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POLLS: Liberals hold a steady lead, and other poll insights
39I usually find the opposite, that there are more conservative readers here. It shows up in lots of reader polls, there is often a ‘right’ slant.
12- R Rufus
Family shaken after theft linked to encampment near Orillia Square
OrilliaMatters 32I definitely know if one more theft reported to police of tools that were stolen from my neighbour. The neighbour did get most of it back, they reported it to police but ended up going to the encampment and located their stuff. It was in the summer and it was reported to police . So the OPP were aware of at least one other theft related to that encampment. We are nearby too and have had our things gone through as well. Sympathy for people’s situation for sure but stealing is wrong and law enforcement needs to step up.
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Heads up: One of city's new speed cameras goes live on Friday
OrilliaMatters 18The township of Severn is also putting a speed camera at Burnside line. While I am not against speed enforcement, what bothers me is that the intersection at Burnside and Division is a major and well known safety hazard. That intersection has resulted in many accidents, injuries and deaths. It has been on the townships radar for years. To my knowledge, there are none of the same safety issues along the section of road where the speed camera is although it is a place where speeding is common. It seems very obvious that the township is trying to catch speeding drivers - there aren’t even many houses along that section of road and any that are, are far back from the road. While this is great, if safety was the priority, the township wouldn’t be dragging their feet addressing the hazards of that intersection for the last 5 years.
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All Simcoe County school buses cancelled today
OrilliaMatters 15Or everyone else who has to go to work and travel the same roads.
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Province moving to restrict bike lanes, increase speed limits
OrilliaMatters 13I’m so relieved to see the Ontario conservatives realizing that the planning of bike lanes is beyond the capabilities of elected officials at the municipal level. Doug always has our priorities in order wether it’s $1 beer, cheap development land for his buddies, paying lawyers to argue about gas pump stickers (with our tax dollars) or manufacturing a healthcare service crisis to privatize the industry and capitalize on billions. Just one smart decision after another with these conservatives!
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Bike lanes, turn lane included in next phase of Laclie St. reconstruction
OrilliaMatters 13lol. This made me laugh! Great analogy and I’m also all for the bike lanes.
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POLL: Most support province's curbs on new bike lanes
7The fact that people downvote this comment shows why bike lanes are a necessity. There are clearly many out there who feel that they own the road and have little respect for anyone else using it but themselves. If these folks were just decent, considerate people instead of a bunch of such and such that can’t share the road, we wouldn’t need bike lanes to keep cyclists safe. It’s these greedy self centred folk driving taxes higher and higher
6- R Rufus
Dunlop doles out $10.9M for local infrastructure, other projects
OrilliaMatters 10Funny how Dunlop gets the headline credit when it’s the taxpayer providing the money.
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Open your wallets: City looking at potential 6.94% tax hike
OrilliaMatters 9I wonder how much of the increase is to pay for county councils 165% raise they just voted for themselves?
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'A living wage': County council votes for pay increase over 3 years
OrilliaMatters 7So correct me if I’m wrong but council just voted themselves a 346% wage increase over 3 years? And this is about two months after they told their union workers that there was 9% available to them over 3 years and that there was absolutely no more money available. Then the county management smeared the CUPE workers via this very newspaper in an article on August 14th as greedy. So 9% for the workers, and 346% for them? Ok I get it.
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Plan to control phragmite spread 'deeply troubling,' resident says
OrilliaMatters 3You can use it at home. It is just pre-mixed and limited products are available because it was being improperly used when it wasn’t regulated. If you go through the core exterminators training and then get additional training for the specific pesticide application (agricultural, landscape, industrial, structural, etc.) then you too can use it but you are regulated with some very specific requirements for application. you must also hold a business licence and proper insurance and record all of your applications. You also must ensure you are following proper application rates, techniques, signage, training, record and reporting requirements. Do you still want to use it at home now?
