After scooping five honours at the Decorators and Designers Association of Canada (DDA) awards in Toronto this month, County-based ACM Designs is providing the blueprint for how a small rural firm can turn heads on the big stage.

The company took home two second place and three third place awards after recently being recognized for work in commercial space design, interior decoration, and kitchen configuration. The event was held Oct. 10 at The Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto.

Nicole Marshall, ACM Designs spokesperson, said the DDA awards are one of the most prestigious events in Canada, celebrating the best interior decorators and designers in the country.

“There are a couple thousand places that compete for these awards. You get people from all over Canada – individual design firms, massive large-scale design firms. It’s a pretty big deal,” Marshall said.

Different from other celebrations, the DDAs look beyond the finished product to consider all aspects of a project, including blueprints, design sketches, and other prep work. All submissions are peer-reviewed by people who work in the industry, Marshall said.

ACM took home silver in commercial space for its Mill Pond Restaurant makeover, completed in fall 2023. Designer Saqib Abdullah was recognized for his work. Company founder Andria Cowan Molyneaux also scooped second in the kitchen under $65,000 category for a home project on Kennisis Lake.

Bronze medals were issued in commercial space for the remodeling of the Baumgartner Realty office on Highland Street – designed by Katie Woodward; interior decoration single room over $35,000 for a Redstone Lake cottage project; and interior decoration single room under $35,000 at a Kennisis Lake property – both designed by Cowan Molyneaux.

“We are truly honoured to be recognized by our peers in such an incredible way. It’s a testament to my team, and I couldn’t be more proud,” the owner said.

Marshall felt the awards for work completed in the commercial sector are significant given the level of competition from big city firms.

“There’s not a huge amount of opportunity for that kind of work, where companies want to do a complete overhaul, in Haliburton. So, it’s incredible to be recognized for something that isn’t necessarily our specialty,” Marshall said.

By competing with some of the biggest and best firms in the country, she feels ACM Designs is putting Haliburton County on the map as an interior design and decoration destination. The firm, launched in 2012, has grown in recent years, now boasting more than a dozen employees – including six dedicated designers.

With opportunities to expand their portfolios in Haliburton County, Marshall said ACM is offering people an opportunity to further their career without needing to relocate to a large urban hub.

This is the second consecutive year the County firm has scooped multiple DDA awards after winning three in 2023. They also garnered three prizes at the Peterborough and Kawartha Home Builders’ Association awards in February.

“The trophy shelf is very full at this point,” Marshall said.

When Linda Coneybeare first started in the travel business, she was a fresh-faced 21-year-old, working for then British Overseas Airways Corporation at Pearson Airport in Toronto in the 1970s.

“When I began, we didn’t have computers,” she recalled in a recent interview. “We literally weighed every bag and gave the measurements to the guys who figured out the weights and the positioning of the bags and the fuel. We hand-wrote the baggage tags.”

It was a big deal when they got their first computer – named Boudica, warrior queen of early Britian. “There was one person in charge of the thing that took up an entire room. It was a game-changer when it came to booking and issuing tickets.

“I used to hand-write my tickets. We had dial phones. Then came faxes. Now, email and scanning and instant communication around the world.”

In the mid-80s, Coneybeare loved her job but decided she loved her hometown of Haliburton more. Her father was ill at the time so she came home. Her dad died in 1985. Coneybeare got married, had children, and divorced.

She started working at a travel agency in Haliburton that “morphed from name to name to name, and, in 2001, just before 9/11, Transat bought a string of agencies including mine.” She has been working for the company ever since.

Her last day was Oct. 25. She said “wonderful” things are happening in her life. She is moving to Ottawa temporarily to help her fiancé there refresh his house to sell, and the two plan to move back to Haliburton County next year.

At 72, Coneybeare jokes, “I’m way past my retirement date.” It’s been quite a career, spanning 9/11, to COVID, and natural disasters.

“9/11 was horrific. There wasn’t much travel for anybody for a couple of months until things were sorted out. A lot of people left the industry. I kept on and business returned.” She had a client in the air that day who told her the pilot didn’t say anything as the plane landed in Halifax, on route to Toronto. She’s seen Come from Away and is “so proud of what Canada did that day.”

