Haliburton Highlands OPP said they do not suspect foul play in the May 12 death of a woman recovered from Loon Lake.
Police said they responded to a scene at Loon Lake May 12 at approximately 3 p.m. after a woman appeared to be in distress.
A local resident said he and another pulled the woman out of the water and attempted to administer CPR before emergency responders arrived.
OPP, along with Dysart Fire and Haliburton County EMS, located a 63-year-old woman with no vital signs.
She was transported to hospital where life-saving measures were attempted, however, she was pronounced deceased in hospital.
OPP investigate death at Loon Lake
Hydro One plans Minden power outage
Hydro One is planning to shut down power in the Minden area for approximately three hours May 16 to complete maintenance and upgrades.
The company announced May 12 it is upgrading its Minden transmission site. The outage is scheduled for 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and will also affect Kinmount, Furnance Falls, Howland, Gelert, Dutch Line, Irondale Lutterworth, Ingoldsby, Union Creek, Moore Falls, Miners Bay, Deep Bay, Fortescue and Maxwells.
“We understand this is a challenging time to be without power and would like to thank our customers for their patience during this time,” Hydro One said in a press release. “Additional crews and equipment are being brought in to complete as much local area work as possible during this outage.
The upgrades stem from a 2018 fire which damaged a transformer at the transmission station. Hydro One has since expanded the station and put in a new transformer. Crews will be preparing the foundations for a second new transformer and make improvements to the local distribution system, Hydro One said.
For the outage, the company advised customers to turn appliances off, keep refrigerator doors closed as much as possible and consider filling water jugs ahead of time.
Black bears emerge hungry from hibernation
By Lisa Gervais
Brian and Wendy Campbell returned home from getting groceries about 4 p.m. May 6 only to find a surprise visitor on their deck.
Brian Campbell said he suspected something was up as their Golden Retriever, Casey, was “quite agitated.”
“We soon found out why,” he said. “A young bear, probably just two years old and left on his own by his mother, was on our deck. He was reaching up and getting at our bird feeders, which have since been raised.”
The Campbells live on Moose Lake in Dysart et al.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and Ontario Provincial Police meanwhile, are reminding Haliburton County residents to be bear wise and prevent bear encounters again this spring.
In a news release, the two asked Highlanders to exercise caution as black bears have begun to come out of hibernation.
“Bears waking up from hibernation are faced with a scarcity of natural food sources, leading them to look for food in garbage cans and bird feeders,” they said.
They added you can prevent bears from visiting your home, cottage or neighbourhood by:
- Storing garbage in waste containers with tight-fitting lids (and indoors if possible).
- Putting away bird feeders for the spring (you can offer birds natural alternatives, such as flowers, nesting boxes and fresh water).
- Cleaning food residue and grease from outdoor barbecue grills after each use.
- Keeping pet food indoors.
They said bears that enter our community are not necessarily a threat but it is important to know who to call if you encounter a bear. For non-emergencies, the province operates a toll-free bear wise reporting line (1-866-514-2327). The line is open 24/7 from April 1 to November 30.
If a bear is posing an immediate threat by exhibiting threatening or aggressive behaviour, remain calm and call 911 or your police department.
Seniors join youth to fight climate ‘empty promises’
Inspired by youth efforts, the new environmental advocacy group Seniors for Climate Action Now (SCAN) is rallying the elderly to fight against climate change.
The Haliburton-born organization made its first foray into the public sphere with a presentation on federal environmental policy March 19 in solidarity with the Global Day on Climate Action. But Terry Moore, who helped start SCAN, said it has met for the past year and has aspirations to start chapters across the province.
He said the recent efforts of youth-led movements inspired SCAN. He added the group wanted to aid those youth.
“An active, intergenerational solidarity,” Moore said. “We wanted to support, in whatever way we could, young folks who are trying to move the yardsticks on climate.”
SCAN has yet to launch any formal campaigns. But it has made statements of support for the climate strikes of Fridays of the Future and done critical analysis of federal and provincial policy.
“As seniors, we have borne witness to those empty promises for longer than most,” SCAN said in a March 19 statement. “We are committed to facing the climate emergency and to fight for climate justice.”
Although Moore said they have been meeting for a year, they are cautious about ensuring manageable growth. He said members have focused their efforts on internal development, but they are now looking to expand to become a provincewide organization.
“We’re going to try to approach and ask seniors to get more active in calling for serious climate action,” Moore said.
He said they opted for a senior focus given the ecological footprint that his generation has been part of creating.
