James… you’ll have to add something here

When you know that nearly half Ontario’s adults have major trouble reading or understanding numbers, it’s a sobering thought. Nearly half. Forty-six percent. For Michèle Newton, this fact alone is enough reason for the energy that’s gone into the Road to Reading Festivals which are happening concurrently this Sunday (today) in Barrie, Alliston, Midland, Gravenhurst….

When the Barrie area lost a firefighter and a police office this summer literally thousands of people mourned privately and publicly in extremely large funerals. The loss was a personal one for the families of Bill Wilkins and Al Kuzmich and a public one for the community at large. It was a tender loss for…

For the past few years I’ve been an enthusiastic audience member of the South Simcoe Theatre, which is mounting very ambitious musical productions in a tiny theatre on Hamilton St in Cookstown. It’s always reminded me of the theatre on the second floor of the town hall in Orangeville, BEFORE its big restoration. Wooden flip…

One thing leads to another. That’s sure the case for Patrick Watson, who headed out to represent Canada (and Barrie) at a Youth Leadership Conference in Zamek ?Zakedy, Czech Republic, in July. You may remember my plea for donations for Patrick to raise the $2500 he needed to attend the conference. Well, the community came…

She had style. Striking clothes, strong colours, with matching glasses and cigarette holder, Lorraine Bruce-Robertson Hovey Sutherland was a complex blend of courage, zaniness, independence, and love. Eight days ago, after a brief stay at Barrie Manor, Lorraine entered Royal Victoria Hospital and then, softly, with her son Bruce at her side, she left. She…

We’ve all heard about the house that just wouldn’t sell. Great neighbourhood, lots of nearby amenities, good sales nearby, but no luck on this one. Or, the family whose relationships seemed to fall apart after they moved to their dream home. Or, the child who mysteriously began a downward academicd spiral. Often, it has to…

Community news is the glue that holds us all together. Knowing and caring and sharing. And because Greg Allen and Yolanda Gallo believe in the strength of digital video production and community building, there’s an exciting new venture afoot. CAVE, the Centre for the Advancement of Video Excellence, is setting up shop to help non…

When something tastes indescribably scrumptious, my friend Jill has the perfect phrase. “Go on, try it,” she’ll nudge. “It tastes like an angel kissed your tongue!” Well, it’s a phrase that rings true at a little coffee kiosk in the Bayfield Mall where Linda and James Joy, and their capable son Travis, pump out tiny…

Some people do things to a brass band. Others ply their trades quietly, representing excellence in every corner. Ernie Alexander was one of the quiet ones, a backgrounder you might say. And when you measure the contribution of the man, it has affected home ownership in Barrie on many levels for many reasons. An obituary…