Minden Hills to host arena grand opening

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April 21, 2022

Minden Hills is inviting the community to a long-awaited celebration of its S.G Nesbitt Memorial Arena May 7.

While the arena has been open to the public since 2021, COVID-19 restrictions delayed grand opening plans.

“This is a great opportunity to end off our first ice season with a giant welcome to the community. We’re looking forward to it,” director of community services Craig Belfry told Minden Hills councillors at an April 14 meeting.

Events will run from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. The schedule includes a Minden Figure Skating Club show, a Highland Storm scrimmage and public skating with Haliburton County Huskies players.

There will also be a basketball free-throw contest, opportunities to try other sports equipment and martial arts demonstrations.

Community groups who use the arena will be set up to showcase their organizations and there will be refreshments and snacks available.

The gym, now fully equipped with exercise equipment, will have demonstrations from fitness professionals.

Mayor Brent Devolin said it’s exciting to finally be able to celebrate the project. He urged Belfry and staff to ensure everyone who had a “formal” part in the arena’s construction be invited.

“There’s been a lot of people involved along the way,” he said.

Hike Haliburton dates

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 21, 2022

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Staff has settled on Sept. 21-25 for this year’s Hike Haliburton.

Director of economic development and tourism Scott Ovell said that based on feedback, they are going to go with the smaller hikes that were well received.

He said it is unknown what the status of COVID-19 will be but they are planning with protocols if needed.

One tweak he and new manager of tourism Tracie Bertrand have discussed is, “we’re just going to try and link the hike to some more culinary opportunities, and perhaps a little bit of shopping as well and any other events that are going to be taking place around the County at the time. Just try and circulate people around the County.” He said in addition to hiking, they’d like people to spend as much money as possible.

Coun. Andrea Roberts said one challenge is people register for hikes early, filling them up, and then do not show up on the day. She wondered what could be done, such as gathering people’s emails and reminding them the day before the hike or providing a means to unregister. She said she’d also like hikes along the rail trail with a possible shuttle service.

Ovell said he would talk to Bertrand about options and bring it back to committee of the whole.

Lower Cup Lake culvert

The County has awarded the contract for the Lower Cup Lake culvert rehabilitation on County Road 648.

The job is going to Premier North Ltd. of Huntsville for $477,266 plus taxes.

Director of public works Robert Sutton said the culvert was deemed a high priority in the 2020 bridge and large culvert biennial inspections report (OSIM 2020).

He said the project will include the rehabilitation of the culvert’s existing concrete footings and barrel.

He added the project will generally maintain two lanes of traffic with some temporary and intermittent day-time single lane closures with full-time flagging.

Sutton said the total 2022 construction, inspection and contract administration estimate for the projects is $513,739.43, approximately 45 per cent per cent under the 2022 approved budget of $932,000

County wants CT scanner for Highlands

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 21, 2022

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HHHS says it’s early days for discussion

County of Haliburton CAO Mike Rutter raised the issue of the need for a CT scanner for Haliburton County during an April 13 council meeting.

His comments came after director of emergency services, Tim Waite, said a lot of ambulance time is used transporting patients to Lindsay and Peterborough for diagnostic imaging.

Presenting his 2021 annual report, Waite said, “our number one call is an interfacility transfer, and a lot of that’s associated with CT transfers, transfers for CT scans for diagnostic imaging to Lindsay and Peterborough.”

His report showed that 23.18 per cent of calls were for interfacility transfers.

Further, in 2021, there were 283 calls in the County but 611 outside of the County. That number climbed from 444 in 2020 and 372 in 2019.

Asked by The Highlander what this is costing the service, Waite said the majority of transfers to take a patient to Lindsay or Peterborough has the crew out of the County on average five hours. Factoring in wages, overhead, fuel costs and vehicle wear and tear, the average transfer for CT costs $720. He said they are completing 300 transfers per year for patients requiring a CT scan which equates to $216,000 a year.

“Plus it takes a crew out of the County for that extended period of time where they could be available locally for 911 calls. Having one or more ambulances out of the County on CT transfers also directly reflects on response times.”

