Trent Lakes Man Arrested and Charged With Child Luring

A 27-year-old Trent Lakes man was arrested and charged in an online investigation with child luring.

The Peterborough Police is a member of the Provincial Strategy to protect children from Sexual Abuse and Exploitation on the internet. This project has been made possible by a grant from the Ministry of the Solicitor General. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

On Tuesday, the Peterborough Police Service Criminal Investigations Unit executed a search warrant at a Trent Lakes residence and took the suspect into custody.

He was arrested and charged with:

• Luring a Person Under 16 years of age by means of Telecommunication

• Make Sexually Explicit Material available to a Person Under 16 years of age

The accused was held in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

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YMCA and Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre Partner To Create Provide Recreational Opportunities For Urban Indigenous Youth

After a Community Development Grant from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities, the YMCA of Central East Ontario has partnered with the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre’s Waawiye Kinoomaagzijig Alternative School Program to create a recreational platform for urban Indigenous youth announced on Tuesday.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The youth are from the Waawiye Kinoomaagzijig Alternative School Program and have been granted recreational instruction, access to recreational facilities and specialized classes.

The two-hour program occurs twice a week at the YMCA of Central East Ontario, Balsillie Family Branch. Activities may include weight training, powwow dancing, self-defence and more. The second day is dedicated to free time with available activities such as basketball, pickleball, swimming and conditioning.

“We are excited for this opportunity to partner with the YMCA, supported by a generous grant from Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities,” says Ashley Safar, Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre executive director. This partnership and funding will increase access and enhance our ability to provide engaging and culturally enriching recreational programs tailored to the needs and interests of youth in our Waawiye Kinoomaagzijig Alternative Secondary School Program.”

This funding covers YMCA staff assistance and instruction, external instructors, equipment, transportation and gym clothing for the participants. The grant aims to remove any financial obstacles and ensure Indigenous youth’s engagement in the program.

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Peterborough Petes Collaborate In Hosting Fundraiser and Awareness For Individuals With An Intellectual Disability For Thursday's Game

In a four-organization collaboration, The Peterborough Petes are raising awareness about the importance of those with an intellectual disability during the Windsor Spitfires game on Thursday night.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The Petes are collaborating with Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR), Special Olympics Ontario (SOO) and Peterborough Police Service.

Activations at the game will include:

• A LETR/Special Olympics Ontario-run kiosk so fans can learn more about Special Olympics Ontario

• Public address announcements about Special Olympics Ontario

• A puck drop featuring representatives LETR and Special Olympics Ontario

• A bucket pass in support of LETR and Special Olympics Ontario

The awareness campaign is part of the ongoing commitment by the Ontario Hockey League, the Petes and LETR/Special Olympics Ontario to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics Ontario, according to a press release.

“Since 2007, the OHL and its clubs have been a key partner of Special Olympics Ontario, supporting SOO with OHL Big Ticket Games, providing much-needed funds and awareness to 26,000 athletes living in Ontario with intellectual disabilities,” said Glenn MacDonell, COO president and CEO. “Together, we champion inclusion, acceptance and offer opportunities to many athletes in the community and throughout the province to participate and thrive in sport.”

“The Petes are proud to support Special Olympics Ontario once again to raise funds for individuals with an intellectual disability,” said Adam King, Petes director of marketing. “We’re excited to welcome these athletes to the PMC and highlight their amazing achievements while also bringing attention to an important cause.”

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Peterborough Petes Captain Donovan McCoy Name OHL Player of the Week

Peterborough Petes captain Donovan McCoy has been named the OHL Player of the Week, recording two goals, five assists and seven points over three games, announced by the league on Monday afternoon.

McCoy (right) was named the Petes captain at the start of the season. He took over Shawn Spearing who served as captain for the past two seasons. Photo courtesy of Kenneth Andersen and the Peterborough Petes.

The Petes were on a three-game road trip in three consecutive games in three days. When Peterborough played North Bay on Thursday, McCoy had the overtime winner to earn first-star honours as the Petes defeated the Battalion 6-5.

McCoy found the scoresheet again, getting a pair of assists in a 7-4 win over the Sudbury Wolves on Friday.

The captain closed out the week with a goal and three assists including his second overtime winner on Sunday to give Peterborough a 6-5 win after being down 5-0 after the first period against the Oshawa Generals.

The 19-year-old Belleville native recorded 14 points (three goals and 11 assists) through 19 games, helping the Petes lead the East Division with a 12-3-3-1 record. McCoy was Peterborough’s first-round pick (15th overall) in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection from the Quinte Red Devils U16 program. In 145 regular season games, he has five goals, 38 assists and 43 points. Following his 10-point (2-8-10) playoff campaign becoming an OHL champion last season, McCoy attended training camp with the Calgary Flames as a free agent invite.

The Petes return home at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday in a showdown against the Windsor Spitfires. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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New Stages Theatre To Stage Production of 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play' At Market Hall For Mid-December

New Stages Theatre is staging the production of the classic tale 'It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play' for five shows at Market Hall running from Dec. 13 - 17.

