Places for people ‘divorces’ Dysart et al over housing project

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November 3, 2022

Haliburton County non-profit Places for People (P4P) has pulled the plug on its planned development on land facing Wallings Road.

Serving notice to Dysart et al staff Oct. 24, P4P president Jody Curry said the decision marks the end of a disappointing two-year journey of miscommunication, bureaucratic red tape and NIMBYism.

“We have given divorce papers to the township… it’s a disappointing outcome, especially after how much work our team has put into this. In the end, our board, decided that, with all the changes that have been made and the resistance we’ve seen to the project… it’s just not possible for us to move ahead,” Curry said.

She added, “the goalposts have changed on several occasions.” When P4P entered into a verbal agreement with the township in November 2020, plans called for the construction of 60 units across five buildings, all with access onto Wallings Road. Dysart was to sell the land to P4P for $2.

Following initial negotiations with staff, P4P agreed to lower the number of units to 48. Council initially expressed hope a final agreement could be reached to break ground in June 2021. It didn’t happen. Curry believes the main hold-up was an issue between Dysart and Haliburton County over the Wallings Road and County Road 21 intersection.

The County believed it couldn’t handle the extra traffic, while Dysart felt issues could be mitigated by making changes to the intersection.

It remains unresolved.

Curry and colleague Fay Martin presented a plan to council that would have seen 48 units on a smaller, 0.92 acre plot, fronting Halbiem Crescent. The Haliburton by the Lake (HTBL) property owners’ association formed to object last November.

Meanwhile, P4P was still working with the township on a letter of intent, outlining details of the deal, that satisfied all parties. After more than a year, Curry thought there was a breakthrough this summer, with both sides happy to sign.

But when she was presented with an agreement of purchase and sale, found there was a clause P4P could not agree to. “They added an ‘as is, where is’ clause, which means we agree we’re taking the property as it is, regardless of what we might find down the road. That hadn’t been there before, so I was a little worried,” Curry said.

After discussing this issue with the P4P board, they decided to pull the plug. Curry said she wanted an assurance that if they found contaminated soil, they would be able to walk away as remediation costs would make it impossible for them to proceed.

Asked if the recent announcement that Paul Wilson, owner of Harburn Holdings, planned to donate one of four potential plots of land on Peninsula Road to P4P had any bearing on their decision, Curry said they could have done both projects at the same time.

Dysart deputy mayor Pat Kennedy said, “one of my biggest failures was not seeing shovels in the ground on this.” He did a lot of legwork before it was brought to council, and said he was disappointed to hear it wouldn’t be moving forward. “I think this was a slam dunk, a great news story for the community, the township and P4P. It was a property that fit within their mandate and the location, with access to the schools and downtown, I thought it was perfect. I thought we had checked all the boxes. Apparently, we didn’t check any,” Kennedy said.

Mayor Andrea Roberts expressed her disappointment but said she understood why P4P was walking away. “Until the road access issue gets resolved, I think any development [on Wallings] is going to be met with a lot of opposition. I fought for the County to take this issue on, to fix the intersection at Wallings… it didn’t quite go that way,” she said.

The outgoing mayor was surprised to hear the ‘as is, where is’ clause was the final nail in the coffin, stating that clause is included in every municipal land transaction.

NIMBYism ‘too much’

“Things got very nasty, very quickly,” Curry said, noting she received dozens of unsavoury emails from people opposed to the project.

Roberts said she had been targeted too, stating “last November, there were some pretty dark days for me personally.”

Neither was willing to share emails but Roberts indicated some had come from neighbours along Halbiem.

Martin said NIMBYism was the “stake through the heart of this project.” “Making housing happen is really, really hard. I don’t want us to blame Dysart council… the truth is well-meaning citizens can kill [development],” Martin said. “We need places for people that we need to hire to live in. All I hear is, ‘why doesn’t somebody do something about it?’

