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PAGE HUTTON SERVING ASThursday, GUIDEFebruary COUNCILLORS ENDORSE TRANSIT CHANGES PAGE St. Marys Independent 26, 2026
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St. Marys Independent 36 Water St. S., St. Marys ON | 519.284.0041 | info@stmarysindependent.com | www.stmarysindy.com
Issue #1302
Thursday, February 26, 2026
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Local shares harrowing experience in Puerto Vallarta as cartel chaos erupts
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VIEWS FROM THE BALCONY
(CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS)
Photos taken by Greg George, a St. Marys resident who was in Puerto Vallarta when chaos erupted from the killing of Nemesio Rubén Osguera Cervantes (otherwise known as “El Mencho”), a leader of a prominent cartel.
CONNOR LUCZKA
Domestic-violence survivor urges early action at Stop VAW session AMANDA NELSON Independent Reporter
KARATE
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CAMP March 16th - 20th
Intimate partner violence doesn’t usually begin with bruises – it begins with control. That was the message Sydney Touzel shared with attendees at a Feb. 17 Stop Violence Against Women (Stop VAW) community information session in St. Marys, where she spoke candidly about surviving an attack in 2020 and the subtle warning signs she wishes more people understood. “A lot of people assume that it starts physical,” Touzel said. “In my experience, there
(ages 7-12)
Independent Reporter
was financial, emotional, gas lighting and then isolation. It started off very slow, which I think a lot of people don’t realize. It started with tiny things like asking for my phone, asking where I was and then that escalated into arguments, which turned into things being thrown, then holes in walls and then things being thrown at me.” Touzel has since become an advocate for survivors and recently raised nearly $13,000 for Optimism Place in Stratford. Her focus during the session was on helping others recognize abusive behaviours early – before they
St. Marys resident Greg George was downtown in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on Feb. 22, finishing an eight-day stay at a friend’s condo. Speaking with Grant Haven Media, he recalled that it was unusually quiet at the crack of dawn that day. Usually, the streets below the condo would already be busy at that time. “Then I smelled some acrid smell and I leaned out over the balcony and looked up,” George said. “There were two huge plumes of smoke. One was up on the mountain – Puerto Vallarta is kind of built on a couple of mountains – and then there was one closer to us, which turned out to be the gas station.” Heading to the rooftop for a better view, George saw three fires burning which quickly turned to nine as explosions and gunfire began to
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