Photo courtesy of News Stages Theatre.

The classic story depicts George Bailey looking back over his life and remembering what a precious gift it is. The production is putting a unique twist on the original tale, with the play set in a 1940s radio station with five actors playing all the characters from the movie and creating all the sound effects in front of the live studio audience.

The show features well-known local actors and actresses such as M. John Kennedy, Ordena Stephens-Thompson, Megan Murphy, Kerry Griffin, and Brad Brackenridge.

The play is directed by Mark Wallace who is the Artistic Director of New Stages, two-time Dora Mavor Moore Award nominee (recipient in 2003 for Outstanding TYA production. Toronto’s Gabriel Vaillant is the music director and pianist, Korin Cormier from 4th Line Theatre is the costume designer, Sean Harris and Patricia Thorne are the set and lighting designers and Esther Vincent is the stage manager.

Tickets are available online and can be found at Market Hall’s or New Stage Theatre’s website.

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Free Senior Skating Available At Ennismore Community Centre After Township Acquires Two Sponsors

Free senior skating is back at the Ennismore Community Centre after Selwyn Township acquired Swish Maintenance and Blue Diamond Window Cleaning as sponsors.

File photo.

Senior Skating occurs every Monday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ennismore Community Centre for everyone aged 55+. The first sponsored skate takes place on Monday and runs through March 25.

Full skating schedules including public, parent and tot, and drop-in youth shinny hockey can be found online.

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Petes Rally From Five-Goal Deficit to Defeat Rival Oshawa Generals 6-5 in Overtime; Owen Beck Scores Hat Trick In Comeback

Owen Back helped the Peterborough Petes rally a huge comeback with a hat trick to defeat the Oshawa Generals 6-5 in overtime after overcoming a five-goal deficit at the Tribute Communities Centre on Sunday night.

The Petes Lead the East Division with 28 points, five ahead of the next-leading Ottawa 67’s. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

The Petes had arguably their worst period of the season in the first, allowing five consecutive goals from the Generals. Beckett Sennecke scored the first two in 1:26 of the game, Calum Ritchie sniped one past Liam Sztuska and Rasmus Kumpulainen had back-to-back goals for Oshawa — including a power play goal — to cap off a five-goal period for the Generals heading into the second.

The Petes subbed in Zach Bowen in relief of Sztuska to start the second period. Peterborough broke the shutout as Beck rifled one from the point to make it 5-1. Peterborough got on the power play minutes later and Beck one-timed it from outside the faceoff circle near the point to make it 5-2. Peterborough kept up the pressure as seconds after a Petes power play expired, Samuel Mayer cross-ice pass to Jax Dubois, who buried a one-timer in front of the net, beating Generals goaltender Jacob Oster for a 5-3 game.

The Petes leaned on Beck again to close the gap. Donovan McCoy saw his point shot get saved but Beck got the rebound and sniped it home for a hat trick on the power play, giving the Petes a one-goal deficit. Peterborough forced a turnover in the defensive zone and started a rush into the Generals’s zone. Samuel Mayer got a pass in the neutral zone, took it past the blue line and slapped it past Oster to tie the game up.

In overtime, the Generals were in the offensive zone but Dylan Roobroeck broke his stick on a shot attempt and turned the puck over. While he was getting a new twig, the Petes had an odd-man rush with Beck and McCoy. The latter opted for a wraparound attempt but was stopped by an Oshawa defender. McCoy’s second attempt went in and Peterborough escaped Oshawa with a win.

The win capped off three straight wins in consecutive days to mark the perfect road trip, beating North Bay and Sudbury prior to Oshawa. Peterborough scored 19 goals during that three-game span.

The Petes return home at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday in a showdown against the Windsor Spitfires. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1320 Members Ratify New Agreement

Peterborough Transit employees — represented by Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1320 — voted 86.5 per cent in favour of ratifying a three-year agreement reached with the City of Peterborough on Friday.

File Photo.

“Given this fantastic news, Peterborough Transit, one of the most value-creating services for residents, will continue to operate normally as expected on Monday,” said Jasbir Raina, City CAO. “My sincere appreciation and congratulations to the ATU Local 1320 Executive Committee and members, as well as the City’s bargaining team, for their hard work, commitment and true sense of belonging for our community to make it possible. Our front-line service delivery workers are the true value-creating leaders and brand ambassadors for the City.”

City Council will hold a ratification vote as soon as possible according to a press release.

The parties had been negotiating a new agreement since May last year

ATU Local 1320 represents 103 full-time and roughly 20 part-time employees with the City of Peterborough.

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Popular Bubble Tea Franchise 'Chatime' Hosts Grand Opening In Peterborough's North End

Peterborough’s newest entrepreneur Kanza Ghzanfar started her week-long grand opening of the popular bubble tea franchise Chatime in the north end of town on Friday.

