ERIN – Despite a $300,000 surplus in the first quarter of 2026, Erin councillors remain concerned following a 2025 budget deficit of $1.06 million. 

Wendy Parr attributed the deficit to a severe winter with increased road maintenance and winter-control costs as well as investments in parks and recreation staffing and a decline in home construction revenue.

Parr informed council of the first quarter surplus at an April 23 meeting, stating staff found savings without cutting services.

Council also heard about four grants the town has received:

• a $30,000 elevator grant for the community centre;
• $36,224 Fire Protection Grant;
• $49,000 Community Emergency Preparedness Grant; and 
• $9,850 Canada Summer Jobs grant.

“We’ve started off on the right foot,” said councillor John Brennan.

However, he added, “It’s too early to be resting on anybody’s laurels.

"We still have three quarters to go, so we need to keep our noses to the grindstone and keep on working.” 

Councillor Jamie Cheyne echoed Brennan’s statements.

“I hope there’s no snow until January of next year so the roads department can save some money,” he said.

Councillor Cathy Aylard said a concrete plan is still required.

“These [first quarter] results appear promising on the surface but they’re a little bit distorted because we’re still accounting for the use of tax stabilization reserves in these statements,” Aylard said, adding, “we don’t have any (now).”

Aylard said the town still doesn’t have a plan to rectify last year’s spending.

Council previously directed staff at an April 9 meeting to review this year’s budget and identify savings, efficiencies and deferrals. A staff report on that work is expected to come to council next month.

“It’s worth spending some time talking about what our expectations are of that report when it comes back to council,” Aylard  said, referring to the budget as an “accountability document.

"We need concrete action plans on how we’re going to get back on track.” 

She suggested policies be explored to “help council be more effective.”

WELLINGTON NORTH – A Durham man is facing arson, weapon and other charges in connection with an incident on Tuesday.

Wellington County OPP officials say police responded on April 28 at about 6am to "a disturbance" at a home near Mount Forest, "where a victim sustained minor injuries."

Michael Woods, 40, of Durham, was charged with:

• arson (damage to property);
• possession of weapon for dangerous purpose;
• assault with a weapon;
• impaired driving;
• uttering threats; and
• mischief (destroy/damage property).

He is to appear in Guelph court on June 12.

If you’ve ever thought about getting into local politics, this might be your sign. The nomination period for the 2026 municipal and school board elections in Waterloo Region opens on May 1, giving residents the chance to officially enter the race.

Candidates have until Aug. 21 at 2 p.m. to file their nomination papers, while the election itself is set for Oct. 26, 2026. Positions up for grabs include Regional Chair, mayors, ward councillors, and school board trustees.

To run, you need to be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old, and either live in the municipality or own/rent property there (or be the spouse of someone who does). You also can’t be legally prohibited from voting or disqualified under any legislation.

There are a few extra steps if you’re aiming for a mayor or councillor position, you’ll need at least 25 endorsements from eligible voters, plus a completed nomination form with original signatures and proof of address. Filing fees are $200 for mayor and Regional Chair roles, and $100 for other positions.

Importantly, prospective candidates cannot raise or spend campaign funds until their nomination papers have been officially filed.

Even if you’re not planning to run, it’s still a good time to get election-ready. Voters can check or update their information online to make sure they’re on the list ahead of October.

Each municipality has slightly different rules for submitting nominations, so anyone interested should double-check with their local clerk’s office.

With the nomination period opening soon, the upcoming election could be a chance for more young people, including students to get involved and have a say in what’s happening locally.

ELORA – Restaurateur Geoff Wild is putting the bad with The Badley behind him.

But the decision isn't his alone. Kristy Hillis, the local hotelier and Kat Florence jewelry magnate, severed the lease with Wild for his 59 Metcalfe Street restaurant on April 2.

Wild’s hydro bills went unpaid, the power was cut, and Wild was ordered out of the downtown Elora building, according to a notice reviewed by the Advertiser.

The Badley is no more, and Wild has no plans to give it a second chance elsewhere.

“The hydro was off, the owners found out about it, and they issued us with a notice of termination of lease,” Wild said.

Hillis did not respond to the Advertiser’s requests for comment.

