Construction site explosion injures worker

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March 5, 2020

The Ministry of Labour (MOL) and Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) are investigating a Highlands East construction site after an explosion seriously injured a worker.

The incident occurred the morning of March 4 at a home build on Aspen Lane, according to OPP.

The Ministry of Labour said it was reported the worker started up a propane salamander heater, which exploded.

“The lone male worker was by himself on the property,” OFM investigator Michael Rushton said. “He actually called 911 himself.”

An ambulance transported the worker, with serious injuries, to a local hospital. OPP said an Ornge Air Ambulance then transported him to a Toronto-area hospital

The front of the property had no visible exterior damage. Rushton said the explosion was mostly contained inside the building.

The Technical Standards and Safety Authority and the Highlands East Fire Department also attended the scene, the MOL said.

The MOL and OFM are investigating the scene. Rushton said he hopes to finish on the property today, though the investigation will continue after.

A ministry spokesperson said the length of the investigation will depend on the complexity of the case.

The Highlander will provide more information as it is made available.

Loss of a landmark

By

Lisa Gervais

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March 5, 2020

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Historic properties tell the story of our community. They help maintain the character of local places. They provide a sense of identity.

These aren’t my words, although I do agree with them. They were spoken by Elizabeth Turner, a woman who made an emotional delegation to Minden Hills council Feb. 27.

She talked about a missed opportunity to designate a building at 1942 Soyers Lake Rd. under the Ontario Heritage Act. Through a series of apparent miscommunications, the building is now demolished.

It all started when Turner caught wind that the owners were seeking approval to demolish the structure. She went to Coun. Jennifer Hughey last July to see what could be done. She then met with planner Ian Clendening in October. Both Hughey and Clendening told her to make a delegation to council. There was absolutely nothing wrong with that advice.

What went horribly wrong was by the time Turner made her delegation last Thursday, the building had already been razed. The other hitch was Turner may have made her pitch in January but was out of town. However, she never anticipated a winter demolition.

Somewhere along the way, the demolition permit was granted and the owners notified. Councillors, other than Hughey, only learned of the building’s historic and social significance after the fact. They never got an opportunity to discuss whether they should pursue a designation under the act.

The case for one was arguably strong. After all, the house was a really good example of a gothic farmhouse, typical after pioneers decided to permanently put down roots. Builder Joseph Dummitt later transferred it to Rizpah Dummitt and her husband Edward Elstone, who farmed but saw a tourism potential. They started out renting rooms to hunters and then summer guests. Before long the demand required cottages be built. Lakeview Lodge was born. Many stayed there while building their own cottages in the area. The lodge was where mail was dropped off and picked up, and phone calls made and received.

In 1975, the lodge was transformed into housekeeping cottages and the house returned to being a private dwelling.

We take no umbrage with private owners wanting to demolish a building in the hopes of erecting a new one. They likely didn’t know the depth of the building’s history. How could they? It was not designated. Nor would a designation have stopped them completely. They may, however, have had to alter their plans to ensure some features were kept intact.

Any council in Ontario can apply under Regulation 9/06 of the Act to get designation. Indeed, they are encouraged to via the province and their own official plans.

We may never find out what exactly happened with this file although council has requested a staff report. As Mrs. Turner has stated, she doesn’t think there was malice involved, simply a lack of communication. She hopes the township learns from this, and quite frankly, so do we.

It is important to protect heritage buildings and properties in the Highlands. There is a wealth of knowledge that can be tapped into, whether it is the Haliburton County Heritage Society, the museums, or longtime residents. A list should be struck now so we don’t lose lodges or other important remnants from our past.

It isn’t about stopping development of the new but protecting the old so we can indeed tell the story of our community, maintain the character of our local places and provide ourselves with a sense of identity.

Minden boy to skate for the blue and white

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Lisa Gervais

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March 5, 2020

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Minden’s Hunter Hamilton will be on national television March 12 when he skates onto the Scotiabank Arena ice as the flag-bearer in a game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Matt Duchene’s Nashville Predators.

It was his mom, Cheryl’s, idea to enter Hunter in the Scotiabank Skaters competition in December.

Cheryl got a message on her cell phone saying Hunter had won, and she should contact organizers by Friday, Feb. 21. However, she didn’t get the message until Sunday, Feb. 23. Worried Hunter would miss out, she said she looked up the phone caller’s name on Facebook and contacted her that way to ensure they would keep Hunter’s spot.

