Beloved Peterborough Coach Passes Away Suddenly At Age 64
/The Peterborough sports community has mourned the loss of coach John Welsh, who passed away suddenly at age 64 on Tuesday.
Photo courtesy of KMFL Peterborough.
Peterborough Blogs
Fleming College Celebrate Phoenix Athletes With 53rd Varsity Awards Banquet
/Over 130 student-athletes from Fleming College celebrated another athletic season and recognized exceptional players at the 53rd Annual Phoenix Varsity Awards Banquet on April 10.
Nicole Roy (left) and Thomas Kitchen (right) winning Women’s and Men’s Athlete of the year respectively and other high-honour awards at the banquet. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The special highlighted team, following their historic double-gold national championship win this season, were the Men’s and Women’s Loggersports teams. The Loggersports program took home the Male and Female Athlete of the Year, Female All-Around Athlete of the Year, All-Academic and Coach of the Year awards.
The 2025-2026 Fleming Phoenix varsity athlete awards were presented to:
Eric O’Rourke Memorial All-Around Athlete: Presented to a male and female athlete who performed at a high level while demonstrating leadership, commitment, and dedication.
Nicole Roy – Women’s Loggersports
Ryan Clarke – Men's Volleyball and Men’s Soccer
Jack Barley Memorial Athlete of the Year: Presented to a male and female athlete who performed exceptional achievements within their sport while maintaining academic eligibility.
Nicole Roy – Women's Loggersports
Thomas Kitchen – Men's Loggersports
Rachel Spearing Award: Presented to a women’s rugby player who demonstrated heart, spirit, sportsmanship, and dedication on the field.
Sara Petersen – Women's Rugby Sevens
Kris Starr and Adam Evans Awards: Presented to a loggersports athlete who shows heart, spirit, dedication, and love of the sport.
Kris Starr Award: Sayre Hart – Loggersports
Adam Evans Award: Jacob Ricker – Loggersports
All-Academic Award: Presented to the athlete with the highest academic average who achieved a balance in their sport and in academics.
Sarah Porter – Women’s Loggersports
Fred Batley Coach of the Year Award: Presented to a coach driven by the passion they have for their sport, who goes above and beyond to create a positive atmosphere, and ensure their student-athletes have the best possible experience.
Al Cavers – Loggersports
OCAA Academic and Athletic Excellence Award: Presented to OCAA athletes who achieve an honours GPA at their college, as well as receiving an OCAA honours award.
Ashley Smith – Women's Rugby Sevens
Most Valuable Player Award: Recognized by their respective team for significant contribution to their team’s success.
Ashley Smith – Women’s Rugby Sevens
Emma Radley – Women’s Soccer
Ryan Clarke – Men’s Soccer
Mattea Miller-Evans - Women’s Loggersports
Thomas Kitchen – Men’s Loggersports
Owen Wisman – Men’s Basketball
Samantha de Koning – Women’s Volleyball
Calvin Dekok – Men’s Volleyball
Rookie of the Year Award: Recognized by their respective team for outstanding skills and positive integration with the team.
Charlotte Murray – Women’s Rugby Sevens
Claire Deschatelets – Women’s Soccer
Aidan Sproule – Men’s Soccer
Morgan Specht – Women’s Loggersports
Lyndon Jarbeau – Men’s Loggersports
Nathan Walters – Sundararajah – Men’s Basketball
Guinevere Hallock – Women’s Volleyball
Jordan Flynn – Men’s Volleyball
There were 30 student athletes were awarded for achieving an honours-level grade point average (GPA) while balancing the demands of varsity-level competition.
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Man Wanted On Several Theft Charges Arrested After Getting Caught With Items From Another Incident
/A 41-year-old man is facing several theft charges after an incident on Thursday afternoon.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
At roughly 1 p.m., Community F.I.R.S.T. Unit officers were called to a business in the George Street and Rink Street area about a theft in progress. They learned that the suspect had left the store.
During a search of the area, officers located a man matching the description given to police and took him into custody. The items from the business were located and returned. Through investigation, it was further learned that the suspect was also wanted in connection with three other theft incidents at another local business in the past two weeks.
The man was arrested and charged with:
Theft Under $5,000 x4
The accused is being held in custody and will appear in court on Friday.
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Peterborough Regional Health Centre and Trent University Advance Healthcare Collaborations at Inaugural ‘Collider’ Event
/The Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and Trent University held the first annual joint Collider event, bringing together more than 100 clinicians, researchers, students and staff to shape community-focused care through research collaborations and knowledge sharing.
photo courtesy of the peterborough regional health centre.
