Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com MUSKOKA — What’s life like inside the Pines staff and residents where staying at home is the old norm? Muskoka’s oldest long-term care home has — so far — avoided the worst of COVID-19. That the official word today from the District of Muskoka, which manages the public residence — “a […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com MUSKOKA — Signs of thanks for COVID-19 “heroes” are everywhere now. On TV, in social media and also said with pots and pan. Essential workers on the pandemic frontline — who can’t stay at home — appreciate the praise and respect albeit late. From window hearts to bus-sized billboards and fences […]
BRACEBRIDGE — Muskoka Conservancy urges everyone to stay home, be safe and maintain social distancing during pandemic. But if you are still want to get out, get exercise, fresh air and sunshine, they remind hikers of the current trail access restrictions on lands they hold in trust. They continue to monitor the outbreak and will […]
SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Bracebridge has its first COVID-19 case reported by the health unit. The female in her 60s is self-isolating after travel, says the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) on its webside today, April 16. She is the 174th case reported by the SMDHU, and is Case #172 And she brings to 15 the […]
HUNTSVILLE — A Good Samaritan is giving back — if they can. Provincial police here are trying to help locate the owner of a large sum of cash. They theorize that the owner gave the money away accidentally. They ask that the legitimate owner must be prepared to answer questions surrounding the circumstances of the misplacement […]
HALIBURTON — Two Saint Bernard dogs are in quarantine after a girl, 6, was flown to hospital after being attacked and bitten. Provincial police say that Sunday, April 12, just after 4 p.m. Haliburton Highlands OPP and emergency crews were called to a home on Gainforth Road, in Dysart Et Al Township, to assist with […]
BRACEBRIDGE — Continuity amid the COVID-19 crisis appears to be behind an announcement today on a new CAO for the town. The mayor and council stayed in-house while promoting its treasurer and CFO to the top civil servant job. In a release Thursday, April 16, officials say that “after a comprehensive recruitment process,” Stephen Rettie […]
HUNTSVILLE — Pandemic fears are heightening ongoing efforts here to control short-term rentals like Airbnb. Town officials say today that in response to the province’s April 3 update of essential services, the Town of Huntsville has issued a Letter for Short-Term Accommodations with restrictions for any booking after April 4. Reports out of Toronto say some condo residents […]
ORILLIA — A driver who recently had her snow tires changed has been charged with unsafe operation of her vehicle after a tire came off and hit another vehicle on Hwy. 11 late yesterday afternoon. Provincial police at Orillia said today that they have charged a female driver with operate unsafe vehicle after the wheel […]
BRACEBRIDGE — A 19-year-old resident here faces two pornography charges. Provincial police said today that on Tuesday the Muskoka Crime Unit, the OPP’s child sexual exploitation unit and the Bracebridge detachment arrested and charged the Bracebridge man following a child pornography investigation. They say that on April 14 officers from the OPP’s child sexual exploitation […]
PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — An overnight snow dump has the MNRF warning about rising water levels and dangers around melting ice. This morning, April 15, it issued a “Watershed Conditions Statement – Water Safety” advisory. It indicates high flows, melting ice or other factors could be dangerous for such users as boaters, anglers and swimmers but […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — If you see more personalized masks around Muskoka this week, they may be the handiwork of a virtual sewing bee. Barb McCabe and Pam McDivitt are just two of about 50 sewers across town who have produced almost 1,000 colouful cloth facial covers to combat “the spread of this […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — Rotarians here are practising what they preach — Service Before Self. Their Rotary Youth Centre, on Wellington Street, is one of two COVID-19 assessment centres in Muskoka. And on March 21 the Bracebridge service club started a special Rotary Cares Covid-19 Assistance Fund Program to support working families in […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — They said stay at home. So Dave Ramer and Michelle Harbridge got married in their driveway Tuesday. Then again in Hespeler four hours later. The next day, Wednesday, April 8, the essential workers were back on the job — he as a paramedic with Muskoka Paramedic Services and she […]
HUNTSVILLE — Five people are without a home to stay in place today after a fire forced from their apartment. The Huntsville/Lake of Bays Fire Department said this afternoon that they responded to a report of a structure fire on Meadow Park Drive in Huntsville at 9 a.m. Responding firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com PARRY SOUND-MUSKOKA — Construction companies scrambled this week to make sure Easter eggs are available this weekend for those affected by the coronavirus. In just five days the Muskoka Home Builders Association (MBA) raised more than $80,000 to help. The Relief Effort delivered $24,000 to four local food banks Wednesday to […]
HUNTSVILLE — Another targeted traffic stop here yesterday has led to the arrest of a man and woman and the seizure of $5,700 in cocaine, $994 in cash and trafficking charges. On April 9 Muskoka Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU) and members of the Huntsville OPP detachment conducted pulled over a vehicle on West Street. […]
DWIGHT — A double takedown yesterday has led to two Huntsville residents being arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking and possession of a replica handgun modified to appear as a real firearm. Provincial police say Thursday, April 9, the Muskoka Community Street Crime Unit (CSCU) with the OPP’s SWAT team and canine unit used a drug […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com PORT CARLING — More on that commercial “diesel fuel” spill in Henshaw Lake — which took place Monday — prompting a drinking water warning from the province. An Ontario Environment Ministry spokesperson told MuskokaTODAY.com today that on April 6 a local resident notified the ministry about a “hydrocarbon sheen on the water […]
MUSKOKA — Muskoka’s hospitals “will struggle with the patient surge that is anticipated” as COVID-19 continues to hit the community hard. In a frank blog this week, Muskoka Algonquin Healthcare CEO Natalie Bubela says “as a smaller community hospital, we have limited personnel and limited space.” She says “health care practitioners fill many roles in […]