The One City Peterborough Program Returns To Downtown

The One City Peterborough clean team is returning to Downtown Peterborough, and the program will feature a team of people with various barriers to employment who will be hired to enhance the downtown streetscape through added cleaning efforts.

In 2019, the DBIA issued a new request for proposals for the downtown Streetscape Maintenance Contract with an additional request that proposals include a social enterprise component. The DBIA re-hired Clint’s Property Maintenance in partnership with One City Peterborough in January. The partnership will see One City Team members working with the Clint’s Property Maintenance team in the busy, warmer months.

Photo courtesy DBIA

The One City Peterborough program aims to help people with barriers to employment to get back into the workforce, including connecting team members with local employment agencies and potential employers.

“We’re excited to have One City Peterborough back,” says Terry Guiel, Executive Director of the Peterborough DBIA. “This partnership with Clint’s Property Maintenance shows what organizations can do when they add social procurement into their contracts. Not only are we going to end up with a cleaner downtown, but we’re going to help who really need it. We’re going to make downtown stronger.”

Photo courtesy DBIA

The One City Peterborough team will be downtown during the day with cleaning carts sweeping sidewalks, picking up litter, removing old posters from lamp posts, safely disposing of needles, and other micro-cleaning tasks.

The One City Peterborough program initially launched in 2018 with both a cleaning team and a pair of outreach workers to reach out to vulnerable people downtown. It has since changed in its configuration a couple times.

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Kawartha Craft Beer Festival Goes Virtual This Year

The 2020 edition of Kawartha Craft Beer Festival will be virtual, and will feature the best of Ontario craft beers, delicious local food, and live entertainment.

In partnership with Electric City Works, the Festival developed an alternate way to bring the event to the community during these uncertain times. Their online store launched June 1st, and allows guest to browse beer and cider options and choose mixed packs that suit their beer style preferences. The mixed packs will feature beer and cider exclusively from our 2020 Beer Fest vendors and include many selections that are available only at the breweries. Local restaurants are providing delicious food options to pair well with any craft beer.  

To top it all off, the virtual event will showcase two live shows that can be streamed from the Festival Facebook page. These shows feature Buck Twenty, a band who were recently a 2020 International Songwriter Competition Finalist and whose trademark sound is bursting with harmonies, catchy hooks, as well as the surplus of positive energy they bring to the stage. Buck Twenty’s show will go live on Friday, June 19th from 7:00-8:30 pm. 

The second performance features Practically Hip, Canada’s No. 1 Tragically Hip Tribute band for over 20 years. Join the band in its celebration of all things Tragically Hip at their live show streaming Saturday, June 20th from 7:00-8:30 pm. 

“We are thrilled that we’re able to continue with the Festival this year”, says Kim Cranfield, Director, Kawartha Craft Beer Festival. “We’ve had incredible support from the community over the years and we’re just so happy to support the local breweries, restaurants and musicians, and hope we can bring together craft beer lovers this Fathers Day Weekend."

Online ordering is now open and orders will be ready for pickup Friday, June 19th from 12:00-5:00 pm and Saturday, June 20th from 12:00-5:00 pm at Electric City Works (200 Charlotte Street, Peterborough). Guests can now also have their orders delivered for a small fee through a partnership with Y Drive Ptbo, to help share the Festival with even more craft beer fans.  

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Local Student Wins $10,000 For Habitat For Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region

The Meaning of Home is a national writing contest in support of Habitat for Humanity Canada that asks students in Grade 4, 5 and 6 to share what home means to them.

More than 10,200 students entered this year’s Meaning of Home contest, and Peterborough student Siena Hopkins-Prest is one of three Grade 6 runners up in the national contest—read her winning entry “What Does Home Mean To Me” here—helping win a $10,000 grant that will go towards Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region.

These much-needed funds will go towards Habitat Peterborough’s innovative new 41-unit affordable condo building to be built at 33 Leahy’s Lane in Peterborough. Construction of the condo building is set to begin in September, and will help local families, singles, couples, and seniors in need of a safe and secure place to call home.

Siena Hopkins-Prest

“Too many families and individuals in our Region are struggling without access to a decent, affordable place to call home,” says Christina Skuce, Director of Philanthropy & Communications with Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region. “Siena’s winning entry and the key support of our local youth means that we can help more local families build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership.”

The Meaning of Home contest would not be possible without the generous support of founding sponsor, Genworth Canada. “I’d like to congratulate each of the contest winners and thank all the students who submitted entries on what home means to them,” says Stuart Levings, President and CEO, Genworth Canada. “Since 2007, the Meaning of Home contest has been empowering youth to become engaged and compassionate members of the community while educating them on the importance of affordable housing. We’re proud to be a founding sponsor of this initiative.”

