GUELPH – Four county councillors have put their names forward to become the next warden of Wellington County. 

Puslinch Mayor James Seeley, Minto Mayor Dave Turton, Ward 2 councillor Earl Campbell and Ward 6 councillor Diane Ballantyne all declared their interest in the top spot on county council at an Oct. 29 meeting.

Current Warden Chris White said he has “no ambitions” to continue in the role next term. 

“My ambitious days are over,” he said adding he “definitely” wants to stay on the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health board of health.

Wellington County councillors will elect the next warden at the inaugural meeting of the new council on Nov. 20. 

Councillor Matthew Bulmer and Mary Lloyd shared an interest in chairing the joint Wellington-Guelph social services and land ambulance committee.

“We are in a tenuous space with potentially very new people and councillors ... and our relationship with neighbours in Guelph seems to be at risk,” Lloyd said.

“I find myself as more of a median person that likes to have agreements and work together on that table.”

She also sees herself continuing as a member of the information, heritage and seniors committee.

Councillor Jeff Duncan hopes to stay on as economic development committee chair while councillor Steve O’Neill has set his sights on administration, finance and human resources committee chair.

Councillor David Anderson would like to continue sitting on the social services committee, as “I recognize (the) individuals coming forward will be good chairs,” he said referring to Bulmer and Lloyd.

Anderson said he is also interested in a seat on the OPP detachment board and on the board of health. 

Councillor Gregg Davidson, current chair of the roads committee, said he hopes to stick with engineering, with council’s permission.

Councillor Doug Breen currently chairs the information, heritage and seniors committee, but was not in attendance to share his wishes for the next term of council.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The past few months here have been tragic for youth.

On Oct. 31, four teenagers died in a car crash in Puslinch, and two were seriously injured.

On Sept. 19, 16-year-old Puslinch resident Nash Dunlop was struck by a minivan in Centre Wellington and died.

And on June 12, Susy, Maggie, Sara, Helena and Peter Doerksen, aged four to 12, died in a crash in Mapleton. 

These incidents are stark reminders of the challenges young people face when coping with sudden and devastating loss, says clinical psychologist, speaker and educator Dr. Natasha Williams.

The impact reaches far beyond their immediate families, she told the Advertiser – “It affects classmates, friends, teammates, neighbours; the ripple effect is going to be quite profound."

She added, “Having a loss like this can really shake up [a teenager’s] world,” including their sense of security and safety, and grief can manifest in many ways, including sadness, anger and disbelief.

“It affects every aspect of your being: cognitively, physically, spiritually, emotionally,” said Jodi Pereira, executive director at Nightingale Centre for Grieving Children, Youth and Families in Guelph. 

“It’s common to experience lots of feelings of hopelessness, to feel like they might be a burden, or to start to struggle in school,” added Thomas Wright, a psychotherapist specializing in grief at Full Circle Psychotherapy in Fergus. 

Fear is also a common part of the grieving process, he said.

Supporting someone through grief is not about finding the perfect words, Williams said: it’s about being “available, attentive and emotionally present,” and reminding them they are not alone. 

For parents, it’s about sitting with their teens and opening up a conversation about how they feel, added Wright.

That doesn’t mean “fixing” their grief or helping them “get over it,” said Pereira.

"It’s not something that can be fixed – it’s something you have to process [and] work through.” 

Williams said people often avoid talking about loss, but it’s valuable to give teens opportunities to ask questions and express themselves.

“One thing we know about grief and loss is that talking about it makes it better, not worse,” said Wright. “The way we can move through grief is to come together and connect … talking about our sadness and grief will help us learn how to move forward.”

Teenagers may say they don't want to talk, Williams said, and it’s important to respect that, while letting them know the door is open and reminding them they have adults in their lives who want to support them when they’re ready.  

Consistency in checking in and circling back is important too, Pereira added.

Williams suggests avoiding well-meaning statements such as “everything will be okay,” and instead acknowledging that what happened was horrible.  

It helps to recognize it’s okay to feel sad, and that everyone grieves and mourns, Wright said. He encouraged adults to talk about their own feelings and to navigate hard conversations with curiosity.  

Pereira recommends modelling by identifying and naming emotions: “‘I’m feeling angry today … I’ve been thinking about the person that died a lot, and this is what is coming up for me.’” 

She said, “Being vulnerable and acknowledging the truth … can be hard, but it’s also really important.”  

