As rain continues to fall over Minden, Kirsten Monk and Barry Cray remain confident they’ll stay dry and weather the flood of 2019. 

Following flooding two springs ago, the owners of Gordon A. Monk Funeral Home spent more than $50,000 flood-proofing their home on Bobcaygeon Road, adjacent to the Gull River. 

They hoped it would protect the property in the event of another one-in-a-hundred-year flood. However, they’ve now seen three of those in six years. 

“It’s amazing,” says Monk of the work they did with an engineer and builder. They have two concrete reservoirs that the water is drawn into via O pipes. 

The system means the couple has only had to lay a few hundred sandbags this year, compared to 12,000 in 2017. 

“It’s amazing to actually see it work. I feel very secure in what we’ve done,” Monk said. 

Not everyone in the town of Minden Hills has been so fortunate.

So far, there has been only one self-evacuation that the township knows of, but water has crept into homes and numerous roads remain closed. The latest water level management update, issued Tuesday, called for a five-day weather forecast predicting another heavy and widespread rain event with totals as high as 55 mm of precipitation.

“Water levels and flows remain high in northern areas. Most lake levels on the Gull River system are above full and expected to increase as a result of the forecasted rain amounts,” the statement said. Mayor Brent Devolin told The Highlander Tuesday, “We need to watch the 35-55 mm of rain in the next three days.”

He said the levels in Minden may rise again, but probably not to the 271.6 peak levels of last week. Nonetheless, he advises, “Leave sand bagging in place till the declaration is ended.”

More could be done

But Monk and Cray aren’t convinced everything’s been done that could be done. They spent the money to put value back into their business but also because, “We can’t keep living our lives the way we’ve been living every time this happens.”

They weren’t covered by insurance in 2013, and while covered in 2017 paid a $10,000 deductible. Another flood such as this one would have brought a $50,000 deductible. They remortgaged to do the flood-proofing.

“Until the powers that be do the right thing, no one is safe,” Monk said, pointing a finger at Trent-Severn Waterway management. Cray added, “nothing’s been done from 2013 to change the infrastructure of this town, to prevent what’s happening.”

Monk said they’d prefer $12.5 million not be spent on the arena renewal.

“They could still upgrade the arena at a reasonable cost and there would be an awful lot of money to protect people on Invergordon Avenue, Anson, Prince etc.,” she said.

Four years in the making, the new Home Hardware store in Haliburton is nearly ready to open its doors.  

Walker’s Home Hardware is hosting a preview night May 6, with the store open for shoppers the next morning.

The new location on County Road 21 is 16,000 square feet on a four-and-a-half acre property, with increased parking, more floor space and a garden and outdoor centre. 

 Co-owner Dale Walker said the community support for the development has been overwhelming.  

“We get 50 questions a day but it’s all good,” Walker said. “They’re looking forward to an improved shopping experience, better parking. We’re looking for better efficiencies in our work, more products to offer the customers.”  

The development had its challenges, Walker said.

The first phase of the project began in 2017 but hit a year-long snag with the county over a requirement to build a left-turn lane, which the two sides ultimately settled by splitting the costs.  

“With any commercial building, there’s challenges, so we’ve worked through them,” Walker said. “We like to think we’re on the home stretch.”  

New store manager Brian Nelson says it has been hectic getting the new store ready for customers.  

“It’s a big transition. The team is going from an older building with a lot of challenges to a big, bright, modern building,” Nelson said. “It’s very exciting and we want to satisfy the customer. Ultimately, that’s the goal.”  

To help do that, Home Hardware is hosting a preview night, which will offer the public a chance to wine-and-dine inside the new building.

Tickets are $20 for the non-shopping event, with all funds raised going toward the Haliburton Highlands Heath Services Foundation.  

“We wanted to do that to support the hospital,” Walker said. “Without asking for them to buy something. We hope there will be a great crowd and they’ll come out and enjoy the evening.”  

The preview night begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Walker’s Home Hardware and the Haliburton Highlands Health Services office.

Grade 8 students at Archie Stouffer Elementary School got a taste of how to cook meals for others with the help of the Minden Food Bank.  

Students capped off a seven-week cooking class by preparing a full meal for their parents April 17.

The course, part of the student’s health curriculum, taught students about meal preparation, kitchen safety and healthy eating.  

Teacher Shannon Blanchard said the program also teaches lessons that go beyond the kitchen.  “It’s been amazing,” Blanchard said. “They’ve made appetizers, main meals, side dishes, desserts. It’s building on those leadership skills (and) team building.”  

Student Ava Allaire said the course has been beneficial.  

“I find I don’t really cook at home and I feel like this course has just given me the opportunity to cook and learn new things,” she said. 

 The Minden Food Bank has been involved in putting on the course with a grant from Feed Ontario for the past three years, according to former community kitchen manager Marilynne Lesperance.

The food bank has used its industrial kitchen to teach students.  

“They’re good. I think they’ve learned a lot and I think most of them have been killing it,” Lesperance said.  

Students did their own shopping to prepare a full meal for their parents, which featured lasagna, Caesar salad, garlic bread, broccoli with cheese sauce and cakes.  

