Kudos for COVID community heroes

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March 31, 2022

Volunteers, a Minden Hills councillor and health unit staff showed up to Minden’s last mass vaccination clinic March 24.

A total of 203 volunteers helped vaccinate approximately 12,290 people at Minden’s S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and Community Centre.

Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge health promoter Kate Hall thanked Pat Bradley, Sally Moore and Lynda Litwin who helped organize volunteers and coordinate shifts.

“We just received so much fabulous feedback, how smoothly it ran, how welcome people felt, how it was a really positive experience,” Hall said. “You folks were really the welcoming committee and making it run smooth and seamless.”

Coun. Jennifer Hughey said the vaccine clinic and volunteers “made this place safer, you made a serious difference in this community.”

Community heroes

Thirty-two of the volunteers were named “community heroes” for volunteering over 45 hours of time at vaccine clinics. Volunteers helped greet people at the door, check them in, answer questions and more.

Pat Bradley joined up early to help Moore organize the initial volunteer response.

“At the beginning I thought, ‘oh this might be a few hours… but in the first few weeks we were doing 50-hour weeks’,” she said.

She added that a Google spreadsheet quickly streamlined the process, making it easy for volunteers to check out what shifts needed filling and when.

Bradley said it felt good to contribute to making the community safer. “Many of us knew people who were sitting at home immuno-suppressed,” she said. “Knowing our community could be vaccinated was a really big thing for me.”

She said she hopes to continue some of the friendships she made while volunteering.

“I’ve met a lot of amazing people and made some new friends. Just to realize 206 people at least volunteered to come out and help. It makes you very emotional about what our community is like,” Bradley said.

Connie Walker, a former nurse, said she “saw it as an important thing to help us get through the pandemic.” She didn’t think of how many hours she was volunteering.

“You want your community to be helpful and strong and get out of this. And move on with what you want to do,” she said.

Community hero volunteer Sarah Hall applauded the leadership of Bradley, Moore and Litwin.

“When you have good leaders, that lead a team of volunteers in such an efficient manner, it’s just very rewarding” she said.

Hall became a Canadian citizen five years ago, and said it was a way of getting even more involved in Haliburton life. “I wanted to feel useful within the community,” she said

Rotary organizes arrival of Bud the Spud

By

Mike Baker

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March 31, 2022

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More than 8,300 pounds of potatoes were delivered to Haliburton last week as part of an inter-provincial effort to distribute excess spuds to groups and households that can use them.

Coordinated by Second Harvest Canada and Rotary District 7010, the effort, funded by the federal government, has seen more than 290 million pounds of surplus potatoes from Prince Edward Island diverted to processors, packers, dehydrators, food banks and other markets to avoid them being wasted.

Farmers have been storing the excess potatoes after the U.S. government banned the importing of PEI potatoes last fall. That came after a potato wart was found in a PEI potato farmer’s field. Typically, around 80 per cent of all PEI potatoes are exported to the U.S.

While potato wart poses no threat to human health or food safety, the soil-borne fungus can reduce the yield of a potato crop and make potatoes unmarketable. It can remain dormant in a field for more than 40 years.

Local Rotarian Irv Handler took the lead on this project. When he heard there was practically an unlimited amount of potatoes available for delivery, he started making the rounds.

“I called everyone I could think of – churches, schools, our food banks. In the end, we secured 8,337 pounds of potatoes, which I think is really good for little Haliburton,” Handler said. “I definitely think we did the most potatoes of any small town our size.”

Handler was joined at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School by fellow Rotarians Heather Phillips and Maureen O’Hara March 25, as he orchestrated the delivery of 1,000 pounds of potatoes to the school. Minden Hills mayor Brent Devolin assisted with the delivery.

Teacher Darla Searle said the potatoes would be used in her cooking class, and that she already had plans to cook up large batches of potato soup. Bags will also be offered to students to take home.

On March 26, the Rotary club held a potato pick-up event at Head Lake Park. Anyone from the community who showed up was offered a free bag of potatoes.

Other large deliveries were made to SIRCH, Point in Time, Central Food Network, Meals on Wheels, the 4Cs Food Bank, Haliburton Adult and Alternate Education Centre, Lakeside Church, Eagle Lake Community Church and West Guilford Baptist Church.

A delivery of 2,250 pounds of potatoes will be made to The Good Food Box April 21. Those potatoes are currently being stored at Park’s Foodland in Haliburton.

“It’s a great initiative, and it has definitely been popular here in Haliburton. Whether that’s good, I don’t know. I think it suggests we’re a community in need,” Handler said.

