Students: should they stay or should they go?

By

-

August 13, 2020

Parents are deciding whether to send their children for in-person learning this September, as Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDSB) asked them to pick a method of education this week.

TLDSB sent out emails to its families Aug. 7, asking them to re-register their children for either in-person or remote learning by Aug. 13. The board later extended the deadline to Aug. 17. The board’s schools are set to reopen fully in September despite the pandemic, but remote learning is still an option.

Haliburton parent Dulce Acero has a daughter attending Grade 8 this year. She said she has conflicting feelings, but will send her daughter back out of concern for mental health and issues with remote learning.

“I’m obviously worried about what could possibly happen with that many kids all in one place,” Acero said. “I don’t feel good about it, but I really don’t feel like I have any other options at this point.”

The TLDSB has published information on its plans over the past week. There will be many differences at schools, such as staggered lunches and recesses, mandatory masks for Grades 4 and up, limiting school visitors and high school students taking a reduced number of credits at one time.

Remote students will get a mix of at-home live instruction and independent learning through primarily online platforms. But the board has said exact details will depend on the makeup of students who sign up. Students will also be unable to switch after making a choice until at late October.

Parent Breann Nicole said she is unsure about sending her child into school for Grade 7 and intends to choose remote learning if enough parents opt for it.

“I believe the government is trying to restart the economy on the backs of our children,” she said. “There is not enough known about COVID for this to be safe.”

Unions have criticized the provincial return to school plan, calling for smaller class sizes and significantly more funding than the $309 million the province has allotted for safety equipment and additional staffing. Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation TLDSB local president Colin Matthew said TLDSB is working hard and there are many logistical hurdles to be worked out. He added the provincial plan details are thin and there is significant latitude for local boards.

“We’re still waiting to hear what their plans look like,” he said. “What we’ve put to the board is our primary concern … is the safety of everyone involved.”

Matthew added they want public health authorities to have a huge role in the process and be listened to.

As far as remote learning, Matthew said their hope is teachers can be dedicated to it without splitting their time, but that will depend on the numbers.

“I hope they (parents) make the decision that’s best for their family so that we can accurately assess what our staffing needs are,” he said. “I really hope nothing bad happens,” Acero said. “I hope everything can go as well as it possibly can.”

Search goes on for Harold Heaven

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 13, 2020

0

Hands coated in muck, Mike Mildon kept on digging into a six-foot hole, seven hours into a search for his long-missing relative Harold Heaven.

“Just a little more,” he said as he reached in for another handful of mud.

The lead in Mildon’s search for answers on the Minden man who disappeared 86-years-ago ended in disappointment Aug. 12. He and fellow documentary filmmaker Jackson Rowe – surrounded by their crew and dozens of Heaven family members – did not uncover the body they expected to find in a spot on family property.

The duo have been working on a documentary titled “For Heaven’s Sake,” about their search for Heaven. Mildon said they used ground-penetrating radar in February on a spot long-rumoured to be Heaven’s resting place in family stories. The results found it looked similar to a cemetery site and could contain a body.

After delays due to winter and the pandemic, they went to work digging. But all they uncovered was dirt and rocks.

“We had a lot of confidence going into that. It hurts, it really sucks,” Mildon said. “The whole family was around – we wanted to give them something.”

Heaven went missing in 1934, his case going unsolved by police, though their reports indicated they suspected suicide. Mildon and Rowe have said they think there is more to it, including the possibility of manslaughter, and they are not discounting any theory.

“There’s always rumours people talk about,” Rowe said. “It’s just difficult for us to sift through and take them all seriously as we’d like to. We’re going to regroup.”

But the Heaven family who came remained in high spirits even after the disappointing end as they cheered the documentarians on.

“Now, we can tell our kids and grandkids the story,” family member Emma Cornfield said. “Of how we dug the holes. We now have new campfire stories.”

“My whole goal was to give them an answer today,” Mildon said. “It sucks on that front, but there was so much love and support around, that I think everyone saw it. Very thankful.”

Rowe said Minden has been an excellent community to work with throughout their months-long search.

