Haliburton County is looking forward to hosting Ontario Senior Games Association (OSGA) 55+ District 11 games this summer.

They are open to men and women who are 55-plus years of age as of Dec 31, 2025.

They kick off with bid euchre, May 5 at 1 p.m. at the Minden Curling Club, at 50 Prentice St. in Minden. The local convenor is Beverly Johnson. As the district also comprises Muskoka, there will be bid euchre in Gravenhurst May 2.

Euchre then takes centre stage, May 12 at 1 p.m., at the Minden Curling Club, with Johnson convening this event as well. The Gravenhurst games are May 9.

There is a bowling event in Bracebridge on May 20.

May 21, at 1 p.m., sees five-pin bowling action at Minden Fast Lane Bowling, at 12281 Hwy. 35 in Minden. Larry Baadsvik is the convenor.

The Kinmount Legion, at 5074 Haliburton County Rd. 503 in Kinmount, provides the venue for cribbage, with play starting at noon May 29. Donna Teravainen is running the show.

The ever-popular pickleball will be held at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena, at 55 Parkside St. in Minden, on June 3, kicking off at 8:30 a.m. Jennifer Coates is overseeing the action.

Tennis is next up, this event taking place June 10 from 8 a.m. at the Stanhope Courts, at 1123 North Shore Rd. in Algonquin Highlands. Marianne Fenninger is taking care of the organizing of this event.

For 18 holes of golf, seniors can sign up for June 11 at 9:30 a.m. for a round at the picturesque Blairhampton Golf Course at 1577 Duck Lake Rd. Minden. Jere Pike is the organizer.

Shuffleboard is in Gravenhurst, June 12 at 10 a.m.

The games wind up with walking/Nordic walking on June 13 at 9 a.m. from the Haliburton docks, on Highland Street in Haliburton. Jane Symons and Sharon Ferris are looking after this competition.

The deadline to register is two weeks before the event date. You must be an active OSGA member for the 2025 season. You have to join or renew your membership to take part. The membership fee is $15. There is also a District 11 participation fee of $10 to cover operational expenses associated with the games.

Spokesperson Jennifer Coates says the games are about being active and getting involved in the community.

Coates said folks should ask themselves, “do you have the time to have fun in a competitive, non-threatening setting? Are you seeking opportunities to socialize and meet new friends? Do you feel young and energetic?”

District game winners qualify for the provincials in Sudbury, Aug. 5-7.

Coates said they are also always looking for volunteers, new sports, and venues.

The games were incorporated in 1997 and there are traditionally 18-plus summer events and 10-plus winter events.

People can register online via osga55plus. ca

Contact Jennifer Coates at 705-7493787 or jennifercoates148@gmail.com for information about the events or registration.

ICE STORM 2025

Andy Forrest washed his hair – not once, but twice – April 7 as he luxuriated in his first shower in 10 days at the Minden Hills warming centre.

The East Moore Lake resident was on day 10 of no electricity and although he has a generator, it is not hooked up to his hot water heater.

He did have a couple of bird baths at the sink, but was not keen on a cold shower, saying, “I’m allergic to them, I break out in goosebumps.”

Emerging from the front doors of the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena, which has housed a 24-hour warming centre since the afternoon of March 31 – and is still going 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. as of press time – Forrest said he’d been advised by Hydro One his power would be on by 9 p.m. April 8. However, he had heard that before with messages to his spotty cell phone service. He said he had yet to see a Hydro One truck on his road. He admitted we was “getting tired of it.”

They have a woodstove, and a generator, but it only runs in six hours-on, six hoursoff shifts. Propane is running low and they’d already shelled out $1,100.

But, at least, he felt clean for the first time since the ice storm on Monday – hoping he would not have to come back for a warming centre shower.

Angelique Short usually comes to the rec centre to use the walking track, but was this week using Wi-Fi. She has been without power, internet and phone service for a spell and it was cold. She was having a coffee and eating a snack. Philosophically, she thought the experience was about “learning to know what it is like to have less. Sleeping in a place like this makes you appreciate you have a little more, and if you can get through this, you can get through anything.”

