The Ontario Living Wage Network (OLWN) announced SIRCH is the first certified living wage employer in Haliburton.

As a certified employer, all full-time, part-time, contract, and seasonal workers earn at least the currently calculated living wage of $19.05 per hour, the OLWN said in a news release.

“While staff in retail and food services are traditionally paid low wages, we felt that philosophically we could not tackle poverty and food insecurity unless we are truly walking the walk by ensuring our employees are not making less than the living wage for this area,” said executive director Gena Robertson.

A living wage is calculated by the OLWN to show how much a worker must earn per hour in order to make ends meet and enjoy modest participation in civic and cultural community. The calculations gather real local expenses such as shelter costs, childcare, transportation, and food. They also factor in any applicable government taxes, transfers, and benefits.

“Families who work for low wages often face impossible choices: buy food or heat the house, feed the children or pay the rent. Paying a living wage allows individuals and families to cover household essentials as well as occasional emergencies or unexpected expenses,” the OLWN said.

Robertson added from a business perspective, paying a living wage can reduce employee turnover, absenteeism, and retraining costs. She said it can also improve performance and productivity, and lower staff turnover rates.

“It may be difficult to pay more for labour, but paying a living wage will help your employees remain in the County, remain in your employ, and feed their families. It’s one of the best local economic development strategies we can employ.”

For more information, including calculation documentation, coverage map, and certified employer directory see: ontariolivingwage.ca.

A group of local residents who play pickup hockey in Haliburton, under the name Haliburton Old Guys, presented a cheque for $500 to the Haliburton Legion Jan. 10, proceeds from the group’s winter fundraiser.

The money will go towards the Legion’s elevator program.

Legion executives feel the installation of an elevator is necessary to improve accessibility throughout the building.

Derrick Moore, sergeant in arms, said they hope to wrap up their fundraising initiative later this year, with the installation of an elevator coming in 2024.

The Highlands East station 3 voluntary fire department in Gooderham is another step closer to buying much-needed rescue equipment thanks to a $2,000 donation from the Gooderham Community Action Group (GCAG).

“We’re continuing to raise money for a new side-by-side, off-road vehicle that will allow us to perform better emergency rescue operations on the trails and in less accessible areas around Gooderham,” said district fire chief Brian Horner. “This donation will get us to within one-half of the funds needed for a new side-by-side.”

Gooderham Community Action Group chair Valerie Dugale said people have continued to be generous in supporting good works in the community.

“Our volunteer firefighters are there for us and as a community we need to be there for them throughout the year with fundraising drives,” added Dugale.

Donations can be made at the fire hall by cheque to the Gooderham Station 3 Firefighter’s Association or through a bottle drive at the station.

The Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association (HHOA) is reinstating its annual wild game dinner and auction on Saturday, April 1, at the Haliburton Legion.

The dinner, a popular community event and valuable fund raising activity for HHOA, had been held for more than 25 years, but COVID put it on hold for the last three years.

“The wild game dinner has always been very well attended,” said Dan Smith, HHOA president. “We’re very excited to be doing it again this year.”

He said the dinner gives people the opportunity to try a variety of wild game, while also participating in a silent auction and having a great time.

This year’s menu includes, venison, bear, moose, boar, buffalo and rainbow trout. Domestic meat options are also available if people are not up for trying wild game.

The bar opens at 5 p.m., dinner and the auction start at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $35 per person, or $55 per couple. Tickets can be purchased at HHOA by calling 705-457-9664.

Since 1998, the HHOA has raised and stocked more than 800,000 fish in local lakes. If you would like to help support the HHOA, you can join or donate at HHOA.on.ca. You can also help by playing the HHOA 50/50 monthly raffle at bigcatch5050.ca. Fifty per cent of all monthly proceeds go to one winner. The other 50 per cent supports the fish hatchery, the stocking of area lakes, walleye spawning rehabilitation programs and other HHOA activities that benefit the region’s outdoors community.

An 11-year-old Haliburton County girl is off to the Allstar World Cheerleading Championships in Orlando, Florida this spring.

Addison Kulas is a member of the Valley Sharks team that trains out of Orillia.

The Carnarvon girl, who goes to Archie Stouffer Elementary School, has been cheerleading since the age of seven when her family lived in Uxbridge. Since moving to the Highlands, she has continued to train and compete despite the distance.

Her parents, Nick and Laura Kulas, are her biggest supporters. Nick said competitive cheerleading takes them to Orillia three to four a times a week for training. There are girls from Orillia, Barrie and Muskoka, but Addison is the only Highlander on the 20-person team. She’s also one of the youngest.

Addison is a flyer, so, “they throw her up in the air and catch her,” Nick explains.

Addison dons her uniform and comes out with her cheer bag. She shows off some of the medals she has already won.

“I can do a back hand spring,” she says, and begins demonstrating some of her skills. “I like when they throw me up in the air. And I like tumbling but I don’t like jumps because I can’t get my legs very high.”

