Peterbrough Petes Release 2024 Training Camp Schedule

The Peterborough Petes have released their 2024 Training Camp schedule beginning Tuesday.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

Camp will begin with fitness testing at the Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) on Tuesday. Throughout the week, on-ice practices, scrimmages, and the annual Maroon vs. White game will take place.

All scrimmages and the Maroon vs. White game will occur at the PMC. Fans and media are invited to attend. The scrimmages and the Maroon vs. White game will also be streamed live on the Petes Facebook Page.

The roster for the training camp will be released on Tuesday morning. All players will be assigned to one of three teams:

• Team East Side Mario’s (White)

• Team Sign-A-Fied (Black)

• Team Hybrid (Maroon)

The schedule for training camp is as follows:

Tuesday, August 27 - Tuesday - CLOSED to public

• Noon - Welcome/Registration/Opening remarks

• 1:15 p.m. - Fitness testing at the PMC

Wednesday, August 28 - Scrimmages - OPEN to public

• 8:30 a.m. - Scrimmage - Team East Side Mario’s (White) vs Team Sign-A-Fied (Black)

• 9:20 a.m. - Scrimmage - Team Sign-A-Fied (Black) vs Team Hybrid (Maroon)

• 10:10 a.m. - Scrimmage - Team Hybrid (Maroon) vs Team East Side Mario’s (White)

BREAK

• 2:00 p.m. - Scrimmage - East Side Mario’s (White) vs Team Sign-A-Fied (Black)

• 2:50 p.m. - Scrimmage - Team East Side Mario’s (White) vs Team Hybrid (Maroon)

• 3:40 p.m. - Scrimmage - Team Hybrid (Maroon) vs Team Sign-A-Fied (Black)

Thursday, August 29 - Scrimmages - OPEN to public

• 8:30 a.m. - Scrimmage - Team Sign-A-Fied (Black) vs Team Hybrid (Maroon)

• 9:20 a.m. - Scrimmage - Team East Side Mario’s (White) vs Team Sign-A-Fied (Black)

• 10:10 a.m. - Scrimmage - Team East Side Mario’s (White) vs Team Maroon (Maroon)

BREAK

• 2:00 p.m. - Scrimmage - Team Hybrid (Maroon) vs Team Sign-A-Fied (Black)

• 2:50 p.m. - Scrimmage - Team Hybrid (Maroon) vs Team East Side Mario’s (White)

• 3:40 p.m. - Scrimmage - Team Side Mario’s (White) vs Team Sign-A-Fied (Black)

Friday, August 30 - Maroon and White Game - OPEN to public

• 4:05 p.m. - Maroon vs White Game

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Hometown PTBO: Ian Kurz of KISS Tribute Band "Destroyer" Playing at The Venue to Benefit Right to Heal PTBO On Sept. 7

This week on Hometown PTBO, David Tuan Bui talks with Ian Kurz, lead singer of KISS tribute band DESTROYER Canada about joining the group, the experience of being in a tribute band and playing in a benefit concert for Right To Heal at The Venue Peterborough on Sept. 7.

Tickets can be purchased online by following this link.

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Selwyn Township to Unveil Plaque to Honour Family's Dedication to Youth Sports Next Thursday

To honour the Wilford family for their contributions to youth sports, Selwyn Township is unveiling a plaque at Douglas Sports Centre Ball Diamond in Lakefield next Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

Google Maps Screenshot

Selwyn Township Mayor Sherry Senis, local dignitaries, and Township representatives will attend to speak about the plaque.

Jim and Yvonne along with their children Jessica and Jimmy, have contributed to local sports programs such as Lakefield and District Minor Hockey, the Lakefield Jr. C Chiefs and Lakefield Minor Ball according to a press release.

The family has also volunteered their time to contribute to the construction and maintenance of local ball diamonds.

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Peterborough Police Make Six Arrests From All Separate Shoplifting Incidents

The Community FIRST Unit made six arrests concerning six different shoplifting incidents in Peterborough on Wednesday.

Photo by David Tuan Bui.

A 52-year-old Township of Cavan-Monaghan man was arrested twice for two different incidents at businesses on Charlotte Street and Lansdowne Street.  The first incident happened around 2:10pm and the second around 5:15 p.m.

The accused was charged with:

• Theft Under $5000 X2

The accused was released on an undertaking in the first instance and held in custody after the second incident.  He will appear in court on Thursday.

