Archives 2021

Barrie Zehrs store holds Eat Together event

Last year, President’s Choice embarked on a mission to bring Canadians to the table to #EatTogether.

This year, the journey continued with Eat Together Day on June 22 at the Zehrs at Cundles and Duckworth streets, as well as other Zehrs, Loblaws, and No Frills locations across Barrie.

Almost half (42 per cent) of all Canadians eat lunch alone every day at work. With 66 per cent of working Canadians agreeing they should be eating lunch with colleagues more on a regular basis, Eat Together is the perfect opportunity to start this habit.

Zehrs wants to address this in Barrie, so a barbecue was held at the store on June 22.

“It is a great way for everyone to come together over food which has mental and nutritional benefits,” store manager Dan Ward said. “We had live music, Clarabella the Clown doing face-painting and balloon art, and a jumpy castle for the kids.”

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An eagle feather and a bridging of cultures at the Orillia courthouse

Orillia’s usually staid courthouse took on a celebratory atmosphere during a historic moment that, in the words of one speaker, pointed the way to greater inclusiveness for First Nations people.

A pair of eagle feathers — considered sacred objects in Indigenous culture — were presented to court officials during a ceremony held in the traditional land of the Anishinabek.

“The eagle represents honesty, truth, majestic strength, courage, wisdom, power and freedom,” Chippewas of Rama First Nation Chief Rodney Noganosh told the standing-room only audience that gathered to witness the event.

Eagle feathers are currently in use in Barrie, Parry Sound and Bracebridge courts to ensure Indigenous people have the opportunity to honour their spiritual beliefs when swearing an affidavit or testifying under oath.

During the June 20 event, one feather was presented to the Orillia court and another to a representative for the Midland court.

Indigenous people, Noganosh told the crowd, have a “much higher incarceration rate across the country” than other groups.

“It is initiatives like these that can help to bridge that gap for our people,” he added.

The feathers will be kept under lock and key in the judiciary office of the courtroom, and logged in and out when in use.

In addition, they will be routinely smudged using traditional medicine and brought to cultural ceremonies.

Elder Hector Copegog, of Wausauksing First Nation conducted a prayer, smudging and ceremony assisted by Elder Lorraine McRae, of Rama First Nation.

The late-afternoon event also featured traditional drumming by the Intertribal Peace Keepers, a group of law enforcement officers representing the OPP, Rama Police Service and Barrie police.

The drum “represents the heart beat of each and every one of us here today,” said Tom Batisse, acting chief for Rama Police Service.

Noganosh noted that a restorative justice program, established in 1996, continues “to this day with much success.”

Restorative justice focuses on the rehabilitation of offenders through reconciliation with victims and the community.

“If we can bring our brothers and sisters home to their community to begin the justice process with the victims, families and community, that is the most restorative and human approach for our people,” he added.

RECALLS: Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, more make this week’s list

Here is our weekly roundup of current product recalls. For more details on each, click on the links. Don’t forget to check back next week for new items.

Food

Campbell Company of Canada is recalling Pepperidge Farm brand Goldfish Flavour Blasted Xtreme Cheddar Crackers from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination.

AJ International Trading is recalling Wulama brand Fish Tofu and Want Want brand Shake Jelly products. Healthy Canadians website/photo

AJ International Trading is recalling Wulama brand Fish Tofu and Want Want brand Shake Jelly products from the marketplace because they may contain egg, sesame, and milk which are not declared on the label.

Sports/Fitness

Trek Bicycle Corporation recalls Bontrager Line Pro Flat Bicycle Pedals. Healthy Canadians website/photo

The pedals may have been manufactured with hydrogen embrittlement in the spindle of the pedals, causing one or both of the pedals to fail. When it fails, the pedal body separates from the spindle. If this happens while the bicycle is being operated, the rider could potentially lose control of the bicycle and fall.

Planting the seed to protect Orillia’s cherished urban canopy

The best time to plant a tree is 40 years ago.

It’s a well-worn line that is bound to elicit a knowing chuckle from those tasked with ensuring a healthy abundance of this cherished natural resource.

