The Lindsay Advocate - October 2022

Special municipal election issue

New mayor, new council How will they choose to divide the pie?

Spooky Kawartha Lakes Kawartha Lakes’ Premier News Magazine * October 2022

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The Advocate is published monthly & distributed through diverse businesses & locations throughout Kawartha Lakes, North Durham & southern Haliburton County.

We are a proud member of the Lindsay & District, Fenelon Falls & Bobcaygeon Chambers of Commerce.

our vision

October 2022 * Vol. 5 * Issue 54

The Advocate cares about the social wellness of our community & our country. Our vision includes strong public enterprises mixed with healthy small businesses to serve our communities’ needs. We put human values ahead of economic values & many of our stories reflect the society we work to build each day.

Publisher: Roderick Benns Associate Editor: Nancy Payne Contributing Editor: Trevor Hutchinson Contributing Writers: Denise Waldron Kirk Winter Ian McKechnie Ginny Colling Trevor Hutchinson Roderick Benns Art Direction + Design: Barton Creative Co. Christina Dedes Photographers: Sienna Frost Web Developer: Kimberly Durrant Published By Fireside Publishing House Printed By Cofax Printing

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Please send advertising & editorial inquiries to Roderick Benns at: The Lindsay Advocate 1 Russel Street E. Lindsay ON, K9V 1Z7

kawarthalakespublisher@gmail.com

(705) 341 - 1496

PRIVACY POLICY: The Lindsay Advocate is independently owned & operated. The opinions expressed herein are the views of the contributors & do not necessarily reflect those of this magazine. Photos, text & art work contained in The Lindsay Advocate are copyrighted & may not be published, broadcast or rewritten without the express permission of the Publisher. Liability for incorrectly displayed advertising is limited to publishing corrections or advertising credit for subsequent issues. The Publisher reserves the right to reject, revise, cancel, omit, discontinue or even decline to print advertising without reason or liability, & without notice. The Publisher has made every effort to ensure information contained herein was accurate at press time. The Publisher does not assume & hereby disclaims any liability to any party for damage, loss, or disruption caused by errors or omissions.

The eight ward races will ensure many new faces on city council

22 cover

Six candidates are vying for your vote to become the city's next mayor

30 feature

From UFOs to ghosts and ghouls, Kawartha Lakes has some great Halloween stories

every issue Letters to the Editor 4 * UpFront 6 * Benns’ Belief 9 Lunch With 36 * Cool Tips for a Hot Planet 47 Just in Time 50 * The Affordable Kitchen 52 * Trevor’s Take 54 To advertise in the Advocate please contact us by telephone at (705) 341-1496 or by email at kawarthalakespublisher@gmail.com

“Like locks of hair, letters encapsulate some essential element of the personality of whoever holds the pen.”

- Charlotte Gray

Reader enjoys Advocate Thanks to my older sister who still lives in Lindsay I am enjoying reading the new Advocate magazine. It's just what Lindsay needs — congratulations on the success of it.

I am 87 and was born in Lindsay on Aug. 30, 1935. I just want to say I enjoy your magazine and to keep up the good work. Lindsay is a small town but growing.

– Bonnie Gilliland, Whitby

Signage missing from Burnt River rapids Which ministry is responsible for marking the portages on the Burnt River? I had noticed earlier this year that no signage had gone up on the two rapids on our property and thought it was kind of unusual as this had always been done for many years.

Yesterday, two friends of mine from Lindsay canoed from the park in Kinmount to our cottage, which turned out to be a nightmarish trek taking more than double the usual time causing them to finally arrive in the dark totally exhausted.

Needless to say, many were concerned and particularly so when cellphone signals in this area are almost non-existent. They said that the problem was simply that none of the necessary portages were signed and they had much difficulty finding them.

This speaks of DANGER in capital letters. If the ministry responsible did this as a cost-cutting strategy, it is indeed a questionable one and should be revisited. Such outdoor activities in our gem of an area should be proudly promoted by the ministry but this cannot be done by ignoring safety considerations.

– Hugh Armstrong, Burnt River

Create more pressure for better bus service I fully agree with Dr. Michael Moreton’s letter (Sept. Advocate) regarding the poor bus services from Toronto to Lindsay and as such I have written many letters to GO Transit, TOK Coachlines and to our city council.

He lives in Oshawa with the help of support services and has been very reliant on bus services. There are many other people who are in need of reliable bus services due to school needs, medical needs, shopping and more.

I have suggested that GO Transit do a study as to the number of persons requiring its services to get them to work, school or hospitals from the Lindsay area that would warrant regular transit service.

Not only would my son need a reliable bus to get him here to visit his mom, but I also could use this service for my own needs as I need the help of specialist care in Toronto and I do not drive much or far anymore. I encourage people with these same needs to write many letters to city council, to TOK and GO Transit and government departments to encourage more reliable bus service to Kawartha Lakes.

– Heather Green-Leddy, Kawartha Lakes

I have a challenged son and we relied on the bus service to get him from Oshawa to Lindsay to visit his mom for a week each month.

The Advocate welcomes your letters. We do not publish anonymous letters unless it’s a matter of public importance and/or someone risks harm by writing us. We publish under strict guidelines & only if we can verify the person’s identity. Simply email kawarthalakespublisher@gmail.com. Keep your letters to 200 words or less.

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lindsayadvocate.ca

Reader wonders about development agreement While Flato Development continues to garner considerable attention and publicity in our community, things have been quiet at city hall around the proposed housing project on the east side of Lindsay.

Kirk Winter

Last year Flato was before council asking for support for an application for a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) from the provincial government covering a significant portion of their land around I.E. Weldon Secondary School. In a split vote on Oct. 19 last year Flato’s MZO application received the support of Council subject to the requirement that a “development agreement . . . be forwarded to Council no later than the end of January, 2022 for review and approval.” (Minute CR2021-473).

January has come and gone and there is no agreement.

The next question is, if there is an agreement, will it be presented to council in open session for review and approval? Now that the MZO has been granted by the provincial government there is nothing legally binding about that council minute.

The zoning for that land has been changed and the major tool that the city possesses when it comes to development has been given away. There is nothing legally compelling Flato to a development agreement that needs to be approved by council. It seems to me that this needs to be an election issue as we choose our next mayor and council.

– Brian Walsh, Cameron

Kirk enjoyed a 31-year career as a high school history teacher. Since retiring from Lindsay’s I.E. Weldon Secondary School in 2015, he has moved into freelance writing.

He is the Advocate’s government and education issues writer.

A political junkie who takes a keen interest in politics at all levels, Kirk likes to focus on how good people can effect change in their communities though political participation.

Kirk’s work has appeared in several local publications, both in Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton. He was on the writing team that published the history of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation in 2019, and is the lead author of a forthcoming book honouring the 50th anniversary of I.E. Weldon.

When not writing, Kirk and his wife Joanne (the best proofreader an author could have) can be found walking their dogs, spending time at their Haliburton-area cottage or watching Dan and Pat calling another Blue Jay victory on the television.

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Lindsay to host Eastern Ontario Drama League event

Women’s Resources raffle tickets on sale mid-October It’s that month when the popular raffle tickets program in support of Women’s Resources is released, with prize winnings starting at $5,000. Second prize is $1,000 and third prize is $500 in gas gift cards.

Tickets are $10 each or three for $20. They’re on sale Oct. 17 at Women’s Resources at 22 Russell St. E., Lindsay, or at Vicky’s Values, 50 Mary St. W. and other locations throughout Kawartha Lakes to be announced later. Draw date February 17, 2023. Contactless purchase available.

Contact Carolyn Fox 705-324-7649 Ext. 223 or cfox@womensresources.ca

The 2019 winners of the EODL Festival. Because of COVID, this event did not happen in 2020 or 2021.

The Eastern Ontario Drama League One Act Festival is coming to Kawartha Lakes.

Erastus Burley, owner of Creative Force, a consulting company that counts theatre as a big part of what it does, says he couldn’t be happier to have his company producing the show.

“This event will bring hundreds of people to Lindsay for the nine performances and awards brunch,” Burley tells the Advocate.

“They will be staying in many of the hotels, motels and Airbnb properties. During their visit, they will likely be frequent visitors to our local restaurants and shops.”

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The festival runs from Nov. 4 to 6 at the Flato Academy Theatre in Lindsay.

The plays will be adjudicated

by Janey Kish, with the awards brunch being held in the C. L. Baker Room at the Pie Eyed Monk, where Burley is also the general manager.

This event is important for the theatre community in Eastern Ontario, says Burley, “as it offers an opportunity to . . . further our common goal of bringing live theatre to audiences everywhere.”

Tickets are available at flatoacademytheatre.com

lindsayadvocate.ca

Lindsay Wholesale Club customers fundraise for RMH The Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation is honoured to be selected as the charity of choice in the Lindsay Wholesale Club’s recent "Give A Little, Help A Lot" campaign.

From July 15 to August 1, customers at Wholesale Club #215 on Angeline Street North were asked if they would like to contribute a donation to benefit patient care in the Ross Memorial’s Dialysis Unit. Together, the customers, employees and their colleagues’ donations totalled $1,921.01— more than any other Wholesale Club location in Ontario.

“We chose to fundraise for the Dialysis Unit because someone on our team has family needing dialysis treatments,” said Lynda Coad of Wholesale Club. “We’re happy to help.”

New day program for adults with dementia opens

Tammy Adams and Photo: Sienna Frost

Susan

Fisher

of

Silver

Emily Elliott joins Ward Legal team

Lights.

Emily Elliott looks forward to one day making Kawartha Lakes home. Photo: Sienna Frost

With Kawartha Lakes home to a high number of seniors, many of whom suffer with some form of dementia, Tammy Adams and her managing director, Susan Fisher, saw a community need that they could help with.

Emily Elliott was called to the bar in June of this year, making this her first year practicing as a licensed lawyer. She has just joined the Ward Legal team in Lindsay and is “looking forward to building community connections.”

That’s why Adams’ company, Silver Lights Senior Services, has opened an Adult Day Program exclusively for seniors with dementia/Alzheimer's in Kawartha Lakes.

“When we think about dementia we tend to associate it with loss. This adult day program is about to change how Kawartha Lakes sees dementia,” says Adams. Their team will be using a personalized Canadian approach called DementiAbility, which focuses on the abilities and capabilities people with dementia still have.

“We are so excited to do this. It’s been a dream of ours for quite some time and it’s finally becoming a reality,” Fisher tells the Advocate.

Elliott says she is also happy to be developing her practice “in an area of law that I feel good about,” namely real estate and estate planning. “I will have the opportunity to sit down with clients every day, to get to know them, and to ultimately provide services to help them through whatever brings them in,” she tells the Advocate.

Elliott has lived in Oshawa all her life but is looking forward to eventually making Kawartha Lakes her home. “I was privileged to have spent a lot of time in this area throughout my childhood and into adulthood and have always considered it a second home, especially with my grandparents having lived here.”

