Peterborough Blogs
Lang Pioneer Village Museum Bringing Halloween of the Past to Life With 'Spooky All Hallows' Eve'
/Lang Pioneer Village is inviting everyone to an evening of fun and games with origins of some favourite Halloween traditions at the Spooky All Hallows’ Eve On Oct. 25 and 26 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Heather Doughty and Lang Pioneer Village.
The night features a 19th-century All Hallows’ Eve celebration with a modern twist.
Events and amenities include a wagon/tractor ride, history of confines, party games, graveyard stroll, a witch’s lair, Pirate Hall with a treasure hunt, potions/poison class, shopping, magic show, fortune telling and more.
Listen to the Michi Saagiig people’s tale of the Wendigo. Learn about paranormal investigations undertaken at Lang Pioneer Village Museum by ghost hunters, the Paranormal Seekers and see some of the specialized equipment they use to make their discoveries. Warm up by the fire and witness the magic of the Samhain Celtic fire festival.
Take a break by the Cider Barn for some delicious hot chocolate and monster cookies or visit the Peterborough County Agricultural Heritage Building (PCAHB) for a hot dog or grilled cheese sandwich (additional fee applies). You can also purchase candy and sweet treats in the General Store as you learn about the origins of trick-or-treating.
Remember to come disguised to blend in with the spirits and ghosts lurking in the Village or have your face painted in the PCAHB Great Hall by Faces by 2. At the end of the evening, children will receive treat bags to enjoy on their way home.
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$10,000 Donation Helps Launch Morning Drop-in Program In Partnership From PATH and Elizabeth Fry Society
/Peterborough Action for Tiny Homes (PATH) has donated $10,000 to support the Morning Drop-in Program at the Trinity Community Centre (One City Peterborough) in partnership with the Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough as it reaches its two-year anniversary in January next year.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Fry Society.
PATHs has been a community partner of the Morning Drop-in since October last year according to a press release. The partnership has been centred around providing clothing and other textile-related resources to those who access the program. It continues to state that along with the donation, PATH volunteers will take on a more active role at The Morning Drop-In, facilitating the Community Resource Room (clothing and hygiene supplies) and other programming (to be announced later).
“Elizabeth Fry wishes to express our deep appreciation to PATH for their donation, community partnership and the services they will help to provide for our community,” said Kristal Jones-Craighead, Morning Drop-in Program Facilitator. “When organizations work alongside each other, capacity is increased. The Morning Drop-in Program will provide direct service experience and mentorship to PATH volunteers and enables them to create relationships and trust as they provide this service for our unsheltered neighbours.”
The Elizabeth Fry Society of Peterborough has operated the Morning Drop-in Program since January 2023. Located at 360 Reid St. in partnership with One City Peterborough, the Program is a space where community members can gather, share a light breakfast, enjoy a cup of coffee, access the Community Resource Room (clothing/hygiene items), washrooms, and showers, connect with housing outreach workers, access harm reduction supplies, participate in community programs and have the occasional dance party.
Some program highlights include:
428 days of Morning Drop-in service
Served an average of 46 guests per day
19,688 meals served
Housing Outreach accessed approximately 260 times
The full impact report can be viewed online
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The City of Peterborough Announces Partnership With Family Physician Think Tank
/The City of Peterborough is collaborating with the Peterborough Family Doctors’ Think Tank to support its new approach to physician recruitment and retention, announced on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of the City of Peterborough.
The Think Tank is a consulting and brainstorming group of independent family physicians in Peterborough which focuses on local advocacy and grassroots-level changes to maximize physician recruitment and retention.
The Think Tank is providing guidance and making recommendations to the City’s new Physician Recruitment Coordinator and is partnering with the City on joint projects that support primary care in Peterborough. The Think Tank's advice will be critical to the City’s efforts to highlight Peterborough as an ideal place to have a primary care career.
“Peterborough has a great deal to offer prospective physicians so they can contribute meaningfully to various types of patient care while also living in a community in which they are valued as leaders,” said Mayor Jeff Leal. “We’re thankful for the opportunity to work with local doctors through this partnership to understand the diverse practice types and evolving careers of family doctors.”
The Think Tank’s founder, Dr. Madura Sundareswaran, emphasizes the importance of this partnership.
