Using the resources of the CHEX Newswatch tape archives, Graham Hart revisits local events previously featured by the CHEX newsteam.
Presented during the Friday edition of Newswatch @ 6.
Discuss the segments in our chextv.com Forums


Our featured segment:

1989: Tulloch Model Ship
For many years, The Waverly, a paddle steamer, operated along the River Clyde in Scotland. A Peterborough man, Charlie Tulloch, who had emigrated to Canada from that area, held fond memories of riding the stately vessel. Charlie built a minutely detailed model of the ship, and Graham Hart was on hand for the christening of the model in Jackson's Park. In 1989, that same model was being readied for it's final voyage.
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Charlie Tulloch passed away several years ago, but his model lives on, proudly on display at a museum in Scotland.




Our archived segments:
1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998


1983

1983: Convention Centres
There was a time in the 1980's when it seemed developers everywhere were promoting convention centres as a way of attracting business to a city. Peterborough was no exception and as we see in this 1983 report from Tricia Hellingman, two firms were promoting convention centres in two different locations.
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As it turned out, neither project went forward. The Ministry of Natural Resources built Robertson Place on the Water Street location and Del Crary Park was developed on the old Beaver Lumber property.


1983: Lack of Housing
In March of 1983, a woman staged a solitary protest against the lack of affordable housing in Cobourg. She camped out, in a tent, on the front lawn of Cobourg Town Hall and that's where our Valerie Macdonald met up with her (see video link below).
Municipalities and the province struggled with finding the right fit for affordable housing but in 1997, the province downloaded complete responsibility for social housing to the municipalities. In the past few years, community groups throughout the area have stepped in to help but the demand for affordable housing still far outstrips the supply.
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1984

1984: Caprice Classic
The General Motors plants in Oshawa have seen many changes over the years, as public tastes in automobiles change. For a time, cars grew smaller then began to increase in size again. In 1984, the trend was to downsize. As Valerie Macdonald reported, the last of the full size chevrolets came off the line that year (see video link below).
General Motors in Oshawa currently produces the Chevrolet Impala mid-size car, while General Motors in the U.S. produces full-size Buicks and Cadillacs.
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1985

1985: MLS Computers
The internet has revolutionized many industries, including the real estate business. By merely logging onto any number of listing sites, web-savy house hunters can instantly see what's available locally or around the world, with the click of a mouse. Its come a long way since 1985, when John Blake filed this report about the latest thing in computer hardware (see video link below).
All major realators now have websites that feature agent and property listings and some have links to everything from financing to furnishings.
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1986

1986: 401 Accident
Recently, a massive pile up on the 401 just east of Cobourg took two lives, damaged some 20 vehicles and tied up traffic for hours. It was reminiscent of a similar pile-up on the 401, west of Cobourg back in 1986.
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1986: Bus Accident
It was a terrible day in December of 1986: four people died when a school bus struck the car in which they were travelling near Ennismore. Six months later, a coroner's inquest was held in Peterborough to examine the causes of the accident and make recommendations to prevent a repeat occurance.
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1986: Doctor Strike
Communities across the province continue to struggle with a shortage of doctors. There simply aren't enough to go around. In 1986, there was also a shortage of doctors, but in this case, it was because many had gone on strike to protest Bill 94, The Health Care Accessibility Act. The bill was designed to prevent doctors from extra-billing, outside the rates set up by OHIP.
The strike, which lasted 25 days, did not have the effect the doctors wanted and Bill 94 was voted into law. However, local doctors' concerns over the condition of emergency rooms at the Civic and St. Josephs Hospitals were dealt with in very different ways. A new emergency ward at Civic Hospital was opened up a few years later, but the E.R. at St. Joseph's was closed, the first step in the eventual shutdown of the entire hospital.
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1986: Employment Equity
Equal opportunities for employment in the workplace is something women have been campaigning for for many years. Improvements in pay and employment standards have been made but in 1986, Peterborough city council was struggling with the concept of making the gender equality in the city workforce.
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1986: Highway 115
There's a lot of interest these days in the future extension of highway 407 west from the GTA into this area. It will eventually join highway 115 south of highway 35. In 1986, it was the future of the upgrade of highway 115 that was in question. It was scheduled to be enlarged from two lanes to four all the way from the lakeshore to Peterborough. As we see in this report from 1986, there seemed to be no guarantees it would be (see video link below).
The money to complete the four lane expansion was indeed found by the provincial government and the plan to increase highway 35 north to Lindsay to four lanes remains just that. Work, currently underway to repair a 24-kilometre stretch of highway 115 between Boundary Road and highway 7A, is expected to be completed this fall.
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1987

