LOCAL HEADLINES

In 2023, the Region of Waterloo formally declared intimate partner violence (IPV) an epidemic after local data and community groups made it clear the problem was widespread, persistent and profoundly harmful to individuals and families.

Representatives from the Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette and other Grant Haven Media newspapers will join media from across the province at the 2025 Ontario Community Newspapers Association’s (OCNA) Better Newspapers Competition and Hall of Fame Awards Dinner in Collingwood April 24.

After four decades of friendly service, Kim Ziegler is being recognized for 40 years behind the counter at Quehl’s Restaurant in Tavistock.

Members of the North Easthope Antique Tractor Club (NEAT) are gearing up for another busy season of community visits and fundraising efforts across the region.

Blowing snow was a common sight along Perth Road 119 south of Milverton on Saturday – but this time, it wasn’t coming from a winter storm.

After drawing full houses in Wilmot township two years ago, Sultans of String are returning to the area with a free screening of their award-winning musical film, Walking Through The Fire: Visual Album, this time at Shantz Mennonite Church in Baden.

For the first time, the New Hamburg Board of Trade will host an International Women’s Day event aimed at inspiring and connecting local business owners and entrepreneurs.

A new multi-purpose creative space called The Kin Cabin has opened its doors in Shakespeare.

Directors of the Tavistock Agricultural Society are already hard at work planning the 174th edition of the Tavistock Fall Fair after reporting another successful year in 2025.

Once again, the Shakespeare Optimist Club brought the community together for its annual Family Day celebration at the Shakespeare Hall on Monday, Feb. 16.

For generations, farming towns and villages across southwestern Ontario gathered weekly for community livestock sales – busy auction days where farmers bought and sold cattle, pigs and other livestock, and neighbours caught up on local news.

The Tavistock and Area Ministerial Association hosted its monthly “High Noon” fellowship luncheon last week at Grace United Church hall in Tavistock.

They were 68 seconds away from a scoreless sweep.

The Provincial Junior Hockey League’s (PJHL) regular season came to an end on Family Day, and the Doherty Division matchups have been confirmed, though as of press time, the schedules were not.

Residents at Maples Retirement Residence on William Street in Tavistock embraced the spirit of the Winter Olympics last week, hosting their own in-house games complete with medals and plenty of laughs.

For 31 years, the Wilmot Heritage Fire Brigades and Museum has been quietly preserving the history of firefighting in Wilmot Township and beyond – even if many local residents are only just discovering it exists.

When Arnie Schwartzentruber first stepped onto the ice as a volunteer during the 1976–1977 season, he never imagined it would become nearly five decades of service to Tavistock Minor Hockey.

Anyone who looks at a present-day map of Wilmot Township will begin to understand the dual history of this municipality.

The Village of Shakespeare was first known as Bell’s Corners, named after Scottish settler David Bell, who arrived in the area in 1832.

In the early 1900s, dairy farmers in North Easthope Township, like John Sebben, relied on determination, hard work and strong backs to build both a livelihood and a family on acreages that would be considered small by today’s standards.