Danny Galea

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Did mayor blow the lid off CAO firing controversy with 'hypothetical' scenario?

OrilliaMatters

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I still don't understand McIsaac's reasoning. If you're going to pose a "hypothetical" that basically spells it all out, why doesn't he just come out and say it? Is he afraid of being sued when the person he calls racist comes after him? And its been a long time since I knew Robert's Rules Of Order, but how can he deny a point of order about himself? I think the majority of Orillians wouldn't have cared who the CAO was or their race as long as they were qualified to do the job & that all the processes were followed properly. Why did the mayor feel inclined to step in for Mr. Singh?These statements only serve to cloud the issue while the mayor tries to paint council as the problem.

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No flyers in your mailbox? No problem — we have you covered

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I just thought of this this morning. It's nice to save some trees.

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'Very upset': Residents fume after 40 trees cut down at Orillia park

OrilliaMatters

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Trees were dead, dying, infested. If they had fallen on the playground structure or a child, the city would be liable and the PR nightmare that follows. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is.

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COLUMN: McIsaac shows what can go wrong with strong mayor powers

OrilliaMatters

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Another "keyboard warrior" here to add to the insanity! (Really OM, that was a tone deaf letter if there ever was one).I also voted for Mayor McIsaac, but to think that he shouldn't have to explain why he requested strong mayor powers before they were just made permanent, only to use them to undo a hiring in the 11th hour after the candidate quit his previous job and was ready to move here, is asinine.We "look stupid" because Mayor McIsaac now appears as if he didn't like the candidate hired through the process & decided to use unilateral power to undo it. The mayor has also refused to simply answer the question of why. If he didn't ask for the super powers, this would have been a minimal footnote in meeting minutes. Going about it the way he did erodes any trust anyone could have in him.As for how the powers can benefit Orillia, has the current council had any issue reaching consensus on an issue? We've asked Carmen, he hasn't replied

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New Shoppers Drug Mart opening at Orillia Square Thursday morning

OrilliaMatters

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Shoppers Drug Mart lost my family's business a long time ago. They'll text you and say your prescription is ready, only to arrive and they need "ten more minutes." Of course, this is so that you will wander the store and possibly buy more stuff.We moved our business to Laclie Pharmacy years ago and have not regretted it once.

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New 8-court pickleball complex could be on horizon at Foundry Park

OrilliaMatters

19

Yeah, let's leave the property the way it is, where there have been homeless encampments etc and just let it overgrow. Let's continue to complain that there isn't enough activities available in this town. Yes, let's sit on our hands and spend no money on anything ever.Not everything has to do with money. This is a positive change in the community.

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'A sad situation': Island Princess set to sail away from Orillia

OrilliaMatters

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Vandalism is at epidemic levels in Orillia. You can stand almost anywhere in town and look around and see something vandalized. The work on the waterfront/downtown and also the work on Laclie Street has moved at a glacial pace. I've never seen projects take so long.

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Orillia Recreation Centre pools closed by health unit inspectors

OrilliaMatters

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How many times is something that shuts down some part of the rec centre going to happen before the town makes so kind of change? Is the building cursed or does staff need to be replaced to do a better job?

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Did mayor blow the lid off CAO firing controversy with 'hypothetical' scenario?

OrilliaMatters

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@Grouchy - Most families do not have time to attend council meetings, which is already niche viewing.

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Encrypted police communications force Orillia to be less 'nosey'

OrilliaMatters

11

Another person looking for a conspiracy around every corner.The system is being updated and more secure.Police should not be required to leave everything open for display. If you want to know something, pay for the Freedom of Information request.

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'I'm speechless': Orillia post office closed today due to lack of staff

OrilliaMatters

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Shoppers knows what customer service looks like? I moved my medications out of there as soon as possible.

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Polyethics should be shut down until smell is quelled: councillor

OrilliaMatters

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Unpopular counter opinion: if you shut down the plant, do the employees just end up on EI and scrape by until the smell is fixed?

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'The town of no Halloween': City halts pirate ship construction

OrilliaMatters

13

If it's too big, fine, have a discussion with by-law and find common ground. It's not as big of a deal as the city and complainants seem to have made it.OrilliaResident sounds like they hate the entire thing just because they don't like it in their neighborhood, a traditional Orillia NIMBY. "Nobody in the neighborhood wants the thing." "Not to mention the neighbors absolutely do not want it." It sounds like the house in question has been doing this for years and its only become a problem now?

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Most Orillia schools get failing grade from Fraser Institute

OrilliaMatters

10

Groan. Another article to bait to teacher haters. I'm actually surprised that Wondering Why didn't bring out his old chestnuts.This report does not take any type of social demographics into account, considering many of Orillia's students live in poverty, broken homes etc. It does not take into account special needs students outside of a number. All of the commenters saying "the teachers need to take accountability" have clearly never stepped foot in a school. There isn't a one size fits all way to teach kids. Pushing teachers and administrators with some kind of financial goal will only lead to poorly educated students.What we need is the Education Minister to actually be a teacher with some experience in a school, instead of a political appointment, and surround themselves with other actual teachers to actually develop a plan.

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All Simcoe County school buses cancelled today

OrilliaMatters

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OrilliaMatters - you got to stop putting comments on the bus cancellation articles. It just turns into a cesspool.

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Council shoots down Lauer's bid to scrap Orillia's ward system

OrilliaMatters

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Exactly. This is how Ralph Cipolla has hung around for forty years. He has a shop in Ward Two, which always has the least amount of candidates, and lets him continue to be re-elected. If he wants to be involved in local politics, he should go run where he lives and let someone with fresh ideas come to the Orillia table.

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Trash talk: City's clear garbage bag program shows clear success

OrilliaMatters

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I will repeat what I've said previously: it is difficult for a family of four to reduce garbage when wrappers, packaging etc. are not recycling. The onus should be on the large companies to make compostable packaging a more common thing.

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Parent frustrated with 'ridiculous' lack of parking at Lions Oval

OrilliaMatters

5

I heard the term "walking school" before. Google Maps puts the distance from my home to Harriet Todd as 1.4km, a 19 minute walk. It also includes crossing the Woodside/Mississaga intersection, which is always busy. My children are currently eight and five. There is no way they are doing that walk safely without an adult. And call me lazy, but I'm not walking that in sub-zero weather, rain storms, snow blowing in your face in high winds, excessively hot days etc. This is just another poor decision in the history of urban planning when it comes to Orillia.

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'People need homes, not handcuffs': New bill panned by local advocate

OrilliaMatters

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I can understand drugs being a choice in the first couple instances, but I am also aware of addiction and the difficulty of breaking that cycle.Housing is important, but the government also needs to have a plan to help them get & stay off drugs. This includes counselling, but also includes keeping them somewhat contained while they fight this fight. This is more of a health system issue than a housing one, especially when you include the various mental illnesses that the homeless undoubtedly suffer from.For low income earners, it is extremely difficult to find housing, but there will never be a developer that will build these homes without some kind of huge subsidy or some kind of extreme incentives. A government needs to get over that hurdle first before they can even think of building anything.

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Amid heat wave, thousands without power in area due to downed tree

OrilliaMatters

6

Another monthly power outage in Orillia. It should underline how bad the city's infrastructure is.

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