With the pandemic, she recalled having a customer on an around-the-world cruise and the boat trying to moor in Perth, Australia. However, the government was not allowing any more people into the country. Coneybeare had to get the client home. She was not keen on routing through the U.S. but got the client back via Vancouver and Toronto. “That was a long haul, and late nights, but it was my job and I was concerned.”

When there was a “terrible earthquake” in South America, resulting in tsunami warnings, she recalled having a client on a cruise from Buenos Aires around The Horn up to Valparaiso, Chile. Ports and airports were damaged and they were not sure how to get passengers home. There was even talk of busing over the Andes to Buenos Aries. It was suggested they turn the ship around and head back to Buenos Aires, which they did, without incident. It was another experience of calls to family members and late nights before getting the client safely home.

Coneybeare added, “COVID changed everything. When my office was closed, I didn’t think I’d be able to continue working. How could I work remote?” She soon mastered that art. Last year, she was one of the top-selling agents in Ontario and won a trip to France with Transat.

The biggest perk of her career is having been able to travel extensively and take her children, and now grandchildren, with her.

“Through the 90s, I travelled a lot with my children in Europe, the Normandy beaches, and going to Yorkshire where my grandmother was born.”

However, she said the industry “is just not that great anymore” with online bookings and discount airlines.

In addition, three years ago, Coneybeare had breast cancer. She is fine now but says “it was sort of a sign. I didn’t want to keep that pace anymore.” Her daughter’s family lives in Grimsby and her son’s family are local but spends six months of the year in Florida. Plus, says the travel lover, “I have books to read and things to do and I just felt it was time to start winding down.”

Asked what she’ll miss, Coneybeare says, “The clients I made happy. It’s all about the details and I’m good on details. Some of my clients I have been booking for 30 years.”

Linda’s top five travel destinations

1. Wadi Rum desert, Jordan – “You walk around and do a complete 360 degrees, and you don’t know what century you’re in. There’s nothing that will tell you.”

2. Iceland – “I stood over the open steam fissures and had the steam from the centre of the earth coming up and covering me.”

3. Scotland’s Orkney Islands – “5,000-yearold Norwegian standing stones you can touch and people don’t know why they’re there.”

4. A big pit coal mine in Cardiff, Wales – She had ancestors work there and, “I’ll never complain about my job again.”

5. Ireland – Ashford Castle, walking in the forest with a falconer – “I’m in Ireland with a falcon on my arm.”

Hitting a long stretch of ice while behind the wheel would be a rare white-knuckle experience for most drivers, but for Minden’s Jim Carrell that’s a regular Saturday come wintertime.

The recently-retired Kinsmen is one of the many faces behind the Minden Ice Races. Each year, volunteers transform the fairgrounds into a winding, frozen-over circuit that draws people from across North America. It’s one of the few “dry land” locations in the country, and the home of ice racing in Ontario.

With winter right around the corner, Carrell said excitement is starting to set in as he prepares for a 35th season of racing in the community. He said the Minden Kin Club has been building and maintaining the track for as long as racing has been coming to Minden.

“It’s the Canadian Automobile Sport Clubs (CASC) ice racing competition for Ontario region. They used to go community to community, but now Minden is the sole home. We have racing here for six weekends,” Carrell said, noting it’s been that way since the 1970s.

“Because of the costs involved and the effort it takes to get the track set up, it wouldn’t make sense for us to do this and have it be a one and done… it’s a great draw, we get people from as far away as Thunder Bay. Aside from snowmobiling, it’s probably one of the things people come to the County most for during winter,” he added.

Carrell, who owned and operated Minden Collision for decades before passing the business to his son, Jeff, this summer, has dabbled in racing for 30-plus years. He’s been racing in Minden for the past 20.

The adrenaline rush while sitting behind his wheel, waiting for the flag to drop, is unlike anything he’s experienced before.

“I’m smiling just thinking about it – I can’t wait to get back out there. Flying down the straight, heading into a turn, looking to your side and seeing one of your buddy’s right there with you, almost door-to-door, I can’t explain it. It’s so much fun,” Carrell said.

His chosen four-wheeled chariot is a 2009 Subaru Forester. The car cost him $500, a write-off for usual purposes, but perfect for ice racing. He estimates investing about $1,000 to get it race-ready, spending another $700 on a set of studded tires. All in, for $2,500, he gets months of excitement and entertainment.

