The West Guilford Recreation Centre. Photo by Joseph Quigley.
Carol Stamp has been part of the heartbeat of West Guilford for more than 40 years.
As a member of the West Guilford Recreation Centre board since 1979, Stamp has been part of organizing all kinds of events – dances, fundraisers, Christmas concerts and Canada Day celebrations. Serving in various capacities including president, Stamp has seen many events develop over the years.
But after those decades volunteering, Stamp decided to retire and hand in her resignation, acknowledged at the Sept. 28 board meeting.
“I haven’t been going to meetings for a little while, so I just thought it was time,” Stamp said. “They’ve got some younger, newer people with good ideas and I think they’ll do okay.”
She said she started with the board due to her interest in dancing. She credited Clarence Bain with getting monthly dances started and said her involvement blossomed.
“My husband and I loved to dance … We got on the dance committee, so it just went from there,” Stamp said. “(Bain) got younger people involved. The focal point of the community really – they held everything there … It really was a place to meet and greet and keep up with everybody in the community.”
She was also there when the centre began organizing Canada Day celebrations, which began in 1980 at her suggestion and has continued to this day with her help.
“I had an idea about starting Canada Day. So, I just thought, there wasn’t much for the kids. We had a meeting and everybody on the board at that time thought it was a good idea. So, we had a full day of it,” she said. “At the time, it was the day when the whole community got together.”
Mayor Andrea Roberts recognized Stamp at the start of the Oct. 27 council meeting.
“You made that community hall what it is today,” Roberts said of Stamp. “The community of Dysart appreciates all you have given to that hall and to that area.”
Her fellow board members also recognized Stamp in the minutes of their Sept. 25 meeting.
“Her commitment to the community has been admirable and has set the bar for those who follow. We thank her for her dedication and are sad to see her go,” the board said.
Stamp said she didn’t serve on the board expecting to receive praise.
“I just did it because I enjoyed doing it and I wanted to have something for my family, my extended family and my neighbours to have a place for the community, to keep it up. “Most people do it because they like their communities,” she added.
Today the hall sits emptier, the pandemic preventing its usual assortment of events. She said it is a challenge, but she thinks the centre is in good shape, with a strong board and municipal support.
“Right now, things are kind of down,” she said. “But hopefully, when this is over, we can all get back using our centre.”
A Highland Grove man is now before the courts in connection with a Christmas Eve incident in Haliburton Village.
OPP said Jan. 12 that they arrested and charged a 36-year-old.
They said that on Dec. 24, 2020, at approximately 3:01 p.m., members of the public called police to report an individual who had committed an indecent act inside their blue sedan in a parking lot of a business on Highland Street.
The suspect had travelled throughout the village and once stopped by police, rolled his vehicle into a number of parked cars, coming to rest at the Cenotaph.
The man is charged with: Indecent Act – Public Place; Flight from Peace Officer; Operation while Impaired – Alcohol and Drugs; and Operation While Impaired – Blood Alcohol Concentration (80 plus).
The accused was held for a bail hearing and will appear in Court on a later date to answer to the charges, OPP said.
The OPP added it is continuing to look for additional witnesses or victim(s) and encourages people to contact 705-286-1431 or toll-free 1-888-310-1122. You can also provide information anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at stopcrimehere.ca. When you contact Crime Stoppers you stay anonymous, you never have to testify, and you could receive a cash reward of up to $2,000 upon an arrest.
Crime Stoppers month
Kawartha-Haliburton Crime Stoppers has kicked off January’s Crime Stoppers Month with a theme of ‘Helping All Communities Stay Safe.’
President Garry Burns said, “January recognizes our organization’s efforts to help law enforcement solve crimes. It is also a time to show appreciation for the team of members that makes the work possible.” The organization opened its doors in 1989 as ‘Lindsay Crime Stoppers’. In 1991, it expanded to Kawartha-Haliburton Crime Stoppers. Thirty years later, it has maintained the original principle of helping law enforcement agencies solve crimes and make communities safe, Burns said. KH Crime Stoppers is a partnership between the community, the Ontario Provincial Police, Kawartha Lakes Police Service and the media, said board member Keith Kirkpatrick. He added that Crime Stoppers Month looks to highlight those important community partnerships. Kawartha-Haliburton Crime Stoppers is run by a volunteer board of directors which recently appealed to the public for financial assistance to save the future of the organization. Board member Steve Green said they’ve secured some donations and assistance from individuals, which will allow them to operate through 2021, but “they are not out of the woods yet.” The public can donate online at khcrimestoppers.com/donate, by cheque made payable to “Kawartha-Haliburton Crime Stoppers Inc” mailed to PO BOX 155, Lindsay, ON K9V 4R8 or for sponsorship or other inquiries email admin@khcrimestoppers.com.