“Almost everyone we came into contact with was supportive and was happy to talk,” Rowe said. “Really paints Minden in a lovely light.”

The filmmakers said they did not have any specific strong leads after this, but they’ll keep going.

“It’s not done yet,” Mildon said. “We learned about perseverance and what it takes to solve something like this. It’s not as easy as some people make it seem.”

Welcome centre breaks ground

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 12, 2020

0

Rotarians and government officials held a ground-breaking ceremony on a new welcome centre being constructed outside Head Lake Park in Haliburton Aug. 5.

The facility was initially proposed by the Rotary Club of Haliburton in May 2019 as its 75th-anniversary project. The club is donating $75,000, but the project received a huge jumpstart with a $375,000 federal grant.

“It’s exciting. It’s happening sooner than we kind of dreamed that it could happen,” Rotary president Ted Brandon said. “It will just be a great addition to the park.”

The centre will offer washrooms accessible from the outside and tourism information. Some work has already started on a sewer hookup.

Deputy Mayor Patrick Kennedy, who headed the committee overseeing the project, said it is a milestone for the community that has been talked about for a long time.

“It’s critical for our tourism,” Kennedy said. “This new welcome centre is going to be opened yearround, rather than just seasonally. It’s going to attract more people to the area.”

Kennedy said COVID-19 delayed construction, but they hope to have it complete by the end of December. If not, it should be finished early next year.

Haliburton County municipalities get $2.87 million to help with COVID costs

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 12, 2020

0

Haliburton County’s five municipal governments are getting just over $2.87 million combined to help them ensure the delivery of critical public services during COVID-10.

The province made the announcement Aug. 12.

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MP Laurie Scott was joined by County CAO Mike Rutter, County Warden Liz Danielsen, Minden Hills Mayor Brent Devolin and Dysart et al Mayor Andrea Roberts for a photo op to go with the announcement at 3 p.m. today.

The County will get $1,435,300. Algonquin Highlands $275,900; Dysart $475,400; Highlands East $281,700 and Minden Hills $402,200.

See next Thursday’s Highlander for more on the funding announcement.

EORN proposes $1.6 billion gig-speed internet project

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 11, 2020

0

The Eastern Ontario Regional Network (EORN) is proposing a new $1.6 billion project to deliver faster internet across eastern Ontario, including Haliburton County.

The organization under the Eastern Ontario Wardens’ Caucus (EOWC) announced Aug. 11 it would seek a public-private partnership to bring one gigabit-per-second internet speeds throughout its 13 municipalities.

“This would be a game-changer for eastern Ontario to attract and retain businesses and residents, and to compete globally over the long term,” EOWC chair Andy Letham, who is the mayor of the City of Kawartha Lakes, said.

EORN said it would seek to fund the project with help from upper levels of government, the private sector and loans from the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Minden Hills Mayor Brent Devolin, who is on the EORN board, said the pandemic has highlighted the need for better connectivity. He added the crisis has sped up timelines for new projects by years and there is high public demand for improvements.

“This is now more important than ever,” Devolin said. “It’s a lot of money, but in COVID times, we’re throwing a lot of money around for a lot of things and I think the likelihood for success is relatively high.”

The Canada Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has declared 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload internet speeds as a minimum basic service level, setting a goal of 90 per cent of Canadians having that by December 2021.

EORN estimates delivering that minimum in the region would cost between $500 million and $700 million. But it is proposing to go for speeds 20 times that to anticipate future needs.

“Demand for broadband is growing exponentially. Half-measures and baby steps won’t get us there. We need a long-term solution,” EORN chair J. Murray Jones said. “The EORN Gig Project is a lasting investment in our prosperity.”

EORN is also working on a project to improve mobile broadband coverage in the region, a $213 million public-private partnership that is funded and has a request for proposals process underway.

Meanwhile, the County of Haliburton is also looking for opportunities for better connectivity. County council voted July 22 to do a solo application for a provincial grant to build new broadband infrastructure. CAO Mike Rutter reported there are already private telecommunications providers interested in partnering for that, though exact specifications for a proposal are to be determined.