“As we grieve, we are processing our life changing … we are learning how to move through life without that,” Wright said. 

He recommends creating opportunities to mourn together, such as setting times to gather, “remember that person and be grateful for what they gave to us.” 

“It’s important to remember the death, but it’s particularly important to remember the person in their life, their impact, and to celebrate … who they were,” Pereira said.  

She suggested sharing a story, memory or photo. “It’s extremely healthy to remember – to say their name … to create rituals and traditions to remember them. Remembering is part of the process of healing.” 

“It’s not just about the death, it’s about finding ways to continue to bond with the person that died, finding ways to remember them and … bring them forward with you,” she said.  

Another important aspect of coping with grief is finding hope, Wright said. 

A tragedy is like a front page article, but inside the newspaper are many more stories highlighting positive things happening that can bring hope, Wright said.   

“Grief can be very lonely and isolating,” Pereira said. 

“Some teenagers may withdraw [and want] time alone. Others may want to be preoccupied with friends,” Williams said. 

Seeking support from peers can be a crucial part of teenagers navigating loss, she said, especially when friends get together to reminisce and share their feelings.

Often, grieving people feel that no one else feels the way they do, but peer support can show them they are not alone, Williams said. 

Pereira said one teenager who was initially reluctant to attend a grief group said that before joining, her grief made her feel “like an alien – ‘but coming to groups I found … people that understand me and that I feel connected to.’” 

It is also important for adults supporting teenagers through grief to have their own peer supports, Williams said, noting, “Parents, teachers, coaches and other caregivers cannot pour from an empty cup.”

“You don’t need to feel like Superman or Superwoman and have all the answers – you need support as well,” she said. 

The therapists all described grief as dynamic, not linear, and said everyone will have different timelines.  

“You will be forever changed by your grief and your experience with it,” Pereira said. “You may feel particularly affected one day, and then the next you are feeling okay, and three weeks later have a terrible day again."

This is particularly true for young people, she noted. For adults, grief can feel like an overwhelming, all-consuming ocean that they cannot escape, whereas for youth, grief can feel more like “puddle jumping."

Pereira said, “Kids seem to intuitively understand that they have to get out of it, so move in and out of it more freely. 

“The puddle doesn’t feel any less than it would feel like for an adult in the ocean – it feels all-consuming – and then they jump out of the puddle and experience joy or happiness. Then, they are overwhelmed by grief (and are) right back in that puddle again.” 

Grieving as a teenager can also feel different because teenagers are in the midst of developing their own sense of identity. They see themselves reflected in others, and are likely to question their own mortality after seeing another youth die, Wright said. 

“When events like this take place – so spontaneous, so unexpected – it kind of pokes a hole in the guise that we have of immortality for youth.” 

So part of the mourning process is facing the “existential grief that we all can die unexpectedly,” he said. 

Grief in itself is not a mental health disorder, Williams said; it’s a normal and natural response to loss. 

But if emotional distress is persistent or intensifying, that can be a sign that professional support is needed, she said.

If a teenager is experiencing thoughts of self-harm, they should be connected with professional support immediately. 

If grief overwhelms their ability to cope, disrupts their sense of safety or leads to heightened feelings of vulnerability, professional support may be needed, Williams said. 

Grieving teens may show symptoms connected to post-traumatic stress disorder, she said, such as intrusive thoughts, nightmares, difficulty sleeping, avoidance, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, panic, social withdrawal, feeling hopeless, a decline in academic performance or reluctance to participate in extracurriculars.  

These symptoms can also manifest as headaches, stomach aches, anger, irritability, increased isolation or a feeling that they do not have a future themselves, Wright said.

Periera added the following to the list of signs that more help is needed: verbal outbursts, numbness, withdrawal, hypervigilence, self-medicating with prescriptions (including taking too much or not taking them), increased use of drugs or alcohol and unsafe or reckless behaviour.    

“If we are not functioning – not doing the things we need to do like eating, sleeping, taking care of our bodies, connecting with those we love; and it’s progressive – not starting to improve … that’s a time that we want to reach out,” Wright said. 

“As parents and educators, I think we need to pay attention to some of these things,” Williams said, and connect these teens with additional support.

Mental health services often come with long waitlists, and Williams said while waiting for support, teens should have safe adults they can turn to such as a parent, family member, coach or community member.