The Badley has been closed for business since January, after details of Wild’s financial troubles and an admitted cocaine habit were spread all over local social media groups.

Former employees of The Badley, and Wild’s next-door pastry business, The Wild Tart, alleged Wild had stiffed them on their wages.

The Advertiser previously spoke with eight former employees, including some who opened claims with the Ministry of Labour, who said problems, largely at The Badley, coalesced in 2024.

In January 2025 staff were told the businesses were insolvent, and creditors and wages would be paid from the sale of the Wild Tart building.

Property records show the building, at 61 Metcalfe Street, was sold to Kat Florence Canada in February 2025.

But problems persisted, and Wild temporarily closed The Badley earlier this year pending the success of an addiction treatment program, and the community’s reception thereafter.

“Onwards and upwards,” Wild said by phone last week, despite the now-permanent closure.

“This is our home. Our kids grew up here, my daughter was born here, we’ve been here for nine years now, I love it here."

He added, “I didn't know what the reception would be when I came back, but it's been mostly positive."

Wild said he’s 90 days sober from all substances after he “reconnected spiritually” during his rehab stay in Muskoka.

“I knew I was going down a dangerous path … I’ve been lying to myself for virtually my entire life,” he said, adding, “cocaine was my big problem.”

Now in his mid-40s, Wild said he finally has “coping tools” and is attending substance abuse support groups.

“It’s great to be able to just look at things objectively, and just take a break and take a step back … and make better decisions,” he said.

“I did a lot of stupid stuff … I could have done things a lot differently.”

According to Wild, he settled $17,526 in outstanding claims for unpaid wages. Former staff confirmed to the Advertiser their claims are settled.

“All ongoing investigations … associated with Mr. Geoff Wild have been closed,” the Ministry of Labour stated by email. No fines were issued.

The Alcohol and Gaming Corporation of Ontario, however, is currently investigating following allegations of labour disputes and illegal activity, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

The Wild Tart remains open, modelled after a European cafe with all-day breakfast and brunch items as well as afternoon tea.

Wild said it’s challenging without access to The Badley building, linked by a hallway, where there were more kitchen appliances.

He also lost Denis Craddock, a former Brew House on the Grand manager and current Centre Wellington councillor, who managed the Wild Tart.

Craddock, who became involved with The Badley during a rebranding last fall, said he is no longer associated with Wild’s businesses.

A group with close ties to the Elora Brewing Company have since taken over 59 Metcalfe and are renovating the space into a new restaurant called the Metcalfe, a nod to the unit’s former iteration as The Metcalfe Tap and Grill for 22 years.

One of the three owners told the Advertiser the Metcalfe will serve up smokehouse barbecue and feature Elora Brewing Company products.

The group aims to have a patio ready for mid-summer.

UW’s 2026-2027 operating budget anticipates fewer cuts than expected, but is still affected by continued reorganization and layoffs as financial pressure continues.

Vice-president, academic and provost Thomas Duever and vice-president, administration and finance Jacinda Reitsma posted the budget in an announcement on April 17. The budget projects a structural operating deficit of $33.7 million, lower than the projected $51 million last November. That deficit is expected to decrease to $13 million at the end of the 2026-2027 year.

Key factors for the change include additional revenue from the unfreezing of domestic tuition starting next year and funding from the provincial government. UW will receive an estimated $50.8 million in operating grant funding.

“While the provincial funding announcement is very welcome, the need to focus on continued efficiency and expense reduction, and similarly the need to focus on new opportunities for revenue growth, have not disappeared,” Duever and Reitsma stated in the announcement.

Budget cuts to reduce expenses will continue next year, with a targeted goal of $20 million rather than the previously forecasted $45 million due to the additional funding and tuition revenue. That said, restructuring and layoffs are still ongoing. “Efforts to enhance revenues will be made through strategic enrollment management, a reconsideration [of] academic program delivery, and efforts to reduce duplication and improve efficiency via ongoing and upcoming functional reviews,” the document stated. Duever and Reitsma noted in their announcement that the transition to a new staff hiring control process began on April 6 and would be fully implemented by May 1, and university IT services are undergoing reorganization after functional reviews.

