EORN proposes $1.6 billion gig-speed internet project

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August 11, 2020

LG-internet folo_Easy-Resize.com — File photo

The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) is proposing a new $1.6 billion project to deliver faster internet across eastern Ontario, including Haliburton County.

The organization under the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) announced Aug. 11 it would seek a public-private partnership to bring one gigabit-per-second internet speeds throughout its 13 municipalities.

“This would be a game-changer for eastern Ontario to attract and retain businesses and residents, and to compete globally over the long term,” EOWC chair Andy Letham, who is the mayor of the City of Kawartha Lakes, said.

EORN said it would seek to fund the project with help from upper levels of government, the private sector and loans from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Minden Hills Mayor Brent Devolin, who is on the EORN board, said the pandemic has highlighted the need for better connectivity. He added the crisis has sped up timelines for new projects by years and there is high public demand for improvements.

“This is now more important than ever,” Devolin said. “It’s a lot of money, but in COVID times, we’re throwing a lot of money around for a lot of things and I think the likelihood for success is relatively high.”

The Canada Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has declared 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload internet speeds as a minimum basic service level, setting a goal of 90 per cent of Canadians having that by December 2021.

EORN estimates delivering that minimum in the region would cost between $500 million and $700 million. But it is proposing to go for speeds 20 times that to anticipate future needs.

“Demand for broadband is growing exponentially. Half-measures and baby steps won’t get us there. We need a long-term solution,” EORN chair J. Murray Jones said. “The EORN Gig Project is a lasting investment in our prosperity.”

EORN is also working on a project to improve mobile broadband coverage in the region, a $213 million public-private partnership that is funded and has a request for proposals process underway.

Meanwhile, the County of Haliburton is also looking for opportunities for better connectivity. County council voted July 22 to do a solo application for a provincial grant to build new broadband infrastructure. CAO Mike Rutter reported there are already private telecommunications providers interested in partnering for that, though exact specifications for a proposal are to be determined.

Devolin said how the County’s project might fit into the bigger picture under EORN will depend on those specifications.

“There’s multiple packets and streams of funding and grants as we go forward,” Devolin said. “I’m a selfish kind of guy; I’d like them all.”

Devolin said there will be some battles ahead to advance this forward, but he is optimistic connectivity can take a big step in the next few years.

“It won’t be done in any one magic waving of the wand, it’s going to take a whole bunch of initiatives, all done in conjunction with each other,” Devolin said. “I’m hoping within five years or less, connectivity in this part of Ontario has moved a generational scale ahead. I think it’s possible.”

Five generations celebrate birthday

By

Lisa Gervais

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August 11, 2020

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JQ - Brown Birthday - 4-web — Top: Doris Brown accepts birthday cards from great-great granddaughters Blaeklynn (centre) and Harlee July 31. Left: The Brown family filled family matriarch Doris Brown’s lawn with birthday cards. Right: Doris Brown (left) with her family left to right Blaeklynn, Paula, Paul, Brooke, Harlee. Photos by Joseph Quigley.

Doris Brown’s family greeted her with love and a lawn full of cards as they celebrated her 90th birthday outside her home July 31.

Five generations of the Brown family visited and honoured their matriarch, providing gifts and a large display of decorations. The family is wellintegrated in the community, with people from all the generations living within one mile of each other.

Brown said she was a little nervous seeing her family set it all up, but it was nice to have them around.

“Some days, it seems like a long time and other times, it seems like a relatively short time, this 90 years,” she said. “But it’s nice to see the little ones coming along and we know that life goes on that way.”

The family has been in Haliburton since 1957, according to Paul Brown, Doris’s son. Her late husband, Homer Brown, worked as an operator at the local railway station until it closed. The Browns raised a number of generations, with eight children, 25 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

“It’s not every day that you’re 90, so we thought we better hold a celebration,” Paul Brown said. “To us, who are a close-knit family, it’s very important that we celebrate this day.”

The family was somewhat limited to gather due to COVID. But they felt secure for a smaller outdoor event given all the members living in the lowinfection Haliburton area, Brown said. Doris Brown said she could not recall living through anything quite like this pandemic, though added polio was a serious disease that took some of her classmates in her childhood.

