If you happen to be lucky enough to receive a nice snowmobile for Christmas, you’ll have to wait before taking your baby out for a spin on the snow. That is, unless you’re willing to haul it all the way to Simcoe County or beyond to some other place where the snow conditions are better.

The problem these days with southern areas like Barrie is that there just isn’t enough snow to drive snowmobiles on.

Winter parks in the City like the Sno Voyageurs Club are reported to only have limited trails – meaning trails in the park are not connected to each other. The picture isn’t any better in the region’s other parks like the Orillia District Snowmobile Club, where trails are completely closed. The same thing goes for parks in South Simcoe and Innisfil.

The good news, is that snowfall is expected to be more serious over the next few months, this according to Craig Nicholson, representative of the Federation of Snowmobile Clubs or OFSC. He advises sledders to be patient this time of the year, as trying out the premature trails might lead to accidents.

Strangely enough, the one thing that’s abundant in Barrie today is rain, which has caused many trails in the city to close down.

The Holiday season may be a time for cheer and celebration, but it can also be the most stressful part of the year for some.

According to Dr. Ken Marek, a practicing clinical psychologist in Barrie, while Christmas may be an event that focuses on family, friends, and being with loved ones, some individuals feel depressed and lonely, with sad memories resurfacing due to the occasion’s significance.

He adds that it’s not just the sad and lonely ones who feel stressed during this season. Depending on who you are and how you relate to your family and friends, Christmas will always come with some level of pressure, causing stress along the way. This is most common when meeting family members whom you don’t like that much.

Dr. Marek points out that reuniting with some family members can be very stressful and hypocritical, especially when putting up a charade of liking someone, when in fact you don’t.

For Sgt. Robert Allan, a police officer in Barrie, the local force pays close attention to domestic fights this time of the year. A significant percentage of the calls they get are about family squabbles and the like.

And lastly, Christmas is a time for spending. Those who are facing financial difficulties have a hard time coping with the pressure.

Making it through the winter cold in Barrie looks to be a little easier as PowerStream Barrie Hydro finalizes its plans to literally warm things up.

The utility company is aiming to broaden the reach of its Winter Warmth bill payment assistance program, thus helping out more people with financial problems.

According to Brian Bentz, head of PowerStream, it’s only right that the company gives back to the community by providing as much assistance as they can, especially to those facing financial woes in today’s tough economic climate.

From last year’s amount of $30,000, funding for the assistance program has been increased to $50,000; an amount Bentz thinks is more reflective of the times. The program is an endeavor of the whole province, boosted by the help of different electric and gas utilities in the region.

The program’s mission? To help struggling families and community members pay their energy bills during the winter season.

The program, called Winter Warmth, is overseen by the United Way via a close-knit network of around 60 community offices and agencies.

Since its inception it in 2004, over 9,000 homes in Ontario have received help.
With winter being exceptionally nasty this year, the added funding is certainly a big help.

Charities have been largely affected due to the global economic crisis that has affected Canada this year.

One such institution is the Barrie Bayside Mission Centre, which has suffered a sharp decline in donations from the community. With donations down, executive director of the centre Major Roy Randell is left with few options to answer the 33% rise in demand for food meals.

The problem now is that the yearly Salvation Army fundraiser, which kicked off a month ago, is still over $100,000 short of its goal of raising $400,000 – leading Major Randell to encourage community members to share what they can and lend support before the deadline.

Donations—whether cash or miscellaneous necessities—will be used to support the downtown mission, the men’s shelter. The local soup kitchen, which has churned out over 70,000 meals this year alone, will also receive a substantial amount of donations.

It’s not all bad news though. Volunteer numbers have climbed this year, with an increase of over 38 %. Of course, it goes without saying that the more volunteers, the better. And with Christmas happening next week, donations are expected to make a last-minute rush, so volunteers will definitely be needed that time.

After a period of hardship, the Evans family finally has a reason to smile this Yuletude season after receiving a special present that’s just too big and too unique to fit under a Christmas tree.

This year, Trisha Evans and her two sons have recently received a brand new home, courtesy of a local Barrie Charity.

According to Melody Edwards, representative for the charitable program Habitat for Humanity Huronia, Evans and her kids are very excited to move into their new home. In fact, Trisha gets teary-eyed every time she pays the house a visit.

Evans and her family are just one of the privileged families selected to be given a Habitat Huronia home, which has been under construction since August this year. The house will be home to Evans’ two young boys, aged 6 and 7. Both suffer from PMD, or Pelizeaus-Merzbacher disease, a rare type of neurological degenerative condition that causes weakening of the muscles, involuntary movements, and slow learning of motor skills.

And while the new home may not be finished before the 25th of December or Christmas Day due to construction problems, Evans doesn’t really care, and notes that she’s blessed enough to even receive a house for free.

The City of Barrie’s popular yearly calendar just turned green for 2010.
To encourage Barrie’s residents to live environment-friendly lifestyles next year, the City’s 2010 waste reduction calendar got a “green” makeover, complete with an eco-inspired theme.

