Abbey Gardens was hopping April 8 as hundreds of Highlanders enjoyed the warm weather by attending the annual ‘Easter at the Gardens’ event.

There was an easter egg hunt for children, which sold out with 200 participants, and other activities including cookie decorating, springtime crafts, and a pony petting zoo.

There was also a photo booth where people could take pictures with the Easter Bunny.

Ashley McAllister, director of operations at Abbey Gardens, said the event was a huge success.

“It’s amazing seeing so many people here having a great time – this is why we hold events like this, to see smiles on people’s faces,” she said.

From the back seat, listening in to conversation between Brenda Bain and Cathy Hunt, it’s clear to see the pair enjoy a special relationship borne out of familiarity, camaraderie, and trust.

The two spend a few hours together on the road every week. Bain is a volunteer driver with Haliburton Highlands Health Services’ door-to-door transportation program, with Hunt one of the 876 registered clients that rely on the service to get them to and from various health-related appointments and programs within the County’s borders and beyond.

While Bain has been driving for HHHS Community Support Services for the past 13 months, her history with the organization goes back more than a decade. She was the administrative assistant for the branch, located on the grounds beside the Haliburton hospital, for 14 years before retiring in early 2020.

Rewarding from door to door

She had intended to start driving right away, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed things. Now, Bain seems like she’s making up for lost time. She runs regular routes within the County twice per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and takes on one or two longrange journeys each month.

She estimates driving 17,000 kilometres since March 2022, with trips to Peterborough, Huntsville, Bracebridge, Lindsay, Ottawa, Pickering, and Kingston on her resume.

“I just love everything about it,” Bain told The Highlander. “I love being able to give back and support people. When you’re traveling, it’s mostly one-on-one, so you really get to know people.”

Transportation coordinator Janet Burley said the program has been running for over 30 years. She schedules approximately 20 trips each day. While she has 46 registered drivers on her roster, only 12 are considered active. New recruits are always welcome.

While designated as volunteers, drivers don’t make trips completely out of pocket. They’re reimbursed 48 cents for every kilometre driven, with 30 cents of that covered by the patient and the rest of the tab picked up by HHHS. There’s a meal allowance included, while expenses such as parking are also covered.

Hunt said she’s always made a point of taking care of her drivers, paying for breakfast during early morning runs to Toronto, and coffee and donuts for shorter-range trips. She’s been enrolled in the program since 2003, noting she hasn’t had a negative experience in the 20 years since. “We needed someone who would drive us to the city so my husband, Bev, could get hip replacement surgery,” Hunt said of how she started. “I can’t do long trips driving, and I can’t drive in Toronto. If it wasn’t for HHHS and the volunteer drivers, we wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

Since then, Hunt has been driven south around a dozen times for surgeries and follow-up appointments of her own, having had extensive work done on both her hips and knees. Recently, due to a lingering eye problem, she’s had to give up driving altogether. That made it impossible for her to get out to the adult day program HHHS runs in Minden – until she made a call.

Now, Bain picks her up twice a week at her home in West Guilford and drives her to Minden, making the return trip in the afternoon.

“I’d just be sitting at home, not getting out and socializing if I didn’t have this,” Hunt said. “This is a vital service. For people like me who can’t drive, it’s a genuine lifesaver.” And there are benefits for the drivers too.

“I’ve made so many new friends since I started to do this. I look forward to these drives all week,” Bain said. “It’s just so rewarding. I like to think I’m making a difference.”

To learn more, visit hhhs.ca/community-programs/ transportation. Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer driver can contact Brigitte Gebauer at bgebauer@hhhs.ca.

Some say music is the elixir of life and Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) volunteers Mickey Bonham and Pat Bradley have been able to see that firsthand through their work at Hyland Crest long-term care home.

The duo run a weekly music program at the Minden site, bringing residents together for group sing-a-longs featuring hits from industry icons such as Elvis Presley, Frankie Avalon, and Bill Haley and the Comets.

“Pat and I really enjoy it, we both choir in Haliburton, so we love bringing the spirit of music to the residents, getting them singing and listening to some of their favourite songs. It’s very therapeutic,” Bonham said, noting she launched the program around 20 years ago.

Back then, she would bring a CD in from her extensive home collection. Now, she’s gone digital – making use of a smart TV and YouTube to take turns playing classics from the residents’ favourite acts.

“You can always see them moving a little bit and singing along. They all know the words, it’s incredible. Music has a funny way of bringing things back – it stays with you even when you’re old and grey,” Bonham said with a chuckle.

