St. Marys council is speaking out against a provincial plan to bolster mayoral decision-making powers across the province.
Following an announcement by the province earlier this month that St. Marys, along with 168 other Ontario municipali-
ties, would be granted strong mayor powers effective May 1, Mayor Al Strathdee and the rest of council have expressed serious concerns with the new legislation aimed at bolstering the unilateral decision-making power of heads of council and the impact that could have on the town after the next municipal election in 2026.
With 221 of 222 polls reporting by Tuesday morning, Conservative incumbent John Nater has been elected member of parliament for Perth-Wellington and will serve his fourth consecutive term as a member of the opposition party.
With a more than 70 per-cent voter turnout in the riding – 63,683 of 90,016 registered electors – Nater received 33,850 votes or roughly 53 per cent. Liberal candidate David Mackey trailed with 25,892 votes or nearly 41 per cent of the total turnout, and the NDP’s Kevin Kruchkywich had 2,875 votes or 4.5 per cent of the vote by Tuesday morning. People’s Party of Canada candidate Wayne Baker rounded out the pack with 1,066 votes or 1.7 per cent of the vote by Tuesday morning.
“It is my great honour and with great humility that I thank the people of Perth-Wellington for re-electing me to serve as your member of parliament and voice in Ottawa,” Nater said after national news outlets called his victory in the riding. “It is a responsibility that I do not take lightly and one that I will cherish for as long as I have the honour of serving in this office.”
Nater was introduced by his young daughter, Ainsley, before an enthusiastic crowd of campaign volunteers and supporters at his election-night party at the Mitchell Golf and Country Club in West Perth. He thanked his campaign team for their time and effort visiting residents door-to-door and making countless phone calls asking for their support.
“Obviously, I’m honoured and humbled to be elected. It’s a great honour to continue to serve the people of Perth-Wellington. It looks like my vote total went up a little bit, so hopefully that’s
(GALEN
While the town is doing everything it can to address the ever-growing waitlist for child care in St. Marys, those efforts simply can’t keep up with demand, in part, because of a lack of registered early childhood educators (RECE) across the province and in Perth County.
While presenting an update on the child-care situation in St. Marys at the April 22 council meeting, town director of community services Stphanie Ische acknowledged the frustration many parents in St. Marys are feeling as they continue to seek affordable child care. While the town has 72 licensed childcare spaces at Holy Name of Mary School and 112 spaces in the town’s before- and after-school program, as of April 9, there were 634 children on the town’s waiting list for child care. Over the past five years, town staff have been able to move 25-30 children off that waiting list annually.
“We know that the waitlist is very frustrating to people in the community,” Ische said. “We try our best to accommodate as many people as we can as quickly as we can, but we just can’t get through the waitlist and the waitlist has gone up over 100 since last year at this time. So, we think we’re going to continue to see those numbers and that growth.”
Of the 634 children on the waiting list for child care, 241 are infants, 139
are toddlers, 131 are preschool-aged, 99 are in kindergarten and 24 are schoolaged. A significant portion of those on the waiting list are not residents of St. Marys. Of the 241 infants on the list, 101 live in St. Marys; of the 139 toddlers, just 33 live in town; and of the 131 preschool-aged children on the list, just 40 are St. Marys residents.
To help clarify how the town prioritizes which children are moved off the waiting list and into child care when spaces become available, Ische reviewed the waitlist criteria adopted by council in 2019. In St. Marys, priority for childcare spaces is given to:
1. Children who are currently enrolled in part-time child care and would like to attend full-time.
2. Children on the waitlist who already have a sibling enrolled in the town’s child-care program.
3. Children of families who live in St. Marys.
“I’m starting to question … the validity of having a sibling in the program,” said Coun. Marg Luna. “I know that’s a big problem with a lot of people because they’re never going to get into daycare because they don’t have a sibling there already.”
“I, too, have been questioning the sibling relevancy because it seems like you’ve kind of won the lottery. If you get one in there and you’re planning on having a few, you’ve got a guaranteed spot,” Coun. Fern Pridham added. “Because it’s now a supported daycare with fed -
eral funds, there doesn’t seem to be any looking at income levels, people who could use that subsidy the most. They struggle because they have a lower income (than) maybe some others that are currently using the system.”
Ische told councillors the town’s second criterion for prioritizing which children on the waiting list are moved into child care is standard for many childcare centres in the region and across the province. She explained it is meant to keep siblings together while in child care and prevent parents from having to pull one child out of municipal child care in favour of private care once they require care for that child’s sibling.
While the waitlist continues to grow year after year, Ische told council there is no clear solution to address the issue. Even if the town were to foot the bill for a new child-care centre, Ische said there aren’t enough RECEs in the county to staff it. According to statistics collected in 2021, Perth County is short 80 RECEs and that shortage is believed to have increased to over 100 RECEs in 2025.
She said recruiting RECEs for the before- and after-school program is especially difficult because those positions are contract, without benefits, and daily work is split between the morning and afternoon, making it less attractive for those seeking work in the field.
And while child care in St. Marys is currently subsidized as part of the fed -
eral government’s $10-a-day daycare program, Ische noted that funding could soon change if the federal-political landscape shifts after the April 28 federal election.
“The $10 thing is interesting because it has pushed people in the private sector out of the business, which is a big problem. It’s also increased our waiting list,” Mayor Al Strathdee said. “ … I think what might happen in the future – and there’s been hints of this already – is we might lose control of our service in terms of who gets on the register, i.e. people from out of town, because of provincial and federal subsidization. The whole program could change.
“ … When we did the child-care system, I never thought we’d see these kind of numbers and this kind of problem. … At the time, it was an expensive service. COVID and a lot of other things have changed it, but I have concerns going forward because the government never tends to give anything for free. … The reality is there may become more strings attached to the operation of the service and, in a few years, we may be forced to have some difficult decisions to make. … So, we have not only decreased our service, but we’ve made it cheaper via the government, but at the end of the day, a lot of things could change to make this a very expensive service in the future that we don’t have control over.”
Nater wins fourth consecutive term as opposition MP for PerthWellington Veterinary Purchasing donates $2,000 to Humane Society
a reflection of my service to the community and my hard work that I’ve tried to do for all the people across Perth-Wellington,” Nater said.
While Nater claimed another decisive victory in the traditionally blue riding of Perth-Wellington, across the country, the election results were a little more mixed as the Liberals held on with another minority government. Speaking with reporters after his victory speech, Nater underscored the importance of Canadians coming together now that the election is over in defending our country and our economy from existential threats south of the border.
“I think, if anything, we’ve seen the last few months Canadians more united than we’ve ever seen in our history. We’ve seen a lot more Canadian flags throughout our communities, flags waving, proud to be Canadian, so I think we need more of that. We need to promote our country, promote our history, promote our economy, promote all things Canadian,” Nater said.
“I think if anything positive comes out
of this, it’s a real effort now by Canadians to celebrate Canada, to shop local, to shop Canadian. You see people, literally, looking at products and seeing where they’re coming from. That would have never happened if we hadn’t had this existential crisis.”
With the Liberals holding onto a minority government, the balance of power now rests with the Bloc Quebecois which, as of Tuesday morning, had 23 seats in parliament compared to the NDP’s eight seats. Nater, who now has three terms as a member of the opposition party, said he plans to continue working across party lines to serve Perth-Wellington residents as best he can.
“It’s working with each other, building those bridges, having those personal connections,” Nater said. “I’ve had the great honour of working with all political parties building strong relationships. I always say folks should watch less of Question Period than other parts of the day (on Parliament Hill) because there are other meaningful ways (that we work together) than in 45 minutes of Question Period.”
of Stratford-Perth
In April, Veterinary Purchasing in St. Marys held a bake sale with all proceeds going to the Humane Society of Stratford-Perth. Employee donations came to a total of $1,000 and the company matched employee donations dollar for dollar, increasing the total donation to the local Humane Society to $2,000.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF VETERINARY PURCHASING)
EDITORIAL
Should St. Marys council decline the use of strong mayor powers?
GALEN SIMMONS Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On the day this newspaper comes out, May 1, the heads of councils for 169 municipalities in Ontario will officially have strong mayor powers, bolstering the unilateral decision-making abilities of those mayors and all future mayors in those municipalities.
In short, those mayors, including Mayor Al Strathdee in St. Marys, will have the power to hire and fire their CAOs and staff department heads, create committees of council, propose the municipal budget, propose certain bylaws the mayor says advances a provincial priority, veto certain bylaws the mayor says could interfere with a provincial priority, and bring forward matters for discussion by council if the mayor says they could advance a provincial priority.
In many instances, the mayor would only require one-third of council support to approve the budget, bylaws and other items that advance provincial priorities. Since these powers are being expanded to municipalities with councils that have six or more members, that could mean a mayor would need as little as just one other councillor to vote in favour for approval.
While the province toted this expansion of strong mayor powers – which was originally introduced to fast-developing, larger municipalities like Toronto and Ottawa – as a way to give mayors the tools they need to tackle the housing crisis, data has shown they’ve had little impact on the number of housing starts in municipalities where these powers have already been implemented.
Instead, experts are warning these powers could create a divide between councillors and the mayor as the weight of their input into important local issues is watered down, and a culture of fear between staff and the mayor as the CAO and department heads may worry about losing their jobs if they say something in open council that goes against their mayor’s personal agenda.
As reported in this edition of the Independent, St. Marys council, including Strathdee, has similar concerns with these powers.
While council is awaiting more information about how these powers would actually work from an administrative and public-transparency standpoint, it is considering following the examples of other municipalities in Ontario like The Blue Mountains, Seguin Township and Parry Sound, the councils for which recently expressed their formal opposition to strong mayor powers and declined to use them.
St. Marys Coun. Marg Luna indicated she will bring a similar motion to St. Marys council for consideration once town staff has more information about these powers. However, as clerk Jenna McCartney pointed out, such a motion would be largely symbolic and the powers would still be available should a future mayor wish to use them. This leaves the door open for anyone with a personal agenda to run for mayor next year or in any future municipal election with the intention to use those powers to advance that agenda.
Luna suggested that if enough municipal councils refuse to use these powers, it could signal to the provincial government that strong mayor powers are not appropriate or even useful in Ontario’s smaller municipalities, potentially leading to a reversal of this legislation. Personally, I have serious doubts this provincial government will ever reconsider this or any other legislation it passes, especially when that legislation gives mayors the power to support and push forward the development priorities the Ford government seems so keen on.
I do, however, believe that if we, the people of Ontario, speak out against and maybe even publicly protest these strong mayor powers, while also committing to voting only for local mayoral candidates who expressly refuse to use them, perhaps this government, or maybe a future government, might see the error of their ways and remove this new clause in the Municipal Act.
With these new mayoral powers, we’re going to need to be as vigilant as ever to maintain that all-important check on power in local government that, until now, has been the responsibility of our town councillors.
Bravo Boo
We have 1 Bravo this week.
1) Bravo to the kind individual that found my Life Labs card and instead of ignoring it or throwing it away, slid it under the door after hours so that it could be returned to me. Also, thank you to the Life Labs staff that take such good care of their regular clients. We have 2 Boos this week.
1) Boo to the gentleman downtown St. Marys during the school lunch breaks offering food to minors and pushing religious materials. These are children. If you want to get the “good word” out, talk to adults.
2) Please be mindful of your garbage and recycling, when it’s overflowing you may need another one. It is not fair that your neighbours have to pick it up.
Quote of the Week
“Let’s put an end to the division and anger of the past. We are all Canadian and my government will work for and with everyone.”
- Prime Minister Mark Carney addressing the other parties after winning the election.
Restoring small-town journalism, one community at a time!
St. Marys Independent
Publisher
Stewart Grant • stew@granthaven.com
Regional Editor
Galen Simmons • galen@granthaven.com
Graphic Design / Sales Inquiries
Tyler Carruthers • info@stmarysindependent.com
Business Development
Heather Dunbar • heather@granthaven.com
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Contributors
June Grant, Nancy Bickell, Mary Smith, Nancy Abra, Lauren Eedy, Spencer Seymour, Sarah Cairns, Paul Knowles, Jake Grant, Julia Paul, Emily Stewart, McGinny Photography
36
The St. Marys Independent THOUGHTS OF THE WEEK
Somewhere inside of all of us is the power to change the world.
Today’s mighty oak was once a small nut that held its ground.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. A good leader knows the way, goes the way and shows the way.
David Mackey reflects on campaign after federal election loss
David Mackey, Liberal Party candidate for Perth-Wellington, lost this week’s federal election but says he’s proud of the strong five-week campaign he and his team ran.
“I believe we ran a very successful campaign in Perth-Wellington. We started only five weeks ago, and the goal was to build a stronger community in Perth-Wellington. My campaign and my team have done well, and I feel good that we did our best,” Mackey said at his election-night party at Pazzo’s in Stratford Monday night.
Despite the Liberal Party forming a minority government, Mackey is optimistic about Prime Minister Mark Carney’s leadership, particularly in today’s global climate.
“I’m very happy and I’d like to congratulate Mark Carney on a successful campaign. His leadership is critical in the global environment that we’re in right now.”
Mackey also took a moment to congratulate his opponent, John Nater, on his re-election.
“John’s service to Perth-Wellington has been validated with another mandate by the voters of Perth-Wellington, and that deserves congratulations. It deserves support from me as a resident of Perth-Wellington. I wish him well and
Though the loss was tough, Mackey remains hopeful about the riding’s Liberal future.
