Renamed New to You Community Yard Sale will have the same spirit, new location
By Darren Lum

The following are news briefs from Dysart et al’s committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, April 12, held virtually.

Those great finds are coming back … to the arena.
The long-standing tradition of the community yard sale, Trash ‘n Treasures is officially over after a two-year suspension due to the pandemic.
However, a partnership with the Municipality of Dysart et al and the Rails End Gallery is going to ensure the event keeps the “legacy of the event” alive with this new incarnation, New to You Community Yard Sale scheduled from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on July 16 at the parking lot for the LaRue Arena in Haliburton.
“Really, because we’re trying to promote a community aspect yard sale we’ve rebranded and renamed the event to be The New to You Community Yard Sale,” John Watson of public works said.
The advantage of having it at the parking lot is how it is not destructive to the grass and that it permits vendors to drive to their sites, he added. A stall constitutes two parking spots for $30 plus HST. There will be room for 35 stalls. Revenue from this event and future events will “fund the commission of the creation of an environmentally-themed public art piece incorporating upcycled and repurposed materials,” he said.
Watson added through a potential partnership, there could be “satellite” sites chosen to hold events at various locations in the municipality such as at the West Guilford Community Centre, Harcourt Community Centre, the Haliburton 4Cs Thrift Shop, and hold sales at the Thrift Warehouse on the same day.
“And even if residents were having yard sales or garage sales on their own property they can tie into the same event, so people could do a day of yard sales throughout the community,” he said. “This really supports Dysart’s reuse activities and kind of coming back out of COVID and being able to gather again. A good celebration of our community,” he said.
Councillor Larry Clarke asked about giving preference for Dysart residents to register for stalls. Events and recreation coordinator Andrea Mueller said it was not exactly known how to set that up with how the online registration is currently set for the event.

Also, Clarke praised the idea for how it will keep articles out of the landfill.
Deputy Mayor Pat Kennedy said the first thing he thought was “where is everyone going to park?”
He wants staff to consider policing to control traffic, but appreciated the merits of the event.
Watson said they believe there will be “spinoff” from the day because people will park in places that walk through town, possibly see other things as they go to the event.
Mayor Andrea Roberts said the township needs to have someone directing traffic to ensure there is traffic flow, particularly for emergency personnel who require access to the roads have it.
Register on the town website. The committee of the whole recommended council to approve.

Pothole repair timelines?
During the presentation by director of public works Rob Camelon about winter roads, Councillor Larry Clarke asked about when the public can expect pothole repairs to begin.
“If it keeps up the way it is I’d say in the south end, we may even try grading next week. You know, kind of middle of next week or towards the end. Certainly, the further north you go the longer it’s going to take. They’re generally two to three weeks behind us,” he said. “I was up there last week and there were still two-foot snowbanks, so, maybe, Councillor Smith can look out his window and tell me what’s up there now, but it’s certainly not ready for a grader now. We’d just fall through the road and we’d be into a reconstruction for sure.”

Parks and Recreation department update by Andrew Wilbee
The long-running Coby Islander returned after two years and was held over the weekend. The ice will be removed this week and staff are readying the parks for the spring, including preparation to bring the docks out.

Charitable community sewing
A group of sewers who meet regularly at the Harcourt Community Centre have been putting their skills towards producing quilts for cancer patients, and residents who have lost homes to fire in collaboration with Victoria Quilts in Ottawa.This partnership is responsible for producing more than 300 quilts over the years. The quilts measure 50” x 70.”
“It’s amazing what some of them do. One of them doesn’t have transportation and people go and pick her up and bring her to the hall. They work away,” Mueller said, as presented during the Harcourt Community Centre report.
Also, the Ladies Committee, has given to four charities. This past year the group donated $2,000 to the community from fundraisers held over the year. Mueller encourages others in the community to use the Harcourt Community Centre.
“That’s great. That’s great to hear,” Roberts said.

Ball hockey rebounds
Presented by Mueller, she said to start, “Finally, programming. Back to what we had before.”
The town’s Recreational Ball Hockey program is making a return after a two year suspension because of the pandemic, which included health measures and the occupation of the arena by the vaccination clinic.
The six-week program for youth ages six and up starts Tuesday, May 3.
Registration is going well, but a few more volunteers are needed to help coach the six to eight-year-old age group. Mueller said the return of his type of programming is welcomed.
“Just looking forward to having some programming take place that is more structured and not just a drop-in program,” she said.

Permit values remain high since 2020
The two year total up to March for building permits is $25,867,000 compared to the previous two year total of only $7,661,000 for the same period.
“The change this year is that we’re seeing a lot more accessory buildings than we are new dwellings at this time of year, so, again, we’re being bombarded with accessory buildings this year Karl Korpela, chief said, as presented during the building permit report. “That’s about the only change. Permanent [residence] numbers are still high.”