Every single citizen needs to look deep within themselves and say, ‘am I part of the problem? Or am I part of the solution?’ “Unless everybody puts their shoulder to the wheel, you’re not going to find solutions. Not in this small community

Nature expert tips for your ‘piece of heaven

By

Sam Gillett

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October 28, 2022

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“Keep it natural and they will come,” naturalist Terry Sprague told a crowd of nearly 40 who joined Environment Haliburton! to hear from the acclaimed nature columnist and educator Sept. 20.

He’s written more than 2,000 columns about the outdoors for the Picton Gazette and regularly trains landowners on how they can naturalize their properties.

Property naturalization means letting the natural plants and animals that visit your property direct how it’s maintained.

Sprague’s talk focused on how Highlanders can make their properties safe havens for wildlife without attracting nuisance animals and pests.

He said Haliburton County’s unique geography – plenty of lakes and forests – means it’s “essential you protect these natural features and the watercourses that they touch.”

He said the main reasons to attract wildlife are to “complete the picture” of the environment. Trees, shrubs and lakes should be accompanied by their oldest inhabitants, Sprague said.

“You do have to be cautious though when attracting wildlife to the backyard,” he added.

He said deer, for instance, should not be fed. If people feed animals such as deer, they’ll congregate in these residential settings, which can lead to disease, or predator dangers.

“Eventually, if you don’t do it the right way you may have an overabundance in what you’d try to attract in the first place.”

To make a property attractive to animals, Sprague said it must meet four basic needs: containing food; water; places where wildlife can raise their young and hide; and space. “With few exceptions, all species of wildlife require a certain amount of real estate, that can vary depending on the species,” Sprague said.

He added these needs can be subtracted to deter pest animals, plant shrubs by the water, for instance, and geese are less likely to frequent your grass to avoid feeding in an area with hiding places for predators.

Often, making habitats for critters such as bees, butterflies or squirrels is easy. It can mean leaving dead trees on the forest floor, which can turn into homes for insects, or piling up brush on your property to provide a home for bigger animals.

“I get a lot of enjoyment watching birds in these brush piles in the wintertime,” Sprague said.

Planting native trees, shrubs and other plants might also bring you more winged visitors, Sprague said, along with being more apt to grow and thrive in the Highlands environment.

For shoreline-loving trees, he suggested Silver Maple, Green Ash, Red Maple, Sugar Maple, White Cedar, Eastern Hemlock or Hackberry. Native shrubs include Red Osier Dogwood, Grey Dogwood, Elderberry, Serviceberry, Nannyberry, Chokecherry, Pussy Willow, Winterberry and Highbush Cranberry. Groundcover options include Fragrant Sumac, Virginia Creeper, Wintergreen, Bittersweet and Bearberry. Wildflowers include Turtlehead, Swamp Milkweed, Cardinal Flower and Touch-menot.

Sprague said naturalization isn’t hard, but requires research. “It’s a case of caring for your little piece of heaven responsibly,” he said.

Veteran politicians Danielsen and Burton re-elected

By

Lisa Gervais

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October 28, 2022

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County warden Liz Danielsen was elected mayor of Algonquin Highlands Oct. 24, while incumbent mayor Dave Burton has retained his seat in Highlands East.

In a close race likely fueled by shoreline preservation bylaw backlash, Danielsen narrowly defeated Mike Lang 1,204 votes to 1,064 to take on council’s top job. After having been deputy mayor for three terms, she replaces long-time council head Carol Moffatt, who opted not to run this time around.

Meanwhile, Highlands East returned Burton to the mayor’s chair for a fifth term. He beat contender Cheryl Ellis 1,117 votes to 801. It’s the second time Burton has staved off Ellis for mayor.

Danielsen told The Highlander on election night, “Obviously it was a tight race. I expected it would be close. I didn’t know that it would be quite that close.”

She added, “I really truly am grateful and so happy to be able to carry on. I’m so grateful to the people that helped me, and the people who supported me and voted for me.”

Danielsen said she is looking forward to working with the new council.

The only other new face is that of Sabrina Richards, who topped the polls in ward 2 with 930 votes. Also re-elected was Lisa Barry (798). Julia Shortreed returns in ward 1 and Jennifer Dailloux in ward 3.