“It doesn’t have to be an expensive hobby by any means – I’m five years in with this car now and running it yearto-year, it’s not a lot of money at all,” he said. “I’ve got to make sure the brakes are good, that the seatbelt is in working order, replace the oil – but aside from that, it’s good to go.”

Races are split into different classes depending on car specification – four-wheel, front-wheel, or rear-wheel drive – and type of tire, either street studs or standard winter rubbers. There are options to ride alone, or with a passenger – where you race as a pair and alternate the lead.

While it used to be the wild west in terms of what was allowed, there has been some new regulations recently. Because of the shorter winters and unpredictably warmer weather at times, CASC introduced limits on the types of studded tires that can be used. It’s important now, when the Kin Club gets the track in racing shape, that it not get ripped up every weekend by longer spikes, Carrell said.

“Last year we only got four weekends in, and that was with the new regulations,” he said.

The races attract about 60 drivers for a six weekend season, usually beginning in January. Carrell said the best resource for anyone wanting to get involved is the CASC website, where all the rules are posted as well as helpful tips and tricks.

When selecting a car, Carrell said make sure it’s not completely rusted underneath – due to the slippery nature of ice racing, collisions are frequent. “We don’t want cars falling apart because that’s when people get hurt.”

Most of the interior can be stripped away, save for the driver seat and seatbelt. Airbags must be taken out, Carrell said. Exterior lights on the front must come off too, while bumpers must be properly secured, and a rear-facing light installed so other drivers know where you are.

“That’s important, especially in the studded-tire class. Those cars throw snow in the air like nobody’s business. It’s like being in the worst blizzard you’ve ever seen,” Carrell said.

He’s been competitive on the circuit, winning a championship recently, but for Carrell ice racing is all about camaraderie and community.

“It’s like having a whole other family. I’ve made some lifelong friendships through racing. Everyone is competing for the checkered flag at the end, but there’s a lot of laughs away from the track when the race is over,” Carrell said.

For more information, visit casc.on.ca.

Percy, a baby porcupine, nibbles on Monika Melichar’s ear as the Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary founder discusses the 2024 season to date at the Duck Lake Road rescue.

She’s also promoting their Bid Wild 4 Wildlife online Christmas auction, which begins Nov. 1 at 8 a.m. and runs to Nov. 10, at 8 p.m.

“We were successful in saving him,” Melichar says of Percy. “He got deathly sick on us three times, and each time we brought him through it.” Of course, that has come about as a result of staff and volunteer time, and money.

Inside the main complex is a red-tailed hawk they’ve been looking after.

He arrived “very dehydrated and starved,” Melichar says. The animals do not speak and cannot tell their stories but the wildlife advocate says, “a few days not being able to hunt and it’s a quick downhill spiral for them. He was down and out, and we brought him back, and now he’s on an upward spiral, which is great. We will be able to release him in time (to migrate) which is good news, they don’t fly far.”

At times, Melichar had to attend to the hawk every two hours. There was medicine and four live mice a day for food.

Then there’s one of five fawns, which had a fractured hind leg. It was sent to a wildlife vet in Caledon to have pins placed in its leg. Because the vet is a charity, WWS donated $2,000 towards the cost. There was the expense of strong antibiotics for six weeks. A bag of milk for fawns costs $130 and lasts a couple of weeks.

Melichar said they have taken in more than 750 animals already this year. Recently, there were 70 animals at WWS. They average 150 in the summer. “Overall, it’s been a little busier than last year,” she says.

Online auction

Melichar said they are raising money to put a carport-style roof over their existing complex at the rescue. It’s the main office but also the nursery and intensive care unit for animals. “We have all our critical and young animals in there… so we really need a safe place for them.” Now, she said the roof leaks during rain.

She said people can bid on more than 100 unique items donated by local artists and merchants, all starting at low bids. “Whether you’re looking for a special gift or a treat for yourself, there’s something for everyone,” she added.

Register at: new.biddingowl.com/WWS

For more information about the sanctuary, go to woodlandswildlifesanctuary.ca.

A poisoned Red-tailed hawk – in care at Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary in Minden Hills – has resulted in renewed calls for Minden Hills and other County townships to ban the use of rodenticides.

While the hawk was found in distress in Havelock, Allison Hansen of Minden, who is co-founder and campaign director for Rodenticide Free Ontario (RFO), said “this is happening with increasing frequency.”

