LOCAL HEADLINES

Local families in St. Marys and Stratford are needed to host international students, offering a unique cultural exchange and helping keep school programs alive.

Last week, anyone who stopped in at Meadowridge Variety to top up their tank, grab a drink or buy their weekly lotto ticket may have noticed some new faces behind the counter.

In June, the Town of St. Marys officially purchased 16.67 acres of land at 90 Carling St., a move that will allow for the establishment of a light industrial park and improve vehicular access to Widder Street East.

According to a recent report, for every dollar spent by the Town of St. Marys on the town’s library, users of the library saw $4.50 in social benefits last year and the library generated more than $2.7 million in economic benefits for the town and the surrounding area.

Despite receiving applications from coast to coast to fill the vacant top staffer position, the City of Stratford’s next chief administrative officer (CAO) won’t have to be flown in from far away.

Council has agreed to adjust the Town of St. Marys’ 2025 capital plan to help pay for the urgent replacement of a Queen Street West culvert after it was found to be undersized, a factor that has led to its deterioration and, if left as is, could have serious consequences related to traffic movement in town.

St. Marys native Kaleb Pearson has climbed to the professional hockey ranks after signing a contract with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League (AHL).

St. Marys natives Elissa Gammon and Alexandra Stephens competed and won a trove of medals as part of Team Canada at the World Dragon Boat Racing Championships, held July 14-20 in Brandenburg, Germany.

Last week, the St. Marys Independent received a submission to our weekly Bravos and Boos section from a local resident frustrated over the impact delays in the final stages of the Wellington Steet and Victoria Street reconstruction project have had on their property and that of their neighbours.

One of St. Marys DCVI’s longest-tenured teachers and coaches, Ian Moore, announced that this past school year would be his last, with Moore retiring from the school after over two decades. Moore explained the people around him made his career a special journey.

The week of July 14 brought an exciting happening for a St. Marys resident and her family as building started on the new pocket (“tiny”) home in her backyard, providing an affordable residence for her daughter thanks to a charitable organization called Home Suite Home Affordable Housing (“HSH”).

As the town works to take ownership of the properties known collectively today as East Ward Park, the land’s former purpose as three of the town’s earliest settler cemeteries is coming back to haunt current park users.

Though some councillors and staff expressed concern over how they might be used in the future, Perth South council has not joined other Ontario municipalities, including neighbouring St. Marys, in expressing opposition to the recently expanded strong mayor powers.

The Red Rock Construction U16 OBA St. Marys Rockies captured the gold medal at the Cardinal Classic tournament in St. Thomas July 4-6.

St. Marys musician Max Smith is looking forward to playing one of his favourite summer festivals, Lucknow’s Music in the Fields.

As wildfires continue to force the evacuation of residents of northern, eastern and western Manitoba to southern cities like Brandon and Winnipeg, one St. Marys resident was on the ground in Brandon assisting evacuees as part of the Red Cross response.

After more than 30 years coaching minor hockey teams in St. Marys, Bob Davis announced the 2024-2025 season would be his last, with Davis retiring from coaching.

The highly anticipated Stonetown Heritage Festival will take to the streets of St. Marys bringing the community together through creativity, culture, entertainment and flavour.

The cause of a fire that injured one residents and displaced others at the Opera House apartment building in downtown St. Marys is still under investigation, the town’s fire chief says.

The Town of St. Marys will not provide local landfill space to help the City of Toronto dispose of residual waste as it deals with impending landfill-capacity issues.