Clifford Ottaway feels it’s just a matter of time before a pedestrian is seriously injured, or worse, on Wigamog Road.

The Dysart et al resident delivered a petition signed by 60 people to council recently, calling for the establishment of a community safety zone (CSZ) along a 2.5 kilometre stretch of the rural thoroughfare. Ottaway said over the past 10 years there has been a substantial increase in the number of people residing on the road, leading to increased traffic.

Despite attempts by the township to slow vehicles, including placement of digital radar signs in recent summers, Ottaway said speeding remains a major issue.

By implementing a CSZ, the posted speed limit would drop from 50 to 40 km/h. He said there are several jurisdictions in Ontario using them as a traffic-slowing tool in the hopes of improving road safety. Ingoldsby has had one for several years, while Minden Hills recently established CSZs along Water Street and Bobcaygeon Road.

“There are a number of criteria used [for determining] CSZ… one of those is if a road is less than 8.5 metres across. This segment is less than six metres across,” Ottaway said. “There’s no sidewalk on either side, which is another criteria. And there are two or more curves within a short distance, which also applies.

“We ask council to seriously consider this… and I would ask this be done in an expeditious manner, because the road gets a lot busier with pedestrian traffic in the summer. In high season… there will be a lot of people on that road in danger,” he added.

Coun. Nancy Wood-Roberts said she has lobbied for a CSZ along Wigamog Road for years. West Guilford-area coun. Carm Sawyer feels the issues expressed are similar to what he hears from residents of Green Lake Road, saying he gets speed-related complaints regularly.

Sawyer believes this issue boils down to a lack of police enforcement.

“At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what signs we put up, if the OPP don’t enforce it nothing will change. What you’re saying is a great idea, but it’s not going to slow people down,” he said.

Public works director, Rob Camelon, urged council not to rush into a decision it may later regret.

“My concern is if we designate Wigamog Road as a CSZ, we’ve literally set a precedent for every other municipal road in the township. I don’t think that’s what council wants,” Camelon said.

He noted the County is currently working on a blanket policy that would establish consistent criteria for CSZs across the four lower-tier townships, which he’s supportive of.

Coun. Tammy Donaldson said she’s seen photo radar work as a speed deterrent in other areas and wondered if that could be an option. Camelon said automated enforcement is typically done via a contract with a third party, which takes a cut of tickets issued. He said there is little cost to the township.

Deputy mayor Walt McKechnie liked the idea. “I think we should make this an example. Get one of the cameras and try it… we can’t just keep kicking the can around. If this will save someone from getting hurt, we’ve got [to do it].”

Camelon noted the cameras automatically take a photo of license plates of vehicles travelling over the speed limit, even if it’s only by one km/h. When mayor Murray Fearrey said he didn’t want to see people punished for such a negligible encroachment, Camelon replied, “speed limits are not suggestions.”

The director will investigate options for photo radar and bring recommendations, as well as an update on the County’s CSZ process, to a future meeting.

The absence of the PCs Laurie Scott from a virtual candidates’ debate for Haliburton County Feb. 16 did not go without commentary.

Liberal Alison Bennie, NDP Barbara Doyle, and Green Tom Regina all joined the debate organized by the Save Minden Ontario Emergency Room group.

The group’s Patrick Porzuczek commented on her no-show.

“As we all know, Doug Ford has asked all of his MPPs not to attend any debates, not to make themselves public for questioning, or to answer any questions to do with their own platforms, and how they are representing the riding,” he said.

Porzuczek added while a Ford directive, “unfortunately, as we all know, Laurie Scott has been missing. Whenever it came to the tough questions, or to ask her to represent the Minden emergency department in the Legislature, or even to come out to town halls to talk about the fate of the ER, she always declined, or never showed up. This really hurts the riding in all aspects.”

He added he had heard from members of the public, trying to meet with Scott but, “she always turns them down, unless it is in her own interest to prop herself up. Being a career candidate, Laurie Scott has forgotten how it is, and what it means to represent her constituents.”

Doyle also addressed her competitor’s absence.