“We have a responsibility here as seniors to leave the planet in as good as possible shape as we can,” Moore said. “We have to help leave an environment that’s conducive to young people and having a future like we had.”
The activist also has a prominent role as vice-president of Environment Haliburton!, which co-hosted SCAN’s first public presentation. But he said he wanted an organization that could expand beyond the local scope.
“We can help each other out,” Moore said. “Share resources, share networks and help build a climate change group which has the capacity to actually push for things.”
Moore said they are eyeing opportunities such as the federal election to advocate for policy. He said the membership comes from a variety of different social movements and groups banding together.
“We’re learning from each other and trying to figure out what the best way is to build an organization that encourages seniors to get more active.”
Abbey Gardens compost facility not in the cards
While a U-Links project suggests there is community interest in a centralized composting facility at Abbey Gardens, it remains a “theoretical” prospect for now, director of operations, Ashley McAllister said.
Trent University sustainable studies student Samuel Duah collaborated with Abbey Gardens on a community survey and recently presented his findings at the U-Links Celebration of Research and to the Abbey Gardens board of directors.
Duah said they wanted to assess the factors that enable or hinder food waste reduction and diversion at the household level. His study also examined factors that would encourage residents’ participation in a community-based composting facility.
He conducted an online survey, via the Abbey Gardens website, between Sept. 3-30, 2020.
“A total of 220 respondents took part in this research,” Duah said. He added they had to be all-year or seasonal residents of Haliburton County.
In the conclusion to his study, Duah said, “the results … indicate that households are more inclined to use a centralized composting facility with multiple drop-off centers and flexible pick-up hours.”
He added that a facility “located at, and championed by, Abbey Gardens has the potential to encourage participation as some community members regard such an initiative as means of supporting the development and sustainability of a ‘community asset’.”
“Further, giving back prepared compost to community members can also incentivize community participation if compost meets high quality standards,” he wrote. “Together these findings suggest that there is community interest in Abbey Gardens’ proposed initiative and willingness to make use of a suitably designed centralized composting facility.”
McAllister said it’s an idea they’ve discussed.
However, she said Abbey Gardens was only a small piece of Duah’s final thesis. But she said it was an intriguing perspective on the community’s interest in a central composting location at Abbey Gardens.
“Composting is something we feel very strongly about, and we do have our own composting on site and a composting demonstration area to help educate our visitors about how they can compost at home,” McAllister said.
“I think right now that seems like the right direction given some of Samuel’s results, and the municipality’s perspective on waste hauling and the logistics involved in becoming licensed to be a larger partner in that process,” she added.
It’s something they’ll continue to keep in mind as the County’s needs evolve and they have a better understanding of how they could play a role in a larger composting strategy.
“But right now, it’s still just theoretical.”
Food Cycler
The Township of Algonquin Highlands, meanwhile, is planning to launch an organic waste diversion pilot project this year to encourage more people to compost at home, instead of bringing household waste to landfills, which also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s also intended to convince those afraid to compost because of the fear of wildlife to rethink their household food waste practices.
Algonquin Highlands’ environmental coordinator, Melissa Murray, has made contact with producers of a product known as the Food Cycler, which is an indoor, countertop, waste composting machine. The plan is to subsidize the cost for AH ratepayers.
Interest in the Food Cycler has also spread to other municipalities. They’ve all been looking into the issue of household waste going into landfills over the past year or so.
A puzzling Mother’s Day for Jarvis family
With Mother’s Day coming up, as well as the anniversary of her mom’s passing, Val Jarvis wanted to come up with a tribute that she could share with her family all across the country.
She said she’s had a photograph of her mom, Mary Jarvis, on her fridge since she passed in 2015.
“As you can tell by my fridge, I love pictures,” she said.
Holding the one of her mom, Jarvis added, “I’ve had it smiling at me since her funeral.”
After discovering The Occurrence, a puzzle factory on Industrial Road in Haliburton, Jarvis began to hatch her idea.
“I couldn’t think of a better gift for my nine siblings than for them all to have the same picture,” she said.
“Thanks to COVID, they all have time to do a 504-piece puzzle.”
The Occurrence makes custom puzzles. Jarvis said the first step was getting some work done on the photo.
“I wanted to thank Luke Schell of The Photo Shop who was able to put the colour back in my mom’s cheeks that the original photographer washed it out with his flash and for scanning and sending her image to the amazing couple who run The Occurrence, Michael Bainbridge and Brigitte Gall.”
Jarvis said she can’t wait to surprise her siblings with the personalized keepsake puzzles.
It was an ordeal just to mail them as she has brothers and sisters in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario.
