Horsing around helps pandemic mental health

May 6, 2020

Those who find horses help their mental health will be galloping to the Walkabout Farm Therapeutic Riding Association after it obtained an exemption on April 21 to partially open.

The Minden-based not-for-profit, which offers several programs including for children with special needs, had closed March 15 after getting deemed nonessential. But the association worked to get an exemption for its mental health support services, allowing limited numbers to visit and work with the horses.

Owner and operator Jennifer Semach said it was fortunate. Although they had been offering some remote support to clients, without direct programming, they were in danger of closing due to lost funding.

“We were definitely at risk of having to close permanently because, of course, the horses, whether we’re open or not, required $1,500 to $2,500 to support their care,” she said, adding dozens, if not hundreds, of families would feel the loss of the location.

Families access different government funding streams to use Walkabout’s programming, Semach said. But with direct services suspended during the crisis, that funding was effectively frozen for it and other special needs programs.

“It definitely made me feel like there was a certain demographic that was being unsupported by our government,” Semach said. “We can’t pause that type of support that people with special needs have … You can’t do that to them when they rely on certain services for their quality of life and care.”

Semach said Walkabout fell into a grey area in the province’s restrictions. After a complicated process, she was able to get the exemption, adding she received a lot of support from Haliburton-Kawartha LakesBrock MPP Laurie Scott’s office.

The location is still closed to the general public and the number of people will be limited, with extra sanitation precautions, Semach said. Riding will also not be possible due to social distancing rules, but clients can still come to spend time with the horses.

One of them is Joel McWhirter, a 10-yearold from Huntsville who attends Walkabout regularly. His mother Lisa McWhirter said he has challenges with self-worth and finding his place and the farm has made a big difference.

“We’ve been going just since the fall and it was immediate for him how much, just being at the farm, made him feel happy and engaged,” McWhirter said. “He’s been able to very quickly establish a connection.”

McWhirter said she noticed a negative response from her son when he was no longer able to visit the farm, though Semach was keeping him engaged through online calling. “Ten minutes (after) he’s stepped on the farm, there is just some wonderful peace that comes to him,” McWhirter said. “There’s definitely been some positive and bright spots with the pandemic but for Joel, he really needs that connection physically.”

Semach said she anticipates helping between 25 to 30 families during the pandemic, though many more cannot attend as their needs make social distancing rules impossible.

“We’re hoping this won’t last much longer and we’re hoping we can help as many families as possible,” Semach said. “But it will be some time until we can help everybody.”

Old Mill Marina customers balk at paying twice

Lisa Gervais

May 5, 2020

Old Mill Marina’s receiver has reassured customers after controversy arose over people having to pay twice for spring boat launches due to changing ownership.

More than 200 people attended an online town hall April 27 hosted by receiver MNP Ltd. The organization, which became a court-appointed receiver March 9, had told customers it would have to charge a fee for launches, even where people prepaid. MNP said that money was not segregated or retained by prior owners, meaning it had to charge to cover costs.

MNP senior vice-president Jerry Henechowicz explained how his company was appointed to manage and sell the property, given the marina’s financial difficulties and previous owners’ desire to step away.

“We need to spend time and effort and expense,” Henechowicz said, adding customers who prepaid now have unsecured claims against the marina. “I empathize with you and I really feel bad about the fact that you’re going to have to pay twice.”

He added credit card companies could help retrieve the payments and there is a chance for customers to have their claims addressed if the marina sells for enough money.

The costs for spring launches range from $75 if a boat is already on a trailer, to $175 for two-stroke boats to a high of $429 for towboats.

Kawagama Lake Association president Kathleen Hedley said they have heard from many members about the issue. But the association has opted not to wade in, due to legal ramifications and the inequity it sees in doing customer advocacy for only one of the lake’s marinas.

“We understand our members’ frustration and we hope they’re able to resolve this in a manner that’s acceptable to all,” Hedley said.

Henechowicz said they would address customers’ concerns with the proposed slip rental agreement. For example, the agreement initially proposed boat owners would hold the receiver harmless for any losses or damages, but Henechowicz said that would be changed to exclude cases of gross negligence on their part.

He also said prospective business buyers would have to honour agreements between boat owners and MNP for this season ahead.

“Everything we do is ultimately going to get approved by the court,” Henechowicz said. “We’re not going to play any bait and switch games. That’s not who we are.”

Tony Wing is a boat owner who prepaid for spring launch and expressed concern about having to pay again, as well as with the slip agreement. But after the town hall, he said he felt better about the intentions of the receivers.

