Cloud hangs over south end: citizen  By NATHAN TAYLOR, THE PACKET & TIMES November 13 2010"Do you want to know or are you afraid to know?"A little of both, says John Bleasby, answering his own question about what could be in the soil at his property on Cedar Island Road. ...

Truths that many don't want to know By TEVIAH MORO Orillia Packet and Times November 13 2010Coun. Wayne Gardy's concerns about the potential impact of identifying former dump sites on property owners in Orillia is understandable.But pretending the problem isn't there isn't going to make it go away. ...

Mayor-elect Angelo Orsi set to chart new course for city By NATHAN TAYLOR THE PACKET & TIMES November 12 2010Looking out the window of his Harvie Settlement Road office, Angelo Orsi sees progress in action.The old house on the hill, which is home to his companies, Charter Construction and Mariposa Ho...

Council will look a lot different next term By NATHAN TAYLOR, THE PACKET & TIMES October 26 2010“They wanted change and they’re going to get change.”Those words from defeated mayoral candidate Ralph Cipolla summarized the municipal election in Orillia.It happened at both the ma...

What made voter turnout increase? By SARA ROSS, THE PACKET & TIMES October 27 2010An intriguing mayoral race and engaged Orillians set the stage for a spike in voter turnout in this municipal election.With just over half of eligible voters casting ballots, Orillia hasn’t seen such a strong...

By NATHAN TAYLOR AND TEVIAH MORO, THE PACKET & TIMES October 27 2010As the polls started coming in Monday night at city hall, Mayor Ron Stevens had a weird feeling, unlike any other election in the past decade.He felt odd watching others slug it out for the top job.“It’s quite a chan...

By JENNIFER BURDEN, THE PACKET & TIMES October 27 2010The progress of the new OPP detachment is going to have to wait until the newly elected council gets up and running.“We’re at a standstill until the new council comes in and is able to hear from the project committee,” Insp....

By JENNIFER BURDEN, THE PACKET & TIMES October 27 2010From 28 candidates down to nine, Orillia has picked its leaders.But how will these nine different platforms and personalities work together as a cohesive team over the next four years?Ward 1 Coun. Patrick Kehoe wants to establish an incubatio...

By TEVIAH MORO ORILLIA PACKET AND TIMES October 27 2010When Pete Bowen failed to land a seat on city council last time around, he didn’t slip into oblivion.Instead, Bowen made a point of staying engaged with city business by joining committees. Most notably, he’s headed up the Downtown Or...

Mayoral candidates answer questions at Lakehead University By NATHAN TAYLOR THE PACKET & TIMES October 20 2010 A bright, new element was brought to what has become a routine event this month....