Craighurst W I December Meeting
CWI gathered in the basement of St John’s Church Craighurst for our annual potluck supper. About 30 people attended, both the Women’s Institute members and the Boys Institute. (The CBI came about when the husbands felt left out while we met on a Tuesday night, home alone, no one to listen to them)
We welcomed all, made introductions, and tucked in. Great visiting and great food.
After the banquet the Tweedsmuir History Chair gave a little talk on the great train derailment of August 1944, when Ed Handy ran into the CPR train and derailed it. Ed was not hurt, but his model A Ford took a licking. A local wag at the time said “Look at that, the CPR can’t buck Henry Ford”. The station platform took a licking too. Yes, I said Station.
We had passenger service, a station, a grain elevator, a potato warehouse, and a stockyard, in 1944. The Chair passed around some photos of the wreckage, and talk led to how the “Section House” beside the station had been a Bidwell farm house, with a Bidwell great-grandson right there at the table to tell how his ancestor had sold his farm to the CPR. In 1906 the railroad track building crews, coming from Midhurst, got closer and closer, and were going to appropriate the Bidwell barn. “If you’re going to take my barn then you’re going to take my farm” declared Tom Bidwell. He sold the whole thing to the railroad and moved to downtown Craighurst.
Next on the agenda was a draw for handmade HH potlid/iphone holders. Only the ladies were eligible. Our two smallest BCI members assisted the President with the draw.
Then the CWI had a brief meeting, made up two baskets for local “shutins”, a box for the Food Bank, delegated the deliveries of same, and wished each other, as I do to you, gentle readers, “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year”.
Georgian Shores Seniors Club Raises Funds
By Helmut Paddags, Dec. 20, 2024
Volunteers from Georgian Shores Seniors Club helped raise funds for The Place in Balm Beach by baking treats and cooking main dishes for the Christmas season. Members appreciated being able to stock up on ready made dishes for the busy holidays. Members also enjoyed a nourishing soup and sandwich lunch
Angels with Backpacks
Dianne Paddags , Dec. 20, 2024
A dedicated group of women have been very busy packing backpacks for the homeless people in North Simcoe. This year they have packed over 147, which were distributed by outreach workers from Chigamik. Each pack costs about $150. Donations to this worthy cause can be made through GoFundMe, Angels With Backpacks.
Mother Nature delivers ‘awesome’ Christmas present to local resorts
By: Wayne Doyle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: BarrieToday.com, Dec 24, 2024
Local ski resorts got the best Christmas present they could ask for yesterday — about 15 centimetres of fresh snow.
With the children on holidays and many parents taking the rest of the week off, the traffic at Snow Valley, Horseshoe and Mount St. Louis Moonstone is expected to reach a fevered pitch by week’s end, with skiers, snowboarders and other winter sport enthusiasts set to take advantage of the excellent conditions. “This is the best day of the year for us here at the resort,” said Amber Currie, Horseshoe Resort’s director of sales, as Michael Buble’s Christmas hits filled the air next to the chalet. “Here it is, Christmas Eve, and we’re heading into one of the best holiday seasons I think we’ve had in the past couple of years at least.”
Horseshoe Resort, located about 20 minutes north of Barrie, has the majority of its runs open for both day and night use. The resort also offers cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and snow tubing.
Mount St. Louis Moonstone, about five minutes north of Horseshoe on Highway 400, has all but one run open for day use.
Snow Valley, which is located about 10 minutes northwest of Barrie, has about half of its runs open. Like Horseshoe, Snow Valley offers snowshoeing and snow tubing in addition to skiing and snowboarding.
Horseshoe Resort is the only local resort open on Christmas Day, but all three will be open for business starting at 9 a.m. Thursday.
“It’s shaping up to be a good year,” said Karen Hoffman, Horseshoe’s snow school manager. “Our lessons over Christmas are filling up and we’ve got lots of kids in camps next week.
“We’ve been making snow for the past week and we got great natural snow last night, so we’re excited,” she added.
John Ball, the general manager at Snow Valley, shares that excitement. He says the best part of the recent snowfall was that it hit Toronto.
“One of the keys to a successful year is if you have snow on the ground in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as it sparks interest,” Ball said early Tuesday morning as the parking lot at Snow Valley continued to fill up. “When you spark the interest, they’re going to come up.”
Ball is hoping folks arrive in droves — a definite change from the past couple of years.
“There are peaks and valleys and we’re coming out of the adjustment that everyone made in 2021-2022 with COVID,” he said. “The numbers are there.”
Snowboarders Jay and Brittany Brownless are among them. The Barrie couple bought season passes at Horseshoe Resort.
On Tuesday morning, they were out bright and early, looking to carve up the resort’s runs with a pal.
“We bought our passes in the summer and we’ve been itching to get out since then,” said Brittany.
She was hoping the conditions on Tuesday were as good as, or better, than Monday when she hit the slopes for a few quick runs.
“It was awesome yesterday,” Brittany said. “We try to get out a few times a week and do a little bit of both daytime and night boarding.”
“It’s been pretty rare to be able to ski in Ontario at Christmas,” Jay said. “This is awesome.”
