Support growing for Haliburton Sports Hall of Fame

By

Joseph Quigley, Local Journalism Initiative Repoter

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January 3, 2020

JQ - Haliburton Sports Hall of Fame - 1 — Haliburton Sports Hall of Fame management committee members Roger Dart and Scotty LaRue addressed Dysart et al council Dec. 16. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

Haliburton’s sporting history and stars will be celebrated with the creation of the proposed Haliburton Sports Hall of Fame.

A management committee under the Haliburton County Community Co-Operative presented to Dysart et al council Dec. 16 in regards to their plans to build the hall inside the A.J. LaRue Arena to recognize the sporting achievements of people in the Haliburton Highlands. Council passed a resolution in support and directed staff to work with the group.

Mayor Andrea Roberts spoke positively about the idea.

“We have a huge history of people who have gone on to do amazing things on the national, international stage,” Roberts said. “It’s a great idea to promote not only the athletes but the people that are behind them.”

The committee has developed the concept over a number of years. The hall would include categories for individuals, builders and teams.

The group asked council for general support, an initial display area in the community centre upstairs at A.J. LaRue Arena and permission to work with staff to design the display.

“We’ve raised a substantial amount of money to carry us over but we need to do more fundraising and we’d also like some support from the community,” committee chair Scotty LaRue said.

The committee has already researched the County of Haliburton’s sporting history and plans to have its first induction ceremony next October.

“I’ve been sitting in on the meetings and I’ve just been amazed at the actual history we have here,” Deputy Mayor Patrick Kennedy said.

LaRue said the hall would include people from all of the County of Haliburton. To that end, the group wants to expand its presently all-male, Dysart et al-native board of directors to include more women and people from elsewhere in the county.

“We want this to be county-wide,” LaRue said, adding advertisement has not yet yielded any takers.

LaRue also spoke to the possibility of being embedded in a new community centre in Dysart et al whenever one comes.

“We’d like to get a permanent place,” LaRue said. “That’s where we’d like to have it.”

Birders flock to Haliburton to see rare specimen

By

Joseph Quigley, Local Journalism Initiative Repoter

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January 3, 2020

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JQ - Varied Thrush - 1 - web — A Varied Thrush has made a winter home at Bark Lake, attracting dozens of birders to catch a glimpse of the rare visitor. Photo submitted by Joe Fortin.

More than 100 birders have flocked to Bark Lake over the past week to catch a glimpse of a rare visitor from British Columbia.

Enthusiasts from far and wide are travelling to the Bark Lake Leadership and Conference Centre to see the Varied Thrush, a yellow bird native to the pacific coast. But the species has rarely been known to migrate farther east.

Program manager Joe Fortin said staff discovered the bird at the centre Dec. 10 before announcing their doors would be open to the public for sightings Dec. 12. People have visited every day since, coming from as far as Montreal.

“They are having a blast,” Fortin said. “This is amazing. This is a community. These folks who are passionate about wildlife who want to share and have an opportunity to experience.”

Felix Eckley made the trip with his father from Toronto. The birder said they got up early and stopped by multiple times to get their sighting.

“Since we live in Toronto, it was really far for us to regularly go (to British Columbia),” Eckley said. “We saw how great a bird it was. Beautiful bird and actually to be able to go and see it was amazing.”

The thrush has also been subjected to a barrage of cameras as visitors have tried to capture the rare specimen. Ishrani, who requested her last name be withheld, is a photographer who came from Scarborough to see it.

“I’ve never experienced this bird, so it’s a new experience,” she said. “Life is about creating new experiences.”

Fortin said field naturalists suspect the bird is male and over a year old based on its plumage. It is not skittish and has challenged others for feeder food.

“This guy here will chase the blue jays around and sort of hunker down, run at them,” Fortin said. “It’s fun to watch.”

It is uncertain how long it will stick around Bark Lake but Fortin said he hopes it could remain there for the whole winter.

“Selfishly, I want to know he’s okay. This guy came all the way here to Haliburton, all the way here to the highlands,” Fortin said. “I want him to have a good time.”

But ultimately, Fortin said the visitor will make the best decisions for itself.

“It’s been an amazing opportunity,” Fortin said. “It’s always incredible the critters you can find up in Haliburton.”