The program paused during the pandemic, with Bonham and Bradley taking an enforced two-year hiatus. They both say that was hard, especially knowing they wouldn’t have a chance to say goodbye to some of their friends.

Bonham started volunteering in the early 2000s after a friend moved into Hyland Crest. Bradley did likewise in 2011, after her mom became a resident.

They continued going even after their loved ones passed.

“It’s important to give back, because a lot of these people don’t have people coming to visit them. It’s easy for them to feel abandoned,” Bradley said. “These are people who shaped our community and society for years and years… I love coming here – I come out of every session with a smile on my face, because it’s so much fun.”

Bonham added, “They all have such wonderful stories. Some of them are so funny, and so sweet. You do get really close to them. They become your friends in a lot of cases.”

The pair spend a few hours on-site every Wednesday, with Bonham saying she goes in twice a week during the summer. They also assist with parties, luncheons, and various other activities.

Volunteers have been allowed back for over a year now, but Bradley said numbers are heavily depleted. This is true across many groups affiliated with the hospital, including the Minden Health Care Auxiliary.

“There’s only a handful of us left, which is really sad because the Auxiliary plays an important role in helping fund much-needed equipment that the government doesn’t provide,” Bradley said, noting she’s been a member for 10 years.

“Last year we raised $15,000, and we just gave the hospital another $35,000. It’s an extremely important calling,” she added.

That money was used to purchase four new air beds at Hyland Crest, a new water softener system, and ceiling lifts for the emergency department.

“We desperately need more members if we’re going to continue,” Bradley said.

Anyone interested in volunteering with HHHS can contact Brigitte Gebauer at bgebauer@hhhs.on.ca.  

Haliburton County Farmers’ Association president Minna Schleifenbaum said she’s aware of at least one instance where an animal has died due to not having a large animal veterinarian stationed in Haliburton County

Farmers and homesteaders have been without a local option for their livestock and other animals since March 2022, when the previous operator, Dr. Aimee Coysh, allowed her contract with the Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry to lapse.

The provincial body provides financial support to rural vets servicing large animals through its Veterinary Assistance Program. Introduced in the 1940s, the initiative reimburses eligible vets for their travel costs to and from farms up to a maximum of $40,000 per year, offers up to $2,000 for vets to participate in continuing education courses, and will pay 50 per cent of the costs up to a maximum of $3,000 annually if another vet has to be brought in to assist with, or take, a call.

Godfrey Tyler, a Haliburton farmer, said that program hasn’t seen an increase in over 10 years and no longer meets industry standards.

“It’s been neglected for years,” Tyler said. “Any vet working under that contract is doing so out of pocket. They can make more by staying at their standard practice caring for small animals.”

Schleifenbaum said the lack of a large animal vet was having a significant impact on agriculture in the County. She estimates there are between 650 and 900 livestock owners in the Highlands who, when an issue arises, don’t know where to turn. The nearest clinics are over 70 kilometres away, in Bracebridge, Lindsay and Peterborough. They are all running at capacity, though, so there’s no guarantee a vet would be available in the event of an emergency.

“I personally know of one animal directly dying due to not having a vet, but there are indirect connections to animals dying too,” Schleifenbaum told The Highlander.

“This is a major concern for HCFA. We’re working hard to establish networks, further educate ourselves for emergency situations and build a community agriculture first aid kit to assist farmers and hobbyists with emergencies.”

She said many owners have already chosen to downsize their operations, with some electing to sell up altogether.

Tyler and Schleifenbaum are calling on the County’s lower-tier governments to help them lobby the province for more support. Tyler discussed the issue with Dysart council March 28. Mayor Murray Fearrey said he would bring the issue to the County level and ask for the upper-tier’s support to send a letter to the ministry supporting the HCFA’s efforts.

“Our community always embraces the arts and tourism, but we, as farmers, do not feel the same recognition and support,” Schleifenbaum said.

MPP Laurie Scott said the Ontario government was rolling out a new program this year that would help support large animal vets in rural communities.

“We recognize more must be done to attract and retain large animal veterinarians locating to underserviced areas, which is why the Veterinary Incentive Program, announced in the 2023 budget, will provide $900,000 over three years to support veterinarians locating in underserviced areas,” Scott said. “Although the program details have not yet been finalized, Haliburton County will be on the approved list of areas eligible for the program.”

