PUSLINCH – Wellington County OPP believe a Puslinch business was targeted in a shooting last week.

According to an Oct. 17 news release, police say a targeted shooting happened at an unnamed business property, near the Nicholas Beaver and Tawse roads intersection, between Oct. 10 and 12.

North of Highway 401, and roughly 200 metres off Brock Road South, the roads intersect in an industrial/commercial area. Nearby are forklift part and power transformer manufacturers, auto dealer and repair shops, and logistics companies.

Google Maps images illustrate the Puslinch intersection around where Wellington County OPP say a business was targeted in a shooting between Oct. 10 and 12. Police have not named the business.

A crime unit investigation has been launched, and police are appealing for dash-cam or security camera footage and photos from around the intersection.

Police say no injuries have been reported. No further details were provided.

Anyone with information about this investigation can contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestoppersguelphwellington.com.

Tip providers may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

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GUELPH – The county plans to spend $4 million in speed camera revenue on road safety projects next year.

A 2026 capital construction report presented at an Oct. 14 roads committee meeting, states the county’s automated speed enforcement (ASE) program will fund six projects with revenue collected to the end of June.

Since Jan. 15, the ASE one-year pilot program has racked up $18.7 million in gross revenue as of Sept. 30.

The county’s portion is $7.1 million. 

County council provided staff with direction on how to utilize ASE revenue in a policy that was approved in April. 

• County councillor disappointed with premier’s speed camera decision
• County councillor concerned speed cameras may get scrapped
• County speed cameras generate over 7,000 tickets in first two weeks
• Automated speed cameras go live in Wellington County
• Speed cameras irk some drivers but generate $1.18 million in ticket revenue
• County council rejects idea of larger signs to warn drivers of speed cameras
• Drivers evading speed cameras a concern for Fergus, Drayton residents

A  project in Centre Wellington is the most expensive proposed, at $1.9 million.

It features intersection improvements at Wellington Road 21 and 8th Line, including turning lanes, grading corrections on curves and guardrail improvements.

Overlay paving of Wellington Road 21 from Wellington Road 7 to the Region of Waterloo boundary (Woolwich-Pilkington Townline) is also included in this project.

The report notes there have been 72 collisions in the past five years on this segment of road. Fifteen are specific to the Wellington Road 21/8th Line intersection and three to the curve.

(The latest collision took place at the intersection on Oct. 15 between a SUV and tractor trailer. The crash resulted in minor injuries and a careless driving charge for the driver of the SUV.)

The second major project, improvements at the intersection Wellington Road 30 and Township Road 3 in Guelph/Eramosa, is expected to cost $1 million.

It includes a turning lane and overlay paving of Wellington Road 30 from Wellington Road 86 to the Waterloo boundary (Woolwich-Guelph Townline).

“This road segment has seen 35 collisions in the past five years, with 14 specifically at the intersection,” the report states.

County treasurer Ken DeHart told the Advertiser plans for the Centre Wellington and Guelph/Eramosa projects “will be formalized in the preliminary 2026 budget and 10-year plan that will go to committees and council next month.”

Other proposed projects to be funded by ASE revenue include:

• streetlighting at rural intersections, $350,000;
• guardrails (various locations throughout the county), $350,000;
• road safety (“speed management”) $300,000; and
• a Wellington Road 46 corridor study, $100,000.

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MINTO – The Clifford water tower will have a shiny new coat coming its way next year – and an expensive one at that.

At an Oct. 7 meeting, Minto council approved the repainting of the tower at an approximate cost of $275,000 to help extend the tower’s exterior coating an additional 10 to 15 years.

The tower was constructed in 2005 and provides 1,275 cubic metres of water storage capacity.

“In August we had an adhesion test done on the coating and it looks like it’s going to be a good candidate for an overcoat,” town water services manager Todd Rogers told council.

“As part of that process we’re also looking at doing a wash and clean of the inside.”

Typically Rogers would have brought the report to council during the budget process, but due to “limited contractors that do this work, and it typically happens in the spring, we’d like to get this out and tendered this year for next year,” he said.

Councillor Paul Zimmerman questioned whether the communication items on top of the tower need to be removed before painting.

“They don’t take them right down but they do definitely come off because there is a health concern there,” Rogers replied. “We do have to work with the telecommunication companies to have them turned off at certain points during the job.”

Council unanimously approved the project, which will allow staff to issue the tender this year, ensuring a contractor can be secured in advance of the 2026 work season.

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ABERFOYLE – Puslinch councillors hope Premier Doug Ford will reconsider his stated intention to scrap automated speed enforcement cameras in the province because the program is working here, they say.

Councillor John Sepulis asked council on Oct. 8 to support a motion from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) defending speed cameras and to write its own letter to Ford outlining the success of the program in Aberfoyle, which sees 25,000 vehicles travel through the hamlet and down Brock Road to Highway 401.

Parents and children cross the busy intersection on their way to school twice per day, Sepulis said, and the speed reduction by motorists is noticeable.

Mayor James Seeley referenced a letter to Ford signed by some 20 mayors in the province.

“The premier … stood fast on his position, which is unfortunate,” Seeley said. “It is working in Aberfoyle.”