“As you’ve noticed, Laurie Scott is nowhere to be seen. As a constituent, I would like to ask her some questions. But she’s not answering anything. And she hasn’t for the last seven years under the Doug Ford government.”

Doyle then went on to take a swipe at the premier. The NDP candidate said the snap election was “completely unnecessary and will cost taxpayers $180 million – when Doug Ford didn’t need a mandate whatsoever and based on the fear-mongering of Donald Trump’s tariff threats.”

The group asked the candidates how they would ensure open and transparent communication between them, if elected, and the public.

Doyle said it was an important question, with government leaders “now in hiding. They’re not being held accountable to heir actions, to their constituents, and to government agencies.” She said the NDP shows transparency in telling voters how they are going to fund their platform – “not $200 bribe cheques.”

Regina said he’d work for his constituents as his party leader is not his boss. He said if people contact him, he will try to get back to them. “When you have concerns, I will listen. If I don’t know the answers, I will seek them out. When an issue arises that affects our riding, I will stand up for it. These are the expectations of an MPP.”

Bennie said she would send newsletters to constituents and would like to have town hall meetings in the villages and towns throughout the riding. She wants face-to-face meetings to hear concerns, issues and suggested solutions.

Fate of Minden ER

Asked if their parties would reopen the Minden ER, Bennie said the Liberals have a health care platform. She said the first step is getting people family doctors so they do not need to rely on the ER for primary health care. If elected, she said she would like to work with the group.

Doyle said leader Marit Stiles was on record as saying the NDP would reopen it. However, she said it would take time, needing to change legislation and get money flowing, then restaffing and resupplying and becoming operational.

Regina would not 100 per cent commit to reopening the Minden ER, calling it “a long-standing and very complicated issue.” However, he said funding had to be restored for health care to get doctors to rural areas such as ours.

There were also organizer questions about affordability and cost of living; the environment and rural sustainability, economic development, education and youth services.

Advance polls Feb. 20-22

Dorset Rec Centre, 1051 Main St., Dorset, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Lloyd Watson Memorial CC, 2249 Loop Rd., Wilberforce, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Royal Canadian Legion Br. 129 Haliburton, 719 Mountain St. Haliburton 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. There is no advanced polling station in Minden.

Ontario Liberal leader Bonnie Crombie made a passionate Valentine’s Day plea to voters in Minden Feb. 14, promising to reopen the community’s emergency room “as soon as possible” if elected as premier in next week’s provincial election.

Meeting with members of the ‘Minden Matters’ advocacy group at Tim Hortons last Friday, Crombie unpacked her $3 billion plan to rejuvenate public health care in Ontario.

“We’re going to invest to recruit, attract, train and retain new doctors, but also incentivize retiring doctors to stay a little longer. We want to bring more foreign-trained doctors through our mentorship programs, and double the spaces in our residency programs,” Crombie told The Highlander.

She said the Liberals will also focus on building capacity of family physicians, which she believes will take the strain off hospitals.

With the Ontario College of Family Physicians claiming last year there are up to 2.5 million people in the province without a family doctor, Crombie said addressing that shortfall would be her number one priority.

“We have a commitment to ensure everyone, within four years, has a family doctor,” she said. “We have thought this through. We have a plan, we know how we’re going to do it. We’re going to bring in 3,100 more doctors to the system,” she said.

Twenty-one months from the closure of the Minden ER, Crombie said she would get to work on reopening the facility as soon as Feb. 28 – the day after the election.

“We strongly believe the ER needs to reopen, as do other clinics across the province. You can’t attract new businesses if you don’t have health care in your community. People’s lives matter, and in emergency situations, sometimes seconds matter. The 25-minute drive to Haliburton is too far when your life is at stake.

“I would think [we’d reopen] as soon as possible. As soon as we can get the staff back in place and get it going,” Crombie said.

NDP leader Marit Stiles, who visited Minden in 2023 following the closure, has also committed to reopening the facility if elected.

Other priorities

With cost of living spiralling out of control, Crombie said she has a plan to cut costs for low-income earners and the middle class.

