A decade of care at Volunteer Dental Outreach

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May 17, 2021

By Lisa Gervais

With more than 1,000 patients getting more than $3 million in free dentistry, the Volunteer Dental Outreach (VDO) for Haliburton County marks 10 years in service May 19.

It was on that date in 2011 that VDO opened its doors to fill a need in the Highlands, said Lisa Kerr.

She said that from those humble beginnings, it has come a long way thanks to the enduring support of the community, a team of devoted volunteers and dental professionals, and many generous financial contributions.

Operating out of 739 Mountain St. in Haliburton, the VDO provides free, urgent dental care for low-income residents in the area. Kerr said that for many, the transformations have been life-changing, giving them the confidence to pursue employment opportunities and live without crippling pain.

She and Bill Kerr founded the VDO.

“We are so very proud of what everyone has accomplished through VDO,” they said. “It never occurred to us that it would be as successful as it is. What started as an idea to see a few patients in our off-time quickly turned into operating a stand-alone dental office that runs several days per week.”

The Kerrs said none of it would be possible without dedicated dental professionals who volunteer their time, the board of directors and the people who show up annually to sponsor or play in the annual golf tournament fundraiser. They also highlighted a mentorship program with fourth year dental students from the University of Toronto, which has been beneficial for both soon-to-be graduates and the clinic’s patients.

“The greatest achievements of VDO would be consistently having caring and compassionate volunteers who not only agree to come look after patients but love coming to help people in need,” Lisa Kerr said.

She added the pandemic has thrown a curveball at the VDO. To adhere to updated protocols from the province, the clinic had to be retrofitted and safety devices purchased. This was all made possible with funding from the Haliburton County Development Corporation. Another big change was a partnership with the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit to launch the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program for Haliburton County. It has enabled the team to double the number of patients they treat.

VDO board chair Janis Parker, who has also been involved from day one, said she’s very happy to be part of the cause.

“I consider the VDO the most impactful charity that I have been lucky enough to be part of,” Parker said. “I am so proud of what we have created for our community.”

She praised the Kerrs for recognizing, and facilitating, the opportunity in the community.

“Although it takes a community, it also takes visionaries,” she said.

VDO by the numbers since 2011:

$3,105,169 in free dentistry
8,526 appointments
1,067 patients
32 dentists
22 dental hygienists
two dental hygiene students
16 dental assistants
One denturist and one denturist student
Six dental office administrators
97 U of T fourth year students
Five pre-dent science students
13 board members
12 days dedicated to the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program.

Farmers markets back despite lockdowns

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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Haliburton County residents can mark one activity on their social calendars during lockdown with the farmers markets resuming May 18.

The markets are back every Tuesday from noon to 4 p.m., behind Rails End Gallery in Haliburton; every Saturday at the Minden Fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. starting May 22 and every Friday from noon to 4 p.m. down North Shore Road in Algonquin Highlands beginning June 18.

New market manager Rob McConnell said because the markets feature agricultural products they are considered an essential service so are allowed to be open.

The usual COVID protocols will be in place, including mask wearing, physical distancing and limitations on how many people can be in the market at any one time.

McConnell said the Haliburton location has shifted to the right in the park and will provide more space for the 21 vendors there.

“So, that’s really good news.”

The others are in the same locations as last year. Another addition is the return of Into the Blue Bakery and its wood-fired pizzas, he said. They will be on site in mid June.

McConnell said the markets wouldn’t be possible without vendors at all three sites.

“We would like to thank all the vendors for participating. We want to wish them a very enjoyable market season. People can expect to see all the traditional vendors that appeal to them, ones that are regular vendors are going to be returning, and we’ll have a few new ones.”

YWCA launches challenge

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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Online yoga events are just one activity that local women can engage in as part of the YWCA’s 2021 virtual challenge this month.

The challenge is an online fundraising initiative in support of YWCA resources for women experiencing gender-based violence.

Participants choose an activity to accomplish during the month of May, register online, and challenge others to match their efforts.

“Activities are flexible, with options ranging from athletic challenges, to cooking or yoga skill-share challenges (or the option of creating something entirely new), offering participants of all ages and abilities the opportunity to participate safely in their own way, on their own schedule,” the agency said.

The YWCA said women’s organizations across Canada have seen a 30-40 per cent increase in the need for safety and support this past year, so local fundraising initiatives are more vital than ever.

“Women’s lives continue to be threatened by abusive men who are taking advantage of COVID-19 safety protocols to isolate, manipulate and cause harm,” said Kim Dolan, executive director of YWCA Peterborough Haliburton.

“Our entire community needs to be actively involved in looking out for loved ones who may be at risk of violence and supporting the local services that help to equip women to safely create change in their lives.”

