Emily Stonehouse

By Emily Stonehouse While the County of Haliburton undergoes the process for a governance structure study, CAO Gary Dyke has ventured to each lower tier table to discuss the roll-out of the project. Earlier this year, County councillors agreed to move ahead with the study. Dyke has urged along the way that we at least […]

By Thomas Smith “We are well underway on the clean up,” opened Mayor Carter’s report at last Thursday’s council meeting. Thanking all the volunteers and those involved, he says that we are now in the cleanup stages of Minden’s flooding event of 2026. “Our flood2026 email address is still being monitored,” assured Carter. Deputy Mayor […]

By Emily Stonehouse I’ve always found the term ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (AI) to be a bit of an oxymoron. It’s right up there with ‘jumbo shrimp’ or ‘old news’. The two words clashing and pulling against one another, similar to how AI is cloaking our world; an old versus new mentality. This week in County council, […]

By Emily Stonehouse While we wind down a flooding season for the books, many environmental organizations have opted to start looking into mitigation strategies in an effort to slow down water concerns in the future. The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (HHLT) recently penned an article outlining some of the efforts landowners can make that may […]

By Emily Stonehouse Many would notice that flags around town have been drawn to half-mast. Dysart’s longtime mayor, Murray Fearrey, passed away on Thursday, May 28. Forever calling the Haliburton Highlands his home, Fearrey was born in the community in 1941. By 1967, he had joined the workforce at the Municipality of Dysart et al […]

By Emily Stonehouse I am going to say something that I doubt will win me many friends: I think we need to slow down on housing. Whoa whoa, keep reading. I promise I will explain this. To begin, I adamantly, wholly believe that housing is a human right. That every individual – regardless of background […]

By Thomas Smith There needs to be action taken to cease the spread of invasive species in Haliburton County. Meagan Shier and Vidhushi Hatwal, students from Trent University have recently completed a project in Algonquin Highlands doing precisely that. Over the course of many months, Shier and Hatwal compiled and consolidated existing records of aquatic […]

By Emily Stonehouse I spent the past week out of town. While I will be the first to fly the flag of the Haliburton Highlands, my husband and I realized it had been years since we had taken any trips across the borders. And no, I don’t mean hopping and skipping between Minden and Haliburton. […]

By Thomas Smith Bella. The Italian word for beauty. For Shukri Middleton, bella is the mantra and word of inspiration behind her newly opened cafe in Kinmount. Walking into her cafe, you are greeted with a bright shop and one word to describe it – pink. From her sign that hangs above the door, to […]

By Emily Stonehouse It all started with an accordion. Local musician Ryan Van Lee found his passion for music at a young age, watching his grandfather play the accordion. Before long, he was right up there with him. “I started playing around at church and Midnight Madness,” recalled Van Lee, “then I started playing at […]