“They seem to be willing to amend the agreement and work with the boat owners,” Wing said. “It is a huge step forward.”

Wing added he is supportive of a cottager co-op purchasing the marina, an idea raised during the town hall.

Regardless, Wing said it is important the receivership keep customers happy.

“If you’re going to sell a business, you want it to be prospering with a lot of happy clients.”

County mayors plan to issue unified message

May 4, 2020

The County’s four mayors are planning to send out a unified message to reassure the public during the COVID-19 crisis.

The idea was brought forward by Coun. Carol Moffatt during the April 21 County meeting.

She suggested the mayors of the four lower-tier townships get together to put out a joint statement about the pandemic.

“We do have individual needs in our communities, but we are working together,” Moffatt said. “Just let the public know we are united; we are in communication behind the scenes. “Staff are working together. There’s a little bit of silo going on, but there’s far less silo going on than the public believes.”

Algonquin Highlands, Dysart et al, Highlands East and Minden Hills have all been publishing regularly updates on the pandemic specific to their municipalities. The County has also been publishing information, but the only joint statement so far has come from the four township building departments regarding permits.

Coun. Andrea Roberts said the townships have done an excellent job of communicating how COVID is impacting their respective services.

“Our (chief administrative officers) are talking on a regular basis to make sure they’re in touch,” she added. “We have to make sure we don’t overstep our responsibilities.”

Warden Liz Danielsen said the County has seen public outcry over communication on issues such as cottagers attending seasonal properties and boat launches remaining open.

“There’s been an awful lot of grey areas in some of the (provincial) orders that have come down,” Danielsen said. “We’re all trying to weed our way through exactly what’s intended. I think there could have been some clarity provided.”

Moffatt said although the work municipalities are doing is great, the community is looking for more.

“We are the faces and the voices of our community. The community is frightened, community is nervous, community is confused, and I think we need to get out there as a group to say we’re working hard. That we support the community,” she said. “It’s just letting people know we are aligned, we are informed.”

Coun. Lisa Schell agreed.

“It’s just about showing the four municipalities are collaborating at this time. That there’s not four silos,” Schell said. “I think that’s just basically what the community wants, and I believe needs, to see.”

Council made no formal motion on the subject, but councillors did agree to work on a joint statement.

“We need to keep a message, if there’s going to be a joint message, relatively simple and clean without getting into too much detail,” Danielsen said.

Elementary educators ratify new deal

Lisa Gervais

April 30, 2020

By Joseph Quigley

Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) members voted overwhelmingly in favour of ratifying new central deals with the province.

ETFO announced the ratification April 27, with 97 per cent of teachers and 94 per cent of education workers voting in favour of their respective agreements. The union said the deal maintains 100 per cent of a special education fund, preserves the current kindergarten model and ensures there will be no class size increases during the life of the agreement.
The deal comes after a protracted battle between the union and province, which included one-day strikes. Trillium Lakelands District School Board (TLDB) ETFO teacher local representative Karen Bratina said the pandemic helped motivate both sides, but her members are very satisfied by the agreement.

“We’re satisfied with maintaining what we had, and we were also very satisfied with the restoration for the funding of the student support program and also our benefits,” she said. “Those were pretty big pieces.”

Local agreements still need to be negotiated, but Bratina said that process is already underway, with two meetings done and further virtual meetings planned.

“We don’t know whether or not we’ll be able to settle and reach an agreement by the end of this school year,” Bratina said. “But both the TLDSB and local are motivated to continue to negotiate.”

Stories from the frontline of the ER

Lisa Gervais

April 30, 2020

Editors note: Dr. Ivsins is the daughter of local Merla Russell. She spent all of her summers in Haliburton County as a child as the Russell family had had a cottage here since 1954. Dr. Ivsins works in the emergency department of a hospital in North Vancouver.

The first few times I heard about it on the radio, it seemed far away. The word virus would come and go out of the media not infrequently, and especially with fear, and doomsday predictions attached. I would feel safe and warm in my tiny North Vancouver bubble. There are green trees all the time, and the ocean, and my little hospital that could. I am a doctor there, and all the nurses are my friends and I can drive my little blue electric Golf there in three radio songs up the big hill they call The Cut.

It seemed sharp and sudden when everything changed. When I look back on what day it was, I can’t seem to remember how long it’s been, or when the moment was that I realized that things were bad.

Now, when I go to work, I bring a plastic bag that I throw out, so I don’t have to bring my purse. I wear only a certain pair of shoes and don’t touch them as they sit by the front door reminding me the rest of the time of the fear, and sweaty armpits and fogged up face mask I have to try to deliver care through while I work as an emergency doctor.

