Category Vxtuwck

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.

Barrie Housing looking to add new units to reconstructed 100 Little property

A bigger building will likely rise from the ashes at 100 Little Ave.

Barrie Municipal Non-Profit Housing Corporation plans to build 11 additional units onto the new fourth floor at 100 Little — the scene of a dramatic fire that forced the evacuation of nearly 70 people in April — Mayor Jeff Lehman told city council June 25.

To build the new units, Barrie Housing requires a $2.5-million loan.

Barrie Housing plans to apply for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation funding for the 100 Little expansion. 

If that application is denied, financing costs from a private lender will result in a roughly $30,000 annual deficit for the organization. 

“(We) decided to restore the original building and pursue the addition of a fourth storey containing 11 one-bedroom affordable rental apartment units,” executive director Erika Erteki said. “Restoration of the original 23 units will be covered by insurance proceeds. Should our application be successful, this program will provide a low-interest loan with a grant component that would greatly assist in meeting the cost of the new units. CMHC emphasized to us that approval is by no means guaranteed. As a result, CMHC has encouraged us to identify a second option for financing the project.”   

There is a backup plan. If the CMHC denies funding, the city will give Barrie Housing a $75,000 grant, under a recommendation approved by council Monday night. This money would offset the anticipated operating deficits until mid-2021, when Barrie Housing pays off its mortgage for the Southfields apartment complex and can refinance its debt.

“Barrie Housing is required to have financing sources identified to ensure the carrying costs of the project are met without generating an operating deficit,” Lehman said. “We don’t want to delay construction. It’s a fairly creative opportunity.” 

The fire left 23 families homeless, though Barrie Housing has since found permanent accommodations for everyone displaced. This incident also triggered an outpouring of support from the community — a warehouse was filled with donated items and more than $37,000 in cash was collected through Go Fund Me accounts.

Construction should be complete by the end of 2019, Erteki said.   

Rob Potter — Blue Mountains councillor

I am Rob Potter and I’m a candidate for councillor in The Blue Mountains. I serve on council now, having been appointed June 29, to fill a vacancy on council.

My background is primarily in the community newspaper business as editor of the Courier-Herald and its predecessor, the Valley Courier, for a total of about 28 years. I have also worked in municipal government, filling in as communications and economic development co-ordinator for The Blue Mountains in 2009-2010.

I have a long and varied history in community service including being founding president of the Marsh Street Centre, a member of the steering committee that brought the Craigleith Heritage Depot project to fruition, and serving on several municipal committees including the CAUSE program, the Sustainable Path steering committee and the attainable housing committee in its early years. I’ve also been involved in Thornbury Community Theatre, minor sports, Relay for Life and others.

My professional and volunteer works have taken me to every corner of The Blue Mountains and allowed me opportunities to engage with people in all sectors.

I am running for council because I believe my background and experience will serve the citizens of our community well as we move into a challenging term. There are lots of issues to deal with including:

• Improving communications so that the public receive information early in the process and have a full understanding of what the town is planning and how it will be carried out and funded.

• A new approach to economic development, that supports not only the existing agricultural and tourism sectors but encourages new opportunities.

• A major effort to diversify our housing stock with a view to making attainable housing available for young workers and young families at rents and prices they can afford.

• Protecting our shoreline from any effort to “urbanize” Highway 26 by widening it.

Contact me at PO Box 365, Thornbury, Ont., N0H 2P0, or , or at . My website is

Election or acclamation? Three of 11 council seats uncontested in Barrie

There are more uncontested seats in Barrie’s municipal election than days left to register to run.

With the deadline to file candidacy in the 2018 election set for Friday afternoon, three of 11 city council seats are headed toward acclamation. And only one candidate is registered for trustee seats in the Simcoe County District School Board wards 7 to 10, Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board wards 1 to 5 and Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir areas.

On Barrie council, incumbents Jeff Lehman (mayor), Sergio Morales (Ward 9) and Mike McCann (Ward 10) are currently running unopposed.

Ward 1 Coun. Bonnie Ainsworth, who is not vying for re-election, said a run for political office can cost thousands of dollars these days. Many candidates also run on a controversial issue or after a bad experience with government, but council has been relatively calm over the last four years.