In addition to the honour of Hunter skating on the ice with his beloved Maple Leafs, including his favourite Mitch Marner, the family gets four tickets to the game. Hunter will also get a jersey and prize package. He’s planning to wear a GoPro on his helmet to capture it all.

Asked how he felt when he’d found out he’d been selected, Hunter, who plays for the Highland Storm, told The Highlander this week, “I got really excited. Like, I get to hang out with the Maple Leafs.”

Minden sets ‘aspirational’ climate change targets

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Lisa Gervais

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March 5, 2020

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Minden Hills councillors passed Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) targets at their Feb. 27 meeting. They are a 20 per cent reduction in buildings, 10 per cent for fleet and 10 per cent for waste by 2030. Council resolved to review yearly targets.

County planner Charlsey White and climate change coordinator Korey McKay spoke at the meeting. McKay broke down Minden’s current GHG inventory. The bulk comes from waste, at 81 per cent, then fleet (12 per cent) and buildings (six per cent).

She said the key to reducing waste GHG is education and initiatives to cut what goes into landfills and diverting waste; exploring the opportunity for larger changes; and improving data. With fleet, it’s about anti-idling potential and introducing some hybrid and electric vehicles. As for building, McKay said the old community centre accounted for 28 per cent of emissions.

During a short discussion, Coun. Bob Carter said the township should be setting aspirational goals. “We must try to reach it. If we make it, great. If we fail, it’s at least something to aspire to.”

Coun. Pam Sayne said the township hired a consultant to do a building efficiency report and she wanted that now to be put into practice, saying it’s the key for the township right now. She added when it comes to fleet, technology is changing very quickly. She also raised the issue of a composting program, noting it had been talked about at the township but never put into place. She’d like to see the township move in that direction.

McKay said methane gas at landfills is a big emitter of GHG.

Coun. Jean Neville said municipalities should ease laws around backyard chickens. “People are all hung up on disease for some unknown reason.” She said supplying compost to animals would largely eliminate the problem.

Mayor Brent Devolin added, “we’re not interested in setting targets where we don’t even break a sweat. The elephant in the room is landfills. The waste part is the most complex part and the one we know the least about.”

He queried whether they should set higher targets. However, Carter said he did not feel it was right for council to arbitrarily establish targets, when White and McKay had done the research. He wondered about delaying for 12 months and going back to Minden’s climate change action committee.

McKay acknowledged the waste data was not as good as for buildings and fleet. However, she said once they get more specific data, such as future diversion rates, they can adjust the 10 per cent figure.

“Start at 10 per cent, then refine.”

Sayne said she wanted to affirm targets on the day and not defer.

Director of public works Travis Wilson said later in the meeting that his department was working on a small-scale waste audit and he would report back to council.

Resident pleads for Minden to protect heritage buildings

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Lisa Gervais

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March 5, 2020

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Elizabeth Turner dons a pair of wooden snowshoes and begins trekking on her property on Soyers Lake Road. As she heads for the lake, there is a demolished building to the right – the excavator that brought it to the ground still onsite.

Looking at the ruins at 1942 Soyers Lake Rd., she remembers the building’s past. It was built by her great-grandfather Joseph Dummitt in 1891. It was a lodge beginning in the 1920s until the 1970s. She lived in the farmhouse until going to university.

While she feels a personal loss, she thinks Minden residents need to know the building’s wider significance and why she is devastated council was unable to have it designated under the Ontario Heritage Act before its recent demolition.

“The development of the property reflects the development of the municipality from farming and logging to the beginning of the tourist industry,” she said.

She noted the gothic farmhouse was typical for pioneers of the day and the only example on Soyers Lake. Dummitt farmed dairy and beef cattle. The kitchen hosted square dances. For a half-century it was the Lakeview Lodge. The Soyers Lake Ratepayers Association held their early meetings there.

“So, the house has significance, not only to me and my family but to the whole lake community. I met a cottager yesterday who was shocked when he saw the demolition as he drove to his cottage from the city. He had always assumed that the house was a protected historic site and was shaken to think it is gone. A landmark on the lake is gone.”

When she got wind of a possible demolition by the property’s new owners, Turner had hoped to save the farmhouse from the wrecker’s ball via council designating it under the Ontario Heritage Act. However, as she told Minden Hills staff and councillors Feb. 27, she was too late and believes a lack of communication at the township on the file has dealt a “significant blow to local history.”

She noted that under the Act, council is allowed to make decisions regarding heritage properties, including to designate. She added they have to fulfill one criteria outlined in Ontario Regulation 9/06.