Busy year for U-Links

By

Lisa Gervais

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December 30, 2019

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During a busy U-Links year, students examined thousands of aquatic bugs in an effort to monitor lake health for numerous local lake associations, toured farmers’ markets and provincial parks, took part in the Haliburton-Muskoka-Kawartha Children’s Water Festival and will survey local residents on topics such as plastics reduction and youth attraction and retention.

“None of this research and hands-on learning experience would be possible without local host organizations and volunteers,” said program coordinator Amanda Duncombe-Lee in an end-of-year press release.

She mentioned those who drove to Peterborough to meet students and took students around lakes in their boats as well as providing other support.

“This has been a semester of unique opportunities, with our new Benthos Biomonitoring Program and an expansion of our partnership with Fleming College launching some exciting new initiatives for the community and our organization,” Duncombe-Lee said.

The Benthos Biomonitoring Program was made possible through a Seed Grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to the Trent Centre for Community Based Education in partnership with U-Links. The program leverages the resources of lake associations, Trent University’s School of the Environment and Fleming College’s Environmental Technology Program, citizen scientists and other organizations to pilot and co-ordinate a system for benthic biomonitoring in the region.

The Seed Grant along with support from Trent University, Haliburton County Development Corporation and the CICan Career-Launcher Internship program has enabled U-Links to hire a project coordinator who has the expertise to supervise biomonitoring research projects for local lake associations.

Community host organizations, volunteers, and community members are encouraged to attend the Annual Celebration of Research March 28, 2020 at the Minden Hills Community Centre.

If you have a project idea and are interested in hosting a project for the winter 2020 semester or the 2020-2021 academic year, please contact aduncombe-lee@ulinks.ca.

Dysart proposes six big ideas for future

By

Lisa Gervais

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December 30, 2019

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JQ - Dysart big ideas - 2_Easy-Resize.com — Mayor Andrea Roberts

By Joseph Quigley

Dysart et al’s top goal is to have a shovel-ready plan for a new recreation complex by the end of the council term.

Council reviewed its “Six Big Ideas” report during its Dec. 16 meeting. The document outlines the municipality’s objectives for the next three years as identified in a May brainstorming session with staff and councillors.

First amongst the ideas is a recreation master plan, which would include a new recreation complex. Council agreed to have members start on preliminary work.

“I’d really like to see some formal action taken,” Coun. John Smith said. “If we still believe the recreation master plan amongst the councillors is number one, let’s get moving.”

The other ideas prioritized in the document, ranked in importance by the municipality, were housing, a parks management plan, enhancing lake and shoreline health, a Dysart master plan (for an overarching vision for the next five-plus years) and improving digitization.

The municipality announced a land donation Nov. 26 at County Road 21 and Soyer’s Lake Road. The 15.75-acre property can only be used for a new recreation centre under the agreement.

But Mayor Andrea Roberts expressed concern about starting work on a recreation management plan in 2020, given the work already happening on projects like the master plan for Head Lake Park. She suggested work begin 2021 instead.

“I’m concerned with piling too much,” Roberts said. “Takes a lot of time, effort, energy to go through those public consultations.”

Coun. Paul McKechnie said building a large-scale facility like a recreation centre, which could cost between $10 million to $20 million, would require funding from other levels of government. He added that could not be counted on.

“You’re better off buying lottery tickets,” he said.

But chief administrative officer Tamara Wilbee said community fundraising could start while the municipality waits for those grants. She added detailed plans are needed to even have a chance of upper government funding.

“The windows to apply now are so short, if you don’t have anything ready, right down to engineered plans, you may as well forget it,” Willbee said.

Deputy Mayor Patrick Kennedy proposed starting foundational work on the big ideas, with councillors indicating what they would like to start tackling.

Roberts said starting talks about the ideas are a positive step.

“We will get there with all of these.”

Encouraging cashless at Dorset Tower

By

Lisa Gervais

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December 30, 2019

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JQ - Algonquin Highlands News - 1_Easy-Resize.com — Algonquin Highlands Mayor Carol Moffatt at the Dec. 12 Council meeting.

Algonquin Highlands wants people visiting the Dorset tower to go cashless to ease staff burden.

Council discussed the issue during its Dec. 12 meeting. They rejected a staff proposal to only take credit or debit at the tower as part of an updated fee bylaw, out of concern for legalities and international visitors. Instead, council asked staff to use signage to encourage paying by means other than cash.

