St. Thomas Times-Journal
CABINET SHUFFLE
Local MPP Rob Flack, shown here speaking at an affordable housing event in Vaughan late last month, retained his municipal affairs portfolio when Premier Doug Ford shuffled the Ontario cabinet on Thursday. For more on surprise shuffle, please turn to
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THE WARMTH OF GIVING
The YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin has begun its annual Community Coat Drive, hoping to collect 800 winter coats, and other warm winter gear, for distribution to those in need. The campaign continues to Oct. 2. For more, please turn to Eric Bunnell's column on
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A DIFFERENT APPROACH
Tracy Robinson, left, executive director of the Elgin St. Thomas Community Foundation, and Carolyn Johnson, the Volunteer Elgin chair, pose for a photo with the new Volunteer Elgin Service Club Directory website.For more, please turn to
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ON GUARD
With sun-drenched sand, a sparkling shore and a team of lifeguards keeping beachgoers safe, a day at Port Stanley's Main Beach could almost pass for an episode of Baywatch. But for the Central Elgin Beach Rescue, there's much more to the job than...
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Hope Crossing reaches a milestone
The YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin is about to mark a milestone. With the second-to-last cohort of residents moving in this week at Hope Crossing, the new name for Project Tiny Hope on Kains Street, a final move-in is now set for Oct. 1 — not quite a year to...
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Ottawa pledges support
As Southwestern Ontario braces for the impact of escalating U.S. tariffs, the federal government is rolling out billions in support aimed at keeping businesses afloat and workers employed. John Zerucelli, Canada's secretary of state for labour, joined...
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FADING MEMORIES
Drivers heading south from London on Highbury Avenue are greeted by a red barn that seems to break apart before coming back together. Now, the St. Thomas landmark has earned international recognition. Fading Memories, installed in the roundabout at...
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FINDING THEM HOMES
After a nearly four-month halt in finding homes for its animals, a St. Thomas animal rescue has been cleared to resume adoptions. Saving Animals' Lives Together (SALT) Rescue Organization received approval to reopen its daily adoption hours following...
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TAKING SHAPE
Cranes tower over the new PowerCo SE battery plant that's under construction near St. Thomas.
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A POINTED MESSAGE
Elgin—St. Thomas—London South MP Andrew Lawton is launching a public survey to identify mobile dead zones and areas with poor cellular coverage across Elgin County and surrounding communities. Lawton, who represents Elgin-St. Thomas-London South,...
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A HEALING CALL
Todd Sawyer, St. Thomas's manager of parks and forestry, looks over a wind phone now installed in the Memory Garden at Pinafore Park, inviting users to voice their emotions as they grieve.For more, please turn to Eric Bunnell's People column on
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IN THE PICTURE
Five curious raccoons staring straight into a camera have put an amateur photographer from St. Thomas in contention for a national honour. Andrew Waterhouse, who was born and raised in St. Thomas, is a finalist in Canadian Geographic's 2026 Canadian...
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IMAGINATION STATION
The City of St. Thomas unveiled its newest public artwork Thursday, bringing a pop of colour to the developing Yarmouth Yards industrial park. Standing more than seven metres tall, Imagination Station depicts a wooden toy train arranged in a circular...
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TAKING FLIGHT
Just maybe, knitted dishcloths will help save Port Burwell's historic lighthouse. A local resident's handiwork is raising money for the restoration of the 1840 landmark. So far, she has donated $317 from sales to the cause. And that's just one...
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Clean-up continues in Southwold Township
Repairs and clean-up continued this past weekend in Southwold Township, a largely rural municipality southwest of London, after roughly nine inches of rain caused widespread flooding and damage, prompting local officials to declare a state of...
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Crash claims beloved barber month before his wedding
Flowers are being left at a Tillsonburg barber shop as clients, friends and fellow small-business owners mourn Tuan Hua, known around town as Jimmy and Tuan The Barber. Hua, 38, died after a motorcycle collision with an SUV on Simcoe Street in the...
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Monarch butterfly sighting blitz in full flutter
Don't you know but there's a bit of a blitz on right now. Until Sunday Montreal-based Mission Monarch is asking citizen-scientists to sign up and report monarch butterfly sightings as part of a continent-wide count aimed at saving the migratory...
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STUBBORN BLAZE
Strathroy Caradoc fire crews battle a fire in a die-casting machine at the Meridian Lightweight Technologies plant in Strathroy Friday. Four people were treated for heat exhaustion. The fire posed `special challenges' because water can't be used on...
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PROVINCIAL CHAMP
Andrea Lai of the St. Thomas Golf and Country Club was the winner of the 91st Ontario Junior Girls' Amateur Championship, which was held at the Maple City Country Club in Chatham last week.
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A REASON TO SMILE
After more than five years of planning, budgeting and fundraising, St. Thomas Animal Services is ready to welcome people and pets to its new location at the corner of Bill Martyn Parkway and Southdale Line. Animal services staff, municipal bylaw...
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A WELCOME RETURN
Fun returned to town Wednesday with the 2026 edition of St. Anne's Community Festival. “We're good to go,” said Dan Simpson, leading the infusion of new volunteers who stepped forward last year to stop the St. Thomas institution from shuttering after...
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FAMILY PHOTOS
Caitlyn Costa holds Leo Costa, 23 months, as she looks at the pictures of herself and Leo snapped by Danielle Fehr, who holds her own oneyear-old son, Cole Walker, The friends from London were enjoying the main beach at Port Stanley on a warm sunny...
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PORT STANLEY New vehicle for beach rescues
In support of a “longstanding partnership,” the Port Stanley Lions Club has donated a utility vehicle -- which will strengthen Central Elgin's emergency response capacity -- to the growing municipality's fire rescue team, officials say. Central Elgin...