“Voters have superpowers,” said Mackey. “… I can certainly understand that many of the people who did vote for me may be disappointed, but I think they should be happy with the process itself, which I’m very dedicated to. One of the things I’m trying to do is bring in the understanding of what democracy is, and how a single vote fits in with the larger community. So, to my Liberal supporters and my Liberal team, I’m very, very grateful. I will say for the Liberal voters, we’ve got momentum.”
As for whether he’ll run again, Mackey said he’s considering it.
“I feel I achieved the objectives I wanted. I’m certainly interested in running again. I’ve got some work to do to build out relationships across the area. Hopefully, we can take the momentum that we’ve started in this election and bring it into the next election, but for now, I’m going to sleep on it.”
As of Tuesday morning with 221 of 222 polls in Perth-Wellington reporting, Mackey had 25,892 or nearly 41 per cent of the vote in the riding compared with Nater’s 33,850 vote, representing just over 53 per cent of the 63,683 votes counted at that point.
FLUSHING
Senior of the Week
Our senior of the week is Pat Bailey. Pat recently turned 85 years young. She was born and raised in Stratford. Pat was married for 48 years. She has five sons, 10 grandchildren, two great grandchildren with one more on the way. Pat loves to play cards, swim, eat out and knit.
If you would like to nominate someone for Senior of the Week, contact us at 519-284-0041 or info@stmarysindependent.com.
Town seeking volunteers for MapMissions accessibility project mapping accessibility of public spaces
ST. MARYS INDEPENDENT Staff Contribution
The Town of St. Marys tourism and economic development department is looking for volunteers to join the MapMission project, an initiative aimed at highlighting accessibility in destinations and regions globally.
This project, in partnership with RTO4 (Regional Tourism Organization) and Destination Stratford, invites community members to become MapMission advocates. Volunteer advocates will assess and rate the accessibility of various public places for individuals such as seniors, parents with strollers, individuals with spectrum disorders and those with mobility issues using the AccessNow app.
The AccessNow app is free and utilizes the Google Maps platform for user convenience. It allows users to evaluate and rate the accessibility of public venues, such as recreation facilities, restaurants, boutiques, parks, trails and more.
“The MapMissions project is an incredible opportunity for our community to come together and make a tangible difference in promoting accessibility,” said St. Marys manager of tourism and economic development Kelly Deeks-Johnson. “By participating, volunteers not only contribute to a more inclusive society but also help create easier planning for visitors, ensuring that everyone can enjoy our community’s offerings.”
The project will kick off with a virtual seminar on Wednesday, May 21. This seminar will provide volunteer MapMission advocates with an introduction and training to the AccessNow app. Participants will have the opportunity to engage with experts in the field of accessibility and gain valuable insights into how public spaces can be made more inclusive for everyone.
On Wednesday, June 4, following the mapping process, a virtual reflection seminar will be held where users and mappers will describe what they learned from the experience.
Those interested in volunteering for the MapMissions project may register for the virtual training and reflection seminars at www.townofstmarys.com/accessibility.
For more information on the project, contact Deeks-Johnson at 519-284-2340 ext. 272 or kdeeks@ town.stmarys.on.ca.
The MapMissions project reviews the accessibility of various locations. Its vision is to celebrate a world that is fully accessible, aiming to improve conversations about accessibility for all, as it benefits everyone. For more information visit the accessnow.com/ mapmissions.
The AccessNow app was built with the mission to establish a go-to resource for accessibility information. This platform is being built out to empower people to discover a world of accessible opportunities, make better decisions and remove barriers. For more information, visit accessnow.com.
1. What year was Pierre Poilievre first elected as a member of Parliament?
2. Name the 5 NHL teams whose names do not end with the letter “s”?
3. On May 1, 1930, which planet was discovered?
4. What is the birthstone for May?
5. On the first Saturday of May, what popular racing event takes place?
6. What country has the highest rate of gambling?
7. What year was Pac Man invented?
8. On May 2nd, 2011, U.S Special Forces took down the leader of al-Qaeda known as who?
9. Who founded Mother’s Day?
10. Which flower is associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite?
By Jake Grant
Shred it and forget it: Rotary brings back community shredding day
JULIA PAUL
Independent Reporter
As cases of identity theft and fraud continue to rise across Canada, residents of St. Marys will once again have an opportunity to securely dispose of their confidential documents at the upcoming Community Shredding Event hosted by the Rotary Club of St. Marys.
Now in its second year, the event is set to take place on Saturday, May 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the west parking lot of St. Marys DCVI, or until the on-site shredding truck provided by Shred-It reaches capacity. Attendees can watch their documents being securely shredded on the spot.
Rotary Club president Mark Oliver said the idea came after the club learned other Rotary Clubs in Ontario were organizing similar events with strong community interest.
“In 2024, we launched our first shredding event in St. Marys,” Oliver said. “It gives people and businesses an opportunity to securely shred unwanted confidential documents.”
The club has partnered with Shred-It again this year, ensuring all documents will be professionally destroyed onsite. Participants are asked to stack their confidential documents loosely in cardboard boxes, such as banker’s boxes. Staples, paper clips, elastic bands and similar materials do not need to be removed prior to drop-off, and boxes will be returned once they’re emptied.
According to Oliver, many residents find themselves with piles of documents that require secure shredding after tax season.
“Confidential documents of all kinds are acceptable,” he said, though he noted certain items are not permitted. These include batteries, large, metal objects, electronic devices, hard drives, hanging folders, ink cartridges and toners, card -
board tubes and syringes.
The importance of secure-document disposal is underscored by recent statistics.
“The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received over 27,000 reports of identity theft and fraud in 2022,” Oliver said. “Shredding unwanted, confidential documents is an important step everyone can take to protect themselves.”
There is a suggested donation of $15 per banker’s box or equivalent, payable by cash or cheque. A bankers box typically measures 12 inches by 12 inches by 18 inches and weighs more than 30 pounds. Oliver emphasized the value being offered, noting retail shredding services usually cost a minimum of a dollar per pound.
Proceeds from the event will support the Rotary Club’s ongoing financial commitment to the Cadzow Splashpad, a community feature that promotes outdoor recreation in St. Marys.
“Protecting the environment is one of Rotary’s areas of focus,” Oliver added, pointing out the shredded paper is not wasted.
Once processed, the shredded paper is baled and sold as sorted office paper to recycling facilities. There, it is pulped, screened for impurities and ink, and eventually repurposed into new paper products.
While last year’s event ran at a loss, Oliver says the club is committed to seeing where the event leads.
“Rotary needs 200 boxes of documents just to break even,” he explained. “We’re happy to provide this service to the community. We just can’t afford to lose money year after year.”
For now, the Rotary Club is taking it year by year, with fingers crossed the St. Marys community will show up, pitch in and help make the shred a smashing success.
Rotary Club of St. Marys hosts 99th annual Rural Urban Night featuring gardening expert Mark Cullen
ROTARY CLUB OF ST. MARYS
Submitted Article
The Rotary Club of St. Marys held it’s 99th annual Rural Urban Night on Thursday evening, April 24.
Over 320 people attended this community event held at the Pyramid Recreation Centre. Rural Urban Night celebrates the bond between our rural and urban communities. This bond is not one of dependency but of interdependence.
Attendees enjoyed fellowship and an exceptional meal provided by Huron Shores Catering Services.
The guest speaker for the evening was expert gardener, Mark Cullen. Cullen has been broadcasting and writing about the gardening experience since the early 1980s. He has written 23 books, including two biographies. From 2004-2020, Cullen was the national spokesperson for Home Hardware Lawn and Garden. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 2016. Cullen and his family live in Markham.
Cullen’s presentation was titled “Escape to Reality: how the world is changing gardening and gardening is changing the world.”
Highlights from Cullen’s presentation include:
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
function of forests in our world, how can we justify the destruction of forest ecosystems when we understand so little of what is being lost and the consequences that may result?
• Make time to see the reality of the existence of plants in our yard and our neighbourhood. Change the way you look at something, and the thing itself changes.
• Cullen said he used to be a tree hugger; now he’s a tree activist.
• Cullen founded Trees For Life 12 years ago. Trees For Life has planted 2.5 million trees along the Highway of Heroes (Highway 401) between Trenton and Toronto. It is the largest living tribute to military commitment and sacrifice in the world.
• Trees For Life is eager to work with communities wanting to restore their urban canopies.
• Cullen ended with a quote by John Muir: “I only went for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
• Cullen recommended two books for anyone interested in learning more about trees and plants: “Our Green Heart” by Diana Beresford Kroeger and “The Light Eaters” by Zoe Schlanger.
elude us, we sometimes overlook the obvious source of answers, at our feet.
Nature provides answers.
• When solutions to life’s big problems
• Knowing what we know about the
Rotary would like to thank everyone who attended as well as our community-minded sponsors for their generous support. All funds raised at Rural Urban Night are used to support Rotary projects in this community.
Guest speaker and gardening expert Mark Cullen discusses his career and environmental activism in front those in attendance at the Rotary Club of St. Marys’ 99th annual Rural Urban Night at the Pyramid Recreation Centre April 24. Photo courtesy of Rotary Club of St. Marys.
St. Marys council unified with concerns around strong mayor powers coming into effect May 1
“I was totally taken off guard by this,” Strathdee told council at its April 22 meeting. “ … There’s a lot of interesting parts in this that I still don’t understand how and why, and I wanted to ensure council that I won’t be (using strong mayor powers) anytime soon. I had to think back on my time during this particular council if there would have been a time or a situation where I may have said, ‘I need to do this or I need to overrule council,’ and I, quite frankly, can’t think of one. This group, I think, has worked quite well together.
“ … There’s nothing I can see for me personally to enact. … We certainly don’t know what everything means. The government is certainly intent on bringing the legislation in as of May 1 and I can’t see, certainly in my time going forward, that I would necessarily want to make a lot of changes, and I’m not sure why they’ve made such drastic changes other than to say there are some dysfunctional councils out there. Whether this would solve the problem, I don’t know. … This is almost indicative of some of the ways that the mayorship is set up in U.S. towns and cities.”
The expansion of strong mayor powers by the province was introduced with the stated intention of empowering more mayors in more municipalities across the province “to get homes and infrastructure built faster.”
“Mayors know their municipalities best, and we support them in taking bold actions for their communities,” Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack said in a press release announcing the latest proposed expansion.
Strong mayor powers include the ability to appoint a municipality’s chief administrative officer (CAO), hire certain municipal department heads and reorganize departments, create committees of council, propose the municipal budget, propose certain bylaws the mayor says advances a provincial priority, veto certain bylaws the mayor says could interfere with a provincial priority, and bring forward matters for discussion by council if the mayor says they could advance a provincial priority.
However, the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO), which has been tracking the use of strong mayor powers since they were first introduced in Toronto and Ottawa in 2022, said there is no evidence to suggest this
legislation has any impact on the number of housing starts in municipalities that have been granted the powers.
Instead, AMCTO says its research suggests strong mayor powers have blurred the political-administrative authority between the roles of heads of council and chief administrative officers (CAOs), threatening the neutrality of the public service and politicizing local government leadership.
In St. Marys, town staff have also been left wondering how strong mayor powers will work from an administrative perspective, and how decisions by a mayor using these powers will be communicated to the public.
“Any decision implemented by a head of council shall be done so in writing and in accordance with the regulation,” St. Marys clerk Jenna McCartney told council. “We as staff are still trying to find out exactly what that looks like and how that must be communicated because those decisions are to be public information. There is an understanding among some of the municipalities that have already gone about the change that this information should be shared on the municipality’s website that would list each of those decisions for everyone’s benefit.
“ … While this is all new to the town, there have been a number of staff who have been offered additional workshops and trainings coming up in the next couple of weeks to understand how this has impacted some of those larger and fast-growing municipalities, and how they have implemented it. So, what does a mayor decision look like? Is there a standard format? Once it has passed, is there a way to communicate that? Does that go on the website? Does that come by way of the next report to council … so that everyone
is aware of what has been implemented?”
As staff learn that process, McCartney said she will bring town policies and procedures that need to be updated to council for consideration.
In the meantime, however, councillors are worried about how these strong mayor power might impact the relationships between themselves and the mayor, as well the relationships between council, the CAO and heads of staff departments.
“This is totally undemocratic,” Coun. Marg Luna said. “To me, I’m questioning the value of council in the future. I’m not speaking (about) this seated mayor; I’m saying that a future mayor could really put this power to bad use. I think one of the major jobs that we have as councillors is a budget, which is what affects all of our meetings, and now, what I understand from this, we really won’t have any input into that budget because we could be told by a mayor, ‘This is the budget I’m presenting and I need two of you to accept it,’ and it’s done.
“Undemocratic.”
Luna also noted the relatively short amount of time, seven days, given to municipalities to respond to province with any concerns after the expansion of strong mayor powers was announced on April 9.
“I’m questioning these powers that we’re putting in one individual; control over the CAO and heads of departments – hiring and firing, discipline, whatever. The CAO has to have confidence in the people around this table that he can speak freely to us and not be worried about the opinion of one individual,” she added.
While there is still much more information required to fully understand how strong mayor powers will be implemented in St. Marys and what their impact might be, Luna and her fellow council members, including Strathdee, voiced support for the idea of ultimately passing a resolution politely declining the use of these powers.
While this resolution might only be symbolic, Luna said it’s up to councils across the province, as well as concerned members of the public, to speak against this expansion of strong mayor powers in hopes this legislation is reversed by the province.
“If enough municipalities protest this and enough of the public is aware of this … legislation can be revoked, it can be reversed, and I think that’s what needs to be done,” Luna said.