For Michael Williams, it also points to a harder truth about the vital importance of protecting a city’s urban canopy through long-term planning.

“Some of the big beautiful ones that are out there, when you explain to your child or grandchild the age of that tree and how long it’s been around, I think it just brings a sense of wonderment, ” said the chair of Orillia’s environmental advisory committee.

The importance of planning — make that planting — is becoming increasingly apparent as the municipality comes to terms with the knowledge that a number of the mature trees that shade the streets and lend the city its bucolic charm are either dead or dying.

In partnership with the municipality, Williams and other volunteers are digging to the root of the issue as they work to determine how many of the stately specimens are at risk and how best to respond.

Residents who know of dead or dying trees will also be encouraged to contact the city once the project is underway, he said.

“Our hope is that we will get a lot of engagement,” Williams said, adding the effort will initially concentrate on public areas such as boulevards.

Trees have numerous environmental benefits and contribute substantially to the character of the community, agrees parks manager John McMullen.

In the same breath, McMullen stressed that planting trees along streets in a manner that achieves the characteristic canopy effect poses challenges due to space restrictions imposed by sidewalks and public utilities.

“A fair bit of forethought does need to go in to it, so that you don’t destroy what you’re trying to do there,” he said, adding the effects of road salt and sand on certain species must also be taken into consideration.

Beyond their esthetic appeal, trees provide substantial benefit to the local ecosystem, reducing soil erosion, cooling the air, and helping offset the greenhouse effect by storing carbon.

However, many local neighbourhoods are home to a larger number of overmature street trees, Williams said.

Ideally, replacements should already have been planted alongside these aging specimens, to ensure young stock is there to fill the eventual void.

To that end, the group has secured council support for a project that will identify dying and aging trees in neighbourhoods and on select streets for replacement, with an emphasis on areas where tree cover is jeopardized.

“They’ll be smaller, of course, and take years to grow,” Williams said.

A separate but related effort will explore potential long-term projects that include a focus on “urban corridor cover” — lining major roads with shallow-rooted trees to improve streetscapes.

In the fall the group will review a soon-to-expire rebate program that provides residents with up to $50 for the purchase of specific tree species, with recommendations to follow.

Barrie’s 2018 municipal election candidates

Mayor

Jeff Lehman –  .  

Ram Faerber – or .

Ward 1

— or .

—  , or .

Cole Walsh —  or . 

Ryan Cardwell — or . 

— , or . 

— , or .

Ann-Marie Kungl — :  or .  

Erin Hennigar — or .

Dusko Jankov — or .

Ward 2

Yolanda T. Gallo — or . 

Richard Forward — . 

Rose Romita  — , or .  

— , or .

Ward 3

Doug Shipley – .   

Lynn-Anne Hill — or .

Tanya Saari — or .

Ward 4

Bryan Harris — or . 

Barry Ward – , or .  

— or .

Ward 5

Peter Silveira

Robert Thomson — .   

Harry Ahmed — or .  

Brandon Cassidy — or .

Ward 6

— , or .  

Steve Trotter

— ,  or .  

Colin Nelthorpe — or .

Ward 7

— , or .   

Andrew Prince – , or . 

Bonnie North — , or .   

John McEachern — or .

Ward 8

— or .  

Jim Harris — or .

—  or .   

Shelly Skinner — .

Ward 9

Sergio Morales –  , or . 

Ward 10

Mike McCann –  or .  

Peter Culyer — or .

John Olthuis — or .

Simcoe County District School Board trustee (representing wards 1 to 3)

David William O’Brien — or .

Neli Trevisan — , or .   

Amanda Trinacty — or .   

Gillian MacLean — or .

SCDSB trustee (representing wards 4 to 6)

Beth Mouratidis — or .

Mike Washburn — , or .  

SCDSB trustee (representing wards 7 to 10)

Heidi MacNeil — or .    

Ajmal Noushahi — or .  

David Quigley —  or .  

Derek Dath — or .

Lisa-Marie Wilson — or .

Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board trustee (representing wards 1 to 5)

Robert Matthew LeCollier — or .   

Paul Rasiulis — or .  

Nathaniel Brown — or .

