Percy Lake – Spring 2025

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.

What’s new

Fibre Bell

After the 154hr outage in mid-Oct of 2024 the Fibre network [phone, TV, internet] was activated. First news came at the Toronto Cottage Show and connection bookings were available from late November 2024. At about the same time the 310Bell Service number started saying ~’we aren’t making repairs to the copper system; you’ll have to switch’.

Cell Towers Rogers – EORN (Eastern Ontario Regional Network) Cell Gap Project

Since December 2022, four new ‘local’ cell towers have been announced.

The tower at North Lake (C8611) was erected in the Fall of 2024 and began operating in the Spring of 2025.

While the towers are meant to mesh to provide coverage, even having just the one does provide some signal on the road from Eagle Lake to Percy. If you had an emergency, it might mean a shorter walk to get help.

No evidence yet that the other towers are a priority. Maybe a draw: closest date wins?

• Percy Lake a site at the south end of the lake C8609
• Haliburton Lake near the North end of Currey Road (C8610)
• Elephant Lake to the south-east (C8604).

Power outages

108h so far in 2025: end of March [77hr] ice storm; and end of April [14hr] wind.

If you drove up the 400 to Bracebridge or 35 to Minden, you would have noticed the horizontal trees from the late March ice storm. Possibly the major remnants are the piles of wood chippings. But, about a month later there was a fairly severe wind storm. It was the suspect for the tree that blocked the boat launch.

Screen shots from the HydroOne App show the extent of those two long outages. And, since the fibre is on the same poles there were communication outages as well. [Bonus, Bell can now tell when their Fibre is o/s so there are notifications].

Tree that was blocking boat launch: Ted Mills reported on Thursday that Dysart has removed it and did a rough grading of the access road to the parking area. So, Mark can receive his dock and boat launching is again possible.

Shoreline

Dysart is doing an on-line survey to gather feedback on an Official Plan Amendment concerning ‘shoreline sheds’. I put the information at the end.

Social media

And an initiative that came from the AGM is to improve member services. More on that in a later message.

What’s usual

Free Floating docks

Maybe last year’s mild winter contributed, but we have more than usual sightings of docks that escaped their winter berths.

A Normal winter

One measure of normalcy in a winter is snow on the ground. There needs to be lots of it to be useful [skiing, snowshoeing, snowmobiling], probably more than 6” [15cm].

The average number of days we had more than 15cm of snow on the ground from 2014-2023: was 84 days. Past winter was 66. Previous winter was 48.

Rainfall

We have been getting less than usual rainfall/snow for the past half year. Current quarter is tracking on the 10-years average though so maybe there won’t be major fire concerns this summer.

Lake Level rise 2025 vs 2024

Maybe with a thicker icepack, or maybe just better management, the lakes were filled in a more careful manner. TSW added three logs in mid-March. After the level stabilized [and the icepack thinned], additional logs were added in steps. Unless we have a huge rain event the current Lake level is probably at the peak for this year.

Highway Construction @ Carnarvon

From Ont511.ca: Expect delays up to 5 minutes. Now to end of September.

• Highway 35, From 1.6 kilometres South of Highway 118 Northerly 9.7 kilometres
• Highway 118 from 0.3 kilometres west of highway 35 easterly to 0.6 kilometres

Daily single lane closures controlled with flaggers. Speed reduced to 60 kilometres an hour during flagging operations. Lane restricted to 4.5 metres. No height restriction.

Fir pollen release

Over the next few weeks. It’s the obvious rock marker when the lake level has started to subside.

Garbage

Susan and Jack being stewards. This was near the start of Johnson Bay Rd. (Photo in the PDF.)

Lake testing [FOCA and Lake Partner Program, LPP]

The 5-year agreement between FOCA and the MECP for the LPP ended in March 2025, amid turmoil due to a snap provincial election and the appointing of a new Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks. Despite repeated reassurances that a new agreement was on its way to FOCA, we [FOCA] have now reached a critical point in the sampling annual cycle, and the 2025 data is at risk unless an agreement with MECP is confirmed now.

And the 2024 testing results haven’t been posted. So, FOCA has ‘Save the LPP’ campaign. More details: Urgent: Help us to save the Lake Partner Program of water quality monitoring.

