Covering COVID from the garage

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May 21, 2020

I remember when the coronavirus pandemic first hit home for me.

It was Thursday, March 12.

I recall it because Minden hockey player Hunter Hamilton was scheduled to be a Scotiabank skater before the Toronto Maple Leafs-Nashville Predators game at the Air Canada Centre that night. I was texting back-and-forth with his mom, Cheryl, as to whether the game was going to be played. It was cancelled. Having National Hockey League games shelved due to COVID-19 was the big wake-up call that we were dealing with something we had never dealt with before.

While sinking in on a personal level, we also had a newspaper to plan for March 19 and I knew it was going to be a COVID-19 edition. We swung into action and delivered the first comprehensive series of stories on the continuing health care saga. It is a job that has continued as we go into our 10th pandemic edition.

Pretty early on, we were declared an essential service. There was never any doubt that we would produce the news. We just had to do it differently. That meant we’ve been operating more like a daily, than a weekly, newspaper. We have prolifically published on Facebook and on our website. The newspapers have then provided more in-depth weekly coverage.

These days, we produce The Highlander from four different locations. Head of production Lyelca Rodrigues works from her home near Eagle Lake. I’m based out of my studio garage in Carnarvon. Journalist Joseph Quigley toils from his apartment in Haliburton and publisher Simon Payn from his home on Drag Lake. Our sales team works from home and in the field. Only our business manager, Cindy Campbell, can usually be found at The Highlander office.

Joseph and I research and write our stories from home. We spend a lot of time on the computer and on the phone. We hardly go out to cover anything anymore. For a while there, we wrote a lot about COVID-19. With the resumption of council meetings via Zoom, we’ve been able to expand our news coverage. Thankfully, there have been lots of human-interest stories, too.

One of our bigger challenges has been photography. We’ve been able to get some images, from a social distance, of those who have agreed to meet up. That’s why you are seeing so many file photos in our editions.

As we pass the Victoria Day long weekend, we are less sure about what we will fill the paper with each week. We know there will be continuing COVID-19, council, and people stories. However, with so many events being cancelled, there won’t be typical Highlander summer newspapers, filled with pages and pages of photos and write-ups from events. It is forcing us to be more creative.

Today, we are kicking off a newspaper serial, entitled Harp on the Water. It’s written by Hope Thompson, who lives in Algonquin Highlands. Thompson writes for theatre and television and has had plays produced in Toronto, Vancouver and Los Angeles. She recently wrote for the CBC’s Baroness Von Sketch and is currently working on a collection of crime stories. Her series will run over the next eight weeks. We’re also kicking off a series called The Armchair Traveller and are inviting readers to submit travel stories and photographs throughout the summer.

And, by all means, if you have story ideas, don’t be shy about reaching out to editor@thehighlander.ca or joseph@thehighlander.ca.

A trek to the roof of the world

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 20, 2020

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I am slowly, steadily making my way along the Everest Base Camp trek when Nic, who is trudging behind me, suddenly gasps for air.

Her panicked partner, Paul calls out to our Nepalese guides. They rush to Nic’s side, along with Brisbane doctor, Simon Arndil.

They examine Nic and find she is now okay. Nic tells them she had a stomach cramp and simply lost her breath – not hard to do at nearly five kilometres up with about half the oxygen at sea level.

As Nic struggled, I felt panic overcome me. My vision seemed to shimmer and for the first time, I realized how dangerous trekking at altitude can be.

I forced myself to calm down . . . breathe in through my nose, breathe out through my mouth.

We all began to walk again, towards Lobuche, where our camp that night would be pitched at 4,930 m amongst the Khumbu Glacier moraine.

Yeti Airlines

On our Yeti Airlines flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, where the trek begins, our stewardess offers us a mint and cotton for our ears as the small, twin propeller aircraft takes off, providing amazing views of the Eastern Himalaya. We experience a rather hairy landing on a very short airstrip at 2,800 metres and are awe-inspired by the huge, snow-capped peaks surrounding the village.

We are soon joined by throngs of people along a well-marked trail; local porters and dzopkos (a yak-cow crossbreed) carrying supplies for the villages higher up and trekking parties.

