News Headlines

Fire victims face long recovery

Cornelius Woelke and his young sons Cornelius Junior, two-and-a-half years old and Jacob, who will turn a year old on Nov. 1, severely burned during a fire in their apartment in Springfield on Saturday, Oct. 19, have started to respond to medical treatment but face a long road to recovery, Jake Friesen said. Jake, of…

Read More

Three badly burned in Springfield fire

Thick black smoke churned out of two houses on fire on Ron McNeil Line in Springfield on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 19. One was a three-unit apartment building and the other a single-family home. Both were heavily damaged, and a father and two very young children were badly burned and remain in hospital. Malahide Fire chief…

Read More

New mural unveiled

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…

Read More

Tapping the keg…isn’t supposed to go this way

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…

Read More

Free public skate for diversity

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…

Read More

Aylmer gets a slice of provincial infrastructure pie

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…

Read More

Preserving 62 acres of Carolinian forest

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…

Read More

Cerna says: get shingles shot!

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…

Read More

Turkey vultures nesting in Aylmer trees

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…

Read More

Perfect weather for Watermelon Fest

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…

Read More