Peterborough County Hubs Program Expands

The Peterborough County Hubs Program is now offering drop-in services in Millbrook, Havelock, Apsley and Norwood.

Peterborough county logo

The new drop-in service, which started on Tuesday, gives rural residents access to supports related to health care, mental health, addictions, employment, developmental services, housing, income, senior services and more within their home community.

"The expansion of the Peterborough County Hubs Program is an important step in ensuring that all Peterborough City-County residents, no matter where they live, have easy access to the services and supports they need, said Peterborough city councillor Alex Bierk. “By bringing these services closer to home, we are removing barriers for communities across the region and making sure that residents can get help with everything from health care to employment services.”

The drop-in program has opened new hubs in several locations:

• Millbrook Hub at Old Millbrook School - open Tuesdays 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

• Havelock Hub at Havelock Community Care office - open Wednesdays 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

• Apsley Hub at Apsley Community Care office - open first and third Wednesday of each month 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• Norwood Hub at Asphodel-Norwood Township Office - open Thursdays 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

The program is a collaboration between the City/County Social Services administered by the City of Peterborough, Canopy Support Services, Canadian Mental Health Association - Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge and Fleming CREW and Academic Upgrading.

A staff person from of the agencies will be at the hubs when the open for drop-in service.

The program builds on the existing Peterborough County Hubs Program that has nine locations across the county in Keene, Warsaw, Douro, Buckhorn, Lakefield, Millbrook, Havelock, Apsley and Norwood.

“Last year, I was proud to be at the launch of the eight Peterborough County Hubs which provided bookable space for social service providers to meet with clients,” said warden Bonnie Clark. “Local clients will now have the convenience to drop-in during office hours and not have to book an appointment. This pilot project brings social services access for our rural and small urban communities closer to parity with larger urban centres.”

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Apsley Man Wins Instant Crossword Top Prize of $50,000

Apsley’s David Reddick scratched enough words to win the Instant Crossword top prize of $50,000, announced by Ontario Lottery Gaming (OLG) on Monday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of OLG.

According to OLG, Instant Crossword odds of winning any prize are 1 in 3.88.

The winning ticket was purchased at Hunter’s General Store on Burleigh Street in Apsley.

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Community Care Apsley Awarded Volunteer Of The Year After Supporting Community Through Loss Of Grocery Store

Community Care’s Apsley service office accepted the 2022 Community Volunteer of the Year Award from the Township of North Kawartha at the recent Peterborough County Recognition Awards Ceremony.

Some Community Care volunteers in Apsley and North Kawartha accepting certificate to display in their space. Cathy Leard, Chris Evans, Holly Hilker, Mary Hall and Sue McKinlay. Photo courtesy of Community Care Apsley office.

In December 2020, a fire destroyed the main grocery store in Apsley, leaving many community members without easy access to groceries.

“North Kawartha recognized the efforts of our staff, volunteers and donors who supported the community through the loss of its only grocery store,” said Katie Bryck, Community Care’s Community Development Coordinator in Apsley. “Our Be A Lifeline campaign provided enhanced support to residents throughout this Township to ensure that they had access to food sources.”

Apsley area volunteers worked to support clients and local residents by providing additional transportation to grocery stores in Bancroft and Lakefield. They also did many grocery shopping trips for clients with limited mobility, delivering the groceries they needed directly to their homes. They also ensured that Meals on Wheels was not disrupted, and that freezers were full during the winter months.

“This award is dedicated to our kind, generous and dedicated volunteers,” said Bryck. “We appreciate all our volunteers continue to do for our community and we cannot thank them enough. Thank you, Township of North Kawartha and Peterborough County for this recognition award, we humbly accept it on their behalf.”

Last year, Community Care served 6,233 individuals with in-home support services that allowed them to remain safely in their own homes throughout Peterborough County and over 150 of these clients resided in the Township of North Kawartha.

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Peterborough Is Getting Even Sweeter With New Candy Shop Tastely Box

Tastely Box, a curated candy shop that got its start in Apsley and took off on TikTok, has opened a location in Peterborough.

Photo by Angela O’Grady.

Not even a year after opening their brick and mortar shop in Apsley, Polly and James Laneville have found such success that they opened a second location on Chamberlain Street in Peterborough.

“We’re really excited, this is going to be our main store now,” said Polly. “I tripled our stock from what we have in Apsley, and even that’s not enough - we’ll need more for sure.”

