Trusting the science

By

-

March 25, 2021

by Dr. Nell Thomas

I’m looking around the world and see vaccination rates vary from country to country. More than 448 million vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, equal to 5.8 doses for every 100 people, globally.

But there is a large discrepancy among countries. Israel continues to be vaccinating faster than any other country, with 109 vaccines delivered per 100 citizens as of March 22 (58 per cent have received one shot and 50 per cent have had both shots and are fully vaccinated). Canada has given 11.74 shots per 100 people (9.9 per cent have received first dose, and 1.9 per cent have received second dose). While some countries have not yet given even a single dose.

Most countries seem to be prioritizing fully vaccinating people. For example, the US has given 38 shots per 100 people, with 25 per cent having one shot and 13 per cent having had two shots. Britain has had a different approach, focused on broadly vaccinating the population with one shot. They have completed 41 doses per 100 people, with 38 per cent having had one shot and only 2.6 per cent of the population fully vaccinated. By maximizing the number of people with one vaccine, and delaying the second shot by three months, they have broader mass protection.

What our science tells us so far is the second vaccine will increase your immunity by only about 10 per cent in the first few months. The purpose of the second shot is to provide longer immunity. How long, we don’t know. But we do know that a single shot provides strong protection now, and for at least a few months. Experts are in agreement that delaying the second shot will diminish the ultimate effectiveness by only a negligible amount.

Is Britain’s approach working? Since early January, the daily number of new cases in Britain has fallen by more than 90 per cent. This is a larger drop than in almost all countries. Especially impressive given that the B.1.1.7 variant is their dominant strain and is more contagious than the original strain. Deaths continue to plummet in Britain. And they are using the Astra Zeneca vaccine, with no increase in diagnosed blood clots, and despite its slightly less effectiveness than Moderna and Pfizer, the British population is clearly reaping the benefit.

In contrast, worldwide, the number of confirmed COVID cases has increased 21 per cent in the past month.

People who study disease transmission use a term called the “R nought” (R0) to describe how contagious a disease is. It refers to the reproduction number of a disease. The number placed behind the R indicates how many people are likely to be infected by one individual with the disease.

For measles, the R0 is 12-18, meaning it is very contagious, as one individual can infect 18 others. If the R0 is greater than one, then each person is infecting more than one other individual and the disease will continue to increase in the population.

In Britain now, the R0 for COVID-19 is less than one, meaning the infection is no longer spreading. (Annual influenza has an R0 of 0.9-2.1).

In Ontario, as of March 18, the reproduction number (R0) for the new COVID variants of concern (the more contagious strains with the N501Y mutation) is 1.25, and the R0 for other variants without this concerning mutation is 1.07. Anything above one indicates exponential increase in growth, and the higher the number, the faster the infection will transmit. We are in a race to get as many people vaccinated as possible before these more contagious variants are widely circulating.

Stay tuned to all the fact-based resources for how to get swabbed (tested) and how to get vaccinated.

Don’t confuse Facebook with fact

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 25, 2021

0

When it comes to vaccinating Haliburton County residents against COVID-19, public health must not only follow all provinciallymandated guidelines but must also be transparent so there is no opportunity for members of the public to cast aspersions on the rollout.

There have been grumblings among the masses about a perceived clandestine clinic operating out of the Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre. We received one letter from a reader complaining it was done under the radar with no public announcements.

He was not wrong as we have only had official word this week about so-called popup clinics, including at places such as the Pinestone.

This led the letter writer and others to speculate. While surely for frontline workers, they heard of non-frontline workers being vaccinated, including two retirees and two in their 40s who weren’t even residents.

Others grumbled upon hearing bank workers were getting the jab and employees of some social service agencies.

Unfortunately, it is the type of speculation that will occur when health officials are not completely transparent about what is going on locally. There are accusations of queue jumping, and questioning local officials.

Other stories of some local seniors being offered appointments in Peterborough, Lindsay and Bracebridge are concerning.

It’s a tough one. Local health officials are in a flux position. They are making plans that are literally changing all of the time. Informed about a batch of expiring vaccines, they have made quick calls to volunteer firefighters for example. Some get a call about availability and are vaccinated within a few hours. Publicly advertising what they are doing isn’t always front and centre in their minds.

