Fleming opening to expand summer horizons

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June 3, 2021

By Kirk Winter

Parents, students and staff of the Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) have been promised they’ll be told what the 2021-22 school year will look like come June 8.

Director of education, Wes Hahn, made the pledge at a May 25 board meeting.

Hahn said he wants everyone to know sooner rather than later what will be going on regarding instructional models in September.

“There are still a lot of moving parts and we are doing the best we can,” Hahn said “We don’t want to be scrambling that last week of August like we were last year. The only thing that might affect our June decisions is the ministry has promised a key update in mid-August that we might need to pivot from depending upon what they say.”

“We want to have kids back in school,” Hahn added. But we want to do it when it is right and safe and when the medical officers of health have approved that move.”

Families were asked to make a choice about in-person or virtual learning as of June 1. With those numbers, the board will have a better idea of where students are going to be.

Hahn said, “We can’t build anything concrete without those numbers. Staffing and budget are going to be so tight this year.”

He told trustees that an overwhelming number of parents have so far chosen in-school learning for their children but that all options are being looked at for delivering virtual learning, including a partnership with the board’s Virtual Learning Centre (VLC).

“For elementary learn at home, the numbers just aren’t there,” Hahn said. “The numbers committed at secondary are very low also.”

Hahn said there’s still significant instability regarding what September will look like because of issues around the vaccine roll-out and how many students between the ages of 12 and 17 choose to get vaccinated after they became eligible May 31.

“Vaccines are moving along quite well,” Hahn said. “They will have a definite impact on school opening in September.”

The director said high schools will open in September with cohorted classes utilizing either octomesters or quadmesters [studying one or two subjects at a time], and he expects direction from the ministry on which model the province would prefer. The board is also surveying its secondary leadership teams to see if they have a preference. At elementary, little change in the structure of a student’s day is expected.

Masks are expected to be mandatory, along with the enhanced cleaning protocols that were seen right across the board this year.

Trustee Louise Clodd asked Hahn if they are considering a hybrid form of delivery next year that would have a teacher instructing students in and out of class.

“We are not considering a hybrid model for next year,” Hahn said.

“It is not our preferred model and we think we have other options like teaming with VLC.”

The province announced June 2 students will not be returning to in-person classes this spring or summer.

Living a foodie’s charcuterie dream

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June 3, 2021

The pandemic has allowed Sandra Slauenwhite-Box time to focus and bring something that has always been a dream to reality

June 2021 marks the seventh-month anniversary of her new business, Prosciutto & Brie Charcuterie.

A self-described “lifelong foodie,” Slauenwhite-Box loves to dine out, cook, be creative and make beautiful and delicious food.

“I wanted to offer our community a gourmet product that is the perfect sensory combination of visual beauty and exquisite taste,” she said.

Prosciutto & Brie Charcuterie is a specialty catering company that offers gourmet grazing boxes, charcuterie boards and grazing tables with options ranging from traditional charcuterie, to themed boxes for special occasions.

The boxes come in a variety of sizes and can add a special touch for any occasion including holidays, weddings, birthdays, date nights, virtual parties, business meetings, as a thank you, bridal showers or anything really, Slauenwhite-Box added.

She hand picks each item in each box, scouring the highest quality ingredients internationally and partnering locally whenever possible. For her, every bite is important and presentation as important as taste.

She said the new business has been wellreceived with “amazing and encouraging feedback.” There have also been continuous requests to cater weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and virtual parties.

She said she is looking forward to summer “and continuing putting forward our best visual culinary experience whether it’s for a larger catered event or for one person’s enjoyment at home.”

While COVID-19 gave her the time and space to follow her heart’s business desires, Slauenwhite-Box said that despite the lockdowns and restrictions, “food is still one of the pleasures everyone can enjoy from the comfort of their homes.”

She said they have had businesses order individual sized boxes for their staff to have them open at home with a bottle of wine and host virtual staff parties. She added friends and families have also organized virtual charcuterie parties.

“People have adapted and been very creative with finding ways to gather around food and come together while still following the new rules.

“I hope through my new charcuterie business, I can bring joy through food during difficult times and join people together in creative new ways.”

Slauenwhite-Box added, “The Haliburton Highlands is a beautiful environment and I have been fortunate to live, work, volunteer and play here for over 14 years. The community is made up of wonderful people and businesses and Prosciutto & Brie Charcuterie strives to be a part of that and to enrich the County with a gourmet specialty food service.”

Find her at prosciuttoandbriecharcuterie. ca, Instagram – prosciuttoandbrie; and Facebook – Prosciutto & Brie Charcuterie.