A 47-year-old Peterborough man was arrested just after 2 p.m. after a business called to report a man attempting to leave the store without purchasing items.  Officers arrived and were able to take the man into custody.  Further, the accused was also wanted on a warrant in another jurisdiction.

The accused was arrested and charged with:

• Theft Under $5000

The accused was released on an appearance notice and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 1.

A 62-year-old Peterborough woman was taken into custody by loss prevention officers at a business on Lansdowne Street about 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday. Upon arrival, officers with Community FIRST unit learned the woman had left the store without paying for several items. 

As a result, a 62-year-old Peterborough woman was arrested and charged the 62-year-old Peterborough woman with:

• Theft Under $5000

The accused was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 1.

A 41-year-old Peterborough man was taken into custody after loss prevention officers spotted him select a duffle bag from the store, begin putting items inside it, and leave without making an attempt to pay. They were able to take the male into custody and turn him over to Peterborough Police.

As a result, a 41-year-old Peterborough man was arrested and charged with:

• Theft Under $5000

The accused was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 1. 

A 27-year-old Peterborough man is facing charges after an incident at a local business.  At approximately 8:40 p.m., officers with the Community FIRST unit responded to a call for service about a male concealing items. When the male left the store, he was taken into custody.

As a result, a 27-year-old Peterborough man was arrested and charged with:

• Theft Under $5000

• Fail to Comply with Probation Order

The accused is currently bound by a probation order with the following conditions: to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

The accused was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 1.

In each case, the items were recovered. In total, just over $1000 in products were returned.  

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Local Musician Victoria Yeh Launches 2024-25 Orchestral Season

Local Peterborough musician, Victoria Yeh, has launched her schedule for the 2024-25 orchestral season.

Photo courtesy of Victoria Yeh.

Yeh recently received grants from EC3 and RTO8 Kawarthas Northumberland Tourism.

This winter, her annual production ‘Timeless’ is being featured with an 11-piece Spirit Awakens string orchestra and her original jazz quartet at Peterborough’s Market Hall on winter solstice, Dec. 21.

The same production will show for the first time at Meaford Hall on Dec. 19. This year, in celebration of the many unsung contributions of women in music, the orchestra will feature a full lineup of leading Canadian female musicians including conductor Cheryll Chung and concertmaster, Natalie Wong.

‘Timeless’ sees Yeh’s violin through the ages of classical baroque to romantic to original jazz fusion. Each year features a refreshed music program, with a similar format - the evening opening with the Spirit Awakens string orchestra, followed by Yeh’s full band in the second half. An eclectic concert that is both grande and intimate, classical and modern, Yeh continues to be approached by fans raving about the shows featuring music ranging from Vivaldi to Chick Corea.

“People have approached me year round saying they attended ‘Timeless’ because they were either drawn in by the band or by the classical orchestra - and in every case, they were surprised and delighted by the other half of the concert,” said Yeh. “That’s exactly the gift I want to share with my audience. The gift of discovering music that you would never have thought to seek out yourself, but that you fall in love with unexpectedly.”

If her season didn’t sound busy enough, Yeh will also perform as a soloist with the Summerhill Orchestra in Toronto while serving her third year as Concertmaster for the Northumberland Orchestra Society in Cobourg.

The season of orchestral concerts include:

• Dec. 14 - Northumberland Orchestra Christmas concert, with Conductor Dan Tremblay and Concertmaster Victoria Yeh at Trinity United (Cobourg)

• Dec. 19 - Victoria Yeh’s “Timeless” at Meaford Hall (Meaford)

• Dec. 21 - Victoria Yeh’s “Timeless” at Market Hall (Peterborough)

• Feb. 1 - “Music of our Time” Parkdale Orchestra, with Conductor John Kraus and soloist Victoria Yeh (Ottawa)

• March 3 - Summerhill Orchestra, with Conductor Sarah John, and soloists Victoria Yeh and Natalie Wong (Toronto)

• April 4 - “Spring Into April” Georgian Bay Symphony, with Conductor Jeffrey Pollock and soloist Victoria Yeh (Owen Sound)

• May 3 - Northumberland Orchestra Season Finale with Conductor Dan Tremblay and Concertmaster Victoria Yeh at Trinity United (Cobourg)

In addition to these concerts, Yeh continues to perform with Shipyard Kitchen Party’s original folk musical productions, ‘100 Years From Now’ and ‘Tom Thomson’s Wake,’ with the jazz fusion band Paul DeLong’s One Word, and with various other groups across Ontario.