“I think it’ll be a good, dynamic group. It’s always good to have a new voice and some new energy,” the mayor-elect said.

Continuity on County council

Danielsen added returning to the County table with Burton is important for continuity as Moffatt, Dysart et al mayor Andrea Roberts and deputy mayor Pat Kennedy and Minden Hills Mayor Brent Devolin have all left municipal government. Joining the County will be Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter (acclaimed), deputy mayor Lisa Schell (acclaimed), Dysart et al mayor Murray Fearrey (acclaimed) and deputy mayor Walt McKechnie (acclaimed). Cec Ryall will join the County table as well. Algonquin Highlands has yet to select its deputy mayor.

Burton said on election night, he hadn’t scrutinized the numbers behind his 300-vote victory but “a win is a win is a win.”

If anything, he said he was disappointed with the lack of voter turnout. He said having three members of council acclaimed (Cam McKenzie, Ryall and Ruth Strong) took some of the interest out of the election.

Nonetheless, he said it was gratifying to get the voters’ mandate once again.

“I’m very humbled, actually.”

The new blood on this council comes in the form of Angela Lewis, elected to ward 2. She beat Janice Dahms 449 votes to 198. Burton said he is looking forward to working with Lewis and the rest of council.

One new and one familiar face for AH ward 2

By

Lisa Gervais

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October 28, 2022

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Sabrina Richards topped all four ward 2 candidates in Algonquin Highlands Oct. 24 to claim a spot at the council table.

She received 930 votes, topping Lisa Barry (798), who was also elected, Napier Simpson (561) and Amber Meirik (454).

The owner of Big Hawk Lake Marina was surprised at the number. She thought she’d get around 600 votes. “That was quite surprising for me. The ward really did want change, but not too much change.”

Looking at a tight mayor’s race, in addition to her outnumbering incumbent Barry, Richards said, “I think it shows a big divide and I think we need to now take note of that and make sure that the decisions going forward are more collective of the community without having that division …”

Asked if she was referring to the County’s shoreline preservation bylaw, Richards said that was a big part of it but thinks it’s more than that.

“There was particularly a lot of anger on many other topics. The landfill was a huge one [AH closed the Hawk Lake landfill]. Both for the Maple Lake residents that are angry about the increased traffic and lineups and for the Halls and Hawk Lake people that are put out and not really having a dump to use at all because they just take it home with them.”

Richards maintained her major issue is housing. “It really affects us here because our businesses are really exhausted. Owning a marina, I know it’s hard to find workers. All the other businesses are suffering. Our township is suffering in getting employees because there’s nowhere to house the workers if you get them.

“We’re a beautiful place to live. People want to be here but if you don’t have anywhere to put them, you just can’t get them. And I think it’s a complete ward issue, a complete township issue and a complete County issue. It’s going to take a lot of work and I really hope that we can move forward on doing something there because it’s going to take our entire term to probably accomplish it.”

Barry back

Being elected to a fourth term post-COVID feels like a fresh start for Barry. “I’m very grateful. It’s been a challenging few years with COVID. It feels like a fresh start. Like when you go back to school. It feels like a fresh book,” she said Oct. 25.

Barry added, “we have great things that are happening and I think there’s enough of a continuation on council to see some things through. I also feel like there’s a big shift with Carol (Moffatt) now retiring, I think it’s a good shift. Liz (Danielsen) brings a lot to the table, her experience on County and … I’m excited. I really don’t know Sabrina but it’s nice to have a new voice to bring a new perspective to the table.”

Barry said she is also eager to return to committee work “because we virtually haven’t had real committee work happening for 2.5 years.”

She is hoping to be reappointed to the environment and stewardship committee. She said pre-COVID they had started with a plastic reduction strategy and a waste diversion initiative. And while the County now has a climate change coordinator, she still feels there is work to be done by Algonquin Highlands and other townships.

She added with the County moving ahead with short-term rental regulations, there will be a lot of work for the lower-tier municipalities.

One thing she would like to see happen this term is Algonquin Highlands recognized as a dark sky preserve. Dark sky preserves are protected areas that make a special commitment to protect and preserve the night, reducing or eliminating light pollution in all forms.