Staff reported processing cash – $5 per car – can be time-consuming given the amount of traffic the tower gets each year. CAO Angie Bird said debit or credit use should help speed things up.

“Using debit or credit, many people have the tap card,” Bird said. “It certainly makes it much quicker for people to go through.”

See more on the Algonquin Highlands Council meeting in the Jan. 9 Highlander.

Red Hawks fly into new year with win

By

Joseph Quigley, Local Journalism Initiative Repoter

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December 23, 2019

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JQ - Red Hawks - 2-web — Braedon Robinson fends off a defender as he controls the puck. Photos by Joseph Quigley.

The Red Hawks boys hockey team capped off its year with a dominating 5-0 win over the Adam Scott Lions at home Dec. 19.

The Haliburton Highlands Secondary School team secured an early lead and kept the Lions scoreless, with goaltender Carson Sisson getting the shutout. The victory gives the Red Hawks a 4-2 record midway through the season.

“This is a good place to be at this point in the year,” coach Jason Morissette said. “Puts us in a good shape for playoffs.”

Isaac Little opened the scoring on an assist from Tim Turner just 2:39 into the first period, which would eventually hold up as the game-winner.

“We played pretty good,” Little said. “We played together as a team really well. It’s good development for further in the season.”

Despite pushback from Adam Scott, the Red Hawks added to their lead at the end of the first on a goal from Braeden Robinson.

The game went scoreless throughout the second until the Red Hawks struck shorthanded, with Reese Casey scoring with just over five minutes left to make it 3-0. Robinson would strike again on a feed from Lucas Haedicke to give the home team a 4-0 lead heading into the second intermission.

Morissette complimented the efforts of his top line, which features Robinson, Haedicke and Paul Turner.

“They’re all seniors, they know the system,” he said. “They got the bulk of our points today because they know how to play the system.”

Haedicke finished the scoring on a solo-rush, splitting Adam Scott’s defense and getting in on goal to make it 5-0 in the third. The team held the Lions at bay the rest of the way, controlling the play and killing a 5-on-3 to preserve the shutout.

Morissette said it was important the team continued playing and not lose focus in a blowout win.

“No matter what happens when you got the lead, keep good habits,” he said. “The second half of our season is going to be a lot tougher.”

Still, he said the team with several inexperienced players is playing above his expectations going into the holiday break with a winning record.

“I see a lot of guys on this team that are really eager to learn about the game,” Morissette said. “If they’re willing to listen and willing to put in the time, willing to try it, then it goes much better.”

“I feel like we’re getting better every game,” Little said. “We’re going to be playing some tougher teams as the season gets on and I think the boys are getting ready for it.”

Roads drive early Dysart budget talks

By

Joseph Quigley, Local Journalism Initiative Repoter

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December 23, 2019

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JQ - Dysart budget - 1-web — Dysart et al Coun. John Smith pushed for more roads spending during a Dec. 13 budget meeting. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

Roads spending proved contentious at a Dysart et al budget meeting Dec. 13 with disagreement on how much should be spent on them.

Council worked through a first draft of the budget, which features an estimated municipal tax rate increase of four per cent. They considered three options for the road budget this year, focusing on a mid-range staff proposal to spend $1.134 million.

Coun. John Smith pushed for more funding, citing a Decision Optimization Technology (DoT) software report presented to the infrastructure committee.

The report found if the municipality maintained a $1.25 million road budget, the number of roads rated as “poor” in the municipality would more than double from 18.5 per cent in 2019 to 46.6 per cent in 2021.

“Completely off the charts to think nearly half our roads will be categorized as in poor condition,” Smith said, before asking for a road spending figure which would keep poor-rated roads at current levels. He also suggested borrowing money could be necessary.

The municipality invested in DoT software this year, surveying all its roads to help guide decisions.

However, staff pushed back on the DoT report and said council needed to agree on parameters to make the software more accurate. Staff also seeks to complete a new asset management plan in 2020 to decide where to target before spending more roads money.

“We need to kind of backtrack and have council decide what they want the roads to look like, establish the rules of engagement,” municipal treasurer Barbara Swannell said.

The $1.134 million proposal includes carryover from 2019 and $541,049 in resurfacing on spots like Trappers Trail Road and Park Street. It also features $255,359 to start implementation on the asset management plan in 2020.