“1942 Soyers Lake Road clearly fulfills multiple criteria under Regulation 9/06 and is eligible for designation,” she said. She further noted that Ontario municipalities are required to protect their heritage resources and there are policies regarding cultural heritage preservation in the Minden Hills and County of Haliburton official plans.

She said she first raised the issue with a councillor in July 2019, and was referred to the planning department. She met with them last October and it was recommended she speak to council. She was originally to appear in January but was away and did not anticipate a winter demolition. While waiting for the February delegation, staff issued a demolition permit.

“By issuing the demolition permit prior to council receiving the delegation and making a decision, staff undermined council’s ability to fulfill their provincially-mandated responsibility to make decisions regarding historic properties within the municipality,” she told council.

She doesn’t think it was in any way malicious, just a “troubling lack of communication among those involved in this file and an insufficient understanding of provincial planning legislation and policy.”

She said she hopes the township learns from the experience, since there are many important historic properties not now recognized or protected.

“If Minden Hills is going to remain the special place that it is with a rich and interesting history that is enjoyed by residents and visitors alike, the protection of historically significant buildings is something the municipality must begin to undertake,” she said.

Mayor Brent Devolin said, “council is seeing this today for the very first time,” and has asked for a staff report. He said Turner had given them food for thought and expressed an interest in council taking a more proactive role in future.

After the meeting, Coun. Jennifer Hughey, who first spoke to Turner last July said via email, “It’s very unfortunate how circumstances transpired in this case, but a delegation is always the best way to present concerns to council as a whole. I commend Ms. Turner for bringing to light the way Minden Hills could work to conserve, protect and enhance the cultural heritage of the municipality through designation considerations in the future.”

Planner Ian Clendening, who spoke to Turner last October, added, “at this time staff will be preparing a report to council regarding heritage designations.”

The Highlander was unable to reach the owners of 1942 Soyers Lake Rd. for comment.

Folk camp ‘perfect antidote to a winter’s night’

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Lisa Gervais

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March 5, 2020

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Once again, there’ll be great live music in the Haliburton Highlands with the annual Winter Folk Camp concerts coming up Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8.

The Haliburton County Folk Society, in a press release, said the concerts always surprise and delight audiences, with three performers sharing the stage each night at YMCA Camp Wanakita.

Saturday night’s show features the trio Boreal, and “the sweet harmonies” of Katherine Wheatley, Tannis Slimmon and Angie Nussey, Sue Shikaze said. She added Boreal’s songs conjure up vivid sights and sounds of winter that all Haliburtonians will recognize: pine branches bending low, squirrels’ footprints in the snow, the icy breath that accompanies shovelling, the sound of slap shots off the boards, and the angel truck drivers who lead us home in blizzards.

“These three artists create a warm, friendly, and genuine rapport with their audience. Their music is the perfect antidote to a winter’s night,” Shikaze said.

On stage Sunday night are a trio of guitar players: blues guitarist Emily Burgess, Drew Gonsalves playing calypso, and local jazz guitarist Nick Russell.

Burgess has toured across North America, performed at Massey Hall as the guitarist for the Women’s Blues Revue Band, and fronts her own band, the Emburys.

Gonsalves is the founder, frontman and songwriter for Kobo Town, a Juno award-winning band that blends calypso with musical influences ranging from reggae to hip hop.

Russell is no stranger to local audiences, sharing his music at Rhubarb and other venues throughout the county, with a style that combines classical and contemporary jazz and progressive rock.

“With this mix of genres and talent, there are sure to be musical moments that will only be heard on this night,” Shikaze said.

Tickets are $25 each and available online at haliburtonfolk.com or at the door. Shows start at 7:30 p.m. Cash bar is available.

Retiree burning a path to wellness with woodwork

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Lisa Gervais

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March 4, 2020

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It’s a weekday morning as Haliburton’s Allen Luke sits down to his workbench. He places tracings of the word ‘welcome’ and a picture of a rooster on a piece of wood, his trusty wood burner at his side.

He’s surrounded by already completed works, including coat racks and hangers, clocks, candle holders and candle displays, plaques, animals and walking sticks.

It’s “stimulating,” according to Luke, born in Montreal, moved to Toronto when he was six for 45 years, before discovering the Haliburton area in 1988.

He’s had a life, for sure, including health challenges the past 10 years that have included five heart procedures and being in the midst of a second bout of cancer.

