Harcourt got a new playground, next to its community centre this past weekend.

The playground is for kids and teenagers, and includes a couple of slides, a multi-person spinner, similar to a teeter-totter but one can rock on it, and several climbing elements. The playground comes in vibrant colours, such as purples and teal blues.

“We wanted to make sure we had different elements for everybody to enjoy and be able to come up and parallel play or co-play with other people,” said Andrea Mueller, the programs and events manager with the Municipality of Dysart et al.

The playground cost $150,000 and was funded by an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.

MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, Laurie Scott cut the ribbon.

A member of the township’s parks and recreation department, Ryan Akey, was also at the event. Scott acknowledged the government grant and the impact on the community.

Lindsay Watling, a parent of a child who will be using the playground, and a committee member for getting the playground, said, “we’re far from Haliburton, even though we’re Dysart, and we don’t get the same amenities as the Dysart ‘in town’ get. So, for us to have this new space and a space that all ages can play in, is a huge deal. It’s going to be a game-changer for all ages of kids coming out to play, rather than just what we had here, which was very limited.”

Watling added it was a challenge to stretch $150,000 to make the playground, but was proud to have been a part of it. “I’m just happy that the kids have a space now to come and play. Because really, that’s what it’s all about,” Watling said.

Jenann Gadway, another parent and committee member, echoed Watling and said she is excited to see her son play in the new playground.

“I think it also puts us on the map. Harcourt is a little far from Dysart, so it puts us on the map, for sure. I’m just excited to have somewhere to just hang out.”

Gadway loves the new playground, from the climbing apparatuses to the colours, to how it caters to toddlers and teenagers. “I think we will encourage people to travel into the little village of Harcourt and use our amenities. We have the beautiful community centre, we have the park, and we have the rink, and that’ll encourage people to come and spend money at our convenience stores, eat at our restaurants, and it will just bring more people to this community,” Gadway said.

Nina Riberdy was shocked earlier this summer when, while inspecting her 16 honeybee colonies, she found a large hornet hunting discombobulated worker bees.

The Haliburton resident said she’s noticed an increased presence of hornets on her property since last summer. After moving to the County in 2018, she and her husband first enquired about having someone bring a beehive or two to their 100-acres on Tom Bolton Road, to help pollinate apple trees and raspberry and blackberry bushes.

There were no takers, so she and husband, Jamie, established their own set-up. They watched YouTube tutorials to learn the basics and took a beekeeping course in Peterborough.

“It’s a lot of money and even more work, but we enjoy it,” Riberdy said. “You’d think bees know what they’re doing and that they’ll be fine doing their own thing… but they actually need a lot of help.”

The hornets she’s seen hanging around are big – over an inch long, Riberdy said. Her first encounter last year was eye-opening.

“We have to walk about 80 yards from our house to the bee yard. As I was walking, I heard something buzz by me. I didn’t get a good look the first time, but then saw it land on some tall grass. I went over to check it out and it was definitely a hornet – he had captured a grasshopper and was halfway through eating it,” Riberdy said.

Her second sighting, a few weeks ago, was in the couple’s “bee barn” as Riberdy calls it. They use the space to stack empty honey supers, which usually attract hungry bees on their way back to the hive.

Only this time, the bees weren’t alone.

“The hornet was in there hunting the honeybees – I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

Marylou Clark, who has five colonies she cares for – each containing between 40,000 and 50,000 bees, said she’s seen hornets circling her hives all summer. Earlier this month, while doing some yard work, Clark came across a hornet that had half-eaten one of her bees.

Both Clark and Riberdy killed the hornets and took pictures, sending them to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). They feared the pest might have been the Northern Giant Hornet, also known as the murder hornet, which are indigenous to Asia.

They said OMAFRA identified them as standard European hornets.

Following up with The Highlander, the ministry said it does not track hornet activity but has established an online reporting tool for suspected sightings of the Northern Giant Hornet. OMAFRA works with the University of Guelph to ID the insects.

“Northern Giant Hornets are not present in Ontario, and it is unknown if they can survive Ontario winters,” OMAFRA spokesperson Meaghan Evans said, noting there have been multiple confirmed sightings in British Columbia and Washington state since 2019.

