Articles | | Page 175kawarthaNOW | News, events, and community information for residents, visitors, and cottagers in Peterborough and The Kawarthas (2024)

April 24, 2023

The backlash from the Minden community continues to grow following the announcement by Haliburton Highlands Health Services last Thursday (April 20) that the Minden emergency department will be closed effective Friday, June 1st, with all staff to be transferred to the emergency department in Haliburton.

Haliburton Highlands Health Services currently operates two emergency departments that are open 24/7, one at 4575 Deep Bay Road in Minden and the other at 7199 Gelert Road in Haliburton, both with on-site heliports. Unlike the Haliburton location, which has 15 in-patient beds, the Minden location does not offer in-patient acute care services.

According to a statement from Haliburton Highlands Health Services president and CEO Carolyn Plummer and board chair David O’Brien, the decision to close the Minden emergency department was made in response to an ongoing shortage of nursing and medical staff.

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“We know how much the community has appreciated having an emergency department in Minden,” reads the statement. “This decision has been made so (Haliburton Highlands Health Services) can continue to maintain high-quality health services for everyone in Haliburton County. It will help us run a more sustainable operation in the long-term, while supporting the well-being of our staff and physicians.”

“It also means we can do more to support our staff and physicians. The pressure to keep two emergency departments open, on top of the personal and professional sacrifices it has demanded, has been unbelievable. We have to support our staff, so they can keep protecting and caring for our patients.”

With the closure of the Minden emergency department, local residents would need to travel 25 kilometres northeast to Haliburton’s emergency department — a 25-minute drive.

“With the only in-patient beds in the county being located at the Haliburton site, this change means that anyone who comes to the emergency department and needs to be admitted to hospital can do so without having to be transferred, when beds are available.”

The two other nearest hospitals, both an hour’s drive from Minden, are South Muskoka Memorial Hospital Site in Bracebridge and Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay.

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Haliburton Highlands Health Services first announced in November 2021 that ongoing staffing shortages could result in a temporary reduction of services at one of its emergency departments. Additional statements were issued in April and December 2022 that staffing shortages could result in temporary closures, although such closures never took place.

In the December 2022 and January 2023 meetings of the Haliburton Highlands Health Services board, president and CEO Carolyn Plummer noted the organization was continuing to rely on agency staffing and contract staff to keep both emergency departments open. The minutes do not indicate whether a decision was under consideration to permanently close the Minden emergency department. Minutes for the March 2023 meeting of the board are not yet available.

Both Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter and deputy mayor Lisa Schell took to Facebook to say they were blindsided by the decision.

“There was absolutely no prior consultation with county or township staff or elected officials,” Carter writes on Facebook, noting he and other area mayors were only informed of the decision during a Zoom meeting the night before the announcement, despite meetings with Haliburton Highlands Health Services on December 19, January 19, and March 16.

“I was present at all of the meetings and although we discussed the fear of having to temporarily close either of the ERs due to lack of staff (which never occurred), there was never any discussion or warning that there was a plan afoot to permanently close the Minden Emergency Department … The process to make this decision was shrouded in secrecy.”

Along with the decision to close Minden’s emergency department, Carter has also expressed concern about the timing of the closure.

“The decision is to close the Minden Emergency Department (the larger of the two in terms of volume) on June 1st,” he writes. “Most of us don’t need to be reminded that June is the start of the period when our population triples with cottagers and tourists.”

During the Haliburton Highlands Health Services annual general meeting last June, Plummer had reported that Minden’s emergency department had 12,768 visits for the past year, compared to 9,766 for Haliburton’s emergency department.

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For her part, Minden Hills deputy mayor Lisa Schell calls the decision to close Minden’s emergency department “very shortsighted and difficult to understand.”

“Minden is listed as one of the fastest growing communities in the country,” Schell writes on Facebook. “This will cause health and economic harm and is absolutely shameful! The community has had ZERO opportunity to engage with the board before this decision was made! I am speechless.”

