Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com PARRY SOUND — News this afternoon that Parry Sound will be locked down a further two weeks isn’t sitting well with many residents and businesses here. Even as the health minister said the local health system may not be able to cope with variants already within the health unit there. They […]
LETTER TO EDITOR: Family Day in Ontario has recently past. According to the Ontario Heritage Trust: “Since 1974, the third Monday every February has been identified as Heritage Day in Canada. In 1985, the Ontario Government designated the third week in February as Ontario Heritage Week with the federal Heritage Day kicking off the week.” […]
GRAVENHURST — A joint drug investigation underway since July, which included a rural search warrant here last week, has led to multiple charges against two people from Midland and one each from Essa and Wasaga Beach. Provincial police say Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU) members from their Southern Georgian Bay, Orillia, Bracebridge and Huntsville detachments […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com PARRY SOUND — Proactive or reactive? Panacea or placebo? What happened to home care you may have wondered. Well, after doctors sheltered in place decades ago and a flawed public health practitioner program was left to pick up the pieces, community support for stay-at-homers fell mostly to private for-profit retirement and […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Two Muskoka cases top the COVID numbers today in Simcoe-Muskoka where 45 people are reported to have tested positive since yesterday. One is a man aged 45-64 who got it through the community with a first episode of Feb. 11 and reported Feb. 16. The other is a woman, […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Going for a walk is not illegal — if you’re six feet apart. In fact it’s encouraged by the government for your mental and physical health. And if it’s for a good cause all the better. So get out of your house Saturday morning for a stroll around town […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com HUNTSVILLE — A poverty mentoring program has secured major funding to connect those in need with those who can help. Six community partners, led by the YWCA, have received a three-year commitment from United Way Simcoe Muskoka to “provide a sustainable and transformative approach to poverty reduction that ensures everyone has […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Almost three dozen COVID cases in Simcoe today is good news in Muskoka after news yesterday that the UK variant has moved north and could spread. Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) reported 36 cases (the province said 24 and Public Health Ontario 26) and one more death since […]
BRACEBRIDGE — A labour dispute that’s led to a “lockout” at a local manufacturing plant has union groups “shocked” at a demand for fewer sick days. Fenner Dunlop in Bracebridge, which makes conveyor belts for the North American industrial and commercial market, has their 60 workers from United Steelworkers Local 7949 on the picket lines this […]
HUNTSVILLVE — A stubborn fire last night is under investigation after it destroyed a home here. The Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department had to call in several stations, including support from Bracebridge, after a 911 call sent them Domtar Road just before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16. Crews from Huntsville Station 1, with assistance from […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSOKA — You may be out of the house — but not out of danger. One case of the COVID variant “is in Muskoka” and the health unit is awaiting final confirmation after it passed the first detection stage, Dr. Charles Gardner said this afternoon in his weekly briefing. And he […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOA — Red is the new local reality today as Ontario lifts stay-at-home orders for 27 regions outside the GTA and North Bay Parry Sound. Including Simcoe-Muskoka, which is doing it against the advice of its chief medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner. Students are also back in school today […]
RAMARA — A local man is in police custody awaiting a court appearance Tuesday on first degree murder and attempted murder charges after a woman was found dead late Saturday night in the home they shared. Police say residents in the area should expect to see an increased police presence in the coming days as […]
RAMARA — A man charged with impaired driving is accused of stealing a loader to pull his unlicensed truck — which ended up in flames — out of a ditch early Thursday. Provincial police from Orillia arrested and charged the 21-year-old with several other charges. They say that on Feb. 11 at 1:30 a.m. officers […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — A cold, sunny afternoon on the picket line is no place to be on Valentines Day. But more than a dozen of the 60 employees of Fenner Dunlop, who were out again Sunday protesting a “lockout” by their employer, said they would sooner have been home with their families […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Consultants have their heads in the clouds if they think closing the only prevailing-winds runway at Muskoka Airport will bolster local economic prospects, says Earle Robinson, a local aviation expert. Flights of fancy, say he and other Muskoka small plane pilots and owners who are at cross-purposes with consultants […]
LETTER TO EDITOR: Ed. note: A report going to district council Tuesday calls for the east-west grass runway at the Muskoka Airport in Gravenhurst to be closed and replaced a little north as part of a plan for more buildings. Local pilots like Garth Elliot — who has flown for 60 years — think there […]
ORILLIA — A Gravenhurst man and a friend from Orillia face numerous drug-related charges after being stopped here Tuesday night. Police say that on Feb. 9, just before 10 p.m., officers observed a vehicle being driven on Wyandotte Street by an person suspected of having a suspended driver’s licence. The vehicle was stopped and the […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Despite four new Muskoka COVID cases and dozens more variants Friday, it will be back to the lesser-restricted red zone here Tuesday when the province lifts its stay-at-home order and regulations for Simcoe-Muskoka. On the same day local public health reported 32 cases, (Public Health Ontario posted only 24), […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Long-term living is a huge challenge with COVID. John Orchard knows that all too well. But he’s doing fine at Gravenhurst Manor. A little mobility problem and “I feel tired,” but otherwise he’s “doing OK.” Not bad for an 83-year-old who cheated death before Christmas by moving out of […]