News Headlines

Rafid Manhi’s family was unharmed after bullets were fired into their Baghdad home in 2009, an incident that led to their escape from Iraq and long, frustrating six-year wait in Jordan before freedom was found in Canada. Mr. Manhi wasn’t with his wife Suhad (Sue) Abbas and their three children when their house was fired…

Elgin councillors, in a charge led by Malahide Deputy Mayor Mike Wolfe, wants some of the county’s money back from Elgin St. Thomas Public Health for 2015. The Ontario government recently announced that funding for 28 of 36 health units across the province had been deemed to high compared to eight others. As a result, the…

The East Elgin Community Complex has a new general manager. James Allen was appointed as the new general manager of the twin ice pad facility after both Aylmer and Malahide councils accepted a recommendation by the Complex Interim Board Recruitment Committee on Wednesday night, Dec. 2. The recommendation was presented during a closed door session of…

The MM Robinson Drumline marching band from Burlington was just one of the many star attractions of the 71st annual Aylmer Kinsmen Santa Claus parade on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 28. The parade was well over an hour long and one observer estimated there had to be upwards of 5,000 spectators lining Talbot Street along the…

Spectators, many of them from the East Elgin area, lined the Elgin Road (Imperial Road) overpass across Highway 401 to watch as the hearse bearing the remains of John Gallagher, 32, who died fighting as a volunteer for Kurdish forces against Islamic State in Syria, pass by, Friday afternoon, Nov. 20. Overpasses were reportedly crowded all…

Malahide firefighters fought a stubborn fire in a home on the north side of Ron McNeil Line, just west of Springfield, Thursday night, Nov. 12. Tankers from several stations raced to hydrants on Dingle Street and Talbot Street East in Aylmer and in front of Aylmer Tire, then back to the blaze, to keep firefighters…

Members of the Optimist Club and Lions and Lioness clubs turned out to march in the parade to the Port Stanley Cenotaph for a Remembrance Day service on Sunday morning, Nov. 8. A large crowd turned out for the event, organized by Last Post Branch 410, Royal Canadian Legion. A service was held in Vienna…

A group of concerned citizens has convinced Bayham’s elected officials to keep Straffordville Community Centre and re-open it to public use after needed improvements are done in the New Year. Straffordville resident Marni Wolfe appeared before Bayham councillors at their meeting on Thursday, Nov. 5 and informed them her group, “The Concerned Residents of Bayham,”…

Elgin County councillors on Tuesday, Oct. 27, abandoned their plan to abandon the 107-year-old Edison Drive Bridge. Now, instead of installing a new access road to serve properties north of the bridge, previously seen as the cheapest alternative until environmental studies threw in some complications, they want to replace the existing structure with a “modular…

Conservative candidate Karen Vecchio, middle, was greeted by her former employer and retiring Elgin-Middlesex-London MP Joe Preston, left, and her campaign manager Brian Clements as she arrived at her victory party at Boston Pizza in St. Thomas at about 10:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 19 after she was declared the winner of the federal election for…