The decision to close the Minden emergency department, along with the resulting community outrage, has been covered by local media as well as by Global News and CTV News.

Although with local politicians, local residents are protesting the decision, including through a Facebook group called Save Minden Ontario Emergency Room with almost 3,000 members.

“Everyone needs to take part and flood media along with our provincial government,” reads the group’s description. “Let everyone know how Minden sticks together and this is not right. Especially for our future and our kids.”

In addition, Minden resident and former Minden firefighter Patrick Porzuczek has launched an online petition called Help Save the Minden Hills Emergency Department that has so far received more than 3,000 signatures.

“This closure will be a devastating loss to Minden Hills and all surrounding communities,” Porzuczek writes. “There have been no public meetings or an explanation as to how this closure will impact all of those who use the ER, including local fire departments and paramedic services.”

April 24, 2023

Millbrook’s 4th Line Theatre has launched a ‘chair-ity’ fundraising campaign where patrons can purchase naming rights for one of 400 new chairs the outdoor theatre company has purchased for its barnyard venue at the Winslow Farm.

The purchase of the new chairs follows a survey completed last year where 44 per cent of patrons expressed a desire for more comfortable and safe chairs. As part of the 4th Line’s strategic planning process in the fall, the organization’s board of directors unanimously voted in favour of the purchase of new chairs — even self-financing the purchase if necessary.

“Our audiences spoke loud and clear that, while they love theatre, they would like us to address their comfort with different chairs,” says 4th Line’s managing artistic director Kim Blackwell in a media release.

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Built for stability, comfort, and durability, the new Canadian-made chairs are a composite of wood and metal that can safely hold 500 pounds. With a powder-coated steel frame built to withstand the elements, the contemporary and comfortable chairs will not fade, peel, or crack.

The new chairs will be in place for 4th Line’s upcoming season, which kicks off on June 27th with the world premiere of The Tilco Strike, written by D’Arcy Jenish and directed by Cynthia Ashperger, followed in August by a restaging of 4th Line’s flagship play The Cavan Blazers, written by Robert Winslow and directed by Kim Blackwell.

For a $200 donation to 4th Line’s chair-ity campaign, patrons can purchase naming rights to a chair, which includes a personalized engraved plaque on the chair.

VIDEO: 4th Line Theatre’s Chair-ity Campaign Launch

Brian Field — a Millbrook-based businessman, mortgage broker, co-owner of Field Day B & B, and theatre enthusiast — has stepped up to chair the campaign, which kicked off in March with a generous starting donation by Andrew and Ally Pyle and Pyle Wealth Management CIBC Wood Gundy.

“I look forward to summer evenings spent at the farm in Millbrook, being swept away to days gone by, all while learning quirky parts of the history of the area I now call home,” Field explains. “What I did not look forward to — the case of numb bum I found myself with! I am thrilled to be the ‘chair of chairs.’ Please join me in securing the comfort of 4th Line patrons, now and in the future, with your support of the chair-ity campaign.”

“To have Brian Field offer to chair the fundraising component of this project is truly gratifying,” Blackwell adds.

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Both naming rights donations and smaller donations to the chair-ity campaign can be made online at secure1.tixhub.com/4thlinetheatre/online/b_don1.asp, with all proceeds supporting the not-for-profit organization.

“With Mother’s Day and Father’s Day right around the corner, buying a chair is a great gift for a loved one who has everything,” reads the media release. “It is a deeply thoughtful gift which will last for years to come.”

Tickets for 4th Line’s upcoming season can be purchased by phone at 705-932-4445 (toll-free at 800-814-0055), online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, or in person at 4th Line Theatre’s new Box Office location at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook.

April 24, 2023

Parks Canada is preparing for the opening of the 2023 boating season on the Trent-Severn Waterway and will be conducting spring maintenance on three swing bridges in Peterborough this week.

The bridge work includes preventative maintenance tasks like washing and greasing swing bridges, and conducting visual inspections to ensure their safe operation.

