Peterborough Police Seeking Man Involved In Stealing a U-Haul Van After a Break and Enter

The Peterborough Police Service is investigating an incident of a break and enter, theft and stolen vehicle at a convenience store on Tuesday morning. 

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.

At roughly 1 a.m. officers were reported a break-and-enter in the Parkhill Road East and Auburn Street area. Officers discovered that someone had entered the store, took a few items and left in a U-Haul vehicle.

The suspect was described to police as:

• Male

• Thin build 

• Unshaven 

• Black jacket

• Light coloured hood

• Dark grey track pants 

• White shoes with a red diamond pattern on the back heels 

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.

Vehicle was described as follows:

• Arizona license plates: AL97185

• 2023

• White 

• Ford 

• Transit 

• Van

• U-Haul decals 

Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough Police at 705-876-1122 x555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.

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Trent Spirit Shines: Support, Service and Spirit Through Trent Day Celebrations April 4

On April 4, the Trent University community – students, staff, faculty and alumni around the world – mark the third-annual Trent Day by encouraging philanthropic support for student needs, reinforcing the University’s founding value of service to the community and celebrating Trent spirit.

photo courtesy of trent university, facebook.

“Trent Day has established a new tradition of showcasing our founding values of service,” says Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice-chancellor of Trent. “Our Trent spirit shines brighter than ever on this day as we collect non-perishables for local food banks, encourage philanthropic support, and volunteer for causes close to our hearts. We hope alumni and supporters across the world join us in celebration.”

The event pays tribute to the April 1963 signing of the Trent University Act. This year’s event marks the 60th anniversary since that special day in Trent history when the University was officially granted the ability to confer degrees.  

How to take part in Trent Day 2023: 

1) Trent Day Support

Join the #TrentDay challenge and become one of 50 new monthly donors who offer reliable philanthropic support to the Trent Community. Gifts to the Trent Fund will respond to new and evolving student needs such as emergency housing and mental health initiatives. For details, visit the Trent Day monthly donors web page.

2) Trent Day Service 

In the tradition of service to the community, Trent alumni will come together in a unified display of service by volunteering with organizations including Kawartha Food Share, Feed the Need in Durham, Cuddles for Cancer, Peterborough Museum and Archives, and Casey House in Toronto. Alumni and friends can also get together, register an independent volunteer activity, and participate in a way that is meaningful to them, and on a day that suits their schedule.

A Trent Day food drive will take place at both the Peterborough and Durham GTA campuses. Staff, faculty, students, alumni and community members are encouraged to bring their non-perishable items to donation booths stationed on both campuses from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4. All donations will support Kawartha Food Share in Peterborough and Feed the Need in Durham in Oshawa.

3) Trent Day Spirit 

Whether at school, in the office, or out in the community, Trent Day is the time to wear your Trent gear and show your school spirit! Alumni and community members are encouraged to show #TrentDay pride on social media by sharing memories or posting photos in Trent gear (tag @TrentAlumni and use #TrentDay hashtag when posting).

“This is great way to celebrate Trent! We hope all members of the Trent community will show their Trent pride, take part in Trent Day activities, and make a gift to assist and empower a student,” says Sherry Booth ‘98, associate vice president, Philanthropy & Alumni Engagement at Trent University.

Learn more about Trent Day and how to participate online.

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Peterborough County Launches Nine Hubs For Greater Access to Social and Health Services in Rural Areas

Peterborough County Hubs Program has launched nine hubs to improve access to social and health services in rural communities in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Community Care office in Havelock on Monday morning.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The project is through a partnership between Peterborough County, Townships, the City of Peterborough and partner agencies.

The hubs are to provide convenient access to social and health services in rural areas since most services are primarily located in Peterborough according to a press release.

The hubs provide free office and meeting space for agencies that deliver services in the County. The Hubs are meant to improve the ability for agencies to deliver services with people and families living in rural and remote locations as stated by the press release. Agency staff can meet with clients in a private office and reduce their burden to find transportation into the City.

"The Peterborough County Hubs program is an essential step towards the equitable delivery of social services for our rural residents," said Peterborough County Warden Bonnie Clark.

The Hub locations are:

• Apsley, at the Community Care office, 126 Burleigh St.