Council wants arena loan cemented soon

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June 3, 2021

With interest rates rising, councillors asked staff to finalize their loan with Infrastructure Ontario for the new S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena and Community Centre during a meeting May 27

The discussion came during a first quarter financial report by director of finance and treasurer Lorrie Blanchard.

Mayor Brent Devolin asked, “how close are we to being able to lock that in as we continue to be in historic lows (interest rates)?”

Blanchard said they were waiting as there are still outstanding arena items they’d like to include in the debenture, such as the snack bar, equipment not covered by an Ontario Trillium Foundation grant, and a mobile stage.

She added they are awaiting some invoices but it could be cut off at some point. At that juncture, she said it would take six weeks to convert the construction loan to a debenture

She conceded that interest rates “have popped up a little bit” from preparations for the 2021 budget

For example, when looking at a 25-year debenture, the interest rate had been 2.31 per cent, a figure that had risen to 3.02 per cent as of last week. For a 30-year debenture it had climbed to 3.18 per cent from 2.25 per cent

Devolin suggested a staff report come back for the June meeting to decide on timing “if we feel that interest rate creep may cost us more in the long run.”

But Coun. Bob Carter suggested they should not wait until the June meeting.

“I don’t think there’s any expectation that interest rates are going to go down right now … and so I am a little bit concerned with us not shutting it down right now,” he said.

He said that if there are extra expenses, they could take out a second debenture later or finance internally.

“I think we should start the process now. “ Devolin said Blanchard’s news about interest rate increases “added fuel to it.”

Coun. Jean Neville agreed, saying staff should start the debenture process now and not wait.

Coun. Jennifer Hughey predicted interest rates will continue to go up and concurred with starting the process now.

Devolin suggested staff “bundle up as much as you can today” on project costs and begin the process of converting the construction loan to a debenture.

The arena project is worth about $12.75 million.

County’s books get clean bill of health

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June 3, 2021

The County’s accounting practices are in tip-top shape, according to an independent audit of expenditures, revenues and assets

On May 26, council approved the 2020 financial audit, completed by KPMG.

The yearly audit found no irregularities in the county’s accounting and reporting practices.

“This is about as clean as it gets,” said KPMG’s Oscar Poloni, who presented the report. The audit process also highlights any problems with how money is spent, received, and transferred by the County

“There’s nothing that we’ve seen that enhances your risk or is cause for concern,” Poloni told councillors.

COVID-19-related grants and expenditures account for some reporting irregularities: health services operating costs increased by $425,000 from 2020. That’s in part due to wage and staffing changes, as well as equipment needed to prepare and handle COVID-19. The operating cost increase is covered by federally administered Safe Restart funding as well as funding from Haliburton Highlands Health Services

The audit reports that salaries and bonuses for County of Haliburton staff increased by $110,000. That’s in part due to increased pandemic pay, as well as a shift towards full-time employees rather than seasonal workers.

KPMG found no issues in the way the County handled pandemic-related procedural changes or grants.

“There’s nothing we’ve seen that would cause concern to County council,” Poloni said.

Capital assets – money spent on roads, vehicles and everything else the County owns – increased by $4.89 million in 2020.

These projects included fixing multiple road surfaces, and bridge repairs at Hawk Lake and Eagle Lake. Four new vehicles, library materials and financial software were also included in 2020’s capital additions

Municipal long-term debt, used to finance capital projects, has increased by $2.88 million primarily due to road refurbishment projects. The County is paying 1.38 per cent interest, which is “fairly low” according to Poloni.

Unspent funds for capital projects accounted for a $3.05 million cash and investment balance at the end of 2020.

According to the KMPG audit, the County’s investments are low risk – with $84,000 in investment returns in 2020.

“What we’ve seen with the County is very consistent with what we’ve seen to be best practice, as far as investing advice.”

County Warden Liz Danielsen said she was happy with the audit’s conclusion.

“It’s always music to a County’s ears when we hear ‘it doesn’t get any better than this’,” Danielsen said.

County council members also directed CAO Mike Rutter to report back on a possible audit of the County’s reserve funds. That would summarize best practices and possibilities for County funds earmarked for specific future projects.

For the full report, visit haliburton.ca/ council

Managing water levels a ‘giant balancing act’

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June 3, 2021

After receiving 25 per cent of May’s average rainfall, experts and politicians are calling for patience as water levels in the Gull River Watershed remain worryingly low.

