The Shoppers Drug Mart in Aylmer will be sold as a result of the Loblaw takeover of the pharmacy chain. A merger of two large retail chains was approved by the federal Competition Bureau effective March 28. As part of the Competition Bureau approval, Loblaw is required to sell 18 stores including Shoppers Drug Marts…
The first migratory tundra swans of 2014 were seen at Aylmer Wildlife Management Area on Wednesday, March 19. The tundra swans usually arrive much earlier in March but were delayed due to the frozen water on the ponds at the wildlife management area located northeast of Aylmer off Hacienda Road. Elgin Stewardship Council volunteers who…
Elgin St. Thomas Public Health issued an advisory on Friday, March 21 about someone with the measles potentially transmitting the virus to other individuals. Anyone who was present at Dr. Scott Barrett’s office at 107 Edward Street in St. Thomas on Tuesday, March 18 between 2-5 p.m. were encouraged to visit the health unit at…
A basketball-sized meteor passed over the Aylmer area on the evening of Tuesday, March 18. The event was tracked by a network of cameras set up by Western University’s Physics and Astronomy Department. The image seen at left was captured by a camera installed on the roof of Aylmer’s Arthur Oslach. The meteor created a…
A home on the south side of Rush Creek Line west of Port Bruce was surrounded by water on Thursday, March 20 after Catfish Creek flooded over its banks at an area commonly known as Cedar Bend. The residents had left the evening before anticipating their property would be flooded the next day. A farm…
Getting caught using any electronic hand-held device or display screens while driving is going to cost a lot more. Beginning March 18, the distracted driving fine of $155 increased to $280 (a $225 fine plus a $50 victim fine surcharge and $5 court cost) as of that day. A distracted driving ticket does not include…
Bayham councillors approved the 2014 budget which included a 4.41 levy increase on Tuesday, March 18. Treasurer David Aristone noted that with assessment growth over the past year adding $91,863 in taxation, the overall increase for 2014 for taxpayers was 1.5 percent. Mayor Paul Ens voted against the approval of the budget because of his…
The completion of construction on the consolidated Elgin County Courthouse in St. Thomas was celebrated with an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, March 18. The celebration, emceed by former Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Steve Peters who was credited as the driving force behind the project, included a time capsule insertion. A steel cylinder containing several City…
Aylmer’s finance committee, made up of all councillors, approved the draft 2014 budget and a 0.64-percent levy increase on Monday, March 17. That is up from the 0.24-percent levy increase which resulted from savings the committee approved at their March 10 meeting. The draft budget will be on the agenda for the April 7 council…
Catfish Creek Conservation Authority issued a flood watch at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 19. The weather forecast included rain and rising temperatures which were expected to cause the remaining snow to continue to melt resulting in water levels in the creek to rise. Flooding in low-lying areas near Catfish Creek and its tributaries was…
Ontario Minister of Public Safety Medeleine Meilleur seems ready to stick with a proposed new method for billing communities for Ontario Provincial Police patrols, despite an outcry from many municipalities. At a Malahide council meeting March 13, Mayor David Mennill, one of three township representatives to attend a recent Ontario Good Roads Association gathering in…
Malahide councillors probed Thursday, March 13, without success in hopes of learning about at least some of the findings in a consultant’s review of East Elgin Community Complex operations. While Mayor David Mennill admitted he, Aylmer Mayor Jack Couckuyt and the administrators from both municipalities had read the review, he wouldn’t spill the beans. Malahide Administrator Michelle Casavecchia…