StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Junior Achievement, The Eyrie, Grady's and Floor Coverings International

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

Congratulations to this year’s inductees into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame. The formal ceremony will take place May 26 at the Loomex Group Hangar at the Peterborough Airport.

The 2022 inductees are; Eric and Marlaine Bennett from Bennett’s Furniture, Ken Blow and John and Glenda Lavery from KADEX Aero Supply, local restauranteur Ray Kapoor, Mary LaRocque from Marlin Travel, Lawyer Bill Lockington, Property Appraiser Peter McLean, Grocers Dave and Kimberley Morello, Peter Norris, formerly Holiday Ford, Vanessa Oake Hogan from Century 21, Michael Santos from Mercedes-Benz Peterborough and Ian Scates from Central Smith. 

For details on the May 26th event visit ja-neo.org

Congratulations to Tony and Kelli Grady who will be moving their entire store from Lansdowne Place Mall to their new location at 231 King Street (corner of King and Aylmer, formerly Angela Mark’s).

As of Feb. 1, they will be open seven days a week and will have all their popular footwear brands under one roof including Blundstone, Birkenstock, Finn Comfort, New Balance and more. The last day at Lansdowne Place will be Jan. 30 and all of their full-time staff will be moving with them. For all the details visit their website at gradys.ca.

The husband and wife team of Matthew and Kristin Morgan have an interesting new business called The Eyrie.

It is a Birds of Prey service-based company offering demonstrations, pest control and eventually a rehabilitation centre. Once we can all gather again Matthew and Kristin can do live, free-flight demonstrations with their team of trained birds at schools, local libraries, company and family events, campgrounds, fairs, festivals and more.

Matthew and Kristin are both highly trained and while they work towards their eventual goal of having a facility open to the public and a rehabilitation center, they would love to connect with you to talk about possible educational outreach programs. For details visit theeyrie.ca or find them on social media.

Floor Coverings International offers a mobile in-home, service that brings their selection of name-brand carpets, hardwoods, tile, stone, vinyl, cork and more right into your home.

The Mobile Flooring Showroom allows you to see how different flooring options will look and perform in your home. The process includes moving any furniture, removal of old flooring, new subfloor, installation and trim and clean up. Visit ptbo.floorcoveringsinternational.com

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"Coach Cal" Opens Hockey Night in Canada With Pre-Game Speech

Seven-year-old Callan “Coach Cal” Perks gets the spotlight for Hockey Night in Canada as he starred in the opening video on Saturday Night.

The show opened with a clip of Perks with his first viral speech then encouraging kids to remain strong during the temporary closure of hockey.

He previewed all the matchups of all the Canadian teams playing that night including the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Calgary Flames and his favourite team, the Edmonton Oilers.

Perks also gave a motivating speech for the hosts of Hockey Night in Canada in Ron MacLean, Kelly Hrudey, Jennifer Botterill, David Amber and Elliotte Friedman.

Perks is a student at Lakefield District Public School. His favourite NHL team is the Edmonton Oilers with Connor McDavid as his favourite player. Photo courtesy of Lara Perks.

Perks first became viral from a pre-game speech with the Peterborough Petes on Nov. 28.

The second-grader has made appearances on other popular shows such as ABC’s Good Morning America, The Ellen Degeneres Show and Fox Los Angeles.

Perks wants to be an NHL player when he gets older. After his playing career, he wants to be a hockey coach or general manager.

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Community Care Peterborough Highlights Difference From Trillium Grant

A virtual meeting of Peterborough notables discussed how a $99,600 Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) grant obtained in late 2020 has made a difference for Community Care Peterborough on Friday.

Photo courtesy of Community Care Peterborough.

Among the discussion were Community Care members, MPP Dave Smith, MPP Laurie Scott, MPP David Piccini and Elizabeth Finnie-Hunt, OTF volunteer.

The Resilient Communities Fund was created by OTF to help the non-profit sector to rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

“Community Care Peterborough delivers essential and critical services to our most vulnerable members in the community,” said Smith. “Their team of volunteers, donors and staff have supported our residents throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This capital investment will strengthen Community Care, enabling them to grow and further their good work in our community.”

