Little Lakers Night Raises Over $15,000 For High-Demand Treatment In Children

The home team won on and off the lacrosse field after Little Lakers Night in Peterborough, raising $15,287 for local kids’ treatment services on July 11.

Brothers Bo and Oak had a ball at Little Lakers Night as the Five Counties kids also got to participate in the pre-game ball drop during the Peterborough Century 21 Lakers home game. Photo courtesy of FCCC.

The money raised was more than double the $6,784 raised at the first-ever Little Lakers Night last year for Five Counties Children’s Centre (FCCC).

“The Peterborough Lakers were amazing hosts and partners for Little Lakers Night, and we’re extremely grateful to the team as well as everyone who attended, participated, donated, sponsored and volunteered,” said Linsey Kampf, FCCC annual giving coordinator. “If you measure the success of the event, it’s not only in dollars raised but also in the many smiles on the faces of our kids and families that were evident throughout the game.”

Little Lakers Night featured many highlights, including:

• Five Counties kids and families took part in a behind-the-scenes experience. Kids met Lakers players during their pre-game warmup, took part in the pre-game ball drop, and assisted in the PA booth during the first period.

• Facepainting, Little Lakers Night T-shirt sales, giant Lego and a silent auction organized by Five Counties volunteers and staff took place before and during the game.

• Members of the Junior A and Junior C Lakers volunteered to do pass the bucket through the crowd, which raised $4,000 alone for Five Counties kids.

• Prior to the game, two St. Teresa kindergarten students, Bailey and Raelynn, were honoured for having their design chosen for the special jerseys worn by Lakers players during their pre-game warm-up. The girls’ teacher, Jocelyn Lemay, had encouraged her St. Teresa’s class to enter the jersey design contest. Bailey and Raelynn’s design for the warm-up jerseys -- a red-green-blue, stylized-crayon creation featuring rainbows and hearts – was ultimately transformed into reality thanks to the generosity of Merrett Home Hardware. After the game, the warm-up jerseys were sold in an online auction.

“Five Counties has played a big role throughout the years in our family, and we’re grateful to have this incredible Centre serving families in our community,” said Len Powers, FCCC ambassador and Peterborough Lakers’ board member.

The $15,287 raised from Little Lakers Night supports Five Counties’ Building Abilities for Life campaign. It goes directly to fund high-demand treatment services like speech therapy and occupational therapy.

The end result is that more kids and youth in the region can access life-changing treatment services that they need when they need it.

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VIDEO: Peterborough Police Save Man Attempting to Jump From Bridge

Peterborough Police had stopped a man who was attempting to jump off a bridge on Monday night.

Warning: The following is footage of an actual incident, it may be disturbing to some viewers.

At roughly 11 p.m., officers on general patrol were stopped by a concerned resident after they spotted a man on the Lansdowne Street bridge near River Road who looked as though he was going to jump from the bridge.

Officers initially searched the area including using the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) without any luck in locating the man. However, while the RPAS was still up, the man returned to the bridge and was attempting to climb over the railing. 

An officer approached the man and grabbed the back of his shirt. The man appeared to be very impaired and continually resisted the officers attempts to get him away from the railing.  When the officer successfully removed him away from the railing, he continued to resist the officers and try to go back to the edge. After a brief struggle, he was placed in an ambulance and taken to Peterborough Regional Health Centre for assessment. There were no injuries to anyone involved.

“These calls aren’t easy. They don’t get measured in crime statistics and they don’t get measured as things the police do every day but sometimes a police officer is what’s needed in a situation where the difference between life and death is just a few feet,” said Chief Stuart Betts. “I am thankful for the concerned citizen who took the time to recognize and call 9-1-1 to report a person in distress, and I am grateful for the quick actions by our officers.”

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July Talk Announced As Saturday Headliner For Peterborough Folk Festival

July Talk has been announced as the main stage headliner for Saturday night at the 35th annual Peterborough Folk Festival (PFF) on August 17.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Folk Fest.

The four-time JUNO Award-winning group is known as one of Canada’s premier touring acts. Their energizing live performances and familiar radio hits have led to Gold Records and number-one songs in Canada.