The facility opens Nov. 1 and an open house will be held Oct. 27 from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at 185 St. George St. Lindsay.

As she spends more time here, she says she realizes this “beautiful region” is where she wants to put down roots.

Call for more information at 705-308-1940 or email hello@silverlightsseniorservices.com

Contact Emily at Ward Legal at emily.elliott@wardlegal.ca or call 705-324-9273

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Advocate designed with your feedback

By Roderick Benns Publisher

Since we launched our 50th issue a few months ago, complete with a full redesign, we’ve been gathering feedback about our new look.

Many of you loved the bold new appearance, comparing it to big city magazines found in Toronto or New York in terms of its aesthetics.

Our covers feel lighter, more sophisticated and less crowded now for more visual impact.

However, inside the magazine many of you didn’t care for less contrast on the page between the typeface and the page colours. We fielded many phone calls and letters about the black font on sepia-toned background being more difficult to make out, particularly for our older readers.

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Over the past few editions, we’ve been taking steps to correct these things with new designer Christina Dedes of Barton Creative. We hope you’ve noticed the bigger typeface, and less use of textured pages that got in the way of readability.

We still have all the same great content you’ve come to expect from us — three feature stories and other shorter news items every month, along with our many popular columnists including Trevor Hutchinson, Ginny Colling and Ian McKechnie.

There’s also our much-loved editorial page that features our collective opinion on some relevant topic, an editorial cartoon from the talented Walt Radda and a spotlight letter to the editor.

To the right, opposite the editorial page, we typically feature a guest writer.

Notice how The Local Kitchen has now become The Affordable Kitchen. In this time of high inflation, we’ve turned to the folks at Kawartha Lakes Food Source for their expertise on cooking easy recipes on a budget.

The Canadian crossword so many of you enjoy isn’t going anywhere.

The reader feedback on keeping this has been clear.

None of the content mentioned above would be possible without our advertisers, who know there is a significant advantage in being in a magazine that people look forward to reading. When the Advocate is released by the first of each month it’s 95 per cent brand new content — we don’t just reprint what has already appeared on our website, as others do.

A few months ago I remember dropping some magazines off to a downtown Lindsay retail store where a 20-something young woman eagerly flipped through the Advocate as soon as it was handed to her.

“I just love this magazine,” she said. “I find things in here I haven’t already seen online.”

Indeed.

We do not take our readers or our advertisers for granted; we truly want to produce a meaningful read each month and we thank you for your support along the way.

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Our pick for mayor The Advocate has traditionally avoided endorsing candidates for any public office in Kawartha Lakes since we began publishing more than four years ago.

However, we have decided this municipal election is too important for us to continue sitting on the sidelines.

The city is on the cusp of a development boom that will fundamentally change Kawartha Lakes. We need a leader with a vision for responsible and thoughtful development, better roads, the replacement of crumbling infrastructure, a policy that provides a hand up for the city’s most disadvantaged, someone who is a friend of small business and a mayor who values arts, culture, recreation and the endless possibilities that year-round tourism has to put millions of dollars into the local economy.

We must be prepared to look at a candidate’s stand on more than just the tax rate. The fundamental question we ask is how will their four years as mayor improve and enrich the lives of the citizens of Kawartha Lakes?

Six people — Bill Denby, Pat Dunn, Doug Elmslie, Faye McGee, Jim Riches and Kathleen SeymourFagan — have offered their time and talents at a time when municipal politicians are retiring in droves.

Many prospective candidates have been exhausted by the pandemic and public anger. To that end, we congratulate all six for standing for office.

Our mayoral candidates are largely reflective of the political culture found in central Ontario. It's fair to say that all six are small "c" conservatives (with some leaning closer to libertarianism) except for Doug Elmslie, who identifies and campaigns as a progressive conservative.

In the absence of a true progressive, the Advocate believes that Doug Elmslie, with his background in both the public and private sector, his deep concern for those less fortunate than himself and his vision for a city that moves forward in a planned and structured manner, will best serve the people of Kawartha Lakes among the eligible choices.

Loss of freedom?

As the pandemic spread across the globe in early 2020, the global community joined in the efforts to find the cause, mode of transmission and preventative measures. Canada was not alone in implementing restrictions to mitigate the spread.

Think back to those early months when so many were dying. Remember the reasons for the restrictions.

Don’t hijack my, no, our flag to whine about past, temporary, restrictions. Instead, relish the enviable freedoms and benefits this country offers, including bountiful job opportunities (there are hiring signs everywhere), and the freedom to travel.

– Tina King, Scugog Township

No matter who you choose for mayor, though, please be sure to vote on or before Oct. 24.

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We need to talk about cats

Kawartha Lakes needs a more serious plan to deal with free-roaming cats

By Matthew Robbins Matthew Robbins is an invasive species specialist

In June, Kawartha Lakes City Council voted to adopt a two-year stray and feral cat pilot program requiring pets to be licensed, prohibiting free-roaming cats beyond one’s private property, and increasing funds for current stray management.

Around the same time, Toronto city councillor Shelley Carroll unsuccessfully proposed a bylaw amendment that would prohibit unleashed cats from roaming around the city, private property or otherwise.

Cats have been getting a lot of attention lately, and while there are many issues associated with freeroaming felines, the real kicker is their environmental impact.

Domestic cats, both owned and feral, are responsible for roughly 197 million yearly bird deaths in Canada and 2.4 billion in the U.S. This puts them in the number one spot for human-related bird death, followed not so closely by windows and vehicle collisions.

Worse still, cats have driven at least 63 species to global extinction (that’s 26 per cent of all reptile, bird and small mammal extinctions, ever) and, by last estimates, are sending another 367 that way.

So, what’s wrong with our approach to the issue? For one thing, the pending laws for owned felines only apply outside private property.

Not only does this make enforcement impractical, it’s unhelpful for critters who don’t have a working knowledge of property boundaries.

Studies have shown that even a well-fed cat will go hunting (a.k.a. surplus killing) and nothing beyond a shut door is really going to change that.

Like most places, Kawartha Lakes has opted to invest in a process known as trap, neuter, release, or TNR, which essentially aims to reduce reproduction in feral colonies to the point of stagnation.

But there’s a catch . . .

It doesn’t work.

Despite claims to the contrary by organizations like the national animal welfare organization Humane Canada, experts consistently label TNR an ineffective option.

Although some places have experienced decreases in stray populations following its implementation, this is usually attributable to high adoption and euthanasia rates practiced alongside TNR. Plus, there are just as many studies that observe increases in stray numbers as those that find the opposite.

The point is, we continue to apply ineffective solutions not because they work, but because they appeal to the public’s sensibilities. Councillor Carroll’s proposal for Toronto, which had potential to make a measurable impact, was shot down almost immediately due to perceptions that keeping cats indoors would be cruel.

Meanwhile in Australia, after feral cats caused the extinction of 22 unique mammal species, a government-implemented culling program has animal activists declaring “cat genocide.”

As ugly as this seems, though, wildlife managers were simply treating a non-native predator, an invasive species by definition, as they would any other.

Wildlife are desperate for us to take this problem seriously, and part of that means letting go of things we simply wish were true.

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Race to the finish

Many new candidates vie to be on Kawartha Lakes City Council

By Kirk Winter

The Advocate has compiled a guide to all eight ward races across Kawartha Lakes, where a broad range of candidates are battling to represent their constituents. Information was gathered through email and telephone correspondence with the prospective candidates.

WARD 1 Candidates: Raymonde Blais-Couture, Jim Harris, Don Logan, Emmett Yeo

Population centres: Kirkfield, Coboconk, Norland

2018 winner: Yeo, with 47% of the vote

2018 turnout: 27%

Size of ward: 2,403 km2

Yeo, a local contractor, is campaigning on a platform that promises road repair and infrastructure renewal, avoiding huge property tax increases and doing something about absentee landlords who he says are “the real culprit” in the ever-increasing problems associated with short-term property rentals. Yeo says these owners should be “hit in the pocketbook” and that council needs to find a balance between the offenders and “responsible landlords who rent their properties the right way.”

Yeo also wants to see speed limits enforced where warranted and that the planning process for builds and renovations be sped up because right now “it is frustrating as hell.”

Blais-Couture is the president of McGuire’s Beach Property Owners Association. She says she wants to improve the regulation of short-term rentals and ensure that the city is more amenable to maintaining and fix unassumed and private roads.

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Registered voters 2018: 9,263

Blais-Couture also expresses concern about the lack of speed limit enforcement in Ward One. The candidate promises to keep more Ward One tax dollars in Ward One to support local projects.

Logan runs a small business and is a long-time volunteer firefighter. Logan wants to see more support from the city to improve health care in Ward One. He supports the Coboconk Wellness Centre and wants to see an assisted living facility in Ward One so local seniors can stay in the area rather than have to go to places like Fenelon Falls.

Logan says he wants to see better road maintenance and management. He also favours bylaws to govern short term rentals so that “neighbours’ properties are respected and troublemakers are held accountable.”

Jim Harris did not respond to the Advocate’s survey by the deadline.

lindsayadvocate.ca

WARD 2 Candidates: Jamie Brown, John Snider, Pat Warren 2018 winner: Kathleen Seymour-Fagan (mayoral candidate 2022) with 35% of the vote Size of ward: 743 km2

Snider is a mechanic and small business owner.

Snider says his biggest concern is the city’s financial state. He says he would like to see city cash reserves at healthier levels, a reduced city debt and tax increases brought under control.

If elected Snider promises improvements in roads and sidewalks and more municipal funding for projects within the ward.

Brown is a retired local businessman and outdoor enthusiast. He says road maintenance, parking in downtown Bobcaygeon, responsible development while protecting the environment, regulation of shortterm rentals and improvements to the municipal boat launch at Rosedale as key issues.

Population centre: Bobcaygeon, Kinmount Registered voters 2018: 7,547 2018 turnout: 42%

Warren is also a retired small business owner, former Kawartha Lakes councillor and long-time community volunteer.

Warren says she believes in responsible growth that is only possible with proper roads, infrastructure and access to health care for new and existing residents.

Warren says she wants to see the city focus on roads, water and waste water management to ensure that infrastructure grows along with the city. Warren also says that proper municipal planning is key to protecting the local environment.

WARD 3 Candidates: Doug Dickerson, Mike Perry

2018 winner: Doug Elmslie (mayoral candidate 2022) with 62% of the vote Size of ward: 622 km2

Perry is a lawyer who serves on the Fenelon Falls Chamber of Commerce and the board of the Kawartha North Family Health Team.

Perry says this campaign will be about “roads, roads, roads.” Perry says he is also hearing that people don’t feel the city takes their inquiries seriously, and that they are frustrated when they don't hear back from city officials.

