Joanne Shuttleworth

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.

ELORA – A public meeting about a proposed 273-townhouse development on Wellington Road 7 that was cancelled last month due to bad weather, has been rescheduled for Jan. 27.

GUELPH – It didn’t take long for George Bridge to get a gavel back in his hand. The former mayor of Minto, who did not run in the October election, was appointed by Wellington County as its citizen representative on the WDGPH board of health. At the board’s inaugural meeting, he was reelected chair.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – It might seem an unusual career path right out of high school, but both Graham Giddy and Allan Lee have found being funeral directors to be deeply meaningful, satisfying, and important work. And they each received recognition in 2022 for 50 years in the business.

CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Centre Wellington Food Bank gave its Crystal Award to Centre Wellington District High School (CWDHS) and Giant Tiger, but because it couldn’t hold its AGM, the awards were given without fanfare. But they still have meaning.

FERGUS – It was like finding buried treasure when Ted Bednarski started renovating the lower unit at 220 Bridge St. here.

ELORA – Elora House has come a long way since its interrupted beginning back in March 2020. The facility, which helps women escaping sex trafficking to overcome their trauma, learn some life skills and re-integrate into society, was only open a few days before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

PUSLINCH – Jim Estill wants to open the Estill Innovation Community in Puslinch – a $100 million project - and he’s hoping council will be open to a new kind of planning process to move the project along.