Grab the map in the centre of this paper and head on out to Alvinston for the Christmas Celebration Saturday, Dec 11 See you there!
Vol. 9, Issue 15
Newsstand Price $1.50 per week
Thursday, December 9, 2021
Petrolia’s Souch won’t face Integrity charges
Is it the mask?
Heather Wright The Independent
Heather Wright photo
Harper Rattinga, 1, waited happily for her first visit with Santa during Wyoming’s Christmas in the Village Saturday. But her happy smile turned upside down and Santa was quickly aware Harper was definitely not happy to see him. As soon as her mom and grandmother scooped her up, Harper was happy again and Santa was left saying ‘Ho, Ho,Ho?’ with a shrug before moving on to the next fan. For more photos of the event see page.
Public board ‘anxious’ for school closure moratorium to be lifted Heather Wright The Independent
John Howitt says the Lambton-Kent District School Board is committed to rural education; but that doesn’t mean there will be a school in every community. Howitt made the remarks as the board released its annual pupil accommodation report Nov. 23. The document outlines a continuing decline of enrolment in the
region; in the last 10 years, enrolment has declined 11.2 per cent. The board expects to lose another 221 students in the next 10 years. There are 8,421 empty school spaces. There are seven elementary schools under 150 students, including MooretownCourtright Public School with 93 students, Aberarder Public School with 105 students, Dawn-Euphemia Public School with 114 students, and Riverview Central School with 136 students.
Three high schools have less than 400 students, Ridgetown, Blenheim and Tilbury. But Lambton Kent Composite School has been removed from this sub-400 list because the Virtual Learning Program for Secondary Students has been tied to their location. Officials say 256 students attend in person and the Virtual student count is 366. Adding to the problem is the cost of repairing aging buildings. SEE HOWITT PG 2
One August day, Petrolia Councillor Marty Souch walked into the offices of The Independent to talk. He was angry. Souch had recently been called to the Lambton OPP station to talk to a detective who had been tasked with shadowing him for 20 days. A staff member had reported seeing a white van watching summer students work at Bridgeview Park and taking pictures. A senior manager, who had been told of the concern but wasn’t the summer student’s supervisor, took the matter to police suggesting Souch was involved. Souch told The Independent at the time, the detective said it was clear he was doing nothing wrong and that he “was pretty boring” to follow around asking “what do you do all day?” The councillor spent an hour answering questions at The Independent that day but ultimately didn’t want to talk publicly about the investigation - at least not yet. Souch was taking the matter to Mayor Brad Loosley and expected a fiery in camera meeting to talk about the OPP investigation. Souch wanted to know “what the hell was going on?” That private council meeting occurred Sept. 12. By November, John Fleming was investigating what was called a “staff/councillor conflict.” He released his report Nov. 25. Souch was never named. Fleming noted the OPP found no reason to file criminal harassment charges against the councillor. The investigator felt the councillor was making sure taxpayers were getting value for their dollars. “Perhaps appropriately, perhaps not, some take more extreme measures in their interest in cost constraint and spend more time and attention to that “watching than most would consider normal,” Fleming wrote. The investigator hired by the town to look into the matter turned his report over to Petrolia’s Integrity Commissioner for review. SEE SOUCH PG 2
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