The sidewalks along Highland Street were packed Nov. 11 as community members came out to pay their respects as the Haliburton Legion held its annual Remembrance Day service at the cenotaph.
Derrick Moore, vice president of the local Legion, led a 50-person strong parade along Mountain Street and Maple Avenue, featuring the Haliburton Highlands Bagpipes and Drum Band, members of the Haliburton Army Cadets and military personnel, both active and retired.
After a successful start to the season, the Highland Storm’s U11 Car Quest team entered the Silver Stick tournament in Haliburton this past weekend.
The team first faced off against the Sturgeon Lake White. The locals dominated, spending the majority of the match in the offensive zone. The Sturgeon goalie played a great game, holding the Storm to two goals and the Highlanders hung on to win 2-1.
Bently Bull and Mackay Windover had goals. A solid effort from the defense held the opponents to one goal.
The second game, against the Kemptville Royals, saw the Storm hold their own in the first, heading into the second down by one goal. The team struggled in the second and gave up five goals. The players rallied and played hard in the third and held the Royals scoreless but were unable to start a comeback. The final score was 6-0.
The third game on Saturday was against the Campbellford Yellow team. The team drew together and came out flying. The newfound spirit was possibly due to a unique team handshake that was a rallying cry for the players. All 12 rose to the challenge. Goalie Nathian Lowe lived up to his commitment to stop the first shot.
The defense and hard back-check fulfilled their part of the bargain by clearing rebounds and turning the puck up ice. A complete team effort, led by a hat-trick from Windover, awarded the team a 6-3 victory and a semi-final game against Apsley.
The team spirit continued as the Storm faced the heavily-favoured eventual champions. The Storm came out strong again and pulled ahead by two. While the team played by far the best game of their season, they were unable to hold the lead for a final score of 3-2.
Just as Americans remember where they were when Apollo 11 landed on the moon, Canadians of a certain age recall where they were when Paul Henderson scored a serieswinning goal for our nation in Moscow on Sept. 28, 1972.
That historic piece of hockey history was present in Haliburton Nov. 10 as Those Other Movies showed the documentary, Ice Breaker: The 1972 Summit Series. They also brought Canadian ambassador to Russia at the time, Gary Smith, to the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion. He talked about his involvement in the series. Local filmmaker Helen Parker also spoke as she was involved in the making of the movie.
The Russian-speaking Smith explained how the series came about. Then prime minister Pierre Trudeau visited Moscow in 1971 to try to warm the cold war. It resulted in a return visit by Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin. Although initially met with protesters, he was taken to a hockey game where he got a better reception. It sparked an idea for Kosygin that hockey could improve relations between the two nations.
Smith was involved in the negotiations to bring the series about. He told the audience it was “a great privilege to be in Haliburton.”
“I think we all know this was the greatest hockey series ever,” Smith said. “In 27 days of September of 1972, this country was fixated on a hockey series with the Russians. I was fortunate enough to be at the Canadian embassy in Moscow as a Russian speaker and playing for the Moscow Maple Leafs and got involved in all the negotiations for this series, travelled with the Soviet team across Canada, looked after Team Canada in Moscow and you’ll see there were a lot of hijinx that went on. Everyone thought Canada was going to wipe the ice with the Soviets. We didn’t and it was a last-minute thing, but I think you’re going to find this a beautiful film, a film where people cry, laugh, applaud and jump up and down,” he said.
He re-visited Moscow in 2021 with director Robbie Hart where they did some interviews with the Soviet players, finding the experience “unique.”
Parker went to Moscow in 2017 for the 45th anniversary of the summit series where she interviewed players. She said a friendship she and husband Carl Dixon struck up with Ron Maclean during Rogers Hometown Hockey in Haliburton also helped to get Maclean in the film.
Those Other Movies (TOM) is back from a COVID hiatus and celebrating its 18th year, said spokesperson Tammy Rea. She said they will be continuing the TOM series but are holding off on the Haliburton International Film Festival (HIFF) and doc(k) day for now.
She said with the growth of Netflix and Amazon Prime, they were worried about getting films but their “sleuths” found great films at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Cinefest in Sudbury, so have some “amazing” movies on the way.