We head downhill, passing Buddhist stupas, chortens, prayer flags and prayer wheels, through villages with pretty stone houses and flowers, shops and terraced fields of potatoes and buckwheat. We come to a suspension bridge and make the first of many crossings of the Dudh Kosi, a raging river that flows from the highest peaks.

The trek

Our Nepalese guides wake us up early by bringing tea to our tents, followed by a hot bowl of washing water. We pack and head to our mess tent for breakfast. We then walk for a few hours before a hearty lunch and a few more hours’ walking before we are back in the mess tent for afternoon tea, followed by another wash and then dinner. Most nights we are tucked up in bed early after a vigorous day’s walking.

The pace is slow and steady as we make our way up. We are advised that the best way to avoid altitude sickness is to go slow and to drink plenty of liquids, hot liquids preferably, and we endeavour to drink three litres a day even though it means we rarely sleep through the night as we need to get up and use the toilet.

We hike through pine forest and cleared areas reveal terraced fields and a variety of crops, while spectacular mountain peaks unfold above us and seem to hover above the tree-line as they rise above the deep river valley. We pass Mani Walls, carved with “Om Mani Padme Hum” (Hail to the jewel in the lotus).

Namche Bazaar

“No, they don’t have cars,” the woman with the New Zealand accent explains via mobile phone to someone on the other end of the world.

However, they do appear to have internet everywhere. In fact, I send an e-mail from Gorak Shep, at 5,288m, where the proprietor of the internet café uses a petrol generator and satellite dish to ensure communication with the outside world.

At Namche Bazaar, we run into Willie Benegas, an Argentinian living in the USA who is a professional Mt. Everest guide. Willie has climbed Everest eight times and this season will make his ninth attempt.

We ask him about the danger and he shrugs it off saying: “Flying into Lukla is extremely dangerous. You’re playing the odds all the time.”

He concedes the commercialization of Everest but believes it is the low budget expeditions that account for the accidents.

We wind our way up to Thyangboche Monastery where we arrive in time for the Buddhist monks’ afternoon chant. The light is dim and there is a rank smell of trekkers’ socks but the deep, melodic chant invades my chest.

At Dingboche, at 4,360m, the snow arrives with a vengeance, covering our tents. Our Nepalese guides thwack the sides to knock the snow off as we huddle for warmth in the mess tent, only venturing out to the toilet tent. We are now getting just 60 per cent of the oxygen we would at sea level. We are losing our appetites, not digesting our food or sleeping very well. The conversation in the mess tent inevitably turns to altitude sickness. There are now eight people on Diamox, a drug used to treat acute mountain sickness. We retire to sleep, our sleeping bags crunching on the snow and ice. The nights are about -20C. I am wearing just about everything I have packed but still shiver. I can’t get my feet warm.

At Gorak Shep we find a tiny village teahouse, where we gather around a potbelly stove and enjoy steaming cups of hot chocolate. Outside the snow continues to fall, covering everything, including the yaks. Tomorrow is the big day.

Everest Base Camp

We awake to 360 degree views of snowcapped mountains: Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Tawatse, Ama Dablam, Kantega and Thamserku, Khumblia and Kongde Ri.

We set off early, the Khumbu Glacier to our right as we slowly ascend and descend over rocky terrain.

Hour after hour, I concentrate on walking slowly and steadily, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, and carefully placing each step, only glancing up occasionally to see Everest poking her head through her sister mountains.

And, then, a sea of yellow tents appear in the snow ahead and then a second camp of multicoloured tents further on.

We pass a tent advertising an Everest Base Camp German bakery and, after 10 days’ walking from Lukla, we are here.

The camp itself is nothing special, just a bunch of tents pitched on icy, rocky ground. But the view is extraordinary. We can see the Khumbu Icefall, where Sherpas each year install fixed ladders and ropes so climbers can make their summit attempts.

I reflect on the effort it has taken to get here and marvel at how these people will stay at this very inhospitable place for months in their quest to climb Mt Everest.

In less than an hour, we are on our way back to Gorak Shep, struggling the last few kilometres as a wicked head wind blows up the glacier. We arrive, exhausted, about 5 p.m.