The following swing bridges in Peterborough will be temporarily closed for regular spring maintenance, weather permitting:

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• Maria Street Swing Bridge will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25th
• Warsaw Road Swing Bridge on Parkhill Road will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26th
• McFarlane Street Bridge will be closed from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27th

Detour routes will be posted for all closures.

Depending on water flow conditions, navigation season on the Trent-Severn Waterway normally opens on Victoria Day and runs until Thanksgiving.

For more information about the Trent-Severn Waterway, visit www.parkscanada.gc.ca/trent.

April 22, 2023

After a three-year hiatus because of the pandemic, the Lakefield Literary Festival is returning on Friday, July 14th and Saturday, July 15th to the Bryan Jones Theatre at Lakefield College School.

The festival will be presenting two authors on Friday evening, two authors on Saturday afternoon, and a headlining author on Saturday evening, with participating authors to be announced. Admission to individual events will be $35, or $90 for a pass to all the events. In addition, the children’s tent will return to Lakefield’s downtown Cenotaph Park to offer its popular Saturday morning program.

The Lakefield Literary Festival was established in 1995 as a celebration of Margaret Laurence, but has since become a celebration of the rich literary heritage of Lakefield and the surrounding area, including the works of Catharine Parr Traill, Susanna Moodie, and Isabella Valancy Crawford, all of whom lived and wrote in Lakefield.

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The festival celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2019, featuring renowned Canadian author Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient, Anil’s Ghost, Warlight) as the headlining author.

Due to the pandemic, the festival was cancelled in 2020, 2021, and 2022, although the festival’s annual young writers contest continued. First introduced in 1998, the writing contest is open to all students of Peterborough-area secondary schools, with awards presented for junior and senior fiction, creative non-fiction, and poetry. The deadline for entries for this year’s contest, sponsored by Patricia and David Morton, is Monday, May 15th.

For more information on the Lakefield Literary Festival, including the young writers contest, visit lakefieldliteraryfestival.com.

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Lakefield’s literary history

The Village of Lakefield has a rich literary heritage, with two of Canada’s most important 19th-century writers — sisters Catharine Parr Traill and Susanna Moodie — having lived in the area, as well as one of Canada’s most esteemed and beloved writers, the novelist and short-story writer Margaret Laurence.

Born in England almost two years apart, Susanna and Catharine Parr Strickland eventually married, respectively, John Moodie and Thomas Traill. In 1832, both families emigrated to Canada where they settled on adjacent bush farms along the eastern shore of Lake Katchewanooka just north of Lakefield, with the help of their brother Samuel Strickland.

Their experiences as pioneers led to Catharine Parr Traill’s book The Backwoods of Canada (1836) and Susanna Moodie’s book Roughing It in the Bush (1852).

In 1840, Susanna Moodie and her husband moved to Belleville, but she returned to the Lakefield area for a month each summer to visit her sister.

The prior year, the Traills sold their farm and then lived at various locations in Peterborough County until Thomas Traill died in 1859. Following her husband’s death, Catharine had a cottage built in Lakefield with the help of her brother Samuel.

She called it “Westove”, after her husband’s home in the Orkney Islands in Scotland. Except for short absences to visit family and friends, it was Catharine’s home from 1860 until her death in 1899.

Located at 16 Smith Street in Lakefield, it is now a private residence with a historical plaque located beside the home.

One of Canada’s most esteemed literary figures, Margaret Laurence, spent the last 13 years of her life in Lakefield. She is best known for her iconic books The Stone Angel (1964), A Jest of God (1966), and The Diviners (1974).

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Called the “First Lady of Lakefield”, Laurence lived at 8 Regent Street in Lakefield from 1974 until her death there in 1987. She also had a cottage on the Otonabee River near Peterborough, where she wrote The Diviners during the summers of 1971 to 1973.

