Vaping non-compliance up ‘dramatically’: health unit

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April 28, 2022

The use of e-cigarettes and vaporizers among teens is on the rise, reports the Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Pine Ridge District health unit (HKPR).

“Warnings and charges have gone up dramatically,” said Robert Hewitt, an HKPR tobacco control officer, at an April 21 board meeting.

The unit has issued 270 warnings for noncompliance and conducted 267 inspections so far in 2022. In 2018, they completed 742 inspections and issued 49 warnings.

Infractions include selling tobacco or vaporizer products to underage people, smoking in prohibited areas or using tobacco or cannabis products while underage.

“Vaping is our predominant concern right now,” said Hewitt.

There isn’t long-term research on the health impacts of e-cigarettes and vaporizers, but early data shows chemicals they emit can cause lung disease, as well as cardiovascular (heart) disease.

Many vaporizer products contain nicotine, the extremely addictive chemical found in cigarettes.

Hewitt pointed to Canadian studies which show 15 per cent of youth aged 15-19 have accessed vaporizer products in the last 30 days. He said teens report it’s “extremely easy” to acquire vapes.

Dysart et al mayor Andrea Roberts asked how adult vaping habits might influence a teen’s choice to smoke.

“If the youth are watching adults and think it’s ok because it’s legal for them.. what more could we be doing?” she asked.

Hewitt said, “Health Canada kind of missed the boat. These devices have been around for several years, and went unregulated.”

Even now, he said high schoolers report that it’s easy to acquire vaporizers while underage.

Pandemic work remains

HKPR chief medical officer of health Dr. Natalie Bocking said COVID-19, “is not something that is going to end.”

Instead, she said that means incorporating COVID-19 responses and activity into regular programming.

“At some point in time we need to plan how this is going to look in the future,” she said.

Bocking said Ontario governmental funding, covering extra staffing costs, COVID-19 personal protective equipment and more, won’t sustain a long-term pandemic response.

Some funding is yet to arrive, such as a $165,200 provincial injection into COVID19 programming retroactive for the 2021 calendar year.

COVID-19 case counts in the region are now “just the tip of the iceberg,” Bocking said, since most cases go unrecorded. She urged HKPR residents to receive their third or fourth COVID-19 shot to increase protection against severe illness.

Nursing incentives raise funding issues

Bocking said a new provincial retention bonus for nurses who worked through COVID-19 points to gaps in health unit funding.

“We absolutely acknowledge the role nurses have played in our response,” she said of the up to $5,000 bonus for nurses.

But she added, “in some ways it challenges the health unit and management as we have a number of other professions who have helped with the pandemic response.”

Bocking said the unit must continue to “demonstrate the tremendous role health units have … in [COVID-19] response.”

County behind Huskies (mostly)

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 28, 2022

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The Haliburton County Huskies may have been knocked out of the OJHL playoffs on April 20 but their inaugural season playing out of Minden’s new arena can be judged a success.

Standing along the boards last Wednesday taking photos and notes for a game report, I couldn’t help but notice the atmosphere around me.

The stands were full of people, some brandishing homemade signs. The upstairs warm viewing area was equally packed. People stood or sat in the lobby to look through the glass. I was joined around the rink by excited kids, and some big kids with a massive air horn.

During the break, there were volunteers everywhere. There were folks at the front door checking people in and others posted at other doors. The people selling the merchandise were doing it on their own time and dime. The ones dispensing the non-alcoholic beverages and snacks were also donating their efforts.

Some in the stands – many in fact – had offered to take players into their homes for the season.

The atmosphere in the arena was loud and very parochial. The crowd, not just from Minden but all points of the Highlands, have clearly gotten behind Paul Wilson’s team.

While playoff hopes were high, it was no small feat to relocate a team from Whitby and have it win its first playoff series against the Trenton Golden Hawks. Would the Cobourg series have been a best of five or best of seven, the Huskies might well be playing on.