She is further expecting council may revisit its decision to close the Hawk Lake landfill.

“A lot of impact. People are getting sick of driving. It’s a complicated issue but I’m open to discussing possibly different alternatives to what we initially agreed upon,” Barry said.

Barry added she is looking forward to in-person meetings again, and community events, as she feels there is currently “a lot of discontentment in the world.”

New Highlands East councillor wants to bring people together

By

Lisa Gervais

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October 27, 2022

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Newly-elected Highlands East ward 2 coun. Angela Lewis said she’ll give herself time to settle into her new job but wants to strike a ward committee to improve communication between constituents and council.

Lewis defeated Janice Dahms 449 votes to 198.

“It’s been a journey so far and I’m excited to continue it,” Lewis said Oct. 25. She said she spent election night at home with friends. She sipped coffee and nervously waited.

“When it comes to the end, it’s kind of like, for me, I just want to get this over with now,” she said of the wait.

Lewis added she was in touch with some Dysart et al candidates on the night and once Highlands East reported its unofficial results, her phone blew up.

Lewis thinks voters resonated with her “old school” campaign. That included spreading her message via word of mouth; strategic use of signage; and talking with contractors, since “they know everybody here.”

She anticipates it will be a bit of a learning curve from the time she joins council Nov. 15.

“I’m going to put my best foot forward and do exactly what I said I was going to do,” she added.

Lewis said a ward 2 committee is needed. “Because our towns are pretty spread apart, from Paudash to Highland Grove. I would like to do a meeting, probably once a month, one in Cardiff and one in Highland Grove. Just so that everybody can be heard.”

She said in talking to some former councillors, she’s heard, “there’s a disconnect and we need to bring that together.

Highlands embraces Halloween spirit

By

Sam Gillett

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October 27, 2022

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Entertainment venues and community groups across the Highlands are about to get spooky this weekend.

Two Halloweens held during COVID-19 meant limited public gatherings and mostly outdoors celebrations.

This year, there’s a range of family fun and more adult-oriented gatherings hosted indoors and outside.

For the whole family

The Haliburton Wolf Centre is hosting ‘howlo-ween.’ Guests will get a chance to tour the facility, look for candy and take a walk through the forest, ending the night with a wolf howl

On Oct. 29 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Turtle Guardians are hosting a ‘Turtley Spooktacular Halloween Party’ with turtles and snakes to meet, a costume party and more

The Eagleview Events centre at Sir Sam’s Ski/Ride will host a family-friendly Halloween party Oct. 29 from 5-8 p.m. with a costume walk-through, trick or treating and more.

“We’re excited because we haven’t done anything so much Halloween-related before,” said event coordinator Kayla Gardiner.

The Wild Life in Eagle Lake is hosting a family Halloween day from noon-4 p.m. Oct 29, with trick or treating, candy apples, Halloween games, pony rides, and more.

Minden Hills is set to resume its longstanding Halloween party at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre Oct. 28 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be dancing, games, prizes and costumes are encouraged.

For the thrill-seekers

Abbey Gardens will host a haunted trail walk. Each walk is approximately 20 minutes with jump-scares, haunted scenes and scary characters. “There is no age limit, but participants must be prepared that once they enter the trail, there’s no turning back,” said Abbey Gardens.

For adult Highlanders

Minden Pride will host a costume-mandatory Halloween Bash at “ommmh…” in Minden from 5-10 p.m. Oct 29.

Sir Sam’s is throwing its first adult-oriented Halloween bash from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Oct. 29. There will be a professional DJ, appetizers, a costume contest and more.

On Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m., doors open for the Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre’s ‘Witches Ball.’

“Our team has crafted cocktails and is putting together some ‘creepy canapes’,” said general manager Miles Harding.

He said he’s especially excited to host the Paul Morgan Band and hopes to continue booking acts this fall and winter.

The Rockcliffe Moore Falls is inviting singers to test their skills at its ‘s Karaoke Halloween Party’ with the karaoke machine turning on at 8 p.m. Oct. 29

Abbey Gardens is hosting a ‘Spooktacular Halloween Party’ the same night from 8-11 p.m. featuring live music from ‘The Ya Babys.’