Laurence’s Lakefield home is located near Christ Church (62 Queen St.), a small stone church built in 1853 under the leadership of Samuel Strickland. It now houses the Christ Church Community Museum, which displays important historical artifacts and displays including the Strickland family history and information about Susanna Moodie, Catharine Parr Traill, Margaret Laurence, and 19th-century writer and poet Isabella Valancy Crawford, who also lived in Lakefield.

Christ Church Community Museum is only open to the public in the summer.

April 21, 2023

Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for possible significant rainfall in Haliburton County on Saturday (April 22).

Periods of rain will move into the area later Friday afternoon or early in the evening and will continue into Friday night, with amounts near 5 mm possible.

After a brief break in the precipitation overnight, another more significant round of rainfall is expected Saturday with a further 10 to 25 mm possible by the evening.

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Although these amounts are not particularly high, the area is sensitive to any additional rainfall. According to Otonabee Conservation, water levels in the Haliburton and reservoir lakes are approaching their respective full levels due to the past several weeks of sustained snow and ice melt and rainfall runoff.

There is a small possibility that up to 50 mm may fall across the northern portions of the Haliburton region. If this happens, then run-off will cause water levels and flows on the Kawartha Lakes and Otonabee River to increase more than anticipated and rapidly. Otonabee Conservation is advising residents and businesses located in flood-prone areas on the shores of the Kawartha Lakes and Otonabee River to remain vigilant.

Environment Canada’s confidence in where the heaviest rainfall will occur Saturday is still low. Rainfall warnings may be required for some regions.

Elsewhere in the greater Kawarthas region for Saturday, Environment Canada is calling for showers, at times heavy, with 10 to 25 mm of rain possible. There is a risk of a thunderstorm late Saturday afternoon and again early in the evening.

April 21, 2023

The Ontario government has provided a grant of up to $1,560,500 for the Peterborough Humane Society’s new Peterborough Animal Care Centre at 1999 Technology Drive.

Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith made the announcement at the centre on Friday (April 21) on behalf of Ontario infrastructure minister Kinga Surma.

“The Peterborough Humane Society has been a staple in our community providing services for more than 80 years to people of Peterborough,” Smith says in a media release. “I’m proud to say that the Government of Ontario has recognized the exceptional work that the Peterborough Humane Society does and has made this investment in a new state-of-the-art facility in our community. I’m looking forward to 80 more years of alleviating suffering, rescuing, healing, and facilitating the adoption of animals.”

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The funding comes from the province’s $200-million Strategic Priorities Infrastructure Fund, announced in the 2021 budget, which provides infrastructure funding to strategic community projects and sports and recreation facilities.

According to the media release, the Peterborough Humane Society will use the grant to provide accessible outdoor spaces at the Peterborough Animal Care Centre for community engagement and to enhance nature and healthy activity, including a recreational trail system, accessible building signage, and patio spaces for outdoor leisure and corporate event purposes.

“The incredible support from our provincial government is instrumental in allowing us to achieve our programming and service goals through the completion of our new centre,” says Peterborough Humane Society executive director Shawn Morey. “This funding will help us in developing a hub not only for animals, but also for our local, and regional community members to enjoy for generations to come. We are one step closer in making this centre a premier destination for animal wellness.”

The Peterborough Animal Care Centre, which includes an animal adoption and seduction centre, a high-volume regional spay-and-neuter clinic, and the Ontario SPCA and Humane Society’s provincial dog rehabilitation centre, opened earlier this year. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for Saturday, June 24th.

April 21, 2023

Peterborough Musicfest has announced Celtic music superstars Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy will be opening the music festival’s 36th summer season with a Canada Day concert.

Natalie MacMaster began playing fiddle in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia when she was nine years old. Also a step dancer, she released her debut album Four on the Floor when she was 16 years old. Since then, the Juno and East Coast Music award winner has released 11 more records, toured with the Chieftains, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana, and Alison Krauss, and has recorded with Yo-Yo Ma.

