Sarnia news

• Sarnia man gets 3.5 years in prison for sexually assaulting sleeping teen - The Sarnia Observer

  19-09-2024 22:54
  Sarnia man gets 3.5 years in prison for sexually assaulting sleeping teen  The Sarnia Observer
  
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• St. Clair Township mayor wants flashing lights at Highway 40 intersection with Bentpath Line: notebook

  03-06-2026 22:25 via theobserver.ca
  St. Clair Township Mayor Jeff Agar wants Lambton County’s help convincing Ontario’s Transportation Ministry (MTO) to install flashing lights on stop signs where Bentpath Line intersects Highway 40.“Bentpath is a county road,” Agar said Wednesday during a county council meeting where he expressed frustration with the lack of a response from the ministry to his township’s request for better traffic control at the intersection.In February, three people were taken to h
  
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• Shortage prompts Salvation Army to temporarily close Sarnia food bank

  03-06-2026 22:09 via theobserver.ca
  Sarnia is responding as another food bank grapples with more demand, and fewer donations.The Salvation Army closed its Confederation Street food bank earlier this week amid “critically depleted” stocks.It’s the first time Capt. Brad Webster said he can recall that happening.But since posting the closure announcement on social media early Monday, already “quite a few donations” have arrived, Webster said, expressing gratitude for the community’s generosity.&ld
  
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• Lambton County seeks to add 206 new 'deeply affordable" apartments within five years

  03-06-2026 21:16 via theobserver.ca
  Lambton County has made a start on the 206 additional rent-geared-to-income apartments it wants to build during the next five years as part of an updated plan for housing and homelessness.A 50-apartment county geared-to-income building now under construction on Kathleen Street in Sarnia is expected to open in the fall and Lambton is seeking upper government funding to build a 94-apartment project on Cathcart Boulevard, also in Sarnia.If Lambton’s application for funding is successful, con
  
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• Sarnia-Lambton students medal at national science fair

  03-06-2026 20:49 via theobserver.ca
  Being on the national science fair stage isn’t new for Cynthia Rayson.The St. Pat’s tenth-grader’s fourth appearance at the Canada Wide Science Fair happened recently in Edmonton, where she was one of five Lambton students, all earning hardware.“It’s just amazing,” Rayson, 15, said about the May 23-30 experience she also described as nerve-wracking and exciting.Foremost is connecting with people, she said.“I’ve had four years of relationships. One
  
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• Aamjiwnaang First Nation suing Ineos over benzene emissions

  02-06-2026 22:08 via theobserver.ca
  
  Aamjiwnaang First Nation is suing an international chemical company, alleging negligence and breach of environmental law related to the operation of its Sarnia plant.The March 27 action names, in a statement of claim, Ineos Styrolution Canada, America, Germany, and parent company Ineos Quattro Holdings Limited in the UK.The Sarnia-area First Nation has been under a state of emergency for more than two years, related to emissions, including benzene and related compounds, from the nearby Ineos pl
  
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• Push renewed for library-hub grant money

  02-06-2026 21:53 via theobserver.ca
  
  Sarnia’s MP says she’s asking questions about a Liberal pledge, so far unfulfilled, to help fund a new Bright’s Grove library hub project.“I haven’t had a firm answer yet,” said Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong’s Marilyn Gladu.“So, we will continue to pursue it.”The $5.9-million project was to receive $4.5 million in green and inclusive community buildings program grant money, then-housing minister Nate Erskine-Smith said during a federal campaign
  
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• Rayjon hosting 40th anniversary celebration

  02-06-2026 19:05 via theobserver.ca
  
  Rayjon Share Care, a charity started by friends and embraced by thousands, has made an impact during its 40 years, says its executive director.Not just in the thousands of students provided access to education, the 23,400 pairs of prescription glasses provided, literacy skills for 2,000 adults, the 400-plus small loans for entrepreneurs, and tuition support for 1,800 students in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, said Allison Kingston.There’s also a legacy in Sarnia, she said, where friend
  