“If they have a certain faith, having that ability to speak to their pastor, priest, imam, or any type of clergy [can] be important when you are navigating these waitlists and trying to seek professional help,” Williams said. 

It is very important that the teenager is heard, she added.  

For immediate support, contact:

• Here 24/7 at 1-844-437-3247 or here247.ca;
• Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868 or kidshelpphone.ca;
• Victim Services at vswguelph.on.ca; or
• Waterloo-Wellington Bereavement Support Services at tinyurl.com/wwbereavement.

GUELPH – County council had no further comments last week about a 10-year housing and homelessness plan that was presented to the joint Guelph-Wellington social services committee in September. 

The goal is to ensure everyone in Wellington-Guelph can find and maintain appropriate, safe and affordable housing. 

The plan was deferred to the Oct. 29 council meeting after certain members stated the report lacked firm targets and they were not provided enough time to review it.

“The comments focus on areas where additional clarification, context or refinement may strengthen the final document and support a shared understanding of roles, implementation expectations and anticipated outcomes,” states an Oct. 13 letter to housing staff from committee member and Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie.

The city “is seeking additional information on references in the draft plan related to future actions to support affordable housing, including community and supportive housing,” the letter continues.

According to the plan, homelessness has increased “significantly,” from an average of 186 individuals in 2023 to 243 in 2024 and remaining above 263 in 2025.

Guelph has a “moderate” rate of low income (8.2 per cent) residents, while several rural communities experience higher rates, notably Wellington North (12.1%) and Minto (10.7%). 

“The poverty rate among young children and youth is higher in Wellington North (14.4%) and Mapleton (12.8%),” the plan states.

County housing director Dave Purdy told council, “housing services conducted a community consultation [in] January and February of this year.”

The consultation process included four in-person sessions, an online survey and community group engagement sessions, which were all open to the public.

“This is an important step to the integrity of the plan, and therefore, the goals and actions identified in the plan through the community consultations and validation process captured the community input.

“At this point, these sections cannot change,” Purdy said. 

He added staff members feel the recent input is “in line with the plan itself and we will consider the recent feedback in the development of the housing services work plans.”

Council passed a motion to receive the correspondence on the 10-year housing and homelessness plan and refer it to staff. 

PUSLINCH – A vehicle carrying six teenagers hit a guardrail and crashed into a ravine here early on Saturday morning. 

A Milton girl, 15, Mississauga girl, 17, and two 19-year-old males, one from Mississauga and one from Brampton, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Two others were transported to hospital with serious injuries. 

A Mississauga girl, 17, sustained life-altering injuries and a 16-year-old girl, also from Mississauga, is in non-life-threatening condition.  

Police, who say they do not believe there were enough seatbelts in the vehicle for the number of occupants, are investigating the cause of the collision, including whether speed, alcohol or drugs were factors.

It is not known where the teens were coming from or headed to, and police would not say whether any were from the same families. 

The single-vehicle crash took place at about 1:35am on Oct. 31 on Watson Road South, between Maltby Road East and Wellington Road 34, east of Guelph in Puslinch Township. 

That stretch of road will remain closed while the damaged guardrail is replaced. 

“We are examining all available evidence to determine what occurred in the moments leading up to the collision,” said Wellington OPP detachment commander inspector Karen Medeiros during a press conference at the Rockwood station on Sunday morning.

West Region OPP superintendent Wendy Burrow said, “We stand alongside all of those who are mourning this profound loss while the investigation continues.

“We remain focused on supporting those affected and ensuring that every effort is made to provide answers."

Medeiros called the crash a “devastating event that has deeply impacted multiple families, schools, friend groups and communities across southern Ontario. 

“Four young people have lost their lives in a matter of moments.”

“Families have been forever changed,” Medeiros later added, her voice shaking.

"And an entire community is searching for answers. Our responsibility is to ensure those answers are based on facts, evidence and a thorough investigation.”

She acknowledged the first responders on scene, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics, dispatchers and victim services personnel, noting their "professionalism, compassion and dedication ... has been exceptional."   

Police are asking anyone with information, dash camera footage and other video recordings to contact the Wellington County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Medeiros said, “Even information that might seem insignificant could prove valuable to investigators as they piece together the events ... 

“This tragedy is a heartbreaking reminder of the lives that will be forever changed by a serious collision. We urge all road users to please remain vigilant and travel safely.” 