Centre still open 14 hours a day

Staff bonding

Nabanita Mondal, a Minden Hills planning technician, is one of many municipal employees who have been staffing the centre. She’s been there every day with the exception of Sunday. She has done it all: greeted people and signed them in; given them shower tokens; aided in the kitchen; provided food and beverages; helped people get clean drinking water; and pointed out places to connect devices.

A new employee, Mondal said it was a unique way to get to know other township, as well as County of Haliburton, staff. “We all came together. It gives a sense of community service as well.” She said she would look back and say, “remember that time we were making soup and chopping garlic?”

In the kitchen, Mondal joins Krista McAlpine, Donelda Smith, and Kerrah Folls.

“A lot of cooking,” McAlpine, “the head chef,” said of the experience, including vats of soup and chili, sandwiches, waffles, French toast and eggs.

McAlpine said she now had new friends in a township that has scattered departments. “We don’t cross paths, so when you all get thrown into this, you get to know each other’s personalities.”

Amanda Dougherty, the township’s planner by day, added, “obviously nobody wants to be in a situation where the community needs a warming centre, but it’s been pretty rewarding to be able to be here. We’re seeing a lot of community members. We’re getting good feedback. It’s nice to be able to help them in a different way.”

In the hall, Lisa Bjorkquist of Hydro One was busy at a table. She was asked for an interview, but declined, saying she was too busy, and The Highlander believed her.

Director of community services, Candace McGuigan said that as of April 6, 444 people had utilized the warming centre since opening.

A guest at the time, Miner’s Bay Lodge general manager Darren Powers remembers what it was like when a tornado ripped through the resort in 2013 – pure devastation, he told The Highlander this week.

Powers didn’t think he’d see anything like it again, but the destruction caused by the recent ice storm gave him an eerie feeling of déjà vu.

“We were hit hard… at last count, there are about 150 trees down, four of our main buildings have holes in the roof, we’ve got trailers that have significant damage, trees ripping right through them, some cottages almost flattened,” Powers said. “We’re probably looking at close to $100,000 in damages.”

He was on-site March 29 when the bad weather hit. Initially, the freezing rain created a beautiful picturesque scene as Powers peered out the window of the main lodge.

Then, all hell started to break loose.

“I saw everything, heard everything. Trees were snapping by the minute. The smaller ones came down pretty much right away, and I could see the bigger ones swaying with the wind as the ice built up. Then there were the loud cracks as branches buckled under the weight,” Powers said.

Twelve days later and the resort still doesn’t have power – the GM said it’ll likely be another two weeks until it’s restored. Poles were ripped right out of the ground, necessitating a full rebuild of Miners’ Bay’s electrical circuit.

Resort plans regular season opening

Powers was there all last weekend coordinating clean-up. He’ll be back again April 11th, leading crews of paid workers and volunteers. He said the outpouring of support has been incredible, with about 20 people – some long-time guests, others nearby cottagers who think of themselves as part of the Miners’ Bay community – stepping up to help.

“It’s almost like going back to the 1970s, you know, when disaster strikes the whole community rallies to get you back on your feet,” Powers said. “Miners’ Bay is an important spot for many. It’s been a landmark here since 1938.”

There has been some flooding – to the beach area, and in the basement of the resort’s store, but Powers said that happens every year. He estimates about 10 per cent of the clean-up has been completed. A crane is coming in this weekend so crews can get a bird’s eye view of the property. He said most of the cottages and cabins will need windows and roofs replacing, and to be repainted.

While bad, the damages aren’t expected to impact the resort’s upcoming season. Powers said the trailer park is scheduled to open for the May long weekend, with the main property welcoming guests in June.

“Those dates will not be affected at all; the place will look tip-top by then. It’ll be like this never happened,” Powers said.

Hydro One update

Hydro One spokesperson Tiziana Baccega Rosa said as of April 9th, approximately 17,000 Ontario customers remained without power, including 1,661 in the County.