Some of UW’s ancillary services are also facing financial pressure to recover revenue as they post losses and cumulative deficits. Print and Retail Solutions (PRS), consisting of W Store and W Print, is “exploring opportunities to share resources” with Food Services, as PRS revenue is projected to decrease by 12.8 per cent over the next three years, and Food Services faces increased food and labour costs.

As for the impact on students, total student fees per term are expected to increase in the 2026-2027 academic year. The co-op fee charged to all students will increase from $817 to $836 per term starting in the spring term. Student service fees will go up by around $2 per student for undergraduate students and $6 for graduate students.

Undergraduate students will see more of their student service fees going to the student success office, wellness, and athletics and recreation. The athletics and recreational services fee will increase $1.61 (from $141.39 to $143), with a smaller 0.26 increase in the Student Success Office fee from $20.74 to $21, and a 0.04 increase in the wellness fee from $69.96 to $70.

Graduate students will pay an additional $2.58 for the Student Success Office, $2.03 for Athletics & Recreation, and $1.14 for the Writing Centre. An additional $1 fee to fund the ombuds office will be charged to both undergraduate and graduate students.

Two in-person Q&A sessions on the operating budget will be held on May 14 and May 15. Both are open to the public and will be livestreamed.

More information and a detailed breakdown can be found in the budget announcement here and the budget document here.

ERIN – A boil-water advisory implemented in Erin village after a watermain break on Friday is expected to last 24 to 48 hours.

The town notified residents of the precautionary advisory through email and social media channels on the morning of April 24.

Residents living south of Church Boulevard in the village of Erin should boil for at least five minutes any water used for drinking, cooking/eating, washing, making ice and brushing teeth, town officials say.

After water service has been restored, residents should run cold water taps for five to 10 minutes until the water runs clear, a town news release states.

Before service can be restored, water samples need to be collected and tested, and the process can take between 24 and 48 hours.

"The town will notify all affected properties once the advisory is lifted," the release states.

ELORA – Paid parking in downtown Elora begins on May 8.

It was to have started in January, but weather and other circumstances brought the project to a halt.

Now, the township has completed the necessary preparations to support rollout, officials say, including system readiness, signage installation and the launch of the online exemption program for residents.

The township says paid parking is designed to improve parking availability and turnover in high-demand areas, while continuing to support residents and local businesses.

Through the online exemption program, eligible residential property owners and tenants in Centre Wellington can register up to four vehicles per residence to park for free in downtown Elora.

Paid parking is required in two areas:

• zone one: paid parking with a three-hour time limit to support high turnover; and
• zone two: paid parking for up to 24 hours in accordance with the existing bylaw.

Paid parking will be in effect seven days per week, from 9am to 7pm.

Parking regulations and time limits will continue to be enforced, officials say.

Residents are encouraged to register for the exemption program in advance of the launch date.  

For more information or to register for an exemption, visit centrewellington.ca/paidparking.

ELORA – “Kindness matters.” 

That’s the theme of this year’s Empowerment Series for students in Grades 6 through 8 at Upper Grand District School Board schools. 

The Empowerment tradition kicked off in 2014, when Drayton kids organized an event for 1,300 students at Drayton’s PMD Arena, with help from teacher Andy Speers. 

Last year, the event saw more than 5,000 students gather at the Sleeman Centre in Guelph to hear from five motivational speakers, including Christine Sinclair. 

But this year, Speers switched things up, as he felt the empowerment message could be more impactful spread across four intimate events.

So he launched the Empowerment Series, with an event in Drayton on March 5, Elora on April 22, Guelph on April 23 and Dufferin on May 5. 

Kids from Elora, JD Hogarth, Grand River, Alma, Ponsonby, Salem, John Black and Rockwood public schools gathered at Elora Public School with guest speakers Patrick Anderson and Brian Williams.

The event was sponsored by Skyline and local Optimist Clubs, which have supported Empowerment Day for 11 years. 

Williams, known as “Kindness Ninja,” kicked things off by encouraging everyone to point to the person beside them and say: “You’re awesome.” 

His presentation focused on perspective and choosing to see the good in people - both online and in the world. 

“Everyone is good at something,” Williams said, and “the thing you’re good at might be what changes the world.” 