Warning about scam email
The OPP say they’ve received numerous complaints from across the province about unsolicited emails which, when opened, contain links to images of child sexual abuse.
The emails, received from mail@aloette.me contain directions, that when followed unknowingly, exposed the recipient to child sexual abuse imagery, OPP said.
Recipients are asked to contact their local police and to abstain from opening the emails.
Police are asking anyone who may have information regarding this investigation or internet child exploitation, to call Crime Stoppers at (TIPS) or 1-800-222-8477, ontariocrimestoppers.ca or cybertip.ca and 1-888-310-1122.
A microscopic image of the virus that causes COVID-19. Photo via Flikr.
The Province of Ontario is ordering people to stay at home starting Thursday due to rising rates of COVID-19.
Premier Doug Ford made the announcement Jan. 12, declaring another state of emergency. The order requires people to remain at home except for essential trips such as grocery shopping, medical appointments, exercise or essential work.
“The latest modelling data shows that Ontario is in a crisis and, with the current trends, our hospital ICUs will be overwhelmed in a few short weeks with unthinkable consequences,” Ford said. “By doing the right thing and staying home, you can stay safe and save lives.”
The province noted ICU occupancy by COVID-19 patients is now over 400 beds and is expected to rise to 1,000 beds by early February. The number of daily deaths is also projected to double from 50 to 100 deaths per day between now and the end of February. Data also shows mobility and contact between people between people has not decreased with current restrictions.
Outdoor gatherings will be limited to five people with limited exceptions. All non-essential retail stores must be open no earlier than 7 a.m. and close no later than 8 p.m. This does not apply to stores that primarily sell food, convenience stores, pharmacies, gas stations or restaurants doing takeout or delivery.
The province also indicated it is exploring a temporary residential eviction moratorium.
Haliburton has three confirmed active COVID-19 cases as of Jan. 11, with 38 active in Kawartha Lakes and 29 in Northumberland. In a press release Jan. 8, acting medical officer of health for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit Dr. Ian Gemmill urged people to follow public health recommendations.
“Our actions affect other people,” Gemmill said. “If you choose to get together with friends and you get the virus, you could just experience mild symptoms and recover. You could also spread the virus to someone else who is older and more vulnerable, and they may not be so lucky.
“Until we can get the vaccine into everyone’s arms, we need to remain vigilant and to continue to do our part to protect each other,” he added.
Volunteer Ron Reid with granddaughters Quinn and Avery. Reid is being remembered after his sudden passing Dec. 10. Photo submitted.
With the pandemic socially distancing and isolating people, Ron Reid set out to reconnect.
The long-time, Minden-based volunteer’s children said Reid called and emailed others throughout COVID-19. He messaged friends from across his life, even those who he had not talked to in years.
At one point, the 73-year-old could not sleep and got up at 4 a.m. to finish a letter to a former boss. That was two days before he passed suddenly due to a heart attack Dec. 10.
“He was always there for people,” Reid’s son, Simon Reid, said. “If somebody needed something, or if he saw there was a need for someone, he would always be there to volunteer and help.”
The elder Reid became a well-known figure in the community. The biologist first moved to the County for a temporary position at the Dorset Research Centre in 1976. But he would go on to spend the rest of his life in the area.
Reid’s early days in Minden came with some struggle. His farmhouse burned down – right around Christmas – just two years after he arrived. The family with two young children lost everything, but Reid’s daughter, Jody Berringer, said the community response inspired him in the years to come.
“The community just came out and gave a lot,” Berringer said. “Because of how much the community gave, I think that was a really big driver for him to continue to give back.”
He acted as a long-time chair for the Help A Village Effort (HAVE), helping them secure hundreds of thousands in grant funding. The charity helps provide clean drinking water and sanitary facilities for rural villages in India, including more than 1,200 wells since the organization was founded in 1982. Reid also volunteered and headed a variety of other causes, including the Minden Food Bank where he co-ordinated the Christmas basket program, and the Garlic Festival.
