Life is a combination of crossroads intertwined to make us who we are, and Rails End Gallery and Arts Centre in Haliburton is holding a new exhibit showcasing the stories that helped mould some of the community’s most accomplished and up-and-coming artists.

Running until April 1, ‘Intersection’ is the latest offering in Rails End’s annual members’ salon exhibition series. It features works pieced together by some of the Highlands’ most creative minds in painting, sculpture, fabric, and jewelry.

Curator Laurie Jones welcomed invited guests to the show’s kick-off Feb. 4, saying she was pleased to see the arts are “alive and well” in Haliburton County. She noted there were 63 entries to the exhibit.

“We had a lot more three-dimensional works and fibre pieces than usual, which I think speaks to the different ways people interpreted the theme,” Jones said. “It was a challenging theme this year, one that made people really think. It brought us probably our most diverse selection of submissions in years.”

Speaking to her own entry, which she called Witness Tree, Jones said she drew inspiration from a forest in upper New York state that was long used as a landmark, or navigation tool, for settlers in the area. When sharing her story, Jones said the conversation pivoted to focus on how a place can remain the same, untouched through time.

“That got me thinking into how time is this three-dimensional thing that intersects everything – our passions, our lives… and the more we talked, the more people took it in different directions. So, that painting (Witness Tree) really became the source of the name of the show,” Jones added.

Harvey Walker talked about his piece Patterns Repeating, an oil painting on canvas. He said it depicts the “ultimate intersection” of two lives he saw come together on a park bench while he was attending a competition at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Vaughan last year. Inspired, he finished his piece in a couple of hours.

A long-time supporter of the gallery, Christine Mino, said she found out about the exhibit during a dinner party at her Halls Lake home earlier this winter.

“I knew I wanted to submit something, but I had no inspiration,” Mino told The Highlander. After some reflection, she drew from some of her favourite places and people from across the County to create Where, When, Why We Met. The piece is made up of 16 small paintings that intersect – one of undisturbed water on Boshkung Lake, another of her husband walking on the ice at Halls Lake. There are also sections dedicated to skiing, the environment and one of her favourite sculptures, a dinosaur left behind by the owners of the old Camp Kawabi in Algonquin Highlands.

The exhibit can be seen in-person Wednesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is also available online through railsendgallery. Com

Over the past six months, childhood friends Sarah Comer and Shay-Lynn Hutchings have been hard at work establishing a new health and fitness community in Haliburton County.

The pair, both raised in the Highlands, came together last July to form Wellness Hub. Located on Industrial Park Road in Haliburton, the new venture is a passion project years in the making according to Hutchings, who said the space is helping to empower several local entrepreneurs looking to kickstart their business, while offering a slew of unique programs and services to area residents. It officially opened Nov. 1.

“We dared to dream, and Wellness Hub is a direct product of that,” Hutchings told The Highlander. “We feel there’s a real gap in Haliburton County when it comes to specialized services in the health, wellness, and fitness fields. We want to bridge that gap.”

Hutchings offers massage therapy sessions, while Comer hosts popular Pilates classes. Several partners have come on board in recent months, including Chelsea Adamson and her Sweat Social health and fitness gym. The space also boasts a naturopathic doctor, holistic nutritionist, psychotherapist, and Reiki master.

Sticking true to the building’s earlier days, when it served as home to the Haliburton Dance Academy, there are also dance class options for youth and adults.

“The hub is kind of like the umbrella brand, but we have 13 different businesses operating out of here, and we’re always looking for more,” Comer said. “We will take on literally anybody if your values align with ours, which is being open minded, quality over quantity and collaboration over competition.”

The latest addition to the team is Mia Quigley, an RPN who specializes in offering IV vitamin drips.

“We’re excited to partner with Mia, because this is something that Haliburton County has never had access to before. People would have to drive to Peterborough and take a day off work to do something like this before,” Comer said.

Next, the pair are hoping to find a physiotherapist with training in pre-and postnatal services.

Reflecting on their recent opening, Hutchings said there were lots of sleepless nights, noting many things had to fall in place to make this new business feasible.

