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…
East Elgin Secondary School student Abbie Dale looked out over the sanctuary of Olympia on a visit to southern Greece during March break this week. She is one of the students on an expedition to Rome and Athens led by teacher Ted Williamson.
A barn was destroyed by a fire north of Vienna on Calton Line just west of Plank Road on Friday, March 14. Property owner Steven Martin said he noticed flames coming from the south side of the barn at about 6:15 a.m. Bayham firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly but remained on scene for several hours…
Cornelius Thiessen, 29, of Aylmer was pronounced dead at an area hospital after the vehicle he was driving collided with a transport truck in Zorra Township on Wednesday, March 12. The two-vehicle collision occurred at about 7:25 a.m. on Highway 19 between Road 92 and Road 96. Oxford County Ontario Provincial Police, Uniondale firefighters and…
Trees in Lions Park off Tarry Parkway in south Aylmer were shrouded in white on Wednesday, March 12 after snow had fallen all day. The late winter storm brought an additional over 10 centimetres of snow to the Aylmer area. The falling and blowing snow made for challenging driving conditions in the region and portions…
A small transport truck slid off the road and rolled over onto its side west of New Sarum on Highway 3 (Talbot Line) on Wednesday, March 12. This photo was taken shortly after 2:30 p.m. that day. Snow had accumulated throughout the day and Highway 3 was snow covered in sections at the time of…
The annual migration of Tundra Swans that stop every late winter at the Aylmer Wildlife Management Area has been delayed due to the water being frozen over. Swans had been spotted near Rodney so it was anticipated they would arrive soon at the wildlife management area which is located just south of the Ontario Police…
Aylmer councillors took no action on a Malahide council request to find $60,000 in East Elgin Community Complex efficiencies for 2014. After some discussion at their March 10 meeting, councillors voted to receive and file the request. That means nothing further will be done with it. Two councillors, Pete Barbour and Arthur Oslach, supported finding…
St. Thomas Police have asked for the public’s assistance in identifying a man who allegedly tried to abduct two 8-year-old girls at about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 8 on Owaissa Street. The girls were approached by a man in an older model, full-size red pick-up truck. The man asked the girls if they wanted…