In a similar vein, likely no one predicted the backlash that would occur over the announcement that the A.J. LaRue Arena in Haliburton would be used as a vaccination clinic from March to September. However, youth proponents quickly said this was not a good idea. With ice out it meant a delayed start to the Highland Storm Minor Hockey Association season and threated Hockey Haven’s summer camp. Why not use the Haliburton Legion they asked. In the end, Dysart et al listened to the concerns, spoke with the health unit, and scaled back the clinic dates so as not to be so disruptive of the summer ice season. They will find an alternate location.

While we implore public health to do its best to anticipate public reaction and factor that into its decision-making, we also appeal to the public to be patient.

Public health officials are making decisions dayby-day based on circumstances largely out of their control. They are doing their best to get needles in arms in hopes of having all of us vaccinated by the end of summer. They are not sitting about scheming how they can get their friends and family vaccinated before everyone else.

Under the leadership of acting medical officer of health, Dr. Ian Gemmill, the health unit has done a very good job of getting its message across. Gemmill has hosted public forms and holds a media briefing once a week. It’s the best press access we have had in my time with The Highlander.

We encourage the public to go to him and other trusted sources to get their information, including mainstream media locally, rather than riding the rumour train and confusing fact with Facebook.

It’s been a very long year for all of us and once again we have to pull together for the betterment of the community.

Fridays for Future makes a stop in Minden

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 25, 2021

0

Members of Concerned Citizens of Haliburton County (CCHC) gathered in Minden March 19 for a Fridays for Future (FFF) global day of climate action.

Brandishing signs, they stood on the town’s main bridge over the Gull River and also walked into town.

Spokeswoman Bonnie Roe said it was part of worldwide activities with the theme of ‘no more empty promises’ from governments.

“All we hear is what will be done in 10, 15 and 25 years from now but that is too late. To quote the founding young activist of FFF Greta Thunberg, ‘listen to the science, act on the science’.”

Roe said they chose Minden to bring awareness to a different community in the County. They usually stage their events in Haliburton near the high school.

“The support was amazing with horns honking, street traffic thanking us and stopping to chat and some staff at Pharmasave coming out on the street to applaud us,” Roe said.

She said that this year, due to COVID19, many individuals and groups are also demonstrating virtually online.

She said people can place a sign on Facebook, in front of their home or at the end of their driveway.

“CCHC decided to be more visible but also follow current protocols for our yellow zone, which meant having only 25 participants, wearing masks and standing six-feet apart.

“We notified the municipality of Minden Hills and detachment commander of the OPP, Liane Spong-Hooyenga.

“We had 12 participants, Douglas the dog, and 15 regrets so the interest is there. Previously we have had 25-40 attend so COVID-19 has definitely affected our turn out.”

If anyone is interested in further demonstrations or CCHC they can email info@concernedcitizenshc.ca.

Health Unit multi-tasking during pandemic

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 25, 2021

0

By Kirk Winter

Despite priority being given to battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit is meeting its other mandates of providing essential Ontario public health programming.

Acting medical officer of health, Dr. Ian Gemmill, told the March 18 board meeting that, “Although approximately 80 per cent of the staff at the HKPRDHU are fully engaged in pandemic response, there are essential services that local public health agencies provide that must continue regardless. Many programs continue to operate.”

These programs include:

• Providing support to the harm reduction response, including naloxone distribution, needle exchange and opioid surveillance.

• Working on mental health promotion as well as supports related to infection protection and control needs and assessments within schools, in addition to COVID-19 related case and contact management.

• Providing support to parents and guardians through the Healthy Babies program.

• Monitoring for influenza activity.

• Conducting routine inspection of food premises and personal services settings.

• Preparing for flood season, for an increase in the establishment of outdoor patios, and the opening of seasonal facilities including trailer parks, marinas, golf courses and beaches.

• Planning for tick surveillance activities.

• Conducting case and contact management for sexually transmitted infections.

• Providing emergency services to sexual health clinics.

• Following up on adverse events following immunizations.

Dr. Gemmill also shared that the initial phase of the launch of a new collaborative health record (CHR) system, Click and Connect, for the HKPRDHU went live March 8.