So far, the hardest part has been the waiting. I feel like we are standing on the beach, and all the water has been sucked out to sea, and we are waiting for the wave to overtake us. I am standing there, with all my co-workers, only I can’t see them.

We sre all covered up with hair covers, goggles, masks, gowns, gloves. We can’t touch our patients and we can’t even see each other. Walking around in our unrecognizable ED, I have to look deeply through the semi-fogged plastic to see who it is. We have plastic sheets for walls, and ‘do not enter’ signs, and radios, and tents, and comprehensive infection protocols.

We are standing on the beach and we hear the news out of New York, out of New Orleans, out of big American cities filled with affluence and technology, but apparently not enough breathing machines or masks to keep the caregivers safe.

The first time I saw a patient who came from China, months ago, worried about the far-away virus, I giggled a little when I saw the triage note on the computer tracking screen. I remember googling the province where they had been in China, and taking my striped isolation gown off in the room in front of them and saying ‘see, you were nowhere near the place called Wuhan.’ I reassured them with a gentle arm squeeze, and my kindest doctor voice and went about my regular day.

The first time I saw a patient who was known to have the virus, I put on that gown, the goggles, the mask, the head cover and the gloves. A friend offered to go in the room for me. ‘I don’t have kids’ he said. But as someone who always likes to consider herself ‘brave,’ we went together. It felt different. Different than any other patient room I had walked into.

I froze as I felt the presence of this microscopic invader in my warm little world. I thought of my husband and daughter at home, my plastic pink shoes I go to and from work in. I thought of the moment before intubation, when the drugs are melting you into unconsciousness, and your breathing is so fast your chest aches, and your head feels like the atmosphere is blowing right through you, and you know the plastic tube will be jammed through your vocal cords, and the only sound you will hear are the ventilator beeps, and I thought, god, please, please, please not me.

And then I looked up. And I saw there something from my every day warm bubble that snapped me back to reality – a patient. A patient with big human eyes, looking right at me. Who was scared, whose chest was heaving from the fluid invading his lungs, whose heart was racing trying to keep up with his body’s metabolic demands, a human who needed me. And I thought this, this I know how to do, and I moved into action.

Not a traditional summer

Lisa Gervais

April 30, 2020

With the Government of Ontario this week unveiling guiding principles to reopen the province, we can now speculate on a timeline for when things might get back to normal in Haliburton County.

Premier Doug Ford announced a three stage strategy April 27. With the province still virtually locked down until the end of May – schools and provincial parks for example – we can realistically predict the stages to begin in June.

In stage one, there will be some reopening of businesses ordered to close, or restrict operations. However, they’ll still be under public health guidelines. Some outdoor spaces, such as parks, will be opened. And the number of people allowed to attend some events will be increased. For those who have had non-urgent and scheduled surgeries, or other health care service needs, you may get a call.

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and health experts will then analyze how it goes. How it goes means: a consistent two to four week decrease in the number of new daily COVID-19 cases; sufficient acute and critical care capacity, including access to ventilators and ongoing availability of personal protective equipment; approximately 90 per cent of new COVID-19 contacts being reached by local public health officials within one day, with guidance and direction to contain community spread; and ongoing testing of suspected COVID-19 cases, especially of vulnerable populations, to detect new outbreaks quickly.

Stage two will involve opening more workplaces, which may include some service industries and additional office and retail workplaces. Some larger public gatherings would be allowed, and more outdoor spaces would open.

If things are going well, the province could then open all workplaces responsibly and further relax restrictions on public gatherings in stage three.

That means a period of a minimum of six weeks to a maximum of 12 weeks to take us to the end of stage three.

Safe to say, we are not going to have a traditional summer season in Haliburton County.

Our local leaders are beginning to plan for that unfortunate economic reality. The county’s tourism department, for example, has sent out an email to stakeholders, in which director Amanda Virtanen assured them they were working on a recovery plan considering a number of factors and including a variety of partners.

In it, she wrote people need to remember that every destination in the world will be competing for tourists, but we have an advantage since people will initially opt for domestic travel and we have physical space and outdoor fresh air experiences.

We are close to major markets such as the GTA, who can drive to us. We’re hearing gas prices will remain low.

She noted our accommodations are uniquely well-positioned to take advantage of the new mindset of a more local traveller, who are likely to want their own cabins, and less-crowded accommodations.

