The Advocate Podcast – Stories from Kawartha Lakes

Episode #39 - Fair’s fares faring well. Relax, it’s Qigong! Defamation explained. Scavenger hunting in C of KL.

The beloved LEX is back. It won’t be exactly the same, but its GM, Harry Stoddart, says it’ll be pretty darn close – right down to kids’ cotton candy consumption. “Hey, they can’t say that? Can they?” Lawyer Jason Ward does a great job of explaining slander, libel and defamation. And that’s the truth! Our host heads out on a City-sponsored scavenger hunt. And while he doesn’t always ‘find’ what he’s looking for, the rewards are still big. Lindsay Advocate reporter William McGinn brings us some of the voices from a recent public meeting about a proposed housing development in Cameron.

 

Episode #38 - TLDSB’s DOE on back-to-school. Mark Mitchell on unique Afghan perspective. Grove Theatre find its groove. Mosquitoes overstay their welcome.

Wes Hahn, Director of Education for the Trillium Lakelands District School Board, believes his team is properly braced for this unique back-to-school. Mark Mitchell would, understandably, see the current plight in Afghanistan from a different lens. Before he became our community’s chief of police, Mitchell left his then post as an inspector with our local police service to live in Afghanistan and help train that country’s police service – for a full year.

Heck of a time to launch a live performance venue, but the new Grove Theatre in Fenelon is settling in nicely, says its GM Nicole Mitchell.

Won’t – they – just - go – away? Nope. Fleming College’s Katrina Van Osch Saxxon tells us why mosquitoes are sticking around longer this year. Need a new word? Of course, you do. We ALL do. Kawartha Library’s Lyndsay Bowen is back with another edition of “Well Defined.”

 

Episode #37 - The culture of public horticulture. Reaching women-in-need during Covid has its challenges. Lubin at The Grove. Composter comes cheap, courtesy of City.

Standup comedian Gilson Lubin is looking forward to playing Fenelon’s Grove Theatre on August 19. But the (forced) break from performing, he says, was a welcome respite to recharge - and also quit a bad habit.

There’s more to being a city’s official horticulturist than just plantin’. It’s a lot of planning – and art, explains Megan Phillips.

Have composter, will divert much waste. Have FREE composter, will divert even MORE waste, right?

Women’s Resources sometimes finds itself with a few available beds. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t women-in-need in Kawartha Lakes. It means the pandemic can be a challenge in reaching them, says WR’s Bella Alderton.

Episode #36 - A rock snake that rocks. Searching for restaurant staff. Senior slo pitch’s slow – and safe - return. Coby’s wellness centre is on track.

It started small – like with three rocks. And then grew. And grew some more. Nena Bovie shares how and why she started a community art installation that stretches wayyyyy long on the Rotary Trail. And registered psychotherapist and art therapist, Andy Cleghorn tells us why these creative rock snakes rock. 

Senior Slo Pitch makes its return, but it required some jabs to happen. Pete Sanderson explains how his league was able to shout “Play Ball” again. The setting is perfect for a wellness centre. And Coboconk’s champions for this hub-of-health-care – and dreams – believe it’s going to happen. We take you on a tour of its future. Restaurants faced many challenges during the pandemic – and they still are.  Like finding – and keeping – good staff. Julia Kirby of The Original Just for The Halibut expounds on that challenge and how she and brother Matt are meeting it for their beloved family-run Caygeon business.

 

Episode #35 - Heaven chooses us. LLT outdoors. LFH everywhere. Next stop, Pontypool?

Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Sebastian Heaven could have opted to take his skills to so so many places in Canada – the world, really. But the specialist, born and trained in the U.K., chose the C of KL. And not just as his place of employment, via the RMH. But as a new home for him and his family. He shares the reason for his life-changing decision.  The Lindsay Little Theatre is making big use of a large stage with a large audience area – in its adjoining parking lot! All aboard! Well, we hope. Councillor Tracy Richardson expounds of why a proposed rail service in Pontypool should gain track-ion. (Track-ion/traction. Get it?). And we found the other half of great musical duo, Looking For Heather. (Jeff was featured in episode #21). Jay Bowes sits down to chat about everything from the band’s new CD, to the importance of humility.

