By Jim Poling Sr. Published July 7 2016 This is the second instalment of a campfire ghost story. See the first part here . A local legend told that on nights when the grey mist following…
Thanks Kawartha Dairy
To the Editor On June 22 Kawartha Dairy came to Archie Stouffer School to scoop and serve ice cream for students and staff as a special year-end treat. However an even bigger surprise occurred! Kawartha…
Three letter word
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…
The cabin at Ghostly Point
Summer without campfire stories? No way! Here’s one of mine that we will publish in three parts over the next three weeks. Grey twilight fell across the far shore of Shkendang Lake obscuring bit by…
The art of splitting wood
By Jim Poling Published June 23 2016 It was a long ago scene from a time before invention of smart phones that take video. That’s unfortunate because what I saw then would have made a…
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…
The joys of gardening
It has been excellent weather for the vegetable garden thank you Ms. Weatherwoman. The peas beans carrots and corn are jumping so it looks like we’ll have veggies galore later this summer and into the…
Night in the forest
Evening shadows arrive like cloaked ninjas descending silently into the treetops. Soon all light dims into non-existence consumed by the night. The forest is a different world in the dark. Anything living or travelling in…
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…
A forest fable
It was the beavers those clever industrious engineers who had the idea: Turn house building into an industry that would create jobs and build a strong economy benefitting all forest creatures. The industry boomed. Prefab…
ColumnsColumns
The age of information 'lite' By Jim Poling Published May 26 2016 You might recall from school days the story of the young Greek guy who sat beside a pool saw his image reflected in…
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…
Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorTo the…
To the editor I recently learned that the Minden council had posted the Minden Hills municipal cultural plan on their website. The report was prepared by Novita Interpares Limited Toronto Ontario in 2012. Many people…
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…
Coming from America
The Canadian customs officer feeds my passport into the scanner then looks up and asks: “What are you bringing back with you?” I supress the urge to say what I always want to say after…
Meeting Rusty
So here I am in California getting to know Rusty. He was withdrawn and wary at our first meeting. That’s understandable considering he spent his earliest days in the mean neighbourhoods of Los Angeles. Now…
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, dumps and discrepancies
To the Editor Re: New dock and boathouse regulations For nearly a year I have been working with others to fight a situation in which provincial regulations fail to mesh with municipal authority. As mentioned…