Participants who raise $250 or more will be entered into a draw to win prizes. Winners will be announced June 14.

To learn more about the challenge or corporate partnership opportunities visit ywcapeterborough.org, call 705-743- 3526 x113 or email Ria Nicholson at rnicholson@ywcapeterborough.org.

Over $50,000 raised for community health

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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The second annual Jump in the Lake Challenge May 1 was an “overwhelming” success and raised more than $50,000 for the proposed wellness centre in Coboconk, organizers said.

Jennifer Wilson, general manager of the Coboconk, Norland and Area Chamber of Commerce said it was an “incredible weekend.”

Wilson said that almost 600 people made a donation.

“What an amazing outpouring of support for this much-needed wellness centre for the under-served areas of Kawartha Lakes,” she added.

The community has committed to raising $1 million for the centre.

The Jump in the Lake Challenge was founded by realtors Dean Michel and Jenny Bacon, who said the community is now well on its way to officially launching the fundraising campaign this summer. Unlike organized polar bear dips that happen in one central location, this event promoted social distancing and took place off each participant’s dock, or waterfront location of their choice.

Over 35 participants jumped into eight different lakes, including Shadow Lake, several locations on Balsam Lake, Canal Lake, Head Lake, Four Mile Lake, Horseshoe Lake and Lake Kashagawigamog in Haliburton.

The new wellness centre will provide a hub for community health in the northern portion of Kawartha Lakes and will include doctors, after-hours care, physiotherapy, dental, a community meeting space and other complementary services that will benefit both full-time and seasonal residents.

Meanwhile, Brandon Nimigon of Century 21 Granite Realty Group Inc. jumped in Lake Kashagawigamog to raise $1,545 for SIRCH.

Time to escape once again as 6-Minute announces lineup

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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The line-up for the next 6-Minute Escape video series has been announced.

The Arts Council Haliburton Highlands and Haliburton Reads and Writes Committee are behind the initiative, scheduled for May 14 at 7 p.m. on YouTube.

The night will feature texture artist Kathleen Dewar with Honouring Earth’s Beauty; Danielle Martin, owner of Shape Shifter, with Intertwining the Realms of Art and Spirit; artist Marcia Mandel with Turtle Magic; digital artist and photographer June Krisko with Experience the Haliburton Seasons; author Marie Gage with Trail of Tears; artist Rosana Dewey with Reflections; and special guest Canadian/Nashville singer songwriter Linda McRae with Singing River.

The event will be co-hosted by librarian Erin Kernohan-Berning and museum director Kate Butler.

Kernohan-Berning said, “This program will provide us all with a much-needed escape and allow us to witness, first-hand, the transformation these brilliant artists bring to our world.”

After the seven short videos are broadcast, viewers are invited to their online after party, where video presenters will be available virtually for questions and answers.

Butler said, “Although we cannot mingle in the same room, we will have the opportunity to chat with these brilliant artists.”

There is no cost to attend the launch. However, any donation would be greatly appreciated. It will help the Arts Council support arts, heritage and culture within our community. To donate, go to their GoFundMe link: gofundme.com/f/6- minute-escape.

To watch, go to: youtu. be/9wtkHmqMzbU.

HGTV show to ‘strike a balance’ in the Highlands

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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At a time when the County is debating water health and the need to regulate shortterm rentals, HGTV’s Scott McGillivray said his show, Scott’s Vacation House Rules, is trying to strike a delicate balance.

Speaking of season two, which premieres May 16 with episodes in Minden and Gooderham, McGillivray told The Highlander, “we want to help people embrace the area that they’re in. We’re not a show that goes in and says ‘let’s tear this down and build something that’s a 100,000- square-foot mega mansion’. Our show is way more grassroots than that.”

McGillivray, who owns a vacation property in the City of Kawartha Lakes, said they ask people to do their research, understand the local market and what’s appropriate and know the bylaws. He said they do a lot of restoration, not teardowns and rebuilds, with the intent of updating properties to Building Code standards.

“Making sure people are doing the best they can with their properties, never the most extreme, or the worst,” he said.

He acknowledged that there are always challenges with people who live local and visitors, however he said the cottage owners, and local specialists, they worked with were “extremely wonderful. I couldn’t imagine anybody having an issue with what we’re doing.”

In some cases, he said some of the cottages they are preparing for rent have been owned by people forever, who need the rental income to keep it. In addition, he added there are people who don’t want an influx of newcomers and yet are selling properties for $1 million. “There are people on both sides of the coin.”

“It’s hard to decide what’s the right answer. Change is coming and you need to embrace it. Every part of Canada was a small town and it’s grown. Muskoka wasn’t Muskoka 40-50 years ago.”