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City of Peterborough Given Municipal Innovation Award

The Peter J. Marshall Innovation Award Jury has presented the City of Peterborough with its highest award for its Modular Bridge Housing Community project.

Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.

The award was presented to Mayor Jeff Leal at the 2024 AMO Conference in Ottawa.

“I am incredibly proud that Peterborough’s transitional housing project has been recognized with the prestigious Peter J. Marshall 2024 Municipal Innovation Award,” said Leal. “This award is a testament to our city's commitment to addressing homelessness with compassion, creativity, and a focus on practical solutions.”

The City spearheaded the transitional housing project in May last year to address a long-term encampment in downtown Peterborough. With help from the provincial Homelessness Prevention Program, the City built 50 modular homes, shared washroom facilities and a central service hub in just six months according to a press release. 

Engagement with encampment residents was key to the project’s success. Community outreach workers gathered input from 75 residents to ensure the modular home community would fit their needs. Considerations included everything from site design and location to security, operations and pet policies. 

The Peterborough Modular Bridge Housing Community was built at the original encampment site. During construction, residents were moved to a vacant parking lot across the street which was the City’s first temporary sanctioned encampment. 

By November last year, the first residents moved into their new modular homes. The community had a 98 per cent move-in rate for the first 50 people who were offered units. This is not typical for transitional housing programs, which normally see a 40 to 60 per cent move-in rate.

Within the first six months of operation, four people acquired jobs, one person moved into permanent housing, and emergency service calls were 90 per cent lower than when the site operated as an encampment. Staff have also reported significant improvements in the mental and physical health of the residents.

“As a Council, we knew we had to move beyond the natural tendency to stop when faced with an overwhelmingly complex challenge like homelessness,” said Leal. “We knew we had to pick a lane. We learned from the experiences of others and our professional staff delivered this project with urgency and expertise. Municipalities have shown they can innovate to create lasting positive change in our communities. I’m proud of the decisive, bold, caring approach that we have taken.”

“The modular home program at Wolfe St. is a great example of a municipality thinking outside of the box to properly use the Homelessness Prevention Program to reduce homelessness in Peterborough’s vulnerable community,” said Dave Smith, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP.

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Lakefield's Trent Canal Bridge Closed to One Lane For Repairs On Tuesday

The Trent Canal Bridge in Lakefield/Township of Selwyn will be closed to one lane on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. for repairs.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough County.

The closure is to finalize repairs to the expansion joint located on the west side of the Trent Canal Bridge to complete surface asphalt repairs prior to the end of August.

Traffic flagging operations will be in effect for the duration of the repairs.

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Voice of Business: Exploring the Outcomes of Basic Income

As global interest in Basic Income grows, Ontario's brief pilot offers insights and raises questions about the potential for more sustainable social assistance models.

This week on the VOB we are discussing Basic Income (BI) - a concept that proposes providing people with a livable income that helps improve housing and health outcomes. The brief pilot project in Ontario did not provide enough data to get a good idea of its impact. It’s time to look at alternatives to the current social assistance status quo and see if there are better models.

Basic income would be set at 75 per cent of the median income in Canada. BI operates through a negative income tax (NIT), by assessing an individual’s tax return where their earned income would be reduced by 50 cents per dollar.  This would then determine the BI amount they could receive.

Ontario started its BI pilot project in the fall of 2017. BI aims to test how a livable income for couples and individuals would provide sustainability and how sustainability impacts employment, education, life, health, and financial security outcomes. An individual could receive up to $16,989 with an extra $500 monthly and couples could receive up to $24,000. Notably, BI would be a substitute for people on ODSP and OW.

The BI pilot project recruited 4,000 participants across three cities: Thunder Bay, Hamilton, and Lindsay. The pilot project was meant to last three years, but only lasted 18 months. The gross cost for the three years was $150 million.

Unfortunately, the pilot project was short-lived, and we could not fully analyze the impacts of the BI. These impacts could demonstrate labor market participation and healthcare use on BI.  Additionally, no data collection was done on the control group that did not receive BI, limiting our ability to compare and observe whether economic and life conditions improved without BI.