CONTINUED FROM FRONT
St. Marys Friendship Centre hosts annual Spring Scrapathon
PUBLIC NOTICE – PESTICIDE USE
County of Perth
The County of Perth intends to control noxious weeds along the following rural roadsides:
All County Roads within the County of Perth AND 4.0 km of Huron Road 32 and 6.0 km of Perth Line 20 (Russeldale to Line 17)
Commencing May 12th, 2025 through to June 13th, 2025 – Weather Permitting.
The following pesticides registered under the Pest Control Products Act (Canada) will be used:
ClearView Herbicide (Registration No. 29752), which contains the active ingredients Aminopyralid (present as potassium salt), and Metsulfuron – methyl, in combination with Gateway Adjuvant (Registration No. 31470), which contains the active ingredients Paraffinic Oil, and Alkoxylated alcohol non-ionic surfactants.
Navius FLEX (Registration No. 30922), which contains the active ingredients Metsulfuron – methyl and Aminocyclopyrachlor, in combination with Hasten NT Ultra Spray Adjuvant (Registration No. 31760), which contains the active ingredients Methyl and ethyl oleate (esterified vegetable oil).
Pesticide use to control noxious weeds is in accordance with the exception to the cosmetic pesticide ban in subsection 7.1 (2) of the Pesticides Act for the promotion of public health or safety
For more information call: Green Stream Lawn and Vegetation Management Inc: 1-905-510-1229 Corporation of the County of Perth 1-519-271-0531 or 1-800-463-8275 ext 311, (Collect Calls will be accepted)
Pictured are St. Marys senior services manager Jenny Mikita and senior services program manager Sarah Jones, both of whom worked hard to help organize the annual Spring Scrapathon at the St. Marys Friendship Centre. The next Fall Scrapathon Fundraiser is Saturday Sept. 2 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
(NANCY BICKELL PHOTO)
Pictured are the ladies who volunteered and worked so hard at making the St. Marys Friendship Centre’s annual Spring Scrapathon a great success. There were more than 100 women who took part in this day. The proceeds from this event go to support St. Marys Senior Services. Pictured in the front row are Jane Cousineau, Ruth Robinson and Carol Ledger. In the back row are Sue Kittmer, Anita Landon, Donna Goldstraw, Colleen Bryant, Laura Good and Joan Doupe.
(NANCY BICKELL PHOTO)
Lamont on revisiting her younger self through writing memoir
‘Once she became visible, then she became a part of my life’
EMILY STEWART Independent Reporter
Gwen Lamont, an author from Annan, Ont., will visit St. Marys to launch her memoir about her uncovering the childhood memories she previously buried.
Lamont will hold the launch event –part of a tour that included an event in Stratford last October – for her memoir, The View from Coffin Ridge: A Childhood Exhumed, at St. Marys’ Westover Inn on May 31 starting at 7 p.m. Lamont’s book, published by Ginger Press, is about her unearthing her childhood, including when she was married at 16 years old to a man who threatened to kill her. She then fled to Stratford, where she lived for months.
Lamont said it was several moments, not just one, that led her to the realization she needed to write the memoir. She did not complete Grade 9, but holds a
bachelor’s degree in sociology, as well as both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in social work and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in creative non-fiction. She worked as a social worker and realized throughout her career that she buried what happened to her, as no one knew her childhood.
When conducting her research on femicide and intimate partner violence, Lamont was to interview men convicted of killing their partner. The first interviewee refused to be interviewed by her because she looked like the woman he killed.
“The way he looked at me, it reminded me of that man that I was married to when I was 16, and I started writing then,” Lamont said.
It took Lamont, who is also the co-owner of Coffin Ridge Boutique Winery, 14 years to write the book. Lamont graduated from Halifax’s University of King’s
College in 2019 with her MFA and the completed book.
To process her past, Lamont would dig through archives and interview her family members, as well as look through photographs such as those from her marriage. She would also visit places where her experiences occurred.
When staying at a hotel as part of a food show she participated in with the winery, Lamont looked out the window and saw the apartment where she lived during her marriage, and the closet where the gun was kept.
“I had that vision of me holding that 16-year-old girl’s hand and saying, ‘It’s okay.’ That’s the way I can describe it –it was as if I was making that young girl visible and, once she was visible, then she became part of my life. The book is really about that process of what happened to me and then how I dealt with it,” Lamont said.
More than 800 people have attended the book launches, with most of the attendees being women. Lamont said women will come up to her and tell her they would like to share their own experiences with intimate partner violence because she shared her story.
“They see an example of someone who can stand and not be ashamed because what happened to me wasn’t my fault. I didn’t choose it,” she said.
Lamont will also have book launches in Meaford, London, Ottawa, Peterborough and Arnprior this spring.
Tickets for the book launch are $50 each and will include a signed copy of the book, a reading by Lamont, a Q&A session, a choice of drink and snacks, and a bottle of the Coffin Ridge’s Into Light White wine. To purchase tickets, visit coffinridge.ca. More information about Lamont can be found by visiting gwenlamontauthor.ca.
Gwen Lamont’s memoir, The View From Coffin Ridge: A Childhood Exhumed, is about the author digging up buried memories from her childhood, including when she experienced intimate partner violence as a child bride. Above right, the book cover for The View From Coffin Ridge: A Childhood Exhumed.
(PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARY ANNE ALTON)
Sutherhill Farms a multi-generational syrup family legacy
TURNER ROTH Independent Reporter
For three generations, Sutherhill Farms has been a mainstay in the Standeaven family, and as it enters its fourth generation, it has grown substantially into a successful local maple syrup operation.
The first generation was Andrew Standeaven, who produced maple syrup more for the family as a treat. According to David Standeaven, the third generation and current operator of the farm, it grew beyond making maple syrup for their own table to a fully commercialized producer under his father, Glen Standeaven.
“We’re a dairy farm by trade and we were making syrup for our own personal consumption, which a lot of people did,” David Standeaven said. “Almost everyone made a little bit of syrup at that time for their own use, and maybe they would make some for their neighbours as well. We weren’t selling in a commercial way back in the day. It was my dad, Glen, who really started to make enough that we were able to start selling it.”
David Standeaven added that his father made the decision to commercialize their syrup production as a way to grow the farm’s profitability.
“I think he was just looking for another way to generate revenue from the farm. It was just another opportunity to add to the operation, and he had a hired
man with him, so he had a bit more time and opportunity to expand in that way. It also helps that this bush was primarily maple trees, and it just was sitting here waiting for us, so I think he saw a lot of potential in what was here.”
With approximately 1,600 trees span -
ning across two bushes, 2,000 taps produce around 1,900 litres of syrup by the year’s end. Syrup from Sutherhill Farms can be purchased in four-litre, two-litre and one-litre containers that can be found at the St. Marys Hitching Post. As the year starts, the sap is clear and
it goes through a darkening stage as the year goes on. Feeder lines connect the tank of sap to the shack where the sap undergoes the reverse-osmosis process. Reverse osmosis takes half the water out of the sap by pushing the sap at a high pressure out of a filter.
David Standeaven explained how these processes have evolved over the years.
“When we first started, he set up a little shack that he had built in the lower part of the bush, and he just put some lines out, and it was all a gravity-based process,” he said. “And just year by year, we tried to upgrade something and find a new way to improve what we did. Now, we have hydro built right into the shack. We have vacuum pumps and a more-efficient evaporator. Our reverse-osmosis process has grown. So, it’s just been years of steadily finding ways to keep growing.”
With the farm still going strong after three generations, David Standeaven credits his father’s ability to develop the farm’s potential for where it is today.
“It’s lasted this long because of my dad, Glen. He was the driving force behind making it what it is today. He kept growing it, and when you see something be successful, you want to continue it for the next generation, just like he did for me. And that’s also why we keep adding something every year, to keep it growing and keep it a family tradition in his memory.”
David Standeaven shows maple syrup produced at Sutherhill Farms as it progresses through the darkening process.
(GARY WEST PHOTO)
Who is the St. Marys Memorial Hospital Auxiliary?
Meet two of our seasoned members, Helen Shute and Bernice Coulson.
Shute joined the Auxiliary in 2015 after being invited by one of the members. She has enjoyed working in the Boutique gift shop but now has scaled back a bit, helping out at the Heritage Festival and contributing to the Auxiliary’s bake sales.
Shute has always enjoyed the social aspect of the group and says, “It’s a great feeling knowing that I’m helping our hospital.”
Coulson has been involved with the hospital forever! She was front manager for 25 years and remembers when the Auxiliary’s gift shop was simply a cabinet with various items for sale that was trundled out each day into the waiting room. When the new hospital entry was constructed in 1981, space was created for a proper gift shop, which remains today. When Coulson retired in 1995, it was a natural move for her to join
the Auxiliary and, although she left St. Marys for a few years, she’s back, helping at events, working in the gift shop and participating in her favourite activity, patient-support visits.
“I have a soft spot in my heart for the patients,” she explained.
Watch for details on the Auxiliary’s next fundraiser, a raffle! First prize is a beautiful, hand-stitched quilt, second prize a handy garden wagon and third prize is a $75 gas card.
Many thanks to all who came out to support our Easter Bake Sale. Our members are pretty amazing bakers and the variety of baked goods available this year was the best ever!
Appreciation is also extended to Troyer’s Spices, who always make room to accommodate us, providing the perfect downtown location.
For updates on fundraising events or to become a volunteer, follow the Auxiliary on Facebook at The Boutique at St. Marys Memorial Hospital or email smmhauxiliary@gmail. com.
St. Marys Memorial Hospital Auxiliary members Helen Shute and Bernice Coulson.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
JANIS FREAD
St. Marys Memorial Hospital Auxiliary
This week is National Volunteer Week and the St. Marys Independent would like to join the Town of St. Marys and its many community organizations and services clubs in recognizing and appreciating all the hard work and dedication put in by local volunteers in making St. Marys the town worth living in.
At the April 22 St. Marys town council meeting, council declared April 27 to May 4 National Volunteer Week in St. Marys. Locally and across the country, this annual celebration highlights the importance of volunteering and recognizes the contributions of volunteers who make a difference in their communities.
“In St. Marys, we are so fortunate to have so many wonderful volunteers. They are truly the heart and soul of our community,” Mayor Al Strathdee told the Independent after the declaration. “From helping those in need to fundraising to improve our quality of life, or providing recreational opportunities for residents young and old, we are grateful for all of their contributions. The selfless acts of an army of volunteers continues to make St. Marys the town worth living in.”
There are so many community organizations and service clubs that rely on volunteers to help make the community better every day. The Independent reached out to representatives of just a few of them, and this is what they had to say about the importance of volunteerism and what their volunteers mean to them.
St. Marys Healthcare Foundation
“Volunteerism is at the heart of everything we do at the foundation,” said healthcare foundation communications and fundraising coordinator Bernice De Decker. “We are fortunate to have 12 dedicated board directors who generously volunteer their time, energy and expertise – leading with compassion, empathy and a deep commitment to our community. Their passion and leadership not only strengthen our foundation but also help ensure a healthier future for everyone.
“We also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our loyal event volunteers, who are always eager and enthusiastic to lend a helping hand at our special events. Your support truly makes a difference, and we couldn’t do it without you!”
St. Marys Memorial Hospital Auxiliary
“I think if you added up all the volunteer hours contributed by the many
groups and individuals in our town, that number would be staggering,” said Janis Fread of the hospital auxiliary. “And if those volunteers were suddenly unavailable, we’d lose the Santa Claus parade, free exercise classes, little theatre, the community dinners and the list goes on.
“We members of the hospital auxiliary have been supporting St. Marys Memorial Hospital for over 70 years and, like many organizations, have adapted to its changing needs. Where once we had more hands-on involvement with both hospital supplies and patient care, now our focus is on fundraising that is directed towards patient-care kits and smaller equipment needs. Volunteers who staff the Boutique gift shop are always alert to young children in the waiting room who may be fussing, in which case we have stuffies to provide comfort and colouring books and crayons for distraction. Our volunteers who visit with in-patients provide a friendly diversion from the long days of hospitalization.
“Some of our Auxiliary members have been involved for over 20 years and some have joined within the last year, but we all have one thing in common, we believe we are so very fortunate to have this hospital in our community and our volunteer support is a pleasure to give.”
St. Marys Royal Canadian Legion Branch 236
“The Royal Canadian Legion was built by volunteers,” said outgoing St. Marys Legion president Bim Graham.
“The veterans who returned after WWI had volunteered their lives for king and country. After starting the Legion in 1927, they volunteered their time and talents to help other veterans and their families. Today, the Legion is still based on volunteers. Our members volunteer to help other service organizations. We only have three paid employees (four if you count snow removal). We have 24 different people volunteering, two at a time, to run our weekly meat draws. We have high-school students volunteering at various functions to get their community hours. We allow various not-forprofit service clubs in the community the use of our facilities at little or no cost. Most of our newer members joined the Legion because they want to help.”
“When a person joins the Legion, they acknowledge that they will take an active role in the local Legion branch’s poppy campaign,” added past president Tom Jenkins. “Each year on the last Friday of October, the national poppy campaign begins and runs until Nov. 11. The campaign aims to promote remembrance for those who have served in the
Canadian military and those who serve today. In addition, donations are gathered to support the local poppy fund. Monies raised are strictly controlled and can only be spent on programs and projects that directly assist veterans and their families.
“The campaign asks Legion volunteers to get involved in many tasks that include marching in local remembrance parades, distributing poppy boxes to accept donations in local businesses, taking up positions around town to pass out poppies to the public, to assist in cooking and serving a Remembrance Day Supper that is free for veterans and their spouse or caregiver, and to canvass local businesses to find those who are willing to purchase wreaths to be used at cenotaph ceremonies. Legion volunteers work all year long to ensure that veterans and their families are supported, and that their service and sacrifices are not forgotten.”
