Days before having her now 16-month-old daughter, Steffani Russell gifted herself a birthday membership to an Orillia postpartum support group.

“That was my lifeline in new motherhood,” Russell shares. Although she and her partner already had two children from his previous marriage, it was her first time having a baby. “I was looking for a village… a group of people who were in it with me or who already had experience,” she said.

Moving to Gooderham from Orillia last June, when her daughter was still just eight months old, Russell said she’s met many moms who want to connect but are lacking the space to do so, specifically moms in the newborn, first-year, phase of parenthood.

Having worked in children’s mental health and wellness for 10 years, Russell said she knows post-partum can be unpredictable. Some women suffer from post-partum depression. “Having a support system is huge because you really don’t know how it is going to be for you,” she said.

She started researching resources before their family move “and it was tough to find.” She did connect with EarlyON and found the program to be “excellent” but still encountered new moms “starving for connection with others.”

Chatting with the new moms, she had some answers to their questions thanks to her Orillia post-partum support group.

The light went on.

She connected with the Wellness Hub in Haliburton and they “generously donated their space” to run a group for six weeks starting Feb. 27. It will be free for attendees.

Russell will talk the first week, and other speakers to follow over coming weeks include a social worker from Point in Time, on mental health and wellness, a nutritionist, a pelvic floor physiotherapist, and a sleep consultant.

Russell thinks the support group is important for moms, particularly at a time when people are dealing with post-COVID and the high cost of living.

“Being a mother, in itself, is a new frontier. On top of that, we have a lot of financial barriers. In our area, a lack of community support means you can be on a waitlist, or have to travel far for free support, or are paying a premium for quick, local help.”

She noted the program is free to participants, thanks to the wellness hub and speaker donations.

As for logistics, she said while people are being asked to register, it is not mandatory they attend all six sessions if something comes up; they can bring other children but must care for them; they are breast-feeding friendly and moms can bring snacks if needed. She added someone does not have to be experiencing depression to come. It is about connecting.

“Moms don’t put themselves first… it’s not our time to put ourselves first, but there’s still that element of needing self care. We’re lifted up by connecting with others and supporting others. Even if we’re not struggling ourselves, we can all relate to a time that we were struggling and even just having an opportunity to give your experience or share your story can be empowering for you and the people that are in group with you.

“In those early months for me, the support group was a reason to get myself dressed, because I was getting my baby dressed, but I wasn’t necessarily getting myself ready every day, and I had a place to go.

“We are so excited to have a space to support local moms and connect them with their community.”

The registration is through Russell’s business website: cordandcrystal.ca.

New Haliburton County Public Library (HCPL) CAO Andrea Brown admits, that as a child, she would sneak into the bathroom of her Stoney Creek home to read when she was supposed to be in bed. She also read under the covers with a flashlight.

Her father was a teacher, and instilled in her a love of books, and learning. They went to the library a lot. She even checked out books that had been gifted to her from her own small personal library.

“I’d have little pieces of paper and I would check out books to myself, so I feel like it was destiny,” she says of her chosen career.

She was born and raised in Stoney Creek, and after high school, headed to Trent University in Peterborough to do Canadian Studies and Environmental and Science Studies.

After her second year of university, she took some time off with Canada World Youth, doing an agricultural exchange on a dairy goat farm in Ontario and also travelling to Thailand. Awaiting the start of a new semester, she did community development work in Peterborough.

While not part of her Trent education, she says “it really seeded the roots of me wanting to build community and do something that really made communities great places to be for everyone.”

In her last year, she worked in the interlibrary loans office. She also fell in love and moved with her now husband to Montreal for 1.5 years.

They then moved west and Brown applied to work at the Vancouver Public Library, getting a job in the children’s library, “and found my people.”

She started shelving books, and applied for library school at the University of British Columbia, getting her Master of Library and Information Studies.

While in B.C., Brown coordinated the creation of a provincially-funded $50,000+ Reading Tree early literacy book project, which received accolades including a City of Vancouver staff innovation award.

