The Independent

There are no plans to close, move or sell Dresden’s high school.

That from the Lambton-Kent District School Board in a social media post responding to rumours circulating in the community.

Last month, Trustee Angie Richards, who is from Dresden, raised concerns about York1 Environmental’s plans to expand the former Dresden dump for its regenerative recycling centre for construction materials and soils and rebuild a former landfill there less than a kilometre from Dresden and Lambton-Kent Composite School.

Richards pointed to a situation in Stoney Creek where plans for the construction of an elementary school have been stopped under direction of the Ontario Ministry of Education. According to CBC, the reason was the foul odours coming from the nearby GFL Stoney Creek Regional landfill.

The board agreed to send a letter to the Minister of the Environment pointing out the inequity of the situation.

But that conversation has led to rumours of the school being closed. “We’ve seen some misinformation circulating online surrounding the potential Dresden landfill and its relation to the Lambton Kent Composite School and we would like to clear up any confusion: the Lambton Kent District School Board has absolutely no plans or intentions to close, move, or sell Lambton-Kent Composite School,” the board wrote in a social media post saying the school has been a cornerstone of the community for more than 55 years.

Aside from the public vow to keep the school operating, the board of education could not close the high school at this time. The province has had a ban on closing schools since 2017.