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ON THE SAME PAGE
Staff and students at Eckoe public school in Glencoe hold up some of the books they've donated to the Kiwanis Club of Rodney's Blue Boxes for Books program. The nine boxes of books donated will be processed, then distributed over the coming months to...
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RETURN VISIT
Nicki Fisher, with help from her son Landon, picks out plants at Canadale Nurseries in St. Thomas over the weekend. Fisher said they come every year to the nursery, which is now slated to close in 2027. “It's sad.” she said. “Hopefully someone takes it...
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COME FROM AWAY
Young actors perform the opening number from the St. Joseph's Catholic high school production of the musical, Come from Away. For more, please turn to
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READY FOR THE STAGE
Brielle Willemse plays a lead role as airplane captain Beverley in a production of the mega-hit Canadian musical, Come From Away, being staged at St. Joseph's Catholic high school. For more, please turn to Eric Bunnell's People column on
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IT'S A JEEP THING
Apryl Moreau of St. Thomas was one of many people to attend Go Topless Jeep Day at the Norfolk Mall near Tillsonburg on Saturday, May 16. The event is part of a worldwide tradition for Jeep enthusiasts who celebrate the start of spring by removing the...
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HEADS UP
Karim Alary of Gabriel-Dumont and Emmett Begin of West Elgin go up for a header during their Thames Valley Regional Athletics Central varsity boys' quarter-final soccer game at Western last week. Gabriel-Dumont won 5-1.
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CLOSE TO BEDTIME
Christina Sokay waters petunias in the city's Pinafore Park greenhouse, where about 13,000 plants and seedlings are almost ready for planting out. For more, please turn to Eric Bunnell's People column on
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Analyst warns of worst-case scenario
TORONTO — Canada's auto industry, based largely in Ontario, could disappear by 2040 unless the country regains duty-free access to the U.S. market or finds other ways to keep the sector afloat, one of Canada's biggest banks warns. At an industry...
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QUITE THE STRETCH
Owen Martin of John Paul II Jaguars tries to slow down Tyler Perrot of the St. Joe's Rams during Friday's Thames Valley Regional Athletics boys' rugby match Friday at the City Wide fields. The Rams earned their first win of the season with a 27-7 rout...
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CLOSING TIME
Construction fencing surrounds the front of Arthur Voaden secondary school. The Thames Valley District school board says the building is safe, but it will close, all the same, at the end of this school year. For more, please turn to Eric Bunnell's...
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METAL FANS
Fanshawe College instructor Larry Oudekerk shows Isabel Rusek, a student at Arthur Voaden secondary school in St. Thomas, how to work sheet metal. Female high school students from across Southwestern Ontario spent last Thursday getting hands-on...
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MURAL AUTHORITY
Robert Ponzio of East Elgin secondary school shows off this year's art project comprising self portraits of students showing their Canadian pride. Ponzio said this year's project was inspired by the tariff talks and 51st state rhetoic coming U.S....
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THE TREE OF LIFE
Lisa McNea, St, ThomasElgin General Hospital building services, adds new leaves are to the Tree of Life at the hospital, recognizing organ and tissue donors. Hospital officials say there's a higher-thanaverage number of registered donors in the...
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SCHOOL FUNDING
Minister of Education Paul Calandra announced $285 million in funding Tuesday for schools in the region at the site of the new Kilworth Catholic elementary school that is under construction. For more, please turn to
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IT TAKES TWO
Henry Ngyuen of the St. Joseph's Rams is tackled by two Medway players during their rugby game at the City Wide fields in London on Wednesday. Medway, the top team in the Thames Valley Regional Athletics' `AAA” division, earned a 20-0 win against their...
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BLUE BOXES FOR BOOKS
Young readers select their next book to read at the Rodney Kiwanis Club's Easter egg hunt at the Rodney Recreation Centre last week. More than 130 books were distributed and many more were donated. Gently used books can be donated at one of the club's...
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A HIGHBURY OFF-RAMP?
Highbury Avenue, a major artery between London and St. Thomas, is seen during a busy Wednesday afternoon. For more, please turn to
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RETURN TO SENDER
Jackie Martens strokes a backhand at the Pinafore Park tennis courts in St. Thomas on Wednesday. Martens was playing for the first time this year with Joyce Lock, and both were bundled up against the cold breeze even though the sun was shining. Local...
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MANY HANDS . . .
More than 275 volunteers serve in Harvest Hands' St. Thomas warehouse, sorting and packaging products for community organizations feeding families impacted by food insecurity across southwestern Ontario. For more, please turn to
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School rallies as Artemis II nears launch
Excitement is building at Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute, whose halls Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen once roamed as a student. If all goes to plan Wednesday evening, Hansen will become the first Canadian, alongside three Americans, to fly...
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SETTING PRIORITIES
St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston talks about contaminated lands along some of the city's old rail lines that, if remediated, could provide needed land for affordable housing in the downtown. Building new affordable housing in the community is one of the...
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SWORN IN
St. Thomas Police chief Marc Roskamp hands a badge to Wes Johnson of St. Thomas, who has a terminal heart condition, as he was made an honorary cadet of the St. Thomas Police department.
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ON A ROLL
Twelve-year-old Liam Tait shows off some of the cinnamon rolls he and his mother bake for the Grade 7 student's thriving home business. For more, please turn to
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A VIP EXPERIENCE
Wes Johnson, who held a living celebration of life last month, got the VIP treatment while attending a Blue Jays spring training game in Dunedin, Fla., on March 10. For more, please turn to
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CHORAL CONNECTION
Hugh Van Pelt, right, conducts Choral Connection in rehearsal for an April 3 performance of Mozart's Requiem at Knox Presbyterian Church. For more, please turn to Eric Bunnell's People column on
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