Minden Times

Minden Hills accrues huge surplus for 2018

The Township of Minden Hills has accrued a very large surplus for 2018, one totalling almost $700,000.

Council to vote on spreading field later this month

Minden Hills councillors will vote on zoning bylaw and official plan amendments to allow for the operation of a septage-spreading field off of Bobcaygeon Road at their next council meeting on April 25.

Peripheral Visions at Minden gallery

Minden s Agnes Jamieson Gallery was packed for the opening of Peripheral Visions the evening of April 5. A juried exhibition featuring the works of 19 artists from throughout central and eastern Ontario, including a painting by Haliburton County s Carole

Waste report shows disposal trends

If you want to avoid traffic at an Algonquin Highlands landfill this summer, try not going on a holiday Monday. During an April 4 meeting, councillors for the township received a staff report on solid waste management for 2018.

Hydro One meeting offers transformer station expansion details

Hydro One meeting offers transformer station expansion details A community open house on Tuesday, April 9 at the Minden Legion hosted by Hydro One provided the public an opportunity to learn and ask questions about the upcoming Minden transformer station

TLDSB director says no discipline for students, teachers after walkout

Larry Hope, director of Trillium Lakelands District School Board said that no disciplinary action was taken on staff, or on students or parents participating in the #StudentsSayNo walkout on April 4 because it was not warranted.

No BIA in Minden for now

There will be no business improvement area in Minden, at least for the time being. The potential creation of a BIA was one of the items on economic development, destination and marketing officer Emily Stonehouse s to-do list when she stepped into the r

Clothes Encounters of the Thrift Kind prepares for busy summer

Jodi Paterson managed to slow down and retire for a year and a half, but now she s a familiar face in Minden s business community once again.

County to undertake website redesign

The County of Haliburton, along with the Township of Minden Hills and Municipality of Highlands East, will put out a joint request for proposals for the redesign of their websites. The current website is just over five years old, it s not mobile-friendl

Federal grants go to county organizations

Some county organizations have received funding through the federal New Horizons for Seniors Program.

HHSS students join province-wide walkout

At precisely 1:15 p.m. on April 4, the front doors of Haliburton Highlands Secondary School opened and more than 50 students walked out of class to protest changes being made to the province s education system by the PC government that include proposed in

Artist looks for 'experience gained' in downtown Minden

Sarah Shaw is an adventurer, an artist, and anticipating a fun, busy summer bringing art and art classes to Minden s main street.

Farmers' market returns to Stanhope

The Haliburton County Farmers Market will set up shop along North Shore Road in Stanhope again this summer.

Haliburton Rideshare comes to an end

Haliburton Rideshare, a project of the Rural Transportation Options committee, has ended. After running for several years, Haliburton Rideshare requires a dedicated staff and resources to properly continue its growth, reads a release from RTO. Unfortun

Wait list for financially assisted housing growing

The wait list for financially assisted housing in Haliburton County and the City of Kawartha Lakes is growing quickly.

Chamber awards recognize hard work, community involvement

Steve Todd was named this year s Highlander of the Year at the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Achievement Awards held on Saturday, March 30 at Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre.

County starts climate change plan process

Haliburton County council is supporting the creation of a climate change plan for the county and its lower tiers, after receiving a staff report on how that process will unfold during a March 27 planning committee meeting.

CHA requests shoreline protection bylaw

The Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners Associations is advocating for the creation of a county-wide shoreline protection bylaw mandating naturalized shorelines.

Province announces improvement projects for Hwy 35

he provincial government is spending money to improve road conditions on Highway 35, MPP Laurie Scott announced last week.

Money meant for streamlining, CAO suggests

County councillors discussed what the municipality might do with new funding from the province during a meeting on March 27.

Fed budget contains cash for rural broadband

The federal budget, released last week, contains money for the expansion of rural, broadband internet.

County, CoKL reduce chronic homelessness by more than half

The County of Haliburton and the City of Kawartha Lakes are on track to reach functional zero when it comes to chronic homelessness when it comes to the joint area of the two municipalities.

