Peterborough Blogs
Brock Mission Shelter Redevelopment Set To Begin After $5.2 Million From Federal Government
/On Thursday (July 11th), MP Maryam Monsef announced a $5.2 million financial commitment from the federal government for the redevelopment of the Brock Mission—a non-profit organization formed in 1987 to provide shelter for homeless adult males.
“Addressing housing and homelessness in our community will solve many of the other challenges we face,” says Monsef. "My team and I have been working with several local groups to support building housing locally. I’m happy to announce that the Brock Mission is receiving a significant boost to build 30 new shelter beds and 15 new affordable housing units for homeless and at-risk men.”
Main entrance of Brock Misson, rendering courtesy Lett Architects
The redevelopment of the Brock Mission—which is located on Murray Street—is expected to begin as early as this month and be completed in 2020.
"I am happy to see this investment in emergency shelter for Peterborough," says City of Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien. "We are facing a serious housing crisis and all levels of government must come together to make change. This is an important step in the right direction."
View of Brock Misson dining hall, rendering courtesy Lett Architects
Lett Architects is designing it (see renderings in this post) and says the three-storey building has been designed around a courtyard with access to natural daylight into every room and corridor. Aside from the shelter beds and housing units, the building also includes a dining hall which will provide three meals a day all year.
“We are very grateful for the support that MP Maryam Monsef and her office have given our redevelopment project,” says Bill McNabb, Executive Director of the Brock Mission. “The investment from the National Housing Co-Investment Fund has enabled us to finally move forward on a much needed purpose-built facility that offers appropriate Housing First shelter services and supportive housing to some of our most vulnerable homeless citizens.”
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StudioPTBO Releases YPQ T-Shirts In Collaboration With Ricart Promotions & Recognition
/As a way to celebrate the growth of Peterborough Airport and the community—in this, Canada’s fast growing city—Peterborough-based marketing studio StudioPTBO has released a YPQ tee (Peterborough’s airport code) in partnership with Ricart Promotions & Recognition.
The tees are out for a limited time during this trial run in Men's/Unisex, Women's and Youth, and are available by ordering online here through Ricart.
”I’m stoked that our studio has released these in partnership with Ricart,” says Neil Morton, Co-Founder of StudioPTBO and PTBOCanada. “This is meant to be worn as a celebration of this community and the airport—Team Peterborough spirit—and I’m excited and grateful to see many people ordering them already.”
“The YPQ tees were designed by my partner Nora Mickee at StudioPTBO, and I’ve been working closely with the community-minded Matt D'Agostini from Ricart to make this a reality,” adds Morton. “I would love to see these tees fly off the shelves so to speak.”
“We’re excited to be collaborating with our partners at StudioPTBO to generate awareness and hype surrounding our city’s airport, celebrating its 50th year,” says Matt D’Agostini from Ricart. “Our collective goal is to get more and more people around town and across the province to identify Peterborough as a popular destination spot for travelers while promoting growth for our city.”
Morton hopes to see the #YPQ hashtag used more on social media over time as another way to promote the city here and beyond to tourists.
You can order the tees here.
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The 17th Annual Rotary Ribfest Starts July 12th At Millennium Park
/The 17th Annual Rotary Ribfest takes place in Peterborough from July 12th-14th at Millennium Park.
“Ribfest is three days of live music, delicious food, and cold drinks,” says Terry “Mr. Downtown” Guiel, Executive Director of the Downtown Business Improvement Area. “The ribbers are always a big draw and our local restaurants do a great job of showcasing all kinds of food from around the world, including vegetarian options. It’s a fun, family-friendly event.”
Photo courtesy DBIA
Admission to Rotary Ribfest is free, and the festival will take place the following hours:
• Friday, July 12th: 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• Saturday, July 13th: 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
• Sunday, July 14th: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Photo courtesy DBIA
There will be plenty of musical entertainment each day as always, and delicious restaurants participating include…
• Dr. J’s BBQ & Brews
• BrickHouse Craft Burger Grill
• Island Cream Caribbean Cuisine
• Caribbean Sizzle
• McThirsty’s Pint
• La Mesita
• Curry Mantra
Ribber’s Row includes the following..
