Peterborough Blogs
“To postpone an entire season—a first in our thirty-three year history—is disheartening to say the least,” says Brenda O’Brien, Peterborough Musicfest board chair.
“Our promise to the community that has nurtured this festival at every step on its journey toward becoming the biggest festival of its kind in Canada is to firmly fix our sights on recovery,” Musicfest says in the release.
How The Housing Partnership Between Trent & PRHC Is Welcome Relief For Nurses
/Trent University was the first university in Ontario to have opened on-campus residence spaces to frontline workers, and it has had a great impact on many.
That includes Anna Harris, a registered nurse (RN) at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) who was assigned as one of the charge nurses on the designated COVID-19 inpatient unit in April. As a mother to three young children, it is her biggest fear to bring the virus home to her family.
Harris was looking into options that would allow her to isolate from her family, and when the partnership between PRHC and Trent University making residence rooms available for healthcare workers during the pandemic was announced, she says the news came as “a huge relief.” She was one of the first PRHC employees to move into Gzowski College.
Photo of Anna Harris at Gzowski College courtesy PRHC
“Making the decision to leave my house and move into Trent was not easy,” says Harris. “It’s an uncertain time. Everyone has their own decision to make, but with so many unknowns, I felt like moving into the university residence was the best decision for me and my family. The decision to self-isolate became the one thing I could control during this time.”
“I want to thank PRHC and Trent for making the transition to living away from home as easy as it could be,” adds Harris. “All the little things—the signage to guide us to the right parking lot, the visible security guards and amazing housekeeping staff, the welcome sign and even supplying laundry detergent for us—have made a big difference.”
Photo courtesy Trent University
Nicole Glover is an RN in the Emergency Department at PRHC, and an alumna from the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing. She has been taking advantage of the housing partnership to support herself and her family in a different way.
With two young kids at home, working night shifts can be difficult. Rather than staying at Trent full-time, Nicole has been using the residence as a place to rest when she’s working night shifts.
Photo of Nicole Glover courtesy PRHC
“The constant changes that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought at work, as well as to my personal life, have absolutely taken a physical, mental and emotional toll,” says Nicole. “Knowing that I can get a sound sleep at Trent when I’m working night shifts, and that there is a place for me to go if anything changes and I feel like my kids or family are at risk, is reassuring.”
As an alumna, this isn’t the first time that Nicole has found support as part of the Trent community. “I graduated from the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing in 2011 and had a great experience with the program,” she says. “The nursing faculty members were amazing and very approachable, and the program offered very applicable clinical experience. I was fortunate enough to get a job at PRHC right out of school with a temporary licence and was hired on full-time once I wrote my licensing exam.”
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BE Catering Is Shutting Down Storefront Location, Read The Heartfelt Letter From Its Owner
/UPDATE: To be clear, they’re only losing their storefront location but are still a catering company with the ability to serve all.
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The popular BE Catering storefront location (located at Charlotte and Park) has become a casualty of the economic crisis we’re in. Read the heartfelt letter posted to their Facebook page below from its owner Bonnie Kubica….
“This is a letter to let all of you know what’s been happening over on our corner of Charlotte and Park Streets. For the past six weeks, we have made so many soups, casseroles, lasagnes and curries, with the help of our wonderful cooks and staff. Thank you so much for your support of us and our local community, it is greatly, greatly appreciated! We are sad to announce that we will be leaving our facilities at the end of this month.
It warms my heart to think of everyone who has come through our doors, people we have gotten to know so well, some of you we got to see on a daily basis. We will remember fondly all of our in house bistro dinners, parties with live bands, Christmas get togethers and the celebrations with our food and drinks.
Bonnie Kubica at far left with team (picture via BE Catering Facebook page)
We will remember fondly all of the coffees (Americanos!) served, the muffins and scones, the BLT’s, ALT’s, soups, focaccia, and salads, lunches, breakfasts......
Our lease is up at the end of the month and we were unable to come to an agreement with the landlord, after 8 months of negotiations. They originally wanted to raise our rent by 87%. We tried to come to an interim agreement when the pandemic hit, but to no avail. We made the decision to store our equipment and tools, and will be moving out of our beloved kitchens at the end of this month.