OPP officials say there has been an increase in fatal crashes in the last couple of years.

In June five children died in a crash in Mapleton Township, in March two teens and three adults died in a Norfolk collision and in May 2025 four teens and one adult died in a crash near London.

The Wellington County Museum and Archives held a Hallow'Tots event on Oct. 31 from 10 to 11, which included costumes, crafts, sensory play and trick-or-treating. Registration was all full with spots for 50 toddlers. PHOTO 1: A happy dragon (Alaric Wake) and sad dinosaur (Henry Mantella) play with colourful sand. PHOTO 2: SWAT officer Josie M'Msafiri and constable Jeriah M'Msafiri work hard to keep everyone safe. PHOTO 3: From left: Jackson Power, Bennett Coke, Owen Howard, Beau Allison and Lily Taylor. PHOTO 4: Farmer Theodore Pipher takes care of his cattle, Gillian and Mark Pipher. PHOTO 5: This cat family is, from left, Sylvie, Emma and Edie Snow. Photos by Robin George

PUSLINCH – Four people are dead and two others are in life-threatening condition after a serious single-vehicle crash early on Saturday.

Emergency crews responded to the scene, on Watson Road South between Maltby Road East and Wellington Road 34 in Puslinch Township, on Oct. 31 at about 1:35am.

"Four individuals were pronounced deceased at the scene, and two others were transported to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries," stated a press release from the Wellington County OPP.

Police did not provide any information about the deceased individuals.

Watson Road South remains closed between Maltby Road East and Wellington Road 34.

Anyone with information or surveillance or dashcam footage in the area around the time of the collision can call the OPP at 1-800-310-1122.

Mental health and drug- and alcohol-related calls received by UW’s Campus Response Team (CRT) on Halloween accounted for 90 percent of all calls to CRT in Fall 2025, according to information shared by CRT operations coordinator Chad Morris.

Morris, a third-year Health Sciences student and one of CRT’s two coordinators, spoke about the team’s experiences around Halloween, its harm-reduction efforts, and how students can access support during the holiday.

The figure is a sharp increase from Fall 2024, when calls in the above categories on Halloween accounted for 50 percent of calls during the term. Morris also noted that when Halloween falls on a weekday, the weekend before and the weekend after have a proportionally higher share of calls than other weekends. In 2024, Halloween fell on a Thursday. According to Morris, the Friday and Saturday afterwards had more than twice the number of calls received on Halloween itself. When asked about possible reasons for the incidents, Morris clarified that his observations were based on general inferences rather than direct explanations from the people CRT assists.

CRT is a student-run first responder service that provides initial care in medical emergencies, trauma, and mental health crises. Morris said that the team will focus on maintaining its presence on campus during Halloween rather than organizing a separate awareness campaign for the holiday. Morris said CRT members will be in residences from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, and will be available by phone for emergencies. Team members will be stationed in V1, CMH, and Renison University College, but will service nearby residences such as UWP and MKV.

Although the team is not planning a specific Halloween awareness event, CRT continues to conduct harm-reduction outreach. Morris said CRT partnered with UW Health Services to distribute naloxone kits at a naloxone awareness booth at the beginning of the fall term. Morris said the team brought in far more kits than it initially expected to need, but nearly ran out of that supply. “That means there are more people that have that out there, more people that are staying safe, [that] make sure other people stay safe, which is great to see,” Morris said.

CRT also shares occasional awareness posts on Instagram. Morris explained that the team’s administrative coordinator handles much of this online outreach, while CRT members also raise awareness through informal conversations with students in residences. Morris said these conversations provide opportunities to talk to students about available resources and safety.

Morris also encouraged students to contact paramedics if they or someone around them needs immediate medical assistance, rather than waiting out of fear of getting into trouble. “They’re not the police. They’re not going to arrest you and get you in trouble. Their number one priority is making sure that you stay safe.” Calling for help when someone may be experiencing an overdose or another medical emergency is important, even if alcohol or other substances are involved, he advised.

CRT advises students to have their verified phone number (226) 339-0462 on hand before Halloween in case of emergencies. For an immediate life-threatening emergency, call 911.

With files from Angela Li.

UW’s Centre for Theoretical Neuroscience (CTN) hosted their fall research day on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The event included faculty, graduate, and postdoctoral talks followed by a poster session, and brought together researchers from the engineering, math, and arts faculties.

