The Beacon Herald
READY TO RETURN
Martin de Freese returns a shot in a pickleball match with Matthew Trachsel at SERC on Friday afternoon.
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Tornado outbreak confirmed near Stratford during Sept. 2 storms
A line of intense, late afternoon storms that swept through the region last week, damaging trees and hydro poles and leaving thousands in the area without power at one point, also produced a pair of tornadoes east of Stratford and another north of the...
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ON THE ROAD
A worker braves the Wednesday afternoon rain while completing work on Norfolk Street. The road is currently being resurfaced and will be open to local traffic only until Sept. 16.
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Stratford police charge 41-year-old with stunt driving as kids return to school
As children return to school, the Stratford Police Service is asking drivers to be cautious in and around school zones. Police charged a 41-year-old Stratford resident with stunt driving on Tuesday morning after clocking their vehicle at 97 kilometres...
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Capital campaign for St. Marys Community Commons set to kick off in earnest
While it may not look like much right now, the former Mercury Theatre at 14 Church St. in St. Marys is set to become a new community commons hub aimed at helping revitalize the downtown. The town has just launched a new $1-million capital campaign in...
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Stratford and area cleaning up after storm
Hundreds of homes, most of them outside of Stratford, were still without power on Thursday after a powerful late Wednesday afternoon storm ripped apart trees and sent tornado investigators to a community in West Perth. Northern Tornadoes Project...
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MAKERSPACE MATCH-UP
Eric Ball, right, the Makerspace Multiverse co-ordinator, battles volunteer Gavin Hefferbodrog in a Tron light cycle racing game at the Stratford Public Library on Wednesday afternoon. The program runs at the end of summer each year and “reimagines...
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A `REEL' ACCOMPLISHMENT
Briland Cunningham waded into the Thames River in St. Marys to catch some carp on Monday afternoon. Cunningham and a few friends also caught around 30 catfish in a nearby stream.
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BEE-FRIEND
A bee feeds on a flower near the Tom Patterson Theatre last week in Stratford.
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SIMPLY REFRESHING
William Speindala cleans some of the Allman Arena bricks this week before they were painted as part of an exterior refresh of the 101-yearold building.
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Ritsma running for second term as Stratford mayor
Martin Ritsma always knew he was going to seek a second term as Stratford's mayor. And there was a reason he was the last of five candidates to file their papers for the municipal election in October. “I wanted to be in the chair as the mayor and not...
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St. Marys set to elect new mayor in October
St. Marys residents will choose a new mayor in October after Al Strathdee announced he won't seek re-election following 12 years in the role. “It's been very rewarding, and people have been very kind, and I've been well supported,” he said. “I've...
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Chocolate Barr's to open new factory on Erie Street
Local candy-maker Chocolate Barr's newest expansion has inspired a little bit of nostalgia for Derek Barr. Located at 658 Erie St, the popular retailer's soon-to-be-opened factory will be housed in the same building where Barr's dad worked at the...
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ON LOCATION
Luca Enriquez, 3, of Stratford, made the trip to JNB Heavy Haul in Mitchell for the West Perth Public Library's Library on Location event on Aug. 18. Listening to stories were OK, but getting to sit in this bulldozer made the trip worth it.
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Gene's Restaurant future in limbo as downtown staple up for sale
It took Ken Gene two days to craft a quasi-goodbye to let customers know he was putting his popular family-run Chinese restaurant on the market. Then he stared at the screen on his phone for 10 minutes before finally posting the message to Gene's...
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Stratford chief explains need for new police station
Walk through the downtown Stratford police station and there are likely two things you will immediately notice: How cramped it is and just how badly the 63-year-old building is showing its age. There are a range of pressing issues -- from water damage...
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LOOKING FOR LUNCH
A single swan searches for lunch along the shore of Lake Victoria on Friday afternoon.
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Festival Hydro restructuring will allow for company growth: CEO
Marys customers.
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RIVER RUN
A runner jogs along Lakeside Drive by Lake Victoria on Wednesday morning.
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Stratford did not order eviction of encampment residents, officals say
Following a social media post last week that claimed the city was tearing down parts of the homeless encampment across from the Cooper terminal bus station and telling residents to vacate by month's end, Stratford officials have clarified that workers...
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STRONG RETURNS
Sri Dugalam returns a shot during a doubles match Friday at the Stratford Tennis Club. Dugalam and partner Tom Warnock took on Ron Zehnal and Tim Keillor.
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WORLD IN A WEEKEND
A puppeteer with Illuzaö's Voyageurs performs a show about two travellers separated by an imaginary chasm during Springworks World in a Weekend Festival on Saturday.
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Ontario Ombudsman critical of city in 2024 banning of resident
More than two years after the city banned three residents from all cityowned buildings and barred them from communicating with staff for three months, Ontario's ombudsman criticized the city's actions that led to the ban, along with the respectful...