• Douro, at the Douro Public Library, 435 Douro 4th Line

• Keene, at the Otonabee-South Monaghan Township Office, 20 Third St.

• Havelock, at the Community Care office, 17 Smith Dr.

• Lakefield, at the Agilec office, 14 Queen St.

• Millbrook, at the Old Millbrook School,1 Dufferin St.

• Norwood, at the Asphodel-Norwood Township office, 2357 County Rd. 45

• Norwood, at the Norwood Public Library, 2363 County Rd. 45

• Warsaw, at the Douro-Dummer Township office, 894 South St.

Access to services at the hubs is by-appointment. Details on the services available at each hub and on how to access the services are posted online.

“I believe that by working together on the Community Safety and Well-Being Plan as a group, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen will better serve people in our area in so many ways,” said Jim Martin, Havelock-Belmont-Methuen Mayor.  “When it comes to housing, homelessness, transportation and connectivity issues, it can be a real problem for our rural areas to access programs. By offering some of the programs locally in HBM, one aspect it will eliminate is the transportation barriers that many experienced by having to commute to the City.”

Some of the Hubs are able to hold virtual meetings that can be arranged between an agency and the client.

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Steven Girardi Sworn In As Citizens Appointee for Peterborough Police Services Board

Steven Girardi has been sworn in as a Citizens Appointee to the Peterborough Police Services Board their newest member on Monday.

(from elft to right) stuart Betts, Peterborough Police Chief; Steven Girardi and Councillor Gary Baldwin during the swearing in of Girardi. Photo courtesy of Peterborough Police Service.

The announcement was made on March 15 that Girardi would be joining the board.

“Mr. Girardi brings a wealth of valuable experience to the Board, both as a resident in the Peterborough community, as well as many years with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board in roles ranging from teaching to principal to Superintendent of Education,” said Mary ten Doeschate, police board chair. “Steven has been an active volunteer and is currently instructing part-time in the business department at Trent University”

Girardi replaces form city councillor Bob Hall who served since mid-2015.

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GreenUP Naturalized Playscape Welcomes the Public To Ecology Park

GreenUP welcomes the community to visit Peterborough’s first natural playscape on public lands; celebrating with a ribbon cutting event on Friday afternoon.

A naturalized playscape is one way to introduce children and those willing to unleash their playfulness to natural play in an urban landscape. Photo by Lili Paradi.

GreenUP donors and supporters alongside Executive Director Tegan Moss play around to celebrate the opening at GreenUP Ecology Park. (Left to right: Ian Attridge, Mark Zippel, Tegan Moss, Kim Zippel, Sue Sauve.) Photo by Lili Paradi.

The Keresztesi family plays on the new naturalized playscape at Ecology Park. Photo by Lili Paradi.

Tegan Moss, executive director at GreenUP, cuts the ribbon to signify the opening of the Peterborough's first naturalized playscape on public grounds at Ecology Park, to the excitement of the many children who then ran onto use the playscape. Photo by Lili Paradi.

Thanks to a $52,800 grant from the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2021, as well as the support of GreenUP donors, the organization was able to fund the playscape.

The climbing structures added in 2022 were designed by Henry Kortekaas & Associates Inc. and constructed by The Little Building Company.

“I hope that when children play on this natural playscape, they feel a stronger connection to their natural surroundings, and are given the opportunity to learn and engage in unstructured, imaginative play,” said Sean Harris, owner of The Little Building Company. “They can test their limits with the unconventional climbing structure, or interact with the playground perimeter, which features rocks and logs for jumping and balancing. The soft texture and irregularities of the locally sourced white cedar offer a refreshing change from the familiar plastic and metal surfaces. When I look at the playscape, I see not only a fun space for children to play and learn, but also an environmentally responsible play area with low embodied carbon cost and no landfill waste at the end of its lifetime.”

The Naturalized Playscape is the fourth of five capital projects that GreenUP plans to complete in Ecology Park.

GreenUp says they are proud of how this project has re-imagined and restored the Ecology Park Children’s Garden.

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Kawartha Credit Union Grow Assets By 5.7 Per Cent; Hold 71st Annual General Meeting

Kawartha Credit Union has reported that its assets grew by 5.7 per cent which was reported at the 71st Annual General Meeting announced on Friday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Kawartha Credit Union.

