On behalf of the PLRA Board, we extend our warmest welcome and wish you all an enjoyable and pleasant spring and summer at Percy Lake with friends and family. As you are no doubt aware, the weather this winter and the onset of spring, along with recent storms, has been erratic, and unpredictable. Winter activities, ice-fishing, trails, etc., were severely curtailed, given the lack of ice or unpredictability of safe ice conditions, and damage to some docks on the lake.

Water and Ice: Precipitation & Lake Level

There has been scant rainfall since September 2023, until this April: [70mm short of normal at year end; 150mm short of normal for first quarter]. Combined with warmer temperatures this winter, this helps explain why the snowmobile season was particularly short, with only 48 days with more than 15c m of snow on the ground – compared to twice that amount which is considered ‘normal’. However, since April 1, we’ve had ~77mm of rain. Given a diminished snowpack, the Trent-Severn started water capture ~2 weeks earlier than usual to collect the spring freshet. It didn’t look very likely that Percy would be full at the end of March; however, with the recent rain the lake level is now about normal. At the same time, even though the ice wasn’t thick, the wind did move it onshore, which likely led to reports of damaged docks on the North shore.

https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/waterlevels/donnees-data?Id=15&lang=en&siteId=100419

Even with the recent rain, the prolonged drought may result in early fire bans again this
year. Note that Dysart has a Daytime burning ban from April 1.

Telecommunications – Cell Towers – EORN (Eastern Ontario Regional Network) CELL GAP PROJECT

Bell is stringing fiber. If your Bell line was overhead from the road to the cottage, a new fibre line has been added [not connected]. If yours was buried, they left a note on your door about coming back to run it. It is still unknown when it might be activated. Bell had a 90h internet outage from Carnarvon east to Percy. [~Mar 23-25] Then multiple short outages. Originally it was described as a cut cable. Subsequently we have learned that Bell has an on-line outage reporting system: Check the website https://support.bell.ca/Outage-Check

(Use your address and it’ll populate with yours or a neighbours’ address.)

There have been as yet no reports of any visible progress on the (3) nearby Rogers Cell towers. (South end of Percy, North Lake, N. Curry Rd on Haliburton Lake). Dysart Council had a new tower (not near Percy) approved on its Mar 26 2024 agenda. So, we can perhaps expect that there may be progress on the other towers. Still alive.

UPCOMING EVENTS – 2024

1) PLRA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Last year, unlike the past previous years, we held our Annual General Meeting (AGM) live in August at the Fort Irwin Resident’s Association (FIRA hall), a welcome change from the previous few years which of necessity, lead to remote AGMs. Walt McKechnie, Dysart Deputy Mayor, was our guest speaker. The AGM was very well attended and a lively event, no doubt a testament holding an in-person event! We fully expect to hold a live AGM for this coming season and will keep you informed as we get closer to the date!

2) ANGLING ACTIVITIES

A – FULL SEASON YOUTH ANGLING CONTEST (16 Years and Younger)

This contest is open to Percy Lake Ratepayers’ members and their families. Trophies will be presented at the following year’s AGM. Tight lines usually mean “fish on”, so young anglers, let’s see your photos and hear your fish stories. This contest is open for the entire legal fishing season for both lake trout and bass. (Youth can enter both contests.)

B – FISHING TOURNAMENT– TBD

Typically, PLRA’s Catch and Release Fishing Tournament are typically held in mid-August (from 8:00 AM to noon that day). The tournament is open to members (and family) of the PLRA. We anticipate that the tournament would take place at around that same period for this year. The rules for both the Youth Angling Contest and the one-day fishing tournament can be found at: http://www.plra.net/index.cfm?page=fishing_derby.

3) GOLF TOURNAMENT

PLRA held its first annual golf tournament September 16, 2023. It turned out to be a great social event and plan to hold it as an annual PLRA event. (see posting on the PLRA website-https://plra.ca/).

The weather was picture-perfect, and a great time was had by all. In the end, the scores were incredibly close, with the winning team of Dwayne Garrow, Charlotte Bell, Jack Russel and Rob MacDonald narrowly claiming first place. Congratulations to the winning team, and to Carl Pearce, who won both the Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin holes.

We will share a “Save-the-Date” email with all PLRA members , so you can mark your calendars to join us in September 2024 for the Second Annual Percy Lake Open.

4) SOCIAL EVENT – DATE TBD

We are planning on holding an annual social event in mid-August, if all goes well. Stay tuned for further details on this active day. Suggestions and volunteers are most welcome.

PLRA MEMBERSHIP

The annual PLRA membership fee is a modest $30 per family. These fees pay our major expenses, including membership in organizations including Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners’ Association (CHA), the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA), and the Coalition for Equitable Water Flow (CEWF) and for expenses incurred by PLRA’s annual obligations and events. We encourage you to renew or if not a member, to join the PLRA. The membership form is included for your convenience. For a wealth of information about the history and activities at Percy Lake, check out the website: HTTPS://PLRA.CA/

PLRA – CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Anna Tilman, President
Koko Yamamoto, Treasurer
Brian Edey, Secretary
Ted Mills
Lou Kiriakou
Peter Mills
Bob Wong
Shelley Lindsay
Tim Jansen
Mark Rechsteiner

Have a great time this summer, and I look forward to meeting you on the lake or thereabouts, and at our AGM and any other activities that may be planned.

Best regards,

Anna Tilman