On Saturday afternoon, one of the most severe weather events that many can recall occurred across the GTA, into Peterborough County, and beyond.
According to The Weather Network, the event that occurred on Saturday was called a derechos.
A derechos is a widespread, straight-lined, wind storm which causes tornado like damage.
In Peterborough County, many people experienced the devastating effects of the derechos to varying degrees.
According to the Weather Network, derechos of similar intensity have occurred before in this region of Canada, but never one that has followed the length of the most densely populated corridor in the country.
Saturday’s storm came almost without warning. The sky turned grey and there was a mighty roar as the wind whipped through Lakefield. The wind and rain were intense for a few minutes, leaving a lot of devastation behind. These two homes on Concession street were both hit when a large tree split all the way to the ground.
The storm that hit Saturday afternoon left many residents with much work to do, cleaning up after the devastation.
In true rural community fashion, many residents within all townships of Peterborough County could be seen out on the roads or with neighbours trying to help where they could.
After the storm, many trees littered roadways and driveways, roofing was flying around yards and road sides and much was left to be picked up.
Residents could be seen with their own chainsaws, other equipment, and elbow grease picking up what they could to clear the roads for safe travel.
Though residents where helping where they could, most municipalities dispatched all available public work employees and firefighters.
Peterborough County also asked that motorists stay off the road while public works cleared large debris.
With the provincial election just around the corner, I thought it might be interesting to review what the three major parties are saying they will do for seniors. As we know, these are just promises, but it’s still good to know what each party is saying about senior issues. This is what I found with an online search.
Liberals: The Liberal Party said it will provide 400,000 more seniors with home care through a Home Care guarantee which will ensure all seniors get the professional assistance and support the need to stay in their own homes.
It also says it will build 15,000 more assisted living homes and advance a community care model. It will expand and make permanent the Seniors’ Home Safety Tax Credit that allows seniors to renovate their homes to make them safer; and make the Ontario Caregiver Tax Credit refundable, tax-free and paid out throughout the year and enhance access to support programs and tools for those who take care of loved ones.
This short documentary is a portrait of a tiny town, Lakefield, Ontario, and its independent weekly, the Herald. Across North America, newspapers are dying, but in Lakefield, Terry McQuitty, the town paper’s publisher, carries on a rich, 150-year-old tradition. Set to the pace of small-town life, Unheralded is a testament to the vital role newspapers can still play, and the close bond between reporter and reader.