This was a very difficult decision to make in a very turbulent and trying time for everyone. I have had a professional kitchen since BE Catering began in 1998, almost 22 years. I will miss my sunny mornings and afternoons looking out my big kitchen window, chatting with fellow cooks, making food. We did a lot of good, hard work. I know this decision for us is the right one.
Picture via BE Catering Facebook page
The core component of our business is catering for large gatherings of people, namely, weddings, parties and conferences. Since large events are not allowed to happen for the foreseeable future, this means that over 90% of our business has disappeared for 2020. If you have booked a party with us, or a wedding for this year, and hope to reschedule if we are allowed to congregate at a later date, I do have ability to work out of professional kitchens, so don’t fret.
We’re not going anywhere, just going dormant for a little while, while we take some time and space to figure out what catering, our true profession, will look like in the future. We hope that we can have smaller get togethers to celebrate being together, as we all so desperately crave at the moment. And we will be there to cook and serve wonderful handmade local food for you, with the same heart and honesty we have always strove to provide.
Picture via BE Catering Facebook page
Finally, I want to thank Simon, my partner in life and with the business, who has been by my side to support my decision, whatever that may be. I also want to thank my amazing staff who have helped us get through the past few months, we couldn’t have done this without you. And to all of my past cooks and dishwashers and servers and managers who have come and gone, but still remain friends forever, we have an amazing industry that we live and work for. It will come back, it will be different, but I do truly believe that we will all be better for it.
We wish you well.
Yours Truly,
Bonnie”
Read the comments pouring in on their Facebook page here.
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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat Featuring Canoe Co. Café, The Log Cabin Store & Snack Bar, & 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…
The Log Cabin Store and Snack Bar has new owners. The iconic store, better known to many as Mrs Reid’s store, is located on County Road 6 at the far end of Stoney Lake. The new owners are the husband and wife team of Kevin Huckell and Toni Emerson. They are busy with a significant renovation of the property and hope to be up and running with the gas pumps soon, followed by the convenience store as well as a coffee bar and kitchen with some home cooked meals. The store was started by Bud Bedore, and now Marylin Reid is enjoying a well-earned rest after running the store for decades.
Euphoria Wellness Spa has just completed the rebranding of their Starbucks and Gelato Café. Called Canoe Co. Café, the new name pays tribute to the fact that the building was the former home of the Peterborough Canoe Company, founded in 1892—manufacturing wooden canoes from the corner of King and Water Streets until 1961. The space has been renovated, and while they can’t welcome you inside just yet, they are getting ready to open a walk-up/take-out window soon. Owner Simone Dobson wanted to thank Amy Leclair Graphic Design for the new logo and Commercial Press for the new sign.
Local company OptiSolve is in the news again. OptiSolve developed a proprietary surface imaging technology that can produce high quality images that reveal where pathogens remain before and after cleaning. Think about the germs on your keyboard, door handles, your television remote control, your cellphone… This ground-breaking technology was recently written up in a four-page article in the Canadian Journal of Infection Control, considered the most credible journal on the topic. For details, visit optisolve.net.
The Staffing Connection and Level A Professional Group are joining forces to honor local frontline workers. Beginning May 11th, you can visit their websites and Facebook pages to nominate and tell a brief story about frontline workers who have displayed extraordinary bravery, response and compassion during the Covid-19 crisis. Each week for four consecutive weeks, six frontline workers will each receive a $100 gift card redeemable at any downtown Peterborough business. At the end of the four weeks, one local hero will be awarded $1500 in VISA gift cards. Check it out at thestaffingconnection.ca or levela.net, or find them on Facebook.
”Like” StoosNews page on Facebook here!
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Ontario Parks Opens For Day-Use On Monday
/Premier Doug Ford has announced that Ontario Parks will be opening over 520 parks and conservations for day-use on Monday, May 11th and that operational parks will open on Friday.
This means that parks such as Serpent Mounds will be open for walking, hiking, and birdwatching, while parks such as Emily Provincial Park and Mark S. Burnham will open on May 15th. The opening for camping reservations will be announced at a later date.
Day-use will also be free until May 31st.
—by Evan Holt, PTBOCanada.com
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Enforcement Of The Two-Hour Limit For On-Street Parking Resumes
/To support commercial activity in the downtown with stores re-opening for curbside pickup, enforcement of the two-hour limit for on-street parking will resume on Monday, May 11th in downtown Peterborough.
