By Susan Tromanhauser

Beth Brundage has a very specific Mothers’ Day celebration in mind – dinner out with the family.

But this isn’t Brundage’s first Mothers’ Day, so she has tempered her expectations to be a celebration of “peaceful chaos,” incorporating making car ramps out of menus to keep her four-year-old son, Thatcher, busy while tending to the needs of newborn son, Jace. Her Mothers’ Day will also be divided between the boys’ two grandmothers, ensuring they receive their kudos for the support they provide.

Brundage’s recollection of her first Mothers’ Day in 2021 is very hazy, saying now she, “is different; the boys are different.” Her first Mothers’ Day, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, felt isolated and emotional. She suffered from post-partum depression, afraid to leave her baby with anyone else and yet afraid to take him to the grocery store in case he cried and caused a scene.

Her mother was a big support, as was her medical team of Haliburton & Bancroft Midwives and her family physician. They all supported her, ensuring she received proper treatment through medication and therapy. Brundage explains treatment helped her recover to a point, but it was once she was able to return to the gym and start exercising, she really felt some relief.

This time, maternity leave is quite different than her first leave with Thatcher. With her firstborn she took time away from her position as an education assistant at an elementary school. With newborn Jace, she has yet to take time off – from her family responsibilities or her job. As a result, Jace is already well-traveled. At two days old, he attended Thatcher’s skating lesson and he accompanies his mom while she takes his big brother to speech therapy in Bracebridge.

Now office manager of the family business, The Dock Shop, there is no time for a maternity leave. She is busy keeping the staff of five, plus her husband, in line while the young mother juggles all things customer relations. She did forewarn customers she might not return calls as quickly as before, and that emails might arrive at all hours of the night. Brundage credits the flexibility of her job as being the primary reason she is able to fit everything into her day.

While she is doing a busy job of tending to a newborn, Brundage manages to connect with the outside world by going to Castle Antiques in Haliburton. There she “can just sit and people watch” or set up her laptop and work, and connect to other people. Brundage ignores advice to sleep while the baby sleeps, saying nothing would get done if she did that, but admits she sometimes uses naptimes to binge Netflix.

Watching Brundage comfortably cuddle her month-old baby Jace, it is easy to see she loves her role as mom. In a comfy café chair, she embraces her newborn, peacefully asleep in her arms. She also sips her afternoon coffee treat, acknowledging sleep can be difficult and caffeine helps.

At the café, she is able to hold an adult conversation with the only interruption a greeting from a friendly face entering the café. Brundage smiles and says now that she lives in Haliburton “she can’t go anywhere without knowing someone” and admits enjoying the smaller town to the city of Peterborough, where she grew up, which to her “seems too busy now.”

Brundage truly believes in the adage “it takes a village to raise a child” and is appreciative of all the support she receives in her community.

Advice for other mothers? Brundage is adamant the most important thing she has learned as a mother is the necessity to take time for yourself. “If a mother doesn’t take care of herself, she can’t take care of others,” she said.

She added feeling as if she is a different person now than before and every child is different. She admits there was a huge learning curve with her first child but this time she is more relaxed, more confident. And, as if on cue to prove her point, Jace stirs and immediately Brundage knows, “he’s hungry, it’s time for him to eat.”

But she is also quick to point out, as is the case with all mothers, “I’m still learning.”

The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) has announced the TD Friends of the Environment has granted funding to support Land Trust Discovery Days 2025.

The Land Trust has offered discovery days for many years as part of its initiative to provide educational workshops for people of all ages to learn about nature.

Their volunteer education committee is working hard to plan and organize a series of family-oriented events, the HHLT said.

The first discovery day, Spring Wildflowers and Wild Leeks, will take place on Saturday, May 10 at Barnum Creek Nature Reserve at 10 a.m. “Michele Swyer will offer her expertise and enthusiasm for these delicate and fleeting early spring ephemerals,” the Land Trust said.

The Don Smith Memorial Bird Walk will be offered by bird expert Ed Poropat on Sunday, May 18 at 6:30 a.m. on the rail trail at Gould’s Crossing Road.

The events are offered by donation. Registration is required and can be done by visiting haliburtonlandtrust.ca, events.

Other programs to look forward to this year include Busy Beavers and more.

“HHLT will also offer three events under our funding for the Partners in Conservation (PIC) program. The first in this series of events is on exploring the basics of digital mapping with the Avenza Maps app. Later in the season, PIC’s will be offered a chance to learn about invasive species and join a hands-on trail building workshop,” the Land Trust said. It encouraged people to view their website and Facebook page for updated information and registration.