Donnell Leahy rose to prominence as the lead fiddle player for Leahy, a Juno award-winning Celtic-folk group that originally included 11 members of the Leahy family from Lakefield.

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MacMaster and Leahy, who married in 2002 and now have seven children, have released three albums together: 2015’s One produced by Bob Ezrin, 2016’s A Celtic Family Christmas, and 2023’s Canvas, which introduces rock, pop, Latin and classical influences to their trademark Celtic sound and features guest musicians Rhiannon Giddens, Yo-Yo Ma, and Brian Finnegan, as well as their daughter Mary Frances Leahy.

MacMaster and Leahy will perform a free-admission concert at 8 p.m. on Saturday, July 1st in Del Crary Park. Their live show features all seven of their children playing instruments.

This is the third concert announced for Peterborough Musicfest’s 36th summer season, with Toronto-based music collective Dwayne Gretzky performing on Wednesday, July 5th and Little River Band performing on Wednesday, July 26th.

VIDEO: “The Chase” – Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy

VIDEO: “Canvas” – Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy

VIDEO: “Keeping the Family Tradition of Fiddling Alive”

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Launched on July 1, 1987 under the name Peterborough Festival of Lights with concert series founder Fred Anderson at the helm, Peterborough Musicfest is Canada’s longest-running free-admission outdoor summer concert series. Dallas Green, Our Lady Peace, Serena Ryder, Gordon Lightfoot, 54-40, and Blue Rodeo are just a few of the many musical acts that have performed over the years.

Overseen by general manager Tracey Randall and a board of directors, Peterborough Musicfest is able to offer free-admission concerts thanks to corporate sponsorships (most of whom, including kawarthaNOW, are locally owned businesses) along with multiple levels of government funding, fundraising initiatives, and private donations.

Individuals and businesses interested in sponsoring the festival can email sales@ptbomusicfest.ca or call 705-755-1111.

April 21, 2023

Emily Martin is leaving Showplace Performance Centre in Peterborough after nine years, including the last five as general manager.

Martin made the announcement to her friends on Facebook on Friday (April 21).

“I’ve been fortunate to find another arts administration position in a nearby community that will allow my family to remain in Peterborough, a city that we have come to love since we moved here in 2004,” she writes.

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Martin first came to Showplace in 2014 in the position of marketing and administrative manager, following 10 years with Peterborough Musicfest including the last four as that organization’s general manager.

She became interim general manager of Showplace in July 2017, after previous general manager Ray Marshall resigned to pursue other interests. In April 2018, the Showplace board appointed her as general manager.

During her time as general manager, Martin led the not-for-profit charitable organization through the pandemic and also through a capital campaign that included the theatre replacing its old seats with new state-of-the-art seating.

According to Martin, she will continue as general manager until May 4, with Wayne Bonner stepping down from the Showplace board as past chair to act in the role while the board recruits a new general manager.

April 21, 2023

A Rotary Club of Peterborough tradition that’s been 30 years in the making is returning as an in-person event and Rotarian Bruce Gravel, for one, couldn’t be more excited.

The service club’s annual dinner and auction gala, which was held virtually over the course of the pandemic, will be held Friday, April 28th at the Peterborough Golf and Country Club off Armour Road.

With a goal of raising $25,000 for the Rise Youth Housing Program offered by the YES Shelter for Youth and Families, tickets cost $150 and are available online at bit.ly/RotaryAuction2023 until noon on Monday, April 24th. Tickets include a charitable tax receipt for $70.

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Gravel, who is co-chairing the event with fellow Rotarian Amy Simpson — they’ve both been at the helm of the auction committee for 10 years — says while the virtual presentations of the event were as successful as could be expected, this is an event that’s meant to be experienced in person.

“A big part of the evening is the socializing and the camaraderie,” says Gravel, a past president of the club that meets every second Monday at the Holiday Inn in downtown Peterborough. “There’s an energy in the room and people feed off that. (Auctioneer) Rob Rusland is amazing. He works the crowd and you’ve got to be in the room for that.”