Students celebrate community-based research

A hush filled Minden s community centre as a crowd of students and community members gathered insight from speakers at the U-Links Celebration of Research on March 23: Ray Letheren who spoke of the community of Bayfield s drive to eliminate single-use wat

Residents oppose sewage spreading field

Residents filled Minden Hills council chambers for a public meeting on March 14, many expressing opposition to an official plan and zoning bylaw amendment application for the operation of a hauled sewage spreading site off of Bobcaygeon Road.

Meet Your Neighbours: The Council Brothers

Jim and Paul Mitchell are, like many siblings, alike in many ways.

County to address potholes, heaving

The freezing and thawing weather patterns of this winter have left a number of county roads in extremely poor condition, and the county s public works department is working on it.

No organizational review in budget

An organizational review of the Township of Minden Hills will not be included in the township s 2019 budget, despite the pleas of one member of council.

Students march for action

Haliburton County youth joined worldwide action for climate change marches on March 15 in Lindsay and Barrie in solidarity with 16-year-old Swedish student and Nobel Peace Prize-nominated activist Greta Thunberg, who initiated the youth-led global school

Suspensions rising across school board

Many more suspensions and expulsions were handed out to students in the Trillium Lakelands District School Board in the period between September and January of this school year than during the same period last year, or the year before that.

NDP chooses HKLB candidate

The NDP candidate for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock for the fall s federal election is reminding voters that they have more than two parties to choose from.

RTO poses transportation challenge

The Rural Transportation Options committee is asking Haliburton County residents to undertake a challenge that will make them think about how heavily reliant they are on their vehicles, and how difficult it would be to get around the community without one

Time ticking for Hawk Lake landfill

The Hawk Lake landfill has about three years to go before it will reach capacity and require closure by the township.

Joining the wait list for affordable housing

If you re in need of affordable housing, or think you might be a few years from now, putting your name on the waiting list is likely a good idea.

Reflections to open in former Village Chalet

Donna Young has been finding herself quite busy lately, and has to pull over to the side of the road to talk about what she has been up to that is keeping her running.

County comes out in support of housing fundraiser

Haliburton County stepped up to the plate to learn about homelessness, rural style, where losing the roof over your head, when couch-surfing has worn out, may well mean sleeping in a car, or some other circumstance not meant for human habitation an RV,

County monitors online tourism conversations

Haliburton County councillors reviewed a report dissecting more than 2.5 million online and social media conversations pertaining to tourism in the Haliburton Highlands during a Feb. 27 meeting.

County council seeking alternatives to road salt

Given the continuing cost increase of road salt, Haliburton County councillors wondered during a Feb. 27 meeting if there were any viable alternatives.

Nominees announced for Chamber of Commerce awards

The Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce announced this year s nominees for the Business and Community Achievement Awards on March 1. They received 127 nominations from across Haliburton County. Winners will be revealed at the annual awards gala on Ma

AH approves 2019 budget

Algonquin Highlands councillors approved the township s 2019 budget after two days of budget deliberations on Feb. 20 and 21.

Grade 8 students learn curriculum through cooking

The Minden Community Food Centre kitchen was bustling last week when Grade 8 students from Archie Stouffer Elementary School joined with Food Centre volunteers to roll up their sleeves and slice, dice, blend and mix with hands-on experience in the kitchen

John Howard Society offers free technology tutoring

It s easy to get bewildered by technology, whether figuring out how to use a computer, downloading a photo from your smartphone, or watching an online video.

Children's program celebrates 25 years

When Juanita Miscio found out she was pregnant she couldn t have imagined what her future was going to look like three years later.

Measuring regional homelessness

Homelessness Registry Week might be more than a year away, but it s never too early to raise awareness, said homelessness system resource co-ordinator for the City of Kawartha Lakes and County of Haliburton Jocelyn Blazey.

