Support Pours In For Millbrook Boy After Eye Doctors Appointment Becomes Emergency Trip To Sick Kids

Jolene Downer took her son Riley to a regular eye doctor appointment on Thursday expecting a usual checkup, but within a few minutes of them being there fluid was found behind his eyes and Jolene was instructed to take him to the emergency department at Sick Kids.

Photo courtesy of the Downer family.

According to family friend Erin Bonnet this news took everyone by surprise. Riley is a healthy kid with no previous issues.

By 10 p.m. that night they arrived at Sick Kids in Toronto.

Friday morning Riley had surgery to complete a biopsy and to have the fluid drained. After an MRI doctors confirmed that the fluid is draining properly so the family is now awaiting biopsy results.

The results are expected to be in in 3 - 5 days, but until then the family doesn’t know how long their hospital stay will be or what type of treatment Riley will need.

Currently, only one parent can stay at the hospital so Jolene will remain in Toronto while her husband Steve will be driving back and fourth and staying with Riley’s younger brother Tristan.

In hopes to help offset the cost of gas for Steve, bills that come with living out of a hospital and from the loss of working, Bonnet set up a GoFundMe for the family.

“I myself have been through a long haul at sick kids and we had a lot of help ourselves,” she said. “You don’t expect it but if you do get it it helps in more ways than just financial. It boosts your spirits knowing people are so willing.”

Bonnet shared the GoFundMe on Saturday and has since raised close to $3,000.

“It feels like people aren’t even thinking twice,” she said. “This is such an outgoing family, so many people are willing to help.”

To donate to the GoFundMe click here.

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Tim Hortons Camp Day Sending Local Kids To Camp

Camp Day at Time Hortons is taking place on Wednesday. When a coffee is purchased at Tim Hortons proceeds will go towards sending a local child to camp.

File Photo.

On Wednesday, only proceeds from hot or iced coffee will go towards Camp Day fundraising.

Other ways to contribute include purchasing a camp bracelet, camp socks, rounding up the total cost of an order or making a donation.

The intention is to send children to summer camp that may otherwise not have the means to.

Since Camp Day began, Tim Hortons has sent over 300,000 kids to camp.

According to their website, kids attending camp not only have fun, they develop important life skills, build positive relationships an interpersonal skills.

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Dirt Bike Community Rallies Around Local Family After 8-Year-Old Boy Airlifted To Sick Kids

Nixon Parsons, 8, of Peterborough suffered a bad dirt bike accident at Burnt River Off Road Facility on Saturday.

Community, friends and family are rallying around the Parsons family to see them through this trying time.

According to Kieran Gillooly, family friend and member at Burnt River, Parsons, his brother and dad are regular riders and Burnt River members. His mom and baby sister can often be found cheering on the sidelines.

On Saturday, Parsons was air lifted to sick kids in critical condition, where he has had multiple CT scans and MRI’s. His neurology team is focusing on his brain.

Parsons suffered small contusions on his brain, some swelling and bruising. On Sunday hospital staff started to bring him off his medication. Gillooly says he is moving all limbs, ‘but only flickers in his left hand’.

Doctors and nurses are monitoring brain activity for brain seizures.

He has also suffered a broken nasal cavity, broken orbital bones and has lost many of his teeth.

As of Monday, Parsons has undergone surgery to close gashes around his mouth. That surgery will be followed by stitching in his mouth to help close a hole in his pallet and to try and reattach pieces of his gum. He will also need to undergo facial bone surgery.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Parsons mother let friends and family know that surgery went well.

According to Gillooly, Parsons is still using a breathing tube and is responding to his parents touches with small movements of his body.

“Our entire dirt bike community is feeling the heart ache for Nixon and his family,” said Gillooly in a social media post. “It is a parents worst nightmare come true.”

Parsons’ parents, Jake and Bennica, are by his side constantly, though the hospital only allows one parent from 9 p.m. - 6 a.m. Bennica and Parsons’ 5-month-old sister have been staying in a hotel.

To help lessen the financial strain, Gillooley asks those that are willing and able to send e-transfers directly to Parsons’ mom at bennicabrown@outlook.com. Funds will be automatically deposited and used for hotels, food and to keep up with bills at home.

“Nixon is only eight years old and is battling the biggest race right now and needs everyone’s prayers and to cheer him on,” wrote Gillooly. “He is the toughest kid I have ever met, and his continued forward progress shows just how much of a fighter he is.”

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4th Line Theatre Announces 2022 Young Company Members

4th Line Theatre, Trent University’s Traill College and Lakefield College School have announced the 2022 Young Company, a group of young, diverse regional artists and performers, who will work with industry professionals to produce livestream virtual play readings and performance pieces this summer.

2021 Young Company.

This announcement comes as part of the Emerging VOICES Youth Apprenticeship Program.