First held in 1993, the dinner and auction is one of two major annual fundraisers that club organizes. The first is the Carl Oake Rotary Swim, which was held for the 37th time this past March and has raised an estimated $1.37 million since its inception for various organizations — Easter Seals and the Five Counties Children’s Centre among them.

With a $30,000 goal, the bulk of this year’s dinner and auction proceeds ($25,000) will go to the Rising Youth Housing Program, with anything in excess of that amount going to other Rotary-supported projects.

Gravel notes that during the 10 years he and Simpson have overseen the auction committee, there have been various benefactors. For six years, proceeds were earmarked for Habitat for Humanity’s Youth Build Program and, then for two years, Homeward Bound Peterborough. Money raised last year supported the new medical centre at Camp Kawartha, which the club founded way back in 1921 as its first major project.

“Part of our club’s centennial commitment (in 2021) was to make a major donation to the Rise Youth Housing Program,” says Gravel, noting that commitment involves gifting $25,000 per year over several years.

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“The program is quite unique. It’s targeted to youth, basically teenagers, who all of a sudden find themselves on their own. The goal is to keep them off the street by teaching them how to maintain a place of their own in terms of cooking, cleaning, budgeting … basically surviving on their own in a proper manner rather than being totally destitute and falling into the things that you can fall into (when that happens).”

Over the course of the past few club meetings, Rotarians have heard success stories associated with the program, notes Gravel.

“Stories of teens who were going down the wrong path — they came from broken homes or abusive or drug-addicted parents. They had to leave to save themselves. The program has taken them in and taught them life skills. They’ve turned their lives around. They’ve finished high school. They’ve gone onto college. Some are now working in various fields. These are kids who would have been on the street otherwise. The program has given them self-confidence.”

Better still, adds Gravel, YES is fully partnering with Rotary on the event, with agency representatives sitting on the planning committee, drumming up auction items, and booking two tables.

The event itself will feature both silent and live auctions, with 12 tables of items as part of the former and Rusland doing his thing for the latter, auctioning off 24 items. And new this time around, there will be live music, with a cellist and a flutist from the Peterborough Symphony Orchestra serenading the pre-dinner reception at 6 p.m.. Dinner itself will consist of three courses and wine beginning at 7 p.m.

Noting the event is an all-hands-on-deck undertaking for the club, Gravel says his fellow Rotarians not only attend in great numbers but also secure auction items.

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“All service clubs are being challenged in terms of membership but they’re still vital,” says Gravel. “Size doesn’t necessarily mean effectiveness. We have dropped in membership but we’re holding steady now at around 70 members. The vitality of our club continues, whether we’re at 120 members or at 70 members. Whatever we do, we do try to make it fun.”

In the meantime, Gravel is prepared for the prospect of loading his car at night’s end with newly acquired auction items.

“While I’m running around making sure everything is going smoothly, my spouse (Frances) is running around bidding. I know we haul a lot of stuff to the auction but I never know until the end of the evening how much stuff I’m hauling home. She has her own credit card — she doesn’t need mine.”

Having served 10 years as event co-chair, Gravel says it doesn’t feel like it has been that long, noting the time has “zoomed by.”

“When you’re doing something you love, time shoots right by. It’s a fun commitment.”

For more information about other projects the Rotary Club of Peterborough is involved in, visit www.peterboroughrotary.ca. For more information about YES Shelter for Youth and Families, including the Rise Youth Housing Program, visit yesshelter.ca.

April 20, 2023

Every Thursday, we publish live music events at pubs and restaurants in Peterborough and the greater Kawarthas region based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, April 20 to Wednesday, April 26.

If you’re a pub or restaurant owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our nightlifeNOW editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com. For concerts and live music events at other venues, check out our page.

With the exception of karaoke, we only list events with performing musicians. Venues may also host other events during the week (e.g., dancing, DJs, comedy shows).