1987: Crary Park Plans
Long before the Summer Festival of Lights, Del Crary Park was an under-used, undeveloped space on Peterborough's waterfront. As we see in this report from 1987, area citizens were to contribute their thoughts on the development of the park. (link to video provided below).
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1987: Dakota Retirement
In it's day, the C-47 Dakota revolutionized civilian and military air transport, and flew in every continent on the globe, racking up millions of hours in the air. The aircraft served for many years with the Canadian Forces and was retired 20 years ago. Neil Boughen had the story (see video link below).
The Dakota now has a place of honour at the RCAF Memorial Museum at Canadian Forces Base Trenton.
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1987: Free Trade
Political commentators bemoaned the lack of a single hot issue during our last provincial election campaign. That wasn't the case in the 1987 provincial election, but in that case it was not a provincial issue but a federal one ... the impending North American Free Trade Act. Here's John Blake's report from that year (see video link below).
In that 1987 election, conservative Jim Pollock defeated liberal Carmen Metcalf and new democrat Elmer Buchanan. The North American Free Trade Act came into effect on January 1, 1994.
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1987: Lindsay Weekender
Today, when someone wants to get a personal message out there, it can be done via a website, or an internet blog. But in 1987, it wasn't so easy. Back then a Lindsay man who had something to share, started his own newspaper. Former CHEX reporter and anchor Lauren Lee reported on the story (see video link below).
The Lindsay Weekender, was in print for a couple of years, then, as has been the case with so many such publications, it quietly folded.
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1987: Otonabee Landfill
Peterborough city and county are currently exploring options on waste reduction that include cooperation with neighbouring communities. All this is to lessen the impact on the Bensfort Road landfill site. As early as 1987, concerns over the location of possible new dumps in Otonabee township lead to lots of discussion at a packed meeting organized for that purpose.
After many meetings over the rest of the year, the consultants report came out and revealed what many people had said was inevitable. The landfill site would remain at Bensfort Road in Otonabee township. Lauren Lee reports. (link to video provided below).
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1987: Participaction
It got the entire county on its feet and moving. The Participaction program started in the mid 1970's and was designed to encourage Canadians to become physically active. In the 1980s there was even a specific day for the entire country to exercise and in 1987, several communities in this area took up the fitness challenge, as we hear in these reports from Vern Belos and Neil Boughen (see video link below).
After a couple of busy years, such public participaction events grew less popular. Now a new organization has taken over the program and will focus on fitness among children, aboriginal canadians, the disabled and seniors.
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1987: Princess Margaret
In 1987, residents of Durham Region and Peterborough were honoured with a visit by a member of the British Royal family. As Scott Blodgett reported, Princess Margaret's tour of the area was a huge success (see video link below).
In latter years, Princess Margaret suffered from a number of accidents and illnesses. She died after a stroke in February of 2002.
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1987: Sunday Shopping
In 1987, the province was debating about how seriously to enforce it's ban on retailers opening on statutory holidays, especially on Boxing Day. In Peterborough, a city bylaw forbad stores to open on Sundays. December 26th, 1987 fell on a sunday, thrusting both bans into the limelight. Scott Blodgett reports. (link to video provided below).
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1987: Warsaw Caves Death
A school trip to Warsaw Caves ended tragically for a group of Oshawa elementary school students in 1986. A year later, an inquest was held to examine the circumstances surrounding the death of 11 year old Donald Miller. From 1987, we present the video report by Neil Boughen (see video link below).
The jury in the inquest brought back a number of recommendations, including the installation of a phone at Warsaw Caves to be used in emergencies; ....having an Otonabee Region Conservation staffer on hand during school trips, and ensuring schools did not schedule trips to the Warsaw Caves area without getting permission from ORCA beforehand.
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1988

