2004 Perth-Wellington (Ontario) Election Results

In the last general election June 28, 2004 Gary Schellenberger of the Conservative Party won by 3,847 votes over the Liberal candidate. The riding is mostly rural and contains the towns of Minto and St Marys and the city of Stratford.

18,879	42.0%		Gary Schellenberger
15,032	33.4%		Brian Innes
7,027	15.6%		Robert Roth
2,770	6.2%		John Cowling
1,273	2.8%		Irma Devries

Gary Schellenberger, John Cowling and Irma Devries will run again in the January 23, 2006 election.
UPDATE:
Dec. 1 The NDP chose actor Keith Dinicol of Stratford as their candidate.
Dec. 2 St Marys councillor Dave Cunningham was acclaimed as the Liberal candidate. The higher profile Stratford mayor Dan Mathieson turned down the chance to run.
Jan. 23, 2006 Perth-Wellington Election Results

Salvation Army in St Marys for 120 years

The Salvation Army Community Church is celebrating its 120th anniversary in St Marys, Ontario with a special service Sunday, November 27 at 10:30 a.m. followed by lunch, birthday cake and historical display.

Festival of Lights

After yesterday evenings Santa Claus parade the St Marys Ontario outdoor light display was lit. The main display is on daily from dusk until 11 pm until January 4. It is located at 'The Flats' which can be entered at Water St. and Parkview Dr.

The display will be judged for the national Winter Lights competition December 15. St Marys will be competing against similar sized towns.

More photos are at Santa Claus Parade, Sponsors, Festival of Lights

UPDATES: Police were called Nov 21 after it was discovered some of the lights had been damaged, the donation box had been pried open and an unknown amount of cash was removed.

February 11, 2006 Winter Lights award winners were announced. In St Marys category of towns with population of 3000-10,000 the national winner was Espanola, Ontario. The St Marys display did win the Visual Presentation Award.

St James Church Bazaar

St James Anglican Church is holding a Christmas Bazaar Saturday, November 19, 10:00 - 12:00. Come early for: Baked Goods; Famous Meat Pies; Crafts and Knitting; Silent Auction and more.

(Right: Detail from 'The Hope of the World' stained glass window in the north wall of the church)

Architect hired for Living Life Project

Town council has approved $124,000 to hire architects Garwood-Jones & Hanham to design the expansion of the recreation complex by adding an ice pad, an indoor pool and other facilities. This is counter to what was recommended in "The Recreation Complex Expansion Feasibility Study" prepared for the Town by Monteith Brown Planning Consultants in June 2005 which said:

1. St Marys has a deficit of 0.5 ice pads. The report states "Typically, we would not recommend the development of an additional ice surface unless demand was increasing and projected to reach 0.75 ice pads in the near future."

2. "Given the size of the St Marys and area population, the declining child/youth population, and the outdoor swimming opportunities currently, there is insufficient demand to recommend that the Town build an indoor pool at this time."

3. "It is not recommended that the St Marys and Area Arena and Community Centre be expanded to include a fitness centre. Without a fitness centre, it is likely an indoor walking track would not be viable either."

A full copy of the June 2005 report (1.84 mb) is at
http://townofstmarys.com/uploadedFiles/StMarys%20CC%20Study_Final%20Draft%20Report_June1%2005_MBPC.pdf

One of many letters to the editor about this project is at Living Life Project January 2006 Update

Remembrance Day

There will be a church service at the United Church at 10:30am on Sunday, November 6 and a parade from the Canadian Legion to the Cenotaph at 12:15pm.