• Fat Boys
• Boss Hogs BBQ
• Jack the Ribber
• Smokehouse Bandits
• Ontario Corn Roasters
• Summer Fun Funnel Cake
Hungry yet? Don’t miss this.
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Anonymous Donor Pledges $50,000 To Peterborough Humane Society's Our Pet Project Campaign
/A Toronto-based donor who wishes to remain anonymous has pledged $50,000 to “Our Pet Project”, Peterborough Humane Society’s campaign to build a first-of-its-kind new Animal Care Centre in the community.
“When we heard that the Peterborough Humane Society is going to be building a new state-of-the-art facility, we jumped at the opportunity to help out,” the couple who made the donation say. “Like everyone on the planet, we love our pets! Our wish is that all pets should receive nothing but the best care and a loving home, and this centre will be a massive step toward that goal. We look forward to seeing the Peterborough Animal Centre becoming a reality."
Rendering of future home of Peterborough Humane Society
“This $50,000 gift gets us one step closer to building our greatly needed new Centre,” says Shawn Morey, Executive Director at the Peterborough Humane Society. “We, however, continue to need the support of individuals and our community to reach our goal and make this vision to lead the way in animal welfare, a reality. I encourage people to join us and make this their Pet Project.”
In addition to this gift, the Humane Society has received generous contributions from local families and businesses. There has also been a significant investment of $1.68 million from the City of Peterborough, and $2 million from the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society. This takes its Our Pet Project campaign well over the halfway mark in reaching its $10 million fundraising goal.
Designed by Peterborough-based Lett Architects (see renderings in this post), the new Peterborough Animal Care Centre will sit on 20 acres of land on Technology Drive and will be a Canadian first, setting a new standard and raising the bar for animal shelters across the country.
Rendering of future home of Peterborough Humane Society
The purpose-built facility will house the Humane Society’s new Adoption and Education Centre, which is designed with animals’ well-being in mind—providing more space, natural light and less stress. The space will be open and inviting, serving as a community hub and allowing for expansion of the Humane Society’s outreach, education and advocacy programs.
The Peterborough Animal Care Centre will also be home to Canada’s first Provincial Dog Rehab Centre (in partnership with the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society), and the region’s only High-Volume Spay/Neuter Clinic. The Humane Society anticipates that more than 5,000 animals will benefit from this service each year, reducing the number of unwanted pets in the province, supporting other local rescue groups and helping animals become available for adoption sooner.
[Related: How the New Peterborough Humane Society Will Be Gamechanger for Peterborough; 5 Things You May Not Know About Peterborough Humane Society]
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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Dr. Ange Wellman, Shaw Computer Systems & More!
/PTBOCanada is delighted to to be running StooNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…
Dr. Ange Wellman is a local Chiropractor who recently set up shop in the Core Chiropractic Offices at 315 King Street. Dr. Wellman uses gentle chiropractic adjustments for men, women and children utilizing state-of-the-art, scanning technology to determine how well you’re adapting to the stresses in your life, if your “gas pedal is always on”, and if you are burning yourself out physiologically. The adjustment, typically using a torque release tool, focuses on releasing tension in the spine and balancing the nervous systems. Check out the informative website at drangewellman.com.
Dr. Ange Wellman
Shaw Computer Systems recently relocated, underwent a rebrand, introduced a new website, and introduced some new services! Their new location is 236 King Street in the AON City Centre Building, and the website includes the ability to register and pay for online training, a new blog, customer portal and more. New services include a help desk service, remote login software, cloud workstation and server backup, document sharing, a password manager, monitoring and managed IT services, security, training and lots more.
Congratulations to Donna Floyd of Cottage Toys, who recently celebrated 30 years in business. Serious about fun! Check out cottagetoys.ca for info about their locations.