Linton aims to make a difference in playoffs

By

Mike Baker

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March 31, 2022

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Halibuton Huskies vs Trenton Golden Hawks — TRENTON, ON - MARCH 11: Christian Linton #70 of the Haliburton County Huskies during the pregame warm-up at the Duncan Memorial Gardens on March 11, 2022 in Ontario, Canada (Photo by Ed McPherson / OJHL Images)

Haliburton County Huskies netminder Christian Linton has returned to peak fitness, and form, at the perfect time as the hometown team prepares for playoffs.

The 20-year-old has made only 11 appearances for the Dogs after suffering a high ankle sprain during the off-season. After being handed the start against the Mississauga Chargers March 18 Linton has impressed between the pipes over the past two weeks, leading his team to five wins and recording just a solitary loss. During that time, he has a 2.00 goals against average and .936 save percentage.

“It’s just nice to be back out on the ice again, getting some game time and helping the team,” Linton said. “It’s been a pretty frustrating season so far. Picking up that injury right before training camp obviously wasn’t ideal, then I aggravated it playing during the OJHL showcase (in October).”

Describing himself as 110 per cent fit, Linton hopes he can be a difference maker for the Huskies during the post-season. While competition in the crease is fierce in Haliburton, with former OHL star Christian Cicigoi proving to be a revelation since his arrival in October, Linton said he’s ready to seize any chance that comes his way.

Head coach Ryan Ramsay certainly has confidence in Linton’s ability. He believes the Huskies have the best goaltending tandem in the league.

“While nearly every other team has a definite starter and a backup, we have more of a 1a/1b situation … Christian Linton is a phenomenal goalie, and would have been our starter this year if he hadn’t gone down with an injury,” Ramsay said.

Growing up in Fergus, about 20 minutes north of Guelph, Linton said he’s used to living the rural lifestyle, so has adapted well since relocating to the Highlands. Even while injured he was able to spend time outdoors, marveling at all that Haliburton County has to offer.

He is billeting in Haliburton village with Tom and Diane Wilkinson.

Linton said he bet big on Haliburton when opting to move here in the summer. While he bought into the project Ramsay pitched and hoped the team would be competitive, he admitted they have exceeded all expectations this season.

“Seeing as this was basically a new franchise, I didn’t know that we were going to be this good this year. Most expansion teams take a couple of years to get their legs under them, but we’ve been solid all year round,” Linton said. “I think our team is as good as any in this league. It’s definitely the most complete team I’ve ever played on. I think we’ve got a real shot to go all the way.

“Playoffs are right around the corner, and that’s just a different beast. No team wants to give an inch and it’s very intense. I think we’re built for that type of game. We all just want to go out there and show what we can do,” he added.

Huskies still in with a shot at first place

By

Mike Baker

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March 31, 2022

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With just one week of the OJHL regular season to play, the Haliburton County Huskies find themselves in a three-way fight for first place in the East Division.

Boasting a record of 32-15-1-4, the Dogs are sitting in third place, one point shy of the Trenton Golden Hawks and three behind the Wellington Dukes. The hometown team matched up against those opponents this past weekend, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Dukes March 26 before rebounding with a huge 4-0 victory over Trenton the very next night.

It was a pulsating afternoon at S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena Sunday as the Huskies routed the Golden Hawks.

A tense opening period saw the two championship hopefuls go punch for punch, with each team adopting an exciting attack-first mentality. Dalton Bancroft went closest to opening the scoring, ringing the post during a Golden Hawks powerplay.

The game became more stretched in the second frame, with both teams desperate to get on the scoresheet. Bancroft again went close for the Golden Hawks, but it was 19-year-old centre Lucas Stevenson that grabbed the game’s first goal. A fine pass from defenceman Will Gourgouvelis found Stevenson in space in the high slot and he made no mistake, controlling the puck and firing low past Trenton’s Ethan Taylor at the 17:53 mark.

With the crowd still celebrating, Stevenson took a minor cross-checking penalty. A misplay from the Golden Hawks gave Cameron Kosurko a chance on the breakaway. While he missed the initial opportunity, Kosurko battled to regain the puck behind the goal, deked out two Golden Hawks defenceman and then bamboozled Taylor to score short-handed at 18:57.

“You don’t see too many goals like that. It was an unreal effort, Cam showed a whole lot of skill, determination and resilience on that play,” said head coach Ryan Ramsay. “It was a big turning point in the game.”

Simon Rose added a third early in the final frame, scoring just seven seconds into a Huskies powerplay. Nicholas Athanasakos added an empty-netter at 14:27 to close out the result.

Cicigoi was named first star of the game after a 43-save shutout.