Over the last year, Community Care Peterborough — which involves several communities — used the grant to help fund four key elements in its recovery plan: a new strategic plan; to reinvigorate its fundraising methods; build awareness of the agency and to expand its virtual care capabilities.

“Our Government believes in the importance of supporting community based organizations that improve the health and wellbeing of the people we serve,” said Piccini. “These unprecedented times have highlighted the importance of having a strong health care system and we are incredibly grateful for the work Community Care Peterborough does to support better patient-centred care and the social determinants of health."

Funds from the year-long grant were helped with staffing and administrative costs, guidance for developing new strategies, purchasing new donor data management software and technical equipment to expand online capabilities and communications, as well as health and safety supplies for rural offices.

“Community Care is a staple in Peterborough County and this funding will help community members access new and improved virtual services that are so important to residents,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

Over the course of the pandemic, Community Care Peterborough has seen an increased need for the essential services and wasn’t able to host in-person programs or its usual fundraising activities. It saw the closure of its thrift stores for extended period of times.

“We adapted and extended programs to help even more residents of the City and County of Peterborough through these difficult times,” said Danielle Belair, Community Care Peterborough executive director. “Also as part of our funding, we were able to increase our staff capacity by hiring Donor Relations Assistant, Laura Strongitharm, to help us transition into our new software.”

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Extended Hours for One Roof Community Centre On Sunday and Monday

One Roof Community Centre will be open for extended hours of service on Sunday and Monday due to temperatures anticipated to drop below -15C for the Peterborough area.

One Roof Community Centre began extended hours on select days this year on Jan. 2. Photo courtesy of One Roof Community Centre.

They are open from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 3:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with the to-go meal provided between 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. The following day will be open from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

The Centre is closed to drop-in service from noon to 3:00 p.m. for the meal preparation and pickup period to protect the health and safety of the public, volunteers and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emergency shelters are open and available to people experiencing homelessness who require emergency overnight shelter:

• YES Shelter for Youth and Families, 705-748-3851, 196 Brock St.

• Brock Mission men’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 120 Murray St.

• Cameron House women’s shelter, 705-748-4766, 739 Chemong Rd.

• Overflow Shelter at 210 Wolfe St., overnight phone 705-761-1875

Emergency After Hours Services related to the emergency shelter is available through Social Services by calling 705-926-0096. Please visit the Social Services website for information regarding the After Hours program.

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Local Retired Teacher With Cancer Ready To Take the Next Step

After being diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer and 30 years of teaching, local teacher Andrew Astrom is going from the classroom to the real estate world.

Astrom has played high school football with NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights insider and Peterborough native Gary Lawless. Photo courtesy of Andrew Astrom.

Astrom discovered his cancer on May 4 and had surgery on Aug. 5 where his thyroid and several lymph nodes were removed. He has lost most of his voice, has side neck pain and suffers nerve pain when he eats.

He retired from Holy Cross Secondary school in late December after the fall semester of last year following a 20-year tenure. He made his decision due to his cancer and influence from his recently retired colleague Andre Metivier.

Astrom retired from Holy Cross taking with him a lock, pictures of his sons and a Rubik’s cube. Photo courtesy of Andrew Astrom.

He spent his first five years teaching in Lindsay then worked at Immaculate Conception School in Peterborough for another five. The rest of his tenure was spent at Holy Cross teaching a variety of subjects but with a focus on social sciences.

"There were some tough days in education but most of it has been great,” reflected Astrom. “The kids you meet, the colleagues you have, just the added experiences of sports and all of those things. It's been an amazing run.

Astrom with his wife Tammie have three sons together with two of them as collegiate quarterbacks. Photo courtesy of Andrew Astrom.

Astrom is following in his wife’s footsteps as a real estate agent with Bowes & Cocks. He is close to having full certification as the next step of his life. He says he refuses to let his cancer hold him down from being a functional member of society.

“I've just said it's time to get going here,” remarked Astrom. “I'm not a good victim, I'm not a good patient so I had to find a way for me to get back to being useful.”

Astrom is scheduled for a follow-up surgery at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto later this year.

Some of his hobbies include woodworking and playing guitar. He has been the offensive coordinator for the Holy Cross football team during the school’s second season in 2003.

After 30 years of teaching, Astrom says he will miss all the students he has met over the years.