“His positive and happy attitude was really able to attract other people to want to help out,” his other son, Matt Reid, said. “He just made people feel good about helping out and that would get more people involved.”
“It wasn’t about what he could achieve. It was about what was needed and how he could help get there,” Simon Reid said.
But despite a busy volunteer life, he made time for family.
“He was always there for us,” Simon Reid said. “Playing and helping and encouraging and making us think we could do what we wanted to do, be what we wanted to be.”
Berringer described him as a passionate environmentalist, working as a research scientist for the provincial government and installing solar panels at his home. Reid also enjoyed gathering syrup from dozens of maple trees, planting gardens and farming cows and rabbits on a small scale.
“They were modern-day homesteaders,” Simon Reid said of his parents. “He always threw himself wholeheartedly into his hobbies.”
The community responded to Reid’s passing with an outpouring of support and grief. A virtual visitation was held Dec. 16, with a larger celebration of life planned once the pandemic is over.
“Basically, everybody we talked to said, ‘your dad just called me, we hadn’t talked in years, he called me up and we had a great conversation’,” Matt Reid said.
During the virtual service, the Reid children said their father’s example was one to follow.
“Dad will be forever in all our hearts, as the indomitable spirit he always was. He undoubtedly made the world a better place in so many ways, but perhaps most by being open to connection,” Simon Reid said. “Next time you think, ‘I should reach out,’ pull a Ron Reid. Just pick up the phone, jump in the car, and just show up. I’m sure you’ll make someone’s day.”
Medical students visited Haliburton in the summer of 2019 through the Rural Ontario Medical Program. The County is expanding its
doctor recruitment program. File photo.
The County is looking for ways to improve its physician recruitment program after finding some success in 2020.
Council reviewed the program Dec. 16, about a year-and-a-half since it came into being. The initiative led by recruiter, Cheryl Kennedy, saw dividends this year, with two new emergency department doctors joining Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS).
But a staff report identified several gaps in the existing program – from housing to moving expenses, to the need for a better memorandum of understanding for the roles and responsibilities between the County, HHHS and the Haliburton Highlands Family Health Team.
“This program is really finding its feet now and is seeing some good success,” Coun. Carol Moffatt said. “We need to be honest and admit there’s been challenges and frustrations with the various parties … If we can really, clearly lay out who does what (and) when, so that everyone knows what their responsibility is for this program, it should smooth things out a little bit.”
Other proposed changes are expanding the recruitment efforts to include nurse practitioners and rural generalists, providing moving expenses and aiding in recruitment at out-of-County clinics if they service a significant number of County residents.
CAO Mike Rutter said a major hurdle is the lack of housing. Rutter said staff investigated purchasing a temporary residence for potential recruits but found renting to be more cost-effective, estimated at under $10,000 annually. He said staff would bring options to council in the first quarter of 2021.
“It makes sense to pursue this because it’s a constant struggle to find places. There aren’t quality places for those short-terms that come up,” Coun. Andrea Roberts said.
The report also proposes a media event for when a new physician signs a return of service agreement – a guarantee for them to work in the County for a certain number of years, which has a $25,000-per-year financial incentive.
“It’s an opportunity to celebrate the success,” Rutter said. “But also, a story, for the community to get to know new physicians that are relocating here.”
Council voted to receive the report and direct staff to incorporate changes to program documents.
“You’ve had some success and we’re fortunate to have you working for us,” Warden Liz Danielsen told Kennedy.
The Haliburton County Snowmobile Association is fundraising for the Kelly Shires Breast Cancer Foundation using its groomer. Left to
right: Tom Nicholson, Margo Ross, John Enright, Cole Finlay, Liz Jesseman. Photo by Joseph Quigley.
The Haliburton County Snowmobile Association (HCSA) is bringing a dash of pink to its trails with a new grooming-based fundraiser for the Kelly Shires Breast Cancer Foundation.
The HCSA is launching a new initiative to donate $1 for every hour one of its groomers is used. The machine will frequent the club’s biggest trail, the Rail Trail, with the foundation logo in tow throughout the winter.
The charity provides financial support to breast cancer patients. HCSA vice president John Enright said the donation should amount to about $500, based on historical use.
“We felt it was our time to give something back,” Enright said. “Snowmobile clubs are always sort of looking, scrounging, scraping. So, here was an opportunity that we thought up ourselves to donate to this exceptional organization.”
