by David Vincent

What comes to mind when you hear the words Haliburton Highlands Quilt Guild?

Perhaps a group of sewers making baby blankets, or larger items to sell at craft shows? What about a group of like-minded residents participating in community action, life-long learning, who are fun, open, welcoming, and with an unlimited willingness to share.

The guild is comprised of 52 people committed to their community, says current president Pat Stiver. They meet monthly at the Stanhope Community Hall, bringing their diverse skills in support of each other and focusing on continuing development.

It was founded in April 1997, in the home of May Bradbury. Marvella Smith became the guild’s first president.

Stiver said the guild’s sense of community is both local and national. Their giving-back projects range from quilts for fire victims; cancer patients in the community; making pyjamas; and supporting the Quilts for Survivors program for residential school survivors.

In her second term as president, Stiver said she’s been a member of the guild since 2006. While she joined out of a want to meet new people, having relocated from the Peterborough area, Stiver said she soon learned the important role the guild played in the community.

A standout moment for her came several years ago when visiting the new home of a local resident who lost everything in a house fire. Hanging on the wall was a quilt donated by the guild – the resident told Stiver it was a reminder of the people and groups that had helped them during their time of need.

Sue Culbert is the group’s membership coordinator. She joined in 2023, saying being a guild member means she can challenge herself to continue learning while also giving back to the community.

Co-vice president Carolyn Pawson has been a member for years. At a recent gathering, she was busy preparing donated quilts for shipping to Digby, Nova Scotia, where they would be used by fire victims. She has also been involved with the Quilts for Survivors program. Last year, she and a fellow guild member joined a three-day retreat hosted in Timmins, where they made three quilt covers in three days to send off to people in need.

The guild is open to everyone – Stiver says people are welcome to come as they are, no experience or sewing machine required. For more information, visit www.haliburtonhighlandsquiltguild.com.

The Dorset branch of the Haliburton County Public Library has extended its hours for the new year, introducing a new service on Thursday evenings.

CEO and chief librarian Andrea Brown noted the library board approved an increase in service hours at Dorset last fall.

The decision was made following a public survey, conducted over the summer, where one of the primary requests was to extend the hours at the County’s northernmost branch.

As part of the service expansion, Brown said the library is introducing an after-school hangout program in Dorset. It will run from 3 to 7 p.m. and be open to all County families.

She said it will provide “an opportunity to unwind together after the school day.” The program will operate as a drop-in, featuring a mix of hands-on activities routed in science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM), creative play and open-ended exploration of the library space.

Brown said there will be free ‘Teen Exam Week Survival Kits’ available to youth Jan. 16 and 17, helping high schoolers to prepare for the end of the fall semester. Each kit is packed with study helpers, chill-out items and snacks to help maintain focus.

The Dorset branch, located inside the Dorset Recreation Centre, reopened in October 2024 following a years-long closure.

It’s open four days a week – Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m.; Fridays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, including a full run of upcoming programs, visit www. haliburtonlibrary.ca/About-Us/BranchesHours/Dorset-Branch.

With winter now in full swing, Haliburton County Snowmobile Association president Neil Vanderstoop said it’s been the best start to a snowmobile season in the Highlands for several years. HCSA president Neil Vanderstoop said his club hopes to reinstate approximately 42 kilometres of local snowmobile trails it lost this year by next season. Photo by Mike Baker.

“This is the earliest we’ve been out for some time – we’ve groomed up and down Trail 9 already, Trail 16 has been trimmed and taken care of too,” Vanderstoop said. “We’ve also started staking some of our lakes – we’ve been on South Lake and Head Lake, Eagle Lake is getting done and soon we’ll have Kennisis, Redstone and Haliburton lakes staked too.”

He warned that no ice surface, regardless of how thick you think it might be, is safe to travel on unless it has been officially staked. Vanderstoop said there needs to be at least eight inches of ice before a lake is considered passable.

There was some good news in late December after the Ontario government announced it would be investing an additional $3.9 million – on top of the $1 million it had already committed – to restore 4,500 kilometres of lost snowmobile trails provincewide.

Vanderstoop said Snow Country District 6, which HCSA is a part of alongside 13 other cottage country clubs, lost 268 kilometres of trails this season after the OFSC announced cuts to 5,000 kilometres of trails last fall, citing funding challenges.

About 42 kilometres of trails in Haliburton County were cut, including the old TOP B112 northbound that could be accessed from Fleming Road in Minden. The former Trail 4 has now been renamed TOP B112, while plans are in the works to replace the old system.

With the influx of provincial cash, Vanderstoop said district figureheads have committed to reopening 268 kilometres of trails, hopefully for next season.

“The kilometres we lost, we may not get them back in the same spot, but we are committed to getting those kilometres of trails back,” Vanderstoop said. “We’re trying to develop a few little loops too – we have the Forest and Rail (FAR) Loop around Minden, Haliburton and Carnarvon and the Red Seven that runs into Haliburton by the Pinestone, but we’d like more.”

With Ontario’s snowmobile network contributing approximately $6 billion of economic activity annually, HaliburtonKawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott said the province is committed to working with OFSC on a long-term trail strategy to ensure the survival of Ontario’s 30,000-plus kilometre network.

District to reopen 268 kms of trails

Vanderstoop said HCSA has sold more than 1,800 trail permits this season, noting the snowmobile season brings in about $7.5 million to the County economy annually.

With such a heavy presence of snowmobilers locally, the club president said it’s vital that people make sure they’re following the rules of the trails. That means obeying posted speed limits and road signs. Unless otherwise stated, speed limits are generally 50 km/h.

