Strong Winds Expected As Severe Thunderstorm Watch In Effect For Peterborough Area
/Environment Canada has issued a Severe Thunderstorm watch for Peterborough City, Lakefield and Southern Peterborough County.
File Photo, 2021.
Peterborough Blogs
Youth Art Mentorship Program Presents 'Being In The World' At The Art Gallery Of Peterborough
/The Art Gallery of Peterborough invites the public to celebrate the opening of Being in the World, works from the Youth Art Mentorship Program on June 25 at 4 p.m.
SPENCER J. HARRISON IN HIS STUDIO. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ART GALLERY OF PETERBOROUGH.
This exhibition is the culmination of the Youth Art Mentorship Program (YAM), which began in Fall 2021 to provide a unique opportunity for youth artists to gain hands-on experience and insights supporting their future careers in the arts.
Selected by a jury of arts professionals, these young artists worked with mentor Spencer J. Harrison to produce an exhibition that speaks to the process of navigating being.
"Working with artists at this stage in their careers is fantastic; they are unencumbered by the art world around them and make honest work interpreting their worlds,” said Harrison. “These young artists each made very different artwork that really reveals how they see and understand their surroundings. I believe they will teach us and change the world."
YAM fostered three artists.
Sama Hojabri, a grade 12 art student enrolled in the Thomas A. Stewart Integrated Arts program for Visual Arts, was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up in a family with an artistic background.
She mainly uses pencil crayons and acrylic paint, but she has also experimented with pen and ink, collage, wood engraving, sculpture, ceramics, screen printing, oil painting, encaustic, digital, charcoal, photography, graphite, and watercolor.
Toula Pappas received her first set of pencil crayons when she was six years old, which led her to her first art class at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.
She has won many poster contests and art competitions including the Top Art Student Award at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School in Grade 10, and she was selected to paint a mural for the school’s GSA club.
Enzo Stimpson has been invested in art from a very young age and in recent years has found passion in photography. He was brought up in an extremely artistic household and always felt drawn to the arts rather than sports or academics.
Stimpson began started making comics at a young age and quickly became fond of charcoals and other mediums but didn't find that any of them 'clicked' until taking a photography class with local artists Jason Wilkins and Daniel Crawford. Stimpson is a grade 12 student in the Integrated Arts Program at TASS for visual arts.
Voice of Business: Streaming the Housing Development Process
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It’s time to streamline the housing development process.
The status quo is not enough when it comes to building more homes in Peterborough.
The latest numbers from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation show Peterborough lagging when it comes to building new homes. In May, there were 20 new homes started and 17 completed in the Peterborough Census Metropolitan Area. Meanwhile, next door in the City of Kawartha Lakes 278 new homes were started and 15 completed. Kingston saw 195 starts and 136 completions. Barrie had 123 starts and 75 finishes.
While these numbers can ebb and flow based on a variety of factors, the overall theme is that we need to do more to create housing in our community.
While the prices of homes seem to have stabilized over the last couple months, supply is still way behind demand.
According to the report, Baby Needs A New Home: Projecting Ontario’s Growing Number of Families and Their Housing Needs, Ontario is going to need 1 million new homes over the next 10 years. The report, which is from the Smart Prosperity Institute and funded by the Ontario Homebuilders’ Association, notes that we’re already 65,000 homes short of what is needed.
Lack of access to housing is creating additional social challenges in our community. It’s also making it difficult to attract and retain talent, which is one of the biggest challenges facing local businesses right now.
According to Statistics Canada, we’re experiencing the highest level of interprovincial migration in more than 30 years, with Ontario taking the biggest hit. Many of the people leaving are younger, first-time home buyers — the very people our labour market is desperately in need of.
There is a lot to debate in terms of types of housing needed and strategies to make it affordable for first-time buyers, but the core issue is we simply need more — more single detached-homes, duplexes, townhouses, low-rises, and mid-rises. We need to infill and create higher-density neighbourhoods but also look to expand into new areas.
One key area Peterborough can address to help increase housing stock is to streamline the planning approval process. The Province is rolling out Bill 109, known as the More Homes for Everyone Act, which includes streamlining and speeding up the municipal planning and approvals process for new developments.
The City of Peterborough received $1.75 million from the Province to help with streamlining the development process. It’s important that the City embrace measures that are in the interest of improving access to housing in our community.
Streamlining the municipal planning process will involve delegating more approval responsibilities to the qualified and competent staff at City Hall. There will still be public notice and consultations, but plans that meet the rules set out by council and the province will get approved more easily and quickly. It will also take some of the politics out of planning, reducing red tape and uncertainty.
Aside from taking direction from the Province, there are some very knowledgeable people and organizations that want to be part of the solution. Peterborough and the Kawarthas Home Builders have been actively working with City staff and council, highlighting the barriers homebuilders face and suggest ways to improve the development process.
Whether it’s Provincial direction through Bill 109 or something more grassroots, our community needs an active and concerted effort to streamline the process for building more homes — and it’s needed ASAP.
Content provided by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.
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Peterborough City Council Endorses Applying To Become A 'Bee City' To Promote Pollinators
/Peterborough City Council endorsed applying to Bee City Canada to designate the City of Peterborough as a Bee City and committing to the standards of the Bee City Canada program at their meeting on Tuesday.
Photo by Luke Best.
Bee City Canada (BCC) was formed in 2015 as a national organization to champion insect pollinators. Bee City Canada seeks to protect pollinators by maintaining and creating pollinator habitats in communities.
A certification program designated for cities is administered by BCC to approve municipalities that commit to expanding pollinator habitat, increasing public education about the benefits and plight of pollinators, and committing to annual celebrations during International Pollinator Week.