Rutter said Waite was gathering data and sharing it with Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS).

“We spend many, many, many hours outside the County travelling up and down County roads with the ambulances so they’re not available for emergency calls inside the County and so the best-case scenario is a CT scanner here,” Rutter said.

“From a patient care standpoint, that would be wonderful, where patients can actually have that diagnostic tool nearby so they don’t have to suffer that trip as well.

“So, I know County Council is establishing a much stronger relationship with HHHS and I think that’s one area where we hope that there’s conversation because that would be a real game changer for patients in Haliburton County, doctors in Haliburton County and certainly the paramedics as well.”

HHHS president and CEO Carolyn Plummer said April 14, “while we know many small hospitals do not have their own CT scanners and instead rely on larger partners, we do believe it would be of great benefit to the community. We are exploring this – collecting stats, etc. – to see if we have enough to build a business case for approval from the Ministry of Health; however, it is early days and I don’t have anything further to share right now.”

Ambulances doing 911 calls outside County

Coun. Pat Kennedy also picked up on the fact that ambulances are experiencing off-load delays and are also responding to 911 calls in places such as Lindsay and Peterborough because they happen to be available when in those jurisdictions.

Kennedy, a former director of EMS, commented on “off-load delays encountered at other services and us being drawn into doing calls in other service areas. Has there been any talk amongst the other EMS services about how to address that? I mean you’re up almost 50 per cent over last year doing calls in other areas which impacts our ability to service our clientele.”

Waite said, “we do a lot of calls in the other jurisdictions. A lot of the time because we’ve done transfers into Peterborough or Lindsay, and we end up being the closest car to a 911 call. What happens is, the local crews in Lindsay, say, are in an off-load delay and we’re leaving, that’s why we get sent on a call, because we’re the closest vehicle trying to get out of the city.”

Waite said the Ontario Association of Paramedics Chiefs is working with the province, looking at trying to alleviate some of the off-load delays. He said it was particularly bad around Christmas with COVID spiking and the new EPIC patient record system being launched.

Until a solution can be found, Waite added, “we just have to live with it and try and just buckle down and get through it and see what new plans and alternatives destination plans come up for patients.”

Library borrowing up 27 per cent in 2021

By

Sam Gillett

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April 21, 2022

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Haliburton County Public Library (HCPL) users flocked back to the books last year, according to HCPL’s 2021 annual survey.

In total, 64,441 physical items were checked out, a 27 per cent bump over 2020.

Patrons also withdrew out 43,901 ebooks and audiobooks, an 11 per cent increase.

Membership increased too, with 788 people acquiring library cards in 2021.

HCPL CEO Christopher Stephenson said the increase is largely due to existing members renewing their cards and a resurgence in library usage after the early lockdowns of 2020.

He’s heard from HCPL branches that some patrons just began returning to the library in late 2021.

The library also introduced online membership forms.

“This was a new way that libraries across Canada were supporting their communities and ensuring safe service through the pandemic,” Stephenson said.

Library vehicle could improve service

At an April 13 HCPL board meeting, Stephenson explained how a library courier vehicle might benefit patrons and staff.

He said a vehicle acts as advertising for the service, adds flexibility to programming and creates a more equitable work environment for staff who currently must use personal vehicles to drive around the County or courier books.

“It’s very normal that libraries have their own transportation for this reason,” he said.

“We’re asking a lot to have staff put wear and tear on their vehicle.”

Stephenson’s presentation was for information only, and the idea is likely to be discussed at future strategic planning meetings of the board.

Grant boosts Highland Grove web speed

The HCPL’s Highland Grove branch will get a provincially-funded internet upgrade thanks to a grant the library applied for in 2020.

Stephenson said the grant means the branch will get a revamped service that aims to hit 50 megabytes per second and will be funded for one year.

“It will be great news for Highland Grove,” Stephenson said.

Website nearing completion

HCPL will soon unveil its new logo and branding, as well as a completely overhauled website. Both projects have been underway since 2021.

