At the bottom of all local stories published on BarrieToday, readers have the option of submitting feedback. Here's a snapshot of what readers had to say about what was making news over the last week:
Oct. 13
LETTER: Resident questions whether police have 'abandoned' speed enforcement
In the past month, I've watched cars and motorcycles go by our place on Ferndale Drive South at very high speeds. The other night at 12:45 a.m., there was a motorcycle that went by our place that sounded like a Spitfire taking off and he had to have been going about 150 kph, and the same thing happened about a month ago at 4 a.m. I admit the majority of the traffic is good, but it seems the small cars and motorcycles are the noisiest and fastest. — Robert D.
Interesting that this letter should appear on the same day that BarrieToday posted three stories about careless driving: (1) truck pulled out of the water after driving into the harbour at a boat launch ramp, (2) SUV crashes through garbage cans and a hedge, ends up on roof and then crashes into a Midland house, and (3) Police and repair crews attend to a crash on the 400. There is a lot of careless driving in Ontario! Having lived in the south of England for 16 years before returning to Canada, I can assure readers that traffic density in Britain's southern counties (around London) is heavier than in Ontario. Yet the incidence of crashes is lower. My car insurance in Britain was around $150 per year in 1987. In 1988, our insurance here was around $750/year for a very similar small car. The difference must be the lack of skill exhibited by the typical Ontario driver! — Peter B.
Oct. 12
Health officials submit provincial, federal applications for 'life-saving' SCS
I would just like to point out the disaster called East Hastings in Vancouver. The entire concept started out about 20 years ago as a safe place to inject and call home. Now it is not even a safe place and only drug dealers, drug addicts, prostitutes and users inhabit the area. Safe injection sites just perpetuate major social problems and do nothing to solve the real issues of drug addiction. There is absolutely nothing that is life-saving about these sites. I would suggest the good doctors seek funding for actual treatment of drug and alcohol addiction rather than keep people locked into a drug induced haze by perpetuating sites that do nothing to help anyone! — Dave F.
Public school board’s student census shines light on diversity
I look forward to the day when all students will be just "students," not Black, brown, Muslim, Jewish, white, Sikh, gay, non-binary, etc. — Peter B.
Residents concerned by province's Bradford bypass decision, but MPP defends project
Do the people who claim to care about all of this care enough to put their personal, financial and political pensions on the line if it goes south because of the lack of true environmental and other assessments? I think not. — Grant C.
Oct. 11
Glass plant shatters its electricity bill with new battery storage system
How come saving energy in off-peak times isn't legal residential? Once again rules for business are better than rules for private individuals. We are not even allowed to have a Tesla wall to save energy for on peak times in Ontario so that they can gouge consumers to subsidize the lower rates for industry. — Terry A.
Great story! Offer a similar inducement to householders, and watch domestic battery storage appear like mushrooms. — Peter B.
Oct. 10
Landmark sign, McCann's 'passion project,' gets its funding and on time
Good for you Mike. Looking forward to the sign. — Peter B.
Housing market 'a cruel game of musical chairs' for many buyers, says Hudak
Every time I pass an urban strip mall I think to myself: "Why isn't that strip mall the ground floor of a four- to five-floor apartment building? Over to you Mr. Hudak! — Peter B.
Oct. 9
Pilot refuses to get vaccinated, in peril of losing job
Like many people reading this article I would like to learn more about the research this anonymous individual has done. Since it probably wasn't peer-reviewed or carried out in a lab, I assume that it was a meta analysis of the findings of other published, peer-reviewed studies. Not memes and gibberish posted by troll farms in Russia. While I admire their tenacity, I feel that they ought to remember that the same tyrannical government that mandates these vaccines will provide sustenance for his family when he walks away from his job. I hope he's grateful to live in a country where he has that choice. — Matthew S.
If this gentleman were an infectious disease specialist or public health expert his research might be valid. I do not think his training as a pilot gives him the skills or knowledge to find and analyze the data anymore than my skill set would allow me to fly a plane. So sad that he is risking his career, his family's livelihood and their health. Hope it works out for him. — Katherine W.