“I went down the rail line last week and had some men in front of me who should know better, but they barely hesitated at the stop signs,” Vanderstoop said. He recently hit the trails with a friend and his teenage daughter, who completed a virtual driver training course through the OFSC. Vanderstoop was so impressed by the way she conducted herself that he now thinks it would be a good idea for all fledgling snowmobile operators to follow suit.

The OFSC course is available to anyone 12 and older, though it’s only a requirement for those who do not have a valid Ontario driver’s licence.

“I think there probably is a need for some kind of training before anyone climbs on a snowmobile for the first time,” Vanderstoop said. “It should almost be like getting a boating licence.”

In Ontario, anyone operating a recreational motorized boat is legally required to carry a Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC), or other official proof of competency. The cards are mandatory for people of all ages, regardless of the size of the boat or horsepower of the engine. Operating a boat without a PCOC can result in fines of at least $250.

While there’s rain in the forecast this week, Vanderstoop said he expects minimal impact to local trails.

“It’ll just tighten up some of the snow we haven’t gotten to yet. The base is good, the last ice storm we had took care of that,” he said.

Dysart et al mayor Murray Fearrey told the rest of council “I’ve done a lot of these things, this is the worst I’ve seen in terms of flexibility,” after presenting the township’s first-ever mayoral budget Dec. 12, carrying a 5.83 per cent tax increase for local ratepayers.

This is the first set of financials tabled since Ontario Premier Doug Ford extended Strong Mayor Powers to Fearrey last May. He, and Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter, were two of 216 heads of council to be awarded greater control over municipal budgets last year.

At last month’s meeting, Fearrey said he had spent weeks working alongside Dysart’s new treasurer, Brayden Robinson, and department heads to find efficiencies in the budget, with an initial draft coming in at 7.2 per cent in October.

“But that didn’t have any projects in it – no new roads, nothing. If we had stuck to that and then put everything else in that we need, it would have been an increase of 15 per cent or more. That’s just not acceptable,” Fearrey said.

The 5.83 per cent hike equates to an increase of $20.51 per $100,000 of a residential property’s assessed value, or $46.98 on a median single-family home. For seasonal properties, that climbs to an annual increase of $83.08.

As a result, Robinson said the typical homeowner in Dysart will now pay $372.69 per $100,000 of assessment. He noted 78 per cent of the municipality’s taxbase is residential.

On the commercial side, businessowners can expect an increase of $30.42 per $100,000 of assessment, with industrial property owners seeing a hike of $35.25 per $100,000.

“We made a lot of cuts to get here… but we’re still at 5.83 per cent and that’s not great in these times, with the way people are struggling, but it’s about as good as we can do without drastic cuts to services,” Fearrey said.

With Dysart’s wastewater costs for the year reflecting a 5.1 per cent increase for ratepayers, to go with the 4.38 per cent hike already approved by the County, Fearrey said it’s going to be a taxing year for property owners. He laid the blame at the feet of the provincial government.

“It’s a slippery slope we’re on. There’s no end to municipal debt, the way the province is funding things right now. Unless they find another source to give us, everything is on the property tax. That’s not fair,” Fearrey said. “There’s all kinds of things they could share with us a little bit to take us out of this hole, but they haven’t done that.”

This is only the first draft of the budget, with council having an opportunity to provide further feedback Jan. 9, so none of these figures are set in stone.

The numbers

The township’s operating expenses are increasing by more than $1 million from 2025, up to $17.76 million. The biggest driver, Robinson said, is an 11 per cent increase to policing costs, with the OPP billing an extra $462,061 for services.

Dysart’s wage-related costs are up 5.4 per cent, or $389,204, with an additional $186,794 going towards maintaining the municipal fleet. The remaining $119,188 is earmarked for landfill costs, with increases to garbage tonnage and hauling costs.

The most significant spend on the operating side is in the transportation department, accounting for 25.5 per cent of costs ($4.5 million), with protection services just behind at 24.21 per cent ($4.3 million). The environmental budget, for landfill costs, accounts for 13.6 per cent ($2.4 million); parks and recreation at 13.4 per cent ($2.4 million); and administration at 13.3 per cent ($2.35 million).

Robinson told council there’s $8.96 million of capital project expenditures included in the budget, with $2 million funded through taxation, $4.5 million through new long-term debt, $1.86 million through reserves and $495,611 via federal and provincial grants.

Robinson said Dysart will be at 16 per cent of its annual debt repayment limit under this budget – the province stipulates municipalities cannot exceed 25 per cent though Robinson said he’d be more comfortable capping it at 15 per cent. The township will pay $503,000 servicing its debt in 2026.

A good chunk of the capital budget, at $3.8 million, is going towards the replacement of the Redstone Brook, Barry’s Bay and Head Lake Park bridges; $1.28 million is earmarked for the rehabilitation of sidewalks on Highland Street; $866,100 set aside for vehicle replacements, including a new tandem plow, one-tonne pickup and fire truck; $720,643 needed for retaining wall repairs, waste bin retrofits, transfer station design at the Haliburton and Harcourt landfills, and capping at the Kennisis Lake and West Guilford landfills.

Just over $1.5 million is being spent resurfacing a dozen roads in the community, including the entirety of the Halbiem Crescent subdivision and portions of Fred Jones Road, Wenona Lake Road, Meadowview Road, Industrial Park Road, Eastern Avenue, Pine Avenue, Humber Avenue, Dome Street, Harmony Road and Mink Road.