The meeting was held virtually on Wednesday as the bank received the Board of Directors annual. The 5.7 per cent ended the year at $2.13 billion, according to Norah McCarthy, president and CEO.

“We earned a net income of $7.5 million, increased our membership and grew our loan book at a pace faster than we have achieved in a number of years,” she said.

The meeting also elected three Directors to Kawartha’s Board, Mary McGee, Colin McKeen and Thomas Gregoriades. They are taking over for Gerard Byrne, Emma Elley and Carl Silvestri who have left the board. The meeting also recognized Carl Silvestri for serving on the Board for 37 years. An online election was conducted from January 27 to February 10 that sought out the new members.

“We thank our members for their trust in us and for the privilege of helping them achieve their financial goals,” said McCarthy. “We are also grateful to our employees for their commitment to our members’ financial success and well-being.”

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Peterborough Police Seeking Woman Involved In Theft From Convenience Store

Peterborough Police Service is seeking a woman who allegedly stole items from a convenience store in the George Street and Townsend Street area reported on Monday.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.

The incident occurred around 8 p.m. on Saturday as police were called to the store. Upon arrival, officers learned a woman had left the store without paying for a number of items. 

The suspect was described as:

• Dark brown hair 

• 25 to 35 years old 

• Between 5'5" to 5'9"

• Bruising on face 

• Wearing:

  • purple peacoat 

  • gray sweater 

  • skinny black pants 

  • dark brown/black shoes 

Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough Police at 705-876-1122 x555 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.

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Encouraging and Supporting Young Artists at the Heart of The Peterborough Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Award

The Peterborough Folk Festival is getting ready for their 2023 festival and the Emerging Artists program submissions are now open to the community.

photo courtesy of the peterborough folk festival.

This years’ Peterborough Folk Festival kicks off at Market Hall on Aug. 18 followed by two full days of live music, children's activities, food and artisan vendors on Aug. 19 and 20 on the hillside at Nicholls Oval Park (next to the Otonabee River.)

Now in its 34th year, Peterborough Folk Festival is among Canada’s longest-running, free-admission music festivals.

Each year the Peterborough Folk Festival welcomes more than 12,000 people to Peterborough and the surrounding region, making it the second-largest cultural event of the summer season.

Striving for gender parity, diversity and inclusivity in the performance line-up, there were 28 artists including 11 local performers in the 2022 festival lineup.

Submissions for 2023 Emerging Artist will be accepted until the end of May, and the winner of the award will be announced later in June. Interested candidates can find more information online here.

Successful candidates receive showcase performance spots at Peterborough Folk Festival to be held this Aug. 18-20, as well as an opportunity to attend the Folk Music Ontario Conference in October where they have the chance to perform and interact with artistic directors, agents, funders and other musicians.

Nathan Truax was awarded the Peterborough Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist Award for 2022.

“When they told me I was being honoured as Peterborough Folk Festival’s Emerging Artist for 2022, I was blown away,” says Truax. “When you’re coming into your own as an artist it’s so important to know your community is behind you. Being the recipient of this award solidified everything I’ve been working towards for the past several years. It was like getting a comforting, warm hug from all of Peterborough.”

The 27-year-old artist joins a long list of celebrated Peterborough-area musicians who have received the Emerging Artist Award from PFF, starting with Millbrook’s Serena Ryder in 2001.

Recognizing young and emerging local talent, the annual award’s recipient is selected by a committee who assess applicants on skill, dedication and artistic merit. Applicants for the Emerging Artist Award may be solo artists, groups or bands and must live in Peterborough and the Kawarthas, including Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations. They must be under the age of 30.

“Receiving this kind of support is definitely a boost for an artist,” says Truax, who released his eight-song solo country music album Pickin’ the Label in March 2022.

Truax maintains performing at Cameron’s Pavilion Stage during Peterborough Folk Festival 2022 alongside local artists Benj Rowland and Kayla Mohamed, continues to be a career highlight. “Playing music with good friends, out in the open, surrounded by a community that supports you and you know is rooting for you – well, there’s nothing better,” he says.

For more information on how to get involved as an artist, sponsor, volunteer or vendor, at the Peterborough Folk Festival, visit the website.

