Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — Silence. Applause. Kids. Elders. Students. Teachers. Residents. Survivors. Tears. Rain. Healing. Hope. Truth. Reconciliation. That’s how it was and what it was all about today as more than 200 First Nations and second nations members gathered in solidarity to start Indigenous Awareness Week. All colours and races. Together, united […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — A Muskoka man and 22 Simcoe residents today bring to 12,222 the number of people in the region who have now contracted the coronavirus. And two more people in Simcoe died during the weekend, reports the health unit in latest numbers Monday. The Gravenhurst man, aged 35-44, is under […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — Too bad you can’t give an Indigenous person a hug. Social distancing being what it is — maybe a thumbs up is the best you can do under pandemic circumstances. Not to be trite, but from sun up to sun down tomorrow may be your opportunity to acknowledge Canada’s […]
TARA COLLUM | Special to MuskokaTODAY.com How long does Pride need to be celebrated? How about forever. Once things reach parade status, they are a pretty permanent tradition. Times are changing and progressing; but things aren’t always as far along as we’d like to think they are. With education, empathy and more representation, I hope […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — With 19 new local COVID cases, Simcoe is in and Muskoka is out again in a new cabinet shuffle this afternoon. Only one of today’s positive coronavirus tests comes from Huntsville, where a woman 45-64 with close contact was reported June 17 with a first exposure June 10. The […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com BRACEBRIDGE — The longest day of the year will begin here downtown with a sunrise commemoration to begin Indigenous Awareness Week and to honour the 215 First Nations child victims found in an unmarked grave at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in B.C. Parry Sound-Muskoka MP Scott Aitchison and Trisha […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — May 13 was the first day a case of the Delta variant showed up in local health unit reporting. Today there are 18 cases (all in Simcoe) as the province added Simcoe-Muskoka to the list of seven regions designated as hot spots for the variant of concern (VOC) first […]
MUSKOKA — A break in the weather has brought the fire danger rating down to “moderate.” That’s as of Tuesday June 15. Muskoka fire chiefs say they have lowered the rating from “extreme” total fire ban. This means small fires are permitted in most rural areas of Muskoka, keeping in mind that there is still […]
GLEN ORCHARD — When kids safely return to school in September a cohort at the Glen Orchard Public School should soon be learning in a renovated child care centre. The province says as part of efforts to create more child care spaces in schools, it has given Trillium Lakelands District School Board approval to tender […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are now safely interchangeable. So don’t turn your back on the former if you’ve had the latter, says Dr. Charles Gardner who has heard of people doing that. He said next week Simcoe-Muskoka is getting 20,000 more Moderna and 30,000 more Pfizer doses that will […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Car culture is not an auto immune disease. It’s more like a virus: a bug that fast and furious collectors are driven to mutate dints and dents with help from a little Bondo. And it’s all on full display today with the annual Gravenhurst Chamber of Commerce Virtual Car […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com GRAVENHURST — Gravenhurst resident and outstanding volunteer Joanne Twist has been selected as the 2021 Ontario Senior of the Year for Gravenhurst. “Joanne’s contributions to Gravenhurst have been vast and meaningful over the years and especially significant in the eye of the pandemic. As Chair of Gravenhurst Against Poverty (GAP), she […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Frank Conway has no problem with curbside service. Not at least with the health unit, which today reported just 6 COVID cases in Simcoe. And none in Muskoka for the second straight day. Conway was among 150 who all-day took advantage of extra doses of the Pfizer vaccine at […]
Ed. note: This letter from Climate Action Muskoka was copied to MuskokaTODAY.com Dear Norm Miller MPP and Premier Doug Ford: Last week, you announced $3.1 million in provincial funding for the expansion of natural gas distribution to Burk’s Falls and Hidden Valley, Huntsville. The mayors of both towns were enthusiastic about the announcement, citing reduced […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Stage 1 of Ontario’s opening produced weekend COVID numbers that only weeks ago would have been single day stats. Twenty-six cases — for three days. And none in Muskoka. That’s 9 Sunday, 7 Saturday and 10 Friday, according to the health unit that added a couple of other new […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com PARRY SOUND — More details are emerging today of a deadly boating crash Aug. 24 2019 on Lake Joseph as the trial of Linda O’Leary opened up in a provincial courtroom here. The wife of Kevin O’Leary, who was in court this morning, has pleaded not guilty to careless operation of […]
MUSKOKA — Rain or shine the fire ban continues. Muskoka six municipal fire chiefs remind everyone that their recent total fire ban order remains in effect. While some areas of Muskoka received some scattered precipitation today and last Thursday before the weekend, other areas received very little. They say no fires of any type are […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com MUSKOKA — It was men and women — boys and girls — everyone in motion this weekend, after Friday’s first wave of summer Ontario openings sweeps across the province. The sea change in Muskoka tourism was evident everywhere as Simcoe-Muskoka reported 10 COVID cases Sunday and province 530. In towns and […]
My family isn’t local to Muskoka, we moved to the area in 1979. I always thought I was from “The City.” But that isn’t technically true, we moved to Gravenhurst from Scarborough. I went to York University — and that isn’t really in Toronto, either. It’s part of North York. Living on my own for […]
Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com SIMCOE-MUSKOKA — Break out the patio lanterns. A dreary Friday didn’t dampen enthusiasm for Ontarians who were happy to sit this one out — outdoors. Thanks to another zero sum gain for Muskoka, as Simcoe was stuck with all 26 of the region’s COVID cases. That’s just over a third of […]