Talus Fox said it would be his first time cooking for his family.  

“It’s exciting for me. It’s like a milestone in my life,” he said.  

Food bank volunteer Betty Mark said she used to teach a home economics class at Archie Stouffer, which is no longer offered. 

 “Since they got rid of the home-ec program, it’s kind of nice to be able to work with kids, teaching them basic life skills,” she said. “Sooner or later, they’re going to have to fend for themselves and a lot of them don’t know how to do that … what we’re hoping to do is provide them with healthy eating options.”  “Everybody needs to eat,” Blanchard said. “We need to know where our food comes from.” 

As Devonte Casey-Palmer played with foam building blocks during the Haliburton County Home Builders Association (HCHBA) trades day in the high school gym, the Grade 7 student was thinking about his future. 

“I’ve seen mostly family with some of this stuff … my uncle owns a business that does this,” he commented Tuesday (April 23) as Andrew Brown of Brown and Company showed him and fellow student Lucas Graham some building plans.  

He’s asked if he would consider a career in building and says “yeah. Because there’s been a long history for me. I’ve been able to build things, especially with Lego. And, I’d like to own my own business one day.” 

On the other sides of the tables were booth holders, such as Jason Redner, a dietary manager at Extendicare.  

He said it’s good for students to learn about the variety of career options they have and to start thinking about what they want to do.

He said they were telling students their line of work “makes you feel good because you are helping residents and seniors.”

He added there are a number of jobs at Extendicare with varying requirements and qualifications.  

The HCHBA organized the second annual career day.  

Executive director Aggie Tose said they were very happy with the turnout and had great support from the teaching staff at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School and principal Chris Boulay.

Students from Grades 7-12 were invited. 

 “What I’d like them [students] to see, which we’re gong to promote a little more next year, is there are a number of people here working booths who are graduates of this high school and who have gone away to school and come back and now they’re living and working in Haliburton County very successfully,” she said.  “And I think that’s what these young people need to know. There are jobs here in Haliburton County. They don’t have to go away. They may have to go away for some schooling but there are places for them when they come back.”  

Tose said as early as elementary school, students need to learn in advance about the number of options that are available to them. 

The Haliburton County Public Library is grappling with the “huge loss” of the interlibrary loan service due to provincial budget cut.  

The Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) announced April 18 that due to the “enormity of the cut” to its operating budget by the province, interlibrary loan delivery will end April 26. T

he system enabled libraries across the province to order material from other locations, allowing people remote access to bigger collections.  

Library CEO Bessie Sullivan said it made a big difference for Haliburton, whose approximately 52,000-item collection is dwarfed by libraries in big cities.  

“It was supposed to level the playing field between different-sized communities,” Sullivan said. “It’s a huge loss. That’s no economic impact on us, that’s a service cut.”  

In a statement posted by the Ontario Federation of Public Libraries, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Michael Tibollo said the government is maintaining base funding for libraries and described the SOLS and its northern counterpart as “arms-length” agencies. 

 “(They) have no involvement in the day-to-day operations of Ontario public libraries,” Tibollo said. “This government will continue to maintain strong partnerships with municipal and Indigenous libraries and assist them in providing quality public services for everyone.” 

Sullivan questioned that characterization of the SOLS cut.  

“I’m going to be kind and say they didn’t understand what they’re cutting,” Sullivan said. “‘It doesn’t affect the day-to-day operations,’ that’s obviously not the case.”  

The SOLS’s provincial operating grant was $3.3 million in 2018. The Haliburton County Public Library borrowed 1,493 items through the interlibrary service in 2018, while sending out 1,659 items to other libraries.

It represents a small fraction of the county’s total circulation, which was over 160,000 in 2018.  

However, collection development coordinator Sherill Sherwood said the information people seek from other libraries can be vital, such as updated building codes or health books.  

“If there are people in our community who are having health issues and the titles are out of print, we’ve been able to get them,” Sherwood said. “It’s important for their quality of life.”  

The SOLS is also ending its courier service. Sullivan said that will have an impact on the library budget, as they will now be responsible for paying to ship in new material, costs previously covered by the SOLS. 

 “When you’re shipping giant boxes of books, it’s a very expensive proposition,” Sullivan said. “Something will have to give in order to pay for that shipping.”  

Sullivan said the library board has yet to meet to discuss the news but the changes are challenging to plan for.  

“A part of why people go to the library to work is they believe in equity of access and this seriously undermines equity of access,” she said.

The county is keeping the transportation file parked in hopes of better opportunities down the road.  

County council voted unanimously April 24 to continue to monitor transportation options and that they continue to be discussed as part of the 2020 budget process.

The $50,000 budgeted to continue work on transportation is also to remain unallocated.  

The motion comes after the county transportation taskforce reached the end of its mandate in April and the transportation advocacy group Rural Transportation Options opted to go on hiatus.  

Coun. Patrick Kennedy said although the county does not want to move forward with a transportation system now due to unknown costs, he does not want to see the efforts of the people who have pushed for transportation go to waste.  

“Those people gave up their lives for this,” Kennedy said. “There is really a need for the county to move forward with a system. Maybe today is not the right time.”  

