The storm on the 16th lifted the snow total on the ground now to around two feet deep. Lots of nasty slush reported to be on the lake. Be careful. No fun getting a machine freed up from being stuck in deep slush.
The 950 Limerick Lake snowmobile trail is open for the first time in 2 years. Nice to see the area back to a normal winter. The municipal parking lot for loading and unloading at 643 Limerick Lake Road is plowed and provides a very nice, safe place to park while riding the trails. Two thumbs up to the municipality for this service.
The spring Cottage Life show is March 20 - 23 at the International Center near the airport. It takes up halls 1, 2, and 5. This is the same location as the fall snowmobile show.
EOTA and OFATV multiuse trails are closed during the OFSC snowmobile season. Do not drive wheeled vehicles on OFSC trails. From posts on social media there has been a lack of cooperation on this in areas south and west of us.
Attended the February municipal council meeting on Wednesday the 19th. A long meeting since there was none in January, and there was a presentation at the beginning of the meeting. (that always runs overtime) Lots of discussion about shared services with other municipalities, services that Hastings County wants to provide (for a fee), and upcoming discussions at county council about municipal amalgamations. The presentation was about forming a new tourism organization to serve north of 7. It is unfortunate that ever since the Bancroft Chamber got out of tourism services around 2018, there really has not been any local tourism marketing. The by-law enforcement officer (who is also the community safety person) has been doing a great job at obtaining grants for numerous projects. Also, lots of discussion about invasive milfoil and how to dispose of it. Councilor Locke will be doing some work on that subject and report back in March. Council is still working on the agenda for the April invasive species meeting. County Council has received some complaints that the new centralized 911 system is having some difficulties with locations. Fire Chief Maxwell claims that the fire chiefs group in the county finds it is working well. Guess we shall see as time goes on. Council voted to fund a used $33,000 SCBA tank refilling compressor. The fire department has about half the money already and they promise to continue fundraising to repay the rest of the funds. Limerick Estates is back on the closed agenda. Maybe a public update next month? Mayor Carson has indicated she will run for re-election in 2026. The LWRA will discuss supporting her again at the spring board meeting.
The municipality is planning a public information session on Invasive Species in April. Probably at the April 23rd council meeting.
Finally got confirmation from a cottager with a Rogers device that the new tower on Sutton Rd. is on. Hopefully the Rogers / FOCA special pricing plan is still available in the spring. If it is, that will be the best internet service for us on the lake.
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. They are now teasing that pizza might be available soon. They posted photos of a new pizza oven on their FB page. The store is located on the south-east corner of St. Ola Road and Hwy. 62. For snowmobile riders, 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.
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.
