BARRIE — Re-opening the economy may be premature if new plans to open a Regional Pandemic Response Unit (RPRU) at Barrie’s Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) are any indication. Tuesday RVH reported that construction on a 70-bed, 8,250 square-foot MASH-like unit is underway. They say it will be “temporary.” It will be located in […]
MUSKOKA — More help is on the way for health-care and front-line workers with no alternatives for child care during COVID-19. The province has approved a bid by the District of Muskoka to open an emergency child care centre for up to 20 spaces. While it says the safest option continues to be for children […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com MUSKOKA — How are Muskoka’s hospitals coping with COVID-19? We sent Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) 10 questions for an update yesterday. CEO Natalie Bubela answered in an email this afternoon. Here are her responses, on April 28: 1. Has MAHC had any COVID-19 cases? Yes. MAHC has tested just over 550 […]
MUSKOKA — As promised, local homebuilders are building on their promise to help area residents cope with COVID-19. In less than two weeks, the Muskoka-Parry Sound Relief Fund reached its first goal, raising more than $100,000 led by team leaders with the Muskoka Builders Association. After donating to food banks the frist week, Thomas Cowden, […]
MUSKOKA — Cooped up kids have yet another place online to call home. SafeSpot.ca www.safespot.ca. — a new free anonymous webchat service — went live yesterday for the Parry Sound and Nipissing districts. It is available twice daily — three days a week — from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. The chat service […]
GRAVENHURST — Financial help for local COVID-19 sufferers is reaching closer to home with a special fund by the town. The town is also seeking a slice of upper tier relief funds as it deals with the municipal fallout that could cost it an estimated $1.2 million in staffing and lost revenue. Gravenhurst is also […]
BRACEBRIDGE — A wide-open community fund to help groups that are supporting pandemic assistance programs has been established by the town. Yesterday, council created the COVID-19 Community Relief Fund (CRF) to offer grants to impacted organizations in specific areas. An initial $40,000 is available in the first intake period until May 8, but could be […]
BRACEBRIDGE — A “preferred” design for the town’s new multiuse community centre (MUCC) was approved by councillors today with major new library changes. When it will be built still remains a question of additional funding from provincial and federal governments. But when they’re ready to put the shovel in the ground — beyond general site […]
Letter to Editor: In these depressing times of COVID-19, I thought about sending in a few suggestions Canadians could do to help themselves. Some people die from the virus. Some do not. So, boot up your immune system with lots of vitamin C and zinc. Linus Pauling, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry, suggested […]
HUNTSVILLE — A police pursuit Saturday night has led to two drivers in the same vehicle being charged with impaired driivng Provicial police here say that Saturday April 18th, 2020 at approximately 8:30 p.m. an Officer of the Huntsville Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) observed a car travelling on West Road, Huntsville at an excessive rate […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com HUNTSVILLE-LAKE OF BAYS — The gift that keeps on giving. Dani Reiss, president and CEO of Canada Goose, has just donated more than $1 million to the Huntsville Hospital Foundation (HHF). Katherine Craine, the foundation’s executive director, announced the gift today comes through thee Dani Reiss Family Foundation, which had made […]
BRACEBRIDGE — Muskoka Conservancy urges everyone to stay home, be safe and maintain social distancing during pandemic. But if you are still want to get out, get exercise, fresh air and sunshine, they remind hikers of the current trail access restrictions on lands they hold in trust. They continue to monitor the outbreak and will […]
HALIBURTON — Two Saint Bernard dogs are in quarantine after a girl, 6, was flown to hospital after being attacked and bitten. Provincial police say that Sunday, April 12, just after 4 p.m. Haliburton Highlands OPP and emergency crews were called to a home on Gainforth Road, in Dysart Et Al Township, to assist with […]
BRACEBRIDGE — Continuity amid the COVID-19 crisis appears to be behind an announcement today on a new CAO for the town. The mayor and council stayed in-house while promoting its treasurer and CFO to the top civil servant job. In a release Thursday, April 16, officials say that “after a comprehensive recruitment process,” Stephen Rettie […]
HUNTSVILLE — Five people are without a home to stay in place today after a fire forced from their apartment. The Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department said this afternoon that they responded to a report of a structure fire on Meadow Park Drive in Huntsville at 9 a.m. Responding firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames […]
HUNTSVILLE — Another targeted traffic stop here yesterday has led to the arrest of a man and woman and the seizure of $5,700 in cocaine, $994 in cash and trafficking charges. On April 9 Muskoka Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU) and members of the Huntsville OPP detachment conducted pulled over a vehicle on West Street. […]
DWIGHT — A double takedown yesterday has led to two Huntsville residents being arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking and possession of a replica handgun modified to appear as a real firearm. Provincial police say Thursday, April 9, the Muskoka Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU) with the OPP’s SWAT team and canine unit used a drug […]
Now, it’s not about what’s closed, but what’s open. Here are a few more updates. Let us know if you know of any others. The Town of Gravenhurst announced today, April 8, that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the necessary, but unfortunate, cancellation of various spring/summer programs it offers at this time of year. […]
ORILLIA — The OPP is reminding motorcyclists not to be on the road unless necessary. They say in a new release Friday that “despite daily reminders to Ontarians to stay home and avoid non-essential travel, a number of recent motorcycle sightings on Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) patrolled roads suggests that some motorcyclists may not be […]
MUSKOKA — As the OPP warns it will enforce rules against gatherings of more than five people, charge non-essential businesses that remain open and could arrest anyone violating the Quarantine Act, local officers were busy yesterday stopping speeding drivers in Muskoka. Bracebridge and Huntsville detachment teams combined efforts Thursday to address “aggressive driving and speeding” […]