What a whine and a martyr. All anyone has to do is look at the numbers from the the daily cases to see who are contracting COVID, it is the unvaccinated. People like this, although educated but not intelligent, are a danger to society, their friends and most of all their family. It's no different if they were waving a gun around. When these people get sick I have absolutely no sympathy for them. So go away and die quickly so I will not have to pay for the medical resources that you are using and others can have life saving operations. — Vince M.
It’s not that easy when someone falls into the rabbit hole trying to debunk those absurd theories. You show them the facts, but they still don’t see. I’ve tried creating some doubt about the beliefs, but they’re in a different reality. — Nita L.
Oct. 8
Barrie boy turns foul experience at Blue Jays game into a positive
Interesting problem indeed. When I was a child there were drinking fountains "everywhere." In schools, no child needed to carry a water bottle (nor dispose of the plastic bottle when finished). Public parks and most public buildings had water fountains where thirsty folk could quench their thirst. Today, "everybody" seems to carry a water bottle with them, and most people purchase these. I believe that a tray of 24 plastic half-litre bottles costs around $5, so around $0.21 each. If you purchase these at a concession stand you can pay $1 or $2 for them! Then there is the cost associated with collecting and recycling -- or perhaps simply disposing of the empties! Meanwhile, Barrie charges me $0.0021 per litre for city water, with nothing to recycle. Even adding the cost of sewage, my city water is less than $0.005 per litre! It's high time that citizens insist water fountains re-appear in all the places they used to be. We need to drive the sellers of bottled water out of business, and also reduce our carbon footprint in the process! — Peter B.
'Larger than life' radio host Al Brown dies following battle with cancer
Al Brown was a class act and will be sorely missed. Mr. Brown was never afraid to stick his toes in some contentious areas. Never to back down, never to give up. The Barrie community has lost a truly remarkable individual. Al Brown changed people for the better. Hopefully, we can all follow in his footsteps, proud and kind. — Martin N.
Oct. 7
Herd immunity is close, vaccine policies should help: Dr. Gardner
Our population will indeed acquire "herd immunity." The question is simple: Will people do it the easy way, through vaccination, or the hard, painful way, by getting sick? And, it's not on,y hard for the person who becomes ill, it's also hard and painful for the rest of us. It has been estimated that an average COVID patient who is hospitalized will cost $23,000. For comparison, a heart attack only costs $7,000. Save yourself the unpleasantness of a potentially fatal illness and save us the expense of treating a largely preventable disease! Get vaccinated! — Peter B.
Longtime family shop remains on the cutting edge
I agree that you do not need to spend $300 on a knife. However, if you expect to sharpen your knives repeatedly, you cannot get away with $25 for a "set" of cheap Chinese knives! The first two knives I ever bought were French-made "Sabatier" blades. Half a century later I still have them. I have never bought a cheap knife and neither should you. Pay for a decent blade and your children will be happy to inherit it from you! — Peter B.
Oct. 6
Barrie boy misses on 'yucca' to finish second in national spelling bee
Congratulations to that young man on his success. It was a great article about him and his accomplishments. My only issue with the article is the setting of the picture. I think it may have been a lack of judgment having him pose sitting on a railway track. As a retired conductor, who has had near misses but luckily no injuries or fatalities with people on or near the track, it is hard to imagine why they chose this dangerous site for a picture. It may encourage others to do the same and that is very unsafe. I hope you will be mindful of this in the future. — Shelley J.
Oct. 5
City's plan to help Indigenous communities with water services remains up in the air
I was really delighted when I read that Barrie was negotiating to contribute to allow First Nations people to have access to safe water. Years ago, when I learned that in this great country of ours huge masses of people had no access to clean water, I couldn’t believe it and I read promise after promise of a solution by the provincial and federal governments .yet they didn’t make good on these Thank God for our great municipality of Barrie. Please let it happen. — Mary J.