The owner and staff frequently commented on visiting other arenas this season and there being far fewer fans at the games. We also heard from the players that there was something special about coming north to cottage country. They became country lads for awhile, enjoying the outdoors, and it allowed this team to forge a unique chemistry.

Does it mean everyone now backs a decision to build a $14-million arena on taxpayers’ backs. No.

Does it mean people have forgotten the County would dearly love to have a public swimming pool? No.

Have some people stopped grumbling about their perception the Huskies got too much of a sweet deal from Minden Hills? No.

However, those same grumblers have to concede that the more than $100,000 the Huskies spent making the former Scouts room their own has been a generous donation to the township’s new arena. Further, they can’t argue that local businesses have benefitted from having the Huskies in town.

It has certainly given many something to do on a weekend in the County. They have embraced the team. As a result, it looks likes the Huskies will be here for many years to come.

In making the announcement in May 2001, the Huskies brass said the move was a “no-brainer” with the County being a hockey and sports town.

“We think it could really be something special for fans, the community and our players,” they said.

Turns out they were right.

And as the township’s seven-year-deal with the Huskies progresses, it stands to make more money off of the club every year to make it all a little more palatable for taxpayers

Voters have a six-pack to choose from

By

Mike Baker

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April 28, 2022

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There will be at least six names on the ballot when local voters head to the polls for the 2022 Ontario general election, to be held on or before June 2.
Don McBey is the most recent candidate to be approved for the Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock (HKLB) riding, acclaimed as the Liberal nominee during a virtual nomination meeting April 19.
McBey is a lawyer with a background in medical and community advocacy, and was most recently the vice-chair of the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal. His other previous roles include minister with the United Church of Canada, pastoral and community worker with the Methodist Church of Great Britain and executive director of the Hamilton Halton Counselling and Mediation Centre.
While this will be McBey’s first run for office, he has experience volunteering on election campaigns. During the 2014 and 2018 provincial elections, he supported Granville Anderson, a former Liberal MPP from the neighbouring Durham riding.
Speaking at last week’s nomination meeting, McBey criticized the way premier Doug Ford has governed the province over the past four years. He believes people are ready for change after what he described as a term of turmoil.
“I think we have a number of things going in our favour. One of those is that we can be, I think, the rational party of empowerment, empowering people to take back some control over their lives,”
McBey said. “We want to restore some predictability, not only to politics but to people’s lives.”
He said getting a handle on Ontario’s housing and inflation crisis would be priorities for him should he be elected.
Judi Forbes, who served as the Liberal candidate in HKLB during last year’s federal election, has been brought on as McBey’s campaign manager.
Elsewhere on the ballot, incumbent Laurie Scott has already been acclaimed as the Progressive Conservative candidate as she seeks a sixth term in office. During her current stint, Scott spent considerable time as one of Ford’s inner-circle, serving in cabinet positions as minister of labour and minister of infrastructure. She was relegated to the backbenches in June 2021.
Barbara Doyle, manager of the Olde Gaol Museum in Lindsay and co-founder of the Kawartha Lakes Health Coalition, will represent the NDP in the summer election. She previously served as the NDP candidate during the 2019 federal election.
Tom Regina, a retired schoolteacher, has been acclaimed as the Green Party candidate, retired veterinarian Kerstin Kelly will stand for the Ontario Party and retired farmer Grant Dewar is running for the None of the Above party.
Scott secured 56.7 per cent of the local vote during the 2018 election, comfortably defeating Zac Miller (NDP), Brooklynne Cramp-Waldinsperger (Liberal), Lynn Therien (Green), Thomas Rhyno (None Of The Above), Gene Balfour (Libertarian) and Chuck MacMillan (Consensus Ontario