“The new system focuses on improving the exchange of information between local residents and COVID-19 Call Centre staff during this pandemic. People can visit the HKPRDHU website to submit their COVID-19 questions to staff. Anyone with a commonly-asked question will be provided information and links to additional resources, while those submitting other questions will receive responses directly from other health unit staff. Click and Connect is a safe, secure way for people to reach the health unit … and helps streamline inquires so staff can respond quickly,” Gemmill said.

He added that after the pandemic, the system will be expanded to improve access to other programs and services.

Health board hears immunization plan

COVID-19 immunization rates at Haliburton County facilities are universally high with 100 per cent of residents at Extendicare Haliburton, 96.6 per cent at Highland Wood and 91.1 per cent at Hyland Crest having received at least their first dose of vaccine, health unit manager of health promotion, Lorna McCleary, told the board.

McCleary and Marianne Rock, manager of health protection, said in phase one the priority has been vaccinating the most vulnerable. Those groups included residents, staff and essential caregivers at long-term care homes and retirement homes, health care workers including paramedics, Indigenous adults living on-reserve and individuals receiving home care.

The next phase, adults 80 and older, staff, residents and caregivers in other congregate settings for seniors such as assisted living, is underway.

To ensure the vaccination program is as widespread as possible, HKPRDHU is partnering with area hospitals, primary care medical doctors, pharmacists and municipalities to host mass immunization clinics.

In Haliburton County, they’ll use the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena in Minden and the A.J. LaRue Arena in Haliburton.

“Supply of vaccine will remain limited over the next few weeks,” McCleary and Rock said, “We are looking at about 5,000 doses a week being available. We will follow the provincial direction for eligibility over time. The provincial goal is to have all adults immunized with the first dose by the end of June with the second dose coming in the summer of 2021.”

In phase two, running from April to July, priority will be given to older adults 65-79, people who live and work in high-risk congregate settings, essential frontline workers who cannot work from home, individuals with high-risk chronic conditions, and communities at risk.

Sunshine list sees bumps in health and education

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 25, 2021

0

The province said hospitals, boards of health and school boards contributed to almost three-quarters of the growth in 2020 public sector salaries.

In releasing the so-called sunshine list March 19 – of employees making $100,000 or more – the Ontario government said registered nurses contributed to approximately 60 per cent of the jump in the hospital and public health sectors while teachers accounted for 97 per cent of the increase in the school board sector.

“We know that Ontarians are relying on their government now, more than ever, during this pandemic to keep them safe and deliver the critical services they rely on, like health care and education,” said Peter Bethlenfalvy, president of the Treasury Board and Minister of Finance.

Hospitals and public health are up 59 per cent from 2019 and school boards 55 per cent. The average reported salary decreased slightly to $125,871 in 2020 from $127,396 in 2019.

Locally, it isn’t always easy to break out Haliburton County figures from regional organizations, such as the Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB). It had 181 employees on the list.

The Highlander asked TLDSB spokesperson, Catherine Shedden, to provide information on Haliburton County schools but she declined, saying “we do not provide a breakdown of schools and area.”

However, the majority of school principals in Haliburton County made the list, including the high school’s Chris Boulay, J. Douglas Hodgson Elementary School’s David Waito, Archie Stouffer’s Jane Austin and Wilberforce and Cardiff’s Elaine Fournier.

Fleming College president Maureen Adamson was marked as having made $292,367.34

As for the Haliburton-based health unit office, spokesperson Chandra Tremblay confirmed there is no one working in that office included on the list. The biggest salary regionally was former HKPR medical officer of health, Dr. Lynn Noseworthy, at $406,153.75.

Haliburton Highlands Health Services has 25 people on the list. President and CEO Carolyn Plummer topped it with a salary of $207,191.57. There are also 15 registered nurses.

Plummer said there are six new individuals on the list this year, all related to COVID-19.

The Haliburton Highlands Family Health Team also had a nurse practitioner named. In the municipal sector, there were 20 employees paid more than $100,000.

The County of Haliburton accounted for 11 with Mike Rutter the top earner at $169,972.73. Other directors on the list are: Andrea Bull, Craig Douglas, Mike March, Elaine Taylor, Tim Waite, Amanda Virtanen and Charlsey White. There are also three paramedics.