Perry supports enforcing existing bylaws and speed limits, fining short-term rentals for noise complaints, and doing a better job of slowing down traffic on quiet local streets. He says he wants to see growth managed in a responsible way.

Population centres: Cameron, Fenelon Falls Registered voters 2018: 8,125 2018 turnout: 41%

Perry also proposes that the city find creative ways to finance projects including accessing charitable foundations, issuing bonds, maximizing grants, and getting back HST money paid by the city.

Dickerson is the president of the Juniper Park group in Fenelon Falls, a group which fought the city to maintain the Juniper parcel of land as a public space.

He is a former small business owner and long-time Pickering and Durham Region councillor.

Dickerson says he wants to see more money allocated to roads, expanded sewage capacity in Fenelon Falls and improved and simplified city customer service.

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WARD 4 Candidates: Jamie Campbell, Angel Godsoe, Trevor Johnston, Dan Joyce, Ian Nicolson, Tyler Richards, Dave Skrabek 2018 winner: Andrew Veale (not running in 2022) with 47% of the vote

Skrabek is a family farmer and grain originator, a position responsible for procuring grain from farm customers. He says he would like to ensure that there is proper planning for development starting with updating city infrastructure. He says he wants to simplify the city’s permit process and ensure that recreation, transit and libraries are maintained “while looking for efficiencies.” Skrabek says the 1,300 farm families in Kawartha Lakes need an advocate at city hall.

Skrabek promises to maintain municipal water services at the highest level while suggesting that long-term solutions need to be found for waste disposal and pollution mitigation. He says he would would also like to see the city focus on safe and affordable housing for the elderly, and affordable daycare for parents with young children.

Nicolson brings 30 years of experience in operational and financial management in the banking sector to the race in Ward Four. He says he would like to see the “end of top-down” decision making by the city and more public input at regular town hall meetings.

He is also campaigning on improved roads, road safety, lower water rates and hookup costs, improved city customer service and quicker approval of applications and permits.

Nicolson promises “that efficiencies are to be realized.” He says that “decisions will be made on verifiable facts not ideology, opinion or personal impressions” if he wins the election in Ward Four.

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Size of ward: 855 km2

Population centres: Oakwood, Little Britain, Woodville Registered voters 2018: 7,598 2018 turnout: 34%

Joyce is a semi-retired small business manager who has been on the boards of Habitat for Humanity and the Kawartha Lakes Health Care Initiative.

Joyce says the city can “do much better” on the issue of road maintenance and repair. He advocates for the strengthening of community hubs like libraries, arenas, parks and community centres in Ward Four.

Joyce would also like to see doctor recruitment become a municipal priority as “15 per cent of city residents do not have access to a family doctor and that should be an undeniable right of every Canadian citizen.”

Richards is a Durham College journalism graduate.

He says local roads “are in shambles.” He wants to see a better enforcement of speed limits. Richards promises that council will receive his undivided attention as it will be his only job.

Campbell is the CEO of an auto parts company in Pickering. If elected, he promises to focus on the creation of affordable housing, “the elimination of policies that slow business growth with a specific focus on agriculture,” streamline outdated or redundant municipal policies or bylaws, and provide “improved transparency” and “logical decision making.” Campbell suggests that “fiscal responsibility will be the cornerstone of his candidacy.”

Angel Godsoe and Trevor Johnston did not respond to the Advocate’s survey by deadline.

lindsayadvocate.ca

WARD 5 Candidates: Janet Di Bello, Duncan Gallacher, Gloria Graham-Weir, Wesley Letsholo, Eric Smeaton 2018 winner: Pat Dunn (mayoral candidate 2022) with 34% of the vote

Di Bello is a small business owner who says she wants to “bring fresh perspective” to what she describes as “a council that lacks diversity, female representation and younger participation representing a very diverse ward.”

Di Bello wants to focus on speeding enforcement, infrastructure to support development, action on high taxes and expensive water bills, affordable housing and the city working harder “at being fiscally responsible in the way that money is spent.”

Graham-Weir is a retired school board administrator who says she wants to be “an advocate for seniors, the vulnerable and children and teens.”

Graham-Weir says she would like to see Ward Five with a “North Ward community centre” that could act as a community hub for people of all ages.

Her platform focuses on personal and road safety improvements for voters in the ward.

Graham-Weir says she would like to see “adequately funded fire, paramedics and police services while at the same time questioning the causes of crime.”

She says that traffic on Angeline Street North “is overwhelmingly dangerous” and speed limits need to be enforced. Graham-Weir supports the building of more triplexes and small apartment blocks “because while housing prices have doubled in the last five years incomes have barely moved.”

Letsholo is a small business owner “looking to improve the common good” in Ward Five by making the city “attractive, accessible and welcoming.”

Letsholo says he believes “that the city needs a viable economic plan to attract industry to Kawartha Lakes, while at the same time better supporting small business.”

He says the important issues this election include the increased cost of living, the availability and cost of housing, and the lack of family doctors in Kawartha Lakes that leaves 3,500 adults and 800 children without a primary care physician.

Size of ward: 94 km2

Population centre: Lindsay

Registered voters 2018: 8,959 2018 turnout: 46%

Letsholo says if elected he will push for “environmentally sound infrastructure development and partnerships between law enforcement and the community.”

Gallacher owns a small business and volunteers as board president for the United Way in Kawartha Lakes. Gallacher says there “is a lack of transparency regarding how decisions are made” at city hall. He says that municipal council has not done enough to encourage small business and keeping local talent here. Gallacher says the city appears to have few solutions to deal with infrastructure development, and his belief is that there is increased crime and homelessness.

Gallacher says he would like to see balanced growth across the city powered by industry, arts, agriculture and recreation. Gallacher says that Kawartha Lakes needs “to be more than a bedroom community.”

Smeaton is a retired teacher with deep roots in the local cultural community. He says one goal for him as a councillor is to help build a well thought out, well-planned roadmap over the next four years.

“Kawartha Lakes is at a pivotal time historically,” Smeaton says, “one that has never seen exponential growth like what is about to happen. The public has articulated so many issues to me: housing, addiction, infrastructure, doctor shortages, travel and tourism opportunities, development, farming, agriculture, budget priorities, equality, inclusion, heritage, transportation, the arts, culture, and more.

A successful council can’t see these as separate issues at all. They are all interrelated. The planning will need to be very creative, very moderate and very certain.”

Smeaton says he has met many people with expertise in a host of areas (medicine, transportation, recreation, arts, active transportation, social work) who feel their voices could be a significant contributor to future planning.

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WARD 6 Candidates: Ron Ashmore, Gerard Jilesen

Population centres: Omemee, Dunsford, Downeyville

Size of ward: 744 km2

2018 turnout: 41%

2018 winner: Ashmore with 20% of the vote

Ashmore is a self-employed mortgage agent and small scale farmer. If elected Ashmore says he will try to make people’s lives more affordable because, he says, “people are stretched to the limit.” He says that taxes need to be held in line, the city needs to be responsible with the amount of debt it takes on, infrastructure needs to be modernized and customer service needs to improve. Ashmore also wants the city to do more to attract new jobs and businesses to the city. Ashmore adds that councillors “can never forget that we work for our constituents. They will continue to be my boss and I will always put them first.”

Jilesen is a small business owner and long-time volunteer firefighter. “I want to help my community and the people in my area to improve the way the city gets things done,” said Jilesen.

Registered voters 2018: 7,899

“I see and hear the struggles of residents all over Kawartha Lakes and I want to help bring their ideas forward.” Jilesen said the three biggest issues facing Ward Six constituents include temporary and costly road repairs, the ward not receiving its fair share of city money and local businesses struggling to find workers.

If elected as councillor, Jilesen wants “to focus on helping the homeless in our community find meaningful employment, streamline building permits to assist the everyday person with building a home or business in our community, and look deeper into contractor references when tendering jobs within our community to ensure good workmanship.”

Jilesen will also strive to improve communication between city staff and community members.

WARD 7 Candidates: Diane Holder, Charles McDonald, Danielle Willette

Size of ward: 309 km2

2018 winner: Pat O’Reilly (not running in 2022) with 71% of the vote

Registered voters 2018: 9,421

Holder is a local real estate agent who has lived and worked in the city for more than 50 years.

Holder promises that, if elected, she will work to ensure the city hosts more town hall meetings “so voters can have their say on issues that affect them.”

She would like to encourage growth “in a responsible way and welcome business to the city.” She also promises to make sure that processes that govern development are simplified and made more efficient.

If elected, other issues Holder promises to tackle include enforcing speed limits to improve road safety, looking into the cost of water, taxes and departmental budgets. Holder says she would like to encourage the growth of arts and tourism across the city. Lastly, Holder says would like much more focus and attention paid to the drug, alcohol and mental health issues that she says she believes to be prevalent in Kawartha Lakes.

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Population centres: Lindsay, Reaboro 2018 turnout: 43%

Willette says she sees herself as an “advocate, mom and lifelong member of the community.” Willette says that city departments don’t need any more money; rather they just need “to think laterally and creatively” in spending the allocated money. Willette says that key issues for Ward Seven residents include what she describes as “open drug use and associated criminality, high levels of property crime and harassment of citizens who no longer feel safe in their properties.” Willette believes that Kawartha Lakes needs “more safe, clean and affordable housing, better implementation of low-income housing projects, and road and sidewalk repair rather than cosmetic upgrades to the downtown.”

Willette says she will also campaign for public transit for the whole city “so people can work, travel, shop and attend community events.”

Charles McDonald did not respond to the Advocate’s survey by deadline.

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WARD 8 Candidates: Tracy Richardson, Greg Ward

Population centres: Bethany, Janetville, Pontypool

Size of ward: 741 km2

2018 turnout: 31%

2018 winner: Richardson with 36% of the vote

Richardson and her family run a third-generation agricultural business.

Richardson says she would be the best candidate to represent Ward Eight because she understands “how to make change happen.” Issues that she says are important include road repair and improvement, affordable housing, responsible development that will build homes that are obtainable for the city’s variety of citizens, how the city is to pay for projects in a responsible manner and working hand in hand with the province to improve local health care.

She also offers her experience on council as a reason to vote for her, pointing out that “there could be a 75 per cent turnover on council and it is important to have a returning councillor who can provide leadership and help make good decisions.”

Registered voters 2018: 7,264

Ward is an accounts manager for a dairy supply company who says he wants to focus on issues such as road repair and snow removal.

Ward says that roads in Ward Eight are “absolutely terrible.” He also promises if elected to promote the building of news homes for a larger demographic in Kawartha Lakes. Ward hopes that if more can afford to buy their own home it will increase the vacancy rate in the rental market making rents more affordable too.

“I want to focus on where tax dollars are going, and make sure we aren’t raising taxes.” Ward said. “I want to make sure that programs and projects are in the best interests of all residents.”