The next four days are a blur as we rapidly descend back to Lukla with all-day walks.

Near the end, we celebrate our ascent with our team of 23, under the leadership of Harka Rai. We sing and dance together and distribute our tips. Before we know it, we are on a Nepal Airlines flight back to Kathmandu, Everest this time on our left, and we bid her thank you and goodbye.

Councillors punch idea of counting garbage bags

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 20, 2020

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Visitors to Minden Hills’ waste disposal sites won’t be getting a new landfill pass that tracks the number of garbage bags they drop.

Councillors rejected a recommendation from staff to make a change at the May 14 committee of the whole meeting. They are expected to formalize the decision when they next meet May 28.

Public works director Travis Wilson said it’s now a bit of an “honour system.” He said households are allowed three bags per week, but there is nothing stopping them going back, or to another landfill site, in the same week, thus dumping more than permitted.

“It is impossible for a site attendant to remember who has attended the site each week and there is no method of cross referencing who has attended each site,” Wilson said. He added that in order to ensure users stay within weekly bag limits, most have to go once a week, which is time consuming and an undesirable task for some.

Staff suggested a new waste pass be printed with numbers that would be hole punched by site staff to help track how many bags of garbage have been disposed of by the resident.

Wilson conceded it was difficult to determine what the reduction in waste transfer/landfilling costs would be or how much increased tipping fee revenue would be recovered from users paying for additional bags of waste. However, he said they could encourage residents to make fewer trips to the landfill.

“If every household in Minden reduced their trips to the landfill by just two visits per year, 23.27 tonnes of CO2 emissions could be prevented (the equivalent of taking six vehicles off the road for an entire year),” Wilson said.

Coun. Jean Neville said she saw a lot of problems with the proposal, particularly now when the township is trying to limit contact between landfill attendants and the public due to COVID-19.

She said she only generates one small grocery bag a week, while others are bringing theirs and their neighbours. “So, they’re going to being passing their cards back and forth.” She added she’d already had several emails about garbage being dumped on the side of the road, and new punch cards would exacerbate this. She also thought there’d be a backup of vehicles with the hole punch system.

She asked what other municipalities are doing, since “We seem to throw more obstacles in the way than anybody else and I don’t see that this is necessary myself.”

Coun. Bob Carter asked why they would change anything with no data to show savings or increased revenue. He added COVID-19 isn’t going away any time soon. As a visitor to Ingoldsby waste disposal site, he anticipates it would cause congestion. Nor does he want people storing garbage that could attract vermin.

“I applaud the effort but I see this as a solution looking for a problem.”

Deputy-Mayor Lisa Schell thought the timing was off with social distancing. She added, “has it (excessive dumping) really been that big of an issue?”

Minden Hills records large 2019 surplus

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 20, 2020

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Minden Hills has an estimated surplus of more than $900,000 at year end 2019, CAO and treasurer Lorrie Blanchard told the May 14 committee of the whole meeting.

She told council it was “a very significant number” and the largest one they’ve had. She added, “of note, every single department experienced a surplus in 2019.”

She said that more than half of it, or $503,480, is attributable to unspent wages and benefits.

“For various reasons, we were not able to either hire the staff that council had approved for us to hire, or vacancies that had occurred that we were not able to fill, or positions that we were successful in filling but they just didn’t happen in the timeframe that we had hoped and the timeframe we had budgeted for them to start,” Blanchard told councillors.

In addition, there was $86,700 from supplemental taxes, amounts retained from school boards and write-offs; $184,700 in additional gas tax top-up and legacy funding; and $137,600 in bank interest income, for the remaining surplus of $409,000.

Blanchard said the savings represented 10.72 per cent of the 2019 levy.

In her report, she also provided a summary of potential capital projects, mostly roads and landfills, but also water and sewer and property. For example, she said council could spend the money to remove or renovate the old fire hall in the downtown. She said another idea was reducing the amount of the Minden arena project loan, or apply to value-added items there.