The store curates themed boxes of candy from all around the world. Themed boxes include Japanese, Mexican, British, U.S.A and Canadian. They also offer themes like ‘Peanut Butter Lover’, ‘Pucker Up Sour’ and ‘Chocoholic’.

Though they haven’t launched it yet, due to shipping issues, they will also sell rolled ice cream and slab ice cream.

“We have really, really big plans for Peterborough. A five year plan already in the works, but I don’t want to give it away.”

Tastely Box is open Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

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Dan Joyce Clothing Opens Second Location In Apsley

Dan Joyce Clothing, a shop that has been located in Peterborough for 43 years, has opened a second location, in Apsley.

Photo courtesy of Nancy Wiskel

Opened on May 3 at 126A Burleigh Street in downtown Apsley, owner Nancy Wiskel says this location will offer a more relaxed style.

“The collection can be described as leisure wear for the smart dressed woman; fun but still stylish,” she said.

The 1,000 square foot space spread across two floors, is made to remind visitors of a cottage, says Wiskel.

Online ordering is available on the website for both the Peterborough and Apsley Collections, each clearly identified.

Currently, the new location is open as a seasonal shop from May through October. Store hours are Tuesday–Saturday 11 a.m.–5 p.m. After May 21 hours expand to Monday–Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

Grand opening weekend is May 21 and 22 with special goodie bags and draws for clothing.

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Apsley Sweet Shop Tastely Box To Open Second Location In Peterborough

Tastely Box, a candy shop that offers curated boxes of sweets from around the world currently located in Apsley, will be opening a second location in Peterborough in April.

File Photo.

James and Polly Laneville opened Tastely Box in April 2021 and quickly found success on TikTok.

Their shop offers themed boxes of candy from all over the world. Currently, some of their business comes from online as they have built an impressive following on social media. They also have a brick and mortar location in Apsley.

After almost a year of operating, the Laneville’s are bringing their business to Peterborough, while keeping the Apsley location open.

The new store will be open near Modern Makers Market, on Monaghan Street.

Polly says they aim to open in April and will be offering Italian-rolled ice cream and other fun new products.

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Apsley Couple Find TikTok Fame With Their Sweet Shop Tastely Box

James and Polly Laneville opened Tastely Box, a candy shop that offers curated boxes of sweets from around the world, in April. What started as a small online shop has burst into a brick and mortar store and over 300k TikTok followers.

James and Polly with their curated boxes. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

Polly used to make ‘date night’ boxes for her and her husband with treats she could find from around the world.

“He was like hey this is a really good idea, I think people would like this,” she said. “We always knew we wanted to go into business together we just weren’t entirely sure with what.”

Polly says their idea kept getting pushed back, but when the pandemic hit they found themselves with more time on their hands.

“We were busy with kids, parents, normal work life - but when the pandemic hit it just gave us a second to step back and look at the whole big picture,” said Polly Laneville. “We decided let’s just dive in and see what happens.”

What started as a side hustle has quickly become a full time job for the pair.

Now the store curates themed boxes of candy from all around the world. Themed boxes include Japanese, Mexican, British, U.S.A and Canadian. They also offer themes like ‘Peanut Butter Lover’, ‘Pucker Up Sour’ and ‘Chocoholic’.

“We had some videos going viral, but they weren’t enough to really grab peoples attention,” said Laneville.

After posting a 25 second video introducing their brand to Canada they ‘blew up’ in the TikTok world.

“It slowed down before we went to sleep, but when we woke up the next morning our phones wouldn’t stop ‘cha-chinging’. We had sale after sale after sale - we had 200 sales come in within a 24 hour period. That’s when we realized this wasn’t slowing down.”

Now Tastely Box has already outgrown their brick-and-mortar storefront and hired three employees.

The Laneville’s have plans to put a warehouse somewhere nearby and expand their current location to better serve their in-person customers.

“As soon as we get boxes made they go right out the door.”

Polly says they have big plans for the new year, though she doesn’t want to give away any of their surprises.

Boxes can be ordered through their online shop, and bought at their store located at 10020 ON-28, Apsley.

If planning on ordering for Christmas the cutoff for delivery is Dec. 3.

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Devastating Fire At Sayers Foods Grocery Store In Apsley

The small, close-knit community of Apsley northeast of Peterborough is left reeling after a major fire at Sayers Foods Grocery Store on Burleigh Street that destroyed the local business, which is relied on by locals and cottagers alike.

