It’s been a busy, and sometimes emotional few months for Highlands veteran Nick Bryant, who has been overseeing the summer restoration of the Haliburton Legion’s M4 ‘Easy Eight’ Sherman tank.

The Second World War-era machine has been missing from its usual home beside the legion building since June, though Bryant promised it would be returning soon.

“We’re aiming to have it delivered for early October – way in advance of Remembrance Day,” Bryant said. “It’s important to us, to the legion, that it be back then.”

For the past three months, the tank has been sitting at the Haliburton Crane and Concrete property on Gelert Road. Bryant said around 30 community members had contributed approximately 750 volunteer hours to give the vehicle a much-needed facelift.

The project has been extensive. To start, the tracks and turret were removed to allow for the main body to be stripped and sandblasted, both inside and out. While that was happening, Bryant said representatives from Base Borden visited, collecting some of the tank’s workable parts that are to be displayed in the military camp’s museum.

The Sherman has been painted a deep shade of green, while stencils to re-inscribe Haliburton and the CFR title number have been ordered.

A new set of rubber tracks have been ordered and will soon be installed, Bryant said. Several volunteers, including members of the Haliburton Army Cadets, were on-site Aug. 30 assisting with the rebuild.

Jackson Trautman, 13, and Tristan Humphries, 14, were busy reinstalling the tank’s road wheels last week, under Bryant’s guidance. The pair told The Highlander they felt it was important to help as they’re preserving part of Haliburton’s history. They also thought it was cool to see the inner workings of a tank up close and in-person.

The tank arrived in Haliburton from Base Borden in 1970, Bryant said, serving as a local memorial to Highlands’ veterans in the years since. A plaque installed on its side reads, “through the mud and the blood to the green fields beyond,” in reference to its use in multiple war efforts. Bryant confirmed that plaque would be reinstalled.

The M4 Sherman was constructed by Fisher Tank Company in the 1940s and used predominantly by the U.S. in the Second World War, and by Canadian troops in the Korean War. It was named after Union General William Tecumseh Sherman, a celebrated American Civil War general.

According to online records, the Haliburton tank was constructed in 1945.

“The tank will be 80 years old next year… it’s an icon of the town and of the legion. I’m happy to see it in better shape,” Bryant said.

The restoration, including moving the tank and purchasing materials, is expected to cost around $24,000, though a Canadian War Memorials grant covered a good chunk – the legion and community donations too care of the rest.

Bryant said without the community’s support, including from Total Site Services, Haliburton Crane Rental, and Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association, the project never would have happened.

“The community has been outstanding. People, when they knew something was needed for this project, have been really stepping up,” Bryant said. “We’re getting down to the short strokes now. We need to install the turret again, focus on some decals, and we’ll be done.”

Workers were outside the legion last week preparing the site for the tank’s eventual return.

“Seeing the transformation, it’s been amazing. We hope people will appreciate it, stop and check it out, once it’s back,” Bryant said.

Two-and-a-half years on from Russian forces invading Ukraine – a war that continues today – and Highlands resident Jennifer Mykolyshyn is continuing to fight for her ancestorial home.

While her grandparents left Europe following the Second World War in search of a better life in Canada, Mykolyshyn has maintained close ties with Ukraine. She still has family there, forced into fighting for their freedom after Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated the years-long RussoUkrainian War in February 2022.

“I’ve been following this every day since,” Mykolyshyn recently told The Highlander.

Her cousin, in his 50s, left his adopted home in Italy within days of the invasion, returning to Ukraine to re-enlist in the military.

Mykolyshyn said she has a close bond with her cousin and regularly communicates over the phone and online. She visited Italy in 2017 and had organized a trip to Lviv with her far-away family before a combination of COVID-19 and the invasion scuppered plans.

She’s spent that money – and a little more – supporting her cousin, estimating she’s given between $10,000 and $12,000 for things like a generator, a military-grade radio, and other supplies over the past 18 months.

It wasn’t easy getting things over to Ukraine though, she recalls.

“Most people wouldn’t even know where to begin to look for this stuff, but you learn all sorts of new skills when your family is threatened,” Mykolyshyn said. “When the full-scale invasion happened, I realized I could buy this stuff, but I couldn’t ship it.”

She joined Twitter and got involved with the North Atlantic Fella Organization (NAFO) – an online movement dedicated to countering Russian propaganda and disinformation about the most recent war. There, she connected with volunteers based in Europe who found ways to move much-needed equipment over the border.

Mykolyshyn is at it again now – raising money to purchase a $4,700 pair of night vision goggles to send to her cousin. As of press time, she needs about $750.

“Ukraine always needs support. Governments are giving money, materials and weapons, but it’s not enough. The people on the frontlines are missing a lot of the things they need to keep them safe,” Mykolyshyn said. “The goggles will benefit my family member, but also the other guys in his unit.

“Things are getting very difficult over there. Sometimes you’ll hear of successes in the news, but Ukraine is losing territory as well as gaining territory every day,” she added.

Anyone who donates will be entered into a raffle, with the winner choosing between pieces of original art completed by Mykolyshyn or eight hours of custom design work. To donate, contact jmykolyshyn@ gmail.com.

After everything she’s seen, and the stories she’s heard from previous conflicts, Mykolyshyn said she feels the intergenerational trauma deep within. She feels it’s important for the rest of the world to continue pushing back against Russian aggression.

“History shows us that isolationism and appeasement leads to an emboldened aggressor and the spread of war and tyranny to other nations, leading to our involvement on a grander scale down the line,” she said. “I think it’s extremely important for people across the world to keep speaking out and fighting until the war is over, hopefully with Ukraine having all of its sovereign territory returned.”

