The Haliburton County Huskies have their backs against the wall, trailing the Wellington Dukes three games to none in their best of seven, second round, OJHL playoff series.

It’s a must-win situation for the Blue and White tonight (March 30) at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena or the Huskies’ second season in the OJHL will draw to a close.

Head coach Ryan Ramsay said, “our message is your backs are against the wall, how do you guys respond as a group? It’s a character check. It’s a gut check. We won a lot of hockey games this year. We’re a good team. Just go out and play.

“I think the boys got together as a group Tuesday, so there’s no quit in them.”

Dukes 8 Huskies 0

The Dukes thumped the Blue and White 8-0 March 27.

It was all Welly on a night that saw them score four first period goals, followed by another four in the second frame.

The Dukes took advantage of a Huskies parade to the sin bin, with two powerplay goals in the second.

They also notched a short-handed tally.

Goalie Aidan Spooner was chased at 9:14 of the first after surrounding three goals on three shots.

Tyler Hodges came in to face another 45 shots, turning aside 40. The Huskies managed 29 shots but could not crack Jacob Osborne in the Dukes’ net.

Dukes 4 Huskies 3

On Saturday (March 25) the Blue and White got off to a 3-1 first-period lead.

Handed a powerplay at the 6:09 mark, it took just 41 seconds for Christian Stevens to snipe one past Osborne to get the home crowd into the game early. Boyd Stahlbaum and Isaac Sooklal got the assists.

Then, just 1:10 later, Patrick Saini found the back of the net, from Sooklal and Luca Rea, to spot the Huskies a 2-0 lead and what looked to be a rout.

It was short-lived, though, as Wellington answered back a little over four minutes later, at 12:09, with Luke Strickland beating Spooner.

But the sell-out crowd was soon back on its feet, when, at 13:05, Stevens popped his second powerplay goal of the period, from Alex Cunningham and Sooklal, to send the Huskies into the dressing room up 3-1.

But it was all Wellington from there as they roared back for the win.

Dukes 4 Huskies 2

On Friday (March 24) the series opened in Wellington with the Dukes taking game one.

Wellington opened the scoring at 8:56 before Sooklal tied things, from Stahlbaum and Saini. The Huskies took the lead in the second, on a Stevens powerplay goal.

However, Wellington scored three, third-period goals, including an empty netter.

Puck drop tonight is 7 p.m. in Minden.

Locating an abundance of Northern Paper Wasp along the Minden River Walk was a “major, exciting find” for Caleb Brown, as the Trent University student worked with the Haliburton County Master Gardeners to track pollinators as part of his U-Links project this past year.

Brown’s was just one of 20 Trent University and Fleming College research projects presented at U-Links Celebration of Research March 25 in the Great Hall at Haliburton School of Art + Design. He was one of three students who presented their findings in front of the first in-person gathering in four years.

Brown added the Northern Paper Wasp’s nesting grounds have been under competition from the newer European Paper Wasp, but they are winning out in Minden. That’s a good thing, he added, since they are the native species. They’re finding food in the flower gardens along the River Walk, and, in turn, helping the gardens to thrive.

Another highlight of his research, said Brown, was finding Monarch butterflies. “I think the Monarch butterfly has kind of become the forefront of conservation. It’s definitely an icon and we recognize that its population is dwindling, but we did see them along the trail, and they really liked a lot of the flowers that were there.”

Brown said a lot of people think you need to plant milkweed to attract Monarchs, but that’s actually for the caterpillars, while adult Monarch will harvest nectar from almost any flower.” For example, he said they found Monarchs on Canadian sunflowers.

Brown added the change from turf grass to a diverse range of flowering plants has been a boon to pollinators and insects in general. He said they found at least 20 different categories of insects. He added more insects also attract birds and other wildlife.

Shelley Fellows, of the Haliburton County Master Gardeners, is the project lead for ‘stepping into nature’ – which is the result of the Trent and master gardeners’ collaboration. They’re developing a multi-media walking tour of the diverse flora and fauna along the Minden River Walk Trail.

