Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — “Confirmed cases underestimate the true number of people with COVID-19 infection in Simcoe Muskoka.” That’s the official word today out of the health unit, as they report another record day with 229 cases. Yesterday there were 197. Ten of them are in Muskoka — Bracebridge, Gravenhurst and Huntsville. “The […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — It’s a day of firsts. Record numbers that bluntly paint another bleak picture locally, including 19 new cases in Muskoka reported today: 197 cases today are the most in one day Simcoe-Muskoka has seen; 17,931 total confirmed cases is 1,081 more than last week, which is the largest week-over-week […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — A little $5 check valve looks to be the cause of a recent water shut down here. And not a mislabelled fluoride drum that helped lead to a four-day water scare due to “low” levels of the chemical routinely added to prevent tooth decay. That was the early, preliminary […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — It’s beginning to look a lot like … Christmas is going to be a lot like last year — and possibly worse in the days leading up to Saturday. Home for the holidays is again the sound of the season as Omicron cases climb faster than Dasher and Donner […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Hundreds lined up here this morning for walk-in booster shots. No going online to book an appointment. But the wait was at least two hours after the Shoppers Drug Mart opened at 8 a.m. The line-up circled the store, down Muskoka Road, around and down on to James Street […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With 19 Muskoka COVID cases on the weekend, Omicron’s regional effect last week was a 50 per cent increase in cases over the previous week. The 846 cases reported last week by local public health tops 564 the week before. The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) is also […]
TARA CALLUM | Contributing columnist With unseasonably mild days and the threat of yet another variant, it can be difficult for things to look a lot like Christmas. What is the season supposed to be anyway? It can create a lot of pressure. People go into debt piling presents to the ceiling. We overindulge on […]
BRACEBRIDGE — A man suspected of being impaired was confronted by group of citizens who were trying to stop the motorist from leaving when police arrived. The incident occurred Thursday, Dec. 16, on Manitoba Street near Mary Street, just before 10 p.m. Police arrested and charged 26-year-old Blair Laing, of Muskoka Lakes Twp., with Impaired […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — More than 10 per cent of 142 local COVID cases today were reported in Muskoka as the province is adding new capacity limits Sunday. And 10 of those 15 Muskoka cases were in Huntsville. They are: Bracebridge woman, 18-34, under investigation, reported Dec. 16, first episode Dec. 14 Georgian […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE MUSKOKA — An “overwhelming demand” for booster shots has local public health providing more vaccines this weekend. They say in a release at noon Friday that following the province’s announcement to rapidly expand booster eligibility to all individuals 18 and older and to decrease the wait time between second and third […]
BRACEBRIDGE — A loaded pistol and drugs worth an estimated $60,000 were seized in three police raids yesterday in which officers arrested two people after a month-long investigation here. The OPP say that in November their Muskoka Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU) began investigating the drug trafficking in Muskoka. On Thursday, Dec. 16 the CSCU), […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Another half dozen Muskoka COVID cases today — all likely Omicron — are among 159 regional cases being reported by the health unit. This as word spreads that Omicron is an airborne spreader. Dr. Steini Brown, co-chair of the Science Advisory Table, confirmed today that the most up-to-date modelling […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Omicron’s here. It’s “very hazardous” and it’s going to get worse “in the weeks ahead.” That’s the blunt message from Dr. Charles Gardner today as he reported 26 cases of the new variant in the region — including 4 “very likely” in Muskoka. That has hospitals “very concerned” about […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — I had a rapid test yesterday morning — and got my booster shot in the afternoon. Today I picked up rapid test kits from the Gravenhurst Chamber of Commerce — enough to get me through the holidays. I’m asymptomatic and I passed my test in 15 minutes. So I’m […]
HUNTSVILLE — A local woman left home for a rich reason. Ursula Lavalley, of Huntsville, went to Toronto, to pick up a cheque for $100,000. Lavalley, 77, won the top prize in a government INSTANT HOLIDAY MAGIC game, No. 2284. A regular lottery player, this is her first big win. “I felt shaky and very happy!” she told lottery […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With health officials on both sides of the Atlantic urging a “call for arms” and citing the “grave threat” of Omicron 96 local cases is the new norm. A half dozen of today’s cases are in Muskoka. And by all accounts they are most likely Omicron. No wonder Ontario’s […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With 211 regional cases over the weekend — 14 in Muskoka — the floodgates are reopen again. In Canada and around the world COVID is going to get much worse before Christmas, experts say. And soon you’ll definitely know people who have been expected. You won’t be able to […]
PORT SYDNEY — Police are searching for a missing person and are asking for the public’s assistance. Fred Herensberger, 53, was last seen Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021, at 4:20 p.m. in Port Sydney. He was walking on West Point Sands Road toward Mary Lake. Herensberger was wearing a kaki-coloured jacket and carrying a white/yellowish canoe. […]
TORRANCE — A 26-year-old MacTier man died late last night after a snowmobiling accident. Police, fire and paramedics responded to the single vehicle snow vehicle collision on Friday, Dec. 10, at 11 p.m. on East Black Lake Road in Muskoka Lakes Township. They say the sled was travelling west on East Black Lake Road when […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Smug Muskokans are in for a lump of coal in their Christmas stocking if they don’t “they-up” and mask-up. Mostly insulated from the harsh realities of COVID, Omicron could be a wakeup call for district and Simcoe County residents with 106 new cases Friday. Muskoka accounted for 11 of […]