“No antidote for it, that’s for sure, but of course just about eradicated now which is wonderful,” she said. “As far as this (COVID) goes, they haven’t got the answers yet it seems. But they’re working on it, so they likely will.” Paul Brown said his mother is a very strong-willed person. “That likely gives her the energy to keep going. She has an unbelievable mind,” he said. “She loves a good argument.”

The elder Brown said life used to be a lot simpler and the newer generations have a lot more to deal with. But she added faith remains important.

“God’s still in control and he is always waiting for us to recognize that he is in control and he will bring us through if we look his way,” she said. “I’m thankful for family and friends and Haliburton. Haliburton’s a lovely place.”

Gardens of Haliburton begins selling units

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Lisa Gervais

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August 10, 2020

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JQ - Gardens of Haliburton - 1-web — Gardens of Haliburton director of community relations Patti Lou Robinson (right) shows Diane Burtchert different room configurations for the new retirement residence. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

The Gardens of Haliburton opened a business office Aug. 1 to begin filling spaces for its 70-unit retirement residence due for completion early next year.

The Highland Street office aims to provide a space for people to ask questions and figure out if the Haliburton facility will work for them, according to company partner and marketing head Phil McKenzie.

The office will only be in place until the facility opens in May 2021 but features floor plans and a display of room configurations for people to choose from.

“It’s a decision that you need to research and ask questions about,” McKenzie said. “It’s more than just a real-estate decision. You really want to have a spot where people can drop in and talk about it.

“This is not an impulse buy. This is something you typically have a few conversations before people decide this is right for them,” he added.

McKenzie said the new building seeks to fill a need for something between regular apartments and long-term care for senior living. The all-inclusive facility will include meals, housekeeping and recreation. Demand is high – McKenzie said they usually expect it to take a year-and-a-half to fill such a building, but he does not think it will take that long in Haliburton County.

“Certainly, with the response we’ve gotten, it looks like it will be significantly less time than that,” he said.

With the office opening came confirmation of the price point for rooms. They will range from $2,995-$5,000 per month, based on room size, balcony inclusion and whether it faces Head Lake. McKenzie said the prices are good value in the retirement residence world and justified by the number of services on offer. He added the prices are needed to cover the building cost and the labour, with approximately 50 employees expected.

“Everybody that’s in the health and wellness department, everybody that’s in the food and beverage, activities, maintenance,” McKenzie said, adding about 60 per cent of a person’s room cost goes toward funding labour.

The model is also open to provide more care as people’s needs may increase, allowing seniors to age in place. McKenzie said the model does not work for everyone, but they want to work with people to give them confidence about whether it will work for them.

“What we really want is for them to be able to come here and determine with some certainty whether we can be the solution,” he said.

Health unit reclassifies COVID hospitalization

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Lisa Gervais

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August 7, 2020

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JQHealthUnit1web.jpg.e98fec10 — The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit office. File photo.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit revised it COVID-19 stats after discovering a hospitalization reported earlier this week was wrongly classified.

The health unit removed Haliburton’s second reported COVID-19 hospitalization in an update Aug. 7, after initially listing it Aug. 5. The organization said on its website the change happened because the case was not hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment.

“The Health Unit was notified of a positive lab result for an individual in hospital in Haliburton County,” communications officer Bill Eekhof said. “However, upon further investigation and follow-up, the confirmed case no longer meets the criteria for a ‘hospitalized case of COVID-19.’”

Eekhof said the health unit could not address specific COVID-19 cases for privacy reasons. But he said that if someone goes to a hospital for a medical problem unrelated to COVID-19, but is tested and found to also have the virus, they are not counted among hospitalized cases. He added a person is counted as a hospitalized case if they go for COVID-19 symptoms.

With the reclassification, Haliburton has still only had one COVID hospitalization, which occurred in April, and no deaths. The County has had 14 cases in total, two of which are active as of Aug. 7. There are also currently seven high-risk contacts in Haliburton.

Harcourt losing village post office

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Lisa Gervais

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August 7, 2020

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JQ - Harcourt Post - 1-web — Store owner Jonghee Lee said he decided to resign his store from being a Canada Post office due to the workload and a lack of support. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

Harcourt is losing its post office out of the South Algonquin County Store Aug. 14, but Canada Post is replacing it with community mailboxes.

Canada Post is installing them at the Harcourt Community Centre Aug. 17. However, parcel services and stamps are being moved to the Wilberforce Post Office in Agnew’s General Store.