Brezina tells story of Minden Times and Minden Progress

When Jack Brezina was asked to talk about the history of the Minden Times for members of the Haliburton County Historical Society on Jan. 24, he was more than happy to do so, after a little research that brought out the skills honed during his time as a j

Libraries looking for greater access to e-books

While demand for e-books and e-audiobooks is growing at library branches across Canada, library users may find they have trouble finding the materials they are looking for. This, according to the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, is due at least in part t

100 Kids Who Care donate to Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary

Lincoln worked around the house and helped out in exchange for some money to donate. Harper was gifted some cash from the tooth fairy for the loss of her first tooth, and brought it along.

Retirement community

As the county s population continues to grow, many of its new residents skew older in age. Many are retirees looking to leave life in the city, either moving to what has been a family cottaging property, or simply looking to live in a smaller, quieter com

The miracles of spring

I am walking in the almost-spring woods, hoping not to slip and fall on one of the remaining icy patches left by the melting snow. If I do, I can t phone for help because I have left my ever-present smartphone at the cottage.

Producer responsibility

Conversations about reducing and eliminating disposable, single-use plastics are becoming more and more widespread, globally and on a local, municipal level.

Let there be white

The plan this week was to write a column about the SNC-Lavalin political madness whipped up by the muddled minds of the nation s political elite.

Money for nothing

Just as there is no such thing as a truly free lunch, there is no such thing as truly no-strings-attached funding from the provincial government to municipalities.

Politiking with anger

Many years ago I was coached not to write anything in anger. Anger allowed to chill makes for cooler thoughts and prudent words.

Rising tension

It s that time of year, when the eyes of Mindenites turn to the Gull River.

A leaf's lesson in courage

There is a lesson learned from the tenacious and tiresome winter which, according to the calendar, ended last week.

Blowback

A number of residents filled Minden Hills council chambers last week for a public meeting regarding an application for official plan and zoning bylaw amendments to allow the operation of a sewage spreading field off of Bobcaygeon Road north of the village

The failed war on drugs

I spot the book on the shelf and am intrigued. It is titled The Border and the author is Don Winslow.

Growing forward together

A sort of who s who showed up for the Food and Agriculture Economic Development Forum hosted by Harvest Haliburton last week, designed to facilitate continued collaboration in cultivating a sustainable food system in Haliburton County. Included in the gro

Suffer the little children?

The child that is hungry must be fed. The child that is sick must be nursed. The child must be the first to receive relief in times of distress.

Separate roles

If you think you re sick of hearing about the SNC-Lavalin matter now, then buckle up, or maybe don t pay attention to the news until the fall s federal election, or maybe leave the country for a bit.

Who will WE always be?

It seems ludicrous that any political moment these days could make you proud to be a Canadian. But there was one last week when pride swelled in my chest.

Digital age madness

It was a lifetime ago, 1967 to be exact, when I sat listening to a lecturer at Columbia University in New York City.

The driveway

A strong, frigid wind bites the skin on my face as it hurls cyclones of snow across a vast expanse of frozen, white wasteland, drift upon drift stretching on for as far as the eye can see. It s Monday morning and I m about to snow-blow the driveway.

The germ that ate their brains

Perhaps because of our northern latitude, or perhaps because we thought we had been vaccinated, we expected Canada to escape the epidemic.

Priorities

It s budget season, the time of year when municipal councils place things onto and push things off of the proverbial table, deciding what will be implemented for the upcoming year and what will be deferred or scrapped altogether, all while attempting to k

Hooray for Hollywood

Movies are welcome comfort during a nasty winter like the one we are experiencing. January and February are prime times to catch up on the newest and best movies, which will be celebrated Sunday at the annual Academy Awards.

Understanding plants and animals

Tree branches whisper in a summer breeze, or creak in an icy winter wind, and I wonder if they are talking to each other.

Open to the public

As this paper goes to print, Minden Hills councillors are finalizing their decision on whether or not to approve a $12 million (plus HST) new arena community hub contract. In part because this is a single source bid on our community s most expensive endea

Validation

During a Minden Hills council meeting last week, Councillor Bob Carter wondered how the cost of the so-called validation phase of the Minden arena project could run a 50 per cent overage in the span of six weeks.