To help ensure PFF remains a free festival for the City, County and region surrounding Peterborough, email sponsor@peterboroughfolkfest.com and find out how to make a contribution to the event.

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Sign-a-fied, Dave Donaldson Contracting, Innovation Cluster and Carveth's Marina

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…

Sign-a-fied, Peterborough’s newest sign company has opened at 774 Rye St., at the site of the former Signarama.

Peterborough business owner and entrepreneur Steve Daynes acquired Signarama and has retained its core staff of designers, production workers and service experts. Sign-a-fied is local, indigenous-owned and managed and is not part of a franchise. Sign-a-fied is a full-service sign company offering custom digital signage design, from design to fabrication, servicing, and installation. Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Dave Donaldson Contracting has added some key new pieces of equipment, including a mini swing hoe and a brush head.

The swing hoe can get into some tight spaces, while the brush head is like a giant weed whacker, designed to clear minor brush on driveways, cottage roads, fire roads, widening laneways for fire and rescue and service vehicles or for reclaiming agricultural lands. For details and a quote, call Dave Donaldson in Warsaw at 705-652-7366.

The Innovation Cluster Peterborough and the Kawarthas recently announced the winners of the Cubs' Lair 2023 entrepreneurial competition.

The $3,000 first-place prize went to Richa Sharma for her ground-breaking business, TastEATools, an edible cutlery manufacturing business. The runner-up was Sustainabite, a business app that collects surplus food from local grocery stores and fast-food chains. Third place went to Titan SmartLock, a highly secure smart lock solution controlled either manually or by your smartphone.

Randy Hauth at Carveth’s Marina introduced the Boaters Assistance Association last year, which works like a roadside assistance program.

If you hit a rock or run out of gas or just need a ride, you can call for help. Hauth has added a new twist this year, a GPS tracking system so that when you need help, help knows exactly where you are. It tracks ignition status, battery alerts and a one-touch SOS signal.

“Like” StoosNews page on Facebook here!

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Peterborough U16 AAA Petes Eliminated From OHL Cup After Semifinal Loss

The journey for the OHL Cup ended for the Peterborough U16 AAA Petes as they suffered a 4-2 loss to the Vaughan Kings in the semifinals of the playoffs at the Scotiabank Pond Rink in Toronto on Saturday night.

The Petes had a perfect penalty kill during round-robin play, sharing the honour with the Barrie Colts. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough U16 AAA Petes.

The Petes had qualified for the playoffs on tiebreakers with a 2-2 record of the Lindros Division to advance.

Their first opponent was a quarterfinal matchup against the Toronto Nationals who won their division with a 3-1 record.

Toronto drew first blood as Matthew Sarabando scored just over five minutes in for an early 1-0 lead. Peterborough countered quickly as Kaiden Harmon tied it up just 30 seconds after the first goal. The Petes were not done yet as Josh Avery tacked on another for Peterborough just under 90 seconds later for a 2-1 lead heading into the second.

Peterborough put Toronto’s goaltender James Meridith under siege. They peppered him with 14 shots in the period, the most of either team but the score remained the same going into the final frame.

Play was back and forth for almost 12 minutes until Kieran Riley tied the game for Toronto as the period’s only goal.

Overtime ran short as Harmon played the hero for Peterborough, scoring the game-winning goal with an assist from Lucas Moore to advance to the semifinals in a 3-2 win.

Wil McFadden got things started early for Peterborough against Vaughan, scoring 1:55 for a 1-0 lead. Things went downhill for the Petes as they allowed three consecutive goals from Carter Kostuch, Mason Kim and Vasily Serov respectively for a 3-1 deficit after the first period.

Peterborough kept themselves in the game, scoring the second stanza’s only goal from Cohen Bidgood to make it 3-2 into the third.

The Petes did all they could to tie the game, firing 13 shots to Vaughan’s four. Unfortunately, the Kings’s goaltender Aleksei Medvedev stood tall when it counted and stopped them all. Vaughan scored an empty-netter to punch their ticket to the OHL Cup championship as Peterborough was eliminated by a score of 4-2.

The 4-2-0 Vaughan Kings and 6-0-0 Toronto Jr. Canadiens will compete for the OHL Cup title on Monday. These two teams played each other in their first game of the tournament with the Canadiens winning in a 5-1 convincing fashion on Wednesday morning.

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