Devolin said how the County’s project might fit into the bigger picture under EORN will depend on those specifications.

“There’s multiple packets and streams of funding and grants as we go forward,” Devolin said. “I’m a selfish kind of guy; I’d like them all.”

Devolin said there will be some battles ahead to advance this forward, but he is optimistic connectivity can take a big step in the next few years.

“It won’t be done in any one magic waving of the wand, it’s going to take a whole bunch of initiatives, all done in conjunction with each other,” Devolin said. “I’m hoping within five years or less, connectivity in this part of Ontario has moved a generational scale ahead. I think it’s possible.”

Five generations celebrate birthday

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 11, 2020

0

Doris Brown’s family greeted her with love and a lawn full of cards as they celebrated her 90th birthday outside her home July 31.

Five generations of the Brown family visited and honoured their matriarch, providing gifts and a large display of decorations. The family is wellintegrated in the community, with people from all the generations living within one mile of each other.

Brown said she was a little nervous seeing her family set it all up, but it was nice to have them around.

“Some days, it seems like a long time and other times, it seems like a relatively short time, this 90 years,” she said. “But it’s nice to see the little ones coming along and we know that life goes on that way.”

The family has been in Haliburton since 1957, according to Paul Brown, Doris’s son. Her late husband, Homer Brown, worked as an operator at the local railway station until it closed. The Browns raised a number of generations, with eight children, 25 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

“It’s not every day that you’re 90, so we thought we better hold a celebration,” Paul Brown said. “To us, who are a close-knit family, it’s very important that we celebrate this day.”

The family was somewhat limited to gather due to COVID. But they felt secure for a smaller outdoor event given all the members living in the lowinfection Haliburton area, Brown said. Doris Brown said she could not recall living through anything quite like this pandemic, though added polio was a serious disease that took some of her classmates in her childhood.

“No antidote for it, that’s for sure, but of course just about eradicated now which is wonderful,” she said. “As far as this (COVID) goes, they haven’t got the answers yet it seems. But they’re working on it, so they likely will.” Paul Brown said his mother is a very strong-willed person. “That likely gives her the energy to keep going. She has an unbelievable mind,” he said. “She loves a good argument.”

The elder Brown said life used to be a lot simpler and the newer generations have a lot more to deal with. But she added faith remains important.

“God’s still in control and he is always waiting for us to recognize that he is in control and he will bring us through if we look his way,” she said. “I’m thankful for family and friends and Haliburton. Haliburton’s a lovely place.”

Gardens of Haliburton begins selling units

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 10, 2020

0

The Gardens of Haliburton opened a business office Aug. 1 to begin filling spaces for its 70-unit retirement residence due for completion early next year.

The Highland Street office aims to provide a space for people to ask questions and figure out if the Haliburton facility will work for them, according to company partner and marketing head Phil McKenzie.

The office will only be in place until the facility opens in May 2021 but features floor plans and a display of room configurations for people to choose from.

“It’s a decision that you need to research and ask questions about,” McKenzie said. “It’s more than just a real-estate decision. You really want to have a spot where people can drop in and talk about it.

“This is not an impulse buy. This is something you typically have a few conversations before people decide this is right for them,” he added.

McKenzie said the new building seeks to fill a need for something between regular apartments and long-term care for senior living. The all-inclusive facility will include meals, housekeeping and recreation. Demand is high – McKenzie said they usually expect it to take a year-and-a-half to fill such a building, but he does not think it will take that long in Haliburton County.

“Certainly, with the response we’ve gotten, it looks like it will be significantly less time than that,” he said.

With the office opening came confirmation of the price point for rooms. They will range from $2,995-$5,000 per month, based on room size, balcony inclusion and whether it faces Head Lake. McKenzie said the prices are good value in the retirement residence world and justified by the number of services on offer. He added the prices are needed to cover the building cost and the labour, with approximately 50 employees expected.

“Everybody that’s in the health and wellness department, everybody that’s in the food and beverage, activities, maintenance,” McKenzie said, adding about 60 per cent of a person’s room cost goes toward funding labour.

