LOCAL HEADLINES

The annual Rural Ontario Municipalities Association (ROMA) Conference was held last week in Toronto, and many area politicians attended the three-day event.

This winter has been the most volatile and dangerous for Oxford County and Wilmot Township motorists, leading to a record number of collisions. But, according to one member of the Oxford Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) detachment, it doesn’t need to be that way.

The forecast for Saturday, Jan. 24 called for a low of -22º Celsius, one of the coldest days of January. That didn’t stop this year’s Stratford Winterfest.

At the recent Police Service Board meeting, safety at the local mall was a top concern.

Henry Knelsen is not a professional ice maker. But Knelsen, his Handy Henry Concrete staff in Simcoe, and friends, are getting there. “Now that we’ve done it a few years, now it’s all about timing,” said Knelsen Saturday evening on their homemade temporary outdoor ice rink on property they lease across the street from Handy Henry Concrete on Norfolk Street South.

Amendments are being proposed for a plan of subdivision slotted for the north end of town.

Dozens of St. Marys and area residents turned out Saturday for a special public swim at the newly renovated Pyramid Recreation Centre (PRC) aquatics centre to celebrate the grand reopening of the pool after it was closed for more than a year.

It’s one thing to look good in your return to action after missing three weeks with an injury.

Members of County of Brant council and staff attended the 2026 Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA) conference in Toronto from Jan. 18 to 20, meeting with representatives from other rural municipalities and holding delegation sessions with provincial ministries on issues affecting the county.

A local teacher and former Perth-Wellington candidate for the Green Party of Ontario is urging St. Marys council to endorse Bill 21, the Protect Our Food Act, put forward by provincial Green Party leader and Guelph MPP Mike Schreiner and Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Bobbi-Ann Brady.

St. Marys Public Library clerk Laura McAsh has finished her first novel, a project she credits to self-belief and perseverance.

Since Nov. 23, the St. Marys Lincolns have been almost mechanical in how consistently strong their performances have been. During that stretch, fans would be hard-pressed to find a game in which, for large swaths of time, the Lincolns didn’t look either good or great.

Steve Cousins, the most recent chair of Stratford’s police service board, has been removed as a member of the board by the Ministry of the Solicitor General.

Despite inclement weather like blizzards and freezing rain, Destination Stratford’s sixth annual Lights On Stratford was still a success.

To continue support of the Goderich Track Rebuild Campaign, members of the committee issued a challenge for the month of January to get 2,000 donations of $26 (or more).

As Summer Homick looked ahead to the ice dance competition at the 2026 ISU Junior Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, she looked back on the humblest of beginnings in the Langton Arena.

Two Olympians, Angela Schneider and Claire Scheffel, came to Paris to take part in the Brant County Public Library’s panel discussion as part of the library’s Unstoppable: An Olympic Celebration. Garret Riley of Brantford, a Paralympic hockey athlete, was also scheduled to appear but was unable to attend due to illness.

A Woodstock man is facing more charges as a result of an investigation by Mounties in Eastern Canada.

Thirty-one years ago, the board of directors and staff at the Alzheimer Society Huron Perth came up with a unique idea to raise much needed funds for the local organization.

The Stratford Police Service’s headquarters may be moving from the downtown core.