“We’re going to cut income taxes for the first $75,000 that you earn. We’re going to drop the income tax by 22 per cent, we’re going to take the HST off home heating and hydro,” Crombie said.

The former Mississauga mayor said the Liberals also want to axe development charges and other taxes levied on builders and passed to buyers, with the province stepping in to “make municipalities whole.” She said this will reduce the cost of building and lower house prices for the public.

She has also committed to permanently doubling benefits people get through the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Approximately 500,000 people rely on the program as their primary income source, earning a maximum of $1,368 per month.

Crombie did not say how she planned to fund these enhancements, though panned Doug Ford’s plan to spend billions addressing gridlock in the GTA by building a commuter tunnel under Hwy. 401.

“I always ask people, is your life more affordable today than it was before Doug Ford? And of course, it isn’t… we’re going to bring back the basics, bring affordability back to the people.

“When talking about Canadian pride, Ontarian pride given the threat of the tariffs, one thing that makes me so proud is our health care plan… we are not in favour of more privatization. We believe in a strong, universally-funded plan that supports all of our residents equally,” she said.

Whether he’s rocking out on stage, hidden away in his study pouring over his latest writing project, or talking tech with some of the biggest names in the industry, there’s rarely a dull moment in the life of County resident Jim Love.

Following a lengthy corporate career that saw him consulting for, and managing, half a dozen business and IT firms, as well as teach at the University of Waterloo and York University, Love retreated permanently to his home base in the Highlands a few years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was the best decision he ever made.

Though, like most who settle in the County for their golden years, Love found his life got busier the more he tried to scale back. Such is the natural beauty of the region, it’s easy – or easier – for those with a creative spirit to tap into their innermost thoughts and feelings to develop something beautiful.

For a lot of years, Love’s outlet was music. He’s spent his entire life songwriting, estimating he’s penned upwards of 1,000 tunes since finishing his first piece Box Nothing, Trans Canada Highway when he was 14.

Influenced by the likes of James Taylor, Bob Dylan, and John Prine, Love’s unique sound and style has earned him accolades from all corners. He’s most proud of the JUNO Award nomination for his work with Sphere Clown Band in the 1970s, while also plugging his work in musicals – with one watched by Queen Elizabeth during the Royals’ visit to Canada for the sesquicentennial celebrations in 2017.

His writing has taken on a new form recently. After decades of penning bland business books he admits people either never read, or wished they hadn’t, Love dabbled with fiction for the first time over the holidays.

A gift for his wife, Linda, the 228-page novel Elisa: A Tale of Quantum Kisses is riddled with themes and callbacks from Love’s career. Set in an ever-evolving world, the book explores artificial intelligence and quantum computing, with a sprinkling of love.

“It’s very much rooted in technology… I started to imagine what would happen if you created a quantum person, an entity with all the benefits of AI beset with human emotion,” Love said. “In the book, it’s just too much. The AIs go crazy because they can’t tolerate or comprehend what’s happening, until Elisa comes along and then the story really begins.”

With public interest in quantum theory spiking after the Marvel Cinematic Universe used the topic as a basis for a series of films from 2015 on, Love is hoping to tap into that. A Marvel fan himself, he insists Elisa is a much more realistic take, more science-based than fantasy.

“Everything I’ve got in there could be ripped from headlines two years from now,” he said. “I’ve been doing tech for about 40 years. I wanted it to be plausible, something people with a mind for the business and knowledge about it could look at and appreciate. Think more Neil deGrasse than Stan Lee.”

The book was released on Amazon in December, selling approximately one copy per day – putting Love in the top 10 per cent of self-published authors. He’s hoping to have paperback copies available locally soon.

On the air

A long-time volunteer with CanoeFM, assisting on various projects over the years, including writing and directing the on-air feature Iron River in 2015, Love has leaned into his passion for radio over the past 12 months.

He now produces two daily podcasts – Hashtag Trending and Cyber Security Today. He averages around 10,000 listeners across the two.

“I started them with IT World Canada, and when they went under, I kept them. So, I’ve been doing them myself for about a year,” Love said.

“The audience has grown a lot. We pre-record them and they usually go live each morning around 2 a.m. They’re picked up by Apple podcasts and go out on YouTube as well.