Coun. Pam Sayne said she’d like to see compliance with accessibility prioritized. “I think we could do something with our downtown, which makes it accessible,” she said. She added they could help downtown businesses and look at what other downtowns are doing.

Coun. Bob Carter said he felt the township was going to be criticized for having a nearly 11 per cent surplus. He said he understood why it happened, including projects not proceeding, as well as hirings. He wanted to know if the projects would be done.

He added, “I think it’s very, very important for us to recognize that this isn’t found money. This is taxpayer money and putting it towards a list of projects that might be somebody’s favourite or might be ‘nice to haves’ or something like that, I don’t think that’s a valid thing to be doing.” He said the money would be better spent on emergencies or forecasting need into 2020 and 2021.

Coun. Ron Nesbitt agreed, saying, “it is taxpayer money. It should go to stuff that needs to get done, not happy projects.”

“How it affects our tax increases is also an important issue,” Sayne added. “Make sure we’re not increasing our taxes if we have this kind of reserve from the previous year. Make sure it goes to where we intend it.”

Deputy Mayor Lisa Schell said that “a lot of people in our community during this pandemic are without work. Money’s tighter. So, perhaps we can offset what would have to be a tax increase in 2021 with some of this money to try to help out.”

COVID-19 costly for Algonquin Highlands

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 20, 2020

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The Township of Algonquin Highlands could face considerable revenue losses due to COVID-19, particularly in the parks, recreation and trails department, treasurer Jean Hughes will tell a May 21 council meeting.

“At present, and based on the costs to date (April 30, 2020) the cumulative loss in revenue and additional expenses equates to approximately 1.3 per cent of the existing municipal tax levy or approximately $69,105,” her report to the regular council meeting says.

She added that should the closures continue throughout the summer months, losses could easily exceed this amount.

“The duration of the COVID-19 pandemic remains unclear, but we anticipate the economy will return to some normal activities in the coming months and we will head into recovery mode,” Hughes said. “The township will have to consider its options to fund the potential budget deficit which may be offset by drawing on reserves, reducing expenditures or deferring non-essential capital projects.”

The township stands to lose income from camping fees, trail permits, soccer and equipment rentals, as well as revenue from events, memberships and admissions.

Hughes also outlined expenditures incurred to date on the purchase of COVID-19 related supplies, plus costs to the township for overtime hours and self-isolation hours directly related to the pandemic.

Hughes said employee cumulative hours for tasks related to COVID-19 are not depicted on the chart she provided to council as they are performed during regular business hours, but are being tracked accordingly.

“These tasks include disinfection duties, public relations, health and safety meetings, EOC meetings, peer-to-peer meetings, virtual meeting setup and training, and setting up of signage and barricades as required for provincial and municipal closures,” she said.

She added in her report that other potential sources of lost revenue include: a drop in fire permits and inspections; licenses, permits and compliance reports; lease and fuel sales at the airport; tipping fees and planning application fees.

On a positive note, she said Algonquin Highlands’ taxes receivable is reduced in comparison to previous years and they continue to receive payments for the upcoming second installment.

She said penalty and interest charges in comparison to his time last year are down approximately 16 per cent, “which means property owners are continuing to pay their taxes at this time.”

Also at the May 21 meeting, fire chief Jonathan Wilker will table a report to summarize to council the procedures followed by the Emergency Control Group at Emergency Operation Center (EOC) meetings in response to the COVID-19 emergency since this is the first meeting of council since the pandemic struck. They did meet May 14 but only to pass a bylaw allowing virtual meetings.

He will also table a report to provide council with a Health and Safety Planning and Recovery Strategy relative to the COVID-19 pandemic. The report provides a framework for recovery operations in the township.

“Implementation of this framework will require flexibility to adhere to public health guidelines and directions being implemented at the local and provincial levels of government. The township will adhere to all public health in an effort to protect the health and safety of the public and its employees,” Wilker’s report states.

See next Thursday’s Highlander for more coverage of the May 21 meeting.

Some reopenings

The township has reopened the Stanhope tennis and basketball courts and sports field, hiking trails (except the Dorset Tower trail), and all municipal boat launches.