A cool story from GardaWorld Peterborough. One of their security guards, Mike Post, is a strong supporter of the local chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association, and with the help of GardaWorld he managed to make a donation to the recent Ride Don’t Hide event of more than $10,000! Mike was awarded the “Champion of Mental Health Award”, and GardaWorld has announced that they will continue to support Mike and his continuing efforts.
”Like” StoosNews page on Facebook here!
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A Tent City Is Emerging In Peterborough At Victoria Park
/With the closure of the Warming Room until they can find a new home, a Tent City is emerging at Victoria Park where the homeless are living.
There have a been a couple tents there since May, but now about 20 tents have popped up in recent days since the Warming Room—where the homeless could stay overnight—announced its lease has expired with Murray Street Baptist Church, which could no longer house them until the Fall as they are going through renovations.
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
“City staff and community partners have been working hard to help those affected by the closure of the Warming Room,” says Mayor Therrien in a media release. “As of July 1st, there are 20 beds available to those are living rough.”
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
Mayor Therrien adds that outreach works are actively reaching out to make connections between people staying in tents and available housing or shelter accommodations—a process that takes time.
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
In the meantime, with the city in a heat wave right now, there is growing concern for the health and welfare for these people living in tents.
As such, a free water station has been set up for the remainder of the week in Mayor Therrien’s parking space at City Hall parking lot near Victoria Park. There is also a portable washroom located in the park, and a supply tent where people can drop off donations.
The water station set up at City Hall parking lot (photo courtesy City of Peterborough)
As well, many local organizations such as PARN are stepping up to help out.
As are concerned individuals in the community, such as Laurie English, who dropped off a bunch of supplies such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, body wash, disposable razors, juice boxes and individually wrapped crackers to the supply tent at Victoria Park on Thursday (July 4th).
”My donation doesn’t scratch the surface of the need, but when you are blessed as we are it’s the right thing to do,” English tells PTBOCanada. Indeed, every donation and kind gesture adds up to making a great impact.”
Photo courtesy Niki Allday
If you are donating to the supply tent, people also require baby wipes, bug spray, snacks, toiletries, garbage and recyling bags, tampons/pads, sleeping bags/tarps, T-shirts (men’s L/XL) and five people need tents.
Anyone who needs emergency shelter is asked to visit Peterborough Social Services at 178 Charlotte St. or contact Social Services by phone at 705.748.8830 between 8:15 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, or at 705.927.0096 overnight, on weekends and on holidays.
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Norwood Pride Prepares To Celebrate Its 3rd Annual LGBTQ Pride Event
/In 2016, a small group of friends and residents of Norwood jokingly talked about having a “small-town Pride in the country”. By the summer of 2017, they had successfully organized a social event that welcomed more than 250 people in its inaugural year.
The volunteers of Norwood Pride are now getting ready for their upcoming 3rd Annual Pride Event on Sunday, July 14th. The community will come together and celebrate diversity, inclusivity and equality within the Township of Asphodel-Norwood, located 30 minutes east of Peterborough.
Photo courtesy Norwood Pride
“We never expected it to be so warmly received so quickly,” says volunteer Tony Tavares of how the event has caught on. “We started out just planning an informal gathering of friends for an afternoon social, and then we saw people join us from all across the township—and beyond—to celebrate with us. It was really amazing.”
With the support of the community behind them, the group of local volunteers hosted a second event in 2018 and saw continued success. The addition of a live band and BBQ sponsored by the local RBC Royal Bank branch drew even more attention in 2018.
“Part of why we’re doing this is to increase awareness for young people that might feel isolated and alone in a small community,” adds Tavares. “But one of the things that was really encouraging to us was people who had grown up gay or lesbian in the area and are now 60 or 70 years old who approached us, visibly emotional some of them, and said ‘I never thought we would see this happen here, we’re so glad you’re doing this.’”
Photo courtesy Norwood Pride
