Peterborough County Family Recognized For Sports Volunteer Efforts With Commemorative Plaque

Township Council, Staff and community members gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the Wilford Family plaque at the Douglas Sports Centre Ball Diamond in Lakefield on Thursday evening.

Photo courtesy of the Peterborough County.

This plaque has been installed to acknowledge the Wilford family (Jim, Yvonne and children Jessica and her husband Shawn, and Jimmy) for contributing to youth sports in our community.

“What stands out about the Wilford family is their deep commitment to the members of our community. They haven’t just supported our sports programs—they’ve helped build them,” said Sherry Senis, Selwyn Township Mayor. “Whether through countless volunteer hours, coaching, organizing, or contributing to the construction and maintenance of our ball diamonds, the Wilford’s have poured their hearts into making sure our kids have the opportunities and facilities they need to thrive and play.”

The Township of Selwyn would again like to thank the Wilford family for their commitment to our community.

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Third Year of Gauvreau CPA's 'Gear Up For Good' Initiative Sends 208 Backpacks to Kids For Back-To-School Head Start

There were 208 fully-stocked backpacks given by Gauvreau CPA’s ‘Gear Up for Good’ initiative to kids to get a head start on back to school at the accounting firm on Friday.

(From left to right) Carrie Truman, Kawartha Haliburton Children's Foundation executive director; Tammy Thompson, Case Worker at Peterborough Bigs; Ava McQuade, 9, Little Sister and Robert Gauvreau of Gauvreau CPA. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The children receiving the backpacks are affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Peterborough (Peterborough Bigs) and Kawartha Haliburton Children's Foundation.

The initiative is in its third year and has more than doubled its output from last year, with 101 and 73 in the inaugural event.

Seven businesses helped chip in by supplying products for the backpacks:

• Domino's Pizza (200+ pizza dinners donated)

• Ricart Branded Apparel and Promo (200 water bottles and 25 backpacks donated)

• Quaker (800+ snacks donated)

• Eco Chalet Homes (150 Lunchboxes donated)

• Mirror Mirror Beauty Salon (40 Haircuts donated)

• Angela's Hair Co. (10+ Haircuts donated)

• Hair Studio One (10+ Haircuts donated)

Children and parents picked up the supplies throughout the day and selected their knapsacks on a first-come, first-served basis. Kawartha Haliburton Children's Foundation took 75 of the backpacks to be picked up at their facility.

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Hometown PTBO: Gary Dalliday Memorial Golf Tournament of the Broadcaster's Esteemed Career and Community Service

This week on Hometown PTBO, David Tuan Bui talks with Community Care Peterborough, Tim Dalliday and Dan O'Toole about Gary Dalliday's legacy of his career and community service at his Memorial Golf Tournament.

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Gauvreau GPA Hosting Third Annual 'Gear Up for Good' Campaign Give 200 Local Kids a Head Start For School Supplies

200 local kids are getting a head start for back to school supplies as is Gauvreau Accounting Tax Law Advisory is hosting its third annual ‘Gear Up for Good’ campaign.

Savannah Thompson has her pick of the litter of 101 backpacks in the Gauvreau Accounting Tax Law Advisory 'Gears Up for Good' initiative from last year. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The initiative provides backpacks and supplies to under-served children in Peterborough from Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Children's Aid Society for the upcoming school year.

This year, the company is increasing its goal from 101 to 200 backpacks from prior years. In addition to the supplies, Gauvreau CPA is providing complimentary haircuts as a way to boost students' confidence as they start the school year according to a press release.

Ricart Branded Apparel and Promo have donated water bottles while Domino's has offered a free pizza to each participating family as part of the campaign.

“Every child deserves the chance to excel in their education,” said Robert Gauvreau of Gauvreau CPA. “We are grateful for the incredible support from our community and partners, and we are determined to make this year's 'Gear Up for Good' campaign the most impactful yet.”

Gauvreau CPA is calling on the public’s assistance to help with the initiative, seeing additional support that includes providing haircuts, backpacks and supplies. Potential assistance can help by visiting Gauvreau’s Amazon Wishlist or drop off donations at their facility located at 150 King St., Suite 100 W by Aug. 16. Backpacks will be distributed on Aug. 23rd.

