Way of life in Town as old as Town itself

Dear editor,

I would like to take this opportunity to respond to the letter written by Carol Messenger and Dennis Belcourt in your May 16th paper.

To begin with perhaps a few questions! By any chance did you take the time to attend the meeting at the Stroud Arena? Secondly how long have you lived in the town and when did you retire from travelling to work? The reason I ask is I was at the meeting, I myself have lived here all my life and finally I have two jobs, one happens to be a school bus driver and the other lets say for arguements sake yes I do commute to work.

Now granted whether you live in Gilford, Lefroy, Alcona etc there are some things that people would sooner not see. In your case its trailers, school buses and obviously any vehicle for work or recreation which is bigger then yours. In my case its not the bus I drive (which by the way do you have children? and how did they get to school, perhaps a school bus!) its the trash meaning garbage not trailer park as you class it. Its fences 35 x 15 feet, that block my view of the beautiful town we live in. Perhaps we should explore the issue of what is disturbing to our neighbours and fellow townsmen and women. Do you have beautiful shrubs and flowers in your yard to add beauty to your property, if so have you taken the time to ask your neighbour how they might feel about your gardens! Some people could be allergic to your plants, and they do draw bees and other insects which might be offensive to others.

The point being there has been a way of living in the Town of Innisfil long before I was born and probably before you became a resident also. People in the past as well as those within the last few years have lived here based on a way of life that has always been possible. Granted you commuted to work all the power to you, you made that choice for what ever reason. Just as I commute to my one job I also have been able to drive school bus based on what has always been. In fact I was driven to Killarney Beach Public School by my own mother who drove bus. The last time I looked we lived in a democracy, giving each and everyone of us the right to work, and live a good life.

A gentleman from Belle Ewart was at the meeting, he pays $8000.00 a year property tax for his lake front property. He minds his own business, works hard and has some of the toys to show for it, who are you to say that now that has to change. If you want to see the waterfront buy a lakefront, and if you have a neighbour or end up with one who doesn't like the looks of your yard even though I'm sure there's no trash! tell him to to get a life there are worse things in the world then school buses, trailers or other recreational vehicles that others can afford. Have you tried backing into your driveway to make it easier for you to see traffic, to make it safer for you and others.

A final note regarding us "School Bus Drivers" I also pay property taxes to the Town of Innisfil, and by the way as I stated at the meeting we are known as Professional Operators, but we don't get paid the big bucks associated with the title. The money would have to come from somewhere, would you like to make a bigger contribution through your school taxes or are you now exempt from that portion on your taxes. By the way bus companies provide dollars for our local gas stations, by fueling up in our town, which makes it possible for the gas stations to employee our residents as well. Perhaps those of us who drive for a living, have summer and winter toys should be grandfathered, of course with some form of a limit to make it fair for everyone. We all have rights, you and the rest of us!

Yours truly, Carol Griffith Belle Ewart