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Air quality warning issued as wildfire smoke smothers Stratford
Environment and Climate Change Canada issued an orange level air quality warning for the region on Wednesday as wildfire smoke from Northwestern Ontario smothered Stratford and area and turned skies an apocalyptic shade of yellow. Conditions, which...
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Frustrated residents protest Stratford's housing crisis
Chants of “this is what community looks like” and “unhoused rights are human rights" rang out from a small group of protesters who demonstrated outside of city hall before Monday evening's council meeting. The event was led by local housing advocate...
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QUARRY CLEANUP
Thetown of St. Marys' west quarry has reopened following the completion of the West Quarry Cleanup Project. The project focused on improving site safety, addressing invasive species and reducing long-term liabilities from when the site was an active...
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`She was the sweetest person ever'
Jessica Rudat-klassen was always trying to help others. Whether it was in her job as an educational assistant at Anne Hathaway public school, where she worked with special needs children, or as the board president of a local preschool, Rudat-klassen...
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A BERRY GOOD SEASON
From left: Louisa Walch, Liz Ropp and Susan Nilsson-buxton show off some of the strawberries remaining at Walch Family Strawberries. After a cool spring, warmer temperatures gave berry pickers plenty of work in the fields just outside Stratford. The...
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FALCONS SOAR IN STRATFORD
Shakespeare Falcons U13 pitcher Alyssia Mostard watches her pitch head to the plate as catcher Sam Hovius reaches for it during the team's semifinal game against Stratford at the Tiffanie Parkins Memorial Softball Tournament on Sunday at Anne Hathaway...
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London country music legend Tommy Hunter dies at 89
Londoner Tommy Hunter, known as “Canada's Country Gentleman,” died Thursday at 89. Born in London on March 20, 1937, Hunter's country music career spanned from the 1950s to the 2010s. He became known worldwide for The Tommy Hunter Show, which ran from...
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CELEBRATING CANADA
Wearing a Canadian flag T-shirt, Perth-wellington MP John Nater waves to onlookers along Lakeside Drive during Wednesday's Canada Day parade.
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O CANADA
Ojibway artist and flautist Jeffery “Red” George performed as part of Stratford's Canada celebrations in Market Square on Wednesday afternoon.
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Huron Perth public health issues precaution during heat wave
With torrid temperatures expected to last through the rest of the week, Huron Perth public health officials are urging residents to take appropriate precautions against potential heat-related illnesses while Environment and Climate Change Canada has...
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THE CLASS OF 2026
In a ritual that stretches back more than a century, the graduating class from Stratford District secondary school celebrated the end of their high school journeys by tossing their mortarboards in the air at the conclusion of Thursday night's ceremony...
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GARDEN PARTY
Karon Bales and Charles Beall are showing off their English garden on the Stratford and District Horticultural Society's garden tour July 5. Please see page for a story.
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PLAY DAY
Avon public school Grade 1 student Ethan Campbell races to a bean bag during a relay game, which was one of several stations set up for Play Day on Tuesday. School is officially out for summer with classes having wrapped up on Thursday.
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HALL OF FAME
One of the biggest cheers during the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductions on Saturday afternoon in St. Marys came when Devon White thanked the Toronto Blue Jays for a trade that fast tracked the franchise almost 36 years ago. After parts of six...
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A FAIR FOWL
A wild duck stands in the sunshine Friday on the shore of the Avon River.the river is home to an estimated 200 to 300 mallard ducks, many of whom prefer the more placid waters of Lake Victoria.
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THE ART OF SHARING
Indigenous artist Christin Dennis is set to teach people about the role that art plays in Indigenous culture at three upcoming Stratford workshops. For more, please turn to
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SOMETIMES YOU FEEL LIKE A NUT
A lucky Stratford squirrel who found a nut in the grass manages to find a way to efficiently carry the future meal.
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FIRST STAGE
Phase 2 of the Huron Street reconstruction continued into its second week on Monday. The first part of this stage, which spans from Huntingdon Avenue to the Roadhouse Drain, just east of Matilda Street, should be completed by the fall, with the second...
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JUST `PLANE' FUN
Sophia Lipton, left, and Luna Newman, Grade 8 students at Stratford Intermediate school get a tour of the cockpit of a Diamond DA 42 conducted by Chloe Wu of the Diamond Flight Centre during the recent Girls in Aviation Day at the London International...
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CUPE continues its call for health-care funding in Stratford
While the group was small, the message was clear: Ontario's government needs to provide more funding to hospitals. Just more than a dozen CUPE members gathered outside of Perth-wellington MPP Matthew Rae's Stratford office on Thursday to protest what...