Don’t forget to keep an eye out for the HHSS Interact Club at your door on Halloween night, Oct.31, as they’ll be collecting non-perishable food during trickor-treating from neighbourhoods around the County for the ‘We Scare Hunger’ food drive.

Huskies close in on first in South/East conference

By

Mike Baker

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October 27, 2022

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Haliburton Huskies vs Brantford 99ers — BRANTFORD, ON - OCTOBER 6: Ty Collins #77 of the Haliburton County Huskies follows the play at the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre on October 6, 2022 in Ontario, Canada (Spencer Smye / OJHL Images)

The Haliburton County Huskies extended their unbeaten run to a franchise-record nine games over the weekend, dismantling the Oakville Blades in a one-sided affair Oct. 21 before handing table-topping OJHL powerhouse Toronto Jr. Canadiens their second loss of the season on Sunday.

The Dogs pounced on a blunt Blades outfit on Friday, recording a 5-1 victory. Traveling to Toronto two days later, the hometown team executed head coach Ryan Ramsay’s plan to perfection, stifling the Canadiens in a 3-0 road win.

“It was literally an ‘everyone’ effort this weekend. We played our game to a tee… we were good on Friday against Oakville, but the game against Toronto was just another level. It was a real playoff atmosphere style of game. Everyone in the lineup was hustling, blocking shots. I think we put the rest of the league on notice and showed what we’re made of,” Ramsay said.

Keen to keep their undefeated streak alive, the Huskies made a fast start against the Blades – the last placed team in the North/ West Conference. Captain Christian Stevens opened the scoring 13 minutes in, assisted by Will Gourgouvelis and Ty Collins. Patrick Saini, the team’s leading scorer, got in on the action 30 seconds later, ripping one past Blades netminder Claudio Ardellini to give the Dogs a two-goal advantage. Collins added a third late on in the opening frame after nice work by Lucas Stevenson and Myles Perry.

Perry got in on the scoring action himself 85 seconds into the second period, assisted by Chase Strychaluk – acquired by the Huskies in a trade with the North York Rangers Oct. 20

Matthew Wang potted a consolation goal for the Blades midway through the second. While the Huskies continued to create good openings, Ardellini made several key stops to keep the score respectable. Stevenson then added a late empty netter, marking his first goal of the season.

“It was good for Stevenson to get the monkey off his back. A lot of credit on that play to Leo Serlin – he could have got the empty net goal himself but made the selfless play to set up a teammate who needed a bit of a boost,” Ramsay said.

Making a statement

The Huskies came away with the bragging rights Sunday following the first meeting between two of the OJHL’s top ranked sides

It was a nervy opening, with both teams playing patient hockey as they worked themselves into the game. Then, the pair of Perry and Strychaluk took centre stage. The two combined 14 minutes into the first to set up Stevenson for his second goal in as many games, with Perry tickling the twine himself early in the third, assisted by Strychaluk. The duo turned provider again later in the period, this time setting up Collins for a powerplay marker with just seven minutes left on the clock.

The Canadiens loaded up to try and get themselves back into the game, but goaltender Aidan Spooner stood tall, coming away with a 19-save shutout.

While Ramsay has been impressed by his young side’s play during the opening month of the season, he felt they took a huge step forward with a win against a game Canadiens squad.

“You play to your full potential when you have confidence, and that’s what we saw on Sunday. It shows the depth we have. Our first line, which usually does most of our scoring, was pretty quiet, but we still got the job done,” Ramsay said.

The Huskies are back in action again Oct. 28 when they travel to Pickering to take on the Panthers, the reigning OJHL champions. The team will be back on home ice Oct. 29 when they welcome the Canadiens to S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena. Puck drop is set for 4 p.m.

Storm surge grounds Ennismore Eagles

By

Sam Gillett

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October 27, 2022

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The U11 Highland Storm dominated the Ennismore Eagles C team 11-1 during an Oct. 22 tilt at the A.J. LaRue Arena in Haliburton.