SIRCH held its School’s Cool graduation recently at the various schools in Haliburton County, Kawartha, and Muskoka.

SIRCH marketing manager, Laurie McCaig, said 66 children registered and graduated, including 20 in Minden.

“This is a school readiness program to help children ease into the transition of starting JK in September,” she said.

McCaig added, “these children were born during the COVID years, so many had very limited opportunities to socialize outside their immediate family members.”

She said parents had prioritized reasons for children taking part in the program as socializing, being able to be separated from parents or guardians, and self-regulation.

“These goals, and skills were practised during the six-week program using the School’s Cool curriculum, which is designed to prepare children for the routines of kindergarten in a fun and exciting way. The children also developed their skills in understanding numbers and the early stages of reading and writing,” McCaig said.

Many of the children were in the school they started on Sept. 3, alongside their classmates. McCaig said the program has a great record when it comes to successfully preparing kids for school

Members of the Haliburton Highlands OPP and Canadian Mental Health Association welcomed 108 golfers to Pinestone Resort Sept. 5 for the Eric Nystedt Memorial Charity Golf Tournament.

The event raised $23,000 with proceeds split between the three Haliburton County food banks, the two heat banks, Special Olympics, Places for People, and Born Again Bargains in Minden.

It will also support the Haliburton Highlands detachment’s Eric Nystedt Memorial Fitness Award. Cst. Joel Imbeau, one of the organizers, felt it was important to remember Nystedt, a Haliburton Highlands OPP constable who was killed in the line of duty on July 3, 1993.

Nystedt’s mom, Marylou Buerkle, and brother, Scott, attended a banquet in the evening.

“We had a really great turnout – lots of smiling faces on the course… we’re really happy with the total.

The money will do a lot of good in Haliburton County,” said Imbeau, noting organizers are considering holding the event again in future.

The work of determining County council’s priorities for the next five years is underway, with plans to ask residents what they want their municipal government to focus on between 2025 and 2030.

Councillors decided to scrap hiring a consultant to develop a strategic plan, and instead have County staff direct the process. A working group has been struck and CAO Gary Dyke, during an Aug. 28 council meeting, got the green light for the approach, timeline and general principles they would like to follow.

He noted the County does not have a strategic plan, although they have been talking about the need for one since 2022.

“Strategic plans are an excellent tool to guide staff and council, and inform the public about the direction of the municipality…,” Dyke said. “These plans consist of clear objectives, strategic actions and desired outcomes.”

As part of the plan, he said staff would assess the current state of the County, including strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. They’ll talk to residents, business owners, community organizations, councillors across the Highlands and municipal staff.

After all the talking, they will come up with a clear vision for the County with “specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timebound goal objectives,” Dyke said. He added they will build accountability.

They plan to talk to the community from about Sept. 23 on, via a digital public survey, and virtual or in-person meetings. They hope to bring the final plan to council next May. The budget is approximately $50,000.

Councillors weigh in

Warden Liz Danielsen said while the staff report was “excellent… I have to completely disagree with us going in this direction. I think this is an additional burden on staff.

They’ve all got full-time jobs and this has added to their jobs substantially.”

She added, “I think this is a process that needs, to some extent, to be done by independent bodies. In particular, I have concerns about the consultation portion of the process. I think sometimes it’s better to have an independent person doing the consultation as opposed to staffers talking to people in the public or organizations who already have preconceived notions about what the County should, or shouldn’t be doing.”

Coun. Lisa Schell agreed it is extra work for staff but said she did not think a consultant “would have been as detailed, as well thought-out and these people know us.”

Coun. Walt McKechnie has never been a fan of consultants, other than when “needed in areas we are not experts at. I think we’re the experts here. A consultant is going to spend most of his time talking to you and the rest of our council and the rest of our staff.”

Dyke said they are making work plan adjustments to accommodate the strategic plan.

Coun. Bob Carter questioned the scope of the work, including just one month for public consultation. He added “we need to hear from the public as to where we’re going. Do we have a desire that Haliburton County should grow to 25,000 people at some point, or try to grow to 50,000. Some rural communities have grown from 12,000 to 17,000 in a couple of years. Do we want that type of growth or do we want something different? Should we go out and get factories? What is it we want to do?” He believes the strategic plan should be integral to the vision.

Coun. Murray Fearrey added, “a lot of people would like to see tremendous growth, but we can’t keep up with the infrastructure. Who’s going to look at that? How do we keep up with hospitals, sewer, and water?”

Coun. Jennifer Dailloux said a “key potential challenge is how do you delineate a general vision for the future of the County, and what this building is able to achieve? If you went out to the community with general questions; what do you want to see? they might say we want the Minden ER to come back, we want a school further north, we want any number of other things that are great for our County but we have no particular control over and I just wonder if you’ve had an opportunity to think about what does that look like?”

Director of planning, Elizabeth Purcell, said any survey would “make it very clear what is within our control and purview within the County and what isn’t.” She added there would not be a lot of openended questions, allowing people to “go off on random tangents.” Dyke said there is room to discuss advocacy work by the County.

Carter said, “I think we need to be looking at the overall picture and situation. If people want us to have tremendous growth, we don’t have the infrastructure, don’t have the hospitals, schools, doctors, those become very important points when we start getting that strength and weaknesses analysis.

“When we get from the public that ‘hey, this is ideally where we want to go to’ and then we look at the strengths and weaknesses that we have, then is when we have to start tempering things, or trying to put pressure on people to change, whether it be school boards, or hospitals, whatever. There has to be a balance there of questions. We have to let people dream also… maybe a theme park is the way to go.

He was referencing a talk by Peter Kenyon at a Teeny Tiny summit in Minden in July, in which the speaker talked about the town of Kulin, in Australia, reinventing itself by building a water park.