1988: Air Ambulance
It was an early example of the importance of getting seriously-injured accident victims to hospital. The Ontario Air Ambulance System had been in place in Northern Ontario for several years, but in 1988, it's availability proved critical for a local couple.
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1988: Bus Barn
It's now a pleasant greenspace, and a parking lot for Quaker Oats employees on Hunter Street East. Back in the 1980's it was the center of controversy at Peterborough city council. It was the site of the city bus barn. Council was trying to decide what needed to be done with it, before building a new facility.
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1988: Federal Election
While preparations continue for the October provincial election, the chances of a federal election seem to be receding, some say due to the absence a hot political topic. In 1988, the hot topic was the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was being promoted by the government of Brian Mulroney. In this area, in spite of loud protests against NAFTA, the Conservatives were swept back into power (see video link below).
After the election, the Mulroney government signed the Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The public outcry against it and it's sponsor, the Conservative Party continued, and in the next election in 1993 the Tories were moved to the opposition benches.
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1988: George Hees
He was known to some people in politics as Gorgeous George, but George Hees spent thirty years as a conservative member of parliament and cabinet minister, many of those years representing the riding of Northumberland. George Hees was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1989 and the veteran's wing of Sunnybrook Hospital was named after him. He retired from politics in 1988, and on the occasion he spoke with John Ruttle from Newswatch.
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1988: Hospital Budget Surplus
After months of effort, the Peterborough Regional Health Centre recently finalized it's budget with the provincial government. Hospitals have been struggling with deficits in recent years, but in 1988, one of PRHC's predecessors found itself in a budget surplus situation. Michelle Tonner presented that story (see video link below).
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1988: Jackson Park Pagoda
In 1988, a committee of Peterborough citizens sought to have a city landmark restored. The Jackson Park pagoda bridge had been built in the late 19th century and was in dire need of restoration. As CHEX reporter Michelle Tonner reported back then, the community came together to complete the job.
In 2002, the pagoda was declared a designated heritage property, as an excellent example of late victorian garden architecture (see video link below).
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1988: Moving Radar
Police forces across the Ontario are always looking at new ways to deal with speeders who are taking their toll on the province's roads and highways. The technology continues to evolve but in 1988, the Peterborough Police Force was at that time on the cutting edge. John Ruttle brought us the story (see video link below).
As well as moving radar, the Peterborough-Lakefield police service now employ laser speed detection devices while the Ontario government is looking at bringing back photo radar.
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1988: NHB Industries
The Master-Brands kitchen cabinet plant on Peterborough's Crawford Drive is expected to close shortly, the owners planning to move production south of the border.
The future looked much brighter in 1988, when, as NHB Industries, the company was looking at expansion (see video link below).
In order to help it's employees find new jobs, Master-Brands has opened an action centre in Peterborough Square. The plant is expected to be vacant by the end of the year.
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1988: Orange Signs
The trend in advertising these days is 'branding', making your product or service instantly recognizable. It is even applied to municipalities. In 1988, the city of Peterborough tried to brighten up it's signage to make it stand out from those of other cities, but as Leslie Miller reported back then, it's choice of colours met with some resistance (see video link below).
The city of Peterborough has since changed from the orange markings for it's vehicles and signage to dark green and has re-introduced its city coat of arms.
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1988: Performing Arts
Last year, Showplace Peterborough celebrated it's 10th anniversary as Peterborough's performing arts centre. But it's opening in 1996 marked the end of a long struggle that in 1988, with a permanent location yet to be established, seemed destined to collapse (see video link below).
Showplace, of course, eventually found a home in the former Capitol Theatre on George Street. The Marathon Realty property on Water Street became the site of the MNR building and a new parking garage was built on the MaGillen property on King Street.
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1988: Robert McClure
He spent the first 15 years of his life in China. he became a surgeon, a missionary and the moderator of the United Church of Canada. In 1988, Doctor Robert McClure brought a message of peace and harmony to I.E. Weldon Secondary School in Lindsay and Vern Belos was there (see video link below).
McClure continued to speak about team work and peace till his death in 1991.
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1988: Robotics
Robotics is an integral part of all manufacturing processes these days, but in 1988 it was still very much new territory. Sir Sandford Fleming College was an early player in robotics education and as Neil Boughen reported back then, the college came up with a "sporting" proposition (see video link below).
Fleming College has come a long way from that simple putting device. It is now a recognized leader in robotics training and design.
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1989

