Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com MUSKOKA — Together apart has taken on new meaning as the COVID-19 fight gets personal. One Muskoka is again about one percenters. Cottagers are getting a cold shoulder as they seek rural refuge at their home away from home. The firestorm comes three weeks out from the traditional start of a […]
MUSKOKA — After months of delay and deaths, all Muskokans will have more access to COVID-19 testing. But it could still take a week to get your results — but you will receive them at your home. Anyone concerned and who has symptoms can get tested at the two assessment centres located for weeks now […]
HUNTSVILLE — An unlucky driver who lost control of his truck on a ramp near the OPP detachment here has landed in court charged with impaired driving after fleeing the accident last Thursday night. Provincial police say that on April 23 at approximately 11:29 p.m. an officer observed a truck on the southbound ramp of Hwy. […]
LETTER TO EDITOR: A few symptoms pertaining to COVID-19 are fever, cough, difficulty breathing and pneumonia. Back in June of 1983, my white cell counts were extremely low due to working with nasty carcinogens while I was a provincial lab technician in Toronto. I came down with pneumonia and this is how I fixed it. […]
GRAVENHURST — A hydro rates hike for residents here served by Elexicon Energy was delayed today due to the COVID-19. In a release April 30, they said they are postponing a 1.7 per cent increase in distribution rates until at least Nov. 1. They said the move to postpone the scheduled May 1 hike, which […]
BRACEBRIDGE — A Bracebridge man and woman face almost two dozen major drug and gun charges after an arrest in a Hortons parking lot takedown yesterday. Provincial police say it’s the result of an OPP investigation this month by the Muskoka Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU). Arrests and search warrants were executed with the help […]
HUNTSVILLE — Officials here and across Muskoka appear optimistic that re-opening the economy will soon happen and that farmers market will be able to sell food only to the public. At its council meeting today — April 29 — Huntsville town councillors met electronically to discuss COVID-19 impact, questions and concerns from residents. Among updates, they […]
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 […]