NEWS

Local news in and around Aylmer and Elgin County

Wii camp entertains during last day of Break

March 20, 2015 | 0 Comments

Carter Nevill, 9, left, Christina Funk, 12, and Community Access Program site intern Faith Braun played the Wii game Just Dance 2015 and danced to the song You Look So Perfect by Five Seconds of Summer during a Wii camp at Straffordville Public Library on Friday afternoon, March 20. The Wii camp was the last of…

Flood watch downgraded

March 20, 2015 | 0 Comments

A “flood watch” issued by Catfish Creek Conservation Authority on Tuesday morning, March 17 was downgraded to a “watershed conditions statement” on the morning of Friday, March 20. The change from a watch to a statement indicated that creek conditions had improved, CCCA Water  Management Technician Peter Dragunas wrote in a media release. “Flooding in low-lying…

Making slime at the Complex

March 19, 2015 | 0 Comments

Sisters Emily Froese, 7, left, and Lynn, 10, made green “slime” out of some water, white glue, food colouring and some detergent during the Lil’ Scientists-themed day camp at East Elgin Community Complex on Thursday afternoon, March 19. The Complex offered the camps each weekday of the March Break that week. Other activities included skating,…

“Pizza Palooza” at Springfield Library

March 19, 2015 | 0 Comments

Victoria Belle, 3, couldn’t resist tasting the sauce and then the cheese she and her mother Kristen Wyse were adding to mini-pizzas they were making during the “Pizza Palooza” lunch-time activity at Springfield Public Library on Thursday, March 19. The Springfield Library offered drop-in fun activities throughout March Break while children weren’t in schools including…

Tundra swans arrive in Aylmer area

March 19, 2015 | 0 Comments

The first dozen or so Tundra swans of 2015 showed up at Aylmer Wildlife Management Area next to the Ontario Police College along Hacienda Road northeast of Aylmer on Thursday morning, March 19. The Tundra Swan Line, a free telephone service set up by Eastlink (the former Amtelecom) 30 years ago (1985) and managed by the…

Maple syrup producer hurt in tractor crash

March 18, 2015 | 0 Comments

A 77-year-old Sparta-area maple syrup producer received minor injuries and was treated and released from hospital after a pickup truck rear-ended the trailer he was towing with a tractor on Quaker Line south of Sparta on Thursday morning, March 12. An Elgin County Ontario Provincial Police spokesman said a 24-year-old St. Thomas man was charged…

Cyclist struck by truck in Orwell

March 18, 2015 | 0 Comments

Elgin County Ontario Provincial Police are still investigating a crash involving a cyclist and a transport truck that occurred just west of Orwell on Talbot Line (Highway 3) near Springwater Road in the late morning of Monday, March 16. A police spokesman said the collision happened at about 11:30 a.m. that day. A 2005 Freightliner…

Cause released in farm accident death

March 18, 2015 | 0 Comments

The Elgin County Ontario Provincial Police confirmed that well-known Lyons-area farmer and seed dealer Pat Unger died on Monday afternoon, March 16 as a result of falling into a grain bin while attempting to loosen corn from an auger. The corn was being extracted from the bin at the time and was to be loaded…

Youthful leprechauns take over library in Aylmer

March 17, 2015 | 0 Comments

Aylmer Old Town Hall Library assistant Christi Fraser, left, helped Claudia Unger, 8, make a “leprechaun” hat during the St. Patrick’s Day version of Crafternoons at the library on Tuesday, March 17. The green hats were the main attraction of the craft session. Crafternoons are offered for children 10 and under each Tuesday afternoon from 4-6…

Pat Unger dies in farm accident

March 17, 2015 | 0 Comments

Noted Malahide farmer, seed dealer and former volunteer firefighter Pat Unger, 56, was killed in a farming incident, March 16. He was trapped in a grain bin on his farm, north of Lyons. Friend and fellow seed dealer Ian Foster had known Mr. Unger for at least 30 years. “It’s going to be a tremendous…

Magic in Belmont

March 17, 2015 | 0 Comments

Magician Steve Wilson, left, and volunteer Ally Dujardin, 8, performed a magic dance that turned three pieces of rope from different into uniform lengths during a March break show at Belmont library, Tuesday, March 18. The event was attended by almost 100 youngsters.

CCCA issues “flood watch”

March 17, 2015 | 0 Comments

Catfish Creek Conservation Authority Water Management Technician Peter Dragunas issued a “flood watch” on Tuesday morning, March 17. “This is an assessment that a significant probability exists for flooding of low-lying flood prone areas within the watershed,” he wrote in the statement. “Due to the recent precipitation, increased snow melt, recent warming and migration of…