Seeley said he has met with Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Joseph Racinsky and reiterated the township’s support for the program.

“I hope they will reconsider their position,” he said.

Council unanimously voted in favour of supporting the AMO directive.

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PUSLINCH – Now that the county has approved an official plan amendment request, parties involved with Phase 2 of the Audrey Meadows development hope to move the project forward with the township.

A second public meeting was held on Oct. 8 in council chambers.

The proposal is to build 22 single detached homes on property on Victoria Road, just south of Maltby Road and immediately north of Phase 1 Audrey Meadows.

As well as the homes, the property would have a stormwater management facility, natural environment lands and an interior public street.

The land is zoned agricultural, and the proponents are seeking to amend that to a rural residential site-specific zone. Portions of the land have provincially significant wetlands, significant woodlands, regulated watercourses and a floodplain, within the Grand River Conservation Authority limit.

The proposal first came to Puslinch in 2021 and a public meeting was held in 2022.

In April this year the County of Wellington approved an official plan amendment application, re-designating a portion of the subject lands from secondary agricultural to country residential.

This caused the proponents to reactivate the application with the township, who thought that because of the passage of time, a second public meeting should be held.

Rob Stovel, speaking on behalf of the property owner, said the project is moving through the next stages, which are to have it rezoned and work out a draft plan of subdivision with township planners.

“That will settle the details,” he said at the public meeting last week.

The property is 29 acres, and the proposed lots would be smaller (3/4 of an acre) than those in Phase 1 (one acre).

The lots would have private wells and the subdivision would use a tertiary septic treatment system, Stovel said.

The new stormwater pond will resolve the drainage issues experienced in four of the lots in Phase 1 of the development.

Stovel said once all the approvals are in place, they hope to build in 2026 and 2027.

No members of the public attended the meeting, and no questions were asked by anyone listening online.

“I was curious about public consultation,” said councillor Russel Hurst. “I’m satisfied.”

The matter will return to council at a future date.

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The Lancers and Gators settled for a split last week as six teams from EDSS went head-to-head against their Waterloo-Oxford rivals in the annual Battle of the Barns.

Both of the EDSS football teams scored some bragging rights last week, as they destroyed their counterparts on October 9.

The junior boys won 28-14, while the senior squad posted a 24-7 victory. Both EDSS teams are currently ranked at the top of the WCSSAA leaderboard as of Wednesday.

“We’re riding pretty high right now in the first place, 3-0,” senior coach Steven Karn said, noting they have one regular-season game left before the WCSSAA playoffs.

There are three lines of defence, says a Woolwich Township volunteer firefighter.

“There’s public education, there’s fire prevention, and there’s emergency response, which often takes the form of suppression,” said Lilly Pease, who works at the Maryhill station and is a fire and life safety educator for the township.

During NFPA Fire Prevention Week, the Floradale station hosted an open house to focus on the education part of the equation. Putting a human face on emergency responders, two crew members raced to see who could put on their gear the fastest, underscoring the fact that there’s just a person under all that gear, someone who’s there to help.

Emira’s Brady Martin revealed it was a proud moment for him and his watching family after making his NHL debut with the Nashville Predators.

“It was really cool,” said the 18-year-old centre after playing in the top line alongside veteran forwards Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly in a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 9.

Two nights later, in only his second regular season game and once again on home ice, the former EDSS student earned his first career point by claiming an assist for a goal scored by Forsberg in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Mammoth.

Many people would be surprised about what can be done with shadow puppets, notes Elmira-based producer Arlene Thomas.

She has performed everything from a children’s play she co-wrote about a lonely robot called Widget to one of William Shakespeare’s bloodiest dramas.

Perhaps surprisingly, the medium she fell into almost by accident after training as an actor is able to convey some big ideas in a way that can relate to very different audiences.

Art Woods proudly describes his fellow members of the Lions Club of Elmira as “doers.”

And, as the organization prepares to host a 70th anniversary celebration on October 25, there is no shortage of things it has done during its seven decades.

Elmira’s Lions Park, Lions Lake Trail, Kissing Bridge Trail, a memorial forest in Breslau, and the Lions Hall, along with countless dollars raised for Woolwich’s other amenities, are all testament to that spirit of doing.

In what could be a game changer for the poultry industry, the University of Guelph is working on an avian flu vaccine that could save the lives of millions of Canadian birds.

Dr. Fatemeh Fazel’s team is working on providing a scientific alternative to culling flocks, which at present is the only way to tackle epidemics in this country.

“This work is giving us vaccine platforms that can help us fight back – to be prepared and respond with new solutions,” said Fazel, whose efforts have been likened by colleagues to the search for the Holy Grail.

Going door to door on Halloween is typically all about the candy, but for this local group, it means asking for donations for the Woolwich Community Services’ food bank.

The youth group at Elmira’s Woodside Fellowship Church will dress up and collect non-perishable foods, such as various canned goods, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, or cereal, as examples.

The CANS (Citizens Always Need Supper) food drive is an endeavour that started 21 years ago when a group of young people decided they were too old to collect candy but wanted to support the community.