Without substantial rainfall for weeks, as well as minimal snowmelt, reservoir lakes such as Kennisis Lake are experiencing lower than normal late spring water levels

In order to preserve the health of those reservoirs, flow through lakes without dams or weirs such as Pine Lake, Beech Lake, and Grass Lake are drying up.

However, the low water levels aren’t due to mismanagement by the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW), said Ted Spence of the Coalition for Equitable Water Flow (CEWF).

“It’s totally based on climate change and climate variability, and the fact that we’ve had so little rain fall,” Spence said. Spence and the CEWF has been working with the TSW for more than 10 years to increase the health of the watershed’s lakes and rivers.

“To see those very large reservoirs at the top of the Gull not full this year: it’s pretty extreme,” he said.

Algonquin Highlands Mayor Carol Moffatt is also worried. She’s been monitoring lake levels and how the TSW chooses to release and hold back water throughout the watershed.

“If Trent-Severn Waterway were to release the water, they’d be taking a great risk … ” Moffatt said. She added it’s because warmer and dryer weather is on the way with minimal rain in the forecast. She said water released from the reservoir lakes might not be refilled. While the TSW released more water for the May long weekend, rain is the key ingredient to normal levels.

“It’s a giant balancing act,” said Moffatt. However, that balance, between the health of rivers and lakes throughout the system and the TSW itself, is frustrating for the thousands who live on nearly-dry rivers and lakes. The TSW opened its boating season May 28, including for the Rideau Canal.

“People are frustrated that our lifestyle and economy here are sacrificed for people in the south,” Moffatt said. “This is an old, complex, and complicated system.”

Spence agreed. According to his communication and work with the TSW, “It is true that their commitment is to open the canal and keep it operating,” he said. But he clarified that if the TSW opened up the reservoir lakes to fill up flow through lakes, cottagers could see worse conditions in the dry months of July and August

“Everybody would like to see enough water in the system,” said Spence. “But I think it’s not only in the interests of the TSW to have the reservoirs full: it’s also in the interests of all the cottagers.”

Concern over waterfowl

The TSW operates dams throughout the system – allowing drainage from lakes or stopping water flow. Margot Roberts, who lives on a river near Pine Lake, said she’s never seen such worrying water levels.

“Usually [the river] is really moving – it’s a good 30 or 40 feet across to the neighbour’s yard across the river,” said Roberts. “Now, if I had a good pair of boots I could walk over it.”

That also means that Roberts, an active volunteer with Birds Canada, can’t kayak to complete the annual Loon survey. Even more concerning, she said, is if the water is released too quickly, it could wash away Loon nests.

“I thought it would be fun to live on a river,” said Roberts. “Little did I realize the up and down of a river.”

Moffatt said she understand resident’s frustration – and how much the low water levels affect day-to-day life: but the issue is widespread.

“It’s not just us – it’s not that Haliburton County is being ignored by the TrentSevern Waterway,” Moffatt said. “They are doing what they can; the problem is there’s not much they can do.” The TSW did not respond to Highlander questions before press time.

County moves on service delivery

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June 3, 2021

County of Haliburton staff will assemble a working group to undertake a review of waste management practices.

They’ll also research options aimed at greater efficiencies.

It was just one of several suggestions in a service delivery review follow-up report by CAO Mike Rutter to a May 26 council meeting.

Rutter said the waste management working group will report back to council before the end of the year.

The future of landfills and transfer stations was just one item in a comprehensive report tabled by Rutter addressing next steps in the review.

Consultant StrategyCorp identified waste services as one of 12 highpriority initiatives for efficiencies in its final report released in November 2020. It said there were opportunities “to meet the needs of residents at a lower cost for communities.”

It suggested coordinating approaches to large waste policy and operational challenges with potential direct savings of $25,000. It also said Dysart and Highlands East could trim $25,000 each via a shared services agreement for Mumford Road and Harcourt landfills.

StrategyCorp also called for standardized waste policies.

“I’d really like to take waste management up to the County,” Coun. Pat Kennedy said. “If we had a little more volume with our neighbours, we might be able to get a better contracted price.”

“It’s an issue that urgently needs to be addressed,” said Coun. Cecil Ryall. “Eventually we can only shove so much stuff under the rug.”

Multiple councillors were enthusiastic about waste management streamlining – and exploring new technology that could allow incineration.

Warden Liz Danielsen said a goal of any work on waste management systems should aim to reduce confusion about where and how to get rid of waste.

“I see this as one of the more complicated issues we’re looking at,” Danielsen said.

Rutter also tackled fire, coordinated building, septic, and bylaw service efficiencies in his report.