Charity director Suzy Stenoff said they appreciate the donation, especially given the pandemic curtailing fundraising efforts over the past year. The organization has a snowmobile focus and many clubs have done charity rides for it, but she said none have done a fundraiser like this.
“We are so thrilled to be a part of this,” Stenoff said, adding the club does a lot of work with trail maintenance over a year. “Myself, running a charity, I know how much work it is and how hard it is. So, to have this extra layer on for them, it’s spectacular they’ve been able to do this for us.”
HCSA volunteer Liz Jesseman is a breast cancer survivor who has raised money for the foundation for years. She said she knows how expenses can wrack up when receiving treatments.
“It’s just an amazing organization,” Jesseman said, adding praise for the donation. “It’s a great thing to do. For all women and snowmobilers.”
Stenoff said there is also added value in the promotional aspect of the HCSA initiative.
“Having an extra fundraiser like this benefiting our charity is very amazing and will go a long way,” she said. “Beyond that, the extra exposure, even letting people know we are here, that we are a charity.”
Enright said the HCSA plans to make this initiative a regular feature, supporting and spotlighting different small charities in the years to come. You can donate to the foundation at kellyshiresfoundation.org.
The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) has purchased the Frost Centre.
OPSEU/SEFPO announced
the purchase Jan. 8 and it was also confirmed by Algonquin Highlands Mayor
Carol Moffatt on her Facebook page.
In a press release,
OPSEU said it would be used as a training centre.
The union represents
170,000 front-line public sector workers.
In the press release, president Warren (Smokey) Thomas said, “this property will serve OPSEU/SEFPOs hardworking members so that they can continue to support our province, its people and its economy.”
Moffatt said on her
page that she’d spoken to Thomas and, “The revitalization
of the historic property as an educational facility will provide many
employment opportunities across a range of fields.
“President Thomas and I spoke of the many
opportunities for collaboration and partnership between the facility and the
community at large; and I look forward to helping broker some local
connections.”
Haliburton students will not return to in-person classes until Jan. 25 and will instead continue teacher-led online learning.
The province announced today that elementary students in the southern group of health units, previously scheduled to return to in-person classes Jan. 11, will not do so until Jan 25. That includes the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit. This aligns with the return date for secondary school classes.
“I have and remain firmly committed to getting students back into class as soon as possible – there is nothing more important. However, the best medical and scientific experts have been clear: while schools have been safe places for kids, the sharp rise in community transmission puts that progress and Ontario families at risk,” said Minister of Education Stephen Lecce said in a press release. “During this time, students will remain engaged in live teacher-led online learning with access to enhanced mental health and technology supports.”
The province pointed to rising COVID rates amongst 12-13 year-olds. The positivity rate was approximately 5.44 per cent in late November and early December, compared to nearly 20 per cent in early January. COVID cases also continue to rise, with more than 3,500 new cases reported in the province today.
Constable Christopher Darling of the Haliburton Highlands Detachment keeps an eye out from his police cruiser. Photo by Lisa Gervais.
Minden councillor Jennifer Hughey, who used to live in Toronto, says she’s never seen anything like the drug bust she witnessed on Bobcaygeon Road the night of Nov. 12, 2020.
Hughey, who lives on the road, described the scene in a recent interview with The Highlander.
“There were three police vehicles at the end of a driveway with no lights on. One of the SUVs had a drug dog. The police marched two-by-two with the dog in the front, very covertly down the road. There was another car parked at the end of the Minden Bible Church road. They just converged on [an alleged drug house] and there was a lot of dog barking.”
Hughey said following the initial police action, which involved eight to 10 officers that she could see, police were on scene for hours and the house and adjacent garage lit up as it was searched.
“The feeling of us on the street, who have seen things going on for about two-and-a-half years, is maybe this time it’ll be done, but we don’t feel extremely confident,” Hughey said.
On that night, Haliburton Highlands and City of Kawartha Lakes drug cops executed a search warrant at the house and said they found cocaine and fentanyl. They also located cash and stolen items. They arrested and charged five Haliburton County residents as well as a suspect from Ajax and one from Toronto. The charges included possession and trafficking of drugs as well as possession of property obtained by crime. Those suspects have now begun their slow march through the court system.
The year 2020 was a busy one for drug busts in the County. Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 29, 78 people have been charged with 304 offences. By contrast, 2019 saw 23 people charged with 99 offences.
