Pond hockey championships battle nature

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January 23, 2020

Organizers are working against nature to ready for the Canadian National Pond Hockey Championships, schedule to begin Friday, Jan. 24.

The event, returning for its sixth year in Haliburton at the Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre, promises two weekends filled with hockey on outdoor rinks. Approximately 120 teams are expected to attend from across Ontario, Quebec and the US.

But the weather has proven extra challenging this year according to event owner and resort general manager John Teljeur. Recent rain and a large snowfall Jan. 18 have required extra effort by staff.

“It’s a constant battle,” Teljeur said. “You try to put together 18 rinks on an ice surface that’s not really co-operative, with Mother Nature probably even less so.”

The future forecast is a concern too, with a warm spell expected for the first weekend, temperatures around -1 C. Organizers say anything above freezing could degrade the playing surface, which may lead to schedule compression.

Still, with crews working hard to prepare, Teljeur said he is confident things can go ahead, even if not all the rinks will be perfect.

“To have something like this, which is still one of the largest events of its kind anywhere in the world, in a small area like Haliburton, it’s a pretty big deal to pull that off,” he said.

New this year is a 40-foot igloo tent getting placed on the ice as a warming area, something Teljeur said participants have been asking for.

Also returning for the second straight year is the non-competitive “Pondimonium” divisions, for those seeking a more casual experience.

“Teams just wanted to come up and experience pond hockey without worrying about competing,” Teljeur said. “They just want to do three of four games and have a beverage and talk about old times.”

The event is also good for local businesses during a slow time of the year, Teljeur said.

“We’re bringing in over 1,000 people who are staying here two nights at a minimum. That will keep Pinestone and a few other places busy,” he said.

The games go Jan. 24-25, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, with live music in the evenings. More details can be found at canadapondhockey.ca.

Serving up fixes at the Repair Café

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Lisa Gervais

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January 23, 2020

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From air hockey tables to lawnmowers, Chris Varga sees all kinds of repairable items make their way to the SIRCH Community Services thrift warehouse.

“Most of those could be easily fixed,” Varga said. “Once upon a time, we easily fixed things and we had a repair culture.”

To help bring that culture back and address some of that intake, SIRCH is launching a series of six repair cafés from January to August 2020, the first one set for Jan. 25. The events will invite the public to come with their broken items. Volunteers will be on hand to both fix things and instruct participants on how they can do the fixing themselves.

The organization hired Varga as the new repair café co-ordinator. He said the idea, which has gone worldwide since it began in 2007, will help reduce waste ending up in landfills.

“It’s really become a disposable society. Our landfills are filling up,” Varga said. “To divert that is a benefit, a positive.”

Environment Haliburton! is promoting the new program. President Susan Hay said the group is excited by it.

“We feel that it is an important way to keep useable material out of landfill sites and that it is a great community-building project,” Hay said.

Varga said he has worked as a computer repair person and been a handyman for much of his life. He further said the cafés will support people trying their hands at fixing for the first time.

“When you don’t know how to do something, there’s always doubt and fear,” Varga said. “The worst thing that can happen is it still doesn’t work. You’re going to have a great time being there. It’s going to be a social atmosphere.”

That atmosphere is a key part of the concept, he said.

“You have an opportunity to work together as a common group,” Varga said. “To create bonds within a community. Create a stronger community, people working together on a common goal.”

The program was funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation. Varga said they plan to have three in Haliburton, two in Minden and one in Bancroft. More dates, times and locations are to be announced.

The scope of what the cafes will repair is dependent on how many people will help, Varga said. SIRCH is looking for people who know how to repair all kinds of items, whether it be clothing, books, electronics, furniture or anything else.

The first café takes place at Haliburton Highlands Secondary School Jan. 25 at 10 a.m. The events are free but donations are appreciated.

“We’re hoping that the SIRCH initiative can be a great success,” Varga said. “But we also hope to inspire other people to take up this idea and run with it.”

Consultant throws book at libraries

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Lisa Gervais

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January 23, 2020

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Consultants are suggesting the County consider cutting library branches which are failing to meet provincial guidelines.

Sudbury-based KPMG Canada presented a draft organizational review to council Dec. 18. The report outlines how the municipality is doing in service delivery

Although most County services are on par with provincial standards or guidelines, it identified libraries as lagging behind.

As such, KPMG implied changing services, and reducing branches, may make sense. They also suggested the County focus on number of branches per one hundred households as a key performance indicator.

“The rationalization of library services may be perceived as a service level reduction but if the intent is to offer library services in line with provincial guidelines, it may result in an overall service level enhancement,” the report said.

