The city announced its closure plans Wednesday for the second provincewide COVID-19 pandemic closure that starts on Saturday, including the cancellations of all ice rentals between Dec. 26 and Jan. 22.
Peterborough Transit will continue to operate as scheduled throughout the lockdown, but riders must wear face coverings and maintain two-metre social distancing.
The Art Gallery of Peterborough, the Peterborough Museum and Archives and the Sport and Wellness Centre will be closed to the public, while the Peterborough Public Library will close to the public and bring back curbside pickup service, starting on Dec. 30.
City council will return to virtual meetings in January.
City Hall will be closed to the public until Jan. 22 and people are asked to use phone or online services to reduce traffic at other municipal facilities during the pandemic.
Essential services, including emergency services, public works, transit and wastewater treatment, will continue uninterrupted, according to a press release from the city, with safety measures for staff remaining in place based on public health’s guidelines.
Here’s a look at changes to municipal services that are expected:
Arena Division
All ice rental bookings during the period Dec. 26 through Jan. 22 have been cancelled. A full refund or credit for cancelled dates will be applied. During the holiday season, arena customer service will be closed from Dec. 24 at noon and Jan. 4 at 8:30 a.m. when staff will be available by calling 705-742-7777 ext. 2577 or by email at arenadivisionbookings@peterborough.ca.
Art Gallery of Peterborough
The Art Gallery of Peterborough will remain closed until and including Jan. 22.
Building Services
Beginning Jan. 4, Building Services will provide a modified pickup and drop-off service from their location in the north wing of City Hall. People can access services online or by phone 705-742-7777 ext. 1892 whenever possible. Visit peterborough.ca/building for information, forms and the application process.
Child Care Centres
Licensed centre based and home child care can remain open for the duration of the provincewide shutdown. At this time most licensed child care centres in Peterborough city and county will be open and providing regular full day services for children aged 0 to 3.8 years for the week of Jan. 4 to 8. Families are encouraged to contact their current licensed child care provider to confirm access to care for Jan. 4 to 8.
To support the families of school-aged children, the city will be implementing a targeted emergency child care plan for school-aged children of essential services workers as identified by the province, at no cost to eligible families, from Jan. 4 to 8. Emergency child care services for children of JK/SK and school age (3.8 to12 years) will be available for essential service workers in the city and county.
To be eligible for the emergency child care plan for essential services workers, families must have no other option for child care and be working outside of their home. Families can indicate they are an essential worker and register for emergency child care at OneHSN.com/Peterborough. Registration, approvals and communications will be managed by the chosen Emergency child care agency. Registrations will open Dec. 24 at noon.
Before and after school programs, with the exception of the emergency child care agencies, are required to close from Jan. 4 to 8 and are prohibited from charging fees or otherwise penalizing parents during this time period. For example, parents must not lose their respective child care spaces.
EarlyON Child and Family Centres must close to the public beginning Dec. 26 until Jan. 23. This means that neither indoor nor outdoor programming can be offered during the shutdown.
Families who are currently in receipt of child care fee subsidy may contact your case manager through email or phone if needed.
City Hall
City Hall will be closed to the public until and including Jan. 22. The city will monitor provincial direction on the shutdown and will provide updates on reopening for in-person services as they become available. Beginning Jan. 4, city staff will to be available during regular business hours by phone or email. Call 705-742-7777 or email cityptbo@peterborough.ca. It may take longer to reply to messages depending on call and email volumes, the city advises.
City council
City Council will meet virtually for the Jan. 11 and Jan. 18 general committee meetings.
Community Services
Community Services, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Public Art and the Heritage Preservation Office will be available by calling 705-742-7777 ext. 1822 or by email at communityservices@peterborough.ca.
Peterborough Museum and Archives
The Peterborough Museum and Archives will remain closed until and including Jan. 22.
Peterborough Public Library
The Peterborough Public Library will close at 1 p.m. on Dec. 24 and reopen on Dec. 30 with curbside pickup service in place. Access to the main branch of the Library will be limited to pickup services only. The DelaFosse branch remains closed at this time. Further details are available online at www.ptbolibrary.ca.
Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre
The Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre will remain open from 7 a.m. to noon on Dec. 24 and will be closed effective Dec. 25 for the remainder of the provincial shutdown. Wellness Centre memberships will be placed on an automatic hold beginning Dec. 26. Staff can be reached by calling 705-742-7777 ext. 2201 or by email at sportandwellnesscentre@peterborough.ca throughout the closure.
Provincial Offences Act Court
The court administration service counter will be closed for in-person service until and including Jan. 22. Service inquiries and payments can be made by phone 705-742-7777 ext. 2099 or online at peterborough.ca/POA.
