Retirement, training deadlines leave Oil Springs without fire chief on July 1
Watford gets day care boost
May 21, 2025
Heather Wright/The Independent
The child care crunch in Watford has been eased.
Warwick Township and the Lambton-Kent District School Board say there will be before and after school day care in September provided by North Lambton Childcare Centre.
In March, parents learned that Lambton Rural Child Care’s Best Start Program would end. The only other program at the local Catholic school already had a huge waiting list according to Mayor Todd Case.
There had been hints that a deal was in the works for a number of months, but Tuesday, the township and board said the deal had been sealed.
Families currently enrolled in before and after school care at the school will automatically have a
place held for them in September, with no interruption to care. There will also be 15 new day care spaces added for children 18 months to four years at East Lambton Elementary School.
“It’s exciting to see meaningful steps being taken to support families in our community,” said Case in a news release Tuesday. “ We look forward to future announcements that continue to build on this fantastic news.”
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Retirement, training deadlines leave Oil Springs without fire chief on July 1
June 17, 2026
Heather Wright/The Independent The retirement of the Oil Springs/South Enniskillen fire chief and new training regulations are creating a unique situation in Oil Springs. The Oil Springs/South Enniskillen Chief Mike Cumming is retiring on June 30. Monday, Oil Springs council appointed John Berdan as the new chief. But Berdan is in administrative limbo because of new training regulations and cannot
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Montanino, Jolicoeur among locals picked in OHL Draft
June 17, 2026
Barry Wright/The Independent Defenceman John Montanino led the local contingent drafted at the OHL Priority Selection in Kingston. The Brampton Steelheads selected him in the third round. The Sarnia native played with Detroit-Little Caesars this season. Windsor chose Sarnia’s Cameron Jolicoeur, a power forward from the London Jr. Knights, in the seventh round and the Knights took Grand Bend’s Liam
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Lambton plans more permanent shelter beds with Good Shepherd’s Lodge expansion
June 17, 2026
1,700 square-foot addition could hold 42 new beds Heather Wright/The Independent There could soon be more permanent shelter beds in Sarnia at the Good Shepherd’s Lodge. Lambton County is planning an expansion at the Confederation St. facility for up to 42 new permanent shelter beds. The County of Lambton set up a temporary shelter at the former Laurel Lea Church
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The dust and the mud at the Alvinston Pro Rodeo
June 16, 2026
The population of Alvinston swelled by a couple of thousand this weekend as the Alvinston Pro Rodeo set up shop at the Brooke Alvinston Inwood Community Centre for the weekend. Cowboys and cowgirls from all over North America came to be part of the action. And there was a big local contingent including Tyler Foster and Rod Weese, World Champions
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