Members of Haliburton County Paramedic Service, municipal fire departments, and the Haliburton Highlands Ontario Provincial Police have collectively come together to invite the public to a free Haliburton County community open house to learn more about the critical role professional and volunteer emergency responders have in keeping our communities safe.

Residents of all ages are invited to visit bases, halls, and stations throughout Haliburton County on May 1 from 3-7 p.m. for a variety of activities. Bring your kids, your grandkids, your neighbour, or stop by yourself.

Members of the public will be able to meet local and visiting emergency personnel, learn about available programs and services, hear about volunteer and career opportunities, understand how to prepare for emergencies, and get an up-close look at emergency equipment and vehicles. Activities will vary at each location.

The event happens rain or shine.

Locations:

Highlands East

• Station 4, 2259 Loop Rd., Wilberforce

Algonquin Highlands

• Station 60, 1060 Main St., Dorset

• Station 70, Oxtongue Lake, 3979 ON-60, Dwight

• Station 80, 1123 North Shore Rd., Stanhope

Dysart et al

• Dysart fire department and EMS base, South Street (behind the arena), Haliburton

Minden Hills

• Minden paramedic base and fire department, 12418 Hwy. 35, Minden

After initially facing cancellation for 2026, SIRCH Community Services says its long-running School’s Cool program will go ahead this summer – thanks to the generosity of community donors and partners.

SIRCH said support from CIBC, the County of Haliburton, and individual donors has made it possible to bring the program back.

For more than 25 years, School’s Cool has supported children in Haliburton County who may need a little extra help before entering Junior Kindergarten. This year’s program will take place at Stuart Baker Elementary School, where a kindergarten classroom has been generously made available.

Up to 21 children will be accepted, with a focus on four-year-olds entering JK this fall who may be experiencing developmental delays or challenges with speech and language, difficulty with social interaction, or low confidence in group settings.

Delivered over six weeks in a small, structured classroom environment, the program focuses on building language, early literacy and numeracy, social skills, emotional regulation, and independence.

“Just as importantly, it helps children feel comfortable, capable, and excited about going to school,” SIRCH said.

The organization added participants typically gain close to a full year of developmental growth—a shift that can change not only how they start school, but how they experience learning moving forward.

Families who are accepted will be contacted by program coordinator Paula White, a retired principal with years of kindergarten experience, who will guide them through the next steps.

SIRCH is also hiring one lead instructor and two additional instructors with backgrounds in teaching, early childhood education, or educational assistance.

Applications are now open. The program will run from July 6 to August 13. The parent fee is $5 per day.

The Township of Minden Hills said flooding is beginning to stabilize in the municipality – with the evacuation centre transitioning to a warming centre as of April 21.

It’s upstairs at the community centre at 55 Parkside St. with 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. hours for now, with shower facilities, refreshments, and spots for charging devices.

The recreation centre resumed scheduling April 22 with the fitness room, walking track, rink and drop-in programs all a go, while registered programming resumes April 27. The cultural centre also reopened April 22.

The township said this past Tuesday “water levels in the Minden watershed continue to fluctuate. The township will work with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Parks Canada in monitoring water levels and conditions over the next two weeks.”

The Sunnybrook bridge downtown and Loggers footbridge by Canadian Tire are still closed.

Minister of emergency preparedness and response, Jill Dunlop, visited the Minden fire hall and evacuation centre April 20.

The township said while conditions are stabilizing, they are still in a holding pattern and planning for the recovery is underway.

Dunlop said the province stepped in late last week when they were contacted through the community emergency management co-ordinator – responding with Global Medic volunteers -who had been sandbagging at the fire hall – and Ontario Corps volunteers through the Salvation Army Corps, who have been coordinating efforts at the evacuation centre this week.

Dunlop last visited the community when it declared a state of emergency following the 2025 ice storm.

She commented Monday on “how the community has really come together.

“Everyone is working together … the province and the municipality and our Ontario Corps volunteers and partners out here.” She mentioned mental health supports are also being provided.

When asked about provincial funding once floodwaters recede and the damage to infrastructure can be assessed.

State of emergency to last several more days

Dunlop said she spoke to the minister of municipal affairs and housing April 20 advising she was visiting Minden Hills. “It will be something that I will be speaking to him about and assessing the situation.” She noted 10 communities had declared states of emergency.

The township declared its on April 14. Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter expected it to continue for another five to eight days from this past Monday.

He said they’ve probably had as much water as previous floods, in 2019 and 2013, but it’s been managed better, mitigating risk as much as possible.

Carter said they have to wait for the water to go down to assess damage, although they were planning to do bridge inspections later this week. “That’s the real thing. What’s been deposited on these lands, wells may have been affected.”

The Sunnybrook bridge reopened April 22.

Volunteers

During National Volunteer Week, The Highlander caught up with helpers in Minden.

Francis D’Antimo began volunteering last Thursday when a beaver dam broke, sending water across County Road 121.

“There was a whole bunch of us going up 121 to save these people’s homes,” he said.

He was on Anson Street last Wednesday night in waist-high cold water helping to sandbag. He helped lay bags on Water Street. He said one of the hardest things was talking to seniors who had no insurance.

Elizabeth Mathew swapped her night job checking in people at the rec centre for shifts in the kitchen at the evacuation centre.

The Hal High student served food made by the Minden Community Food Centre. She said it had been fun, hanging out with Minden Hills full-time staffers she never sees, “and it’s also nice just to be able to serve people and have conversations.”

She said she was personally unaffected by the flooding but “I really feel for anybody who is being affected in that way. I also feel really positive for how much, as a community, we have rallied together.”