ELECTION NUMBERS YOU NEED TO KNOW Municipal salaries 2022 Mayor – $115,177 Deputy mayor – $52,515 Councillor – $49,506

Workload expectations

The city website predicts that a councillor will spend a minimum of 60 hours a month on city/constituent related duties. Most councillors suggest that particularly through COVID, the time commitment easily doubled.

Most likely to vote 2018 50% of those aged 60 to 69 54% of those aged 70 to 79

Least likely to vote 2018 22% of those aged 18 to 29 24% of those aged 30 to 39

Estimated # of voters in Kawartha Lakes 2022 70,000

Turnouts

2014 – 42% 2018 – 38% (25,280 of 66,441 registered voters actually cast a ballot)

Voting patterns 2018

20,000 voted early / 6,000 voted on election day

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Mayoral race has no clear front-runner

By Kirk Winter

Voters in Kawartha Lakes will soon select a new mayor. The field of potential replacements for two-term mayor Andy Letham is large and contains candidates with very different views on the issues facing the city over the next four years. The only thing that appears to be certain at this point in the race is that the election promises to be hotly contested. (All photos supplied except for William Denby, courtesy of Sienna Frost, and Faye McGee, courtesy of Geoff Coleman.)

THE CANDIDATES

On the ballot are three veteran councillors (Doug Elmslie, Pat Dunn, Kathleen Seymour-Fagan), the president of the Kawartha Lakes Taxpayers Association (William Denby), a former reeve of Fenelon Township (Faye McGee) and a health-care sector worker specializing in contractor services ( Jim Riches).

THE RACE SO FAR

There appears at deadline time to be no clear front-runner. Members of the various campaign teams have told the Advocate they are being met at the front door with “either apathy or outright hostility.”

What is giving many of the campaigns hope is the fact that most voters appear not to have made a choice for mayor yet, and tell canvassers they “don’t plan to do so until much later in October.”

THE HISTORY

Municipal elections in Ontario for the last two decades have been low interest, low turnout affairs with often only four in 10 registered voters choosing to participate.

The vote, at least locally, also tends to over-represent voters between 50 and 70, who turn out in much larger numbers than any other age group.

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THE 2022 CHALLENGERS

William Denby Pat Dunn

Four-term Lindsay councillor Pat Dunn has a definite plan for the city of Kawartha Lakes that includes placing a priority on core city services and potential talks with the province to bring Metrolinx public transit services to the city.

“I like helping people out,” Dunn said in an interview with the Advocate. “I still feeI I have a lot to offer. We as a council have gotten a lot done. We have many major developments in the works.”

To continue that progress, Dunn said, “As a council we will meet at least one more time a month. We need to better advance the agenda of our constituents.

In the next four years, leadership will be required to achieve our goals. I hate that everything is a 5-4 vote. I want to see a council that looks for consensus and I am confident that with some of the people who are running for council that we can put together an awesome team.”

Dunn’s platform will focus on what he characterizes as “core issues” for the first four years, with priority given to roads, fire, policing, ambulance services, solid waste disposal and water/waste water improvements.

“I am concerned about tax increases,” Dunn said.

“Our debt is very concerning. If necessary, we will have to find savings in ‘soft services’ like parks, recreation and libraries.”

Cameron-area businessman and president of the Kawartha Lakes Taxpayers Association, William Denby, said he is “not running for the money. I plan to donate half my salary to local charities and community groups. I want to help the community.”

Denby said he is different him from the candidates who are serving on council.

“I want to take back control of city hall from senior staff,” Denby said.

“I believe too many of my opponents give staff what they want. It is council’s job to make the decisions.

"Senior staff should have nothing to fear from me but I believe that the mayor should set the agenda for council, and be the spokesman for council and ensure that power is with council who were elected by the people.”

Denby promised that roads would be the top priority.

“We need to figure out how we can allocate more money to roads. Almost every road in Kawartha Lakes needs repair. Infrastructure improvements will come next.”

Denby also promised to change the way city hall does business.

“We want to keep voters up to date,” Denby said. “I would like to see an open-door policy for the media at city hall. I would like to move council meetings to the evening (to) encourage public participation.”

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“I have heard from everyone about this issue.

Roads and infrastructure that need repair affect the agricultural and tourism sectors, along with day-today commuters,” Elmslie said.

In his push to improve customer service and city wait times, Elmslie said he wants to focus on staff hiring and retention. “Our salary structure is lower than surrounding communities. Many good people do not even apply here or they take jobs in surrounding municipalities. We need to be innovative how we work and how we retain employees,” Elmslie said.

Doug Elmslie

Elmslie, a former corporate executive with Domtar and C-I-L, has spent the last 16 years on council representing the people of Fenelon Falls. Elmslie originally got involved in local politics after he and his late wife permanently relocated to Kawartha Lakes in 2001. Elmslie has served as deputy mayor, and sat on more than 40 of the various committees responsible to council.

Elmslie has been campaigning on a platform that aims “to improve the service in public service.” He said he will focus on ensuring the city has the appropriate resources to deal with a post-pandemic world, that roads and infrastructure repair and renewal will be prioritized, that the hiring and maintaining of city staff will be approached in new and innovative ways and that the turnaround times on planning decisions and building permits will be sped up.

Faye McGee

“I am afraid that senior levels of government are soon going to be looking at their ballooning deficits and they are going to start cutting costs that include transfer of monies to the municipalities,” Elmslie said.

“I have had a lot of phone calls encouraging me to run,” the long-time community volunteer said. “There has been a lot of pressure for me to enter this race.”

McGee said as mayor she would try to be fair to all.

“I also would not be surprised to see another round of federal and provincial downloading as upper levels of government try to reduce costs.” Elmslie is concerned about the city’s financial health, and he says he is very pleased that council has implemented a 10-year plan to guide to where the city is going.

Elmslie said the city needs to “get after” repair and improvement of roads and infrastructure because of the impact that has on the whole city.

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In a telephone interview with the Advocate, Faye McGee credited her supporters for her decision to run for mayor after being out of formal politics for more than a decade.

“We need to be open to conversations with taxpayers.

We need to work with taxpayers. We need to create an environment where all communities in Kawartha Lakes are moving ahead together,” McGee said.

When asked what issues she would address early in her term as mayor, McGee focused on a number of hot button topics that will help determine the election outcome. “I want to understand why have taxes gone up . . . and services gone down,” McGee began.

lindsayadvocate.ca

“I want to increase taxpayer interest and awareness of what is going on at city hall. I would like to move meetings outside Lindsay to make council more available to voters, perhaps using service centres for the meetings.”

McGee supports a second bridge in Fenelon Falls, but is not sure which location should be chosen. She said the city should be doing all it can do to assist the people behind the Coboconk Wellness Centre that will is expected to break ground soon. McGee also believes there are a number of city bylaws that need to be reviewed.

“Council should take a closer look at some of the development proposed,” McGee said. “I want to make sure that people are heard before these projects start. We also need to make sure that rules are followed.”

In what is shaping up to be an election about infrastructure, McGee agrees that road repairs need to be looked at. She said also that several municipal water plants will need to be updated to support projected development.

"I see an old guard that doesn’t want change. I see politicians who really don’t have answers but instead are only concerned with risk management. People feel they have no control when they are looking for certainty in their lives,” Riches says.

If elected, Riches plans to make community centres right across the city important gathering places.

“We need more showcase events like the Lindsay Exhibition, Ribfest, and live music and culture that will bring rural and urban people together by choice,” Riches said. “We need to create community programs that give people something to look forward to.”

Riches wants the city to be at the forefront of the geothermal movement. “We need to look seriously at creating a geothermal utility,” Riches said.

“I fear natural gas will be banned in the next decade.

We need to give people options. We need to start a pilot project in a small village like Cambray. If it works, geothermal could be the future. There must be a change in city planning that will force the change to geothermal in new builds.”

Riches said he will be a very different kind of mayor who “stands out” and is seen in public addressing and engaging the electorate. He also wants to assist individual councillors, helping them to deal with constituent complaints.

“I realize the job of a councillor can be overwhelming.

They are only part time. I want the mayor to be more involved. I want to tell councillors to bring their complaints to me,” Riches says.

Riches also said that different solutions to problems need to considered, like the building of tiny home communities to help address the shortage of affordable housing.

Jim Riches

In a telephone interview with the Advocate, Riches detailed what motivated him to run for mayor, and what changes he hopes to make in Kawartha Lakes if elected.

“As an experienced negotiator in the health-care sector over the last three years I understand the stresses people are working under."

He said he also wants to see what he describes as a more scientific approach to decisions made about what roads are repaired.

“People don’t see their tax dollars being spent wisely on roads right now,” Riches said.

Riches also supports the city taking over service of unassumed and private roads, a hotel tax being applied to short-term rentals as the city of Ottawa has done and internet service in all rural areas in the city through the installation of fibre optic cable rather than towers “because they are too visible.”

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“Roads bring people here and get them to stay,” she said. “Our infrastructure is failing. Our zero per cent tax increase a few years ago was a poor decision and I voted against it. The money for infrastructure has to come from somewhere.”

Seymour-Fagan said she accepts that there are still efficiencies that can be found in city operations, but said, “If we cannot find enough, we will have to take a look at tax increases.”

Seymour-Fagan said she would like to see communities given more autonomy to take on projects like park-building or arena management.

She said it would be wise for the city to publish yearly the amount of money spent per capita in each ward to deal with the prevailing rural idea that “Lindsay gets everything.”

Kathleen Seymour-Fagan As recently as a year ago, local business owner and Bobcaygeon-area councillor Kathleen SeymourFagan would have said she was done with politics.

“I had decided I was out . . . I was not going to run again. It was horrendous. Because of COVID there were so many delays in getting things done and people took their anger out on local government.

It got so bad I went off social media. I had had it,” Seymour-Fagan said in a telephone interview with the Advocate.

Regardless of who wins the mayoral race SeymourFagan said she is hopeful. “It is going to be a lot of fun. This campaign is going to bring out all sorts of ideas. We need to create a vision for the city moving forward. We need to stop kicking the can down the road and do stuff that needs to be done.”

“About three to four weeks before nominations closed I took a look around at who was running, all of whom I have tremendous respect for, and I reconsidered realizing I still have a lot of energy . . . I have a lot to give still,” Seymour-Fagan said.

She said she is trying to be careful with campaign promises, realizing after being on council for eight years there are many things the municipal government cannot do. “I do want to make improved customer service a priority,” Seymour-Fagan said.

“We need to do a better job in staff recruitment,” she added.

Seymour-Fagan said that the shortage of affordable housing could at least be partially addressed by more people building tiny homes on their properties for rental purposes now that the zoning and bylaw regulations permit it. She said she appreciates that road repair and maintenance has become a real talking point in this election.

26

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10 Days . 2 Ways Improved for 2022! Internet and Telephone Voting

Council has approved the sole use of internet and telephone voting for the 2022 Municipal Election. Electors will be given 10 days and 2 ways to cast their vote and will now be able to vote online or by telephone anywhere they have an internet or telephone connection. Voting assistance will also be available.

