On development charges
By Chad Ingram The County of Haliburton will be commissioning a study looking at the institution of development charges, and it’s probably time. Development charges are fees imposed by municipal governments on land…
Fish to our rescue?
By Jim Poling Sr. With lakes opening, winter-weary minds turn to fish. A fish netted in the open water floating your boat is genuine proof that spring is here. Fish, however, provide us…
MPP should have met with protesters
To the Editor, Laurie Scott has really outdone herself this time. In a rare visit to this part of her riding, our MPP sank to a new low by sneaking in the back door…
Nowhere fast
By Chad Ingram The County of Haliburton will continue to go without any form of public transit because there is not the political will at the council table to create one. That’s it. That’s…
A pause in our discontent
By Jim Poling Sr. Something exceptional occurred last week as so many of us watched flames smoke and water ravage the iconic Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. As the steeple fell and the roof collapsed there…
Here come the cuts
By Chad Ingram With Doug Ford’s PC government tabling its first budget earlier this month we are starting to learn what some of the service cuts Ontarians will see over the next few years will…
Requesting real dialogue
To the Editor I am writing with two concerns. First the actions of Premier Doug Ford and the Ontario government around education and second the lack of meaningful communication from our representative Laurie Scott. It…
Letters to the EditorLetters to the Editor
To the Editor I was fortunate enough to attend the Minden Skating Carnival on Sunday and was very impressed. Kudos to all who were involved in presenting this performance. The choreography was impressive the skating…
Retirement community
By Chad Ingram 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…
The miracles of spring
By Jim Poling Sr. 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…
Let there be white
By Jim Poling Sr. 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. Plans change; this one…
Producer responsibility
By Chad Ingram Conversations about reducing and eliminating disposable, single-use plastics are becoming more and more widespread, globally and on a local, municipal level. Certainly, from swirling ocean islands of plastic to the…
Money for nothing
By Chad Ingram 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. Late last month,…
Politicking with anger
By Jim Poling Sr. Many years ago I was coached not to write anything in anger. Anger allowed to chill makes for cooler thoughts and prudent words. I have tried to follow that…
Protect ECE wages
This is a love letter to all Early Childhood Educators… The past few months have been tough as our sector has advocated strongly and loudly for what we know we deserve. What would you…
Kids confront climate crisis complicity and complacency
To the Editor Many of us are aware that a global school strike for climate action was initiated last summer by Greta Thunberg age 16 of Sweden. In January of this year here is part…
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Letter: Gratitude for the kindness of strangers
To the Editor On a recent sunny day in the Highlands Haliburton County leant us a helping hand. We were driving along Highway 118 on the way to visit our parents when we came around…
A leaf's lesson in courage
By Jim Poling Published March 28 2019 There is a lesson learned from the tenacious and tiresome winter which according to the calendar ended last week. It comes on an almost-spring breeze that brushes my…
Rising tension
By Chad Ingram Published March 28 2019 It’s that time of year when the eyes of Mindenites turn to the Gull River. Springtime is of course wonderful: the horrible horrible chill of winter giving way…
Blowback
This is ultimately a provincial issue so requires a provincial solution. It seems pretty clear that the process around the permitting of sewage spreading fields needs some reconsideration.