“We are so pleased to support 4th Line Theatre’s Young Company program,” said Anne-Marie Kee, Head of School and Foundation of Lakefield College School. “As an independent school with a robust co-curricular arts program, we have seen first-hand how important the performing arts can be in a young person’s development, offering a venue for them to express themselves creatively and build confidence, both on and off the stage. We hope to see more young performers flourish at 4th Line Theatre.”

Following the success of 2021 Young Company, 4th Line Theatre have partnered with Lakefield College School to further develop the exciting Young Company initiative. Young Company members will train with industry professionals Victoria Cutler, Pat Maitland, Rebecca Birrell, Simone Georges and Melissa Wotherspoon to bring scripts to life and create original work.

The 2022 Young Company is led by Young Company Coordinator Rebecca Birrell and its members are: Mackenzie Airhart, Norah Appleby, Sarah Bubteina, Jack Chesla, Zoe Dunaway, Aimee Gordon, Ava Imeson, Laurin Isiekwena, Annie Mancini, Sidney Moon, Ivy Morgan, Neveah Taylor and Bunni Verbal.

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City Of Peterborough Accepting Applications For Youth Council

The City of Peterborough is now accepting applications for the Peterborough Youth Council 2022-2023 term.

File Photo.

Young people between the ages of 12 and 21 who live or attend school in Peterborough are invited to apply to become a member of the Peterborough Youth Council.

The Peterborough Youth Council is a voice for youth in the community. Members can bring their ideas and energy to organizing and being involved in community events. This is a volunteer position, and the volunteer hours can be used towards students’ Ontario Secondary School Diploma.

Youth are invited to visit the City’s website at peterborough.ca/YouthCouncil to learn more and complete an online application. Applications are due by July 25 at 4:30 p.m.

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Two Peterborough Area Students Awarded Peterborough Petes Education Fund

The Peterborough Petes have announced Chase DeNoble and Bella Smollen as the 2022 Education Fund recipients.

DeNoble was the goalie for the Petes AAA U18 team and was selected as the winner by his coach, Scott Roche. Denoble, a St. Peter Secondary student, is attending Laurentian University for a sports management and commerce degree next year.

“After playing 9 years in the Peterborough minor hockey system, it is an honour to be recognized,” said DeNoble. “I’ve had a great time playing in the Petes minor system all these years and I really appreciate this award.”

Smollen played for the Peterborough U18AA IceKats and was selected by her coach, Jay Legault. Smollen is a Haliburton Highlands Secondary student and will be attending university next year.

“Bella was a very focused player who is mature and a natural leader. She is very passionate about hockey and academics. She was very dedicated to doing well in school last year and balanced her hockey and academics very well,” said Legault.

The Petes Education fund gives out scholarships to 2 graduating minor hockey players (Petes AAA U18 and IceKats AA U18) as selected by their coaches. The Petes Education fund also gives out $500.00 scholarships to St. Peter, Holy Cross, Adam Scott, Crestwood, Kenner and TASS for the school to select a winner from their student body as a student who has worked hard and improved over their high school years, not necessarily as an athlete or hockey player.

“On behalf of the Petes Education Fund we are pleased to present these scholarships to such great young student athletes. We wish them all the best in their post secondary studies,” said Rod McGillis, secretary and treasurer of the Petes Education fund.

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Winners Of 2022 Bierk Art Fund Bursaries Announced

The Electric City Culture Council (EC3) has announced the winners of the 2022 Bierk Art Fund Bursaries as Austin Bowie and Ashleigh Gillen. Each student will receive a $1,000 bursary to pursue post-secondary studies in the Visual Arts or Architecture.

The Bierk Art Fund Bursary program was developed and administered by EC3 to support young artists in the community. Annually, they provide bursaries of $1,000 each to two graduating high school students in the City or County of Peterborough.

Austin Bowie is graduating from the Visual Arts Program at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School, and will study visual arts at NSCAD (Nova Scotia School of Art and Design) in the fall.

“I want to pursue a career in the arts and continue studying arts because it is my passion and what makes me happy,” said Bowie. “I not only love creating art, but also enjoy being able to speak and teach others the things I have discovered, whether it be from my own practice or researching other artists / movements / techniques and more.”

Ashleigh Gillen is graduating from Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institution, in the Arts and Culture Special High Skills Major program, and will be studying at Carleton University’s Azrieli School of Architecture in the fall.

“Art is my passion. I am excited to expand my knowledge of art, design and their practical applications. I want to combine art in multimedia with my other interests like science and social consciousness,” she said. “I am interested in the combination of styles, textures and media to communicate ideas through art.”

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Youth Art Mentorship Program Presents 'Being In The World' At The Art Gallery Of Peterborough

The Art Gallery of Peterborough invites the public to celebrate the opening of Being in the World, works from the Youth Art Mentorship Program on June 25 at 4 p.m.

