Readers have been enthralled with crime, and true crime, for as long as the genre has existed and part-time Haliburton resident, Hope Thompson, has added to the bookshelves.

Thompson recently published Dark Thoughts & Other Stories: a collection of 11 crime stories, with many having a “noir quality.”

She described it as, “set on city streets from the 1930s and 50s, to the present day and beyond, these stories bristle with the grit of noir. While some are lighter, and others darker, all are about people forced by circumstance to escape their situation – or die trying.”

Thompson, who splits her time between Haliburton village and Toronto, said she has always been interested in noir. “So, these stories draw on that. They also draw on the cozy crime stories; say Agatha Christie; a little bit of everything. Some of the stories are historical, some are present day.”

Thompson said the short stories are mostly driven by “outsider characters; like single women, unmarried women, people who are kind of navigating patriarchy in some way; navigating the world from an outsider space. It’s very different from crime stories where it’s the male detective as the main lead.”

The author noted, “characters are cornered, caught and facing their own demise.” For example, an advice columnist receives a letter from a murderer. A drifter obsesses over a serial killer. A painter contemplates her final brush stroke – with death.”

As to why people love reading crime and true crime, Thompson said she thinks it’s partly escapism.

“The fact the world is in such a horrific place right now. It’s, ironically, going to a story that involves murder and what have you, as a form of escapism. It almost always is, and has been, since the invention of the genre. It’s always had this popularity and is the highest-selling genre.”

This is Thompson’s first book of short stories. She is also working on a novel. Add to that, a true crime project with Ellen White of the podcast Whereabouts Unknown.

Thompson has worked in film and television, including writing for the CBC sketch comedy hit Baroness Von Sketch Show. She has a future project with a production company in the Yukon. She also does freelance work to help pay the bills. Thompson has also taught courses for Haliburton School of Art + Design.

Asked how she keeps track of it all, she said it comes down to time management.

“I’ve got a white board with a lot of deadlines, some of which I have missed. I keep writing up lists and trying to strike things off.”

Dark Thoughts & Other Stories is available on Amazon, and at Master’s Book Store In Haliburton.

Thompson also plans to bring the book to Bookapalooza in Minden June 20. She hopes to plan another book reading event while in town for that. “I’m looking forward to being at my first Bookapalooza.”

The show is organized by volunteers from the Haliburton Curling Club, which uses the proceeds to finance things like its ‘learn to curl’ and youth training programs.

“We focus on development as much as possible. We invest heavily in our youth curling program. Kids are bused in every week for sessions,” home show spokesperson Andy Glecoff said. “We’ve developed many reputable Canadian curlers over the years, including Jacob Dobson, Liam Little, Jessica Byers, Owen Nicholls and Connor Duhaime.”

Dobson and Nicholls are national college and university champions who have also had a taste of the pro game – Dobson in 2024, when he competed at the Pointsbet Invitational against Brad Gushue and Nicholls in 2026, appearing at the Ontario Tankard.

Duhaime has also played at the Tankard and in 2021 competed for a spot on Team Canada’s Olympic roster. Little and Byers performed well on the collegiate circuit, with Byers now representing the Philippines’ national team.

“It’s a tremendous program that gives kids a great education on the sport. Curling is growing leaps and bounds in Canada, so this is one of our most important programs,” Glecoff said.

Through ‘learn to curl’, adults can get six weeks of play for a nominal fee. Glecoff said most of the people who sign up go on to become full-fledged members. Money is also used to offset annual fees for curlers, making it more affordable for people to play, and for hosting seminars on various curling skills and tactics, including game strategy, sweeping and throwing.

“We have a pretty dynamic club. There’s always lots going on – there’s curling every day, pretty much. We run a full schedule Monday to Friday, morning, afternoon and evening,” Glecoff said. (Mike Baker)

The Haliburton and Tory Hill paramedic stations are in need of major repairs, service director Michael Slatter told County council May 13.

The paramedic chief said council received a report Oct. 31 last year on the conditions of the two bases. He said there are issues that need to be addressed in the immediate and short term.

With the Haliburton base, at 6 South St. by the fire hall, Slatter said long-term plans should include construction of a new facility – elsewhere due to storm-water drainage issues. He said some of the problems are the size of the building, the washrooms, and water supply.

In the interim, he said the main entrance would have to be modified to widen the door with correct hardware; the washrooms adjusted; and the need for proper ventilation.

“Based on our visual review of the property, we are of the opinion that total cumulative expenditures will be in the range of $497,000 in the immediate (2026) and short-term (2027 to 2031) for the building and site to maintain the property in a stateof-good repair,” Slatter said in a written report to last Wednesday’s meeting.

As for Tory Hill, Slatter said that for the long-term, they should also look at a new facility. He said it’s too small, only has one washroom, they can’t drink the water due to radon, it’s not accessible, and showers are sub-par.

He said, “based on our visual review of the property, we are of the opinion that total cumulative expenditures will be in the range of $148,000 in the immediate (2026) and short-term (2027 to 2031) for the building and site to maintain the property in a stateof-good repair.”