“We don’t go and do anything that’s going to destroy the environment. We’re not interested in helicopter pads. We’re here to support the local community, be balanced with what we do and be respectful about it and find affordable ways for people to have a slice of that dream, too, that other people get to live all the time.”

McGillivray said the show’s been attracted to the Highlands in part because of his property in the Kawarthas.

“It’s nice to stay close to where I am doing properties. It’s a beautiful area. I think it’s underestimated. There’s a lot of potential here for growth. Some other areas are just saturated and overdone and it’s maybe not quite as difficult to get into.”

He said the show also offers an inspiring message to cottage owners, that “if you’re willing to strike a balance, and do some heavy lifting, roll up your sleeves, plan your design and be your guest and have vision, you can achieve your goals.”

While he could not give much away in advance of the screenings, the host said they have again worked with local contractors and specialists to showcase what the area has to offer.

Preparing the season during the pandemic also offered some curveballs. He said they had to film outside in winter, using tents, and “boy, was it cold.” There were starts and stops with production throughout provincial orders.

“As a team it has been hard, working harder to make everything work, and fewer people doing more work.”

However, he said there are always silver linings.

“We got to meet some extraordinary people. We’ve seen people really refocus on what is truly important and meaningful in their lives. People have been focusing on their vacation properties and getting to their goals faster.”

Season 2 of Scott’s Vacation House Rules, premieres Sunday, May 16 at 10 p.m. The series follows McGillivray and designer Debra Salmoni as they turn rundown cottages into attractive vacation rentals. Minden and Gooderham are featured in the new season.

Anglers make sure nothing fishy about Walleye count

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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The Haliburton Highlands Outdoors Association (HHOA) is tracking Walleye spawning for the first time in six years in a bid to get more of the fish species stocked in local lakes.

The Walleye Watch Program ran from April 2 to April 20, with 14 volunteers surveying spawning grounds on two sections of the Drag River. The organization counted 1,334 Walleye across all nights combined.

The initiative previously ran for 15 years in the early 2000s. HHOA president Dan Smith said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) only stocks the species in a small number of local lakes, but the HHOA hopes it can use new data to convince them to increase that.

“Many anglers like to catch Walleye because they’re a very tasty fish,” Smith said, adding there have been some concerns about the species population. “The Walleye fishery is not as good as it used to be, despite the fact that a lot of people in our area want to fish Walleye.”

The HHOA runs a community hatchery but does so in conjunction with the MNRF. The MNRF decides what to stock and where. Presently, the HHOA is hatching Rainbow Trout and Lake Trout, including the hatchery’s signature Haliburton Gold. But it no longer runs a local Walleye stocking program, as it did from 2010 to 2015.

Retired Fleming College Fisheries and Limnology professor Dennis McGee is directing the effort. He said it will help with management throughout the area.

“Data from this and future surveys will be used to help us better manage Walleye throughout the Kashagawigamog chain of five lakes,” McGee said.

Smith said the MNRF did stock Walleye hatched elsewhere last season, including Barnum Lake. But he added it does not compare with the trout stocking happening, with 20-25 lakes due to receive supply this year.

The Walleye are also anecdotally not nearly as populous as in previous years, according to surveyors around in the early 2000s Smith said. He added that could be because of a low water flow due to weather and predation.

“Those numbers are very much down from what they were,” Smith said. “Hopefully pique some interest (from the MNRF) in getting the Walleye hatchery program again.”

Smith said the HHOA is already sharing the data with the MNRF and will continue to do so.

“It was at one time a very healthy fishery and we want to get it back to that state,” Smith said.

Unions say funding not ‘historical investment’

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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By Kirk Winter

The Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) can begin planning its 2021-2022 school year with financials released by the Ministry of Education May 4.

The Ontario government is going to provide $25.6 billion to all boards, which breaks down to $12,686 for every student currently enrolled in publicly-funded schools. The TLDSB is to receive $207.1 million, up slightly from the $203 million it received for 2020-2021.

The provincial government claimed it’s the most money per student ever invested in education. However, the increase from $12,246 in 2019 to $12,525 in 2020 and $12,686 in 2021 does not keep pace with inflation over the same time period.

Asked whether the Grants for Student Needs (GSNs) was adequate to provide programming for 2021-2022, TLDSB communication officer, Sinead Fegan, told The Highlander, “our senior administration are currently reviewing the GSNs and allocations for TLDSB. We will not have comments available until information is presented (to trustees) at our May board meeting.” The board’s committee of the whole met May 11 and the regular board meeting is May 25.

However, TLDSB’s two largest unions are concerned.

According to Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, “when you look at the funds required to pay for utility increases and other inflation-impacted costs, Ontario schools will be forced to operate with less funding than they had this year.