“It felt good to get the win. We played a full 60 minutes and battled through some adversity. We took some penalties, but our special teams came up big for us, and the crowd again was a big factor tonight. It’s always great when we’re able to put in a good performance and send the fans home happy,” Cicigoi said.

Tough loss to the Dukes

Saturday’s match-up against the Wellington Dukes was a frustrating one for the Huskies. While the blue and white started the game well, back-to-back powerplay markers from the Dukes late in the first period slowed their momentum.

Christian Stevens brought the Dogs back into the game midway through the second, but the Dukes responded with goals from Jacob Vreugdenhill and Jonathan Balah to put the result beyond doubt. Local boy Ryan Hall potted a late consolation for the Huskies before Emmet Pierce grabbed a fifth for the Dukes.

Dogs beat Chargers

Travelling to Mississauga March 29, the Dogs handily defeated the Chargers 8-2. Oliver Tarr got things going with a power play marker at 19:23 of the first. The blue and white exploded for five goals in the second, with Stevenson, Sam Solarino, Gourgouvelis, Athanasakos and Stevens all getting on the scoresheet. Jonah Cochrane added a seventh goal midway through the third, with Athanasakos rounding out the scoring.

One last push

The Huskies host the Chargers April 2, before travelling to Wellington for a potential first-place decider with the Dukes April 3.

“It’s interesting, you play so many games over the course of a season but everything seems to come down to the last one or two games. It definitely makes for great, exciting hockey,” Ramsay said.

While he thinks a first-place finish would be a huge achievement for the Huskies in their debut season, Ramsay said he didn’t see a great deal of difference between finishing top of the pile or in third place due to the strength of the East Division.

“We have the best division in the league, where anyone can beat anyone on any given night. If you look at all of our records, you’ll see a (mixed bag of) results,” Ramsay said. “But I know what these guys are capable of. We can beat anyone in this league if we play our game, so we’re going to head into playoffs confident, regardless of what happens [this weekend].”

Spirited Storm fall to defeat

By

Mike Baker

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March 31, 2022

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On March 25, the Highland Storm U15 Rep team faced off against the Ennismore Eagles.

The first five minutes of the first period was a lot of back-andforth between the two teams, but unfortunately Ennismore got control of the puck and refused to give it up. At the end of the first, the Eagles were up by three.

In the second period, the Storm put up a good fight. They did not allow any goals and it remained a 3-0 score for Ennismore going into the third.

The final frame started with the Eagles scoring their fourth goal. However, the Storm kept battling and with only a few minutes left in the period, Beckam Reynolds scored an unassisted goal. It was a well-played game and the final score was 4-1.

Sixty years on, Gliddon plays through COVID

By

Sam Gillett

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March 31, 2022

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On a sunny afternoon, Bill Gliddon gestures to songbooks placed on the choir benches at St. George’s Anglican Church in Haliburton.

“Before the pandemic, we had a big choir,” he said.

Now, five or six usually help lead parishioners in worship with Gliddon at the front of the church. Their first choir meeting since before Christmas was in late February.

“Of course, we couldn’t sing anything terribly complicated, I had to simplify all the music.”

He added, “I’m very fortunate the people I’ve had in the choir are pretty good at site-reading: they’re pretty good singers.”

Gliddon is entering his 60th year as St. George’s organist. The pandemic, he said, has been unlike any previous time in his career.

It disrupted his ability to play for his church and sing with others.

“I had to really think about that, and realize that you just have to live with it and hold on. It won’t be forever,” he said.

Gliddon used to enjoy touring seniors’ residences and singing to residents. COVID-19 forced him to get creative.

“There were a few residents with phones in their rooms. I’d set my keyboard by my phone and then sing some songs they loved. They loved it,” Gliddon said.

He’d send them phoned-in versions of tunes like “The band plays on” and “My wild Irish rose.”

Through the pandemic, Gliddon worked with former priest Ken McLure on a musical of the bible story David and Goliath. “It was a real challenge but it was good,” Gliddon said. Gliddon helped compose the music. Could it be performed post-pandemic? “It’s possible,” he said, though Rev. McLure’s move means that’s unlikely.

Gliddon said the decreased musical workload might have improved his Sunday night classical music program on CanoeFM. “I thought they were a little better than before when I was so rushed with other things.”

Gliddon said his favourite song “is the one [he’s] playing.” He approaches each arrangement with care. It’s a joyful experience.

“It’s always been important. But I’ve gotten more time to indulge in it [during the pandemic]. I don’t know what I’d have done without music in COVID,” he said.

It’s a spiritual experience too. “Music is an expression of your feeling, that goes a little further than words,” he said. “If you put two and two together it’s a good combination.”