“We are so fortunate to have this new and innovative business set up shop in our little town,” she said.
Jarvis joked that her only regret is not getting a puzzle made up for herself.
She shared that the other thing the family has been doing is circulating a family letter since 1991, when her father was killed in a motor vehicle accident.
“Mom would add letter number 11. We kept it up after her death and it makes it around the group every six to eight months. My oldest siblings don’t own computers. We throw in updated photos of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren as well as DVDs of favourite movies or historical articles of interest.”
County split over reopening rail trail to ATVs
County council narrowly opted to open its Rail Trail to ATVs May 3 after a split vote, instead of delaying until the scheduled end of the lockdown May 20.
Two concerned citizens, Ray Isaacs and Max Kalinowski, presented to council April 28. They sought a moratorium on vehicle traffic on the trail during the pandemic over concerns about safety and accidents potentially adding to the burden of a strained health care system.
Council did not agree to a moratorium but did take a vote to delay the usual opening of the Rail Trail to ATV traffic. Warden Liz Danielsen and councillors Dave Burton, Andrea Roberts and Brent Devolin voted in favour, while deputy warden Patrick Kennedy, Cec Ryall, Lisa Schell and Carol Moffatt voted against. On a tie vote, the motion was defeated.
“This is indicative of the level of disagreement about the use of this trail we’ve experienced for many years,” Danielsen said.
Isaacs and Kalinowski argued that people will want to use the Rail Trail to enjoy nature during the pandemic. But Isaacs, a retired physician, said mixing pedestrian and ATV traffic can be dangerous. He said any severe accidents could take up health care resources.
“Allowing motorized vehicles on the trails during these circumstances adds a completely unnecessary risk of severe trauma injury at this time,” Isaacs said.
Devolin said he agreed with the importance of the location as a place for people to enjoy nature and the greater number of people can create challenges. But he added the Rail Trail is a vital route and noted that are many other pedestrian-only trails.
“We need to preserve the one interregional artery for motorized recreation,” he said.
Danielsen said the County emergency operations centre (EOC) was also divided on the topic and there are limited reports of major incidents on the route. But she said the EOC discussed how delaying the vehicle opening could help discourage travel during the stay-at-home order.
“It sounds to me like right now it is the best that we could do,” Danielsen said.
Haliburton ATV Association president Joel Bocknek told The Highlander the Rail Trail is not a point of destination for riders, but a way to get between places.
“It’s an opportunity for riders, particularly local to be able to get outside and enjoy the Spring weather,” he said. “ Certainly lends itself to social distancing and the other public health advice.”
Schell said some people may not be able to walk on the trails but could sit on an ATV because of a disability.
“I don’t want to exclude those people,” Schell said. “Provided that there is a mutual respect of all of the users.”
The Rail Trail will opened May 3 to ATVs that have obtained a permit from the Haliburton or Kawartha ATV associations. In a statement, the County asked all users to respect each other and comply with public health recommendations.
Opera in the living room
Starting May 2, Highlands Opera Studio (HOS) began releasing 13 newly-recorded concerts that will run over 13 weeks, until July 31.
In an April 27 press release, the HOS said the concerts will feature past and current professional artists, who will share music that is important to them and why.
The mini concerts of 30-40 minutes will span a range of styles and themes and will be available online until the following Saturday of each week.
The cost to purchase a link to a single concert is $10; all 13 concerts are available for $100.
The first concert in the series featured Catherine Daniel, mezzo soprano and Roger Admiral, piano, with music from opera, musical theatre, and traditional spirituals.
HOS general and co-artistic director, Valerie Kuinka said professional fees for the series are supported in part by a bequest from Madame la Juge, Anne-Marie Trahan and private donors.
“During this past year of turmoil, the performing arts have come to a standstill. While we are yet unable to clearly see the end of this pause on collaborative live performance, we want to give these talented young professional artists a chance to reflect and express through their chosen medium, as well as give our loyal audience a taste of what we have all been missing: the beauty of the human voice,” Kuinka said.
Founded in 2007, HOS is an advanced training and professional development performing arts organization which, in a non-pandemic year, presents 17-19 live public events/performances in Haliburton County during its five-to-six-week season in August.
Kuinka said that as well as being a soughtafter organization and destination for Canadian and international emerging opera professionals, HOS is also an important source of community engagement and education for the region.
They provide vocal training through the Highlands Opera Community School, with participation in performances, community outreach, social events, and cultural interaction and enrichment.