“Volunteerism is at the heart of the Royal Canadian Legion, Perth Regiment Veterans’ Branch 236,” added St. Marys Legion president-elect Reg Rumble. “Our volunteers uphold cherished traditions whether by organizing events, offering coffee and camaraderie, or preparing for celebrations of life. Their dedication preserves the spirit of service and connection that defines St. Marys, enriching our community and honoring our veterans.”
Rotary Club of St. Marys
“Rotary is proud to be among the numerous clubs offering valuable services to St. Marys and surrounding communities,” said local Rotary president Mark Oliver. “Volunteer service provides an enormously valuable contribution toward the achievement of the ambitious
goals our community has set for itself. The motto of Rotary is, ‘Service Above Self.’
“Our members routinely identify ‘service to the community’ as one of their main reasons for joining Rotary. Volunteer activities can be small or all-consuming and range from organizing community fundraising events, participating on boards and committees, delivering meals to shut-ins, promoting literacy, helping newcomers and hosting exchange students. There are also larger efforts to provide proper washrooms for schools in the developing world. The largest and most ambitious initiative is our Polio Plus campaign, launched in 1985 to eradicate polio.
“Still, much of the world knows little of the impact of Rotary volunteering. Members of the Rotary Club of St. Marys contribute over 3,400 volunteer hours each year. Add in all the volunteer hours from the other service clubs and the total is impressive! Volunteer service is not just a feel-good calling. The economic impact of volunteerism on our community is enormous. So, whether you’re doing what you can to volunteer on your own or you’ve joined a service club, thank you, volunteers!”
The St. Marys Independent would like to join the above organizations and service clubs in thanking our local volunteers for their contributions to our community. We at the newspaper also depend on volunteer contributors to submit many of the photos, articles, columns, editorials, boos and bravos that make our publication so enjoyable to read.
Thank you all for helping us serve this wonderful community.
Micro-volunteering matters at United Way Perth-Huron
AMANDA MODARAGAMAGE Independent Reporter
Across Ontario, nonprofit organizations are experiencing a notable decrease in volunteer participation. Statistics Canada data shows that 65 per cent of organizations nationwide face volunteer shortages.
According to the data, health concerns, shifting priorities and increased financial pressures post-pandemic are leading people to seek additional employment or reduce unpaid commitments, all contributing to the decline in volunteering.
Though the landscape has changed, United Way Perth-Huron continues to thrive thanks to the support of more than 600 active volunteers. Of those, around 500 are considered micro-volunteers — people who give limited amounts of time to the organization, but still make a big impact.
Recognizing this shift, Ryan Erb, executive director of United Way Perth-Huron, says the organization values every minute of donated time.
“We talk a lot about living wage at United Way. We know that many people in our community — about half — are living on a living wage, and that’s dif ficult,” Erb said. “We know that people pick up a second job, run kids around or just try to survive. I understand that, but even a short amount of time, I think, makes the world a better place — and it certainly helps the organizations and the volunteers themselves.”
Erb said micro-volunteering can take many forms. Whether someone volunteers for a few hours
at a single event, helps run a workplace campaign, or raises awareness on behalf of the organization, every effort counts.
“One of the most significant events we operate is Coldest Night of the Year, and to pull that event off, we rely on many volunteers,” he said. “We need people to help with setup, direct traffic, register participants as they arrive and ensure everyone stays safe. Every single one of those people is incredibly important.”
While getting involved with a not-forprofit may feel overwhelming at first, Erb encourages people to start by reaching out to a local organization to find the right fit.
“I think most people, when they get to that point in their life where they have a bit more freedom or flexibility, are asking, ‘How can I contribute to my community? How can I make this a better place?’ Maybe they haven’t thought of volunteering because they don’t have 10 hours a week — but you don’t need 10 hours. Even one hour at an event can make all the difference.
“We’re all striving to be better people. I hope we’re all striving for a better community. If you can give an hour, that’s great. It’s amazing that you’re able
In closing, Erb expressed gratitude for the more than 600 volunteers who make
the work of United Way Perth-Huron possible.
“Volunteers really are the heart of the organization,” he said. “You don’t have a successful organization without all
kinds of people giving all kinds of time. For not-for-profits especially, volunteers are definitely the life of the organiza
tion.”
United Way Perth-Huron celebrated its volunteers at the 2025 Spirit of Community Celebration. Pictured from left to right are Robert Stanton, Eva Sippel, Gerry Bell, Trevor Bazinet, April Selkirk, Randy Carroll and Cindi Jones.
(KRIS VON KLEIST PHOTO)
THANK YOU!
Happy National Volunteer Week!
The Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance extends a heartfelt thanks to our amazing volunteers for their generous gifts of time, commitment and service.
(WENDY LAMOND PHOTOS)
Pictured are Kirkton Woodham Optimists Tim Shute, Larry Rundle, Ellard Brandt, Christian Brandt president, Vern Thomson and Gerald Johns during the annual fish fry April 27.
(NANCY BICKELL PHOTO)
(NANCY BICKELL PHOTO)
A classical composer and musician in our midst SPOTLIGHT ON ARTS & CULTURE
JIM GILES Independent Columnist
Edited by Alice Rixson
You may see him walking his dog along the trails of St. Marys or sauntering downtown to meet with friends. You know him if you’re a member of the St. Marys Poetry Circle. Maybe while visiting the United States, you caught his weekly radio series called Knowing the Score, aimed at introducing listeners to contemporary classical music. Perhaps you’ve heard one of his many compositions.
But you may not know that Dan Welcher is a recipient an Arts and Letters Award in music presented by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The society, founded in 1898, honours artists, architects, composers and writers, and fosters and sustains excellence in American literature, music and art with a membership of 300 members elected for life.
For six months of the year, St. Marys is home for Welcher. His partner was born in Canada and has relatives in Canada.
“We came up in the summers to visit cousins,” he recalls fondly, “and stayed in a farmhouse in Granton.”
During one of those summer retreats, Welcher discovered the Stratford Festival.
“We started coming back every summer, seeing as many plays as possible. I’m kind of a theatre nut and being so close to a major festival was bait I couldn’t resist,” says Welcher.
Welcher set up a composing studio in the living room and worked on whatever music he was writing at the time. In 2016, he and his partner decided to buy a small wartime house in St. Marys to have a place to live during the summers and have since purchased a larger home. He retired from teaching at the University of Texas (Austin) in 2019 and began extending his Canadian visits. He became a permanent resident in 2021 with hopes for Canadian citizenship when he’s lived here for the required time period.
Welcher was born in Rochester, N.Y. His parents played musical instruments in high school and his mother sang with the Rochester Oratorio Society for a few years during World War II, but neither pursued music beyond that point.
“I discovered that I loved music when I first got face-to-face with a piano at the home of a friend,” Welcher relates. “Only six years old, I couldn’t stop noodling at it and my parents finally bought an old, upright piano for me. I began lessons with a woman who lived two blocks away and played the piano all through high school.”
In Grade 7, the band director encouraged him to try the bassoon, which he hadn’t heard of before and that became his “real” instrument. The bassoon supported him through two college degrees, a three-year stint in the U.S. Army at West Point during the Vietnam conflict, playing in the U.S. Military Academy Band and numerous professional positions in symphony orchestras.
Welcher earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music, studying bassoon, piano and composition. He was principal bassoonist at the Louisville Orchestra and a professor of composition and music theory at the University of Louisville in the 1970s. He also taught at the Aspen Music Festival and School for 14 years. He established the UT New Music Ensemble and served as the assistant conductor of the Austin Symphony Orchestra for 10 years.
“Dr. Samuel Adler, at the Eastman School of Music, convinced me that I could be more than just a good bassoon player and I credit my serious approach to composition to my studies with him,” continues Welcher, whose arrangements include concertos, symphonies, vocal literature and piano solos, in addition to various kinds of chamber music.
Highlights of his musical career were the three years he spent as composer-in-residence with the Honolulu Sym -
phony from 1990-1993 when he was chosen as one of 10 professional composers given a full-time salary with a major symphony under a program called Meet the Composer.
Another focal point was the oratorio he wrote entitled JFK: The Voice of Peace, commissioned for the anniversary of the founding of the Peace Corps, which premiered at Boston Symphony Hall in 1999. The hour-long piece featured a narrator, solo cello and full chorus with vocal soloists and orchestra with the text from speeches by John F. Kennedy and from poems and poets.
“Music is religion to me,” Welcher proclaims. “I have never been as transported to other realms in a church or at an art gallery as I have been while immersed in a Gustav Mahler symphony. Most professional musicians will tell you that there is always something playing in their heads. I’m never without it. You could stop me on the street and ask, ‘What’s in your head right now?’ And I could tell you without hesitation. (Music) is the only thing in life that transcends speech and thought.”
To hear and learn more about Welcher, visit www.danwelcher.com.
Please send comments and proposed topics for arts articles to smindependentarts@gmail.com.
Composer and musician Dan Welcher.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Dan Welcher conducting.
Children and technology: A five-alarm fire
LOREENA MCKENNITT Independent Reporter
Now that the school year is winding down and children and youth are more visible in the lengthening spring days, there will be many of us reminiscing about our own childhoods and being sent outside to play, instructed only to come home when the streetlights came on. We’d ride our bikes, hike the railway tracks, play hide and seek, hang out on the swings, or learn to skip on the school grounds.
After watching the Netflix series, Adolescence, one wonders if we even belong to the same species as our children today.
This four-part series follows a cherub-faced 13-year-old boy accused of murdering a female classmate and explores the conditions which lead to this incident and how it affected his fam -
ily and peers. Part three reveals one of the significant contributing factors was the radicalization of young men in the “manosphere” via a secretive system of communication on the internet and through forums promoted by social-media influencers like Andrew Tate. It involves young girls taking compromising pictures of themselves and sending them to male acquaintances, not unlike the ones I learned about in Stratford quite recently.
Adolescence is gut-wrenching to watch and will have every parent shocked into asking, “Do I really know what my children are doing and watching?”
As someone who has followed the subject of children, technology and its unintended consequences for more than 12 years, I can safely say there is a list of threats which run a full page long – what McMaster University professor and cultural critic Henry Giroux calls a “carpet
bombing” of our youth.
This list includes attention and addiction disorders of gaming and hard porn, bullying, suicide and sextortion. It can lead to radicalization, human trafficking by predators, loneliness, mental-health issues, substance abuse and more.
Simply put, there is a five-alarm fire in our children’s lives and so many of us either don’t know about it or aren’t sure what to do about it if we are aware.
One of the most striking features of this emergency is that most other industries are obliged to adhere to strict regulations tied to research and testing before their products can be unleashed on society. Think drugs or food. And yet, most American and foreign-owned social-media platforms have never been required to apply this same due diligence in the name of safety. Platforms like Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok, in their unregulated state, have been free to cause carnage
across the planet and do great harm to our defenceless children.
It is with this in mind that we welcome such initiatives as the AMDSB’s free in-person screenings on May 6 of the award-winning documentary, Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age. The film is a family-friendly exploration of this subject and every parent, grandparent and youth should book the night off and watch it.
Maybe, just maybe, we can join the growing movement of families, school boards, provinces, states and countries who are finally bringing these companies to heel. Every one of our children is depending on us.
Loreena McKennitt is an international, multi-platinum recording artist, a member of The Order of Canada, the former Honorary Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force and founder of Wise Communities.
St. Marys Independent SPORTS
Lincs claw back to force Game 7 in West Final
SPENCER SEYMOUR
Independent Sports Reporter
For the second consecutive year, the St. Marys Lincolns faced elimination, only to come back and force a seventh and deciding game in the Western Conference Final, which took place on April 29 after the Independent was sent to print.
The Chatham Maroons took advantage of a lacklustre effort by St. Marys in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead on April 22. Carter Chadwick opened the scoring three minutes and 15 seconds into the second period after a scoreless first 20 minutes. Blake Elzinga tied the game at one apiece 61 seconds later, but midway through the period, Liam Campbell restored the Maroons’ onegoal lead.
A catastrophic powerplay near the end of the second saw the Lincolns give up three high-danger chances, either in the form of two-on-zero rushes or breakaways, all of which were only negated by goaltender Nico Armellin, who had a valiant 29-save effort in between the pipes. Head coach Jeff Bradley told the Independent the calamitous second-period man advantage derailed any momentum the Lincolns had in the game.
“We had six minutes and 35 seconds of powerplay time and we spent two minutes and 55 seconds in the offensive zone, and I think we had only one really good chance,” said Bradley. “You have to give Chatham credit; they played really well, and their penalty kill was great. But we didn’t want to be first to pucks. We wanted to do it all ourselves. We wanted to come up with our own plan, and we got what we deserved.”
Just 15 seconds into the third, the Lincolns gave up yet another shorthanded breakaway, but this time, Dylan Richter put the puck five-hole on Armellin to give Chatham a two-goal advantage. Later, with three-and-a-half minutes left on the clock, Connor Hunt ripped home a powerplay marker to give Chatham the 4-1 final score.
“As far as an overall performance, it was honestly one of the worst I’ve seen in my four years here,” Bradley said. “It’s just not acceptable at this time of year, and we’ve got guys that want to be considered your best, and they have to step up and play like a top player. If it weren’t for Nico (Armellin), that game would have been a whole lot worse.”
Lincs pushed to brink of elimination in Game 4
Despite a better performance on April 24 when the Lincolns travelled to Chatham for Game 4, the Maroons managed to come away with yet another 4-1 victory, putting the Lincolns one loss away from their season coming to an end.