South Algonquin County Store owner Jonghee Lee said the move came after he decided to resign from having the outlet. He said he made the decision given the difficult workload and years of failed attempts to negotiate with Canada Post for more support, such as a postage scanner to reduce paperwork or a new contract.

“It’s a pity,” Lee said. “But it’s out of my hands.”

When asked about Lee’s concerns, Canada Post media relations spokesperson Hayley Magermans declined to respond directly.

“The Canada Post outlet in the South Algonquin County Store will close due to reasons beyond our control,” Magermans said. “We do not disclose details of Canada Post contracts and agreements.”

Lee said the workload took too much time between filling forms and sorting packages, even though he did not mind helping postage customers. He also noted it was difficult finding space for all the packages.

“I can’t hire just one person here (at the post outlet) all day long, it doesn’t make any sense,” Lee said, adding his staff are occupied with other parts of the store such as the LCBO outlet. “I don’t have time for this.”

Lee said there is a positive to the move, in that the mailboxes will be more constantly accessible for smaller mail compared to his store.

“It might be better. They can use a key 24/7,” he said.

Dysart council addressed the change briefly at its July 28 meeting. Mayor Andrea Roberts said it is good that people will not have to change their mailing addresses, which can happen with these transitions.

“They do have compartments there for fairly small and medium-sized parcels,” Roberts said. “Any larger parcels for delivery will be in Wilberforce, which will work, I think.”

Anyone with questions on the change can contact Canada Post customer service at 1-866-607-6301.

Lee said he offered to at least continue providing a space for packages only, but Canada Post would not go for it.

“Canada Post, they’re a big company. I’m just a small guy, in a small business, in a small town,” Lee said. “Sorry to my neighbours for my resignation.”

Story of Pinch a real gem for Bainbridge

By

Lisa Gervais

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August 6, 2020

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It’s been 10 years in the making, but Minden’s Michael Bainbridge has written and photographed one gem of a book.

Titled The Pinch Collection at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Bainbridge wrote and photographed the 278-page book.

It’s been printed in Utah and has now been sent to the bindery. That milestone, marked on Facebook by Bainbridge and his wife Brigitte Gall, “represented the end of my ability and need to do anything more,” he said.

The only mineral photographer of his calibre in Canada, and one of only a handful in the world, Bainbridge said he embarked upon the project in about 2008.

He was working on a contract to photograph the national mineral collection at the Canadian Museum of Nature, or CMN, and was regularly submitting photographs to Lithographie for publication in their Mineral Monograph series.

Lithographie is this book’s publisher. Bainbridge said publisher and editor Gloria Staebler noted that William W. Pinch of Rochester, New York, and his collection fared prominently in the work. She suggested his collection might be a worthy subject for a book.

Bainbridge met Pinch in early 2010, and by the end of that year had an agreement with the museum to allow access to photograph his collection for a book. The Ottawa museum had purchased Pinch’s collection in 1989.

“The collection itself is spectacular and well worth the photographic treatment it received in the book,” Bainbridge said of the 535 colour photographs. “But it wasn’t until much later, after many hours of interviews with Bill and others, that the full interest and importance of the story became clear,” he added.

“In addition to being Bill’s story, in many ways it is also the story of the hobby and science of specimen mineralogy itself.”

Bainbridge said high points of his research include: the founding of the Smithsonian Institution, and the Canadian Museum of Nature, cloak and dagger intrigue behind the Iron Curtain, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigations, and a 60 Minutes exposé.

Bainbridge began work in earnest in January 2011 but there were setbacks, such as Pinch being ill, Minden floods in 2013 and 2017, a death in the publisher’s family, and COVID-19.

In addition, he had to work on the book in his spare time, away from his paid job and family. There were interviews with people from all over the world, many done over nine years of visits to the Tucson Gem & Mineral show. For the photographs, he had to travel to the museum in Ottawa.

“I would pack up my gear and spend weeks at a time going through the drawers at their collection facility in Aylmer, Quebec and photographing the best.”

He estimates he spent several months at the museum.

Work highlights museum collection

“I easily spent at least a full year working on the book,” he said.