Annual report

In his annual report, also tabled at the meeting, Slatter told councillors the call volume had decreased four per cent in 2025, from 2024. He largely attributed this to the CT scanner at Haliburton hospital, requiring fewer out-of-town transfers. Without CT, he said the call volume would have increased 26 per cent.

For the majority of response times, he said the service met its targets for getting to patients in a timely manner.

Slatter added there had been many service changes, with a new chief (himself) and two deputy chiefs starting in 2025; along with front-line commanders in December of last year.

It was noted overall call volumes had increased by 20 per cent from 2020-25.

Last year, paramedics made approximately 4,100 patient contacts, ranging from weakness and, or dizziness, breathing problems, cardiac problems, to traumatic events. Slatter said the team was involved in two cardiac arrest saves, provided more than 20,000 interventions, including medication administration, stroke and STEMI assessments, assisting respirations, and delivering a baby.

“These events can take place anywhere from inside a residence, a public space, or in one of the many remote areas of Haliburton County.” He noted that in some cases, they walked several kilometres, rode snowmobiles, ATVs and boats. He also touted the importance of the community paramedicine program. May 17-23 is paramedic services week in Haliburton County.

Three years on from the launch of its award-winning ‘Stepping into Nature’ self-guided walking tour of the Minden riverwalk, the Haliburton County Master Gardeners (HCMG) is preparing to unveil a similar feature for the Minden boardwalk.

Featuring 10 stops unpacking vital information about the marsh and swamp located in Minden’s downtown, the boardwalk tour will launch May 22. Master gardener Carolyn Langdon said people can stop by the boardwalk in-person to check out installed panels or take the tour virtually, through the STQRY Guide app.

“There’s a bit of a lasting legacy to this. If we were to hold a workshop about the marsh, we might have 10 people attend. But this interpretive tour is a permanent form of education. It’s accessible and the signs are written in a way that everyone can understand, even young people,” Langdon said.

It was a collaborative effort. While the HCMG did all the heavy lifting researching the area and planning the panels, the project has been funded by a $4,500 grant from the Haliburton County Development Corporation. CanoeFM assisted with audio recordings, Minden Hills township installed the signposts, and the County is covering the annual subscription for the app, which people can use to learn more about each stop.

Langdon said, originally, HCMG wanted to release the boardwalk tour alongside the riverwalk offering in 2023.

“That was the plan, but the boardwalk was shut down around that time for needed repairs. So, this has always been in the back of our mind… the marsh plays such an important role in our community. We feel it has a story that needs to be told,” Langdon said.

While some of the boardwalk remained underwater earlier this week, leftover from April’s flooding, Langdon said the water should have subsided in time for Friday’s launch.

The panels, designed by Parker Pad and Printing, cover various topics. There’s information about the wetland’s makeup. Langdon said it’s considered an accession wetland, meaning it’s made up of different components, in this case a marsh and boggy swamp.

“We go into the differences between them and what kind of plant material each supports,” she said. “It provides facts about wetland types and food web interactions between the plants and animals that call this habitat home.”

There’s a profile on two populous plants – the red elderberry and virgin’s bower; a breakdown of the different bird populations that frequent the marsh, from the redtailed hawk and indigo bunting to the alder flycatcher and song sparrow; an Indigenous component, reflecting on the role and importance of water to Indigenous people; and a panel celebrating biodiversity in the wetland.

Langdon said there’s also a feature called ‘dead tree standing’ looking at the important role felled limbs play.

“We make reference to the fact that, even after a tree has died, it keeps giving life. Sometimes, a dead tree is so full of life that it supports more life than when it was alive,” Langdon said. “It’s really important to leave logs lying down in the forest, allow them to rot. They provide incredible stores of food, because they attract insects that break down the wood and they can attract birds and small mammals looking to form a new habitat.”

Another panel focuses on ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ and highlights the everchanging landscape of the site.

“We went in there early last summer and did an inventory of all the plants we found. Then we went back at the end of summer and a beaver had disrupted things dredging muck to dam a culvert,” Langdon said. “The marsh was going dry because of the drought we had last year. The beavers were so active they inadvertently uprooted a whole community of plants. They completely disappeared.

“So, we talk about them because they will come back over time,” she added.

Aside from sustaining native life, the marsh plays a pivotal role in sponging water in the spring, when much of Minden is on flood watch. Langdon said without it, there would likely be a major flood event every year.

“The marsh absorbs a tremendous quantity of water. During weather events, the water spreads out and so this marsh slows down the water and filters it. It takes away pollutants and excess nutrients from the water, meaning downstream, in places like Gull Lake, the water flowing is a lot cleaner.”

Langdon credited fellow master gardener Ruth Treloar for compiling much of the information, which she said took hundreds of hours. She also thanked local bird enthusiast Cheryl Fraser for her contributions.

Friday’s launch will feature a unique ribbon cutting, using Virginia creeper, with speeches from Anishinaabe elder Mary Jane Macleod and Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter. Langdon said all attendees will receive a native plant that they can take home. It begins at 2 p.m.

For more information, visit www. haliburtonmastergardener.ca.