NEWS

Local news in and around Aylmer and Elgin County

Rezoning rejected to convert store to apartments

April 12, 2023 | 0 Comments

Aylmer councillors voted 4-3 on Wednesday, April 5, to reject an application to rezone 230 John St. N., formerly a Home Hardware store, into an eight-unit apartment building. The store is now owned by Mike Hutchinson Properties Inc. No neighbours objected to the proposed rezoning, but a narrow majority of councillors did. Their concerns included the…

House fire started with gasoline

April 5, 2023 | 1 Comment

A fire that destroyed a new house that had just been built on Aspen Parkway in Aylmer on March 24 at about 2:30 a.m. was deliberately started with “a large amount of gasoline that exploded,” Aylmer Police have revealed. Smoldering clothing was found near the house as police arrived, leading to the belief that one…

Police seek hit-and-run driver

April 5, 2023 | 0 Comments

Elgin Ontario Provincial Police are looking for the driver, believed to be in his mid-50s, of a dark-coloured Ford sports-utility vehicle with a missing rear window who fled the scene of a collision that injured a motorcyclist, 24. Const. Brett Phair said the crash took place at the intersection of John Wise Line and Quaker…

Planned Belmont school just got bigger

March 31, 2023 | 0 Comments

A much-delayed new public elementary school to be built in Belmont will see its expected capacity grow to 507 pupils from the previously approved 354, Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack announced on Friday, March 31. He said the provincial government had approved an expansion of the previous plan, as well as additional funding of $3.4-million, bringing…

Malahide woman found safe

March 31, 2023 | 0 Comments

Elgin Ontario Provincial Police reported Saturday, April 1, that a missing woman, 33, from Malahide tahat they had been seeking had been found safe.  

Malahide man faces child pornography charges

March 31, 2023 | 0 Comments

A Malahide man, 57, has been charged with making, distributing and possession of child pornography by Ontario Provincial Police. The OPP’s Child Sexual Exploitation Unit (CSEU) announced on Friday, March 31, that the previous day, it and Elgin OPP had executed a search warrant in Malahide, following an investigation. In addition to the child exploitation…

Talbot Street re-opens

March 24, 2023 | 0 Comments

Talbot Street East between John and King streets in Aylmer, closed since a fire that destroyed two buildings downtown on Monday night, March 20, re-opened to traffic on Friday, March 24, at 11 a.m. Traffic lanes have been pushed northward to get by fencing in front of the ruined buildings.    

Suspicious fire on Apsen Parkway-updated

March 24, 2023 | 0 Comments

A fire in a house under construction on Aspen Parkway, in a subdivision north of Dingle Street, in the early-morning hours of Friday, March 24, has been deemed suspicious in origin by Aylmer Police. No one was residing in the home yet, police said in a statement. An investigation has started. Police believe that one…

Clearing rubble from fire site

March 23, 2023 | 0 Comments

An excavator was at work Thursday morning, March 23, clearing rubble from the ruins of two buildings destroyed by fire in downtown Aylmer on Monday, March 20. Talbot Street East between John and King streets remains closed to traffic. Electronic signs have been placed on Highway 3 east and west of Aylmer to divert traffic…

Firefighters battle major downtown blaze in Aylmer

March 20, 2023 | 1 Comment

Firefighters from Aylmer, Malahide, Central Elgin and St. Thomas fought a stubborn fire involving at least two to three buildings on the south side of Talbot Street between John and King streets on Monday night, March 20. Residents of the buildings were safely evacuated and temporary housing found for them. Look for more details and…

Employee, 18, dies in workplace incident-updated

March 15, 2023 | 0 Comments

Aylmer Police Chief Zvonko Horvat reported on Wednesday, March 15, that a worker, 18, at Elgin Feeds on John Street North had died as the result of an industrial accident that occurred at 10:45 a.m. The male employee was working in the area of a grain elevator when he lost his footing and fell into…

St. Thomas chosen for VW battery plant

March 13, 2023 | 0 Comments

The Ontario government announced on Monday, March 13, that its subsidiary PowerCo would build an electric-vehicle battery plant in St. Thomas. That’s been rumored since the announcement that the province was adopting legislation to annex 800 acres of land from Central Elgin into northeast St. Thomas for industrial use. Look for more information in the…