Food for the rest of us
Food for the Rest of Us, a film screening with director Caroline Cox, is happening Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. at Haliburton School of Art + Design
Organizers said it’s a feature film that presents four stories of people living life on their own terms, serving as leaders and role models, and leading a revolution to a better world, from the ground up.
Created by two Canadian filmmakers, “this film is powerful, inspiring and embodies messaging of youth empowerment by connecting them to food,” organizers said.
All viewings will have a question-andanswer session with Cox.
Cost is by donation and all proceeds will go to the re-launch of Abbey Gardens’ Sprouts to Snacks program, which provides youth with a full circle experiential opportunity to learn, appreciate and enjoy being a part of where their food comes from.
For more information, contact Irene Heaven at Irene@abbeygardens.ca or call 705-754- 4769.
Fia Scuhr said she’s “really excited but a little bit nervous” about taking to the stage alongside more than a dozen other Haliburton County kids and teens next week in a Camexicanus production of School of Rock.
She and her castmates have spent months practicing songs and lines with director Darian Maddock and Camexicanus director Greg Sadlier at multiple practices a week at the Haliburton Highlands Museum.
The musical premieres at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion Nov. 23 at 7:30 p.m. Shows are also scheduled Nov. 24 and 27 at the same time. On Nov. 25, the musical arrives in Wilberforce for a 2 p.m. matinee at the Lloyd Watson Community Centre.
“I think it’s an amazing experience,” said Jack Walker, a Haliburton Highlands Secondary School student who is playing the intimidating Patty di Marco. He and other older teens play many of the older characters and have helped mentor the younger actors, some of whom haven’t been part of a musical or play before.
“Seeing how far they’ve come from not knowing any lines at all to knowing all these songs, it’s amazing,” he said.
School of Rock is the story of Dewy Finn (Maddock) who joins a school as a substitute teacher and exposes his students to the freewheeling world of rock and roll, culminating in a battle of the bands competition.
The production has been designed to highlight kids’ talents and develop their confidence on stage.
“It’s not a musical we put together, it’s more of a musical the kids put together,” Walker said. “They get to direct it, that’s what I love about it.”
Tickets are available at camexicanus.ca.
“All proceeds from this event will go back into this community in the form of more events and programming just like it,” reads a Camexicanus media release.
Seven-year-old Haliburton resident Valla Berry was all smiles last week as she showed off her new prosthetic arm, declaring herself “a War Amps champ.”
Born without a right hand, the youngster was presented with the prosthesis in time to wear it and march in the Nov. 11 Remembrance Day parade in Haliburton. Helped by her mom, Adrienne Clark, Valla placed a wreath at the Cenotaph on behalf of War Amps Operation Legacy. It was a fitting way for the family to recognize the “amazing” contributions of War Amps, said Clark.
“I don’t know where we’d be without them. They have been absolutely amazing with us throughout this journey, and to see the smile on Valla’s face today, it was just a special moment,” Clark said.
Through its Child Amputee Program, War Amps offers comprehensive services to child amputees and their families, including financial assistance, peer support and regional gatherings and seminars. All services are provided free of charge.
To date, Clark estimates the organization has provided more than $20,000 worth of support.
“The [Ontario] government only covers 25 per cent of the cost of a prosthetic, so it can get expensive. War Amps has covered the rest of the cost, they’ve paid for any special appointments we’ve needed, they cover the cost of our trips down to the city for appointments, so gas, food, overnight stays if we needed it. It’s such an incredible operation,” Clark said.
Clark said she and her family have supported War Amps efforts for generations, dating back to her grandfather Sydney Adamson. A tail gunner in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, Adamson donated regularly to War Amps through its key tag service. Tags are mailed to participants annually and can be latched onto a key ring, with a number attached for people to call if they find a lost set. Since the service began in 1946, more than 1.5 million sets of lost keys have been returned to their owners.
This will be Valla’s second unit. When she was younger, she was fitted with a passive prosthesis – a hook she would use while at home or the playground. She quickly outgrew it though, with Clark saying it served as more of a hindrance.
Then, after returning home from school one afternoon in spring, Valla asked her mom a question that kickstarted this whole process.
“She came home from school one day and goes ‘I want two hands just like everyone else,’ and that was just about the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever heard,” Clark said.
Valla said she “absolutely loves” her new hand, which she designed herself.