In addition, cemeteries have reopened. Gatherings are still limited to five people. For gravesite funeral services, there can be no more than 10 people, not counting funeral staff. Physical distancing is still encouraged.

Cottage kits are not available for purchase at this time.

The building department has begun to issue building permits, effective May 19. The fire ban has been lifted. However, daytime burning remains prohibited between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Daytime burn permits remain suspended.

There’ll also be a household hazardous waste date on June 6, in the afternoon, at the Maple Lake landfill site. Residents will not be permitted to exit their vehicles. Staff will retrieve materials directly from vehicles. Place hazardous materials in a distinct and easily accessed location in your vehicle. Be sure all containers are clearly labeled with their contents and securely sealed.

Minden’s pigeons may be running out of time

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 20, 2020

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Downtown Minden’s pigeons have been given a stay of execution – at least until council’s May 28 meeting.

Director of public works, Travis Wilson, tabled a report on the mitigation of pigeons at the May 14 committee of the whole meeting. The report stemmed from a letter of complaint by Stan Russell to the township on the March 12 council agenda.

Wilson said staff contacted two contractors, Eco-Choice Pest Control of Haliburton County and Rentokil, the township’s out-of-town current contractor for seagull mitigation.

He said both were knowledgeable in the field and had provided an extensive proposal.

“Both propose placing baited live traps on any flat roof occupied by the pigeons (subject to any requirements for owner permission),” Wilson’s report said. “The traps would be checked regularly, with the pigeons taken off site and euthanized.”

He added that in order to successfully trap pigeons, the birds will need to become accustomed to the traps. This would entail pre-feeding them without having a trap set, and contingent on others not feeding them. The traps would then be set with the essentials for life, shade, water, and feed. Pre-feeding could be conducted on the rooves currently inhabited, or baited on the municipal building, his report said.

Wilson said Eco-Choice has also recommended that if these measurers become ineffective, since pigeons will learn that food leads to traps, that they employ a form of birth control in the pigeon’s food. Wilson said it’s approved and endorsed by the humane society as a humane control option.

He recommended going with Eco-Choice, saying it had provided a price of $50 per visit for a weekly service, for 30 weeks, and a $1,500 contingency for equipment and or birth control feed.

Coun. Jean Neville said she’d only noticed a small number of pigeons and wondered if the issue had been dealt with or if the pigeons had moved on.

However, Mayor Brent Devolin said “there’s in excess of 100 and, no, they haven’t gone away.”

Neville said if they went with birth control feed, it might have to go on indefinitely but Wilson said only until the situation improves.

Coun. Bob Carter had a number of questions, including whether staff had talked to other municipalities with the same problem and received references from the companies about successful pigeon mitigation. Wilson said he had not talked to other townships but what was being proposed was a straightforward process.

Carter also said he’d heard people are feeding the pigeons and he knows of their roosting in abandoned buildings in town.

“Would it not make more sense to cut off their food and shelter and make it seem like they’re not welcome? I’m a little worried that this just seems like another open-ended contract that may go on forever and ever amen,” Carter said.

Coun. Pam Sayne agreed the township should “focus on feeding, and what’s drawing them to downtown at this point, than throwing more money … a better, conservative approach right now.”

Deputy Mayor Lisa Schell wondered about a two-pronged approach, what was being recommended and working with businesses to close off roosting sites. For example, she said the old theatre is a haven for pigeons.

Carter asked if owners could be held responsible.

There was talk of the former theatre changing hands with a possible demolition. Carter said he didn’t want to wait months. Coun. Ron Nesbitt agreed. “At least close it up. Educate people not to feed them. There is disease from the excrement.”

Former owner Rahim Lakhani said he had sold the building but did not know the new owners’ plans.

Council received the report as information and will vote on it at the May 28 meeting.

“They need to be gone,” Devolin said. “It’s getting increasingly worse. Just walk from the bridge by The Dominion every day and observe the excrement that’s there.”

Sweet soap helping community cooks

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 20, 2020

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JQ - Treehouse Soap - 1-web — Treehouse Soap owner Lea Bartlett has created a new honey- based bar to raise money for the SIRCH Community Kitchen. Photos submitted.

