Off-road riders say off-season trespassing in Haliburton County is an increasing issue that’s impacting trail networks

Both the Haliburton County Snowmobile Association (HCSA) and the Paudash Trailblazers have had to close or reroute sections of trail this year in response to landowner complaints.

A vital link between Minden and Haliburton village was cut off after off-season ATV use on the private trail prompted landowners to revoke access

“Minden was cut off,” said HCSA president John Enright. The club recently completed a reroute

“This one is a fairly easy fix. We were lucky,” Enright said

The Trailblazers announced in September a section of the 606 railbed trail near Gooderham was closed due to trespassing.

“This is the result of a few inconsiderate people using that section of the trail in the off-season who were causing damage, partying and [driving] recklessly past cabins…,” the Trailblazers stated in a Sept. 4 Facebook post. “Landowners in this area have told us that they have been subjected to harassment and threats and that they are concerned for their safety and that of their belongings and buildings in summer and in winter.”

Jon Cumming, Trailblazers club president, said “landowners are vital to the integrity of our system. It only takes one private parcel on the trail to make it work or not work.”

The HCSA shuts down its interactive trail map in the off-season to limit use. Trails may look public or accessible to summer riders, but Enright pointed out it is still private property.

“The land is totally dormant. It is always in the care of our landowner or shut down,” he said. “We don’t want off-season use, period.”

Though both Enright and Cumming point to summer trespassers as the issue, they insist organized ATV and dirt bike groups shouldn’t be blamed.

“None of this is about our very good friends at Haliburton ATV Association (HATVA),” Enright said. “They’re the solution, not the problem. It’s rogue ATV riders who trespass. We invite all ATV owners and Side by Side owners to join [HATVA] and ride an organized trail system.”

Joel Bocknek, HATVA president, said inconsiderate riders “feel everything is wide open for their use. They’ll go off trail into wetlands with protected species and that’s not where they’re supposed to ride.”

The association has invested time and money into putting up signs, posting educational content on its website and coordinating with landowners on its trail system

He said trespassers can negatively affect a community’s view of off-road riders in general.

“When people start abusing something, those privileges disappear. Ultimately it will affect everybody,” Bocknek said.

Both he and Enright said the issue of trespassing seems to be getting worse. Enright said the situation has become “more challenging” through the years as Haliburton County’s population increases

Bocknek said COVID contributed as well. “We’ve seen through COVID the number of people partaking in off-road vehicles has increased tremendously. That in itself is creating pressure with landowners, or other people, who go out and are walking the trails.”

The Haliburton Highlands OPP and the Central Region Snowmobile, ATV, and vessel enforcement (SAVE) team conducted 181 focused patrols and RIDE programs on Ontario snowmobile trails.

They conduct trail checks in the fall too. Haliburton OPP said no charges were laid this year.

“We are aware of the potential of some individuals to choose to trespass. As a proactive measure we target that audience through social media and count on important messaging such as this article to encourage them not to engage in trespassing,” said detachment commander Liane SpongHooyenga of the Haliburton Highlands OPP.

The OPP said landowners should note the license plate of trespassing vehicles and report the incident

As for Bocknek, he said educating off-road users will remain a priority.

“We feel we have an obligation to educate,” he said.

Mary Anne Barkhouse and her dog, Ty, sit in the afternoon sun as they continue to heal, both physically and mentally, from a dog attack at their home in Gelert.

On Oct. 30, Barkhouse, a sculptor, was working in her studio with the door open to the warm temperatures. Ty was outside enjoying the sunshine.

Barkhouse said she glanced up to see two dogs looking in the window. She’d seen them before, she said. “Suddenly and unprovoked,” she said one of the dogs attacked Ty, a white poodle. The other dog was not involved in the incident.

She does not know how long the attack lasted but, “at one point, I thought my dog was dead because he went limp in her jaws and was just lying there,” Barkhouse recalled. However, she said as the attacking dog continued the assault, she wrestled her off of Ty. In the process, her hand was injured. But it was enough for Ty to get away. She said one of the dog owners came up the driveway and got the attacking dog in their vehicle and then helped her look for Ty, but he was nowhere to be found.