They worked with Brown last fall to produce a detailed inventory of the insects that form part of an “incredibly rich and diverse community along this beautiful riverfront trail,” Fellows said.

She added visitors to ‘stepping into nature’ can access audio tracks, photos and detailed information on the plants and insects found along the trail via a smartphone app called PocketSights.

The tour also contains tips and descriptions on how to naturalize property, how to manage shoreline erosion and how best to deal with the Canada Geese.

Fellows said ‘stepping into nature’ also received financial support from the Haliburton County Development Corporation and community donors. It will launch in May.

Sadie Fischer, environmental program coordinator with U-Links, said, “we feel it’s important to host this event so that we can showcase all the hard work the students are putting in to produce valuable information that can actually inspire change in our communities. It’s a really good way to bring people together and educate them on some of the most pressing issues we’re seeing in the County.”

Places for People (P4P) board president Jody Curry said they were “very pleased” with the turnout, and thankful for the weather, during the March 24-25 Sleeping in Cars event this year.

“We had about 28 people (most cars had more than one person in them) and about 15 others that dropped in and brought donations.”

She said two people arrived with hot pizza, some of which was eaten cold the next morning, causing one participant to comment ‘hey, this event was just like college’.”

Curry said she also heard from another first-time participant that it was an eye-opening experience “and not a comfortable one. She felt that many people should try it for greater understanding of others. One indicated it was interesting that we view it as roughing it for the night, when we had vehicles to sleep in out of the weather, cushy foam mattresses, warm sleeping bags, a heated washroom nearby, and food provided. She did not have to get up and get herself looking presentable for work the next day or get her cold kids off to school.”

Curry said it was a success as they created awareness, and, so far, have raised more than $8,300 for P4P.

Algonquin Highlands councillors Jennifer Dailloux and Sabrina Richards slept out, and Minden Hills councillor Shirley Johannessen and Dysart et al councillor Pat Casey dropped by, organizers said.

P4P is still accepting donations on the website if someone missed pledging. Go to placesforpeople.ca.

Highlands Cinema owner Keith Stata was a boy in 1960 when the movie, The Time Machine, was released.

The Kinmount lad got a lift to Minden with a neighbouring family and went to see the American post-apocalyptic science fiction film at the Beaver Theatre.

Time is a recurring theme in the hours upon hours of interviews documentary filmmaker, Matt Finlin, has done with Stata while working on The Movie Man.

“He speaks about time a lot, not having enough time, his time is limited, mortality, he says, ‘if I just had a time machine, I could go back in time, and fix all of this stuff and really blow the socks off people’,” Finlin shared in an interview with The Highlander March 23.

A partner in Door Knocker Media, a Toronto-based video production company, Finlin and his team have been in postproduction since January on what will be a feature length film of more than an hour on the iconic Highlands Cinema and Stata, the man who built and continues to run it.

“We are very close to having a first cut of the film, which is great. Really excited and cautiously excited. It’s a funny movie,” Finlin said.

Finlin said he became friends with Stata over the four years he has been chipping away at the documentary, so he might be too close to the work to have perspective. However, he said his editor, “is enjoying himself so much. There’s a lot of humour in it and a lot of heart which really brings out the best qualities in Keith.”

He added the generations of Highlanders who have gone to the cinema are going to enjoy it, while those who have never been to the movie house on the hill will be intrigued.

Finlin said he has two goals in making the documentary, which really became an ear worm for him, when, at the age of 11, he visited Highlands Cinema for the first time.

Goal one? “Really making sure we fall in love with him (Stata) as a character who has dedicated his life to this thing. It’s incredible. When we wrapped up filming with Keith in the fall, we did this long form interview, and it was almost sad to see it end.”