Treehouse Soap owner Lea Bartlett wanted to do something sweet to help the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The handmade soap business made a new bar with local honey – “Bee 4 U” – and is donating all the proceeds to SIRCH Community Kitchen, which is providing free meals during the crisis. Bartlett is also offering free soap to interested community organizations, donating a batch to Community Living Trent Highlands May 8 to distribute to those in need.

“My initial thoughts were just to create a really healthy soap using local bee products and then it just evolved into, why not do this? This would just be good for everybody,” Bartlett said.

She added that soap and cleanliness are common topics due to COVID-19 and figured some organizations would be interested in her products.

“The donation goes to such a worthy cause,” she said, noting SIRCH is cooking 600-800 meals per week. “It’s an amazing number of people they help out.”

SIRCH food services co-ordinator Jay McIvor said the support the organization has gotten is fantastic.

“Just awesome. We are really overwhelmed with the community support. Kind of puts winds in our sails here,” McIvor said.

He noted other groups have also helped, including thousands of dollars worth of food donations from Sysco Canada and the Lakeside Baptist Church providing dessert for meals.

SIRCH has hired two full-time staff to manage the increased workload and McIvor said they expect to maintain a higher capacity throughout the pandemic, and likely beyond it, thanks to facility improvements such as freezers.

“We don’t expect the economy to jump right back into full gear. It’s probably going to go back slowly,” McIvor said. “I imagine there’s still going to be those food security issues we can meet.”

The soap was made with local ingredients, Bartlett said, adding bee products can make for quality soap. Each also features a stamp hand-carved by her 94-year-old father Joseph Gottfried.

“Honey is good for you, honey’s good for your skin,” she said. “Helps to keep the moisture at a good level.”

Bartlett said she hopes she can sell at least 200 of the new bars, valued at $9 each, to help SIRCH.

“That, to me, would be an amazing amount to contribute.”

“Bee 4 U” is available at treehousesoap.ca/products/bee-4-u-charity-soap.

Pandemic puts search for Heaven on hold

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 20, 2020

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JQ - Documentary story - 3 - web — Filmmakers Jackson Rowe and Mike Mildon address an audience at the Dominion Hotel Jan. 27. Submitted photo.

Documentary filmmakers Mike (Heaven) Mildon and Jackson Rowe did not expect a twist like this when they set out to uncover an 86-year-old mystery.

Mildon, a Minden-native, and Rowe were filming throughout the township this winter for a documentary. They sought to find out what happened to Mildon’s great-greatuncle Harold Heaven, who disappeared in 1934.

They made progress, but their production hit an unexpected roadblock when the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“We wanted to dig deeper into a lot of things but everything just kind of froze,” Rowe said. “Obviously, the only thing we can do now is wait.”

The planned spring portion of the production is on hold due to the crisis delaying the film’s completion.

“Winter was stopping us,” Mildon said. “We were planning to wait for spring anyways, early May to follow-up on some leads we’re pretty excited about. There doesn’t seem to be an end right now to when COVID is going to settle down.”

Whenever filming can resume, Mildon said they are unsure how people will respond given they are from the city. The community has welcomed them so far, he said, but he added concerns given the heated online debate between full-time and seasonal residents over cottage visits during the pandemic.

“People are very passionate. I don’t know if that will translate when everything does die down,” he said. “A little timid to see how everybody reacts to when things go back to slightly normal.”

Given the delay, Mildon said COVID-19 will be mentioned in the film, although probably only for a couple of minutes as a transition.

“Fortunately for us, there’s not too much storytelling we have to do because everybody knows what this is. Everybody knows what’s going on. As soon as you say the words COVID, it’s very relatable and I think people will understand,” Mildon said.

The filmmakers said they made good progress on leads during the winter filming. Heaven disappeared in 1934 and his body was never discovered. Police reports at the time said they suspected death by suicide, though the filmmakers believe there is more to it than that.

Mildon said they discovered more about someone who was in the original search party for Heaven, though he did not want to give away spoilers for the film.

The crew also used ground-penetrating radar on what they suspect could be Heaven’s burial site, which they plan to dig up after the pandemic.