Hewson made a delegation to Minden Hills council in January of 2023. She warned them about the dangers of the poisons and asked for a ban. Council voted to have staff put together a report and bring it back to council. However, that did not happen. Hansen said her dog died after ingesting a poisoned mouse.

“Other municipalities I have engaged have acted faster and been more responsive in recognizing that these poisons are inhumane, dangerous and ineffective,” she said.

Hansen said RFO is a small, grassroots organization of people who have dealt with personal cases of rodenticide poisonings and are working to move reform to protect people, wildlife, companion animals and the environment from rodenticides. She says they have helped municipalities move forward with their own rodenticide-free initiatives.

The hawk at WWS has been named Slater.

Woodlife Wildlife Sanctuary said the hawk was found on the side of the road, “barely able to stand.” A volunteer driver and her husband answered their call for a ride and brought him to the sanctuary as quickly as possible.

“The hawk was starved for sure, but his behaviour indicated there was more to the story. Normally, we would surmise that he had been clipped by a car, and had head trauma. But there were no signs of that,” WWS’s Monika Melichar said.

They gave him fluids, placed him in a warm incubator as he was still chilled, and watched for signs to tell them what was ailing him. When he defecated, there were symptoms of internal bleeding.

With the help of Shades of Hope Wildlife Refuge, Melichar said they were able to confirm he had been poisoned, most likely from a mouse dying from rodenticide-laced bait.

“Immediately, we started him on a Vit K protocol to bind and help flush the toxin out of his body. We can only hope that we’re not too late to save him,” Melichar said.

“Indirect rodenticide poisoning of our wildlife is happening all the time, but we just don’t see it. Many of these affected animals die a quick, yet painful death, out of sight and out of mind of the people that wish to rid their premises of rodents. Sadly, these deadly toxins spread out across the environment, like ripples in the water, and poison not just the targeted animal, but those that prey on them. One infected mouse can harm a mink, that can then harm a fox, and then a vulture, and on and on,” Melichar said.

She added it’s because the toxin can remain in the body for a very long time, and accumulate, until it is too much for the wild animal to handle. “The levels reach a critical point and then it’s all downhill from there.”

Melichar said they are determined to save the hawk, and are encouraged by even his slightest improvements. As of Oct. 23, she said Slater was on the mend.

“He’s standing more often and was able to keep down some solid food. It will be a long haul for him to completely rid his body of this deadly toxin, but we’ll do our best to pull him through.”

For more information on keeping rodenticides out of the environment, go to rodenticidefree.ca. To donate towards Slater’s care, go to woodlandswildlifesanctuary.ca/donate.

As Remembrance Day approaches, Irondale resident George Simmons reflects on stories he heard from his father, George Sr., a gunner in the sixth anti-tank regiment during the Second World War.

“He talked about the war quite a bit – mostly the hidden stuff that other people didn’t talk about… the shock of seeing Juno Beach. He could see all the dead and wounded on the front,” Simmons said. “What he saw stuck with him for the rest of his life.”

The elder Simmons was the inspiration behind a heartfelt memorial now in its third year. ‘Service, Courage, and Sacrifice’ commemorates known veterans from the First and Second World Wars and all other conflicts since, with photos, names, birth dates, and corps emblazoned on large flags, which, from Nov. 2 to 11, will be on display at the Irondale Church.

Simmons partnered with the Irondale Historical Society on the project, with his sister-in-law, Carol, taking an active role. They launched with 40 flags in 2022. This year, there will be 56 military personnel honoured.

“It’s for people that served in the war in some way, shape, or form, and has a tie to Irondale,” Carol said. “The people don’t need to have been born here, or even lived here. We’ve got cottagers that have been coming here for generations who had family that served. Some of them are included. Some are relatives or close contacts of people who live here. I put my grandfather on and he never set foot in Irondale.

“We feel it’s important to honour all who made the incredible sacrifice [to enlist],” she added.

George said his dad enlisted April 1, 1942 and was originally stationed, and trained, in Petawawa. When he got word he was going to Europe, George Sr. travelled first by bus to Montreal, then train to Halifax, and finally on the Queen Mary to England.

His dad would have been one of 20,000 soldiers on the boat, which famously took British prime minister Winston Churchill across the Atlantic three times during the war effort.

