Explore Downtown With The New "The Boro" $1,000 Gift Card Giveaway

PTBOCanada wants the community to explore Downtown Peterborough with “The Boro” gift cards and we are doing a giveaway to help promote all our wonderful local businesses.

PTBOCanada purchased $1000 in “The Boro” gift cards to support our community and is teaming up with the Downtown Business Improvement Association (DBIA) to give away 10 gift cards worth $100 each starting this Wednesday (March 3rd)! It can be used at over 100 different stores in the downtown area to 10 lucky winners!

Every day, we will post a picture of a downtown business on PTBOCanada Instagram and Facebook pages, so make sure to follow those pages if you’re not. Fans can guess the location in the comments where the picture was taken. One randomly chosen fan will win a $100 gift card daily.

The old paper gift certificate (above) has been replaced with a plastic gift card (below) since December of 2020. The new method allows businesses to be paid immediately compared to leaving a difficult paper trail to track down sales. Photo by David Tuan Bui, PTBOCanada

The old paper gift certificate has been replaced with a new gift card that is easier to use and fits better in your wallet or purse. The card was introduced in early December of 2020. It has sold more than $80,000 that has circulated back into Downtown Peterborough. This was a major jump in sales compared to the annual $30,000 that the paper gift cards made according to Hillary Flood, DBIA Communications Manager.

“Through this program, we're seeing every day that it hasn't slowed down since the holidays,” she said. “People are wanting to support small businesses and shop local and they're seeing this gift card as a gift of possibility.”

More than 100 stores and services can be used with the gift card. Over 30 stores accept it through online shopping. Photo courtesy of the DBIA.

You can purchase the cards at the DBIA on 313 Water St, Peterborough, just across from ServiceOntario.

“Especially in these times, people really do feel good about supporting downtown businesses,” said Flood. “This is an easy, low-barrier way to facilitate that.”

Hillary Flood, DBIA communications manager (left) and Kirtus Evoy, PTBOCanada owner (right), celebrate their partnership to promote Downtown Peterborough. Photo by David Tuan Bui, PTBOCanada

The DBIA office is open from Monday to Friday with business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You can contact them at (705) 748-4774. There is a minimum purchase of $25. The cards are 100% recyclable but not reloadable (yet).

“People can take that card and explore downtown in a whole new way,” said Flood. “We’re excited to see how this transforms the way people shop downtown.”

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Chef Basel, Rova Patio Store, Shop the Lake & More!

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StooNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition…

Chef Basel Cuisine is now open at 2641 Television Road in Peterborough. Chef Basel is at the grill for the early bird breakfast at 7:00 a.m.

Open until 9:00 p.m. Monday to Sunday, the menu includes appetizers, sandwiches, wraps, pub fare, burgers, pizza, pasta, a kid’s menu and family pack meals. 

Available for dine in, take out or delivery through Skip the Dishes, Uber Eats and Door Dash. Look for Chef Basel Cuisine on Facebook.

Jason and Niki Pulchinski recently purchased Rova Patio Store and building at 1525 Chemong Road. They are in the process of moving their business At the Lake Distributing to the new location and will be open March 15th.

At the Lake Distributing is a wholesale distributor of water-related recreational products. The new store will provide a beautiful new showroom for the products formerly carried by Rova Patio as well as some great new product lines. Denise and Danielle will continue to provide great design and product advice.

Meanwhile, Ron and Annelies Valbracht will continue to service the Kawartha's with retractable Awnings and Shade products. You can contact them at info@rovapatio.com or 705-761-9604. You can visit their website for more information.

Congratulations to Rova for 38 great years and to Jason and Niki Pulchinski on a great move for their business.

Cleantech Commons at Trent University and Bioenterprise in Guelph, Ontario, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. That will make Bioenterprise’s specialized agriculture, food expertise, national networks and mentorship framework available to Cleantech Commons clients.

Both organizations will also benefit from being able to access provincial and national funding opportunities through joint proposals that support innovation.