“It’s great. Now I get to wear it around and pick stuff up,” she said. “My favourite thing to do now is shake hands with it, because I couldn’t do that with my right hand before.”
The Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce awards return Nov. 19, with executive director Bob Gaudette saying it will be a time to “recognize and celebrate the quiet contributions of those in our community.”
Gaudette added when meeting people on the street, or at the grocery store, they have their “strong Haliburtonian” exteriors on.
“Strong people with strong work ethics living together in an environment that reflects that toughness back to us.” He said people don’t often show the “recovery or struggle” and downplay their contributions.
That’s why the awards, in-person for the first time since the pandemic, are so important, he said.
“The last years have challenged us all and it’s more important to gather again to recognize the contributions and achievements of everyone. An exceptional time where exceptional people did what they could to make a difference. In celebration of us all, we hold the most exceptional up as examples.”
He said the awards are about honouring, “those who go above and beyond to make our community better.”
The event is being held at the Bonnie View Inn from 6-9 p.m. Find out more at haliburtonchamber.ca/gala
And the nominees are:
Highlander of the Year:
Andria Cowan Molyneaux, Robin Carmount, Rick Lowes, Lindsay Meller, Marina Thomazo, Shay Hutchings and David Zilstra.
New business:
Delancey Sports, Minden River Cone, Northern HVAC, OG Cucina, Poquito Loco, Spot97, Sweat Social, The Noble Barber.
Tourism and hospitality:
Abbey Gardens Community Trust, Lakeview Motel and Resort, McKeck’s Tap and Grill.
Young professional:
Alyssa Kinghorn (Hali Custom Co), Fred Mayo (Petrini Construction), Nick Folco (The Noble Barber), Mackenzie Vasey (LV Threads).
Innovation and creativity:
Haliburton Clothing Co., Haliburton Forest Biochar.
Not-for-profit:
Abbey Gardens, Youth Wellness Hub, Skyline Dance Studio, CKHA CanoeFM, Haliburton County Snowmobile Association, Haliburton County Development Corporation, Haliburton Highlands Arts Centre Foundation.
Customer service – business:
Haliburton Clothing Co., REFORM with Sarah, Lakeview Motel and Resort, Wind in the Willows Spa.
Customer service – employee:
Rebel Grooms (Timber Mart) and Rita McCarty (Tekrider).
Industry and trades:
Northern HVAC, Minden Auto Care and JR Masonry.
Business achievement:
Linda Baumgartner and AJW Services.
Entrepreneur:
Linda Baumgartner, Megan Cox (Just Movement Fitness), Amy Joanu (Beauty Basics).
The table has been set for better lake health across the Highlands after County council, on Nov. 9, expressed support for the hiring of a planning technologist, to lead a future lake health monitoring program, as well as early backing of a watershed council.
Director of planning, Steve Stone, presented an updated report on the planning technologist and outgoing Coun. Carol Moffatt on the watershed.
Stone said a planning technologist, at $75,000 a year, was key to a lake health monitoring program.
In the spring, County council directed Stone to look into a program that would see lakes monitored on an annual basis.
He said the stated goals are to: work with organizations to confirm and update the percentage of shoreline that remain in a natural or regenerative state; set targets for naturalization; look into what bylaws need changing; and prepare public information.
“Staff propose that Haliburton’s lake health monitoring program could evolve into a program similar to the one already in place at the District of Muskoka,” Stone said. He added the district’s water strategy emphasizes building relationships and sharing resources with other organizations and encouraging greater community involvement in the district’s lake health.
He said the district’s water strategy is aimed at guiding and minimizing the impact of people on water; ensuring human and environmental health; and preserving the quality of life in the community.
They do this in four ways: monitoring lake health with stewardship and outreach; having a strong web presence to communicate with people; floodplain mapping and research; and a watershed council.
Stone said Haliburton County has organizations doing bits and pieces of all of this. For example, lake associations and U-Links have been doing lake health monitoring. However, “the lake health data being collected is not assembled by one organization and then made readily available to the public,” he said.
Stone added the shoreline tree preservation and shoreline preservation bylaw are stewardship. And he noted he’s been asked to come up with a communication strategy for the new year. Floodplain mapping of the Gull and Burnt Rivers is also slated to be completed in 2024.