After the shutdown of the BI pilot project, recipients went back to our current social assistance, which are Ontario Works (OW) and the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). OW currently supplies up to $733 monthly and ODSP supplies up to $1368 a month. For someone trying to re-enter the labour market, $733 is extremely difficult to live on when a rental for a one-bedroom apartment in Peterborough is $1,173. ODSP can cover rent but with very little left over.

As taxpayers, we are concerned with the costs of these projects. If these projects come to fruition, will the cost increase taxes? Will we see a decrease in labour market participation? These are valid concerns from both business owners and taxpayers.

For context, the Ontario Government is currently spending $3.7 billion less than required to fund existing programs and announced commitments on social assistance until 2026, and as of this year, our budget is short $0.7 billion. The 2024-2025 budget stands at $214.5 billion with social assistance covering 9.3 per cent of the budget.

From a sample of 200 participants in Hamilton, there was 24 per cent of people who were unemployed before and during the pilot. 11 per cent were employed but became unemployed during the pilot. 6 per cent were employed before the pilot but became unemployed to pursue a post-secondary education. 5 per cent of participants found work while on the pilot project. In total, there were almost two-thirds of people worked with 54 per cent of people working before and during the pilot excluding the 5 per cent who found work while on the pilot. 35 per cent of people in total did not work during or before the pilot. What is noteworthy is the 11 per cent who were employed but became unemployed during the pilot.

The Ontario government spends $85 billion on healthcare annually. In the same survey, 33 per cent of respondents reported a reduction in hospital emergency room visits, and 83 per cent noted increased access to over-the-counter medications. With a third of participants reducing their hospital visits, this could alleviate the strain on our healthcare system and improve people’s standard of living by decreasing the frequency of visits from lower-income individuals. Such a shift could potentially lead to cost savings for taxpayers by reducing the need to service a higher volume of patients.

Short-term results from the BI pilot project indicate potential cost savings for our healthcare system and the reduced effects from the rising cost of living. It’s time to look at all the options when it comes to assisting those living on the margins.

Content provided by the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce.

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Peterborough Lakers Held Scoreless Last Two Periods For 12-3 Loss Against Six Nations In Game Three

It was not the best night for the Peterborough Lakers who were held off the scoresheet in the final two periods of a 12-3 Six Nations Chiefs win at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena on Tuesday night.

Photo courtesy of David Pickering and the Peterborough Lakers.

Six Nations started hot as former Laker Eli McLaughlin scored the opening goal. It was followed up by three more Chiefs goals for a 4-0 lead with 8:34 left to play. It was a game of runs as the Lakers’s special teams got them on the scoreboard. Turner Evans and Joe Resetarits had power-play goals while Thomas Hoggath scored shorthanded for a 4-3 game.

Unfortunately for Peterborough, that was all they could muster as Six Nations goalie Doug Jamieson shut the door for the last 44:16 of the game. Travis Longboat scored in the last 1:49 of the period for a 5-3 Six Nations lead after one.

The Chiefs scored seven unanswered goals including five in the second period. McLaughlin burned his former team with a hat trick to cap off the second, and Six Nations held a comfortable 10-3 lead.

In a low-scoring third period, Dhane Smith and Longboat were the lone scorers as they extended the Chiefs lead and put an exclamation point on Game Three for a decisive 12-3 win for a 2-1 series in favour of the Lakers.

The Lakers will try and rebound in Game Four at the Peterborough Memorial Centre on Thursday.

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Ticket Details Released For Peterborough Petes Millbrook Preseason Game Against Guelph Storm

The Peterborough Petes preseason schedule has been released, with three home games in local community arenas announced on Thursday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Kenneth Andersen and the Peterborough PEtes.

Ticket details for the Peterborough Petes’s preseason game against the Guelph Storm at the Cavan Monaghan Community Centre in Millbrook on Sept. 21 have been released.

Tickets for the game start at $20 for General Admission (lobby area, upper track level, or video feed in the Community Room). Club tickets are also available for $30 and include guaranteed seating in the stands with controlled access. All tickets are available while supplies last.

Tickets can be purchased at the following locations:

• Imprinted Apparel (Peterborough) - 730 The Kingsway #6

• The Shack Pro Shop (Millbrook) - located on Distillery St. behind the old Millbrook Arena

• Home Hardware (Millbrook) - 13 King St. E. *cash only during regular store hours

Ticket details for the game in Norwood and Port Hope can be found online

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

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