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Local Philanthropists Leading Two Projects To Improve And Expand City of Peterborough Trail Network

Scott Wood, a local entrepreneur and owner of the Ashburnham Ale House, has initiated a project to provide lighting along the Rotary Greenway Trail between Hunter Street and Douro Street. This trail is unlit, and many people use this section at night. 

“As someone who loves to walk and cycle, I think it’s great to see so many people using the trails,” Wood says. “Lighting improves their safety and extends the time that people feel safe using the trails. I am excited to be leading this project.”

Wood and the Village (East City) BIA are kickstarting the project by contributing about half of the $50,000 cost of the project. They are hoping that others will donate to round out the project needs. Tax receipts are available for donations made to this project, which can be made online on the City of Peterborough website.  

Photo courtesy City of Peterborough

In addition, Haig Kelly and Barron Cowan are funding construction of a new trail through Roper Park in Peterborough’s West End. A formal connection between Roper Drive and Firwood Drive will allow people to get from one neighbourhood to the other more easily.

The trail will also connect to Parkhill Road near the access to the TransCanada Trail, the closest trail for people living in these neighbourhoods. The trail will be paved so that it can be maintained in the winter, knowing that neighbourhood and trail connections are used year-round.

Many local trails have been built and supported by Kelly and Cowan, including the Parkway Trail, Crawford Trail, Rotary Greenway to Lakefield, BEL Rotary Bridgenorth Trail, TransCanada Trail from Lindsay to Peterborough and east to Hastings. The TransCanada Trail Foundation contributed 50% of the cost of the trail east of Peterborough. 

Construction on the new Roper Park Trail is expected to be underway soon, and the Rotary Greenway Trail lighting project will begin once the fundraising is completed.

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat Featuring Kingdon Timber Mart, Grady's Shoes & 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…

Starting in Lakefield in 1927, 94 years in the same location, Kingdon Timber Mart recently expanded to an amazing new building and lumber yard at the corner of the Buckhorn Road and the 8th line, just West of Lakefield. Owners Don and Kevin Dyck and Dave Breukelaar recently opened the new location to the public with all of the proper safety protocols in place.

Kingdon Truss and the Lansdowne Street location continue operations. Congratulations to everyone on the amazing growth of the Kingdon business. 

New Lakefield location

Farmcrest Marketplace and Event Centre is opening their outdoor summer season at the Trentwinds Convention Centre on Lansdowne Street East. Operating from 8 am to 1 pm, The Farmcrest Marketplace Team have been working closely with the Peterborough Health Unit and are operating in a manner that promotes public health and safety during Covid-19. You’ll find vegetables and fruits in season, fresh eggs, goat cheeses and soaps, bedding and vegetable plants, potted flowers, homemade jams, jellies and preserves, perogies, cabbage rolls and much more! Check it out this Saturday: Farmcrest Marketplace at the Trentwinds, Lansdowne Street just East of Ashburnham.

I missed them when they opened, so let’s congratulate Denise and Keith Rye (pictured below) on their one year anniversary as owners of the Jani-King franchise in Peterborough! Jani-King is a recognized leader in commercial building cleaning, providing disinfecting services in addition to general cleaning of commercial and industrial building spaces. Long-time residents of the Peterborough area, Denise and Keith are excited to be growing their business locally. You can reach them at 705-930-7577.

Like so many local businesses, Grady’s Shoes recently pivoted to offer Curbside Pickup at 231 King St., Peterborough (corner of King & Aylmer) and FREE Local Delivery. Go to Gradys.ca for details, but let’s all remember that Grady’s is just one example of hundreds of local businesses who are doing their best to survive, to reopen, and to do so with the safety of you and their employees as their first priority. The story of the resilience of the local Peterborough business community has yet to be written, but meanwhile let’s salute our local businesses. #lovelocalptbo

“Like” StoosNews page on Facebook here!

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The Future Canadian Canoe Museum Build Impacted By Environmental Contamination

The Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) has announced that the results of its own independent investigations confirm that the designated site for the future building of the new Canadian Canoe Museum has been found to contain an industrial solvent, the chemical compound trichloroethylene (TCE). 

The ground water at 353 Hunter Street East, owned by Parks Canada, is believed to have been contaminated by chemicals seeping from an adjacent property. The 83,400 square-foot facility museum was to be located alongside the Peterborough Lift Lock on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

“All of us at the Canoe Museum, our project partners and supporters, are highly concerned and extremely disappointed by the situation,” says Carolyn Hyslop, executive director, The Canadian Canoe Museum, in a media release.