He told students about his college project, where he worked with youth to collect 8,000 pairs of shoes (in just 15 days) to bring to people in Kenya.

Williams said these shoes helped children in Kibera, Nairobi attend school, because public education there is free but kids must have uniforms, book bags, writing utensils and shoes to attend. 

He described a nine-year-old girl putting on shoes for the first time, and then attending her first day of school the next day. 

And a teenager named Peter was wearing shoes from Williams when he ran a mile in less than four minutes, a feat that automatically landed him a spot on Kenya’s Olympic track team. 

Peter had those lucky shoes in hand when he attended the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Williams said, and he’s currently in Ghana, showing kids those shoes and encouraging them to never give up on their dreams. 

Anderson began by reflecting on a moment in his childhood.

He was sitting on a red swingset in his Fergus backyard, praying for his legs, amputated after he was hit by a drunk driver at nine years old, to grow back. 

“I was desperate,” Anderson said.

He was tired of watching his friends play hockey and not being able to join in; tired of chasing after them and not being able to catch up; tired of watching them do things he couldn’t do. 

Anderson described the moment he woke up in hospital, pulled back the covers, and saw the empty space where his legs used to be. 

He turned 10 a few days later, and said he was given heaps of gifts – a Nintendo, a Walkman and loads of Batman gear. 

But the gifts didn’t numb the pain of watching people walk down the hallway and thinking he’d never walk that way again. 

What gave Anderson his first spark of hope was a visit from another amputee – a man who’d lost both arms and legs and become a Paralympic athlete. Anderson most remembers the calm expression on his face. 

“It was the first time I looked at somebody like me and thought ‘maybe there is hope,’” he said.

But the real “miracle moment” came the first time he played wheelchair basketball. It felt good, Anderson said, and before long he was “hooked.” 

That wasn’t the end of his struggles, though, and even as he found success in basketball, he “would have traded it in a second for legs."

He got prosthetic legs and with time and patience, was back on two feet.  

But the prosthetics were uncomfortable and didn’t work well – he could walk, but he wanted to ice skate, climb trees, jump off things and play sports. The prosthetics couldn’t give him that. 

Throughout middle school Anderson pushed through the pain the prosthetics caused him and wore them near-constantly – always hidden beneath pants, except when he was at home with family or out on the basketball court. 

Until one day he wore his prosthetics on the court, and his coach Jeff said while wearing the legs was up to Anderson, they were going to slow him down. 

That moment helped him reassess how he saw himself – “not an injured hockey player, a perfectly healthy basketball player."

“I stopped looking back at what I’d lost and started appreciating the opportunity to move forward,” he said. 

Anderson played on Canada’s national wheelchair basketball team from 1997 to 2024, winning three Olympic gold medals and one silver.

According to the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Anderson is “often hailed as one of the greatest wheelchair basketball players in history.”

He showed the students most of his medals on Empowerment Day, but not the 2004 gold medal from Athens. That one he gave to the team’s coach. 

Coaches don’t receive medals, he said, which he thought “didn’t seem right – he was the one that really drove us and pushed us to achieve that medal of excellence.” 

Anderson also attributes some of his success to the kindness he receives from the community, beginning with the outpouring of support when he lost his legs and continuing to this day. 

People are quick to run to open doors for him and even offer discounts, he said. 

But he stressed the importance of also extending that kindness to people without visible scars. 

Anderson was with his friend Chris the day he was hit by a drunk driver, and though Chris doesn’t bear the same physical scars, Anderson said “his scars are still just as painful.

“It’s easy to lead with kindness if someone is cute, or in a wheelchair, or smiling – it’s much harder if they have a grumpy face,” he said, but extending kindness when it’s hard is a powerful thing.

FERGUS – The new EarlyON centre in Fergus is heralded as a place to build community, a place for parents and caregivers to tap into supports, and a place for children up to age 6 to get on a healthy educational and social path.

The centre, in the Skyline Community Hub at 900 Tower St., has been operating for over a year, so the ribbon cutting event on April 23 was a mere formality.

The newly renovated space is the first permanent, full-time EarlyON location in Centre Wellington, offering free programs and services for young children and their caregivers. 

The project was supported through provincial operating funding, with a $160,000 renovation investment from the County of Wellington. 

