New Foundation Music For Minds to Host Fundraiser at The Venue
/Local musician Maxwell McWilliams is launching his new mental health foundation, Music for Minds, with a live performance at The Venue on Sept. 11.
Photo courtesy of Maxwell McWilliams
Peterborough Blogs
Peterborough Petes Announce 2021 Training Camp Schedule
/The Peterborough Petes 2021 Training Camp will begin with fitness testing on Tuesday, August 31, and will conclude with the annual Maroon & White game on Friday, September 3.
File photo.
This year’s training camp, presented by Pat McAuley Group of Realtors will see over 55 players compete for a spot on the 2021-22 Petes roster.
In addition to returning players, top picks from both the 2020 and 2021 OHL and Under-18 Priority Selections, and numerous free agent invites will be in attendance. Training camp rosters are scheduled to be announced on Friday, August 27.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, training camp will be a private event. Fans will be able to watch a livestream of all scrimmages and games with details to be announced next week.
In adhering to the OHL’s COVID-19 vaccination policy, all players, parents of players, hockey operations and support staff must have received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccination before attending training camp.
The Petes will welcome the Sudbury Wolves and first overall draft pick Quentin Musty for their home opener on Thursday, October 14 at 7:05 p.m.
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Hometown PTBO: Mitchell Stephens On Bringing the Stanley Cup Back to Peterborough
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This week on a special episode of Hometown PTBO, local two-time Stanley Cup Champion Mitchell Stephens brings Lord Stanley back to Peterborough.
He makes history by bringing Lord Stanley down the iconic Lift Lock in a water parade for the first time ever. Come on the boat to see the incredible ride.
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Six Local Small Businesses Awarded $30,000 in Funding
/Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development awarded 6 local entrepreneurs $5000 each in funding to further support sustainable business growth.
Photo courtesy of Peterborough & The Kawarthas Economic Development
This funding was provided by the Government of Ontario’s Starter Company Plus program.
11 businesses successfully completed the five-week online business training course offered by the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre.
The following 6 businesses were awarded funding based on the strength of their business plan and pitch:
• Chris Carvalho: East City Knife Sharpening – knife sharpening for all types of knives with 24-hour turnaround service
• Emily Nigro: Dead End Lures – a family-owned eco-friendly fishing lure company
• Kelsey Watts: Worthy Truth Wellness – mindful movement yoga classes offering a kind space of compassion and non-judgmental awareness
• Lucas Graham: Countdown Creative – a full-service E-Commerce agency that helps small businesses start selling online
• Suzanne Schmidt: Suzanne’s Hot Stuff – hand-crafted, small-batch gluten-free hot sauces, pepper jellies, jerk marinade, mango salsa and more
• Tuncay Alkan & Laura Wilson: MEZE – a vegan deli and café serving traditional Turkish food and drink
“This Starter Company Plus class was a group of enthusiastic entrepreneurs. From start-ups to early-stage businesses, this group is representative of the diverse and thriving small business community within the City and County of Peterborough,” said Entrepreneurship Officer Hillary Manion, who oversees the program for Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development. “These entrepreneurs have all created products and services that fill a need within the community. I look forward to watching their businesses grow and succeed.”
Since its launch in 2017, the Starter Company Plus program through the Business Advisory Centre has assisted over 175 local entrepreneurs and over 140 small businesses.
The Starter Company Plus program is designed to provide business training for entrepreneurs from aspiring to experienced, aged 18 and over in the City and County of Peterborough who are launching a business or expanding an existing business.
The next intake of the Starter Company Plus Program will be open from September 1st – 27th, 2021. Eligibility criteria and upcoming workshop dates can be found here.
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Public Input Sought in Lansdowne Street West Operational Improvement Project
/The City of Peterborough is undertaking an operational and safety improvement project for Lansdowne Street West from the intersection of Spillsbury Drive/Kawartha Heights Boulevard, to the intersection of Clonsilla Avenue.
Photo Courtesy of The City of Peterborough
The project is being undertaken in general accordance with the recommendations set out in the approved Environmental Study Report (ESR) for Lansdowne Street West completed in 2012.
The general goals of the project are to:
Improve traffic flow, vehicle safety, and driveway access by constructing a centre two-way left-turn lane;
Improve the lane arrangements at the Spillsbury Drive/Kawartha Heights Boulevard and Clonsilla Avenue intersections;
Improve pedestrian, cyclist and vehicular safety;
Add / improve pedestrian and cyclist facilities, including off-street multi-use trails on both the north and south sides of the roadway; and,
Improve access to commercial and residential properties within the corridor.
