East Elgin Secondary School art students Capri Thiessen, left, Sky Mitton, Emma Monster, Joey Yaw, Gracie Huisman and Kristen Peters recently unveiled the mural they painted, with the help of others, to cover a utility box in Balmoral Park in Aylmer. Absent were Avery Heynen, Angela Kloosterman, Miranda Hew, Adriel Kuepfer, Keana Zacharias and Kris…
Beer gushed out of a ceremonial keg as Malahide Stellvertretender Bürgermeister (Deputy Mayor) Mark Widner, armed with a hammer, left, and Aylmer Bürgermeister (Mayor) Jack Couckuyt, holding a spigot, tried to tap it on Saturday night, Oct. 5 at Saxonia Hall Oktoberfest celebrations. Featured performer was Walter Ostanek and his band, and German food and…
Aylmer Mayor Jack Couckuyt at the end of a town council meeting Wednesday, Oct. 2, sharply criticized an unnamed council member for what he asserted was support for a defamatory online remark. (Councillor Kathryn Desrosiers later in the week posted on Facebook that the mayor’s criticism was aimed at her.) “I thought a long time…
Aylmer Police want residents to report suspicious activity when they see it, but not to go beyond that and engage in what amounted to “online hate” against individuals. That is what allegedly led to a “violent assault” against an individual on Aug. 31 that is now under investigation. Police found no evidence to substantiate online…
Jaydon Ball, 17, a Grade 12 student at East Elgin Secondary School, is hosting a free public skate at East Elgin Community Complex on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and he wants everyone to come. Someone without skates doesn’t have to worry—skate rentals will also be free that night. The event…
Aylmer Mayor Jack Couckuyt was all smiles on Sept. 18 as ministers of the Ontario government visited the region and announced $57.2 million in infrastructure funding that will expedite construction of some 40,000 new houses in Elgin and Middlesex counties. The mayor’s welcome news of a $4.5 million Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund grant that the…
Emotions were running high on Thursday Sept. 12 at the Grand Opening of the Deer Ridge Conservation Area and Hiking Trail, on Glengariff Drive, in Talbotville. The event acknowledged a donation of 61.58 acres of forest in perpetuity to Kettle Creek Conservation Authority (KCCA) by Ted and Duggie Gill, local horse farm owners in the…
Elgin Ontario Provincial Police are warning local residents to take care after an incident at Archie Coulter Conservation Area on Brouwers Line in Central Elgin that left one person with minor injuries on Wednesday, Sept. 11, about about 5:55 p.m. The injured person was walking along a trail, and was approached from behind. “Physical contact…
Malahide Councillor Rick Cerna is urging everyone to get vaccinated against shingles, after suffering a bout of the painful disease. At a township council meeting Thursday, Sept. 5, he said, “I don’t know what the Good Lord has against me, but I’ve been through a lot since 2017.” That included a heart operation, a stroke…
David Chalk of Aylmer took this picture of turkey vultures, who nest on St. Andrew Street, drying themselves out after early-morning thunderstorms on Saturday, Aug. 31. He noted that he had about 44 millimetres (or 1.75 inches) of precipitation in a rain gauge at his home as a result of the storms, and added, “Turkey…
Mike, left, and Jenn Collins cut free slices for everyone coming into the annual Straffordville Watermelon Fest on Saturday, Aug. 24. They went through about 180 melons as crowds thronged the event. Rose Gardner, one of the organizers, said the festival was another overwhelming success. For more pictures, see the Aug. 24 edition of The…
While the town couldn’t afford to build a new indoor pool for at least eight to 10 years, Aylmer council members on Wednesday, Aug. 14, moved up the first step, pre-engineering designs for such a facility, to next year from 2026. They were meeting as finance committee and were considering a proposed capital budget for…