Nick said the team qualified for the U17 level two. Cheerleading goes up to level seven. Cheerleaders progress through the ranks as they age and mature. Level seven is Olympian and cheer will be featured for the first-time ever at the Paris games. Already, Addison can do most of the level three requirements and is working on the others.

As part of the championships, in the first week of May, Addison will have the opportunity to train at the Top Gun Gym, one of the premier cheer gyms in North America.

Nick said being part of a team picked for the worlds is a big deal. There are already 2,000 teams going, and 40,000 competitors from 15 countries.

“I’m really excited,” Addison said. “We have a pretty good chance because we got second in our last competition, and in the competition we just did, we were first with the highest score in the whole competition.”

Nick added, “we didn’t really know how big it was until the convenor told us, ‘you should be very proud of your daughter, this is a big deal, an 11-year-old on an U17 team.’

“Girls get college scholarships in the U.S. for cheerleading. Most people think it’s pom poms and football, but it is a mix of tumbling, stunting and dance. You should see the stuff they do, fireworks, big screens, people are like, ‘is this how it is’?”

Laura added, “Addison and her teammates are incredibly proud to have earned a bid to this prestigious event, as it is a massive accomplishment likely realized only once in a lifetime. However, this opportunity comes with a hefty price tag. The Valley Sharks are fundraising to help offset costs associated with their trip, through individual and, or team sponsorships and through a silent auction.”

If interested, contact Valley Sharks fundraising committee head, Shannon, at 1-705-345-0443 or Nick Kulas at nickkulas@ hotmail.com for more information.

While the freezing rain fell outside, Highland Storm action was heating up the Minden arena recently

The score kept ticking up for the home side as blue and yellow jerseys surged up the ice to the cheers of friends and family in the stands.

But without a bearded man in a blue Storm jacket overlooking the red line, the crowd, players or referees wouldn’t know much about the game at all.

Eric Nicholls has been a hockey timekeeper for 40 years. He’s watched the clock and penalty box as future stars stickhandled down the rink, kids played their hearts out for the Silver Stick championship, and a feisty rivalry ebbed and flowed between Minden and Haliburton.

On March 15, he’ll deliver his last game report.

“I think it’s time for me to step down and let somebody else take over,” said Nicholls, standing beside the rink at the Haliburton arena.

He points over to the timekeeping box beneath the barn’s dark brown rafters. That’s the spot he began his timekeeping career at age 18 in 1982.

His friend, Luke Schell, asked him if he’d consider timekeeping for the men’s league.

“Then it went from there,” Nicholls said. “I was overwhelmed at the beginning, but after a while, it became second nature.”

Nicholls would arrive about an hour before each game. Until a recent switch to digital timekeeping, he would collect the game sheets from the coaches. During the games, he watches the play to catch each whistle and penalty before deftly dialing in the time on the clock. After the buzzer, he gets referees to sign the timesheet before sending the vital information to the Ontario Minor Hockey League (OMHA).

The game’s location matters to timekeepers, since the clocks at each arena function differently

The Haliburton Arena has had three clocks since Nicholls started.

He taught his tricks of the trade to others throughout the years too.

“I remember the first night that we were sitting in the box together,” said fellow timekeeper Diane Peacock, who Nicholls trained nine years ago. “I think about the fact of what he taught me and how he’s mentored me over the years.”

When the Minden arena was being rebuilt, Nicholls shared his home turf, Haliburton, with Peacock. “He said ‘don’t worry, you’re not going to be without a job, we’ll just split everything up.’ And he taught me how to use Haliburton’s clock and made me feel comfortable there.”

Community kudos

“The greatest compliment I can pay him is when I call out-of-town referees to see if they can come help us out, they almost always ask me, ‘is Eric doing the clock’?” said OMHA referee-in-chief Brad Tate. He was speaking to a crowd gathered to honour Nicholls’ career after a Highland Storm game. “If I say yes, they say yes,” Tate said.

Former Dysart et al mayor Andrea Roberts thanked Nicholls for his dedication to minor hockey and his contribution to the town.

“It really is something you should be so proud of,” she said.

Nicholls was also presented with a plaque from OMHA region 5 director Andy Cooke, and his own “Nicholls” Highland Storm jersey.

The timekeeper said he appreciated the recognition. “But I’d rather be a person behind the scenes.”

Time for change

His number one tip for a new timekeeper?

“Just relax, enjoy it, and if you make a mistake, call the referees over. The referees will help you out,” he said.

Peacock said there will be lots of support for new volunteers. “Once you get onto it, it’s just a matter of hitting the right buttons,” she said.

Many newcomers start out keeping time for younger age groups that often get fewer penalties.

“Everybody thinks it’s a daunting task, but I caught on to it fairly fast,” Peacock said.

For volunteers such as Peacock or Nicholls, it’s also meant joining the Highland Storm community.

Nicholls said he’ll still come out to games to see old friends and cheer on the Storm.

“It’s a really tight-knit community,” he said.

Back at the Minden arena, the Storm put the finishing touches on a 7-1 victory. The buzzer sounded and the teams scrambled off the ice. But the arena wasn’t ready for the next game until Nicholls reset the clock.