By Jim Poling Published March 16 2017 Richard Wagamese completed his life journey last week leaving behind the only thing any of us leave: his story. It is a brilliant inspiring story. A homeless street…
Across the aisle
By Chad Ingram Published March 7 2017 Who says being an Opposition member in a legislature controlled by a majority government means you can’t accomplish anything? Late last month Ontario’s Liberal government tabled a new…
The winter-spring battle
By Jim Poling Published March 7 2017 There is good news and not-so-good news about the weather for Haliburton County over the next three months. The not-so-good news: What we saw this week is likely…
Re-naturalize
(What’s that? Cottage season isn’t coming up soon? I’m trying to be optimistic here folks OK? Just roll with it.) Last week Paul MacInnes indefatigable lake steward and chairman of the Coalition of Haliburton Property…
Report from Snowpocalypse
When you’ve lived much of your life in snow country grossly swelling snow banks are no big deal. Certainly nothing to worry about. Last week surrounded by snow banks towering 12 to 14 feet high…
Small victories
By Chad Ingram Published Feb. 23 2017 Never underestimate the power of a group of angry people. Last May it seeped out into the community that the province intended to close the Service Ontario office…
Stuart McLean's illumination
News of a death does not always bring only dark sadness. Sometimes it brings illumination. That was the case last week when we learned that Stuart McLean an unpretentious Canadian icon had passed away. He…
Give us a break
To the Editor, I have just read the article about Council discussing short term cottage rentals. I am one of the 8,000 people in the seasonal residences category that make up the 10,000 population…
Promises and lies
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has broken numerous election pledges since taking office but the fracturing of a very clear promise to reform Canada’s electoral system before the next election is perhaps the most egregious because…
Reading to understand each other
By Jim Poling Published Feb. 16 2017 The number of Canadians who say they read books is continuing to drop. That’s not good news because reading books is known to make us better informed citizens…
Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorTo the…
To the Editor After what has to be one of the busiest snowmobiling weekends of the past few winters I wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate and thank the Halliburton County Snowmobile Association (HCSA)…
Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorTo Prime…
To Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and MP Karina Gould Minister for Democratic Institutions I want to add my voice to what I hope is a clamor of disapproval for your decision to abandon electoral reform. …
Let Airbnb be
It would be a waste of time and resources for local townships to attempt to regulate or restrict private short-term cottage rentals in Haliburton County. Short-term rentals and the noise and other complaints they sometimes…
Making the forest great again
By Jim Poling Published Feb. 9 2017 A dark and heavy despondency had fallen over the forest. The creatures who worked and lived there brooded over their declining state of affairs. The beavers complained about jobs…
It's about the birds
By Jim Poling Published Feb. 2 2017 Canada is a country of great diversity so it is odd that we might still want to single out anything as especially special in identifying our nationality. Yes…
A return to 'normal' winter?
By Jim Poling Published Jan. 26 2017 So winter returns to normal this weekend. Sort of. Daytime temperatures are forecast to be below the “normal” of minus five starting this weekend. Overnight lows will drop…
Letters to the EditorLetters to the EditorTo the…
To the Editor Much has been reported about high-speed Internet lately. I thought the hospitals and medical centres were to be connected with the highest speed! Who is their provider? Last Friday I had a…
Fake news and alternative facts
Post-truth. That’s the era pundits and professors say we’ve now entered. A time with such an overwhelming excess of information much of it circulated through the digital tentacles of the Internet that finding information that…
Decreasingly rural
This weekend members of the Haliburton County Fair board will get together for their annual general meeting. Among the topics of conversation will be the future of the fair itself. With a need to replenish…
Extra! Trump's inauguration speech
You read it here first! Through fantastic reporting I have obtained Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration speech. Obviously I can’t reveal how I got it except to say that brilliant reporting was involved. So while the…
A losing trade
By Chad Ingram Published Jan. 12 2017 The Wynne government is starting 2017 with its promise to reduce Ontarians’ Hydro One bills but with the introduction of the province’s cap-and-trade system on Jan. 1 it…