Voting starts at 9am on October 14 and ends 8pm on October 24.

Election packages and access codes are being mailed prior to the first day of voting. If you do not receive your Voting PIN letter in the mail by October 11, you will be able to obtain your Voting PIN letter from the Election Office at City Hall, or at any Municipal Service Centre.

Offices to be elected and certified candidates

The official candidate list has been published and is available on the municipal website at www.kawarthalakes.ca/election.

There are races in all eight Wards and for Mayor (other than the French Separate School Board, where the candidate was acclaimed). Visit the website for the complete list, as well as all relevant election information.

For more information, email election@kawarthalakes.ca, call 705-324-9411 extension 1888.

www.kawarthalakes.ca/election

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Ghosts, aliens and UFOs of Kawartha Lakes

By Denise Waldron

Kawartha Lakes has its share of things that go boo in the night, streak across the sky or maybe even appear in human form from another planet. From Lindsay to Burnt River, no area of the city is safe from paranormal happenings.

Familiar Lindsay ghost stories include Mary at the Flato Academy Theatre, reports of footsteps at the former Lindsay Post office at 15 William St. N., and at the Kawartha Lakes Museum (formerly the Olde Gaol) where unexplained lights and noises are said to occur. A ghost named Hector supposedly haunts Cambridge Street United Church.

There are a few other businesses that have spectral stories attached, although the details are scant.

One commercial building in downtown Lindsay is rumoured to have some visitors spooked, vowing never to return. A popular inn in the city has paranormal tales blowing in the wind. Both businesses refused comment. Perhaps they were afraid of scaring away customers.

Kat Lipinski is a Lindsay psychic and medium — yep, she connects with dead people daily over the phone, via Zoom or in person at her business Roma Therapy in Lindsay. She has many tales about local apparitions that are not the usual ones to draw people to the area to ghost hunt. Out of consideration for homeowners, she is vague about their locations.

One of her first unsettling times in Lindsay was just after she and her husband rented a house on Pottinger Street.

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She said many weird things happened there. “Guests felt uncomfortable and none of us liked being home alone,” Lipinski said. Her husband Andrew is not frightened of any perceived ghosts but would get nervous going into the basement. Lipinski added, “Sometimes if I was alone, I would go outside just to avoid being inside alone.”

A call to the landlord did not shed much light, other than that a hoarder lived there before the Lipinski family.

Some paranormal experts believe a messy house would give unforeseen forces too much power and negative energy. Lipinski said this absolutely could have been the case. She also mentioned a Polish belief in the domovoi — which is a house spirit. She said some cultures believe you have to appease house spirits by bringing them offerings and by keeping the kitchen clean.

After renting, the couple purchased a home in Lindsay. They viewed a Victorian-style home on one of the streets behind the Flato Academy Theatre.

Lipinski said when she walked in, she couldn’t breathe. “It was like the wind was knocked out of me.”

The home’s design was strange, according to Lipinski. “It was separated in weird ways. There was not a lot of energy flow inside.” The couple decided it was not the house for them. “When we left there, I was panting and sweating,” and when they got home, she said, “I could not stop thinking about it.”

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Lipinski called the owner and asked if the house was haunted. The woman did not know, but said she thought the house at one time had been used to train Catholic nuns or priests. What she said next was not a surprise to Lipinski. “I am on oxygen and I have COPD very bad.”

While there were no signs of illness or an oxygen tank for Lipinski to see, she said it made sense that she picked up the breathing issues with her abilities.

Lipinskid said newer homes can be haunted as well, adding that residents could bring energy with them or spirits may not want a building there. “If you put a house or a building somewhere, you are disturbing things.”

She investigated a reputed haunting in a newer subdivision house in Lindsay about 10 years ago. As soon as the family moved in, their doorbell rang at 3 a.m. The husband awoke and opened the door. No one was there. It had snowed that night and there weren’t any footprints leading to the door. He poked his head out and was perplexed.

Lipinski said things started getting strange soon after. She believes the man left the door open a little too long and let something in. A kitchen kettle would boil by itself. The family would often come home to their pet birds flying around the house when their cage doors had been firmly locked.

Lipinski said the most unsettling incidents involved family members hearing each other in rooms when they weren’t there. In one instance, the husband and wife and their roommate were in the kitchen and they heard the roommate clearly speaking from the hallway. She said it was unnerving to the family, but these strange happenings stopped. The doorbell never rang by itself again. Lipinski speculates that whatever was there eventually accepted the family.

While the medium does not advertise ghost removal, she is contacted occasionally by people believing their homes are haunted.

She said in nine out of 10 places there is nothing spectral, “There is mental illness or addictions or EMF — electro-magnetic fields.” She added she believes that a lot of copper wiring in a home can create feelings of paranoia.

It can also make people anxious or feel like they are being watched, she suggested. “There are people who just need medical help and do not have ghosts in their homes.”

Christopher Lee Grant leads a Lindsay ghost walk

Ghost Walk

Lindsay actor Christopher Lee Grant leads the Habitat for Humanity ghost walk through town, highlighting the usual spooky spots plus interesting historical tidbits.

One evening, the group stopped at the front of a dark Alexandra Public School on Sussex Street North.

Grant was telling them the schoolyard formerly housed a cemetery.

According to the Canadian genealogy records, the first Protestant cemetery in Lindsay was on the grounds where the school now stands. The location was inadequate and according to a newspaper file, the bodies were transferred on May 22, 1876, via a wagon, loaded with rotten coffins three tiers high, down Kent Street on its way to Riverside Cemetery on Lindsay Street South for reinterment. As Grant finished the unsettling tale, the front outside light at the school flickered on. Grant said, “It was great timing for the crowd.”

He said he believes people like ghost stories because they want to glimpse themselves in the future.

“People like to know what’s beyond life.”

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UFO Sightings

Not all otherworldly tales are on terra firma. There is an average of 1,000 reports a year in Canada of UFO sightings. Lots of them are easily explained away as drones, weather phenomena or corporate or government technology.

Kimberly Slade has a cottage in Burnt River where her family enjoys stargazing. Escaping the Toronto-area light pollution allows them to see the constellations one star at a time, except on Aug. 19 this year, “We saw something that resembled a train with lighted windows, or a glowing pill capsule,” Her husband thought for a minute it was a UFO. A quick check revealed it was a Starlink satellite.

Slade said they had seen Starlink satellites before, but this looked different. According to the astronomy app Star Walk, the satellites look like “a moving chain of bright dots resembling a brilliant train of lights.” Starlink is a satellite constellation system that aims to deliver global internet coverage — no doubt confusing skyward gazers around the world.

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Not all unbelievable lore can be easily explained away, especially when the people central to the story have died. Monica Smith’s* mother was an artist and her dad ran a small business in downtown Lindsay. (*The Advocate is using this pseudonym to protect Monica’s real identity, given she has been a victim of domestic abuse.)

In the early 1980s, Smith’s mom shared that their family, along with a bunch of other Lindsay people, were approached by “men in black” in the late 1950s.

They wore black suits and had black eyes. Smith said her mom thought the men were “very persuasive” and had mesmerizing eyes. The purported aliens then asked the group to leave with them on their ship.

Smith said her mom was willing to go, but her dad did not believe or trust them and refused. Smith says she was shocked but believed her mom and regrets she never brought up the subject with her again.

Smith’s mom said she never saw the other people again. Perhaps they moved away, or just maybe, had the flight of a lifetime? LA

lindsayadvocate.ca

Ghost Dogs

My dog Bright was 14 when I had him put down at the end of November 2021. He was ailing, in pain, and was not enjoying life, especially without daily walks.

He was a nervous pup and wanted to be near us all the time. There was always a loud thump outside the bathroom door when he flopped there, awaiting his master. If there was anything unusual on our walks, Bright would look nervous and pull towards home. Boys grunting while playing rugby, road work or fake ghosts blowing from trees in October always set him off.

I found a music mix on Spotify that was supposed to help nervous pups. I played it when we went out, in hopes it would help his anxiety.

Just before his final trip to the vet, our wayward daughter Ashleigh came home from Australia to visit. She got to say goodbye to the pup who had been in her life since she was a teen before he went to sleep for the last time.

A few weeks later, she got up to use the bathroom at night. Just after she shut the door, she heard the familiar thump on the other side.

She opened the door into the darkened hall and saw a black flash. It was a black coat on a hook on the wall, moving because of her opening the door fast. But what was the unmistakable thump noise?

Bright, author Denise Waldron's beloved dog. Given the sounds she and her daughter heard, Waldron wonders whether Bright may have taken his time "crossing over."

On a recent night of writing, I played the dog anxiety mix. It has a dreamy, ethereal quality without lyrics, so it’s perfect for homework or writing. About an hour in, I heard the soft breathing of a sleeping dog behind me. It continued for a few hours before I called it a night. I have not heard it since.

While the events after our pup’s passing seem strange, they are all in a day’s work for Angel Morgan. She describes herself as a clairvoyant, animal communicator and energetic expert with clients from around the world. She says we create a beautiful bond with our animals and they become our family.

“They love us so much, that they want us to know they’re okay,” she said. Morgan hears stories of the clicking of nails on the floor or the weight of a cat on the owner after a pet has died. “They know their owners are grieving, so they come to comfort them as well.” – Denise Waldron 33

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The Wellness Connections Program is designed for people aged 65+ to learn about healthy changes and choices to age well and to connect to local service providers offering supportive programs.

The program can be accessed virtually through our website or with in-person support.

Free of charge

NEW CLIENTS WELCOME!

Access to our new online learning platform

Limited tablets or Wi-Fi provided on request

Support and coaching provided by KL-OHT staff

Visit our website or give us a call to learn more about the Wellness Connections Program.

705-934-1439 www.kawarthalakesoht.ca

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NEW Adult Day Program coming to Kawartha Lakes!

Silver Lights Senior Services Adult Day program for Dementia/Alzheimer’s

Designed specifically for seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Monthly support group for families and caregivers, including telephone/ email counselling if needed.

Opening Nov. 1st, 2022 Come to our open house Oct. 27th from 1-3 pm or at 6-8 pm.

185 St. George St. Lindsay

Partially sponsored by the New Horizons Seniors Grant.

Call 705.308.1940 or Email hello@silverlightsseniorservices.com

Conversations with interesting people in Kawartha Lakes

Lacey Ball on being too busy for downtime, helping the downtown and being down with Walmart It’s hard to get Lacey Ball to talk about anything other than work. Maybe that’s the price she pays though for running two popular businesses in downtown Lindsay — free time to think about anything else, other than family, is at a premium.

Ball, 35, owns and operates Olde Mill Candle Co. and Olde Mill Home, the latter of which just relocated a few metres away to take over the corner position at Kent and Cambridge streets where Boiling Over’s Coffee Vault used to be.

