One arrested in armed robbery on Walpole Island
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$6.2M expansion planned at Forest school
September 10, 2026
Heather Wright/The Independent
A big addition is planned at Forest’s Catholic elementary school.
The provincial government has approved a $6.2 million expansion at St. John Fisher Catholic School.
It will include new classrooms for 92 students and 18 new child care spaces according to a provincial government news release.
A report by the St. Clair District Catholic School Board shows this will be the sixth edition to the Forest school since it was built in 1960.
The building currently should house 282 elementary school students. Enrollment in 2025 was around 344 students. Portables were brought in to ease the overcrowding.
With the addition, the building will house 374 students.
In a news release, officials said there will be a six-classroom addition, two classrooms will be renovated for child care and a kindergarten class will be upgraded.
Officials hope the construction could start next summer and will continue while school is in session.
If all goes well, students will be in the new classrooms by 2028.
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One arrested in armed robbery on Walpole Island
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The Independent A Walpole Island man is facing charges after an armed robbery. Oct. 6, around 8:45 am, Walpole Island Police, Lambton OPP, the West Region Emergency Response Team and the Canine unit were called to an armed robbery at a business on Tecumseh Road. Police say a man went into the business, brandished a gun and took products before
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