As the 2020s roar on, for better or worse, these were the most popular news stories with CollingwoodToday readers in 2021.
Two residents die in Shannon Towers Fire
On Sept. 20 and early morning fire broke out at the apartment tower at 535 Tenth Street, with early reports one person had died in the fire. By Sept. 23 it was confirmed two people died in the fire. The rest of the building was evacuated.
The victims of the fire were later identified as Mary McOuat, 61, and Ruth Hall, 89. Ouat died at the scene, and Hall died in hospital.
The two women were the first people to die in a fire in Collingwood since 2019.
TBM house destroyed in fire after selling for $7M
The second of three fire stories that made the list this year was a January house fire in Lora Bay, The Blue Mountains. A vacant home was destroyed in the morning fire after a neighbour called 911. Fire crews arrived to find the home fully engulfed in flames.
Collingwood crews called to help fight house fire in Wasaga Beach
This third that caught readers' attention happened on Waterview Road in Wasaga Beach this August, and ended up spreading to a neighbouring house, destroying both homes.
The heat from the fires melted the siding on a building across the street.
One resident was inside but evacuated safely.
Barrie man's underwater treasure hunt turns up long-lost whisky
Though not a Collingwood-specific story, the regional news struck a chord with local audiences who were drawn into the dramatic tale of a treasure hunter who first dove into his mystery when he was a teen.
With the help of local dive experts Dave Davison and his pal Adam Blokzyl, Barrie resident Dieter Mueller set out on Otter Lake in the Parry Sound area last Thursday to see if they could locate the sunken treasure, which Mueller says sunk to the bottom of the lake in 1964 when a thirsty neighbour crashed his small boat into the dock late one night. Spoiler alert, he found it!
Province bans new admissions to Sunset Manor in damning report
In June, the Ontario Ministry of Long-Term Care issued an order prohibiting Sunset Manor from accepting new admissions, and order that remains in place still.
According to the ministry, it was "systemic failure" that came with "risk of harm to the health or well-being of residents" and multiple inspection reports that led to the cease admissions order.
The County of Simcoe, which operates the home, said the report and order were "extremely excessive."
County of Simcoe residents will have two sets of garbage bins for a couple of months
Perhaps it was the widespread, personal impact of the story, but anything about the new garbage carts, which got delivered to homes this summer, seemed to attract readers this year.
For many in Collingwood, the new carts arrived in August, and had to be stored until Nov. 1, creating a surplus of bins for many households.
The new carts went into use Nov. 1, but it wasn't exactly smooth rolling as many opposed the size of the bins.
Collingwood council votes to suspend new development
During a seven-hour meeting on April 26, town council passed (in a 6-3 vote) an interim control bylaw that prohibits any new construction unless the project already has a building permit from the town. Renovations are permitted, but only for projects where the use of the building (particularly where water and wastewater is concerned) won't change.
The one-year moratorium was suggested by town staff because the water treatment plant is running out of capacity for new development.
The story had many updates through the year. You can read a synopsis here.
Stories about an outbreak at a local apartment building with links to the alpha variant, local vaccine clinics, testing centres, a bush party outbreak in Grey Bruce, and the many changing restrictions, lockdowns, protests, and colour codes were popular with readers throughout 2021.