The first major bust of last year was in the wee hours of Jan. 30, 2020, when police used choppers and dogs to raid six locations in the County and GTA, seizing 400 grams of cocaine/crack cocaine, two grams of fentanyl, 13 guns and more than $12,000. They also located stolen property. Thirteen Haliburton County residents were charged at the time and three from the GTA.
Dubbed Project Imperial, the OPP said it was the culmination of a nine-month investigation into trafficking cocaine into the Haliburton area from the GTA. They said they also identified a significant property crime network directly linked to the accused.
One eye witness to a bust in Carnarvon said she was awakened before dawn to the sound of a helicopter. When she went outside to investigate, the woman said she saw a home along Highway 35, just north of the village, being swarmed by police.
The busts continued from then with major warrants executed across the County.
Haliburton Highlands OPP detachment commander, Liane Spong, said, “There has been an emergence of increased drug availability in Haliburton County over the recent years and to tackle that the solution required a team approach aimed at gathering intelligence and actioning projects across multijurisdictional boundaries.”
She said the community street crime units (CSCUs) that are tackling the drug trade combine the organized crime enforcement bureau, the community drug action team and the detachment-based street crime team.
“We’re actually putting a really big dent in it,” Spong said. “It’s boots-on-the-ground police work that it’s coming down to, digging out that information, spending countless hours making linkages down to the GTA in several regions.”
Based on local police statistics, the drugs of choice locally are cocaine (74 occurrences and more than 678 grams seized), followed by crack cocaine (26 instances and 704 grams). Cannabis ranks next.
The drugs are coming from the GTA with activity from Durham to the Kawartha Lakes area, Douro-Drummer, Bradford-West Gwillimbury, Essa Township and Trent Hills.
Spong said, “in the past, police agencies may not have had the same capability to work together, creating silos, however today’s advancements afford the ability to work with other police agencies across the province and beyond. And the OPP provides an integrated service delivery model whereby we work across multiple OPP detachments and OPP bureaus in developing coordinated approaches to investigations as crime knows no borders yet can have profound local impacts if not addressed in such a way. So, our local CSCU team taps into expertise across the province and works hard to pull it all together.
“Even our local members are involved in search warrants and seizures. Not just in Haliburton County, but other areas on joint projects and from there we have been executing search warrants, making huge seizures, and where the dent starts to happen, it’s hitting the distribution source much higher up in the chain.”
Police activity summary
Item
2020
2019
Occurrences
28
31
Warrants
11
18
Warrant Services
5
2
Persons Charged
78
23
Charges
304
99
Seized drug summary
Drug type
2020 Occurrences
2020 Quantity
2019 Occurrences
2019 Quantity
Amphetamine/salts/derivates/isomers/analogues
1
Cannabis (Marihuana)
24
19g; 6264 items
6
3303g
Cannabis (plants)
20
2409 items
1
9 items
Cannabis resin (hash)
1
Cocaine
74
678.17g
34
147.35g
Crack cocaine
26
704g
1
0.50g
Fentanyl
8
8
31.80g; 1 item
Hydromorphone
15
5
Methamphetamine (Crystal Meth)
4
7
512.30g
Other
14
4
42 items
Oxycodone (Percodan)
1
1 item
4
4 items
Psilocybin (mushrooms)
2
2
Totals:
191
1401.17g, 8674 items
73
3994.95, 56 items
Drugs and property crime
There is also a strong correlation between drugs and theft. Nearly every major bust finds not just drugs but stolen goods. People are stealing to sell items for drug money, or swapping stolen items for drugs.
Spong said, “They [police] do a lot of work where they are focusing on the local drug activity and related property crime and from there trying to link the distribution chain back to the source and it’s working really well.”
She added that in every investigation, they learn a little bit more about who is involved, the supply routes and distribution chains.
“Our team is incredibly busy having to connect all the dots across the County and the GTA.”
The detachment commander vows there will be more to come.
“Haliburton County is on the map. I think the messaging is loud and clear. If you’re going to engage in that type of illicit activity in the County it’s going to be found out and we’re going to take significant action to curb that.”
Spong emphasized the OPP are not alone in the war on drugs. She says justice and enforcement is just one pillar in the Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland Drug Strategy. The others are harm reduction, prevention and education and treatment.
“It is complex. It is deep-seated. We know it’s related to so many more things than just local people using. It has that deeper sense of being linked to overall social determinants of local health, there’s poverty, addictions, mental health. It goes across so many different facets and organizations. All these other areas play a role.”