Russell finds opportunity amid pandemic

By

Sam Gillett

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March 31, 2022

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Whether teaching guitar at his Highlands Guitar Studio, performing on stage or composing soundscapes and soundtracks, Nick Russell has become a key figure in the County’s music scene.

And while COVID-19 restrictions were a setback, the pandemic afforded him unique opportunities.

For starters, he composed and produced ARCHTOP, an album showcasing his unique blend of folk, classical and jazz all strummed on a classic archtop guitar.

“Often society doesn’t provide the time and space to endeavor upon a project like that,” he said.

He and singer Benton Brown, performing as Nick & Benton, delivered private shows to audiences around Haliburton’s lakes, all while keeping within COVID guidelines.

He said live music felt like “a precious thing” amid lockdowns and restrictions.

“People were even more hungry for it,” Russell said.

He has also helped other local organizations as they pivoted during the pandemic.

For example, he composed songs with natural sounds, scavenged from the meadows and forests around the Abbey Retreat Centre.

Videographer Brad Brown edited a scenic video to accompany the music.

It’s now used in the centre’s online retreat programs.

One of Russell’s chief concerns as the world’s music scene shut down in 2020 was a lack of teaching opportunities. COVID-19 forced a temporary closure of his studio. However, throughout the past two years, he said he’s seen a resurgence of students keen to learn guitar, bass and ukelele.

“I think the pandemic overall has made people reevaluate what they do with their time,” he said.

He now teaches students over video calls too, some halfway around the world.

Russell said the arts offer a way to process difficult times.

“I think engaging in the arts gives you a wholesome and practical outlet for what’s happening on an emotional level,” he said.

Russell said he’s hopeful about the future of Haliburton music, and the community of creatives who work together to elevate it.

“I think that if you survey history, a lot of wonderful art has been generated in difficult times,” he said.

U-Links bash celebrates research

By

Mike Baker

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March 31, 2022

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Student researchers carried out benthic assessments of area lakes, looked into the viability of using insects to fight invasive species such as eurasian watermilfoil, and considered the benefits of introducing indigenous programming at Abbey Gardens as part of this year’s U-Links Celebration of Research.

Held virtually March 26, this year’s event featured work from 87 students encompassing 18 community-based projects.

Sarah Moret, a sociology student at Trent, gave one of two core presentations. She focused on the lack of supports for eating disorders in rural communities, as reported in last week’s Highlander. Later, Fleming College students Katie Cosgrey, Nicole Zablocki and Ullas Rugmini discussed a new educational campaign they launched in partnership with Dysart et al focusing on food waste reduction.

“The average Canadian household produces approximately 140 kilograms of food waste annually,” Zablocki said. “In Canada, 63 per cent of edible food is thrown away… Ontario’s available landfill capacity is expected to be exhausted by 2034, so we have to do something about this now.”

They say meal planning, proper food storage and preservation and effective disposal options, such as donating and composting, are ways of preventing unnecessary items from getting into landfills.

Kayla McNaughton spent last summer working at Abbey Gardens as an educational programming assistant. She was interested in developing outdoor programs for children to encourage kids to enjoy nature, while recognizing indigenous history in the Highlands.

She developed an ‘educate’, which includes activities, songs and stories that came from indigenous sources and can be adopted into existing programming at Abbey Gardens. She referenced the facility’s beaver program, sourcing an indigenous creation story of how the beaver got its tail to add to what is already taught.

McNaughton recommended Abbey Gardens bring in someone of indigenous background to assist them in their program development.

Many presenters focused on measuring water quality and lake health, but Kaleigh Mooney took a different approach – taking a known problem at one waterbody and coming up with an idea to address it.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been a problem for Drag/Spruce Lake residents for several years. There’s no known way to completely eradicate the invasive aquatic plant, which grows under the water surface, spreads quickly, smells and impedes the growth of a lake’s natural plants and habitats.

Mooney found that a bug indigenous to Canada is effective at limiting the plant’s spread.

“Weevils will lay their eggs on the stem of the plant, then when the eggs hatch, the larvae will bore down. Then, when they pupate, the adults will feed on the foliage … so fragments of the plant will break off, and it will eventually fall to the bottom of the lake where it can’t get any light, so won’t grow.”

Mooney estimates it can take anywhere between 5,000 and 50,000 weevils to battle an already established eurasian watermilfoil system. That puts the cost at anywhere between $5,000 and $50,000.

“There have been attempts to do this in Ontario, but often they don’t start with enough [weevils] and because of that the project tends to fail,” Mooney said. “It’s really important that you go all in if you’re going to do something like this, and know what you’re getting yourself into, because otherwise it’s like throwing your money right into the water with no results.”