Lacey Ball. All photos: Sienna Frost.

The business used to be called Olde Mill Primitives but Ball saw an opportunity for a subtle rebrand to leave no doubt what her flagship store was all about.

On one of the hottest days in late summer we’re on the Olympia’s patio. For a change, I forego green tea for iced tea and lemon. Ball swears by the restaurant’s coffee and the beating sun won’t change her mind.

She’s content with beverages but I suggest I can’t write a “Lunch With” column with no food consumed, so she orders a plate of Greek feta fries. It’s a Greek salad with chicken breast for me.

Her family moved to Kawartha Lakes from Peterborough when she was in Grade 4, and she attended Fenelon Township Public School in Cameron.

“This is a great community,” she says, and I take that to mean both Lindsay and the other small villages in the city. “I consider it my hometown.”

Ball and her partner and kids live in Bethany where they take full advantage of nearby trails and recreational opportunities.

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"We agreed that people on social media tend to put too much emphasis on what they see as shortcomings in our communities."

“Every town has its problems. The city does a good job in keeping things clean, which I appreciate. And (Lindsay’s) downtown is really looking amazing.”

Ball knew her path was retail-focused early on. Soon after graduating high school at I.E. Weldon, she got her start with Southern Comfort, a Lindsay business focused on fireplaces and furniture.

“I really enjoyed it there — and I realized that was my path,” she says, of retail in general.

Ball, who I have only seen stylishly attired, comes across as unfailingly even-tempered and kind — certainly a great fit for a life in retail.

lindsayadvocate.ca

She worked at Southern Comfort for three years.

She got married and started a family; her two boys are now 14 and 11.

It was when her eldest started kindergarten that she realized she finally had a bit of free time to start doing something that interested her. That’s when she began making decorative arrangements at home, such as home décor accents.

A spark was lit.

“I put it out there on Facebook and it took off,” says Ball.

The work was keeping her as busy as she wanted to be. “It was still very low key because I only had so much time back then,” she says. But soon she would open her first little shop — near Oakwood — and start finding suppliers “because I couldn’t make everything by myself.”

This was about 10 years ago, when primitive country, farmhouse décor was very popular. It’s a decorating style that incorporates elements such as folk art, earthy colours, simple lines and rough-hewn textures to simulate the look of an older time.

It uses new material to create an antique atmosphere.

Ball did her thing “from a little 300 square foot holein-the-wall outside of Oakwood,” she says, where she was only open two days a week.

Then she more than doubled the size of the store in a new location in Omemee and featured more supplier help.

“The way it worked out, though, Omemee was a passthrough town for a business like mine,” Ball says.

With people driving on their way to Peterborough or farther east, they were less likely to stop and shop for home décor, unlike, say, a café where they might pull over for a bite to eat.

When the Cambridge Street location came up near The Pie Eyed Monk she jumped at the opportunity.

She was there for more than five years and made it work, “but we still had people years later come in and say, ‘Oh, you’re new here.’”

From that tiny spot that started out in Oakwood years ago she started amassing a regular clientele that has been following her ever since.

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“It’s amazing to still have that base of followers from the original store,” she says.

It was about six weeks after the first lockdown in 2020 that her separate business, Olde Mill Candle, opened at 104 Kent St. W. (I have had at least 10 Olde Mill Candle products in my home; I appreciate how most are Ontario-made, they don’t trigger anyone’s allergies and they last just shy of forever.)

Taking over this store just before the lockdown while also operating Olde Mill Primitive, as it was known at the time, was a trying time for Ball — especially on top of her home life.

“My children’s mental health was the top priority then,” she says, and she decided to keep the boys at home for two full years over the course of the pandemic, rather than have them go back and forth if schools opened and then closed. “What impact will this pandemic have on them? I think they’ll get there but you still feel for them — they sacrificed a lot.”

As an entrepreneur, she was heartened that people wanted to support local businesses like hers. “But by end of year two we were all so fatigued by it,” she says, noting the overhead on her locations was difficult to manage.

She appreciates that her staff were largely taken care of by government grants, “but over the long term for business owners it was hard.”

Ball is a big believer that Walmart setting up in Lindsay will benefit the area. “It’s even going to help us here in the downtown because at least the shoppers will stay in town then — otherwise they’ll head to Peterborough anyway. Them leaving town won’t help us,” she says.

The business owner notes how difficult the staff shortage issue is for most businesses — she’s feeling the pinch of having less staff than desired, too — adding that it plays a role in arresting development in downtowns.

“For instance, the demand is there for more patios in downtown Lindsay,” she says, “but there’s not enough staff.” She says it’s frustrating to see the unfulfilled potential.

“We really do need to figure out how to make the downtown a full experience. The food is fantastic and we should be encouraging people to spend the day here.” LA 38

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Achieve lifetime financial security and live a healthier life.

Leslie L Orr

Partner, Izzio Financial Solutions Inc. Advisor, Sun Life 20 May Street, Fenelon Falls, ON Office: 705-324-1055

The Kawartha Lakes Intimate Partner Violence Support Unit is a collaborative unit to support victims of IPV. IPV is any form of abuse, assault, mistreatment or neglect that a person of any age or gender experiences from someone they are IN, or HAVE BEEN IN, an intimate relationship. The focus of the unit is on assistance with immediate needs like safety planning, police reporting, medical exams, shelter and more.

WORKING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT VICTIMS OF INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE Call KHVS at 705-878-5505, in an emergency call 911.

39

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Have a Safe Halloween!

Make sure trick or treaters can see and be seen.

Let’s all do our part to keep Kawartha Lakes safe.

25th Anniversary

Kawartha Lakes Festival of Trees

We Are Back With The Classic Event at Kawartha Settlers’ Village!

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Nov 11th - 5pm to 9pm • Nov 12th - 10am to 9pm • Nov 13th - 11am to 3pm

Hundreds Of Beautiful Trees, Decorated Items And Gifts For Raffle, Live Auction And Silent Auction!

Visit Santa And His Reindeer • Shop Our General Store And Candy Shoppe Enjoy Our Cafe And Snack Shack • Play In The Kids Zone • Drop Off Your Letter To Santa & More!

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SPONSORED CONTENT

ELECT WILLIAM DENBY MAYOR With an open door policy ELECT William J. Denby for MAYOR!

I will get it done.

I am not a politician – never want to be called one – I am a business person because I care about my customers! I thought I should post some of my experiences in life that I have done over the years for the voters in the 2022 Municipal Election! I am a small Conservative and live my life under those principles! I am proud that I have lived in Victoria County and now the City of Kawartha Lakes, all my 63 years!

Never left. Raised my family, ran successful businesses, thanks to the people that supported us. It is time to give back to the people of the City of Kawartha Lakes!

Please ELECT!! William J. Denby for MAYOR! I will get it done. That is a promise and I always keep my promises!! Just ask my wife Gwen.

My Commitments to the Voters if they put their TRUST in William J. Denby 1. I will donate 50% of my salary to charities and organizations.

2. Repair all roads within the City within my 4-year term.

3. 80% of taxpayer dollars collected will remain in each Ward for road, building, repairs.

4. Along with Council, develop new Subdivision Agreement that covers every cost associated with the subdivision to protect taxpayers.

5. That only classes 3,4 and 5 lands can be developed inside the City’s limits that have enough water and sewage compacity. No subdivisions will go on class 1 and 2 land or on Wetlands without the developer paying full cost of road, schools, water & sewage upgrades with in the agreement!

6. Conduct a Performance Standard Policy & Program on senior staff & departments annually along with Council to ensure taxpayer’s money is not being wasted.

7. Freeze all property taxes for the next 4 years ensuring all Councilors and staff are living within their means. There is property tax revenue from new builds that will help offset the tax freeze.

8. Mayor and Council members will only be able to serve 1 term. This will help to get more people standing for Council & Mayor positions.

9. Building and buying of vehicles freeze be in place for the next 4 years on Mayor and Council, so all funds can go to repair all the roads in City of Kawartha Lakes.

10. A plan and policy will be put in place to pay off the debt in a reasonable time. Any or all City properties declared surplus will be sold. The funds go to pay down the debt or repair roads.

11. A new Master Plan for the City of Kawartha Lakes will be developed taking into consideration present and future demands on all services including water, sewage, roads, buildings, schools, EMS, fire and policing within the City for the next 30 years’ growth.

13. All Wards will come under 1 set of Bylaws across the City. Bylaws that infringe on people’s property rights on their property be removed. A complete review of all Bylaws that are in place under the City’s control that have a negative impact on growth will be removed.

I have always owned & operated businesses my entire life – never lived off the taxpayers or was paid by Governments for my advice! It is time for me to give back to the people that have supported us over my life in business! I ask you put your trust in me to get it done on your behalf!

The goal is to take back control of City Hall for the people in City of Kawartha Lakes. This will make the City run like a business so investments, growth and jobs will flow into our municipality! Finally, after all these years of amalgamation, we will have a City that works and is open for business!

ELECT!! William J. Denby for MAYOR! I will get it done!

3I was a dairy and cash crop farmer with my wife for over 40 years. We 3I still hold my import/export license, but had to cease operations bemilked 120 cows daily and cropped over 900 acres, owned 300 acres near Sonya in Kawartha Lakes.

cause of Covid 19 from importing dairy products from the USA for the last 2 years!

I have been married to the same lady for over 45 years. We have a 3We sold the farms, cows, quota & machinery in 2010 when our son Paul 3 became ill with ALS. We decided to go into the recreational On & Off Road daughter with 2 girls. Our son passed away with ALS at 32 years young on Feb. 11/2017. He had a daughter. We are blessed with a granddaughter, Summer who spends a lot of time with us!

3While farming, I was on the Dairy Farmers Local Milk Committee as

chairman for a number of years. I fought lots of battles to make the system better for all dairy farmers in Ontario!

business. We bought 5 rental houses in Lindsay & 4 rental properties in Florida, Motor Homes, Boats, ATVs, Dune Buggys, Pit Bikes, E Scooters, E Bikes, E Mobility Scooters after we sold everything related to farming. I opened a new business called Bill’s Rentals at our location near Little Britain & outgrew the site in 4 years. We then relocated our business to 3900, Hwy. 35 N., Cameron.

3I was a witness in the Butter-Oil Sugar Blends Imports at the Canadian 3In 2014, we bought at 3900, Hwy. 35 N., Cameron and moved our International Trade Tribunal in Ottawa, because I was an importer & dairy business to this location. Paul lived with us so that we could look after him. farmer. I drove every day to Ottawa and back for the hearings for 14 days!

3

I was an advisor to the Chief Trade Negotiator’s on Agriculture, Mike Gifford & Steve Verhuel from Agriculture Canada on NAFTA & GATT Trade Agreements on dairy tariffs, imports & exports. That was real interesting how the federal Government operates.