Dysart et al has three: CAO Tamara Wilbee, treasurer Barbara Swannell and director of public works, Rob Camelon. Algonquin Highlands has three: CAO Angie Bird, treasurer Jean Hughes and director of parks, recreation and trails, Chris Card. Minden Hills has two: director of finance, Lorrie Blanchard and director of public works, Travis Wilson. Highlands East has just CAO Shannon Hunter.

The Haliburton Highlands detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police, meanwhile, had 19 uniform members on the list.

The Highlander may have missed others on the list.

The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act 1996 requires organizations that receive public funding from the province to make public the names, positions, salaries and taxable benefits of employees paid $100,000 or more in the previous calendar year by March 31 of the following year.

Banner memories arrive for curling squad

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 24, 2021

0

JQ - Curling banner - 2 — The Haliburton Highlands Secondary School boys curling team received its banner March 11 for earning the Ontario School Curling Provincial Championship. Left to right: Erin Nicholls, Owen Nicholls, Darrel Dobson, Liam Little, Corin Gervais, Jacob Dobson, Carlos Gregorio. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

After more than a year of waiting, the Haliburton Highlands Secondary School 2019-20 boys curling team has received its championship banner.

It arrived March 11, honouring the team for earning a provincial gold one year ago in the Ontario School Curling Championship.

The award would have normally been provided last spring, but the pandemic delayed the hand-off. The banner will be hung at the Haliburton Curling Club. Skip Jacob Dobson said it was a long year waiting.

“It’s great to see it come back to town,” Dobson said. “Just being able to see it come back and having everything we’ve done together as a team.”

The team of Dobson, Liam Little, Corin Gervais and Owen Nicholls went on a run last season, winning zone and regional competitions to play in the provincial contest.

They also earned a spot at the provincial OFSAA competition, but officials cancelled the event due to the pandemic. Ontario School Curling Provincial Championships president Carlos Gregorio presented the award.

He said the pandemic delayed the banner production. It was ready by December, but another lockdown delayed the presentation even further. The team also lost out the chance to play this season, with cross-school competition cancelled. Coach Darrel Dobson said they may have been able to go on another run this year if they had the chance.

“We definitely all hoped to play going into this year,” the younger Dobson added. “We were all disappointed when we heard we couldn’t for sure … It’s been difficult.”

The skip said the group has gotten out for some practices and one event but has not been able to play together nearly as much.

This was the last chance for graduating Dobson and Little, though Dobson said he would look to compete at the post-secondary level.

“We’re definitely looking forward to things getting better and being able to get back to playing the game we love,” he said.

Mushroom master finds new life in outdoors

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 24, 2021

0

Outdoorsman Stephan Lukacic holds up a home-grown pumpkin. Lukacic grows and hunts most of the food he eats himself. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

When Stephan Lukacic returned to Canada after years in international music production, he thought he would continue the career – not heed the call of the wild.

But Lukacic followed a different passion when he returned to his family’s summer home in Haliburton, where they had operated a hunting and fishing camp. Compelled, he turned a rekindled interest in the outdoors into a business, guiding fishing, hunting and foraging. He has also garnered a social media presence, with more than 7,000 following him on Instagram, where he posts his self-prepared meals.

With the job change came a lifestyle shift. Almost everything he eats is self-grown or caught. He lives off the land – something he said has changed his life.

“Just getting outside, getting my hands dirty, breathing fresh air, being responsible for the food I eat, it’s made literally all the difference in my health, just my general wellbeing, my happiness,” Lukacic said.

For him, leaving a “cosmopolitan” life for a rural one was a boon. He said he suffered for several years from psoriatic arthritis – an incurable autoimmune disease, causing significant joint pain. He said the side-effects of treatments became as bad as the disease itself. But those symptoms dissipated when he changed how he lived.

“I tried to alleviate or cut out as many industrial products from my diet as possible and it’s made all the difference in the world,” Lukacic said. “We’ve become so removed from nature … When I was a music producer, 15-16 hour days were not uncommon in a dark room full of blinking lights with no natural sunshine. I really am convinced that’s why I got so sick.”

After gaining first-hand experience, Lukacic began to share his knowledge with a wild mushroom foraging course done in partnership with Yours Outdoors. He operated the course during the pandemic, with social distancing and health protocols enforced.