Senior Manager Chas Anselmo redirected a request for comment to County Library CEO Bessie Sullivan. She indicated it was her understanding the report was suggesting branch cuts.

The province sets guidelines based on the size of libraries, highlighting best-practices in metrics such as floor space, hours, computers, staffing and programming.

She said the report did not surprise her and this has been an issue for years. She said the newer branches in Dysart and Minden are meeting guidelines and Wilberforce is close. But the other four branches in Cardiff, Gooderham, Highland Grove and Stanhope are well below.

The report notes that failing to meet those guidelines will not impact provincial funding levels. But Sullivan said meeting them is still important.

“I feel like there is a widening gap between what urban dwellers can expect and what rural dwellers get,” Sullivan said. “We need to guard against not having service just because it’s a rural area and not feeling the guidelines are important just because it’s a rural area.”

The Haliburton County Library Board discussed the idea of branch cuts as a cost-saving measure during a meeting Sept. 25. But no decisions were made and Sullivan said the matter has not come up at the board-level since.

She further said municipalities could increase funding instead of branch cuts if it wanted to improve service levels. She also said the library depot model, which replaced the Dorset branch Sept. 1, and which still allows people to order books to borrow, could be considered elsewhere.

“Nobody wants to take anything away, ever,” Sullivan said. “The problem is we don’t have unlimited funding.”

KPMG found that 95 per cent of County services meet provincial standards, beside libraries. It also found its financial indicators compare well to similar municipalities.

The organizational review also offers other ideas for how the County could operate more efficiently, such as a continuous improvement plan, centralizing human resources, implementing more electronic records management and establishing development charges.

“Mere mention of that (charges) in some cases can irritate,” Anselmo said, noting about 40 per cent of Ontario counties already have them. “This is an area to assist the municipality on a go-forward basis with your capital costs associated with any growth and development.”

Chief administrative officer Mike Rutter said the review was a good exercise for staff and they will look for ways to improve efficiency.

“It’s a good, foundational document for us,” Warden Liz Danielsen said.

Firefighters help burned out family

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Lisa Gervais

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January 21, 2020

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Highland Grove firefighters rallied the community to help support a family that lost their home in a blaze, raising more than $2,200 Jan. 18.

The firefighters hosted a breakfast at the Highland Grove Community Centre. Funds raised from the 108 attendees go toward a GoFundMe to support the Hennessey family, whose home was destroyed by the fire Dec. 9.

Between the breakfast and online donations, more than $3,800 has been raised. Ryan Hennessey said it is overwhelming.

“It’s incredible to see how community can pull together when needed. It’s amazing,” he said. “They’ll just go out of their way and help.”

Highlands East Station 2 fire chief Doug Bowen said firefighters wanted to help given the difficulties that come after having a house burn down. He added firefighters from other stations and local businesses contributed as well.

“These people live in our town and we just wanted to give back,” Bowen said. “We wanted to help them out as much as possible because insurance doesn’t cover everything.”

The exact cause of the fire remains unknown, but it was something electrical, Hennessey said. They expect insurance to cover $100,000 for the house and $50,000 for contents – less than the $198,450 mortgage they were paying on.

“Extremely difficult not having a place to call home,” Bobbyjoe Hennessey, Ryan’s wife, said. “You don’t think of how important it is for all of you until it’s all gone.”

The family has had to move to Madoc to stay with relatives. Their family pets, three dogs and a bird, have also been scattered to four different locations, she added.

But the family said the community has really helped them pull through, including the local Lions Club, the Wilberforce Full Gospel Church and food banks.

“We’d like to throw them a benefit dinner,” Ryan Hennessey said. “It’s unreal. Nobody had to do anything for us, and they chose to, and God bless them.”

“I’d just like to thank everybody for turning out and just being supportive,” Bowen said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

The GoFundMe for the family is available at www.gofundme.com/f/hys9ad-please-help-house-fire-victims.

Minden Hills so far eyes 5.3 per cent levy hike

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Lisa Gervais

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January 20, 2020

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Minden Hills staff have been asked to use reserves to trim the draft budget down to a 5.3 per cent levy hike following budget talks Jan. 9.

Council will resume third draft budget deliberations Jan. 30.

Going into last Thursday, they were sitting on a 7.33 per cent increase.

The township is looking to borrow $2.6 million for roads and bridges. That includes reconstruction of the Sedgwick Road Bridge, rehabilitation of the Sunnybrook Bridge and the reconstruction of IGA Road.