That’s when Barkhouse’s friends posted the missing dog to social media, which was picked up by CanoeFM and MooseFM. Meanwhile, she went to hospital to have her hand stitched.

Barkhouse said the community response to her missing dog was heart-warming and she is forever grateful. People looked throughout the night, set up trail cams, and someone even used a drone to check forested areas. The next day, her mom and dad and brother came from Ottawa to support her.

Neighbours eventually located Ty a couple of days later. Barkhouse said, “he was in rough shape, bloody and full of brambles.” She took him to the vet to have his injuries treated. He has puncture wounds on the side of his neck and staples in his skull. She also went to the hospital to have her hand X-rayed. It is badly bruised, and she suspects soft tissue and muscle damage.

Barkhouse notified OPP of the incident. They issued a news release Nov. 3, saying they’d charged the dog owner under the Dog Owners’ Liability Act with fail to prevent dog from biting and attacking a person or domestic animal. Because it is not a criminal charge, police did not name the accused. The dog owner declined comment and the charges have not been proven in court.

Barkhouse said she is still in disbelief.

She thinks she will need to see a hand specialist. She won’t be making art for a while and will likely spend time with family in Ottawa healing.

The artist said she is telling her story because she does not want something similar to happen to anyone else.

“In the course of searching for Ty, I talked to numerous other people who had bad experiences … in terms of dangerous dogs roaming the County. It is definitely an important issue and more widespread than I had known.

I think we owe it as responsible guardians of domestic animals, whether livestock, or dogs, to keep our animals safe and our community safe.”

Nick Adams feels like he’s in a race against time to save the Rez in Haliburton village.

Located at 213 Highland St., the Rez provides housing to 15 vulnerable, at-risk people. Split into two sections, the space has two communal living areas, including kitchens, bathrooms and lounges, with 15 separate bedrooms. The building operated as a medical centre for years but was transformed into low-cost housing in 2009.

Adams has been involved in the operation since 2013. He started as part-time building manager, taking care of maintenance and helping residents whenever a problem arose. He became owner in 2017, serving as steward until November 2021, when he sold to a group of investors from Brampton, moving, with his family, to New Brunswick.

While Adams didn’t want to give up his stake, he felt he couldn’t effectively manage while out of province. He hoped to sell local, but interest was limited. After making the “difficult decision” to sell to someone from outside the community, he brought the buyers up to speed on how to run the place.

Things ran smoothly for the first couple of months, then Adams, who holds a second mortgage on the property, noticed the new owners started to default on some monthly bills.

‘There’s nobody in the community willing to step up’

“I knew things were amiss in February. I spoke to the pharmacist [at Haliburton Highland Pharmacy], who is the head of the condo corporation, and he let me know the owners hadn’t paid their condo fees,” Adams said.

Needing to cut costs, the condo corporation cut off power to the elevator that serves Rez residents. This caused a major problem for several with accessibility issues. Two months later, the owners started to default on the mortgage and were in arrears with Hydro One and the cable and internet provider.

The Highlander could not reach the existing owners for comment.

Adams returned to Haliburton in August, hoping to find someone willing to take on ownership and management. He moved into a spare bedroom and got to work righting many of the wrongs. He paid off a $16,000 debt with the condo corporation and settled all other arrears. All in, he estimates he put around $25,000 in, which he intended to recoup by adding onto his mortgage.

He couldn’t find a private investor so started to reach out to service providers in the community. Because of the way the building operates, as a cohabiting space, organizations such as Places for People and the Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Housing Corporation felt it was impossible for them to get involved without making substantial changes, something Adams wasn’t comfortable with.

With nobody coming forward, Adams decided to re-buy. He negotiated a deal with the current owners to assume the remaining debt of $340,000, providing he could get a mortgage. He is planning to meet with the Haliburton County Development Corporation Nov. 16 to try and secure a loan.

“I never wanted to own it and live away. It makes it hard if something goes wrong… but at this point I don’t have any other choice,” Adams said. “I can’t just walk away.