“Teach people the methodology to start their own foraging career and have the skillset. I give them a blueprint,” he said. “I cover a lot of the ecology of wild mushrooms and how important they are to every single ecosystem on the planet.”

The course proved to be Yours Outdoors’ bestseller in 2020.

“Steve is an extraordinary teacher with so much knowledge and an engaging personality,” Yours Outdoors experience broker Barrie Martin said. “He is a fun guy.”

Lukacic said he slowly built up his Instagram following and it has exploded in the past 12-18 months, driving him to expand his range of content. He has added more wild cooking videos – something he hopes to offer a class for in the future.

“A lot of people aspire to a cleaner, healthier way of living and it’s very hard to do in a city, where you don’t have outdoor space,” he said. “There just seems to be a lot of interest.”

Lukacic said there is value in becoming more self-sufficient.

“What happens with most people – you get really good at one thing they pay you for and you kind of don’t know much else,” he said. “When you can start doing these things for yourself, it’s very empowering. Not only is it empowering, it’s better for you, and it’s cheaper. It’s just a good way to live.”

Lukacic’s courses are available through youroutdoors.ca. His Instagram is stevie_ funfur.

Beloved ‘Leo’ passes into history

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 22, 2021

0

At the end of a video for Connected: Our Land Our Stories, Leopoldina Dobrzensky says, “people come and go but the land is forever.”

The woman affectionately known as “Leo” passed away March 18. She leaves a legacy that includes the Barnum Creek Nature Reserve; two works of historical non-fiction; a municipal impact as well as contributions to the local arts and literature scenes.

In an obituary on the Haliburton Community Funeral Home website, the family said they were mourning “this exceptional woman who overcame tremendous upheavals throughout her life and always with dignity and courage. Her generous and warm-hearted spirit found enjoyment in countless areas – but especially, in gardening, painting and in classical music.

“She loved and embraced the Haliburton Highlands – whose natural beauty and people inspired her to write two books on its history: Fragments of a Dream – Pioneering in Dysart Township and Haliburton Village and They Worked and Prayed Together – Italians in Haliburton County.

Leo and her husband, Jenda Dobrzensky, came to Canada with three children as refugees from the former Czechoslovakia in 1951. Initially they settled in Richmond Hills but after a visit to the Haliburton Highlands found scenery and people that reminded them of home. They purchased farmland just outside of Haliburton village.

In the Don Smith video that was produced by Sticks and Stones, Leo recalls the original farmhouse being inhabited by racoons and snowmobilers driving through it. Surrounded by moose, bear, wolves, turtles, owls and frogs, she and Jenda set about making it a home and “they were the 10 happiest years of our married life.”

In the video she talks about being angry that not enough had been written about some of Haliburton County’s pioneering history, so she set about to correct that.

The Haliburton County Historical Society’s Larry Giles paid tribute, saying they had lost a valuable supporter. “As a founding member, Leo was a guiding light in the early days of the society. She willingly shared her stories and memories on numerous occasions. She will be greatly missed.”

Leo was also known for organizing and heading the Haliburton Information Centre, while her love of literature and the arts led her in many directions: as a board member for outreach literacy at the John Howard Society and as a board member for the Guild of Fine Arts.

Perhaps the greatest gift of all was Leo and her daughter Margaret’s decision in 2018 to donate 600 acres to the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust.

The Land Trust’s Sheila Zyman said, “Margaret and Leo wanted to create a nature reserve for all to enjoy. They wished to name it Barnum Creek Nature Reserve. During the opening ceremonies on Oct. 15, 2020, Leo extolled people to come out and walk the property to get a dose of Vitamin N (nature).”

Zyman added, “Leo’s life wasn’t always easy and she suffered many hardships, from the death of a son and daughter to the upheaval of leaving Czechoslovakia after the war when she and her young family came to Canada as refugees.

“But Leo was resilient and had a dignity and grace that I will always remember. At 94, she still lived in her home and never left it without being impeccably dressed, greeting the world with curiosity, compassion, and a keen intelligence. She was a wonderful woman and a fantastic role model for all who knew her. I will miss her.”

For information on visitation and mass of Christian burial, see the Haliburton Community Funeral Home website.

Please see the March 25 Highlander for the full story.