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• Charges laid in drug trafficking investigation; Lambton OPP briefs

  02-06-2026 15:25 via theobserver.ca
  
  Police seized $29,000 in drugs, currency and offence-related property in St. Clair Township as part of a drug trafficking investigation, Lambton OPP say.After a traffic stop on St. Clair Parkway May 20, a search warrant was executed at residence in Corunna, police said in a news release.Drugs seized include suspected fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine, police said.The investigation, which began in April also included Middlesex and Brant OPP and the West Region OPP canine unit, police said.A
  
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• Gladu calls for respect for staff after constituency office targeted

  02-06-2026 15:23 via theobserver.ca
  
  Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong’s MP is calling for people to respect her staff, after police say a rock was thrown at her constituency office.“It’s not the staff’s fault that I crossed the floor, and so, for them to be threatened in this way is really unacceptable,” said Marilyn Gladu, the area’s long-time Conservative representative who crossed the floor to join the Liberals in April.A rock was thrown at her Finch Drive office’s front glass door March 28, a
  
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• Sarnia walk for Alzheimer Society draws a crowd Sunday to Centennial Park

  31-05-2026 18:22 via theobserver.ca
  
  The Sarnia-Lambton Alzheimer Society marched past its goal of 540 participants for Sunday’s fundraising walk with more than 600 showing up in Sarnia’s Centennial Park.The local IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s also was expected to end up “close, if not over” the fundraiser goal of $130,000, said spokesperson Marie Marcy-Smids.The five-kilometre walk along Sarnia’s riverfront also included breakfast, activities for kids, live music and the announcemen
  
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• Sarnia theatre group for adults 'with exceptionalities' offering Music, Movin' and Magic

  30-05-2026 20:48 via theobserver.ca
  
  Holly Wenning is back at the Sarnia Library theatre directing a stage full of stars.Stars 21-plus, a musical theatre group for adults “with exceptionalities” presents its fourth annual show, Music, Movin’ and Magic, June 12, 7 p.m., and June 13, 2 p.m., at the library theatre in downtown Sarnia.“It’s a beautiful show,” Wenning said. “It’s just a whole room full of joy and love.”The cast of 18 young adults, joined on stage by about a half doz
  
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• Family Counselling Centre in Sarnia now part of Ontario virtual youth mental health initiative

  30-05-2026 16:07 via theobserver.ca
  
  The Family Counselling Centre Sarnia-Lambton is now part of One Stop Talk, a provincial-funded mental health initiative allowing youth up to age 17 to connect with a counsellor by phone or online.Amy Nazarewich, with the centre in Sarnia, said training began last year for it to become part of One Stop Talk.“Essentially, it’s a virtual walk-in session for children and youth in Ontario,” she said.Connection information can be found online at onestoptalk.ca , and the free service
  
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• Women of Excellence honourees 'inspiring': Sarnia Community Foundation

  30-05-2026 14:32 via theobserver.ca
  
  The Sarnia Community Foundation began a new tradition recently for its annual Women of Excellence honourees.Recipients are invited to gather at a reception held ahead of the awards luncheon for a chance to “connect and talk, share stories on their backgrounds and the kind of things that they’ve done, or overcome, or been a part of,” said Mike Barron, executive director of the foundation.“It’s just amazing the work that people are doing,” he said.This year&rsq
  
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• Coast Guard summer rescue crews keeping watch on the St. Clair River

  29-05-2026 22:21 via theobserver.ca
  
  A Canadian Coast Guard seasonal rescue boat station is open for business on the St. Clair River.The inshore station, one of six on the Great Lakes in Ontario, has been operating since mid-May on the river in Corunna, across from Stag Island, with two three-member crews sharing duties in two-week shifts.Corunna is a temporary location this summer for the Port Lambton station, the Coast Guard said.One of the two crews in Corunna is led by Coxswain Daniel Carleton, a math student at the University
  
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• Project at Imperial Oil in Sarnia to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions by more than 90 per cent