Severn Sound Environmental Association saddened by the loss of legacy conservationist Ron Reid
Submitted by Severn Sound Environmental Association
Dec. 17, 2024 – Port McNicoll, Ontario – The Severn Sound Environmental Association (SSEA) is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ron Reid, a cherished member of the conservation community and a true champion for our environment.
“On behalf of the Board and staff of the SSEA, we extend our sincerest and deepest condolences to Ron’s wife Janet, his family, and the entire team of staff and board members who had the privilege of working alongside him” Julie Cayley, SSEA Executive Director.
Ron’s legacy is clear in the success of The Couchiching Conservancy. Ron’s passion, dedication, and tireless efforts were instrumental in forging a path for generations of conservationists and ecologists. He led the way in breaking down barriers and fostering collaboration, building partnerships and alliances across environmental and conservation organizations, government, non-profits, and municipal sectors alike. His ability to bring people together for a common cause left an indelible mark on everyone he worked with and created lasting change in the conservation landscape. Ron inspired many and his passing is a profound loss for the conservation community.
Oro-Medonte airport lands $93M investment for Ornge Air expansion
By: Wayne Doyle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Source: BarrieToday.com, Dec 17, 2024
The Ontario government is spending $93 million to expand the Ornge Air Ambulance fleet, help it hire 102 new front-line staff and build a hangar at the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport.
During a press conference at the airport between Barrie and Orillia Tuesday morning, Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s deputy premier and minister of health, said the investment is proof the Ontario government is making progress to support faster, improved access to the critical care Ontario residents need.
“This investment will expand the Ornge Air Ambulance fleet with the addition of two new larger, high-speed, fixed-wing aircraft which can complete double the number of long distance patient transports compared to our current smaller aircraft,” Jones said.
“The new larger, faster aircraft will ensure Ornge Air Ambulance service can connect more patients to urgent care, especially those living in rural and remote communities.”
Jones said Tuesday’s announcement builds on the provincial government’s previous $118-million commitment to expand Ornge’s fixed-wing fleet with four additional planes and replacement of their existing eight fixed-wing fleet.
“We are exceptionally excited by this,” said Dr. Homer Tien, president and chief executive officer of Ornge. “Around this time last year we were in Sudbury to announce the renewal and expansion of our fixed wing fleet.
“Today’s announcement is a continuation of that, another significant step toward enhancing air ambulance and critical care transport services for the patients of Ontario,” he added.
According to Tien, Ornge will be purchasing two Pilatus PC-24 jets, described as light business jets, produced by Pilatus Aircraft of Switzerland.
He said the first one will be delivered in December, 2027 and the second one is scheduled for delivery a short time later, in early 2028.
Delivery of the jets, he added, should occur about three months after the hangar is built.
Tien said the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport will become Ornge’s 15th base of operation in the province. He said the location is well suited to Ornge’s future plans.
“Our Simcoe County base will be unique in our system,” he said. “It will be the base of operations for what we’re calling our special mission aircraft, which will enhance our fixed wing capability in Ontario even further and allow us to deliver on our mandate of health equity in Ontario.”
Tien said there were two key benefits to locating the ‘special mission aircraft’ at Lake Simcoe Regional Airport — space and location.
“I think Oro-Medonte has the benefit of having a lot of space for our teams, our aircraft and for maintenance,” Tien said. “A lot of these patients are being transported to tertiary care centres in the GTA — the location is perfect.
“We can get to the GTA, drop off the patients and then come back to our hangar space here with the full ability to do maintenance and so forth.”
Tien said the new jets are more versatile than what the service is currently using, affording the organization the opportunity to expand the PC-24’s usage.
“We will be able to move supplies to the North and help with evacuations,” he said.
Additionally, he said, the new aircraft will support the ultra-long distance transportation of patients, allowing the northern fleet to stay in their base regions for shorter haul transports.
TIMELY WARNING ABOUT OAK WILT DISEASE
Brought to you by Simcoe County Master Gardeners
The Canadian food Inspection Agency is sharing a friendly reminder to nurseries, garden centres, homeowners, and tree professionals:
PLEASE DO NOT PRUNE OAK TREES FROM APRIL UNTIL DECEMBER.
Oak trees, of any size, especially red oaks are susceptible to a pathogen that
causes Oak Wilt {Bretziella fagacearum), transmitted by sap beetles. This invasive fungal infection is so serious that red oaks can die within 2 to 12 months.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR?
- Discoloured and wilted leaves, starting at the top of the tree.
- Discoloration begins at leaf tip and moves inward to the base.
- Premature leaf-drop mid to late summer.
- Black sooty stains form at the base of trees.
- White, grey, or black fungal mats forming just under the bark.
- Bark will smell fruity.
- Cracking tree bark as fungal spore mats push bark and large branches outward
WHAT TO DO?
- Prune in winter (Dec-March) when trees are dormant.
- Paint over any wounds that occur during this high-risk time.
- Use local firewood.
- Remove and burn infested trees and stumps.
- Break root connections with nearby oak trees.
- Report any infected trees to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
OakWiltReportingOntario-
letrissementduchene@inspection.gc.ca.
Oak wilt disease was first found in Canada in 2023, and unfortunately identified near us, in the Barrie area and Springwater Township.