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Plympton-Wyoming questions rising training costs, high firefighter turnover

June 1, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent Plympton-Wyoming Councillor Mike Vasey is worried the local fire department is becoming the training ground for full-time fire services; and it’s costing the town money. Plympton-Wyoming Fire Chief Will Davidson presented the 2025 year-end report during the May 15 council meeting. It included statistics on response time including the fact that 74 per cent of the structure

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‘If dad were here, he’d be thrilled’ says Moore family as medical scholarships awarded

June 1, 2026

Cathy Dobson/The Independent Six new doctors with connections to Lambton County are receiving a combined $43,000 from the Norma and Don Moore Scholarship Fund this year. In 2017, the Oil Springs farmer set up the $1 million fund with the Sarnia Community Foundation in his late wife’s name. Moore passed away in 2022 but the interest from the fund continues to

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Dresden bank to become new youth and community hub

May 29, 2026

The Independent The former TD Bank in Dresden will have new life – Dresden Sidestreets Youth Centre has purchased the building with plans to turn it into a community hub. The branch closed in June 2025. Sidestreets worked with a local lawyer, Stuart Kiar, and Realtor Karen Melton to strike a deal for the building. The hub will not only

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Sarnia Police hire interim chief

May 29, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent The Sarnia Police Service has brought in the head of the Coalition for Canadian Police Excellence to lead the department through a difficult period. Former Deputy Toronto Police Chief Mike Federico will step into the role of interim chief in Sarnia June 15. Police Services Board Chair Kelly Ash says the move comes at the recommendation of

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Marriott running for re-election in Enniskillen

May 29, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent One month into the nomination period for municipal council, there are a few more people announcing their intentions to run for office. Most notably, Kevin Marriott is looking for a fourth term as the mayor of Enniskillen township. Marriott was elected as a councillor 1994. He held the position of deputy-mayor for seven years before becoming mayor

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Sarnia gives green light to apartment building near Cargill grain terminal, county approval is next

May 28, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent Tricar says it is working with Cargill Grains hoping to ease concerns about the company’s 14-storey, 105 unit apartment near the Sarnia Harbour. In late 2025, Cargill asked Ontario’s minister of municipal affairs to use a Ministerial Zoning Order to override plans for housing developments in the area, including the Tricar tower. Cargill’s letter to the minister

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Forest builder to build new Forest school

May 28, 2026

Wellington Builder’s bid still needs provincial approval Blake Ellis/Local Journalism Initiative A Forest builder is the Lambton-Kent District School Board’s choice to build the new Forest school. Trustees have accepted the bid of Wellington Builders for over $66 million to build the Blue Coast District School in Forest. The bid still needs approval of the Ministry of Education. Lambton-Kent’s Associate

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LCCVI provides music at the market

May 27, 2026

The Independent The sound of music drew a crowd a the Petrolia Farmers’ Market Wednesday as LCCVI held its annual Music Night. Family and friends pulled up lawn chair to listen to everything from the drum line to the Smash Band, students from different grades with different levels of musical experience who get together to jam.

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Suspended Sarnia police chief will have to pay legal bill for defamation suit

May 27, 2026

The Independent The head of the Sarnia Police Services board says taxpayers won’t be paying the legal bills Chief Derek Davis’ defamation suit. Davis, who is now suspended during a workplace harassment investigation, filed the $1.5-million suit against The Sarnia Journal and its publisher Nathan Colquhoun April 7 after a series of stories and columns critical of the chief. At the

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Media landscape changing in Sarnia-Lambton

May 27, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent The media landscape in Lambton County is changing again as PostMedia closed its weekly newspaper and Blackburn Media makes changes to iconic AM radio station. In the last 80 years, the call letters CHOK reigned in Sarnia-Lambton. But, you won’t actually hear those familiar letters anymore. Blackburn Media, which has owned the Sarnia AM station since 1998

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Union, trustee speak out against job cuts at school board

May 26, 2026

Blake Ellis/Local Journalism Initiative “These guys have done a great job,” said Lambton Kent Trustee Greg Agar about custodial staff adding he didn’t believe there should be staffing cuts of the janitorial positions. Agar made his comments during the trustee questions of the May 12 school board meeting in Chatham as he voiced his opposition to the decision to cut

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Yep, that’s Simon the Camel you see on Petrolia Line

May 26, 2026

Heather Wright/The Independent Meghan Clarke has loved camels since she was a little girl. “We would go to the Toronto Zoo every year and they had camel rides at that time… I would beg my parents, literally, to go and go again and again and again. And one year, because they have sponsored the animals at the zoo down there…I

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