4- R Rufus
Orillia's ice storm cleanup costs could top $1 million in first week
OrilliaMatters 6I am directly involved in clean up measures and honestly can’t believe the lack of communication, efficiency and leadership within and between organizations. I am flabbergasted that our own MPP is the Minister of Emergency Management and things have gone as chaotic and inefficiency as I have seen them every day for the last 8 days. While there are so many who have and continue to work so hard and are so very integral to this clean-up, I couldn’t even begin to feel that this ‘the gold standard in the province’. There are some serious inquiries that need to happen into some of the leadership and organization over the last week.
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'Disturbing': Rash of crashes at Division and Burnside spark concerns
OrilliaMatters 6This is an awful intersection and it shouldn’t read, ‘we’ve got to do something or someone is going to get killed’ because that has already happened. I go through this intersection usually 10-20 times a week and witness many close calls and some general chaos of people not obeying who has the right of way. I also did reach out to the township 4 years back to express my concerns and suggested a 4 way stop might help the issue but there was no changes. Hopefully they will do something this time around. The sight lines are a bit better since they removed the tree in the SW corner but it still just has way too much traffic (including heavy trucks) to be safe in its current configuration - epecially at peak times of the day. I’m glad that they are finally looking into doing something. Hopefully it happens quickly.
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COLUMN: Timing of province's $200 cheques seems suspect
OrilliaMatters 4You’re absolutely right, the media should report the truth. We should expect the same from our provincial government, yet they don’t provide that. It’s a shame we expect more from a local newspaper than our provincial government.
1- R Rufus
Dunlop doles out $10.9M for local infrastructure, other projects
OrilliaMatters 5Find me a critic who doles out ‘atta boys’. There isn’t one in the liberal or conservative caucus who fits the bill.
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Strike action looming for county's municipal, social service workers
OrilliaMatters 3I think one of the issues as well is those that are currently employed and part of the union just see their jobs getting harder and more stressful due to turn over, which is at least in part due to the higher wages being paid by neighbouring counties and regions as well as even at the township level. This might not be true for all jobs but it is for some. The workers are burnt out as many others are too and want the county to be able to retain staff and starting with a comparable wage is a major start.
2- R Rufus
No mail today in Orillia as Canada Post halts delivery due to snow
OrilliaMatters 3Please share the article! I’m genuinely curious. I’ve seen some case studies showing the increased cost of many private services or alternatively, if they are cheaper it’s because they usually outsource good jobs and the ‘1%’ keep the profits that would normally go towards good wages. Some privatization then offers a marginal savings but typically with reduced service.
2- R Rufus
Township eyes safety improvements after another crash on Division Rd.
OrilliaMatters 3Stop signs would be cheaper and I imagine lights would even be cheaper than a roundabout. For a round about, I imagine you’d have to expropriate land from 4 private landowners and likely tear down at least one house.
1- R Rufus
Plan to control phragmite spread 'deeply troubling,' resident says
OrilliaMatters 2If you ‘do your own research’ please read the research study that the IARC (arm of WHO that researches cancer) used as the basis for labelling glyphosate as a ‘probable carcinogen’. It was not a study that was well designed, it used a number of farm workers that regularly use glyphosate as well as many other pesticides and the study showed that they had higher rates of some types of cancers. The study didn’t isolate glyphosate or lifestyle choices and had no control. The IARC noted in their classification that they had limited proof. I’m not sticking up for Glyphosate or pesticides at all but glyphosate has been around commercially for 50 years and there are a lot of studies showing it’s safe and effective use. There are many other pesticides with no where near the research behind them that glyphosate has. Aspartame is also listed as ‘probably carcinogenic by the IARC too and many of us put that directly into our bodies multiple times a day.
2- R Rufus
Oro-Medonte move 'undermines' boundary talks, 'jeopardizes' solution: Barrie mayor
OrilliaMatters 3Barrie’s own study that they commissioned showed that although they have failed to meet their residential density targets over the last decade, they still have ample lands to build within the city. Why is Nuttall and the city looking to annex lands that their own study shows they don’t need? I’ve heard it largely has to do with the fact that annexing lands in the north of Barrie will be cheaper to service. This isn’t Oro’s problem. Barrie needs to stop making a mess of this, need to stop trying to be a bully, and needs to tell the truth and the facts.
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