“I haven’t had many good breaks in my life,” he adds, relating he was on his own at 15, saw his job as pencil and ruler draftsmen go the way of computers, and subsequent workplace downsizing and financial challenges.

However, “you know what? It’s life,” he says. “Attitude is a big thing. If you feel defeated by the word cancer, you might as well just die now.” So, he lives life a day at a time, with a philosophy that, “if I was to die tomorrow, I would have not regretted having been here.”

Since moving to a property just outside of Eagle Lake, he’s found the peace and serenity he craves. Although he is close to 70, he said he feels like he’s in his 50s so doesn’t attend a lot of programming aimed at seniors.

He loves to spend afternoon on the deck watching the birds, which inspires the wood burning.

He dabbled in the hobby about seven to eight years ago but has gotten more serious since they moved into their current house.

“Everything was coming around nicely. And, so I made quite a few last year and I gave a lot away to people and I went to several Minden markets and had a couple of garage sales.”

However, he doesn’t consider his work garage sale quality. “I love them. I don’t think there’s one that I don’t like. There’s some unique ones. Like, I love making a walking stick.”

He sources lumber locally, then cuts it into the size he needs. He uses tracings and then burns the wood. He uses a belt sander and circular saw.

“It’s not that tough really,” he confides.

Glancing at one piece, he shares, “I’ve got an artistic skill of zero. Give myself credit. One out of 10. Like with those ducks. If you asked me to draw them by hand, sorry, I’d have stick ducks. But I was a draftsman for 35 years, so I was a bit of an artist, but with a pencil and ruler.”

“Believe it or not, when I’m working with it, I actually talk to them, just like on NCIS where the coroner is always talking to his corpses during autopsies.”

Not familiar with todays’ catchphrase of ‘mindfulness,” Luke says when he is working on this wood, “you don’t worry about a lot.”

As he continues to show off his work, he says he’s discovering that Indigenous and wildlife themes are his favourites.

His advice for other people new to the area, recently retired, or forced from work, is pretty simple.

“Find something that grabs you, stimulates you, makes you feel proud of what you’ve done because you lose so much coming into senior-ship, because people in general have less and less use for older people. It’s a young person’s world.”

Meat maker doesn’t mince words about conviction

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Lisa Gervais

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March 2, 2020

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Norman Weber of Norm’s Smokehouse in Gelert doesn’t mince words in speaking about the unfairness he sees in his recent conviction for operating a meat plant without a licence.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) put out a press release Feb. 27. They said investigators had also discovered that Weber had been supplying a local business with uninspected meat products. He’ll pay a total of $7,500 in fines after facing Minden Court Feb. 11.

“In September 2019, a Compliance and Advisory Officer and a local Health Inspector visited the store for a follow-up inspection and found that Mr. Weber had been producing several smoked and cured meat products without the required license to do so,” OMAFRA said.

They added it was his third conviction for offences under this regulation.

Weber told The Highlander in an interview he’d gotten out of the smoked meat business following his second conviction a couple of years ago. He said to make smoked meat, such as pepperettes, jerky, salami or sausages, plants require a category two meat license. He no longer had one.

However, he said he had not changed his website, which still advertised smoked meat, and customers had posted information on Facebook about his services.

At the end of last summer, before getting busy with wild game and fish, he said he took the opportunity to make some smoked meat for himself and his family.

He said he had a substantial amount in the shop when a compliance officer made a surprise visit Sept. 10.

“They find me with category two products in my cooler. Bam, Bob’s your uncle. How do I argue that?” He said he had no way of proving the smoked meats were for family so pleaded guilty for the sake of expediency.

He said his first conviction, which he calls the “salami caper,” in 2016, occurred after he was required to send his recipes to OMAFRA but did not hear back from them and went ahead and made five salamis.

Strike two came a couple of years after that. Weber takes full responsibility, saying, “stupid me, I was cheating a bit.” He said he had some pepperettes and jerky in his display cabinet when there was a surprise visit in 2018. He was fined $3,000 plus court costs.

Through it all, Weber maintains there has never been anything wrong with the actual meat, “always the issues were paperwork, bureaucracy, stuff like that.”

He said at one point, he had 12 different clipboards on the walls that had to be filled out on a daily basis. He added inspectors came every two weeks to check the “reams and reams of paperwork involved. Every step of every process you have to write down.” He said he got into trouble for things such as not having all the clipboards filled out, a little bit of light coming under the door or light bulbs not being strong enough in the cooler.