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Riverview Park and Zoo's James Hamilton Railway Closed For Maintenance

The Riverview Park and Zoo James Hamilton Railway is closed for maintenance until further notice.

The railway welcomes over 66,000 riders each season. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The train has been in service for over 50 years and requires significant repairs according to the Zoo.

“Sometimes our 1860 replica locomotive train ride needs a little TLC. This includes safety check ups, regular inspections, and repairs. Safety is our first priority here at the Park and Zoo,” as stated in a press release.

There have been plans to replace the train and Riverview has been closing in on our fundraising target. The Zoo is continuing to maintain the current train until then.

The Zoo’s campaign has raised $250,000 toward its $350,000 fundraising goal. Thy are asking the public to help them reach 50 per cent of the capital cost to purchase a new locomotive.

Those wanting to help can sponsor or donate to the campaign.

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City of Peterborough Opens Public Survey Canada Day Celebrations

The City is inviting community members to share their ideas and feedback through a survey on how they would like to see the community celebrate Canada Day next year, announced on Thursday.

Photo by Samantha Bianco.

A survey about the Canada Day celebrations is now open online until Aug. 6 at 12:55 p.m. The survey takes about five minutes to complete. 

Feedback from the consultation will help inform recommendations to City Council on how the City organizes and hosts Canada Day celebrations. 

Visit City Hall reception at 500 George St. N for a paper copy of the survey. 

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Hometown PTBO: Ken Seim As the New Rotary Club of Peterborough President and Family's History With the Organization

This week on Hometown PTBO, David Tuan Bui talks with Ken Seim about becoming the new president of the Rotary Club of Peterborough, his family's history with the organization and the club's future with him at the helm.

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Adam Scott Inducts Four Members Into Its Hall of Honour

During Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institute’s graduation ceremony, they inducted four former students to be immortalized into their Hall of Honour on Wednesday night.

(From left to right) Robin Heard, Neil Morton, Michelle Mackey and Carly MOran. Photo courtesy of Adam Scott.

Neil Morton (class of 1989), Carly Moran (class of 2001), Michelle Mackey (class of 2008) and Robin Heard (class of 2001) were named as this year’s inductees.

Morton has a History/English degree from Trent University and a Journalism degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. His endeavours include co-founding PTBOCanada, StudioPTBO, Electric City Football Club and CORMOR.

He is also a former director of the local Chamber of Commerce and was local Chair of the United Way. He was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame last year.

Moran is a Trent graduate with experience at OCAD and BCIT in Fine Arts/ Graphic Design. She created her firm in Revelstoke, worked as a mining line cook, supervised Health & Safety on snow road construction and snowmobiled for the film industry.

She is an active member of the arts/music community. Moran is also an avid naturalist: biking to California, solo hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, canoeing the Yukon and back-country skiing.

Mackey graduated from Trent Media Studies/English and her experiences at Trent Radio led to her graduate studies at Griffith University in Australia. She was the national anchor for the Weather Channel and then worked with the CBC before joining CityNews, covering the news, weather and anchoring.

Having personally dealt with mental health issues, she is an active advocate, having spoken at several events including Team55 Friday Night Lights. Her documentary for the Canadian Mental Health Association initiatives is award-winning.

Heard completed a B. Com at Queen’s, his accountancy qualifications and an MBA at the Schulich School of Business. His career in finance has been extensive, culminating as President and CEO of SMS Equipment Inc. which deals with mining, construction and forestry and employs 3,000 people.

He also shares his financial talents as a director for the Francis Winspear Centre for Music and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. He advocates for various charitable initiatives that benefit the greater community through his company.

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City of Peterborough Releases 2024 Lifeguard Training Program Details

The City of Peterborough will conduct staff training for this summer’s lifeguard program from June 25 to 28 at Beavermead and Rogers Cove beaches ahead of seasonal lifeguard supervision.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF PETERBOROUGH.

