Warwick Township inks $2.5M deal for municipal office
Rita and Bert Veens, Debbie and Pete Geerts with Jeremy Veens and Curtis Geerts
Birnam Orchard honoured for innovation
March 6, 2025
An Arkona family is being honoured with the Sollio Next Generation Award.
Cousins Jeremy Veens and Chris Geerts took over Birnam Orchards from their fathers who started the business in 1985. The orchard has 200 acres of apples and grows peaches, sweet corn, pumpkins, gourds, and squash.
Guided by their fathers’ experience, Veens and Geerts “embraced innovation” including high-density planting and sustainable irrigation.
“The Sollio Next Generation Award plays an important role not only in recognizing entrepreneurs who have successfully navigated a farm transition or launched a new agricultural enterprise, but also in showcasing innovative farming practices across Canada,” said Casper Kaastra, Chief Executive Officer of Sollio Agriculture in a news release
Sollio officials added Veens an Geert’s ability to integrate modern techniques while preserving family expertise makes Birnam Orchards a model of succession planning in Canadian agriculture.
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Warwick Township inks $2.5M deal for municipal office
July 17, 2026
Move to save $100K a year Heather Wright/The Independent Warwick Township now owns its municipal building. The township moved into its new office in Watford on Nauvoo Road in April 2022. The Watford Investment Group which removed a block of old buildings in the downtown and erected a new plaza and home for Libro Financial. Council approved the construction and work
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Royal Canadian Legion turns 100 today
July 17, 2026
The Independent The Royal Canadian Legion is 100 years old today. After the First World War, a number of associations serving veterans – Amputation Association of the Great War and the Tuberculous Veterans’ Association and the largest of the groups was the Great War Veterans’ Association – merged at the urging of Field Marshal Earl Haig, founder of the British Legion
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More cancellations, fire bans as wildfire smoke continues to blanket Lambton
July 17, 2026
Black Gold Fest in Oil Springs among cancellations The Independent If you’re heading out to an event this weekend, you might want to check to see if it is still on. A number of events have been cancelled for the weekend because of poor air quality in Lambton from wildfire smoke. In Petrolia, town officials have cancelled the Saturday morning
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Sarnia firefighters rescue person from garbage truck
July 17, 2026
The Independent Sarnia firefighters helped a person who ended up in a garbage truck. Around 6 am Friday, firefighters responded to a report of a person trapped in a garbage truck. The person had been sleeping in a dumpster when it was emptied into the truck. Officials say fell into the nearly empty hopper and hurt their lower back. Firefighters
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