1989: CGE Strike
In March 1989, a strike had closed down the Canadian General Electric plant in Peterborough for three weeks. When the company tried to remove truckloads of material from the plant, members of the United Electrical Workers on the picket line dug in their heels. Here's how reporter Carolyn Tangney gave us that story (link to video provided below).
Agreement on a new contract between the United Electrical Workers and Canadian General Electric was eventually reached, but memories of events on the picket line between the police and union members remained strong for many years.
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1989: Dowsing
Dowsing, also known as divining or water witching, has been known since ancient times. Dowsers claim they can, with the use of simple tools, find water, minerals and even energy. In 1989, the Canadian Society of Dowsers held it's national convention in Peterborough and as John Ruttle reported for us back then, they came looking for more than just water (see video link below).
The Canadian Society of Dowsers still holds an annual convention, this past June it took place in Toronto.
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1989: School Uniforms
They are widely accepted nowadays but that wasn't always the case.
In 1989, the Separate School Board in Peterborough was wrestling with the idea of uniforms for secondary school students and as Michelle Tonner reported, opinions were clearly mixed.
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By the time Saint Peter's High School opened in its new location in 1992, a school uniform had been designed and was available for student to wear. When Holy Cross Secondary School opened in 1998, it too offered student uniforms.


1989: Trent U Expansion
Trent University is currently in the midst of a facilities review, studying what space is available at the university and how it's being used. In the spring of 1989, Trent was celebrating the opening of a new building, the first to be constructed in several years. Reporter Michelle Tonner brought us that story (see video link below).
Since that story was aired, the new environmental science building has been completed, one of the downtown colleges, Peter Robinson College has been closed, and the fate of Catherine Par Trail College , remains unclear. The old house from which those stained glass windows came, the Commoner Pub, was demolished in 2006.
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1990

1990: Bill Scott
In 1990, a party was held to honour a political stalwart's 25 years in office. Victoria-Haliburton MP Bill Scott was first elected in 1965 and as we see in this report from Leslie Miller, even after a quarter century, he was not ruling out continuing his career in Ottawa.
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When the federal election was called, Bill Scott's name was not on the ballot. Lorne Chester represented the Progressive Conservatives but lost the election to John O'Rielly. Bill Scott passed away in 1998, but a family tradition of political life continues, his daughter Laurie now represents the provincial riding of Haliburton Kawartha Lakes Brock for the conservatives.


1990: Burnt River Flood
The spring rains of 1990 were heavy in this area, but especially to the north west of Peterborough. There, water levels on the Burnt River rose quickly, forcing people to take to boats and canoes. John Blake had that story in March of 1990.
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1990: Cannon
It's been silenced now, but for many years, a cannon was a fixture at Remembrance Day Services in Peterborough. In 1990, it had just been revamped and ready for use. Fred Rapson prepared this story on the process of bringing this historic artillery piece back to life.
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Unfortunately, the gun has remained silent for the past few years, thanks to the fact that there's been no one available to maintain or fire it.



