Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST — A tip of the hat to those who helped right the Segwun yesterday after 140 cm of snow listed her port side some 45 degrees onto the dock.

President John Miller posted this thank you online this morning: “As many of you know, the RMS Segwun listed over significantly yesterday from the heavy snow load (140cm) that Gravenunhurt received over the weekend. She was shovelled off last night and has corrected herself.

“Our sincere thanks to the Gravenhurst Fire Department, the Town of Gravenhurst, Prestige Property Management and the staff and volunteers that assisted. Along with the hundreds of messages from concerned people, we are so fortunate to have your support – THANK YOU!”

Talk about floating your boat.

This as the town continues its uphill battle with Mother Nature.

They continue to remind people to shelter in place — and avoid travel by foot or car if possible. Attempting to navigate roads hinders workers’ abilities to deal with snow removal, downed trees, and downed power lines.

Town snowplow crews and contractors continue to clear roads, but this work is limited and slow because of obstacles across roads and snow volume.

Emergency services are limited, and in some instances, might not be able to respond.

What’s new…

While the OPP expected to open Hwy. 11 around noon today, contractors say snow blowers are still on that socked in section of road around Gravenhurst.

Abandoned vehicles, downed trees and limbs are hampering snow cleanup.

Since Saturday, the town has cleared more than 50 trees that have fallen across roads. Work on this continues, but it is painstakingly slow. Getting tree removal resources to these locations is taking time.

Downed hydro lines especially continue to hamper cleanup efforts as well, leaving many customers in the dark — if not cold. Something they are too familiar with as summer hydro line forestation clearing is too often too low on company priorities.

Gravenhurst says that while they don’t have an exact count, there have been dozens of instances where hydro lines across roads have slowed our snow removal progress. In each instance they wait for hydro utility workers to resolve the situation before they can continue with snow removal.

Hydro is out across town from the core to West Gravenhurst.

Help from afar arrives

Snow removal resources from outside the community have been arriving.

At least someone is getting through to us.

Resources from Peel Region and the County of Simcoe are on the scene and help from the City of Vaughan will be arriving today if Hwy. 11 opens — or they have to do it themselves.

Additional resources are expected, and the town will update that info later.

Their goal is to get roads open to at least one lane.

The town and its contractors continue with snow cleanup, however people have been going beyond the hours they are allowed to safely work and they have, at times, had to stop to rest.

It appears some home and business contractors have been seconded to help.

Calls to Coon Bros. are not even being answered. Nor is their answering service.

The main Hydro One line coming into the south end of the community remains without power and as such parts of the hard-hit community continue to cope with hydro outages.

The town says in its Monday morning briefing that it is working with relief agencies to provide support for residents in the community. Watch for further details.

Busy firefighters remind residents to keep snow away from furnace vents.

And the town also advises people to please avoid removing snow from roofs unless you face a critical situation. You risk injuring yourself and requiring medical assistance. We might not be able to get to you.

If necessary – absolutely necessary – the Centennial Centre is open for people who need shelter.

We are considering further options. Watch for details.

What should I do if I want to talk to someone at the town?

Town hall is open, but staff are working at skeleton levels.

You can reach them through their general inquiry e-mail at [email protected] or telephone 705-687-3412, ext. 2237.

 

 

As the big dig continues there’s good news along Central Ontario’s main street highway this morning.

Police say snow clearing efforts are continuing on Hwy. 11 between Hwy. 60 in Huntsville and West Street in Orillia.

And that northbound lanes of Hwy. 11, from West St. Orillia, are expected to reopen at noon.

The southbound lanes from Hwy. 60 are expected to reopen later Monday afternoon.

Except for Luigi Road, in Gravenhurst, all on- and off-ramps are now cleared.

Provincial police continue to work with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, road maintenance contractors and operators of snow removal equipment to clear Hwy. 11 and prepare for a full reopening.

Follow MuskokaTODAY.com for the latest news and updates. Also see 511on.ca for road conditions.

If necessary – absolutely necessary – the Centennial Centre is open for people who need shelter. We are considering further options. Watch for details.

What should I do if I want to talk to someone at the town?

Town hall is open, but staff are working at skeleton levels.

Call or e-mail them instead.

You can reach them through their general inquiry e-mail at [email protected] or telephone 705-687-3412, ext. 2237.

 

EMAIL: [email protected]

30 years of TRUSTED ‘Local Online Journalism’

SINCE MAY 20, 1994

Twitter: @muskokatoday, Facebook: mclairmont1

SUBSCRIBE for $30 by e-transferring to [email protected]

Mail cheque to MuskokaTODAY.com Box 34 Gravenhurst, Ont. P1P 1T5

And include your email address to get stories sent to your inbox