The Grand Bend Optimist Club’s Beachfest will be back at the main beach on June 20, but this year’s event will focus on being a family-friendly affair. Dubbed “Beachfest Kids Edition – Kickoff to Summer,” the annual event is bringing with it a new vision that Grand Bend Optimist Club president Paul Rivard said stays true to the organization’s priorities.

A staple in the Grand Bend business community has been left in ruins after a fire on Friday, May 22. Firefighters were called to the Moffatt and Powell RONA on Ontario Street South around 2 p.m. According to Lambton Shores fire chief Sean Smith, everyone inside the building at the time made it out to safety.

Split on whether to triple development charges, South Huron council is asking for more information before making a final decision. A consulting company hired to analyze the cost of future development estimates that South Huron’s current development charges of $6,467 for a single-detached house need to be raised to $19,131.

It has been a long time coming, but spring has finally arrived. I don’t mean the official changing of the season that we mark on our calendars in mid-March each year. I think we are all more than aware of how often that date proves optimistic, at least as far as the weather is concerned.

South Huron beekeeper Aaron Neeb considers himself lucky that a black bear destroyed only one of his hives. Other beekeepers have not been that fortunate. Neeb, who runs three bee yards near Exeter, thought at first one of his hives in Hay Swamp had been destroyed by vandals.

A new communal garden is about to break ground in Bayfield with the intention of bringing community members together to grow food for each other. The garden will be located at 2 Jane Street in Bayfield, behind the building that houses the food bank.