A $1.3 billion investment by the province for new schools is welcome news for St. Thomas.
Included in Monday’s (Jan. 27) announcement was word that the city would get a second London District Catholic School Board high school, thanks to $41 million in funding.
The Ontario government is investing the funds to build 30 new schools and 15 school expansions across the province, creating more than 25,000 new student spaces and more than 1,600 new, licensed childcare spaces.
The Ministry of Education’s Capital Priorities program provides school boards across the province with an opportunity to identify their most urgent and pressing pupil accommodation needs.
Trustee Bill Hall admitted the news of a second Catholic high school in St. Thomas came as a pleasant surprise.
“A very pleasant surprise, yes. Getting a new secondary school for St. Thomas.
“There is $41 million that we’ve been given for the school. The capacity of the school will be 838 students.”
In August of last year, the LDCSB released its latest list of capital priorities.
The list included two new high schools and four new elementary schools.
An elementary school and high school were pegged for St. Thomas.
They were also on the priority list submitted in 2023 and, unfortunately, they were Numbers 4 and 5 on the priority scale so Hall felt it was unlikely any movement would be seen in the near future.
Number 4 on the list was a new elementary school to house 424 students with an 88-space childcare centre.
Number 5 was a new secondary school to accommodate 826 students.
At the time, there were approximately 1,000 students at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School with seven portables.
Hall says a location for a second Catholic high school has not yet been determined.
“I think a lot of it is going to depend on where the development is going here.
“Because we need to be looking at where we see the biggest projection for new houses and new subdivisions and where the population is going to be.
“I expect there will be some in the north, but there is a lot going on in the south.”
The LDCSB continues to be the fastest-growing Catholic school board in the province, up more than 1,500 students this year for a total of 27,500.
The board has also hired more than 1,500 employees over the past couple of years.
Meantime, the Thames Valley District School Board is getting the green light to build a new elementary school in Thamesford and two elementary schools in London.
COUN. MCCAULLEY GOES FOR IT
In announcing her intent to seek a seat on city council in the 2022 municipal vote, Tara McCaulley stressed you have to go for it. Even if that means initiating your charge four years ahead of schedule.
She had hoped to enter municipal politics in 2026.
McCaulley felt her experience gained over the past 10 years with the Small Business Enterprise Centre and the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation could be put to good use as the city deals with a variety of challenges.
For McCaulley, those challenges included the need for affordable housing, the health of the downtown core and preparing for future growth.
That November, McCaulley won the final council seat, edging out DDB chairman Earl Taylor by the slimmest of margins.
This week, two years into her term, McCaulley announced she was stepping away from council to devote more time to her current position as loans manager with the Elgin Business Resource Centre.
In a media release Mayor Joe Preston noted, “Councillor McCaulley has been a pillar of service to St. Thomas.
“While we will miss her contributions on council, her legacy will continue to inspire and impact St. Thomas for years to come.”
Her immediate departure leaves a vacant seat needing to be filled within 60 days.
Council members will receive a report for Monday’s (Feb. 3) meeting outlining the options available for filling that seat.
In past years that process has proved both contentious and productive as the item below illustrates.
One option you can eliminate right off the bat is declaring a by-election.
That would come with a minimum price tag of $115,000, according to city clerk Maria Konefal.
We have requested an interview with McCaulley on a possible return to municipal politics.
LOOKING BACK ON A PREVIOUS VACANT SEAT
The process of filling a vacant council seat has had a checkered history in the past couple of decades. We revisit the item below from 2020, when council was tasked with filling the seat left vacant after Linda Stevenson’s death.
Any debate related to Steve Wookey’s appointment to fill the vacant seat was conducted in-camera, but it seems to have been a very amicable process.
Certainly not the acrimonious ordeal council endured in 2013 when tasked with filling the seat left vacant by then-alderman Sam Yusuf’s departure for greener pastures.
A highly divided council at the time also opted for someone with experience in the person of former mayor Cliff Barwick.
A decision hotly contested by members of council Mark Cosens, Jeff Kohler and Lori Baldwin-Sands. The trio was adamant they had been kept out of the loop when Barwick was under consideration.
But here is the fascinating irony in the tangled maneuvering to fill the seat.
Whose name was also put forward in 2013?
None other than Linda Stevenson, who was the highest runner-up in the 2010 aldermanic race. She was the first choice of Baldwin-Sands.