Chris Eliasmith, a professor of philosophy and systems design engineering and founding director of CTN, introduced the Spaun 3.0 brain model. Unlike previous iterations with just a head and an arm, this latest model also includes a robotic body. This allows the agent to recall the locations of hidden objects and report the level of certainty in its memory, after walking around a courtyard opening boxes containing said objects.

The task demonstrates comparability between the model and the human hippocampus, a brain structure responsible for navigation and memory. “It gives us a lot of good data, both from the behavioral side, testing things like the ability to represent your certainty or uncertainty about your memory, testing things like spatial location, working memory, the ability to navigate, pointing, and so on,” Eliasmith summarized.

Jeff Orchard, a professor of computer science, gave a talk on various projects conducted in his Neurocognitive Computing Lab. One area of interest is vector symbolic algebra. “It’s a pretty cool, mathematically not-that-difficult set of methods. If you use this vector representation to represent the states and the actions in reinforcement learning, you can actually learn better and more quickly, more robustly than just [with] learned state representations,” Orchard described.

Orchard’s work was of particular interest to Shalev Manor, a graduate student in applied mathematics, who attended the conference to learn more about biologically inspired machine learning. “Backpropagation, which is the backbone of machine learning, is argued to be not biologically what is going on in the brain, so there are different algorithms out there that are more biologically plausible,” he said, highlighting Orchard’s predictive coding framework as an example of one such algorithm.

Other presenters also explored pattern recognition, like Lily Laevens, a PhD student in psychology studying cognitive neuroscience, who presented her master’s thesis research poster. After noticing that most research uses full intensity facial expressions, she combined neutral and full intensity stimuli using morphing software to study the brain’s response to facial expressions of varying degrees of intensity.

“What I love about going to these things more than anything is it gives you just a little snapshot as to what everyone’s doing in so many different faculties,” she stated. “When you’re in one department or one program, you tend to get locked into this specific angle of thinking about [things], like one perspective.”

Here are some of our top picks for affordable activities you can do this Halloweekend, from Warriors games to costume contests.

Warriors Volleyball Home Opener

Join the Warriors volleyball teams for their home opener where they will take on the Nipissing Lakers.  The women’s team game starts at 6 p.m. and the men’s at 7:30 p.m. this Friday at the Carl Totzke Court in PAC.  Additionally, the first 25 fans to arrive will receive a Sweet Lou’s Cookies coupon.  Admission is free for UW students by either showing their WatCard on arrival or reserving in advance here.

Waterloo Vampire Hangout

Looking for a fun and spooky way to spend your Friday night?  Check out the Waterloo Vampire Hangout happening this Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Waterloo Public Square.  This free event includes live music, local artists and a vampire fashion show that you can participate in.  No registration is required, but you can find out more information about the event here.

UWDJ gRAVEyard event

This Halloween-themed electronic dance music night is happening right on campus at the Bomber. It runs from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. this Friday, with live sets from student DJs and a costume contest with prizes.  Last call tickets are $20 and you can get them from the WUSA events website here.

Día de los Muertos

Take part in honoring and remembering loved ones who have passed at the Día de los Muertos at Carl Zehr Square, in front of Kitchener City Hall⁣⁣.  The celebration will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and includes music, art, food, performances, and traditions.  Everyone is welcome, whether you have celebrated Día de los Muertos before or this is your first time.  Find out more about this event at their instagram page here.

Glow-In-The-Dark Pumpkin Painting

Spend some time relaxing and enjoying the Halloween spirit this Saturday with Glow-In-The-Dark Pumpkin Painting on 132 Ahrens St. W in Kitchener.  Tickets are $5 a person with pumpkins and supplies included, and you can drop in anytime between 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.  Learn more about the event and get tickets here.

What happens when the nostalgia of obsolete electronics inspires an artist? More than 20 years ago, multidisciplinary artist Laura Moore began exploring the answer as a stone carver. Since then, she has produced numerous pieces of artwork inspired by technology. Her work is currently featured in the Handheld exhibition at UW’s Art Gallery (UWAG) from Sept. 10 to Dec. 5.

Stone carving, quilting, mold-making, and mosaic assemblage are the four creative methods behind Handheld’s featured pieces, which she and Ivan Jurakic, curator and director of UWAG, selected.