He said the province and federal government are talking about rural transportation but the funding for it has not been forthcoming. 

 County received a final report on a transportation implementation plan from consulted IBI Group Jan. 23.

The group recommended a booked, shared ride-service and proposed a way to implement it starting this year.

However,  council expressed a number of concerns about the proposal, including the cost of more than $162,000 annually. 

Coun. Andrea Roberts said the proposal also proposed to use Dysart et al’s DYMO bus for the new service but the committee has indicated it wants to keep it given the success of the program.  

“I’ve said from the outset, a door-to-door service is the only way to go,” Roberts said. “I don’t mind a transportation system costing the county money, … but it’s got to be viable.” 

Roberts said there has to be a match-up system in the vein of Uber. 

“We should park the money and hope the technology catches up,” she said. 

Coun. Cec Ryall expressed concern about keeping the $50,000 parked. But CAO Mike Rutter argued that could be advantageous if the county sets aside money for transportation each year. 

“That helps start-up costs, maybe it buys a bus, maybe it buys a contract for a bus,” he said.

Protestors ran from the front to the back of McKecks Tap and Grill Tuesday when word got out that Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott had entered the building off of York, rather than Highland Street. 

Members of Concerned Citizens for Haliburton County (CCHC) and Environment Haliburton! (EH!) gathered outside the front of the venue for the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce breakfast club where Scott was speaking April 23.  

Only a few protestors greeted Scott out back while the main crowd remained out front. Bonnie Roe of CCHC was one of the ones who ran to try to intercept Scott.

When they arrived, the local MPP had already entered the building. 

 “I think our whole group is very disappointed she would not come and meet with us and at least be civil and say good morning, instead of avoiding her constituents who want to hear from her and want to greet her this morning,” Roe said.  

However, inside McKecks, Scott said she did acknowledge the protestors out back. She added she is meeting with CCHC  April 25.

She said she had also encountered protestors at the Dysart et al municipal building when she was in Haliburton for BMO’s 100th birthday celebration. 

Earlier in the morning, Roe confirmed the meeting with Scott.  The protestors gathered with signs about climate change inaction, a living wage, health care and education cuts.  

Eric Lilius of EH! said the cuts have been made with minimal consultation.

He decried the library cuts in particular, saying libraries are part of the quality of life in Haliburton County. In his opinion, the provincial government’s attitude is, “because you elected us gives us a mandate to do whatever the hell we want.”

He said it mirrors what is going on in the US and fears it will lead to more privatization.  

Roe said the goal of Tuesday’s protest, and the group’s talk with Scott today, is “that we have huge concerns about the Ford cutbacks. And they’re too numerous to name.

But let’s face it: education; ambulances; libraries; health care; health units, it’s deplorable. 

 “And we also want her to know that we need her to stand behind us as we are her constituents and we need to feel that she is working for us at Queen’s Park and that’s the message.”  

CCHC is a group of 15-20 people who have been meeting since January.

Laurie Scott said her Labour Ministry had so far found $4B in annual savings in a “whirlwind” 10 months in office.  

Scott, the MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, spoke in Haliburton Tuesday to the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce breakfast club.  

“So far, it’s $4B but we want to do more,” said Scott, who reminded a largely business crowd that she is surveying them and the public to “give us your input … what you see that just doesn’t make sense any more. It’s time to modernize.”  

Some examples, she said, have been changes at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, that have seen premiums come down an average 30 per cent for employers.

She said that amounted to a $1.45B savings. Changes to workplace training, such as online versus onsite, have also trimmed $60M, she said.  

She again spoke of Bill 148 reform, which she said “repealed job killing aspects,” saving money for employers across the county.  

She’s also proud of her work on the double hatter portfolio, which now allows professional firefighters to also volunteer in the county. Her ministry is also tackling red tape around overtime hours across the province.  She again commented on the provincial budget.  

“We feel it strikes the right balance between fiscal responsibility and protecting  what matters most, and you all know we have a huge debt problem. We’re carrying a $343M mortgage payment. So, our plan puts us back on the path to balance while protecting core government services.”  Scott said that she was still absorbing “how influential you can be as minister of labour. It’s a big portfolio and how it impacts our communities here in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.”  

In a 17-minute talk, she also said the province was tackling regulations, making trades’ changes, working on high-speed internet, had created 97,000 jobs, handled a university and power workers’ strike and addressed Association of Municipalities of Ontario asks. 

 “Our goal is good public policy. We want to listen to you guys on the front lines who deal with employment regulations, whether it’s the Employment Standards Act or the Labour Relations Act. We want to hear what changes, what modernizations, you suggest that we review.  

“We just want a prosperous Ontario. We’re moving in that direction. There’s a lot more to do but you saw the budget. It’s reasonable, it’s practical applications. I mean there are so many exciting things that we can do further in many, many sectors. So, we want more jobs. If the economy is doing well, we do well and the Haliburton Highlands and our riding do well.”  

The chamber will he hosting the warden’s breakfast on Tuesday, May 7 at 7:30 a.m., at the Sandy Lane Resort.