MUSKOKA LAKES — Police have charged a Muskoka Lakes man with allegedly assaulting two OPP officers during an investigation. They say that on Nov. 23, at 8:05 a.m., when officers responded to a disturbance on Burgess Avenue in Muskoka Lakes. The OPP say that while they were attempting to de-escalate the situation, two officers were […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With 25 per cent of kids in the region now vaccinated, the health unit is now opening its doors and booking booster shots for residents at 70+. Starting at 8 a.m. on Dec. 13, individuals aged 50 years and older will also be eligible for the booster and can […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With almost 100 COVID cases regionally today and the Omicron variant on the rise, residents are being asked to keep to themselves inside this month. Not a bad idea considering the weather. However, 4 cases Tuesday in Muskoka (92 in Simcoe) are hardly cause to celebrate after a dozen […]
HUNTSVILLE — Two people are dead and five others are suffering suspected drug overdoses that have police investigating incidents Thursday to Saturday. They say the Muskoka Crime Unit and the Muskoka Community Street Crime Unit are working under the direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) following the fatalities between Dec. 2 and 6. […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With Ontario the most affected Omicron provinces, Simcoe-Muskoka reports 236 Delta cases over the weekend. Twelve of them are in Muskoka: Gravenhurst woman, 35-44, under investigation, reported Dec. 5, first episode Dec. 3 Bracebridge woman, 35-44, under investigation, reported Dec. 4, first episode Dec. 3 Gravenhurst woman, 35-44, under […]
LOIS COOPER | MuskokaTODAY.com I am heartened by comments on the probability of the return of the Northlander from John Cooper (no relation): “Chances are somewhere between very slim, to none!” He appears to have both feet on the ground. With my 10 years experience running the Train Station in Gravenhurst from 1992-2002 (very successfully) here […]
RUSTY DRAPER | Contributing columnist The following might qualify as a hyperbole. (Much like most of my stories.) Growing up in Gravenhurst there always seemed to be a great deal of friction between my hometown and Bracebridge, just 10 miles north. I don’t know when or why these ill feelings germinated, but I’m sure it […]
TARA COLLUM | Contributing columnist At the start of last January, Bracebridge’s five-day boil water advisory was called “the most extraordinary water incident” in the history of Muskoka. Last weekend Gravenhurst had a water incident of its own, first when the district issued first a do-not-use advisory, which was soon downgraded to a boil water […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE MUSKOKA — With Simcoe-Muskoka one of the most affected COVID regions, its medical officer of health is order tougher local measures. After closing Spruce Glen elementary school this week — and with 106 cases today — Dr. Charles Gardner says “dramatic increases” over the past six weeks mean he is willing […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKKOA — With 1,031 Ontario cases today (106 regionally) — and an Omicron variant in York — 8 more cases in Muskoka may pale by comparison. But as reported yesterday by MuskokaTODAY.com, by Christmas those numbers are on track to more than double. Especially with Omicron being more transmissible than Delta. […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Ontario’s latest flip-flop on electric vehicles indicates some real intent as to its return of the Northlander. A few days after seven northereastern Ontario mayors made tracks for Toronto early one morning last week to meet with transportation minister Caroline Mulroney at Union Station to continue their pressure for […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Omicron is real. It’s scary. And it’s here to stay — long-term. So people age 50+ will be rushing Dec. 13 at 8 a.m. to begin booking appointments for booster shots. That’s the group of people taking COVID and vaccines most seriously. With Omicron spreading fast — including Durham […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BALA — Residents here are always first to see Santa sailing over the Moon River each December on his motorized sleigh as the season of Christmas parades begins. But this year, the biggest elf is coming down from his sleigh for a drive-by unlike never before. Courtesy, of course, of COVID. […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — While there are “no” Omicron cases in Simcoe-Muskoka yet, will current vaccines stop them “if and when” they arrive? “We don’t know,” says Dr. Charles Gardner. “It’s still too early to tell,” he said when asked this afternoon. His “best advice” is to keep wearing masks inside and outside […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — A manufacturing business with 25 employees is news enough. But an expansion of 12,000 square feet is bigger news amid the pandemic. Embertech Industrial, a metal fabricator here on Barron Drive, is adding to its existing 5,000 square feet. And a $363,000 Ontario regional growth program grant announced last […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — One’s a man of steel — the other’s a super man. Gordon Lightfoot and Fred Schulz share many things in common. Both are guitar players with deep roots in Orillia and neighbouring Kilworthy. And both were at Massey Hall last Thursday for the reopening of the legendary Toronto music […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — If one is too many. Two is twice as bad. That’s Muskoka today with two COVID cases among 53 in the region Monday. The boy and girl are among kids under age 18. This as the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) says as of today, 10% of children […]
HUNTSVILLE — A school bus driver who had just dropped off teens at Huntsville High this morning has been arrested and charged with impaired driving. At 8:20 a.m. Tuesday police were called to the parking lot of the high school after a complaint from a concerned citizen, say police. Officers located the driver and while […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Three days after water was shut off and a boil water order was in place, the health unit now says the water is safe again to drink. As of noon today, Nov. 30, lab tests have confirmed that the water is free from contamination. The cause was mislabelled fluoride put […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — As the world braces for a new variant, it’s 243 weekend cases in this region causing concern locally. And 18 of them were in Muskoka — including 15 in Huntsville and one each in Gravenhurst, Bracebridge and Georgian Bay. Ten of those in Huntsville and the one in Bracebridge […]