SPENCER J. HARRISON IN HIS STUDIO. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ART GALLERY OF PETERBOROUGH.

This exhibition is the culmination of the Youth Art Mentorship Program (YAM), which began in Fall 2021 to provide a unique opportunity for youth artists to gain hands-on experience and insights supporting their future careers in the arts.

Selected by a jury of arts professionals, these young artists worked with mentor Spencer J. Harrison to produce an exhibition that speaks to the process of navigating being.

"Working with artists at this stage in their careers is fantastic; they are unencumbered by the art world around them and make honest work interpreting their worlds,” said Harrison. “These young artists each made very different artwork that really reveals how they see and understand their surroundings. I believe they will teach us and change the world."

YAM fostered three artists.

Sama Hojabri, a grade 12 art student enrolled in the Thomas A. Stewart Integrated Arts program for Visual Arts, was born in Tehran, Iran and grew up in a family with an artistic background.

She mainly uses pencil crayons and acrylic paint, but she has also experimented with pen and ink, collage, wood engraving, sculpture, ceramics, screen printing, oil painting, encaustic, digital, charcoal, photography, graphite, and watercolor.

Toula Pappas received her first set of pencil crayons when she was six years old, which led her to her first art class at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

She has won many poster contests and art competitions including the Top Art Student Award at St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School in Grade 10, and she was selected to paint a mural for the school’s GSA club.

Enzo Stimpson has been invested in art from a very young age and in recent years has found passion in photography. He was brought up in an extremely artistic household and always felt drawn to the arts rather than sports or academics.

Stimpson began started making comics at a young age and quickly became fond of charcoals and other mediums but didn't find that any of them 'clicked' until taking a photography class with local artists Jason Wilkins and Daniel Crawford. Stimpson is a grade 12 student in the Integrated Arts Program at TASS for visual arts.

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Lakefield Literary Festival's Young Writers Contest Names Record Number Of Winners

Seven winners for the Lakefield Literary Festival’s Young Writers Contest have been announced including, for the first time ever, a three way tie for the senior fiction category.

Winners in front of St Peter Secondary. Photo by Angela O’Grady

This year saw 92 entries to the contest from local schools throughout the Peterborough region.

2022 Young Writers Winners: 

• Junior Fiction: Kellan MacKenzie, Grade 10, SPSS 

• Junior Non-fiction: Madeleine Hill, Grade 10, SPSS 

• Junior Poetry: Kellan MacKenzie, Grade 10, SPSS 

• Senior Fiction: Clementine MacLeod, Grade 11, Adam Scott. Justin Ehlert, Grade 12, PACE. Hailey Cavanagh, Grade 11, SPSS. 

• Senior Non-fiction: Toula Pappas, Grade 11, SPSS 

• Senior Poetry: Abigail Auger, Grade 12, SPSS

Each of the winners will receive $200.00, a commemorative plaque, and publication in the Festival’s ebook.

Justin Ehlert, who attends PACE, was one of three winners in the Senior Fiction category.

Ehlert calls his piece ‘meta-fiction’.

“There was two layers,” he said. “One was me talking about my thought process as I was writing the story and then the story itself was about a man who recently lost his father.”

He says his story started with the setting, a lake, then he built a character around that and went from there.

“Truthfully I’m more of a reader than a writer,” he said. “I started this piece as an assignment and my teacher encouraged me to finish it and to submit it.”

Elhert says winning this contest may encourage him to write more in the future, though he doesn’t plan on making a career out of it.

Keeping writing as a hobby was a common theme among winners.

Abigail Auger, a grade 12 student at St Peter says she worries if she made a career of writing she would begin to see it as a chore.

Her poem which was inspired by the television series Gossip Girl won her first place in the Senior Poetry category.

She plans to attend Trent University to study Forensics.

Contest Co-Organizer and retired teacher Andrew Milner says he looks forward to reading entries every year.

“They’re such mature writers, it’s fascinating to see what they come up with every year,” he said.

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Photos: Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run Lit Up The Track At St Peter Secondary School

Students at St. Peter’s Secondary School welcomed students from Crestwood and Holy Cross to their Special Olympic Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) on Wednesday.

LETR is the largest public awareness and grassroots fundraising organization for Special Olympics globally.

“The Peterborough Police Service has been a strong supporter of the torch run for many years now, and over the years have raised 100’s of thousands of dollars,” said Inspector Neil Collins with the Peterborough Police. “The Peterborough Police Service is happy to champion all our athletes and encourage acceptance and inclusion for all.”

Wednesday’s event saw students participating in standing long jump, shotput, 50m, 100m, 200m and 400m races.

They ended the events with the athletes oath ‘Let me win, but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt.’

Following events and speeches, students, teachers and law enforcement carried the torch around St. Peter’s track.

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