1990: Lakefield Recycling
The city of Peterborough has established new tipping fees at it's landfill site. These new fees include new restrictions putting recyclable materials into the waste stream. Sixteen years ago, recycling was a very new concept and as Carolyn Tangney reported in May of 1990, individual villages were struggling to find ways to deal with the new reality.
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1990: Lot Levies
Earlier this year, there was great debate at Peterborough County Council, about bringing in development charges: fees levied against new home construction. One of the first occasions this was discussed in the city was back in May of 1990. As Newswatch reported at the time, it's introduction was noisy.
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1990: Mr. Snofest
Snofest, Peterborough's winter carnival has been running for many years, featuring a wide variety of different activities. Although no longer part of the festivities, in 1990 the Mr. Snofest contest attracted many competitors, including a member of our local constabulary. We sent a student reporter by the name of Jim Gould out to cover that story.
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1990: Sunday Shopping
It's something we take for granted nowadays, the ability to go shopping seven days a week. Sixteen years ago, sunday shopping was still illegal in many locations - including the village of Lakefield. We dug into our video archive to present this video report from the spring of 1990.
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1991

1991: Arborough Games
It was touted as a chance for young people on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border to share a love of sports. The Arborough Games brought together teens from Peterborough and Ann Arbor, Michigan and as Fred Rapson reported in 1991, it was a great success (see video link below).
Unfortunately, like so many other community projects, the Arborough Games were eventually cancelled due to a shortage of volunteers to run the program.
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1991: First Nations
For centuries, museums have collected artifacts of Canada's first nations, including human remains. But a growing sensitivity to the practise has lead many institutions to examine and change their collection and exhibition policies. One of the first, if not the first, was the Peterborough Centennial Museum And Archives in May of 1991.
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The Peterborough precedent continues to cause ripples through the museum and archiological world. On one hand, First Nations are demanding the return of remains and grave goods that are now in museums. On the other side, archeologists say invaluable information about our past will be permanently lost if all remains are re-interred.


1991: Marion Orr
She was an aviation pioneer. Marion Orr learned to fly in the 1930's and in June of 1991 when Sandra Lummis caught up with her, she was still flying at the age of 72.
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Orr continued to fly untill 1994 when she was grounded by ill health. She died in a auto accident in 1995, just down the road from the Peterborough Airport.


1991: The Peterborough Club
For more than 100 years it was a bastion of the Peterborough business and social community. The Peterborough Club operated out of a historic building at the corner of Water and Simcoe Street, but it all came tumbling down. John Blake had that story back in 1991.
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After the fire, The Peterborough Club met at the Red Oak Inn for a time but eventually disbanded. The building was repaired and now houses the Trasheteria nightclub.


1991: Pool Drowning
We go back to 1991, when a lifeguard at the Peterborough Family YMCA pool drowned when her leg became trapped in a pool drain. Rescue efforts to save Linda Cozza-Bookee were in vain; the suction created by a pump below the drain could not be cut off in time. Later that year, a coroners' inquest was held in Peterborough, and Cindy Burgess reported on its recommendations (see video link below).
The most visible recommendation that was implemented at public pools is a very visible power shut off switch that instantly cuts power to the pools circulation pump.
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1991: Rally
Rallys to show support for Canadian troops in Afghanistan have become a regular event in many places in Canada. In 1991, Canada was involved in a different war - but as Dale Jackson reported from Oshawa, the sentiment was exactly the same.
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Canada's war in iraq was over a few months later and the troops came home. But the emotions fired up over the countries involvement in operation desert storm reverberated for several years and in fact continue to this day.


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1992

1992: GM Jobs
The importance of the General Motors plant in Oshawa to this area's economic well being cannot be overstated. It's been a fact of life for many years but in 1992, it was threatened as it never had been before. General Motors in the U.S. was saying operations at all of its plants were under review, so municipal politicians from around the area met in Oshawa to present a united front to General Motors. Dale Jackson had the story.
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In the end, operations at GM in Oshawa were saved. But there are no guarantees in the auto sector. In later years, General Motors plants in Scarborough and Saint Catharines were axed and late in 2007, a shift at the truck plant in Oshawa was eliminated.