Photo via Sayers Foods Facebook page

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, as the North Kawartha Fire Department worked tirelessly overnight battling the blaze.

Road closures are in place on Burleigh Street in the village of Apsley as the @NorthKawartha Fire Department continues to battle the fire that began last night at Sayer's Foods. @PtboCounty #PtboOPP ^ja pic.twitter.com/8vnd2ukzmB

— OPP Central Region (@OPP_CR) December 5, 2020

“The fire department is organized, well trained and professional. Our family can't thank them enough,” Sayers Foods posted on their Facebook page.

Photo via Sayers Foods Facebook page

Generations of customers have been going there and employed there, as it is a staple—the heart—of the community. The Sayers family are incredibly generous with charities and giving back, even more so during Covid.

“The store has been a backbone to the community for as long as we can remember… and have been there for the community through thick and thin. Time to give back and help in any way we can,” said a commenter on Facebook.

“We've shopped at this location for over 40 years, through many changes—we are praying for a full recovery and rebuilding,” said one cottager on Facebook.

“You have worked tirelessly to assist the community for so many years including this year of COVID where you've accommodated everyone’s needs,” added another commenter.

Photo via Sayers Foods Facebook page

Many people, businesses and organizations are reacting to the devastating news on Twitter as well…

One of our distributors, Sayers Foods has had a very bad fire overnight. We will all need to help them get back in business as soon as possible.

— rockyridgewater (@rockyridgewater) December 5, 2020

This is terrible. We just had our County Food Drive with @DaveSmithPtbo at Sayers last weekend & their owners & staff were so incredibly generous.
Keeping everyone in our thoughts during this difficult time.

Apsley residence, if you need help with food, please reach out to us! https://t.co/whtmSpzTIC

— Kawartha Food Share (@Kaw_FoodShare) December 5, 2020

Awful news out of Apsley this morning. Sayers Food is a staple of the community and this is just devastating. If 2020 has taught us anything, it's that we're stronger together. I know we will all come together to support everyone affected. https://t.co/UO9ZeSGYZR

— Maryam Monsef (@MaryamMonsef) December 5, 2020

Developing Story: We’ll post more details when we get them.

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Apsley Residents Still Without A Family Physician In Town

When Dr. Wagdy Rayes retired in June after an amazing 40 years run as a family physician in Apsley (which has a population of about 2,300), the township in Peterborough County was left without a doctor.

Rayes had approximately 1,140 patients rostered to his practice, and many of those were left without a GP when he closed his practice at the Apsley Medical Centre on Burleigh Street.

The commitment was made to find the town a new GP as soon as possible—and that commitment remains, according to the Peterborough Family Healthy Team (PHFT).

A North Kawartha Hub clinic with a nurse practioner opened behind Dr. Rayes' old office for those who couldn't join an established family practice. When a new doctor is found, PFHT says this Nurse Practitioner hub will be integrated into this practice to provide all patients of Apsley with a wholesome practice.

But the Nurse Practitioner Hub can only provide care to patients that are enrolled with them as they are currently at full capacity, meaning PFHT is pursuing a temporary solution to support these folks who can't use the hub. They are exploring a telemedicine approach which still needs to be planned out before being implemented.

“It is Peterborough Family Health Team’s responsibility to ensure all residents of the City & Country of Peterborough have access to adequate primary healthcare services,” says Lori Richey, Executive Director for the PFHT. “We continue to search for a permanent family doctor to take over the primary care for patients, but in the meantime we need a solution. People cannot go without access to care.”

A telemedicine service would provide a virtual family doctor to patients in the community. This temporary clinic would also enroll patients and smoothly transition them over to a new family doctor once recruited and that practice is up and running.

In the meantime, those living in Apsley who require care can access it through the following means:

-> The Lakefield VON Nurse Practitioner Clinic: Open Wednesdays and Thursdays, and located at 150 Strickland Street in Lakefield. (Residents are encouraged to book an appointment by calling 705.651.4866.)

-> Peterborough Regional Health Centre: If you urgently require health care services, you are advised to go to your local hospital at 1 Hospital Drive in Peterborough.

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UPDATE: Here's The Detour Map From Apsley To Glen Alda Due To Road Washout

UPDATE (April 6th): County Road 620 has been reopened!

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Due to heavy rains last night (March 31st) that have caused a road washout, County Road 620 has been closed immediately west of Glen Alda near Apsley.

Repairs are expected to take a minimum of one week. Below is the just released detour map released by Peterborough County...

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