 

Episode #34 - Salsa suits the Food Source. Reaboro will bee positive. Plowing Match cancelled. Again. Vax Maannnn!!!

Move over bake and yard sales. The KLFS looked to salsa – yes, salsa - for one of its major fundraisers. Déjà vu all over again. The International Plowing Match, rescheduled for this fall has, for the second time, been cancelled. Councillor Ron Ashmore, a big proponent of the IPM, discusses the impact of that decision. Bees are buzzing in Reaboro. Well, they will be. Along with other pollinators. All thanks to the efforts of a group of volunteers with green thumbs who learned they created more than just a hub for bees. 

Our host got Shot Two, recently, and recorded the experience….which seems to have transformed…his….body…molecular structure changing…power enhancement taking place…it’s…it’s….IT’S……(enter whooshing sound here!)

Episode #33 - The Mays marvellous music. Pizza’s place in a pandemic - Part 2. Wally’s waiting patiently. Ward on vaccines at work. And a podcast award? Not really.

Vaccines are now plentiful. But what if that customer – or employee – refuses it? Lawyer Jason Ward gives us the legal implications of such a…choice. We revisit one of our very first interview guests. Tony’s Pizza co-owner Greg Andrews was a positive guy at the start of that first shutdown – when no one really knew what was ahead.  A year later, he’s learned a lot – including a realization that pizza played a bigger role in our lives than he originally imagined. Wally Nugent’s chair has remained empty – and our hair has gotten longer. So so long and unkempt. The well-known hairstylist has a lot to say about missing his customers – but also has a few words for Ontario’s science table decision-makers. And so so close. Our pod almost won some kind of award. But then didn’t. Hmm……

 

Episode #32- Dr Bocking on local vaccine roll-out. A bookless, Lindsay lending library. Old Gaol’s new letters. Close Kicks scores big.

There are unique challenges in vaccinating the population of Kawartha Lakes – and our medical officer of health, Natalie Bocking, is up to that challenge. Close Kicks’s first single, The House We Built, was already a hit. But then one of the country’s biggest podcasts called and made it bigger. Those end-of-driveway, tiny lending libraries are super cool. But THIS one is even cooler. And it doesn’t even have books! The Old Gaol Museum knows we need to remember this pandemic and how it affected us as individuals. So, the museum is asking residents to put pen to paper (or, you know, use a computer keyboard) to share those experiences for a unique archiving project. And our host shares a personal hockey-related anecdote that evokes a classic story and its sweater-eating moths. But in this case, not moths but Scugog mosquitoes.

Wards of Wisdom #7 - Wrongful dismissal Part 2

This is the second part of a topic that generated lots of attention from listeners. Which stands to reason, given that so many of us think we comprehend it, when, in fact, it’s very nuanced. Lawyer Jason Ward explains in clear, relatable language how the human element affects these types of cases. 

Episode #31 Play Ball! (maybe). Truax’s musical transformation. Fenelon Funds cool ideas. Trevor’s isolation. Gettin’ wet – and cold – for a Coby cause. Owen talks Leafs – and Habs.

Owen ain’t even a teen, yet, but he knows hockey! He returns to weigh in on the upcoming Leafs playoff series – against our host’s beloved Habs.

Dunsford musician-of-many-instruments, Nathan Truax, expounds on his artistic epiphany – which included a western shirt and a super cool moustache.  The Community Fund Fenelon Falls is all about making that town better – and they’ve got some capital to make it happen. They just need the ideas. Dean Michel and Jennifer Bacon and some 30 others took a plunge – literally – to help make a Coboconk wellness centre a reality. We hear the splash – again, literally – that campaign made. OPS Minor Baseball league president, Melanie Babcock, is crossing lots of Ts and dotting many Is in the hopes of bringing ball back to our area this summer.

The Lindsay Advocate’s Trevor Hutchinson’s work-related travel demanded he complete a 14-day quarantine in an isolation hotel. We talked to him via Zoom on Day 13 – and his room looked remarkably tidy!