Stephenson said the website will be easier to navigate for patrons and staff, with a more efficient content management system and editing process

Roberts not running for mayor in fall election

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 21, 2022

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While other candidates will soon be embarking upon gruelling summer election campaigns, Dysart et al mayor Andrea Roberts is looking forward to camping.

She announced publicly April 18 she is not seeking re-election.

Roberts said it was always her plan to step down at the end of the 2022 term, however the prospect of leaving after only one term as mayor was hard. But she found clarity while vacationing in the Dominican Republic earlier this spring.

“The debate I had with myself all winter was ‘do I have it in me to do four more years? Do I want to’?” Her answer was no.

“This is the right thing for me personally. It might not be the right thing for the town but I do believe that somebody good will come along,” she added.

Roberts said she will still be involved and is keen to see who will run for her vacant seat.

“My heart’s still there but I want to go camping this summer and I do not want to be campaigning.”

She said the job does come with sacrifices. She recalled attending an all-candidates debate at Haliburton Lake in 2018. She had to tell the audience she could not stay to the end because her daughter was in labour in Ottawa. She left the meeting and drove to be with her daughter. She is a grandmother now. She said a candidate has to be 100 per cent in.

Previous to being mayor, she was deputy mayor and ward one councillor.

Roberts reminisced on how much she enjoyed being a ward one councillor, and working on things such as the building of the Dysart library and the 150th celebrations. As mayor, she said there had been challenges, not least of which was a global pandemic that is now into its third year.

However, she feels the township has accomplished a lot, some seen, such as the new welcome centre, and some unseen, such as finalizing a strategic plan by June, DOT road software and an asset management plan.

At the lower and upper-tier level is the shoreline preservation bylaw. Roberts has gone on record to say it should be deferred to the new councils. There is also the shortterm rental review and the service delivery review.

She foresees some of the challenges will be a turnover in politicians. She encourages people who are interested to get involved now, if they have not already. For her, though, making the announcement comes with a sense of relief and gratitude.

“It’s truly been an honour to be able to be in this position and to serve my community. I got into it as a little ward one councillor as a way to get involved. I never thought of myself as a politician but just a regular person.”

Candidate information session April 26

There will be a free candidate information session on Tuesday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 129, 719 Mountain St., Haliburton.

It is for potential candidates, family members of potential candidates and anyone interested in learning more about local government.

Anyone considering running for mayor, deputy mayor or ward councillor in any of the County of Haliburton municipalities is invited to attend.

The session will be led by Fred Dean, a municipal coach and former municipal solicitor who has been training members and heads of council since 2002. The session will provide an overview of the roles and responsibilities of municipal council members and explain how public office will impact their life.

This event is being offered both in-person and virtually. There is no registration required for in-person attendance. To register virtually, visit dysartetal.ca/election/

The event will be livestreamed by Sticks and Stones Productions and is hosted by the Township of Algonquin Highlands, Municipalities of Highlands East and Dysart et al and the Township of Minden Hills.

Tourism and business summit planned for May

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 21, 2022

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Haliburton County tourism providers and businesses will gather May 16 at Sir Sam’s Ski/Ride for the first of what is hoped to be an annual tourism and business summit.

County director of economic development Scott Ovell discussed the summit with councillors at their April 13 meeting.

The County is partnering with the Haliburton Tourism Action Committee (HaliTAC) on the venture.

Ovell and manager of tourism Tracie Bertrand have been working with HaliTAC on the idea since the fall and have now added the business component to the tourism component.

HaliTac’s Emily Stonehouse said the idea came about because there have been “a lot of major changes happening in the tourism community here, and we decided this would be a good time to not only meet some new faces but also to be aligned in some of our projects moving forward.”

She said the day will offer networking opportunities, a chance for stakeholders and businesses to display content.

For example, Joanne Vanier from Highlands East may bring some minerals to showcase geocaching.

There will be a keynote speaker, Trevor Benson of Bannikan Travel and Tourism, and breakout speaker, Jennifer Lamantia of the Workforce Development Board.

Stonehouse said they surveyed members and they identified staff recruitment and retention as the number one issue. In addition to that, people can chat about collaborating.

