Remembering Newell Hastings
COVID case counts soar but ICU admissions stable in Ontario
December 24, 2021
Lambton records 100 new cases Christmas Eve
It appears the predictions of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Table are on target.
The group which advises the province on the science behind pandemic predicted last week that, Ontario would have over 10,000 cases of COVID-19 – driven by the new highly-transmissible Omicron variant – by the end of the year.
Today, the provincial government reports 9,571 confirmed cases of the virus across Ontario. Six deaths have been reported from COVID-19.
In Lambton, 100 new cases have been reported this Christmas Eve with 286 ill at this point with the virus.
The bright light in today’s numbers is the number of people seriously ill. The provincial government reports 161 people in the intensive care units of the province even with mounting cases.
Officials say there is a lag time between when people first get the virus and the time we see the most seriously ill needing hospitalization, but for now, officials at Bluewater Health say the COVID-19 caseload is managable.
There are 17 people in Sarnia’s hospital with COVID-19. Chief of Staff, Dr. Michael Haddad says the ICU is at capacity with half the people in the unit there because of COVID-19.
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Remembering Newell Hastings
June 14, 2025
Heather Wright/The Independent Sunday, Newell Hasting’s service to King and Country over a century ago was remembered in a peaceful church cemetery near Watford. Hasting was born in Petrolia and his family moved to Watford around the turn of the century. He signed up to serve in the miltia with Watford’s 149th Battalion before being called up for service. He
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Front Page
Sidewalk projects around First Ave this summer
June 13, 2025
Heather Wright/The Independent Sidewalks along First Street in Petrolia will be getting an upgrade once school is out for the summer. It’s part of the latest large project to improve the town’s sidewalk system. In 2023, BM Ross and Associates completed a study on Petrolia’s sidewalk system and found it lacking. It suggested $1.5 million in sidewalk construction was needed
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Aamjiwnaang evacuates parts of community as INEOS decommissioning increases benzene levels
June 13, 2025
Leaders of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation are evacuating residents between Churchill Road and Tashmoo Ave after high levels of benzene have been detected in the area. Just before noon Friday, INEOS Styrolutions issued a notice saying hourly benzene emissions have been detected about 0.021 parts per million. The company is decommissioning the plant which is within eyesight of Aamjiwnaang’s band
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St Philip’s student wins big at national fair
June 13, 2025
The Independent Ben Harper made a splash at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton taking home a bronze medal. The Grade 8 student from St. Philip’s in Petrolia presented his climate-focused project called A Wavy Problem – Navigating the Surges of Climate Change last week and won a bronze medal in his division. The Petrolia student tested six different offshore
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