“I used to be an instructor at HDA, so I know Chyna Schell, who owned the building, very well. She really helped us get things lined up, and then agreed to do a private sale to us, almost as a way to continue the traditions of this space,” Hutchings said.

“We also partnered with the Haliburton County Development Corporation, which has been a tremendous help to us as we’ve navigated these first few months. They’ve really mentored us as we took the leap into entrepreneurship.”

They’re in this for the long haul, Comer said, and are already coming up with plans for the future.

“We have a lot of dreams and goals. We’d like to eventually extend the deck and put in a juice or coffee bar, and have the hub become a spot people can gather and hang out,” Comer said. “We just want this to be a busy, happening spot.” To learn more, visit Wellness Hub on Facebook and Instagram, or contact wellnesshubhali@gmail.com.

The first draft of the Minden Hills budget has a 7.54 per cent tax-supported increase from 2022.

Tabled Feb. 2, CAO Trisha McKibbin said the big hits were wages and benefits (35 per cent), materials, supplies and other operating costs (34 per cent), policing (12 per cent), contributions to cemetery and capital funds of seven per cent, contributions to reserves six per cent and serving debt six per cent.

“The effect of changing global markets, supply chain issues and inflation have created financial pressures on Minden Hills’ operating and capital budgets,” McKibbin added. “Maintaining current service levels, while balancing these pressures and increases, were at top of mind when building the first draft of the 2023 budget.”

The budget includes money to improve roads, public safety, comply with regulations, and for accessibility. There is also cash for studies to help the township, with a strategic plan and asset management plan.

Director of finance, Greg Bedard, noted property assessments in Ontario are still based on 2016 MPAC valuations, resulting in a growing disparity between the assessed value of a property and its market value.

Minden Hills raises about 70 per cent of the money it needs from property taxation. It gets upper-level grants, this year totalling about $2.25 million. It also raises money from user fees.

Bedard said wages and benefits were heading north, with annualization of four new positions, pro-rated in last year’s budget, a 1.75 per cent cost of living increase, people moving up the township’s pay scale and increased volunteer firefighter hours.

They’re budgeting a 22 per cent increase for fuel, and more for maintaining fleet. Insurance is up 7.6 per cent. A little over $957,000 would go to reserves, with almost half for roads.

As far as where money will go, public works and roads will eat up 64 per cent of the spend, followed by 20 per cent for community services, 14 per cent of public works and environmental and two per cent for the CAO’s office to develop a strategic plan.

Community services wants money for accessibility improvements, to fix the boardwalk and Village Green walkway.

Public works is seeking more than $2 million for roads, guardrails and an asset management plan. Landfills are set to cost the township $575,000.

Planning continues to experience operating costs associated with the need for external planning consultants. This has resulted in the budget for consultants to increase from $60,000 in 2022 to $125,000 in 2023. Many municipalities are dealing with similar issues, with an apparent lack of qualified or available planning professionals provincewide. There’s a proposal to up fees at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and community centre by three per cent and contract out grass-cutting.

Mayor Bob Carter noted 78 per cent of the budget was for public works and infrastructure.

“We have probably underspent on infrastructure over the past number of years. At some point, it comes back to haunt you. We really have to emphasize and focus on our roads, bridges, culverts and buildings.”

Carter also told viewers of the meeting, it is a first draft. “We will go through this in a number of iterations. We need to get the budget right for ourselves and all of our constituents in Minden Hills.”

The Kinmount District Health Services Foundation (KDHSF) has announced Dr. Lesslie Ponraja will be joining the healthcare team at the Kinmount and District Health Centre (KDHC).

Susan Forrester of the communication committee said Dr. Ponraja is from England, where he has practised medicine for 20 years, 15 as a family doctor, and five in a hospital.

“The KDHSF appreciates the assistance of the Kawartha Lakes Health Care Initiative (KLHCI) during the recruitment process,” she said.

KLHCI recruitment and retention coordinator, Cindy Snider, added, “I wish to congratulate the KDHSF for all their hard work on the recruitment of Dr. Ponraja. It has been a pleasure to assist them through the process.”

Dr. Mihu, a family doctor at the KDHC since 1999, said she was “extremely pleased” to welcome Dr. Ponraja, especially with his “vast experience and friendly, supportive manner.”

