LOCAL HEADLINES

St. Marys residents will soon have a new option for travelling across southwestern Ontario and beyond after council approved a bus-stop agreement with FlixBus at its May 26 meeting.

St. Marys council has supported the design of a new pavilion at Milt Dunnell Field as the town prepares to move ahead with another piece of its broader park-revitalization plan.

The kindergarten classes at Holy Name of Mary Catholic School had some visitors throughout May attend as part of their Community Helpers Month.

For many older adults in St. Marys, the Friendship Centre is much more than a place to play cards, exercise or attend a program.

For many residents in St. Marys and the surrounding area, access to safe and reliable transportation can mean the difference between staying connected to the community and becoming isolated at home.

For the second consecutive year, Rob Cowan was the overall low gross winner of the St. Marys Golf and Country Club’s (SMGCC) Senior Men’s Invitational tournament May 27.

At its meeting last Thursday evening, the St. Marys recreation and leisure advisory committee selected three inductees for the Sports Wall of Fame.

Sensei Jalyne Lorentz, Fox Houston, Lisa Sheldon and Shannon Campbell of Stonetown Karate (STK) have qualified to compete in the World Karate Commission (WKC) World Championships to be held Oct. 24-30 in Chiclana, Cadiz, Spain.

“When I get older … ” How many times did we say this as young children, or hear it now from kids around us?

On Saturday morning at Milt Dunnell Field, the St. Marys Healthcare Foundation and Happy Valley Health Team hosted a breakfast for the community.

On Saturday, the St. Marys Fire Department took part in annual survival training. Captain Greg St. Clair designed the obstacles based on the International Association of Firefighters survival program outline.

Perth County council has endorsed planning staff’s comments on the province’s latest round of proposed planning and development legislation, raising concerns about the impact Bill 98 could have on local decision-making, rural planning and municipal flexibility.

The Thames River Paddling Club (TRPC), in partnership with Andrew’s Legacy, brought another automated external defibrillator (AED) to the Wildwood Conservation Area.

Who wants to play Bingo? For the month of May, the St. Marys Business Improvement Area (BIA) is giving locals the opportunity to join in the fun.

The bi-annual Friends of Library (FOL) Book Sale in St. Marys was quite a success and continues to bring the community together, drawing between 700 and 800 visitors each year as residents browse tables stacked high with donated books.

The St. Marys Business Improvement Area (BIA) board has approved a series of revised artistic banner designs that will soon add new colour and character to the town’s downtown core.

The 2026 Smile Cookie campaign was another incredible success for the community, raising a total of $18,486.98 in support of new trauma lights for the St. Marys Memorial Hospital emergency department.

Businesses across Perth County are continuing to show confidence in the local economy, with many planning for change or growth in the coming years, according to the county’s latest business retention and expansion (BR+E) survey.

Mrs. Becker’s Grade 6/7 class has been working on a very interesting project since the fall of 2025. The program the project falls under is called the Green Leaders Initiative, a youth-driven effort focused on community-based climate action, biodiversity restoration and sustainability education.

Students from all three Stratford high schools, Nancy Campbell Academy, St. Michael Catholic Secondary School and Stratford District Secondary School (SDSS), recently met at the Stratford city hall auditorium for the second annual Stratford Regional Model United Nations (MUN).