1992: Zebra Mussels
In 1992, the economy was in recession. Ontario government ministries were cutting back on spending, including the Ministry of Natural Resources. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters complained this was coming at a time when the province's environment was being threatened by a new invasive species. John Blake had the story.
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The Federation of Anglers And Hunters was correct. Zebra mussels had invaded the Kawartha Lakes and become a major negative influence on water quality and native wildlife.


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1993

1993: Domm Election Pamplet
The 1993 Federal Election was supposed to be centered around the deficit, the economy and the free trade agreement. But as Craig McGuiness reported from May of 1993, attention became focused on Peterborough and the use of certain images in Conservative incumbent Bill Domm's anti-crime campaign.
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Peterborough was one of the many Conservative ridings that fell during that 1993 election. Incumbent Bill Domm came in third behind Reform candidate Len Bangma and the winner, Liberal Peter Adams.


1993: Parkade
The parking garage on King Street in Peterborough is a popular spot for downtown motorists, but as we see in this report, it's construction was not without controversy. There were two proposals for downtown parking, one on George Street planned by Fred Reynolds and The Reynolds Group, and the other on King Street, proposed by Ross Smith and AON Incorporated. Select the link below to view the video report of the stormy meeting of Peterborough City Council from December of 1993.
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1993: Wray Budreo
In November 1993, convicted pedophile Wray Budreo was released from Kingston Penitentiary after serving time for sexual assaults on young boys. He came to Peterborough, where he was greeted by a storm of protest. Within hours of our exclusive interview (seen in our video report linked below), Budreo left Peterborough for Toronto. There he became involved with the circle of support and accountability program, which assists repeat offenders with no support system to re-integrate into the community. Since 1993, he has not re-offended.
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1994

1994: Brighton Train Fire
It was a terrifying ride for Montreal bound Via Rail passengers in November 1994. An east-bound train struck an object on the CN tracks near Brighton and burst into flames. Then CHEX reporter Webb Morgan gave us that story. (link below)
Two men later confessed to putting the section of rail across the tracks.
After an investigation, the Transportation Safety Board called on Via Rail to improve emergency procedures and training for staff on it's passenger trains. The 'LRC' unit train locomotives, the type involved in the fire, have since been retired from service.
And yet another footnote, we were able to connect with one of the engineers running the train that night. George Kent (known to many simply Jay) lives in Prince Edward County and spends his winters in Florida. George gave a lot of credit to the conductor and on-board service staff for the effective and safe evacuation of the train ... with only a few minor injuries. He clearly remembers that night as a very tense experience; but was back on the job soon after transporting passengers past the scene while work crews removed the fire ravaged equipment from the tracks.
George Kent retired in 1995 after a career that spanned 43 years with CN and then Via Rail.
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1994: CD Rom Telephone Directory
It was cutting edge computer technology that promised to pave the way to the paperless society: to replace telephone books with cd roms. As Newswatch reported from 1994, a local company was one of the first to make that technology available.
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1994: Debit Cards
They were heralded as convenient and safe ...... debit cards were intended to replace cash and cheques in retail transactions, but they've proved to have their own problems. In 1994, they were the latest fad.
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1994: Development Charges
Peterborough County has recently introduced them. The city of Peterborough has just increased them. For years, development charges have been used to pay for improvements to city services - but they have never been popular as we see in this report from 1994.
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As we all know, costs for everything have increased over the years. the current base city development charge is $8,359.