“The one on securities is more specialized and technical, it’s one of the top security podcasts available. The other is more general, I can have some fun with it, talk about things that are trending, technological breakthroughs, things people would like to see,” he added.

Some of his most prominent guests include Jim Balsillie, former chair and co-CEO of Blackberry, and Manfred Boudreaux-Dehmer, chief information officer of NATO.

Love said he hopes to continue growing the podcasts, which are both recorded in Haliburton County.

“We’re gaining traction, getting really cool names, good guests… the podcasts are really becoming wellknown around Canada, I’d like to expand that to the rest of North America and maybe try to break into other areas too,” Love said. “And I do it all from my home office in Haliburton. It’s amazing what you can do with technology these days.”

To learn more, visit podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ hashtag-trending, or listennotes.com/podcasts/ cybersecurity-today-jim-love.

The Red Hawk Nordic Ski team competed at COSSA at Arrowhead Provincial Park Feb. 12.

The meet combined skiers from COSSA, GBSSA (Georgian Bay Secondary School Association) and CISSA (Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association) as skiers aimed to qualify for the OFSAA nordic championships Feb. 20-21 in Sudbury.

The senior boys were first on the course, skiing 7.5 km. The top Red Hawk was Brechin Johnston, with a second-place finish and a time of 28:02. Evan Backus followed in third; Graham Backus fifth; Owen Megrah-Poppe eighth and Carter Sisco 11th. The team finished first in the interval races and followed Adam Scott for second in the 4x800m sprint.

The senior girls swept the COSSA rankings, led by Violet Humphries with a second-place finish and a time of 30:58; followed by Erika Hoare in third; Olivia Gruppe fourth; Ella Gervais fifth; Teagan Hamilton sixth; Grace Allder seventh and Hannah Sharp eighth, dominating team rival, Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School. The top four skiers teamed up for a very fast sprint relay to round out their gold medal day, showing they can hang with ski powerhouses like Huntsville and Collingwood.

In the junior boys’ division, Tristan Humphries made his debut on the COSSA podium finishing in third, completing the 5.5km course in 21:57. He was closely followed by Winston Ramsdale in fourth; Red Hawk skiers fly at COSSA championships and new skiers Eric Mueller 12th; Brady Hamilton 15th and Jack Sharp in 19th. The team was edged out by Adam Scott for interval race team champions, but fought back to beat them in the sprint relay.

Sole junior girl skier Annika Gervais skated her way to a silver medal with a time of 22:44 on the 5.5km course, also earning her first COSSA medal as a new high school skier. Gervais also placed third later in the day in the 800m exhibition sprint.

High school coaches Karen Gervais, and Mike Rieger, and community coaches Kevin Hoare and Joleen Thomas, were very pleased with the athletes’ performances, and their strong determination feeding their continued improvements.

A 14-year-old Haliburton Highlands Secondary School (HHSS) student was arrested in Haliburton village Feb. 14 and is facing multiple weapons-related charges after what police say was an incident involving a knife on school premises.

Officers responded to a 9-1-1 call from the school at approximately 9:15 a.m. after learning a student was in possession of a blade.

The school was placed into an immediate lockdown, said Haliburton Highlands OPP cst. Rob Adams.

“This is a step that is taken to ensure the safety of the school community while police work to resolve the situation,” he said.

A source, speaking anonymously, told The Highlander the accused stole a knife from a classroom and brandished it towards other students before leaving the property.

Police confirmed the youth was located along Highland Street, a short distance from the downtown, where they were apprehended by officers. The knife was recovered at the time of the arrest.

The student has been charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, assault with a weapon, and theft under $5,000. Adams said no injuries were reported to police.

The lockdown was lifted by approximately 10:30 a.m.

Adams said the accused will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Minden at a later date to answer to the charges. The student’s identity is protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Anyone with further information on the incident is asked to call 705-286-1431, or contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) has responded to concerns about its Highlands Corridor initiative.

Late last week, some residents began writing letters to municipal, provincial and federal politicians – asking them to put a stop to the HHLT’s request for a conservation reserve.