Cyclist fights aging with charity rides

By

Sam Gillett

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April 28, 2022

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Ever since the snow melted, 76-year-old Peter McLuskey has been pedaling around Eagle Lake on his bike.
He’s not riding strictly for pleasure, and he’s certainly not taking it easy.
McLuskey is training for a 70-kilometer charity ride in Ottawa, one of three cycling events he spent months training for this winter.
He’s raised more than $900 for the ride so far, with all proceeds going to the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario’s (CHEO) cancer treatment programs
McLuskey decided to participate due to a decline in physical fitness that began with a hip replacement in his early 70s.
In the years following, he became slower on his bike.
“I thought if I carried on going downhill like this it’s going to make me a really old man,” he said.
So, he decided to start training.
Throughout the winter, McLuskey logged hours of indoor workouts, guided by video classes and self-monitoring blood
pressure and heart rate.
Windy conditions have made
on-the-road training difficult this spring, but McLuskey said it’s important to gauge his condition by hitting the hills. Eagle Lake has plenty. He’ll often ride around County Road 6, up Highway 118 and loops around Irish Line.
As he begins this season’s calendar of rides, he said age and experience count for a lot on long-distance rides. After the start, he said, “these young guys go like the clappers about 20 kilometers down the road.”
The burst of speed can’t be sustained, and McLuskey often will cruise right by them.
He’s received good-natured pushback from friends about riding long-distance in his mid- 70s, but he said it’s important to keep moving and active no matter your age.
“Try to do something. We’re at an age now where there might be no tomorrow,” he said.
To donate to McLuskey’s fundraiser search for Peter McLuskey on cheofoundation.donordrive.com

Bringing the world to Haliburton once again

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Lisa Gervais

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April 28, 2022

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The world is coming back to Haliburton County May 1 as Razzamataz returns after more than a two-year COVID-19 hiatus.

The Razzamataz committee is presenting the Kif-Kif Sisters at 2 p.m. at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavillion.

Programmer Isabel Buttler recalled the last show was on March 1, 2020 and there was some concern it might be the final forever.

They lost some committee members from an already small rank of longtime volunteers and then a global pandemic struck.

She said some of their helpers, such as herself, Jolene Thomas and Dawn Mole-Hurd joined when their children were babies and toddlers but they are now growing up.

They had not been able to attract new volunteers and were worried they may have to fold, “which would be a huge loss for families in the community,” Buttler said.

But some new members have come forward to steady the ship and the current committee is more hopeful of continuing a tradition that has been ongoing for 33 years now.

They are planning for a full 2022- 2023 season of shows starting in the fall and running until May 2023. Buttler is pleased with the result.

“I have been the programmer, and it’s always been fun to program Razzamataz. Razzamataz has been able to offer these shows with really great artists for such an affordable price because we’re funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Ontario Arts Council. They basically subsidize all the tickets for the shows.

“One of our mandates is to bring in artists from diverse cultural backgrounds and different art forms, or genres, to bring the world to Haliburton so families don’t have to travel, especially with travel being so expensive.”

Buttler added they are still looking for volunteers. “Many hands make light work.”

The Kif-Kif Sisters

The Kif-Kif Sisters are bringing their show ‘Returns Department.’

They are identical twins from Quebec City who have completed studies at the Conservatory of Music and done street performances in 15 countries. In Canada, they have worked with Theatre de l’Aubergine and the Cirque du Soleil.

“We use laughter to unleash the audience’s emotions and always involve them in our performances, allowing them to be a part of the fun while experiencing a unique and intimate event,” the sisters said.

In this show, a pair of twin sisters welcome the audience to the Returns Department. On their conveyor belt, a parade of objects, manufacturing errors, and dysfunctional accessories appear. Labouring with love, the twins handle complaints like boxes of candy.

Little by little, the temptation to play with the merchandise before them takes hold, the objects themselves play some tricks of their own.

Tickets are available online at www. razzamataz.ca or by contacting Dawn Mole-Hurd at 705-854-0728. Masks must be worn.

Spring the best time to detail your vehicle

By

Lisa Gervais

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April 28, 2022

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If you think you can use a bucket of soap and water and a dry vac to clean your vehicle after a long winter in the Highlands, think again.

Louis Laurcella has been detailing vehicles for 40 years, starting in Toronto where he was one of few who offered the service.

The popularity of the industry has grown, he said, and more people are opting for professional car clean ups.