“We are thrilled to share the full lineup for this year's festival after announcing the first wave in early June," says Peterborough Folk Festival artistic director, Ryan Kemp. “July Talk are not only an amazing live band, they share Peterborough Folk Festival’s values of inclusion and creating a safe and welcoming performance environment.”

“It's so exciting to bring them back to Peterborough and have Leah Fay Goldstein and Peter Dreimanis, surrounded by whiplashing guitarists Ian Docherty and Josh Warburton and double drummers Danny Miles and Dani Nash, perform their award-winning music,” said Kemp. I hope people who have yet to attend Canada's longest-running free folk festival will come out and see/hear all the amazing artists and experience this incredible community gathering.”

Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo, The Spades (opening for July Talk), Katie Tupper, Mariel Buckley, Pretty Archie, SHEBAD and Odario, Irish Millie, Nicholas Campbell, Darren Roy Clarke (The Stables), Hunt the Hare, SJ Riley Chet Singh and B.A Johnston are also part of the lineup announced for PFF.

The lineups are as follows in no particular order:

Saturday (Aug. 17) lineup:

• July Talk

• The Spades

• Mariel Buckley

• Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

• Odario

• Kalàscima featuring Andrea Ramolo

• Sharon, Lois and Bram sing-along with Sharon and Randi

• B.A Johnston

• Polky

• Pretty Archie

• Quote The Raven

• SHEBAD

• Evan Redsky

• Nicholas Campbell

• Irish Millie

• VanCamp

• Chet Singh

• Mr. Sauga

Sunday (Aug. 18) lineup:

• Greg Keelor

• Boy Golden

• Katie Tupper

• Brooks and Bowskill

• Meredith Moon

• Jadea Kelly

• Darren Roy Clarke

• Hunt The Hare

• The Spades

• Irish Millie

• Pretty Archie

• Andrea Ramolo

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July 21 to 27 Is National Drowning Prevention Week For the City of Peterborough

The City of Peterborough will host a drowning prevention educational event with community organizations and emergency services on Wednesday during National Drowning Prevention Week (July 21 – 27).

Photo courtesy of The City of Peterborough.

The open event will include interactive displays, such as trying on life jackets and information on water activity safety.

Peterborough Fire Services, Peterborough Police Service, Peterborough County-City Paramedics, Fleming College, the YMCA, the City of Peterborough and Peterborough lifeguards are participating in the event.

It will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Beavermead Park beach as a drop-by event.

Swim to Survive classes are open to all age groups. There is no fee to participate. Registration is required as spaces are limited to ensure the appropriate number of instructors. To register for Swim to Survive, go online then select Swim to Survive under the Splash section or call 705-742-0050.

The next Swim to Survive session starts on Aug. 10 at Beavermead Park beach and runs for one hour on Saturdays for three consecutive weeks: August 10, 17, and 24, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Swim to Survive is a Lifesaving Society-designed program that teaches water safety and how to survive if one unexpectedly falls into deep water. This includes how to roll into deep water, tread water for one minute, and swim 50 metres.

An adult must accompany children under 12 years old.

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Three Laker Hat Tricks Propel Lakers Over Owen Sound 14-4; Peterborough Has 2-0 Series Lead

Joe Resetarits, Thomas Hoggarth and Rob Hellyer all had hat tricks for the Lakers en route to a 14-4 win over the Owen Sound North Stars in Game Two of their best-of-five series at the Bayshore Community Centre on Saturday night.

Photo courtesy of Anna Taylor and the Peterborough Lakers.

Peterborough opened the game with a five-goal run while Lakers goaltender Landon Kells kept the ball out of the net, shutting out Owen Sound in the first period for a 5-0 score.

The Lakers continued to ring up the scoreboard and Hellyer got his second of the game, just as he opened the scoring in the first period for a 6-0 lead. Owen Sound broke the shutout, scoring two straight goals for a 6-2 score. Hoggarth got his second of the night and Hellyer got the hat trick to pull away from Owen Sound again for an 8-2 score at the end of two periods.

