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The Independent Lambton Shores council has given the okay to draw up building plans for the proposed Grand Bend Community Centre project. The $15 million centre project was given the green light by council in May with a request for staff to come up with a way to fundraise for some of the cost. Staff suggested, and council agreed, to

The Independent A developer’ plans to build apartments in Thedford will have to wait. Robert Hewitt owns a former Grand Trunk Railway warehouse on Pearl Street and wants to create apartments upstairs. Lambton Shores council isn’t opposed, but says benzene has been found on the property. The amount is small and doesn’t affect the commercial use of the property, but,

The Independent The IODE in Petrolia presented the Margaret Stokes Award to the best all-round student at each of the elementary schools in Petrolia and area. Recipients not only had high academic standards but were active in their school and a leader in their school and their community. The students recognized from left to right are William Edgar of St.

Barry Wright/The Independent The Sting bolstered its blueline with the acquisition of right-shot defenceman Cole Emerton from the Barrie Colts in exchange for six draft choices, including two conditional picks this week. The draft selections range from 2027-29. A former minor hockey teammate of Alessandro Di Iorio with the Vaughan Kings, Emerton had four goals and 39 points in 86

IESO chooses battery storage projects over natural gas powered electricity plants Heather Wright/The Independent Mayor Jeff Agar dream of St. Clair Township becoming “the gas turbine capital of Ontario” is not going to happen. The province put out a call for large power projects in 2025, saying Ontario will need 75 per cent more electricity by 2050. Companies interested in

Heather Wright/The Independent Brooke-Alvinston Fire Chief Steve Knight says $650,000 in damage was done in a house fire on Petrolia Line. Around 10:30 pm Saturday, firefighters were called to Petrolia Line between Suitorville and Little Ireland Road for a fire in an older brick home. Bystanders saw flames shooting above the trees in the front lawn. Knight says the family

Heather Wright/The Independent Twenty-five years ago, as Plympton Township prepared to join with the Village of Wyoming, then Mayor Pat Davidson admitted they had no idea what the future held for the new municipality. Davidson read from that speech Saturday as Plympton-Wyoming marked its 25th anniversary. “I quote; ‘We know the answers to many questions and can control them. Some,

Barry Wright/The Independent The Sting selected Adrian Sgro with the fourth pick in the OHL Priority Selection in Kingston. The 16-year-old left-shot blueliner was the first defenceman taken in the proceedings Friday and the first taken in the opening round by the Sting since they made Jakob Chychrun the first overall pick in 2014. As captain of the Vaughan Kings

The Independent Morning classes were disrupted at LCCVI Thursday when the students and staff were evacuated. The fire alarm at LCCVI was activated after 9 am. The Petrolia/North Enniskillen fire department was searching through the tech wing for about 45 minutes. School officials say an alarm company was called in to return the system to normal operations. There was no

Barry Wright/The Independent The Enniskillen Express finished in third place in a rain-shortened U17 girls’ fastball tournament in Mitchell. The Express beat teams from Goderich and Exeter but lost to the Sweaburg Storm to finish the tournament with a record of 2-1. ••• The Corunna Giants U11 girls’ fastball team won silver medals at a tournament in Chatham last weekend. 

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

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