Cleantech Commons' new 85-acre research park will be home to start-ups and early-stage companies focused on clean, green, low-carbon and sustainable technologies.

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Local Man Devoted to People With Special Needs

It takes a special man to bring joy to countless special needs people and Peterborough’s Craig Meredith has been up to the task.

Meredith has been a support worker for Community Living Trent Highlands for the last decade. He named his group he supports, “Meredith’s Mean Machines”, and he describes it as the greatest job in the world.

“I have had the opportunity to watch my clients grow into independent individuals on a day-to-day basis,” said Meredith. “I have connected with great family members of individuals I have supported. Just watching them laugh and smile is a great day’s work.”

“Meredith’s Mean Machines” get together every Friday with activities such as mini-golf, nature walks or group decisions. Photo by David Tuan Bui, PTBOCanada

The group competed for the “Meredith Cup” in a friendly bowling competition at Lakeview Bowl in Peterborough. David McLeod won the award after “judge’s decision” from Meredith.

“The support I have received from the community through text, phone calls and emails have been overwhelming,” said Meredith. “I will continue to support everyone to the best of my knowledge and abilities.”

David McLeod after winning the “Meredith Cup”. Craig Meredith started the “Meredith Mean Machines” since the Covid-19 pandemic began restricting the country. Photo by David Tuan Bui, PTBOCanada

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Local Boy And Grandpa Hit The Trails After Fundraiser Goal Met

Hudson Wells, 10, and his grandfather Doug Fudge towed along the snowmobile trails in Lake St. Peter after a GoFundMe of $5,000 afforded them a sled on Friday afternoon.

Wells suffered from encephalitis since he was 13 months old that caused his physical disabilities. The sled would cater to his limitations while Fudge towed him with a snowmobile.

Brian Denena of Orillia, Ont. started the fundraiser on Feb. 11 where the goal was met in less than 24 hours. The community’s generosity was overwhelming for Fudge and his family.

“Just the overwhelming support was unbelievable,” said Fudge. “It was a dream come true. I never would have for it without the help of everyone.”

Hudson Wells excited to ride his sled for the first time. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Wells

Both of them rode the trails for an hour. The experience for Fudge was surreal and said it was mutual for Wells.

“He was over the moon,” said Fudge. “I don’t know how to explain it. It was so emotional.”

Hudson Wells (left) was limited to short rides in the driveway before obtaining his new sled. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Wells

The sled was purchased from Kijiji in Ottawa. Fudge drove there last weekend to pick up the sled. Fudge originally intended to purchase a used sled and fix it up himself.

”I had people offering to build me one (sled),” said Fudge. “I might have had 20 sleds of all types and sizes donated to me if I wanted to. In my wildest dreams, I never thought that this would happen.”

Hudson Wells typically gets to visit his grandfather two to three times a week. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Wells

Fudge will add wheels to the sled so Wells can enjoy it during the warmer months. The grandfather owns 220 acres of property and will use an ATV to tow the sled.

"Nothing compares to the sound of you child’s laughter and their happiness,” said Stephanie Wells, Hudson’s mother.

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Ontario Increases Mental Health Funding To Support Fleming College & Trent University Students

The Ontario government is providing a total of $695,894 to help increase access to mental health and addiction services for students at Fleming College and Trent University.

The funding will strengthen community partnerships, increase the number of mental health workers and programs, and immediately expand access for students to the provincial mental health and addictions system during COVID-19.

“There is no denying the added stresses the COVID-19 pandemic has presented to many post-secondary students in Peterborough-Kawartha, and throughout the Province,” says Peterborough-Kawartha MPP, Dave Smith.

“Having to pivot to learning almost exclusively online, and the difficulties that can arise when learning from home has been a challenge for student’s mental well-being,” Smith adds. “Despite this, I have been continuously impressed by both Trent University and Fleming College’s supports available to students. That is why I am thrilled to see this additional investment coming from the Province, so we can continue to address student’s well-being and ultimately help them achieve their goals.”