She added the province was also funneling more money to the University of Guelph, which runs the only licensed doctor of veterinary medicine program in Ontario, to enhance its student intake. Currently, the university graduates around 120 new vets every year, but the province is investing $14.7 million over the next four years to increase the number of graduates by 20 per cent.

Tyler said another piece of the pie is that the County will essentially be bidding against other communities to attract new vets and questioned whether there’s enough activity to convince someone to set up shop here.

“We’re a very small player when it comes to agriculture. We’re goldfish in the ocean, so it’s difficult for us to be able to attract vets to come in,” he said. “If they’re looking at Haliburton County versus somewhere with more of a farming presence, or more money, what do you think they’re going to do?”

Haliburton County non-profit Places for People is planning to launch a new community bonds program in June, with president Jody Curry saying she expects the initiative to raise $850,000.

The announcement was made at the organization’s 2023 Haliburton County Housing Summit, held in Minden April 5. Addressing approximately 100 attendees, Curry said the money will be used to help the organization bring more affordable housing units to the County.

“We first introduced this idea in 2019, now we’re really going for it. This will give community members an opportunity to invest and keep their money right here in Haliburton County, while helping to address one of our most critical issues,” she said. “If the early buzz is any indication, we expect these bonds to sell out quickly.”

She said P4P will hold an information session outlining further plans for the program in the summer. She said the bonds would be backed against the organization’s portfolio of existing assets, which includes a five-plex in Carnarvon and seven other units sprinkled across the County.

While P4P pulled the plug on its proposed 48-unit development on Wallings Road in Haliburton in November, citing irrevocable differences with Dysart township over the sale of the land, the organization is hoping to move ahead with a similar project on property fronting Grass Lake. Paul Wilson Haliburton County council has voiced its support for a proposed 88-unit housing development slated for land fronting Grass Lake in Dysart et al.

County set to endorse Grass Lake development

The project, brought forward by developer Paul Wilson and his company, Harburn Holdings, is seeking to repurpose 2.5 hectares of land along Peninsula Road into four lots that would each house multi-storey apartment and condo buildings, with one unit also featuring a commercial component.

Dysart et al’s previous council expressed support for the build last September, and while County stopped short of formally approving an official plan amendment during a special council meeting April 12, its passing appears inevitable

Warden Liz Danielsen pushed to have the issue resolved at this week’s meeting, but County planner, Steve Stone, recommended the application go back to Dysart with one last requested modification prior to the upper-tier government issuing final approval.

That has to do with a dispute between Wilson and a neighbouring property owner, Dr. Aimee Coysh, who owns and operates Haliburton Veterinary Services. Coysh is concerned about the potential long-term impacts the development could have on her well water quality and quantity.

Stone said the two parties had agreed on a clause, which will form part of the County’s agreement, obliging Wilson and any future owner of the lands to ensure there will be no adverse impacts to neighbouring water supplies before construction can begin.

Addressing County council for the first time, Wilson clarified some points made during a previous meeting held by the uppertier in February. There, representatives from the Friends of Grass Lake advocacy group, who are opposing the project, claimed Wilson had altered the site without the necessary approvals in the late 2000s/early 2010s – allegations Danielsen said she was taking very seriously.

Wilson clarified that all work completed, such as the installation of a pond and placing of fill, was done with full knowledge and approval of representatives from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Ministry of Natural Resources, and Ministry of the Environment

“I have always been confident the facts [of this development] were on my side,” Wilson said.

He noted his primary focus moving forward was ensuring the land is managed properly, saying that while he won’t lead the construction phase, he’ll be picky over who he sells to and will retain final say on any development proposal.

Danielsen said while she doesn’t necessarily believe this is the best location for development, she feels the County has no other option than to support it.

“Assuming we approve this, which I believe we will, I know there will be people disappointed and unhappy about the decision… but we have all the planning reports, recommendations and peer reviews, all the support from every planner we have dealt with,” she said. “We have an urgent need for housing, so personally, I have to endorse this.”

Carolyn Langdon and Catherine Swift, representing the Friends group, expressed disappointment over council’s decision and confirmed to The Highlander that they would be submitting an appeal to the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT)

“This is about the creation of lots on an over-capacity lake. We’ll just see how OLT feels about this,” Langdon said. “I’m very disappointed. Many councillors were hesitant about this and had serious concerns. I thought they could have done more.”

Swift asked, “The County says the environment is their top priority, but their actions do not match their words, … as far as we’re concerned, this isn’t over.”