“The whole day is supposed to be a very cohesive day. Everybody’s going to be working together, just listening to each other and coming up with new ideas to move forward,” she said.

For his part, Ovell added, “staff see this as an opportunity with pandemic restrictions lifting, to engage with businesses and create opportunities for partnerships while also highlighting some of the economic development services available to them within and around the County.

“Moving forward, all the partners involved in the development of this program see this as potentially being an annual event that could cover a variety of business topics open to all enterprises. Ideally this will take place every spring and will also include a job fair,” Ovell added.

The Haliburton BIA, Haliburton County Development Corporation and the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce will be aiding in promotion and have offered to provide administrative support where necessary.

To register, contact Emily Stonehouse at emily@YoursOutdoors.ca

County climbs on board rural transit pilot

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 21, 2022

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The County of Haliburton has committed $20,000 towards a rural transportation pilot project being championed by SIRCH, City of Kawartha Lakes (CKL) Human Services and Fleming CREW.

County councillors gave the green light to the funding at their committee of the whole meeting April 13.

While initially the pilot will assist people to get to and from SIRCH for training programs, and people on Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Programs (ODSP) to meetings and appointments, it could evolve to help the County sort its need for public transportation, County CAO Mike Rutter said at the meeting.

The partners have already leased an eightpassenger van and hired a driver. The cost will be free for SIRCH trainees during training and for three months after.

Janine Mitchell, manager of human services for CKL, presented to council.

“We’re really quite excited about the potential to provide increased access to participate in either Ontario Disability Support Programs and services or employment-related services and programs,” she said.

She said Shanthi Rajaratnam of Fleming CREW identified the ongoing problem, particularly in Haliburton County, and SIRCHs Gena Robertson quickly jumped on board for the pilot project. In SIRCH’s participation service proposal, they noted “one of the biggest hurdles to providing training in Haliburton County is the lack of public transportation.” They added people on low income generally can’t afford to live in Haliburton village but on back roads many miles from town. Potential trainees might not be able to afford a vehicle and its related costs and taxi fares are heading towards $2.50 per kilometre.

Lack of transportation hurdle to training

The driver is specifically trained to be knowledgeable about programs and is expected to help people find ride shares, get their licences and perhaps their own transportation one day.

When not driving SIRCH trainees in the morning and afternoon, the driver is free for CKL clients.

The proposal put the cost at $67,960 excluding cost recovery for OW and ODSP clients, ranging from $8 for rides up to 10km and $50 for trips of 60 to 100km.

Mitchell said the lack of public transportation was identified in the County’s community safety and well-being plan.

Rutter said he thought the pitch was “very timely.” He said the County had about $200,000 in a transportation reserve as past councils had identified public transportation as a challenge, and need, but had been “waiting for a model or a service delivery model that would work in the County of Haliburton and we continue to investigate those.”

He noted first-year projects are not eligible for provincial gas tax funding but they are in second and subsequent years.

Coun. Andrea Roberts called the project “exciting. I love the marriage of finding a need and the service matching that.”

Coun. Brent Devolin lamented that two terms of council were unable to deliver some form of public transportation and said this might help with some of the Highlands’ “labour force woes”. He also took a swipe at Fleming College for failing to establish a trades school in the County.

Coun. Pat Kennedy said he was interested in how they would navigate logistics. “Trying to get six people to work for 9 o’clock in the morning … I’m really looking forward to seeing how you work that one out all over the County.” However, he felt it was money well spent.

Coun. Cec Ryall asked about looking into alternate training sites as Haliburton village might not work for all future training. Mitchell said they would look into it.

Rutter said, “the really interesting thing about this pilot is we’re not sure where it will take us eventually but at least we are doing something … and there are other things we can do in the meantime.”

He mentioned that he and director of economic development, Scott Ovell, met with a group piloting on-demand transit services based on sophisticated algorithms and technology that predict routes and demand. “They believe in a rural community like this, that can be a really valuable tool. I really think there is potential to see a real evolution of transit in the County using this as a springboard,” Rutter said.