In addition, there are planned works for Milburn, Bobcaygeon and Shetland roads.

Council also approved funding of $180,000 towards facility upgrades. Most of that money would be spent at the township office. CAO and treasurer Lorrie Blanchard said a redesign is required due to the relocation of the building/bylaw/planning (BBP) and clerk’s departments as a result of staffing changes. She said it includes flooring and repairs to the exterior fire escape. Redesign would also eliminate the need to exit the main entrance to access what is currently the BBP department.

The township is also going ahead with a septic re-inspection program that will require more staff. The public will be looking at a $240 municipal fee.

Users of water and wastewater will also see increases of five per cent and 12 per cent respectively.

The environmental budget factors in costs related to closing the Irondale landfill.

The 5.3 per cent increase sees the biggest jumps in the building department (37.24 per cent). This is largely due to an increase in staffing related to the septic re-inspection program and the hiring of a planning technician, as well as an additional building inspector/bylaw officer. The clerk’s department is showing a 20.29 per cent hike. Fire is going up 19.55 per cent. A deputy fire chief has been approved, but has not been hired yet. A new fire chief has been hired. Community services is projecting a 19.5 per cent jump. Public works is at a 3.71 per cent increase, and there are slight decreases in economic development, destination and marketing as well as treasury.

Coun. Pam Sayne said she remains concerned that growth is muted, at .77 per cent, because there isn’t enough investment in the township. “We need to have some strategy here to see an increase in that growth rate.”

Dysart projects 3.65 per cent levy increase

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Lisa Gervais

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January 20, 2020

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Dysart et al ratepayers will be looking at about a 3.65 per cent increase on the municipal levy after a second round of budget talks Jan. 10. It’s expected the township will pass its 2020 budget when it meets Jan. 28.

Treasurer Barbara Swannell said the increase equates to $10.36 per $100,000 of assessment for residential, $15.36 for commercial and $17.80 for industrial.

With just over one per cent new growth, residential ratepayers are 95 per cent on the hook for tax dollars in the town.

Swannell added they’re waiting on the County’s final number, while an early draft is predicting a five per cent decrease for education rates.

Some of the changes from the first draft include $53,000 to do work on Highland and York Streets and Maple Avenue. Mayor Andrea Roberts asked for the money, saying there are “several dreadful problems.” Overall, there is just over $1 million in roads reconstruction in the budget.

Council also approved spending $40,000 to repair the flat roof at the A.J. LaRue Arena. The levy will raise $25,000 of that. Recreation coordinator Andrea Mueller said there is no membrane and buckets are catching leaks.

Roberts also asked councillors to put $10,000 into the kitchen on the second floor of the arena. When Coun. John Smith queried that, since council is planning a future multi-use recreation centre, Roberts said it was a Band-Aid solution to mitigate against a disaster. Coun. Larry Clarke said the township had to maintain its facilities in a useable form.

Council also approved a new parking pay machine in the medical centre building. It will accept debit and credit cards. Fees will be: free for the first 15 minutes; $3 for the first two hours; $1 an hour every hour after that to a maximum of $5 day. Coun. Walt McKechnie argued it was too much for seniors and would have preferred a flat rate of $3 a day.

However, bylaw enforcement officer Kristen Boylan said people can now get parking receipts and put those towards income tax. Roberts said $5 a day was far below what most medical centres charge. She added the township needs to recover costs for building maintenance.

There’s also a few new fees in planning for minor variances, site severances, compliance letters and severance proposals.

Smith said he was worried that not enough money is being spent on roads.

“Our ratepayers told us we have to spend more on roads.” Citing a roads software report stating that if the township maintained roads spending at $1.3m annually, the rate of roads classified as poor will double from 18.5 per cent in 2019 to 46.6 per cent in 2021, Smith said what was being presented was unacceptable.

He wanted $200,000 in unallocated roads spending doubled to $400,000, with money taken from other parts of the budget, such as the museum and town docks. However, he did not have the support of council.

McKechnie said he was tired of being lectured by Smith, saying Dysart et al relies on its town docks for its tourism trade. He added the township is filled with roads that were originally built for cottagers using logs and rocks. He said it would require “a very large sum” of money to fix the roads system.

Roberts added that budget deliberations required consensus. “We’re not here to grandstand and make speeches,” she said.

A frustrated Smith asked if he could not raise what he perceives to be council misplaced priorities at budget time, when could he raise them. Robert told Smith he wasn’t the only one who thought roads were important, which is why the township has an infrastructure committee, asset management plan, and has purchased roads evaluation software.