Peterborough did not let up on offense, scoring another six goals to finish an eight-goal run. That included three goals from Resetarits for a four-goal night. Owen Sound got two scores in garbage time, and the Lakers easily left with a 14-4 win.

The Lakers can sweep the series as game three is back in Peterborough on Thursday at 8 p.m.

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Bank Robbery Suspect Sought by Peterborough Police Service

Peterborough Police are seeking a suspect on the loose from a bank robbery and are investigating.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.

At roughly 3:40 p.m. on Friday, officers were called to the bank in the Chemong Road and Wolsely Street area. Officers learned that a man had entered the bank, threatened to burn it down and demanded money. The man was given some cash before he fled. Through investigation, it was learned that the suspect had changed his clothes behind another store and left the area. 

The suspect is described as (images below during incident and after changing clothes)

• White male

• 40-50 years old

• Tall, thin build

• Wearing during the incident: white plaid shirt, black pants, dark beanie with visor, sunglasses, medical mask, black shoes, white vinyl gloves

• Wearing after the incident: navy/black t-shirt, green cargo shorts, grey ball cap, black shoes with white soles and possibly a yellow and pink backpack

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.

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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Fleming Phoenix Name New Varsity Soccer Coaches For Men's and Women's Teams

Fleming College has named two local residents Victor Waselenko and David Brown as head coaches for the men’s and women’s varsity soccer programs, respectively.

Photo courtesy of Fleming College.

Waselenko has been a faculty member at Fleming College since 2013 with the School of Business and has also owned Soccer Plus, a soccer sporting goods store in Peterborough.

His prior soccer leadership experience includes being president and technical coaching director of the Peterborough Youth Soccer Club, director of coaching for the Peterborough City Soccer Association and coaching at various levels from U9-U21. Victor is currently the coach of Peterborough City U15 Boys Soccer.

Brown is currently the head coach of varsity girls at Trinity College School in Port Hope. His prior experience also includes being the director of coaching with Maple Leaf Cavan FC, head coach, Varsity Girls Soccer in Belgium at St. John’s International School and volunteer assistant coach with the Men’s varsity soccer program at Trent University.

Brown has also been the co-technical director of the Northumberland Soccer Club, Port Hope and held head coach positions for soccer teams at Lakefield College School, Brentwood College School and international schools in Belgium.

The school’s priority for the program will be to strengthen the relationship between Fleming Phoenix and local soccer leagues to increase awareness and interest for local players to take their game to the next level with the team according to a press release.

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4th Line Theatre to Brings Peterborough History to Life In World Premiere Production 'Jim Watts: Girl Reporter'

4th Line Theatre is bringing Peterborough History to life with its world premiere production of 'Jim Watts: Girl Reporter' running from July 30 to Aug. 24.

Photo courtesy of 4th Line Theatre.

According to a synopsis, the play takes audiences from Toronto to Madrid to Peterborough and features a local connection in Jim Higgins who raised his family in Peterborough and was truly heroic as a member of the Mackenzie-Papineau brigade in Spain.

“Thankfully I've had one of the best tools you could possibly have which is Jim Higgins's daughter Jeanette, compiled a memoir of his so reading through that, reading his entire life story is the biggest resource that any actor could possible have from his own words,” said Thomas Fornier (Jim Higgins).

Eugenia “Jim” Watts, was most famously known for being a Canadian correspondent for the Spanish Civil War and the only woman to join the MacKenzie-Papineaus, Canada’s Republican regiment in Spain. Her political beliefs and actions were heavily inspired by Emma Goldman, a prominent feminist at the time. Jim Watts began her political work as a theatre artist in Toronto, later founding Theatre of Action. She was a prominent figure in the theatre movement during the 1930s. Watts did more than write about the Spanish Civil War, as she was also an active participant in nursing and driving ambulances for the wounded civilians and soldiers.

“I didn't know a lot about this piece of history myself so I'm sure that other people will be learning about it for the first time as well,” said Katie Ryerson (Jim Watts). “Getting to play someone who is a real person is a real honour and a real gift and premiering a new work for the first time is always a real honour and real privilege.”