Second goal? He’d love to have a gala-type screening at the theatre in Kinmount, encompassing some form of fundraising for both the business, which was closed for two-and-a-half years due to COVID, and the 50 cats that Stata takes care of.

“So, people who have enjoyed the cinema for 40 years can come and celebrate the film, and celebrate Keith. That would be a big thing for me, to show Keith what an impact he’s had on people. He knows that, but I think just to really see that and feel that in a room would be really nice.”

He’s also preparing to send a rough cut to the Toronto International Film Festival selection committee. “It’s a movie about going to the movies and why not have it at an international festival?”

He plans to have The Movie Man ready for summer.

Finlin said making the documentary has presented challenges. It’s taken four years, with Finlin picking away at the project when he had time. There was some doubt if the theatre would open post-pandemic “and then we get to see the success of the reopening and how Keith’s legacy is continuing.”

There’s been a lot of footage to sift through. Editing has been tough because there’s, “no shortage of good stuff because he’s entertaining.”

Then there is Stata, himself. Finlin admitted that sometimes, during the pandemic, he talked about the business, the plight of small business, as well as the state of cinema during interviews, and he had to “pull him back to the case at hand.”

Finlin also feels a sense of responsibility since Stata is no longer just the subject of the documentary.

“We’re friends. I care very much about him. As a documentarian, you want to capture the whole story, but it becomes difficult when you become attached to this person, and you really are rooting for him.”

To complete the documentary, Finlin is looking for still photographs of the Beaver Theatre in Minden around the time The Time Machine would have been shown in 1960. If you have any photos of the theatre from that era, please email them to matt@ doorknockermedia.com.

The Robinson family announced via social media last week that Robinson’s General Store had again changed hands, with a new family, led by brothers Ven Komina and Satya Jyesta, planning to re-open the store in early April.

The Robinsons, who owned the store from 1921 to 2021, sold to Mike and Katie Hinbest. However, the Hinbests ran into financial hardship and closed the store Jan. 8.

During a Jan. 10 interview with The Highlander, Mike Hinbest said he had been speaking to the Robinsons about their difficulties.

Joanne Robinson posted to the Dorset community Facebook page March 23, to say, “after having been owned and operated by our family for 100 years, we were, like all of you, disappointed and devastated when we learned that our beloved Robinson’s General Store closed in January.”

She said that since then, they have been working hard in the background to find a solution to allow the business to re-open.

“We understand the inconvenience this closure has caused the community and we thank you for your patience during this difficult time.”

She went on to announce the new family taking over the operation of the store.

“Knowing how much the store is needed by the community, they plan to open in early April. It will take weeks and months after that to ramp up to full operation. Please understand this and support them through this transition time. We look forward to the community welcoming the new people and giving them all the support they need to allow the store to thrive again,” Robinson added.

The Highlander was unable to contact Komina or Jyesta as of press time this week.

The Township of Minden Hills has conceded it erred in following provisions of the Ontario Building Code (OBC) and has made changes to an upcoming public meeting after being questioned about not complying with the statutory notice period.

The concession came after a taxpayer, Matthew Wesley, wrote to council and sent a letter to The Highlander.

Wesley pointed to a recent staff report proposing a 14.29 per cent increase in permit fees for residential construction, and a 50 per cent increase in building administration fees. He claimed the jumps come with no rationale, as required by provincial legislation, nor was 21 days notice provided of the public meeting required under section 7(6) of the Building Code Act (BCA).

Wesley told The Highlander, “knowing how the relevant legislation applies, and being a concerned taxpayer when the municipality tries to operate without transparency or due process, I feel the need to speak to the issue.

“Most concerning seems to be that they do not even know about the relevant legislation. This particular issue affects me, as it should anyone else who will be taking out permits in the near future. If a fee increase went to attracting and retaining qualified staff to help service the demand in local construction, that I could get behind.”

He added the proposed fee increases, if used appropriately, “could improve an outdated compensation model that has seen chronic vacancy in that department after a hemorrhage of staff. Qualified building professionals protect the municipality and the taxpayer from risk and liability. In-house staff are also more affordable than consultants.”