1994: License Plates
It was in operation for many years just outside the village of Millbrook. The license plate manufacturing plant at the Millbrook Correctional Institution survived the closure of the facility. However, in 1994, they were in the midst of a technological change. For that story, we go back to Bruce Anderson who brought us the details in this report.
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1994: Liftlock Overflow
The Peterborough Liftlock celebrated it's centennial in 2004, marking 100 years of constant operation. But it wasn't always been trouble-free, as John Ruttle reported in the summer of 1994 (see video link below).
The cause of the temporary waterfall turned out to be a problem with the door on the north side of the lock. It was repaired and the canal was back in operation within a few days.
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1994: Negatives Restoration
Approximately 12 years ago, a fire in downtown Peterborough spurred the community to rescue and preserve 300 thousand photographic negatives taken by the remarkable Roy family of photographers. Follow the link below to view Fred Rapson's report from 1994 which details the first stages of the restorative process after the fire.
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Millionaire entreprenuer Jim Balsillie, a former Peterborough resident and creator of the Blackberry device, later stepped up and purchased the extrodinary Roy Studio Collection, then presented it to the city.


1994: New Firearms
In October of 1993, Sudbury police officer Joseph MacDonald died in an exchange of gunfire with two assailants. His death was blamed on the fact that he ran out of ammunition for his six-shot service revolver. As a result, police forces across the country adopted high capacity semi-automatic pistols, including the Peterborough police service. This Flashback segment features Bruce Anderson reporting on that story from the Newswatch archives of March 1994.
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1994: Sidewalks
Municipal governments are always dealing with the challenge of maintaining infrastructure; it's a situation that needs constant attention. As we see in this report from 1994, a Peterborough activist said the city was doing a poor job of it and offered to lend a hand. We go back to former CHEX reporter and anchor Amy Terrill for that story.
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John Taylor passed away a few years ago and the city, while still resisting his offer to have his neighbours repair the sidewalks, named a park in the south end in his honour.


1994: White Rose
It has been closed and empty for a number of years but there are plans for the former White Rose craft store at the corner of Lansdowne and Kawartha Heights Boulevard. This would simply be the latest redevelopment of an area that has seen it's share of controversy.
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1995

1995: Bridgenorth Tornado
Witnesses say it sounded like a runaway freight train coming across Chemong Lake.
The F-2 tornado that smashed into the village of Bridgenorth early on a summer, saturday morning caused millions of dollars damage.
As we hear in this report by Bruce Anderson, the strength of the storm was nothing compared with the strength of the community.
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Remarkably, the storm caused no serious injuries, perhaps because it struck in the early morning while most people were still inside their homes.


1995: John Berry Concert
He was a rising star in the new country music scene and John Berry was in Peterborough for a concert at the Memorial Centre. While here, he stopped in to Lansdowne Place mall, where he gave fans and would be fans a free preview of that evening's performance. From 1995, we present then CHEX Newswatch reporter Sandra Lummiss in our video report (link below).
While at Lansdowne Place, Berry discovered that the man who lent him the guitar for the impromptu performance had been unable to get tickets for that evenings show. As an expression of appreciation to the man who had helped him out, Berry saw to it that a pair of tickets were waiting for him at the Memorial Centre box office. John Berry continues to tour to this day.
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1995: Referendum
In the fall of 1995, the entire country was focused on the province of Quebec. A referendum on whether or not to begin the process of separation from Canada had canadians outside the province urging quebecers to vote "no" on separation. Late in october, several bus loads of Peterborough residents travelled to Montreal to take part in a "vote no" rally, and CHEX news director Wally Macht went with them.
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1996