“A lot of it is leadership and public opinion,” she said. “Often people run because they … strongly object to something. ‎Under Mayor Lehman’s lead, our council has not been controversial. I don’t think anyone running to unseat an incumbent is doing it because they think they can do better. I just think they want the job for any number of reasons which is absolutely their right. It also costs a lot of money to run now … and the thought of not winning could be off-putting.” 

In 2014, two seats — Michael Prowse in Ward 6 and Maria Hardie in Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board’s Area 2 — were acclaimed in the city. No candidates were handed seats in 2010.

The overall number of candidates is also down from previous elections. A total of 41 candidates are currently registered to run. But 62 council and trustee candidates signed up in 2014 and 66 ran in 2010.

It seems Barrie may be caught in a provincewide trend, city clerk Wendy Cooke said.

“We’re into the final week to register and so far we’ve not seen many candidates coming forward,” she said. “Other municipalities that I’ve spoken to are also reporting similar unusually low numbers. Last year, 22 candidates filed in the last two weeks, so we might get busy this week. There’s still time to register to run in the upcoming municipal election.”

Residents can sign-up to run for city mayoral and councillor positions, and nominations for trustee positions in the Simcoe County, Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District, Viamonde and catholique MonAvenir school boards are also open.

The nomination period runs until 2 p.m. July 27. The municipal election is Oct. 22.

Candidates can submit a nomination form and applicable fee ($200 for mayor, $100 for all other positions) at city hall, 70 Collier St. They must also meet eligibility requirements. Candidates running for mayor and councillor positions need to submit an endorsement form signed by 25 people who can currently vote in the city.

More information is available at .

Barrie police release damage description for hit-and-run vehicle

Barrie police investigators hope someone can identify an SUV involved in a hit-and-run now that there is more information about damages.

Police say the SUV that struck a 53-year-old Barrie man at about 12:30 p.m. March 2 on Huronia Road, near McKay Road, has front-end damage, a broken windshield and a dented hood.

The pedestrian, who suffered serious injuries, landed in the ditch after he was struck. The motorist failed to remain to assist the injured pedestrian and continued northbound on Huronia Road. 

The victim had been returning to his vehicle after assisting another motorist, when he was struck by a vehicle heading northbound on Huronia Road. The vehicle pulled over monetarily then left the scene.

Contact Const. Chris Allport at 705-725-7025 ext. 2913 or email [email protected] if you any information about the vehicle or the driver.

Any information can be provided anonymously to  at 1-800-222-TIPS or leave an anonymous tip online at .

Midland council looking to implement more efficient decision-making process

Midland council is looking at overhauling the entire way it operates.

A new procedural bylaw is proposing a slew of changes aimed at streamlining the decision-making process to help expedite municipal business.

A 2017 governance review revealed that council held more special meetings this term than regular council meetings and suggested councillors consider significant changes to the way they operate. Council has held 43 regular council meetings, 33 general committee meetings, 36 planning and development meetings and 48 special meetings during the current term of council.

“There are some pretty big changes being proposed … in particular that we would be going to two council meetings a month, getting rid of the planning meeting and getting rid of the general committee meeting,” said Coun. Pat File.

The bylaw proposes to switch over to the format currently being used by Penetanguishene council, which calls for two council meetings a month, each followed by committee of the whole meetings.

These meetings would be moved from Monday nights to the first and third Wednesday of every month.

Council would receive their agendas one week in advance of the meeting, giving time to prepare. Only items councillors want to debate would be pulled from the agenda and discussed at the meeting.

“We would be putting the onus on councillors to do their homework, to receive their agenda ahead of time, to ask their constituents their opinion ahead of time … and we will be a better council because of this,” said Mayor Gord McKay. “It sets the bar higher.”

The number of deputations would increase from three to 10 per month, opening the door for more businesses, organizations and residents to address council in a timelier fashion.

“This is not a new idea that somebody suddenly woke up one morning and decided to do,” said Coun. George MacDonald. “This is something that a whole lot of thought went into. It is progressive and we need to buy into the process.”

Bylaws from 36 Ontario municipalities were assessed, allowing staff to focus on the best practices currently being utilized.

The bylaw will be considered for adoption at the Aug. 27 council meeting.

Orillia recreation site eyed for proposed skateboard park

Awe-inspiring tricks and gravity-defying feats are more than the stuff of dreams.