Entrepreneurs want to bring the fun to town

By

Mike Baker

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March 31, 2022

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Local entrepreneurs Joshua Karam and Erika Mozes are looking to inject a little fun and games into downtown Haliburton.

Fresh off of opening Delancey Sports on Highland Street, the couple is looking to add another space to their portfolio shortly. They have put together a business plan to open a retro arcade, which they say could serve as a central hub for people in the community.

“There’s really nowhere for kids in Haliburton to go, nothing for them to do, especially during the winter. We thought this would be a great idea, a nice space for youth to hang out, for tourists to hang out, for anyone, really,” said Karam. “We think this community can really benefit from a focused entertainment venue like this. It would fill an important need in this town.”

The space would feature a combination of classic arcade games, such as Pac Man and Galaga, pinball machines, a pool table, dart board, and dome hockey and foosball tables. Karam says he also hopes to incorporate some newer video game consoles with multi-player capabilities.

Negotiations are ongoing with the new owners of 218 Highland St. The building, located on the corner of Maple Avenue, has been vacant since Algonquin Outfitters moved to its new location down the street last year.

“That location is just a prime spot for something like this. It’s right at the heart of the downtown area,” Karam said.

The pair are in the process of securing funding for the venture. A floor plan for the site has been developed, while partnerships with Playdium, to purchase the gaming equipment, and Pepsi, to bring in vending machines, have been tentatively agreed upon.

And the proposed space even has a working name with a neat backstory.

“We want to call it the Grayson Arcade. We spent a long time living in New York City while getting one of our other businesses, Hyr, up and running, and since moving back to Canada we’ve really taken to naming our investments after some of our favourite spots,” Karam said. “Our apartment in New York was on the corner of Suffolk Street and Delancey Street. We named the sports store after Delancey, and our home after Suffolk.

“Our favourite sports bar in New York was called ‘The Grayson’, so we thought it would be pretty appropriate to name this new venture after that,” Karam said.

The feedback they’ve received from those they’ve pitched the idea to has been overwhelmingly positive, Mozes remarked. She believes people are excited about the prospect of something new and different coming to Haliburton.

“At first people ask us ‘why an arcade’, but as soon as we explain our vision, they get it. We don’t have a mall here in Haliburton, we don’t have a movie theatre. This space wouldn’t be competing with any other business in town,” Mozes said. “We just want to create a space where people can go to have fun.”

Library to encourage masking despite new provincial rules

By

Sam Gillett

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March 31, 2022

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While provincial mask mandates expired March 21, some Highlands public spaces will encourage patrons to mask up.

At a March 16 Haliburton County Public Library board meeting, CEO Christopher Stephenson explained he’ll encourage staff “to wear masks to protect each other.”

“We’ll also encourage with posters at the door, to have people reminded we’d love for them to wear their masks,” he said.

Masks will not be mandatory at library locations, but HCPL branches will continue to have free disposable masks available.

Warden Liz Danielsen said wearing a mask once the mandate is lifted is “a personal choice, we have to respect that.”

Coun. Cec Ryall said “you’re now getting to the point where people are exercising their right to do what they want to do.”

He added that while staff might be on the same page, enforcing mask-wearing among patrons could be difficult.

Stephenson said staff are “already at their wits end, for various reasons” and having to police patrons’ mask-wearing would be difficult and potentially distressing.

Stephenson added that the guidelines still allow for patrons and staff to go maskless. However, he said no guidance on staff mask-wearing could result in worsening a staff shortage already causing library closures.

“Then I might just get a series of leave of absences, then I’ll be having a hard time,” he said.

Staff currently work two at a time, in close quarters, behind clear desk partitions.

Health experts across Canada and abroad continue to promote mask-wearing as a preventive health measure.

“We know that masks are an effective and easy way to slow transmission of COVID19,” said Dr. Natalie Bocking, Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge’s chief medical officer of health at a media information session March 9.

“Let’s hope people treat each other with kindness and respect,” library board chairperson Sally Howson said.

Spring programming

In a report to the board, Stephenson said he expects library programming to resume in April, “if pandemic numbers continue to improve and community members are once again comfortable returning to public spaces.”

One event in the books is the Sept. 24 Bookapalooza 2022 scheduled in Minden Hills.

It’s an event with an aim to “further cultivate a culture of reading, writing and celebration of literary arts in the Haliburton Highlands.”

Friends sponsor books

The Friends of the Haliburton County Public Library donated the 2022 Evergreen Award-nominated books.

Ten books in contention for the award celebrating Canadian fiction and nonfiction are available at the library as eBooks, audiobooks and in text.