with an officer
-> Panel Q&A

Fleming College is partnering in the event and is generously providing their facility. In addition, they will provide childcare for those attendees who need it.  A complimentary light lunch will be included during which attendees will have the opportunity to have impromptu conversations with the officers.

Poster courtesy Peterborough Police Service

The free event is geared toward women who have an interest in policing but have never applied or were unsuccessful in the recruiting process and given up.

It takes place Saturday, March 23rd from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fleming College’s Sutherland campus. To apply for this event (the deadline to apply is March 4th), complete this short questionnaire.

Those who have been selected to participate in the event will be notified via email by Friday, March 8th.

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New Pool Pod Improves Accessibility At Peterborough Sport & Wellness Centre

A new portable Pool Pod that can assist people with mobility impairments to get in and out of a pool has been installed at the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre thanks to a $50,000 grant from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, a national charity dedicated to helping kids overcome financial and accessibility barriers to sport and recreation in an effort to provide inclusive play for kids
of all abilities.

The City of Peterborough was selected as one of nine inaugural Jumpstart Accessibility Grant recipients for the Pool Pod project, improving the accessibility of the community facility. A ribbon cutting for the new pool pod took place Thursday (February 7th) with Mayor Therrien.

Ribbon cutting ceremony on February 7th (photo courtesy City of Peterborough)

The new lift equipment improves the ability of people with mobility impairments to independently use the leisure pool, where previously they may have required assistance from a lifeguard.

The Pool Pod provides safe, efficient access to the pool, allowing more people to enter and exit the pool in a short period of time. This will enhance the Centre’s ability to develop specific recreational and therapeutic pool programming for people with physical disabilities.

New pool pod in use (photo courtesy City of peterborough)

The City of Peterborough tweeted out video of the new pool pod in use…

With the installation of the Pool Pod, Chelsey Gray, Aquatics Coordinator says that “work has begun to develop and deliver specialized aquatics programming supporting recreational and therapeutic participants. Our new programming will support children, families and agencies such as Five Counties Children’s Centre with recreational and therapeutic adapted swim lessons.”

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Watch: Ashlee Aiken On "PTBOCanada" Show Talking About The Impact Of Kawartha Food Share

On Episode 35 of “PTBOCanada”, we sit down with Kawartha Food Share General Manager Ashlee Aitken to learn about the huge role the organization plays in the community—and how the community gives back.

Neil Morton in conversation with Ashlee Aiken

Aitken tells PTBOCanada that it’s a big operation running Kawartha Food Share, which has a lean staff. They have 37 agencies they look after and 51 schools that are accessing food all the time.

“We have about a 100 volunteers a week in there… without them, we’d really be nowhere,” she says. Indeed, Kawartha Food Share is feeding about 9,000 clients a month at food banks.

Watch the episode below…

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Over $80,000 Raised In 10th Annual Petes Pink in the Rink Game

The 10th Annual Pink in the Rink game took place at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Saturday night (February 2nd).

The Petes may have lost on the ice—6-3 to the Oshawa Generals—but the entire night was a huge win for the organization and community as over $80,000 was raised to fight cancer.

The Petes, in association with the Canadian Cancer Society, announced that the campaign raised $80,811.11, bringing the 10 year total to over $697,000.

A season-high 3,852 fans attended the game—the team’s highest attended game since Pink in the Rink on February 9th, 2013.

The Petes players wore special Pink in the Rink fundraising sweaters, which were sold in a post-game live jersey auction.

Petes alumni Steve Larmer (1977-78) and Cameron Mann (1993-97) were the honourary co-chairs of this year’s Pink in the Rink campaign.

Congrats to all involved!

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OPP Are Responding To Numerous Calls About Snowmobiles Going Through Ice, Many Due To Impaired Driving

After another snowmobiler went through the ice on Saturday night (January 26th)—this one on Chemong Lake near Bridgenorth, and the person is facing impaired driving charges after being pulled out of the water safely by friends—OPP Central has put out a tweet to the public about snowmobile safety.

Photo graphic via OPP Central on Twitter

OPP said this in a tweet that is being widely shared: “Officers across Central Region have responded to numerous calls regarding snowmobiles that have went through the ice. #PtboOPP officers were called to Chemong Lake where a male drove in to open water and was impaired. Luckily he was not injured.”

OPP said in an earlier tweet that alcohol was a contributing factor in 48% of snowmobile fatalities in the province since 2008…

OPP are now deploying aviation and Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) as a tool for speed enforcement, and search and rescue…

Please spread the word about snowmobile safety and not drinking and driving.

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