It’s been seven months since Haliburton Rotary unveiled a four-year beautification plan for Skyline Park, with long-time member Ursula Devolin saying volunteers have made major strides since work began last fall.

Approximately 20 Rotarians were on-site May 10 as the group kick-started its efforts for the year. Devolin said workers used an excavator to reshape and level the picnic area, removed hazardous tree roots protruding out of the ground, laid topsoil and grass seed, and installed picnic tables.

This followed work done last year to restore the viewing platform that overlooks Haliburton village. Devolin said several dead trees have been removed, with branches impeding views of the village landscape also taken down.

“We’ve put in gravel pathways that make things a little more accessible for people and will be laying some recycled asphalt so that those with strollers and wheelchairs can safely visit the park,” Devolin said.

The group has also improved the parking area, creating space for larger vehicles to maneuver safely.

Later this year, there will be a new picnic shelter installed – with Rotary partnering with Glenn Diezel and students from Fleming College’s timber framing program for the build. The club will pay for the construction materials, while students, guided by Diezel, complete the work.

Devolin said that will be the first major installation, with a second picnic shelter and washrooms also planned. She confirmed the project will run through 2027, with Rotary now estimating costs around $200,000.

That’s down from the $300,000 to $400,000 they forecast last year, with the decrease attributed to several in-kind donations. Devolin said Haliburton County Development Corporation has kicked in $3,000, Emmerson Lumber has donated some supplies, Randy’s Landscaping gifted some topsoil, and Derek Beachli Construction is letting workers use machinery free of charge.

There have been plenty of community donations, too – including $5,000 from one generous donor who read about the project in the paper.

“This has been a total community effort so far,” Devolin said.

The park is owned by the Ministry of Transportation and a designated rest stop on Hwy. 118 heading east out of Haliburton village. It was dedicated by Leslie M. Frost on June 20, 1958. The MTO maintains the park through a contract with a local company, but Devolin feels the site “has not been a priority” for the ministry, with few upgrades over the past 65 years.

She said Rotary will continue advocating for MTO investment at the site, hoping the province will help pay for some of the planned upgrades.

One of the last to leave the park on Saturday, Devolin said she was able to see an immediate return on the Rotary club’s investment.

“As I was cleaning up, two families drove in, got out of their car with a picnic, and sat down at the tables we’d installed 20 minutes earlier. That was the highlight of the day for me, seeing people enjoying the park together.

“That’s exactly what we’re trying to promote by doing this – recreating a place where people feel comfortable and can enjoy how beautiful Haliburton is,” she said.

There has been a major celebrity sighting in Minden village – and it’s one that will rock you.

The likeness of iconic Queen frontman Freddie Mercury rests proudly on the Minden River Cone. Mercury is captured in his signature pose, with his right arm pointing straight up. Only, rather than holding a microphone, the mural shows Mercury with an ice cream cone in hand.

The work was completed by Teddy Griffith, an aspiring artist who graduated from Haliburton Highlands Secondary School before moving to Montreal. He got the job after his mother, Renee Griffith and her company As Good As New Painting, was hired to refinish the exterior of the River Cone last fall.

“It was all very serendipitous,” said Monica Bolton-Scott, who owns River Cone with her partner Ben Bolton-Scott. “We’d always had a long-term goal to have a mural installed on the building. During one of our consults, I told Renee, she called Teddy and we started collaborating over speakerphone.”

A few hours later, Bolton-Scott had three drafts to choose from – the Mercury piece, and two others that predominantly featured the Gull River, which runs through downtown Minden.

Teddy spent a week last October installing his design. Alongside Mercury are several abstract trees to represent the natural landscape of Haliburton County, with a thin stream of blue embodying the Gull.

The piece was covered up over the winter, with people getting a first glimpse when the River Cone reopened for its 30th season May 2. Bolton-Scott said the public response thus far has been similar to her own.

“It’s blown everyone away – Teddy’s technique and work methods, while interesting to watch, has also created a stunning piece of art,” she said. “Some don’t know who it is and have to ask, but most can tell right away it’s Freddie.”

Teddy said he used premium outdoor paint to make the massive mural pop – his creamcoloured body jumping out against the bluegreen backdrop. Previously considering himself a hobbyist, with no formal training or experience working in the arts, Teddy said he’s now contemplating a career change.

“This is a first-time thing having my art displayed publicly – it’s made me think that maybe I can do something with this,” he said. “I’m super stoked to have this mural in my home community that I can keep coming back to.”