Public Operations Centre (Public Works)
The Public Operations Centre (Public Works) administration office at 791 Webber Ave. remains closed to the public. Public Works can be reached for urgent matters at 705-745-1386. This line is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For non-urgent matters, email pubworks@peterborough.ca, or use the online Report an Issue form at peterborough.ca.
Social Services
Beginning Jan. 4, public access to the Social Services office at 178 Charlotte St. will be limited to two people at a time. Clients are required to wear a face covering and stay in authorized areas only. Social Services client appointments will be done over the phone whenever possible. Current clients can contact their case worker for further information and register for online services through MyBenefits. The local phone number is 705-748-8830 or 1-855-738-3755.
Clients who have bank accounts can contact their case workers about signing up for direct deposit.
All applications for Ontario Works or emergency assistance will be done online at or over the phone, when possible, to minimize face-to-face interaction, following the public health guidance related to social distancing. Applications for other services such as child care fee subsidy and Housing Access Peterborough will also be completed over the phone.
Emergency shelter services will continue to operate as normal, with COVID-19 safety measures in place. Individuals can call 705-926-0096 for emergency shelter services during the Christmas closure, and on evenings and weekends.
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Transit
Peterborough Transit will continue to operate as currently scheduled through the current lockdown date of Jan. 22. Face covering and physical distancing is required. Visit peterborough.ca/transit for service details.
Customer service at the terminal will remain open with only one customer permitted into the facility at a time. A face covering must be worn at all times.
Waste Management
Garbage and recycling collection will continue as normally scheduled. To protect workers, people should ensure that all personal items and personal protective equipment are properly bagged in the garbage.
The Peterborough City/County Landfill will remain open, with COVID-19 safety precautions in place. Face coverings and physical distancing is required. Only electronic payment is accepted (no cash).
The Recycling Depot and Household Hazardous Waste Depot on Pido Road will remain open, with COVID-19 safety precautions in place. More information is online at peterborough.ca/waste.
Making payments to the city
People are encouraged to make use of the numerous methods available when doing financial interactions with the City and avoid using cash.
Property taxes can be paid like any other bill through online or telephone banking using the 15-digit roll number as the account number. Cheques can be mailed to the Tax Office, City Hall, 500 George St. N., Peterborough, Ont., K9H 3R9, or placed in the secure drop box located by the steps at the front doors of City Hall. The City offers preauthorized payment plans by completing an online form that’s available at peterborough.ca
The city does not directly accept credit cards as a payment method for property taxes; however, people can use online bill payment services such as PaySimply, Plastiq or Paytm to pay property taxes online using a credit card. The listed payment services are not affiliates or partners of the city; they may apply service charges and there may be restrictions on the type of credit cards accepted.
For parking tickets, payments can be made online through peterborough.ca, over the phone at 705-742-7777 ext. 1865 or by cheque submitted through mail or using the drop box outside City Hall.
Holiday service update
Many city facilities and services will have modified hours and schedule changes during the Christmas holiday season:
Arenas: Open Dec. 24 from 6 a.m. to noon and then closed all other days.
Bensfort Landfill: Open 8 to 11:45 a.m. Dec. 24 and 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Dec. 28, 29, 30 and 31, then resuming with regular hours Jan. 2 to 22.
City Hall: Open Dec. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to noon and then closed all other days.
Garbage and recycling collection: In Ashburnham Ward and parts of Northcrest Ward, Dec. 25 collection moves to Dec. 28 while Jan. 1 collection moves to Jan. 4.
Hazardous household waste facility: Open Dec. 24 from 8 a.m. to noon and 8 a.m. to noon on Dec. 31, then resuming with regular hours Jan. 2 to 22.
Recycling drop-off depot: Self-serve operations open around the clock through the holidays and through January with COVID-19 precautions.
Memorial Centre box office: Closed all through the holidays and through to Jan. 22.
Peterborough Museum and Archives: Open Dec. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to noon and then closed all other days.
Peterborough Public Library: Open Dec. 24 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with curbside pickup from Dec. 29 to 31 and then from Jan. 3 to 22.
Provincial Offences Office: Open Dec. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to noon and then closed all other days.
Social Services Office: Open Dec. 24 from 8:30 a.m. to noon, closed for rest of holidays and then reopening Jan. 2 to 22 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. weekdays with a maximum of two people at a time.
Sport and Wellness Centre: Open Dec. 24 from 7 a.m. to noon and then closed all other days.
Peterborough Transit: Last Dec. 24 run at 7:15 p.m., no service Christmas Day, 7:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. Boxing Day and Dec. 27, last run on Dec. 28, 29 and 30 at 11:15 p.m., last run at 7:15 p.m. on New Year’s Eve no service on New Year’s Day and then normal service Jan. 2 to 22 with COVID-19 protocols.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