Huskies eliminated

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 20, 2022

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The Cobourg Cougars scored at 12:40 of the first overtime April 20 to bring the Haliburton County Huskies inaugural OJHL season to a close.

The Cougars cemented the 4-3 comeback in OT after eliminating a 3-1 deficit in the third period.

They won the series two games to one to advance to the next round.

The Huskies won their first round playoff series against the Trenton Golden Hawks but could not solve the Cougars in the short best-of-three series.

A sold-out crowd went home disappointed but cheered the team on.

See more in the April 28 Highlander.

Huskies advance to final second round game

By

Sam Gillett

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April 19, 2022

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Haliburton Huskies vs Cobourg Cougars — COBOURG, ON - APRIL 18: Isaac Sooklal #10 of the Haliburton County Huskies collides with Parker Hendsbee #9 of the Cobourg Cougars during the third period at the Cobourg Community Centre on April 18, 2021 in Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Shawn Muir / OJHL Images)

The Haliburton County Huskies beat the Coburg Cougars 2-1 in a tense overtime showdown April 18, reviving hopes of advancing to conference finals.

After losing 5-3 at the Minden Arena the night before, the Dogs had it all to play for at the Cougars’ home turf.

The Cougars struck first, sneaking in a shorthand goal after eight minutes of play. Assisted by Cameron Kosurko, Payton Schaly equalized for the Huskies midway through the third period.

A tense overtime followed, with the Dogs striking after three minutes to seal the win. Sam Solarino, assisted by Noah Van Vliet, scored the winner.

The win means the Huskies will play the Cougars once more at the S.G Nesbitt Memorial Arena April 20, with the winner advancing to a five-game conference finals series.

My mind was changed

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 19, 2022

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When I started work on my amalgamation series last year, I believed that it was time for Haliburton County and its four lower-tier municipalities to merge into one entity.

I was skeptical about the service delivery review. It seemed the $1.1 million in savings and efficiencies Strategy Corp. was suggesting was not enough. To me, it was the cost of a culvert. A mere pittance.

I also didn’t like that municipal staff were being tasked with executing the recommendations in the review. Surely, they should not be the ones determining an organizational chart for example. Would they be willing to eliminate their own positions in a revamped governance model?

I was pretty convinced going in the direction of the City of Kawartha Lakes of 20 years ago was the way forward.

Then I began researching.

I did a literature review and had a hard time finding any articles that supported municipal amalgamations.

Most panned Mike Harris’ Common Sense Revolution and his government’s decision to force them. His successor, Doug Ford, has dropped forced amalgamations in his term in office.

I could not find a local government expert who would vehemently speak in favour of amalgamation. I read countless studies and ended up talking to university political science professors such as Zach Spicer and David Siegel. I had to concede I might be barking up the wrong tree with this whole amalgamation thing.

I took a closer look at the service delivery review and I saw that the consultant was suggesting alternative forms of governance. There were a range of models for intermunicipal delivery of services. There was a spectrum of collaboration.

I also spent time watching the service delivery review steering committee meetings. These gave me insight into what the various groups were doing to try to find ways of working better together, in some case to save taxpayers money, but mostly to provide better customer service.

That led to me to try to find other models that were working. Again, there were no apples-to-apples comparisons for Haliburton County. However, through Siegel I learned of the N6 in northern York Region.

Since about 2005, the townships there have been collaborating to deliver some services. The CAOs and mayors meet regularly to discuss how being part of a larger group can be of benefit. They started with simple procurement and have grown from strength to strength.

When the County and its four lower-tier municipalities signed their first inter-municipal agreement in the spring to have joint household hazardous waste days, it was an important step forward for local governance.

By doing a joint RFP for a household hazardous waste service provider they will save taxpayers money. And, by allowing residents to go to any household hazardous waste day regardless of where they live ticks the box for better service.

As the steering committee continues its work, we look forward to more of these collaborative arrangements. We think it makes sense to have one planning department, for example, and integrated waste management.

During the course of my research, I now think the County is on the right track with the service delivery review and encourage innovative and bold steps going forward. Most of all, with new councils coming into effect in the fall, I encourage the work to continue.