Other staff proposals included one for $945,230 removing additional slurry seal projects in 2020 and the $255,359 allotment. The most costly plan would be $1.74 million and add over $600,000 in extra road construction, including treatment on Bitter Lake Road ($328,500), Dignan Road ($226,150) and crack sealing in downtown Haliburton.

Repaving roads pricey

Municipal staff estimated turning previously pulverized roads back into hard-surface would cost $1.26 million.

The estimate was not in the draft budget and includes 28 roads, stretching across 36.9 kilometres.

The roads were turned from hard-top to gravel by municipal staff to reduce maintenance and labour resources. Council did not make any decisions to move ahead with reverting the roads. But staff confirmed this year’s budget does not include any further roads going from hard surface to gravel.

“That’s a first step,” Smith said.

Stuck on potholes

Coun. Walt McKechnie asked about the possibilities of better solutions to fix potholes.

“We’re not the only one having this problem and to me, it’s a very big problem,” McKechnie said.

Director of public works Rob Camelon said there are no perfect patch systems and it comes down to the way roads are built.

“You have a poor base, you’re going to have potholes no matter what you put down,” he said.

On the trail of an 80-year-old cold case

By

Lisa Gervais

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December 19, 2019

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LG-for Heaven's Sake 1 — For Heaven's Sake will be filimed in Minden in January and February.

In 1934, Harold Heaven disappeared from his cabin on Horseshoe Lake Road, never to be seen again. His body was never found. Now, 85 years later, Harold’s great-grea-tnephew Mike (Heaven) Mildon and his best friend Jackson Rowe are hoping to solve the case.

The two documentarians came to Minden Hills council Dec. 12 seeking permission to film in the town, including on township-owned property, as early as Jan. 5, 2020.

Rowe and Mildon are the hosts of ‘For Heaven’s Sake’ which will air on the CBC. They said they’ll explore family legends, campfire tales, newspaper articles about Harold’s disappearance, and look at theories in the official police reports.

“Harold’s case has been left unsolved for more than 80 years, and the Heaven family, especially Mike, want to solve the mystery,” Rowe said.

However, before they start showing up with cameras on the streets, they wanted to introduce themselves to the public and let locals know about their crew coming to town.

At the council meeting, they outlined the story of Harold’s disappearance in hopes of jogging the memories of anyone who might know something interesting. They also wanted council members to share any ideas or theories they have that might help with their investigation.

“They conducted an initial search, they dragged Horseshoe Lake. They spoke with people of interest, neighbours, acquaintances, but despite their best efforts they couldn’t do anything to move the investigation forward,” Rowe said.

They said that during filming, they expect to uncover a lot about the history of the town and its people in the 1930s, which is why they think many residents would be interested in speaking with them. In addition to members of the Heaven family, they hope to interview neighbours, historians, and other Mindenites. They said Harold Heaven’s family still has a strong presence in Minden. Several relatives have cottages, or live full-time, on Horseshoe Lake. Mildon added that Minden has been a huge part of his life. He spent years working at Foodland, Boatwerks, and many more local shops. He’s been a big part of the local kayaking community.

The crew hopes to film in the township in January and February, since it was in the winter when Harold went missing. They may also return in the spring.

“Minden is an integral part of the story, and because this is a documentary, the story will change the more people we talk to,” the two said.

They anticipate filming main street, the Gull River, Riverwalk trail, the Cultural Centre, Horseshoe Lake Road as well as surrounding lakes, and other areas as needed. With permission, they also hope to film private establishments such as the Dominion Hotel, the Legion, and other historic properties.

“We’d like to take our small film crew to places like Tuesday night bingo, the genealogy club, Open Mic Night at the Dominion Hotel, watching as the story unfolds,” they said.

They said it might seem strange to relaunch the investigation now, more than 80 years after the fact, but with “new technologies and means of communication, we think that there is more information to be had.” They added, “if you lost a family member, would you stop looking? Exhausting every last effort, leaving no stone unturned to try to find closure for this family tragedy and lifelong mystery. It’s exactly what we plan to do.”

Rowe said, “Since it’s such an old case it may seem strange to say but time is very much of the essence … we want to act now before the last remaining first-hand accounts of what happened will fade away and Harold’s truth is lost forever.”

Mildon added, “Every family has a skeleton in their closet. Mine has been there for almost 100 years. This project has been a chance to solve a mystery – the camp fire story brought to life.”

