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Woodstock Ingersoll Echo VOLUME 4 • ISSUE 2
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Pride movement victimized by acts of vandalism LEE GRIFFI Editor
Provincial Police in Oxford are investigating mischief and theft at a business in Norwich Township. That business is Gunn’s Hill Cheese but it wasn’t any of the products they produce, it was their business sign. Schools and homes in the Norwich area have been vandalized and stolen in recent weeks, something which prompted owners Colleen Bator and Shep Ysselstein to take to social media with a joint statement on June 9. “As small business owners in Norwich Township, we want to call out the hate crimes that have happened in our community in the last 72 hours. The Pride flag at our son's school was stolen yesterday from East Oxford Central Public School. The Pride flag from Colleen's school, where she teaches, Delhi District Secondary School, was stolen the day before. Our other local elementary school, Emily Stowe Public School, had their flag burned, then another stolen and then their pole cut down. Not to mention the endless flags that have been stolen from private property throughout our community.” Between June 12, and June 13, a mailbox and company sign were damaged and stolen at the business on Gunns Hills Road. Investigators are asking neighbouring businesses and residents to review any video surveillance from that night. The United Church in Norwich, Emily Stowe Public School, along with many private residences in Norwich, have also been targeted. The couple released a second social media post following their own property damage. CONTINUED TO PAGE 3
POND PROBLEMS
(LEE GRIFFI PHOTO)
The fight between the Woodstock Navy Club and the City of Woodstock over how the group’s pond water level has dropped continues. The city has received a consultant’s report but isn’t prepared to release it yet. Story below.
Woodstock Navy Club calls out city over pond woes LEE GRIFFI Editor
The Oxford County Naval Veterans Association wants answers from the City of Woodstock, and it looks like they are a little closer to getting some. The Navy Club, as it is more commonly known, released a May 15 letter it sent to the city to the public on June 15 on social media. The Echo reached out to its writer, Lyle Ball, the club’s treasurer, who said he was told by the city it had received interim report on May 19 but some items in it needed to be clarified. He quoted an email from city engineer Harold DeHaan. “I read it this morning based on our first read. There are a few
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items that need to be clarified. I'm going to respond to the consultants this week to address these items and revise the report accordingly. I will circulate the revised report when received.” City council set aside $50,000 for the study, and Ball said the club hoped for a timely response from the city, one which never came. “He wrote back an e-mail saying the city received a draft report but he had some questions and concerns about it and sent it back to the consultant to be addressed. We are still waiting for the revised draft report.” The Echo reached out to the city for an update and received the following statement. CONTINUED TO PAGE 2
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