With one bucket list item down, BoltonScott said she’s turning her attentions to another.

“There’s a dead-end road down here that, someday, I’d like to see turned into a splash pad, or a public space that promotes events in the downtown,” she said, noting she plans to approach Minden Hills over a possible collaboration.

It’s been a busy off-season for the owners, who installed a wooden deck at the rear of the property, added some new picnic tables and a basketball court – donated by Canadian Tire and Home Hardware in Minden – and are installing a dock by the water.

The dock will be named ‘Michael’s Landing’, in honour of Monica’s brother who passed away in 2021, shortly after they took over the Cone.

“He was a big kayaker, so he really wanted to build a dock here – it’s his birthday May 19, so we’re building this platform in his honour. It’s a little something for the community, giving them another spot to safely get in and out of the water,” Monica said, adding the Cone will host a 30th anniversary celebration in the summer.

Quest, Haliburton Forest Wolf Centre’s new breeding female, gave birth to two pups May 3, just in time for Mother’s Day.

Marena Wigmore, wolf centre and experiences manager, said the new arrivals, both black furred, one male, and one female, should make an already busy summer even more hectic.

“Any time we have pups, we expect it’s going to be a busy one. Summer always is, but people love the little ones,” Wigmore said.

There has not been a litter since 2022, so “it’s been a while,” Wigmore added.

“It’s always really exciting for us. There’s always the bigger picture of the pack as a whole as well, not having pups for a couple of years isn’t necessarily a bad thing for the pack but, who doesn’t love puppies?”

Luna, the former breeding female, passed away last June. She was 13. The centre had not expected her to have pups in 2023 or 2024, due to her age and for her own wellbeing. After she passed, it was expected another female would take on the breeding role. During mating season, which runs until the end of February, they saw Uriel and Quest “doing successfully what they needed to do so pups could happen,” Wigmore said.

And then they waited.

Wigmore said Quest did not show visible signs of being pregnant, such as a pregnancy belly, or swollen teats through her winter coat. She noted a pup weighs about half a pound at birth, when wolves can eat 20kg of food at once.

So, staff observe, looking for things such as the mom being absent when they would normally expect her to be with the pack. On May 2, Quest returned covered in dirt and disappeared fairly quickly.

“That tells us she’s been in the den, there is something for her to go back to, that’s a pretty sure sign to us that she’s done birthing, she’s come out, she’s come up for air, she’s had a bit of a rest.”

The next day, centre staff went looking for the den. Because Quest is a first-time mom, they weren’t sure where it would be. They started by looking at Luna’s previous den, “and fortunately, she had chosen to use that one so it was very quick and easy for us.

“As soon as we rolled up to the den site, we could tell dirt had been recently dug a little and we started hearing squeaks right away. These two pups are some of the most vocal that I’ve come across at den check.” She added while deworming, the female pup would not keep her head still. She said their vocalness is a sign, “they’re strong, they’re healthy.”

She said the pups were assessed, medicated and returned to the den swiftly. In total, staff spent only 15 minutes in the enclosure. “This keeps the stress on mom to a minimum and allows her to quickly return back to her babies. While these are new pups, there is never a guarantee of survival. But with a smaller litter, we are cautiously optimistic.”

Wigmore added Quest doing “everything to a T” as a new mom is both “satisfying and relieving.”

Once centre staff see the pups in the observation area for the first time, expected in mid to late-June at six to eight weeks, ensuring they have survived, the centre will launch its naming competition, which lasts six months.

“This year would be letter Z,” Wigmore said.

Minden’s Michele Coneybeare will keep putting one foot in front of the other on May 28 as Help a Village Effort (H.A.V.E) brings its annual Walk for Water back to Haliburton County.

Now in its 43rd year, the organization raises awareness of, and funding for, clean water in impoverished villages in India, Coneybeare said. Since 1982, H.A.V.E has built approximately 650 artesian wells in south Asia, averaging 15 to 25 per year.

The goal of the walk this year is to raise $5,000, which should support the drilling of two wells, ongoing maintenance, and educating locals on how the systems work.

According to Coneybeare, having access to clean potable water greatly reduces the risk of contracting water-borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, hepatitis, and acute diarrheal disease – all prevalent in India.

“H.A.V.E believes clean water is a universal right, not a privilege… our mission is to empower communities with the gift of clean water, one village and one well at a time,” Coneybeare said.