Through the Connect Peterborough website those interested can view the project scope and plans, additional project information and resources, and provide any questions and feedback through the online question engagement tool.
The project team will review and evaluate the feasibility of all feedback received through Connect Peterborough as it considers changes to the project plan.
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New Canadian Canoe Museum to Feature Languages and Voices from Indigenous Communities
/Visitors to the new Canadian Canoe Museum (CCM) will see and hear languages and voices from Indigenous communities the moment they step into the museum.
Kokomis Tchiman, a 26-foot long birchbark canoe built by Marcel Labelle, Métis elder and canoe-builder from the Mattawa Ontario region, sits on display in the Canadian Canoe Museum’s collection storage centre. Photo by Fusionriver Photography.
The new home for the CCM, set to break ground this fall and open in 2023, will feature a 17,000 square foot exhibition gallery that will share the history and enduring relevance of the canoe and kayak.
With a significant gift of $500,000 over five years from TD the Museum will work directly with individuals in eight Indigenous communities. The funding also enables the CCM to hire an emerging Indigenous museum professional.
These actions will help ensure that knowledges, perspectives and voices from Indigenous communities are directly represented in the exhibitions and educational programming.
“The CCM has a deep commitment to collaborative relations with the Indigenous communities of origin across Turtle Island (Canada) for the watercraft in the Museum’s collection,” said curator Jeremy Ward.
Building outwards from relations with Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville and Scugog – local Michi Saagig First Nations on whose territory the CCM resides – the Museum will work with Inuit communities in northern Labrador and Nunavik, Mi’kmaq in the east and the Haida Gwaii Museum in the west.
In each community, the Museum’s team will gather knowledge about canoes and kayaks, their roles in resource harvesting, changes caused by settlement, and the resurgence of Indigenous watercraft-making and use as part of community healing.
“All work supports languages from Indigenous communities, whether by recording vocabulary about canoes in Anishnaabemowin, interviews conducted by fluent Haida speakers with language learners, or translating conversations from Michif or Inuktitut, ensuring Indigenous People can speak their truths in their own language and voice,” said Ward.
The Michi Saagig dialect of Anishnaabemowin will be used throughout the Museum and within its exhibits alongside English and French, and other languages from Indigenous communities will feature in relation to specific watercraft.
Funding for the CCM’s Indigenous Languages Program marks the largest investment made to date by TD Bank Group through TD Ready Commitment program in the Peterborough region.
For more information about the new museum or the CCM’s collaborative relations work with Indigenous communities visit canoemuseum.ca/collaborative-relations.
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Nicole Howden is Recognized as the Petes Frontline Worker of the Week
/Nicole Howden, a personal support worker and medical technician has been named as the winner of this week's Frontline Worker Drop the Puck program.
Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes
Howden has been a PSW and medical technician at Empress Gardens Retirement Residence for the past 14 years and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
She has been through lockdown twice while working at Empress Gardens and always looks out for the best interest and health of residents, sanitizing and cleaning constantly, on top of her daily duties. At home, she was tasked with becoming a part-time teacher for her two kids during the province-wide shutdown.
“Nicole doesn’t get enough thanks for going above and beyond at her job,” says Justin Crapp who nominated Howden. “It takes a special person to do what they do and it’s amazing she stepped up and went over and beyond with her job while having to wear a gown, goggles, a shield, and gloves all day long.”
The Petes are celebrating frontline workers who have gone above and beyond for their community during these unprecedented times.
Each week they recognize and celebrate one local frontline worker for the additional time and effort they have put in during the pandemic to ensure the health, safety, and happiness of those in their community.
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First Responders Roll Up Their Sleeves for Sirens For Life Blood Drive
/The Sirens For Life campaign encourages Police, Fire and Medical services to donate blood during the summer months, which is often when blood is in high demand.
Sirens For Life invites Police Officers, Paramedics, Firefighters and any first responder to donate blood.
Inspector John Lyons has been with the Peterborough Police Department for 35 years, and has been donating blood since then.
“As a first responder I have seen up close and personal the need for blood products arise from the traumatic events that are often seen in policing, EMS or Fire services,” said Lyons.
Lyons says that his experience as a first responder has provided him with knowledge of what donating blood can accomplish and how important it is.