“By creating opportunities for our clinicians, researchers and students to come together, we’re turning collaboration into something tangible,” said Dr. Lynn Mikula, President & CEO of PRHC. “Collider is about showing what’s possible when we combine clinical insight, academic expertise and real-world data, and it’s only the beginning.”
Collider marks the latest milestone in a collaboration formalized in 2025 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between PRHC and Trent University. Over the past year, the two institutions have been working to move from alignment to action, focused on connecting people, ideas, and infrastructure to accelerate healthcare research, education and innovation.
“This Collider event brings people and ideas together. It reflects Trent’s commitment to working alongside community partners to respond to regional needs,” said Dr. Cathy Bruce, President and vice chancellor of Trent University. “By connecting Trent researchers with clinicians at PRHC, we are advancing work that is grounded in community priorities and focused on improving health outcomes close to home and with impacts that reach much further afield.”
One of the first research projects to begin collaboration is led by Trent professors Dr. Amy Greer and Dr. Wesley Burr. In collaboration with PRHC and paramedic service colleagues from PCCP, Greer and Burr, alongside Trent M.Sc. student Shawn Yip, are exploring patterns and trends in toxic drug poisonings in our local community with a focus on the unique nature of healthcare service delivery in large, mixed urban-rural regions.
Research projects emerging through Collider also have access to a new source of funding, which was announced at the event. The Natalie Beavis Collaborative Research Grant, named in honour of a two-time Trent alum and PRHC leader who passed away this past December, will help move ideas from concept to implementation.
“Networking events like Collider are critically important to the advancement of research and projects that are focused on multi-faceted issues, such as healthcare,” said Dr. Holger Hintelmann, interim vice-president of Research & Innovation at Trent. “Opportunities for experts to engage in discussions facilitate better questions and investigations, and ultimately better solutions. Providing targeted funding enables those ideas to come to life.”
Looking ahead, PRHC and Trent are working to further align priorities, expand joint research initiatives and develop a sustainable community of practice.
GreenUP Celebrates Earth Day With Open House Event
/Peterborough GreenUP celebrated Earth Day on Wednesday with an open house event; focusing on 2025’s various accomplishments and what 2026 has in store.
photo courtesy of greenup.
A few 2025 accomplishments GreenUP acknowledged include planting over 2,100 trees, engaging with over 5,300 youth across all programs and growing their volunteer community to 545 people with over 3,600 hours of work contributed.
Attendees of the event met with the GreenUP team to enjoy a program showcase, learning what GreenUP has been working on locally in 2026 in program areas such as active transportation, business, education, Ecology Park, energy services, landscape, native plant propagation, volunteer opportunities and more.
Peterborough Jr. C. Lakers Looking For Three-Peat As Season Begins With Home Opener This Sunday
/After back-to-back Meredith Cup wins, the Peterborough Jr. C. Lakers are looking for a three-peat as they start their season at home against the West Grey Rampage this Sunday at the Healthy Planet Arena at 2 p.m.
The Peterborough Jr. C Lakers are back-to-back defending Mereidith Cup Champions. Photo courtesy of the ONtario Junior C Lacrosse League.
Sunday begins a three-game homestretch, including matches against the West Grey Rampage, Whitby Warriors and Clarington Shamrox before six consecutive road games.
The Lakers have their fourth home game of the season after a 30-day stretch against the Fergus Thistles to start a three-game homestand. After two more road games, they will cap their regular season with two home games, finishing things on June 21 before the playoffs.
The following is the Lakers’ schedule:
April 26 vs. West Grey Rampage @ 2 p.m.
April 29 vs. Whitby Warriors @ 8 p.m.
May 1 vs. Clarington Shamrox @ 8 p.m.
May 3 at Six Nations Stealth @ 2 p.m.
May 6 at Clarington Shamrox @ 8 p.m.
May 20 at Clarington Shamrox @ 8 p.m.
May 22 at Whitby Warriors @ 8 p.m.
May 24 at Burlington Warriors @ 1 p.m.
May 30 at Huntsville Hawks @ 7 p.m.
May 31 vs. Fergus Thistles @ 3 p.m.
June 6 vs. Kahnawake Hunters @ 2 p.m.
June 7 vs. North Shore Kodiaks @ 1 p.m.
June 13 at Nepean Knights @ 7 p.m.
June 14 at Gloucester Griffins @ 2 p.m.
June 19 vs. Whitby Warriors @ 8 p.m.
June 21 vs. Huntsville Hawks @ 2 p.m.
All Lakers home games are at the Healthy Planet Arena.