  29-05-2026 15:00 via theobserver.ca
  
  Extra activity these days at Imperial Oil’s Sarnia site is intended to reduce its sulphur dioxide emissions significantly.Recent regulations in Ontario targeted petroleum manufacturing emissions of the colourless gas connected to health issues such as respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease, as well as acid rain.“The majority of what you’re seeing, either if you’re near the plant or just checking out the social media, almost all of that is related to our sulphur d
  
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• 100-year-old Sarnia artist reflects on leaving her mark

  26-05-2026 23:21 via theobserver.ca
  
  Living a long life isn’t something to be pursued in and of itself, says recent Sarnia centenarian Jessie Rabbitt.“Just live it every minute as full as you can and enjoy as much as you can.”The Battle Creek, Mi., native turned 100 April 27.The former seamstress apprentice, factory worker, Bell telephone operator, performing arts company founder, and life-long painter recently received commendations from King Charles III and Gov.-Gen. Mary Simon on the milestone.But making the m
  
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• Festival in downtown Forest serving up food, films and fun

  25-05-2026 21:08 via theobserver.ca
  
  This year’s Forest Food and Film Festival is set to launch Thursday evening with a celebration of local young filmmakers.The annual Youth Film Competition awards night begins at 6 p.m. at the Kineto Theatre with a showcase of short films entered by local youth.Young filmmakers were invited to submit short films following workshops in local schools conducted by Leigh George and Aaron George.The festival, which has been held annually for a dozen years in the Lambton Shores community, contin
  
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• New Eats, Beats and Boutiques event coming to downtown Petrolia

  25-05-2026 15:00 via theobserver.ca
  
  PETROLIA – After a dozen pizza parties, Petrolia is trying something new this year.The town, which hosted Pizzafest in early June for the last decade-plus, has launched a new event that’s taking its place. Called Eats, Beats and Boutiques, the food-, music- and shopping-themed event is slated to take over the historic oil town’s downtown district on Saturday, June 6, from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.Julie Bullock, the town’s director of parks, recreation and facilities, said downtow
  
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• Point Edward art fair a community-building memorial: organizer

  24-05-2026 23:11 via theobserver.ca
  
  Tanya Pether remembers spending hours as a child drawing with her twin brother.“Our mom would always be like: ‘What the heck are they doing?'” Pether said.“Because we would not (be) saying a word, just drawing.”An art show seemed like a fitting tribute, she said, after Tim Pether died in 2025 of a brain tumour.On June 6, Tanya Pether is inviting people to a local artist showcase in the plaza and parking lot outside Point Variety, the convenience store where the Poi
  
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• PHOTOS: Dance group performs at Tamil New Year celebration in Sarnia

  24-05-2026 19:08 via theobserver.ca
  
  About 150 people gathered at Redeemer Christian Reformed Church in Sarnia Saturday for the Sarnia Tamil Sangam group’s Tamil New Year celebration.The celebration included dancing, singing and martial arts performances, including a traditional folk dance of Tamil Nadu performance by Brampton’s It’s Time 2 Dance.Dancers, at various points, used drums, pots, dressed with peacock feathers – the peacock is India’s national bird – and donned poi kaal kuthirai, or h
  
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• Feedback fueled riding name-change request, reversal: Gladu

  23-05-2026 22:22 via theobserver.ca
  Sarnia-Lambton-Bkejwanong MP Marilyn Gladu is walking back a request to change the riding’s name.Gladu said she recently withdrew her request to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs to have the riding’s name switched back to Sarnia-Lambton.The riding name was updated, alongside electoral boundary changes , four years ago to include the Indigenous name for Walpole Island First Nation.Gladu said both her request to change the name back to Sarnia-Lambton, and the more
  
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• More volunteer with Sarnia snow shoveling program

  23-05-2026 19:32 via theobserver.ca
  More volunteered with a City of Sarnia program to help shovel driveways for people in need last winter, but even more are needed, a city spokesperson says.“Volunteer sign-up is year round (and) there’s definitely a need in the community,” communications manager Steve Henschel said.Sixteen individuals and one business registered to clear driveways and walkways between last December and April, for 38 means-tested seniors and people with disabilities, through Sarnia’s Adopt
  