SMCDSB trustee (representing wards 6 to 10)

Andrew Hall — or .

Maria Hardie –  or .   

Corey James Henderson — or .

Member, Mon Avenir scolaire catholique

Claire Thibideau — or .  

Ryan Malenfant —

Member, Conseil scolaire Viamonde, Sector 5

Eric Lapointe — or .  

Guy Belcourt –  or .  

Saveria Caruso — or .

Midland residents will have opportunity to address Yonge St. changes

(UPDATE: The public meeting scheduled for August 27 has been deferred.)

Midland residents will have a chance to address council on the recent changes made to Yonge Street during an upcoming council meeting.

Council initially scheduled a public information session for Aug. 27 at 5:30 p.m. where a staff report on the implementation of the Yonge Street  would be presented.

Mayor Gord McKay has elected to defer the meeting “until sufficient data has been collected,” according to a statement on the town’s website.

Town administration will continue to gather traffic volumes and bike lane statistics over the course of the calendar year.

New lanes were painted on Yonge Street  in mid-July. A once four-lane road was changed to include two driving lanes, two bike lanes and a centre turning lane.

Collingwood staff focus on good planning as they aim to hit growth targets

Collingwood is one of the 25 fastest-growing communities in Canada.

The most recent census showed the municipality has a population of about 22,000 and the town also saw more than $100 million in construction value in 2017.

It’s no surprise that the community has been designated a growth node in the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which was released in 2017 and outlines a long term plan for growth.

The plan has a series of targets for Collingwood that it must achieve by 2031. The town is expected to have a population of 33,400 and have a density of 50 people per hectare.

Collingwood’s planning department is tasked with guiding the municipality so it can achieve those growth targets.

Director of planning Nancy Farrer said planning staff are working with potential developers on proposals before they come to the council table.

She said many don’t meet the town’s targets when first proposed.

“There is a lot of initial meetings to change, modify the plan that we receive, so we get it to the vicinity of where we think this makes sense,” she said.

She said they are always looking at the density targets to see if they will help the town reach its goals.

“We have to get to 50 people per hectare,” she said.  “We’ll have some that are down at 20 or 30, but we’ll also have some that are up at 70 in order to balance the whole thing out.”

This means planners are looking for a mix of housing, including single detached homes, town houses, semi-detached homes and even apartments.

She said the days of single-family homes on large lots are long gone.

“If you do not have smaller lots, you’re never going to get close,” she said.

Planners are also looking at how the development that incorporates trails, active transportation and parks.

There are also provisions for smaller commercial operations in subdivisions so residents don’t have to drive to get certain items.

“They (guidelines) also indicate, we’re to achieve complete communities,” said community planner Mark Bryan. “Services and amenities should be provided in close proximity to where people live.”

With most developments, public meetings are held and many residents have raised concerns about the increase in traffic as a result. She said the town attempts to have a logical plan for roads and how people are going to get around, but an increase in traffic isn’t a reason to not recommend a development.

“The engineers are always looking at how we can best accommodate traffic,” she said. “We can’t stop people from driving cars, or from moving to town or getting where they need to go. We can’t say don’t develop because we’re going to have cars.”

What happens if the town doesn’t hit these growth targets?

“In theory, the government is going to be putting more resources, spending more money and giving more goods to the communities that are doing they are supposed to be doing,” Farrer said. “We don’t have an options for hitting those targets.”

‘They would have been coyote food.’ Litter of beagle puppies abandoned in Adjala-Tosorontio

It shouldn’t even need to be said, but the Alliston and District Humane Society is sending out a message to any pet owners who think a drive out into the country is an acceptable way to get rid of their animals.

“It’s really sad,” said dog program co-ordinator Emily Day. “I just wish people would just take their animals to a shelter, that’s why we are here.”

The most recent dog dumping incident happened Friday, Aug. 17 after a box of five beagle puppies were found in a ditch in Adjala-Tosorontio.

“A person driving past saw one of them on the side of the road,” she said. “She stopped her car and went and looked down into the ditch under the bush and found four more.”

Another litter of beagles was found by a neighbouring dog shelter.