Stone said the planning technologist is the first step in a lake health monitoring program.
“This position would be responsible for assembling the scientific information from government agencies and community-based organizations who are presently engaged in monitoring the health of the County’s lakes,” Stone said.
“This data will be used by the planning department to establish a baseline understanding of the condition of these lakes. This information can then be presented in an annual report on the state of the County’s lakes to County council.”
He said, looking forward, the planning technologist would be the staff representative on the new watershed council, if created.
Watershed council
Moffatt has been a big promoter of a watershed council.
She presented an enacting document for a new Upper Trent Watershed Council, saying “the idea today is not to adopt anything in detail. It’s just approval of the idea in general.”
She noted coun. Pat Kennedy first raised the issue in 2019.
“The purpose would be to educate on environmental issues, provide sciencebased environmental policy advice and help address watershed management issues,” she suggested.
Looking at both the planning technologist position, as part of a lake health monitoring program, as well as a watershed council, Moffatt said, “I hope people do embrace it. It is a good thing. It aligns so many other things we’re trying to do for the future, for the community, to educate decision-makers and the public.”
She added, “bring together and consolidate the work of a whole bunch of people and put it in a community-based environment where other people can use the data that’s being collected instead of the silos that exist. The good work that exists now exists in separate places.”
Coun. Brent Devolin offered an unconditional ‘yes’ to a watershed council.
“This is important stuff. I look forward to what will evolve from this. As municipal or a public body, I look forward to whichever path we choose. This is our future. “
Kennedy said it was a highlight of his term on County council, “seeing this come to fruition.” He said it was part of the “whole puzzle” of the “quality of our lakes.”
Jennifer Dailloux was appointed Algonquin Highlands’ new deputy mayor Nov. 15, with the rest of council officially sworn into their new positions.
Dailloux served as the ward 3 representative last term and ran unopposed to fill Liz Danielsen’s old seat as deputy, also retaining her commitments in her home ward.
Danielsen beat out Mike Lang in last month’s municipal election to replace the retiring Carol Moffatt as mayor.
Julia Shortreed is returning as ward 1 representative, with Lisa Barry also back in ward 2. Sabrina Richards is the lone new voice on council, where she will join Barry in serving ward 2.
Danielsen kicked off Tuesday’s inaugural meeting by acknowledging Moffatt’s contributions to the township over the past 16 years, noting this was a new era for Algonquin Highlands.
“Even though we have four of the same members on our council, the energy and dynamics will no doubt be quite different… I’m looking forward to us finding a path together, to setting new priorities for our term and working as a team to achieve the goals and objectives we set, and then stand strong as a single body once we’ve made our decisions,” Danielsen said.
“We already know we have some big-ticket things to address. It is my hope we’re all ready to roll our sleeves up and work hand in hand with staff to meet the challenges we will face over the next four years.”
Each councillor took the opportunity to speak. Barry, returning for a fourth term, said she will continue being a steward for her ward and is looking forward to developing new policies to improve the community. Shortreed said she was excited for the township to get back on track this term, following two-plus years of COVIDrelated impacts. Richards said she will follow through on her promise to be the community’s voice on council.
After being nominated by Shortreed to serve as deputy mayor, Dailloux said she is confident she will be an effective voice on County council. She vowed to consider any issue brought to her attention over the next four years.
“I make it a deliberate point to not take sides… not taking sides frees me to sit comfortably inside complexity. There is complexity in everything, and embracing that is not just our job, it makes for much stronger policy outcomes,” she said.
Referencing the contentious shoreline preservation bylaw passed by County council in September, Dailloux said she would be open to revisiting the file.
“What we have is the beta version of a policy that is going to be tried, tested and assessed… I think reviewing it will be fundamental, but not before we’ve collected some hard data,” she said. “Investing in lake and shoreline health, and in the preservation of intact ecosystems, is the longest-term, highest-return investment that we could ever make in our community.”
Sometimes a dare can change your life. It certainly made Anne Fowler’s journey a lot more public. Her friends dared her to jot down stories from her decades of adventure; Fowler wasn’t about to back down.
Now 81, she divides her time between Haliburton and Honduras, where she started English schools, led volunteer groups, hosted doctors and dentists and more.
