The year of the sharp-edged object

Examiner police writer Sarah Deeth’s Top 5 Peterborough news stories of 2011: September the board voted to close the downtown high school during an emotional and intense meeting. But PCVS has refused to go quietly. The school has launched extensive protests and appeals, taking the issue all the way to Queen’s Park.

Downtown merchants have gotten involved, shutting their stores in protest and offering all their support to PCVS.

In late December the province announced that it would appoint a facilitator to review the ARC process, bringing the school a spark of hope. Whether that has any effect on the board’s final decision remains to be seen. Mobile. Essentially the arguments were the same-that the long-term health effects of Wi-fi are still largely unknown.

But proponents argued that the exposure is minimal, that Wi-fi already exists all around us and repeatedly pointed out that there’s no evidence to support the fact that Wi-fi is any long-term danger at all. about putting himself in front of the cameras, so much so that it’s earned him the nickname “Caldywood,” like “Hollywood,” at the city police station.

But in June the 37-year-old found himself in the news for all the wrong reasons. Shot twice during a drug raid in Lindsay, Calderwood became national news and even trended on Twitter in the hours following the shooting.

The city responded, sending the Calderwoods an onslaught of wellwishes and cards. The family was offered support at almost every turn.

Since the province’s Special Investigations Unit had invoked its mandate almost immediately after the shooting, Calderwood was unable to speak about what happened, at first.

But as he recovered he began to talk, sharing his story in bits and pieces with the local media.

Since then the officer has been seen at many local charity and police-sponsored events, helping out. He’s still receiving medical care for his injuries and still hasn’t returned to work. Let’s hope he’s back on the road soon.

When the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board announced that it would vote on a recommendation to close PCVS, the school reacted almost immediately.

Students formed a human chain that stretched to the downtown core. They staged walkouts and appeared at board meetings to plead their case.

The school’s alumni leapt into action, forming a solid committee that began forming a legal appeal to the board’s decision almost immediately.

They’ve held fundraisers and helped shuttle students to Queen’s Park to protest the school’s closing. They’ve lobbied city hall and government representatives.

It’s hard to say what the future of the city’s only downtown school will be. But these students, whether young or old, have put up a good fight, and tackled the issue with a whole lot of heart.