The township has contracted out its planning to D.M. Wills Associates of Peterborough ever since former planner Ian Clendening left.

Mayor Bob Carter said it is estimated by the AMCTO (Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario) that municipalities, no matter their size, must produce between 200-300 reports per year for the provincial government. “This specific report is required by provincial legislation, but it is only submitted to council. Somewhere, the report was missed a number of years ago and nobody noted it,” he said.

“We thanked Mr. Wesley for bringing this to our attention and we will be producing this report regularly in the future. The report provides council with assurance that the fees collected do not exceed the costs for providing the service.”

Carter added, “our review of all fees was meant to bring us into line with the fees charged by neigbouring municipalities and to try to reduce the burden on taxpayers who are subsidizing services provided to users.”

CAO Trisha McKibbin wrote Wesley to say after reviewing files and speaking with finance and building department staff, “it appears annual reports have not been completed as outlined in Section 7(4) of the Building Code Act and thank you for bringing that to our attention. The township will ensure that these reports are completed annually moving forward in accordance with applicable legislation.”

As for the statutory public meeting, she added the township will be holding one on March 30 as outlined in a public notice. She said the meeting will focus on all other sections of the fees and charges bylaw, except the section related to building permits and fees. She said that meeting will likely take place in April and, “the township will ensure to provide you and the public with the statutory notice of this meeting. I look forward to seeing you at the public meeting.”

Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS) is anticipating a $3 million deficit by year end, with CEO Carolyn Plummer saying the organization’s stretched resources were having a “significant impact” on operations and morale at the County’s two hospital sites.

Answering questions from The Highlander at a March 23 board meeting, Plummer said the status of HHHS’ finances was concerning, with the organization still relying on its line of credit to cover thousands of dollars in basic, day-to-day operational costs.

“We have a number of priorities we have to move forward with as an organization to make sure we can keep going and support the changing needs of the community… but with the financial and staffing pressures we’re facing, it does place a tremendous burden on the team to try and find ways to mitigate those challenges,” Plummer said.

“We can’t just pause and stall, we have to continue to move forward… to the best of our ability with the resources we do have,” she added.

Backing up the CEO, finance committee chair Irene Odell noted the organization’s financials are “in bad shape.” It was noted HHHS had incurred $17,000 in interes-trelated costs over the past six months.

HHHS is spending approximately $330,000 per month on agency nurses, including at its long-term care facilities, to keep its services operational. Plummer said between 40 and 50 per cent of the total nursing hours in Haliburton and Minden are being covered by agency staff.

Recruitment remains a challenge, Plummer noted. While she said there had been an uptick in the number of resumes received for open RN postings since the new year, retention of existing staff has proven problematic.

“It seems every time we take a step forward, we immediately take two steps back,” the CEO said. “We’re still running into issues with staff choosing to leave and go elsewhere where a higher compensation is offered, and we’re [not able to match that] with the constraints of our collective agreements. There’s certainly a lot of things that need to change, as many of the issues we’re facing are outside of our control.”

Plummer previously told The Highlander the organization could use an additional 12 full-time RNs.

Salaries for registered nurses in Ontario hospitals are set by the provincial government through the Ontario Hospital Association, with first year professionals starting at $34.24 an hour and the most experienced RNs earning a maximum of $49.02 an hour.

Nurses and other public sector workers have seen pay increases capped at one per cent a year since 2020, under Bill 124 – the province introduced as the Protecting a Sustainable Public Sector for Future Generations Act. An Ontario court found Bill 124 unconstitutional in December 2022, with Justice Markus Koehnen ruling it infringes on workers’ rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The government has since appealed the decision.

The government’s contract with the Ontario Nurses’ Association, the union that represents 68,000 RNs and other healthcare professionals, expires March 31. President, Bernie Robinson, told media March 3 that initial negotiations with the province had broken down, with arbitration looming in May.