While fire services across the County already collaborate extensively, Rutter said County staff will coordinate with fire chiefs to better understand possible needs for fire training and equipment sharing.

Haliburton’s CAOs suggested that building, septic and bylaw services are a top priority as a growing population means a flurry of building activity in the Highlands.

“This is one area where we hear a level of urgency, because of how busy our community has become,” Rutter said.

The StrategyCorp report outlines multiple ideas to tackle planning and bylaw: integrating municipal operations or centralizing them.

Rutter said County staff will consult with lower-tier municipal departments and come back with recommendations.

Many suggestions from the report, Rutter said, rely on the County integrating the way all four lowertier municipalities get materials and services, or centralized procurement.

For example, road construction, engineering and maintenance would require a collaborative budgetmaking process across the County’s municipalities.

“The goal would be to determine which projects are key to start on before 2022 budgeting begins,” Rutter said.

Many other processes which the report outlined, such as shared IT services, are already underway, Rutter said.

StrategyCorp also suggested hiring an economic development officer and County council has already approved that position and a job posting is currently in circulation.

Since the report’s suggestions cover nearly all areas of County operations, making changes and streamlining services across all four municipalities means a lot of work.

Danielsen said council should focus on completing the steps outlined by Rutter and StrategyCorp in a sustainable and measured way.

“Some of this work will take longer than others,” said Danielsen. “We just want to be making slow and steady progress.”

StrategyCorp estimated the County could save $900,000 in annual operating costs and $200,000 if staffing procedures were centralized and streamlined. After receiving the report, County council directed Rutter to report on timelines for each suggestion.

For the report from the county’s CAOs, visit haliburtoncounty.ca/ council

Camps prepare for uncertain summer

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June 3, 2021

Camp Medeba is getting ready for summer camp. Though camp this year – like last year – will look quite different.

Instead of groups of kids, families will be renting out the West Guilford camp’s cabins and lodges. And any registered campers will be exploring Medeba’s adventure activities as part of outdoor-only day camp groups.

While Premier Doug Ford announced on May 16 that summer camps across the province could open this summer, Medeba said business as usual wasn’t a realistic option.

“If overnight camp was not going to be allowed – or even if it was – we determined that we better be safe than sorry,” said Steve Archibald, executive director of Camp Medeba. “We decided that we better do something for certain that we’ll be able to do, rather than wait to be able to do something that might be able to happen.”

Besides a 21-page draft document, there are currently no finalized health protocols and procedures for overnight camps in Ontario.

Since Medeba hosts about 225 kids each week during the summer, as well as many school and church retreats during the year, the camp needs time to plan and prepare programs and registration. Archibald said that his team decided re-hiring staff, training, and firming up COVID-19 protocols would be too much to do before camp begins.

Challenging year for Medeba, Wanakita

Not to mention that Medeba’s summer programs are usually full by the beginning of May.

“We were sad, and it was a difficult decision,” said Archibald. “There’s nothing else like overnight camp – the things you experience. It’s an incredible experience in their lives.”

But family camp, and an extended day camp program, will take centre stage.

Families will have the chance to do activities like archery, swimming and mountain biking. There will be a takeout food service from the dining hall and Medeba’s staff are working to prepare picnic tables and barbecues for each cabin.

So far, Archibald says the summer is looking promising: their day camp is booking fast and one-third of the cabins are booked for the summer.

“We’re just thrilled we can do something,” said Archibald. “This has been great from that perspective.”

Camp Wanakita, on Koshlong Lake, also decided to cancel overnight camp.

“We need quite a bit of runway time,” said Andy Gruppe, Wanakita’s general manager. “There’s a lot of things we need to start planning for much early in the year.”

He said Wanakita was in the process of onboarding summer staff for this season – they usually hire about 200 seasonal workers – but uncertainty about COVID restrictions made that impossible.

“The staff needed to know if they had jobs or if they needed to make the call if we were going to be able to operate,” said Gruppe.

Both Archibald and Gruppe said that the draft guidance protocols for summer camps look effective. Those include cohorting, masking, and a safety plan each camp must submit to their health authorities.

But to put those rules in place last minute, “wasn’t something that we could necessarily do,” said Gruppe.

Now, families can come for a physically distanced “Wanakita Family Lodge” where families stay and play in their own groups.

It’s been a difficult year financially for both Wanakita and Medeba. Archibald said that without school groups and other year around guests, as well as no overnight camp, they’ve lost an average of $100,000 a month in revenue.