Bradley felt the game was very winnable for his team but, in the end, their of-
fense just couldn’t deliver as many goals as they needed.
“It seemed like both teams were feeling the game out a little bit in the first, but they got two goals. I don’t think it was indicative of our play. I think it was two goals that just happened and we unfortunately weren’t on the right side of them. We stressed making life difficult on them and their goaltender, and I thought we did a good job at that. We had every chance to tie it and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to, but it wasn’t for lack of effort.
“In the third period, we carried the play,” Bradley continued. “We had the better scoring chances and more chances than they did. You have to give credit to Chatham as they’re a really good team, and their goaltender, in particular, made some big saves. That’s not to say we deserved better. The goaltender is a part of the team and he did what he had to do.”
Eamon Edgar, a 2025 second-round draft pick of the Barrie Colts, scored his first-ever Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) playoff goal with just under five minutes left in the opening frame. Three-and-a-half minutes later, Richter potted his 10th of the post-season to give Chatham a 2-0 lead at the end of the first.
Both teams were held off the scoresheet in the second, with the next goal coming two minutes and 56 seconds into the third when Cohen Bidgood beat goaltender Gannon Hunter to cut Chatham’s lead to one. However, the Lincolns couldn’t find a way to tie the game while the Maroons got a pair of
empty net tallies from Richter and Cruz Ferguson. Hunter ended the game with 39 saves.
Despite the undesired result, the Lincolns’ bench boss noted the coaching staff felt reinvigorated about the trend of their squad’s performance.
“We typically don’t talk to the team right after a game, but we went in after (Game 4) and told them to keep their head up and continue playing like that. We saw some improvement in the powerplay. We were creating some rotation and movement up top and then funnelling more pucks towards the net and had bodies in front of the net. Rather than rotating all five guys, we rotated the top three and it opened some things up for us.”
Bradley added one of the team’s headline trade additions stood out in a big way.
“I thought Lincoln (Moore) had his best game as a Lincoln,” said Bradley. “He was amazing. He was just on a mission all night. Anytime he was on the ice, no matter which zone he was in, he was out there playing like he was on a mission.”
Lincs surge back to life in Game 5
Despite not scoring until the 14:15 mark of the second period, the Lincolns performed even better for the duration of Game 5, with their offense finally coming to life in the third en route to a 6-1 win April 25.
“In the first period, we cranked it up a bit more compared to our other first periods and we carried it for pretty much the whole game,” Bradley said. “We put a priority on getting the first goal and
we didn’t do that, but I think it speaks to the resiliency and the never-say-quit attitude of this group that we came back as strong as we did.”
Brody Gillis netted his eighth of the year on a rare net-front chance for the Maroons, the only goal to get by netminder Colby Booth-Housego, who ended the night with 25 stops.
Booth-Housego was one of several players to receive praise from the head coach.
“Lincoln (Moore) had another amazing game. This is the time for the cream to rise to the top and he has had two outstanding performances here, and that’s what we need from him. Quinn (GavinWhite) gave us exactly what we needed from him. It’s tough for Quinn, given he was out of the lineup for quite some time, and there is pressure there because you don’t want to come in and mess up. We don’t necessarily need production out of him; we just need him in that position to give us solid, trustworthy minutes, and that’s what Quinn gave us.
“Our whole defence corps defended very well,” added Bradley. “I thought Colby (Booth-Housego) had a great game. We only gave up six shots from the home-plate area, so there were really no second opportunities given up. Colby made the saves we needed him to and our defence played hard, they defended hard, they cared and they gave up almost no second chances.”
Owen Voortman tied the game at one apiece with a powerplay goal that ended the Thunder Bay native’s nine-game goal drought. Voortman’s linemates, Luca Spagnolo and Jaden Lee, both finished the game with three points each. Spagnolo, who had one point in his previous six games, posted two goals and an assist, while Lee, who entered Game 5 with one point in his last seven, picked up three helpers.
Spagnolo’s pair of goals both came in the third, the first of which was scored just 27 seconds after Owen Kalp buried the eventual game-winning goal. Lincoln Moore rifled home a powerplay goal before Hodkinson later deflected the puck by Hunter for another powerplay tally.
“The way we have played these last two games, that’s the team we have expected all playoff,” Bradley said. “It’s difficult with the suspensions and injuries, but we have a standard that we believe our team should deliver on, and they have done that (in games four and five) even though the results were split.”
Fan support helps lift Lincs to explosive Game 6 win
Boosted by a contingent of fans who arrived at the Chatham Memorial Arena via a fan bus, the Lincolns turned in some of their best hockey of the playoffs and claimed a 6-2 victory over Chatham
Chase MacQueen-Spence throws the monkey off his back after finally scoring his first goal of the playoffs in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on April 27.
(TURNER ROTH PHOTO)
Lincs claw back to force Game 7 in West Final
to force a Game 7.
According to Bradley, penalty trouble was the only flaw in an otherwise strong start to the contest for the Lincolns.
“Going in, we put a lot of emphasis on our start. There is a bit of added pressure when you have a chance to eliminate a team and you don’t do it, so we wanted to try to put a seed of doubt in Chatham’s mind. We certainly didn’t want to take three penalties. We can’t be playing with fire like that, but in terms of our play, we were really happy.”
Nearly five minutes into the game, Moore collected a loose puck in centre ice and buried on a shorthanded breakaway to put St. Marys up 1-0. The Lincolns followed that up later in the period with goals from Kyle Morey and Jaden Lee just one minute and 15 seconds apart, giving the Lincolns a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission and chasing Hunter from the Maroons’ net, who was pulled in favour of Samuel DiBlasi.
The Lincolns kept rolling in the second with Jacob McLellan burying his third of the post-season on a powerplay less than two minutes into the period.
Almost exactly five minutes later, the most mystifying and confounding goal drought finally came to an end when,
after 17 games of doing everything but score, reigning playoff MVP Chase MacQueen-Spence finally found the back of the net for his first of the playoffs, a goal Bradley said the assistant captain deserved.
“Chase (MacQueen-Spence) definitely deserved it. He is such an important
player for us and he’s been a big helper these playoffs. He has gotten a lot of assists and has done many other great things for our team, but obviously, a guy like Chase wants to contribute with goals as well, so it was good for him to get that one and remind himself he can still do it.”
SMMHA celebrating growth, success of girls hockey in St. Marys
SPENCER SEYMOUR
Independent Sports Reporter
With Girls Try Hockey Day, a free session hosted by the St. Marys Minor Hockey Association (SMMHA), quickly approaching, the local hockey association has reason to expect big things in the future with their most-recent strong season.
The free session takes May 3 at the Pyramid Recreation Centre (PRC) and provides equipment for prospective players to take part in on-ice games, as well as post-game recreational activities and snacks.
Eileen Matheson, the SMMHA’s western Ontario girls hockey league representative, described the success the organization has seen this past season.
“We had four teams make it to their respective provincial championship,” Matheson told the Independent. “The U11 Bs, U13 Cs, U15 Cs and U18 Cs, making this the first year in many that St. Marys has had teams representing all divisions. That just shows how girls’ hockey is changing in our small town, and how we are able to compete with the big cities.”
Amy Crummer, the SMMHA’s representative for the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA), praised the association’s members for building the local minor-hockey program’s success.
“Our coaches, executives and parents continue to work together and ask how we strengthen the commitment to girls’ hockey in St. Marys,” said Crummer. “The answer lies in offering competitive, affordable hockey while prioritizing equal ice time, player development and a positive experience for every athlete. It’s not always easy, but through collaboration and determination, we are making it happen, and we are proud to continue building a strong, inclusive hockey com -
munity.”
Crummer also noted the growing momentum surrounding girls’ hockey in St. Marys.
“The growth of our organization over the past year has been fueled by strong leadership, outstanding commitment from volunteers, clear communication and excellent coaching. When players are excited to hit the ice with their peers and are pushed to be their best by coaches who believe in them, you hear it. You hear them saying, ‘I want to go back,’ and, ‘I can show how strong girls in St. Marys are.’ The momentum is real. The next question people are asking is, ‘When will we have a Lincolns’ ladies league?’ Come watch these girls play and you’ll know that it’s coming.
“When players see themselves reflected in their community and are recognized for their strengths through local articles, support from female coaches and opportunities both on and off the ice, it helps level the playing field,” Crummer continued. “Girls’ hockey has always been a vital part of St. Marys, but in recent years, the organization has placed even greater focus on uplifting our players by ensuring equal access and opportunity.”
Perhaps most importantly, the enthusiasm for girls’ hockey is at an all-time high and the SMMHA is starting to see its commitment to growing the sport coming to fruition, according to Crummer.
“Change starts now, but it takes time to grow and this year’s data — growing teams, higher retention and more excitement — proves it. It also helps when St. Marys parents speak proudly about the sport, not just to others, but in front of their own players. That pride is contagious, and it’s building something truly special for the future of girls’ hockey in St. Marys.”
After the game, when asked how it felt to finally end the goal drought, MacQueen-Spence simply exhaled and, with a deeply relieved smile, responded simply.
“It felt great.”
The Maroons found life a mere 41 seconds into the third when Sean Truby cut the lead to four. Both teams scored one more time in the final period with Hodkinson potting his 11th of the playoffs before Hunt scored his fifth. BoothHousego backstopped the Lincolns to their 6-2 win with a 29-save effort.
Bradley said the most important assist of the game was not one recorded on the scoresheet, as he offered a message directly to the team’s supporters who made the trip to watch Game 6.
“I want our fans not to underestimate how awesome that was for our players and how much that did for them,” he said. “Chatham is a tough place to play and when you go in there as the visiting team, you feel alone, but for us to be able to look beside us and see our fans there and hear them and feel their energy, it was awesome.”
Game 7 took place on April 29 after the Independent’s press time. The winner of the series will face the St. Catharines Falcons in the Sutherland Cup Final.
Lincoln Moore goes forehand to backhand and tucks the puck past Chatham Maroons’ goaltender Gannon Hunter in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on April 27.
(MCGINNY PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO)
DCVI senior girls earn first win of season
SPENCER SEYMOUR
Independent Sports Reporter
The St. Marys DCVI Senior Girls Soccer team picked up a 3-0 victory over Listowel in their first day of action in the regular season April 22.
During their first game versus St. Michael Catholic Secondary, the Salukis lost a hard-fought 1-0 game, which came down to the last second when St. Mike’s took the lead. DCVI’s senior girls used this as fuel to come out strong against Listowel in their second game.
The senior girls started off strong with good linkup play from Marin Chateauvert and Libby McCurdy, leading to a Chateauvert goal early in the first half. The game would be an offensive onslaught from there as St. Marys continued to create great scoring chances but with no luck, as Listowel played a strong defensive game in that first half after Chateauvert’s icebreaker.
Head coach Tawnya Basisto noted the improvement in the team’s soccer awareness as the game went on.
it up the field for a breakaway goal to give the Salukis a 2-0 lead.
Before the game was done, Sydney Grant dribbled the ball into the Listowel box and took a shot that just found the bottom corner of the net to give St. Marys the three-goal spread.
Basisto explained how the game could give the girls the belief they need to make the most of the season.
“I think the win and the way we played gets our confidence up to go into our next games and the rest of the season as a whole. This win helps us understand that we can play with anyone, and with another practice and the opportunity to come up with some plays to take us forward, I think there is plenty for us to build off.”
Basisto credited the squad for their support for their teammates.
“We had a lot of learning and we didn’t really have any solid practices yet, so it was good to see everybody working together to figure out the game,” Bassisto told the Independent. “I think all of them worked hard to try to keep the ball in the other team’s end.”
Tennis is definitely having a moment in pop culture. From tennis-themed clothing to music and movies, the sport is everywhere, including St. Marys.
The St. Marys Tennis Club’s season begins on May 1 with activities for experienced players and lessons for those who want to learn this increasingly popular sport, which combines a great workout with lots of social time.
The club is pleased to offer women’s and co-ed lessons, led by certified instructor Ross Barnwell. Intended for teens and adults, the cost is $80 and includes a membership to the St. Marys Social Tennis Club:
• Women’s: 6-7 p.m. on June 3, 5, 10 and 12
• Co-ed: 6-7 p.m. on June 17, 19, 24
The second half would be a dominant St. Marys performance as they contin -
and 26
Summer camps for youth ages seven to 17 run from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. daily, July 7-11 or July 14-18. Each week costs $100 and is led by Barnwell, with support from club members.
Experienced teen and adult players are invited to the club’s regular nights of play, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-9 p.m. The format is drop-in mixed doubles. A membership is required to regularly play on these nights at a cost of $40 for the season. Membership includes entry to the club’s fall doubles tournament, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 13, as well as to other events such as demo nights.
To register or for more information, contact the club at stmaryssocialtennisclub@gmail.com or message the club’s Facebook page.
ued their solid defensive performance, holding Listowel to their own half for the rest of the game. The game was 15 minutes away from completion when Skylar Fadelle received a pass and took
“What stands out to me about this team is that they are really good at cheering each other on and setting realistic goals with each other,” said Basisto. “Hopefully, we can bring home a couple more wins this year, and maintaining that positive, supportive environment is certainly a big part of that.”
Marin Chateauvert steps into a shot during the St. Marys DCVI Senior Girls Soccer team’s 3-0 win over Listowel on April 22.
(TURNER ROTH PHOTO)
Pictured from left to right are Bimbo Asi Antenor, Roger Batch, Phil Dellio, Andrea Macko, Adam Pallone, Marilyn Leasa and Callum Hughson, all members of the St. Marys Tennis Club who gathered to play in April as the tennis season began in St. Marys.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Meredith Stokes fires a quick snapshot on goal during one of the U14 St. Marys Snipers (Graham) games earlier this season.