This funding is part of the province’s total investment of $26.25 million for mental health supports for postsecondary students in 2020-21. It will support more services for students on-campus and virtually and can also be used to address the needs of vulnerable and diverse groups, such as Indigenous students, LGBTQ students and students with disabilities. 

Providing mental health supports for postsecondary students is part of Ontario’s Roadmap to Wellness, the government’s plan to build a connected and comprehensive mental health and addiction system that ensures children, youth, and adults in Ontario receive appropriate services where and when they need them.

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Local Woman Leaves $741,000 Toward Peterborough's New Animal Care Centre

A Peterborough-area woman, Cynthia (Cyndy) Richards, has left a generous estate gift of $741,000 to the Peterborough Humane Society. The donation will be used towards Our Pet Project, the building campaign for the Humane Society’s new Animal Care Centre.

Richards grew up in Peterborough. She spent most of her life working as an X-ray technician, working briefly in Toronto before leaving for Edmonton, Alberta where she lived for most of her career. Living primarily in the country, Richards owned both horses and cats. In 2000, she returned to her family home in Peterborough, bringing both her two horses and cats with her. All of her cats were rescues.

Photo of Cynthia (Cyndy) Richards courtesy Peterborough Humane Society

“Her whole life she had a deep love for animals,” says Pat de Villiers, a long-time friend and Richards’ power of attorney.

Richards was an avid volunteer at the Peterborough Humane Society. "She would come into the shelter, take her coat off, say hi to everyone before starting her day and then she would spend all her time with the cats,” says PHS Animal Care employee, Susan Lashmar, who has worked at the shelter since 2002. “She’d snuggle them, help groom them and loved every minute of it. She would come in as often as she could".

Rendering of new Animal Care Centre courtesy Peterborough Humane Society

Richards’ legacy and love for animals will live on as the Centre’s Cat Adoption Program, which will be named the Cynthia Richards Cat Adoption Program in her memory. Her name will also be memorialized with signage in the Cat Adoption areas and on the Centre’s Donor Wall in the Adoption and Education Centre’s lobby. Thanks to Richards’ support, the new Centre will provide each cat with more space and natural light.

The Peterborough Humane Society still needs support to cross the finish line and build its new Centre. Community members interested in learning more on how to leave a gift in their will or making a donation to help build the new Animal Care Centre are encouraged to contact Alex Tindale, Campaign Manager, at a.tindale@ptbohs.com.

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4th Line Theatre Announces Beau Dixon’s Sizzlin’ Series

As part of their ongoing virtual programming, Nexicom Presents 4th Line Theatre @ Home, 4th Line Theatre has announced the release of Beau Dixon’s Sizzlin’ Series. This video series will focus on regional BIPOC residents who are leading fascinating and inspiring lives.

“We are excited to present Beau's series and discover people living in our region and the contributions they are making,” says Managing Artistic Director Kim Blackwell. “We are committed to a more embedded strategy of inclusivity, equity and diversity here at 4th Line.”

Each episode in the series will feature an interview with a local BIPOC resident who will reflect on their occupation, career and daily life. The theatre company will release new episodes weekly on their YouTube channel starting Monday, March 1st.

Beau Dixon

“This series provides the opportunity to discover and research untold stories found within racially diverse communities,” says Sizzlin’ Series host Beau Dixon. “Join me in celebrating extraordinary citizens of the Kawarthas region who reflect our racial and cultural diversity.”

This series is sponsored by Nexicom, who have always been an advocate of the importance of community connectivity. Thanks to their generous support, all videos in the series can be accessed by the public free-of-charge. 

The four episodes will be released on 4th Line Theatre’s YouTube channel for viewing beginning Monday, March 1st at 12 p.m. New episodes will be released every Monday until March 22nd. 

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First Case Of COVID-19 Variant of Concern Reported In Peterborough Region

Peterborough Public Health has confirmed in a media release that a local resident has tested positive for COVID-19 variant of concern (VOC) B.1.1.7, also known as the variant first detected in the United Kingdom.