Evans said European hornets are common, noting the species was introduced to North America more than 160 years ago. European hornets typically grow to between 2.5 to 3.5 centimetres, much smaller than the Northern Giant Hornet, which can grow to exceed five centimetres.

A labour of love

Clark said the past three summers have been difficult, caring for the bees that her husband, Robert, got when he retired. Robert was killed in a car accident in Lindsay in December 2021.

“So, they became my problem,” Clark said with a smile.

Despite being allergic to bee stings, Clark said she never considered getting rid of the hives, saying they help maintain a connection with her late husband.

It’s been a strange season this year, Clark said. While the last of the honey is usually collected by late July or early August, things were still going strong mid-month.

Clark doesn’t sell her honey – instead gifting it to family and friends. That’s given her a claim to fame. The niece of one of her friends, Alaina Ballantyne, used Clark’s honey to set a new Guinness World Record in April 2023 for most honey eaten in one minute. Ballantyne, who lives in Mississauga, managed to put away 238 grams.

“That’s a pretty cool thing – my name isn’t in there, but it doesn’t need to be. I’m just happy she decided to use my honey,” Clark said.

Caitlin Luck has gone to the dogs – and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

The owner of Cedar Grove Golden Retrievers is just back from a competition in Bracebridge, where her dog, Glow, was awarded the best female Golden by the Muskoka District Kennel Club.

Luck just returned from a dock diving event in Bowmanville this past weekend, where pooches, Glow and Stormy, competed for big air, speed retrieve, extreme vertical and iron dog.

She is also planning a litter of puppies for the fall – for the first time in more than a year.

She took a break from dog breeding amid a busy life that includes her son playing hockey, and her daughter dancing.

“When you have a litter of puppies, you really have to commit and stay home. For the first two weeks, I literally sleep on the couch beside them. They are in the living room and I basically have to be in there. You don’t go anywhere for two weeks,” Luck said while seated at her kitchen table, with Stormy and Glow, toys in their mouths, waiting patiently in the living room behind a child gate.

Following the full-on fortnight, there is another six weeks until the pups can go to their adopted home at two months of age.

Luck is planning a litter for Stormy, who turns five this December, and who has only had one litter. She does not want to keep her intact for longer than necessary without actually breeding her. She is currently investigating stud dogs, one in the U.S. and one in northern Ontario.

Luck said she prefers bringing the dogs together as opposed to having semen shipped. “I try to do things somewhat naturally because I feel like it benefits the dogs and is how Mother Nature intended it to be.

“There’s a lot that goes into choosing a stud, because I am not just putting two dogs together. I want to check them out. I want the health and the structure of the dogs to match – you don’t want to breed two completely different dogs together because you’ll get two different extremes. The idea is I want a consistent litter, so I know their temperaments and structures are what a Golden Retriever should be.”

She researches pedigree, life longevity and what causes death, and things such as allergies. Luck does genetic testing to ensure two dogs that carry a similar gene for disease are not mated. She even has her dogs’ eyes annually checked by an ophthalmologist. At two, they have their hips and elbows certified. She’s never had a dog fail a health clearance, but has removed dogs from the breeding program because she does not like their temperament or structure.

“Ideally, my focus is to better the breed. When I’m breeding Stormy and I want to keep a puppy from her, I’m looking for a puppy that is improved upon her flaws because no dog is perfect.”

She prides herself on being an ethical breeder. “The showing, the training, the health clearances… I do try and educate people on it.” Her puppies are usually sold before they are born and only after she has met, and vetted, potential new owners. Cedar Grove has health guarantees and Luck does extensive training, such as emergency recalls, sitting for attention, and crate training.

Best in show and dock diving

Luck shows five to 10 times a year. She brought Glow to Bracebridge the end of July, early August. They are conformation shows, assessing the dog’s structure, movement, and how they match up against the breed standard for the Canadian Kennel Club. The idea is to preserve the breed. Golden Retrievers were bred to hunt, so they need to exhibit a certain hardiness.

The shows entail a lot of grooming. Glow also showed in Sturgeon Falls in May, taking home a best in breed. Luck said it was amazing as it was her first time winning that.