Dysart et al council has been told it’s time the township starts thinking about potential sites that could one day house a new fire hall.

Mike Vilneff of The Loomex Group presented Dysart’s new fire master plan April 22. It includes 38 recommendations for improving operations at the Dysart Fire Department.

Vilneff said the document’s primary purpose is to ensure compliance with the Fire Protection and Prevention Act, provide a clear picture of the community’s current and anticipated fire protection needs, and recommend strategies to protect lives and property by enhancing public education, code enforcement, and fire suppression services – which he called “the three lines of defence” when it comes to firefighting.

Two of the top recommendations include conducting a study of the current fire hall, located behind A.J. LaRue Community Centre, to assess its current condition; and for the township to develop a new fire station replacement strategy, which would include information about site selection, land acquisition, funding strategies, construction, and disposal of the current facility.

Vilneff said the existing strategy, a decade old, is outdated due to price increases in recent years. He expressed concern, too, that the current station does not comply with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.

Fire chief Dan Chumbley said the main part of the facility is approximately 50 years old. An extension was added in the late 80s.

He noted that while a new fire hall may be on the cards one day, nothing is imminent.

“It’s not that we need to be out of here tomorrow or anything like that. The recommendation has come in because the consultant is seeing what it’s costing other departments to replace their stations,” Chumbley said.

“It’s high millions, maybe $7 million to $10 million. So, because the building is getting up there in age, they’re saying it should be something we’re focusing on.”

The first step, Chumbley said, will be bringing someone in to assess the hall’s current condition.

“We need to know are we going to get 20 years out of it? Are we going to get five years out of it? Before we move onto figuring out how much, or where, we need to know the when.”

Other key recommendations include: Dysart formalize an agreement outlining their participation in the County’s mutual aid system, where local departments can access additional resources from neighbours when required; launch a program that outlines parameters to ensure firefighters aren’t exposed to high levels of diesel exhaust; ensure a formalized water rescue program is developed; launch a driver competency program for operating trucks; and conduct a water supply study to assess the non-hydrant-protected areas of the community.

The report also says staff should investigate the feasibility of installing a dry water main that would bring water directly from Head Lake to the downtown core.

Chumbley said the document is a big help for him as he plans for the department’s future.

“These guys are retired firefighters, chiefs, deputy chiefs, training officers… they know all the rules and regulations that, because I’m in a small rural community, I’ve just never run into. It’s a good procedural plan that we can fall back on as and when needed,” the chief said.

A public bus service could be back on the menu for Haliburton County, with councillors at the upper tier directing staff to investigate an on-demand service model.

The issue has been debated for several years, with the most recent update coming in May 2024, when the lone bidder on a fixed route system between Haliburton and Minden quoted annual costs of $685,000 – plus gas and $45,000 in start-up money – to operate. Council opted against the contract.

Scott Ovell, the County’s director of economic development and tourism, brought a potential solution forward at an April 23 meeting. While previously, the County wanted to establish a route that ran eight to 12 hours per day, six days a week, Ovell feels the most realistic option is proceeding with an on-demand service.

“Over the course of the fall, staff have been monitoring other systems that have been implemented in rural Ontario… some of those did indicate they’ve seen some cost savings by not running on a fixed-route system and [buses] being empty,” Ovell said.

“They also felt it provided a better service option to get to some of the more remote areas in their jurisdictions,” he added.

Ovell said both the District of Muskoka and County of Wellington had recently revamped their transit systems, preferring a responsive model – one that runs when people need it, rather than all the time. He said a similar model has potential to meet the County’s needs, both in demand and cost.

A new RFP will be posted in mid-tolate May, Ovell said. In it, the County is looking for potential operators to provide a scope of work for delivering a responsive transit service, which he says “differs significantly” from the fixed-route model.

Any plan will need to ensure compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, identify service delivery options, routes, and cost, provide a detailed outline of proposed fares and service schedule, details on the type of bus they plan to utilize, information on booking methods, and a proposed date for implementation.

Ovell said staff has outlined the service must run at minimum five hours a day, five days per week. While an initial route will connect Minden and Haliburton, with mandatory drop offs at places like the Haliburton hospital and Minden Urgent Care Clinic, Ovell said there’s also an option for bidders to outline a model that would service the entire County – including Algonquin Highlands and Highlands East.