Take another look at budgets

By

Lisa Gervais

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January 20, 2020

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It’s budget time at the County of Haliburton and the four-lower tier municipalities.

None have actually passed their 2020 budgets, although some are getting very close.

I always find it a bit frustrating that no one, or very few people from the public, attend draft budget meetings. Invariably the press is there, but even then, we don’t get a lot of feedback on our stories. Yet surely, how much a township charges you and what goods and services it gives you in return, should be of paramount interest.

Not to knock those on local council. After all, they expose themselves to public scrutiny in running for office, and, if elected, get part-time jobs but often full-time hours. They have to read those hundreds of pages of agenda notes so they can represent you, their constituents.

However, looking around the council tables of the County of Haliburton, Algonquin Highlands, Minden Hills, Highlands East and Dysart et al, we would be hard-pressed to find many who are struggling to make ends meet. They do not generally reflect the economically-challenged sector of the County. They are not the marginalized or working poor.

So, when they bandy about municipal levy increases of 3.65 per cent (as is the case in Dysart) or 5.3 per cent (as is the case in Minden Hills), they tend to think they are doing a pretty good job of keeping the increases down. In most cases, they are when faced with provincial government downloading; crumbling infrastructure and our continued reliance on a residential tax base. [Bear in mind the above numbers don’t include the County and education tax rates, though education rates are trending down].

Still, make no mistake, numbers such as 3.65 and 5.3 per cent are not good news for many County residents.

We say this in light of a health unit report issued last week entitled “tough to stomach.” It has concluded that the cost of healthy eating remains out of reach for many people in Haliburton County.

In its annual pricing for a Nutritious Food Basket in this area, the health unit estimates an average family of four (two adults, a teen and child) would have had to spend nearly $875 per month to eat healthy in 2019. The basket consists of more than 60 food items that are nutritious and commonly purchased by people. Excluded are essentials such as soap, toilet paper, toothpaste and personal care products.

The health unit said while the cost of food is similar to 2017 and 2018, increases in other monthly expenses, such as housing and transportation, mean people are struggling to put healthy food on the table. Some people, whether on social assistance or working minimum-wage jobs, are simply not making enough money. Families are having to decide if they will buy healthy food or pay for other basics such as rent.

With this in mind, we urge councillors and staff to have a final, sober look at their draft budgets and ask themselves if what they are proposing is affordable for the average Haliburton County resident. If they find the percentage lacking, they should go through the document once again to see what can be cut, or in some cases added, so families aren’t making so many tough decisions about where to spend their money in 2020.

Fire chiefs on the move in Haliburton County

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Lisa Gervais

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January 20, 2020

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Algonquin Highlands is looking for a new fire chief with Mike Cavanagh leaving the township for a job as deputy fire chief in Peterborough.

Mayor Carol Moffatt announced Cavanagh’s departure in a Facebook post Jan. 4 and it was briefly spoken to at the Algonquin Highlands council meeting last Thursday.

In her post, Moffatt said they were sad to see Cavanagh go but also happy he’d made “an excellent career move” that takes him closer to his growing family.

“Our loss is surely their gain,” she wrote.

Moffatt went on to say, “we’re highly appreciative of everything Chief Mike has achieved over the last five-and-a-half-years, not only with AHFS (Algonquin Highlands Fire Service), but also with the County’s broader emergency services. He’s highly respected and will be missed.”

Cavanagh told The Highlander it’s tough to put his thoughts into words.

“I would say that my time here in Algonquin Highlands has been great. The fire service here and across the County is top notch and the progress we made in my time here is only because of the great firefighters that we have here.”

He thanked council for its support in his years, “as any improvements I proposed they were always supportive.” He lauded the township staff, saying, they “have always been there to help and support both myself and the fire services no matter the request made.” He also expressed appreciation for the fire and paramedic chiefs from across the County, whom he said “will continue to build on the progress made over the past years and the County will be better for it.”

On a personal note, he added, “my wife and I were both born and raised in Peterborough and many of our extended family are still there, so we are excited about the opportunity to further my career in our hometown.”

Moffatt said applications for the job close at 3 p.m., Monday, Jan. 20.

Minden Hills gets new fire chief

Minden Hills has a new fire chief, who has taken over for interim fire chief Mike Bekking.

Bekking told The Highlander that Nelson Johnson joined the township’s senior management team Jan 13. Bekking retired effective Jan. 17.

The township is also budgeting for a deputy fire chief but no one has been hired yet.

“In his role as chief for Minden Hills, Nelson will be responsible for the fire and emergency services for the township, carrying out the administrative duties of the fire department and for the proactive leadership, policy and overall operations of the fire services,” Bekking said.

