Hope Lee retires from

Hope Lee retires

City’s progressive housing stance a reflection of Lee’s leadership

RODERICK BENNS Publisher

It was always a little bit personal for Hope Lee. After 34 years with the city’s housing division, she retires in May. Lee traces her career path back to her childhood, a time when she lived in public housing in Lindsay for several years.

When Lee was living in a single parent family in one of the very units that the city still owns, Zita Devan, founder of A Place Called Home, the city’s homeless shelter, set Lee on the path she’d stay on for more than three decades. Devan helped get Lee a work placement in what was then the Victoria Haliburton Housing Authority in 1986 through a Fleming College program. Lee was hired full time in 1987.

Hope Lee at a Bond Street housing development in Lindsay, 2019. Photo: City of Kawartha Lakes.

Later, the name changed to Kawartha Lakes Haliburton Housing Corporation when social housing was transferred from the province to municipalities in 2001, part of the significant downloading of responsibilities to municipalities that occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“While some may have seen that transfer in a more negative light, I’ve never felt that way,” Hope tells the Advocate. “It opened up my position to be able to focus not only on the actual housing corporation but local affordable housing and homelessness overall.”

She says she has felt “blessed to have a career I’ve enjoyed and where I can help people.”

Great working relationships and a feeling of support from her director, the Kawartha Lakes Housing board, administration, and councils in both Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County have made her job easier and more fulfilling.

“I’m proud overall of the progress made in this community when it comes to housing and homelessness. There are amazing community partners and advocates,” Lee says.

Under Lee’s oversight, Kawartha Lakes has been a progressive leader when it comes to housing. The city, for instance, is one of only 33 municipalities in Canada to attempt to end chronic homelessness through Built for Zero, an initiative to help a core group of leading communities create a template for the rest of the country for ending homelessness.

Lee says she’s proud to have led numerous new developments that have been successfully built or are in the midst of being built.

“I’ve had the pleasure of seeing hundreds of new affordable units be built and occupied — in many cases providing homes to those who hadn’t had a place of their own in quite some time.”

She also cites the redevelopment of the emergency shelter, A Place Called Home, as a big accomplishment

“I’ve had the pleasure of seeing hundreds of new affordable units be built and occupied — in many cases providing homes to those who hadn’t had a place of their own in quite some time.”

and calls APCH a “significant partner” to the city and a key resource to those experiencing homelessness in our community.

“It has been rewarding” to work with APCH’s team, she says, to assist in securing some of the funding to help make the redevelopment possible.

After Lee was hired by the city, Devan says she spent years sitting on committees with her, always with the goal of improving social housing and affordable housing in general.

“I have witnessed her grow in knowledge and commitment, always keeping in mind the needs of community and the opportunities available to the city. She will be missed,” says Devan.

As for what’s next on her radar in retirement, Lee says she’s looking forward to more family time and more time to travel. “While COVID will restrict that initially, I’ll enjoy my household family and some limited travel either at our trailer or in our motorhome.”

When she thinks back to her journey from childhood until now, Lee says she feels fortunate to have been able to give back to her community.

“I was born in Lindsay and had a place to call home because there was safe and affordable housing made available to us. How lucky was I to be given the opportunity to work for the same organization that assisted us in more difficult times, and (then) manage and increase housing opportunities for others?” www.lindsayadvocate.ca

WHY I CAME BACK TO CALL KAWARTHA LAKES HOME

DARRYL JAMES

I grew up in Lindsay, but I always thought I was destined to live in a big city. My wife Robyn and I had each travelled the world before we met in Toronto. However, that changed in 2014 as we welcomed our second child and unexpectedly had to move. The Strumbellas’ tour schedule was ramping up. We knew that Lindsay was more affordable and closer to family, so we made the move. Robyn travelled to Toronto for work three days a week while I toured with the band. We reconnected with friends and got involved in the community. The air was fresher, family was closer, and the community was vibrant. We’re proud to call Lindsay home and I love being involved in the community as an artist!

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Tennis Love

Fenelon Falls Tennis Club a popular pandemic-friendly sports option

GEOFF COLEMAN Writer-at-large

Fenelon Falls Tennis Club.

With a new rink, a curling club, nearby golf courses, a popular multi-use trail and every kind of aquatic-based recreation known to humans at their doorstep, Fenelon Falls residents have many ways to spend their leisure time. That might explain why, through no fault of its own, the Fenelon Falls Tennis Club flies under the recreational radar.

Ham Keillor-Faulkner says when he tells locals he is president of the club they are often surprised — as in, surprised there is a tennis club in town. Keillor-Faulkner says with its newly resurfaced courts, and a reasonable membership price, the club offers excellent value for anyone looking for COVID-compliant exercise.

Tucked away at the end of Eva Street and adjacent to the southwest corner of the Fenelon Falls Secondary School track and football field, the tennis club is easy to miss. In fact, it is easy to go to the community centre and never see the courts, even though they are just a couple of hundred metres away.