George Sr. was present during the D-Day landings and pushed further in-land. George isn’t sure where his father ended up, but heard about an encounter with a German soldier, who was taken as a prisoner of war. Simmons’ father confiscated film from the captive, which contained horrific images of fallen Allied soldiers.

“That was the thing that stuck with him most,” George said.

His dad was in Europe for the German Instrument of Surrender, on May 8, 1945, and was discharged from service a month later. When he returned home, the elder Simmons went to work for his father – also called George – who owned a sawmill in the community.

Simmons felt initiatives like this are important, so that newer generations can learn about the sacrifices of their ancestors.

“Those guys are almost gone. I don’t want what they did to be forgotten. I think the stories need to live on,” Simmons said. “One big remark we’ve got since starting this, is how we’re putting faces to the people. These are Irondale’s biggest heroes and deserve to be recognized.”

The flags will be in place at the church for 10 days – the parish will be open, too, with war-era antiques and family heirlooms on display. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. there will be a presentation from Belinda Wilson, who participated in a 15-day pilgrimage across northern Europe in 2013, visiting battlefields in France and Belgium where thousands of Canadian soldiers fought and died.

After seeing how popular the initiative has been in Irondale, Carol is encouraging other townships in the area to do something similar. She’s also urging people with ties to the community, who have had family serve, to reach out and have their loved ones featured in next year’s event.

Families are asked to contribute $50 – which covers a large flag, kept by the society, and miniature versions they can take home. Anyone interested can reach out to historical@irondaleontario.ca.

“By doing this, I think we’re bringing history alive a little bit. We’ve had multiple generations come and have their picture taken with flags, which is really nice. Little kids coming and learning about what great grandpa did. It’s emotional for lots of families,” Carol said.

With the rollout of the Canada Dental Care Plan (CDCP), Volunteer Dental Outreach (VDO) has announced changes for its Haliburton clinic effective Jan. 1, 2025.

The CDCP is a federally-delivered public plan designed to help ease financial barriers to accessing oral health care for up to nine million uninsured Canadian residents. They are assisting people with an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000 and no co-payments for those under $70,000.

The program has been accepting applications from seniors 65-plus, people with valid disability tax credit certificates, and children under 18-years-old. In 2025, all remaining eligible Canadian resident can apply.

The VDO board recently issued a media release saying that in response to the evolving landscape of dental care in Canada, they are adjusting their services to better meet community needs.

“With the federal government’s continuing rollout of the CDCP, many low-income residents in Haliburton County will now have wide access to affordable dental care, resulting in a decreased patient load at VDO.”

In the new year, VDO will no longer provide dental care through the Ontario Seniors Dental Care Program.

VDO president Bill Kerr said in an interview that people 65 and up represent about one-third of the work VDO does, so, “a third of everything is disappearing as of the beginning of January.”

He added, “our policy has always been we look after the dental needs of people in Haliburton County that have nowhere else to go, and we don’t want to be taking patients away from other practices that are operating, and the majority of the patients that qualify for VDO are now qualifying for the federal program.”

However, the board stressed that VDO will remain open to provide care to those County residents who do not qualify for the CDCP, and meet the VDOs qualifications. Basically, they look at household income, the number of people living off of that household income, then household expenses to make a decision.

The board said in light of the changes, they are also suspending the 2025 Lisa Kerr Memorial Golf Tournament fundraising event. The board said it would assess community needs before making further decisions.

They don’t know what impact rolling out the federal program to all age groups will mean next year. Kerr said the original plan by the end of 2025 was to have everybody covered.

Kerr said that, overall, what is happening is good news. “

I thoroughly enjoy doing dentistry for free for people that can’t afford it. But if there are other opportunities, I’m quite comfortable doing other things, it’s not something I need to do. If they roll out the way they say they’re going to roll it out, we anticipate the amount of appointment time, the amount of patient time, to continue to reduce.”

However, it’s still a wait-and-see for VDO as a Liberal federal election defeat could change the playing field once again.

In the meantime, they have taught people about how to qualify for CDCP and to apply for it.

He also thinks his late wife, Lisa Kerr, would be pleased with the direction dental care is going.

“Lisa is going to love that there is access to care because she was the one that would drive to someone’s house and pick them up if they didn’t have a ride. She was all about looking after people. It was all of our dreams that one day the government would step up and look after the people that needed it the most.”