He added that Nelson brings with him more than 25 years of experience in the fire service, both in the field and in various senior leadership roles, such as training officer, deputy chief and fire chief. Johnson’s professional career includes Firemaster Oilfield Services, the Town of Bonnyville, Alberta and the City of Iqaluit, Nunavut.

Red Hawks go undefeated at home tune-ups

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Lisa Gervais

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January 20, 2020

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The Red Hawks junior and senior girls volleyball teams went undefeated in their homestand Jan. 13 as they continue to develop towards year-end qualifiers.

The senior team won both their matches and all their sets, defeating Brock and St. Thomas Aquinas (STA). The junior girls won against Brock but tied St. Thomas, splitting a pair of sets.

The juniors came on strong, winning sets by scores of 25-14 and 25-13 against Brock. They beat out STA by 25-10 in their first set but struggled in a 25-22 loss in set two.

Junior girls coach Dan Gimon attributed the last set on the day to some mental fatigue and poor serving.

But despite the stumble, he said his 9-3-2 team can go deep this season.

“We have the potential to go far. We should be able to make it to COSSA (regional championships),” Gimon said. “If they keep playing the way we can, I believe we can get there.”

The senior girls rose to a 7-6 record with a pair of wins, including close sets against Brock (25-22, 25-20) and bigger wins against STA (25-17, 25-14).

Coach Steven Smith said the team had some nerves playing at home, resulting in a closer game against Brock. But they were able to bounce back to defeat STA more handily, he said.

“We had a little talk about that. Tried to get them to settle down and just play their style of volleyball, which they did,” Smith said.

Though the regular season does not affect qualifying games, Smith said he is happy with where the team is at developmentally.

“We are on the right path that I need them to be on,” Smith said. “We’re not going down, we’re not dipping They’re improving every match, every game. Every point, I see some improvements.”

Kawartha qualifying games start Feb. 11.

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth

By

Lisa Gervais

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January 20, 2020

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Suddenly a shadow, and Lady Elizabeth Simcoe, standing on the shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto in 1793, looks up. She later wrote in her diary that the bright afternoon sky was blackened by huge flocks of passenger pigeons flying in great unison. Today, passenger pigeons are extinct. Sad, but true.

The colonizing mindset of Lord and Lady Simcoe destroyed our natural places and fuels our extinction crisis. If the Simcoes and their ilk had a true curiosity about the sustainable hunting and gathering lifestyles of the First Nation Wyandot peoples they met, instead of participating in their genocide, the earthly soil that feeds us would be thriving, not hurt and depleted.

The Extinction Rebellion slogan “Business as usual = Death” is true. Today was business as usual. Tomorrow will be business as usual. This fact means death for all we treasure, for children, for kangaroos and koala bears. To feel that truth each day is to be in a cruel despair, then a rhythm of rage, grief, and determined peaceful intention.

The artist Banksy painted a mural outside in London, England in support of Extinction Rebellion.

In the 60s, the hippies said, “you’re either on the bus or off the bus.” The carbon neutral bus will leave without you. We are changing from rampant Black Friday consumers to gardeners, nurturing and tending the commons. How does your garden grow?

Is it up to me and you to act to solve the climate crisis, or the government to pass laws forcing the public and companies to change? Ideally, both are in lockstep, but because our government’s lifeblood is business as usual, it is failing at its number one responsibility, to take care of us. Here in Ontario and worldwide, governments are losing all legitimacy, and increasing numbers of people support Extinction Rebellion’s demand for a citizens’ assembly to keep our planet liveable.

Extinction is final. Passenger pigeons are never coming back. But we can reclaim what was wild and beautiful in them, in us. I felt a deep resonance when I found a community holding the truth that the Second Coming is not the physical body of Jesus coming back. The Second Coming is being revealed slowly now, a profound and creative compassion we can allow
to flourish as it expresses itself through us. In Haliburton, I can stargaze. It’s free pure bliss, a rebellion against our selfish economy. I can reflect that inspired feeling of wonder and awe in my vocation and daily activities.

You can’t fool Mother Nature. We need to be carbon neutral in Haliburton, including composting our commercial/institutional organics, green tourism, and no natural gas pipeline. Norm in Gelert smokes the rainbow trout I grow in my backyard pond, so delicious it seems to melt in my mouth. All of us thriving together within this paradise is so close, I can taste it. In truth we can rebel against the rat race world, for life. Please join us: oliver@web.net. (Submitted by Oliver Zielke)