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Heather Wright Photo

 When Janelle Wiens went to her first Lambton Concert Band show, she loved the music so much she asked when the next concert was. When the little girl learned it was Dec. 19 – her birthday – in Petrolia, she had to be there. So the youngster took four of her friends to the Victoria Playhouse for A Victorian Christmas. She got a huge surprise when she was called to the stage, introduced and asked to lead the closing number “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” Director Tessa Canton lead her to the podium, handed her the baton and said “it’s easy!” and the music started, with Janelle, now 9, leading the band. Afterwards, she still looked a little shell-shocked admitting she was a little scared to be leading the concert band in front of a nearly packed audience.

 

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Celebrating 175 years of the Brigden Fair

October 18, 2025

The Independent It was wall-to-wall people all weekend at the Brigden Fair as warm, clear weather drew people fromacross southern Ontario to the St. Clair Township community for the 175th year of the event.

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Heavy Horses return to Brigden Fair ‘throwing their real power’

October 18, 2025

Sydney Goodreau/The Independent It was a display of the raw power of horses. For the first time in nearly a decade, the Brigden Fair brought back the heavy horse pull contest. Horses lined up beside their owners, Oct. 10, before being hooked up to cinder blocks weighing upwards of 2,500 lbs. Each team of horses pulls two loads to determine

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‘We send a representative to the SCRCA to represent the community’

October 17, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Plympton-Wyoming is balking at new rules which force St. Clair Region Conservation Authority Board members to step away from some hearings. Sept. 23, the board of directors, which is mostly made up of municipal politicians, updated its rules for hearings. In rare circumstances, residents appeal a decision made by conservation staff on planning matters. In the last

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Curling club gets grant but not requested loan

October 17, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent The Forest Curling Club will be getting $112,000 from Lambton Shores. But whether it gets a loan to help kick-start the renovation project at the arena has yet to be seen. The arena needs to replace its ice making plant. The plan is to build it on a fenced, concrete pad outside of the rink. The club

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