LOCAL HEADLINES

A partnership between three organizations in Ingersoll is bringing much-needed support to people experiencing homelessness or other hardships.

Life is a journey, with one step leading to another. In the case of Andrew and Candice Neufeld, their career path has led quite naturally to their new roles at the Stone Willow Inn’s Hillstone Restaurant.

Patricia O’Malley, the most recent Stratforder to become an Order of Canada member, pointed out that for a moderately-sized city, it has certainly left its mark on the nation.

In Ontario there are 47 municipalities charged with administering child-care services for their regions. Since 2022, the City of Stratford is one of three where licenced home child care is not available – though that is set to change in 2026.

Lion Jayne Staples and friend Sharon Carey walked 5 km on the Coldest Night of the Year Walk in Simcoe, raising funds for Norfolk Youth Unlimited, including the TeenLink program, and raising awareness in the community.

When flooding affects New Hamburg or other parts of Wilmot Township, several local and regional organizations coordinate the response to keep residents safe and informed.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario and The Food Bank of Waterloo Region are launching a new partnership to provide high-quality protein to families experiencing food insecurity in Waterloo Region, where one in nine households access food assistance.

A unique piece of local history now sits on the shelves of the library in South Huron District High School, thanks to one local woman who was the “face of the high school” by the time she left. That piece – the first yearbook published by what at that time was Exeter District High School in 1950 – was found by Karen Windsor, the niece of former school secretary Doris (Schwartz) Ohmayer.

Looking for a place to retire? Tillsonburg is one of the top places in the country to fit that bill.

A little heat and a lot of community spirit filled the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 29 on Saturday as the 4th annual Chili Cook Off drew a steady stream of taste testers eager to crown this year’s champion.

Stratford city council may be getting closer to a decision on the long-awaited community hub portion of the Grand Trunk Renewal (GTR) project.

Local resident Alan Kasperski called his vision for the former Scotiabank datacentre on Wright Boulevard a monumental, city-changing one. He wanted to see the site morph into a national sports hub used for training and analytics for two of Canada’s national sports organizations, Rugby Canada and Soccer Canada.

More than 100 walkers braved the late-winter chill in New Hamburg Feb. 28 for the ninth annual Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser in support of the Wilmot and Wellesley Resource Centre (WWRC), raising $44,000 and counting to help local residents experiencing hunger, homelessness and poverty.

East Zorra-Tavistock (EZT) ratepayers could see a 3.17 per-cent increase on their property tax bill this year.

The Tavistock Braves steamrolled over its first-round opponent in the Doherty Division, a series win capped off with a 7-3 home-ice victory last Wednesday over the Paris Titans.

There was excitement in the air in the Tillsonburg Community Centre Lion’s Auditorium as participants in the Coldest Night of the Year prepared to walk to raise money to aid homelessness locally.

St. Marys council has reversed course on its previous decision to remove all concrete structures at the West Quarry, voting recently to retain and fence off the site’s six large industrial pillars as part of this year’s cleanup and revitalization work.

Despite concerns from the St. Marys Pickleball Association about public perception should there be a loss of trees and green space at the Water Street courts, St. Marys council voted Feb. 24 to proceed with plans to expand the existing facility rather than begin searching for alternative sites.

Young women from Grades 7 and 8 rolled up their sleeves and picked up tools at Paris District High School on Wednesday evening, as the school hosted its second annual Women in Trades workshop.

For anyone worried about the robot takeover, fear not. Matt Stevens has a perfectly simple solution should the machines try to rise up against humanity.