Dr. Ponraja plans to join Dr. Mihu in seeing patients from Monday to Thursday, starting March 1.

Forrester said, “it is important to note that new patients are not being accepted at this time. Dr. Mihu has been caring for a large number of patients for several years, so initially, she will be sharing her existing practice with Dr. Ponraja while preparing for her retirement and the transfer of her entire patient roster to Dr. Ponraja over the next few months.”

The KDHSF expressed gratitude to Dr. Mihu for dedicating almost 25 years of care to her patients. “Dr. Mihu’s retirement is a loss for our community, but a welldeserved respite for her. We wish her the very best in the coming years,” Forrester said.

The KDHSF thanked the community for its support, which they said makes physician recruitment possible. “The KDHSF is continuing its efforts to increase the healthcare team at the KDHC in order to meet the needs of our growing community.”

The foundation is a registered charity comprised of community volunteers who work to support and expand the healthcare team at the centre. See kdhc.ca for more information.

With three aging buildings housing staff in Highlands East, CAO Shannon Hunter and deputy CAO and treasurer Brittany McCaw presented a business case for a single office, by either renovating an existing space or building a new one.

Hunter and McCaw made their pitch during a Highlands East budget meeting Jan. 31.

“The municipality of Highlands East is considering building a municipal office and council chambers due to inefficiencies, cost of maintenance, and managers working out of three buildings,” McCaw said.

She added benefits would be saving money on utilities, energy efficiencies, longevity for future replacement, reducing maintenance costs and assets to cut back on future contributions to reserves for replacement of multiple buildings. The two added that having all senior staff under one roof would be beneficial to properly manage and supervise, cross train and share resources. Another crunch, she said, is the inability to meet future growth, including human resource requirements.

The public would benefit as well, having all services in one place and a proper council chamber. Council now meets on stage at the Lloyd Watson Centre.

As for excess buildings, McCaw said council could consider making them available for housing, “which would provide some relief to the current housing shortage in Highlands East and Haliburton County.”

The municipality has been putting funds away for seven years, now totalling $938,469, not including previous years’ surpluses, which could also be used towards a new build. An estimated price from seven years ago was $1.5 million, it’s expected to cost much more in today’s market.

McCaw said they could possibly reduce the office footprint, since, through COVID19, they realized office space could be maximized by plans for shared spaces, work from home, compressed work weeks and scheduling alternate shifts.

The township has the Lloyd Watson Centre at 2249 Loop Rd., built in 1975. It’s home to the municipal office, memorial centre and food hub. Average annual maintenance is projected to be about $35,000 to $107,000. It’s recommended a new roof top furnace, windows, doors, roof, and interior water leak repairs be considered. It costs $8,622 a year for heat, hydro and insurance.

There’s another building at 2778 Monck Rd., for the environment and bylaw departments and the library. Also built in 1975, maintenance costs are projected at $8,604 to $72,300-a-year. Exterior doors, interior painted drywall and baseboard, and upgraded electrical panel are needed. Approximate hydro, building and insurance is $9,175.

The third building is at 1032 Gooderham St. Built in 1987, it’s home to the building department and a library. Maintenance there is put at $9,261 to $60,000 annually. It’s recommended interior and exterior work be done to fix water and moisture issues, costing about $100,000. Utility and insurance are $6,959.

“Due to the age of these buildings, major maintenance will be required in the upcoming years,” McCaw and Hunter said.

Deputy mayor Cec Ryall said, “how you accomplish what you do in this space you have is beyond my understanding. You’ve got people standing on top of other people or sitting on top of them … the long and the short of it is there is absolutely no argument we need space.

“The question is ‘how do we determine how much space we need and are we getting it in the right place at the right time’?”

He was not in favour of budgeting $100,000 for an architect. A former industrial engineer, he said they first need an expert to assess their needs now as well as look at future growth. He wondered if they could work with Trent University or Fleming College on that for a fraction of what an architect would charge. He was seeking a more detailed report leading to a shovel-ready plan in the event of federal or provincial grants becoming available.

But Hunter said they were only at the stage of seeking council approval to proceed with the project. She said it was too early to hammer out details.

The discussion, as well as one about what to do about two aging public works garages, will continue.