“Peterborough is a fantastic place to live and work, and the Think Tank is excited about the City‘s innovative and unique new family physician recruitment and retention strategy. Family physicians should be part of the recruitment effort, and, as such, we are proud to be working with the City to leverage the strengths of Peterborough and its local physicians,” said Dr. Sundareswaran. “We all share the common goal of ensuring that everyone in this community has access to a primary care provider, and we look forward to working together to achieve this goal.”
The City’s physician recruitment efforts aim to work towards fair and equitable access to primary care, a challenge faced by many communities across the province. As retirements and administrative burdens increase, it is vital to expand access for new patients and maintain care for those already with a family doctor.
The City’s Physician Recruitment Coordinator, Chantal Van Parys, is centralizing resources and now serves as prospective physicians' main contact.
Over the coming months, the City will showcase what Peterborough can offer recent graduates and family physicians who have yet to settle into a practice.
This collaboration with the Think Tank is part of the City’s pilot project, and the City has committed to funding it until December next year.
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CUPE Not "Horsing Around" To Ontario Government's Privatized Healthcare Plan
/Serving as a metaphor in response to the Ontario Premier’s plan to bring privatized healthcare to the province, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have brought a 15-foot trojan horse to a rally at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) on Thursday morning.
The 15-foot trojan horse is making 61 stops along the province. It made a visit at the Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay after it made a stop at the PRHC. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
The horse is synonymous with Greek mythology. During the Trojan War, the Greeks used a wooden horse disguised as a gift to gain access to the city of Troy and secure a victory. Soldiers were hiding inside the wooden horse as an ambush.
In May of last year, Doug Ford, Ontario Premier, had Bill 60 (Your Health Act) pass legislation to allow private clinics to conduct more OHIP-covered surgeries.
CUPE believes this bill is a trojan horse and disrupts and negatively affects the public healthcare system rather than both being able to co-exist.
“It's actually the opposite,” said Sharon Richer, CUPE secretary-treasurer of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions. “What it is going to do, (is) create longer wait times, create staffing issues and more hallway medicine that we're already today.”
According to CUPE, $968 million was spent on for-profit staffing agencies last year. The report continues to state that there was an increase of 212 per cent for private, for-profit clinics from 2023-24. This drains resources from the public system, contributing to staffing shortages and long wait times, says Richer.
“If you don't have the money, you're not going to be moved up into the line and the waitlists are going to grow longer here and that private clinics are only going to take healthy patients,” she said. “What's going to be left for the hospitals are people with medical issues on top already with the surgery that they're having so it's going to create longer wait times.”
While CUPE says it has not affected the PRHC for now, they have already seen its effects elsewhere in Ontario.
“In Don Mills, people are going to have their cataracts done at a private clinic and they're charging OHIP, $1,269 where if they have it done in a public hospital, it costs OHIP $508,” explained Richer. “This is almost two-and-a-half times more. This is our public taxes paying for these private clinics to make a profit and this is why we're sounding an alarm.”
CUPE’s solution to the problem is funding public health care. According to their report, Ontario has the fewest beds per 1,000 people across the country and the lowest staffing levels. They want increased healthcare funding in the public sector and to stop privatization.
CUPE hopes the trojan horse sends a message to Doug Ford and the Conservative government about reconsidering privatized healthcare.
“We're going across the province, we have 61 stops in various communities and we're talking to people,” concluded Richer. “There will be an election coming up in the spring and people need to make sure healthcare is the number one topic in this election and they need to force Doug Ford to repeal the Bill. If we get a new government, the government needs to repeal the privatization for the clinics, Bill 60.”
Peterborough Recognizes October As Latin American Heritage Month
/The City of Peterborough officially recognizes October as Latin American Heritage Month, announced on Wednesday.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
Mayor Jeff Leal has issued the following statement:
“I am honoured to recognize Latin American Heritage Month in the City of Peterborough. This is an opportunity to reflect on the rich history, culture and contributions the Latin American community has made here in Peterborough and across Canada.
Latin Americans have enriched our city with a tapestry of vibrant traditions, arts, music and cuisine. I encourage everyone to learn more about Latin American history and support the local events and businesses showcasing Latin American culture throughout the month.”