Some councillors concerned

Coun. Liz Danielsen said that piece is important as Algonquin Highlands “is not interested in paying for a service that’s only going to serve Minden Hills and Dysart et al.”

That irked councillors Murray Fearrey and Bob Carter – mayors of Dysart and Minden respectively – who said there are lots of things those two townships pay for that benefit residents of the two more rural municipalities. Danielsen later noted she was supportive of starting a service.

Carter felt it was important the County first establish a service and potentially expand later.

“It’s got to start somewhere. It’s never going to get to the outlying districts unless it starts at the centre,” Carter said. “We have to look at whether we’re here as Haliburton County, or we’re here as four individual municipalities.”

Coun. Cec Ryall, Highlands East deputy mayor, wanted more assurance over the cost and timeline for expanding the service beyond Minden and Haliburton villages.

“If we’re going to be looking at a 10-year [window before expansion] that’s only going to benefitting the two municipalities, that to me is not fair. There needs to be some kind of adjustment in the fee structure,” Ryall said.

County CAO Gary Dyke said there are many intangible benefits to establishing a service, noting it can help attract doctors and businesses to the area.

While there was no mention of anticipated costs, Ovell said, “I don’t think I would be here if I thought I was coming back with a tender for $685,000 again.” He said the County has $182,601 in a transit reserve and could tap into provincial money, via gas tax funding, once a service is operational. Funding is not available in year one, though Ovell said the County could get up to $194,543 in years two and three.

The director noted he has heard from interested parties, hoping that will mean more than one company puts a bid in. He told council he expects to deliver another report in July, where, armed with more information, there can be more debate over how and when the service will be rolled out.

“This is a starting point to build off. We’ll make sure what comes back is a detailed response that will articulate not only where the starting point is, but where the finished product would land, and how long that would take,” Ovell said.

“We can have more detailed discussions and work through what this could look like… what we’ve seen, particularly in rural Ontario, is that as technology has evolved, there are different models that could be operated more efficiently and more costeffectively,” he concluded.

Minden Hills has now been in a state of emergency for 32 days and while Hydro One says all accessible properties have had power restored in the weeks since the March 29 ice storm, mayor Bob Carter says the community’s issues are far from over.

In a public statement April 29, Carter said there are currently no plans to end the emergency given the community is facing significant flood risk.

“You may have seen on the news that Peterborough and others have lifted their state of emergency. Why is Minden still in [one]? Our response – water,” Carter said.

He said a pile-up of circumstances, such as higher than usual winter snowfall and an abnormally wet April, was starting to take its toll on the Gull River system, which flows through Minden village.

While the Burnt River system has peaked and is now receding to normal levels, Carter said the Gull was “basically full” as of April 29.

“The lakes above Minden are at capacity or over capacity,” the mayor said. “We started to work with Ministry of Natural Resources and Parks Canada well before the ice storm hit. Significant amounts of water were moved through the Gull River system to try to create capacity in the lakes above Minden in case of unusual weather patterns. However, the constant rains and snow melt have filled the lakes faster than we can move it downstream.

“Another complication is that the ice storm has left us with a fragile environment. There are many branches and trees that are easily disturbed. The streams and culverts are being blocked by debris from these trees, causing washouts and local flooding,” he added.

By staying in a state of emergency, Carter said the township can access more provincial money to assist with response and clean-up. Residents who suffered uninsured damages and financial loss can apply for support through the Ontario government while Minden Hills maintains the emergency measures.

With Environment Canada issuing a tornado warning for swathes of southern Ontario earlier this week, including Haliburton County, and more rain expected over the next few days, Carter said the township “needs to be especially vigilant to react to any consequences.”

Staff is still meeting with MNR and Parks Canada three times a week and will continue to do so through May until the flood threat subsides.

Carter indicated it will likely be some time before things are completely back to normal. Staff has started to clear road allowances and ditches of felled limbs and debris, while the mayor said Minden Hills will soon announce a new program, in partnership with the County, to assist residents removing debris from private property.

“Not everybody was affected equally by this storm. I ask for your patience and a continued spirit of generosity to assist your neighbours. Many hands make light work, and we will need many hands to clean up this mess and get Minden back to normal,” he said.

Should banks break, the township is offering sandbags and sand at the Minden Curling Club parking lot and Irondale Community Centre. Carter is reminding people to have 72-hour emergency kits at home just in case. Some suggested items include non-perishable food, water, batter-ypowered radio and flashlight, first aid kit, toiletries, cash, and warm clothing/footwear.

Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society (KHCAS) is doing a library roadshow, in hopes of recruiting more foster parents, visiting five branches between May 2 and June 12.

They will be in Stanhope May 2, Minden May 21, Gooderham May 27, Dysart May 30 and Cardiff June 12 – setting up for two hours. They visited Wilberforce April 30.

“We’ll talk to people and answer questions,” the KHCAS’ Barb Reay said. She noted people can go to the KHCAS Facebook pages for exact times. They also hope to get into farmers markets, and put flyers on community bulletin boards.

Reay said she’d been taking part in an Ontario-wide recruitment discussion group and is replicating what other CASs are doing They’re hoping to take advantage of places the public is going to. “It’s just really getting our face out there.”

She acknowledged there had been a lot of press about the KHCAS over the past year.

On Oct. 23, 2024, the provincial government appointed a temporary supervisor for the KHCAS, saying, “we no longer have confidence in the society’s ability to address its operational issues and growing deficit.” On the same day, the board of KHCAS announced they had tendered their resignations. Rosaleen Cutler has been appointed supervisor to oversee and operate the society.

Last summer, KHCAS announced plans to shutter its branch at 73 Victoria St. in Haliburton this year, and drop one full-time staff member, while committing to still offering its services across the County. They were talking to partners about accessing space elsewhere. The changes were to have taken effect for April 1, 2025 but there have been no updates.

The KHCAS attributed the deficit to years of funding reductions, increased costs, increased complexity of need, and the lack of services required by legislation within the funding allocation.

Reay said they are doing what they can to try to bring up their foster parent numbers. “Because we’ve had a steady decline in foster homes over the last few years.”

As of January of this year, the KHCAS had 35 open foster homes. In 2020, they had close to 100. “And the reasons I am being told are the pandemic, new legislation requirements, and the competitiveness of the OPRs (outside paid resource) in our area, as well as having an aging foster parent population. We had some really long-term amazing foster parents who have retired,” Reay said.

The organization is looking for all kinds of fosters. She said the compensation varies from $46 to $84 per child per day. She said parents are fully trained. They’re hoping to get 10 new families across the region. She said the goal is to keep kids within their communities so they don’t have to leave their supports. She said she has had inquiries from the Highlands.

Asked for what qualities candidates should have, Reay said, “patience and compassion.” It’s helpful if people have experience with children, but not necessary. She said people have to work as a team, “and be very understanding that the children’s families are always their families and our first, main objective is always to get kids back within their family home.

Addressing her supporters following defeat in Monday’s federal election, Liberal candidate Nell Thomas said she, her team, and supporters “have been victimized” throughout the five-week campaign.

In a speech delivered at Lindsay’s Olympia Restaurant, Thomas said she ran a “squeaky clean” operation, which culminated April 28 with 29,193 votes (38.7 per cent). She was the runner-up behind four-term Conservative MP Jamie Schmale, though the performance was the Liberals’ strongest in the riding in 25 years.

“We do not denigrate, we do not name call, we do not believe in fraudulent, or destructive, or illegal activity. But we have been victims of all the above,” Thomas said.

She claims her elections signs were heavily tampered with throughout the campaign, while team members, including herself, received death threats, were verbally abused, and physically intimidated by detractors.

This was happening even before a series of comments made by Thomas on a now-deleted X – formerly Twitter – account was made public last week, she claims.

In those messages, posted in 2023 and 2024, Thomas appeared to question why anyone would want to have children today, stating, “of necessity, a mother must be a climate change denier.”

While discussing an unknown issue, she appeared to target Canada’s older demographic, commenting that solutions “must include stop keeping ancients alive so long.”

In a video posted to her official election channels, Thomas said those comments were taken out of context, though apologized for the hurt her words may have caused.

“I want to make clear that my values remain rooted in respect, understanding, and justice. For those who know me, they know I am a person of strong morality. I am a physician who cares for patients of all ages across every stage of life, including end-of-life journeys. I help people find dignity, relieve suffering, and seeking peace when existence becomes too heavy to bear.

“I am also a lifelong environmentalist who cares deeply about the future we are leaving for our children. There is nothing more meaningful to me than caring for moms and their babies. I love the life force that drives us to create new generations,” she said.

Thomas said those comments were plucked from conversation threads involving multiple people, with no context provided. She felt it was a coordinated smear campaign.

“The issue is foreign interference, the extreme rightwing propaganda machine of disinformation,” Thomas said. “These are the threats to democracy that we must all work against right now.”