Peterborough Police Reminds Public of Permitted Use of Low-Speed Vehicles Roadways
/The Peterborough Police Service Traffic Management Unit reminds the public that low-speed vehicles are not permitted on any highway, roadway or sidewalk in the City of Peterborough, Village of Lakefield or Cavan Monaghan Township.
Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.
They are are defined as:
travels on four wheels,
powered by an electric power train (an electric motor and, if present, a transmission) that is designed to allow the vehicle to attain a speed of 32 km/h but not more than 40 km/h,
not using fuel as an on-board source of energy, and
having a GVWR of less than 1,361 kg;
In some cases, these vehicles are marketed as ‘enclosed mobility devices,’ which Police say is incorrect. They state that they are considered low-speed vehicles and can be operated only on municipal roadways if the municipality has a by-law permitting such activity.
A by-law does not exist like that in Peterborough and anyone using them on roadways will be stopped and could face charges under the Highway Traffic Act.
Traffic complaints or concerns can be submitted to the Traffic Management Unit and fill out the Driving Complaint Report. If it is an emergency, the Police urge those to call 9-1-1.
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Peterborough Man Wanted On Warrants Arrested For Attempting to Flee Courthouse After He Discovered He Was Under Arrest
/A 30-year-old Peterborough man wanted on a warrant is facing a new charge after attempting to flee from police from the courthouse on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Police Service.
At roughly 3:50 pm, the man attended the courthouse and was advised of the warrant for the following:
fraud under $5,000
fail to attend for fingerprints - as per undertaking
theft under $5,000 x4
disobeying order of court x4
failure to attend court while on release order
fail to comply with appearance notice - court/fingerprinting
uttering threats - cause death or bodily harm
When the man learned he was under arrest, he fled the courthouse on foot. An officer gave chase while general patrol officers downtown had assisted. The man was caught in the Water Street and King Street area and taken into custody.
The man was arrested on the strength of the warrant and further charged with:
Resist Peace Officer
The accused is being held in custody and will appear in court on Thursday.
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Peterborough County Announces 2026 Community Recognition Award Winners
/Peterborough County has announced the recipients of the 2026 Community Recognition Awards.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The winners will be honoured at a private County event next month.
The following are the award winners:
Accessibility Recognition
Douro Dummer - PARD Therapeutic Riding School
Acts of Heroism
North Kawartha – Eva Mallory and Pat Kempt
Agricultural Leadership
Asphodel-Norwood – Stephanie Warner
Douro-Dummer – Leor Farms
Otonabee-South Monaghan – Pat Learmonth
Selwyn – Sanctuary Flower Field
Business Leadership
Asphodel-Norwood – Papa’s Pizzaland – Tiffany Hickey
Cavan Monaghan – Joshua Helm
Douro-Dummer – Harrison Cedar Products
Havelock Belmont-Methuen – Campbell’s Belmont Lake Marina
North Kawartha – HERmanas Boutique
Otonabee-South Monaghan – The Mane Intent
Selwyn – Kawartha Home Hardware
Trent Lakes - Kawartha County Wines
Community Volunteer of the Year
Asphodel-Norwood – Hannah McLean
Cavan Monaghan – Friendship Force
Douro-Dummer – Debra Brown
Havelock Belmont-Methuen – Orllyn Loney
North Kawartha – Merle Post
Otonabee-South Monaghan – Otonabee-South Monaghan (OSM) Food Cupboard
Selwyn – Lakefield Trail Stewardship Committee
Trent Lakes – Diane Skinner
Environmental/Sustainability
North Kawartha – Doug Colmer
Otonabee-South Monaghan – Friends of Hope Mill
Heritage Preservation
Douro-Dummer – Douro 200th Committee
Otonabee-South Monaghan – Keene 200th Committee
Selwyn – Hiawatha Chapel Association
Trent Lakes – Trent Lakes Historical Society
Leadership in Arts and Culture
Asphodel-Norwood – Kerstin Walsh
North Kawartha – Molly Moldovan
Otonabee-South Monaghan – Tracy Minnema (A River of Yarn)
Selwyn – David Goyette
Sporting Excellence
Asphodel-Norwood – Marisha Thompson
Cavan-Monaghan – Hannah Schad
Douro-Dummer – Dustin Watson
Havelock Belmont-Methuen – Cameron Spalding
Youth
Asphodel-Norwood – Jorja Crawford
Cavan-Monaghan – Bennet Hoar
North Kawartha – Keegan Parks
Otonabee-South Monaghan – Lily Briand
Selwyn – Hazel Fuderer
Special Award
County Wide – Nine Ships 1825 Inc.
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Public Information Centre for Stormwater Management Fee to Be Held May 5
/A public information centre for the Stormwater Management Fee will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. May 5 at the Peterborough Public Library.
file photo.