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) this week issued a Provincial Officers Order, under the Environmental Protection Act (EPA), to the owner at an adjacent property directing it to undertake air quality, ground water and additional onsite investigations and to provide associating remediation plans.

“We are working with all parties including the MECP, Parks Canada and our community and funding partners to evaluate the overall impacts of these findings to our operations and our new museum build,” adds Hyslop.

“While the full implications of this environmental interruption are not yet fully known, we are fully committed to building a new world-class museum that will deliver on its vision and serve the needs of its patrons and local community while honouring and preserving this unique cultural asset of national significance.”

A Canadian Canoe Museum representative tells PTBOCanada in an email that they are “evaluating the situation to understand the full impacts to its operations and future new museum build, and further announcements will be made once a direction has been determined.”

[UPDATE: The Canoe Museum representative clarifies to us in a subsequent email that “testing was undertaken as part of the regular environmental assessments required for any build project. The museum relied on experts and consultants to do this testing and to provide the necessary reporting. The results reported today are the outcome of recent independent testing undertaken by the museum confirming the presence of the industrial solvent.”]

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Peterborough Public Library Rolls Out Curbside Pickup Starting June 3rd

The Peterborough Public Library has announced that starting June 3rd, library material will be available for curbside pick up at the Main Library on Aylmer Street.

The library remains closed to the public, but members will be able to begin placing holds on library material as early as Thursday, May 28th. To place a hold by phone, call the library at 705-745-5382 ext. 2340 or you can place holds online through their catalogue, using My Account.

Members will receive a notification from the library when their items are ready to be picked up. The library will not be able to accommodate walk up requests. Items must be placed on hold prior to visiting the library.

Photo courtesy Peterborough Public Library

Curbside Pickup times are as follows:

Wednesdays, 10 am to noon and 2 pm to 4 pm

Thursdays, 1 pm to 3 pm and 5 pm to 7 pm

Saturdays, 10 am to noon and 2 pm to 4 pm

-> During Curbside Pickup, staff will be practicing physical distancing measures, frequent handwashing as well as using personal protective equipment when it is appropriate to do so. 

HOW TO RETURN MATERIAL

Material can be returned at any time to the exterior return slot on the north side of the library building (off Simcoe Street and the Library Commons parking lot). All returned materials will be isolated for the recommended 72 hours before being returned to the library inventory for circulation. 

The library continues to offer digital resources through the Browse tab of the website ptbolibrary.ca where cardholders can access eBooks, eAudiobooks, magazines, streaming video, and eLearning opportunities.

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Peterborough Police Open Satellite Office At Simcoe Street Bus Terminal

The Peterborough Police Service has opened a satellite office located at the Simcoe Street Transit Terminal in downtown Peterborough.

“Our downtown office will increase our visibility in the downtown core, increase security at the bus terminal and also allow for even more engagement opportunities with our community and stakeholders,” says Inspector John Lyons, Operations Division, Peterborough Police Service.

The office will be used primarily by officers working in Area 1, which includes the downtown core. It will also provide more meeting space for the Service when hosting meetings with community partners or stakeholders.

Photo courtesy Peterborough Police Service

A TV display will be located outside the office that will broadcast a wide range of police-related messaging and information, including crime prevention tips, upcoming events and recruiting or volunteer opportunities.

The office will not be staffed 24/7/365, so members of the public are asked to not use the office to report an incident and not attend if they need police assistance. If the public require police assistance or need to report a crime, they are asked to call 9-1-1 in an emergency or in a non-emergency call the Service’s non-emergency line at 705-876-1122.

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PTBOCanada.com Turns 10 Years Old!

We did it! Today (May 27th), our website PTBOCanada.com turns 10 years old!! We were originally born as a Twitter handle in October 2009, and the blog was launched as an extended version of that.

Graphic by StudioPTBO

Shortly thereafter, we launched our Facebook and Instagram pages, and we now have 65,000+ fans combined between our social media platforms.

Graphic by StudioPTBO

Thanks to all our amazing readers for reading and sharing our stories over the years—and sharing your stories with us! Our reach and impact continues to grow thanks to you.

Big thanks also to all our advertisers over the years—we wouldn’t be here without you.

We’re proud to be a locally-owned media company that takes a positive, uplifting approach to the community, and now more than ever we believe hyper-local media is vital for local news and entertainment, city growth and development, and showcasing all the amazing people, organizatons and businesses here.

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