In I’ve Worn Many Hats, Fowler charts her life from childhood to present day. She said she “led a fairly reckless life” in which she did lots she’s proud of and much she isn’t. When in her 20s, Fowler experienced a traumatic assault.
“Emerging from the wreckage,” reads the synopsis, “she reinvented herself, started over, and proceeded to live on the edge with a risk-taking lifestyle.”
“What I’m trying to get across with having two sections of the book is how my life changed, my outlook on life changed, and I became less reckless,” she said.
The first year she was in Honduras she said she was awoken by a voice. “I heard God speak to me. And he said, your life is going to change, you’re going to take a different path. And that’s it.”
Fowler began the Porvenir English program to teach free English skills to local kids and adults, as well as kickstarting a healthy living education program, the second phase of which has been led by Haliburton dentist Dr. Bill Kerr and now operates out of a fully-equipped dental facility. Kerr attributes the Haliburton-based Volunteer Dental Outreach’s founding to Fowler’s inspiration.
There’s even a school in Honduras named after her, the Anne Fowler Bilingual School.
The book, however, balances Fowler’s milestones with stories of pain, loss and joy, with a few scandalous tales thrown in along the way.
“And there are things that happened during my life that I kind of said ‘Oh, well, tomorrow’s another day, Scarlet’, you know, and didn’t really give a lot of thought to it. Writing the book gave me the opportunity to really think about some of these things and think about what the consequences were. I think that helped. It gave me closure,” she said.
Fowler’s book has connected with more readers than she thought possible.
“I was contacted by young women, mothers of women, sisters of women, all over the United States, Canada, and Europe, who were telling me about their experiences and how they dealt with them. And, we’ve set up a dialogue. So, it’s been very therapeutic for these other people,” she said.
Fowler is already working on a new book, where she’ll collect the experiences of the more than 800 volunteers who’ve arrived in Honduras from Canada, the U.S and Europe to help teach English.
All the proceeds from that book will help fund a new project: a mobile library in El Porvenir.
Fowler is at an age when many are settling into retirement. Is she planning to slow down, or stop flying south for half the year?
“I’ve had friends asking me that for years,” she said. “You know, I just laugh at them. I’ll come back when I’m ready.”
Find out more about Fowler’s work at anne.honduranhope.net
Just minutes after being sworn in as Dysart et al’s new mayor, Murray Fearrey said he was confident the community’s housing issue “will get solved” during this new term.
Fearrey has returned to the big seat on council, replacing Andrea Roberts, after four years away. He previously served as mayor in Dysart et al for more than 40 years.
Walt McKechnie will serve as deputy mayor, after three terms as ward 5 representative. Also back is Tammy Donaldson, serving ward 3, and Nancy Wood-Roberts, who will represent ward 2.
There are three fresh faces on council this term – Pat Casey in ward 1, Carm Sawyer in ward 4 and Barry Boice in ward 5.
Pastor Bev Hicks from Northland Faith Church was on hand for the invocation, offering a piece of advice to the community’s newly-elected representatives.
“We’ve all lived long enough to know it’s impossible to make everyone happy. You can’t walk the middle of the road… I’ll never forget a statement Murray told me when I moved up here. He said if everybody is happy, we must be doing something wrong,” Hicks said. “Criticism is a part of life. It’s how we handle the criticism that’s important.
Addressing the rest of council, Fearrey said there are many issues that require attention over the next four years.
“It doesn’t matter where you look, we’ve got trouble. Whether it’s staffing shortages; we’ve got several projects that have been started but not yet finalized; we desperately need recreation facilities; and we’ve got a huge issue with health care. If you don’t have health care, it’s hard to attract people to come here,” he said.
Fearrey feels council needs to adopt a new vision, mapping out a plan for where Dysart should be 20 years from now. He said there are many areas in the township that need to be improved, including the downtown.
“I’ve always felt the town of Haliburton is the focal point of this municipality. When people come here and the town doesn’t look good, doesn’t have any character, there’s grass on the sidewalks and the curbs are torn to pieces. I don’t think that creates an image people want to see. I’m not proud to see it that way,” he said.
“We have a lot of work to do. We’ve got a lot of people hurting in our community. I’m confident we’ve got the people here to move us forward. We just have to take our time and make decisions that are good for all of us.”