The model is also open to provide more care as people’s needs may increase, allowing seniors to age in place. McKenzie said the model does not work for everyone, but they want to work with people to give them confidence about whether it will work for them.

“What we really want is for them to be able to come here and determine with some certainty whether we can be the solution,” he said.

Health unit reclassifies COVID hospitalization

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 7, 2020

0

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit revised it COVID-19 stats after discovering a hospitalization reported earlier this week was wrongly classified.

The health unit removed Haliburton’s second reported COVID-19 hospitalization in an update Aug. 7, after initially listing it Aug. 5. The organization said on its website the change happened because the case was not hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment.

“The Health Unit was notified of a positive lab result for an individual in hospital in Haliburton County,” communications officer Bill Eekhof said. “However, upon further investigation and follow-up, the confirmed case no longer meets the criteria for a ‘hospitalized case of COVID-19.’”

Eekhof said the health unit could not address specific COVID-19 cases for privacy reasons. But he said that if someone goes to a hospital for a medical problem unrelated to COVID-19, but is tested and found to also have the virus, they are not counted among hospitalized cases. He added a person is counted as a hospitalized case if they go for COVID-19 symptoms.

With the reclassification, Haliburton has still only had one COVID hospitalization, which occurred in April, and no deaths. The County has had 14 cases in total, two of which are active as of Aug. 7. There are also currently seven high-risk contacts in Haliburton.

Harcourt losing village post office

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 7, 2020

0

Harcourt is losing its post office out of the South Algonquin County Store Aug. 14, but Canada Post is replacing it with community mailboxes.

Canada Post is installing them at the Harcourt Community Centre Aug. 17. However, parcel services and stamps are being moved to the Wilberforce Post Office in Agnew’s General Store.

South Algonquin County Store owner Jonghee Lee said the move came after he decided to resign from having the outlet. He said he made the decision given the difficult workload and years of failed attempts to negotiate with Canada Post for more support, such as a postage scanner to reduce paperwork or a new contract.

“It’s a pity,” Lee said. “But it’s out of my hands.”

When asked about Lee’s concerns, Canada Post media relations spokesperson Hayley Magermans declined to respond directly.

“The Canada Post outlet in the South Algonquin County Store will close due to reasons beyond our control,” Magermans said. “We do not disclose details of Canada Post contracts and agreements.”

Lee said the workload took too much time between filling forms and sorting packages, even though he did not mind helping postage customers. He also noted it was difficult finding space for all the packages.

“I can’t hire just one person here (at the post outlet) all day long, it doesn’t make any sense,” Lee said, adding his staff are occupied with other parts of the store such as the LCBO outlet. “I don’t have time for this.”

Lee said there is a positive to the move, in that the mailboxes will be more constantly accessible for smaller mail compared to his store.

“It might be better. They can use a key 24/7,” he said.

Dysart council addressed the change briefly at its July 28 meeting. Mayor Andrea Roberts said it is good that people will not have to change their mailing addresses, which can happen with these transitions.

“They do have compartments there for fairly small and medium-sized parcels,” Roberts said. “Any larger parcels for delivery will be in Wilberforce, which will work, I think.”

Anyone with questions on the change can contact Canada Post customer service at 1-866-607-6301.

Lee said he offered to at least continue providing a space for packages only, but Canada Post would not go for it.

“Canada Post, they’re a big company. I’m just a small guy, in a small business, in a small town,” Lee said. “Sorry to my neighbours for my resignation.”

Story of Pinch a real gem for Bainbridge

By

Lisa Gervais

-

August 6, 2020

0

It’s been 10 years in the making, but Minden’s Michael Bainbridge has written and photographed one gem of a book.

Titled The Pinch Collection at the Canadian Museum of Nature, Bainbridge wrote and photographed the 278-page book.

It’s been printed in Utah and has now been sent to the bindery. That milestone, marked on Facebook by Bainbridge and his wife Brigitte Gall, “represented the end of my ability and need to do anything more,” he said.