Kanza Ghzanfar (left) with her brother Zaeem Ghzanfar (right) during Chatime’s first day of business. Their father owns the neighbouring Osmow’s Shawarma and is operated by Zaeem. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The grand opening runs until Nov. 23. The storefront is located on 1447 Water St. Unit 6 next to the Osmow’s Shawarma. Ghzanfar’s family owns the latter and had worked there for an extended period of time since opening in 2018. The young entrepreneur wanted to take a risk and bring her love of bubble tea to Peterborough.

“Personally, I'm just the biggest fan of Chatime myself and five years ago I was craving bubble tea,” she said. “I put 'bubble tea' in Google Maps and the closest it was taking me to was Oshawa.”

Bubble Tea is a popular Taiwanese drink commonly consists of green or black flavoured tea typically with chewy tapioca balls (that act as the ‘bubbles’) and can include milk. Other popular toppings include popping boba (encased spheres of syrup or juice), jelly or fruit.

Customers can adjust sugar and ice levels to their bubble tea as the beverage boasts to be a healthier alternative to other sweet drinks.

Chatime is an chain with over 3,000 locations worldwide according to their website. It is widely popular in the Durham and Greater Toronto Area region.

Ghzanfar is from Toronto and attended University of Toronto (St. George Campus), earning a double major bachelor’s degree in criminology and politics. She earned her Masters at Wilfrid Laurier University, studying national security. She turned down a Ph.D offer and wanted to stick to her roots. She was immersed in a business with her family for several years and wanted to continue that.

“Back then, I didn't know I was going to get involved in the business world but I knew that if I was going to do something at any point, it would have to be bubble tea related,” explained Ghzanfar.

The week-long grand opening has a photo booth with bubble tea props. There are also two daily promotions during that week including a buy on get on free promotion on select drinks (Pearl Milk Tea, QQ Mango, Peach Green Tea) from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Customers can spin a wheel to possibly win free drinks, toppings and other prizes from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The store is fully-employed by Trent University students and accepts Trent flex cards as payment. Ghzanfar had many food and drink options in close proximity to her post-secondary institutions but believes Trent students do not have the same luxury.

“I feel like with Trent, there are wasn't that many options for students that were available so close to campus so that was primarily why I wanted to target that kind of community,” she explained. “At the end of the day, I still wanted to get involved with the locals are aware of our presence, what the product is and what we bring to the table.”

Chatime is open seven days a week and are open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Delivery orders can be made through DoorDash, Uber Eats and Skip the Dishes.

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CMHA HKPR Becomes Provider For National Suicide Crisis Helpline Launching On Nov. 30

The Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (CMHA HKPR) will be a local provider for the new 9-8-8 National Suicide Crisis Helpline launching on Nov. 30.

Tracy Graham, CMHA Director of Programs and Services (left); Ellen Watkins, CMHA Director of Corporate Services (middle) and Mark Graham, CMHA CEO. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The progrma launch officially starts at 3 a.m. on Nov. 30. Anyone can can call or text 9-8-8 to access the helpline.

“We are thrilled to announce that we have been selected as one of nearly 45 national providers for the new 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline, which will launch on November 30th, 2023,” said Mark Graham, CMHA CEO.

The helpline has been federally funded nationwide for $156 million. It is for anyone in Canada thinking of suicide or those concerned of someone contemplating it. CMHA will have six 9-8-8 responders on standby to listen and provide confidential support without judgement and are available 24/7.

9-8-8 is a national helpline but anyone calling from a local area code in Peterborough, Haliburton, Northumberland, Kawartha Lakes and surrounding Six Nations reserves (Curve Lake, Hiwartha, Scugog and Alderville) will be routed to local call takers at the CMHA HKPR call center in downtown Peterborough.

As a result of the helping, CMHA HKPR’s Four County Crisis — widely known as ‘4CC’ — has been rebranded and is growing into the Integrated Crisis Intervention Services Model. Individuals who are experiencing thoughts of suicide or emotional distress, or who are worried about someone they know, can now call 9-8-8 instead of Four County Crisis.

It becomes the direct line for their Safe Beds program and after-hours housing support. If individuals call the line (705-745-6484) in crisis, they will receive a message to hang up and call 9-8-8.

“Through our strategic planning process, we learned that our community, clients, and staff were all looking for an easier to navigate crisis system with the opportunity for more meaningful connections,” said Graham. “With the launch of the new helpline, we will also be restructuring our current crisis services to provide easier to navigate, streamlined crisis support to individuals in Peterborough and County, Northumberland, Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton.”

The Model includes adding an additional eight Brief Services Mental Health Workers who will be distributed across the four counties. It also includes moving the Safe Beds facility from a residential neighborhood to downtown Peterborough and increasing bed capacity at Safe Beds with an opportunity for transitional housing according to a press release.

Individuals who are looking to access Safe Beds can call 705-745-6484. Community partners can send referrals for Safe Beds to safebeds@cmhahkpr.ca.

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