Highlands East

Highlands East said this week that Contau Lake Road remains closed at Irondale Road due to flooding. Access is available from Gooderham (County Road 507) only. The Community Centre Road and Gooderham Park have been reopened. Updates will be shared as conditions change.

Sandbags are available at the public works yard at 19897 Hwy. 118. This is a self-serve station. Residents are asked to bring their own shovel and lend a hand to neighbours where possible.

Algonquin Highlands council has grounded plans to spend up to $122,000 on a consultant for a revised development plan for Stanhope Municipal Airport, opting to complete some of the work gradually in-house instead.

The township committed to the six-figure sum during budget deliberations to help advance several projects at the facility, with council also seeking advice on what to do with 10 developable lots, currently vacant but ripe for commercial or industrial use.

An initial plan was completed in 2014, but council put out an RFP to update the document in 2024. After receiving little interest, public works manager, Adam Thorn, pitched the job to Kitchener-based Avia NG Airport Consultants, which was hired last year to assist with tree clearing at the airport.

Jordan McDonald, a project manager with the firm, presented a proposal to council April 16. His seven-step plan included an in-person visit of the airport to assess existing infrastructure; consult with municipal staff and airport users; review the existing document; and put together detailed drawings outlining potential upgrades.

“We work specifically with smaller municipal and regional airports… specializing in operational service, runways, airspace and planning, development and design and terminal works,” McDonald said.

Janine Mitchell, another firm representative, said Avia NG recently partnered with the Town of Midland on a new plan for Huronia Airport.

“Very similar exercise to what you guys are looking for. We reviewed their property, figured out what land could be developed, what could be sold off,” Mitchell said.

Mayor Liz Danielsen felt the township already knew much of that information – asking Thorn if staff could handle tweaking the previous plan without any additional spending. The public works manager said he could, while also advocating for greater involvement from the airport committee.

Thorn said the first thing council has to decide on is what to do with the vacant lots.

“Does the township want to be landlords, or just sell the property?” he asked, suggesting council hire a commercial real estate agent to gauge interest.

Attracting new commerce and industry to the airport lands is key to balancing its books, Thorn said. The facility operates at a loss, though expenses were scaled back in 2026 – anticipated at $57,900 from over $107,000 last year.

“I think we have a lot of opportunities within the airport property, as well as the developable area, to sell lots to help offset costs to develop other lots for businesses,” Thorn said. “If we can sell-off, say, six lots and that covers us developing two lots [to manage ourselves], that would be very beneficial and efficient for us as a municipality and for our taxpayers.”

Several of the airport’s hangars are damaged, meaning they’re closed and not bringing in any revenue, Thorn said. The township has been told it will need to invest around $2.3 million to fix the roofs of five buildings.

Land is still set aside, too, for a longer runway – which could, one day, open the door for larger planes to utilize the airport. Last year, council also approved a spend of up to $100,000 to help bring a new food vendor to the site.

Land is still set aside, too, for a longer runway – which could, one day, open the door for larger planes to utilize the airport. Last year, council also approved a spend of up to $100,000 to help bring a new food vendor to the site.

As of Dec. 31, the township had just under $1.05 million in its airport reserves.

Danielsen liked the idea of breaking the airport plan into “bitesize pieces” and doing the work in-house. The $125,000 set aside for that would be added to the reserve fund.

Deputy mayor Jennifer Dailloux worried that completing things step-by-step could prove more costly, but coun. Sabrina Richards felt it was more prudent.

“This is about trying to save costs and move the needle forward at the airport without spending money unless we have a firm return on it… we don’t want to build something unless we have somebody willing to move in and know it will be rented out,” Richards said.

Thorn said he would return to council’s next meeting May 7 with a breakdown of the property and its existing assets.

“I’m looking more basic – it doesn’t need to be an elaborate plan right now. We need to determine what council wants. Once we establish what properties we have and what we want to do, then we can move onto the next step… of developing it or leaving it and selling as-is,” Thorn said.

The Ministry on Natural Resources said last week that Katy-Lynn Meloche of Haliburton pleaded guilty to trespassing for the purpose of hunting, unlawfully possessing a firearm at night, using a firearm carelessly to hunt, and possessing illegally killed wildlife.

She was fined $5,000 and is prohibited from possessing an Ontario hunting licence and engaging in any hunting activities in the province for four years. She must also successfully retake the Ontario Hunter Education Course before applying for a hunting licence.

The Ontario Court of Justice heard that on Nov. 13, 2024, conservation officers responded to a public complaint of trespassing for the purpose of hunting a deer at night after a blood trail and a crossbow bolt were discovered in the complainant’s backyard within the Village of Haliburton.

They said an investigation determined Meloche shot at an antlered deer twice with a crossbow on Nov. 12, 2024. The deer was wounded after the initial shot and Meloche tracked the deer to a neighbouring property, taking a second shot at the deer after legal hunting hours. The bolt from the second shot was recovered stuck in the ground within close proximity to a home. It was found Meloche discharged the crossbow without reasonable consideration for people or property.

The wounded deer continued to travel through multiple properties within the Village of Haliburton before dying. The deer was recovered on the morning of Nov. 13 and unlawfully possessed by Meloche. Permission to recover the deer was not granted from all property owners where Meloche had tracked the deer.

Justice of the Peace Jennifer A. Mumby heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Lindsay, on Dec. 17, 2025.

To report a natural resource problem or provide information about an unsolved case, members of the public can call the ministry TIPS line toll free at 1-877-847-7667. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS. For more information about unsolved cases, please visit ontario. ca/MNRTips.