Bainbridge said he’s been fascinated by minerals, gems, and fossils since childhood. In 2007, he started experimenting with photographing gems and minerals in his basement. Soon enough he got pretty good and started submitting his photos to hobby and trade magazines. He then answered a tender to photograph the national collection. He made a name for himself in the broader mineral collecting and museum community.

With the book nearly done, plans for a launch have been largely scrubbed because of COVID-19.

“As it stands, I’m afraid we don’t have a plan as to how to launch the book, but I imagine we’ll start trying to figure that out …”

“Of course, Brigitte and I plan on hosting some sort of an event in Minden or Haliburton as well.”

He’s also pondering an online event for the larger mineral community.

Mineral curator at the museum, Erika Anderson, said the work is of great significance.

“His work is important as it highlights such a significant part of the National Mineral Collection. The acquisition of the Pinch Collection had a great impact on the museum as it provided fantastic specimens for display in our Earth Gallery as well as specimens for scientific research. The Pinch Collection made such an impression on the public that I still get asked about it during our annual open house. I’m happy to see a publication that will show more great specimens from the collection that are not on display,” she said.

Staebler said there’s no doubt that for Bainbridge it was a labour of love.

“Absolutely. But Michael is an empath and through his work he felt Pinch’s triumphs and failures. But he also felt the disappointments shared by Pinch’s family; the adoration felt by the people Pinch mentored; and the bitterness of Pinch’s rivals. In addition, Michael was surely pressured by his own advisors and by me.

“All that empathy made for an emotional 10 years, and it stalled Michael sometimes, but it also forced him to stretch as a writer, to focus on the objectives, and find creative ways to express Pinch’s humanity. I don’t think it is insignificant that Michael turned in his draft of the manuscript in June 2017, two months after Pinch died.”

Pinch passed away in April 2017.

Asked how he feels now that his part is done, Bainbridge said, “I haven’t really taken a moment to step back and soak it in. It’s been right on to the next thing.” That next thing is a puzzle factory in Haliburton County. “But I promise I will allow myself a proper rest and celebration and a good sniff of the book when I get the first box,” he said.

Stay safe out there

By

Lisa Gervais

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August 6, 2020

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Environment Canada has now confirmed that an EF-2 tornado touched down in Kinmount about 4:50 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2.

While there is a certain romance with the weather phenomena, spurred by movies such as Twister, seeing the destruction left by a tornado is not for the faint of heart.

An EF-2 tornado – in this case winds up to 190 km/h, does “considerable” damage. By contrast, an EF-1 does “moderate” damage, an EF-3 “severe” damage and an EF-4 “devastating” damage.

With a swathe of snapped trees and Hydro poles, and some damage to structures, this tornado packed a wallop.

For some residents of Kinmount, it wasn’t the first time they’d experienced a twister, either. It was 14 years ago to the day that a tornado touched down in the town. Minden, West Guilford and Drag Lake, near Haliburton, were also hit that 2006 day.

A Kinmount Gazette article from August 2010 reported that Kinmount tornado was an F0, on the former scale, meaning it mostly affected farmland. In fact, it took out a lot of old barns on the 11th line of Somerville and on the Galway and Crystal Lake roads. A seemingly random pattern of destruction downed trees. There were no true funnel clouds, just strong winds. Power lines and Bell lines were downed. County Road 121 was closed then, too, due to debris and downed power lines blocking the road.

Residents of Bobcaygeon Road indicated they’d been there, done that, before this past weekend. While the fallen trees, seemingly laying everywhere, made it look like a war zone, there was a response that is so typical of county folk.

On Monday, there were people everywhere. There were chainsaws and log splitters. There were chipper trailers. It was obvious that neighbours had come out to help neighbours. Friends had rallied to the cause. Acquaintances were on the ground, willing and able to assist.

Just as some people in this region respond when a moose or deer is struck by a vehicle to ensure the animal is removed and properly prepared for food, people swarmed to help the residents of Kinmount not only clear their land, but put in the firewood for many winter seasons to come.

Families had driven from the Greater Toronto Area to lend a hand. The Hydro trucks were out in force on a holiday Monday, with crews from Newmarket and beyond.

Perhaps residents were somewhat in shock, but there was a no-nonsense approach to getting the job done. They also readily stepped in to assist those Hydro One crews to remove trees from roads so they were soon passable.