The corridor is 100,000 hectares of Crown, municipal and private land from north of Norland in the west to Paudash Lake in the east; and south of Haliburton to Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park.

Wilberforce’s John Davidson said he was concerned the designation means people will no longer be able to hunt, fish, trap, use motorized vehicles, ride horses, camp, cycle, have unrestrained pets, fires, or use drones. He claimed the designation would also ban logging, mining and quarrying.

The Land Trust, on Feb. 10, responded to what it called “mistaken information” in the community.

The organization said the corridor is made up of private property, Crown land, and three provincial parks; Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands; Kawartha Highlands, and Silent Lake. However, it said only specific areas of Crown land would be designated ‘conservation reserve.’

It added that “within these potential conservation reserves, hunting, fishing, trapping, camping, ATV and dirt bike use on existing trails, horseback riding and cycling, pet walking, campfires etc. would continue to be permitted activities. Only logging, the development of new quarries, and mining would be prohibited in those sections.”

County council seeking more information

As for existing logging and quarry operations, they would be allowed to continue, the HHLT said.

The Land Trust added private property would not be impacted unless landowners wanted to voluntarily work with the HHLT.

It went on to elaborate on specifics in an open letter.

“Our ability to get out in nature – be it on foot, on skis, or ATV or dirt bike, to hunt or to fish is precisely what HHLT seeks to promote and protect through the establishment of conservation reserve spaces throughout the corridor. By designating these spaces as conservation reserves, we are safeguarding the health of these pristine forests and wetlands and ensuring the public’s enjoyment of them for generations to come.”

Conservation Reserve

Dennis Simmons, of Dennis C. Simmons Development and Land Management Consulting Services, in Irondale, is opposed to the corridor, with “even stronger” opposition to the Milburn Kendrick protected area. He said he owns land in the mapped area and his father, and grandfather, logged a large portion of the land and milled lumber.

“All of the land located within the proposed Haliburton Highlands Corridor, including the proposed Milburn Kendrick protected area, is not unique to the province of Ontario,” he argued. “I request the province leave well enough alone and cease this venture of the Haliburton Highlands Corridor and inclusive protected areas on Crown land.”

Simmons further told The Highlander the Ministry of Natural Resources should oversee Crown land, not the HHLT.

Les Selby has also written the province. “I feel they are overstepping their role in a negative way for future resource uses. Aggregates are required to build or resurface provincial and local roads, road sand and salt to protect us on winter roads, materials for developing housing, schools and hospitals, sand to cover municipal landfill sites during operations, etc.”

He added pits and quarries are a temporary land use, and are rehabilitated, with the MECP approving site plans.

Paul Heaven, of Glenside Ecological Services Limited, has been working with the Land Trust on the initiative. He, and the Land Trust’s Shelley Hunt, appeared before County Council Feb. 12 to further talk about their plans.

Addressing council questions, they clarified the only real change would see designation of 15 per cent of Crown land in the Milburn Kendrick protected area. Heaven added the Bancroft Minden Forest Company, which holds the licence, has agreed with the Land Trust that the ecological value of the land outweighs the forestry value.

The two added the Trust is working with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and more recently, the Ontario Trails Protection Alliance.

Speaking specifically to the Milburn Kendrick, Heaven said it is “rich in ecological value, and provides excellent recreational resources.” He added it boasts 24 per cent wetlands, which tackle climate change via flood mitigation, and capturing and storing carbon.

He said it supports five provincially-significant wetland complexes, including the Milburn, Bark Creek, Kendrick Creek, Lochlin, and South Milburn wetland complexes, and that the Lochlin Bog is significant.

Heaven added it supports a mix of habitats, including forests, wetlands, rocky barrens and 55 rare and/or at-risk species.

“It is for these exceptional ecological values that the HHLT is proposing the area be designated as a conservation reserve: a designation that permanently protects ecosystems, biodiversity and provincially-significant elements while providing recreational opportunities.”

Following Wednesday’s meeting, County council intends to seek more information, including from the related provincial ministries, and discuss the issue further at its March 26 meeting.