“They look very similar, so they are all probably from the same litter,” she said.

The 10-week old puppies appear to be in good health, but one is lethargic and isn’t eating.

“My gut feeling is they were puppies someone couldn’t sell, which is sad,” she said.

The shelter is also caring for an adult shepherd/Great Dane cross that was dumped in the country.

“She was panicking, just running from car to car trying to find someone who would let her in,” she said.

Day said the dog was likely used for breeding but was severely neglected and had open sores in her ears infested with maggots.

“She looks like a bag of bones,” she said.

Animal dumping is sadly a common occurrence in the area, especially with kittens.

“If that lady hadn’t seen that one puppy they would have been coyote food,” she said. “Some person basically drove them out into the country and left them here to die, and that’s horrible.”

There’s another reason why people shouldn’t dump their animals.

“If anything, dumping them off in the middle of nowhere is abandonment, and there will be a charge for that,” she said.

Day said the beagle puppies will likely be ready for adoption by the end of the week.

The shelter is currently at capacity for dogs. The next open houses take place Saturday, Aug. 26 and Sept. 8.

For more information visit or call

Editor’s note: A correction was made to this article Aug. 23. The original version incorrectly stated the open houses take place on Sunday. Simcoe.com regrets the error.

Patrice Mccammon — Wasaga Beach councillor

My name is Patrice Mccammon, I am asking for your vote for Wasaga Beach councillor on Oct. 22.

I am a full-time resident (20 years). My career in business included district manager for the Canadian Federation of Independent  Business, a non-political organization. 

After my retirement I increased my volunteering and fundraising with Rotary, hospice, food bank and Wasaga Beach Blues. On the strength of these and other accomplishments, I was honoured with Citizen of the Year in 2014 and received the Order of Wasaga Beach in 2015.

The skill acquired through my worklife, volunteer work and fundraising have positioned me effectively to work with diverse groups of people with minimum friction and maximum productivity. I pride myself on being a non-partisan thinker and I am, ready and able to work with a government who desires a bright progressive future for Wasaga Beach. 

If elected, I have pledged to conduct myself in a professional and reasonable manner, and not let personal differences cloud my judgment. I support our current downtown plan and believe in the long term benefits it will bring to our  community. I am also committed to the success of our new walk in clinic, the funding of and construction of our new library and arena and the approval and construction of our high school. 

Only by working as a united council can we these initiatives come to fruition. I encourage you to visit my website and leave me a comment or suggestion, or to give me a call any time time at .  I will be happy to discuss concerns or suggestions. Your vote for me will help to ensure we stay “ Focused on our future.” 

ONTARIO COLD CASE: Grandmother left for dead in hit-and-run by SUV

Henrietta Bushey was just a few hundred feet from work when

Nearly seven years later, the driver has yet to be arrested.

“He left me in the road; he just left me for dead in the road,” Bushey, now 68, said about the horrific hit-and-run that left her with multiple injuries, including a damaged eye socket and fractured leg.

Bushey, a mother and grandmother, was walking to work on Dec. 8, 2011, and was only minutes away from Grohe Canada, where she worked as an assembler, when she was struck while crossing the street at Lakeshore and Dixie roads at about 5:45 a.m.

She said a “Good Samaritan” stopped, helped her and called 911.

“If there had been no one there to help me, maybe another car would have struck me and I wouldn’t be here right now,” she said.

Peel Regional Police said surveillance video from a nearby eatery shows the vehicle to likely be a dark-coloured GMC Envoy.

Police said in a 2011 news release the driver surely knows he/she struck someone.

“This is someone’s loved one, and if it was one of their loved ones, they would want somebody to come forward,” police said.

The driver of the SUV that struck her remains at large. Police haven’t received a single tip as to the motorist’s whereabouts.

Police Const. Bally Saini said any little tip might help and is urging residents to call police at 905-453-2121, ext. 3710, or Peel Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

The force’s Major Collision Bureau is reminding residents during the summer months that drivers need to give their full attention to driving safely and obeying the rules of the road while pedestrians should keep in mind that their safety is in their hands, “and that they need to be fully aware, at all times, of the movement of vehicles in their vicinity.”