His business, Louie’s Car Care just outside of Haliburton Village, is booking two weeks out as people look at their rides this spring and realize they’re a bit of a mess.

He said with COVID, a lot of people were busy working from home and their children were at home for long learn-from-home stretches so it was hard to find time to give their vehicles much attention. We’ve also emerged from a long, cold, snowy and icy winter.

Laurcella said sand from area roads, and salt from outside roads, has done a number on people’s floor mats and carpets.

He said hard salt stains are difficult to clean up at home. They use a special salt remover that brings it out so it can be vacuumed and then shampooed.

Vacuums for home use don’t have the suction power to really get upholstery cleaned, he said. They have a tool called the Tornado. In addition, he said they don’t just vacuum, Tornado, and shampoo once, but sometimes four or five times so the carpet comes out “brand spanking new.”

He said detailers offer a range of services depending on people’s budgets.

“Here in Haliburton County, some people don’t have the money to spend on their vehicles. We try and be reasonable,” he said. Laurcella added he’s conscious that seniors in particular are on fixed incomes and budgets.

He said in Toronto, people can pay $75 for a basic exterior car wash and $300 to $400 for interior cleanups alone.

Louie’s and other details have basic, medium and higher-end packages. “It all depends what people want.”

For exteriors, they can wash, polish, wax, apply ceramic coating and remove minor scratches.

This time of year, Laurcella suggests people do at least a basic package at a detailer. This usually involves washing the outside, including under the wheel wells, exterior windows, then inside upholstery, vinyl and windows. A basic service can take three hours.

Laurcella said a lot of people think they can do the job at home, or the local car wash, but “there’s a lot more work involved. People don’t really know how much work is involved.” He added detailers have tools for every stage of the process.

“People think a bucket and soap is all you need, but that’s not true. If you want to keep the value of the vehicle, I recommend getting it detailed once a year. It brings back the life of the vehicle.”

Laurcella added detailers take pride in their work.

“If I was paying the money for this vehicle to get done, I would want a good job … so I look at it that way.”

Spring workshops share creative passions

By

Sam Gillett

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April 28, 2022

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HS-studio tour-3- — Rose Pearson demonstrates how she takes a picture of inspiration and turns it into a large painted work of art.

From sketching and knitting to floral crafting, seasoned creatives are teaching 16 arts workshops aimed at kids and adults this spring.

Organized by the Arts Council Haliburton Highlands (ACHH), the series will run from April 25 to May 28 at various locations.

“We were really pleased with the variety and diversity of the workshop proposals we received.” said Chris Lynd of the ACHH in a press release. “Choosing just sixteen was a challenge.”

The workshops don’t require prior experience. Kids workshops are free and workshops for adults cost $10.

They include sessions on knitting, creative writing, acting, upcycled fashion, crafting bracelets and more.

“I love showing people you can do very simple things with simple materials,” said Noelia Marziali, an artist who will be loading workshops on claymation for kids and floriography for adults.

She said she feels people are “hungry” for live, in-person creative events after so long apart or sharing virtually.

Marziali said she’s especially excited to share her love of claymation with kids.

“You can combine something very tactile, with something technology-based. I love the marriage of those two worlds,” she said.

“It’s pretty magical, it has the potential to really suck someone in. They can walk away in a little over an hour with a video that brings an inanimate object to life.”

Registration information and a full list of workshops can be found at: https://www. eventbrite.com/cc/community-workshopproject-275909

Scott talks economy and social services

By

Sam Gillett

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April 28, 2022

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The cracks in the Highlands’ workforce took centre stage at The Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce’s (HHCC) first in-person event in two years.

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott, the event’s keynote speaker, engaged in discussion about the future of the Highlands’ economy and social services during the gathering at the Haliburton Legion April 20.

“It’s a watershed moment for Haliburton County,” Scott told the crowd.

She described how she’s seen the pandemic “throw lots of curveballs” but applauded the adaptation she’s seen in Haliburton County’s business community in the face of expansive population growth and COVID-19.