Additional in-service training will occur every Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. from July 3 to Aug. 21.

All staff will adhere to provincial health and lifesaving society guidelines for training. Members of the public are asked to give them space to complete their training safely.

City of Peterborough’s lifeguard program runs from June 29 until Aug. 25 with lifeguards at Beavermead and Rogers Cove beaches seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Beavermead beach has an access mat in place from June 29 until August 25. The mat provides a stable surface across the sand into the water, improving accessibility for everyone.

Peterborough Public Health monitors the water quality at our beaches from June until the end of August and posts the reports online. When lifeguards are present, a flag or sign at the beaches indicates the water quality status. For more information on water quality reporting at the public beaches, please contact Peterborough Public Health at 705-743-1000.

Lifeguards supervise the City’s four wading pools from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week, from June 29 until Aug. 25. The wading pools are small, shallow pools for children up to about eight years old. Children must be accompanied by an adult when using the wading pools.

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Rotary Club of Peterborough Introduces New President; Organization Donates Final $25,000 of $100,000 to Camp Kawartha Centennial Health Centre

The Rotary Club of Peterborough has announced Ken Seim as its new president, taking over the role from Betty Halman-Plumley at the organization’s meeting at the McDonnel Street Community Centre on Monday afternoon.

All ‘Breakfast Cup’ groups volunteer groups that special breakfast for the young Breakfast Club Patrons. The ‘Thursday Club’ were declared the winners. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Halman-Plumley had her last meeting with the club as president before passing the torch to Seim. She was the fifth woman to become Rotary president in the organization’s history since its founding in 1921.

“It was an honour but it felt to be a big responsibility too,” said Halman-Plumley. “I wanted to be a great role model for other women, paving the way for them hopefully to be presidents and leaders of this club for years to come.”

“Filling Betty's shoes is not going to be an easy task,” explained Seim. “She's accomplished a lot in this year.”

The club is in the middle of a three-year plan on year two initially set up by Halman-Plumley. Seim says he wants to carry on the plan to aid the community.

“Part of is the growth of our club but we are to embark on a process to what's the next legacy project of what the Rotary Club is going to do for the community.,” he explained. “We've got the Rotary Greenway Trail, Rotary at the Five Counties Children's Centre so we're just looking for what our next big project is going to be.”

Betty Halman-Plumley honours Tony Grady, Rotary treasurer as one of two Rotarians of the year.

Catherine Hanrahan, Rotary director of public relations, is named the other Rotarian of the year.

Atul Swarup, Rotary Volunteer (left) and Halman-Plumley (right) present the last $25,000 of their $100,000 donation to Jacob Rodenburg of Camp Kawartha for its Health Centre.

Representatives of the Thursday's Club were declared winners of the Rotary's 'Breakfast Cup' as one of the five groups of volunteers who served breakfast at Prince Of Wales from June 17 to 21.

The rotary welcomes Tim Maloney (second from left) and Myrlene Sundberg (second from right) as new members of the Rotary Club.

Betty Halman-Plumley, Rotary outgoing president (left) passing the torch to new president Ken Seim. All photos by David Tuan Bui.

The Rotary Club donated its final $25,000 of a $100,000 pledge to Camp Kawartha. It was part of the Rotary Club of Peterborough’s Centennial Celebration Project with the money going towards the construction of the new Camp Kawartha Health Centre; an eco-friendly straw bale building completed in 2021.

The meeting also gave the award for the Breakfast Cup to one of the five Prince of Wales Breakfast Club volunteer groups. Every morning last week, each group prepared a special breakfast for the young Breakfast Club Patrons.

Meals were judged by a panel of school staff and students with points for presentation, nutrition and taste. The ‘Thursday Team’ captured the trophy and bragging rights after serving up a deluxe breakfast buffet that consisted of homemade Mac and cheese, devilled eggs, heart-shaped watermelon pops and more.

The club named Catherine Hanrahan, Rotary director of public relations and Tony Grady, Rotary treasurer were named Rotarians of the Year.

Tim Maloney and Myrlene Sundberg were welcomed as new members.

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