LOCAL HEADLINES

Our travels for 2025/2026 started December 29, 2025 as we headed over to England to spend time with family. Travelling to Pearson on the 29th saw us driving through near white-out conditions on the 401. Roy is a flawless driver, but as he says, “it’s the other guys you need to worry about!”  The normal hour and a quarter drive took well over 2 hours. 

A shortage of volunteers has led to the cancellation of the Snow Buddies program this winter, reducing access to snow-removal assistance for some of the community’s most vulnerable residents during a season of significant snowfall.

Hearts to Home Feline Rescue and Sanctuary will be hosting its “Crazy Cat People” Pawsta Dinner and Comedy Show fundraiser event on Saturday, February 7, 2026.

The Paris Minor Hockey Association’s inaugural Paris Full Moon Face Off tournament wrapped up Jan. 25 after a busy three-day run that brought 51 house league teams to Brant County from the U11 to U18 levels. Tegan Blake, Communications and Liaison representative for Paris Minor Hockey, said the weekend went smoothly from an organizational standpoint and has already sparked interest for next year. “The weekend was a huge success,” Blake said. “Many teams enjoyed it and are l

Transit riders in Brant County can expect each trip to cost a bit more as of March 1. Last Tuesday night, council passed a bylaw bringing the general fare from $5 to $6, and the 55+ fare from $3 to $4. There is no change for kids under 12 or Canadian National Institute for the Blind card carriers, who ride free.

This is the first time Milan has hosted the Winter Olympics, hosting all arena events, including hockey, figure skating, short-track speed skating, and the opening and closing ceremonies. The remaining events will take place in Cortina, about 400 kilometers north. Events take place between Feb 4 - 22, with the Opening Ceremonies on February 6 starting at 1:30 PM EST. The opening ceremony will feature performances by Mariah Carey, tenor Andrea Bocelli,

The Paris Titans endured a tough road loss Thursday, Jan. 30, falling 8–2 to the Norwich Merchants. Norwich jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, firing 47 shots on Titans goaltender Calvin Gardner and building an 8–0 advantage after two periods. Kayden Blacquiere and Cole Kersey scored for Paris in the loss.

With the Winter Olympics getting underway this weekend, Canadians can expect a lot more yelling and sliding granite on their television screens. As the only Olympic sport with games broadcast every day of the Games, curling is once again in the spotlight and clubs across the country are ready to use that momentum to welcome newcomers curious to try the sport for themselves. In Paris, the Paris Curling Club, located at 14 Oak Ave., is hosting a couple two-hour Try Curling sess

Construction is now underway on the County of Brant’s new North Paris Fire Station, with early-stage work set to continue through the winter and a projected completion date of April 30, 2027. According to a recent staff update, construction officially began in late January with the next 45 days of work scheduled to focus on site preparation and excavation, marking the first major phase of construction.

The Paris Independent was pleased to be invited to attend the Brant 4-H Awards Banquet on Friday, Jan. 30, held at the Special Events Hall at the Paris Fairgrounds. Hosted by Angie Cain, director of the Brant 4-H Association, the annual dinner and awards celebration brought together

The County of Brant and the Brant Community Foundation have opened applications for the 2026 Community Grant Program, offering local non-profit groups access to roughly $135,000 in one-time funding. 

Students in Haldimand-Norfolk and Brantford-Brant welcomed two snow days last week resulting from poor weather conditions.  With ice coating the roads and blowing snow causing near-whiteout conditions on rural bus routes, the Grand Erie District School Board and the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District Board pulled the plug on in-school programming Jan. 27, including night school and after-school

The County of Brant Public Library is proposing an 8.1 per cent increase to its net levy in 2026, driven largely by staffing costs, inflation and facility maintenance, as council begins detailed budget deliberations for the year ahead.

After 37 years working at the Bell Homestead, Brian Wood led the first of his final six tours of the National Historic Site on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. It was announced on January 6 that the longtime curator would officially be retiring at the end of the month after nearly four decades at the homestead.

Construction on the long-planned Brant Sports Complex twin pad expansion is still targeted to begin in 2026 but has been delayed from its original targeted start date of early 2026. In a written update provided to The Paris Independent, the county clarified that the twin pad expansion has not been formally delayed but remains contingent on securing sufficient grant funding and council approval.

Paris Panthers offensive lineman Nolan Ayres has officially taken the next step in his football career, signing with the York Lions for the 2026 Ontario University Athletics season. Ayres made his commitment official Tuesday, Jan. 20, surrounded by family, friends, teammates and coaches during a signing ceremony at Paris District High School.

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.

Last week, we introduced you to some Olympians, and one theme discussed was how athletes are financially supported to train and compete on an international stage. Athletes who compete at an international level dedicate a lot of time to training, deferring their education and delaying any career path they might have to earn an income. Their costs for

County of Brant Mayor David Bailey presented the municipality’s proposed 2026 budget during a special council meeting on Jan. 22, marking the first time the process has formally operated under Ontario’s expanded strong mayor powers. Under the legislation, Bailey was directed by the province to present the budget, though council retains the ability to propose amendments. Bailey stressed that while the authority exists, he hopes not to use it.

The future of the Cleaver Road Bridge returned briefly to the council table during a special meeting on Jan. 22, following a delegation from Highland Estates resident Andrea Bowden, though no change was made to council’s earlier decision.