She started working with HCPL in the fall of 2021 as deputy CEO/public services manager, around the same time then CAO Chris Stephenson joined. She said the two wanted to modernize the service. They rebranded, developed a new website, and got a delivery van. Brown is now working hard on the new Dorset branch.

She is passionate about children and literacy.

“I really want to get kids excited about using the library. We try to find all sorts of ways to bring them in.”

For example, they have seed libraries to get kids interested in gardening. They’ve had bookmark-making contests. Brown is also keen about community partnerships, such as with EarlyON, for literacy kits, and with Pinnguaq for free kits for kids to learn science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. They open the library for the Central Food Network in Cardiff for their annual Christmas toy distribution.

She said COVID kept people away, but they have restarted programming such as family story time, boast a great children’s section, and offer free Lego and crafts “so we try to make it as fun and accessible as possible.”

She added it’s also about bringing not just kids, but adults and seniors together and keeping them connected.

She said she is proud of the work they have done so far, and had a hand in the new strategic plan.

“I really want the library to be a place where we learn to be a resilient community together. Growing our own food, sharing skills. We’ve had some great workshops in Highlands East about beeswax candle making, DIY birdfeeders. The world is changing and the library has always been a place for learning, where we share information and stories, and that hasn’t changed for hundreds of years.”

Brown said she loves living in the County, and while a big change from Vancouver, “I love being in the water, canoeing, paddleboarding. I can look out my windows and there are trees. I can have a campfire in the yard. I’ve got a chicken coop. There’s space for two German Shepherds.”

Her grandparents and their siblings had four cottages on Skeleton Lake in the Township of Muskoka Lakes so her new surroundings are familiar. “I’ve always wanted to come back to the cottage and this area. My heart sings.”

Library board chair, David O’Brien, said the board and library staff “are excited to welcome Andrea into her new role and look forward to the continued success and growth of HCPL under her leadership.”

The verdict is in, says County director of public works, Sylvin Cloutier, with a six-year analysis finding speed radar message boards are working.

The County’s been using the device – which displays speed to oncoming motorists in the hopes they’ll slow down – since 2018.

Cloutier said they’d evolved, to display messages that can change based on the actual speed in relation to the posted limit. So, they’ll turn red and tell drivers to slow down, or turn green and thank them for doing the limit. He added the latest models can collect speed and vehicle count data.

“This data can be analyzed to provide speed characteristics along road sections to identify strategic implementation of speed zones and time periods for selective speed enforcement,” the director noted.

Cloutier said the County board had collected “a tremendous” amount of data at 34 locations in those six years.

“The locations tend to be near built-up areas, where residents have concerns of vehicle speeds. Residents have indicated they notice a change in driver behaviour when the (board) is in operation.”

He said they used to keep the monitor in place for extended periods of time, but recently have been moving it every two weeks to ensure more widespread coverage.

He explained that when moved to a new location the unit is set up in stealth, or non display, mode for a week. Speed data is recorded but not displayed. After one week, it’s switched to display mode where it shows operating speeds to oncoming motorists. Speeds continue to be collected from vehicles travelling in the non-display direction.

To understand the impact, he said staff had analyzed all data collected from all locations since 2018.

It was found that displaying speed to motorists reduced overall speeds by up to 10 per cent on average. It was also found that speed was not affected for vehicles travelling in the non-display direction.

For example, he said the unit was used on CR 2/Devil’s Lake area July 13-27. It is a 50 km/hr zone. In stealth mode, 87 per cent of drivers were found to be over the speed limit, averaging about 70 km/hr. When speed was displayed, 51 per cent of drivers were going too fast, averaging 65 km/hr.

He cited another example of CR648/the Wilberforce Road area. In stealth mode from Sept. 20-27, with a posted speed limit of 70 km/hr, 76 per cent of vehicles were speeding, averaging 89 km/hr. With the board on the next week, it dropped to 60 per cent of speeding vehicles, at about 86 km/hr.

He noted the speed data time stamps vehicle speeds allowing staff to identify peak periods of vehicle speeding. “Staff are working to provide this information to the local OPP detachment to help with selective speed enforcement,” Cloutier said.

“Staff believe this program provides a positive impact resulting in safer driving conditions for all road users.”