“We’ve had tremendous help from the community, not breaking the case but filling in tons of blanks we didn’t know about,” Rowe said. “It was them that really allowed us to flesh it out and move everything forward.”

COVID-19 notwithstanding, Rowe said they are happy with how the production has gone so far.

“Feel very, very good, but not satisfied yet,” Rowe said. “It’s been a treat, it’s been exciting, it’s been great being in Minden.”

Grant helps food network extend tax filing service

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 20, 2020

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JQ - income tax clinics - 1-web — File photo.

The Central Food Network is helping people file income taxes despite the pandemic.

The organization announced May 5 it would continue to aid modest-income households in filling out returns for free throughout the month. Although the typical clinics, held at local legions, cannot be offered, the network is offering support remotely.

Despite the challenges of social distancing due to COVID-19, operational and administrative director Tina Jackson said the group felt it needed to find a workaround.

“There are so many tax benefits and income support benefits that are linked to filing your taxes,” Jackson said.

“We know the government is giving some increases in those benefits and we want as many people as possible that are eligible to receive those. “We know now, more than ever, people are relying on every single dollar.”

The income tax filing deadline was extended from April 30 to June 1. Jackson said they were able to keep the program going for May with the help of a $5,000 grant through the federal New Horizons for Seniors program. It will be used both for income tax and food programming.

“We would not be able to be delivering this service without that support,” Jackson said.

The organization took on the service this year from Marlene Watson, a local 82-yearold who helps hundreds in the area file taxes every year. She opted to step back this year due to distance.

“Our agency felt very strongly this needed to continue. It’s a very valuable program that helps people to avoid accessing our services. If people have enough money to cover their rent, their hydro costs and purchase groceries, they’re less likely to have to rely on us,” Jackson said.

Watson said it was difficult driving to Wilberforce every year and said it is great the Central Food Network is filling in.

Meanwhile, she is still helping others in the area file taxes – about 200 this year in all. But being unable to hold more physical clinics due to COVID-19 has been challenging, she said.

“It’s a lot of people I’ve been doing them for over the years and I hate to say no to them, so I have them bring (the returns) to my house,” Watson said. “I’ve always enjoyed stuff like this and that’s why I’ve kept it up.”

To access the Central Food Network’s services in Highlands East, call 705-3060565 or email heatbankhc@gmail.com to make arrangements.

Community gardens open with new restrictions

By

Lisa Gervais

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May 19, 2020

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JQ - Community gardens - 2-web — Nancy McLuskey stands outside the Eagle Lake Community Church gardens, one of many preparing to open after getting declared essential. Photo by Joseph Quigley.

Community gardens are working to open under new social distancing restrictions after the province declared them essential April 25.

With the growing season approaching, local gardens are working to adhere to new health unit guidelines to operate this summer. Those include preventing the general public from accessing gardens, limiting to five people at a time, maintaining a two-metre distance from others and members using their own tools as much as possible. Groups are required to submit a checklist to the health unit about operations before opening.

The Eagle Lake Community Church garden is one of them. Pastor Garry Swagerman said the small group that runs it is preparing to start as scheduled June 1.

“It’s important that we do have gardens. This is one of the things that people are going to turn to in light of social distancing, in light of what might happen while grocery shopping,” Swagerman said.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit said in a press release gardens are required to notify them about their intentions to operate and confirm they are following guidelines.

“Community gardens are truly an essential service in allowing many local residents to grow, access and enjoy fresh food,” public health inspector Dharminder Kaler said. “We’re all in this together, so we encourage community gardens to put health and safety first as they go about their growing season.”

Other local gardens are also preparing to open, including the ones run by Community Living Trent Highlands (CLTH) in Haliburton.

“CLTH passionately believes in food security for Haliburton village and is committed to doing whatever we need to in order to keep our gardens open and safe for all,” executive director Teresa Jordan said.

Swagerman said there is a list of 22 restrictions to follow but expects his garden will be able to comply. The Eagle Lake Community Church garden is also adding a new plot this season to provide for food banks.

“Our hope this year is to start implementing food for the community. I think with COVID-19, that makes it even more important,” he said.