“I will always love being in front of kids,” he said. “There’s a lot of kids that have connected with my style and my personality and a lot who didn’t. I don’t take it personally but I will miss all the kids.”

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Local Photographer Recreates A Favourite Peterborough Pastime With Lego People

Peterborough photographer Mark Craighead has become a hit on social media with his action figure portraits.

Photo by Mark L. Craighead Photography.

“I stole my dads old film camera when I was in highschool - with his blessing ofcourse - I guess photography has been in my blood forever,” said Craighead.

What started off as creating a Christmas gift for a friend quickly turned into over 20 years of photographing action figures and displaying them at local art shows.

“With the action figures I try to create a false perspective to make them look like portraits of real people,” he said. “When I made that first portrait for my friend so long ago it just sparked something for me, I love it.”

On Wednesday Craighead took to his social media to post about his experience in making these creations.

In the post he mentioned that he was planning on applying to a local art festival, but ultimately decided not to.

‘I was about half way through it, and I sat back and thought, 'do I really want to do this?'. Did I really want to jump through all the hoops again, and tell them, in so many words or less, why I, as an artist, deserve their funding, and therefore their acceptance and approval?’ he wrote in the post. '‘ It feels like a judgement on your worth as an artist, and as an artist who creates by pouring your whole self into the work, it feels, by extension, like a judgement on your worth as a person.’

After he decided to give up on the application process he posted a picture of his latest creation to his Facebook page and went to bed.

The next day his image had been shared to the East City Ptbo Facebook page, as well on PTBOCanada’s social platforms.

“It was really refreshing. Going through the process of applying for shows is very taxing,” he said. “When you’re trying to justify yourself and how your art is art, that it’s deserving of funding or some ones studio space, it’s really challenging and it can be exhausting, especially during these times.”

Craighead noted that had he completely given up and not posted that image, he would not have been able to see the many positive reactions from the community. While he doesn’t create art to generate ‘Likes’ on social media, being accepted and celebrated by Peterborough

Craigheads action figure shots and other photography can be viewed on his website. He has prints and other products available for sale on Redbubble.com, he is also currently doing a Valentines day promotion, valid until Feb. 1. Orders can be made through his website.

Mark L. Craighead Photography also does family portraits, headshots, event photography and product shoots.

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Peterborough Tool Library To Move To Habitat For Humanity

The Peterborough Tool Library will soon be under the management of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, moving from its current home at the Endeavour Centre.

File Photo.

The Tool Library was started in May 2006 by a group of volunteers and has been housed and run by The Endeavour Centre since it was founded. The Tool Library is a community resource that allows members to borrow unlimited tools all year round for a low annual membership fee.

The decision to find a new home for the Tool Library was made after the Endeavour Centre, a sustainable building school, needed to reorganize after two years of navigating the pandemic. Finding a new home where the Tool Library and its vibrant hub of volunteers could continue to grow and expand was important to the Endeavour team.

“We are really excited to see the Tool Library move under the Habitat umbrella. We couldn’t think of a more suitable organization to run the library and continue the mission of growing the sharing economy while providing affordable access to tools. There could really not be a better fit,” said Jen Feigin, Director of Operations at Endeavour and founding member of the Tool Library.

The Tool Library will be closing for the month of February and will reopen at its new location inside the Peterborough North ReStore located at 300 Milroy Dr in Peterborough on March 1. New expanded hours for the Tool Library’s services will be announced in February.

“The community will now be able to go shop for their gently used building materials, furniture, appliances, and home décor items, and borrow the tools they need while they are at it. Both shopping second hand and participating in a community tool library is a great way to lower your carbon footprint,” said Nikki-Ann Murray, the Tool Library’s Volunteer Coordinator.

Tool Library Memberships can be purchased in early march.

For more information on the Habitat ReStore visit www.habitatpkr.ca/restores and for more information on the Tool Library please visit www.ptbotoollibrary.ca.

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Snow Plow Crews Still Working Around The Clock In Response To Monday's Storm

Snow clearing efforts continue and are progressing well following the significant snow storm in southern Ontario on Jan. 16-17, that dropped about 34 cm of snow on Peterborough.

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

City snow clearing crews have been working in shifts 24 hours a day since the night of Jan. 16. With the progress made on snow clearing, effective 7 p.m. on Thursday the City lifted the Significant Weather Event designation it put in place on Monday.