Locals have a role to play, too. I patronized a local hardware store on the weekend and staff told me they were being run off of their feet. We must continue to shop local. We further encourage our cottagers to return in mid-summer and stay longer into the fall. Above all, we urge all residents and visitors to continue to follow current health guidelines to ensure an earlier, rather than later, recovery.

New AH treasurer gets best of both worlds

Lisa Gervais

April 30, 2020

Having vacationed with her family in Haliburton County, new Algonquin Highlands treasurer Jean Hughes couldn’t pass up the opportunity when a job was advertised to replace Tammy McKelvey.

In an interview with The Highlander, Hughes said she also grew up at a cottage in the Magnetawan area so always had a passion for this area of the province. She said she and her husband set an intention to retire locally one day.

“So, this is the best of both worlds. I get to work up here and eventually retire up here,” Hughes said.

Hughes said she’s been in the municipal business for 20 years. She started in Dufferin County and worked her way up to deputy treasurer there. Four years ago, she moved to Howick, in the Huron County area, to a largely farming municipality. She was treasurer. She had been job shadowing McKelvey, who has since retired, but moved to the other side of the desk at the end of February.

“It’s very similar to what I was in before, other than that they don’t have the farmland up here,” she said. “We have lakes. Where I came from was a predominately Mennonite population. So, here we have the cottagers. Otherwise the job is very similar, although I’ve never had an airport. But, then again, I had communal well systems, so it’s just a give and take.”

She said being a municipal treasurer is a bit of a balancing act, with the province often lobbing balls.

“And, we don’t know where grants are coming from of late. They’ll say, ‘here, take some money, no obligations, and no conditions to it’ but in the back of my mind I’m thinking about the reporting. We do face challenges.”

She said as a treasurer, as her husband jokes, “I treat it like my own chequebook. I’m not going to do frivolous spending just like I wouldn’t do to my own situation. I like to make sure that we make the best decisions for our community at large.”

She said she was looking forward to officially moving into her own house over the Easter weekend and the couple beginning to set down roots. They both curl and she enjoys playing ball.

“I want to see what adventures Algonquin Highlands has for me.”

‘We’re all heroes, each and every one of us’

Lisa Gervais

April 30, 2020

Sylvie Drouin had just started work as a nurse at the Haliburton Hospital when COVID-19 struck. She was quickly redeployed to help with the pandemic.

“This has been an incredible journey and learning opportunity, one of which I never imagined to be part of,” Drouin said.

She admits that being taken out of her normal routine was tricky and scary.

“But, logically, I felt safe knowing if we collaborated, we could keep each other safer and best utilize each other’s roles by creating a stronger team.”

She said she’s been asked to be part of many additional roles, such as: booking appointments for the COVID assessment centre, being a COVID tester, a front door screener and counselling and reassuring patients who call the clinic in fear. She’s also working the COVID unit at the hospital.

“I learned very quickly, as many did, fear can be the biggest instigator of chaos,” she said.

She said the transformation from an acute care setting to a COVID acute unit has been incredible.

“The amount of helping hands and hard effort to make this happen amazes me. All the staff collaborating to make it work. The amount of decision-making and the additional education set in place for staff and mock codes have been reassuring for me.”

She added there’s much more to it than just getting the job done.

“I can’t speak for every health care worker, but I can attest as a nurse. It has been an emotional rollercoaster. I would be lying if I reported this change as just a normal way of work. I most definitely have fears every single day, such as, “will I contaminate myself, or others? Will I be protected and for how long until we run out of PPE? Will I be asked to re-use a mask or gown already used? Will this ever end? When this is all over, what will be the outcome of the economy and the health care system? Will this be the start of many more pandemics to come? What will we have all learned from this?”

Drouin said she’s teared up before and after work, because “none of us really know how safe or unsafe we are.”

She said it’s a day-by-day process and difficult for everyone.

“I get through this by counting my blessings daily as a reminder that I am okay because I can confirm I have an effortless breath. I’m well and healthy. I have a job I can go to with an income. I work alongside a very strong group of amazing humans who support each other. This allows room to breath and carry on to do what we do best. I get through this with them.”

She said frontline health care workers aren’t the only heroes, either.

“Truth is, we’re all heroes, each and everyone of us, if we choose to be.”

Yoga going online for the frontline

Lisa Gervais

April 30, 2020

Four days a week, Gail Holness takes to her yoga mat to help raise money for needed services in Haliburton County.

It started with her ‘online for the frontline’ initiative that raised more than $2,000 for the Haliburton Highlands Health Services, and is now switching to generate income for area food banks in May.

Holness has set up two donation buttons on her site. Initially, people’s donations went to HHHS and her online classes went to their inbox. People could either join live or receive recorded classes to do at their convenience.