For members of Orillia’s skateboarding community, these are the moves that draw crowds eager to witness the thrills, and occasional spills, of this increasingly popular sport.

Their dream now includes a proposal for an all-concrete, professionally designed and built skate park — an open-air facility catering to all skill levels.

“You could start from a kid at four-years-old and, three years, four years later be one of the best skateboarders in the world because where you are skating is that good,” said Mark Watson, an advocate of the project.

The proposal is an initiative of the Skateparkers, a group of skateboarders, business owners and friends who came together to encourage active and safe participation in skateboarding and other recreation activities.

The Kiwanis Skateboard Park, built in 1999 at Veterans’ Memorial Park, is time-worn and lacks the features boarders are seeking, the group said.

“It has been a great park for everybody to use, but it is at the point now where we are losing skateboarders when they come to it,” Watson said.

The absence of a modern public facility in Orillia leads children and youth to seek out unsanctioned, and often dangerous, terrain such as local streets and parking lots, the group told council.

Unlike the existing skate park, the proposed facility would have “a lot more obstacles, more flow and roll to it,” Watson said.

A park of between 9,000- and 11,000-square feet would cost between $500,000 and $750,000.

The group plans to seek contributions from service clubs and foundations to fund the project, as well as the municipality.

“We want to go ahead with this as quick as possible, so if we have to raise all the money we are willing to do that,” Watson said.

Locations eyed by the group include Victoria Park and the recreation site on West Street South.

The project could also involve a redevelopment of the Kiwanis Skateboard Park.

“It is a perfect location,” Watson said.

Staff will consider the group’s request as part of the design plan for Foundry Park — the lands surrounding the recreation facility — or other location in the city.


Barrie-area MP hails Canada Summer Jobs program a ‘success’

More than 200 local students will find summer employment this year, thanks to the federal government.

Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MP Alex Nuttall announced $761,024 in funding for the riding through the 2018 iteration of the Canada Summer Jobs program. That money helped create 208 jobs for students.

“We really want to highlight the good work our young people are doing in the community (and) the experience they’re gaining,” he said.

Mayor Jeff Lehman also touted the benefits of the program. The city receives funding through Summer Jobs, which it uses to hire lifeguards and camp counsellors. In total, the municipality collected $25,000 and hired 16 students this year.

“There’s often not enough opportunities out there for seasonal employment,” he said. “It allows more kids to go to summer camp because we’re able to have more counsellors and programs.”

Summer Jobs provides funding to not-for-profit organizations, public sector employers and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Young people ages 15 to 30, who are full-time students planning to attend classes during the next school year, can participate.

“The real focus was to stay away, as much as we could, from the private sector,” Nuttall said, noting arts, sports and community organizations and youth programs received a good amount of the local funding. “This year, there was a values test placed on the grant program that has affected quite a number of religious institutions and not-for-profits in the community. Having said that, the funds we have in place will do a ton of good work.”

The federal Liberals introduced a new element on the Summer Jobs application form, which asked participants to check a box attesting they respect individual human rights in Canada.

The government says the provision was put in place to ensure funding helps organizations that support “reproductive rights and the right to be free from discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, race, national or ethnic origin, colour, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.”

But several local faith groups declined to check the box because they believe it infringes on their religious rights.

Southern Georgian Bay OPP charge Innisfil man for drinking and boating

The Southern Georgian Bay OPP marine unit charged 10 people during 30 hours of patrol over the course of the August long weekend.

Officers checked 55 vessels, looking for operator sobriety and for required safety equipment. They also responded to 21 calls for services within the detachment patrol area.

Ten operators were charged for a variety of marine related offences, including James Allan, 48, of Innisfil who was stopped on Six Mile Lake at 4:10 p.m. on Aug. 2. OPP marine officers spoke with Allan and ended up transporting him back to the Southern Georgian Bay detachment.

Allan has been charged with operating a vessel while ability impaired, operating a vessel with more than 80 mg of alcohol in his blood, failing to have a pleasure craft operators card, operating a pleasure craft without prescribed visual signals, operating a pleasure craft without a licence and for driving over 10 km/h within 30 metres of shore.

Southern Georgian Bay OPP marine officers remind all vessel operators that they need to have sufficient life jackets and all required safety equipment on board prior to leaving shore.