We’ve now had a couple of tornado watches and warnings this summer. There’s sure to be more before August is out. If the Kinmount experience is anything to go by, people have to have a plan when the warning reverberates on their phone. Most of the people we talked to in Kinmount headed for the basement. If you haven’t already, we urge you to have a plan in preparation for bad summer storms that have the potential to become tornadoes. Make sure you have a safe place to go and ensure it has food and water and other essentials because once the storm leaves you are likely to be without power and water for a few days, if not longer.

In other words, stay safe out there.

Company wants to bring natural gas to Minden

By

Lisa Gervais

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August 6, 2020

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Minden Hills councillors have agreed to provide a letter of support in principle to utility infrastructure developer EPCOR, so it can apply for an Ontario government grant in hopes of bringing natural gas to the region.

Thomas Stachowski, commercial services, and Karim Kassam, vice president of business development, made a presentation to council’s July 30 meeting.

Stachowski said the province is providing $130 million in grants as part of its phase two natural gas funding initiative. He said the deadline for applications was Aug. 4. Both he and Kassam indicated that with just $130 million available, and Enbridge also expected to apply, it would be competitive.

Stachowski said the company had been looking across Ontario for areas that don’t currently have natural gas and could benefit from it. He said in Minden, which has been flagged as being difficult to bring a pipeline to because of its geology, “gas would be trucked to a central depot. From that depot, a distribution system would be constructed within the central part of Minden that’s looking to get connected to natural gas.”

“We’re looking for the ability to bring alternative fuels to communities, that are hopefully competitive with the current fuel that’s available for the lowest price. In many of these communities, that’s typically propane,” Stachowski said.

He said they are also looking into the prospect of delivering fibre optic while bringing natural gas to homes and businesses.

“Many of the communities we’ve spoken with, although fibre is available in the areas, it’s a challenge to bring it to the homeowner or end user and it’s something we’re trying to simplify and improve that ability,” he said.

Stachowski added although they were talking to council just six days before the application deadline, they felt they had enough information to put the grant application together for the Ontario Energy Board and the Ministry of Energy.

He said a letter of support was crucial but “doesn’t commit the community to moving forward with the project.” Kassam said to work, they’d need a 60 to 80 per cent subsidy and people to agree to convert to natural gas. The two said they had a letter of support from Bancroft.

Council voted 6-1 in favour of providing the letter.

Deputy mayor Lisa Schell said it is a low income community. She said she had just converted to propane from oil and the cost savings is significant. “So, going to a natural gas option for people in our community would save them a lot of money … Considering there’s no commitment, I’m fully prepared to support this at this time.”

Coun. Pam Sayne voted against. She said the community was looking into local energy options. For example, she said there was water power if the federal government would allow it. She also felt there should be community consultation, as well as balancing environmental and development needs.

Kassam said there would be future environmental review of the project and public consultation.

“If we do not get the support of the community at large, and we do not satisfy the environmental requirements of the project, then the project will not proceed anyway,” he said.

Coun. Jean Neville said after hearing the presentation and the answers to questions, “I really don’t see the harm in the letter of support … I think we should give the people of Minden that opportunity to be able to choose this.”

Coun. Bob Carter, who initially did not support issuing a letter, said he would do so “as long as we have the option of saying no, we don’t think this is good for our community.”

Coun. Ron Nesbitt said his concern was that ratepayers already struggling to make ends meet are not further burdened, while Coun. Jennifer Hughey was in favour of giving them an option to choose alternate energy sources.

The do’s and don’ts of pandemic yard sales

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Lisa Gervais

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August 6, 2020

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Summer is synonymous with yard and garage sales in Haliburton County. However, with COVID-19, both sellers and buyers have been wondering if they are allowed, and, if so, what the rules and regulations around them are.

With The Painted Porch in Carnarvon closing to make way for a new business, Elegant Events, Cynthia Kocot said with Stage 3 of provincial reopenings, they were intent on holding a sale over the Civic Holiday weekend.

Kocot said they just made sure to move everything outside and space it out. In addition, Kocot estimated 90 per cent of bargain hunters had worn masks.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit says it’s now okay to organize and advertise yard and garage sales.

Manager of health protection with the health unit, Richard Ovcharovich, said they are allowed under Ontario’s Stage 3 reopening plan.

However, he cautioned, “like anything during the current pandemic, the health unit encourages organizers and attendees to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.”