“Saying there is a growth in funding of 2.2 per cent is a gross exaggeration. The Ford government has repeatedly refused to make the real investments required to keep schools open safely and sustainably.”

The Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation responded to the GSN announcement on social media stating,

“Ford’s funding fails to keep up with inflation. Ford and (Minister Stephen) Lecce want to distract the public with figures and an oversimplification of education funding. This year’s education budget has been touted as an ‘historical investment.’ That’s not really the case. School funding (GSN) is dropping on a per student basis when adjusted for inflation.”

School board encourages skilled trades

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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by Kirk Winter

A new, comprehensive plan to encourage students to choose the skilled trades as a career path was presented to trustees at a local school board meeting April 27.

Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) staff, Katherine MacIver, Heather Truscott, Kelly Neumann and Angela West shared the recently-launched Start Me Up campaign. It’s intended to increase awareness of skilled trades as a viable option and opportunity for high school students.

MacIver said, “This is a great opportunity for students, families and staff to learn about and get involved in the skilled trades. We want to increase board-wide knowledge of the pathways to the skilled trades and apprenticeships.”

Truscott shared a recruitment video, laying out how important the initiative might be for the future of the Ontario economy.

The film’s narration stated that in the next five years, one in five new jobs will be in the skilled trades. By 2030, the province will need more than 500,000 new tradespeople to keep up with retirements and economic expansion.

It also pointed out the opportunities for interested students are ever-expanding. They include technological studies classes and two credit co-ops that place students in workplaces, the Specialist High Skills Major program and the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship program.

It promised students long-term career opportunities, the chance to own their own business and portable skills that could allow them to work anywhere in the world in any of the 140 recognized trades offered in Ontario.

The Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS), a lobby group for homebuilders in Ontario, echoed the board pitch, saying a 2019 survey of 500 member firms found 79 per cent reporting company growth slowed and 76 per cent turning down work because of a lack of skilled workers. OCS also reported too many older skilled tradespeople not being replaced by younger fully-trained workers when they retire.

Truscott said, “Tradespeople have rallied around this programming locally, offering student placements and volunteering their time to mentor and instruct students.”

Truscott talked about the involvement of Georgian, Fleming and Loyalist College, who have all signed on to the dual-credit program that has senior students spending part of their day at college as they continue their pathway to certification in the trade of their choice.

“Across the board we have 400 students in 23 different trades enrolled in the Specialist High Skills Major program in nine distinct economic sectors,” Truscott said.

She added there are another 200 students enrolled in 36 different trades as part of the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship program, the first step towards getting their ticket, and local businesses have stepped up to provide placements for these students.

She said the seven most in-demand trades in the TLDSB catchment area are automotive service technician, truck service technician, carpenter, electrician, plumber, welder and hair stylist.

Board chair Bruce Reain called the presentation “spectacular.”

Trustee John Byrne suggested the “programs were fantastic and there will be more skilled tradespeople once students (through this program) become more aware of what jobs are available in the future. I am happy that TLDSB can make these opportunities available.”

Palliative care at home

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Lisa Gervais

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May 13, 2021

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The province is piloting a new program in Haliburton to have community paramedics treat palliative care patients at home.

Ontario announced the initiative May 7. It will allow palliative care patients calling 9-1-1 to have the option of being treated on scene for pain and symptom management, versus automatically being taken to hospital.

Haliburton County Paramedic Service deputy chief Jo-Ann Hendry said this will aid in end-of-life comfort and provide a choice for those who wish to be at home.

“They don’t want to be in hospital, they want to be with their family. Those are their dying wishes, and we want to respect that,” Hendry said.

The program is also being piloted throughout Central East Ontario; County paramedic chief/director Tim Waite said paramedics throughout the region submitted a joint proposal.

The province said patients will remain in control of their care and can always request to be taken to the emergency department.

But paramedics can treat symptoms on-site and co-ordinate directly with the patient’s primary palliative care provider afterward.

The province added it also helps protect hospital capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Waite said the model will have use beyond the pandemic as well.

“Certainly, it’s helpful right now,” Waite said. “Moving forward, it’s important for families and for those patients who wish to stay at home.”

Hendry said the initiative will not be implemented until the fall, as further training is required.

She said services are currently occupied with staffing vaccination centres and delivering vaccines.

The pilot will last for 12 months.

Digital support for youth

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is planning to create a new digital platform to help service people at its Youth Wellness Hubs.

Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) announced May 7 that it would support developing a one-stop platform to provide youth with access to resources such as mental health assessments, addictions treatment, therapy and counselling.

It will be delivered at the 10 hubs throughout the province, including Haliburton’s.

The platform “enables YWHO to enhance its virtual support for youth anywhere and whenever they need it,” executive director Dr. Joanna Henderson said.

The RBC Foundation is providing $1 million to fund the program.