3I was asked by our MP John O’Reilly at the time to be a advisor to Agri-

culture Canada Agri Committee which I did for a number of years on Trade Agreements, imports/exports of dairy products. The impact that it would have on dairy farmers, plus ways to protect them from the impacts.

I served on the Committee in Ontario for developing a dairy import/ex3 port program by the Ontario Government to develop a milk export program for Ontario Dairy Producers who wanted to export milk. We had implemented the program in which I formed an import/export company – International Dairy Direct – which bought & shipped milk to Ontario processors for dairy export products only, plus we shipped milk direct to USA processors for a number of years. It was shut down by the Ontario Government because we were doing too much business and it gave dairy producers a option not to buy quota at $25,000 per cow from the Ontario Marketing Board run by the Province for domestic milk only!

3I opened my own export business for dairy farmers that held no quota, only shipped export milk to the USA, with the help of the Federal Government! It was really successful. We had over 500 new dairy producers that had started shipping milk & making money, until the Ontario Government got nervous that we were doing a better job than they were marketing farmers milk! This turned into a Court battle all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada! We were forced to shut down after 4 years of operating legally in the USA dairy market by the Ontario Government & their marketing board.

3While still farming, I bought back all our quota for our 120 cows to con-

tinue to market milk in Ontario. I obtained my import/export license to import dairy products & milk from the USA to supply my Ontario dairy processors customers, so they could continue to export their products!

We took him for every treatment that was available for people with ALS. Nothing worked. He passed after 7 years of fighting to live! That was the hardest to deal with – watching your son die – and there is nothing you can do to stop it! Paul passed on Feb.11/2017. He was active in our business right up to the end. It is because of him we built the Mud Park & sell ATVs mainly to kids & youth! Our Sales & Service area when we started was Kawartha Lakes, Peterborough & Durham Region. It is now from Hwy. 400 to Kingston, Ontario! We are the largest On & Off Road vehicle retailer in Ontario for products made offshore. We carry 7 offshore manufacturers products.

We own everything on site, have 3 divisions within our business, 4 full-time employees & hire part-time workers when needed. We have accomplished all this in 5 years – even with having to deal with all the other issues! We have laid down a solid foundation to build & grow our business, year after year! We now sell over 400 brand new units a year & it keeps growing every year because of our CUSTOMER SERVICE! We have the best staff any business could wish for – they treat you like family!

I got to experience dealing with DIRTY COPS, spending time in Lind3 say Jail. I beat all the phony charges that the dirty cops laid. Some of my

tenants lied to have charges laid because I caught them all dealing illegal drugs out of my rental houses on the street through my tenants! The cops thought they could bury me in 14 phony charges and 4 phony breaches!

ALL CHARGES were dropped after my pre-trial when my lawyer went to set it down for trial! I HAVE A CLEAN RECORD. I can travel anywhere in the World & still hold my Import License that I would lose if I had 1 criminal charge! I should have wrote a book on this experience! My wife stood by me through this nightmare, just because I would not walk away from challenging the Lindsay dirty cops! I want to be clear not all Lindsay cops are dirty!!

We sold all our rental properties both in Lindsay & Florida. That was a 3 real experience. We focused everything on to build our business on Hwy. 35. It has grown every year since opening – thanks to the local, GTA & Cottage Country people. It is time for me to give back!

ELECT William J. Denby for MAYOR!

Campaign Headquarters: 3900, Hwy 35, N., Cameron Email: treasureislandresort@hotmail.com • Telephone: 705-328-7197

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ELECT WILLIAM DENBY MAYOR

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lindsay-fullPage.indd 1

2022-03-11 3:18 PM

Director hoping for labour peace

By Kirk Winter Municipal Affairs and Education

Wes Hahn, the director of education for the Trillium Lakelands District School Board, is very hopeful that after three school years disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic that this year will be a quiet one for staff and students with a minimum of interruptions, particularly on the labour front.

Currently all TLDSB teachers, secretaries, custodians, educational assistants and other board support staff are without collective agreements that expired right across the province on Aug. 31.

“We have just begun talks with CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees who represent school support staff),” Hahn told the Advocate in a telephone interview.

“Talks with the teachers’ unions are coming. We are going to have to work hard at the local bargaining table, and it isn’t going to be easy or perfect to achieve settlements.”

When asked what the chances might be for a school labour disruption locally, Hahn was unsure.

“There is always a chance,” Hahn said. “We don’t want it. Parents don’t want it. I can’t imagine a fourth year of disruption but the central (bargaining) table (in Toronto that deals with issues like wages) will play a big piece in bringing about a settlement.”

Hahn was not specific when job actions could start in TLDSB. “We don’t have any deadlines in place right now,” Hahn said. “We are going to keep coming to the table. No one wants this. What would parents say?”

Extracurriculars Hahn was please to share that extracurriculars “are full back on.”

“We still have a number of staff who are hesitant because they are dealing with COVID or family members with COVID,” Hahn said. “I think we are in a very good place with extracurriculars right now.”

TLDSB Director of Education Wes Hahn

Enrollment/new schools When asked to address the significant number of new home builds planned for Lindsay over the next decade and how that might impact the board’s building plans, Hahn was cautious.

“We don’t have guidelines from the ministry regarding doing up-to-date accommodation reviews (which provide boards the provincially approved formula regarding closing underused schools and planning for new building if necessary),” Hahn said.

“We are waiting for guidelines from the ministry. The ministry has stopped boards from opening or closing schools for the last three years. There appear to be no timelines from the ministry regarding getting this information out to the boards. As soon as they do, we will be on it.

“We really can’t predict who will be coming to fill those houses,” Hahn added. “We know families are smaller than they ever have been. We also know that retirees are buying bigger homes than they ever have so grown children can come visit.”

Hahn did tell the Advocate that there are 400 more students registered at board schools than last September.

“We believe they are city folk, some renting while their new home is being built,” Hahn said.

45

Re-Elect

705.887.9281 dougelmslieward3@gmail.com

Ron Ashmore For Ward 6 Councillor ronashmore.ca

For Mayor of the City of Kawartha Lakes

Call or Text 705.934.2223

www.dougelmslie.com

Because YOU deserve to be HEARD.

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Waste not want not

Another piece of motherly advice: It’s not just the food we eat, but also the food we throw out that contributes to the climate problem.

More than half of food produced in Canada doesn’t make it from farm or factory to fork. That’s $49 billion worth of food lost, according to a report by Second Harvest, a Toronto agency that collects and redistributes food to the needy. About $10 billion of those lost groceries are tossed from our homes.

Shrink Your Carbon ‘Foodprint’ Eat Your Vegetables

Parents are right about that.

We’re not likely to get high cholesterol from beans, broccoli and carrots. And a recent University of Oxford study showed eating less meat could lower an individual’s risk of contracting cancer. Those greens are healthier for us, and for the planet.

What we choose to eat is responsible for about onequarter of the world’s planet-warming emissions.

And according to statistics from Our World in Data (which tries to tackle the world’s big problems through research and data), the number one contributor, by a long shot, is beef. Globally it has 10 times the planetwarming effect of chicken, and an impact more than 200 times that of potatoes or nuts.

But just to complicate the matter, and to be fair, how animals are raised and what they eat can lessen (or increase) their environmental impact. I’m reading that some feed additives can reduce the methane cows emit — and methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Beef raised in fields or on crops created from the destruction of Amazon rainforest certainly have a much higher carbon footprint than that raised in North America, so knowing where our food comes from and how it’s produced is important.

Beef’s climate impact is significant enough that a recent report by Navius Research, a Canadian research firm focused on energy and the environment, showed we could help Canada reach its climate targets if we reduced our meat and dairy consumption by 50 per cent by 2050. There’s no doubt this would have an impact on farmers unless there were incentives created to help them farm differently.

In addition to wasting money and the resources to grow, package and ship that food, it then rots in landfills, and that’s a problem for our warming planet.

The report said discarded food produces 56.6 million tonnes of greenhouse gases like methane. That nasty contributor to our climate problem doesn’t just come from cattle.

Choose organic, local food when you can

That’s not mom’s advice. That one comes from groups like the David Suzuki Foundation. Studies show that “chemical farming” — with synthetic pesticides and fertilizers — uses more energy than organic. And those nitrogen fertilizers produce a global warming gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Food miles (the distance food travels) can matter.

But so can practices like organic or regenerative farming. They use methods that increase carbon and nutrients in the soil. Methods like crop rotation, low tillage or using animal waste to feed the plants that feed the animaIs.

Want to shrink your carbon “foodprint”?

In addition to reducing meat consumption and hitting the farmers’ market for local and organic food, consider: •

Planning meals and buying only what you need to reduce waste and save money

•

Supporting our municipal government in starting a compost collection program

•

Growing your own food – not everyone has land, but many areas locally have community gardens

Ultimately, consider your values. Climate? Health?

Supporting local farming?

Or just listening to your mother?

47

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Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey is the perfect eerie and disturbing book to read this month. Vera’s estranged, cruel mother is dying. She tells her daughter to come home and Vera obliges. Only home isn’t very “homey” – it’s the house where a famous serial killer lived, namely Vera’s father. Unexplainable things keep happening. Can Vera get to the bottom of them?

This book was selected from the Kawartha Lakes Public Library’s NextReads Newsletters. Register to receive monthly or bi-monthly e-newsletters with enticing book suggestions.

www.kawarthalakeslibrary.ca/nextbook

7 Days a Week 8:00am - 6:00pm

Come squeeze our buns!

2 Commerce Place, Lindsay (Behind Canadian Tire)

705-324-7736

49

Fortunately, much has been done over the years to raise awareness about the rights of those living with a disability, and to make our community more inclusive and accessible to all.

The horrific injuries incurred by those serving in the First World War brought disability awareness into the Canadian consciousness in a dramatic way, and the Great War Veterans’ Association, later called the Royal Canadian Legion, was established in part to support the needs of these individuals.

Children and youth living with disabilities in Victoria County did not receive as much publicity between the wars — but nor were they as invisible as they might have been a generation before, when George Lytle was making inquiries about what sort of people should be institutionalized.

Disability in Kawartha Lakes: A century of raising awareness In 1900, a letter from Samuel Suddaby, clerk of Somerville Township, crossed the desk of George Lytle, publisher of the Lindsay Watchman-Warder.

A plebiscite on whether to build a house of refuge in Victoria County was scheduled to take place the following year, and Lytle was curious about how many residents from each township might enter the institution should one be built (which it was, in 1905).

Among those in the Burnt River area who “would be much better in a House of Refuge,” Suddaby wrote, was a man with a disability whom “we can’t find anyone to keep willingly.”

The Lindsay Rotary Club, in particular, was instrumental in advocating for their welfare through the 1930s. Fundraising efforts were undertaken in support of children with disabilities and Rotarians Charles Ferguson and Dan McQuarrie were known to drive children to Sick Children’s Hospital in Toronto for treatment. Other early efforts to support individuals with disabilities were more informal.