“If you have any concerns about your health or potential exposure to the coronavirus, you may want to hold off on organizing garage sales at this time,” Ovcharovich said.

He said that if you decide to go ahead with a garage sale, take COVID-19 precautions.

Here is what to do if you plan to organize one:

• If you or anyone in your home is feeling ill, do not go ahead with organizing the sale.

• If selling clothes at the sale, ensure they are well-laundered first.

• Be aware of the limits on large gatherings currently in place during COVID-19 – 100 people for outdoor gatherings and 50 people for indoor gatherings. Keep an eye on the number of people attending the sale, and stagger the number of people coming and going to allow for physical distancing, especially if the sales area is small.

• Encourage attendees to practise physical distancing as much as possible. Remind them to stay two metres (six feet) apart.

• Space out sales items and tables to allow for/accommodate physical distancing.

• Consider holding a sale outside on your driveway or in your garage, never in your home. It is safer to hold sales in outdoor or well-ventilated areas.

• Have hand sanitizer available for people to use.

• Ask people not to attend the sale if they are feeling sick or have symptoms of COVID-19.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water (or hand sanitizer if soap/water is unavailable).

For people thinking of visiting a garage sale, the health unit advises:

• Stay home if sick.

• Avoid unnecessary handling of items.

• Maintain physical distancing as much as possible at sales.

• Wash hands with soap and water after attending a sale, or use hand sanitizer if soap/water is not available.

• Practise proper respiratory etiquette. Cover your cough and sneeze into your sleeve

• Consider wearing a cloth mask or face covering to sales, especially when physical distancing is difficult.

• Clean and disinfect any items you purchase and wash hands after handling any goods. Avoid buying items that are difficult to clean.

Ovcharovich added that when holding a garage sale, also be aware of other safety considerations. For instance, baby walkers, infant self-feeding devices and other items are banned products in Canada. There are also common second-hand items such as car seats, cribs, helmets, playpens, strollers, children’s jewellery and kids’ sleepwear that must meet certain federal regulatory requirements before they can be bought or sold in Canada.

Left to tell: Part 4 – A year of despair

By

Lisa Gervais

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August 6, 2020

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By Mabel Brannigan

After the conquest of Poland, whose people were forced to surrender on Sept. 27, 1939, things were quiet for a while, but on April 9, 1940, Hitler proved his mighty power by attacking Denmark and Norway and confiscating their food.

On May 10, 1940, the Nazis launched a massive ground attack on Western Europe by sweeping through the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg to slash through the Anglo-French armies reaching the English Channel on March 21.

The year 1940 saw sweeping and devastating victories for the Nazis with the Netherlands surrendering on May 14, Belgium on May 28, Norway on June 8 and France on June 14. Italy wanted to join the winner so they joined the Nazis on June 10 and before the end of 1940, invaded Egypt and Greece.

By June 18, Canada announced obligatory military training for home defense. Britain started evacuating children to Canada before the Battle of Britain which began on July 10, and the London Blitz on September 7. Canadians recall George VI’s wife, Queen Mother Elizabeth, as they walked through the bombed rubble in London, saying, “The children will not leave without me. I will not leave without the king, and the king will never leave.”

Queen Juliana was sheltered in Canada. I remember the day that the Canadian government declared a floor of the Ottawa Civic Hospital Dutch territory so that Margriet, Juliana’s baby could have dual citizenship. The Dutch people are forever grateful to Canada.

Despite the despair and hopelessness of the Allies in 1940, a significant event occurred on May 10, 1940. Sir Winston Churchill became Britain’s prime minister.

No doubt, 1940 was the darkest year in the history of Canada and of the world. Eighty years later, the names of towns evoke a surge of pain and sorrow mixed with pride as people recall Dieppe, Adrano, Cassino, Ortona, Caen, Falaise, Boulogne, Calais, Ostend, Antwerp, Arnhem, Hong Kong. Once they were wild horrible places filled with fear and sudden death. But they mark the place to victory as courageous Haliburtonians who, with their Canadian comrades, marched bravely into war.

A few veterans from Haliburton County are: Max McCracken, killed in action, George Simmons, Phillip Graham, Russel Bain, Leslie Bain, Eldon Cowan, Murray McGuire, Hugh Lester, Murray Hewitt, George Hewitt, Garnet Coulter, Elmer Covert of Highland Grove killed in action.