Every stone carving in the exhibition is a 1:1 replica of vintage Nintendo devices, all of which were passed down to Moore by family and friends. “I make everything by hand; the process is time-consuming and intensive. Stone carving (the reductive process) is really the only process that comes naturally to me,” Moore said.

Artist Laura Moore works on her craft. (Photo credit: Paul Cimoroni)

Moore began stone carving in 2001 at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University with  professor John Greer and later earned a master of fine arts in sculpture in 2006 from York University. She continued sculpting for the next 20 years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her interest in creating art with other materials developed. “I began quilting… [to work] with second-hand clothing to expand my material process, align with my commitment to sustainability, and to minimize the impact of artwork production,” she noted.

Moore seeks to “provoke conversations about memory and our relationship to the environment” by using “quilt-making techniques to upscale and transform fast-fashion into objects.” Her Memory Quilts feature “textile assemblages” inspired by the interiors of electronic devices she collects and uses.

Her connection to repurposing electronic objects began in childhood. Her father, she says, is a technophile and her mother enjoyed thrifting. Moore also often received hand-me-down devices from her father including her first phones. “Often these objects are tied to my experiences; they’ve travelled with me, entertained me and recorded my memories. I feel connected to them, so when they stop working I have a hard time letting them go,” Moore shared.

KCF2885, 2025, salvaged marble floor tiles, plywood and cement, 19” x 46.5” x 1.5”. (Photo credit: LF Documentation)

Part of her longtime interest in how humanity intersects with obsolete technology comes from wanting to prevent such items from entering landfills. This is why Moore sourced second-hand marble floor tiles from Facebook Marketplace and thrift stores to create a “suite of mosaics that transform cell phone circuit boards into up-scaled tablets,” titled We Were Here in the exhibition.

One challenge Moore faces in her line of work is the physical strain of constructing her art, specifically the process of cutting the tiles for her mosaics. “Balancing work and rest is my biggest challenge, and I’m still figuring that out.” She now works at a slower pace and heeds the advice of loved ones who support her taking breaks. Still, she says she feels the most comfortable spending lots of time in the studio working on her craft and future projects.

Moore says that it’s a pleasure to have her exhibition run alongside Abraham Oghobase’s exhibition, Notes to Self: Offerings on History and Memory. She thanks Jurakic for inviting her to showcase her art. Moore also expresses gratitude to her family for supporting her practice, and to everyone who visits the exhibit.

Evan Burgess will become the new mayor of the Township of Woolwich, with two incumbents returning to office along with three new councillors. 

Currently a Ward 1 councillor, Burgess won out over Ward 2 Coun. Eric Schwindt and Glenn Fern in the race to replace three-term mayor Sandy Shantz, who decided not to seek re-election.

Burgess garnered 6,019 votes in the October 26 municipal election, while Schwindt received 2,245. Fern, who ran a barely visible campaign, got just 77. Chane Ballantyne, whose name remained on the ballot despite dropping out of the race, still managed 132.

Wellesley’s new mayor, Chris Martin, literally knocked on every door in the township during his campaign. That may sound like hyperbole, but it’s what happened – he personally drove to approximately 2,300 homes over the course of about three months, handing out brochures in a bid to match the name recognition that incumbent Joe Nowak enjoyed after 12 years in the big seat.

“I think that was one of the keys to my success, being able to stop on everyone’s doorstep. It introduced me to them where I might not otherwise have had a chance,” Martin told The Observer on Tuesday, while collecting his election signs.

The work to replace the old Scheifele Bridge on Northfield Drive over the Conestogo River is just a little behind schedule, says the project manager. 

Since the work mobilized last June, the crews have built the access roads, constructed a cofferdam extending into the river, and started piling for the new piers and abutments.

“We’re a little bit behind, just with the piling, just the material we’re driving through has been a bit challenging, but not too far behind,” said Ken Brisbois, heading the project for the Region of Waterloo. 

The quilts are the stars of the show, but not the only focus at the Elmira District Community Living auction set for this weekend.

“It’s not just a quilt auction anymore,” said executive director Cheryl Peterson of the event now in its 53rd year.

There is something for everyone, she noted, as the charity auction features a range of items, from baked goods to furniture. 

Young members of Elmira’s Woodside Bible Fellowship will hit the streets again on Halloween night, but they won’t be looking for candy. 

Instead, they’ll collect non-perishable items for the food bank at Woolwich Community Services. 

