NEWS

Local news in and around Aylmer and Elgin County

Bayham state of emergency still in place

February 20, 2014 | 0 Comments

A state of emergency remained in place in Bayham on Thursday, Feb. 20 as the location and condition of a leaking natural gas well northwest of Port Burwell had yet to be determined. In a media release issued at 11:10 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20 after the Bayham Control Group met earlier that morning, Bayham…

Bayham man charged in rollover east of Aylmer

February 20, 2014 | 0 Comments

A Bayham man, 50, was arrested and charged with impaired driving and other offences after the vehicle he was travelling in rolled over on Heritage Line just south of Highway 3 (Talbot Line) just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Elgin County Ontario Provincial Police Constable Troy Carlson said the man was travelling east…

Central Elgin’s mayor won’t seek re-election

February 19, 2014 | 0 Comments

Central Elgin Mayor Bill Walters announced he would not be seeking re-election this autumn during a luncheon in St. Thomas, Wednesday, Feb. 19. He said four years was long enough to serve, and he wanted to devote his time to family and business commitments. He was proudest in his term as mayor of the year he…

Flood watch issued in region

February 19, 2014 | 0 Comments

Catfish Creek Conservation Authority upgraded its warning about the possibility of flooding in the watershed early Thursday morning. CCCA Water Management Technician Peter Dragunas issued a “flood watch” at 7:45 a.m. on Feb. 20 which is a step closer to an official warning. “This is an assessment that a high probability exists for flooding of…

McGregor holds its own Winter Games

February 18, 2014 | 0 Comments

Grade 3 pupil Daniel Brannigan, left, wound up for a shot on net while McGregor Public School classmates Nolan Wiebe, Grade 4, and Bianca Giesbrecht, grade 3, watched, Friday, Feb. 14. McGregor spent the afternoon putting on its version of the Winter Olympics, with a variety of modified events and hot chocolate to stay warm.

Gas well leaking hydrogen sulphide northwest of Port Burwell

February 14, 2014 | 0 Comments

Bayham on Thursday night, Feb. 13, stated that a historic gas well northwest of Port Burwell was leaking potentially dangerous hydrogen sulphide gas, and a state of emergency has been declared as a precaution. The gas was heavier than air and could be fatal close to the source. Public works employees and firefighters went door to…

Mark Wales running again for Malahide council

February 11, 2014 | 0 Comments

Current Malahide councillor Mark Wales recently submitted his nomination to run again for the Ward 4 position in the Oct. 27, 2014 municipal election. He was acclaimed as the Ward 4 representative in the 2010 election as no other candidate ran against him. He joins current Mayor Dave Mennill and Deputy Mayor Jim Jenkins who…

County okays 4% levy increase

February 11, 2014 | 0 Comments

Elgin County councillors on Tuesday, Feb. 11, unanimously approved a $62-million budget for 2014 that will increase the local property tax levy by four percent. Financial Services Director Jim Bundschuh said the average home might expect to pay an additional $32 in property tax to the county, though actual increases would vary depending on property…

Pork virus found in Elgin

February 11, 2014 | 0 Comments

Two cases of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) were recently discovered at farrow-to-finish hog farms in Elgin County. The first diagnosis was confirmed on Feb. 4 and the second on Feb. 9. The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food does not release the location of new cases of the outbreak, only the county in which a…

Malahide “second-class citizen”

February 10, 2014 | 0 Comments

Malahide Councillor Mark Widner was clearly unhappy with his Mayor David Mennill and Deputy Mayor Jim Jenkins as well as Aylmer councillors at a township council meeting Thursday, Feb. 6. Malahide councillors had received formal notice that their Aylmer counterparts essentially tossed in the trash a township proposal to expand the town’s library by moving…

Mount Salem man dead in south London crash

February 10, 2014 | 0 Comments

Jacob Rempel, 48, of Mount Salem died at London Health Sciences Centre on Sunday, Feb. 9, as a result of injuries he sustained in a head-on collision south of London the night before. London Police were still investigating the crash that took place at about 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8 on Highbury Ave. S.…

Medical calls go up and up

February 9, 2014 | 0 Comments

The number of medical calls answered by Malahide volunteer firefighters continues to increase each year. In his 2013 year-end report to township councillors Thursday, Feb. 6, Fire Chief Paul Groeneveld said 64 percent of all alarms answered by firefighters last year were medical-related. The only reason he could imagine for the increase was the ageing local…