But the camp’s extended community has pitched in: he says a community fundraiser has raised over $400,000 to bridge the “COVID divide.”

Hockey camp a go

While most large camps have made the choice to halt overnight camp this summer, certain smaller camps like Camp Hockey Haven, on Kashagawigamog Lake, are able to pivot quicker to new health guidance if it arises.

“We’re smaller, it’s easily adaptable for us,” said Troy Binnie, owner of the sports development camp.

While he said not knowing what would be allowed for so long was frustrating, he understands how the spike in COVID cases in April caused indecision.

“Things were getting out of control,” he said.

Camp Hockey Haven will enforce cohorting – grouping campers together for their whole stay – as well as masking and distancing.

“I think the kids have had a lousy year: physically, mentally,” said Binnie. “All they’ve been told is ‘you can’t do this; you can’t do that.’

“The benefit outweighs the risk,” he said. Nation-wide, experts are sounding the alarm over the impact COVID-19 has had on children’s mental health. In a recent Study by SickKids, 70 per cent of children surveyed reported a drastic dip in mental health over the past year.

Just like Archibald and Gruppe, Binnie said doing camp – even if it will look different this year – gives kids a shot at some sort of normalcy.

“It’s getting away from your parents, getting away from video screens, getting away from the news and just being a kid,” said Binnie.

In an emailed statement, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, outlined how camps will be permitted to reopen in stages: step 1 would see day camps opening on June 14. Step 2 would allow overnight camps to reopen in early July.

“Upon opening, day camps and overnight camps would have to follow certain rules and requirements to prevent COVID-19,” wrote Bernie Mayer, the unit’s health protection manager. “The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit is currently working with local recreational camps to outline what is required.”

HHHS takes ‘cautious approach’ to recovery

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June 3, 2021

The hospital board’s top doctor said while the County is not completely out of the woods yet when it comes to the pandemic, “everyone is breathing slightly easier.”

Dr. Steve Ferracuti, interim co-chief of staff for the Haliburton Highlands Health Services (HHHS), spoke at the May 28 board meeting.

Discussing a drop in COVID-19 positive cases across the province, combined with increasing vaccination rates, Dr. Ferracuti said, “we are going to be continuing our cautious approach, retaining precautions in patient-facing activities but I think we’re hoping that we can lighten up some of the barriers to a certain extent.”

The doctor said they were relieved that the two County hospitals in Haliburton and Minden avoided having to take in critically-ill patients from other, larger, Ontario hospitals whose intensive care units were overwhelmed with COVID patients.

HHHS CEO Carolyn Plummer said there were only two transfers to a County hospital and both patients had now returned to their home communities.

Dr. Ferracuti said it was something they had “feared.”

“The provincial modeling had predicted that this was almost a certainty to come to pass at every hospital with respect to ICU admissions and every hospital with respect to transfers to hospitals,” he said.

Residents say they’re doing their part

“Very thankfully that has not occurred yet and hopefully the current numbers and the increasing vaccination rate will help us avoid that scenario for this pandemic completely.”

Plummer said HHHS remains ready to assist and are prepared to receive patient transfers as needed to help their health system partners, while keeping a close eye on local numbers.

Speaking to County statistics, Dr. Ferracuti referenced assessment centre reports, saying although numbers are dropping locally, virtually all the positive cases in the County have been the UK variant.

During her board report, Plummer said HHHS is planning for reduced COVID-19 restrictions as the province recovers from the third pandemic wave – while remaining cautious. She outlined the province’s roadmap to reopening expected to commence midJune.

“Here at HHHS, we are taking a very cautious approach to restrictions. At the moment, we’re maintaining all of the restrictions that we’ve had in place over the past many months but we are starting to look at some triggers for when me may start to move some of those at least,” she said.

For example, she referenced the separation between the hospitals and long-term care homes. She said they are monitoring staff vaccination rates to determine timing to remove restrictions. She said staff are looking forward to working with each other again.

However, she added, “There is still a lot of concern out there regarding where this pandemic has the potential to go.” She said while trends are positive and they are starting to feel a bit of relief, they are aware of the new variants of concern, including the one that has emerged out of India, and its effect worldwide including a fourth wave in Japan.

Meanwhile, at the Minden COVID clinic June 1, Kyrsten Dove said she felt better after getting her first shot. “I feel like I have protection,” she said.

Steven Gilbert added he got a vaccine as his mother is immunocompromised and works in long term care. As a young child, he said he also dealt with lung issues. “I feel a bit better that I am helping in some way.”

Stay-at-home order lifted, so now what?

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June 1, 2021