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• Ex-Sarnia coach’s historical underage sex trial adjourned to Monday

  22-05-2026 19:41 via theobserver.ca
  After a day of legal arguments Friday, an historical underage sex trial involving a former Sarnia youth basketball coach and newspaper reporter was adjourned to Monday.James Miller, 62, of Penticton, B.C., pleaded not guilty Tuesday to all seven charges he faces in this trial — six counts of sexual interference and one count of invitation to sexual touching, linked to two complainants he coached at a Sarnia elementary school in the 1980s or ‘90s. The first complainant testified Tues
  
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• Drop in donations prompts Inn of the Good Shepherd food bank to cap access

  22-05-2026 19:13 via theobserver.ca
  A decline in food donations has led the Inn of the Good Shepherd to cap the number of people a day accessing its food bank in Sarnia.For about a month, executive director Jack Christine said, 40 families a day have been allowed into the John Street site.Another 15 to 20 were showing up some days, he said, and it was getting to the point that those arriving later were finding almost nothing left on the shelves.“So to make it more fair, we decided that we’d cap the numbers,” he
  
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• Donations decline prompts limited Inn of the Good Shepherd food bank access

  22-05-2026 19:13 via theobserver.ca
  A decline in food donations has led the Inn of the Good Shepherd to cap the number of people per day accessing its food bank in Sarnia.For about a month, executive director Jack Christine said, 40 families per day have been allowed into the John Street site.Another 15 to 20 were showing up some days previously, he said, and it was getting to the point that those arriving later were finding almost nothing left on the shelves.“So to make it more fair, we decided that we’d cap the numb
  
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• Sarnia mulls contracts for $5.9-million Bright's Grove library hub

  22-05-2026 17:05 via theobserver.ca
  After years of work and debate, the cost is in for a Bright’s Grove library hub project.“Right where we expected it to be all along,” said Mark Moran, committee co-chair for the project, about the $5.86-million price tag coming to council for approval Monday.“We’re thrilled,” Moran said.The total cost includes K&L Construction Ltd.’s recommended $5.45-million bid, $131,000 for Winmar to manage the project, and contingency funding.Five per cent in co
  
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• Sarnia considering contracts for $5.9-million library hub project

  22-05-2026 17:05 via theobserver.ca
  After years of work and debate, the cost is in for a Bright’s Grove library hub project.“Right where we expected it to be all along,” said Mark Moran, committee co-chair for the project, about the $5.86-million price tag coming to council for approval Monday.“We’re thrilled,” Moran said.The total cost includes K&L Construction Ltd.’s recommended $5.45-million bid, $131,000 for Winmar to manage the project, and contingency funding.Five per cent in co
  
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• Crown calls final witness in ex-Sarnia coach’s historical sex trial

  21-05-2026 23:06 via theobserver.ca
  The Crown called its final three witnesses Thursday in the second of back-to-back historical underage sex trials involving a B.C. politician who was a Sarnia youth basketball coach at the time of the allegations.James (Jim) Miller, 62, of Penticton, B.C., pleaded not guilty Tuesday to all seven charges he’s facing in the second trial, six counts of sexual interference and one count of invitation to sexual touching, linked to two complainants he coached at a Sarnia elementary school in the
  
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• Sarnia police board approves armoured-vehicle purchase

  21-05-2026 22:50 via theobserver.ca
  Sarnia’s police service is getting an armoured vehicle, which should make responding to high-risk situations safer, its acting chief says.“This is a defensive vehicle,” said Mike Van Sickle about the $20,000, used Terradyne Ghurka RPV (rapid patrol vehicle), approved for purchase by Sarnia’s police board Thursday.“It protects our members so they can put themselves into harm’s way with more protection,” Van Sickle said.The 13-year-old armoured vehicle, a
  
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