UPDATED: SIU investigates Petrolia rollover: One arrested

September 14, 2013

Paramedics work on one of three people injured after a police chase north of Petrolia on Camlachie Road.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit is investigating after three people were taken to hospital after a car crashed on Camlachie Road north west of Petrolia while being chased by the OPP.

Around 5pm Saturday witnesses say the tan four-door car coming from the Petrolia area raced north toward Confederation Road with an OPP cruiser close behind it. Witnesses told The Independent as another police car headed south toward the speeding car, the tan car being pursued left the road way and crashed.

Paramedics take one of three people who were in a tan car which crashed during a police pursuit to hospital.

The driver fled, with police chasing him into a soybean field with the man yelling “Don’t shoot!”

Police caught up with the man and brought him back to the cruiser where paramedics examined him and brought the man and two others who were in the car to hospital in neck braces.

Police say the three had non-life threatening injuries.

Wyoming Fire Fighters were also called to the scene to assist the paramedics in three ambulances. Six cruisers were also on hand and witnesses report a spike belt had deployed near Confederation in an apparent attempt to stop the car.

Police say the driver of the car was arrested but are releasing no further details since the SIU in now looking into the chase. The unit is charged with investigating when a civilian is injured or killed in an encounter with police.

Seeing great old songs with fresh eyes

September 14, 2013

Susan Gilmour and June Crowley headline the VPP’s Hollywood Sings until Sept. 22.

Theatre veterans Susan Gilmour and June Crowley say they are seeing familiar songs in new ways in Hollywood Sings.

The pair headline Victoria Playhouse Petrolia’s production along with a mix of seasoned and new performers.

The show by David Rogers and David Hogan takes the best of the songs from Hollywood musicals and blends them together. “There are themes of love, adventure, anything Hollywood movie musicals can throw at you, that’s what they are about,” says Crowley. “This music is timeless and it really is about the human condition.”

And while the songs are familiar classics which Gilmour and Crowley have sung before, sometimes when they were rehearsing for the show, they’re surprised by it.

“Wow, did I really sing that song before?” says Gilmour.

“How come that is so hard?” laughed Crowley.

The pair say it is hard to pinpoint exactly what is their favourite part of Hollywood Sings but they both enjoy the medley of Judy Garland music which includes Somewhere Over the Rainbow, The Boy Next Door, The Man the Got Away and Trolley.

And while Crowley and Gilmour relearned the music they love, they had a chance to see it in new ways working with other cast members, some of who are just starting out.

“We all come together as a unit and all learn from each other,” says Gilmour. “We’re constantly learning…and being challenged.”

Crowley says working with fresh faces such as Christine McKeon and Michael Vanhevel helps her grow. “They are a fresh set of eyes and fresh experiences,” says Crowley.

Gilmour agrees. “I’m learning from watching them…It’s a real symbiotic thing. They want to know how do you walk down the stairs in those high heels?

“And they remind you that you can sing a song 100 different ways and that’s a lesson well worth learning.”

– Heather Wright

Plympton-Wyoming fair begins tonight

September 13, 2013

fair wrestlers 1 — The wrestlers are always a popular attraction at the Plympton-Wyoming Fall Fair. It's been cancelled for 2021.

There are all kinds of things to do at the Plympton-Wyoming Fair, including wrestling.

Lesley Brumwell admits she’s not a farm girl but the president of the Plympton & Wyoming Agricultural Society says she loves the fall fair.

“It brings the town together,” says Brumwell of the annual event, which begins Friday night. “Everybody gets to socialize…when you go to London for the fair, it’s the big publicity stuff. We’re still a small town little fair where you can meet family and friends.”

The 167^th Annual fair kicks off Friday night with the Ambassador Contest at 7pm and the dance with Scott Manery and the Barnburners.

The parade winds down Wyoming’s main street Saturday at noon.

There is a midway this year for the little people and even an adult ride.

There will also be a log sawing contest, trade exhibits, a jaws of life demonstration and wrestlers at the Livestock Building Saturday night. “They put on an awesome show,” says Brumwell.

And the home craft and school exhibits are always a big hit, according to Brumwell.

“I’d have to say I’m not a farm girl, enjoy browsing in the animal, but probably the exhibits to see what the kids are involved with and the creativity of what they did,” she says.

– Heather Wright

Clean up in Petrolia continues after storm

September 13, 2013

Public works crews are making good progress clearing up debris from Wednesday’s storm.

Joe Adams, director of operations for the Town of Petrolia, says they spent most of Thursday removing tree branches which fell during the wicked storm. About a half dozen trees toppled, including one onto a house on Princess Street, during the storm which knocked out power to 21,000 people.

Adams says that while there won’t be a specific brush pickup because of the storm, the gates to the composting site on the Maude Street extension, will remain open so residents can bring any fallen tree branches there in the evening hours.

Meantime Adams says work on the $1.6 million Princess Street reconstruction will go ahead as planned despite the damage from the storm. He says the only concern was hanging power lines and Bluewater Power repaired those by 3:30 am Thursday morning.

– Heather Wright