The discussion gradually became focused on labour shortages, which have plagued every corner of the region’s economy in 2021 and 2022.

Scott pointed to the suite of Ontario-funded incentives, crafted to attract young Highlanders into the trades, nursing and personal support worker roles, as possible workforce boosters. These include offering tool rebates, free schooling and signing bonuses in multiple professions.

But many business owners or organization leaders at the event said it’s still difficult to acquire long-term staff.

“I’m trying to find ways to attract young families here,” said Greg Hebert of Oakview Lodge & Marina. He said declining high school numbers and young families moving away are contributing to the workforce troubles. “What’s keeping young parents here?” he asked.

Haliburton County Public Library CEO Christopher Stephenson said he receives job applications from around the world but lack of housing is a sticking point. “We’re on the map, people want to come here … but when I get into the interview scenario one of the questions I have to ask is what’s your plan for housing?”

Stephenson said he commuted an hour to Haliburton County for months before finding accommodation.

He said internet connectivity for libraries might have been top of mind in the past, but housing issues have become a “really big barrier” for the library service.

Mark Bell, chamber president, asked about provincial incentives to drive up affordable building activity such as allowing tiny homes or easing severance rules.

Chamber executive director Robert Gaudette said boosting the County’s workforce participation rate, which reflects how many people are seeking jobs, could be a good first step.

“We have a lot of folks here. We could take some time to … find out what would move them closer to the labour market, and what’s holding them back,” he said.

“I agree,” replied Scott. “That’s why there’s the personal support worker [high school education program]: to get young people in that high school trained up now.”

Aggie Tose, executive officer of the Haliburton County Home Builders Association, called for more accurate statistics on the number of job vacancies in the Highlands and the corresponding housing needs.

“Until we get those numbers together, I don’t think we have any idea how far behind we are,” she said.

Mike Moffatt, a Canadian economist, said in a November 2021 webinar that Haliburton County needs 1,190 homes built by 2031 in order to keep up with demand.

Scott said she agreed the housing market and employment struggles are intertwined.

“We have a whole bunch of people we have to bring here and get employed, we have to house them,” she said.

Build activity prompts HE application changes

By

Sam Gillett

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April 28, 2022

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Highlands East has tweaked permit application processes to simplify staff workflow and minimize application mistakes.

The moves come as staff report record-breaking building activity in 2021 with 14.6 per cent population growth since 2016.

At an April 19 council meeting, the township voted to standardize the way site plan applications record a building’s setback from municipally-owned land.

“Building and planning staff have seen an increase in proposals not compliant with building bylaws,” said junior planner Kim Roberts.

She said previous builds have inadvertently overstepped into municipal road allowances, for example.

The township also accepted a recommendation to revise planning application costs.

Current planning fees, said Roberts, are “pretty bare bones.”

Highlands East saw construction values exceed $40 million in 2021.

“We know people are building bigger houses, bigger cottages,” Roberts said.

A new standardized system will mean a flat fee, instead of a refundable deposit and non-refundable administration fee.

“This will better capture municipal staff time and decrease the administrative burden on finance staff to reconcile individual accounts,” reads a staff report.

The new standardized fee for residential site plan agreements will be $1200. That fee doesn’t apply to most residential building applications.

Coun. Cec Ryall said he worried increased fees would stagnate building activity.

Roberts said fees for most residences wouldn’t rise.

“Where we see the difference is where people are wanting to make major changes,” she said.

Roberts added that affordable developments could still benefit from municipal incentives such as waived fees.

Temporary use changes

Building a temporary dwelling on a job site will now require a $5,000 deposit.

Temporary residences, often built during the construction of a house on the same property, can only be used for one year, after which the deposit is returned.

Roberts said this will make it easier to document when an agreement is up.

“We are able to essentially put a calendar reminder to follow up with those folks,” she said.

Coun. Suzanne Partridge asked how the department will enforce the year-long term limit. Roberts said the deposit will likely be enough of an incentive.

“Most people in the middle of a construction project do want to get their $5,000 at the end,” she said.