The trio have also been doing dock diving, which Luck said is “fun.

“The dock is about 20-feet long on average and the pool is about 40-feet long,” Luck said. They train at Luck’s mom’s pool. One training method is to have them chase a toy. Stormy can jump 12-14 feet and Glow closer to 17 feet. The dogs do obedience competitions as well.

When it comes to dogs, and Goldens in particular, it’s all in the family. Her mom has been breeding dogs since Luck was 10. Her sister is also in the industry.

“I’m always learning and trying to do everything better,” Luck said. “It’s about trying to make people happy. They get a really good companion.”

Find out more at cedargrovefarms.net.

Redstone Lake cottager, Susan GarrodSchuster, was at book club discussing Kim Thuy’s Ru – about a woman escaping Vietnam’s Tet Offensive – when she heard acquaintance, Giang-Chau Ghent (whom she calls Chau) tell her own story.

Chau is the great-niece of the last empress of Vietnam. She is now married to the brother of Garrod-Schuster’s friend, Martha. Chau fled Vietnam to make a new life in Canada.

After she shared Chau’s story, GarrodSchuster said she couldn’t get it out of her mind.

“I said to Martha, ‘that story has to be told’. I phoned Chau and asked, ‘have you ever thought about writing this story?’ She burst into tears and said, ‘I’ve wanted to write it forever but my English isn’t good enough and every time I remember what happened – I cry.”

The telling and the writing took seven years to complete.

Garrod-Schuster will be at Master’s Book Store in Haliburton Aug. 30, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The labour of love included extensive research into the geography and history of the Asian country, including the war, although Garrod-Schuster emphasizes war is not the focus of the book. The first part details Chau’s life growing up in the royal family’s palace compound, until the age of 25 when she escaped, first to a refugee camp, and then coming to Canada. She married and had children of her own. She returned to her native country for a visit in 2015.

She went from a place where if you dropped a spoon, a servant picked it up for you, to a refugee camp where she lined up for food. She came to Canada with two siblings. She raised $20,000 to sponsor her mother and another four siblings to come. Now, all 10 siblings are in Canada.

The author tells of how the women in the family saved gold leaf and American dollars and sewed them into clothing before fleeing, so it is also a tale of matriarchal feminism.

She thinks the book will appeal to “anyone who enjoys history, or things about other countries.” For her, an immigrant from the U.K., she says there is no comparison to Chau as she was not a refugee, and spoke English. Chau was in danger for weeks.

One of the highlights for her in the writing was pride in nation, as in 1979, Canada welcomed 60,000 refugees from Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.

Garrod-Schuster came to the Highlands in the mid-90s, where the family initially built a bunkie and lived off-grid in summer for about 10 years, before constructing a threeseason dwelling. It’s there much of this book was written.

“To me, there’s nowhere like Haliburton (County). I just absolutely love it here.”

Garrod-Schuster said she has been a writer her entire life, and especially when preparing weekly sermons as a United Church minister.

“I always wrote, and my messages on a Sunday were always story-driven. Always through the week, I looked for stories that I could share.” As a sessional lecturer at University of Toronto and York University, she added she was always looking for story material, even in the classroom.

She’s now working on a collection of short stories about being a minister in rural Ontario, and describes it as humorous, in the vein of Stuart McLean’s The Vinyl Café.

The Haliburton Highlands Rotaract Club held a yard and bake sale in West Guilford Aug. 24. Items included a towel heater, old books for $1 each, lamps, kitchen appliances, works of art and children’s books.

There was also popcorn and coffee, along with cookies and baked breads for purchase.

All proceeds support Rotaract initiatives in the community. Rotaract brings people ages 18-plus together to exchange ideas with leaders in the community, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun through service.

The people that are part of Rotaract are dedicated to finding innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges, all while getting to make friends from around the world, the local group says.

One of the initiatives Rotaract takes part in is the Helping Hampers program, which provides baskets of essential goods to families. The baskets can include school supplies, food, and other essential items.

Rotaract has also collaborated with Hook, Line and Sinker in Haliburton on concert partnerships. Doing these types of events allows Rotaract to not only raise money, but spread the word about what they’re doing in the community.

