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Heather Wright/The Independent Sidewalks along First Street in Petrolia will be getting an upgrade once school is out for the summer. It’s part of the latest large project to improve the town’s sidewalk system. In 2023, BM Ross and Associates completed a study on Petrolia’s sidewalk system and found it lacking. It suggested $1.5 million in sidewalk construction was needed

Leaders of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation are evacuating residents between Churchill Road and Tashmoo Ave after high levels of benzene have been detected in the area. Just before noon Friday, INEOS Styrolutions issued a notice saying hourly benzene emissions have been detected about 0.021 parts per million. The company is decommissioning the plant which is within eyesight of Aamjiwnaang’s band

The Independent Ben Harper made a splash at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton taking home a bronze medal. The Grade 8 student from St. Philip’s in Petrolia presented his climate-focused project called A Wavy Problem – Navigating the Surges of Climate Change last week and won a bronze medal in his division. The Petrolia student tested six different offshore

Blake Ellis/The Independent The Lambton OPP is a seeing a resurgence of impaired driving.  “We are seeing a lot of impaired drivers,” Lambton OPP Inspector Chris Avery told both Enniskillen Township council and Oil Springs council last week. “We are seeing a lot of high readings.”  This increase is in despite of the education that is available to the public

The Independent A 17 year-old wind energy facility near Forest will continue generating power until 2032. The Independent Electrical System Operator sent a letter to Lambton Shores council saying the six-wind turbine project in Ravenswood would be receiving a five-year contract when its current term expires in 2028. The 9.9 watt operation started operating in 2008 and is owned by

Cathy Dobson/The Independent The community will have ample opportunity for input on a 30-bed addiction recovery facility proposed for the former SCITS building on Wellington Street, says Bluewater Health CEO Paula Reaume-Zimmer. But she hopes the public consultation and rezoning process will be expedited because the 30 recovery beds are key to the success of a new provincially-funded Housing and

It was an evening of joy for LCCVI’s Grade 12 students as they crossed the stage to become graduates. LCCVI Principal Greg Nemcek presided over the ceremony in Bradshaw Hall for the last time before he retired and acknowledged the bittersweet moment . “This year’s group of graduates will forever hold a special place in my heart, as I remember

Heather Wright/The Independent St. Clair Township staff will be taking a more hands on approach with the expansion of the Courtright Waste Water Treatment Plant. The township received a $33.87 million grant from the province’s Housing Enabling Fund for a $45 million expansion.  The township has been exploring expansion of the Courtright plant for some time. It became more urgent

The Independent Declan Watson has a new gold medal to his credit.  The Northern secondary school student, from Plympton-Wyoming, won the men’s 79-kilo class at the Canadian Junior Weightlifting Championship in Saskatoon on the weekend. His winning total of 265 kilograms included 120 kilos in the snatch category and 145 kilos in the clean and jerk. Watson trains with the

The Independent About 200 pros are headed to Alvinston this weekend for the sixth annual Alvinston Pro Rodeo. The Brooke-Alvinston-Watford Fair Board started the event in 2019 after local rodeo pros Tyler Foster and Rod Weese were tearing up the world rodeo championships. Foster had won the International Professional Rodeo Association World Champion Steer Wrestler and Weese won the International

Blake Ellis/The Independent Oil Springs taxpayers face a 4.9 percent tax increase this year. Oil Springs was orginally looking at anywhere between a two percent to a six percent increase in municipal taxation at meetings in May, but in the end council settled with something in the middle, satisfied the village would be able to get a lot done in

Heather Wright/The Independent The Town of Petrolia is offering up a vacant, land locked property on Eureka Street for sale. But the man who donated it to the town says he’ll fight the move in court. Staff first suggested selling the land in April 2024. Developer Horst Richter had donated the land to the town in 2014. He told council