Municipal land purchase requires consultation

The township is standardizing the application process for use of municipal land. While Highlands East has a policy in place regarding unopened road allowances, Roberts said many applications center on the use of land-crossing trails, or docks which are adjacent to municipal road allowances.

Applications must enter a usage agreement with the County, and the use of municipal lands does not mean it’s exclusively used by the landowner.

Without a policy in place, Roberts said the township is making these decisions on an “ad-hoc” basis.

Municipal access and encroachment applications would trigger the notification of nearby residents who could voice concerns to staff and council.

Staff get mileage hike

Highlands East will join the County’s other lower-tier municipalities in hiking gas reimbursement rates.

The rate will be tied to the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) suggested allowance of $0.61 for the first 5,000 km and $0.55 after.

“It was felt simplest if we followed what CRA provides as their mileage,” said CAO Shannon Hunter.

Hunter explained the CRA gauges appropriate mileage rates based on a number of factors including gas prices and inflation.

Minden Hills tax levy likely 5.5 per cent hike

By

Sam Gillett

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April 28, 2022

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Minden Hills’ latest draft budget is 1.5 per cent higher than the previous, bringing the anticipated 2022 tax levy to 5.5 per cent. It will mean an additional $16.33 per $100,000 of residential assessment for taxpayers.

The draft also includes $6.7 million in projects funded through debt.

On April 20, council voted to provisionally approve the budget ahead of an April 28 meeting where the public can comment, such as on a governance model for the Agnes Jamieson Gallery. The township is expected to adopt the budget at that meeting.

Coun. Bob Carter voted against the draft over concerns about the funding model. He said using debt financing to complete projects such as Scotch Line reconstruction would impact ratepayers next year in a “double-digit” 2023 budget.

“It’s like we’re borrowing money for operational expenses … that is something philosophically I am opposed to,” Carter said. Staff said a double-digit increase is unlikely.

The $3,495,700 reconstruction is set to be financed through debenture, money borrowed by the township and repaid yearover-year.

Staff proposed borrowing $6,760,578 for projects completed in 2022. Yearly interest costs are estimated to be $578,630, which staff said will call for a six per cent 2023 tax rate increase.

“We do feel that it is important [the road reconstruction] begins in 2022,” said McKibbin. Staff estimated the roads will cost $25,000 annually to service as their condition declines.

A staff report said financing the work through the tax levy would push this year’s budget past a 5.5 per cent rise.

Mayor Brent Devolin said “the product we’re going to get in the end is a much more substantial road. It isn’t just a light upgrade or repurposing … this is a substantially different road that is going to come out the other end.”

Carter said since the project doesn’t yet have completed engineering plans, “the chances are, it’s not going to be done in 2022.”

Snack bar conversation continues

The township is likely to approve using $300,000 of borrowed funds to retrofit the recently-opened arena snack bar – a recommendation that continues to spark controversy at meetings.

Coun. Pam Sayne said she “cannot support” using taxpayer funds to outfit the space, which the Huskies will be responsable for opperating.

“If we’re going to do any kind of debenture of $300,000, we should put it into services we’re trying to maintain as opposed to services that are not for the full municipality,” Sayne said. “Whether it’s the boardwalk or boat ramps that everybody uses in the community, I think we’ve pulled way too much towards the arena at this point.”

Deputy Mayor Lisa Schell called the snack bar a “necessity,” and said the Huskies’ game-day attendance proves how dire the need is.

“It’s so important to have within a community centre when you have user groups using it,” she said. “I think more people will use a snack bar … than a boat launch at Bob Lake.”

Coun. Jean Neville said since a municipal tender, released three times, went unanswered, it makes sense to supply the space to the Huskies.

“Councillor Sayne obviously hasn’t been there when there are hundreds of people in that arena who desperately want a snack bar,” she said.

Council also approved a two per cent water rate increase and five per cent wastewater increase for Minden and Lutterworth ratepayers.

Minimum rates for property owners on Minden’s water systems will be approximately $47.80 more annually, while in Lutterworth it will be a $24.01 hike.