TARA COLLUM | Contributing columnist A few years ago I joined a crowd of 15,000 people in Toronto to participate in a climate strike. Al Gore first helped put “global warming” on the world’s radar with his early 2000s documentary An Inconvenient Truth, and the cause is now championed famously by a teenager from Sweden, […]
MUSKOKA — “Who owns the black truck parked out front?” That wasn’t the question trivia game players expected to hear at Sawdust City Tuesday night. “It’s mine,” answered the vehicle owner when an OPP officer went in to inquire. Police say they responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision on Muskoka Road north in […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Add 5 male cases to the rising COVID toll in Muskoka as kids vaccines could be a week to two away. The past two days 99 cases were reported by the health unit. They bring to 206 this week’s number. Last week it was 249 and 127 the last […]
Photos by Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Another look at a day to remember. Yesterday’s Remembrance Day service was a rare public gathering after last year’s more restricted indoor ceremony due to COVID. More than 100 community members gathered for the first time in two years to join legionnaires mark the solemn occasion on […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com Photos by Lois Cooper GRAVENHURST — They gathered. They remembered. As the winds of change blew forth, Remembrance Day was muted, memorable, mindful and respectful. More than 100 members of the community huddled on the small hilltop overlooking the Royal Canadian Legion this morning at 11 a.m. They joined a handful […]
GRAVENHURST — Remembrance Day services here will be muted, but still public tomorrow. The Royal Canadian Legion will commemorate its war dead with another scaled-down service outdoors. And all are welcome — but urged to take appropriate COVID measures including distancing and wearing masks. With the weather to be seasonal and without often rain or […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Three Muskoka cases ranging in age from under 17 to 80+ are among a growing number of 63 residents with positive coronavirus tests today. No wonder Ontario is putting a halt to lifting of capacity limits in higher-risk settings like night clubs and wedding receptions, strip clubs, sex clubs […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Yesterday’s First Street fire that burned a home with two apartments is under investigation. But it is not considered suspicious at this time, says Fire Chief Jared Cayley. He says in a release almost 24 hours later, that damage to the property, which is insured by owner Dave Cruise, is […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — When the “Great War” ended 103 years ago tomorrow, word spread around the world thanks to two Gravenhurst soldiers. Sam Scott and his “sidekick” Billy Waite strung the telegraph wire from the rail car in northern France where the German surrender and Armistice signing took place on Nov. 11, […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Another fire at a First Street apartment building late this afternoon has left three more people homeless a block from where a fatal fire in late August claimed a woman’s life. Firefighters were once again called to the corner of Phillip Street — a few blocks from their Station […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — War is a mystery to most. Not so much for Judy Humphries. The Gravenhurst archivist is deeply entrenched in war stories. Never more so than annually this week of November. Her research and history of local veterans and their stories is unparalleled. She has not only laboured long and […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — While there are no new cases today in Muskoka, 34 residents of Simcoe County tested positive yesterday. They bring the region’s total number of cases this week to 50. Last week on this day there were 42 cases for the first two days of the week. That led to […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Seventy of the 103 COVID local cases this weekend were unvaccinated. Two dozen were fully vaccinated and 8 partially vaccinated. And of the more than 100 cases in Simcoe-Muskoka since Friday, 3 of them were Muskokans: Huntsville boy, under 18, is under investigation after reporting Saturday, with a first […]
BRACEBRIDGE — Kids running wild in the streets? Not exactly, but police say they have received “multiple calls” from the public reporting “ongoing issues with youth in the town of Bracebridge.” Including, report the OPP, incidents of mischief, interfering with traffic whilst on bicycles or ATVs — and intimidation of property owners. Police say this […]
One of my all-time favourite TV shows was simply called Monk. It’s been off the air now for many years, but there’s one channel that carries this classic program at 2 a.m. By this hour my pretty little eye lids have been shut tightly for a few hours. This is where that wonderful little contraption […]
MUSKOKA — With more than 94 per cent of hospital staff and credentialed staff now vaccinated, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare (MAHC) will require all visitors to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 starting Nov. 22. Patients do not have to show proof of vaccination to receive care at MAHC. That’s the same as many other […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — A sixth person in Muskoka has died of COVID. He was 80+ and his death, on Nov. 4, was considered a sporadic case not linked to any outbreak. And while cases are declining nationally, regionally they are up. Friday 52 cases were reported by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Forty COVID cases in the region include a man in Huntsville, aged 65-79, who had close contact with a first episode Tuesday. His case was reported today by the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU). The big jump in cases is up from 26 yesterday. And is accompanied by […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — Did Norm Miller jump or was he pushed out of his MPP’s seat at Queen’s Park? Speculation follows a day after he announced he won’t be re-running in June and that Bracebridge Mayor Graydon Smith is claiming to be his heir apparent. Or at least the Conservative candidate […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Forget three strikes and you’re out. With booster shots due any day now for several adult and health care groups, keep your short sleeve shirts handy. In all likelihood — like third and fourth waves — third injections are just the beginning of living life with COVID, laments Dr. […]