Bee City certification requires all municipalities to adhere to the following criteria to achieve approval by BCC:
Creation of a Bee City Pollinator Team with one City staff liaison
Submission of supporting pollinator initiatives that have been completed or ongoing in the community
Submission of an introductory statement describing the importance of Peterborough becoming a Bee City
Signed council resolution nominating the municipality as a Bee City
Ennismore Cares Challenges Community To Get #WheelingForMark As They Near Their $20,000 Goal
/With the support of the community and local fundraising group ‘Ennismore Cares’, over $16,000 of a$20,000 goal has been raised for Mark Mose, a six year old boy battling a rare disease.
Ennismore Cares is a group of community members that have come together with the goal of supporting Mark and the Mose family to ease the financial burden that is associated with Mark's diagnosis of an ultra rare disease.
“It is incredibly heartwarming, yet not surprising, to see that our community has shown up for this beautiful boy and his family.” said the Ennismore Cares 2022 Chair, Marcy D'Alessandro. “The Mose family is incredibly grateful for all their support and are overwhelmed by the response thus far.”
The second phase of the campaign is a cartwheel challenge, #wheelingformark.
A new Go Fund Me has been created so that the Mose Family has funds for future travel and medical costs. The goal for the second phase is $6,000 which will surpass the total fundraising goal of $20,000.
Local community members are challenged to film themselves on social media, complete a cartwheel, donate $25 to the campaign and challenge 3 other community members to do the same.
Over 400 students at Mark’s school, St. Martin Catholic Elementary School in Ennismore, kicked off the challenge on Tuesday, challenging other schools in the region to do the same.
Funds raised will go towards the purchase of a hospital bed for Mark and a lift system to make the Mose home more accessible.
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Special Air Quality Statement In Effect For Peterborough Area
/Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for Peterborough, Lakefield and Southern Peterborough County, on Tuesday.
Photo by Laura Montague.
Due to hot and humid weather conditions high levels of air pollution have developed.
Higher pollution levels are expected to persist this afternoon through this evening.
Individuals may experience symptoms such as increased coughing, throat irritation, headaches or shortness of breath. Children, seniors, and those with cardiovascular or lung disease, such as asthma, are especially at risk.
Peterborough Public Health Issues Warning After What Is Suspected Contaminated Fentanyl Sold
/Peterborough Public Health issued a warning following an increase in suspected drug poisonings, on Tuesday.
File Photo.
Peterborough Public Health detected increases in opioid-related Paramedic Calls for Service and drug-related Emergency Department Visits on Monday.
There were 4 opioid-related Paramedic Calls for Service and 4 drug-related Emergency Department Visits, representing a total of 5 unique events. In the last week (June 14-June 20), there have been 17 drug-related Emergency Department visits, and 17 Paramedic Calls for Service.
This is thought to be the result of a product recently sold as “fentanyl” which may be contaminated with toxic substances of inconsistent or increased potency.
This increase has prompted Peterborough Public Health to issue a public warning in the hopes of preventing further harms in the community.
Peterborough Lakers Release Regular-Season Schedule Amid Several League Changes
/With Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) down to four teams competing for the Mann Cup for the 2022 season, the Peterborough Century 21 Lakers have released their schedule after several pivots.
File photo.
The MSL season had a delayed start due to the dispute over Brampton Excelsiors’s move to Owen Sound.
Additionally, the Oakville Rock has dropped out for this season and will return next year announced Friday.
“Regretfully, the Oakville Rock of Major Series Lacrosse will be taking a one-year sabbatical from competition with the aim of returning for the 2023 MSL season. We wish for a successful 2022 season for the MSL clubs competing this summer,” said Oakville in a Tweet.
As a result of the new four-team schedule, the Lakers have been scheduled for three more games. The Lakers are defending their three consecutive Mann Cup titles against the Cobourg Kodiaks, Brooklin Lacrosse Club and Six Nations Chiefs.
The following is the team’s regular-season schedule:
June 12 @ Cobourg
June 16 vs. Cobourg
June 21 @ Six Nations (newly added)
June 23 vs. Brooklin (newly added)
June 30 vs. Six Nations (newly added)
July 7 vs. Cobourg
July 13 @ Brooklin
July 17 @ Cobourg
July 19 @ Six Nations
July 21 vs. Six Nations
July 27 @ Brooklin
July 28 vs. Brooklin
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Employment Planning and Counselling Peterborough Is Hosting An Open House To Celebrate 40 Years
/Employment Planning & Counselling Peterborough is hosting an Open house on Wednesday to celebrate their 40th anniversary and to help job seekers find employment.
Nine employers will be on site, including SGS, Quaker, AON and more to take resumes and meet with potential employees.
EPC’s virtual reality career exploration system will be there for visitors to try.
The VR system allows visitors to experience up to 30 different careers.
Those visiting will also be able to seek help refining their resume for future job hunts.
“It’s for everyone,” said “Even if you’re not a job seeker, if you’re a small business looking for employees we can help with that. Certainly is there’s anyone looking for work or looking to change careers - they can come here any day but Wednesday there will be a lot going on.”
The Open House will take place at 418 Sheridan St. on Wednesday from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Electric City Culture Council Highlights Resources To Promote Truth And Reconciliation On National Indigenous Peoples Day
/June is National Indigenous History Month, and June 21 is National Indigenous Peoples Day. In hopes to encourage education, Electric City Culture Council (EC3) has compiled a list of resources they invite the public to read, watch and listen to.
Pow Wow in Curve Lake, 2014. File Photo.
