Swimmer missing in Lake Huron off Pinery Park
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Knights take second-generation player in import draft
July 13, 2026
Barry Wright/The Independent
Mark and Dale Hunter of the London Knights turned to Finland for its two picks in the CHL import draft last week.
They selected Luca Santala in the first round with the 40th choice and then nabbed Juho Piiparunen in the second round with the 101st selection.
Santala, a right-shot forward, turns 17 later this month.His father Tommi played more than 1,400 pro games in North America and
Europe after he was selected by the the former Atlanta Thrashers in the late 90’s.
Piiparunen, a lanky right-shot d-man, was a first round selection by the Vegas Golden Knights last month in Buffalo.
His father Jarkko played about 400 games of pro hockey.
The Knights have had recent success drafting players from Finland including Kasper Haltunen, now in the Ottawa Senators organization, in 2022 and Islanders prospect Jesse Nurmi in 2024.
London passed on its third-round selection.
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Swimmer missing in Lake Huron off Pinery Park
August 26, 2026
The Independent A man is missing in the waters off Piney Park. Eyewitnesses at the provincial park say early this afternoon a group of friends was swimming when one man disappeared. One of the man’s friends tried to rescue him, but later was himself taken from the water for medical treatment. Boats along the shoreline could be seen searching for
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2027 IPM finds its new home near Petrolia
August 26, 2026
Heather Wright/The Independent The Ontario Plowmens’ Association has found a new Lambton County home for the 2027 International Plowing Match. It will be at the farm of Clayton and Linda McLauchlin east of Petrolia. In a news release the OPA says, their farms provide an “open agricultural landscape” and is accessible for the show which is expected to draw upwards
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‘Amazing’ opportunity to showcase Sarnia-Lambton
August 26, 2026
Heather Wright/The Independent Tourism officials are hoping Sarnia-Lambton’s 15 minutes of fame during a popular CTV reality show will turn into tourism dollars in the future. Tuesday, an episode of The Amazing Race Canada which was shot in Sarnia-Lambton May 7, aired. Tourism Sarnia-Lambton Interim Executive Director, Adam Veen, says opportunity came in late 2025. “They’re always scouting for new
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Doubling down on potential power generation in St. Clair
August 26, 2026
Cathy Dobson/Local Journalism Initiative With the Canadian/US. tariff war ramping up, Ontario’s Energy Minister Stephen Lecce has announced $500,000 for St. Clair Township to move public consultation ahead for new power generation in Courtright. Standing on the banks of the St. Clair River Tuesday with the U.S. in view, Lecce said the Ford government takes public consultation seriously and has
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