1996: City Cemetery
The possible presence of graves in Confederation Park has complicated plans to build a new monument to Peterborough's veterans there. It was in 1996, that the presence of graves in another city park also made the news. John Blake gave us that story (link to video provided below).
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1996: Memorial Cup
In May 1996, the Peterborough Petes was the host team for the Memorial Cup - the canadian junior hockey championship. It was the first time the series was held in Peterborough and as John Blake reported, everyone was encouraged to get behind the team.
The Memorial Cup was won that year by the Granby Predateurs. Because of mild weather, the final game was delayed, thanks to a blanket of fog that hovered over the ice at the Memorial Centre. It was concern over conditions at the rink that eventually lead to a fourteen million dollar renovation of the centre.
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1996: Poverty
Action against poverty has been the focus of a number of interest groups for many years. Has the face of poverty changed in the past decade? You decide, as we revisit a report that John Blake put together on that issue from 1996, over 10 years ago.
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1996: The Screaming Tale
In 1996, in the midst of a recession, residents of Port Hope were outraged by what they say was "an attempt by a local restaurant to avoid paying it's employees". Scott Blodgett brought us that story (link to video provided below).
The Ministry of Labour agreed with the citizens of Port Hope and ruled that the 'agents of the company' were indeed employees and should be paid as such.
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1996: Video Lottery Terminals
They promised great profits for licensed establishments in the province: video lottery terminals. In 1996, Ontario was poised to introduce legislation allowing the VLT's to be installed, and as Amy Terrill told us back then in her report (link below), interest was very high.
Just a few months after amy filed that story, the Ontario government decided not to allow the installation of video lottery terminals in licensed establishments. The emphasis had now been placed on slot machines, to be set up in casinos and at horse racing tracks only.
View our report


1996: Water Street Fire
To date, it is the last general alarm fire in the City of Peterborough. It broke out in the early morning of a frigid February day in 1996 and by the time it was extinguished, 13 people were homeless, 3 businesses were destroyed and every available firefighter in the city was on duty.
Damage to the building at the corner of Hunter and Water Streets was placed at one million dollars. The cause has never been determined. The ruined portion of the structure was demolished soon after, but its north end still stands....
View our report


1996: Wolf Kill Haliburton
It was a tragic incident that continues to fuel debate over the relationship between humans and wildlife. In April 1996, twenty-four year old Tricia Wyman, an employee of a wildlife refuge in Haliburton, was attacked and killed by five captive wolves. Newswatch brought us that story. Our Newswatch reporter Craig McGuiness brought us that story.
View our report


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1997

1997: County Policing
Ten years ago, the Ontario government ruled that municipalities needed to account for the money they spent on police services. At the same time, Queen's Park allowed them to approach different services in an effort to get the best deal. Peterborough County went through this process in the spring of 1997, pitting the OPP against the Peterborough City Police. Sandra Lummiss had that story (link to video provided below).
View our report


1997: Johnson & Johnson Closure
In the late 1990's, the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed by the federal conservative government. Critics said that it would result in the closure of Canadian branch plants of U.S. companies, and the loss of jobs. In 1997, they could point to Peterborough and the closure of Johnson & Johnson as proof (link to video provided below).
View our report


1997: Stock Car Racing
In 1997 the Peterborough area had one stock car racing track, Peterborough Speedway. In the spring of that year, the owners of the Kawartha Downs harness racing track decided to offer stock car racing as well, a decision that caused concern amongst some neighbours of the downs. Kimberly Walker, now Kimberly Coulter, brought us that story (link to video provided below).
View our report




1998

1998: Apsley Flooding
Ten years ago, spring in this area was marked by mild temperatures and heavy rain that combined to put pressure on water courses including Eels Creek in North Kawartha Township. As Kimberly Coulter reported back then, residents did what they could to battle the rising waters but often, it wasn't enough.
View our report
The Eels Creek area hasn't seen such flooding since Kimberly produced her report in 1998. Peterborough however, was hit with the flood of 2004 that arrived without warning.


1998: Keene TD Bank
Ten years ago, residents of Keene rallied to save it's bank. The Toronto Dominion Bank announced it would close its branch in the village but as Pete Dalliday reported, residents of Keene were not letting it go without a fight.
View our report
The citizens of Keene were not long without banking services. The Kawartha Credit Union opened a branch in the former bank premises within a few months.


1998: Nick Jones
It all happened so quickly. One minute a group of boys was skateboarding on a construction site in Bobcaygeon .... the next minute, one lay injured and one lay dead. From 1998, Laura Lauzon has the story.
View our report
The site where Nick Jones died was later cleared and redeveloped as a site of single family dwelling.





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