LC November 29, 2024 Stratford Times Anyone else on Bluesky yet? STEWART GRANT Publisher The plethora of social media apps out there today provide such a wide variety of ways for people to in- teract with their close community or with the broader world What are your top social media apps? I tried this question with my family members recently and we all gave quite different answers. For years, my favou- rite has been Reddit with side dishes of Facebook and Twitter, while my wife is a regular on Instagram and Facebook (and Pinterest when needed) while the kids prefer Snapchat and TikTok. It’s also a dynamic ques- tion that changes over time. Contribute to your local community newspaper! Send articles, sports or event recaps, and photos to stratfordtimes@gmail.com SECOND LAST ISSUE OF 2024! The last issue of 2024 will be December 13. Due to the staff holidays, the Stratford Times will not be publishing a December 25 paper. The first paper of 2025 will come our January 10, 2025 I recently heard about X (Twitter) users migrating to a new app called Bluesky, so I decided to take a look over there. In short, I like it because it reminds me of the way that Twitter used to be. The feed is based on my interests and the comments to posts are actually relevant to the topic — something that has been lacking at X in recent times. Bluesky Social originated as a side project within Twitter in 2019 but became independent when Elon Musk bought Twitter in October 2022. It launched as an invite-only social app in February 2023, and only opened to the public in February 2024. Since February, it has grown from three million users to 20 million us- ers. Currently, it’s number one in the Apple App Store, ahead of ChatGPT and Threads, and is adding seven new users a second. For me, Bluesky is feeling like a fresh start. Because it’s not full of ads (yet), I’m easily able to follow ma- jor news headlines, sports updates and people whose opinions I’m interested in. Not everyone is over there yet, but I see new additions each day. For example, on the sports side of things, I’m ung The Athletic, the NHL (mirroring the NHL’s Tw: ount), Sean MclIndoe (Down Goes Brown), ae LeBrun and Steve Dangle. This allows me to quickly see what’s going on in sports without having to sift through all the other stuff that’s in my X feed. If you are disenchanted with X these days, or are simply looking for another social media option, you may want to give Bluesky a try. Letter to the Editor Trump election a scary outcome Thank you very much for your recent editorials about the U.S. Election and its outcome (Nov. 15) and comparing its coverage with regards to the sources of information (Sept. 20). It is reassuring to read these in the Stratford Times and know that others are similarly alarmed about the situation in the States, where a self-aggrandizing, power-hungry buf- foon has controlled the media to regain the platform of his life. The results of the election were so unexpected. The rea- sons not to vote for Trump were so man} his history, his record in office and in promulgating di is vicious pours: hatreds, and need for adulation, all constantly on But I believe you are right that the lack of reliable sources of information, and reliance on their opposite, Fox News, played a major role in the Democrat’s defeat. When people use only one source of news, and it is biased, they are easily misled. It seems that the American education system is also to blame in this. In the Canadian education system, informa- tion literacy and critical thinking have been prioritized (and Thope still are) with the importance of considering balanced news sources stressed. Apparently this emphasis is absent in the U.S. educational counterpart. Fox News, a right-wing organ, has not had its one-sided broadcasts curtailed by the lade nn some at- tribute its f the past, Your editorials convincingly owed how its Si out of opposing viewpoints in debates and election presentations served a political purpose and restricted freedom of thought, which depends on correct information and reflection. Democracy depends on a free and unbiased press and news sources, and now seems threatened in the U.S. We are very lucky in Stratford to have locally controlled newspa pers, especially The Stratford Times, and the national CBG which strive to provide oppor viewpoints in political a1 other matters. What will happen under Trump? I live with a deep and unfortunately well-founded sense of horror and dread about what he could do, and pray he will not destroy all that he could. Sincerely, Julia Schneider, Stratford GRANT HAVEN MEDIA STRATFORD MW ‘Stewart Grant - stew@granthaven.com Restoring small-town journalism, one community ata tir Local Jounalism initiative Reporter Connor Luczka + connor@granthaven.com Graphic Design / Sales Inquiries Sarah Cail Business Development Heather Dunbar - heather@granthaven.com Administrator Contributors spencer Seymour, Betty-Jo Belton, Julia Schneider, Cae West, Paul Knowles, Emily Stewart, Lisa Chester, Fred Gonder, Sheila Clarke, Irene Roth, Lee Griffi, Stuart Lender, Thomas R. Verny, Sydney Goodwin, Kristen Parker, Alex Hunt, Hannah Kavanagh, Julia Paul na, Lantos -eealsopae? PO Box 2310 N4X 1A2 | 519.655.2341 | hi 152 AOA qcerenesmmsest | Canada ee iaeiecieanes Comparing apples to Orangeville In a recent CBC article written about how Orangeville is offering free transit to city residents, it stated how much their transit system costs their taxpayers. I thought it would be interesting to compare their transit system to Stratford’s. Then I became curious as to how they compared in several other municipal departments. First, let’s compare the cities themselves. Orangeville has a population of 31,000 and covers an area of 15.16 square ki- lometres for a population density of 1,989 people per square kilometre. Stratford has a population of 34,000 in an area of 30.02 square kilometres for a density of 1,107 people per square kilometre. So, as far as population goes, they are roughly the same size, but urban sprawl has definitely had a bigger impact on Stratford. All figures are based on 2024 budgets. Public Transit Orangeville Transit has a budget of $1.2 million and is operated for the city by First Student Canada, the school bus company, though the city doesn’t use school buses. Looking at the city’s transit map, it doesn’t look as if its system's cov- erage is as great as Stratford’s, but the city’s website talks about expanding on-demand service to “100 per cent of the city.” They also use smaller buses and once again have free transit. Stratford Transit's budget was $3.7 million. Strat- ford’s transit budget has definitely been negatively impacted by urban se, Fire Depart: Orangeville tae a * hybrid fire department made up of 20 full-time firefighters and 32 volunteer firefighters. It has one fire station. Its budget is $5.8 million. Stratford’s fire de- partment has, as far as I could find out, about 40 full-time firefighters and two stations. Once again, you’ve got to love urban sprawl. Its budget is $9.8 million. Police Department In 2020, Orangeville decided to disband its city-run po- lice force and hire the OPP to patrol the city. Its police bud- get is $5.2 million. Stratford’s police budget is $13.8 million. Collingwood, with a population of 30,000, has recently been upset that the amount the OPP is charging them is go- ing up to $7.1 million in 2025. Stratford police are asking for a budget of $16 million in 2025. If St. Marys got Stratford Police Services to patrol their town for less than the OPP charged them and Stratford tax- payers are paying double what the OPP would charge them, are Stratford taxpayers in fact subsidizing St. Marys’ polic- Totals Orangeville's three departments - $12.2 million. Stratford’s three departments - $27.3 million. One thing this comparison shows is that two communities with relatively the same population can arrive at drastically different budget outcomes based on the choices they make. There is more than one way to do things and perhaps it’s time Stratford took a serious look at how it’s running things. Stratford is a medium-sized town with a medium-sized tax base, not a major city.Sincerely; John Lewis, Stratford OOOO ee