The only mineral photographer of his calibre in Canada, and one of only a handful in the world, Bainbridge said he embarked upon the project in about 2008.

He was working on a contract to photograph the national mineral collection at the Canadian Museum of Nature, or CMN, and was regularly submitting photographs to Lithographie for publication in their Mineral Monograph series.

Lithographie is this book’s publisher. Bainbridge said publisher and editor Gloria Staebler noted that William W. Pinch of Rochester, New York, and his collection fared prominently in the work. She suggested his collection might be a worthy subject for a book.

Bainbridge met Pinch in early 2010, and by the end of that year had an agreement with the museum to allow access to photograph his collection for a book. The Ottawa museum had purchased Pinch’s collection in 1989.

“The collection itself is spectacular and well worth the photographic treatment it received in the book,” Bainbridge said of the 535 colour photographs. “But it wasn’t until much later, after many hours of interviews with Bill and others, that the full interest and importance of the story became clear,” he added.

“In addition to being Bill’s story, in many ways it is also the story of the hobby and science of specimen mineralogy itself.”

Bainbridge said high points of his research include: the founding of the Smithsonian Institution, and the Canadian Museum of Nature, cloak and dagger intrigue behind the Iron Curtain, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) investigations, and a 60 Minutes exposé.

Bainbridge began work in earnest in January 2011 but there were setbacks, such as Pinch being ill, Minden floods in 2013 and 2017, a death in the publisher’s family, and COVID-19.

In addition, he had to work on the book in his spare time, away from his paid job and family. There were interviews with people from all over the world, many done over nine years of visits to the Tucson Gem & Mineral show. For the photographs, he had to travel to the museum in Ottawa.

“I would pack up my gear and spend weeks at a time going through the drawers at their collection facility in Aylmer, Quebec and photographing the best.”

He estimates he spent several months at the museum.

Work highlights museum collection

“I easily spent at least a full year working on the book,” he said.

Bainbridge said he’s been fascinated by minerals, gems, and fossils since childhood. In 2007, he started experimenting with photographing gems and minerals in his basement. Soon enough he got pretty good and started submitting his photos to hobby and trade magazines. He then answered a tender to photograph the national collection. He made a name for himself in the broader mineral collecting and museum community.

With the book nearly done, plans for a launch have been largely scrubbed because of COVID-19.

“As it stands, I’m afraid we don’t have a plan as to how to launch the book, but I imagine we’ll start trying to figure that out …”

“Of course, Brigitte and I plan on hosting some sort of an event in Minden or Haliburton as well.”

He’s also pondering an online event for the larger mineral community.

Mineral curator at the museum, Erika Anderson, said the work is of great significance.

“His work is important as it highlights such a significant part of the National Mineral Collection. The acquisition of the Pinch Collection had a great impact on the museum as it provided fantastic specimens for display in our Earth Gallery as well as specimens for scientific research. The Pinch Collection made such an impression on the public that I still get asked about it during our annual open house. I’m happy to see a publication that will show more great specimens from the collection that are not on display,” she said.

Staebler said there’s no doubt that for Bainbridge it was a labour of love.

“Absolutely. But Michael is an empath and through his work he felt Pinch’s triumphs and failures. But he also felt the disappointments shared by Pinch’s family; the adoration felt by the people Pinch mentored; and the bitterness of Pinch’s rivals. In addition, Michael was surely pressured by his own advisors and by me.

“All that empathy made for an emotional 10 years, and it stalled Michael sometimes, but it also forced him to stretch as a writer, to focus on the objectives, and find creative ways to express Pinch’s humanity. I don’t think it is insignificant that Michael turned in his draft of the manuscript in June 2017, two months after Pinch died.”

Pinch passed away in April 2017.

Asked how he feels now that his part is done, Bainbridge said, “I haven’t really taken a moment to step back and soak it in. It’s been right on to the next thing.” That next thing is a puzzle factory in Haliburton County. “But I promise I will allow myself a proper rest and celebration and a good sniff of the book when I get the first box,” he said.