While MPP Laurie Scott did not answer questions posed to her, Hannah Jensen, press secretary for health minister Sylvia Jones, told The Highlander, “hospitals experiencing urgent operating and financial pressures are encouraged to work with their Ontario Health Regions to identify opportunities for improvement and cost savings.” Jensen did not respond to a question about the long-term feasibility of hospitals relying on agency nurses to fill shifts.

Plummer said the potential for temporary emergency department shutdowns in Haliburton and Minden still loomed large.

“We remain in a precarious position. Potential closures are something we continue to grapple with on a regular basis,” she said. “We’ve had many close calls (more than 20 in 2022), and we continue to have close calls on a monthly basis.”

Dysart et al council has abolished its Policy 38 – legislation that outlined rules and regulations for the installation of cell towers within the municipality.

Following a heated discussion March 28 members voted unanimously to rescind the policy, just moments after approving a new 75-metre tower for Elephant Lake Road. Part of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network’s Cell Gap project, the structure will provide 5G-level service to residents surrounding Benoir Lake.

It became the second tower site to receive approval in Dysart, after the previous council gave the green light for a similar structure to be installed on Minnicock Lake Road. In attendance virtually Tuesday, EORN CEO Jason St. Pierre said there will be 13 new towers erected in Dysart as part of his organization’s plan to improve cell connectivity for 99 per cent of residents across eastern Ontario.

Ward 3 Coun. Tammy Donaldson took exception to this latest application, saying she had issues with the way Rogers’ site acquisition specialist, Jeff McKay, handled a public consultation session March 14. She said most of the 16 attendees were against the tower’s location on Elephant Lake Road, with up to 10 alternate site proposals pitched by the public falling on deaf ears.

McKay retorted the chosen site had a “better than nine out of 10 score” for addressing outlined stipulations for an EORN project. He said the other sites proposed by residents during the meeting weren’t a good fit,

“At this location we are capturing hundreds of additional subscribers into a strong 5G coverage radius… we wouldn’t get that if we moved it,” he said. “Relocations as small as 50 metres can have a dramatic effect on who receives service and who doesn’t.”

Donaldson said the tower didn’t fall in line with the municipal policy, which recommends sites be located at least one kilometre away from residences and be camouflaged. She noted the closest household, which she revealed to be her own, was 264-metres away from the proposed site.

When asked about a potential conflict of interest for Donaldson, CAO Tamara Wilbee told The Highlander it’s the responsibility of individual councillors to declare one. Staff has no input in the decision.

The Municipal Conflict of Interest Act stipulates if a member has an outside pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in any matter and is present at a meeting of council where the matter is discussed, they should, prior to any discussion, disclose the conflict and recuse themselves from taking part. The act also states that members with a conflict shall not take part in or attempt to influence any vote on the matter.

Donaldson was the lone vote against in a 6-1 decision.

When approached for comment, Donaldson said, “I reached out to the integrity commissioner [after the meeting] to discuss and I do not believe I have a pecuniary interest as the proposed tower is not on my property and I will not gain or lose financially. I felt I was representing constituents who raised concerns.”

Dysart’s integrity commissioner, Tony Fleming of the Kingston-based Cunningham, Swan, Carty, Little and Bonham LLP, is responsible for investigating any alleged breaches of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. When approached for comment on this situation he said, “it would not be appropriate for me to make comments on allegations of this nature in the press.”

Following the vote, Donaldson pitched that council rescind Policy 38, which has been in place since 2014.

“We might as well not have a policy because nobody is abiding by the one we have,” she said.

Director of planning, Jeff Iles, was seeking council direction regarding updates for the legislation, which he admitted last year was outdated. After council agreed to drop the policy, Iles said the most significant impact moving forward is that tower applicants won’t be required to hold public open house meetings to discuss a proposed project. Instead, correspondence will be collected from the public by letter, responded to, and then submitted to the township for review.