Leighton Lichti maneuvers through the offensive zone with the ring during one of the U16 St. Marys Snipers games earlier this season.
Mason Krauskopf gloves a loose puck in front of his crease during one of the Stonetown Electric U9 LL Boys White St. Marys Rock games earlier this season.
Nick Simons launches a shot on target during one of the St. Marys Building Centre U12 A Boys St. Marys Rock games earlier this season.
Nic Brintnell puts a shot on net during one of the St. Marys Legion
Boys St. Marys Rock games earlier this season.
SMMHA honours graduating players, award winners at year-end ceremony
from left to right are Rory Brockman, Sophia Smith, Kiersyn Wood, and Delanie McKay. The quartet are four of the St. Marys Minor Hockey Association’s (SMMHA) graduating OWHA players who were honoured as part of the association’s end-of-year awards banquet on April 28. Along with the major award winners, every SMMHA team honoured their players with Unsung Hero, Coach’s Choice, and Player’s Choice awards, and Linley Porter earned a Resiliency Award after returning to hockey after a severe back injury.
from left are U18 C Girls St. Marys Rock coach Nathan Brow, along with the SMMHA’s OWHA major award winners Sophia Smith, Madeleine Monisit Brown, Sophie Richardson, Delanie McKay, and Rory Brockman. Smith won the Ernie Little Award for outstanding female goalie. Brown earned the Doug Hicks Memorial Award for outstanding female leadership. Richardson and McKay were co-winners of the Dixies Award for most skillful and hardest-working female players. Brockman took the Lindsay Atkinson Memorial Award for most sportsmanlike female player.
in the front row, from left, are Trevor Richardson, Connor
Adam Turner, Griffin McGregor, and Hayden Brintnell. In the back row, from left, are Trevor Aarts, Brody Tubman, Jordan Wiles, Callum McIntosh, Brier Frayne, Grayson Boreham, Colton Henderson, Cole Jones, and Thijs Paulin. U16 A Boys St. Marys Rock coach Bob Davis, who retired after 30 years of coaching at the end of the 2024-25 season, was honoured with the Ferris Stewart Memorial Award as SMMHA coach of the year.
from left are Colton Henderson, Grayson Boreham, Luke
Trevor Richardson, Griffen McGregor, and U18 A Boys St. Marys Rock coach Gord
son was named to the International Silver Stick All-Star team. Boreham captured the Mike Mattiusi Award as most sportsmanlike male player. Binning claimed the Donald K. Mossip Memorial Award for outstanding male goalie. Richardson earned the Terry Crisp Award as the most colourful and hard-working player. McGregor won the Bob Searles Award as the SMMHA’s most outstanding male player.
St. Marys Minor Hockey Association
Pictured
Hall,
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Pictured
Binning,
Cookson. Hender
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Pictured
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Pictured
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Men’s bowling league hosts year-end awards banquet
Brockman, McKeen win scholarships at YBC tourney
(CONTRIBUTED
Hannah Buckland helps team win regional bowling tourney
Pictured sitting in front from left are Levi Coleman and Chris Collins. In the back row, from left, are Devin Vossen, Chris Bond, Matt Dezan, Gerald Mason, Jase Doucette, and Josh Drinkwalter. Not pictured was Shaene Yates. The team won the playoff championship. Rogers won the Playoff MVP award, while Doucette also added an individual award by claiming the Most Improved Player honours. The individual awards were rounded out by John McKinnon taking the High Triple with Handicap prize, while Johnny Spackman won the award for High Single with Handicap.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Pictured from left to right are Scott Jackson, Scott Fairbrother, Derek King, and Mike Kuzia. Not pictured were Steph Audet, John McKinnon, and Jamie Rankin. The team won the regular season championship at the St. Marys Bowling Lanes’ Men’s League awards banquet hosted on April 25 at the St. Marys Legion. In the individual awards section of the banquet, King claimed the High Average award. Other individual award winners included Troy Stevens, who took the prize for High Triple, while Jason Firby captured the High Single award. The men’s league competed every Thursday at the local bowling lanes.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Pictured from left to right are Rory Brockman and Nathan McKeen. The two St. Marys YBC bowlers compete at the Youth Bowl Ontario Five-Pin Scholarship tournament held at Victoria Lanes in Kitchener. The tournament featured 58 competitors competing in five games. McKeen earned a sixth-place finish with scores of 213, 175, 189, 197, and 187 to earn a bursary of $250. Brockman placed seventh with scores of 186, 189, 191, 218, and 224, good for a $225 bursary.
PHOTO)
Pictured is Hannah Buckland, a St. Marys native who competed at the Special Olympics Ontario - Stratford and Area’s Regional Five-Pin bowling tournament on April 27 and helped lead her team to a strong finish. Buckland’s team finished first in team points-over-average, with Buckland ending the tournament in second place in individual points-over-average.
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Home Improvement 2025
Refresh & Renew; Local Experts & Fresh Ideas
Let the Light In: Upgrade your home with
Canadian-made windows and doors from Raezor’s Edge
RAEZOR’S EDGE
Contributed article
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Home Improvement 2025
Luckhardt Landworks: Your full-service landscaping experts
Luckhardt Landworks Ltd. was established in 2015 and has never stopped growing. Today as a landscape construction/excavation company it has the equipment and expertise to offer a variety of services including excavation and trucking, septic installation, grading and hydroseeding, and hardscaping specializing in retaining walls and outdoor living spaces. As landscaping and excavation specialists, it is important to us to provide the customer with a finished service that looks great.
Excavation & trucking
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Luckhardt Landworks is a licensed septic installer under the Ontario Building Code and has the equipment to get the job done quickly and efficiently. The Enviro-Septic system that we install (System O) does not require a raised bed and fits onto a smaller footprint. Whether you need repairs to your existing septic or require an entire new system we have the equipment and expertise to help you out.
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Hydroseeding is our favourite method of establishing healthy grass: it is convenient, quick and cost-efficient. We will grade the area for proper drainage and
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Stonetown Electric has recently partnered with Champion Power Equipment
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COLUMNS
UKRAINIAN CORNER: Unsweetened edition
My family’s Mother’s Day gift to me this year? Moral support as I bravely navigate a world suddenly overflowing with sugary goodness, thanks to my recent sugar-free declaration.
This yearning for a less sugary existence has led me down the path of homemade baking. Oh, the best intentions! My kitchen has become a laboratory of questionable textures and surprisingly bland flavours.
This journey of cutting back on sugar has made me think about other challenges people face, especially when navigating a new environment. It’s a bit like immigrating to a new country and encountering unexpected hurdles.
My first hurdle? The sacred coffeeand-something-sweet ritual. It was a habit ingrained deeper than my son’s love for screentime. So, I declared a personal ascetic challenge! Gone were the sugary biscuits, the sneaky chocolates. Instead, I bravely faced nothing, just the bitter embrace of unsweetened coffee. Let me tell you, the first few days felt like a caffeine withdrawal combined with a profound sense of loss. My tastebuds staged a silent protest.
But fear not! Iam a woman on a mission. The next phase of my sugar-free saga involves replacing those sugary desserts with healthy alternatives. This is where the real fun begins. I’ve experimented with dates that are supposed to taste like caramel, avocados masquerading as choc -
Deciding to go sugar-free on Mother’s Day is the much-more-affordable alternative to seeking dental care in Canada as a Ukrainian newcomer without dental benefits.
olate mousse (surprisingly not terrible) and enough variations of baked apples to last a lifetime.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: sugar-free treats? Where’s the fun in that? Well, try telling that to a recent immigrant trying to navigate the daz -
Ask the Arborist
By Joel Hackett | 519 272 5742 | jtsquote@gmail.com
Dear Arborist,
I have a tree near a power line; one guy said “wood is not conductive so its fine to cut it.” I find this unlikely? I am concerned though, it might even be touching.
There has to be rules about this kind of thing! What do you advise?
Thanks, Dave
Dear Dave,
There are definitely rules regarding power lines. As I understand it, Utility Arborists are allowed to work within the limits specified by Reg 213/91 Section 188(2), but I would recommend contacting OHSA or the the electric company. In every industry, there are people who ‘cut corners’. There is always that one guy who thinks he is invincible. Wood is conductive especially with high voltage.
This reminds me of a story. One time, I was in a discussion with a group of people who worked in the tree industry; they were talking about electrical power lines. The one individual
suddenly asked, “So are you guys a ‘one tingle’ tree climber or a ‘two tingle’?” Then he said, “I am a two tingle, but my boss says its perfectly safe to climb on three tingles.” He clarified and said “You know, you touch the tree, and it gives you a tingle, because its touching the power line?”
We all just looked at him in disbelief. Finally, an older man in the group responded very sarcastically, “Definitely three tingles man, got to feel the tingle in your soul before you meet God.”
Stories like this are humorous, but there are people who play with danger. I am not a Utility Arborist, nor an electrical expert, so am not qualified to give advice on this subject. Therefore, my only recommendation is to contact the proper authorities and consult an actual expert.
Sincerely,
The Arborist
Joel Hackett is a certified Arborist residing in the St. Marys area. Currently, he spends most of the year running Joel’s Tree Service. For contact call 519 272 5742 or email jtsquote@gmail.com
zling yet often-daunting world of Canadian dentistry. For many newcomers, the dream of a perfectly aligned Canadian smile can feel as far-fetched as finding affordable housing in Toronto.
Let’s be honest, the thought of a Canadian dental bill can make your jaw
drop faster than if you bit into a lemon. We’re talking serious loonies and toonies flying out of your account. So, think of every sugary treat you skip as a little deposit into your “avoid the dentist’s astronomical bill” fund. It’s like a delicious way to save money!
You know, it’s gotten to the point where Ukrainians in Canada have a running joke that it’s actually cheaper to take a quick trip to Europe – flights, a nice hotel and even getting your teeth fixed by a state-of-the-art European dentist – than it is to endure the Canadian dental system without benefits.
Some Ukrainians are contemplating a different kind of “immigration” – a temporary one for their teeth! They envision a little dental tourism adventure; explore a historic European city by day and get a sparkling, pain-free smile by the afternoon, all for less than the cost of a single filling in Canada.
Speaking of journeys and bittersweet feelings …
This Mother’s Day in Canada carries a bittersweet feeling as my sugar-free journey continues without my mother’s physical presence. Usually, we would be together, perhaps enjoying a sugar-free treat I’ve experimented with. However, this year, the ongoing war in Ukraine keeps us separated, a painful reality for many families. While I navigate this day with my health goals in mind, my heart aches for my mom’s safety and longs for the day we can celebrate together again in peace. Despite the distance and worry, I’ll find ways to connect with her and honour her on this special day.
(ALONA VASYLIEVA PHOTO)
ALONA VASYLIEVA Independent Columnist
HISTORIC ST. MARYS: Rosebank Cottage
MARY SMITH Independent Columnist
Rosebank Cottage, one of the oldest houses in St. Marys, is a treasure in our town’s the built heritage. It faces onto Queen Street in the west ward but, because trees and shrubbery screen its location on the hillside, many passers-by don’t look carefully at this lovely frame house. Built in 1857, it is remarkably preserved today, almost 17 decades later. Volunteer researchers at the St. Marys Museum are preparing a history of this property for the current owners. Based on their findings, this column is the story of a previous occupant, Julia Ford, who lived in the house for the first 90 years of its history.
Julia Ford was born in Rosebank Cottage on April 12, 1858, into a family that could provide her with every advantage a female could hope for in 19th century, small-town Ontario. Her father, Adam Enoch Ford, was a popular local physician. As well as running a busy medical practice, he found time to participate in almost every activity St. Marys had to offer from the 1850s to the 1870s. He was musical and was frequently asked to sing at concerts. He played in the town band and was an active member of the Mechanics Institute. He loved all sports – particularly cricket in the summer and curling in the winter. In May 1857, he married Jane Cruttenden, the daughter of Lauriston Cruttenden, a prosperous early resident of the town. A year earlier, he had purchased property on Queen Street West from James Ingersoll. Rosebank Cottage was planned and designed as a home for himself and his new bride. Plans for the cottage’s prototype exist, showing “warming and ventilating apparatus,” innovative for the mid-1800s. It was ideally located looking east over the Thames River and the growing town, just a block from Jane’s family home on Ontario Street. Jane, almost 10 years younger than her husband, was only 16 at the time of her marriage and 17 when her first child, Julia, was born. Two baby boys followed, Arthur and Leon – three babies within five years. Jane never regained robust health following their births and, unlike her husband, preferred time with her family to social occasions. But although the Fords had different interests, they were loving and supportive parents. Rosebank Cottage was a comfortable home for Julia and her brothers as they grew up. Julia was surrounded by relatives from both sides of the family. Her Grandfather Ford, another early St. Marys resident, and several of his married children, lived close by as did her Cruttenden grandparents and various Cruttenden uncles, aunts and cousins. Julia and her first cousin, Mary Clench, were born just 12 days apart and they were very close. Mary was the older daughter of Jane’s sister, Eunice, and her husband, Leon Clench. Nora, who later became a famous violinist, was the Clenches’ younger daughter. Dr. Ford and Leon Clench were also great friends.
Julia started her education at West Ward School where she might have had her aunt, Elizabeth Cruttenden, as one of her teachers. But when she was old
enough, she and Mary Clench were sent to Sacred Heart Academy in London, Ont., the closest place for young St. Marys girls to continue their education past elementary school. St. Marys Collegiate Institute was open by the time Julia’s younger brothers were ready to attend. At the academy, Julia was a good student and won ribbons for diligence in four subjects, including astronomy, a lifelong interest. Bright and well-educated, from two of the town’s most respected families, by the time Julia was 20, she must have anticipated a secure and happy future.