According to the Government of Canada, approximately 500,000 Canadians have a Latin American background, with roots in more than 22 countries. The Government of Canada officially recognized Latin American Heritage Month in 2018.
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Peterborough Museum & Archives Marking 57th Anniversary With 'Beyond the Galleries ' Tour
/The Peterborough Museum & Archives (PMA) will mark the anniversary of its opening 57 years ago on Oct. 27 with Beyond the Galleries tours.
File Photo.
Visitors will look in-depth at rarely-seen items in the PMA’s extensive collection. The tours, guided by the knowledgeable PMA Curatorial Team, promise an intimate experience with a collection that reflects the Peterborough community's heritage, art and culture.
Tours start at 12:15 p.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:15 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.
Tickets are $10 per person (plus HST) and available for purchase online in person at the PMA or by phone at 705-743-5180.
Each tour will last 45 minutes and can accommodate up to 20 participants.
In addition to Beyond the Galleries, the Holodomor Mobile Classroom will be on-site on Oct. 27, offering visitors even more opportunities to explore and engage.
The Holodomor National Awareness Tour (HNAT) is a project of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, a not-for-profit charitable organization. According to the foundation, the mandate of the project is to build bridges among communities to promote inter-culture understanding, awareness and respect for the democratic values that Canadians hold dear. This includes the importance of human rights, the rule of law and human dignity, told through the lens of the Holodomor Famine-Genocide in Ukraine of 1932-1933.
Visits to the Holodomor Mobile Classroom are free of charge.
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Hamilton Man Charged With Drug Possession; Suspect Attempted to Escape Police But Crashed a Vehicle and Tried to Flee
/A 23-year-old Hamilton man is facing multiple charges after an incident Tuesday morning.
Photo by David Tuan Bui.
At roughly 11:30 a.m., officers spotted a prohibited driver in the area of Monaghan Road and Lansdowne Street. They attempted a traffic stop in a parking lot but the vehicle went around the cruiser and fled.
Officers did not pursue but could see the vehicle being driven erratically southbound on Monaghan Road. A short time later, the vehicle was reportedly involved in a single-vehicle collision and the driver fled the scene. Officers were told that the suspect had run toward a bank of townhomes in the area. Officers ran on foot and located the suspect being held by a bystander. The suspect was taken into custody. EMS attended the scene, but the suspect declined medical treatment.
During a search of the vehicle and suspect after arrest, officers seized:
48.22grams of Cocaine
4.3grams of Cannabis
Several cell phones
About $3000 in Canadian Currency
Drug paraphernalia
As a result of the investigation, a 23-year-old Hamilton man was arrested and charged with:
Possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of Trafficking – Cocaine
Dangerous operation
Fail to remain X2
Failure to comply with release order - other than to attend court
Have care or control of vehicle or boat with cannabis readily available
The accused is currently bound by a release order with the following conditions: to not occupy the driver seat of a motor vehicle and to not operate or have care or control of a motor vehicle.
They were held in custody and appeared in court on Tuesday.
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Ennismore Woman Wins Top Prize of $100,000 From Instant Blazing Bounty
/Ennismore’s Susan Maybury can celebrate after winning the $100,000 top prize Instant Blazing Bounty, announced on Friday.
Photo courtesy of OLG.
Maybury has been playing the lottery with OLG for more than 30 years. She enjoys playing LOTTO MAX and LOTTO 6/49, as well as various INSTANT games.
“I was playing my ticket in the store when I realized one of my numbers matched a lucky number. I couldn’t believe it,” said Maybury. “I shouted out, ‘Did I really win?’ My body froze and my hands started to shake. I told my husband and my kids, and oh boy, were they happy to hear of my win!”
Susan plans to save her winnings for the time being.
“Words can’t describe the feeling of winning” she explained. “I couldn’t be any happier.”
The winning ticket was purchased at Causeway Variety on Robinson Road in Ennismore.
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2024 Norwood Fair Sees Record-Breaking Numbers
/The 2024 Norwood Fall Fair saw record-breaking one-day attendance on Saturday when 23,718 people came through the gates to enjoy the various attractions, shows and entertainment, announced on Monday.
Photo courtesy of the Norwood Fair.