According to the city’s waste management representative Christina O’Neill, the new calendar is aimed at helping Barrie locals manage their lives in the most eco-friendly way possible.

The calendar, which was recently included in the city’s local paper comes literally in the color green, and was also made with equally “green” methods.

Aside from sporting a new color, the new calendar was printed using recycled paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), which O’Neill hopes sends enough of a green message to Barrie’s locals.

As always, the calendars still comes with some handy tips and general information. This time however, the trivia and pointers are more centered on environmental issues. Each month features new tips and information, making the whole calendar packed with a wealth of knowledge.

The calendar also offers the same list of contact numbers of important city services, city departments, and important dates found in past calendars. This time around, trash and waste collection schedules have been included as well.

When Jeff Lehman first set up the Facebook group to help save Barrie Central last Wednesday; never in his wildest dreams did he imagine the account to amass over 1,500 followers in less than a week.

In fact, 24 hours after the setting up group, 927 members signed up for the cause. Another two hours later, it broke the 1000 mark. As of last Friday, the group boasts of 1500 members – and that number is still growing.

Lehman was nothing short of flabbergasted by the huge number of people who came to help save Barrie Central.

A Peak behind the Problem

In 2008, the public school board decided that Central needed to be replaced by another building, largely due to the declining number of enrollees at the institution. However, the proposed project went without the support of Ontario’s Ministry of Education.

According to business and facilities superintendent Carol McAulay, the school faces a tough problem of declining pupils in spite of the steady population growth. The school board needs to work on reinvigorating Barrie Central, as more and more students are opting to enroll at private schools.

What’s in Store for Central?

Lehman knows that the Simcoe County District School Board wants to rebuild Central. The only problem? Where to get the funding. According to him, the Facebook group is just the start, as he and his friends plan to hold more activities to help stop Central’s closure.

The city of Barrie is currently searching for another partner to help in the development of a new hotel-convention centre in its downtown district, after the original developer BrightStar, failed to meet the city’s conditions and agreements.

According to Councilor Jeff Lehman, representative for the downtown district, due to the current economic crisis, BrightStar was unable to meet the city’s requirements and was thus forced to back out of the deal. A time limit on the proceeding was apparently not met.

Lehman says that the next step for the city to take is to open the project to other firms and contractors. He adds that plenty of groups are interested in striking a partnership with the city.

The new partner (if any) will be tasked to finish the work started by BrightStar, who have started to make significant progress on the hotel conference centre. No changes will be made on the center’s plans.

The hotel-convention centre is slated to house around 144 hotel rooms, a meeting and convention area that seats at least 650 people, boutiques, restaurants, and commercial space for other retail outlets and the like.

Depending on how negotiations go, the project might include underground parking and condominiums.

Whatever the case, the project is expected to generate much-needed jobs for the city of Barrie – certainly great news to start the New Year with.

A woman who has worked for years with people with disabilities received the first award of its kind named after the late Robert Kerr.

Heather Hollingshead won the first ever Robert Kerr Accessibility Award, given to her just recently at Barrie City Hall.

Hollingshead, who was surprised to receive the honor, commented that the award was dedicated to those afflicted with all types of disabilities. And while Barrie has made improvements in accessibility, the city still has a long way to go to make things perfect. She further notes that at any given moment, anyone can have a disability, making it important for the city to make accommodations to these individuals.

Heather Hollingshead serves as the regional services coordinator for the Canadian Paraplegic Association. Just recently, she celebrated her 25th year with the group. Over the years, she has forged a reputation for herself as a woman who never tires to be a fierce advocate for the cause.

Among the individuals she has helped are people with spinal injuries, empowering them with knowledge and information to make their lives a bit better.

The award recognizes the efforts of an individual or group to promote awareness of people with disabilities in Barrie.

Darlene Hintzen spends most of her time in school, shaping the lives of kids and teaching important lessons – both for academic purpose and life in general.
But as the day ends, she moves on to another activity that’s just as admirable as her day job.

The full-time teacher at Johnson Street Public School also owns Positive Pathways Yoga and Wellness Studio, an alternative fitness center located in Barrie, Ontario.

Between working in the elementary school, Hintzen also wanted to help people in another way, leading her to open a wellness studio to practice hypnotherapy, Reiki and past-life regression.

She describes her studio as being more focused on holistic health, citing the number of people who are being drawn to spirituality these days.

Her studio, which is situated at 40 Bell Farm Road, opened in September this year. Hintzen is having a grand opening there on Tuesday, with some special guests invited.

Some of the activities that the studio offers include regular Hatha yoga classes which according to Hintzen, are tremendously popular among the area’s residents.

Hintzen admits to being very excited and nervous about the grand opening of her wellness center, saying that as one of the very few studios that offer Reiki and hyonotherapy services, expectations are expected to be quite high. She also feels proud to be given the opportunity to share her knowledge on the subject.

Go ahead and check out Positive Pathways Yoga and Wellness Studio and sample the healthy lifestyle.