The majority of streets, sidewalks, and bus stops were clear by Thursday afternoon; crews continue to revisit some locations that require further clean-up.

“Thank you to residents for your patience and understanding as our community digs out of this big snowfall. A special thank you to everyone who helped a neighbour or community member after the storm. We are lucky to have exemplary Public Works crews that have been out there 24/7 to keep our community going,” Mayor Diane Therrien said. “Some other municipalities had to close facilities and services for several days due to this storm. While work is still happening, we’ve been able to minimize disruption while we either enjoy or curse the huge amount of snow.”

In addition to revisiting some locations of sidewalks and bus stops that need additional clean-up, the snow clearing work continued overnight on Thursday into Friday, with the focus on restoring roadway lane widths where snow banks have narrowed the roadways, removing snow on bridges to restore sidewalk widths, and continued maintenance on other locations such as dead-end streets and cul-de-sacs.

There are other locations, like the downtown, that require additional snow removal and work will continue until those locations are addressed.

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2022 SPARK Photo Festival Puts Call Out For Photographers

The 2022 SPARK Photo Festival has put a call out to photographers wishing to apply to participate.

Photo courtesy of SPARK Photo Festival.

The festival will run Apr. 1 - 30.

Registration for Open Call Exhibits and entries for the Themed Juried Exhibit “Monochrome” close in just a few weeks.

Photographers of any skill level and any style are welcome to create an exhibit. Exhibit as an individual, small group (2 to 5 people), a group (6 or more) or as a community group. Special registration rates are available for students and community groups.

Those interested are encouraged to find their own venue, or get in touch with SPARK for assistance. Any location that’s accessible to the public in Peterborough city and county, in City of Kawartha Lakes and in Northumberland County can be a SPARK venue. Participants prepare their images and their exhibit. First-time exhibitors, students, seasoned professionals and anyone in between are invited to learn more and register online by Feb. 7.

SPARK provides guidance and promotional material to participants.

For the audience-favourite Themed Juried Exhibit all submissions will be judged by a jury of three photography professionals. The top 25 images will be exhibited in a prominent Peterborough location throughout the month of April. The top images will be awarded cash prizes. Each photographer is eligible to enter up to 3 images and the competition is open to any Ontario resident. Entries are accepted until Feb. 1. All details and online entry are on the SPARK website.

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Peterborough Public Health Provides Guidance to Reduce COVID-19 Spread Schools to Families

Dr. Thomas Piggott, Peterborough Public Health’s (PPH) medical officer of health has outlined the steps he strongly recommends local school families take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in schools in a letter released Thursday.

Dr. Thomas Piggott (pictured) became Peterborough Public Health’s medical officer of health on Dec. 1. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Public Health.

“This is a difficult time to be a parent and/or caregiver, and the return to in-person learning is a tough decision to make,” said Dr. Piggott. “I want to assure families that PPH, in partnership with district school boards, is working diligently to ensure protective measures are in place for the prevention of COVID-19 transmission in schools.”

The full letter can be read here.

In his letter, Dr. Piggott described the recommendations that were developed for Peterborough County and City schools in consultation with the Provincial Government’s Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health. They focused on the following key areas: 

• Close monitoring of school absenteeism rates, and the results of rapid-antigen tests including those submitted to PPH through this online survey (https://chkmkt.com/RAT21). If indicators demonstrate the spread of COVID-19 exceeds set thresholds, unvaccinated students will be recommended for dismissal for five days to self-isolate. 

• Submitting rapid-antigen test results (positive or negative) to PPH’s confidential online survey at https://chkmkt.com/RAT21

• Getting vaccinated with at least two doses of COVID-19 vaccine for students aged 5 - 17 years. Second doses are available 56 days (eight weeks) after the first dose. Appointments are available through the provincial booking system https://covid-19.ontario.ca/book-vaccine/ or by calling for assistance at 1- 833-943-3900.

At all local schools, wearing masks, maintaining physical distancing, completing the daily screening tool and not attending school if students or a household member is symptomatic are key public health measures.

Dr. Piggott also encourages parents and caregivers to watch the webinar entitled “ABCs of Back to In-person Learning” he gave last Thursday answering their frequently asked questions about the reopening of schools to in-person learning.

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