The Storm came out and dominated the first period, with Grayson Park burying an unassisted goal within the first minute.

Shortly after, Chase Kerr added another goal, assisted by Park. With five minutes left in the first, Kelson Bagshaw’s unassisted goal gave the Storm a 3-0 lead going into the second period.

Ennismore wasn’t going down without a fight, however, scoring early in the second. Bagshaw retaliated with another goal assisted by Austin Cunningham.

Park followed with another goal with another assist by the Storm’s Cunningham.

Ennismore ended up in the penalty box, which saw the Storm’s Jaxon Hurd score a powerplay goal assisted by Nash Wilson. Bagshaw and Park added two more unassisted goals to finish the second.

The Storm wouldn’t let up, with Park scoring seven seconds into the third period, assisted by Kerr. With seven minutes left, the Storm’s backup goalie got his chance between the pipes, relieving Kolby Hogg.

Park and Bagshaw then sealed the deal with two more goals assisted by Cunningham, Wilson and Hurd.

The Storm’s defence held strong, finishing the game at 11-1 and lifting the team into third place as the season gets underway.

Wilberforce supports local fire crew

By

Sam Gillett

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October 27, 2022

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Kelly O’Reilly, her family and some friends came together Oct. 22 to raise money for Highlands East volunteer firefighters and have some fun along the way.

The event raised $4,608 through donations, a bake sale, a silent auction, a 50/50 draw and more.

The money will be donated to Highlands East station 4.

O’Reilly experienced a house fire and her sons are both first responders, so O’Reilly said she values having a volunteer crew nearby. “

A lot of people think the likelihood of having a fire is small, but they don’t just do fires,” she said. “When you have a car accident, when you get hurt … it’s the fire department that comes through.”

She thanked volunteers, firefighters, auction donors and all the event’s attendees for making it possible.

Dancers reconnect as project comes full circle

By

Sam Gillett

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October 27, 2022

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A multi-year outdoor dance experiment concluded with performances and a roundtable discussion Oct. 22 at the Haliburton School of Art + Design’s main hall.

In 2021, seven dancers arrived at the Haliburton Sculpture Forest to dance without a schedule, incorporating the outdoor environment and works of art into their practise.

The project, titled ‘Re-emergence, Re-engagement and Re-connection,’ was hosted by Dance Happens Here Haliburton. Upside Brown Production Services was hired to film the project, and debuted a short film about the dancers’ experiences during the event.

“The whole idea was they had been spending most of this time alone, and not having community dance,” said sculpture forest curator and DH3 chairperson Jim Blake. He said the organization wanted to provide space for artists to re-emerge and re-engage with prior work after two long years of COVID shutdowns.

“This is our opportunity for re-connection,” he added, introducing the Oct. 22 event. “For them to re-connect with the community.”

The Throwdown Collective, a contemporary dance company that previously performed in Haliburton during two residencies at the sculpture forest, invited other dancers to join them in the forest.

“For me, it was really about reflection. Re-engaging with my work, my ideas, and coming back to ideas we had started a few years before the pandemic,” said Mairéad Filgate, of The Throwdown Collective, during the panel discussion.

She said the experience showed her how important community is in dance.

“What we do needs people, and we need to share that,” she said.

After the video’s premiere, the seven dancers performed.

The Throwdown Collective (Zhenya Cerneacov, Filgate and Brodie Stevenson) performed Liminal, the trio swaying into abstracted movements in the personas of backup dancers. brian solomon took to the stage for Thunderbird’s Transformation while Phylicia Browne-Charles explored a routine based on Pablo Neruda’s Forms poem.

Noriko Yamamoto did The Crane while Maddie Friel performed to Leonard Cohen’s Famous Blue Raincoat.

The artists all mentioned how the project emphasized community and the importance of dance’s communal nature.

“We’re totally wired to be in community,” said solomon. “It’s a part of our evolution… there’s a ritual in dance that’s incredible, about immersing yourself and joking and primarily exchanging ideas. That’s massive, that’s always been the role of the artist in society, arts and philosophy.”