LOCAL HEADLINES

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.

A well-used section of St. Marys’ Grand Trunk Trail from Ingersoll Street to the Sarnia Bridge will soon be better lit thanks to an anonymous donation of $60,000.

Bob Davis, a staple behind many St. Marys Minor Hockey benches for more than 30 years, announced at the end of the 2024-2025 season that it would be his final campaign as a head coach.

The Town of St. Marys has announced the promotion of deputy fire chief Phil West to the position of fire chief and director of emergency services for the town effective June 30.

Congratulations to Connie Douglas for being recognized with the provincial 2025 Senior of the Year award. The award gives each municipality in Ontario the chance to honour one outstanding community member who plays a vital role in shaping our town by volunteering countless hours of their time and by making our community better for all.

While it may not be as visible in a small town like St. Marys as it is in larger cities, nearly one in four Canadians live in a food-insecure household, which means they struggle to access adequate food due to financial constraints.

On Saturday, June 7, the St. Marys Healthcare Foundation hosted the Built for Tomorrow Gala at the Pyramid Recreation Centre (PRC).

On the same weekend (June 6-7) that the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame celebrated its newest inductees, another sports tradition continued at the St. Marys Golf & Country Club where the club’s top players contested the annual Ryder Cup competition in their own pursuit of excellence.