Mike Waller, president of the Royal Canadian Legion, Haliburton Branch, joins Bram for a chat about the important work our Legions do supporting veterans and the wider community. With many of our veterans aging and experiencing mobility issues, Mike takes us through their efforts to have a crosswalk installed between their building and public parking across the street. Spoiler alert: if you thought the safety of our veterans would be more important than technical requirements for crosswalk locations, you would be wrong. Our veterans will continue to have to play the Mountain Street version of Frogger, with walkers and canes, until someone with authority cuts the excuses and does the right thing.

Take Action: If you'd like to sign Mike's petition to get a crosswalk installed between the Haliburton Legion and municipal parking lot, email rcl129@outlook.com with your name, town of residence, and a message to "add me to the crosswalk petition".

Learn More: Go to thehighlander.ca/veterans for archived interviews with some of our local veterans. In 2015, The Highlander interviewed several to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. The videos include Mabel Brannigan, namesake of the Minden Legion branch, and Murray Whetung, who shared what it was like to be a First Nations soldier in the Canadian military. Billy Pickard describes the critical role played by wartime postal services in connecting servicemen and women with their families, while Chuck Viner shares his impressions from the Korean War and Parry Huiser explains some of the difficulties our soldiers have experienced both in and coming home from Afghanistan. These videos and more can be found at thehighlander.ca/veterans.