2nd round of the ice storm appears to have been a lot worse than the first. Power is on at the lake. A minor miracle given the Hydro One outage map. On the other hand, this is being edited by generator power on the east side of Belleville. Lots of trees down around the city.
Not much progress on ice out last week. With nights being well below freezing it will take a long time for the lake to clear. Speculation at Council on the 17th was for boating the weekend of April 12th, but that is looking less and less likely with well below normal temperatures continuing.
This just in: A very nice newer water access cottage will be going on the market this spring. About 150 feet of shoreline. 3/4 acre. Gray water septic. Composting toilet. Shoreline boathouse for easy storage of water toys. In the north-east corner of the lake. Cottage has been lovingly cared for through the years. The rules preclude me from posting a price, but I can tell you they are motivated and are thinking in a very fair range. I can put you in touch with the seller directly.
The municipality will have a public information session on Invasive Species at the April 23rd council meeting. (12:30 at the Community Center on Hwy 620)
And, there is a "Clean Water" webinar on Wednesday, April 9th, 2025, from 12PM to 1PM. The topic this time around is Well Maintenance and Safety, featuring guest presenters Kyle Smith, a licensed well technician and member of the Ontario Ground Water Association, and Brittany Murcar from the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit. It will be held over Zoom.
If you would like to attend, please register at the following link: https://bit.ly/wellsafety
Finally got confirmation that the new Rogers 5G tower on Sutton Rd. is on. The Rogers / FOCA special pricing plan is $60 per month this year. (unless you have a Rogers phone in which case it remains $50 per month) Even at the $60 price it is the best internet service for us on the lake. Once you are an LWRA member, we can provide you with a link to the "Rogers Preferred Program" webpage.
The St. Ola Station general store now has fuel sales. They have all grades and pay at the pump. We were without a local gas station for just over two years after Trudys closed. Two thumbs up to the owners for managing their way through a mountain of red tape. Please support them and buy your fuel locally. The store is located on the south-east corner of St. Ola Road and Hwy. 62. For trail users, they are just a few feet off the Hastings Heritage Trail at MM 102.
The municipality is on winter burning rules. Daytime burning is allowed with fires up to 6 feet by 6 feet. This continues through March 31.
Half load restrictions on the dirt roads are in effect from now until roughly May 15th. The exact end date will be determined as spring progresses. Be sure to verify load restrictions before ordering any materials or deliveries by truck to the lake in the spring. (RONA, Home Depot, Leons Furniture, etc.)
The dump is on winter hours. It is open Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and holiday Mondays from 11AM to 4:30PM.
The 2025 fishing regulations are available on the Ontario.ca website. The Limerick chain of lakes remains at the very south end of fisheries zone 15. Pages 104 to 114 of the regulations book. Bass season opens June 28, 2025, and closes November 30. Lake trout season opened January 1 and closes September 30. The Limerick chain of lakes has a "slot size" for lake trout that MUST be returned to the lake if caught. It is roughly 16 to 22 inches. It is also a "one line" lake when ice fishing.