They also work with Dysart et al and community organizations, such as the Rotary Club of Haliburton and Abbey Gardens, to offer the Highlands Opera Theatre (Studio) to support and build on collaborative community engagement and foster community participation and enrichment through singing and the artform of opera.
For more information, visit highlandsoperastudio.com and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube at HighlandsOpera.
Cottager revamps FYI Haliburton marketing site
Tristan Rose has been a Haliburton County cottager for years and says he’s found a way to give back during COVID – by relaunching FYI Haliburton.
Rose’s family has owned a cottage on Stormy Lake since 1986 and he’s spent his summers growing up by the lake and enjoying the local community, restaurants, events and other businesses.
He said he also spends time in the winters enjoying snowmobiling and ice fishing so he’s spent a lot of time in the area.
He added he’s always supported the local economy.
“I spent a few years living in small town Ontario myself and I understand the importance of supporting local owners and workers in order to ensure the local economy thrives,” he said.
“There are so many amazing businesses and people who work for them that rely solely on being successful to put food on their tables, raise their children, and achieve their goals.”
He said while FYI Haliburton is not his only business interest, it is a project he has become heavily involved in after purchasing the site and he’d like to continue improving upon it for the foreseeable future.
The new website was launched on April 11 after about two months of hard work, Rose said.
“The old site was outdated and was not even mobile friendly but had approximately 400 businesses. So far, he said he’s received very positive feedback from people who knew the old site as well as new businesses looking for exposure.
“The website was built to be simple to find information and most importantly be an affordable advertising platform. People have been saying that they are happy to see an affordable option, that supports local businesses especially in these difficult times.”
Rose said COVID has hit small businesses hard as many have been forced to either shut their doors or rely on curbside pickup options. However, there are many businesses that are still able to operate but with limited capacities.
“The goal of FYI Haliburton is to direct customers to businesses through online avenues to draw attention to them and increase revenue instead of just directing them to big box stores,” he said.
He added that FYI Haliburton has a history of advertising for local businesses and has the highest ranking on a Google search.
“What this means is the highest possible exposure for those businesses who have signed up.”
On a listing page with FYI, businesses have their own full page with interactive and customizable features such as a photo gallery, maps with directions, contact information, and a simple contact form that goes directly to them.
“All of the information is in one place making it easy for residents and tourists alike to shop local. Registration only takes minutes with the easy to fill out form and built-in secure checkout system,” he said.
See fyihaliburton.com for more information.
Nick’s new location strikes the right chord
Haliburton Guitar Studio owner Nick Russell is not hatching his business in ideal circumstances but said it feels great to find a new home.
A product of the Haliburton County Development Corporation (HCDC) business incubator the past three years, the studio moved into its own office April 1.
The music lesson and repair studio has moved into Halco Plaza at 83 Maple Ave. Russell has to keep his doors closed for now due to COVID-19 health restrictions but said he is happy with the space.
“While I think it needs to be a little bit cozier and funkier, it’s a suitable spot in a great downtown location and it checks a lot of boxes,” he said. “Very happy with it.”
The local guitarist has seen the success of his studio highlighted by HCDC. The business was also featured nationally by the Community Futures Network of Canada in its annual report last year.
Russell said having multiple sources of revenue has helped him succeed, with both teaching and post-production work part of his operation. He added he receives plenty of support as a local.
“Moving back to home for me, a more rural area, I was kind of overwhelmed with the support my business received,” Russell said. “It’s been really great so far.”
HCDC business incubator coordinator Jim Blake said Russell was eager to learn how to run a business and successfully leveraged the connections he had to the community.
“Nick is really skilled at what he does, so he’s built a reputation,” Blake said. “He is also a known quantity.”
Russell cannot meet students face-to-face amidst the lockdown and has had to grapple with the impacts of the pandemic. He said he has gotten by with remote lessons and post-production work, though he noted challenges in expanding his client base and connecting with students who have poor internet.
“It’s almost like the year’s a writeoff,” Russell said. “But luckily, I’m not going anywhere. My clients aren’t going anywhere. We’re just kind of waiting for things to equalize a little bit.”
Russell has kept himself plenty busy, including releasing a self-produced album entitled Archtop March 1. It was produced remotely, with its bass recordings done by a friend in Spain. “I’m really happy with the end result,” Russell said. “It was a true COVID project.”
Despite the difficult circumstances, Russell said it is important for people to continue producing art and he hopes it can help his students.
“You look at challenging times in history, often some of the best art is created,” Russell said. “Practicing music – although there’s no outlet for performance – can provide kind of like a stabilized, healing effect. Because it’s something that’s wholesome, something that’s progressive and something that is ultimately enjoyable”