Coun. Cec Ryall asked if it made sense to have them set up permanently in one or two trouble spots. However, Cloutier responded that if left too long, they blend in and drivers don’t pay attention. “In our experience, moving it around is very effective.”

Coun. Bob Carter said they tested them in Minden and have budgeted to purchase more. He said it had made a noticeable difference in people’s speed, particularly around Archie Stouffer Elementary School, the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and along Water Street. “We think these are very effective.”

Warden Liz Danielsen said Algonquin Highlands has two that have “really been quite successful.” She said Cloutier’s report was “very helpful information” but “it does indicate that there’s still a lot of people who don’t pay any attention at all.”

Algonquin Highlands mayor Liz Danielsen said the township is “trying to do the right thing” after becoming embroiled in a disagreement with property owners along North Shore Road over an access point to Maple Lake.

The municipality issued a press release Feb. 1 stating the land, located near the intersection of North Shore and Dawson roads, has been used by the public for decades to access the water.

Danielsen said this was in response to a group of homeowners who have made repeated claims the property is privately owned, noting frequent attempts have been made to prevent people from using the spot to access the lake.

“To be abundantly clear, the property in question is municipally owned… no claims of private ownership have been substantiated through any credible documentation or otherwise,” the release states.

Kythe Baldwin, president of the Haliburton County Landowners’ Association, told The Highlander he is one of the property owners taking exception to what he believes is “blatant overreaching” by the township.

“They’re trying to steal people’s property and we’re not going to let that happen… Algonquin Highland thinks they own [that parcel], they think they own North Shore Road – they do own the road, they own the pavement, but they don’t own the land underneath it,” Baldwin claims, citing Crown land patents issued in the late 1800s suggest ownership lies with the individual property owners.

Baldwin says he has a patent for his property, at 1805 North Shore Road, dating back to 1863, which he claims is the oldest known document for land surrounding Maple Lake. He said the land that houses the access point is covered by another Crown patent, held by one of his neighbours, that has been in place since 1883.

“We’ve gone through every historical document for [our properties] and the Crown land patent has never been opened, it’s never been amended, it’s never been changed, it’s never been cancelled,” Baldwin said.

Danielsen is adamant Algonquin Highlands owns the land, noting the township has received confirmation from its legal counsel. Baldwin says he’s not been presented with any physical documentation proving that, despite repeated requests.

“I’ve asked for almost 10 years now – show us what rights you have,” Baldwin said. “The only thing I can rely on is the 1913 act that downloaded shore road allowances from the province to the township. There’s nothing else. If they had anything, they would have had to purchase the property from the family, which there’s no record of, or they would have had to open the Crown land patent, which they haven’t done,” Baldwin said.

Algonquin Highlands planner Sean O’Callaghan did not respond to The Highlander’s request for comment and clarification.

Danielsen said no trespass orders were issued in January, with those cautioned immediately issuing no trespass orders of their own to the township. She noted further action was taken in mid-February, though didn’t elaborate.

The mayor advised anyone trying to use the access point who is “bullied or hassled” to report the issue to the OPP.

“That’s about all we can do right now,” Danielsen said.

Licensing root of issue

Baldwin indicated this issue is far bigger than a disagreement over a single parcel – he’s questioning the legality of the township’s license of occupation policy, which was passed in December.

“When [Maple Lake] was surveyed in 1860, the shore road allowance [they allocated] is now about 120 feet off the shore. It’s buried under water,” he said, believing that, years after the lake was flooded for the Trent Severn Waterway project, the township moved the allowance to the top of North Shore Road.

“Those shorelands, if a patent is held, are private property,” Baldwin added.

Stefanos Karatopis, a governor with the Ontario Landowners Association, says in cases where private property owners hold Crown patents for lands a municipality wants, it would have to be expropriated. He says this is covered in the federal Public Documents Act.

“They’re set in stone, the patents say ‘forever to their heirs’ and forever hasn’t happened yet. There’s no way for those patents to be cancelled, deleted, anything,” he said. “[Algonquin Highlands] would have to come up with documentation showing the municipality owns this land… or they’d have to buy it.”