“Today’s opening represents an important investment in families and the future of our community,” said Centre Wellington Mayor and county councillor Shawn Watters. 

“Centre Wellington has never had a dedicated, full-time EarlyON space until now. This new centre ensures families have a consistent place to connect, access supports and help their children learn and grow.”

The EarlyON centre is operated by the Community Resource Centre, which also has space at the site.

Early childhood educators run the programs.

It is open Mondays to Saturdays and parents and caregivers are welcome to drop in, although some programs require registration.

The centre offers early learning activities, parenting supports and opportunities for families to connect. It also features a food pantry and sharing library to further support local families. 

“This centre represents a significant step forward for early years services in Wellington County,” said Ashley Vanderlaan, director of Children’s Early Years. 

“Having a permanent location allows us to better meet growing demand and provide consistent, high-quality programmes for families.” 

Community Resource Centre executive director Alyssandra Kent added, “EarlyON centres bridge the gaps and allow for connection close to home and reducing isolation for caregivers.

“We know it works because we see it every day.”

Kent said there were 5,000 visits to the centre in its first year.

There are six centres throughout the county and nine mobile sites that collectively saw 17,203 visits last year, “which shows these services are needed, valued and impactful,” she added.

For more information visit wellington.ca/EarlyON.

A new study on Alzheimer’s conducted by UW researchers shows that combining current medications with certain natural compounds proves to be safer and more effective against the disease. 

Imprint spoke with Praveen Nekkar Rao, a doctor who specializes in medicinal and bioorganic chemistry, and William LeBoeuf, a second-year master’s student at UW in Nekkar Rao’s lab. 

“[The] interesting thing is [that] we don’t have too many drug markets to treat Alzheimer’s disease,” Nekkar Rao states. Nekkar Rao looked into new classes of drugs that were launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. “For 25 years, not a single new drug was launched for Alzheimer’s disease, but in COVID, they discovered a new class of drugs.” These drugs called monoclonal antibodies were able to bind to toxic Beta-amyloid proteins and helped in preventing disease progression.

 “Until that moment, we only had three drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, and they were only able to show symptomatic relief; they were not able to prevent disease progression or offer any sort of cure,” Nekkar Rao stated.

Although these new class of drugs are being used to help prevent Alzheimer’s disease progression, there are major drawbacks that they must work around: one major side effect on the radar is brain bleeds. “This causes the patients to go in for PETscans, which ends up costing the health care system even more, on top of the drug being very expensive to manufacture,” LeBoeuf said.

Nekkar Rao’s team tackled this problem by demonstrating that toxic side effects of these new class of drugs can be mitigated by combining them with natural compounds resveratrol and curcumin present in natural foods such as red wine and the spice turmeric.

“Our study shows that combination treatment helps to decrease the dose and is more effective in preventing the buildup of toxic protein in the brain,” Nekkar Rao stated.

A study of such magnitude required long hours in the lab, which has grown to be quite familiar with LeBoeuf. “It takes up to at least 24 hours just to collect data… That’s not counting setting up experiments [and] calculating all the values required to add each reagent.” The amount of time put in is nothing short of both physically and mentally draining.

When asked what drives them, LeBoeuf answered, “It’s a lot of hours, but it’s not like clocking into a 9-5, the work we do is very fulfilling when we progress the field forward.” 

Nekkar Rao and LeBoeuf both agreed that the hours put in feel much longer when the result they get isn’t positive. ​

Nekkar Rao showed much appreciation for his work as well as always being interested in learning how the brain and human body function, so it seemed inevitable he would end up in his chosen field. “From my childhood, I had such an interesting experience where my grandmother had Alzheimer’s — I remember times where I would talk to her, and she wouldn’t really respond,” Nekkar Rao stated. 

Nekkar Rao relayed a story of when he was younger, when his father explained to him what his grandmother was going through, Nekkar Rao thought to himself, “Why is this happening?” That was the start of the research journey for Nekkar Rao, since he was fascinated with how the brain functions and works.

The study is in the very early stages of its development, and LeBoeuf stated that one idea moving forward is to design novel compounds that could prove useful to the treatment of Alzheimer’s.