LOCAL HEADLINES

The streets of downtown St. Marys were flooded with trick-or-treaters dressed in their costume, just six days before Halloween.

If you’ve ever driven down Washington Street and felt a chill run down your spine, don’t panic, it’s just Hallowe’en spirit at work. More specifically, it’s the handiwork of Tiffany and Bernie Martin, the Paris residents who have turned their love of the spooky season into a full-blown community tradition known as the South Ward Scare.

When Paris resident Drew MacDonald drives the nearly 100 kilometres from his hometown to Toronto, it’s not your average commute. By the time he parks near Rogers Centre, he’s stepping into one of the most intense workplaces in Canadian sports, the Toronto Blue Jays clubhouse. MacDonald, the team’s Major League Assistant Athletic Trainer, is responsible for keeping players healthy, managing injuries, and maintaining the steady calm that’s vital through the grind of a 162-game

General Motors is ending the BrightDrop delivery van production at its CAMI plant in Ingersoll. Employees found out this morning via a letter signed by GM Canada’s managing director, Kristian Aquilina, and plant director Bill Harkness.

Though he hasn’t lived in New Hamburg for 17 years, B.C. singer-songwriter Keith “Papa” Thom says when he reached out to the Wilmot & Wellesley Resource Centre to ask if he could perform in a benefit concert to support the organization as part of his cross-country tour, the staff remembered him immediately and agreed to take him up on the offer.

Oxford County’s Community Futures branch has teamed up with the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) to offer $100 million in financing.

A recent challenge posed to Township of Wellesley Fire Rescue by the Perth East Fire Department’s Milverton station has led the Wellesley fire department to plant a 12-tree urban fruit orchard beside its station in the Village of Wellesley, next to the Wellesley Recreation Complex.

General Motors is ending the BrightDrop delivery van production at its CAMI plant in Ingersoll. Employees found out this morning via a letter signed by GM Canada’s managing director, Kristian Aquilina, and plant director Bill Harkness.

Who would have thought, back in 1992 when the very first Pumpkinfest was celebrated, that it would grow to become one of the most popular community events around? Since then, it has become an annual – and very popular – tradition in Waterford, and the Oct. 17-19 edition has just been ‘put to bed’ for another year.

The German company Cleanfix is expanding its North American location in Stratford, with construction expected to begin this November. The new 10,000-square-foot addition will increase production of reversible cooling fans – self-cleaning fan systems used in industrial and heavy-duty machinery across North America.

After a unanimous decision at a special Stratford city council meeting on Oct. 20, the Stratford Connection Centre will be home to a “warming centre” for the city’s unsheltered this winter.

Tillsonburg residents came out to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the founding of the town at the Founder’s Festival on Saturday in Memorial Park.

At the Oct. 14 St. Marys council meeting, tourism and economic development manager Kelly Deeks-Johnson presented a brand-new approach to the planning of summer events in St. Marys next July.

The Rotary Club of St. Marys recently unveiled a Peace Pole installed in St. Marys soil to kick off the club’s celebration of a century of service.

A local laundromat owned by St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee and his wife, Gloria Strathdee, will remain closed for as long as two months following a dryer fire in the building on Oct. 16.

The County of Brant has confirmed that Amazon will construct a 200,000-square-foot delivery station in the Rest Acres Road and Highway 403 corridor adding a major addition to the community’s growing logistics and industrial sector.

After two years of volunteering for the ad hoc Grand Trunk renewal committee, 14 of the 19 total members (including working group members) have expressed mixed feelings about their effectiveness, as displayed in a survey presented to Stratford city council on Oct. 14.

Every year the Mayor’s Breakfast honours an organization that makes a difference in the Festival City, collecting donations on its behalf. This year, on Oct. 9, the recipient was the Stratford House of Blessing – and it decided to honour one of their own, Norman Kehl, as well.

The Well Community Collective has launched a new youth hub in Goderich, providing free, walk-in services and support for youth with no appointments, no fees, and no barriers.

A Nurse Practitioner (NP) at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital’s (AMGH) has taken on the role of President of the Nurse Practitioners’ Association of Ontario (NPAO).