FLOOD NOTES: Thursday, May 2

BRACEBRIDGE: 100 troops re-deployed Thursday away from Bracebridge to help Ottawa, where some 700 mostly regular forces are on scene. … The reservists also say they have been warmly welcomed, with honking horns when their trucks rumbled off Hwy. 11 into town. … They also say it’s hard for any of them to buy a coffee without someone offering to pay. … Thursday, some school kids presented them with pictures they drew of the reservist troops, who say they are just “helping our fellow Canadians.

• The armed forces report that after doing door-to-door “wellness checks” with residents Wednesday in Fraserburg who have been cut off, it’s expected to be another week before they can easily get out.
• Bracebridge residents are advised that due to the flood emergency, the annual compost giveaway at Peake Fields — at the Verena Acres parking lot – 1028 Taylor Road — will take place on Thursday, May 16, from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Bracebridge residents are asked to bring a shovel and container. Loading availability will be limited to 15 minutes per vehicle. In the spirit of Earth Day, those picking up compost are requested to keep vehicle idling to a minimum.
• As talk turns to the recovery stage that will take weeks and months and throughout the summer, federal Ralph Goodale the Minister of Public Safety says in his daily flood briefing that plans are already underway for all levels of government to create some kind of “flood mapping,” to predict water flows and protect Canadians from overland flooding. He also said that conversation will include insurance companies who have to be part. And not just deal with the “clean up the immediate mess after.” He said the response this time was better than in 2013.