Haliburton Highlands Detachment Commander Liane Spong. Photo by Lisa Gervais
Major OPP drug activity in 2020
• Nov. 12, 2020 – Bobcaygeon Road, Minden Hills. Five Haliburton County residents charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine and fentanyl.
• June 30, 2020 – motor vehicle stop. Three Haliburton County residents allegedly found to be in possession of cocaine and fentanyl. One was further charged with possession of proceeds of property obtained by crime.
• May 28, 2020 – Mountain Street, Dysart. Police seized more than eight ounces of cocaine and more than $7,000 in Canadian currency. Three County residents charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine. Two of them were the same people charged in a May 13 raid.
• May 13, 2020 – Mountain Street, Dysart. Four Haliburton County residents charged with trafficking cocaine.
• April 9, 2020 – Hutchings Road, Dysart. Police seized several ounces of cocaine, valued at $23,000, a small quantity of crystal meth, and $7,100 in Canadian currency. They also took four restricted firearms, and one prohibited firearm, a stolen side-by-side UTV valued at $5,500. Four County residents charged with various offences.
• Jan. 30, 2020 – Project Imperial – a nine-month investigation into trafficking cocaine into the Haliburton area from the GTA. Also identifying a significant property crime network directly linked to the accused. Police recovered stolen property taken from residential and commercial properties in the County. Major bust with helicopter and dogs. Seized 400 grams of cocaine/crack cocaine, two grams of fentanyl, 13 weapons and more than $12,000 in cash. Stolen property, including generators, power tools and solar panels. Thirteen County residents charged.
Former Algonquin Highlands resident, Carol Kilby, says it’s taken her almost a decade to write the book she’s titled Evolutionary Dancer. Out, In, and on the fringe of the Church. However, she jokes, “some might suggest, it’s taken 13.8 billion years to write.”
The reference is to the story of the Universe, which Kilby shared with visitors to the Gaia Centre for Eco-Spirituality and Sustainable Work when she and partner, Paul Irwin, lived there for 16 years. They had a labyrinth set up in the woods on the property with stations marking key moments in the universe story, from the Big Bang to present day.
Kilby and Irwin moved to Algonquin Highlands in 2004 after retiring from ministry in the United Church of Canada. In 2015, the United Nations Year of Sustainability, they opened the Gaia Centre.
The non-profit charitable organization hosted workshops, retreats, and events bringing teachers to the County.
Retiring again, the couple moved to Scarborough in May, 2020.
Kilby said the genesis of the book came from when she was invited to take part-time leadership at Kinmount United Church.
“I took the teachings from the new science and earth-based spirituality with me. The open-minded congregation and I entered into an experiment in evolutionary spirituality. We looked for daily wisdom relevant to the climate crisis, in not just one holy book, but two, the second being creation itself.
“We tackled unusual topics such as, “will we evolve for shifting times?” and “I spy with my evolutionary eye” and “becoming evolutionary elders for adventurous churches,” Kilby said.
She said the response to these gatherings was so rich, she’d go home and write them down.
“We were discovering how the old sacred story of the Hebrew-Christian Bible and the new sacred story of the Universe from modern science made for powerful dance partners. But more than being compatible, they were stronger and more relevant for our times together than apart. That was the discovery that became the book.”
She said readers can expect lots of stories.
“In the first section, stories of the teachers, artists, mystics, shamans, yogis, and others whose strange ideas challenged the beliefs, ideas, and assumptions that I’d learned in what has been basically a Christian culture, up to now.”
She added there are original stories from Grandmother Universe, her inner storyteller. Kilby said she emerged, much to her surprise, as she led folks through the woodland cosmic labyrinth at Gaia Centre telling the story of the Universe – its origins, evolutions, and becoming conscious in the human ones.
In the second section, the stories come from the Sunday conversations in Kinmount. She said there are discoveries about bible stories and “readers will see that the environmental crisis is driving not only the evolution of consciousness but the evolution of religion and the emergence of a new kind of human – one who lives in mutual relationship with Mother Earth.”
In the last section, she said readers will find samples of inter-spiritual evolutionary rituals they used.
“And many will be surprised they can be used whatever one’s path – be it out, in, or on the fringe of the church.”
Kilby anticipates the digital version will be available at Amazon.ca in late December and the print book sometime in January 2021.