Water ambassadors lighting country blue

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 22, 2021

0

JQ - World Water Day - 1 — Water Ambassadors Canada is lighting up landmarks around the country blue for World Water Day March 22 to help fund well projects around the world. Photo submitted.

Water Ambassadors Canada is turning landmarks blue across the country and at home to celebrate World Water Day.

The Haliburton charity is lighting up the CN Tower, Calgary Tower, Vancouver City Hall and Haliburton’s Head Lake Park fountain blue March 22. It is for the United Nation’s World Water Day to raise awareness about the global water crisis.

Charity founder Barry Hart said it is also a way to help promote their own organization’s efforts.

“Just to highlight the problem of clean drinking water because it’s way under the radar. Contaminated drinking water is the biggest cause of death and disease in the world,” Hart said.

The charity helps deliver clean water to communities worldwide through well drills, repairs, filters and more. It originated in Haliburton, with members journeying to help projects in-person. CEO Brian Johns said the charity’s efforts remain ongoing in the pandemic.

“There’s still a lot of ways people across Canada can help,” Johns said. “While our volunteer trips to partner countries are on hold, we’re still connecting our in-country partner teams with the financial and material resources they need to keep water flowing.”

The organization has done more than 40 projects over the last six months spread across countries such as Uganda, Colombia, Honduras, Liberia, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.

“We’re going to beat the bushes for awareness and fundraising to keep these projects alive and working in these other countries,” Hart said. “It’s actually turned out better for us with our in-country people, way better than we feared.”

The organization is fundraising through World Water Day, with a $100,000 target. Hart said the figure is arbitrary, though also matches a legacy donation recently received from a Haliburton cottager.

Hart said the charity hopes to make this an annual tradition to generate more awareness in subsequent years.

“People think of some of these bigger causes and awful diseases, or COVID right now. But meanwhile, the need for clean water is such a huge thing,” Hart said. “It’s so basic you can’t see it.”

To donate visit waterambassadorscanada.org.

Dogsledders journey 1,000 miles in new book

By

Lisa Gervais

-

March 21, 2021

0

JQ - Winterdance book - 2 — Hank DeBruin and Tanya McCready have published their second book recounting their dogsled racing. Submitted photo.

When Winterdance owner Hank DeBruin was unable to finish the Iditarod dog sled race in 2010, his wife Tanya McCready said she lost him.

McCready said he fell into a depression after he was scratched mid-race over a contested competitiveness ruling. She said that mood only lifted when they committed to race in the Yukon Quest for 2011. That experience is the subject of their new book, Journey of 1000 Miles: A Musher and His Huskies’ Journey on the Yukon Quest’s Century Old Klondike Trails which launched in paperback Feb. 26.

“It was an emotional book to write, McCready said. “Numerous times we had tears streaming down our faces … These sections aren’t sad, they are just really powerful.”

The story, also available as an eBook, picks up from where their first work – Iditarod Dreamer – left off. It recounts how the duo got into the Yukon Quest race and their journey across mountain ranges, blizzards and -60 degree Celsius temperatures to finish.

Ten years since their first book was released, McCready said the pandemic provided an opportunity to write a sequel – and help them while their business was hit during lockdown.

“Like so many others, lost a good chunk of revenue,” McCready said. “Finishing the book was one of several options we decided to run with to help with revenue in case we were shut down this winter. Additionally, these races are incredible adventures with so many life lessons in them. They deserved to be captured.”

Those lessons about getting through dark times are something the pair recount as public speakers. Their race stories have a wide appeal, McCready said.

“For adventure seekers, dog lovers and folks who love the North it is an obvious choice. But we have had folks read it who don’t fit any of those groups and tell us they couldn’t put it down and that there were so many valuable life lessons in it, and it was also a great escape from the pandemic.”

The publisher, Melanie Warner, said in an online launch event that the story offers an adventure for people stuck indoors.

“This will make you feel like you’re there,” Warner said. “Just you sharing your experience made other people want to change their own life experience.”

DeBruin said he races in part because of how everything else fades away.

“You live the moment,” he said. “Most people aren’t able to do that nowadays because of how hectic our life is. That’s what I love about these races, is you actually live in the moment.”

The book is available at Master’s Book Store and amazon.ca.