The play is written by Beverly Cooper and directed by Kim Blackwell. The production has 28 cast members and a crew of 15 people.

“I think I'm ideally suited to direct it because I helped dramaturge it and help support Bev in the writing of the piece in the past five years,” said Blackwell. “I really like directing world premieres because I always imagine it like a field of fresh snow where there are no other footprints and I get to put my footprints in that fresh snow.”

Opening night is Aug. 1 with July 30 and 31 as preview nights. Shows run from Tuesday to Saturday at 6 p.m. and tickets are available online at 4th Line Theatre’s website.

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Rotary Greenway Trail to Undergo Enhancements Including George and Hilliard Intersection

The City of Peterborough has an upcoming project to upgrade a section of the Rotary Greenway Trail between Bethune and Hilliard Streets including improvements to the intersection at George and Hilliard Streets. 

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The project, which is being completed with support from the Federal Active Transportation Fund, is being designed to enhance the active transportation network. 

Residents are invited to view the project scope and plans, additional project information and resources, and submit questions and feedback through the interactive features on the City’s community engagement hub at connectptbo.ca/rotary-trail-improvements.

The general scope of the project is to: 

• Slightly realign the southbound approach of George Street towards Hilliard Street. 

• Implement a signalized intersection at the George Street and Hilliard Street intersection to enable trail users to cross the intersection with dedicated crossings. 

• Improve accessibility of the intersection, including improvements to the Rotary Trail approaches to the intersection. 

• Implement new trail lighting along the Rotary Trail between Bethune Street and Hilliard Street. 

• Implement new rest areas, benches, pavement markings, and signage along the Rotary Trail between Bethune Street and Hilliard Street. 

The Rotary Greenway Trail lighting implementation between Bethune Street and Hilliard Street will improve the trail for users of all ages and abilities, making the trail a higher functioning and more efficient key north-south crosstown route. The lighting implementation will improve the key trail links between downtown, surrounding neighbourhoods, secondary schools and Trent University. Also included in this project will be trail pavement markings and additional signage on the trail throughout the project area. 

With the information collected through the Connect Peterborough question engagement tool, the project team will review and consider all feedback and implement changes to the project plans where feasible. The feedback period will close on Aug. 31. Construction is expected to be completed in 2025. 

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Russelle Toyota Sponsors Pad Naming Right at Miskin Law Community Complex

Russelle Toyota has become the Naming Right sponsor of the north pad at the new Miskin Law Community Complex which will open later this year.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The Complex is a new facility being built at the southeast corner of Lansdowne and Park Streets which will include a twin-pad arena, a Peterborough Public Library branch, an indoor track for walking and running and multi-use space. When the building opens, the north pad will be called Russelle Toyota Pad. 

“We are honoured to be involved and be able to support this great community,” said Jason Russelle, Russelle Toyota general manager. “Supporting our community has always been at the heart of our values. It is exciting to have our name associated with this new facility and the positive impact it will have for so many.”

“Thank you to Russelle Toyota for supporting our community through this exciting sponsorship at the new Miskin Law Community Complex,” said Councillor Lesley Parnell and Councillor Gary Baldwin. “We are thrilled that Russelle Toyota will be alongside our community when residents step through the doors of this new facility.”

Russelle Toyota is the second major sponsor supporting the city’s newest community complex. Miskin Law has secured the overall naming rights for the complex, now known as the Miskin Law Community Complex. Naming rights sponsorships for the major features of the complex will collectively contribute more than $1 million toward the project’s capital budget. 

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new community complex was held on Dec. 8, 2022 to mark the start of construction on the new facility officially. The project remains on time and on budget, with construction expected to be completed this fall.  

When construction is completed, a brief period will be required to move into the space after the contractor hands over the facility. The twin-pad arena and library branch will be prepared for public operations. The City expects to open the facility for limited casual use by the community, such as drop-in public skates and other activities to open the doors to the public, before beginning booked use of the facility by sports organizations and other users. 

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