This year’s effort involves the latest group of volunteers for Citizens Always Need Supper, or CANS, as most know it, which dates back to 2003. They’ll continue a tradition that began with a couple of 12-year-old Woodside Bible Fellowship attendees who decided to do something a little different on Halloween evening, going door-to-door to collect food donations instead of treats.

As November approaches and crisp morning frosts begin, the local forests are well into their magnificent transformation. While the change into a scarlet, orange and yellow canopy has been underway for a couple weeks, there is still plenty of colour to see.

According to Sean Fox, senior research associate at the Arboretum at the University of Guelph, the leaves have been changing a little slower compared to past years.

Woolwich residents this week elected a new council to govern the township, a function that began in 1850. John Meyer was the first reeve, joined by four councillors.

The group’s initial meeting took place at a Conestogo tavern.

It was the early days of January 1850, and five prominent settlers in Woolwich had convened to form the first township council – pioneer John Meyer was named the reeve, while Peter Wenger, Peter Hay, Edward Pasmore and William Veitch took the remaining council seats. The community was still fresh-faced and growing, supervised by magistrates from Hamilton, but it was time for them to strike off on their own.

CENTRE WELLINGTON – Police have released a video appealing for information about what led to the crash that took the life of Puslinch teen Nash Dunlop.

"If anyone has any answers or any snippet of information ... that can help us answer some questions, help the investigators," his father Brady Dunlop pleads in the new OPP video.

The loss has "been absolutely devastating" for the family, he later adds.

Dunlop, 16, was pronounced dead in hospital after being hit by a minivan just after midnight on Sept. 19 on Wellington Road 29, south of Eramosa-Garafraxa Townline.

Police have now confirmed there was party at a nearby house that night.

On Sept, 25, Wellington County OPP arrested and charged two 17-year-old boys from Guelph with second-degree murder.

"Neither accused was a passenger in the involved minivan," police stated in an Oct. 29 press release announcing the new video.

"It's heartbreaking".
Police are releasing new details in the homicide investigation into the death of a 16-year old victim in a pedestrian-involved collision in the Township of Centre Wellington on September 19, 2026.
The victim's family is urging anyone with information to… pic.twitter.com/gitvvVUANZ

— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) October 29, 2026

"We are grateful to those that have already come forward ... however, we know that there are people that were at the gathering that night that have information that is important to our investigation," states detective inspector Seth Adair in the video.

"If you've not yet come forward, we encourage you to reach out to investigators. Any piece of information can be valuable to our investigation, no matter how small it may be."

Dunlop, a student at John F. Ross Collegiate Vocational Institute, is remembered by family and friends as an avid basketball player and loving brother and son who was "kind-hearted, funny and engaging."

His family started the Nash Dunlop Memorial Fund through the Guelph Community Foundation. 

Anyone with information regarding the investigation can contact the Wellington County OPP at 1-888-310-1122. 

A number of incumbents, including the mayors in Wellesley, Waterloo and Cambridge, went down to defeat in this week’s municipal elections in what was likely a sign of voter dissatisfaction over property tax increases.

Now, the hard work of actually taming budgets and bringing staff-driven spending to heel begins.

There will be new faces in the townships. In Wellesley, Chris Martin beat out long-time incumbent Joe Nowak, and Ward 2 will be represented by Chris Van Bargen, acclaimed to the position after Lori Sebben opted not to run again.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is technically not upper caste, but he does have a high opinion of himself. “When my mother was alive, I used to believe that I was born biologically,” Modi told an interviewer two years ago. “After she passed away, reflecting on all my experiences, I was convinced God had sent me.”

Up until recently, I had never tipped a canoe in 50-plus years of using one. But that changed last week when my best friend and I were setting out decoys for a morning duck hunt – in the dark, on a river we knew all too well.

The good news is we tipped in shallow water and only lost one goose call – which some people, my Jenn included, would deem to be a blessing. The bad news is that whenever a canoe is tipped, blame needs to be assigned.

Having the previous weekend got back into the win column, the Elmira Sugar Kings had to settle for split in last week’s games, defeating Komoka 7-0 and then dropping a 4-3 decision to Stratford.

As a result, the Kings dropped a spot to seventh in the GOHL’s Western Conference standings with a record of 6-8-1.

Head coach Cory McRae said he liked what he saw from the team in both games.