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Students stepping up for hospice hike
Local students are stepping up in support of Rotary Hospice Stratford Perth ahead of its 12th annual Hike for Hospice on Sunday. After becoming the first school to participate last year, Anne Hathaway public school will once again join the event this...
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IN `PLANE' SIGHT
Doug Harks checks out a Fleet Cornell Second World War training plane on Sunday during the Fly-in, Drive-in breakfast at the Stratford airport to raise money for the Stratford General Hospital Foundation. Harks flew a similar plane from Wroxeter to...
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A `FETCHING' ENSEMBLE
The Downtown Stratford BIA held its third annual Dog Days of Summer on Thursday afternoon, with local pooches competing in several fun events. Frank, a two-year-old dachshund, pictured here with owner Dezia Kirkham, took home the title of best-dressed...
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Stratford-perth Pride celebrations off to `encouraging' start
Every time AJ Ashley turned around last Sunday, he kept seeing more people filling Upper Queen's Park for Stratford-perth Pride's festival to kick off a month of celebrations. Ashley, the organization's director, marvelled as more than 1,000 people...
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QUITE THE OAR-DEAL
As the warm weather continued on Tuesday, several people were out spending some time on Lake Victoria.
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Bijou at the Church brings Stratford restaurant history under one roof
The clock was ticking on Bijou's future. Months after leaving its location below the Braai House last fall, general manager Mark Simone and managing director Michael Lutzmann were scouring Stratford looking for a “proper” long-term home -- a place for...
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Stratford Festival raises Pride flag to kick off `wonderful celebration'
Josue Laboucane still remembers walking up to the Stratford Festival theatre in 2018, not long after a Pride flag was raised for the first time. It was a gift from the Festival's Queer Straight Alliance, of which Laboucane was a member, and it...
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RUCK STARS
Players from Laurier and Stratford District secondary school ruck during the second half of Thursday's WOSSAA girls' triple-a rugby championships at SERC. Laurier won 32-9. For a story, please turn to page
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ON THE RED CARPET
It's not opening night at the Stratford Festival without a champagne shower, and Ali Powell was in the middle of the spray zone on Monday evening before The Tempest officially kicked off the 2026 season. For more photos, please turn to page
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Youth Citizens police academy provides early exposure to policing life
An eight-week youth program focused on different elements of policing is completing its second session in Mitchell, with a third eyed for next spring as long as there's interest, its organizer, Perth County OPP Const. Marg Geurts, says. But judging by...
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Erie Drive-in taps into nostalgia after 55 years in Stratford
There are elements of the Erie Drive-in restaurant that look the same, or close, to when the Stratford summer staple opened 55 years ago. The floors haven't changed, though they're expected to be replaced this year. The countertop just inside of the...
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NOTE WORTHY
Singer-songwriter Julia Paul, who goes by the stage name Jules, performs her rendition of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide during the Stratford qualification round of the Karaoke World Championship on Wednesday evening at Chuck's Roadhouse.
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ART IN THE PARK
Heather Chilvers of Whimsy Bags took part in Art in the Park on Wednesday morning. Artist like Chilvers will be selling their work along Lakeside Drive on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays until Sept, 30.
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Student swap helps shift stigma around thrifting
What's old is new again. More importantly, the items at Stratford District secondary school's student swap end up in a closet instead of a landfill. Dozens of students packed the school's cafeteria on Friday afternoon for an event dedicated to...
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SHUTTER-BIRDS
Debbie and Ed Watterson of Guelph enjoy some bird watching on Stratford's Lake Victoria on Friday afternoon.
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CRASH COURSE
Stratford Police Service Const. Aaron Mounfield talks with Stratford District secondary school students, including Urvi Sharma, about the dangers of impaired driving while standing in front of a car heavily damaged from an impaired-related crash. It...
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SPLASHING DOWN
Stratford District secondary school's Jake Taylor landed at the bottom of the steeplechase pit during the open boys' event to kick off the Huron-perth track and field championships on Tuesday in Clinton. The event wrapped up Wednesday, with dozens of...
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COFFEE WITH A COP
Const. Darren Fischer, the community resource and media relations officer for the Stratford Police Service, chatted with residents Monday morning during the Coffee with a Cop event in Market Square.
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Keystone Alley restaurant back on the menu in downtown Stratford
Anthony Jordaan never imagined reopening Keystone Alley. The popular Brunswick Street restaurant was a pandemic casualty in 2020, four years after Jordaan and partner Kim Hurley purchased it. Much has changed since then, but the original concept...
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Small cereal drive turns into large donation for Stratford-area food banks
What started as an almost offhand comment turned into a large donation of cash and cereal for food banks across Perth County. Last December, Bruce and Maragret Whitmore were attending a Christmas celebration at a local golf course clubhouse with their...
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