He estimates inspectors used to spend about $1,000 a day to come to Gelert to check up on him, and believes OMAFRA issued the press release about his conviction and fine to justify their existence.

Today, he still does wild game and fish but no longer sells meats. There’s a sign in his shop that says he’s been regulated out of existence.

However, OMAFRA said in the release thatOntario is a leader in food safety and meat inspection. They said the province’s Food Safety and Quality Act, 2001 and its regulations are part of Ontario’s food safety system and set high standards for the protection of consumers and the welfare of food animals.

Under penalties set out in the Act, an individual convicted of an offence is liable to a fine up to $25,000 for a first conviction, and $50,000 for subsequent convictions. Corporations may face fines up to $100,000 for first offences, and $200,000 for subsequent convictions.

Drug strategy partners carry on work

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Lisa Gervais

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March 2, 2020

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The Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland (HKLN) Drug Strategy is planning to maintain itself despite the end of its funding term.

The drug strategy has run for the past three years addressing drug abuse in the tri-county area by coordinating different services, with partners including the Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (HKPR), OPP, the Four Counties Addictions Services Team and PARN – Your Aids Resource Network. The strategy operated using a funding grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation but that expired at the end of 2019.

But coordinator Megan Deyman said despite her position ending, those partners are continuing to meet and further work on the strategy. She said it remains important and they hope to secure more funding through grant applications and municipal partnerships.

“The partners are committed to continuing and building on the work of the last three years,” strategy and PARN communications worker Dylan DeMarsh said.

But Deyman said having full-time staff working on it is critical given the limited time of other health organizations.

“The full capacity that organizations are at currently, substance use and core response sometimes get pushed off people’s desks,” Deyman said. “It should be a priority and they identify it needing to be a priority but they don’t always have the capacity to address it.”

She said the collaborative efforts of drug strategy members have helped with stigma reduction in local communities over the past several years.

“Haliburton, certainly, there is more of an openness and an increased awareness for substance use issues,” Deyman said. “You can see better, more understanding of the factors contributing to the rise of substances.”

Opioids have remained prevalent in the area. According to Public Health Ontario, there were 119 emergency department visits across the HKPR district related to opioids in the first half of 2019 – greater than the 67 in the first half of 2018. There were also 30 opioid-related deaths in 2018, compared to 10 in 2017.

“We are seeing an increase,” Deyman said. “Although this is a complex issue, it is also an immediate need to address.”

She said it is important that drug strategy work is tailored to the individual communities it serves.

“We need to be able to address it in a way that’s relevant and appropriate to the various uniqueness of counties and communities,” she said.

Bringing in a more diverse set of service options to help people treat and recover from substance abuse is a next step for the area, such as acupuncture, she said.

“We can look at maybe more nontraditional forms of support and recovery,” Deyman said. “There is an identified priority for beginning these kinds of supports and services in Haliburton. It just takes time to build. It’s on the horizon.”

Red Hawks fall just short against league best

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Lisa Gervais

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March 2, 2020

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The Red Hawks boys hockey team held their own against the league-best St. Peter Saints but could not hold on in the dying minutes, losing 4-2 at home Feb. 19.

The Hawks kept even with the Saints, holding them to a 2-2 tie until late in the third period. But the Peterborough team went ahead by a goal with less than two minutes remaining and would score again shortly afterwards to ensure the Haliburton loss. The defeat in the Hawks final game of the regular season put them at a 6-6-1 record, good enough to qualify for playoffs.

Coach Jason Morissette said it was not a negative game, adding he was encouraged the team played its systems well against a strong team.

“They’ve (St. Peter Saints) been beating most single-A schools by five goals, so I think we did great today,” he said. “We had gotten away from the game we were playing. Today, we were kind of back to playing the system that will help us have success.”

He added the team ran out of gas at the end but the game was a good learning experience.

Defenceman Isaac Little said if they can maintain the level of play they had in the game, they should be able to advance.

“If we stick to our systems the coaches talked to us and preached all year, we’ll be able to get into the Kawartha tournament for sure and maybe have a shot at COSSA,” Little said.

Due to Campbellford being unable to field a team for a playoff game this week, Haliburton will get an automatic berth into the Kawartha Championship tournament March 3.

“Our players look forward to the opportunity to compete,” Morissette said.

Little said the team has come a long way since the start of the year, especially given the game cancellations due to labour unrest.

“We’ve come a long way and gotten a lot better and worked really hard all season,” Little said. “Hopefully, going to make a bit of a playoff push.”