“One thing I can say for sure is donating blood doesn’t hurt you,” Lyons said. “I’ve never donated blood and felt that I’d lost anything.”
Typically, from the May 24 weekend to the August long weekend, first responders are called to more accidents requiring blood, according to Lyons. This can be because of the influx of people outside, on the road and at their cottages, though he notes the need for blood is year round.
“There’s a lot worse things than donating blood, you could be the one in a trauma center needing it, but here we are with the ability to donate it.”
For more information on how you can donate blood click here.
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Summer Food Drive Ends With 8,000 Pounds of Donated Goods
/Peterborough County showed its generosity as over 8,000 pounds of food was donated to Kawartha Food Share (KFS) in a summer campaign announced Tuesday.
(left to right) Murray Jones, Ashlee Aitken and Dave Smith at Kawartha Food Share. KFS distributes 150,000-200,000 pounds of food in a month which feeds over 9,000 individuals. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The drive began in early June where Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith toured around participating grocery stores around the county. Roughly $5,000 in cash donations was given as part of the drive.
Smith was accompanied by KFS general manager Ashlee Aitken and warden of Peterborough County, J. Murray Jones to make the announcement of the food drive’s conclusion at the KFS warehouse.
Over the summer, food drives were held twice at Morello’s Your Independent Grocer, John’s Valu-mart Lakefield Giant Tiger, Buckhorn Foodland and Havelock Foodland.
“This is our second food drive since the COVID-19 pandemic began,” said Smith. “I am always shocked at the generosity of the people in our community, having raised over 8,000 pounds of food for our communities and $5,000 in cash donations.”
“The food drive truly reaches those who need a helping hand,” said Jones.
These drives supported the local food banks in Lakefield, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen, Curve Lake First Nation, Buckhorn, North Kawartha, and the Lovesick Lake Native Women’s Association.
“This initiative has raised over 3000 pounds of food for our local North Kawartha Food Bank which is incredible,” said Carolyn Amyotte, North Kawartha mayor. “Having lost our only grocery store to fire last December, Dave’s efforts to re-stock community food banks like ours is humbling and very much appreciated.”
Canal Pursuit on Track to Run Over 700km While Ending the Stigma Around Mental Health
/The Canal Pursuit is an annual relay race aiming to raise awareness of depression and to end the stigma of mental illness. The run started on Saturday in Port Severn and will continue until Aug. 28, when it will end on Parliament Hill.
Clay Williams holds the Canal Pursuit flag with Julie-Anne Wideman. Wideman describes herself as Canal Pursuits Communications Manager, chauffeur, chef and any other title they may need. Photo by Angela O’Grady.
Runners set off from the Peterborough Lift Lock on Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. to complete a 40 km leg of the over 700 km journey.
A familiar face in the running and mental health scene in Peterborough was gearing up to run on Tuesday. Julie Vallières has been participating in the Canal Pursuit for five years and this year is joined by her daughter Maya Poulin. Jonel Boyko joins Vallières’s team called ‘Running is Fun.‘ This is Boyko’s second year participating.
Team ‘Running is Fun’ poses with Williams. Photo By Angela O’Grady
Canal Pursuit has been raising awareness and fundraising for mental health for seven years.
Organizer Clay Williams created the run in memory of his two older brothers who took their own lives and to honour his wife, daughter, and his sister who live with mood disorders.
Williams ran his first marathon in 2005 and raised money for a different charity each year.
During the summer of 2014, he was beginning to notice the growing media coverage of mental health in Canada.
“I knew my next fundraiser had to be for mental health,” he said. “But the more I learned about Canada’s mental health care system and how fragmented and in its infancy it was the more I realized I needed to stick with it.”
Williams says people have started to say ‘see you next year’ at the end of the run each year so there is no end in sight.
On each leg of the run, Williams packs a Canadian flag into the backpack of a participant. Before he started the run Williams asked participants and supporters to write the name of someone that struggles with depression, anxiety or any mood disorder on his flag. That flag is carried the whole stretch of the run and then displayed at Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
“We sign the flag, then carry it the full distance of the run as a symbol that you don’t have to carry your burdens alone,” he says. “I’ve had the honour of carrying it up Parliament Hill six years in a row and I’ll run the last leg again this year.”
Williams packs the flag into Vallières backpack before she starts her run for the day. Photo by Angela O’Grady.