In 1937, Ivor Jakeman, a 23-year-old Bethany resident who suffered from distorted limbs as a result of infantile paralysis, was supported by Harvey Ginn, the local barber, in developing a market garden. “Is he discouraged?” asked the Lindsay Daily Post of Jakeman. “No, not he. He is and will be game to the very last to make a place for himself in this huge unrelenting world.”

This unnamed man, he noted, “is now with some relatives who want to get rid of him, and it costs us $54.75 to keep him.”

More advances took place during the 1950s. The Kawartha White Cane Club was formed in 1952 to support those living with vision impairment. In September 1960, a group of Lindsay-area parents joined forces to open a school for children with special needs.

Individuals with physical and cognitive exceptionalities were for far too long seen as invisible. They were at best second-class citizens, and, as suggested in Suddaby’s letter, considered a financial burden on society.

The organization they founded ultimately became the Victoria County Association for Community Living in 1988, and was instrumental in making Grace King’s family feel welcome in Lindsay when they relocated to the area in 1974.

50

lindsayadvocate.ca

Over the summer of 1980, Carolyn Van Alstyne co-ordinated a project for the Victoria County Social Planning Council that saw public buildings, elevators, entranceways, parking spaces and washrooms across the municipality studied to ascertain whether they were fully accessible.

“The intention,” said the introduction to An Accessibility Guidebook of Lindsay and District, “is not so much to expose physical barriers as to remove uncertainties that might present anxiety barriers to those with mobility problems.”

Removing barriers also means reducing the distance one must travel to access services. Five Counties Children’s Centre, established in Peterborough in 1975 with the financial assistance of the Lindsay Rotary Club, began providing services to children with physical, neurological and communicative challenges living in the Lindsay area, in October of 1982.

The author's cousin, Flora McQuarrie Ripley (1989-2001), was one of many children who benefited from the services provided

by Five Counties Children's Centre.

King’s daughter, Rochelle, had been diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome (a genetic disorder causing weak muscles and slow development), and would go on to benefit from the many services offered by the VCACL. King’s experience as a mother of a child with a disability led her to become an advocate, and she recalls working alongside others such as the late Bill Huskinson and the late Ron Kennedy in blazing new trails. “Over the years the labels were dropped and those with different abilities had opportunities they were never afforded in the past,” says King. “Ron Kennedy,” she remembers “was a gifted gentleman who happened to have a physical disability caused by cerebral palsy.

"He was a speaker, advocate, and Scoutmaster — something no person of disabilities was supposed to do — and he offered encouragement in raising the bar.” By the 1970s and 1980s, questions of accessibility had entered public discourse.

“I have been privileged to work in the Lindsay community for the past 40 years,” says Darlene Callan, director of clinical services for Five Counties.

“It really does take a village to raise a child, and we have learned over the years that children are born with differing abilities (rather than disabilities), and they require all services to work together to provide them with the best possible chance at building those abilities for life.”

ERIC SMEATON FOR WARD 5 Council DEDICATED, CREATIVE, INSIGHTFUL.

www.ericward5.com 705-879-2242

A Councillor who listens to all, and isn't afraid to make the tough decisions!

51

CARROT MUFFINS

These muffins are a delicious and healthy snack for school lunches or work breaks and are quite adaptable to different ingredients. For an extrahealthy muffin, you can use half whole wheat flour, or substitute 3/4 cup oats for 3/4 cup of the flour.

They also freeze well; after baked and cooled, place in freezer bags and freeze. Simply remove from your freezer a few hours before to defrost!

This recipe makes about 15 regular small muffins.

1/3 cup vegetable oil, margarine or softened butter 1/2 cup maple syrup, honey or sugar 2 eggs

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract (optional) 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 420 Eldon Road, Little Britain (705) 748-3848 4075 County Road 121, Kinmount (705) 488-9963 401 Kent Street West, Lindsay (705) 324-1978

1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

2 cups peeled and grated carrots (3 large) 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts and/or raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease muffin tin.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the oil and sugar together well.

3. Add eggs, vanilla and yogurt and mix well.

4. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and stir until just combined.

5. Add the grated carrots, chopped walnuts and raisins if using, and gently fold in.

6. Fill muffin cups with batter to 3/4 full.

7. Cook for 13-16 minutes or until muffins are golden on top and a toothpick or knife inserted in the centre of a muffin comes out clean.

52

Out of Order

by Barbara Olson © ClassiCanadian Crosswords

Across

1

1 "... and the like": Abbr.

4 Molten materials

10 "The Cat Came Back" singer Penner

2

3

14

15

17

18

20

14 The / of km/h

4

6

7

32

18 Cheap and easy to come by

34

33

49

43

28 They, to Thierry

50

32 "It was me"

34 With 34-Down, decline to join

31

47

48

44 46 52

51

54

29 Feathered neckwear

30

41

45

27 It might come between neighbours

29

38

40

24 Ship's first sailing

13

35

37

42

23 Bacon-frying sound

12

23

28

39

22 Size for a broad foot

11

26

36

20 Black and white pod member

10

19

27

17 "Disco" guy on "The Simpsons"

9

16

25

16 Sing the praises of, with "about"

8

22

21

24

15 Get to where one's going

5

53

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

35 Young blokes

36 With 38-Across, multi-material artwork ... or a hint to this puzzle's circled letters

Down

37 "So ___ me"

1 ___ salts (bath additive)

39 Middle keys, on pianos

3 They ward off vampires, supposedly

38 See 36-Across

40 "Gilligan's Island" abode 41 Fixed, as an election 42 Sound of 23-Across 43 Trashy writing

44 "The Great One" before "The Trade"

45 Like French's Ketchup or Dare Maple Leaf Creme Cookies 49 7-Up, in old ads, with "the"

52 ___ Na Na

53 Key with two sharps: Abbr.

54 Devil-child of "The Omen" films 57 My, in Milano

58 "No ifs, ___ or buts"

59 Tristan's love in a Wagner opera 60 Be a poser?

61 Dome-shaped Asian home

62 Family member named Spot, say 63 Canadian Club whiskey, e.g.

2 Aquarium fish

4 Goat's gripe

5 Fervent passion

6 Weep at a wake

7 Old copy machine, for short 8 St. crosser

9 "Healthy" potato chip sprinkling

10 Stopped dead in one's tracks 11 Give a hard time to

12 Knievel, who holds the record for surviving the most bones broken in a lifetime 13 First Nation of Canada's north 19 Ribbing insults

21 "Skyfall" singer and others

25 Recorded in a ledger: Abbr.

26 "Crikey!"

29 This are an examples 30 "Garfield" drooler

31 "Take ___ song and make it better": Beatles lyric 32 Dodge rivals

33 Driver's turns that are "pulled" 34 See 34-Across

35 "The ___ of Sleepy Hollow" 37 Building boss, slangily 38 Mrs. Mulroney

40 Swigged from the flask

41 Actor Montalbán of "Fantasy Island" 43 Visibly ill, in a way

44 Waiting, after hearing "Your call is important to us" 45 Like a towelette

46 "___ the Sheriff" (song) 47 Petal puller's flower

48 "It's not ___" ("I'm serious") 49 Son of Saddam

50 Half of Mork's sign-off 51 Capt.'s colleague

55 Deadly fly, when doubled 56

on a battery: Abbr.

53

The Queen is Dead.

Long Live the King

By Trevor Hutchinson Contributing Editor

With the Queen now buried, an argument that has gone on in Canada for decades will be rekindled and intensified: Should Canada remain a constitutional monarchy?

An Angus Reid poll done in April 2022 showed that 51 per cent of Canadians supported doing away with the monarchy in the future. Only 26 per cent supported retaining the monarchy and 65 per cent of respondents were opposed to Charles being king.

It’s unclear how the former queen’s mourning period will affect those numbers, but it is now a fact that King Charles III is our new head of state. For any of us born after Feb. 5, 1952, this is only the second head of state we have ever experienced.

The idea of having a British sovereign, albeit with ceremonial function and powers limited constitutionally gives me cognitive dissonance. As an anti-elitist, I should abhor the idea of monarchy and the colonialism that it historically represents.

Then again, visiting Buckingham Palace as a kid (and adult) and watching the Queen’s Christmas address every year kind of made me a closet monarchist. I’m not sure that my “come Chuck and Die” drinking party for that ill-fated royal wedding back in my teenage years made me Monarchist League of Canada material, but the Royal Family has just always been a cultural touchstone for me. Being an Anglican kind of makes me have to embrace the monarchy, however 54

half-heartedly. And if I’m really honest about it, I like things that make me, well, less American.

But the fact is that no matter what we feel about our sovereign, his super-sleazy brother or any of the royal scandals over the years, it would take a Herculean political effort to change our country from a constitutional monarchy.

Abandoning the monarchy would require a successful vote in every province and at our federal House of Commons to change the constitution. And given the increasing political polarization in the country, who knows what other issues might get tacked to this by some grandstanding politician?

The formula to change the constitution does not require seeking input from the three territories nor from First Nations, Inuit and Métis. This too is problematic.

Some Indigenous commentators are against the monarchy, the very symbol of colonialism. Other commentators note that some of the First Nation Treaties were signed between the Crown and the first nations, before there was ever a thing called Canada.

Whatever we decide to do as a country regarding the monarchy, this should be done with consultation and deliberation.

Abandoning centuries of tradition because we think Charles was mean to Diana is just stupid. And given our seeming inability to agree on any issue, it is a discussion we should have cautiously.

God save the King.

lindsayadvocate.ca

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Award Recipient The 2022 Russell Alexander Law Scholarship was awarded to high school graduate, Crystal Ren. She is enrolled in first year BMOS (Management and Legal Studies Module) + Ivey AEO at Western University. The scholarship rewarded Crystal with $2,000 towards her tuition, and an additional bonus of $500 to spend on school supplies of her choosing.

The team at Russell Alexander interviewed Crystal virtually to review her application. They were quickly impressed by her ambition, intelligence, and poise. Crystal was invited to move forward with the application process for a second interview. What she did not yet know, was that Russell Alexander had already selected her to receive the scholarship. The team surprised Crystal with the good news over a Zoom call.

The conversation - including the announcement and her reaction - is available on the firm YouTube channel, FamilyLLB.

Flato makes historic $3 million donation to Ross Memorial Hospital

As a builder of communities, FLATO Developments’ President and CEO Shakir Rehmatullah knows that all residents count on their local hospital.

FLATO Developments’ visionary gift of $3 million is the largest donation in the hospital’s history and will support the digital transformation of patient care and enhancement of services at Ross Memorial Hospital to strengthen the community’s health care future. RMH will dedicate the FLATO Developments Ambulatory Care Centre in recognition of this tremendous gift.