The two-hour limit for on-street parking helps ensure the spaces are used for short-term parking, which increases the availability of parking for customers. Enforcement of regulations for other parking infractions, such as no stopping zones, no parking areas and commercial loading spaces will also continue to support downtown businesses and promote safety.
While enforcement activities are resuming, free parking for on-street parking and surface lots in the central area will continue for now as a temporary measure to reduce the potential for spread of COVID-19.
Convenient access to parking is important to restaurants offering take-out and retailers reopening for curbside pickup following the Province of Ontario Orders and associated guidelines.
"The DBIA appreciates the steps taken by the City of Peterborough to provide free parking downtown during this crisis,” says Terry Guiel, Executive Director of Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area. “We believe it important to keep spaces open for our businesses so that they can do quick pick-up and deliveries which are essential for them right now.”
Peterborough Public Health recommends following these guidelines for safe curb-side pickups:
• Only send one person and stay in the car if possible
• Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer before and after the pickup
• Maintain a 2-meter distance from others
• Wear a face covering, required if you have any COVID-19 symptoms
• Avoid idling your car
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How To Watch Out For Ticks In The Area This Spring
/Now that Spring has arrived and you actually have the time to start working in the gardens, be extra vigilant this year to check yourself and family (pets included!) for ticks.
These little insects hide in your leaf litter to survive the winter, and if you’re bitten by one, there is a chance they can pass on a wide variety of diseases, the most prevalent being Lyme disease (check out this great article from Peterborough Health to learn more).
CHECK OUT THIS HANDY APP
There is a handy app called eTick (developed here in Canada) to help you identify and report ticks. You can also use it to see if there have been any sightings in your area. Looking at the green dots on the map pictured above, sadly you can see ticks have already been reported in almost every part of Peterborough this year alone!
Stay safe, and make sure you wear long clothing, use insect repellent containing DEET, check yourself over when you get back inside (be sure to look closely, they are pretty tiny!) and if you find one… remove it properly.
—by Evan Holt, PTBOCanada.com
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Construction Is Now Resuming At Scotts Mills Dam In Peterborough
/Parks Canada’s construction projects are considered part of the Agency’s critical services to the public. As such, work has continued on them over the past several weeks, including Scotts Mills Dam.
Construction of the first two sluices and completion of the secant retaining wall on the eastern shoreline of the Scotts Mills Dam is set to resume as early as this week. Work will not include pile driving at this time.
The Scotts Mills Dam at Lock 19 is centrally located and as such remains an important part of the Peterborough community by way of public space, flood mitigation, environmental protection and through navigation. As construction progresses, curiosity builds for what the finished dam will look like.
Below is a rendering of what it will look like…
THE SCOPE OF PROJECT
-> The Scotts Mills Dam at Lock 19 is in the process of being fully replaced with a new dam that respects the historic look of the site (see rendering above) and has a life expectancy of more than 80 years.
-> The new dam will optimize hydraulic capacity, increase the safety of water management operations, and be constructed in a way that allows improved access for maintenance activities.
-> In addition, the project will be the first step in creating a more public friendly lock site, with pedestrian access onto the dam itself once restored.
WHAT’S NEXT
· Demolition and excavation are almost complete with construction of the pier, base slab and stilling basin to follow.
· Pile driving is projected to resume in June, and additional construction noise can be expected.
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Paramedic Takeout Program: DBIA and Y Drive PTBO Collaborate To Feed Isolating Paramedics
/Contactless food delivery from downtown restaurants is now available to Peterborough City-County Paramedics isolating from their friends and families at the Holiday Inn Waterfront, thanks to a new Paramedic Takeout Program by the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area and Y-Drive PTBO.
“The Downtown Business Improvement Area is delighted to be working with the Peterborough City-County Paramedics to feed our front-line workers,” says Terry Guiel, Executive Director of the DBIA. “We have a bounty of amazing restaurants for our paramedics to choose from while in isolation. Food is the most basic form of comfort and we are so incredibly pleased to be spreading a little joy to our isolating paramedics at this time.”
“Along with the DBIA’s Paramedic Takeout Program administrative support, we now have a beautifully designed takeout menu with a plethora of options made specifically for our paramedics,” adds Peterborough County Warden, J. Murray Jones. “Our Paramedics do so much for us. It is so great to provide this for them, and at the same time contribute to local businesses.”
Photo courtesy DBIA
