Joanne Shuttleworth

ELORA – Local residents who attended an open house about a proposed townhouse development on Wellington Road 7, shared concerns that were anticipated along with a few ideas the planners hired by the owner had not considered.

PUSLINCH – The township’s director of finance presented what may be the final version of Puslinch’s 2023 budget at a public meeting on Jan. 25 and it's looking like a 4.5% tax increase for residential homes.

PUSLINCH – Councillor John Sepulis put forward three motions at the Jan. 18 council meeting that will impact the 2023 budget, but not in a significant way.

FERGUS – Addison Hill’s number has been retired. The 14-year-old, who died from sarcoma cancer in July, was an avid basketball fan and out of respect for "Addy" as she was called, and to honour her memory, the Centre Wellington Celtics U-16 team decided to retire her number.

ABOYNE – Centre Wellington staff and consultant ASI Heritage have been working on identifying and mapping cultural heritage landscapes in the township since 2019. On Jan. 18 they brought the project to the public for a workshop to figure out the best tools to protect those landscapes. 

ELORA - Centre Wellington has some hard challenges ahead and Mayor Shawn Watters used his time at the Mayor’s Breakfast, hosted by the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce on Jan.18, to prepare his audience for what he sees on the road ahead.

GUELPH – Several students were lauded for their compassion, faith and community spirit at the Wellington Catholic District School Board meeting on Jan. 16.

ELORA – Ten years ago Mike Duhacek bundled up, strapped a sled to his back, and pulled a 125-pound weight from Windsor to Ottawa to raise funds for cancer research. To mark the 10th anniversary of that initial "Help Me Bury Cancer" campaign, the Elora man is doing it again.

ELORA – Staff at the Elora Distilling Company are feeling under attack after posting information on Facebook about a drag show the facility is hosting. Not long after details about the show were posted a few weeks ago, owner Marty Van Vliet said the business started getting threatening comments.

CENTRE WELLINGTON – Five years ago, Centre Wellington council opted not to allow cannabis stores in the township. It’s time that changes, says John Mifsud.

CENTRE WELLINGTON – Fergus and Elora firefighters responded to a fire on Sideroad 14, just west of 4th Line near Ariss, on Jan. 11, but the fire was too involved and the building could not be saved.

PUSLINCH – With a spread sheet containing $5.9 million in expenditures for 2023, Puslinch council took its time sifting through some last-minute budget requests at its Jan. 5 council meeting.

GUELPH – The Nutritious Food Basket report paints a picture of rising food costs and the challenges those costs pose to students, people living on social assistance and fixed incomes, and even those considered gainfully employed.

BRUCEDALE – Guelph/Eramosa Township has bumped its proposed 2023 tax increase from 3.76 to 4.85%, but no one attended a public meeting on Jan. 4 to speak for or against the change.

ELORA – Centre Wellington senior staff have discovered that tendering projects early in the year yields more bids and better pricing, which is why they brought five capital projects to council at its Jan. 5 meeting for approval before council has really delved into the 2023 budget.