“With this confirmation of a variant of concern, following public health measures has never been more important as VOCs have a higher rate of transmissibility than the dominant COVID-19 strain,” says Dr. Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health. “Now it’s a race against time to try and immunize our most vulnerable populations while containing the spread of further cases. This is where we need everyone’s help.”

The case is a male in his 20s who works from home and is self-isolating. Contact tracing is underway, and it appears his exposure was from a roommate who was identified as a high-risk contact of another VOC case from another region. This roommate has since left the Peterborough area. There is one other high-risk contact connected to this household who tested negative, and this individual will be retested again on Day 10 post-exposure.

Even though the Peterborough region is designed Yellow according to the provincial COVID-19 framework, Dr. Salvaterra urged local residents to avoid all non-essential travel, don’t invite visitors into your home, stay two metres distant from others, wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, and get tested if you have even one symptom.

“The good news is that the vaccines in use are effective against the known variant strains,” adds Dr. Salvaterra. “But we are still a long way away from having all our vulnerable populations protected. We are working very hard to ramp up our local immunization roll out as supplies allow, so we are counting on the community’s support so we can avoid the exponential spread of the virus as seen in other areas of the world.”

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PRHC Receives Very First Shipment Of 5,850 Doses Of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine

Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) has announced they have received their first shipment of 5,850 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

The hospital’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic will ramp up this week, administering the vaccine to long-term care home employees and essential caregivers, community paramedics and highest-risk hospital healthcare workers—all of whom have been designated as immediate-priority populations by the Province of Ontario.

Photo courtesy PRHC

Between Wednesday, February 24th and Sunday, February 28th, we expect to be able to offer up to 2,500 vaccination appointments for these populations.

“Healthcare workers and first responders in our community have shown, and continue to show, an incredible amount of resilience and teamwork throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and we are thrilled to have this vaccine available for them,” says Dr. Lynn Mikula, EVP, Chief of Staff and Chief Medical Executive at PRHC.

"It's exciting to see our local vaccination rollout program gain traction with increasing supply so we can immunize high-priority groups," says Dr. Rosana Salvaterra, Medical Officer of Health. "This will help us start to build a ring of protection around our most vulnerable residents – a critical goal as variants of concern arrive in our community."

Staffed by hospital RNs and RPNs as well as physicians from PRHC and the Peterborough community, once up and running at full capacity, PRHC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic will offer up to 700 vaccination appointments daily, seven (7) days a week, based on ongoing supply and demand.

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring PTBOCanada (Hey, That's Us) & 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…

Congratulations to Kirtus Evoy on his recent purchase of PTBOCanada. The local social media company was started by Neil Morton and Evan Holt ten years ago, and has built up a large following and a reputation for their hyper-local stories from the Peterborough community. A Fleming Grad, Kirtus Evoy brings 15 years’ experience in marketing and media and is creating PtboCanada Media Inc. a company that will not only include the PtboCanada platform, but offer digital marketing, Google ad words, social media marketing and account management, geo targeting and SEO. Kirtus welcomes Trent Grad David Bui as the new Editor and writer. Go to ptbocanada.com for more info.

Past owner Neil Morton (at left) with new owner Kirtus Evoy

Just like our cars have a “check engine” light to let us know there might be a problem, our bodies give us signals that we might be heading towards health problems caused by an excess of stress and overwhelm. Registered Psychotherapist and educator Diane Wolf has created a four-week course to help you identify your ‘check engine’ signals and teach you how to build your unique toolbox to manage them and achieve optimum mental health. For more information, go to learn.dianewolf.com.

Irene White is the VP Sales for Axper People Counting and Tracking Solutions, and recently moved to the Millbrook area. Axper offers people counter systems, store, shopping mall, and building software and analytics, real time building occupancy and queue management systems. Whether it’s managing social distancing, or optimizing the daily traffic in your stores, check out axper.com or call Irene White at 1-866-658-2360, ext 242.

Congratulations to Monika Carmichael on celebrating her 30th anniversary with Trent Valley Honda, who are in their 46th year themselves. And congratulations to MicroAge Peterborough – Whitby on once again being named among the top 50 best managed IT companies in Canada.

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