There are 94 active outages in Haliburton County, Rosa confirmed. So far, crews have fixed 358 outages in the area, restoring power to approximately 54,011 residences. She said about three per cent of Hydro One’s Highlands power grid remains offline.

Most of those are seasonal properties she notes, approximately 1,200 – meaning there are still about 400 full-time residences down. There’s no working timetable for restoration.

Rosa said crews made significant progress on repairs last weekend.

“More than 50 new poles were installed in Minden… [on Monday] crews focused on the most difficult to access properties. Heavy rains and localized flooding have washed out roads, creating further access issues for crews, but we’re working as safely and quickly to restore power,” Rosa said.

Hydro One announced a new ice storm recovery grant April 7, enabling municipalities to receive up to $10,000 to pay for things like food, supplies, clean-up and shelter for displaced residents.

“The damage is the worst we’ve seen in decades, and some of the hardest hit communities will never look the same,” said Meghan Collie, Hydro One media relations advisor. “The grant will help impacted communities access essential needs as they begin to rebuild.”

Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter is hopeful the provincial government will give financial aid to the township in the wake of its declaration of a state of emergency March 31 due to the ice storm.

With internet and phones down, municipal officials had to drive to Dwight to officially fax their declaration to the Ontario government.

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott toured the warming centre at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena April 3. Meanwhile, minister of emergency preparedness and response, Jill Dunlop, and Scott visited the warming centre April 6.

It is equipped with cots from the Red Cross, a mobile triage van courtesy of the County of Renfrew, and the centre is manned by municipal staff, with hot food, beverages, and showers, along with places to charge devices.

Carter was on hand for the tours, along with County of Haliburton CAO Gary Dyke, EMS chief Michael Slatter, OPP interim detachment commander Mike Cavanagh, and municipal staff and politicians.

Carter told The Highlander declaring a state of emergency was step one of a long process.

“You have to declare an emergency before you can be eligible for money, and there’s still lots of rules beyond that, and only certain things are eligible,” Carter said.

“They have to be consumables. If you buy a new antenna, you can’t charge that.”

He noted the declaration has brought back up to the township, including, most recently, NB Power from New Brunswick, and crews from Saskatchewan and northern Ontario. The County of Renfrew remains at the warming centre for EMS support. And the Red Cross still has 50 cots set up.

“You can only get that when you are in that emergency situation.”

The mayor said it also allows involvement in a system whereby the people in the community can work through insurance claims. “It’s a whole special process so people can file insurance claims online. So, making the declaration is really important.”

Carter said the loss of communication prompted the initial decision to declare a state of emergency.

On the day, Carter said he got a phone message from Premier Doug Ford acknowledging the township was in trouble and telling him to call if there was anything he could do.

Carter phoned the next day, but Ford was unavailable, prompting him to leave a text message. Because his phone was impacted, he couldn’t text. He was able to call the premier’s office. He said a staffer called Ford out of a meeting. Ford called him back immediately.

“I wasn’t quite expecting that,” the mayor said. “I told him the problem and he said he’d call the president of Bell right away.” Carter said Ford went back into his meeting but directed people, including Scott, and “Bell started dealing with us.”

He said Bell called Dyke at the County to assure him they were working 16 hours a day on Minden Hills’ connection problems.

What it means?

Emergency declarations can be made when the head of council, in consultation with the community’s senior staff (known as the community control group), determines that such action would be in the best interest of the municipality based on a perceived or apparent threat.

A state of emergency declaration would be considered if there was a situation or impending situation that: threatened public safety, public health, the environment, critical infrastructure, property, and/or economic stability, and exceeded the capacity of the community’s emergency response.

By declaring a state of emergency, the municipality is able to streamline its purchase and tender policies; extend Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage to volunteers, and make claims for financial assistance for disaster recovery.

Declaring a state of emergency does not guarantee the municipality will receive financial assistance from the provincial or federal government for disaster relief. Municipalities must apply for financial assistance to the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance Program.

Residents who have experienced a loss in the aftermath of a natural disaster that causes costly, widespread damage to eligible private property may apply to the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program.