Beginning at Minden Hills United Church, participants will stroll along the Minden Riverwalk, completing a two-and-a-halfkilometre journey that symbolizes the trek that women and children make daily in India to get clean drinking water for their families.

While the charity is based in Haliburton County, it has official chapters throughout Ontario, Newfoundland, and British Columbia.

Coneybeare, board chair since 2020, said H.A.V.E has a great track record of helping people in need. In earlier years, the group funded a mobile health care program, support for needy children, and a primary reading program in the Gambia, West Africa.

She’s been a member since 2009.

“Our global world is very small and there are many places for our Canadian donation dollars. Access to clean water is more than a health necessity – it is a catalyst for change.

“By providing safe drinking water, H.A.V.E empowers communities to break the cycle of poverty, ensuring healthier families, increased school attendance, and improved livelihoods,” Coneybeare said.

To participate, contact a H.A.V.E board member (Coneybeare, Lisa Gervais, Paul Heffer, Nick Kulas, Darren Mills, Cathy Stevens, Debbie Wales) to get a pledge sheet. Money is to be turned in on the day of the walk, with tax receipts provided for amounts over $20.

For more information, visit helpavillageeffort.org.

Dysart et al fire chief Dan Chumbley says the May 3 fire that engulfed the main lodge of the abandoned Wigamog Inn property has been reported to the Haliburton Highlands OPP and the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office.

The chief said the department was notified of the fire at approximately 4:20 a.m. s o on Saturday. Thirteen firefighters from sR ’ Haliburton were involved in the response, with the assistance of four volunteers from Minden Hills. They were on-site for more than eight hours tackling the blaze.

“There were flames coming through the roof at arrival. The fire was contained to the upper floor,” Chumbley told The Highlander. He said the last truck left the site at 12:46 p.m. Handyman Services M Bathrooms / Kitchens Tiling • Plumbing • Decks • Docks

The Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office is called to investigate fires and explosions, particularly those with fatalities, serious injuries or suspected arson.

Dating back to the early 1900s, the Wig has sat vacant for years. While current owners, Aurora Group, bought the site in 2015, promises to redevelop have fallen flat. The property has been slated for demolition since mid-2022, with workers tearing down a handful of the 36 accessory buildings between April and June 2023.

Work has been paused since, with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP) following up on reports of at-risk species living at the site. Last year, the ministry confirmed the presence of endangered bats and the eastern hog-nosed snake, notifying Aurora Group of the need for further environmental studies before work can proceed.

The Ontario Fire Marshall’s office and Haliburton Highlands OPP did not respond to questions as of press time.

Jerry Stokes, who lives on Webb Circle in the neighbouring Silver Beach subdivision, found out about the fire at around 10:30 a.m. and went to see how bad things were. He said firefighters had the road closed both ways and were still peppering the building with water.

“It’s a mess… surely this is enough now. This has to be the final nail… it feels like it’s going to take somebody getting hurt or killed before something is done,” he said.

Stokes believes he’s been working to tear down the Wigamog longer than anyone he knows. He sat on Dysart’s property standards committee from the mid-2010s to early-2020s and voted in favour of the township hiring a contractor to initiate teardown in 2022.

Following that year’s municipal election, Stokes believes the Wig stopped being a priority for the township. By spring 2023, Aurora Group hired their own demolition crew and started the job.

“They’ve managed to have this tear down delayed so many times… I find it hard to believe the township keeps accepting these setbacks and delays,” Stokes said. “If Dysart moved ahead three years ago, it probably would have been done for half the price than it’ll cost now.”

In January, bylaw officer Hailey Cole estimated remaining demolition would cost approximately $800,000. Now, mayor Murray Fearrey fears it will be significantly more.

He said people have been accessing the property illegally for some time.

“You can go by one day and all the boards are up and then go back a week later and some of them are down. Who’s doing that? That place is boarded up for good reason. In this case, it’s public safety,” Fearrey said. “What would have happened if someone was asleep in there when the fire started? Then this becomes a whole other story.”

Fearrey told The Highlander council wants to take immediate action now that the structure is further damaged and will be discussing the issue later this month.

“We need to find a solution here. One where taxpayers aren’t going to be liable and left to pay. There’s a lot of complications for us to sort out. We have to make sure we’re on solid legal ground,” Fearrey said.

Stokes believes it’s time for council to “get tough” and hold Aurora Group and MECP accountable.

“It’s a death trap now, even more so than it was before. The risk to the public is at an all-time high,” he said.

Attempts to reach Aurora Group for comment were unsuccessful.