Newly-retained defence counsel for convicted Haliburton County sex offender Paul Gregory Watson has asked for a new trial after alleging the Ontario judge who presided over court proceedings last year erred by not considering testimony from three “key” witnesses, including Watson.

Watson was found guilty of sexual assault and unlawfully entering a dwelling following an incident at an elderly neighbour’s house in Algonquin Highlands in February 2021.

At sentencing in November 2023, an Oshawa courtroom heard how Watson entered his neighbour’s home in the early hours of Feb. 17, making several sexual advances. When rebuffed, Watson persisted, exposing himself while expressing his fondness for the victim and touching her over a nightgown, before leaving.

Justice Russell Wood handed down a 90-day jail sentence, which Watson has been serving on weekends, nine months of house arrest and two years’ probation.

The case was back in court Aug. 16, with Toronto-based criminal defence attorney Mindy Caterina appealing last year’s conviction, while Rebecca Griffin, representing the Crown, filed a separate appeal seeking a longer sentence. It was heard by Myrna L. Lack of the Superior Court of Justice.

Caterina said during last year’s trial, Wood rejected evidence provided by Watson and his wife, Michelle, and a character assessment submitted by the man who purchased the property from the elderly neighbour following the incident.

She noted Watson and the elderly neighbour were familiar with each other, with him often completing chores on her property. In 2017, the Watsons stayed with the neighbour for three months while their home was being renovated.

In his evidence, Watson said he was walking his dog late at night when he noticed smoke coming from the victim’s chimney. Caterina said this worried him, since he’d earlier recommended, on a previous visit, that his neighbour not use her fireplace due to a dangerous build-up of creosote – a highly flammable tar-like substance containing toxic chemicals that can be harmful if inhaled.

Caterina said Watson entered the home through a side studio door, leaving his dog in a porch, before proceeding to wake the neighbour. She said the neighbour asked Watson to leave, which Caterina claims Watson did without incident.

“The first reason the trial judge gives for rejecting the appellant’s evidence was that [he] concocted his narrative after the fact in an attempt to mirror the complainant’s testimony, but with an innocent explanation. The Court of Appeal instructs that as an illegal inference,” Caterina said.

“Additionally, [the judge] committed four material misapprehensions of evidence, which bore on his credibility analysis.”

In his reasoning, Wood said, “there were many aspects to [Watson’s] explanation that defy common sense.” The judge thought it “bizarre” Watson would enter the home uninvited in the middle of the night due to a safety concern, only to immediately leave without rectifying the issue after waking the victim.

Caterina cited a 2020 sexual assault case, where a conviction was overturned because the presiding judge was found to have ignored the accused’s constitutional rights when refusing testimony after believing it was structured to meet the allegations faced. She feels this establishes a clear precedent.

Lack seemed to reject that thought, telling Caterina, “he says ‘I don’t believe the guy.’ And fair enough.” From her perspective, Lack felt Wood was within his rights to reject Watson’s version and convict based on the victim’s testimony.

Caterina cast doubt on the victim’s testimony, saying she seemed to have problems with her memory. She cited the victim’s uncertainty over when her fireplace was last serviced, and when phone calls to book the service took place, as reasons to question her evidence.

Crown response

Griffin noted, during the trial, Watson “deflected continuously” and changed parts of his story when pushed by Wood to answer why he felt compelled to enter the house.

The Crown prosecutor felt Caterina’s claims of misapprehension of evidence – surrounding the events leading up to the incident – held little weight.

“The evidence is clear that Watson did not have an open invitation to enter [the victim’s] house, certainly not in the middle of the night. If he was concerned… the more obvious option would be to return home and call [the victim] on the phone. If he felt it was a more urgent emergency, why enter through a studio door in such a secretive way? Why not go directly to the front door, or window, loudly?” Griffin said.

The prosecutor didn’t have time to address her sentencing appeal.

With the day drawing to a close, Lack said another hearing would be required to hear the Crown’s appeal.

“I’ve been a judge of this court for 26 years and I have never had a sentence appeal yet, so I really want to hear this,” Lack said, noting a decision on both appeals will be made after. Watson is due to complete his sentence Dec. 17.