“At their convenience turned out to be a very important point,” Holness said. “I learned very quickly that many people are just too stiff in the morning to be able to attempt a class but later in the day is perfect. Our frontliners are working crazy hours and there is no way a 10 a.m. class is doable, but maybe late evening is.”

Holness said it was a given she would have to go online but she did not have internet until Angie and Abby Xerri of Quantum Passivhaus offered her a space and access to their internet.

“With that in place I could move forward and help individuals through this time by giving them the much-needed routine, grounding, movement and connection with others they crave. To me it was a natural transition to open the doors wider and invite more people to help their community and at the same time help themself. I believe in times like this it is important to be able to bring your best skills to the table, for me, my skill is teaching yoga, and mindfulness. Fortunately for me, I have others that believe in me and what I do and wanted to help me.”

She said there was such a wonderful response to the online for the frontline that people wanted to know what was next.

“Overwhelmingly, the answer was direct our donations to the food bank. I couldn’t be happier. With all the cancellations and closures this summer there are going to be a never-before-seen need to help all our seasonal workers. Being able to direct cash to the food bank so they can buy what they need most and buy in bulk so they can save money makes sense. I’m hoping the momentum continues and together through my online classes we are able to raise $5,000. Why not dream big?”

How to take part: Find Gail at holnessyoga.ca. Her online schedule: Mondays – relaxing yoga Tuesdays – yoga tone Wednesdays – energizing yoga Thursdays – seniors, standing and chair & ‘on the go’ shortened version All live classes are at 10 a.m. Recorded classes are sent out shortly after the class is over. $20 donation for one live class and recording. $50 donation for all live classes and recordings for May. Classes can be purchased as a gift.

Resident skeptical over connectivity promises

Lisa Gervais

April 30, 2020

Elaine Cole would love to facetime with her son and grandchildren, who live in Chicago, but poor internet and cell phone connectivity means she might get a second or two until the screens freeze.

The 70-year-old lives five kilometres northeast of Dorset, where she uses Bell for her landline and cell phone and Xplornet for internet.

While others are using apps such as Zoom to interface with family, friends and social groups, she is feeling more on her own than ever before as COVID-19 continues.

“It’s very isolating,” she said in an interview April 27.

She added it’s not just about service during the pandemic. She’s been a fulltime resident for six years, and before that a seasonal resident for 10. She said the service has always been poor. The landline is fine when not knocked out by weather. With the cell phone coverage, “depending on which way the wind blows, I’m lucky to get one bar.”

“It’s just so disheartening.”

She said in the recent wind storm, her landline was out and she had no cell service. While in good health, she worries what would have happened if she had needed assistance for some reason.

“It’s scary. It’s frustrating.”

Cole said she visited the Serengeti 1.5 years ago, and she got five bars there on her cell phone. Yet, 2.5 hours north of downtown Toronto, she is getting one bar if she’s lucky. She said connectivity is “not a luxury anymore. It’s a necessity.” She cannot fathom that residents of our area do not have access 24/7 and “it’s more important for people who live up north than in the cities. Not to have service is unforgiveable.”

Bell makes promise

The feisty senior says when it comes to promises – such as Bell Canada’s announcement last week of expanded Wireless Home Internet service – she remains skeptical, and will believe it when she sees it.

A Bell Canada spokesman told The Highlander this week that about 4,100 homes in Algonquin Highlands, Dysart et al, Lake of Bays, Laxton-Digby-Longford, Minden Hills, Somerville and Trent Lakes can now access Wireless Home Internet service – “a big jump from the 500 or so homes covered in these areas before last week’s expansion.”

The spokesman said the service provides Internet speeds of up to 25 Mbps, with two packages available depending on usage required. Details are available at Bell.ca/ FastInternet. He said residents can also check if the service is available at their home.

“Bell’s Wireless Home Internet program is dedicated to bringing full broadband Internet speeds to rural communities and other traditionally underserved locations. And with WHI usage growing 4 per cent over the last month, the COVID-19 crisis has clearly underscored the value of the service to customers in smaller communities,” said Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada, in an April 23 press release.

Bell said the rollout is for 137,000 rural households in 180 communities.

Cole will also await the results of the Eastern Ontario Regional Network’s (EORN’s) request for proposals to build new cellular infrastructure as part of a $213 million project. The bidding process will aim to identify partners who can expand cell coverage throughout Eastern Ontario as part of a wider effort to improve mobile broadband, in an initiative involving three levels of government. Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott has said the project will take a number of years to complete.

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