Play safe

It is hard to think of a sport that is more suited to the current times than singles tennis. Club president Ham Keillor-Faulkner reports a 25 per cent increase in membership last year, something he attributes at least in part to COVID-19, in the same way that boat and ATV sales increased. The club kept track of members as part of its contact tracing protocol, and found that over the six months, an average of 10 players hit the courts each day.

The club is on Trillium Lakelands District School Board property. Built 42 years ago, it exists due to a unique partnership where the board pays taxes and the water bill (the water supply for the football field is under the clubhouse), and the tennis club takes care of the power bill and building maintenance.

The cooperation extends to court time as well, with students using the courts as part of their healthy active living classes, and for tennis team practices.

Even if the organization does keep a low profile, 102 people still call the club home. Membership is split almost equally between seasonal and permanent residents, and it is not unheard of for boaters cruising the Trent Severn Waterway to contact the club during the planning stages of their trip to arrange court time.

Sound financial management over the years allowed the club to pay cash for court resurfacing two seasons ago, made all the more impressive when given that membership fees are just $100 for a whole season. The club also has an on-site tennis pro who teaches everyone from kids to seniors. The instructor also holds a summer camp. Tournaments run throughout the May-to-November playing season, and clinics are held each Sunday.

Juniper Isle resident Sal Zagorski has been a member since 2010. He says the courts are in great shape, and is a big fan of the lights that allow night play.

“All the pros that have worked for the club are very well qualified, but what makes the club are the members … a great, friendly group. I have played in clubs in Toronto as well as Florida and this club may be smaller in membership, but it’s a lot more personal and friendlier,” says Zagorski.

The social traditions of the sport are not forgotten in a normal year either, with open houses and barbecues running alongside men’s, women’s, and mixed league play. Drop-ins are welcomed too.

To get more information or to join the club, visit fenelonfallstennisclub.com. Fill in the membership form and pay online. Or contact Ham at hammer5913@ gmail.com.

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Community Foundation launches loan for agricultural innovators

The Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes in partnership with Business Community Development Corporation, has announced a new loan program geared to support local rural agricultural innovators and entrepreneurs in search of new ways to grow, produce, manufacture or distribute good food — from farm to table.

Agriculture is a leading economic driver in Kawartha Lakes, so a thriving rural economy based on agriculture, is closely aligned with the founding inspiration of the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes, says a media release.

“We are happy to provide funding to assist entrepreneurs in this important business sector. The goal is to ensure we sustain and develop new ideas for innovation and growth in agriculture and help diversify their business models and grow revenues for the future,” explains Vince Killen, executive director, BCDC.

The loan program is geared to assist local farmers and entrepreneurs interested in food services, new products and innovations, providing access to funding which otherwise would not be feasible or available. Loans between $10,000 and $25,000 are being offered with flexible repayment terms and competitive interest rates to ensure this critical funding gap is filled.

“It’s exciting for the foundation to be able to offer the agri-innovation loan program to help Kawartha Lakes’ farmers diversify and innovate. We’re looking for applications from people who have a solid business plan but need some capital to get the idea moving forward,” said Harry Stoddart, Community Foundation secretary.

Loan proposals are limited only by the applicant’s imagination. They must be innovative in nature and be supported by a sound business plan or an intriguing idea with achievable goals and expectations.

If you have a great idea and want to consider a loan application or you want to learn more about the foundation and its philanthropy, contact Margaret Cunningham at 705.731.9775 or email info@kawarthafoundation.ca. For foundation information, visit www.kawarthafoundation.ca. ~Lindsay Advocate www.cathyallan.ca

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Extendicare to expand with new provincial investment

MPP Laurie Scott, Councillor Pat Dunn, MP Jamie Schmale, Deputy Mayor Patrick O’Reilly, and Nancy Rooney, Administrator at Extendicare Kawartha Lakes.

The Ontario government is expanding Extendicare in Lindsay, one of 80 long-term care homes province-wide to see more money.

According to a media release, these spaces are part of the government’s promised delivery of 30,000 long-term care spaces over 10 years.

Extendicare Lindsay is being allocated 96 new spaces and 64 upgraded spaces, or a total of 160 beds that are either new or upgraded. The investment will also help eliminate three and four bed ward rooms.

“This is exciting news for Kawartha Lakes,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock in the media release. “Not only will this expansion help address hallway health care, it will also assist the growing number of people needing long-term care over the next decade. Today’s announcement will help ensure we have safe, modern spaces ready for them.”

Nancy Rooney, Extendicare’s administrator, said the announcement “means that we can move forward with our plan to add capacity at Extendicare Kawartha Lakes and take action to address the home’s long-standing waitlist for new admissions throughout the Kawartha region. This new project will offer an additional 96 seniors in our community with the care they need, in new care spaces constructed to modern design standards, resulting in increased resident privacy and quality of life.”

Criteria for selecting the projects included upgrading older homes in response to lessons learned around improved infection prevention and control measures, particularly the elimination of three- and fourbed rooms; adding spaces to areas where there is high need; and to better address the specialized care needs of residents. ~Lindsay Advocate

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