But then things fell apart. For more than two decades, Julia’s father, Dr. Ford, had been an important figure in St. Marys, busy with his medical practice and community meetings. As well as his sporting interests, he was a member of town council for several years and, in 1877, he served a term as mayor. His downtown office was a favorite meeting place after the workday or after various sports competitions for those men who liked to combine stimulating conversation with a bit of drinking. The Ford coterie kept late hours and were definitely not supporters of the recently formed local Temperance Society. But one evening in June 1878, a devastating event occurred. Robert Guest, a young St. Marys man, went to Ford’s office as he and his friends had often done before. Guest went willingly although he had taken a temperance pledge. About midnight,
Guest left the office and collapsed on the street, violently ill. Gasping for breath, he accused Dr. Ford of giving him poison in his drink of rum or rye. He died at his parents’ home a few hours later.
The powerful Guest family made sure that Dr. Ford was arrested and charged with having caused Robert’s death by administering a poison. Ford was held in the county jail in Stratford to await a preliminary court appearance. At the inquest, the analyst who had examined the deceased’s stomach contents found no trace of poison but reported the stomach had been injured by some corrosive irritant. Dr. Ford was still charged with having administered poison causing death. He was freed on $3,000 bail. Bail was not opposed because it remained possible that the poison may have been given unintentionally.
The case came to trial almost a year later. St. Marys residents avidly followed the newspaper reports, not only in the St. Marys and Stratford papers, but even in the London dailies. Some of these reports were factual but others contained wild speculation. For instance, one London paper stated that Dr. Ford and Robert Guest had been rivals for the affections of a woman called “Flame.” Dr. Ford’s supporters argued that he had no motive to poison Guest and the witnesses from that evening were inconsistent and unreliable. The prosecution could not prove their case. At the Spring Assizes in Stratford, 1879, the jury returned “No Bill.” Dr. Ford was free, but the jury’s inconclusive verdict still left doubt in many people’s minds. Malicious rumours continued to flourish. Ford’s career in St. Marys was over. By late 1880, he had arranged for another doctor to take over his practice. He tallied up his assets, took out a mortgage and, with his son, Arthur, moved to Denver, Colo., for a fresh start.
Jane and Julia Ford stayed behind in St. Marys. Before he left town, Dr. Ford signed over the ownership of Rosebank Cottage to his wife and daughter. These events had left Jane, now 40 years of age, very fragile and she became even more reclusive. It was Julia, aged 22, who had to deal with the day-to-day realities of managing their diminished household. The Fords had been accustomed to a certain status in the community. Now, with very limited financial resources, they struggled to keep up appearances. Although her freedom was restricted by her mother’s dependence, Julia continued her interests in astronomy and literature. She belonged to various clubs and societies and faithfully attended St. James Anglican Church. It would have been understandable if Julia had become bitter towards her father. Although he may not have been guilty of any crime, his indiscretions had led to disaster. But Julia remained a supportive and understanding daughter. Although there were more than 2,000 kilometres between St. Marys and Denver, and although their separation due to misfortune was just as extreme, the family managed to keep in affectionate contact through the years and the house her father built, Rosebank Cottage, remained Julia’s sanctuary. Her story will continue next week.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ST. MARYS MUSEUM’S DIGITAL COLLECTION)
Julia Ford in her late teens before her happy and secure family life was torn apart.
OH, THE PLACES WE’LL GO: The sheer joy of a P.E.I. Ceidihl
The only problem was, “Uncle Tom” kept “forgetting” there were children in the audience, and did not temper his jokes for those of tender years. No one in the jam-packed hall seemed to mind, though – although, let’s be honest, his jokes were not the highlight of the evening.
The highlight was, without question, the astonishing music performed by the sundry members of the Pendergast family, led by patriarch Michael Pendergast. Coming in a close second was the exuberant, traditional step dancing.
This all went on in a small hall in Stanley Bridge, P.E.I. The event was appropriately dubbed the “Stanley Bridge Ceilidh.”
Oddly enough, Ceilidh is a Gaelic word that translates into English only as “Ceilidh.” In other words, unless you are in a part of the world heavily influenced by Gaelic culture, you have no need for the word.
The best definition I can find is “a social event at which there is Scottish or Irish folk music and singing, tradition -
al dancing and storytelling.”
Yes, that’s about right, though they’ve left out the laughter, the joy and the sheer, flat-out enthusiasm of performers and audience alike.
You’ll find Ceilidhs all over Maritime Canada. The Pendergasts’ event is one of the more rollicking events with funny –if slightly blue – stories, amazing music and superb dancing.
The music got even more amazing when young – I do mean young – members of the Pendergast family took to the stage, fiddles in hand. I guess playing superb fiddle music is built into their genes; these kids certainly didn’t seem old enough to have practiced their way into this level of perfection.
Some Ceilidhs feature nothing but traditional music. Some rely only on fiddle and piano or guitar and fiddle. Some have singing, some not; and it’s the same with dancing. The Pendergasts covered the whole gamut – original songs by Shane Pendergast, performances on piano, guitar, bass, fiddle and accordion, and step dancing.
I mentioned this was a family affair and that was underscored when, at intermission, we were all invited to have dessert and a coffee or tea in the basement of the hall, free of charge.
If my memory serves, we paid something like $30 each for the concert. I promise you this is one of the best musical bargains around, dessert or no dessert. To prove it, about a month after we returned to southwestern Ontario, Stratford Summer Music presented a concert featuring Shane Pen -
dergast. Yep, son of Michael, superb guitarist and one of the musicians on stage at Stanely Bridge. But in Stratford, it cost $125 to attend.
We found the Ceilidh on the recommendation of our hostess at the Barachois Inn Historic Bed & Breakfast in North Rustico, about a 15-minute drive from Stanley Bridge. Now, I don’t always recommend every accommodation we inhabit because some are, well, mundane. But not the Barachois Inn. Though it is rated as a five-star country inn, it’s nonetheless quirky and unique (the bed was on a raised platform you had to remember in the middle of the night) with gorgeous gardens and a superb breakfast shared with the other guests at a big table. When you often stay in hotels, it’s easy to forget the delight that can come with a breakfast-time conversation with fellow travellers from all over the world.
Our hostess – a member of the MacDonald family that owns and operates the place –had recommended the Ceilidh; she also directed us to Carr’s Oyster Bar and told us to say hi to Phyllis. That would be Phyllis Carr, owner of the waterfront restaurant and its gift shop, so we did.
We also enjoyed the meal at a table on the deck with a view of the harbour. Not surprisingly, Prince Edward Island is not lacking in waterfront views.
And on P.E.I., you can’t escape the feeling that everything is so close at hand! For instance, beautiful, world-famous Cavendish Beach is only about 20 minutes from the Barachois
Inn. We enjoyed a wonderful, lengthy stroll on the beach. And for golfers, the links at Crowbush Cove are only 45 minutes away. For golfers from Ontario, this course is a dream come true – a genuine links course on the sea with all of the traditional features of such an 18, built with the same heritage as the most famous links courses like the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland (the home of golf), or the astonishing Kings Barns, also on the North Sea in Scotland. The Links at Crowbush Cove was recognized by Golf Digest as Canada’s Best New Course in 1994. The ensuing years have only improved the course, allowing it to mature into its fine, current state
of excellence.
So, good golf (the course, not the players), a great beach, fine seafood, a five-star B&B and outstanding Gaelic music. Remind me again why anyone would choose not to visit Prince Edward Island?
I mentioned in a previous feature that in our era of hesitancy about travelling south, I would recommend some options. Well, frankly, P.E.I. should already have been on our bucket list of top-priority destinations! Paul Knowles is an author and travel writer, and president of the Travel Media Association of Canada. To contact Paul about travel, his books, or speaking engagements, email pknowles@golden.net.
PAUL KNOWLES
Independent Columnist
The quirky, five-star Barachois Inn.
(PHOTOS BY PAUL KNOWLES)
World-famous Cavendish Beach.
The award-winning Links at Crowbush Cove.
Spring weather can be unpredictable; from warm, humid days to snowy, break-out-yourcoat-again days.
The weather often determines what we choose to cook and eat, whether you’re craving something fresh to add to a barbecue or something more comforting for those sometimes cold, rainy days. The following are a few recipes that are a little lighter in calories but will satisfy those daily, unpredictable cravings.
Pineapple cucumber salad
A perfect side for barbecues.
Total time: 40 minutes
2 cups fresh pineapple, diced
1 large cucumber, diced and peeled if preferred
½ small red onion, thinly sliced ¼ cup fresh cilantro or mint, chopped
1 small jalapeño, finely diced and optional
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp honey or maple syrup
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
Method:
- In a large bowl, combine pineapple, cucumber, red onion and herbs
- Add jalapeño, if using, for a little kick
- In a small bowl, whisk lime juice, honey or maple syrup, salt and pepper
- Pour dressing over salad and toss gently to combine. Chill for 15-30 minutes for best flavour, or serve immediately.
Vegetarian Mexican streetcorn soup
Perfect for those cool, rainy days when you dream of warmer weather.
Total time: 30 minutes
4 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
Salt & pepper to taste ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 lime, juiced
Crumbled queso fresco for topping (optional). Feta would be a good substitute.
Tortilla strips for garnish
Method:
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, cook until onion is translucent.
- Stir in corn kernels, chili powder and cumin. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
- Pour in vegetable broth and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Add coconut milk, lime juice, salt and pepper. Use an immersion blender to purée soup until smooth or carefully transfer to a blender in batches.
- Return to pot and heat through, add more seasoning if necessary.
- Serve hot, garnished with crumbled queso fresco, fresh cilantro and tortilla strips.
Phyllo chicken pot pie with frozen phyllo dough
Total time: 1 hour and 15 minutes; Serves: 4-6
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup cubed and peeled potato
¼ cup chopped onion
½ cup frozen peas, thawed
½ cup corn, frozen kernels, thawed
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 pinch sage
1 pinch thyme
¼ cup flour
1 cup milk
20 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed
¼ cup butter, melted
Method:
- Allow phyllo dough to thaw in refrigerator overnight, bring to room temperature before using. Carefully unroll sheets onto smooth, dry surface. Cover with plastic wrap and then a damp towel until needed. Do not leave uncovered for more than a minute or sheets will dry out.
- Place carrots, onions, potatoes, and celery into chicken broth and cook over medium-high until tender. Add frozen peas and corn. Add diced chicken, salt, pepper, sage and thyme. Simmer over low med
for a few minutes. Remove to allow to cool.
- Whisk milk and flour together. Add to above mixture and simmer until thickened.
- To make the pie, overlap 10 sheets of phyllo in a 9-inch pie dish, buttering the sheets as you go. Pour mixture on phyllo dough. Top with remaining 10 sheets, overlapping the phyllo and brushing each layer with butter. Score top.
- Bake in a preheated oven 350˚F for 25-40 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve hot.
Phyllo chicken pot pie with frozen phyllo dough.
(LAUREN EEDY PHOTO)
Riddles
You’ll find me in Mercury, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, but not in Venus or Neptune. What am I?
The letter “R.”
I’m light as a feather, yet the strongest person can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?
A breath.
I have cities, but no houses. I have forests, but no trees. I have water, but no fish. What am I? A map.
What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it? A promise.
What is yours but mostly used by others? Your name.
Which question can you never answer “yes” to?
“Are you asleep?”
What’s something that, the more you take, the more you leave behind? Footsteps.
What can go up a chimney down, but can’t go down a chimney up?
An umbrella. It only fits when it’s closed, or down!
What kind of lion never roars? A dandelion.
What has a thousand needles but cannot sew?
A porcupine.
Kid
- Word Search -
SPONSORED BY:
Adult Learning Programs of Perth, 26 Wellington St. S. St. Marys | Phone: 519-284-4408 | Cell: 226-374-8231 alearning@town.stmarys.on.ca | www.adultlearningperth.ca | Facebook: @AdultLearningProgramsofPerth
APRIL NEWS HIGHLIGHTS
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St. Marys Veterinary Clinic is pleased to be the sponsor of the
PET OF THE WEEK
Keep an eye out for flea signs on your pets, like constant scratching, hair loss, or tiny black specks known as flea dirt. Make sure to use regular flea control products as a preventative measure.
PEARL
Our Pet of the Week is Pearl. A two-year-old golden retriever/red heeler mix with energy to spare and a heart full of love. Her absolute favourite thing in the world? Playing ball – and she’ll chase one for hours if you let her! Pearl is lovingly cared for by her humans, Stella and Isla Timmins, and adores hanging out with her best furry friend, Franny. With her sweet nature and playful spirit, she’s the heart of her household and deeply loved by her family.
Thorndale
Thames Centre receives Active Living Centre grant for Thorndale
The Municipality of Thames Centre recently announced it has been awarded a new grant from the Ontario Government to establish new active-living activities in Thorndale.
“This funding means more opportunities for seniors to stay active, connected and involved in their community,” said Rob Flack, MPP for Elgin-Mid -
dlesex-London. “It’s all about helping people live well and stay independent as they age. I’m pleased to see Thames Centre moving forward with programs that make a real difference in people’s lives.”
Ontario’s seniors active living centre programs offer social, cultural, learning and recreational programs for older adults that promote health, wellbeing and social connections. They allow older adults to stay physically and socially
Spring Boutique Market hosted in Thorndale
active.
