GRAVENHURST — Neighbour to neighbour, Gravenhurst Rotarians are reaching out to help. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need in the community has greatly increased, they say in a release today. And while government assistance programs are being rolled out, some residents still find themselves and their families trying to bridge the gap between shrinking […]
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 […]
BRACEBRIDGE — A head-on collision yesterday landed one person in hospital and another in court. Provincial police at Bracebridge say today that on Tuesday April 28, just before 2:30 p.m. officers received a report of a two vehicle head-on collision on Manitoba Street near Gibbs Road. They say officers responded along with Muskoka Paramedic Services […]
LETTER TO EDITOR: There are many problems in caring for seniors in nursing homes that are directly caused by greed by the owners and/or shareholders. For-profit nursing homes have statistically fewer staff-to-resident ratios. Why is this? This is because hiring part-time staff saves the owners paying benefits. Three part-timers are cheaper than one full time […]
HUNTSVILLE — Police and fire officials were investigating today how three reportedly unoccupied cottages mysteriously burned down west of town last night. Thirty firefighters from several Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department stations responded just after 7 p.m., April 27, to West Fox Lake Road in Ravenscliffe. Neighbours from around the lake reported seeing huge plumes […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — What do you do when your home won’t stay home? Stay at home orders were put to the test here last week, when a couple of mobile homes hit the road. Traffic through Gravenhurst had to move aside as a pair of 60- and 70-foot mobile homes were being […]
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 […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com MUSKOKA — Pandemic pictures say a 1,000 things. Here’s a quick look at COVID-19 through our camera lens. Night and day you’re observing social distancing and showing your heart and soul. It says a lot about you and what you believe in and stand for. Send us your photos and observations […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — A year ago today the Heart of Muskoka was knee-deep in flood waters. This morning it was high and dry — as we deal with a deeper, deadlier spring uprising. Bracebridge Falls had barely a trickle of water falling under its iconic bridge. Compared to the cascades that overwhelmed […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SOBERING SECOND THOUGHTS SUNDAY: What’s a lifetime’s work worth? Four dollars an hour? Or so it seems if you’re in LTC and you pray your PSW will help you live long-term. Saturday’s $4-an-hour raise for all LTC workers seems too little, too late. Or is it better late than never. And […]
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 […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — A day of mourning here for victims of the Nova Scotia shootings began this afternoon and concluded this evening with a virtual hug and TV tribute. Karen Ramer heard last night about the idea of stopping to remember at 1 p.m. today. She said she has no personal connection […]
HALIFAX – A shooting scare here Friday afternoon proved false, the RCMP said after a few hours. CBC and other media were reporting another shooting Friday afternoon about 3:30 p.m. ET in Halifax. That after an official emergency alert went out and one report said it’s an active shooter and shots had been fired. Residents […]
GRAVENHURST – Mayor Paul Kelly said today that this is the third day without a case of COVID-19. In his seventh pandemic report Friday, April 24, he also spoke of a number of local groups that received funds from the province, including GAP, the Salvation Army, the United Church, the Catholic Church and the Bukers’ […]
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 […]