Links

There’s a newish local resource for [among other things] plantings: Grounded Haliburton, groundedgardens.ca

Upcoming events – Summer 2025

PLRA AGM

We are planning to hold our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the afternoon after the Bass Tournament.

The AGM is a time where questions can be raised for our elected officials, who are our invited guests, information is exchanged, and is a great social opportunity for you to get to know your neighbours and for the very few who haven’t already renew your annual membership!

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 – Aug 16

Typically, PLRA’s Catch and Release Fishing Tournament is 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. 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.

Golf Tournament – mid-September

This will be the 3rd annual golf tournament.

Social Event – Date TBD

We’d like to have a social event in mid-summer. Suggestions and volunteers are most welcome.

PLRA Membership

The annual PLRA membership fee is a modest $40 per family. These fees pay our major expenses, including membership in organizations including the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA), the Coalition for Equitable Water Flow (CEWF), Coalition of Haliburton Property Owners’ Association (CHA), 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 linked for your convenience (Membership Form 2024).

For a wealth of information about the history and activities at Percy Lake, check out the website: https://plra.ca/

Current PLRA Board Directors

• Anna Tilman: President
• Koko Yamamoto: Treasurer
• Brian Edey: Secretary
• Lou Kiriakou: Fishing Tournaments – Member at large
• Tim Jansen – Member-at-Large
• Shelley Lindsay: Member-at-Large
• Mark Rechsteiner: Member-at-Large
• Peter Mills: Member-at-Large
• Ted Mills: Roads – Member-at-Large
• Bob Wong: Golf – Member-at-Large

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

Best regards,
annatilman@sympatico.ca

Addenda

Dysart Official Plan Amendment

We want to hear from you! Help shape the future of Dysart et al by participating in our community survey.

Dysart is reviewing shoreline protection policies of the Official Plan and Zoning By-law. The intent is to permit one (1) building near the shoreline of a waterbody. As part of this update, we will be seeking public feedback in the following ways:

• A survey available between May 15 and June 15, 2025 to collect local perspectives on shoreline development.
• A Public Open House scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7th, 2025 at the Municipal Office at 135 Maple Avenue. In-person and virtual participation will be permitted.

Please visit www.dysartetal.ca/feedback for further information. Municipality of Dysart et al, 705-457-1740, www.dysartetal.ca

Background information related to the amendments can be reviewed on the Current Development Applications page of the Municipal website.

U-Links projects

Community Members of Haliburton County:

It’s that time of year again! Community Members of Haliburton County – U-Links, a leading organization facilitating community-based research collaborations, is inviting community groups in Haliburton County to submit their research project proposals for the upcoming academic year. This call aims to foster partnerships between community organizations and student researchers from Trent University and other post-secondary institution partners to address important issues impacting the social, cultural, environmental, and economic aspects of the county.

Since 1999, U-Links has been instrumental in connecting community organizations with talented student researchers, resulting in numerous successful research projects. By participating in this initiative, organizations gain access to valuable research insights that can inform decision-making processes, increase capacity and contribute to the betterment of Haliburton County.

No research background? No problem! U-Links staff are here to guide you through the process. All you need is an idea or identified problem within Haliburton County, and our team will assist you in developing a comprehensive project proposal and identifying the appropriate research questions. Whether your project relates to community development, health sciences, forensics, environmental sciences, or any other field, our dedicated professionals will provide the necessary support.

To give you an idea of the diverse projects we facilitate, here are a few examples of ongoing community-based research projects:

• Heritage Apples of Haliburton County
• Evaluation Assessment for Abbey Retreat Centre Programs
• Watershed Monitoring Protocols and Practices for Haliburton County
• Ecological Light Pollution, Insect Behaviour and Cottager Perceptions

The deadline for submitting project ideas or topics is July 15th. We encourage all interested community members and organizations to reach out to U-Links by this date to discuss their project proposals.

Join U-Links in making a difference in Haliburton County through community-based research. Together, we can create positive change and contribute to the sustainable growth of our community.

For more information and to see examples of our previous and available research projects please visit www.ulinks.ca. Contact our Program Coordinator, Frank Figuli at coordinator@ulinks.ca or phone our office at 705-286-2411.