Arena project causing discomfort

By

Lisa Gervais

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December 19, 2019

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I walked away from last Thursday’s Minden Hills council meeting unsure of exactly how much more money taxpayers are going to have to spend to complete the multimillion-dollar S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and community centre project.

It was apparent to me that I wasn’t the only one confused either. Some councillors were also puzzled about what had been placed in front of them. Sure, it’s a complicated process, made more complex by the Integrated Project Delivery or IPD nature of the project – pitched as being the best thing since sliced bread, but now we’re told it didn’t deliver the savings the project’s cheerleaders had sold it on.

The idea was that builder, McDonald Brothers Construction, Parkin Architects and the township would collaborate to optimize results, including reducing waste and maximizing efficiencies through the design fabrication and construction stage. Presumably it would also save money.

We found out Dec. 12 that they’d spent the entire contingency of $220,000. They came asking for an added $250,000 contingency. There was also talk of more than $300,000 in value added items. The lenders, Infrastructure Ontario, are not covering all of the costs.

We were told there were challenges with the old part of the building. We were told they couldn’t find local workers so that bumped up costs. Then we were told about other changes to the project that some of us had never heard about before – so called upgrades according to MBC. My eyebrows went up. Why upgrade something, presumably at a greater cost, when the project is not finished? Wouldn’t one complete a project, spend the budget, then go to town with any savings?

I’ve always had concerns with Minden’s ice palace project. I never liked that the township went it alone, and didn’t at least talk to Dysart et al, Algonquin Highlands or Highlands East about a bigger project, perhaps incorporating a swimming pool. With Dysart et al getting a recent land donation on County Road 21 between Minden and Haliburton for a future recreational centre it irks me even more since a collaboration might have delivered so much more for so many more people. I’ve never liked how the proponents of the arena have largely dismissed the concerns of detractors. I don’t like that despite monthly updates, we are learning about new features of this project every day. I don’t like the sometimes convoluted financial reporting. I certainly don’t like that the budget appears to have been blown and more money is being sought. I know, it’s a contingency, and may not have to be spent, but the way the project has gone to date, I suspect it will be.

I also didn’t like the tone that if the money wasn’t handed over by council, it might mean some promised features may have to disappear. On top of this, Director of Community Services Mark Coleman leaves the township for another job in early January and it appears the fundraising group that is hoping to raise $750,000 for the project is in disarray. Perhaps when the ribbon is cut in six months’ time, the facility will blow all of our socks off and my criticisms will be for naught. I can only hope so.

HHOA fighting for Haliburton Gold

By

Joseph Quigley, Local Journalism Initiative Repoter

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December 18, 2019

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JQ - HHOA AGM 2019 - 2-web — Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Community Hatchery Program Coordinator Matt Burley speaks at the HHOA annual general meeting. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

The Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association (HHOA) is navigating how to manage its Haliburton Gold trout program with less direct government support.

The HHOA discussed the topic during its annual general meeting Dec. 8. Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) staff have previously managed egg collection for the association’s hatchery program but the practice is set to end next year.

President Eric Christensen said the change puts a lot on the generally older volunteers of the association.

“You’re asking people that on average are 65 years of age or more, to hop in a boat in the middle of the night to do that work,” Christensen said. “It’s strenuous work … You’re putting a lot of senior people at risk.”

The HHOA fish hatchery has stocked the heritage species Haliburton Gold lake trout for years with provincial support. Due to cuts, the MNRF moved to pass responsibility for collecting the eggs to the HHOA. It originally planned to do this in 2019 but pushed the move back to 2020 instead.

However, the HHOA is trying to stop that. They want local MNRF staff to continue helping, even if at the HHOA’s expense.

“We are in negotiations with the local office to work through how we can make that happen,” Christensen said.

Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Community Hatchery Program Coordinator Matt Burley spoke at the meeting. The association provides support and helps allocate grant funding on behalf of the MNRF. Christensen asked Burley about directing provincial grant dollars towards hiring MNRF staff.

Burley said contractors could be hired – which other hatcheries have done – but that would not result in any extra funding.

“We don’t give them any more money than what the formula allows for,” Burley said. “You would have to use the money you’re allocated for operational.”

But the Community Hatchery Program is offering new training materials, including video guides.

Still, Christensen said they will use the year they have to try to maintain MNRF staff support.

“It’s very important,” he said. “The technical advice and everything is very important to have.”