As many readers are likely already aware a Haliburton Village business was vandalized in a despicable display of homophobia last week. On the evening of June 21 the business owner returned to his shop after…
Provincial potties
Imagine it’s an autumn morning crisp and clear. Sun is gleaming off an amber canvas of leaves amid a robin-egg-blue background. You go to the kitchen to pour yourself another cup of coffee and there…
Getting service
Bigger bills and fewer services. That’s the situation for Haliburton County and numerous other Ontario communities when it comes to their relationship with the provincial government. It’s been an ongoing trend for several years the…
Taking a page
When it comes to rural Ontario communities promoting themselves as tourism destinations few do it better than Prince Edward County. Buzz surrounding the agricultural community that has rebranded itself as a wine and cheese mini-Mecca…
In the headlights
Earlier this year I was driving along Highway 118 westbound between West Guilford and Carnarvon. It was an overcast winter day just starting to lilt into twilight. For several kilometres I’d been following a low-riding…
Dying for input
By Chad Ingram Published May 26 2016 Residents of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock got a rare opportunity this month when MP Jamie Schmale mailed out ballots for a constituency referendum. That referendum was on Bill C-14 the…
Malcolm the Magnificent
Some people leave behind an incredibly big void when they go. Malcolm MacLean was one of those people. Malcolm passed away last week at 65 years of age a vibrant life cut short after a…
Ship shape
There was an interesting planning discussion during an Algonquin Highlands council meeting last week and similarly interesting planning discussions are bound to take place amongst the county’s other municipal councils in the not-so-distant future. While…
Setting the stage
The Ontario’s Highlands Tourism Organization (OHTO) the regional tourism organization encapsulating the Haliburton Highlands revealed its new brand platform to local stakeholders late last month. It’s a vast improvement over the branding the organization tried…
Dockheads
A new requirement for provincial approval for docks and boathouses of a certain size needs comprehensive dialogue between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and the province’s municipalities before any reasonable approval framework is put…
Arresting costs
By Chad Ingram Published April 21 2016 Haliburton County council has voted to appeal to the Ontario Ombudsman on the OPP billing model and while that’s something the municipality should not rule out investigating the…
Agricultural awakening
By Chad Ingram T here’s a joke about Haliburton County and farming the punch line being that the poor settlers who came to the area in the 19th century with visions of bountiful crop yields…
Flood of emotionBy Chad Ingram
S pringtime is flood season in Haliburton County particularly in Minden where the hearty pioneers who settled the place God bless ‘em built the community on a flood plain. It’s common this time of year…
Wieners
When are government officials acting in the public interest and when are they just trying to justify their own positions? It’s difficult to tell sometimes. Case in point: a Minden Hills small business owner getting…
Arrive alive
Smart phones have changed our lives in myriad ways. The way we communicate the way we use the Internet the way we shop and date and get directions. They’ve also made our roads more dangerous.…
Just imagine
By Chad Ingram It’s difficult impossible really for those of us living here in the comfortable 21st century with our automobiles and propane heating and pocket-sized devices capable of holding the sum total of human…
Themes
By Chad Ingram Imagine for March which is maple-tapping time in Haliburton County Minden’s downtown decked out with sap buckets and spring kites. It’s a vision that will come to fruition very shortly as Minden’s…
A little help
By Chad Ingram O ntario’s municipalities are in trouble. They are camels whose backs can’t handle much more baggage. Years of the province downloading costs from infrastructure to social services to security has left many…
Beggars
By Chad Ingram Think of critical infrastructure and one may picture roads bridges and culverts. Think of essential services and ambulances and fire trucks may come to mind. In 2016 the Internet also belongs on…
Cutting culture
By Chad Ingram Just what to do about the Minden Hills Cultural Centre – how to make it more economically viable and how to bring more people through its doors which are of course linked…
Metamorphosis
By Chad Ingram Haliburton County council has decided the county will close its tourist information centre along Highway 35 in Minden at the end of the year and that’s OK. Actually it’s a good progressive…