Filling vacant council seats over the past 20 years has been a highly intriguing undertaking. It makes for a compelling read, and thanks to input from People columnist Eric Bunnell in 2013, you can learn more about it in the post below.
Related post:
ZOOM INTO YOUR HOSPITAL
To follow up on last week’s item with St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital President and CEO Karen Davies on the need for a new hospital, she and her administrative team have announced a pair of public engagement sessions will be held this coming week.
Davies tells us the sessions are your opportunity to find out more about the hospital and the road ahead.
“Post COVID, I just really want to get back to making sure that we’ve got these connection points with the community.
“Who is running the hospital and start to understand a little bit more about what is going on here?”
“It’s a chance for the community to learn about our hospital, our priorities and for the community to ask us questions.
“There is just so much going on within our four walls and in the world and we want to make sure that we are sharing and ensuring the community is aware of what we’re doing because this is their hospital.”
Davies continued, “I think the community needs to know who we are as well. Who is running the hospital and start to understand a little bit more about what is going on here?
“We’ve set up a link as well so community members can submit questions in advance.
“And certainly, we’re going to make sure that there is time after our presentations for people to ask impromptu questions as well.”
Davies and the executive team’s presentations will include “some facts and statistics, and we’ll update on our strategic refresh and some other key points such as security team changes, cybersecurity, who we’re working in partnership with.
“So, we’ll have the entire executive team there as well as our chief of staff to speak as well as answer questions.”
There are two Zoom sessions scheduled for noon and 7 p.m. on Wed. Feb. 5.
The Zoom link is https://stegh-on-ca.zoom.us/j/94728473811?pwd=JfaWgMJWckU5w8FQ3vLjHQ5n5nKyz1.1
Do you have a question you would like answered? Send it in advance to: communications@stegh.on.ca
JENNY PHILLIPS WAS MANY THINGS TO MANY PEOPLE
Saddened to hear last week of the death of Jenny Phillips of Dutton.
Jenny and her husband Dave Phillips were a fixture at countless events across the county.
She was born on Sept. 17, 1947, in Kitchener-Waterloo and eventually wound up in St. Thomas where she met the love of her life.
Many years ago when the Times-Journal collected memories from readers for a special Alma College tribute feature, the short item below was submitted.
“Jenny Phillips, now a resident of Dutton, became an Alma College girl in September 1965 and on a picture-perfect day in July of 1968 married David Phillips in the college’s chapel.
Her official obituary stresses she was many things to many people.
“She was a proud self-taught artist, who enjoyed sketching, drawing, and painting rural landscapes, horses, botanicals, and anything that simply caught her eye.
“Jenny was a storyteller. She explored the world through a camera lens and then presented it to the world through her own vision on paper and canvas.
“Jenny was a historian and contributed greatly to the Archives for Elgin County. She is a published author and illustrator. For many years, Jenny was a cartoonist for local newspapers. Jenny was proud to volunteer and support her community and the area around it through donating her time, her art, and her ideas. Jenny was a businesswoman and loved supporting not only other artists but other women in business.
“She was instrumental in the development and support of many local groups and services in Elgin County and the Village of Dutton within it, where she lived and raised her family.”
A fond personal memory was visiting Jenny and Dave in September of 2019 for the 30th anniversary of their Village Crier Gallery in Dutton.
It was also the 30th anniversary of David’s role as Dutton town crier. Until recently, he also served as town crier for the County of Elgin.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, February 8 at the Masonic Centre of Elgin on Fruit Ridge Line.
THE ECHO CHAMBER
Our item last week on the need for a new hospital prompted former St. Thomas Police Chief Chris Herridge to respond on LinkedIn.
“Our local Central Community Health Centre (CCHC) delivers comprehensive primary care, illness prevention and health promotion through community programs and support to individuals and families in St. Thomas, Central Elgin and Southwold Township, diverting clients away from the already stressed ED at STEGH while operating on a very tight budget.
“Hopefully, the excellent care provided by CCHC staff every day continues to be recognized and funded properly as well.
“We are very fortunate to have #STEGH and #CCHC looking after our medical needs in St. Thomas and area.
“THANK YOU!”
And Steve Ogden posted this comment on Facebook.
“I can’t help but wonder how we need a new hospital when we can’t even adequately staff the one we have.”
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