“I had built a good community while I managed this place, where people are helping one another. I want to maintain that,” he added. “The Rez is a real success story. We’ve got people who have lived here for years. We provide housing to the homeless, to people recovering from addiction. If we disappear, there’s going to be nowhere for these people to go. They’re going to end up on the street.”

There’s another stumbling block. The primary lenders have set a date of Nov. 21 to have a deal wrapped up. If Adams fails to provide proof of funds by then, the lenders intend to go to power of sale, which will authorize the lender to serve eviction notices and put the place on the market.

Adams said he’s working to meet that deadline. He is still looking for someone in the community to partner with, who will take an active role in managing the property. He plans to address Dysart et al council Nov. 22 to see what, if any, assistance the municipality can provide.

“Somebody has to have a heart for, and understand, the plight of the poor. The people here need that support. And it’s not just financial, there’s trauma issues, systemic issues that need to be chipped away at,” Adams said. “For me, the mission is not over.”

Residents would be in ‘big trouble’

Kevin Hadley has lived at the Rez for about three years. Prior to that, he was living in a trailer on a friend’s property in Gooderham, as he couldn’t find anywhere affordable to rent in the County.

He said the past 12 months have been “a nightmare,” with a lack of leadership taking a toll on the building. He says minor issues, such as the building’s washing machine breaking down, haven’t been addressed, and the general atmosphere and sense of community among residents has declined.

If Adams is unsuccessful in buying back the property, and it goes to power of sale, Hadley said he’d be forced to leave the community. He’s already making tentative plans to go to Toronto.

“I think I’d be OK. I’d figure something out. But I don’t know what some of these people would do. We have one guy who has dementia – he hasn’t got anybody left to take him in, to take care of him. He’d be in real trouble,” Hadley said. “This isn’t the best place in the world, but Nick takes care of it. He knows what’s needed. It sucks that he’s the one having to come back to save the place, but there’s just nobody in the community willing to step up.”

Those Other Movies is returning Nov. 10, with former Canadian diplomat, Gary J. Smith, coming to the Highlands for the premiere of Ice Breaker: The 1972 Summit Series.

Smith wrote Ice War Diplomat, on which the documentary is based. He is coming to sign copies of his book and discuss the documentary. Master’s Book Store will be ordering books for purchase.

Highlands filmmaker Helen Parker will also be speaking at the event, at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion, at the high school. She has worked on the film.

“Fifty years ago, more than 20 million Canadians and 150 million Soviet citizens were mesmerized by an intense series of hockey games now known as the ‘Summit Series’,” Those Other Movie organizers said in a media release.

“Ice Breaker follows the extraordinary story of former diplomat Gary Smith, the role he played during the Cold War hockey series, the events that surrounded the series, and how Canadians came together as never before.”

They added, “this compelling film is unlike anything ever done on the subject, uniting cinematic, evocative landscapes, poetic narratives, and behind-the-scenes politics with a gripping sports story about the way the Canada versus Russia match-up made a mark on the hockey world.”

The film features interviews with Wayne Gretzky, Vladislav Tretiak and Margaret Trudeau. The media release went on to say, “Ice Breaker unearths stories with fresh perspectives and unique analysis, exploring the impact of the games on Canadians from coast to coast.”

Parker will be present to talk about her part in the making of the documentary. The Highlander has interviewed her twice about her role in the film, in August 2021 and September 2022.

Parker had extraordinary access to the 45th anniversary celebration of the series in Moscow in 2017. She spent five days and five nights in the Russian capital interviewing former Soviet and Canadian hockey players who had been invited to the commemoration, which included an audience with President Vladimir Putin.

Parker did not get to meet Putin in-person but said the most memorable part of the trip was when she was told she could get on a bus and do interviews with some of the Russian legends. They were en route to meet up with the Canadian veterans before boarding a plane to a function being hosted by Putin.

“Very poignant, very interesting, they were very excited to meet the Canadian players,” Parker recalled.

Tickets are $10 at the door, and 2019 passholders, who are owed three movies, will be admitted free. Shows are at 4:15 and 7:15 p.m. at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion. For more information, go to haliburton-movies.com