“We’re happy to see the expansion of active-living services in Thorndale,” said ward one Coun. Tom Heeman. “This provincial grant funding allows for us to expand active-living services without having to raise taxes locally.”
This provincial funding will be used to cover the cost of an additional staff member, based out of Thorndale Lions Community Centre for one year starting Monday, April 28.
“Promoting active-living activities is in keeping with the long-term strategic plan that was developed by council and the community,” said CAO David Barrick. “Residents will also be able to provide suggestions about what kinds of new activities will be available.”
Residents can help shape which programs are offered by emailing Thames Centre at activelivingcentre@thamescentre.on.ca with their suggestions for events and activities.
Women’s Institute district meeting held in Thorndale
Last week, the
representing
Thames Centre Choir performs in Spring Concert
(WI)
the
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
NANCY ABRA
Independent Reporter
With more than 80 local and area artisans, food and other vendors in attendance, the Spring Boutique Market organized by Sharyl Vandendries was held April 26 at the Thorndale Lions Community Centre and drew a good crowd of people eagerly seeking out something special and yummy produced locally.
(NANCY ABRA PHOTO)
Crumlin Women’s Institute
hosted
WI Middlesex District luncheon in Thorndale catered by the Thorndale United Church UCW. There were 26 ladies in attendance
Crumlin, Harrietsville, South Lobo, Motherwell and Elgin, as well as past members from the disbanded Thorndale WI. After the roll call and announcements, the ladies were entertained by the Dorchester Choristers.
(NANCY ABRA PHOTO)
Under the direction of Robert Hutson, the Thames Centre Choir performed a wide variety of music at their Spring Concert held at St. George’s Anglican Church on the evening of April 23.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF CATHY BASKERVILLE)
OBITUARY Moylan
Sister Jean Moylan, CSJ
The Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada is saddened to announce the peaceful death of our beloved Sr. Jean Moylan at the care centre at the Sisters of St. Joseph residence in London, Ontario, on Monday, April 28, 2025.
Jean Frances Moylan was born in Seaforth, Ontario, on March 1, 1944. She is lovingly remembered by her CSJ Sisters, her sister Catherine Janossy, brother Gordon (Kathryn), sister-in-law Rita Moylan, and her nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, Mary Ethel (Lane) and John Moylan; her infant sister Anne Marie, brother Donald; sister Luella and her husband Bill Murphy; and brother-in-law Janos Janossy.
Sr. Jean trained as a teacher and taught in Zurich before entering the Congregation in 1967. Over the next 34 years, she served as an educator and later a counselor in schools across London, Kingsville, Goderich, and Windsor. From 1972 to 1974, she was appointed Dean of Students at Mount St. Joseph Academy, where she provided wise and compassionate counsel to students living away from home.
A lifelong learner, Sr. Jean earned a master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Toronto. In 1998, she was honoured with the J.F. Johnston Outstanding Educator Award by the Windsor Catholic Principals’ Association. After retiring from teaching, she received a Diploma in Spiritual Theology from Regis College and began a new ministry with the Congregation as director of the home for women in transition at 534 Queen’s Avenue in London. Her commitment to social justice and community service was deep and enduring. Sr. Jean served on the steering committee for My Sisters’ Place, the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Essex County, and was a member of the Women’s Mental Health and Addiction Action Research Coalition. She was later elected to the leadership team of the Sisters of St. Joseph. From 2020 until the present, she continued her ministry as a guide and mentor to educators in Christian meditation. Sr. Jean will be remembered for her deep love of community, family, and friends. Her warmth, practicality, and sincere interest in people from all walks of life were evident to all who met her. With confidence and compassion, she quietly advocated for those facing difficult circumstances, offering them renewed hope and purpose. To have known Jean was truly a gift and a blessing.
All services will be held at the residence of the Sisters of St. Joseph, 485 Windermere Road, London. Visitation on Wednesday, April 30, from 2:30 – 4:00 pm and 7:00 – 8:00 pm with a prayer service at 6:30 pm. Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, May 1 at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at St. Peter’s Cemetery. The funeral mass will be livestreamed at www.csjcanada.org/funeraljmoylan
Expressions of sympathy or donations to the works of the Congregation in memory of Sr. Jean Moylan may be made at www.csjcanada.org
Sandy Cole (Henderson), who passed away on August 29, 2024 in her 69th year, will have a Celebration of Sandy’s life will be held at the St. Marys Legion, 66 Church St. N. St. Marys, on Saturday, May 3, 2025 from 1 - 4 pm.
GRAVESIDE SERVICE
to join us in honouring his memory and the life he lived.
Location: At the “Farm” 983084 Wildwood Rd. St. Marys N4X 1C5
Date: May 3, 2025
Time: 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Special Tribute: At 2:30 p.m., there will be a flyover by Harvard planes in his honour
This
IN MEMORIAM
Darling
Donald Walden Darling 1937-2025
Loved and loving son, husband, father, grandpa and friend. A pleasant man who enjoyed a good visit. He loved his family, pets, his three sons’ sports activities and his new home. He also enjoyed drag racing at Grand Bend when younger.
ELSES DRINKING?
Al-Anon Family Groups could help YOU! Call for
Very mechanical, he repaired, restored and built projects forever. He walked everyday with Rand Craig for years and drove miles with Ken Coulson to find truck, tractor and lawnmower treasures. Selling his 55 Ford collection to the late Jim Prouse; he was sent pictures daily to watch the restoration.
Donations to Huron Perth VON or Stratford Special Olympics appreciated. Care of Haskett Funeral Home. HAVE YOU BEEN AFFECTED BY SOMEONE
Thank you to Wildwood Care Centre for their loving care on his journey.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Opinions expressed in Letters to the Editor are that of their authors and do not reflect the opinions of the St. Marys Independent or Grant Haven Media.
Are ring roads the solution to intersection issues?
Ever since the coverage in the local paper about the poor visibility at the James Street / Queen Street corner and the increase in accidents, I have been considering how to best solve or minimize the number of traffic accidents there, with the proper taxpayer input of course.
Maybe it is time for the town to look at putting in ring roads. Since all the new subdivisions are on the north side of town, and all the grocery stores are on the south side of town, there is a lot of unnecessary traffic coming in James Street North – down Wellington Street North turning at the corner and going out Queen Street East, increasing the number of accidents all along the way especially at the James Street corner.
Maybe it is time to link Huron Street North with Huron Street South, redirecting traffic flow and reducing accidents.
It would increase the traffic on Widder Street East and need a new bridge or large culvert overpass to be built (I have heard they use Styrofoam as a road filler now to cut costs), but it would cut response time from the fire hall to the other side of town and reduce traffic congestion.
The other suggestion, although not as pressing, would be to link St. Maria Street with South Service Road, creating a bypass if you need to get from James Street to Water Street (subdivisions on one side, vets, dentist and hall of fame on the other).
Forcing more and more traffic to go through the downtown is not increasing business; it’s just ticking everyone off.
Thoughts?
Dave Lotte, St. Marys
LOOKING BACK Thames River Clean Up
25 years ago (2000)
By Amy Cubberley
St. Marys resident Mike O’Brien will receive a letter of commendation signed by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson at a ceremony at the Highbury Avenue offices of the London Transit Commission (LTC). O’Brien will be recognized for his bravery and quick thinking during a stabbing incident on an LTC bus a couple of years ago.
The Thames River has become much cleaner in recent weeks, thanks largely to the efforts of Motherwell-area resident Todd Sleeper. This year he spearheaded a new campaign to clean the river which runs through St. Marys. The clean-up effort ran for several weekends depending on when various municipalities were able to chip in equipment for carrying the trash to landfill sites.
75 years ago (1950)
The golf course was a popular spot this past weekend although the bridges had not yet been put into place.
The new foot bridge on Park Street, which is used by a surprising number of pedestrians each day, could stand a good coat of paint. Other bridges in town also require attention in this regard.
Corporate Frank Taylor and members of the St. Marys Detachment of the Provincial Police are checking on youngsters who are throwing firecrackers into homes and doorways about the town. Regarding the latter, it is illegal to light and toss these noisesome bits of pressed paper until the 24th of May.
100 years ago (1925)
Several of the St. Marys Baseball Executive were up at the Fair Grounds one night recently looking over the location for a ball diamond there. They came to the conclusion that the grounds were suitable for a skinned diamond in front of the grandstand and work upon this will be started soon. This diamond will also be available to the boys of the West Ward for their ball games.
The C.N.R. has discontinued the travelers special train running between London and Palmerston via St. Marys and Stratford and henceforth the train will only run between London and Stratford, leaving London at 7:10 am on Mondays.
CLASSIFIED ADSCLASSIFIED ADS
Wanted
$ Cash Paid $ for your RECORDS and LPs. Jazz, Blues, Rock, Pop, Fold, Soundtracks, and more. Selectively buying CDs, Cassettes, Turntables, and Stereo Equipment. For more information: Diamond Dogs Music 114 Ontario St. Stratford/ 226-972-5750
Wanted
A working camcorder that will play Hi-8 digital tapes. Phone 519-284-3774
Wanted to buy
All collectibles including sports cards, beanie babies, Funko pops and stamps. Highest prices paid. Free appraisals.Are you downsizing or need an estate clean out? We can help. Call or text Stan anytime 519-868-3814.
Wanted
I will pay cash for antiques and collectibles. Coca Cola, Pepsi or any pop company. Brewery items - Kuntz, Huether Labatts, etc.
Old radios and gramophones, wristwatches, pocket watches, old fruit jars - Beaver Star, Bee Hive etc. Any old oil cans and signs - Red Indian, Supertest etc. Any small furniture. If you are moving or cleaning out stuff please contact me - 519-570-6920.
For Sale
Hundreds of shade trees, fruit trees, apples, pears, peaches, plums, sweet and sour cherries, apricots, nectarines, blueberries, haskapp grapes, raspberries, elderberries etc. Lots of spruce, pine, cedars for windbreak and privacy hedges. Sizes 1-8 ft. in containers ready to go. Flowering shrubs and much more. Mon-Sat 7:00am to 6:00pm. Martin’s Nursery, 42661 Orangehill Rd Wroxeter, ON N0G 2X0 (1 Conc. North of Wroexter on Belmore Line)
For Rent
Large 3 bedroom downtown apartment in 3 story walk up above Gilly’s, includes all utilities, wifi, laundry, parking. References required. Available April. Please call 519-697-4985
For Sale
2 burial plots with deed, 2 vaults, gold cross certificate & memorial bronze marker located in Forest Lawn London. Today’s prices $13,000 - $15,000. Priced at $5,900 for quick sale. Please leave message 519-453-4917.
For Rent
2 bedroom, one bathroom upper unit of house available May 1st. Laundry and parking on site. $1950 per month + hydro and water. Contact amberleypd@yahoo.ca for application and viewing
Wanted
A copy of Onion Skins And Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes. Price TBD. Phone Henery at 226 301 4425 (landline)
HAPPY VALLEY FAMILY HEALTH TEAM
The Happy Valley Family Health Team is a dynamic team of professionals including 11 Family Physicians, Dietitian, Pharmacist, Mental Health Workers, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners and administrative support. We currently have an opening for:
CASUAL REGISTERED PRACTICAL NURSE
This position requires the ability to multi-task in a fast paced environment and excellent communication skills. Please forward resume by May 12th 2025 to: Happy Valley Family Health Team
Attention: Kimberly Lang, Executive Director 268 Maiden Lane
P.O. Box 1120
St. Marys, ON N4X 1B7
stmmc@stmmc.ca
Thank you to all applicants who apply. Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted. The Happy Valley Family Health Team welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.
St.
Marys Independent
THE WEEK AHEAD
PRC & Friendship Centre events – See the Stonetown Crier on Page 5
Friday, May 2
- Royal Canadian Legion “hot dogs and more” lunch at Noon
- A.N.A.F. meat draw – 6 p.m.
- SMCP presents “Over the River and Through the Woods” at Town Hall theatre – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 3
- St. Marys Farmers Market at Milt Dunnell Field – 8 a.m. to Noon
- Parks Lawn Bowling Club open house at Milt Dunnell Field – 9 a.m. to Noon
- Sandy Cole celebration of life at St. Marys Legion –Noon to 5 p.m.
- Wayne Hopson celebration of life at 983084 Wildwood Rd – 1-4 p.m.
- SMCP presents “Over the River and Through the Woods” at Town Hall theatre – 2 p.m.
- Royal Canadian Legion meat draw – 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 4
- Firefighters’ breakfast at the Fire Hall – 8 a.m. to Noon, Adult $10, Children 5-12 $5, Under 5 free
- Legion Bingo – Doors open 11:30 a.m., Early bird 12:45, Game time 1-4 p.m.
- Cathy Durley celebration of life at the PRC – Drop-in 1-2 p.m., Program 2 p.m.
- SMCP presents “Over the River and Through the Woods” at Town Hall theatre – 2 p.m.
Monday, May 5
- Community Dinner at St. Marys United Church – 5 p.m., Sponsored by St. Marys Presbyterian Church
Tuesday, May 6
- Royal Canadian Legion Buddy Check coffee at the Legion – 10 am to Noon
- AMDSB & Huron Perth Public Health presents Screen Agers at Stratford District Secondary School 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 7
- Nature school for ages 18 months to 6 years at Wildwood Conservation Area – 9:30-11 a.m.
- Friends of the Library Spring book sale at Lind Sportsplex – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- St. James Anglican Church high tea fundraiser – 2-4 p.m., Advance tickets only, 519-284-3003
Thursday, May 8
- Friends of the Library Spring book sale at Lind Sportsplex – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
